A Dreadful Splendor
RECOMMENDED: A Dreadful Splendor by B.R. Myers is $1.99! Lara gave this an A in a Lightning Review:
If you want an immersive reading experience that will absolutely result in a Bad Decisions Book Club event, then this book is for you. Please excuse me while I go read it again.
In this spectacularly imaginative and ghoulishly fun Gothic murder mystery brimming with romance, betrayals, and chills, a fake spiritualist is summoned to hold a séance for a bride who died on the eve before her wedding, but as nefarious secrets are revealed, the line between hoax and haunting blurs.
Be careful what you conjure…
In Victorian London, Genevieve Timmons poses as a spiritualist to swindle wealthy mourners–until one misstep lands her in a jail cell awaiting the noose. Then a stranger arrives to make her a peculiar offer. The Lord he serves, Mr. Pemberton, has been inconsolable since the tragic death of his beautiful bride-to-be. If Genevieve can perform a séance persuasive enough to bring the young Lord peace, she will win her freedom.
Soothing a grieving nobleman should be easy for someone of Genevieve’s skill, but when she arrives at the grand Somerset Park estate, Mr. Pemberton is not the heartbroken lover she expected. The surly–yet exceedingly handsome–gentleman is certain that his fiancée was murdered, even though there is no evidence. Only a confession can bring justice now, and Mr. Pemberton decides Genevieve will help him get it. With his knowledge of the household and her talent for illusion, they can stage a haunting so convincing it will coax the killer into the light. However, when frightful incidents befall the manor, Genevieve realizes her tricks aren’t required after all. She may be a fake, but Somerset’s ghost could be all too real…
A Dreadful Splendor is a wickedly whimsical brew of mystery, spooky thrills, and intoxicating romance that makes for an irresistibly fun and page-turning read.
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One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig is $2.99! Lara wrote a Lightning Review of this one and gave it a B-:
This really was two very different paced books stuck together, which makes reviewing it rather difficult. Overall, I’m glad I read this book and I’m glad I stuck with it through the dull parts. There are enough loose strings to the plot that book 2 in the series promises to be a belter and I’ve already preordered it.
For fans of Uprooted and For the Wolf comes a dark, lushly gothic fantasy about a maiden who must unleash the monster within to save her kingdom—but the monster in her head isn’t the only threat lurking.
Elspeth needs a monster. The monster might be her.
Elspeth Spindle needs more than luck to stay safe in the eerie, mist-locked kingdom she calls home—she needs a monster. She calls him the Nightmare, an ancient, mercurial spirit trapped in her head. He protects her. He keeps her secrets.
But nothing comes for free, especially magic.
When Elspeth meets a mysterious highwayman on the forest road, her life takes a drastic turn. Thrust into a world of shadow and deception, she joins a dangerous quest to cure the kingdom of the dark magic infecting it. Except the highwayman just so happens to be the King’s own nephew, Captain of the Destriers…and guilty of high treason.
He and Elspeth have until Solstice to gather twelve Providence Cards—the keys to the cure. But as the stakes heighten and their undeniable attraction intensifies, Elspeth is forced to face her darkest secret yet: the Nightmare is slowly, darkly, taking over her mind. And she might not be able to stop him.
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As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!Boyfriend Material
RECOMMENDED: Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall is $1.99! Carrie reviewed this one and gave it a B+:
I thought this book was lovely. It had real depth. There were characters who made me angry. Sometimes those characters were truly awful people and sometimes they were good people who made mistakes (hello, Luc, you mess). Sometimes the book made me sad. Mostly, it made me swoon and laugh in equal measure – a great stress read!
Wanted:
One (fake) boyfriend
Practically perfect in every wayLuc O’Donnell is tangentially–and reluctantly–famous. His rock star parents split when he was young, and the father he’s never met spent the next twenty years cruising in and out of rehab. Now that his dad’s making a comeback, Luc’s back in the public eye, and one compromising photo is enough to ruin everything.
To clean up his image, Luc has to find a nice, normal relationship…and Oliver Blackwood is as nice and normal as they come. He’s a barrister, an ethical vegetarian, and he’s never inspired a moment of scandal in his life. In other words: perfect boyfriend material. Unfortunately apart from being gay, single, and really, really in need of a date for a big event, Luc and Oliver have nothing in common. So they strike a deal to be publicity-friendly (fake) boyfriends until the dust has settled. Then they can go their separate ways and pretend it never happened.
But the thing about fake-dating is that it can feel a lot like real-dating. And that’s when you get used to someone. Start falling for them. Don’t ever want to let them go.
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As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!Three Dark Crowns
RECOMMENDED: Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake is $2.99! Elyse reviewed this one, giving it an A:
There are a couple of romances in the novel–one a love triangle but not an obnoxious one, and one that made my jaw literally drop. There’s sex too, but it happens off stage. The romances are secondary and serve to drive the plot, and aren’t the main focus of it.
Every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born: three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.
But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins. The last queen standing gets the crown.
If only it was that simple. Katharine is unable to tolerate the weakest poison, and Arsinoe, no matter how hard she tries, can’t make even a weed grow. The two queens have been shamefully faking their powers, taking care to keep each other, the island, and their powerful sister Mirabella none the wiser. But with alliances being formed, betrayals taking shape, and ruthless revenge haunting the queens’ every move, one thing is certain: the last queen standing might not be the strongest…but she may be the darkest.
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Ooo, A Dreadful Splendor, yes please! All the good Gothic atmosphere and good main character chemistry.
I couldn’t finish A Dreadful Splendor. I forget why I gave up on it – it’s the sort of thing I would expect to love. Maybe that’s all it was, too high expectations?
I loved Boyfriend Material.
Taking a chance on A Dreadful Splendor. If I end up not into it, at least I can enjoy looking at the cover.
Seconding (thirding) Boyfriend Material, the audio is great too
BOYFRIEND MATERIAL is such a great book. Alexis Hall is very droll. The secondary characters are very funny and add a lot to the silliness of the story.
Boyfriend Material is like a gay Hugh Grant movie, with a slightly more diverse supporting cast. It also took me two books before I realized that Luc’s best friend Bridge, who works in publishing and whose life is full of mad-cap adventures, is a riff on Bridget Jones.
It’s told completely from Luc’s pov, which I think makes it a little less romantic. Definitely read the sample. Not to everyone’s taste.
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Chiming in very late to disagree about the recommendations for *A Dreadful Splendor*. From a mental health representation standpoint it made me very uncomfortable — leans very heavily on the “floridly insane villain” trope and, while mimicking Victorian gothicism, adopts Victorian ideas about hereditary insanity with no irony whatsoever. (Also, a number of English reviewers have said that the Canadian author is hilariously tone-deaf about her English setting.)