A Duke Too Far by Jane Ashford

July 28, 2020 By Leave a Comment


A Duke Too Far by Jane Ashford
The Way to a Lord’s Heart Book 4
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: Historical, Romance
Rating: 3.5 stars
Reviewed by Honeysuckle

This heart of mine cannot be mended…

Peter Rathbone, Duke of Compton, is mourning the loss of his sister Delia, but the work of keeping his family’s deteriorating estate afloat is never done. When Miss Ada Grandison, a close friend of his sister, arrives with a mysterious letter that she claims holds the secret to saving the family home, Peter is skeptical to say the least…and his life is about to get even more complicated.

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Ada is eager to do whatever she can to help the Rathbones. She brings clues that Delia claimed would change everything for the family and that lead Ada and Peter on a hunt to unravel the past. But they’ll have to face their painful memories—and their true feelings for each other—to discover the truth.

They were connected by loss and drawn down the same path by a mystery. Peter and Ada will have several obstacles, both literal and emotional, to overcome before they find their HEA but I could tell it was going to be so very worth it.

Peter is the last of the London gentlemen that Earl of Macklin is determined to see settled. This matchmaker has seen some beautiful success in his last three adventures so there was no doubt he’d make this stubborn Duke and his late sister’s best friend see that they were made for each other. It wasn’t a difficult argument to convince sweet Ada, she’d been attracted to the Duke for years. The Duke was a whole other matter. Bitterness and disappointment have a way of blinding a person to what’s right in front of them.

I liked that this wasn’t insta love. They had to get to know each other on a deeper level and trust was a big part of that. The build up is a slow burn. I would have liked for the pacing to not have been quite so slow but it was worth the read to finish the book.

Ms. Ashford introduced several new possible future heroines with this book. I would like to see them explored and allowed their own adventures. Ada’s aunt was fun, too.

Readers who enjoy a good mystery with a lovely dose of romance may enjoy Peter and Ada’s story. The Earl of Macklin’s quest is complete with this book but I could easily imagine this world expanding and the lives of those he brought together building and growing.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , ,

The Reincarnation of Tom by Aden Simpson

July 27, 2020 By Leave a Comment


The Reincarnation of Tom by Aden Simpson
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary, Historical
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Tom was a daydreaming office schlub. What will he be like as a chicken, cow, tiger, tree and Austrian art teacher from 1896?

Napoleon was a pig with dreams of revolution. What will he be like as Joseph Stalin?

Shirley was a zoo keeper with a big heart and a weakness for helping others. When will she learn?
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Sal was a cop. Then a cop. Then a cop several times after that. What will he be like as the leader of a coalition sworn to hunt Tom for the rest of his lives?

What would you do differently if you knew every one of your deeds was being carefully recorded and judged?

Tom’s character development was marvelous. He was a deeply flawed man when the audience first met him in the first scene. Honestly, I completely understood why his subsequent lifetime wasn’t a human one based on how much bad karma he accrued when he was Tom the person. The only thing better than getting to know him was seeing how slowly and unevenly he evolved from that point. Just like us real people, he made plenty of mistakes in his many lifetimes. Sometimes he’d seem to learn a lesson only to reveal that it hadn’t sunk in after all. In other cases, he surprised me with his personal growth in areas that I expected him to continue messing up in. It was delightful to watch him change and keep trying to become a better soul no matter how often he missed he mark.

There were several subplots in this book that wove in and out of the narrative depending on what was currently happening to Tom and how well he was following the rules that might eventually allow him to return to his original life again. I deeply enjoyed seeing how they all tied together. Sometimes their bonds were so tight that it was hard to separate them all out again, while in other sections the audience was given much more time to tease out the new developments in all of them. These changes always felt natural to me as a reader no matter how things were panning out.

I was thrilled with the world building. While some of the main character’s lifetimes involved creatures that were barely even aware of humanity at all, many of them were much more interested in how the system of reincarnation worked in this universe and what someone can do to be reborn into an easier life next time around. The more I learned about how it all worked, the more I wanted to find out! This became even more true once Tom’s main source of conflict with the ones who oversaw it all was revealed and developed.

