Literary Criticism
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Review: The Bone Church by Victoria Dougherty
I recently had the pleasure of reading quite a few historic thrillers. It’s kind of a new genre for me but books like The Bookman’s Tale and The Lincoln Myth have piqued my interest and made me want to give the genre a shot . I have also started reading a lot of spy novels as well, so when The Bone Church came around for review I couldn’t resist the unique combo of spy novel and historic thriller! Wartime Prague is the stage where our novel is set. A pair of fugitive lovers, Felix Andel and Magdalena Ruza, make a bargain with a Catholic cardinal in 1956 to smuggle a woman from Czechoslovakia. The other half…
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Review: The Bookman’s Tale by Charlie Lovett
The socially awkward Peter Byerly is an antiquarian book collector who might have just made a huge discovery. Peter might have just discovered a manuscript–possibly a new Shakespearean manuscript–which needless to say would be priceless! Peter is in a bad spot, he’s just lost his wife nine months prior to the opening of the novel, and he’s really only ever loved two things…..books and Amanda. So now he’s left with only his books. Living in America, he decides to leave behind his old life and go live in the country cottage in the English countryside that him and Amanda bought before her death. Living in the cottage makes Peter somewhat of a…
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Review: One Plus One by Jojo Moyes
I’ve been a fan of Jojo Moyes since I read Me Before You last year. Since then I’ve read two more of her novels, The Girl You Left Behind and Silver Bay. I love her storytelling style and her romances are usually unique, touching, and compelling. However, the last novel I read by her, Silver Bay, lacked some of her usual magic so needless to say I was hesitant to review One Plus One. The reviews I had seen online though made me decide to read One Plus One, in hopes of recapturing some of the magic from Moyes earlier novels. I was glad that I decided to give this one…
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Review: Alias Hook by Lisa Jensen
James Benjamin Hookbridge is everything a well educated young lad should be in the Restoration era. He’s verses in music, woodcarving, sailing, and he’s witty and charming. He’e betrothed to a girl who he hopes will make him happy but while he comes from a wealthy family, he dreams of high seas adventure. He travels to the West Indies and while there is he arrested for piracy and ultimately sold into slavery. His shipmate returns home to England and marries James’s betrothed. When James learns of this he plans his revenge and is filled with anger and hate.
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Review: Written in My Own Heart’s Blood (Outlander #8) by Diana Gabaldon
Four long years is how long I’ve been waiting for the latest Outlander installment, Written in My Own Heart’s Blood (MOHB). The last book (AEITB), left some MAJOR cliff hangers and I was actually pretty upset about the way AEITB ended for at least a week after finishing it. MOHB picks up right where AEITB ended, literally. I am not going to get too much into the back-story or other books as I am assuming if you are reading this review, you have already read the series up until this point. I will admit, I should have re-read AEITB before I started this one. I was literally so lost for the first…
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Review: Suspicion by Joseph Finder
Danny Goodman is a single dad who wants to provide his daughter with the very best things in life….at any cost. Sadly, that cost is rapidly mounting. He can no longer afford to pay her private school tuition and has no one to turn to for any financial support or to borrow money. Just when he is in desperate straights, a solution presents itself. His daughters new best friend has a very very wealthy father. In fact he’s one of the wealthiest men in Boston. When Thomas Galvin offers Danny $50,000 as a charitable gift, he sees no harm in accepting it.
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Review: Baudelaire’s Revenge by Bob van Laerhoven
During the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, Paris is stuck in a proverbial gridlock. Social and political tensions are mounting and the people are looking for any kind of distraction from their daily lives. A grizzly series of murders provides that distraction. Not only are the murders grotesque in nature but they have an interesting signature. Each body is inscribed with a verse from the controversial Charles Baudelaire’s poetry written in Charles Baudelaire’s own hand. There’s only one problem, Charles Baudelaire’s is dead.
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Review: A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent #1) by Marie Brennan
Lady Isabella Trent is the world’s leading dragon naturalist, but obtaining that distinction was no easy feat. Her journey to leading dragon scientist begins at a young age which is where this novel begins in the land of Scirland. What began as a hobby soon grew into a full blown passion. She began collecting Sparklings at a young age and ever since she saw her father’s book, A Natural History of Dragons, in his study her desire to know more about dragons has only grown. Though not everyone is enthusiastic about her hobby. Her parents discouraged her in hopes that she will find a suitable husband. Isabella enters in to what she calls her ‘grey…
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Review: The Lost Duchess by Jenny Barden
We all know there is a ton of historical fiction out there that takes place in Elizabethan England….typically in the court. The market is simply flooded…so how do you create a new and different take on a saturated topic? Well you take your Elizabethan heroine out of the court! Emme Fifield is a lady in waiting to Queen Elizabeth. Her life is pretty much wrapped up in the treacherous court and all she has is a good reputation and name. Well all that changes when she is ruined by a lord who will stop it nothing but to have her. Her reputation and future prospects are a disaster.
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Review: Silver Bay by JoJo Moyes
Liza McCullen lives in the small community of Silver Bay with it’s pristine beaches and secluded lifestyle, she feels completely at ease and safe in her life. Liza and her family run a small hotel there that features small exhibitions to see dolphins, whales, and all the beautiful sea creatures of the Australian coast. Running the whale watching tour is something extremely important to Liza, but not as important to her as raising her daughter Hannah. All of the women in Liza’s family have secrets…but none so big as Liza. Though she is the strong one in her little family, deep down she is as fragile as the delicate marine…