Review: The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell

I had my eye on this book when it was released in the UK and I was eager to read it once it was published in the US. I am absolutely in love with the UK cover….the US cover not so much but the UK one is totally eye catching and screams READ ME.

When it came across my desk for review I was totally on board, especially since I was kind of on a ghost story kick. A Victorian ghost story….count me 100% in.

When Elsie married handsome young heir Rupert Bainbridge, she believed she was destined for a life of luxury. But with her husband dead just weeks after their marriage, her new servants resentful, and the local villagers actively hostile, Elsie has only her husband’s awkward cousin for company. Continue reading “Review: The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell”

Review: The Darling Dahlias and the Unlucky Clover (The Darling Dahlias #7) by Susan Wittig Albert

I have only read one book by Susan Wittig Albert and for me it was just ok….a little too cozy for my taste. So why read another one by her? I’ll tell you why, she has written so many books and has so many fans that I am willing to go on a little faith and see if something else by her appeals to me.

This book came across my desk for review and I was willing to give it a shot based on the fact that Wittig Albert has so many fans and I am bound to find something that I like in her works. So why not give this one a try?

It looks like the music has ended for Darling’s favourite barbershop quartet, the Lucky Four Clovers—just days before the Dixie Regional Barbershop Competition. Another unlucky break: a serious foul-up in Darling’s telephone system—and not a penny for repairs. And while liquor is legal again, moonshine isn’t. Sheriff Buddy Norris needs a little luck when he goes into Briar Swamp to confront Cypress County’s most notorious bootlegger. What he finds upends his sense of justice.

Once again, Susan Wittig Albert has told a charming story filled with richly human characters who face the Great Depression with courage and grace. She reminds us that friends offer the best of themselves to each other, community is what holds us together, and luck is what you make it (summary from Goodreads).  Continue reading “Review: The Darling Dahlias and the Unlucky Clover (The Darling Dahlias #7) by Susan Wittig Albert”

Review: Winter Sisters (Mary Sutter #2) by Robin Oliveria

The thing that caught my eye about this book was that the protagonist was a Civil War surgeon–and a woman. My masters is in American History but my speciality is women in Civil War nursing so seeing a book with a female Civil War surgeon as the main character totally made me want to read this book even more!

This is the second book in the series but I hoped not much had transpired where I needed to read the first book, though I will admit that the first book sounds wonderful and I was temped to pick it up before this one but I got distracted with something else entirely.

So this book hit a lot of marks for me when the pick came through–Civil War surgeon, disappearance, beautiful cover art, and the promise of dark secrets revealed. I was totally in on this one!  Continue reading “Review: Winter Sisters (Mary Sutter #2) by Robin Oliveria”

Review: Silence for the Dead by Simone St James

Where was this book a few years ago when I watched Crimson Peak and was dying for a book similar?! If you saw Crimson Peak and loved it, then I think you will really enjoy this book.

One of the things that I liked about that film was how the house and ghosts both haunted the characters and this book does something similar and the effect is memorable and so wonderfully suspenseful!

This is my final Simone St James book and I really wanted to end her books on a high note, and that’s exactly what I did. I think this one was one of my favorites by her!

In 1919, Kitty Weekes, pretty, resourceful, and on the run, falsifies her background to obtain a nursing position at Portis House, a remote hospital for soldiers left shell-shocked by the horrors of the Great War. Continue reading “Review: Silence for the Dead by Simone St James”

Review: The Other Side of Midnight by Simone St James

Yes, yet another Simone St James book. When I find an author I like, sometimes I binge read if my schedule allows it and in this case it did. I had surgery on my ankle four weeks ago and have had more than enough time to read and read and read.

I am winding down in my St James binge read-a-thon though. I had two books left, this one and Silence for the Dead. I wanted to end my binge with a really good one so I had to decide which one to read first since both sounded interesting.

The Other Side of Midnight had a similar ratings on Goodreads as Silence for the Dead so I just picked one and it happened to be this one!

London, 1925. Glamorous medium Gloria Sutter made her fortune helping the bereaved contact loved ones killed during the Great War. Now she’s been murdered at one of her own séances, after leaving a message requesting the help of her former friend and sole rival, Ellie Winter. Continue reading “Review: The Other Side of Midnight by Simone St James”