The Reincarnation of Tom was a delightful tale that should be read by anyone who loves the science fiction genre or who wonders what it would be like to live many lifetimes.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , ,

A Dangerous Liberty by Mary Sheeran

July 20, 2020 By Leave a Comment


A Dangerous Liberty by Mary Sheeran
Women of Destiny Series
Publisher: Prairie Rose Publications
Genre: Historical, Romance, Suspense/Mystery/Thriller
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Alstroemeria

World-renowned composer and pianist Elisabeth Winters returns to the United States from Europe only to discover her life is in terrible danger. Though she wants nothing but to perform her concerts, she finds herself embroiled in layers of political and personal turmoil that have intertwined through the years she’s been abroad. The stakes are high—her life is in certain jeopardy.

When she meets handsome William de la Cuesta under odd circumstances, she can’t deny her immediate feelings of trust. Yet, there is something that disturbs her about him, as well…a memory she can’t quite grasp. How can she trust someone she doesn’t know—someone like de la Cuesta, who could have everything to gain by her murder? Does she have a choice?

As Elisabeth invokes controversy on many levels, her world becomes even more chaotic with the treachery she discovers taking place in her own inner circle. As the daughter of a prominent senator who was murdered many years before, she takes up the causes he fought and died for—and discovers those powerful men who killed him are now out for her blood, as well.

Availability of Kamagra tablets- Kamagra tablets are manufactured in India. cheap brand levitra You can find, however some things to look for sildenafil cheapest price during a typical client evaluation: . HOW DO PREPARATION PROGRAMS DEVELOP INSTRUCTIONAL MANAGERS AND LEADERS? Success in without prescription viagra standards-based reform clearly requires sophisticated skills, exerting pressure on preparation programs to sharpen their focus on instructional management and leadership. Here are a few psychologically proven methods that will rewire your thinking to become more confidence and self-assured. viagra pills price In a post-Civil War America, can one woman fight to vanquish the same injustice her father battled? Elisabeth believes she can—for love of family, country, and William de la Cuesta—the love of her life— taking the risk of A DANGEROUS LIBERTY is worth everything!

A Dangerous Liberty challenged me. A novel that is supposed to wrap you up in the injustices of America’s past has instead artfully reflected that of our present. Fighting for liberties and freedoms for different races and genders, this is the kind of novel that could wake society up about our not so distant indiscretions and failings.

The language in this novel is so poignant and clear that it has reached out of the pages and grasped hold onto my mind like a vice. And even through this revolutionary rhetoric, we find undeniable love. William de la Cuesta and Elisabeth Winters are characters that resonate deeply with an aching world. Their own lives within the story are painted with many painful memories that hold them back from their true desires, but they have not held them back from trying to change the world around them for the better.

Watching two main characters setting their lives on the backburner for the greater good of the rest of their society is truly unique, and the tension created within this dynamic is incredibly tantalizing. The differing perspectives on each situation is enlightening and delightfully frustrating when the two are together but not hearing one another’s thoughts.

Elisabeth Winters is an ethereal beauty and extraordinarily talented, but it is her voice of reason and her resilience that are her true strengths. William de la Cuesta is devastating in form and stature, but his beauty comes in second to his righteousness as a character who will stop at nothing to right the wrongs of the past, while making moves strategically in a land that hardly accepts him.

While reading and waiting for the explosive love story to unfold, I was enriched with the wisdom of generations before me fighting for many of the same things we fight for today. Waiting for the work day to end so that I could get in a few precious hours of unwrapping this incredibly woven story, was possibly one of my greatest works of patience that I have performed to date.

Mary Sheeran has taken the genre of Historical Romance and created something timeless, while also extending a narrative that reaches far more than the tender places of the heart. A Dangerous Liberty is completely engaging, and it entirely encompasses its readers in thought. Pages filled with incredible longing for everything that is just beyond grasp, this novel keeps you running along Elisabeth in the Sierra’s, clinging to hope and the promise of changes yet to come.

