Reading
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Special Feature: 10 Rules for Marrying a Duke by Michelle McLean
Love is in the air this month with it being Valentine’s Day and I typically lean toward more romances during the month of February! Earlier this year I really focused on reading more contemporary romances and cowboy romances, all of which were great but historical romances have my heart. There is just something that works so well in historical romances for me. I think part of it is that it feels like such a more refined era with wooing being more thought out and intentional. I just love historical romances. Naturally I always keep my ear to the ground for new historical romances and this one popped up on my…
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Special Feature/Excerpt: The Last Duke Standing (A Royal Match #1) by Julia London
I randomly picked up a Julia London book last year at Christmas time simply because I loved the dress on the cover! I ended up enjoying it, even if I didn’t LOVE it, I still liked it enough to add Julia London to my list of go to romance writers! London has written a number of romances and romance series which have amassed a large following of fans, so when I saw this latest book (which is first in a new series by the way!) I knew I needed to get it on my radar as well as others who might be looking for a new romance to read! If…
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Special Feature: The Secret Love Letters of Olivia Moretti by Jennifer Probst
Here in the Pacific Northwest, we had the week of what we call ‘the false spring’. We had a week of sunny and 65 degree weather and then—boom, it was back to 40 and raining worse than ever! It’s always this time of year when I long for the sun on my face and some warmer, longer days. In February and early March that is my prime time for what I call the ‘warm reads’. You know, the books that are set on warm sunny beaches or in this case, set on the Italian rivera! This book cover is eye catching with its sunny skies and sparkling blue water, and…
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Review: An Impossible Impostor (Veronica Speedwell #7) by Deanna Raybourn
Deanna Raybourn has been one of my favorite historical mystery writers since I first discovered the Veronica Speedwell series. I have since read all of her books and loved each of them, some more than others, but overall her books have been fantastic. The Veronica Speedwell series being my personal favorite of her books and series. Veronica is such a wonderfully non conventional character and her chemistry with Stoker has been solid through most of the series. However, the last book left me a little disappointed, it was ok but just not my favorite in the series so I was really looking forward to this one and seeing how and…
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Review: The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by Allison Pataki
If you have poured yourself a bowl of cereal in the last 100 or so years, odds are it was a Post brand cereal! I think most of us are familiar with some uber wealthy names like Vanderbilt, Hearst, Kennedy, and Rockefeller. The name Post doesn’t necessarily ring any bells for me. It sounds like a common name with little attached to it to distinguish itself. When this book came across my desk for review, I basically thought the cover was pretty and that was about it. The name and title in the book didn’t draw me in or anything, it was purely the elegant cover. I read the blurb…
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Special Feature: A Perfect Equation (The Secret Scientists of London #2) by Elizabeth Everett
Full disclosure, I picked up the first book in this series last year after having pre ordered the book and eagerly waited for it to come, only to be horribly disappointed. I didn’t finish the first book and felt incredibly sad about that. By all accounts this series should be right up my alley. I had majorly high hopes for the first book in the series. There wasn’t anything that really stood out as ‘bad enough to make me DNF’ but it just wasn’t holding my attention and I just didn’t know why. So why am I featuring this second book if I didn’t even like or finish the first…
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Review: Ramon and Juileta by Alana Quintana Albertson
Am I Hispanic? No. But do I love Hispanic culture and traditions YES! My husband is Hispanic and I love combining our traditions and making something uniquely us so when I saw this retelling of Romeo and Juliet but with tacos, I was absolutely dying to read it! As a teenager, I loved Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet plus the Leonardo DiCaprio film was THE movie of my youth. As an adult, Romeo and Juliet is probably the least favorite of the Shakespeare plays (still love the DiCaprio film though!) but when I saw this book I couldn’t pass on it! I was so eager to see how this author spun…
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Special Feature/Excerpt: The Last Grand Duchess by Bryn Turnbull
The late Victorian/early Edwardian era through WWI is one of my absolute favorite eras in history. It truly is the ending of an era when the glitz and glamour of the social class start to give way and shape the future of the modern age. One of the things I love reading and studying is the fall of some of the big dynasties like the Romanov empire. One of the reasons the Romanov dynasty appeals to me so much is it feels exotic to me. I think most of us as readers are familiar with books set in England during this time as well as shows like Downton Abbey that…
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Special Feature and Excerpt: Jane and the Year Without a Summer (Jane Austen Mysteries #14) by Stephanie Barron
I am so happy to see how well this series is doing! Fourteen books into the mystery series and it’s still going strong! This is a series that has floated around my radar for a while now and it’s been so fun to watch it grow and mature over the years since the first book was published in 1996! That to me shows this series has staying power! I am so thrilled to bring you guys a sample of the latest book in the series, Jane and the Year Without a Summer. I mean what could be better than Jane Austen with a murder mystery?! Some times I am wary…
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Review: Homicide and Halo-Halo (Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery #2) by Mia P Manansala
I recognized this cover art almost immediately when the book came across my desk for review! The cover art on the Tita Rosie’s Kitchen books are recognizable and stand out with their bold colors and fun graphics. The first book in the series is Arsenic and Adobo which was a Book of the Month selection last year when it first came out. I snatched it up but then basically forgot about it until this follow up book came across my desk. The pops of color and the cute done on the front inspired me to pick it up and give it a go……regardless if I had read the first book…