• Review: The Orphan’s Song by Lauren Kate

    Lauren Kate is probably best known for her young adult series, Fallen. I haven’t read the series but I do know her books and had them on my TBR. This book, The Orphan’s Song, is her first attempt at adult historical fiction. When it came across my desk for review a couple of months ago, I met it with mixed emotions. On one hand I was excited for the book because it sounded fun and clearly she’s an experienced author. Not to mention this cover is to DIE for! But I also had reservations because sometimes the transition from YA to adult fiction isn’t always a smooth one. But in…

  • Review: The Forgotten Room by Karen White, Beatriz Williams and Lauren Willig (Audible Edition)

    This book has been sitting on my shelf for so long. At least since it was first released in 2016. All three of these authors are some of my favorites, but this book was their first collaboration and I was hesitant to read it. Sometimes reading a book by three people is awkward and weird—even if they are three extremely successful authors. So on my shelf it sat. And sat. and sat. Until their second collaboration was released, The Glass Ocean. I downloaded The Glass Ocean on Audible on a whim and randomly listened to it in my car running errands and fell in love with their three different timelines…

  • Review: The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal

    To say that I was exited to get this book in the mail is an absolute understatement. I actually squealed in excitement when I opened this book up! The cover is magical and haunting and the summary sounded like something I was absolutely going to sink my teeth into immediately! Victorian England, creepy stalkers, and all sorts of disturbing gothic devices were promised in the summary. I could hardly contain my excitement. I was ecstatic to read this one and cracked it open almost immediately and what awaited me in the pages was a dark and disturbing story in addition to creepy dolls.

  • Review: The Lost Letter by Mimi Matthews

    In my binge reading of Mimi Matthews books, I saved her first book as the last in my binge reading. I loved seeing how her writing evolved over the books and reading this one last was a treat. While her writing might have evolved, all the hallmarks that make me love her books are evident in each and every book from the beginning. Snappy, humorous dialogue, elegant settings, memorable characters, and glorious romantic tension. This book definitely had a Beauty and the Beast feel and I couldn’t get enough of it. Even though it was short (more of a novel length at just over 200 pages), it felt like a…

  • Cover Reveal: Dreamland by Nancy Bilyeau

    Dreamland by Nancy Bilyeau Publication Date: January 16, 2020 Endeavor Quill Genre: Historical Fiction     The year is 1911 when twenty-year-old heiress Peggy Batternberg is invited to spend the summer in America’s Playground. But the invitation to Coney Island is unwelcome. Despite hailing from one of America’s richest families, Peggy would much rather spend the summer at the Moonrise Bookstore where she works voluntarily, than keeping up appearances with Brooklyn socialites and her snobbish, controlling family. But soon it transpires that the hedonism of Coney Island affords Peggy more of the freedom she has been longing for. For one, she finds herself in love with a troubled pier-side artist…

  • Review: The Viscount and the Vicar’s Daughter by Mimi Matthews

    I have been being reading all of Mimi Matthews books in the last few weeks. I read her holiday book, A Holiday by Gaslight, last fall/winter and loved it but just didn’t get around to reading her other books. Flash forward to the spring, I was asked by a longtime blogger friend if I would participate in the book tour for Matthews latest book, The Work of Art. I was so glad to put this book on my calendar and looked forward to reading it. I burned through it and then was left wanting more Matthews! Since then I have read the two books in her Parish Orphans of Devon…

  • Review: A Modest Independence (Parish Orphans of Devon #2) by Mimi Matthews

    Ahhh Mimi Matthews, where have you been my whole life?! Matthews writes such wonderful historical romance of the drawing room variety and she does such a fantastic job. I only recently started reading her books and now I simply can’t stop! As soon as I finished The Work of Art, I started this series and polished it off in a matter of days. Now I am on to her other stand alone books and I absolutely love every single one of them. I don’t know what I am going to read once I am done with her books! I need more authors like her to pick from! Her books are…

  • Review: The Matrimonial Advertisement (Parish Orphans of Devon #1) by Mimi Matthews

    I read a short story by Mimi Matthews back in December last year and loved it but it was months before I read one of her full novels. In fact, I just read my first full length book by Matthews a couple of weeks ago and I fell even more in love with her writing! So much so, that I knew without a doubt that I needed to read all of her books and the sooner the better. So I binged this book in the space of 24 hours. I started with the Audible edition, but quickly changed to the written form since I read much faster that way and…

  • Review: Relative Fortunes (Julia Kydd #1) by Marlowe Benn

    I decided to read this book based purely on the cover art. The cover art suggests a fun historical mystery with a quirky and fashionable lady detective. Plus it was the first in a new series and I couldn’t help but get excited to be one of the first people to read Julia Kydd! The 1920s aren’t really my favorite era to read, but I love the art and fashion and have read a few historical mysteries that have been set in that period and loved them so I am typically open to reading more from that time period. I was excited to see that this was the authors first…

  • Review: The Work of Art by Mimi Matthews

    At Christmas, I had the privilege of reading Mimi Matthews’ holiday novella, Holiday by Gaslight, and absolutely adored it. I read it in like one sitting and often thought about what a great story it was. I wanted desperately to pick up her other books, but that the time I just couldn’t fit them in. Since then she has become a USA Today Best Selling Author, and I continue to see people raving about her books all over my social media. When this  book came up for review, I didn’t have room for it, but I knew I just had to work it in somehow. I remembered reading the holiday…