Monday, April 12, 2021

City of Villians by Estelle Laure Review

Title:  City of Villains

Author:  Estelle Laure

Ch: 28

Pg:  240

Series: City of Villains

Genre:  retelling 

Rating: 3.5 stars

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

 

I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would as fairy tale and Disney retellings have been hit or miss for me lately. But City of Villains by Estelle Laure was a hit. I enjoyed the noir crime novel aspect of the book. Mary Elizabeth and Bella have this weird detective duo going on and I love it. I want more of those two in the next book in the series.

 

As the first book in the series it is a little slow, but that’s to be expected of a first book in a series as it sets up the world and develops the characters. And of course like most first books in a series there’s a cliff hanger, but with this being a bit of retelling and backstories as well as a slight crime novel you won’t a bit of a cliff hanger to get to come back for more.

 

This is indeed a YA novel so there is more than its fair share of teenage drama. That I didn’t care for and not just because I’m older than your typical YA reader, because I didn’t even care for teenage drama in my YA novels when I was a teen. But to me that’s the only con of the book. But I loved Mary Elizabeth and Bella enough to overlook it. Because City of Villains gave me a different take on Captain Hook’s back story. And I’m always a sucker for a new twist on Hook’s story. Since I’m still convinced that Hook was never the villain of the Peter Pan story.

 

 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone. 

Friday, April 9, 2021

First Line Friday

 Hosted by Hoarding Books Blog



Chapter 1

August, 1915

Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina

“Any Story that begins with a library is bound to be an excellent tale.”


Thursday, April 8, 2021

A Deadly Chapter by Essie Lang book review

Title:  A Deadly Chapter

Author:  Essie Lang

Ch: 34

Pg:  320

Series: A Castle Bookshop mystery book 3

Genre:  Cozy Mystery 

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher: Crooked

 

A Deadly Chapter by Essie Lang is the third book in the A Castle Bookshop mystery series. Shelby has settled in as a bookseller in the small coastal New York town. That is if she can stop finding bodies. I have to say that this one is my favorite in the series so far because since we’ve established the setting and characters the book focuses more on the mystery and I enjoyed this one.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone. 

Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Murder in an Irish Bookshop by Carlene O'Connor review

Title:  Murder in an Irish Bookshop

Author:  Carlene O’Connor

Ch: 32

Pg:  258

Series: Irish Village Mystery

Genre:  Cozy Mystery

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher: Kensington Publishing

 

     I’m not going to lie but the last one in the Irish Village Mystery series was a miss for me. So I started reading this one with lower expectations. However I ended up enjoying Murder in an Irish Bookshop. The 7th book in this cozy series set in Ireland read like earlier books in the series. Siobhan sounded more like herself again. But more importantly the banter that I’ve come to love between Siobhan and Macdara was back. And even though there was a murder to solve there were plenty of laugh out loud moments though out the book.

 

     And even though I book 6th let me down I loved this one and I look forward to what book 8 will bring us.

 

 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone. 

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

Present Danger by Elizabeth Goddard review

Title:  Present Danger

Author:  Elizabeth Goddard

Ch: 65

Pg:  384

Series: Rocky Mountain Courage book 1

Genre:  Christian Romantic Suspense

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher: Revell

 

 

     Present Danger is the first book in the Rocky Mountain Courage series by Elizabeth Goddard. Both Jack Tanner and Terra Connors have come home to Montana for different reasons both with jobs that bring them in contact with each other. Even though the two of them would rather forget their shared past. A murder that leads to both of their separate cases will force them to work together.

 

     With Present Danger I loved the fact that the suspense out weighted the romance. Nothing wrong with romance in suspense, it’s just I prefer mine lighter on the romance. But it doesn’t stop me for reading romantic suspense in which the scales are tipped in the other direction as long as the romance doesn’t completely overshadow the suspense I’m good.  And Present Danger had the right balance.

 

     This book kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading. The only reason it took me two days to finish it was simply the fact that I had to put it down in order to sleep so I could go to work the next morning. And I look forward to the next one in the series.

 

 

I received a complimentary copy Present Danger from the publishers. I was not required to provide a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

 

Monday, April 5, 2021

The Lady in Residence by Allison Pittman review

Title:  The Lady in Residence

Author:  Allison Pittman

Ch: 22 plus epilogue

Pg:  253

Series: Doors to the Past

Genre:  Dual time

Rating: 3.5 stars

Publisher: Barbour

      I’m not going to lie even after finishing Lady In Residence by Allison Pittman I don’t know how I feel about it.  It’s one of those that I am on the fence about, and that doesn’t happen often. I didn’t love it nor did I hate it. I did enjoy the dual time aspect of the novel. I am finding that I do indeed enjoy dual time I’ve always been a historical fiction reader and I’m now slowly getting into reading contemporary though it’s not my go to genre. Dual time gives me my favorite genre while edging me into contemporary.

 

     Dini Blackstone was my favorite character in the book. I loved her quirkiness as well as her love of true crime. And her determination to solve a century year old crime. I saw some of myself in her, I’m a true crime nut especially historical crime. Quin the modern hero was alright he just wasn’t a favorite.

 

     I didn’t care for the historical heroine Hedda but that’s due in part to the fact that don’t care for unreliable narrators. I’ve never liked reading from their points of view. Nor was I fond of the ghost story aspect.  But that doesn’t mean someone else won’t love it.

 

     However, I did enjoy how the author wove both stories and time periods together to get one interesting story.


Saturday, April 3, 2021

April TBR

To finish: A Pho Love Story by Loan Le

          Murder by Page One by Olivia Matthews

          Hope Between the Pages by Pepper D Basham

 

TBR Jar: The White Rose Resists by Amanda Barratt

 

Kindle TBR: Through Waters Deep by Sarah Sundin

          Forever with You by Jess Mastorakos

 

Nonfiction: Faith, Farming and Family by Caitlin Henderson

 

Classic: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

 

Audio: ?

 

Library: Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare

 

 

To Review Blackberry Beach by Irene Hannon

          The Nature of a Lady by Roseanna M White