Books, Books, Books, and a Cat

 I love historical fiction about smart women doing smart things especially when society says otherwise.  In this fourth installment Petra tries to discover who has killed one of the Merry gentlemen and who is trying to hurt the others.  It's during Christmas and in the 1800s there are a series of dances to try and pair up the men and women.  In this case there are four young women scientists who have been paired up with men who compiment their knowledge in science.  However since it is the 1800s the women can't publish their own work and when their research is stolen all signs point to the men.  The problem is one of the men is murdered.  The four women who are part of a club called the Minerva Society all claim innocence so who could have killed them?  Plus Petra has befriended a street urchin and she finds out that his mother is in prison.  Besides solving this murder she also tries to figure out why Teddy's mother is in prison and how she ...

This is a great feel good novel that will have you running for a cozy chair and a warm cup of tea.  I loved everything about this novel.   Sunny Callaway travels to Woodnote, Alabama to spread her grandfather's ashes never guessing that this place will have a huge impact on her life.  She is recently seperated from her husband after struggling with infertility issues and when she sees The Chamomile Cottage she just has to go in.  There she meets Nova, our other main character.  It turns out that Sunny and Nova are actually cousins.  The two of them grow closer as they try to revitalize Woodnote into a thriving town again and learn that there are many buried secrets in this small town.  This book is a great pick me up and escape from whatever may be troubling you. Both Sunny and Nova were wonderful characters who you will fall in love with.  There were a few aspects in the novel that I could predict would happen but there were many surprising ...

  4.5 Stars- I was so excited to see this book was out as I have loved reading the other 9 books in this series.  It has been awhile since the last book in the series was published but I was able to pick this up and get right back into the world of Quinn.  What makes this series unique is that it blends a little bit of fantasy with historical fiction.   In this novel Quinn investigates with Rhys, a body that has been found preserved in a well in the Lake District in England.  They are hoping that a ring found on the body will speak to Quinn and she will be able to uncover what happened to the body so they can use the story to resurrect their television show Echoes from the Past.  The pressure is on because Quinn was outed as a psychic and there are a lot of people who don't believe she has the gift.  After investigating Quinn learns that the body is a young woman from the 1920s and that her family was in a difficult situation due to her father hav...

This was a great mix of the paranormal, horror, but also fun and a cozy fantasy.   Igor is the doctor's hencheman which basically means he does all the work.  He finds body parts as the doctor is on a quest to make the perfect human.  When Igor and the doctor find themselves at Ravenwald Manor, Igor begins to make friends and find his true worth.  He realizes just how much he has been taken advantage of and begins to think a little differently.  However there is a lot going on at the manor. Tthere is an amulet called the Eye of Anthomset that can destroy the world and people are disapeerings around the village as well as the deer.  The villagers might turn into a mob and kill them all.  This is of course if the vampire or witch don't get them first. This novel was just fun!  I love all things paranormal and this was done in such a way to make me invested in the story.  I love a great underdog story and Igor was just that character. ...

  This was such a sweet and enchanting romance! Annalise has recently lost her uncle to cancer.  He has been the only parental figure in her life for the last several years.  She has effectively closed herself off from the world and only focused on her work.  She will be moving to Liverpool to work on her PhD for 2 years so she needs to sublet her aparartment.  Before she leaves she decides to get a roommate and then that roommate will take over her lease.  However the roommate she thinks she is renting to is not the one she gets.  The roommate ends up being a very hot guy who has come to Toronto to be part of a band so that he can write his own music.  Annalise finds herself falling for him but there is more to the story because his jacket appears to have magical qualities. Every time she puts it on she sees things from the past.  Annalise must figure out where she truly wants her life to go and if she should follow her heart. I loved the ma...

  4.5 Stars- This was a really great mystery that blended a character from classic mystery novels with the writing of one of my favorite thriller authors. The story is set in 1950 at a mountain resort in Switzerland. There are four characters that tell their story.  Each one has a different reason for being at the hotel.  Diana Glass is a companion to Mrs. Bantry and Miss Marple.  She is much younger than the other two women and there is an air of mystery around her.  Catherine Narracott is on a ski holiday with her politician husband.  Catherine is trying very hard to be the perfect wife but her husband is horribly self-centered.  They also money problems although her husband thinks that after this trip their problems will be solved.  Then we have Sylvia Sinclair.  She is a Hollywood movie star who just wants to get away and be with her lover.  Her career in Hollywood is not what it once was.  She went from leading lady to now bein...

