Blog Tour Review: Salt the Snow by Carrie Callaghan

From the Back Cover:

American journalist Milly Bennett has covered murders in San Francisco, fires in Hawaii, and a civil war in China, but 1930s Moscow presents her greatest challenge yet. When her young Russian husband is suddenly arrested by the secret police, Milly tries to get him released. But his arrest reveals both painful secrets about her marriage and hard truths about the Soviet state she has been working to serve. Disillusioned and pulled toward the front lines of a captivating new conflict, Milly must find a way to do the right thing for her husband, her conscience, and her heart. Salt the Snow is a vivid and impeccably researched tale of a woman ahead of her time, searching for her true calling in life and love.

My Thoughts:

I was really looking forward to reading this book. A pioneering reporter in a dangerous locale, going up against a terrifying regime to fight for justice and save the people she loves--sign me up. But unfortunately I had some issues with this story that prevented me from loving it as I'd hoped I would.

For starters, it's got a pretty slow-moving plot. There were long stretches where I felt like not much happened, and I found myself skimming to get to the more interesting parts. I'm also not sure the dual timeline structure served the story well. There's not much distance between the timelines as they alternate between the time Milly met her husband and the aftermath of his arrest, and so by the time they converged, it all sort of seemed anti-climactic.

But the biggest issue, for me, was Milly herself. I don't usually read up on unknown-to-me historical figures before I read novels about them because I like to be surprised by what's coming and go in without any preconceptions, but in this case, maybe I should have. Because it took me a really long time to warm up to Milly Bennett. She's selfish. She's a bit of a lush. She sleeps with married men. She does some other things that some readers may find morally questionable. But hardest for me was that she's a die-hard supporter of communism (though it is called socialism at the time). I understand the novelty of it during the Great Depression and the allure the ideal held for Americans who went to the Soviet Union in search of a better life. But very few of them actually found a better life there. Even in the face of desperate poverty, the lack of food, heat, and basic necessities, forced communal living, forced labor, and a tyrannical government jailing people who say things they don't like, Milly still defends the system. I found her very hard to empathize with until more than halfway through the book. Eventually Milly does lift the veil of idealism, and more of her underlying vulnerability comes through, allowing the reader to better understand why she behaves the way she does and to feel sorry for her in the situation she finds herself in. I finally started to feel her highs and lows, her triumphs and tragedies as my own and became invested in the outcome of her story.

Blog Tour Review: Project Duchess by Sabrina Jeffries

From the Back Cover:

From New York Times bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries comes a sparkling new series about an oft-widowed mother’s grown children, who blaze through society in their quest for the truth about their fathers ... and in the process find that love just might conquer all...

A series of stepfathers and a difficult childhood have left Fletcher “Grey” Pryde, 5th Duke of Greycourt, with a guarded heart, enviable wealth, and the undeserved reputation of a rogue. Grey’s focus on expanding his dukedom allows him little time to find a wife. But when his mother is widowed yet again and he meets the charmingly unconventional woman managing his stepfather’s funeral, he’s shocked to discover how much they have in common. Still, Grey isn’t interested in love, no matter how pretty, or delightfully outspoken, the lady...

Beatrice Wolfe gave up on romance long ago, and the arrogant Duke of Greycourt with his rakish reputation isn’t exactly changing her mind. Then Grey agrees to assist his grief-stricken mother with her latest “project”: schooling spirited, unfashionable Beatrice for her debut. Now that Beatrice is seeing through Grey’s charms to his wounded heart, she’s having trouble keeping him at arm’s length. But once Grey starts digging into her family’s secrets, she must decide whether her loyalties lie with her family . . . or with the man whose lessons capture her heart...

My Thoughts:

When Grey's stepfather dies unexpectedly, Grey is forced to go home to comfort his grieving mother and siblings. It's not that he doesn't love his mother, and he loved and admired his stepfather, but he's never forgiven them for sending him away when he was a boy. Prepared to do his duty and flee, he is unprepared for Beatrice Wolfe, the sharp-tongued spinster helping with the funeral, or for the news that his stepfather was murdered, and the prime suspect is Beatrice's reclusive, war-wounded brother. Charged with helping solve the case, Grey does not object to spending time with Beatrice, but only because it means he can have her brother arrested as soon as possible. It has nothing to do with how he feels when he's around her. At least that's what he tells himself.

Tired of being a charity relation, Beatrice longs for a life and family of her own. Though she is daunted by the idea of a London season, she allows Grey's mother to make a project of her, knowing how badly the dear woman needs a distraction from her grief. Lessons in etiquette and dancing with the arrogant Duke of Greycourt are something she must put up with, even though she finds it harder and harder to deny her attraction to him. But as that attraction deepens into something more, Beatrice is stunned to learn Grey suspects her brother of murder and that he's been using her for information. Both Beatrice and Grey will have to determine where their hearts and loyalties lie and how far they're willing to go to protect their families.

I have enjoyed previous Sabrina Jeffries novels, but this one was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I really liked the characters, and the banter between them was sizzling, but I can't say there was anything really original or memorable about this story. I'm all for a mystery, and it appears the mystery of who murdered Maurice and why will run the course of the series, but I felt like it needed to have more substance in this first book to set it up. It seemed like more of an afterthought against the backdrop of dancing and etiquette lessons. The sex scenes, while hot, were too flowery for my tastes. Too many "ohs" and exclamation points. But I still found it an enjoyable way to pass the time, and I may read the next book to see if the mystery deepens.

