Review: The Storm King by Brendan Duffy

Sometimes you pick up a book and you have zero idea what it’s about. That’s what happened to me with this book.

When this book came up for review, I got the pitch at the same time as I got the pitch for The Pearl Sister. For some reason, my brain combined the two books and I said yes to both of them. The title of this book sounded romantic and like it would be in the same vein as The Pearl Sister so why not read that one too.

Then The Storm King book arrived in my mailbox and I vaguely remembered agreeing to read it, having already read and reviewed The Pearl Sister though, I was literally scratching my head wondering what this book was in fact about. Continue reading “Review: The Storm King by Brendan Duffy”

Review: Lost Among the Living by Simone St James

After finishing two of Simone St James novels in less than a week, I was thrilled when this one came into the library and was waiting patiently in the holds section for me to pick up.

I had read a lot of great reviews for this book and was eager to see what kind of ghost and romance this story would hold. It sounded a little different than The Haunting of Maddy Clare but still within the same wheelhouse of that style, so I was intrigued.

England, 1921. Three years after her husband, Alex, disappeared, shot down over Germany, Jo Manders still mourns his loss.

Working as a paid companion to Alex’s wealthy, condescending aunt, Dottie Forsyth, Jo travels to the family’s estate in the Sussex countryside. But there is much she never knew about her husband’s origins…and the revelation of a mysterious death in the Forsyths’ past is just the beginning… Continue reading “Review: Lost Among the Living by Simone St James”

Review: The Secret Life of Mrs. London by Rebecca Rosenberg

Sometimes I have a feeling about a book and where it might fall on my own reviewer scale, even before I pick it up and start reading.

This was one of those books. I thought it would be a book that was good but not great. Sometimes fictionalized accounts of historical figures lives can go very right or very wrong. I am not a big Jack London fan or a Harry Houdini fan….so I was ready to put this book firmly in the three star category before I even started the first page.

San Francisco, 1915. As America teeters on the brink of world war, Charmian and her husband, famed novelist Jack London, wrestle with genius and desire, politics and marital competitiveness. Continue reading “Review: The Secret Life of Mrs. London by Rebecca Rosenberg”

Review: The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St James

I discovered Simone St James by happenstance this month. I have her latest novel The Broken Girls to review in March–side note, order this book now, it’s fantastic.

After reading The Broken Girls, I was so in love with her prose and style, that I picked up all of her novels to read as soon as possible! The first one to come into my library was The Haunting of Maddy Clare so I picked it up and almost read it in one sitting because it was that good!

Sarah Piper’s lonely, threadbare existence changes when her temporary agency sends her to assist a ghost hunter. Alistair Gellis-rich, handsome, scarred by World War I, and obsessed with ghosts- has been summoned to investigate the spirit of nineteen-year-old maid Maddy Clare, who is haunting the barn where she committed suicide. Continue reading “Review: The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St James”

Review: Agent in Place (Gray Man #7) by Mark Greaney

I’m one of those people that really really really loves government thrillers, military operatives, spy novels, and conspiracy stories. Admittedly I haven’t read a lot of classic ‘spy novels’ but secretly my dream job would be international spy master or CIA operative.

Travel the world with unlimited resources and loose rules with no one to report to….it all sounds horribly romantic to me, which I am sure in real life it is anything but. However a girl can dream.

In addition to my rose colored view of the world, I also have all the latest spy movies queued up ready to watch at any time. I love espionage and seeing how the darker side of government and politics works. It’s my guilty pleasure.  Continue reading “Review: Agent in Place (Gray Man #7) by Mark Greaney”