Book Reviews

The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker

The Scarlet Alchemist

I’m almost hesitant to recommend The Scarlet Alchemist, not because it’s a bad book, but because it’s a fantastic book, but the sequel doesn’t come out until (it’s estimated) October. I gobbled this book up in one sitting and now I have to sit and wait pathetically to find out what happens next.  The story is set in a version of historical China where alchemists have figured out the key to immortality. The wealthy eat … Continue reading The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker

The Love Remedy by Elizabeth Everett

The Love Remedy

This book gave my emotions a workout in the best way. Aside from a slightly disappointing ending, it was a delight! Lucy Peterson is an apothecary in London in 1843. She inherited the shop from her father when her parents died in a cholera outbreak. Lucy has two siblings, Juliet and David. Juliet is an apothecary at a women’s clinic in the East End while David seems to flit from investment to investment losing money. … Continue reading The Love Remedy by Elizabeth Everett

A History of the World in Ten Dinners by Victoria Flexner and Jay Reifel

A History of the World in Ten Dinners

If you are a history buff, a food buff or (ideally) both, then you have to read A History of the World in Ten Dinners: 2000 Years, 100 Recipes. This book is so well-organized and natural that I’m not sure if I should say that it’s a food book with history or a history book with food. I was this many days old when I learned about Edible History. Victoria Flexner and Jay Reifel host … Continue reading A History of the World in Ten Dinners by Victoria Flexner and Jay Reifel

The Phoenix Bride by Natasha Siegel

The Phoenix Bride

Do not be fooled by this cover. The cover says, ‘Look at me and my whimsy! My light frolic through life!’ No, dear reader, this is not light. This is a book about persevering through tough times. The title should have been a clue for me. A phoenix doesn’t arise from a bouquet of flowers, after all. The book is set in 1666. Plague had ravaged London the previous year and reading the characters’ reflections … Continue reading The Phoenix Bride by Natasha Siegel

My Brother’s Keeper by Tim Powers

My Brother’s Keeper

Y’all know I love my Brontës and I get so annoyed when either adaptations of their work or stories based on their lives get EVERYTHING WRONG, DAMMIT. My Brother’s Keeper is an eerie story involving the Brontë family, werewolves, and warring cults, and, darn it, it gets everything just absolutely perfect. I was so impressed with this book even though the whole warring cults thing was the least interesting thing about it. I’m copying the … Continue reading My Brother’s Keeper by Tim Powers

A Haunting in the Arctic by C.J. Cooke

A Haunting in the Arctic

A Haunting in the Arctic is emphatically not a romance, but it has some elements that are relevant to our interests, specifically female rage and mermaids and selkie legends. It’s very atmospheric and creepy, but it forgets to make sense. The plot revolves around a LOT of rape, and also includes graphic violence, self-harm and gaslighting. If I had realized that the plot involved so much rape, much of it committed on page and the … Continue reading A Haunting in the Arctic by C.J. Cooke

At First Spite by Olivia Dade

At First Spite

This is my first Olivia Dade novel and it certainly won’t be my last. It was emotional, grown-up and absolutely compulsive reading. Athena has no direction in life. When the book opens, she’s working as a teacher an hour and a half away from Harlot’s Bay, the setting of the novel. She’s burnt out and really not sure what to do next careerwise. Her distress is particularly acute because at the age of 37, she … Continue reading At First Spite by Olivia Dade

The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch by Melinda Taub

The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch

This was simply delightful. I’ve always wished for Lydia Bennet and Mary Crawford to run away together and be pirate queens. This is not that book – but it’s the next best thing. Told from Lydia’s point of view, the book posits that Lydia is a witch and that her sister, Kitty, is in fact a cat and Lydia’s familiar. In a world of secret magic where every spell has a cost, Lydia must figure … Continue reading The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch by Melinda Taub

Keep This Off the Record by Arden Joy

Keep This Off the Record

Abigail Meyer and Freya Jonsson hated each other in high school. And, from Freya’s rude words to Abby to the drink Abby launches into Freya’s face at their reunion, it’s safe to say that a decade hasn’t changed anything. Unfortunately for them, Will, Freya’s producer/date for the reunion (Freya is a TV anchor) falls for Abby’s best friend Naomi, so they’re going to have to figure out how to be around each other. Abby and … Continue reading Keep This Off the Record by Arden Joy

Bride by Ali Hazelwood

Bride

I enjoyed Bride so much that I might put it on the keeper shelf. It’s the first book I’ve read by Ali Hazelwood, so I can’t tell you how it compares to her other work. But I can tell you that while Bride isn’t perfect, it’s a fun, though violent, paranormal romance between a mysterious brooding werewolf leader and a deeply sarcastic vampyre. The narrator of the book is the sarcastic vampyre whose name, I … Continue reading Bride by Ali Hazelwood

Throne of the Fallen by Kerri Maniscalco

Throne of the Fallen

CW: Graphic violence, blackmail, sexual harassment, and mind control If I had to pick one word to describe Throne of the Fallen, it would be ✨ decadent ✨. A second choice would be indulgent. It has the seven deadly sins in corporeal form, a journey through a seductive fantasy world, and it’s incredibly horny. It also reminded me delightfully of early 2000s paranormal romances, with its borderline corny details and powerful supernatural hero and plenty … Continue reading Throne of the Fallen by Kerri Maniscalco