Literary Criticism
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Review: Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay
I am excited to see all the fairy tale retellings out there, especially for Sleeping Beauty as Aurora is one of my favorite princesses. Princess of Thorns is a different kind of fairy tale retelling. Princess Aurora AKA Ror is actually a warrior princess and Sleeping Beauty’s daughter who must fight to regain her throne. ‘ As a briar born child, Ror and her twin brother Jor have been gifted special powers. Jor has been kidnapped by the evil ogre queen and is being tortured. Ror is the heiress to the fairy lands and she must not only save her brother, but she must regain her kingdom by any means necessary.…
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Review: Perfiditas (Roma Nova #2) by Alison Morton
A lot has changed in the seven years since we first met the very unlucky Karen Brown. She has now completely embraced her true identity of Carina Mitela and she is now living as a Roma Novan. Carina has married Conradus (AKA Conrad) and since the last novel, they have advanced in their careers within the PGSF (Praetorian Guard Special Forces). Conrad has just been made Legate which is basically the Chief within the PGSF and Carina is also a Captain in the Strategy Section. Their marriage is solid but their careers are complicated. They also have their children to protect and provide for….but that is a fact easier said than done. Carina must prevent a conspiracy that not…
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Review: What A Lady Needs For Christmas (MacGregors #4) by Grace Burrowes
So here we are….almost to the holiday season and I have yet to read a single holiday book though it was on my ‘to do’ this year for reading. That’s when this book came along for review…..I was originally looking for something like Lauren Willig’s Mischief of the Mistletoe but hey….I’ll take what I can get! Since this month seems to be romance novel month for me…I figured this was better than no holiday read! Lady Joan Flynn is heading to the Highlands in order to escape a scandal. A potential client of her’s got her intoxicated and attempted to take liberties with her. Now she is making a run…
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Review: The Raven Prince (Princes #1) by Elizabeth Hoyt
I’ve recently read some pretty heavy novels so I think it was long over due for a fluff fest! With December being so chilly and long, it often ends up being my steamy romance month. This month I’ve read a lot of historical romances of the ‘bodice ripper’ persuasion…and not necessarily on purpose. I’ve never read anything by Elizabeth Hoyt so I didn’t really know what to expect. She has been recommended to me by other historic romance fans and after looking through some of her titles, The Raven Prince caught my eye. I think mostly because I liked the title, it sounded interesting and it sounded almost like a fairy tale.
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Review: Secrets of a Scandalous Heiress (The Matchmaker Trilogy #3) by Theresa Romain
Augusta Meredith is creating scandal all over the place. She has not only suffered and embarrassing and tragic love affair but she is also not mourning the death of her parents as society would expect. She has fled to Bath where she assumes an identity to find herself a lover. While in Bath, she runs into Joss Everett who recognizes her, but he promises to keep her secret if she keeps his. Joss is in Bath trying to locate a blackmailer for his cousin, who also happens to be his employer. Though Augusta propositions him to be her lover, Joss respectfully declines as he has his own agenda. But the two decide…
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Review: An Affair Downstairs (Thornbrook Park #2) by Sherri Browning
Though not a baron himself, Logan Winthrop, is from a wealthy family. But he has a colored past. It’s rumored that he killed a man and now lives in shame as an estate manager at Thornbrook Park. Things are more or less tolerable for Logan…that is until the feisty Lady Alice Emerson sets her sights on him. Lady Alice has zero interest in marriage but her sister, The Countess of Aberford, intends to make an advantageous match for Alice one way or another. Alice has a bucket list of sorts….travel and most importantly, have a lover. Nothing major or long term, she just wants to make love once so she can…
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Review: Die I Will Not (John Chase Mystery #3) by S.K. Rizzolo
British mysteries are some of my favorite books to read….especially those set in either the Victorian or Regency eras. Who doesn’t love a good murder by gaslight novel? The John Chase series intrigued me. I often gravitate toward British mysteries/detective novels with female protagonists, so a series that boasted a male detective grabbed me. Penelope Wolfe has married the wrong man. She tried to break away from her father and in her attempt at ‘independence’ she has found herself very unhappily married. Jeremy is basically gambling himself into the ground.
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Review: The Sharp Hook of Love by Sherry Jones
For her entire life, Heloise has known what her future would hold. She has been preparing to become an abbess. All her education, grooming, and introductions have been carefully planned for her to ascend to that position. She has long accepted that she will likely never know love or a life outside the service of God and she is ok with that, until she meets Pierre Abelard. Pierre is the headmaster at the Notre Dame Cloister School. He has had many intelligent pupils and is well known in many academic circles as simply ‘the best’ and he is equally as notorious in those circles when it comes to women. Heloise’s uncle manages to…
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Review: The Bronze Horseman (The Bronze Horseman #1) by Paullina Simons
In Leningrad, life is about to change in a big way. Seventeen year old Tatiana, has known nothing but long summers full of ice cream and day dreams. But all that changes when the declaration of war is announced. Germany has invaded Russian and they march toward Leningrad. Tatiana’s parents send her to the store to buy all the food she can. On her way to the store, Tatiana stops for an ice cream when she spots a soldier staring at her from across the street. The soldier, Alexander, gets on the same bus as Tatiana and rides with her all over the city, and then eventually back home. When she returns home,…
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Review: There Once Lived a Mother Who Loved Her Children, Until They Moved Back In: Three Novellas About Family by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya
Leo Tolstoy said it best: All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. Don’t we all have that one crazy family member who tells grossly inappropriate jokes and stories at the dinner table? Or that one sibling that we are insanely jealous of? Or what about your bratty niece or nephew that you just wish you could trip as they run by screaming? I think the best thing about family is that it’s a classic….just like Tolstoy. Most people can relate to family and that’s what makes Ludmilla Petrushevskaya latest novel such a captivating read.