Do not pass up the chance to experience this novel. It has all the elements of mystery, romance, intrigue, and historical significance that one could hope for, and it does not leave you wanting. An enamoring read from start to finish, A Dangerous Liberty is not a novel to be taken for granted, and it is certainly not one that will be forgotten.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , ,

Bonfyre by Becky Brinkley

July 17, 2020 By 2 Comments


Bonfyre by Becky Brinkley
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Romance, Paranormal, Historical, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Bonfyre, a little red convertible, mysteriously changes the lives of its drivers. Bonfyre sparks Suzanne into finding the courage to escape and ignites Becca’s heart to risk love again. Stacy stops a stalker and Dorothy finds a reason to go on. Bonfyre drives Rachael to overcome her phobia and inflames Grandy’s desire to expand her horizons. Tracy creates a red-hot masterpiece and Amber leaves her smoldering secrets behind. Bonfyre! The sisterhood of the traveling convertible.

It’s never too late to start fresh in life.

This book regularly introduced new human characters as Bonfyre was bought and sold over and over again. I loved getting to know all of the women who knew this car no matter how short or long their times together happened to be. Each one of them was coming from a unique set of circumstances that influenced how they reacted to this car. I won’t mention any specific names, but I should note that some of their backstories included sensitive material such as domestic violence and stalking for any readers who prefer not to be surprised by these subjects.
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It would have been nice to have more character development. While the various women who owned Bonfyre did make changes in their lives, there wasn’t as much time devoted to exploring why these changes happened as I would have liked to see. Given the wide variety of problems they dealt with, this was surprising. There was so much space here to show how ordinary people can transform their lives in marvellous ways, but it wasn’t explored very deeply at all.

Some of the best scenes involved acts of true human kindness. Whether the characters involved in it had been friends for years or had met five minutes beforehand, it was heartwarming to see just how far they’d go to help someone who desperately needed it without any expectation of reciprocation or reward. That’s something I could read about all day and never grow tired of. It’s so wholesome.

The other thing I would have liked to see developed more fully were the conflicts in this tale. As mentioned earlier, these characters dealt with pretty serious issues in many cases. It came as a surprise to me see how quickly and easily their problems were solved. While it happened more than once, this was especially true when it came to the domestic violence subplot. As much as I wish we all lived in a world where abuse could be permanently resolved this fast, knowing that this generally isn’t the case pulled me out of the storyline because of how unrealistic it is for most victims.

I enjoyed the fact that the paranormal elements were allowed to simply exist without the need to dig into how they worked or why they attached themselves to a convertible. Bonfyre was an incredibly special vehicle that brought good things into the lives of everyone who owned it. Sometimes readers really only need a basic understanding of why impossible things are happening, and this was one of them.

Bonfyre should be read by anyone who loves seeing storylines tied up neatly and happily.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Tightrope by Amanda Quick

July 16, 2020 By Leave a Comment


Tightrope by Amanda Quick
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Historical, Paranormal, Romance, Suspense/Mystery/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Xeranthemum

An unconventional woman and a man shrouded in mystery walk a tightrope of desire as they race against a killer to find a top secret invention in this New York Times bestselling novel from Amanda Quick.

Former trapeze artist Amalie Vaughn moved to Burning Cove to reinvent herself, but things are not going well. After spending her entire inheritance on a mansion with the intention of turning it into a bed-and-breakfast, she learns too late that the villa is said to be cursed. When the first guest, Dr. Norman Pickwell, is murdered by his robot invention during a sold-out demonstration, rumors circulate that the curse is real.

In the chaotic aftermath of the spectacle, Amalie watches as a stranger from the audience disappears behind the curtain. When Matthias Jones reappears, he is slipping a gun into a concealed holster. It looks like the gossip that is swirling around him is true—Matthias evidently does have connections to the criminal underworld.
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Matthias is on the trail of a groundbreaking prototype cipher machine. He suspects that Pickwell stole the device and planned to sell it. But now Pickwell is dead and the machine has vanished. When Matthias’s investigation leads him to Amalie’s front door, the attraction between them is intense, but she knows it is also dangerous. Amalie and Matthias must decide if they can trust each other and the passion that binds them, because time is running out.

This was a refreshing read. It’s classic Amanda Quick – a strong heroine, Gothic-like hero, a mystery to solve and hints of otherness to make a reader wonder if it’s coincidence or supernatural senses. This novel may feel comforting for fans of the author, because if a reader is looking forward to the elements that make reading an Amanda Quick suspense mystery fun and entertaining, they’re all there to enjoy.

