Breaking Time by Sasha Alsberg My rating: 1 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher, Inkyard Press, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Breaking Time in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist I have been staring at my screen trying to find something to say about this story, but words aren’t coming easily today. Or perhaps there isn’t really anything to say. I don’t mean to sound nasty. And maybe I just don’t have that much patience lately, but it’s been hard finding a good story these days. Just look at my previous ratings of books. Mostly 2 stars. I…
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An Affair at Stonecliffe
An Affair at Stonecliffe by Candace Camp My rating: 2 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of An Affair at Stonecliffe in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist Did somebody say historical fiction? Yes, please. Although I had some reservations, because An Affair at Stonecliffe is considered a romance novel, I was cautiously optimistic. Now, I’m sitting at my desk with a slight headache starting between my eyes, wondering how much tea I can drink before I get the jitters. I have said it before, it looks like I’m not cut…
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Nefertiti
Nefertiti by Michelle Moran My rating: 5 of 5 stars The Gist OMG! Yup, usually I’m not an “OMG” type of reviewer, but I have to make an exception for Nefertiti. I can’t believe it took me nine years to read this! It’s been on my to-read list ever since I started my book review journey on Goodreads. Every year I told myself I will read it and every year something came between. I have loved everything that has to do with Ancient Egypt since I was in the third grade, so it is kind of beyond me why I never thought to make reading this book a priority. Nefertiti…
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Mrs. England
Mrs England by Stacey Halls My rating: 2 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher, MIRA, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Mrs. England in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist Have you ever been so disappointed by a book that you didn’t even want to write the review, because you really did not want to think of it any longer? Yup, that’s me right now. I can’t be bothered. On top of that, the majority of the reviews for Mrs. England are rather positive. So, what’s going on? Do I just happen to be one of the few, who…
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The Last Grand Duchess
The Last Grand Duchess by Bryn Turnbull My rating: 2 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher, MIRA, for providing me with an ARC of The Last Grand Duchess in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist I have to confess I started The Last Grand Duchess with apprehension. After having read Turnbull’s other novel, The Woman Before Wallis, I also had a certain amount of bias. I struggled through the first and worried that I would do so through The Last Grand Duchess. Well, my hunch proved correct. It’s unfortunate, because the prospect of reading a story about a rather lesser known Romanov…
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A Lullaby for Witches
A Lullaby for Witches by Hester Fox My rating: 2 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher, Graydon House, for providing me with an ARC of A Lullaby for Witches in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist I loved Fox’s The Orphan of Cemetery Hill and could not contain my excitement when I found out Fox wrote another story. For the past two years I have noticed a slight change in the publication process, shall we call it, in the books that have hit the shelves. A larger number than before feel like they are missing the last bit of polish before getting…
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The Lost Apothecary
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner My rating: 5 of 5 stars Thank you NetGalley and Park Row Publishing for providing me with an ARC of The Lost Apothecary in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist I was supposed to participate in the blog tour promoting The Lost Apothecary, but life got weird for a few months and I lost track of everything that had nothing to do with the immediate situation I had to take care of. The blog tour may be over, but that doesn’t stop me from still reading and writing a review for this story. The Details It took me…
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The Chanel Sisters
The Chanel Sisters by Judithe Little My rating: 2 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher, Graydon House, for providing me with an ARC of The Chanel Sisters in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist At times it’s very tough to get excited about anything, since the world turned upside down almost a year ago. I thought the story, The Chanel Sisters, could help me forget reality a little bit while I took a trip into the world of historical fiction. For a while, it certainly looked that way, until… Well, until this 400-page book began to feel like an 800-page book. Let…
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Edinburgh Midnight
Edinburgh Midnight by Carole Lawrence My rating: 1 of 5 stars The Gist I loved Lawrence’s two previous books in the Ian Hamilton Mysteries Series, Edinburgh Twilight and Edinburgh Dusk, and I eagerly awaited the publication of Edinburgh Midnight. Usually, I can’t put the book until I have finished the last page, but with Edinburgh Midnight I struggled. I struggled a lot. The Details As the third in the series, I thought that at this point the reader might find out a little more about the protagonist. Instead, it felt like the author decided to take Hamilton a step back; to make him more obscure than in the first two…
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Anno Dracula
Anno Dracula by Kim Newman My rating: 2 of 5 stars The Gist A dear friend of mine sent me Anno Dracula as a birthday present. He hasn’t read it himself, but said that a story about vampires and murder, set in Victorian London would be totally up my alley. And he wasn’t wrong, which makes this review a little difficult to write. It is true. I’m a sucker for murder mystery, Victorian London stories and throw in some Gothic elements (i.e. a vampire or two) and I’m all yours. So, why did this story fall short? I shall explain below. The Details I was so excited to start this…
