-
Review: Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye
This has been the year of Jane Eyre inspired literature and this latest Jane Eyre revisitation was something quite unexpected. Any book that has the passage ‘reader I murdered him’ so eloquently stated and matter-of-factly, instantly holds a special place in my heart! When we first meet Jane Steele she is living with her mother in a small cottage on the grande estate of Highgate House. All her life Jane is told she is to inherit Highgate House but when her mother dies unexpectedly Jane’s evil aunt purposes to send her away to a school where she will learn to be a governess. After first hearing this news, Jane runs…
-
Review: The Last Days of Magic by Mark Tompkins
This book has only recently been on my radar. It’s being market to fans of Deborah Harkness’s All Soul’s Trilogy so of course when I saw it, I was excited to read something that promises so much! It introduces us to unforgettable characters who grapple with quests for power, human frailty, and the longing for knowledge that has been made taboo. Mark Tompkins has crafted a remarkable tale—a feat of world-building that poses astonishing and resonant answers to epic questions. What became of magic in the world? Who needed to do away with it, and for what reasons? Drawing on myth, legend, fairy tales, and Biblical mysteries, this book imagines answers…
-
Book Blast: Death of an Alchemist: A Bianca Goddard Mystery (Bianca Goddard Mysteries, Book 2) by Mary Lawrence
Death of an Alchemist: A Bianca Goddard Mystery (Bianca Goddard Mysteries, Book 2) by Mary Lawrence Publication Date: January 26, 2016 Kensington Books Hardcover & eBook; 304 Pages Genre: Historical Mystery In the mid sixteenth century, Henry VIII sits on the throne, and Bianca Goddard tends to the sick and suffering in London’s slums, where disease can take a life as quickly as murder… For years, alchemist Ferris Stannum has devoted himself to developing the Elixir of Life, the reputed serum of immortality. Having tested his remedy successfully on an animal, Stannum intends to send his alchemy journal to a colleague in Cairo for confirmation. But the next…
-
Review: The Return of the Witch (The Witch’s Daughter #2) by Paula Brackston
I’ve been a big fan of Paula Brackston…….especially her witch books! Ironically the only book of her’s I haven’t read is The Witch’s Daughter! I have it but I just haven’t gotten around to reading it for some reason. So when this book came up for review, I was hesitant only because I haven’t read the first one. However, I was so excited to read another of her witch books that I just gave in a read this one! So I would be lying if I said I should have read the first book before this one. There were a lot of references to things that happened in the first…
-
Review: The Arrangement by Ashley Warlick
M.F.K. Fisher is American’s most well known food writer. Her writing abilities created a new literary genre all about food….that’s some pretty impressive writing! What isn’t known about this interesting woman, is much about her personal life. That’s what writer Ashley Warlick plans to do……create a more or less fiction account of a factual figure. When we meet Mary Frances, she is young, restlessly married, and returning from her first sojourn in France……she is hungry, and not just for food. She begins writing to impress friend and neighbor Tim, who seems to understand her better than anyone. Mary Frances and her husband, Al, no longer share the things that once bound…
-
Cover Reveal: The Gilded Cage by Judy Alter
The Gilded Cage by Judy Alter Publication: April 2016 eBook & Paperback Genre: Historical Fiction Born to a society and a life of privilege, Bertha Honoré married Potter Palmer, a wealthy entrepreneur who called her Cissy. Neither dreamed the direction the other’s life would take. He built the Palmer House Hotel, still famed today, and become one of the major robber barons of the city, giving generously to causes of which he approved. She put philanthropy into deeds, going into shanty neighborhoods, inviting factory girls to her home, working at Jane Addams’ settlement Hull House, supporting women’s causes. It was a time of tremendous change and conflict in Chicago as…
-
Review: The Madwoman Upstairs by Catherine Lowell
This year seems to be the year of Jane Eyre re-imaginings! And I am not complaining in the least because I love the Brontes so I am gladly reading many of the re-imaginings that are coming out! Needless to say, that’s what caught my eye about this latest novel, The Madwoman Upstairs! The only remaining descendant of the Bronte family embarks on a modern-day literary scavenger hunt to find the family’s long-rumored secret estate, using clues her eccentric father left behind. Samantha Whipple is used to stirring up speculation wherever she goes. As the last remaining descendant of the Bronte family, she’s rumored to have inherited a vital, mysterious portion…
-
Review: The Song of Hartgrove Hall by Natasha Solomons
Over the last few years, I have seen Natasha Solomons’ books come up on my recommended reading lists quite a bit. Her signature style seems to be books about great houses and family scandals set in war time or post war England……sort of reminiscent of Downton Abbey. The books opens on New Year’s Eve, 1946. Candles flicker, a gramophone scratches out a tune as guests dance and sip champagne— for one night Hartgrove Hall relives better days. Harry Fox-Talbot and his brothers have returned from the war determined to save their once grand home from ruin. But the arrival of beautiful wartime singer Edie Rose tangles the threads of love…
-
Review: The Vatican Princess: A Novel of Lucrezia Borgia by C.W. Gortner
C.W. Gortner is one of my favorite historical fiction writers! He always picks really unique women in history to write about and he always captures the essence of their story in a unique way. Being a male author writing about women in history isn’t an easy deal especially……I know when I pick up the first book I read by him, I was skeptical because how can a man understand what a women is going through? But I was completely blown away with how well Gortner connected to the historic figures and created a beautiful fictional story mixed with historic facts about that person. In this latest book, I was again…
-
Review: Platinum Doll by Anne Girard
The 1920’s were often considered the ‘golden age’ of the film industry. With the new moving picture technology and the almost instant fame that came with it, young women flooded to Hollywood to become the next ‘it girl’ and seventeen year old Harlean Carpenter McGrew was no different. Harlean is chasing a dream—to escape her small, Midwestern life and see her name in lights….and that name would become the legendary Jean Harlow. She has everything a girl could want—a rich husband, glamorous parties, socialite friends—except an outlet for her talent. But everything changes when a dare pushes her to embrace her true ambition—to be an actress on the silver screen. With her…