Reading
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Review: The Little Shop of Found Things (The Little Shop of Found Things #1) by Paula Brackston
Paula Brackston has been a favorite writer of mine for a while now. I have read almost all of her ‘witch’ novels and I love them! She has such a nice voice in her stories and I love the mixture of magic and realism. When this book came up for review, I was so excited to read it. I loved the cover and the title so much. It looked like something that I was going to be an instant favorite in my magical realism category. Xanthe and her mother Flora leave London behind for a fresh start, taking over an antique shop in the historic town of Marlborough. Xanthe has…
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Review: The Gold Pawn (Art Deco Mystery #2) by L.A. Chandlar
This was a series that I hadn’t heard anything about. The author and the series were completely new to me but I fell in love with the cover and was eager to see what it was about. I am always on the look out for new historical mysteries and Kensington Books have a slew of authors that I have come to enjoy over the years. November 1936. Mayor La Guardia’s political future buckles under a missing persons case in New York City. Simultaneously, Lane unravels devastating secrets in the outskirts of Detroit. As two crimes converge, judging friends from enemies can be a dangerous game . . . Finally summoning…
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Review: The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye
The first thing I said when I saw this book was—-finally a cool interesting book set in Portland! Living in Oregon, there isn’t an abundance of cool books set here. Sure we have a number of writers from Oregon that have made it into the ‘big time’, but for the most part Oregon isn’t exactly the hippest place to set your novel in. In recent years though I have seen a lot of writers—both from Oregon or the PacNW and not—set their books here in my lovely state but it’s still not as popular as say New York or L.A.. I’ve read a few of Faye’s novels and have fallen…
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Review: The Omega Objection (San Andreas Shifters #2) by G.L. Carriger
I’ve said it before and I will say it again, I have been a fan of Gail Carriger for at least the last seven years. I fell in love with her writing and quirky humor with Soulless, the first in The Parasol Protectorate series and from there it was all history! Her world building and character development is on point and I love that she writes diverse stories. I have read a few of her LGBTQ novels and loved how beautifully she portrays romance between people, not just romance between man and woman—-or werewolf and a soulless. I don’t read a ton of LGBTQ romances or novels for that matter, but…
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Review: Melmoth by Sarah Perry
She’s watching you. Melmoth the witness. Always watching and always lonely. This book was on my radar since I’m a huge fan of gothic literature. I have Perry’s novel, The Essex Serpent, to read and have heard rave reviews about it. With October in full swing and this book being released, I decided to start with this book before I read The Essex Serpent. I have never heard the tales of Melmoth the witness but I love Prague and with this novel being set there, I could barely get the box unwrapped before I started reading this one. It has been years since Helen Franklin left England. In Prague, working…
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Review: The Man She Married by Cathy Lamb
I always love meeting new to me authors in roundabout ways. Earlier this year I happened to be invited to book blogger week over at Tall Poppy Writers and found an outstanding community of authors who are dedicated to interacting with their audiences. I have read and reviewed a number of authors from this group, but at the time I didn’t know they were part of this amazing community…..in fact I only just discovered the group a few weeks ago as I mentioned, and I had been reading a number of Poppy Writers for years! Anyway, so I participated in their book blogger week met a number of new to…
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Excerpt: Naughty on Ice (Discreet Retrieval Agency #4) by Maia Chance
Earlier this year I had a chance to start reading this series. Though I started with the third book in the series, I still loved the cozy feel of this mystery series. But before moving on in the series, I did want to go back and read the first two books. So instead of a review for the fourth book in the series, I have an excerpt for you instead! And the best part of this latest book—-it’s a holiday mystery! If you are looking to gift a holiday mystery or if you are just looking for a holiday mystery to put you in the mood, than be sure to…
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Review: The Splendor Before the Dark: A Novel of the Emperor Nero (Nero #2) by Margaret George
When I was a kid, I was fascinated by all things Rome. I watched every episode about Rome and the emperors on History channel and my favorites were always on the crazy ones. The ancient world is a fascinating place. People are trying to form a civilized people and state while others are trying to conquer new territories and at the height of it’s power, Rome was the republic that everyone modeled their empires on. One of the emperors that always seemed to capture my interest was Nero and like any memorable Roman emperor, he had his own share of crazy. When this book came up for review, I was…
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Giveaway: SEAL’S HONOR (Alaska Force #1) by Megan Crane
If you love military romance or just contempo romances in general, then you don’t want to miss the first in a new series by acclaimed romance novelist, Megan Crane! I have partnered with Berkley to be able to offer a copy of this steamy romance for your reading pleasure. The last thing Blue Hendricks needs six months into his uneasy reentry into civilian life is trouble in the form of his old friend’s kid sister, all grown up and smack in the middle of a dangerous murder investigation. But he didn’t become a SEAL to turn his back on the hard stuff, and he can’t bring himself to ignore Everly’s…
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Review: SEAL’S Honor (Alaska Force #1) by Megan Crane
Many women love a good romance story, and I am one such women. All of us women have our favorite troupes or settings—-some like cowboy romances while others prefer a rogue of the peerage, others like military romances. For me, I just like a good story but if I’m being honest, I like the rogue of the peerage best but I don’t mind the occasional cross over into other troupes. The book was one that I just happened to see one day while I was scrolling through Netgalley looking at new releases. I had just seen a special on SEAL training on the History Channel so I was immediately drawn…