Books, Books, Books, and a Cat

  Another interesting addition to this series.  What I love about these books is that it is always a historical fiction story within a historical fiction mystery story.  In the first timeline we have Lady Emily trying to solve a mystery about the death of an Englishman a the Ahilya Fort in India.  There are a variety of characters each with their own interesting backstory.  Emily is a force to be reckoned with and even though it is 1908, she doesn't let anyone get in the way of her getting to the truth.  I love that she is the main character and her husband is more of the side piece.  My favorite part of the book was the secondary story.  This was of Ahilya in 1740.  She is married to the future ruler but he loves alcohol more than he loves being an effective ruler in India.  Ahilya wants to be a good wife, and mother but she also is extremely intelligent and wants to do right by the people of India.  She must overcome the issues in...

 This was a really cute romance.  It definitely had some great laugh out loud moments.  Chloe is tired of being taken advantage of.  She has left her job after her boss tried to make her do something that was unethical. Chloe is determined to never let that happen again so she tries to get 10 rejections before Christmas.  She is hoping this will help her stand up for herself.  Only on her quest to do that she ends up meeting a very attractive guy named James who seems to be saying yes to everything she asks.  The two wind up in hilarious situations in this perfect rom-com for Christmas.  If you are looking for a funny romance set at Christmas time, this is the book I would choose.   4 out of 5 Stars Thank you to Thomas Nelson Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

 A wonderful new historical fiction about a matriarchal tribe in China! This novel is set in the 1950s and is about a woman from the Moso tribe in China named Lazo. She comes from a mountain tribe that sees women as the head of the family.  Women do not marry but instead choose lovers and then raise those children without the father.  One day two brothers from America come to their village after getting lost.  Usually the Moso people do not allow foreigners but they take pity on the men.  Lazo finds herself fascinated with them and soon falls in love.  What follows is a riveting story filled with action, romance, jealousy, intrigue, and so much more.   The fact that this story is based on a real tribe of people who are a matriarchy makes this a must read!  I loved reading about their culture and customs.  The story that revolves around Lazo was also good.  Lazo was telling the story but the readers still got different perspectives o...

  Another great installment to this paranormal mystery series!   In this book Ruby and Cordelia work on solving how Cordelia really died. Cordelia's death was ruled a suicide but in the first two books the reader learns that may not be the case.  In this novel, Cordelia finally begins to have memories of what happened during the time leading up to her death.  This causes Ruby to investigate possible leads on who could have been Cordelia's murderer.  The reader learns more about the company Cordelia worked for including her boss/boyfriend, Adam.  There is more insight into Cordelia and Ian's relationship as well as a string of burglaries happening at Ruby's appratment building.  The only problem is that by investigating Cordelia's murder, Ruby might be putting herself at risk.  I really enjoyed this mystery series.  The fact that Cordelia is a ghost and she has this wonderful friendship with Ruby adds to the book's appeal.  This was ...

 This was a super sweet paranormal romance set at Christmas time.  This was the third one in the series but I had not read the first two and I had no problem following along with what was happening.  After reading this one I am now interested in reading the first two as this was such a fun series.   Melody runs a ghostbusting agency because she can see and talk to ghosts. In this installment she is determined to help Lucy, a recently deceased ghost, and Fleur, Lucy's niece, save their family's department store Libertines.  Fleur's two brothers inherited it as well and are determined  to sell it. To complicate matters, the brothers have hired Melody's ex, who can also see ghosts, to help them sell the store.  On top of everything, Melody is very attracted to Fletcher but her family does not approve and Fletcher refuses to accept her lifestyle.  A series of different incidents happen that has Melody searching for ways to save the store without ...

 I was excited to read this second installment of this duology.  It is very loosely based on Snow White but is truly it's own story.  This novel was not just  Ayleth's story but Blodwyn's as well.  I enjoyed the added addition of her perspective.   In this story Ayleth is the queen with the former king trapped in the mirror.  She is trying to hold the kingdom togther but needs soldiers.  She reaches out to Margaret in the hopes that she will lend her support but it ends up that Margaret and Blodwyn come back to the kingdom.  Blodwyn decides to go for the throne in a series of trials.  Ayleth is not happy about this but feels stuck.  We also see the return of Jacquetta as Ayleth tries to use her to meet her goals.  What follows is a story with lots of action, intrigue, magic, and a little romance.   Ayleth was hard to like at the beginning of this book.  If you think of her as the evil queen it makes sense bu...

An absolute delight filled with 12 short romances to get you in the mood for some holiday spirit! This was a great way to get to know some new romance authors.  Each story had elements that I really enjoyed.  There were differing levels of spice as well as a wide variety of setting and scenerios. This would appeal to a wide variety of readers.  Other classic tropes included friends to lovers, and enemies to lovers.  One of my favorite stories was about an overbearing mom and her daughter's teacher.  As a teacher myself I could completely relate.  Each story was enjoyable and some of them I would have loved to read more.  If you are looking for a quick romance read or just a great way to get yourself in the mood for Christmas, this is a wonderful choice!   Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for this ARC.  All thoughts and opinions are my own 

  I really enjoyed this book.  I also did not see that end coming! Caroline Foster has lost her father.  After his death she is left with basically nothing after settling her father's gambling debts.  She has an older brother but his last letter to her was cryptic and she has not heard from him since.  Caroline takes it upon herself to find her brother so she ends up in Whitechapel at a men's boardinghouse which was the last place she knew where to find him.  Once there she takes a position as a maid and disguises her name as she tries to search for her brother.  Although the owner of the boarding house is nice there is a strange dinner party that happens every full moon.  The men at this house seem to be extremely eclectic as well.  Oh, and there is a serial killer on the loose targeting women.  The seriel killer is Jack the Ripper!   I love a good historical fiction novel and especially one with a twist.  The storyline w...

 This was an absolutely fantastic novel! This had all of the elements that I love in a book. The novel is told from two perspectives, a mother and daughter.  The first part of the book is about Helen  (Yut Ying) and her life growing up in China and then Hong Kong.  Helen has the ability to turn invisible.  It is a useful gift until later on in her life when it is actually killing her.  Helen's life is hard but gets even tougher when she moves to Hong Kong to be with her father and step-mother.   The second part of the novel is Marigold's story.  She also inherited a special ability.  If she touches anything she sees memories.  Marigold lives in California but does not have an easy life being Chinese American. Marigold must learn to navigate her ability while also trying to find a way to save her mother.   I devoured this 450 page book in two days.  There was so much I loved about this book.  I enjoyed learning ab...