TW/CW: sexual assault. I enjoyed The Gown: A Novel of the Royal Wedding by Jennifer Robson, mostly because it tackles a subject that is dear to my heart: why is traditionally-female created art (think quilting, embroidering, knitting) labeled “a craft” and of less than value than male-produced art? As a historical novel, a full third of the narrative I found to be unnecessary, which meant there were parts of the book I had to slog through … Continue reading The Gown by Jennifer Robson →
The Au Pair by Emma Rous is a slightly Gothic psychological thriller that focuses on one woman’s suspicion that she might not be physically related to her own family. The premise is excellent and while I kept turning pages well into the night, I found that when I finished the book, I was only slightly satisfied with the resolution. Part of that is because the final reveals are executed a little clumsily. The other part … Continue reading The Au Pair by Emma Rous →
Please note: this review is for both the plot and the audiobook performance. I mentioned on a recent podcast that I’ve been listening to the Evan Evans series by Rhys Bowen on audiobook while I cross stitch and cook (not at the same time – too many stains on the aida, I should think). I realized that listening to an audiobook is both very soothing and avidly addictive for my brain as long as two … Continue reading Evans Above by Rhys Bowen →
I recently described this book’s plot as a road with several roundabouts in a row, in which the story gets stuck before moving on. It’s the best description I can come up with to explain why this book frustrated me both in terms of plot development and character development. The story opens with Rosie Radeke, a teenager from a small town in Ohio, on her first international flight to Paris. She’s been accepted into a … Continue reading Love à La Mode by Stephanie Kate Strohm →
Sophie Appersett is engaged to Edward (Ned) Sharpe. She’s the daughter of a baron; he’s a very wealthy merchant, and their alliance is built over a massive class chasm, one that she’s trying to cross with continued conversation, while he remains silent and withdrawn in all of their outings together. Sophie decides she’s not willing to continue the engagement because they don’t suit. She wants more for herself, and from his behavior she’s pretty sure … Continue reading A Holiday by Gaslight by Mimi Matthews →
Close to the Bone by Kendra Elliot is the first in a romantic suspense novella duology and features a creepy cold case on a remote island in the Pacific Northwest. Cate Wilde is a FBI Special Agent who is taking some time off after being shot on the job. She’s staying with her grandmother on Widow’s Island, where she grew up, when a skeleton of a young woman is found on nearby Ruby Island. Cate … Continue reading Close to the Bone by Kendra Elliot →
Agatha Christie: A Mysterious Life is a relatively new release and yet it reads like a biography from the 1970’s or 1980’s. There’s a lot of fat shaming. The Edwardian period is heavily sentimentalized. Several parts of the story are imagined in a dreamy, poetic manner. The author sides with Christie on all fronts, minimizing her racism and anti-Semitism (as was typical of her era, Christie disliked Italians as well, which is also minimized) and justifying … Continue reading Agatha Christie: A Mysterious Life by Laura Thompson →
I saw a tweet from the author go by about this book just prior to release, highlighting the following aspects of the plot: …friends-to-lovers, witches, farmers, ladies being supportive of each other, and/or a slightly misanthropic lady-witch farmer wrestling with her feelings for her best friend while her coven supports her no matter what. I am indeed here for all of these things, so I bought the novella and read it immediately. This is the … Continue reading Spellbinding Love by Elizabeth Davis →
There are historical romances that are actually historical and there are historical romances that say, “The hell with history, these people are gonna be unchaperoned ALL THE TIME and we’re throwing in a magical cat.” How To Manage a Marquess is one of the latter. It’s a fun book, and I enjoyed it, but if you like realism in your historical romance then stop right here and go read something else. Godspeed. I’m not sure I … Continue reading How to Manage a Marquess by Sally MacKenzie →
His Wicked Charm is a fun Regency Gothic romance. This is one of many books in the “Mad Moreland Series,” which is about an unconventional upper class family in England. In this book, one of the Moreland brothers, Con, teams up with his sister’s friend Lilah to solve mysteries and fight crime (basically). Con is the “bad” brother and Lilah is the “boring” friend. The story kicks off with a kidnapping and winds up full-in Gothic … Continue reading His Wicked Charm by Candace Camp →
If you are lucky in life, you will have a friend or two that you will ride or die for, and will ride or die for you. I highly recommend it. If you are unlucky, you may end up in a situation where you need to get a MacGuffin to Vienna after your roommate’s one night stand murdered your (Ex?) boyfriend who is also a spy. But, if you do end up in that place, … Continue reading Movie Review: The Spy Who Dumped Me →
