Review: The Belle of Belgrave Square (Belles of London #2) by Mimi Matthews

It’s no secret that I have been a long time Mimi Matthews fan. I have loved all of her books but of course some more than others. Over the years I have seen her move from a smaller publisher company to the big time with Berkley publishing. It’s been so exciting to see her grow as an author and or course see other new readers discover her and see how amazing she really is as a writer! I read the first book in this series and liked it quite a bit but this was the story I was most eager to explore since meeting these characters in the first book.

Matthews writes wonderful romances that are more on the sweet side than the spicy side and I am absolutely ok with that. There is something more sensual and romantic about the sweet side of romance and she has a great way of hinting at simmering physical attraction between the characters without being crass. When I picked this book up I couldn’t put it down! I also took it with me on my trip to Cabo and basically read it in a day. I was absolutely hooked on the characters and loved my time with Jasper and Julia.

Personally I think this series should have started with this book and then went on to Evelyn’s story. I thought the chemistry and story of Julia was much better—-and that’s saying something because I loved Evelyn’s story too! But now that I have read this one, I feel like I would probably rate this one higher than the first on (Evelyn’s story). In this book Julia and Jasper had so much more chemistry and I just loved how their story came together, especially Jasper’s backstory!

Continue reading “Review: The Belle of Belgrave Square (Belles of London #2) by Mimi Matthews”

Review: You Had Me at Hola (Primas of Power #1) by Alexis Daria

This book has been on my radar for quite a while. I even dowloaded a copy a few months ago with the intension of reading it but then my ADHD kicked in and another book caught my eye and this one fell by the wayside. Every once in a while though I would see it pop up on my radar again and in my recommended reading, finally I decided to pick it up! I was really wanting something light and fun, and that fact that it was Hispanic Heritage Month, I thought why not read this one?!

I loved the idea of two soap opera/novella stars coming together for a romance. It sounded kinda cheesy but also kinda fun and just what I needed to keep me engaged but while being light enough where I could sort of ‘zone out’ while reading. I loved soap operas growing up as a kid. When I was home sick I loved throwing on Days of Our Lives to pass the time. I could fall asleep and wake up again and keep right on watching, and that’s what I was hoping for from this book.

So does this sound like fluff? Yes not might sound like it but there was a lot much of the book that wasn’t just ‘fluff’. Personally I am loving more fluff reading of late. There is something about romances that appeal to me so much right now, some of it is the fluff aspect where things are just lighter and fun to read while also getting a HEA. But occasionally there are romances that have more substance and those are fine too but generally I like the lighter fluffy romances. This was more on the fluffy side but there were some parts that had more substance to them—-over all a nice balance.

Continue reading “Review: You Had Me at Hola (Primas of Power #1) by Alexis Daria”

Special Feature: That Summer in Berlin by Lecia Cornwall

Any time I see a historical fiction WWII novel, I always wonder how will it distinguish itself from the sea of others? Now I love historical fiction WWII novels just as much as the next person—-I mean come on I read a TON of it ! But there are times when I feel like I have read something similar before. So I am always looking for ways in which new novels of similar content will be ‘new’ or ‘different’ than the others and for this one it was having the Olympics as a backdrop.

This novel also takes place prior to WWII starting, it is set in 1936 when the Olympics were in Berlin. Germany is rising to power at this time and yet playing host to a massive world event so I thought this backdrop sounded REALLY interesting and made this book stand out as ‘new’ and ‘different’ in the way that I was looking for within the genre. I also like that the setting really focuses on how Germany was rising to power again, this is not something that is explored much in many historical fiction novels so I think this one will really stand out for fans of the genre.

Author Lecia Cornwall is an accomplished novelist with many historical romances under her belt. This new piece of historical fiction has been getting tons of early rave reviews and I cannot wait to read it a little later this winter! If you are a historical fiction fan, this novel is likely already on your radar but if it isn’t, it should be! The unique time period and setting sound absolutely intriguing! Get this one on your radar now if it isn’t yet!

Continue reading “Special Feature: That Summer in Berlin by Lecia Cornwall”

Special Feature: The Duke’s Rules for Engagement by Jennifer Haymore

There is something about the romance genre that I just can’t get enough of! When I was younger (like late teens and early 20s) I thought that the romance genre was just for lonely housewives with nothing else better to read. Then I started reading more and more romances and next thing I knew, I had to admit I was so wrong about romances. I love reading romances now. There is something so satisfying about KNOWING I am going to get a HEA when the book is over.

Within the romance genre, there are tons of sub genres to choose from. Historical romances are really my jam. I love historical romances and am always thrilled to check out new to me historical romances. Jennifer Haymore is one such ‘new to me author’ that I cannot wait to check out. Haymore had a rash of historical romance novels and series under her belt and I cannot wait to check out her books. Her latest, THE DUKE’S RULES FOR ENGAGEMENT, is her latest novel and one I am thrilled to feature on my blog today!

If you are a historical romance fan you might have heard of some of her books and series. Clearly she is a seasoned writer with lots of fans so I cannot wait to read one of her romances and this one sounded so great! It has hints of enemies to lovers (my favorite troupe) and so much more to recommend itself! It’s out now so be sure and check it out especially if you are a historical romance fan!

Continue reading “Special Feature: The Duke’s Rules for Engagement by Jennifer Haymore”

Review: One Woman’s War by Christine Wells

Ya’ll should know by now that I am a sucker for basically any historical fiction, but I have a soft spot for war time historical fiction. This book has a strong espionage angle that I thought sounded interesting. I love spy novels and espionage, lately a lot of historical fiction novels include an espionage angle so naturally I gravitate towards book that include this.

When I saw this one come up for review, it was an easy yes. I loved that the real life story of Victoire Bennett, was the inspiration for the classic James Bond character, Moneypenny! For someone who loves spy novels, there can be no passing on a book whos character inspired such an iconic character in the Bond series. I couldn’t wait to check this one out.

Author Christine Wells, has written other books about women in resistance work throughout history and I felt excited to read this book even if she was a new to me author. I know that sometimes spy novels can be a big undertaking, but since Wells has experience writing historical novels where espionage and spying are the focal point, I had no problem saying yes to this one!

Continue reading “Review: One Woman’s War by Christine Wells”