Literary Criticism
-
Review: Moth and Spark by Anne Leonard
I have some serious cover lust happening with this one. I would have read this book for the cover alone, but then when I read that it was about dragons, love, and a prince with a quest….how could I resist! Prince Corin has been picked by the dragons to free them from their bondage to the empire….the only problem is he doesn’t quite know how he’s supposed to do that. The dragons charge him with this seemingly impossible deed and gift him powers but he has no idea what to do about this quest. So he returns to the palace to continue on with his daily life. On his way home,…
-
Review: Unbecoming by Rebecca Scherm
This book made me want to read more thrillers about international art fraud! It also inspired me to finally pick up The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. This debut novel by Rebecca Scherm is recommended for fans of The Goldfinch which I haven’t read but thought sounded good. Since Unbecoming is shorter, I thought this one sounded like a good place to start. We meet Julie (AKA Grace) who is living a double life in France. While she was on her summer study abroad program in Prague, she receives word that her long time boyfriend/husband, Riley, and his best friend (and her lover), Alls, who have been arrested for a high profile…
-
Review: Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman (Lady Montfort Mystery #1) by Tessa Arlen
A Downton Abbey-esque murder mystery? Yes please! Lady Montfort is eagerly anticipating and planning her annual costume ball. Every year she tries to out do herself and plan an over the top event. Well what would be more memorable than discovering a body? Teddy is not the most endearing victim. Teddy was the nephew of Lord Montford who was constantly involved in scandal. Most recently he was involved in a gambling ring at Oxford that caused him the be expelled. Having him home for the costume ball is not exactly the most desirable scenarios but he is after all family. Well while taking a stroll around her property before the…
-
Review: Sweet Damage by Rebecca James
This is a modern Gothic thriller to put on your radar! Tim Ellison has been in a rut lately. He has spent his time sleeping on his ex-girlfriend’s couch, working in a restaurant, and surfing. Life isn’t quite what he expected. But he does know one thing….it’s time to move out of his ex’s house. Tim finds a cheap room rental at Fairview, when he shows up he is expecting to see a heap but instead he finds a mansion. Built in 1890, Fairview is a beautiful mansion boasting some of the best views in Sydney. It’s owned by Anna London who inherited the house after her parents’ deaths. In exchange for…
-
Special Feature: WEST OF SUNSET by Stewart O’Nan
This week I am thrilled to let my reads know of an exciting new release, WEST OF SUNSET by Stewart O’Nan. There is an awesome BOOK CLUB KIT that goes a long with this read, featuring a Q & A with O’Nan, discussion questions, and maps of locations in the book. I am also stoked to offer a giveaway for this book, which I will post a separate entry for that so please be on the look out! WEST OF SUNSET, which re-imagines the last three years of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s life. It goes on sale January 13th was named a top ten novel to read this winter by The Huffington…
-
Review: The Dress Shop of Dreams by Menna van Praag
That would look beautiful on you. Why don’t you try it on? How often do you hear that when you are shopping for the perfect dress? Is it just fluff that the sales clerk is trying to make us believe or would it truly look beautiful on us? What if that statement was more like a promise? Etta Sparks owns a dress shop where dreams actually do come true. A place where one dress could change your life. Etta has the ability to make your dreams come true with the perfect dress and a little stitching to give you some courage. Her granddaughter Cora has been grieving her parents death for…
-
Review: City of Dark Magic (City of Dark Magic #1) by Magnus Flyte
Sarah Weston has spent her life studying Beethoven. So naturally her dream job would be cataloging his manuscripts. Well that dream is about to come true. She has just received word that her mentor and master’s supervisor committed suicide in Prague. He was working at Prague Castle on some Beethoven manuscripts for the newly developed Lobkowicz Palace Museum. The Lobkowicz family contacts Sarah to take up where her professor left off. A paid summer at Prague Castle handling Beethoven’s letters? SOLD! Sarah departs for Prague immediately, and almost as soon as she lands, strange things start to happen. First she hears strange rumors about her mentor being addicted to drugs and acting erratically before he committed…
-
Review: Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
2015 promises to be a big year for books into movies, one of which that caught my eye was Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy. The trailer looked beautiful and intriguing, not to mention the description of the book itself. A love….square I guess….three men one woman….a tale of love and unrequited desire? Plus cute little sheep? I’m in! I haven’t read anything by Thomas Hardy before so getting used to his prose was difficult. Very descriptive and flowery, and thick at times but after getting used to it, it wasn’t too bad. Bathsheba Everdene is everything a bad-ass heroine should be….strong willed, bold, and independent. She has come into possession…
-
Review: House Broken by Sonja Yoerg
Geneva Novak tends to relate better to animals than she does her own family…that’s why she’s a vet. And avoiding her family has more or less worked for her these last few years. But one day she gets a call that is going to change all that and make her finally face the relationships she been avoiding. Geneva’s mother, Helen, loves her vodka but vodka doesn’t love her back. Dublin, Geneva’s brother calls to tell her that their mother has been in a drinking and driving accident. Though not life threatening, she has some significant injuries. Dublin, though close with Helen, can’t take her in as he has a special needs child.…
-
Review: The Witch of Painted Sorrows by M.J. Rose
Sandrine Salome is running away to France. Her father has just died and her husband most likely had a hand in it. She cannot continue to be in his house so she flees to Paris where her grandmother lives. Sandrine used to live with her grandmother when she was younger but then she was whisked away when she was caught in a compromising situation with a boy. Since then she has only seen her grandmother a handful of times but it’s almost like Paris is calling her home from America. When she arrives, her grandmother’s home is empty. Her grandmother claims its due to renovations but Sandrine feels like she…