 This book was truly a treasure!  5 out of 5 Stars Zoe is a young single mother who just wants her own home.  After looking on social media she finds that there are houses known as treasure houses because they are easily affordable.  The only catch is that they are usually in need of lots of repair and may have lots of junk.  Zoe finds one in coastal Maine and she is determined to make this her own home.  However after meeting her new neighbors and the hot caretaker Jake, Zoe finds that there is something secretive about the house's former owner Marley.  Zoe wants to not only set the house to rights but figure out Marley's story.  She also finds herself drawn to Jake.  The only problem is Zoe has secrets of her own.   I really loved this book.  There were flashbacks to Marley's life that I thoroughly enjoyed.  Her story was just as interesting as Zoe.  I also loved Zoe's daughter Flo. She was a delightful character an...

This was a super sweet story, perfect for Christmastime.  What I loved about the story is it featured characters in their 60s.  Eloise is sick of Christmas.  She has no family and she just doesn't want to celebrate this year.  She decides to travel to a Bed and Breakfast that she stayed in years ago in Honeycombe Bay.  The owner of the B&B is Bart.  He is still grieving the loss of his wife who died over a year ago.  His son wants him to sell the B&B so when Eloise calls him to book a room he decides to open it to anyone else who doesn't want to celebrate the holidays.  However their plans get thwarted when the town decides that it is going to have a major Christmas festival.  Then a single mom loses her rented home to a fire.  Now Bart and Eloise need to figure out if they can really forgo Christmas.  This was an absolutely charming novel and perfect for Christmas time.  I loved that the main characters were older....

  An overall excellent romance novel! Five out of Five Stars. I really enjoyed the first book in this series so I was excited to see this novel out.  I would caption this book "Romance but with Substance". You also don't have to have read the first book to enjoy this one. This story focuses on Fiona and Satoshi.  Fiona is reeling because he ex has come back in her life and now wants to have contact with her kids.  Not only that but he wants his children from his other family to meet Fiona's kids.  Fiona finds herself taking refuge at Tsundoku and turning to Satoshi for comfort.  Satoshi would do anything for Fiona as he is madly in love with her.  The only problem is Fiona thinks Satoshi is too young for her and has a ton of emotional baggage from her first marriage.  In this novel they both try to find a way to navigate their feelings and deal with all of life's punches.   First of all, after reading this, I feel like I know so much mor...

  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...

 Would you rewind time to right past mistakes knowing their could be potential consequences?  This is a question that is at the heart of this novel. Talia is a CEO of a tech company that tries to help people make smart decisions. Right on the verge of it being bought by a bigger company for millions of dollars a journalist uncovers that her software may have been the reason a murder took place.  Talia made a wish to be able to rewind time and ends up with a watch that allows her to do just that.  In this story we are also introduced to Sam, Talia's long time friend,  her sister Libby. a major travel influencer, and Erin, an intern at her company.  Their stories all blend to give us an interesting look at life and is it truly meant to be perfect or is life all about something else.  First of all, I love time travel stories and I thought this was very well done.  There was one scene where Talia is at breakfast and she wants to eat all of the differe...

  I feel like the best way to describe this novel is an epic romance.   AJ is a character that comes to life and you can't help but be transported to her world. 4 Stars The novel starts out when AJ is 17 in the year 2000 working in a video store.  I loved the setting as it brought back waves of nostalgia.  She ends up befirending her co-worker Noah.  Noah is from a long line of actors but does not have tons of money, hence the partime job. The two end up rehearsing at Noah's aunts house as part of an agreement to get her to go to a Convention for the TV series she used to be on.  AJ ends up having a true connection with Noah and falls hard for him.  Only things do not end as she would hope. Fast forward and the two of them work on a improv t.v. show.  They once again have that connection with drives their acting ability and their romance.  We finally find out what happened and why they separated in the year 2000.  AJ and Noah have t...