My Rating:  3 Stars out of 5

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Quick Review: The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo by Kerrigan Byrne

From the Back Cover:

The bravest of heroes. The brashest of rebels. The boldest of lovers. These are the men who risk their hearts and their souls—for the passionate women who dare to love them…

He is known only as The Rook. A man with no name, no past, no memories. He awakens in a mass grave, a magnificent dragon tattoo on his muscled forearm the sole clue to his mysterious origins. His only hope for survival—and salvation—lies in the deep, fiery eyes of the beautiful stranger who finds him. Who nurses him back to health. And who calms the restless demons in his soul…

A LEGENDARY LOVE

Lorelei will never forget the night she rescued the broken dark angel in the woods, a devilishly handsome man who haunts her dreams to this day. Crippled as a child, she devoted herself to healing the poor tortured man. And when he left, he took a piece of her heart with him. Now, after all these years, The Rook has returned. Like a phantom, he sweeps back into her life and avenges those who wronged her. But can she trust a man who’s been branded a rebel, a thief, and a killer? And can she trust herself to resist him when he takes her in his arms?

My Thoughts:

This book had a really strong start that perfectly introduced two damaged characters that seemed made for one another. Completely opposite in so many ways, but exactly what the other needed. I loved the dynamics between them in the beginning, the crippled girl and the beaten boy--there's is a love story you root for from their very first interaction. But then they were separated for a number of years and the long-awaited reunion was not what I was hoping for. Ash was cruel, Lorelai was hurt, and that aspect just seemed unnecessary. It took a long time for Ash to treat her the way she deserved to be treated. Then we get some adventure and suspense and big revelations that probably would have had more meaning if I'd read the previous books since a few of those characters make an appearance toward the end. Certainly not a bad read, and of course there's a happy ending, but it did not live up to the excellence of the first few chapters.

My Rating:  3 Stars out of 5

Please Note: This review references an advance digital copy received from the publisher via NetGalley, and therefore the final published copy may differ. Though I received this book from the publisher, my review is voluntary and these are my honest and unbiased thoughts. I was not compensated in any other way for reviewing this book.

Blog Tour Review: The Blue by Nancy Bilyeau

From the Back Cover:

In eighteenth century London, porcelain is the most seductive of commodities; fortunes are made and lost upon it. Kings do battle with knights and knaves for possession of the finest pieces and the secrets of their manufacture.

For Genevieve Planché, an English-born descendant of Huguenot refugees, porcelain holds far less allure; she wants to be an artist, a painter of international repute, but nobody takes the idea of a female artist seriously in London. If only she could reach Venice.

When Genevieve meets the charming Sir Gabriel Courtenay, he offers her an opportunity she can’t refuse; if she learns the secrets of porcelain, he will send her to Venice. But in particular, she must learn the secrets of the colour blue…

The ensuing events take Genevieve deep into England’s emerging industrial heartlands, where not only does she learn about porcelain, but also about the art of industrial espionage.

With the heart and spirit of her Huguenot ancestors, Genevieve faces her challenges head on, but how much is she willing to suffer in pursuit and protection of the colour blue?

My Thoughts:

I very much enjoyed Nancy Bilyeau's Joanna Stafford trilogy, so I was excited to see she had a new book. In The Blue, she jumps forward two hundred years, leaving the Tudor era behind for the decadent Georgians, the scandalous court of Louis XV, and the porcelain rage that was sweeping Europe.

Genevieve Planche is a young Huguenot woman living in London with her grandfather, her family having fled religious persecution in France. A talented artist, Genevieve longs to do more than paint flowers on fabric for society ladies' dresses. She wants to capture the world around her on canvas, but to do so she needs a teacher. Unfortunately, no teacher in London will take on a woman as a student. Though she is offered a job as a decorator at her cousin's porcelain factory in Derby, Genevieve believes her creativity and spirit will be crushed in such a meaningless job, and she is about to take drastic action to avoid that fate when a mysterious benefactor makes her an offer: take the job in Derby, find the chemist rumored to be working on the most beautiful shade of blue the world has ever seen, steal his formula, and she will be fully funded to Venice, where women are accepted as artists.

But Derby turns out to be nothing like Genevieve was expecting. Her new employers are suspicious of her from the start, and her eyes are opened to the cutthroat competitiveness of the porcelain industry and the lengths her employers are willing to go to to win the race. But she does make some friends and, to her surprise, she does find some creative satisfaction. Genevieve turns out to be a rather poor spy, and she constantly wages an internal battle over the morality of her actions, especially once she finds her elusive quarry. But her benefactor will suffer no excuses and makes clear that there will be dire consequences should Genevieve fail to carry out her mission. What follows is a tense game of cat-and-mouse as Genevieve tries to stay a step ahead of the dangerous men who will stop at nothing to get what they want while she tries to extricate herself from her precarious position and save the people she loves.

Blog Tour Review: Sons of Blackbird Mountain by Joanne Bischof

From the Back Cover:

A Tale of Family, Brotherhood, and the Healing Power of Love

After the tragic death of her husband, Aven Norgaard is beckoned to give up her life in Norway to become a housekeeper in the rugged hills of Nineteenth-Century Appalachia. Upon arrival, she finds herself in the home of her late husband’s cousins—three brothers who make a living by brewing hard cider on their three-hundred acre farm. Yet even as a stranger in a foreign land, Aven has hope to build a new life in this tight-knit family.

But her unassuming beauty disrupts the bond between the brothers. The youngest two both desire her hand, and Aven is caught in the middle, unsure where—and whether—to offer her affection. While Haakon is bold and passionate, it is Thor who casts the greatest spell upon her. Though Deaf, mute, and dependent on hard drink to cope with his silent pain, Thor possesses a sobering strength.

As autumn ushers in the apple harvest, the rift between Thor and Haakon deepens and Aven faces a choice that risks hearts. Will two brothers’ longing for her quiet spirit tear apart a family? Can she find a tender belonging in this remote, rugged, and unfamiliar world?

A haunting tale of struggle and redemption, Sons of Blackbird Mountain is a portrait of grace in a world where the broken may find new life through the healing mercy of love.

