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Review: Royal Mistress by Anne Easter Smith
Jane Lambert is not exactly a woman of means. She is a merchant’s daughter but what she lacks in monetary value and peerage, she makes up for in wit, intellect, charm, and beauty. Jane’s father is quick to be rid of her though, and thus arranges a match between a colleague, William Shore, and Jane. William is much older than Jane and clearly not interested in her female charms….under any circumstance but he hopes a marriage to her will mean advancement for his business. The negotiations move forward but Jane still holds out hope that a mysterious man she met by chance in the street will speak for her hand…
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Review: Oleanna by Julie K. Rose
Nestled away in the fjordlands of Norway lies a little farm, home to Oleanna and her family–but Oleanna’s family is about to change. After already trying to come to grips with the recent tragic deaths of her mother and sister only a few months before, Oleanna and her sister Elisabeth are losing their brother, John, to the American dream! Not only will Oleanna be responsible for Elisabeth and Elisabeth’s son, Torjus, but it will be up to them to make the farm thrive. Though both sisters are angry at John for leaving they are, in their own individual ways, jealous that he is getting to have his own adventures. Neither…
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Review: Fresh Mint with Lemon by Monika Zgustová
Russian art critic, Vadim, sees a beautiful woman in a café one day and is immediately captivated by her beauty and sparkling aura. There is something about her that draws him in– he soon discovers she is a well known artist, Patricia Pavloff, whose art he has long admired. Every day he goes to the museum where her art work is on display. He is haunted by one specific painting, red tulips with black pistils that look like eyes. In that painting there is an element of intrigue that he can’t ignore and he longs to meet the intoxicating beauty behind the art. One day he gets his wish, he…
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Review: And Only to Deceive (Lady Emily #1) by Tasha Alexander
Lady Emily Ashford is not in love with her new husband, the Viscount Philip Ashford. In fact she hardly knows him. So when she receives word that her husband died on safari in Africa, she can hardly morn a man she barely knows. Emily married Philip to escape the constraints of her family and hoped that marriage would provide that. Now that she is a widow, she finds she has even more freedom than she did as a wife. All of London society can’t stop singing the praises of Lord Ashford to Emily which makes her uncomfortable, but in an effort to at least try and morn the stranger she…
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Review: A Parachute in the Lime Tree by Annemarie Neary
While Ireland might have been neutral during WWII, it doesn’t mean that the war didn’t effect the lives of it’s Irish residents. Kitty in Dunkerrin, a small town in the middle of Ireland. One morning she wakes up to find a parachute hanging from one of her lime trees. The previous night, Belfast was hit by Luftwaffe air raiders so Kitty can only assume the parachute belongs to a German. She later finds the airman raiding her kitchen and injured. Hi name is Oskar and he explains that he has deserted the war and wishes her no harm. Kitty agrees to help Oskar. Oskar has one mission in mind when he…
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Review: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
Will Traynor has everything going for him–he’s rich, good looking, powerful, adventurous, cultured, vibrant, and successful. Until one day, a tragic accident takes all of that away leaving him with nothing but memories of a previous life. Will is now a quadriplegic who must rely on others to fulfill his basic needs. Naturally he is depressed and hates that his once fulfilling, active life is now nothing but a series of doctor appointments and catheter changes. He simply wants to die. After the accident, Will moved from his posh London residence to his parents house near Stortfold Castle in the English country side. He is miserable. Louisa “Lou” Clark has…
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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: Cashelmara by Susan Howatch
In the wild, untamed Irish wilderness lies a stark and cold Georgian era estate known as Cashelmara. Lord Edward de Salis is the master of Cashelmara, but as an Englishman he resides primarily in London but deep down he always considers Cashelmara home. When his wife dies, Lord de Salis travels to America hoping to ease his grief. What he doesn’t expect to find is love. Marguerite is young enough to be Edward’s daughter but there is something about her that makes Edward feel at ease and happy once again. After they marry he takes Marguerite back to Ireland and Cashelmara where tragic events begin unfolding. Cashelmara chronicles three generations of…
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Review: Beautiful Disaster (Beautiful #1) by Jamie McGuire
You don’t know what power is until you hold someones future in the palm of your hand. Abby Abernathy knows that feeling. This sweet, good girl from Kansas controls every aspect of campus bad boy, Travis Maddox’s life without even knowing it. Abby meets Travis at a campus underground fight night. She knows his reputation and what everyone calls him….the walking one night stand. Man whore. Bad boy. There is no way she is ever going to fall for his antics….ever, she’s too smart for that. She is repulsed by him but yet oddly intrigued. Every girl on campus thinks they are going to be the one to tame Travis.…
