The Half-Drowned King is the first in a planned trilogy that is a heavily fictionalized retelling of the Saga of Harald Fairhair, which is one of the parts of the Heimskringla, an Icelandic Saga written in the 13th Century by Snorri Sturluson. The trilogy charts the rise of Harald and how he became the first king of Norway in the 9th century. It’s told from the point of view of one of Harald’s dudes, Ragnvald, … Continue reading The Half-Drowned King by Linnea Hartsuyker →
I have mixed feelings about Ten Days in August. Set during a heat wave in New York in 1896, it’s a romance between a closeted gay policeman and a gay nightclub performer. I loved the idea of the 1896 setting, but in practice the setting made for depressing reading despite a happy ending for the lovers. The story begins when a male prostitute is found dead. Inspector Hank Brandt takes an interest in the case. … Continue reading Ten Days in August by Kate McMurray →
Our heroine Mei is summoned to the Emperor’s palace after her father’s untimely death. There she quickly discovers the social stratification among the emperor’s many concubines. She also learns the intricate politics among the women, though not as quickly as perhaps she should have to succeed in her overriding goal: attracting the Emperor’s attention quickly so that she could assist her mother. The most intriguing aspect of this book is the interpersonal dynamics between the … Continue reading The Moon in the Palace by Weina Dai Randel →
The category is Mainstream Fiction with a Central Romance, which I interpret as a meaty fictional story with a side of romance. This is the first book of a duology (Empress of the Bright Moon is the second volume) about Empress Wu, the first and only Empress of China who ruled in her own name. She is an exciting historical character and while the basics of her life are known, there is much room for … Continue reading The Moon in the Palace by Weina Dai Randel →
I DEEPLY regret that I can’t remember which of you wonderful Bitches recommended Cinnamon and Gunpowder, but I owe you one because this book was AMAZEBALLS. I do have to warn readers in the strongest terms that the book has a bittersweet ending. There is a love story, but this is NOT a romance novel and you will want copious amounts of tissues towards the end. But boy howdy, is it amazing! Cinnamon and Gunpowder … Continue reading Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown →
When I saw that Lauren Willig was one of three authors of what was described as “a blend of romance, historical fiction and family saga,” I was like OMG PUT THAT IN MY HANDS RIGHT NOW. The Forgotten Room checks the box for all three categories, but unfortunately I found a lot of the tropes within the book to be tired and I struggled to really engage with the heroes. As family saga/ historical fiction … Continue reading The Forgotten Room by Karen White, Beatriz Williams and Lauren Willig →
NB: We have a doozy of a book rant this Saturday, but after spending some quality time with family members, we might all be in need of letting out a little aggression. The Ladies of Missalonghi also sounds like a pretty good candidate for an intense hate read. This particular book rant comes from author Marian Perera. Marian Perera lived in Sri Lanka, Dubai and Texas before settling in Toronto (for now), where she runs … Continue reading Book Rant: The Ladies of Missalonghi by Colleen McCullough →
This is going to be a somewhat brief review. I have a longer and more in-depth review scheduled for elsewhere later in the week, and Carrie is working on reading this book as well. But A Study in Scarlet Women releases today and I couldn’t let the release go by without telling you HOW MUCH I ENJOYED IT OH MY GOSH. You might have heard my podcast interview with Sherry Thomas last week wherein she talked a … Continue reading A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas →
First of all, Bohemian Gospel needs to come with a trigger warning for EVERYTHING: rape and attempted rape, domestic violence, scenes of torture, and violence to animals and children. The last one was especially hard for me and I had to skim some scenes. A lot of historical fiction can get pretty gritty (history is not pretty, ya’ll), but this book was just goddamned depressing. Bohemian Gospel takes place in 13th century Bohemia (obvs) and … Continue reading Bohemian Gospel by Dana Chamblee Carpenter →
Here are some things that might make some of you grab this book immediately: It’s a novella. The hero, the Duke of Olympia, is in his 70s. He’s also a spy, but he’d probably get very sniffy if you called him that. The heroine, Mrs. Penelope Schuyler, is in her 50s, and is an American widow and now paid companion to a young heiress named Ruby. They’re on a steamer ship crossing the Atlantic, and there’s caper-ing and … Continue reading The Duke of Olympia Meets His Match by Juliana Gray →
THIS BOOK WAS COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS. (I was promised ridiculous and then I got it.) The premise is this: Berni, a New York socialite, dies of a heart attack, and ends up in Purgatory. She hasn’t led a bad life compared to some, but she doesn’t have enough credit to make it to heaven without performing some good deeds. She’s assigned Nellie Grayson, a good, kind doormat of a heroine, who’s got a terrible family, food … Continue reading Wishes by Jude Deveraux →
