Special Feature: The Oath by A.M. Linden

Publication Date: June 15, 2021
She Writes Press
Paperback & eBook; 336 pages

Series: The Druid Chronicles, #1

When the last of members of a secretive Druid cult are forced to abandon their hidden sanctuary, they send the youngest of their remaining priests in search of Annwr, their chief priestess’s sister, who was abducted by a Saxon war band fifteen years ago. With only a rudimentary grasp of English and the ambiguous guidance of an oracle’s prophecy, Caelym manages to find Annwr living in a hut on the grounds of a Christian convent.

Annwr has spent her years of captivity caring for the timid Aleswina, an orphaned Saxon princess who was consigned to the cloistered convent by her cousin, King Gilberth, after he assumed her father’s throne. Just as Caelym and Annwr are about leave together, Aleswina learns that Gilberth, a tyrant known for his cruelty and vicious temper, means to take her out of the convent and marry her. Terrified, she flees with the two Druids–beginning a heart-pounding adventure that unfolds in ways none of them could have anticipated.

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Review: The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels (Dangerous Damsels #1) by India Holton

A historical romance with pirates, sassy ladies, dashing heroes, assassins, and all the tea? Ummm yes yes yes please! I needed little persuading when it came to reviewing this one. I was so excited for this hot new historical romance and I cracked my ARC open instantly! This one has been on so many top anticipated lists this summer and clearly it was also on mine!

I am always looking for historical romances that have funny plots and snappy dialogues, not to mention charming heroes so this one sounded like a great place to start. But truth be told, I have been in a reading funk lately and I was hoping this would be the book that would pull me out of the funk. But as with many big hype books, there is always that fear that the book won’t live up to the hype. So I went into this one hoping it would live up to the hype, but also aware that it might not.

When I started this one, I was drawn in but also admittedly—–lost. Ok you ask—-lost in a good way or in a bad way? Well friends, that’s a complicated question.

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Review: Because of Miss Bridgerton (Rokesbys #1) by Julia Quinn

After binge reading the Bridgerton books this winter, I immediately went out and bought a bunch of other Julia Quinn books and I couldn’t wait to dive in and read them! But I wasn’t really sure where to start. When it was time for our Arizona vacation, I thought this would be the perfect book to take with me since it was a light read that I could set down if I needed to.

We were flying with a four year old so I wanted to make sure I had a book that I could set down and pick up five minutes later and not have to go back and re-read the paragraph before to recall what was going on. That’s what I love about romances, they are so great for light reading that you can get distracted from and then come back to and not really miss a beat!

Honestly you can’t go wrong with Julia Quinn. Her dialogue is snappy, funny, and sassy. I love her characters and the romances are cute and believable with some steam but they don’t cross over into distasteful. I will gladly read any of her books and since finishing this one, I have ordered the next in the series as well as picked up a few others to read. I simply can’t get enough of her books!

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Special Feature: The Undercover Duke (Duke Dynasty #4) by Sabrina Jeffries

Publication Date: May 25, 2021
Zebra Books

Series: Duke Dynasty, Book 4
Genre: Historical Romance

Bridgerton fans and readers of Madeline Hunter, Eloisa James, and Lisa Kleypas won’t want to miss this humorous and clever new love story from the historical romance legend.

Along with his stepsiblings, Sheridan Wolfe, Duke of Armitage, is determined to finally solve the mysteries behind the suspicious deaths of their mother’s three husbands. Tasked with investigating a possible suspect, Sheridan finds himself in dangerous proximity to her captivating daughter, Vanessa Pryde. But still haunted by a tragically lost love, the duke is resolved to resist the attraction—and avoid any “scheming” husband-hunters. Besides, lovely Miss Pryde seems utterly smitten with a roguish London playwright…

Vanessa thinks a little scheming may be in order—for it’s Sheridan she truly has her sights, and her heart, set on. Her theatrical flirtation is intended only to break through his business-like demeanor and guarded emotions. And as Sheridan’s jealousy becomes aroused, the two soon find themselves propelled into a scheme of an altogether different kind, involving a pretend engagement, a secret inquiry—and a perhaps not-so-secret leap into true love…

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Special Feature: Castle Shade (Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes #17) by Laurie R. King

I absolutely fell in love with Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes when I randomly picked up The Bee Keepers Assistant years ago. I have since only read a few books in the series and sadly skipped around quite a bit. Now here we are with book 17 being released! I couldn’t believe how far behind I got in this series! Rather than skip around again by picking this one up, I decided to go back and re-read the other books in the series first. So in the coming months you will see more reviews for this series being posted!

But I did want to get this one on your radar! This is a series where you definitely can skip around, I have and I haven’t been too lost. The principal characters are timeless and the author always does a great job keeping new readers and long time fans abreast of the goings on in Mary and Holmes’s lives. Plus the focus is on the mystery so you could easily pick up this book (or any in the series) and find something to love about the characters and stories/mysteries.

If you are a fan of lady detective novels like Veronica Speedwell, Georgie from Her Royal Spyness series, Lady Darby and a host of others, then this series will appeal to you. King is an experienced writer who has kept the character of Sherlock Holmes alive and solving crime with his lady love through ages and I think it’s fantastic. This is a smart, well written series and I have no doubt this latest installment will be equally enjoyable and fun to read! It is out now so make sure to check it out!

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