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Review: Banquet of Lies by Michelle Diener
In Sweden one fateful night, the life of a young English woman changes forever. Giselle Barrington witnesses the murder of her father, a spy for the British crown. While in Sweden, Giselle’s (Gigi) father procures a dangerous document that if discovered could mean a political nightmare for England, France, Sweden, and Russia! It’s for this document he is killed for. He gave the document to Gigi to keep safe shortly before he will killed. After witnessing the murder Gigi knows three things–she must take the document safely back to England and second, the person who killed her father was also British which means there is a traitor in her father’s circle, and…
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Review: Celebrating Pride and Prejudice: 200 Years of Jane Austen’s Masterpiece by Susannah Fullerton
Unless you have been living under a rock since your inception….odds are you have probably heard of the world’s most infamous romance novel….Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. It is a universally acknowledged truth that every literary major is in want of Mr Darcy. What is it about P&P that still captivated audiences 200 years after its publication? Susannah Fullerton explores what makes P&P so memorable for readers. Is it the characters: the dashing Mr Darcy or the unconventional Elizabeth Bennet? Or is it something more mechanical, say the literary style and use of ‘free indirect speech’ (FID) that sparks your interest? Perhaps you love P&P for an entirely different reason:…
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Review: My Heart’s Desire by Andrea Kane
Lady Alexandria Cassell feels trapped. Her whole life promises to be a series of balls, entertaining, and perpetual boredom if she remains in London for the Season to find a suitable husband. So she does what any sensible girl would do in her situation….she runs like hell. Alexandria finds a ship leaving London bound for Canada where her father lives. She stows away on board, but little does she know what adventures await her on the high seas. Itching to put as many leagues between himself and London, Captain Drake Barrett sets sail when he discovers Alexandria hidden away in his cabin. Though he knows he should turn the ship around…
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Review: The Tutor’s Daughter by Julie Klassen
High on the cliff tops of Cornwall, the distant sounds of a pianoforte can be heard echoing through Ebbington Manor late at night. Emma Smallwood and her father have come to Ebbington Manor as live in tutors for Sir Giles Weston and his family. Emma and her father ran a small boarding school where the two eldest Weston boys, Henry and Phillip, attended in their youth. Emma doesn’t harbor much affection for the eldest brother, Henry. All she remembers of Henry was that he was a bully who always played pranks on her when he was at the school. As for Phillip, Emma remembers him as a kind hearted, friendly…
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Review: Shades of Milk and Honey (Shades of Milk and Honey #1) by Mary Robinette Kowal
Woven intricately out of the ether, Mary Robinette Kowal creates and exhilarating new world of enchantment that will please Jane Austen fans and illusionist fiction fans alike. In the Regency era, Dorchester countryside, Jane and Melody Ellsworth are as opposite as any two sisters can be. While Melody is beautiful and charming, Jane is plain and lacks the feminine charms to secure a husband. Almost a confirmed spinster, Jane possesses other talents that might make her appealing to the right man…..she is a glamourist. Well accomplished in the art of glamour, Jane captures the imagination of all that she meets….wow people with her skills, but it is Melody the eligible bachelors are…
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Review: The Journal of Countess Francoise Krasinska by Klementyna Tanska Hoffman
Charming towering spires, castles, and palaces litter Poland in the 18th century which makes it the perfect backdrop for a fairytale romance. In The Journal of Countess Francoise Krasinska by Klementyna Tanska Hoffman we explore the true life fairytale romance of Francoise Krasinska and the Prince Royal, Charles Duke of Courland (Poland/Lithuanian region). Klementyna Tanska Hoffman pens this historic account of the Countess Francoise courtship and hasty marriage to the Duke. Though it is a second-hand account of the events, they are historically accurate and offer a unique insight into the royal court during the Georgian era. I am not familiar with Eastern European history….at all, so I was a little…
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Review: The Temptation of the Night Jasmine (Pink Carnation #5) by Lauren Willig
The exotic scent of night blooming jasmine fills the pages of Lauren Willig’s latest Pink Carnation series installment, The Temptation of the Night Jasmine. Robert, the entailed Duke of Dovedale, has returned to England after being abroad in India for 12 years. Though it’s not his nostalgia that draws him home….it’s revenge. There is one debutant that threatens to derail Robert’s revenge….his distant, twice removed ‘cousin’ Charlotte. Charlotte is the granddaughter of the Dowager Duchess of Dovedale–think Maggie Smith from Downton Abbey :). The Duchess rules her family and relations with an iron fist–a duchess to the core. She is strong, ruthless, and stubborn to a fault….Charlotte on the other…
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Review: Ivy and Intrigue (A Very Selwick Christmas) by Lauren Willig
After finishing the latest installment of Lauren Willig’s flowery spy series (The Pink Carnation series), I couldn’t resist eking out a little more frivolous adventure by reading this short story/novella: Ivy and Intrigue (A Very Selwick Christmas). Since this is more of a short story, my review will not be as lengthy. I found the novella available for free online through Willig’s website, however I found that reading 100 or so pages on my computer was not ideal so I splurged and spent $0.99 to get it on my iPad through Amazon :). Amy Balcourt has just married the dashing, Lord Richard Selwick (AKA, the flowery spy better known as the…
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Review: The Seduction of the Crimson Rose (Pink Carnation #4) by Lauren Willig
Dapper, dark, mysterious, and mature: Lauren Willig’s latest flowery spy novel, The Seduction of the Crimson Rose was the ‘changeling’ in the series. Each book follows the usual pattern of ‘romance’ between a dashing international man of mystery (typically of peerage) and a virginal debutant. The Crimson Rose is principally the same as the other books, but the love story between Lord Vaughn and Mary Alsworthy is more of an intimate, mature, intellectual love not like the previous books that are more of a fairytale romance….Vaughn and Mary for me were more like Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara. I was actually surprised that the love story was more intellectual in nature….based…
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Entry: Austen Murder Matchup Contest/Giveaway
An author friend of mine, Lynn Shepherd, is hosting a comparative book review contest on her blog. I couldn’t resist entering as the goal is to review two of the hottest Austen inspired murder mysteries on the market, Murder at Mansfield Park and Death Comes to Pemberley. Shepherd is putting both books together in a head to head compare and contrast style review contest. What is the goal of the comparative book review? I’m pitching these two Janeite murder mysteries together, head to head, to see which one you think comes out on top. I’m inviting anyone who’s read both books to write a short review comparing the two, and giving them…