-
Review: Echo Moon (Ghost Gifts #3) by Laura Spinella
This book appealed to me for a couple of reasons, but one in particular stood out above all the other general ‘pick me’ signs that I saw in the pitch. The thing that caught my eye was the twist between historical fiction and magical realism/paranormal. This book is set during the Great War (hello my favorite era) but yet has paranormal characters and the combo between the two interested me. They sound like two very conflicting different genres and the first thing that I thought was ‘this could go one of two ways—really bad or really good’. So I agreed to review this one. Knowing that it was the third…
-
Review: The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno Garcia
There was something about this book cover that reminded me of Gail Carriger’s Finishing School series. I kind of thought that I was going to read a steampunk-esque romance with a little paranormal thrown in. But considering that I have not actually read the Finishing School series, I think I can safely say that I had no idea what this book was going to be about other than maybe something YA with magic. In a world of etiquette and polite masks, no one is who they seem to be. Antonina Beaulieu is in the glittering city of Loisail for her first Grand Season, where she will attend balls and mingle…
-
Special Feature and Giveaway: HIMSELF by Jess Kidd
The latest novel by best selling author, Jess Kidd is now available in paperback as of 10/10! Do not miss out on this exciting opportunity to read an outstanding and riveting book this fall! There is also a giveaway being hosted here: a Rafflecopter giveaway HIMSELF is the spellbinding tale of a young man who returns to the provincial Irish village where he was born in search of the truth about his long-lost mother. When Mahony returns to Mulderrig, a speck of a place on Ireland’s west coast, he brings only a photograph of his long-lost mother and a determination to do battle with the village’s lies. His arrival causes cheeks to…
-
Review: The Cottingley Secret by Hazel Gaynor
When you first glimpse the cover of this book, it doesn’t shout ‘magical realism’. It shouts ‘family saga’. At least to me it does. Admittedly, I skimmed the review pitch very lightly and didn’t really pay close attention to it because like it or not, I knew I would review this one based on the cover and title. It just sounded like a title that said ‘family saga’ in the vein of Kate Morton for some reason. Then you add in that cover and there you have it, I was convinced at face value that this was a family saga (something that I love). So imagine my surprise when there…
-
Review: The Library of Light and Shadow (Daughters of La Lune #3) by M.J. Rose
MJ Rose has a talent for writing romantic, magical, and passionate historical fiction novels. I love her Daughters of La Lune series even if at times, the books didn’t end on a high note, overall they are really fun to read and have progressively improved between book I and book II. I was super excited to see this one come up for review, ironically I had just been wondering when the next Rose book was due out and I was thrilled to see that it was this one! Her writing style is sensual and lyrical and the story is almost always a promising romance, so you can’t go wrong with…
-
Review: The Luster of Lost Things by Sophie Chen Keller
When I got this book in the mail, the sweet dog on the over sitting with a little boy totally did me in. We all know how I feel about covers with animals on them…I’m a complete and utter sucker! What a way to lure readers….so cute and charming was this cover. Plus I love the blue and gold accents. Basically this was an easy yes for a review based on the cover. But the question for me was when can I work it in to my schedule? I was already pretty tight for early fall reviews so I had planned on Oct for this one. But the cover just…
-
Review: The Secret Language of Stones: A Novel (The Daughters of La Lune #2) by M.J. Rose
When I read the first book, The Witch of Painted Sorrows, I had no idea that it was going to end up being an actual ‘series’. It read so well as a stand alone book that I was surprised to see it would be becoming a series. So when this one came across my desk, I was thrilled to review it and see how the ‘series’ was going to develop as there were some loose ends that weren’t exactly completely tied up in the first book. This book was right up my alley, WWI France. I love books set in this time period not to mention a little hint of…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Announcement: Winner THE LAST DAYS OF MAGIC by Mark Tompkins
And the winner of THE LAST DAYS OF MAGIC by Mark Tompkins is….. Tori (follows on Twitter) The winner will be notified via email. Thank you to everyone who entered and a huge thank you to the publisher for making this giveaway possible!