Reading
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Review: Mother Daughter Traitor Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal
Big big big fan of Susan Elia MacNeal here! I have loved her Maggie Hope series over the years and when I saw this one was coming out, I actually thought it was maybe a novella or something tied to the Maggie Hope series. If you are familiar with the Maggie Hope books, then you will know that spying and familial connections play a big role. So just based on the title I thought surely this book would tie into the Maggie books some how. However, it’s actually a stand alone book! No connection to the Maggie books. I I know that for some authors it’s hard to branch out…
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Special Feature and Excerpt: An Autumn Kiss by Annette Lyon, Lisa H. Catmull, and Laura Rollins
This book cover is giving meals the fall vibes! I am absolutely in love with this dress! I wish I could wear something like this to work, it looks so cozy! This book is coming in hot with the fall theme not just in the cover but in the title as well and I am absolutely here for it. I am ready to usher in fall and all the cozy reading and this book seems like a nice way to do that! Today I have an excerpt to share with you guys and I am really looking forward to hearing what you guys think! This series is in it’s seventh…
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Special Feature: The Winter Orphans by Kristin Beck
I love reading historical fiction that is based on a true story. There are, naturally, tons of stories throughout history that are just waiting to have an author give voice to. Some might be family stories, some might be big figures in history, or just random people that an author stumbled upon in their research for a new novel. Sure an author could come up with their own story, but as the saying goes—-truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. And for me, often the stories based on real events and characters, are often the best. Author Kristin Beck has written a lovely historical fiction novel that is based no real…
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Special Feature and Excerpt: The Girl from Guernica by Karen Robards
I love historical fiction with a new twist and this book sounded like it fit that bill! So many war time historical novels follow similar plot narratives or settings—typically the novels are set in London, France, or Germany. But this novel follows the Spanish experience and location which promises to give readers a fresh new perspective while still being a familiar bit of history to follow and orientate themselves with. I was super excited when I saw this one. Author Karen Robards is no stranger to historical fiction. Her book, The Black Swan of Paris, received rave reviews a couple of years ago and this book promises all the magic…
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Review: Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn
If I had to describe this one, I would say it’s a Golden Girls meets James Bond mashup that you never knew you needed. Deanna Raybourn has been a beloved author of mine for YEARS! Her characters are charming, witty, and smart. I have read almost all of her books and never pass on anything she has written. She is truly a talented writer and I am just so thrilled that she has come out with a new standalone book! Raybourn has such a great prose with humor, charm, and boldness that is rare to find and I absolutely love when she comes out with a new book as I…
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Special Feature and Excerpt: The Lady’s Guide to Death and Deception (The Secret Life of Mary Bennet #3) by Katherine Cowley
Mary Bennet was my least favorite Bennet sister from Pride and Prejudice. I even liked Lydia better than Mary if you can believe that! Mary was alway the mellow-dramatic one and the one with the most limited character and plot lines etc. Which is one of the reasons this book made me really excited was it offered to give Mary Bennet a personality and her own chance to be the hero! This is the third book in the series that turns Mary from a piano playing ensemble character and turns her into a spy for the crown in a thriller series! I am super excited to share this excerpt from…
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Review: The Most Likely Club by Elyssa Friedland
I can vividly remember my very first assembly in high school as a freshman. It was the ‘senior assembly’ where they announced all the ‘most likely to’ people. This was the mid 1990’s so they were still doing things like ‘best legs’ and’ most likely to marry a rich guy’. So obviously things like this are pretty outdated now a days but I can still remember wondering what I would be voted ‘most likely’ as when I became a senior. As luck would have it I never got to find out. I moved my senior year of high school to a large school that had done away with this by…
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Review: Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams
When I think of good, solid, historical fiction—one of the first names that comes to mind is Beatriz Williams. Hands down she writes wonderful novels rich with historical detail and characters you can relate to. I have loved many of her books and when I saw she was coming out with this more modern piece of historical fiction, I was all over it. So many of her books are set in the 1940s to 1950s and this book really felt like it was going to have a more modern twist with the Russians and spies. I bought it when it first came out and then forgot about it until my…
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Review: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
This book on been on my radar for YEARS. I have had a copy on my shelf and that stunning green dress just calls to me on the cover. But yet I haven’t picked it up. Despite the rave reviews and all the buzz. I don’t really know why other than it sounded a little heavy but I found myself looking at it and then putting it back on my shelf. Especially the last couple of years, I have really leaned more toward light fluffy reading and just wasn’t ready for something more serious. Then I found myself reading on my Kindle one night only to discover that I was…
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Review: A Certain Darkness (Verity Kent #6) by Anna Lee Huber
Anna Lee Huber is one of my most favorite historical mystery writers! I have read all of her books and called in love with her different characters and series. I cannot tell you how comforting it is to pick up a book and know that you are going to enjoy it. Perhaps some books more than others but overall, each of the books she has written have been entertaining, engaging and I have no problem escaping into them each time a new Huber book is released. The Verity Kent series has been an interesting series for me. It’s a bit of a break in her usual style of heroine and…