Review: Formula of Deception by Carrie Stuart Parks

The setting and description of this book sounded original and different which was why I decided to review this one. I loved that this book was set in Alaska and had this obscure WWII reference.

It seemed like an untapped resource and caught my eye as soon as I read the description. All I kept thinking was what in the world is a WWII Quonset hut? I felt like I needed to read this book just to find that out!

When her twin sister was murdered, Murphy Anderson changed her name and appearance and moved to Kodiak to avoid the press and publicity. But when local authorities discover she’s an artist and request her help in drawing a dying man’s memories, she unintentionally ends up in the limelight again—and may be back in the killer’s crosshairs. Continue reading “Review: Formula of Deception by Carrie Stuart Parks”

Review: The Boy at the Door by Alex Dahl

Scandinavian people truly have their own unique style especially when it comes to books. If Ikea is any indicator, when I pick up a Scandinavian book, the first thing I expect is for it to have some degree of detachment and a slightly stark, cold feel.

When I read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, that’s exactly what I got. Since that’s the only exposure I’ve had to Scandinavian lit more or less, when I picked this one up, I expected to have a similar experience.

Cecilia Wilborg has it all–a loving husband, two beautiful daughters and a gorgeous home in the affluent Norwegian town of Sandefjord. And she works hard to keep it all together. Too hard. Because one mistake from her past could bring it all crashing down around her. Continue reading “Review: The Boy at the Door by Alex Dahl”

Review: The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang

This was a book that I was excited about when I got the pitch and then I kind of forgot about it until closer to the review date. I wasn’t entirely excited to read it when the time came to start it, but that slight was rectified almost immediately when I started this one.

This book had a little bit of everything, romance, mystery, fantasy, and history. I loved this one almost from the first word! It made an excellent early fall/Halloween read.

Manhattan, 1850. Born out of wedlock to a wealthy socialite and a nameless immigrant, Cora Lee can mingle with the rich just as easily as she can slip unnoticed into the slums and graveyards of the city. As the only female resurrectionist in New York, she’s carved out a niche procuring bodies afflicted with the strangest of anomalies. Anatomists will pay exorbitant sums for such specimens—dissecting and displaying them for the eager public. Continue reading “Review: The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang”

Review: The Guilty Dead (Monkeewrench #9) by P.J. Tracy

Lately I’ve been picking up a lot of books mid series. Sometimes it’s worked out and sometimes it hasn’t. It’s not that I like picking up books mid series, I hate missing out on all the action, but what I love about book blogging is that sometimes I get approached to read a book and even though it’s mid series, I find a new series or character that I love and want to read more of.

That’s why I decided to pick up this book when it came across my desk for review. Sure it’s nine books into a series, but who knows maybe this would be a new series or character that I would love. The premise of the book sounded intriguing and I decided to give it a go!

Gregory Norwood is Minnesota’s most beloved philanthropist, and the story of his son’s overdose was splashed across the front page of all the papers. When a photojournalist sets out to get a candid shot of the highly successful businessman on the one year anniversary of his son’s death, he’s shocked to find Norwood dead with a smoking gun in his hand. Continue reading “Review: The Guilty Dead (Monkeewrench #9) by P.J. Tracy”

Review: Spies of the Midnight Sun: A True Story of WWII Heroes (World War Two Series Book 3) by Samuel Marquis

It’s not very often that I read nonfiction or just plain history books. A book really needs to stand out for me or be in my specialized interest area, for me to review it. I have a Masters in History so reading history nonfiction is something I did for a long time and while I like it, I still have flashbacks about college papers and thesis critiques.

So that’s what I thought I was getting into with this book….nonfiction. Dry, scholarly, researched history. I mean, it has ‘true story’ written right in the title—and I just assumed that it would be an informative book, but devoid of personal stories—which I was ok with since that’s what I expected going in. However, imagine my surprise when this book read like a thriller with romance! The joy and relief was REAL!

SPIES OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN is the true story of legendary British safecracker and spy Eddie Chapman, the British Double Cross Spy System, and Norwegian female Resistance operatives Dagmar Lahlum and Annemarie Breien. Known as Agent Zigzag, the most remarkable double agent of WWII, the fearless and roguishly handsome Chapman fell in love with and spied alongside the stunning 20-year-old model Dagmar Lahlum in Occupied Norway. Continue reading “Review: Spies of the Midnight Sun: A True Story of WWII Heroes (World War Two Series Book 3) by Samuel Marquis”