My Thoughts:

I was immediately drawn to the description of this book. A historical romance with strong themes of faith and forgiveness, the story centers on Aden, a young widow recently arrived from Norway, and Thor, the middle of the Norgaard brothers, apple farmers who make a very healthy living selling hard cider and wine. Set adrift and unsure where she belongs in the world, Aden begins to find a semblance of home on the mountain and finds her heart opening to Thor, but Thor's drinking brings up painful reminders of her marriage. While outwardly the brothers seem to have it all, old hurts and tensions run between them, particularly with the youngest, Haakon, and run-ins with their bitter neighbors and the Ku Klux Klan bring the threat of real danger.

From the very beginning I was drawn to the characters and their farm in southwest Virginia, but there is one in particular who captured my heart. Ah, Thor. A deep soul who often finds himself frustrated by the inability of others to understand him, with emotions so big and uninhibited that they can come out rather intensely. Numbing his pain and resentment with alcohol from the moment he wakes up every day. Never daring to hope that a woman would come along with the desire to see past his deafness, to make an effort to understand him and get to know him, to fall in love with him, to want to spend her life with him. Until Aden comes along, and what follows is a tender, emotional, angst-filled tale of love and overcoming addiction that really pulls at the heartstrings.

However, I ended up with mixed feelings about this book. I was absolutely in love with the love story and couldn't wait to see how it would play out, but I found the story often got bogged down by tedious details and description. Of course details and descriptions are vital in bringing the past to life, but it's easy to give too much and throw off the rhythm of the story, slow it down unnecessarily. And so I ended up skimming a bit. I also thought it had too many plot threads going on to do full justice to any of them. After finishing, I learned that this is first in a series and the author needed to set up several threads that will run through all of the books, but I still feel like these were complex themes--alcoholism, racism, superstition, grief, post-war hostility--that seemed sort of glossed over or rushed. And finally, Haakon sort of pulled a 180 and did some crazy things at the end that seemed to come out of nowhere. Turns out that was all a setup for the next book, but it just felt tacked on and contrived. I haven't decided yet if I'll read the next book because I don't really want to read about Haakon, but I probably will because, well . . .Thor.

If you're looking for something different in historical romance, this should definitely be on your radar. And it is a wonderful love story. Just be prepared for all of the other stuff that gets in the way.

My Rating:  3 Stars out of 5

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Review: The Duke Who Ravished Me by Diana Quincy

From the Back Cover:

An impulsive kiss between a libertine duke and a mysterious governess sparks a blaze of desire—and intrigue—in this breathtaking Regency romance from the award-winning author of Spy Fall.

Adam Fairfax, the Duke of Sunderford, happily enjoys a different woman (or two) every night—or he did, until his wards landed on his doorstep. Ever since Sunny took in the seven-year-old twin girls and their prim and proper governess, Isabel Finch, his love life has been a shambles. But, as time goes by, Sunny catches himself getting lost in Isabel’s haughty blue eyes, or following the curves beneath her unbecoming dress. An unexpected kiss ignites a passion that shocks him into realizing how thin the line between love and hate can be.

If Isabel’s hidden past were revealed, she could lose everything. Oddly enough, only when “Sinful Sunny” is near does she feel safe—or safe enough to speak up in defense of the girls. The duke’s decadent lifestyle is a disgrace, and clearly he considers Isabel a nuisance. Still, she can’t help admiring his sculpted cheekbones, strong-cut jaw, and tousled chestnut hair. When their lips meet, it’s almost as if he could kiss the secrets right out of her. Worse, she’s tempted to let him . . . 

My Thoughts:

If you've read the previous books in this series, you're familiar with Adam Fairfax, Duke of Sunderford, or Sinful Sunny, as he is known in the society columns. An unapologetic libertine who revels in hosting orgies in his palatial town house, he can't understand what's come over the friends who used to join him in his unbridled, indulgent lifestyle. It's bad enough they had to go and get married, but the shocker is that they are actually faithful to their wives! Adam doesn't realize it, but his sinful style is about to come crashing to a halt as well.

His buzzkill arrives in the form of adorable seven-year-old twin girls. Children of a deceased cousin, they were staying with Adam's uncle until his uncle's deteriorating health forced him to name Adam their new guardian. And as if they didn't cramp his style enough, they come complete with a prim and proper nanny determined to keep his lifestyle from their impressionable eyes and ears. Easier said than done at first.

The girls are Isabel Finch's sole purpose in life. A widowed orphan, she has no other family, and scoring the post as the girls' governess has been a godsend for her. Even at an isolated country estate, Sinful Sunny's reputation preceded him. Appalled at his behavior and disappointed in his desire to find a new guardian for the girls, she is also extremely dismayed to find herself attracted to the rake. But the more she comes to learn of his loveless upbringing and the walls he has encased around his heart, the more she understands what drives his choices. And the more the girls worm their way into his affections, and Adam curtails his nighttime romps, the more she finds herself wishing they were a real family.

Review: The Darkling Bride by Laura Andersen

From the Back Cover:

Three generations of Irish nobles face their family secrets in this spellbinding novel from the award-winning author of the Boleyn King trilogy.

The Gallagher family has called Deeprath Castle home for seven hundred years. Nestled in the Wicklow Mountains of Ireland, the estate is now slated to become a public trust, and book lover and scholar Carragh Ryan is hired to take inventory of its historic library. But after meeting Aidan, the current Viscount Gallagher, and his enigmatic family, Carragh knows that her task will be more challenging than she’d thought.

Two decades before, Aidan’s parents died violently at Deeprath. The case, which was never closed, has recently been taken up by a new detective determined to find the truth. The couple’s unusual deaths harken back a century, when twenty-three-year-old Lady Jenny Gallagher also died at Deeprath under mysterious circumstances, leaving behind an infant son and her husband, a renowned writer who never published again. These incidents only fueled fantastical theories about the Darkling Bride, a local legend of a sultry and dangerous woman from long ago whose wrath continues to haunt the castle.

The past catches up to the present, and odd clues in the house soon have Carragh wondering if there are unseen forces stalking the Gallagher family. As secrets emerge from the shadows and Carragh gets closer to answers—and to Aidan—could she be the Darkling Bride’s next victim? 