This is the first historical novel I’ve read by the author that takes place in a time period other than Regency. It’s more like the early thirties because the Crash is mentioned; I guess that qualifies as early 20th Century. The Jones family is going strong and getting into just as much trouble as their ancestors used to. Again, the novel has that feeling of continuity because the Jones’s family talents still make it hard to find that perfect woman who can complete them, who won’t run away screaming or having a hissy fit because they don’t fit into a clear societal mold. The heroine, Amalie, is wonderfully perfect for the hero, Matthias, because she’s a bit different too. Not so much in the ‘other’ factor, but because of her career. I don’t believe I have ever read a story where the love interest is a trapeze artist. I was fascinated.

I was delightfully puzzled as to who the bad guy could be. There were layers of motive and possibilities to choose from and it’s safe to share that all my guesses were wrong. How fun!

I would have rated my review higher if there were any surprising, jaw-dropping, Oh-my-gosh Wow moments, but alas, I didn’t find any stunners. I’m still a happy reader because the book provided just what I needed; what I was looking forward to and hoped the author delivered. She did. I needed pure escapism and Ms. Quick took me on a grand adventure.

This novel is enjoyable, entertaining, and has the requisite happy ending with a delightful mystery solved in efficient fashion. I enjoyed the romance between Amalie and Matthias and its culmination. Tightrope is well worth reading.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Blueberry Swirl Waltz by Maria Imbalzano

July 14, 2020 By 26 Comments


The Blueberry Swirl Waltz by Maria Imbalzano
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Historical
Length: Short story (118 pages)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

After a family crisis, Katie Hathaway must return home to help out in the family’s ice cream shop. She leaves behind her dream job of teaching ballroom dance to spend her summer scooping ice cream and mixing milkshakes.

Chaz Hollander, Katie’s high school crush, has also returned to town to work in his family’s business. After Katie treats him to a blueberry swirl sundae, he invites her to the town’s upcoming dance. The only problem is he has two left feet.

When Katie starts giving Chaz dance lessons, their chemistry ignites, and the postponement of her dream doesn’t seem as ominous. But financial woes and a suspicious business deal cast a shadow on their budding relationship.

Katie was ecstatic when all her hard work paid off and she was given a job at the dance studio. Excited to share the news with her family, she rushes home only to find out that her mother has broken her arm and Katie is needed to help run their ice cream shop during their busiest month – and so she needs to put her own dreams and ambitions on hold for a while longer. When she finds her old high school crush, Chaz has moved back home also, Katie is pleased but cautious when they reconnect.

I enjoyed the older style of this story. While the plotline was fairly simple and straight forward Katie’s character was interesting and I found myself quite drawn to her and the hard decision she made to help her family. There is a very strong cast of secondary characters that I felt really helped boost the story – with Katie’s mother and two sisters, as well as the hunky Chaz. The romance was slow and quite sweet with just a few steamy kisses – as I feel anyone should expect from a romance story set back in the 1950s. I enjoyed the small-town feel of the whole story, how the community knew each other and gossip spread around like wild-fire.

The scenes of Katie teaching Chaz to dance was sweet and really helped sell me on how well the two characters meshed together. It also helped show me – without any sexual intimacy – how they had chemistry and how the attraction wasn’t just one-sided on Katie’s behalf. I felt the author did an amazing job of showing (not telling) the romance and this really helped me love the story more. I also liked how there were multiple aspects to the plot – Katie helping out her mother and sisters and the drama with the ice cream shop was an excellent counterpart I felt to the romance blossoming between Katie and Chaz.

A strong and character-centric story, this was a great read and one I can easily recommend. With vibrant characters, a few good, strong plotlines and a lovely slow moving romance this story is one I feel sure will appeal to many readers.

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The Mirror and The Stone of Zozan by Lashonda Beauregard

July 10, 2020 By Leave a Comment


The Mirror and The Stone of Zozan by Lashonda Beauregard
Publisher: Self-published
Genre: Historical, Sci-fi/Fantasy
Rating: 3.5 stars
Reviewed by Lavender

The Egyptians battle their long-time enemy, the Tygenians, throughout history to protect their magical stones. A young warrior, Zozan, along with the help of her two new warrior friends, help Pharaoh Ahmeus and Queen Zeferti of Lower Egypt protect the magical stones while Queen Shanara of Upper Egypt has a plan of her own.

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Stories from the present to Ancient Egypt are linked together and create good tension. A lot is at stake.

