Literary Criticism
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Review: The Anatomist’s Wife (Lady Darby Mystery #1) by Anna Lee Huber
After reading Anne Lee Huber’s novel Secrets in the Mist, I realized how desperate I was for another Gothic romance novel. I wasn’t really up for a murder mystery but everyone raved about Huber’s Lady Darby mysteries so I thought I would try out her well known mysteries that boast Gothic elements and romance. The Anatomist’s Wife was on my radar years ago when it released and I recall trying desperately to win a copy when it was published. I obviously didn’t win a copy, but I did try very aggressively for days. Then of course I moved on to some other novels only to have this one resurface again…
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Review: Secrets in the Mist (Gothic Myths #1) by Anna Lee Huber
I have been craving a Gothic romantic suspense novel for a while, I just haven’t been able to find something more contemporary than Victoria Holt. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Victoria Holt but I just wanted something a little more up-to-date. I downloaded a sample of this one months ago but just never got around to starting it. So on a whim I decided to just read the sample and see how it was. I was completely hooked from the first couple of chapters! Foggy marshes, a chance encounter on a misty night, a handsome stranger masquerading as someone else, spies, and a damsel in distress? This book…
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Review: If I Could Tell You by Elizabeth Wilhide
Ahhh war romances how I love you! When this one came across my desk for review, I jumped at the chance to review it. The description was tantalizing and I just knew I had to read this one! For some reason I just love books about ill-fated or impossible romances and while this one had an adultery element, that wasn’t a deal breaker for me….in fact I was curious to see how that angle would work within the story. England, 1939: Julia Compton has a beautifully well-ordered life. Once a promising pianist, she now has a handsome husband, a young son she adores, and a housekeeper who takes care of…
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Review: A Death by Any Other Name (Lady Montfort Mystery #3) by Tessa Arlen
I am always on the look out for new murder mysteries, preferably with a female lead ‘detectives’ and set in England. While this isn’t my first novel by this author, it felt new to me. I read Tessa Arlen’s first book in this series, DEATH OF A DISHONORABLE GENTLEMAN, back in early 2015 and though I wasn’t completely hooked at the beginning, I was invested enough to finish it and was rewarded for my tenacity. I didn’t read the second book in this series for some reason, but when the third book came up for review it sounded rather good so I decided to give her books another go. I…
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Review: Beauty and the Beast: Classic Tales About Animal Brides and Grooms from Around the World by Maria Tatar
Be our guest this weekend with the live action Disney, Beauty and the Beast, hitting theaters! The animated Disney film was one of my most favorite movies growing up and even now, I still find myself singing along to all the songs when I hear them! Not to mention, my 7 month only baby LOVES animated Disney and the music, though The Little Mermaid is his all time favorite, Beauty and the Beast is a close second so needless to say I watch the animated Beauty and the Beast about once a week. I am also currently streaming Disney on my Pandora station which is full of Beauty and the Beast…
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Review: The Enemies of Versailles (The Mistresses of Versailles Trilogy #3) by Sally Christie
Here we are yet again with another book series reaching its conclusion! On the whole this has been a solid, well written, and interesting series and I was sad to see it coming to an end. I had big expectations for this conclusion and overall I wasn’t disappointed. Jeanne Becu, a woman of astounding beauty but humble birth, works her way from the grimy back streets of Paris to the palace of Versailles, where the aging King Louis XV has become a jaded and bitter old philanderer. Jeanne bursts into his life and, as the Comtesse du Barry, quickly becomes his official mistress. “That beastly bourgeois Pompadour was one thing; a…
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Review: Crystal Storm (Falling Kingdoms #5) by Morgan Rhodes
Yet another book that I pre-ordered and waited anxiously for MONTHS for it to be released. When I started this series, I was not terribly impressed with the first book in the series, but I wasn’t entirely ready to abandon the series all together either. Something kept me reading the series and as the series developed, so did the writing and the plots. I have really enjoyed the subsequent books and read them all in rapid succession. I pre ordered the fourth book and read it rather quickly and it left a few cliff hangers so I was ready for the next book almost immediately. Then of course I had a…
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Review: The Beauty of Darkness (The Remnant Chronicles #3) by Mary E. Pearson
I had this book on pre-order for quite some time….it just so happened that it was released when I was in labor so I missed out on starting it right away. In all the craziness that comes with a baby and other reviews, this book kind of got buried in my to be read list and then one day I remembered that I had it and was super excited to start reading it. I loved the first two books and was eager to see what the conclusion would be like since the last book left things really up in the air and ended on a climatic note. Lia has survived…
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Review: The Orphan’s Tale by Pam Jenoff
I just happened to stumble upon Pam Jenoff’s books. I was part of a book blog tour a couple of years ago and one of the books for review was The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach. I fell in love with her story telling and writing style almost instantly! I have since bought two more books by her! This is one of the reasons I book blog….to find new authors. When I first picked up The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach, I was not really excited about reading it but I thought it sounded marginally interesting so I gave it a go and was so happy when I was hooked…
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Review: Cheating Death (The Immortal Descendants #5) by April White
So here with are with another beloved series coming to an end. I have mixed emotions….I am sad that a series that I have adored for the last few years is coming to an end but happy because it wrapped up in such a wonderfully fitting way that I couldn’t help but be satisfied. An explosion has split Time and Archer has paid the ultimate price, leaving Saira heartbroken and desperate to repair the rupture. But the blast has trapped Saira in an alternate future where Mongers are cornered predators and Death is the ultimate judge. If Saira and her larcenous friend Ringo ever want to see Archer alive, they…