My Thoughts:

I wanted to read this book as soon as I saw the description. A haunted castle? Irish folklore? A giant library? A dark and brooding viscount? Yes, please!

When Carragh Ryan interviews for a job inventorying an ancient family library, she has no idea what lies before her. From the snooty matriarch, Nessa, to the frosty heir, Aiden, and his bitter sister, Kyla, the Gallagher family seems anything but welcoming. Carragh determines to enjoy her time in the magnificent stained-glass window-lined library, get the job done, and get out. But the re-opening of the investigation into the murder of Aiden's parents two decades earlier stirs up family secrets and appears to provoke the Darkling Bride. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn of the legend of the Darkling Bride, the tragic tale of Jenny Gallagher and Evan Chase, and the details of the fateful summer leading up to Lily and Cillian Gallagher's deaths. When unexplained happenings begin occurring in the castle, and Carragh finds herself at the mercy of two spirits--one that seems to want to help her solve the mystery of what happened to Aiden's parents and one that seems to want her gone--Carragh determines to find the clues she is sure are hidden in the library. But as she gets closer to the truth, someone--or something--will stop at nothing to keep the truth from coming to light.

This book and I got off to a rocky start. After seeing so many good reviews for the author's Tudor series, the contemporary romance style of writing was not what I was expecting, nor were the characters. But the mystery of the Darkling Bride and the castle's murders soon had me hooked. Then I was thrown again by the numerous points of view that kept popping up and the fact that we had three timelines to keep track of. But I soon saw how these could all work together. But then I was thrown again by a plot twist. I got to the point where I wondered how much more the author was going to throw into this story and how it could possibly be satisfying beneath the weight of so many elements. But it worked . . . mostly.

Blog Tour Review: The Phantom's Apprentice by Heather Webb

From the Back Cover:

In this re-imagining of Phantom of the Opera, meet a Christine Daaé you’ve never seen before…

Christine Daaé sings with her violinist Papa in salons all over Paris, but she longs to practice her favorite pastime—illusions. When her beloved Papa dies during a conjurer’s show, she abandons her magic and surrenders to grief and guilt. Life as a female illusionist seems too dangerous, and she must honor her father’s memory.

Concerned for her welfare, family friend Professor Delacroix secures an audition for her at the Nouvel Opéra—the most illustrious stage in Europe. Yet Christine soon discovers the darker side of Paris opera. Rumors of murder float through the halls, and she is quickly trapped between a scheming diva and a mysterious phantom. The Angel of Music.

But is the Angel truly a spirit, or a man obsessed, stalking Christine for mysterious reasons tangled in her past?

As Christine’s fears mount, she returns to her magical arts with the encouragement of her childhood friend, Raoul. Newfound hope and romance abounds…until one fateful night at the masquerade ball. Those she cares for—Delacroix, the Angel, and even Raoul—aren’t as they seem. Now she must decide whom she trusts and which is her rightful path: singer or illusionist.

To succeed, she will risk her life in the grandest illusion of all.

My Thoughts:

In my younger years, I was such a fan of The Phantom of the Opera musical. I still remember seeing it on Broadway all those years ago, sitting up in the nosebleeds and being thoroughly entranced. My mom bought me the soundtrack on the way out, and I soon knew it by heart. I was surprised at how many of those lyrics came back to me as I was reading The Phantom's Apprentice. It's been a very long time since I saw the musical, and I've never read the book on which it's based, so I went into this without a solid attachment to the particulars of the story, my mind open to see how Ms. Webb would make this story her own.

While the bones of the story are pretty much the same--Christine Daae, a beautiful young woman with a beautiful voice, auditions for a role in the chorus of a Paris opera house. The opera house is haunted, and Christine catches the attention of the "phantom," who decides to help her hone her skills, coming to her in the guise of the "angel of music," and sets some dastardly events in motion in order to have Christine become the star of the show. But his plans to keep Christine to himself are spoiled by the reappearance of her childhood love, Raoul, who determines not to let her go again now that he's found her, and though Christine knows it angers the phantom, having fallen in love with Raoul all over again, she can't stay away from him. And so the stage is set for a showdown between the murderous phantom and the young lovers.

What sets this story apart from the version I knew is the addition of illusions and magic. In this story, singing is Christine's second love, coming behind her love for the art of illusions, a love fostered by her mother before her untimely death. Christine figures out early on that the phantom is nothing more than a master illusionist, and while she continues to go along with his ploy in order to further her career, secretly she is bent on discovering the science behind his "haunting." This leads her into all sorts of danger as she explores the shadowy labyrinth beneath the opera house. She also has a very real benefactor in the form of Monsieur Delacroix, a man determined to unmask the phantom and make a name for himself in the scientific community. But as the phantom spirals out of control, Monsieur Delacroix's motives become more and more suspect, and eventually Christine is unsure who she can trust. Even Raoul seems to have secrets.

Review: The Wardrobe Mistress by Meghan Masterson

From the Back Cover:

It's Giselle Aubry's first time at court in Versailles. At sixteen, she is one of Marie Antoinette's newest undertirewomen, and in awe of the glamorous queen and her opulent palace life. A budding designer, it's a dream come true to work with the beautiful fabrics and jewels in the queen's wardrobe. But every few weeks she returns home to visit her family in the Parisian countryside where rumors of revolution are growing stronger.

From her position working in the royal household, Giselle is poised to see both sides of the revolutionary tensions erupting throughout Paris. When her uncle, a retired member of the secret du roi, a spy ring that worked for the old King, Louis XV, suggests that she casually report the Queen s actions back to him as a game, she leaps at the chance. Spying seems like an adventure and an exciting way to privately support the revolution taking the countryside by storm. She also enjoys using her insight from Versailles in lively debates with Leon Gauvain, the handsome and idealistic revolutionary who courts her.

But as the revolution continues to gain momentum, and Giselle grows closer to the Queen, becoming one of the few trusted servants, she finds herself dangerously torn. Violence is escalating; she must choose where her loyalty truly lies, or risk losing everything...maybe even her head.