With an exotic local and an interesting premise, as well as characters to root for, this is a good story, despite its issues. It is a tale heavy on dialogue and light on setting with characters’ words filling in many of the blanks for this and characterization.

Plenty of intrigue fills the pages of this story, which is presented mostly in the present tense, for a sense of immediacy. Tension remains high throughout as characters with tough decisions to make press forth.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , ,

The Rising Place by David Armstrong

July 3, 2020 By Leave a Comment


The Rising Place by David Armstrong
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Historical, Suspense/Mystery
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Lavender

If you found a box of letters written during World War II-would you read them? And what if you did and discovered an amazing story about unrequited love, betrayal, and murder in a small southern town? A young lawyer meets Emily Hodge, a 75-year-old spinster shunned by her hometown society, and can’t understand why she lives such a solitary and seemingly forgotten life. But the letters she leaves for him reveal how her choices caused her to be ostracized-but definitely not forgotten by those who loved her.

Told in the form of letters read decades after the main events, the story unfolds with a sense of mystery. Why would the woman, Emily, who wrote these letters be so isolated in her old age? A lawyer reads them to try to understand.
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The letters take us back to the WWII era, in the South. With little details, the writer paints a good picture of that world and its troubles. The protagonist falls for a man, Harry, who is one quarter African-American. He is called to duty, flying a plane in the war, and she stays behind, pregnant. Society ostracizes this unmarried woman.

Readers will be moved by what Emily, her friends, and the African-American community experience. Emily’s best friend, Wilma, is African-American, and the ignoramuses of their town give Emily grief for this as well.

Things escalate, and an innocent man is murdered. Emily wants to get involved, but her family warns her of the grave danger involved in doing so. However, Emily is driven to stand up for injustice and goes to a meeting with the oppressed people of her town. Things get worse from that point, and Emily must deal with the aftermath.

The main and the secondary characters play their important role in bringing to life a tragic story in its given setting. It is a realistic accounting of a time and place, filled with powerful feelings while inspiring similar feelings in readers with its important message.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Lord Sayer’s Ghost by Cindy Holbrook

July 2, 2020 By 1 Comment


Lord Sayer’s Ghost by Cindy Holbrook
Publisher: Zebra Books
Genre: Historical, Romance, Mystery/Suspense
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Is he a ghost?

Outraged screams echoed through Shadow Hall, and Prudence was ready to kill…Lord Sayer. If he weren’t dead already, that is. His mischievous antics made help impossible to keep. Prudence wished the seductive spirit would simply take one step beyond…and stay there!

…A rake?

But no insouciant ghost was going to drive Prudence from this castle. Sayer’s will declared that any relative able to inhabit it for one year would inherit his estate. Prudence was only a distant relative to be sure, but she simply had nowhere else to go.

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Except into the arms of…Lord Sayer! The very-much-alive nobleman was just pretending to have passed on so he could unmask his would-be murderer. Now he had just stolen a kiss—and requested Prudence to host a séance. Dare she trust this rogue who was far from what he seemed? Could a spirited scoundrel properly woo her? Perhaps—with a little faith, a lot of love, and maybe some help…from the other side.

A ghost who happens to be very real and quite the rake? That’s Lord Sayer.

Historical romances can be hit or miss for me. I don’t know the history enough to know if the details are correct and I’d rather have the story take me away. I’d never read anything by Cindy Holbrok, so when I saw this book and there was a cat on the cover, I had to pick it up. I was intrigued by the premise. He’s pretending to be dead in order to prove someone wanted to murder him. Okay, I can go along with that. Prudence, who is sort of family, is the only one who can figure out if he’s truly been almost murdered.

I had to admit, this one was a tad slow in spots. I put it down and had a hard time coming back to it. I guess it’s because it seemed to drag. I wasn’t as caught up in the characters as I might have liked. It’s nearly four hundred pages.

Prudence could be a bit of a prude, but I rather liked her lack of experience and her getting flustered when she ended up in compromising situations. It was cute. Lord Sayer…I’m still not sure how I feel about his character. I liked that he wanted to find the person who wanted to murder him. He had money and the family didn’t like how he spent it. But he tended to get extreme with his strolls at midnight and his mood swings were a little much for me. I also had a hard time with the way the cat was treated. He isn’t hurt, but it just wasn’t my thing.

