Everything about When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare worked for me. Everything. Bust out the squee mop, y’all because this review is just going to be a flappy-hands Good Book Noise® mess. Things this book has: 1. A sexy Scot hero I pictured as Sam Heughan. 2. A heroine who is a naturalist and illustrator. 3. Tons of UST. 4. A completely crazy sauce plot that Dare pulls off flawlessly. 5. A … Continue reading When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare →
OH MY GOD I LOVE THIS SERIES SO MUCH I LITERALLY CANNOT EVEN. We reviewed the tv series as it aired in the US, and PBS was kind enough to send me the first two books in the series, which is what the first season of the TV show was adapted from. I’m obsessed! If you didn’t follow the TV series (and I loved everything about it so you should watch it), the series is … Continue reading Poldark by Winston Graham →
The 1920s aren’t really my decade. I mean, they are, in the sense that I went through a period in my life where I was OBSESSED with Prohibition and the Mafia, and that lead me to the things I’ve spent most of my adult life studying, but the social history of the 1920s is not really something I’ve spent a lot of time with. Oh sure, I’ve watched Miss Fisher and I’m an avid (not … Continue reading The Other Daughter by Lauren Willig →
I jumped on this ARC because it was set in Iraq (Mosul, Ninevah). I did have colonialism concerns- she’s a British lady travelling through the Middle East with her family in the 1860s, so there’s a lot of “swiping of artifacts” and “you don’t have a flag so this land is ours” things happening in reality and it’s awkward to write about. Marek tries really hard. Emily is a pampered daughter of an earl, but … Continue reading Lady Emily’s Exotic Journey by Lillian Marek →
The Magpie Lord has everything I could possibly want from a m/m romance. It has a historical Victorian setting, it involves magic, one of the two heroes is short, skinny, and booksmart, and above all the main characters are presented as real, multi-layered people in a real relationship. The story launches right into a grisly scene in which a guy who is wallowing in guilt and self-loathing tries to kill himself. I assumed I was … Continue reading The Magpie Lord by KJ Charles →
Previously: Ross made plans to challenge the smelting companies, while Francis fucked up EVERYTHING. In the prison, we visit Jim, who a) I had forgotten about because I’m awful, and b) isn’t doing great. At home, Jinny marks another mark on the wall, tallying the days. The wall is nearly full. Jinny says that he’ll be home soon, and asks D if she’ll find him changed. “He’ll be home, that’s what matters” says D. Francis, … Continue reading Poldark: Episode 6 →
I know that Fool Me Twice is an A read for me, but there isn’t any one overwhelming reason. I read it for the second time for this review, remembering that I’d enjoyed it the first time, but not recalling a whole lot of detail. I expect that I’ll read it again someday, and that is definitely a factor in my A grade. Duran doesn’t seem to cover any startling new ground in this historical, … Continue reading Fool Me Twice by Meredith Duran →
This is my favorite of Burrowes’ books that I’ve read, not least because it doesn’t rely on my knowing twenty other family members and all their personality quirks. I’m a casual fan and have read only some of them and in a fairly scattershot order. I get confused and overwhelmed with the dozens of characters who pop up and put their oar in. I liked the mirroring of Jacaranda’s and Worth’s pasts – both are … Continue reading Worth: Lord of Reckoning by Grace Burrowes →
I decided to review Douglas: Lord of Heartache because my hubby’s name is Doug and I thought calling him Douglas: Lord of Heartache would be hilarious. He was not as entertained as I was. However! This book is more than just a goofy term of endearment. It is FANTASTIC. I had to stop taking notes because I was highlighting every other page and squeeing over it and the book was taking forever to read. In … Continue reading Douglas: Lord of Heartache by Grace Burrowes →
This was my first Meredith Duran. I liked it. The hero is tortured. The heroine is smart and determined. They banter. They fight. A great combination for me. Olivia needs certain papers that Alastair de Gray has. She hopes the information she gets from these papers will stop her pursuers and she’ll be able to live in peace. She infiltrates his household as a maid in order to look for those papers. What she finds … Continue reading Fool Me Twice by Meredith Duran →
Previously: Ross and D did the do and then we left them standing in front of a vicar. Demelza (singing happily, as she does) and Garrick are walking along the cliffs at sunset (I almost said dawn and then did the geography and this isn’t really relevant, but I did it and I want someone to be impressed. I could have kicked ass on Where in the World is Carmen Sandeigo if they’d done casting … Continue reading Poldark: Episode 4 →
