Literary Criticism
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Review: Beneath a Starless Sky by Tessa Harris
You had me at forbidden romance with this one. I am an absolute sucker for forbidden romances and this book sounded like it had the ultimate forbidden romance—German soldier and a Jewish woman during WWII. I mean come on how could I pass on that? I was super excited to dive into this one. Author Tessa Harris has written two other historical mysteries series (which I now need to read) but this is her first stand alone historical fiction novel. While her other novels are set in the Victorian era, this one is set during WWII and I thought she did a wonderful job with her historical research and presentation…
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Review: All I Want for Christmas is a Cowboy (Wyoming Cowboys #1) by Jessica Clare
After reading Holly Jolly Cowboy on vacation, I immediately needed another cowboy book to keep me entertained so I snagged the first book on my Kindle the second I finished with the other book. This series has quickly become my guilty pleasure and I am not even a little bit sorry about it. I love small town romances and this series has made me want to move to Wyoming and buy all the cows and do all the ranch things not to mention transform my husband into a sexy cowboy. If you are looking for some steamy holiday romances, this series has you covered. Now not every book in the…
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Review: Holly Jolly Cowboy (Wyoming Cowboy #7) by Jessica Clare
I literally have no idea where I saw this book or why but I think it must have been on Amazon and I was like ‘awwww look at that cute dog on the cover’ and next thing I know, this book is arriving in my mailbox. In all honesty, I didn’t think I would read this one. I thought it would be a holiday book that I picked up and then sat on my bookshelf for the next 12 months until next holiday season and by which time I would have forgotten all about. But I left it sitting on my coffee table and that cover just kept calling to…
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Review: A Class Coveted (A Matter of Class #4) by Susie Murphy
Over the years I have read so many historical fiction novels all with varying degrees of subject matter, time period, and sub genre. I am always on the lookout for the next hot historical fiction novel especially from up and coming new authors. I love having a ‘secret’ book that no one knows about that I can share with everyone. A few years ago I reviewed the first book in this series, A Class Apart, and I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when I first picked it up but then I was quickly involved with Bridget and Cormac’s story and devoured the book. Author Susie Murphy is an independent…
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Review: All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M Morris
In my lady murder book club, we are always looking for the hottest new thriller to read. While we really want to read just murder books, we are also open to more of the thriller variety. But lately, we have been looking for thrillers/murder books that are written by POC. To say that the POC pool for thrillers is scant would be an understatement. We have been looking for months and nothing has been popping up on our radar—-until this book! We were so excited to see this book when it was pitched to me last summer. We decided in July that it would be our November book to read…
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Review: The Ex Hex (Ex Hex #1) by Erin Sterling
This book I snagged on a whim as my Book of the Month pick for October. It sounded like funny fluff reading and even if I haven’t been a fan of Erin Sterling AKA Rachel Hawkins, I was still excited to read something a little funny and distracting for the bewitching season. And yes I know that it is now November and I am just now getting around to posting my review of this one. Things have been a little crazy so while I did read this one back in October my review calendar has been pretty full so here we are. So what exactly attracted to me to this…
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Review: Christmas in Peachtree Bluff (Peachtree Bluff #4) by Kristy Woodson Harvey
When I finished the last Peachtree Bluff novel, I thought it was indeed the last novel but then Kristy Woodson Harvey came in clutch with a Christmas installment and I couldn’t be more excited to read more about the ladies of Peachtree Bluff! I have adored all of Kristy Woodson Harvey’s books and obviously this was going to be a welcome read this holiday season! I read it over the long holiday weekend and I was so happy to return to Peachtree Bluff and reconnect with the characters—I read this one super fast and enjoyed every single minute of it! And seriously check out that cover, doesn’t it scream CHRISTMAS!?…
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Review: Sleigh Bells Ring by RaeAnne Thayne
Is it even Christmas without a RaeAnne Thayne book? The answer is NO IT IS NOT! I adore Thayne’s Christmas books so obviously this book was an easy yes to reviewing. In all honesty, I had this one on pre-order months ago because I didn’t want to miss one of her Christmas books. Thayne is such a great romance writer without being overly steamy and I never want to miss one of her books! This book is a standalone but there are mentions of other characters from previous books that she has written. But I want to be clear this is absolutely a standalone book! But if you are a…
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Review: Reputation by Lex Croucher
Has Jane Austen ever been sexier and hot than right now? With the huge hit series, Bridgerton, Netflix opened the door for a new generation of fans for Regency England and romance. Jane Austen is like the original rom-com writer and there is a reason many of her novels continue to be remade into modern stories or films. Like so many others, I adore Jane Austen—and I am always on the look out for new takes on the ‘Regency rom-com’ genre. Enter this book. I was instantly drawn to this book and couldn’t pass on it. I loved the mash up description of Jane Austen meets Mean Girls and honestly—that’s…
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Review: Love and Lavender (Mayfield Family #4) by Josi S Kilpack
Last year I read one of Josi S Kilpack’s sweet historical romances and I thought it was a nice read with a lot of potential. I added a few of her other novels to my TBR list after reading Rakes and Roses so when this one came up for review I thought I would continue with the series. Rakes and Roses was the third in the Mayfield Family series and this one, Love and Lavender is the fourth. If you enjoy sweet romances you will no doubt recognize Kilpack’s name as she has written quite a few historical romances as well as a few mystery novels. She has a knack…