Review: The Garden of Intrigue (Pink Carnation #9) by Lauren Willig

This year I decided to officially participate in Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon for the first time ever. I had some time on my hands and some good books to start reading so I was eager for an excuse to sit and read undisturbed while my husband watched out little one.

I started The Garden of Intrigue almost immediately after completing The Orchid Affair and I’ll be honest, I was supposed to read it for Readathon but I almost finished it before Readathon even started!

Again, I’ll be honest and say that I was not looking forward to reading this one. Augustus Whittlesby was the singularly most annoying character in The Orchid Affair. His poetry was so over the top and I just couldn’t stomach him for more than a page or two.

I had serious reservations about this book but it’s the next in the series so I didn’t feel like I could avoid it.

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Review: The Orchid Affair (Pink Carnation #8) by Lauren Willig

After diving back into the Pink Carnation series with the sixth book, The Betrayal of the Blood Lily, I was eagerly ready to continue reading.

I have already read the seventh book so I moved on to The Orchid Affair instead. As with the previous books we meet a likable heroine in a decidedly awkward situation and a headstrong bachelor with the last thing on his mind being love.

While many of Willig’s books have a decidedly obvious formula, that has never turned me off to the series. I think what I love most is her ability to make me buy into the romance no matter how odd or challenging it is.

Veteran governess Laura Grey joins the Selwick Spy School expecting to find elaborate disguises and thrilling adventures in service to the spy known as the Pink Carnation. She hardly expects her first assignment to be serving as governess for the children of André Jaouen, right-hand man to Bonaparte’s minister of police.

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Review: A Treacherous Curse (Veronica Speedwell #3) by Deanna Raybourn

I’ve had my eye on this book since before it even had a title! I finished the second book and immediately started counting the days until this one was going to be released.

Fortunately I had the good luck to be approved for an ARC way back in Oct, because I literally don’t think I could have waited for the release in Jan 2018!

London, 1888. As colorful and unfettered as the butterflies she collects, Victorian adventuress Veronica Speedwell can’t resist the allure of an exotic mystery—particularly one involving her enigmatic colleague, Stoker.

His former expedition partner has vanished from an archaeological dig with a priceless diadem unearthed from the newly discovered tomb of an Egyptian princess. This disappearance is just the latest in a string of unfortunate events that have plagued the controversial expedition, and rumors abound that the curse of the vengeful princess has been unleashed as the shadowy figure of Anubis himself stalks the streets of London.

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Special Feature: LOVE UNCOVERED (Babes of Brighton #2) by Laura Barnard

BOOK BLITZ & GIVEAWAY – LOVE UNCOVERED

This week’s special feature is for a charming and romantic novel by Laura Barnard!

Have you read Love Uncovered by Laura Barnard yet?  This sweet and sexy romantic comedy is the second standalone in the Babes of Brighton series.  It follows Brooke and Nicholas and their whirlwind of a romance.  myBook.to/LoveUncovered

Synopsis:

Independent woman to her core, Brooke Archer has always been happy to hit it and quit it with the men in her life. But when her beloved Nan suffers from poor health, Brooke realises just how precious life is and decides it’s time to face her daddy issues and seek out her estranged father. Without so much as a name or photo, and a cagey Mum withholding vital information, it’s going to be no easy task. 

Nicholas Parker is a relationship guy and always has been. Abandoned by his mum when he was seven he craves love and security. But finding a woman who can conquer his trust issues is no easy feat. Brooke is exactly the kind of woman he doesn’t need.

Pulled together by some invisible force, can Brooke and Nicholas overcome their differences to uncover true love?
 

With reviews like this what are you waiting for?

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Review: The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno Garcia

There was something about this book cover that reminded me of Gail Carriger’s Finishing School series. I kind of thought that I was going to read a steampunk-esque romance with a little paranormal thrown in.

But considering that I have not actually read the Finishing School series, I think I can safely say that I had no idea what this book was going to be about other than maybe something YA with magic.

In a world of etiquette and polite masks, no one is who they seem to be.

Antonina Beaulieu is in the glittering city of Loisail for her first Grand Season, where she will attend balls and mingle among high society. Under the tutelage of the beautiful but cold Valérie Beaulieu, she hopes to find a suitable husband. Continue reading “Review: The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno Garcia”