Literary Criticism
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Review: Night of a Thousand Stars by Deanna Raybourn
Deanna Raybourn has been an author long on my radar. I hear wonderful things about her Lady Jane series from a number of people. So when the opportunity to review her latest standalone book, I was eager to try her books out! Poppy Hammond, is all set to marry into an aristocratic family but she has other plans which include making a run for it. She is assisted by the dashing curate Sebastian Cantrip who helps her escape to her family’s house where she can have some time to think and sort out her life. Before she can thank Sebastian for his assistance, he disappears and she sets her mind to…
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Review: The Duplicitous Debutante (Cotillion Ball #6) by Becky Lower
New York society in the 1850’s, expects women to find a good husband, set up a functional home, and of course….have children. But Rosemary Fitzpatrick has other plans, the last thing she is interested in is entering society and beginning the great husband hunt! Rosemary has other ambitions which include writing the popular Harry Hawk dime novels. But it’s an age that frowns upon female writers and thus Rosemary writes as the gender generic, F.P. Elliott. Well the head of the publishing company sends his son, Henry Cooper, to meet this F.P. Elliott along with the other authors of the publishing company. Rosemary is totally captivated by his good looks and charm, and…
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Review: Murder on the Île Sordou (Verlaque and Bonnet #4) by M.L. Longworth
Judge Verlaque and his girlfriend, law professor Dr Marine Bonnet are taking a much needed vacation on a secluded island off the coast of France, Sordou. The island was once a haven for the rich and famous in the 1960’s but was long forgotten but the elite in favor of other island destinations in the south of France. However the Le Bon family, Cat-Cat and Max, just bought the hotel and hope to restore it to its former glory. With the opening weekend on their life’s savings on the line, they need everything to go perfect….the last thing they need is a murder. This novel totally reminded me of Clue, set in France.…
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Review: Inglorious Royal Marriages: A Demi-Millennium of Unholy Mismatrimony by Leslie Carroll
Don’t we all wish we could be a fly on the wall of a royal marriage. There is something about royalty, romance, and marriage that lures us in and doesn’t let go. With Leslie Carroll’s new book we get all the juice from some of history’s most notorious marriages! Let’s just put it this way…..everything that could go wrong in these marriages, often did! And how could they not when marriages were often arranged for political gain and purpose, rather than love and affection. I won’t go into too much detail as far as background info on the book based on the way it is structured. It’s pretty straight forward and…
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Review: Inceptio (Roma Nova #1) by Alison Morton
This is my first experience reading an alternative history novel. Inceptio is not just an alternative history novel though…it’s part political thriller, part romance, and part fantasy. Karen Brown leads an unassuming life. She grew up in rural Nebraska and moved to New York where she continues living a quiet life. She works in a cubicle with no major responsibilities. She isn’t seeing anyone special, and like most young women on their own, she’s barely making ends meet. But all that is about to change, in a big way. When she starts working on a new account for a Roma Nova organization, she has no idea they are actually there surveying her. She soon…
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Review: The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles #1) by Mary E. Pearson
This book has been flooding my social media feeds for the last month. It seems like everyone has been reading this new YA series. So naturally I needed to see what all the fuss was about. And really, how can you ignore this stunning cover? I’m in love with it….yes I am totally judging a book by it’s cover right now. Princess Lia is a First Daughter of Morrigham and with her regal status comes obligations. One of those obligations is to marry. Her father arranges a marriage with a prince from the neighboring kingdom of Dalbreck to secure a much needed peace in the realm. As a First Daughter, Lia is…
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Review: Tempting Fate (The Immortal Descendants #2) by April White
Since discovering her power as a ‘clocker’, or an Immortal Descendant, life for Saira Elian hasn’t gotten much easier. Being a clocker means Saira can transport herself through time at will. She is currently living at St. Brigid’s school where she is learning about her power as well as the powers of the other Descendants. For the first time in her life she is stable: she has friends, her mother, excelling in school, and her super attractive boyfriend, Archer who happens to be Death’s Descendant–better known as a Sucker, or vampire. But she is struggling with what it means to rely on others and to truly open her heart to her friends…
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Review: The Poetic World of Emily Brontë: Poems from the Author of Wuthering Heights by Laura Inman
Wuthering Heights is one of my all time favorite novels. The windy moors, tragic love story, and romantic writing style are second to none in my book. Though Wuthering Heights was Emily Bronte’s only novel, she was an avid poetry writer. I am note a huge poetry fan, I never seem to get out of it what I everyone else does, so therefore I just haven’t read a lot of it. However, when The Poetic World of Emily Bronte came across my desk for review, I paused. I haven’t read a lot of the Bronte sisters’ poetry, shockingly, and I thought this book would be a convenient way of rectifying that…
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Review: The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin
Quirky Charlotte, as the heiress to the Lenox fortune, is one of the most wealthy women in England. Her marriage prospects are numerous. Her over bearing brother is set to marry into the upper crust of English society and he hopes to make another advantageous match for his sister. Charlotte could care less about society and marriage. Her real passion in life is her photography–a rather unladylike hobby. So far her only real suitor is Captain ‘Chicken’ Hartopp, who is equally as rich as she but rather boring, older, and unattractive. Charlotte and her brother are to attend another society opera that is sure to bore Charlotte to tears….but something happens at the…
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Review: The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent (Maggie Hope Mystery #4) by Susan Elia MacNeal
Maggie Hope has been under the spell of the ‘black dog’ for what seems like an eternity. Her depression and post traumatic stress are taking over her life. She can hardly remember what life was like before she became a spy and had her life turned upside down. She’s been throwing herself into her work as a trainer at an elite spy institute in Scotland, trying to escape the ‘black dog’. Maggie has nothing to distract her but her work. John Sterling and her are not on speaking terms, her mother faces death at the Tower of London, and as a spy she doesn’t have ‘friends’ that she can talk to…