My Thoughts:

The French Revolution is one of my favorite time periods to read about, not because I admire the way it went down--quite the opposite--but because it lends itself perfectly to historical fiction and trying to understand what it must have been like to live through such terror and uncertainty. I was drawn to The Wardrobe Mistress particularly for the perspective of a woman in charge of dressing Marie Antoinette.

From a comfortably upper middle-class family, Giselle is thrilled to earn a position in the queen's household. An aspiring dressmaker, she hopes to further her craft and establish the connections that could allow her to open her own business in the future. Though the queen is glamorous and pampered, Giselle sees firsthand the work it takes to make the queen formidable in the face of her enemies, and she witnesses the queen's sorrow as civil unrest grows and the king's enemies blame her for their problems. Giselle comes to admire and pity the queen, but when she falls in love with Leon, a young revolutionary, she is caught between her respect and admiration for the royals and the growing animosity from the lower classes, to whom she also feels some loyalty. Tasked by her uncle Beaumarchais to supply him with any information that might be pertinent to national security and challenged by Leon's increasing revolutionary fervor, Giselle must tread a careful path to avoid falling victim to political persecution. And when the mob becomes murderous, storming the palace and eventually capturing the king and queen, Giselle must find a way to avoid being taken down with them.

I don't know that there's anything new or revelatory here, but the graphic depictions of mob violence and the honest portrayal of the dangers of a civilized society becoming too polarized and politicized are frightening. And I appreciated the viewpoint of someone privy to the more intimate circumstances behind Louis XVI's and Marie Antoinette's actions. I'm a fan of romance, but I found the love story here to be too sweet, almost saccharine, and a little too much the focal point at times. There were a couple of twists toward the end that made for a more nuanced and poignant conclusion, though I did think the ending too abrupt. It needed one more chapter to give the reader--and the story--closure. But the story does a good job of capturing the paranoid, frenetic culture of the revolution and how an innocent young woman could unwittingly find herself on the wrong side of it. At times gay and glamorous, at others gritty and gruesome, The Wardrobe Mistress is a thought-provoking and entertaining read.

My Rating:  3.5 Stars out of 5

*Please Note: This review references an advance digital copy received from the publisher via NetGalley, and therefore the final published copy may differ. Though I received this book from the publisher, my review is voluntary and these are my honest and unbiased thoughts. I was not compensated in any other way for reviewing this book.

Holiday Review: Christmas in Kilts

From the Back Cover:

Tis the season to fall in love! These five bestselling authors bring you great tiding of highlanders and romances this holiday season!

A HIGHLANDER'S HOPE by Terri Brisbin
A village harlot who would never dream she could have a different life meets a Highlander visitor for the holidays who brings with him an offer and hope!

A HIGHLAND CHRISTMAS WAGER by Lecia Cornwall
When a snowstorm forces a charming lass hiding a broken heart to take shelter in a castle with three fine Highland lairds just days before Christmas, there’s a game afoot—who will be the first to win a kiss and maybe her heart.

A SCOT FOR CHRISTMAS by Bronwen Evans
She's ready to embrace her life and future as a spinster, he's trying to have one last hurrah before he gives into his family's wishes and proposes marriage to his neighbor, but fate has other ideas when the lady and the Scot meet at a holiday house party in the wilds of Scotland.

MISTLETOE by Lavinia Kent
What happens when a highlander finds himself stranded, maybe kidnapped, with an English lady around Christmas... maybe the mistletoe will help answer that question.

SWEET HOME HIGHLAND CHRISTMAS by May McGoldrick
A chance encounter between a ship's captain and a desperate aunt trying to keep custody of her young niece leads to a little magic during the holidays.

My Thoughts:

I like Christmas anthologies because the novellas tend to focus solely on the holiday rather than it just being a backdrop or only figuring into a few scenes in a full-length novel. Plus it gives me a chance to try out authors that are new to me, as all of these are. And five Christmas historical romances set in Scotland? Yes, please! Here we have five different stories in locations ranging from the Highlands to the Lowlands, and from the 14th century to the 19th. I'm giving you a brief rundown of my thoughts on each story along with my thoughts on the collection as a whole.

A Highlander's Hope: DNFed. I don't think a novella allows for enough time to have a satisfying arc for a heroine who is a courtesan. I just found the premise really unbelievable: An older soldier still grieving the death of his wife five years earlier, lonely, being pushed to remarry by his clan, suddenly decides that the perfect wife for him is the prostitute he visits once a year when he visits another clan? A prostitute who is still working? I just couldn't buy it. Added to that was choppy writing and a complicated backstory dump with too many people to keep straight from previous books in this author's series, and I just didn't have any interest in continuing past the second chapter.

A Highland Christmas Wager: At first I worried this was going the way of the first with an extremely unlikable male lead, but it turned out there were three different men in this tale, snowed in with an unwed beauty from a powerful clan, all vying for her physical attentions and her hand in marriage, but only one of them wants her heart. Some over-the-top moments and a silly misunderstanding, but the romance is sweet.

Blog Tour Holiday Blitz Q&A + Review: With This Christmas Ring by Manda Collins

From the Back Cover:

A wallflower determined to fulfill a dying promise, the rogue she jilted years ago, and an orphaned baby are all brought together amidst the magic of Christmas in this new novella from Manda Collins. 

Miss Merry Parks makes a deathbed promise to a schoolfriend that her infant daughter will be taken to her absent father. There’s only one problem—to find the baby’s father, she’ll have to consult his cousin, Viscount Wrotham, the man she jilted five years ago. The man she couldn’t forget. 

Alex Ponsonby, Viscount Wrotham, is stunned to find Merry Parks—looking more lovely than ever--on his doorstep with an infant in her arms. His shock soon turns to dismay when he learns his own cousin William is the man who abandoned his wife and child. As head of the family he’s duty bound to see right is done. But he can't let this opportunity pass. He’ll take Merry and the baby to his cousin, but he’ll woo her back in the process.

