Review: Summerset Abbey (Summerset Abbey #1) by T.J. Brown

It is the dawning of a new era and the world is changing. The ridged confines of the Victorian and Edwardian eras are on their way out as England ushers in the modern age.

The Buxton sisters and their adopted ward have just lost their father and are struggling with their grief. The eldest daughter, Rowena, is faced with the burden of providing for her younger, sickly sister Victoria and their ward Prudence.

She is entirely overwhelmed and doesn’t know if she is suited for the task ahead of her but she is willing to try.

Before the funeral is at a end, their uncle, the Earl of Summerset and his solicitor, approach Rowena to read her father’s will and it is discovered that the Earl is to control their entire estate and plans on selling their house, she has never felt more helpless.

Rowena and Victoria are to live with their uncle and his wife at their illustrious estate, Summerset Abbey, until such a time as they both find suitable husbands.

Continue reading “Review: Summerset Abbey (Summerset Abbey #1) by T.J. Brown”

Review: A Barcelona Heiress by Sergio Vila-Sanjuan

The 1920’s embody all the glitz and glamour of a bygone era. The world is fresh off the ending of World War I and trying desperately to recover and get back to better days.

In Barcelona, war is still on everyone’s lips but this time it’s Civil War. In the city itself, tensions are running high. The rich control the city while the poor suffer and long for reform.

Pablo Vilar is a lawyer and journalist in the vibrant city of Barcelona. He is a man whose professions have foraged connections to the criminal underworlds as well as the influential elitist circles and each group hopes to bend Pablo’s pen in the direction of their cause. Continue reading “Review: A Barcelona Heiress by Sergio Vila-Sanjuan”

Review: Princess Elizabeth’s Spy (Maggie Hope Mystery #2) by Susan Elia MacNeal

Being a spy sounds so much cooler and glamorous without all the physical training doesn’t it? That’s exactly what’s running through Maggie Hope’s mind while she’s at Camp Spook.

After helping uncover a terrorist cell and cracking some difficult codes is the first book, Maggie has been recruited to work for MI5….an opportunity she simply can’t pass up there’s only one problem….the biggest muscle in Maggie’s body is her brain.

But when she arrives at Camp Spook, she wasn’t counting on all the drills and exercises. It is quickly apparent that she is not cut out for MI5’s spy academy. After only a couple of weeks, her supervisor calls her in and tells her he is pulling her from Camp Spook.

At first Maggie is crushed, but there is still some Hope to be had….MI5 is going to reassign her.

Continue reading “Review: Princess Elizabeth’s Spy (Maggie Hope Mystery #2) by Susan Elia MacNeal”

Review: A Monstrous Regiment of Women (Mary Russell #2) by Laurie R. King

A game’s a foot and Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes are on the case!

In Sussex, Mary Russell is about to turn 21 and come into her sizable inheritance. On a whim one night, Mary sneaks away to London in search of her long time friend and mentor, Sherlock Holmes.

When she meets up with Holmes on that dark London night, she nearly puts her foot in her mouth, but before she can cause herself too much embarrassment, Holmes cuts her off. But in doing so, he mistakenly insults her and she storms off into the night, anxious to be out of an uncomfortable situation.

Come morning, Mary finds her way into a tea shop where she runs into an old Oxford acquaintance, Veronica Beaconsfield.

Veronica has been working for the New Temple of God, a group whose mission is helping the poor and unfortunate women of London. Veronica convinces Mary to come to some of the Temple’s meetings and since she is in want of something to distract her mind, she agrees. Continue reading “Review: A Monstrous Regiment of Women (Mary Russell #2) by Laurie R. King”

Review: Wentworth Hall by Abby Grahame

All secrets have a way of coming out in the end.

Every family has their own secrets that they would rather not become public knowledge….but when your family is rich….the gossip columns love nothing better than a juicy family secret.

At Wentworth Hall, while family fortune might be in short supply….juicy secrets are not.

Maggie Darlington has just returned from a year abroad in France with her mother and new born baby brother and his French nanny. While abroad Maggie has matured, almost beyond recognition….. she has cast off her girlish styles, activities, and friends. The once spirited, will-full teen has now conformed into a model young woman and with the Wentworth name still commanding respect….Maggie Darlington has become very desirable marriage material!

But the Darlington family has fallen on hard times….their money is gone, all that remains is a good name. Lord Darlington has designs for Maggie’s potential match…an old family friend whose son is heir to a diamond fortune could be Maggie’s future husband. Or perhaps their titled neighbor, the Duke of Cotswold who would bring a title and fortune to the match….but he is also old enough to be Maggie’s father. Continue reading “Review: Wentworth Hall by Abby Grahame”