Review: City of Fortune (Counterfeit Lady #6) by Victoria Thompson

I featured this one last week and ever since then I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it! The cover fully lured me in as well as the horse racing aspect and I just couldn’t get it out of my head! I had planned to read this one a little bit later this spring when my calendar wasn’t so full but sometimes it just happens like this where I can’t get a book out of my head and then boom here we are reading it way before I planned to !

I have read some of Victoria Thompson’s books but have been limited to the Gaslight Mystery series. They are pretty good and that series especially is a long standing series (I think there are around 25 or 26 books!). She has written a couple of other romance books (cowboy romances) but the historical mysteries have been limited to the Gaslight Mystery series. Then in 2017, Thompson released the first book in her new series, Counterfeit Lady series and this series was born.

I haven’t read any of the other books in this series but I have the books on my radar and now that I have read this one, I think I am going to have to go and check out the other books in the series now. You could pick this one up mid series (which is what I did) without having read the other books, but there are clearly some plots that are established from previous books. It wasn’t a deal breaker for me but I did feel like my reading experience was different than someone who might be reading it from the beginning and in order.

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Special Feature: Peril in Paris (Her Royal Spyness Mystery #16) by Rhys Bowen

How are we already at book 16 in this series?! I have only made it to like book 7 consecutively and then a few of the later ones in the series. All of the books are just so good and I have enjoyed this series so much over the years. It’s one of those book series that you can pick up and know that you are going to get a solid mystery with great characters! I have yet to read a disappointing one in this series! It’s like my go to comfort reading when I don’t know what else to read.

Sadly I couldn’t fit this one into my review schedule for this month, but I have this one queued up to read over winter break! Even though I have jumped around in this series, there have only been a few times where I felt like reading the other books in the series would have been useful, but overall I have been able to jump around with ease. But we are 16 books in to this series so naturally there are going to be established relationships and plot points that carry over within the larger series.

That said though, the author does a good job orientating readers within the story so you aren’t fully lost etc. I would say it’s relatively easy to jump around so if this one sounds good to you, then you should check it out even if you are a new reader. Now long time fans of the series will no doubt have this one on their radar! If you love cheeky historical mysteries this is an excellent series and I highly recommend this (and anything by Rhys Bowen really!) as a fun, cozy mystery with a sassy and smart heroine and a dashing hero!

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Review: Murder at the Serpentine Bridge (Wrexford and Sloane #6) by Andrea Penrose

I have really enjoyed this series from the very beginning. It has great characters that while perhaps not unique in their description (wealthy titled man turned detective), when you get right down to their characters they distinguish themselves for readers. Charlotte is the character who has changed the most throughout the series. Wrexford has remained fairly constant in his persona, but Charlotte’s changes have been exciting to watch.

Naturally when this come came up for review, I couldn’t pass it up. I am fully invested in watching the series continue to grow and am excited to see that more books will be forthcoming! If you are a fan of historical fiction novels, no doubt this series is on your radar and you have seen this stunning cover around the blog-o-verse or social media. The cover is truly stunning and the story inside is pretty good too!

This is a great series for fans of Anna Lee Huber, Deanna Raybourn, and Tasha Alexander. Smart heroine, broody male love interest, and of course a solid cozy historical mystery. While there was lots to love about this one, I am going to be curious to see how some of the plot lines are going to be addressed going forward. This book adds in an unexpected character that I am wondering how he will figure into the larger narrative down the road.

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Review: Evil in Emerald (Harriet Gordon Mysteries #3) by A. M. Stuart

I think it’s safe to say that I cannot WAIT for the next book in this series. I have devoured this series over the last week and have loved every single book and this one ended on quite the cliffhanger and I NEED the next book! The series has such wonderfully written characters and each one stands independently strong in the story. Meaning neither character is fully dependent on the other if that makes sense. Curran and Harriet are both strong leads and watching their friendship evolve through the series has been so great, they don’t need each other to shine but they choose each other which makes this series stand out for me.

I highly recommend reading this series in order, especially this book. This book draws on bits we explored in book two, so starting this book without reading the others would be a disservice and not do this book or characters justice. If you have been thinking about reading this series but haven’t decided if you should pull the trigger or not—-do it. I was on the fence when I picked up the book at a used bookstore and then forgot about it. I wasn’t sure, however I only regret that I didn’t read the books earlier. They have all been great so far and this one is no exception.

The setting of the books really adds so much to the story. The setting is almost its own character. I really feel like I am there in Singapore and experiencing the weather and culture just like Harriet and Curran. But it’s not so heavy on history and culture that it dominates the narrative. The author does a wonderful job incorporating the culture and history into the story without it being overpowering. Do not miss this series with all it’s goodness!

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Review: Singapore Sapphire (Harriet Gordon Mysteries #1) by A. M. Stuart

I have had this book on my TBR shelf for A WHILE now. I randomly picked it up at a used bookstore forever ago and thought it sounded good. I liked that it was set in a different location than I was used to reading and perhaps might have a hint of adventure in ways that I haven’t experienced before in some ‘far east’ mystery books.

But like so many readers, I took it home and set it down on my bookshelf for another day. Every time I would go looking for something to read, I would pause at the title but then keep going in favor of another lady detective novel where I had known and loved already instead of picking up someone new. But then I was sitting at my sister in law’s house in Arizona desperate for something new to read and for some reason this book popped up on my Kindle App as recommended reading.

Not wanting to spend money on a dud, I downloaded a sample and it was clear from the very beginning that after three chapters I desperately needed the full book—-and the next three books in the series! I will admit that at first I was intimidated by the ‘glossary’ and cast of characters listed at the beginning. I was unfamiliar with many of the words and there seemed to be a lot of characters but I am glad I didn’t let that throw me off and instead it enriched the story for me!

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