Merry agrees to travel with Alex and the baby to Wrotham Castle, where the entire Ponsonby family has gathered for Christmas, but her plans to see the baby settled then leave are ruined by a snowstorm. After five years apart, Alex and Merry will spend the week getting reacquainted. Perhaps it’s the spirit of the holiday, or the magic of the season, but there could be something else in the air this Yuletide…A Christmas Reunion.

Christmas Q&A with Manda Collins!

When do the holidays officially start for you?

The first frosty morning when there's a nip in the air and I can feel that winter is on the way. I love that feeling!

What's your favorite thing about the holidays?

Getting together with family and friends is the best. We don't necessarily see one another all that much during the year, but we all make time during the holidays.

Are there any holiday traditions you do every year without fail?

I listen to carols sung by the King's College Choir every year and spend at least one day boiling cloves and spices on the stove to get the house smelling like Christmas.

What's your favorite holiday movie?

The Thin Man starring Myrna Loy and William Powell as Nick and Nora Charles. (Of course MY favorite holiday movie has witty repartee and murder in it!)

Do you have a favorite holiday book?

That would be Christmas Angel by Jo Beverley. It's one of her early Company of Rogues books and I love the way Lucien and Beth and her children become a family over the course of the story.

What's your all-time favorite holiday song?

The Holly and the Ivy.

Blog Tour Review: The Illusionist's Apprentice by Kristy Cambron

From the Back Cover:

Harry Houdini’s one-time apprentice holds fantastic secrets about the greatest illusionist in the world. But someone wants to claim them . . . or silence her before she can reveal them on her own.

Boston, 1926. Jenny “Wren” Lockhart is a bold eccentric—even for a female vaudevillian. As notorious for her inherited wealth and gentleman’s dress as she is for her unsavory upbringing in the back halls of a vaudeville theater, Wren lives in a world that challenges all manner of conventions.

In the months following Houdini’s death, Wren is drawn into a web of mystery surrounding a spiritualist by the name of Horace Stapleton, a man defamed by Houdini’s ardent debunking of fraudulent mystics in the years leading up to his death. But in a public illusion that goes terribly wrong, one man is dead and another stands charged with his murder. Though he’s known as one of her teacher’s greatest critics, Wren must decide to become the one thing she never wanted to be: Stapleton’s defender.

Forced to team up with the newly formed FBI, Wren races against time and an unknown enemy, all to prove the innocence of a hated man. In a world of illusion, of the vaudeville halls that showcase the flamboyant and the strange, Wren’s carefully constructed world threatens to collapse around her. Layered with mystery, illusion, and the artistry of the Jazz Age’s bygone vaudeville era, The Illusionist’s Apprentice is a journey through love and loss and the underpinnings of faith on each life’s stage.

My Thoughts:

I have long been wanting to read one of Kristy Cambron's novels, and I even have The Butterfly and the Violin on my tablet, I just haven't had time to catch up on the thousands of ebooks I've acquired. (Maybe because I keep acquiring more? But that's a topic for another post!) So I jumped at the chance to review The Illusionist's Apprentice. And I have very mixed feelings about it. I'm going to skip the plot recap since this is a mystery and I don't want to risk giving anything away. And the blurb does a good job of telling you what the story is about. So I'm just going to tell you what I think. And what I think is that this story had a lot of potential, but it just didn't take full advantage of all it had to offer.

Review: The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence by Alyssa Palombo

From the Back Cover:

A girl as beautiful as Simonetta Cattaneo never wants for marriage proposals in 15th Century Italy, but she jumps at the chance to marry Marco Vespucci. Marco is young, handsome and well-educated. Not to mention he is one of the powerful Medici family’s favored circle. 

Even before her marriage with Marco is set, Simonetta is swept up into Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici’s glittering circle of politicians, poets, artists, and philosophers. The men of Florence—most notably the rakish Giuliano de’ Medici—become enthralled with her beauty. That she is educated and an ardent reader of poetry makes her more desirable and fashionable still. But it is her acquaintance with a young painter, Sandro Botticelli, which strikes her heart most. Botticelli immediately invites Simonetta, newly proclaimed the most beautiful woman in Florence, to pose for him. As Simonetta learns to navigate her marriage, her place in Florentine society, and the politics of beauty and desire, she and Botticelli develop a passionate intimacy, one that leads to her immortalization in his masterpiece, The Birth of Venus.

Alyssa Palombo’s The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence vividly captures the dangerous allure of the artist and muse bond with candor and unforgettable passion.

My Thoughts:

Simonetta Cattaneo is a beautiful young woman, raised in Genoa with a sheltered childhood, allowed to learn the basics of reading and writing, but not allowed to further her education beyond that, though she yearns to study the great masters of literature and art. So when a handsome young Florentine man comes calling with poetry and promises of a grand life in Florence, a city alive with new ideas and overflowing with art and literature, Simonetta gladly accepts his offer.

Simonetta marries Marco Vespucci, who is friends with the man behind the Florentine Renaissance, Lorenzo de' Medici, Il Magnifico. Simonetta instantly becomes the star of the de' Medicis' social circle, and soon all of Florence is caught up in the idea of her--emulating her fashion, fighting for a glimpse of her, and gifting her with the title of the most beautiful woman in Florence. She also catches the eye of young Sandro Botticelli and sits for him for a portrait. Moved by her beauty, both inside and out, her likeness begins to appear in more of his works. Simonetta is in heaven, free to read all she wants and to discuss the new and somewhat heretical ideas sweeping through the country with other intellectuals. But not everyone is happy with her esteemed status, and as her star eclipses her husband's, and as so many men vie for her attention, jealousy and thwarted ambition lead to problems in their marriage. Somewhat disillusioned and suffering from bouts of ill health, Simonetta seizes the chance to sit for Botticelli again, this time to be immortalized in his famous masterpiece, The Birth of Venus. Over the course of many months, the relationship between the artist and his muse becomes tangled, and a forbidden passion erupts, though fate will soon intervene with tragic consequences.

