-
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…
-
Review: My Heart’s Desire by Andrea Kane
Lady Alexandria Cassell feels trapped. Her whole life promises to be a series of balls, entertaining, and perpetual boredom if she remains in London for the Season to find a suitable husband. So she does what any sensible girl would do in her situation….she runs like hell. Alexandria finds a ship leaving London bound for Canada where her father lives. She stows away on board, but little does she know what adventures await her on the high seas. Itching to put as many leagues between himself and London, Captain Drake Barrett sets sail when he discovers Alexandria hidden away in his cabin. Though he knows he should turn the ship around…
-
Review: The Tutor’s Daughter by Julie Klassen
High on the cliff tops of Cornwall, the distant sounds of a pianoforte can be heard echoing through Ebbington Manor late at night. Emma Smallwood and her father have come to Ebbington Manor as live in tutors for Sir Giles Weston and his family. Emma and her father ran a small boarding school where the two eldest Weston boys, Henry and Phillip, attended in their youth. Emma doesn’t harbor much affection for the eldest brother, Henry. All she remembers of Henry was that he was a bully who always played pranks on her when he was at the school. As for Phillip, Emma remembers him as a kind hearted, friendly…
-
Review: Cashelmara by Susan Howatch
In the wild, untamed Irish wilderness lies a stark and cold Georgian era estate known as Cashelmara. Lord Edward de Salis is the master of Cashelmara, but as an Englishman he resides primarily in London but deep down he always considers Cashelmara home. When his wife dies, Lord de Salis travels to America hoping to ease his grief. What he doesn’t expect to find is love. Marguerite is young enough to be Edward’s daughter but there is something about her that makes Edward feel at ease and happy once again. After they marry he takes Marguerite back to Ireland and Cashelmara where tragic events begin unfolding. Cashelmara chronicles three generations of…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Review: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Trapped in a love less marriage to a man with good social standing, Anna Karenina does the unthinkable–she enters into a doomed, passionate love affair with another man. Society will torment her, her husband will ridicule her, but her own guilt will drive her to the breaking point. With one of the most memorable opening scenes in western literature, Anna Karenina is a literary masterpiece about life, passion, and love. This lengthy novel is spread over eight parts featuring two alternating protagonists, Konstantin Levin and Anna Karenina. The elegant and proper Anna, is married to a high-ranking government official, Alexei Karenin. For the past eight years they have maintained a fragile facade.…
-
Review: The Hangman’s Daughter (Hangman’s Daughter #1) by Oliver Pötzsch
A scream rips through the early morning fog of the small Bavarian town known as Schongau. The body of a young boy washes ashore, tattooed with a suspecious mark…..a witches mark to be precise. The people are in a frenzy when the local hangman, Jakob Kuisl, arrives to investigate the body and determine if witchcraft was indeed involved. Before Kuisl can make a final decision, the townspeople jump to their own conclusions and go after the only person who could be capable of witchcraft….the midwife. With the dark memories of witch trials and stake burnings stil fresh in their minds, the townspeople arrive at the midwifes house demanding answers. Kuisl…
-
Review: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
When you enter the ‘big top’, you enter into a world full of illusion and intrigue and here you will find a dark, gritty love story. Jacob Jankowski is grieving the loss of his parents when he jumps a train bound for anywhere that isn’t his current location. He has boarded a train full of freaks, drunkards, performers, sparkling costumes, and illusion–he has ran away with the circus–literally. Jacob is able to gain employment as the circus veterinarian where he works closely with the charismatic August, the menagerie superintendent/trainer. August’s wife, Marlene, works as a circus performer as well…..Jacob is infatuated with her the moment he sets eyes on her. August…