Literary Criticism
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Review: Murder Road by Simone St James
Simone St James is an auto buy author for me. I have read all her books, some multiple times and she is one of my most recommended authors when people are looking for a thriller. Even if you aren’t a fan of ghost stories, her books have a strong thriller/murder mystery component that generally off set the paranormal in the book. This book has been on pre-order for me for MONTHS and I couldn’t wait to read this book. I did read it in one day which is pretty standard for me with her books. This book had a lot of 1990s nostalgia which was a big draw for me.…
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Review: A Grave Robbery (Veronica Speedwell #9) by Deanna Raybourn
I discovered author Deanna Raybourn many years ago. I love all her books. She has written some wonderful historical mystery series that I will forever cherish, this series being at the top of that list. Veronica is such a wonderful character and I have loved watching her and Stoker grow together as a couple and in their friendship throughout the course of the series. Naturally this was on the TOP of my TBR list for this year. There have been times though where I have felt like maybe this series could have wrapped up but it is hard to say good bye to characters that you have become attached to.…
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Review: A Haunting in the Arctic by C.J. Cooke
I randomly watched a show on National Geographic about Sir John Franklin’s lost Arctic expedition days before I was pitched this book. I was fascinated by the lost expedition and when this book made it onto my desk for review immediately following the show, I was super intrigued and couldn’t WAIT to read this one! I was so excited to read a new ghost story and one that featured shipwrecks, questions, and a rugged landscape that takes on a life of its own within the story. I have really been on an Arctic kick lately, the Franklin expedition show was just the start, I got hooked on more series featuring…
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Review: Murder in Masquerade (A Lady of Letters #2) by Mary Winters
I absolutely adored the first book in this series! I loved the idea of an advice column as a catalyst for a murder investigation (which is how the first book starts!) and while I didn’t think I would like reading the advice columns at the beginning of each chapter—it grew on my and now I love it! A cozy mystery with some romance was just what I needed going into the long winter months. I started this book in early January and was done with it in a matter of days and naturally I am anxious for the next book in the series to come out and sadly I am…
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Review: A Smoking Bun (A Bakeshop Mystery #18) by Ellie Alexander
Ellie Alexander is such a solid choice when it comes to cozy mysteries! I have really enjoyed many of her cozy mystery books and while they are not historical cozies, I love all the food and charm of Ashland Oregon in the Bakeshop Mysteries! Not to mention I know Ashland well and I love how Alexander brings the town to life! That is one of the reasons I always come back to her books…..she writes with such authenticity of the region and being an Oregonian myself, I love seeing our state highlighted to such perfection! The Bakeshop Mysteries has been a series that I have jumped around in over the…
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Review: Chasing the Horizon (A Western Light #1) by Mary Connealy
A few years ago I read a book completely out of my typical historical fiction time period, Where the Lost Wander. I absolutely LOVED this book for so many reasons and I have since been looking for ‘the right’ book to read next that might fit within that time period. There aren’t a lot of popular historical fiction books set in the American West that draw me in. Don’t get me wrong I love the American West from a historical standpoint and I grew up watching all the cowboy TV shows (Dr Quinn and Young Riders I am looking at you!) but it’s typically not a genre of book that…
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Review: The Gentleman’s Gambit (A League of Extraordinary Women #4) by Evie Dunmore
This book was on my pre-order for months. Evie Dunmore has crafted such a unique world in her books and with the ‘votes for women suffragette movement’ as a historical backdrop. I was fully expecting to enjoy this book and say good bye to the series and characters of this series as this is the last installment, but when I started reading it, I found it wasn’t holding my interest in the way that I had hoped. In past years, I would have kept reading—ride or die—to complete the book. But in recent years I have been trying to be more intentional with my reading. There are some books where…
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Review: The Foxhole Victory Tour by Amy Lynn Green
Whenever I am looking at books for potential review, one of the first things I check out is the author. Is it someone I have read before? Seen around the bogging world? Maybe it’s someone I had on my TBR or it could be a new author that sounds interesting. In this case, Amy Lynn Green is a new to me author. I didn’t recognize any of her books nor had I heard any buzz for her, but sometimes that in of itself is a draw! Sometimes I want the authors that fly under the radar since buzz doesn’t always mean ‘must read’. That’s how I felt about this one,…
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Review: Iron Flame (The Empyrean #2) by Rebecca Yarros
By about half way through Fourth Wing, I had already downloaded book two, Iron Flame. I instinctively knew that I would need the second book immediately following Fourth Wing and I was absolutely not wrong. I was thrilled when we got snow/iced in for almost a week too so that I could spend all my snow days reading! I was so happy the both myself and husband were home from school along with our seven year old. My husband and son thankfully watched movies while I was able to curl up on the couch and read this book. I finished it in about two days which is saying something considering…
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The Lilly of Legate Hill (Belles of London #3) by Mimi Matthews
As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I have started scaling back on a lot of my reviews for publishers etc quite a bit for 2024. This will not always be the case, but for now I need to juggle family, work, and hobbies so for now I am scaling back. But there are a few authors that I will always make room for in my review calendar. One of those is Mimi Matthews. She is one of my favorite historical romance writers and I have read all of her books. For me, she has been one of those authors who went overlooked by bigger publishing houses and…