Blog Tour Review: The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck

From the Back Cover:

Three women, haunted by the past and the secrets they hold

Set at the end of World War II, in a crumbling Bavarian castle that once played host to all of German high society, a powerful and propulsive story of three widows whose lives and fates become intertwined—an affecting, shocking, and ultimately redemptive novel from the author of the New York Times Notable Book The Hazards of Good Breeding.

Amid the ashes of Nazi Germany’s defeat, Marianne von Lingenfels returns to the once-grand castle of her husband’s ancestors, an imposing stone fortress now fallen into ruin following years of war. The widow of a resister murdered in the failed July 20, 1944, plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Marianne plans to uphold the promise she made to her husband’s brave conspirators: to find and protect their wives, her fellow resistance widows.

First Marianne rescues six-year-old Martin, the son of her dearest childhood friend, from a Nazi reeducation home. Together, they make their way across the smoldering wreckage of their homeland to Berlin, where Martin’s mother, the beautiful and naive Benita, has fallen into the hands of occupying Red Army soldiers. Then she locates Ania, another resister’s wife, and her two boys, now refugees languishing in one of the many camps that house the millions displaced by the war.

As Marianne assembles this makeshift family from the ruins of her husband’s resistance movement, she is certain their shared pain and circumstances will hold them together. But she quickly discovers that the black-and-white, highly principled world of her privileged past has become infinitely more complicated, filled with secrets and dark passions that threaten to tear them apart. Eventually, all three women must come to terms with the choices that have defined their lives before, during, and after the war—each with their own unique share of challenges.

Written with the devastating emotional power of The Nightingale, Sarah’s Key, and The Light Between Oceans, Jessica Shattuck’s evocative and utterly enthralling novel offers a fresh perspective on one of the most tumultuous periods in history. Combining piercing social insight and vivid historical atmosphere, The Women in the Castle is a dramatic yet nuanced portrait of war and its repercussions that explores what it means to survive, love, and, ultimately, to forgive in the wake of unimaginable hardship.

My Thoughts:

The Women in the Castle opens with a prologue in which Germany's academic elite have gathered in celebration, and we are introduced to Marianne von Lingenfels and the von Lingenfels castle, a charming relic that has been used only for annual parties but that will soon become a refuge and a lifeline for the wives of the men sequestered in Albrecht von Lingenfels's study plotting the downfall of Adolph Hitler. Seven years and one failed assassination attempt later, World War II has just ended, and Marianne, now a traitor's widow, makes it her mission to find the wives and children of her husband's co-conspirators, heroes in her eyes, and bring them to safety.

Though she is only able to find two, Ania, a woman she'd never met, and Benita, the young wife of Marianne's childhood best friend, she gathers them and their children and brings them to the castle, where she hopes to keep them safe in the dangerous post-war climate, and where she hopes they will all be able to rebuild their lives together. None of these women have been untouched by the war, although Marianne, as a wealthy member of the aristocracy, has not had to suffer the physical depravities or face the daily fight for survival that the others have, and she soon realizes that coaxing these women into forming a new family with her will not be as easy as she'd hoped. Through food shortages, illness, the Russian and US occupations, and the bands of discharged soldiers and former prisoners roaming the countryside, Marianne desperately attempts to hold them all together, but she is eventually forced to admit that she can't force her fellow survivors to follow her path, that she must let them each come to terms with the war and their roles in it in their own way, and that they must each determine their own future.

Quick Review: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

From the Back Cover:

At the edge of the Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn’t mind—she spends the winter nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings, listening to her nurse’s fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid night to claim unwary souls. Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes from evil.

After Vasilisa’s mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa’s new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.

And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa’s stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent.

As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse’s most frightening tales.

My Thoughts:

Looks like I'm going to be the voice of dissension on this one. I'm sure you've seen the hype surrounding this book. It's hard to miss. Ads were everywhere when it was released, featuring one accolade after another. And the description sounds amazing, doesn't it? I so wanted to love it. I love Russian historical fiction, and I went into it expecting to love it, to be wowed, to be swept off my feet. Alas, none of that happened. While it's not a bad book, at the end of the day, I honestly found it to be just plain boring.

I loved the folklore and magical elements, and I liked Vasilisa, but the pacing is soooo slow. Agonizingly slow. And the omniscient style means we get the point of view of way too many characters, some who don't even have a name, that's how insignificant they are to the story, yet we get their fleeting thoughts anyway. And if you know me, you know I'm a stickler for a tight, focused point of view structure. The author's writing has been described as beautiful and lyrical, but I thought it was rather on the simple side. And then when I got to the end and discovered this is the first in a trilogy, I couldn't help but note that the story would not need to be a trilogy if this book had been trimmed down, the pace quickened, and the rest of the story added in. I actually groaned at the thought of reading this story stretched out over two more books at a snail's pace.

I don't mean to sound harsh, and I know plenty of readers are loving this, but it just didn't live up to my expectations. I'm still giving it three stars because I did stick with it till the end, and I did find some things to admire about it. But not enough to continue on with the other books.

My Rating:  3 Stars out of 5

*Please Note: This review references an advance digital copy received from the publisher via NetGalley, and therefore the final published copy may differ. Though I received this book from the publisher, these are my honest and unbiased thoughts, and I was not compensated in any other way for reviewing this book.

Review: The Visitor by Amanda Stevens

From the Back Cover:

My name is Amelia Gray. I'm the Graveyard Queen.

Restoring lost and abandoned cemeteries is my profession, but I'm starting to believe that my true calling is deciphering the riddles of the dead. Legend has it that Kroll Cemetery is a puzzle no one has ever been able to solve. For over half a century, the answer has remained hidden within the strange headstone inscriptions and intricate engravings. Because uncovering the mystery of that tiny, remote graveyard may come at a terrible price.

