Literary Criticism
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Review: A Certain Darkness (Verity Kent #6) by Anna Lee Huber
Anna Lee Huber is one of my most favorite historical mystery writers! I have read all of her books and called in love with her different characters and series. I cannot tell you how comforting it is to pick up a book and know that you are going to enjoy it. Perhaps some books more than others but overall, each of the books she has written have been entertaining, engaging and I have no problem escaping into them each time a new Huber book is released. The Verity Kent series has been an interesting series for me. It’s a bit of a break in her usual style of heroine and…
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Review: A Dreadful Splendor by B.R. Myers
This book has been on my radar for months and I was so excited to start reading it. I planned to read it when I had COVID but I couldn’t focus on anything and I ended up setting it aside and then I sort of forgot about it. Then when I was on my way to Cabo I thought this would be a great book to read on the plane so I picked it up on my way to the airport and was so glad I had it in my bag! I was hooked from the very beginning! I love gothic tales and ghost stories and this book promised both…
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Review: Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
When I was asked to review this book, I was beyond excited! I haven’t read anything by Ali Hazelwood before but I was well aware of her STEM romance bestseller, The Love Hypothesis. I have The Love Hypothesis on audiobook as well as a hard copy and have been meaning to read it. Then I saw this one was coming out and I instantly added it to my review calendar because I just KNEW I would love this book! I love that the author features women in academia and STEM, I mean there really isn’t anything out there like that and when you throw in a hot romance with book…
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Review: The Codebreaker’s Secret by Sara Ackerman
I have adored Sara Ackerman’s books over the years. She writes such interesting novels about WWII that are set in Hawaii. Her passion for the island and its history really shine under her pen plus there is always a little bit of romance to entertain readers. I really enjoyed reading all of her books and find that each has been between a 4 and 5 star rating for me. When I saw this one was coming up, I made room on my review calendar for it. I hadn’t actually planned on reading it as soon as I did but I knew I would read it before the summer was out.…
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Review: The Lost Summers of Newport by Beatriz Williams, Karen White, and Lauren Willig
I have read all of Lauren Willig’s book and many by both Beatriz Williams and Karen White. All of their books have been some of my most favorite reads. Then they started to team up and write collective books together and I devoured those books so incredibly fast! I love how well written each book is and not just independently but as a writing team. When I saw this book was coming out, I knew I had to read it. I love how in all of their collective books, there are characters that make appearances in other collective books. For example in this book we meet Prunella who has been…
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Review: The Forgotten Cottage by Courtney Ellis
I read Courtney Ellis’s debut novel last summer, At Summer’s End, and good lord was it ever good! I devoured it and it was one of my favorite reads last year. So naturally when I saw this one coming up for review I was thrilled! This one has a great dual timeline aspect which I know is often overdone in historical fiction, but for me it never gets old! I love readling dual timeline books! This book promises long buried family secrets and complex characters rich in historical detail. And it certainly had all of those things! Ellis write beautiful historical fiction with lots of historical details and heart and…
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Review: Evil in Emerald (Harriet Gordon Mysteries #3) by A. M. Stuart
I think it’s safe to say that I cannot WAIT for the next book in this series. I have devoured this series over the last week and have loved every single book and this one ended on quite the cliffhanger and I NEED the next book! The series has such wonderfully written characters and each one stands independently strong in the story. Meaning neither character is fully dependent on the other if that makes sense. Curran and Harriet are both strong leads and watching their friendship evolve through the series has been so great, they don’t need each other to shine but they choose each other which makes this series…
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Review: The School for German Brides by Aimee K. Runyan
I have only read one of Aimee Runyan’s books but I adored it! I have had the others are on my TBR list and she is always one that I keep an eye on when I see new historical fiction coming out. When I saw this book I was instantly intrigued! A school to make the perfect German bride?! What in the world? I knew it was one that I couldn’t pass up as it would no doubt explore a plotline and history that I never even imagined before! One of the things that always stands out about Runyan’s books is the attention to historical detail. Historical fiction writers often…
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Review: Singapore Sapphire (Harriet Gordon Mysteries #1) by A. M. Stuart
I have had this book on my TBR shelf for A WHILE now. I randomly picked it up at a used bookstore forever ago and thought it sounded good. I liked that it was set in a different location than I was used to reading and perhaps might have a hint of adventure in ways that I haven’t experienced before in some ‘far east’ mystery books. But like so many readers, I took it home and set it down on my bookshelf for another day. Every time I would go looking for something to read, I would pause at the title but then keep going in favor of another lady…
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Review: The Mozart Code by Rachel McMillan
Over the years I have read and enjoyed many or Rachel McMillan’s books! I especially loved her book The London Restoration that I read in 2020. It was a standalone novel with lots of historical detail and some romance. While I enjoyed her historical mysteries, it was the standalone novel that really made me love her writing! When I saw that she was coming out with a new standalone piece of historical fiction, I was eager to get my hands on it. I love books about espionage and spies especially when they are women spies! I have read a lot of historical fiction with female spies in WWII and while…