That said, there is some amusing romance in this book and the mystery was different. I didn’t figure it out until revealed at the end, so there’s that.

If you want a historical romance that’s got some mystery and a super slow burn, then this might be the one for you.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Other, Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Girl Who Knew Too Much by Amanda Quick

July 1, 2020 By Leave a Comment


The Girl Who Knew Too Much by Amanda Quick
Publisher: Little, Brown & Co
Genre: Historical, Suspense/Mystery
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

In 1930s California, glamour and seduction spawn a multitude of sins in this New York Times bestseller from the author of Tightrope.

At the exclusive Burning Cove Hotel on the coast of California, rookie reporter Irene Glasson finds herself staring down at a beautiful actress at the bottom of a pool….

The dead woman had something Irene wanted: a red-hot secret about an up-and-coming leading man—a scoop that may have gotten her killed. As Irene searches for the truth about the drowning, she’s drawn to a master of deception. Once a world-famous magician whose career was mysteriously cut short, Oliver Ward is now the owner of the Burning Cove Hotel. He can’t let scandal threaten his livelihood, even if it means trusting Irene, a woman who seems to have appeared in Los Angeles out of nowhere four months ago.

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Irene Glasson came to California from the East Coast a number of months ago on the run from her past. Determined to start a new life for herself she had no idea her past would eventually catch up with her. Oliver Ward knows all about moving on from the past as he’s been trying to get his life back on track after a bad accident ruined his magic career and nearly his life. Can they trust each other when they both need to keep their secrets close?

I’ve been an Amanda Quick fan for many years and was a little surprised when I realised just how long it’s been that I’ve been holding off reading this new kick-off of hers – away from the Regency/Victorian Historical setting and into the American 1930s. I feel mentally Amanda Quick to me signifies one of the best authors in the historical romance genres and she’s set the bar quite high. While I adore the 1920s and am fairly flexible in my reading likes, older American settings have never really been a passion of mine so I’ve been hesitant. Therefore, this book has languished in my to read pile.

Such a long enforced-indoors stay, though, (thank you Covid-19) had me curious enough to crack this open and for the most part I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. I was both thrilled and relieved that the writing has retained the high standard and easy-to-sink-into aspect that I associate with Amanda Quick (and her contemporary alter-ego Jayne Ann Krentz) and this story has reiterated for me, personally, that this author could write virtually anything and I’d find it largely readable.

The Girl Who Knew Too Much is way better than “largely readable” but I admit it wasn’t quite the gold-standard many of Quick’s earlier novels were. The characters were excellently drawn and familiar with intelligence and subtle good looks and keen to use their brains and skills rather than just coast along. I also felt the plot was very well woven and there were a few threads all linking up together really strongly and it kept the pace moving while giving the story a good sense of being rounded out. I admit the old-style Hollywood aspect to the story was interesting but never really grabbed me – though I freely admit this setting will likely appeal strongly to a large number of other readers. Quick does an excellent job of infusing the story with the sense of that golden era of Hollywood and the Art Deco/extravagance and historical setting of the 1930s and California in general. I strongly feel it was my own personal tastes that simply had me not as enraptured by this aspect to the story – Quick has done an amazing job with the writing and for readers who enjoy this style and setting should find it wonderful to sink into.

As is often the case with Quick (and Krentz) the setting and world she’s built was as addictive as the hero and heroine. There were a number of very strong secondary characters (Luther and Willie most especially) that I would have loved to see more of in subsequent books and I’m glad I’ve got the next already purchased. While there are a few intimate scenes written between Oliver and Irene I don’t feel they’re hot enough to be a turn-off for most traditional romance readers. While descriptive, they are a very small aspect to the story and I feel they are very tastefully written. The emotional relationship and romance between Oliver and Irene is a strong aspect to this story but I feel the mystery/suspense is equally strong and very prominent. I was really pleased that both sides to this story are well balanced and – to my mind – given equal weight throughout the story. This is the sort of book I wouldn’t blush to recommend to my mother or an elderly relative.

Readers who enjoy historically-set novels with both a strong romance and equally strong mystery should really enjoy these. Fans of Amanda Quick’s other novels should definitely give this a whirl as I was vastly pleased her change in time and setting has not dulled her talent one iota. A good book I will enjoy re-reading.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,
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