Reading
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Review: Heavy Metal Symphony by Alyssa Palombo
I have read all of Alyssa Palombo’s novels so when this one came up for review, it was a no brainer. Although that’s not to say that I had reservations. Palombo generally writes historical fiction and this one was clearly not. I mean the title alone says it all right there and then I read the description—metal band romance. I literally wasn’t sure about this one. I am not a fan of metal bands or even rock bands. Music isn’t really in my blood in the way that it is for a lot of other people. It’s something that I enjoy but not something essential. For example I can workout…
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Special Feature/Excerpt: Sisters of the Great War by Suzanne Feldman
You all should know by now that I am a sucker for a novel set during WWI. It’s my favorite historical era and military history is kind of my thing. There is something about the Great War that just speaks to a massive shift in tradition and truly takes the world into the modern era in a way that no other time period has really experienced. Any time I see a new Great War novel I can hardly pass it up but I can’t always review every single novel that comes across my desk and it’s always hard to choose which ones to review. This one is a book that…
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Special Feature: The Last Checkmate by Gabriella Saab
Last Christmas season I became obsessed with the Queen’s Gambit on Netflix! I think there were many many many in the same boat. The show was amazing and I of course instantly downloaded the book and bought a chess board. Now have I read said book and played said chess board—-no but I still loved the movie and am slowly trying to learn how to play chess. That is why this book caught my eye—it is another historical fiction chess book! I am so excited to read this one, I couldn’t fit it on my October review calendar but I couldn’t pass up a chance to share a bit about…
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Special Feature: Sophie Valroux’s Paris Stars by Samantha Verant
Something about a book set in Paris just makes it all the more romantic and interesting for me. I have been to France twice and while it hasn’t been may favorite city in Europe, there is no doubt it has a distinct romantic feel to it and the food—oh the food! While I am far from a foodie, there is no doubt Paris is home to some delicious pastries and savory dishes. One of the things that interested me in this book was not just the setting but that the main character, Sophie, is a chef who loses her sense of small. At first glance I thought it was metaphorical…
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Special Feature: Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey
It’s the bewitching time of year and it is also my favorite time of year! I absolutely love Halloween and all the spooky reads, especially this time of year. But to be perfectly honest, I can read a good ghost story any time of year. While I normally don’t read a lot of non fiction, sometimes truth IS stranger than fiction and I for one couldn’t pass on sharing a bit about this spooky non fiction read this Halloween season! Last year for Christmas I actually bought this book for my sister and she absolutely loved it! Her an I both love ghost stories and when I saw this one…
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Review: The Woman at the Front by Lecia Cornwall
A WWI battlefield nurse romance? Yes please! I saw this cover and was instantly like YES WWI nurse romances are where it’s at for me! But as I dove into this one it was about a female doctor not a nurse which added a feel of newness for me to a tried and true genre. Lecia Cornwall has written a number of other romances so I was eager to see how much of a romance this book would be. I would say it contained a fair bit of romance but that wasn’t necessarily the focus—the focus was more about the main character, Eleanor’s, journey from fresh new doctor to battle…
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Special Feature: In the Company of Witches (Evenfall Witches B&B #1) by Auralee Wallace
It’s the bewitching time of year and what better way to spend the haunting season than with a cozy witchy murder mystery! This is the first in a new series by seasoned author Auralee Wallace and I am so excited to share a bit with you guys about the book today! Wallace is best known for her Otter Lake Mystery series which boasts five books and a devoted fan following. The thing that attracted me to this new series by Wallace was not only the cover with the sweet black cat, fun witch hat, and classic haunted house but the summary sounded positively charming. Magic, mystery, paranormal, ghosts, and of…
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Review: Portrait of a Scotsman (A League of Extraordinary Women #3) by Evie Dunmore
When I first read Evie Dunmore’s debut novel, Bringing Down the Duke, I absolutely fell in love. I hadn’t been consistently reading a ton of historical romances (meaning, I hadn’t read Julia Quinn yet!) and all I could think of was ‘finally—-a romance novel I can get behind!’ I felt like I was reading something deliciously modern yet set in the Victorian era with all the things I love about historical fiction—strong women with untold stories. I read the second book in this series and while I didn’t love it as much as I loved the first book, I was eager to continue with the series. I was especially excited…
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Special Feature: The Duchess by Wendy Holden
I read my first Wendy Holden book last year and I loved how well she wrote historical fiction! The Royal Governess was a well researched and interesting novel about the governess of Queen Elizabeth, and I came away from it feeling like I learned some new things while enjoying a great story. When I saw she was coming out with this new book about Wallis Simpson I knew it would be a quality book! For me personally, I am not a fan of the love story of Wallis Simpson and the man who would be king. I always felt like Wallis Simpson was an opportunist and I questioned if she…
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Review: Murder at the Royal Botanic Gardens (Wrexford & Sloane #5) by Andrea Penrose
When I randomly picked up the first book in this series a few years ago, I knew I was reading something special. While not necessarily and earth shattering read or even something ‘new and different’ in the saturated genre of historical mysteries, there is something about Lord Wrexford that just makes me swoon and I just love him! Charlotte and Wrex have been solving murders and falling in love for the last five books and finally here we are just as they are planning their nuptials and Charlotte’s reentrance into society when another body pops up! This time Charlotte and Wrex don’t really have a reason to investigate this murder…