Years after their mass death, Ezra Kroll's disciples lie unquiet, their tormented souls trapped within the walls of Kroll Cemetery, waiting to be released by someone strong and clever enough to solve the puzzle. For whatever reason, I'm being summoned to that graveyard by both the living and the dead. Every lead I follow, every clue I unravel brings me closer to an unlikely killer and to a destiny that will threaten my sanity and a future with my love, John Devlin.

My Thoughts:

I am such a fan of the first three book in this series for several reasons: I love Charleston. It's my favorite city in the US. I love old cemeteries, and whenever I visit Charleston or any other old town on the East Coast, you bet I'm going to spend some time exploring their cemeteries. And finally, I love me some Southern Gothic. Add a smart heroine, a brooding hero, some sexy times, some history, and lots of spooky chills, and it all adds up to reading perfection for me. It's hard to review books in a series without revealing spoilers from earlier books, and it's doubly hard to review a mystery without accidentally revealing a little nugget a reader would have rather found on their own, so I'm going to skip the plot recap and just tell you how I felt about this book: I waited three long years for this fourth installment, and while I wish I could say it was well worth the wait, I did not find it as satisfying as earlier books.

While I have loved the undeniable chemistry between Amelia and John Devlin in previous books, I thought this one focused too much on Amelia's insecurities where Devlin is concerned. Now that they are finally a couple, I began to notice little things that bothered me, not the least of which is Devlin's refusal to acknowledge Amelia's true nature in spite of everything that's happened (FYI: she sees dead people), and they don't seem to have much in common outside of the bedroom. All of this leads up to what happens at the end of the book (and if you haven't read this book yet, don't read the blurb for book five, which includes a spoiler), so it definitely serves a purpose, but I found her inner worries to be repetitive, and they also made her look a little weaker in my eyes.

Another thing that contributed to my lower rating of this installment is that Amelia doesn't even get to a cemetery until halfway through the book. The pace was incredibly slow. Who would have thought it would take me two weeks to finish this book when I devoured the others in two days. And lastly, this book should have been published sooner. Three years is really too long to go between books in a series with an ongoing plot. I'm very glad that it reminded me of so much I'd forgotten, but I'd imagine those reading it right on the heels of The Prophet might be annoyed at the backstory info dumps. However, book five is already out, and book six releases next month, so we don't have to wait any longer to see where this thing is going.

Blog Tour Review: Daughter of a Thousand Years by Amalia Carosella

From the Back Cover:

Greenland, AD 1000

More than her fiery hair marks Freydís as the daughter of Erik the Red; her hot temper and fierce pride are as formidable as her Viking father’s. And so, too, is her devotion to the great god Thor, which puts her at odds with those in power—including her own brother, the zealous Leif Eriksson. Determined to forge her own path, she defies her family’s fury and clings to her dream of sailing away to live on her own terms, with or without the support of her husband.

New Hampshire, 2016

Like her Icelandic ancestors, history professor Emma Moretti is a passionate defender of Norse mythology. But in a small town steeped in traditional values, her cultural beliefs could jeopardize both her academic career and her congressman father’s reelection. Torn between public expectation and personal identity, family and faith, she must choose which to honor and which to abandon.

In a dramatic, sweeping dual narrative that spans a millennium, two women struggle against communities determined to silence them, but neither Freydís nor Emma intends to give up without a fight.

My Thoughts:

Two women, similar struggles, one thousand years apart.

Freydis, only daughter of Erik the Red, is faced with a decision: marry a man she doesn't love or respect in the hopes of one day commanding her own sailing ship, or face an uncertain future under her brother's thumb in a land rapidly converting to Christianity and abandoning the faith and traditions that are so important to her. Against counsel, she chooses marriage and discovers that it still isn't enough to grant her her heart's desire, or to protect her right to worship her gods, particularly Thor, in whom she places her utmost trust and faith. So when a stranger appears offering her physical and spiritual comfort and promising her the life of her dreams if she only stays true to her faith, she accepts and determines to forge her own destiny, though she will have a difficult journey ahead of her.

In the twenty-first century, congressman's daughter Emma Moretti struggles to reconcile her departure from Catholicism with her place in her community and in her own family. But the middle of her father's brutal reelection campaign isn't exactly the best time to announce that she's a Heathen, and her excitement at teaching Norse history at the local college is quickly dampened when her views are challenged in the classroom. To make things worse, a reporter has gotten hold of information about her faith that gives her father's opponent ammunition to take him down right before the election, and Emma has to decide if standing up for her beliefs will cost her more than she's willing to lose.

Blog Tour Review: The Worthington Wife by Sharon Page

From the Back Cover:

Sharon Page sparkles in this poignant and irresistibly entertaining follow-up to her breakout novel, An American Duchess.

Lady Julia Hazelton is the most dazzling among 1920s England’s bright young things. But rather than choosing the thrill of wanton adventure like so many of her contemporaries, Julia shocks society with her bold business aspirations. Determined to usher the cursed Worthington estate into a prosperous, modern new era, and thus preserve her beloved late fiancé’s legacy, the willful Julia tackles her wildest, most unexpected adventure in Cal Carstairs, the reluctant new Earl of Worthington.

The unconventional American artist threatens everything Julia seeks to protect while stirring desires she thought had died in the war. For reasons of his own, Cal has designed the ultimate revenge. Rather than see the estate prosper, he intends to destroy it. But their impulsive marriage—one that secures Julia’s plans as well as Cal’s secrets—proves that passion is ambition’s greatest rival. Unless Cal ends his quest to satisfy his darkest vendetta, he stands to ruin his Worthington wife and all her glittering dreams.

My Thoughts:

Lady Julia Hazelton is feeling somewhat adrift. Having lost her first love to the Great War and her second love to the chasm between their social standings, she needs a sense of purpose. Her family is pressuring her to marry, but she's seen what a marriage without love can do to people, and she's vowed to marry for love or not at all. So she throws herself into a startup charity to help destitute war widows and their children. She also spends much of her time tending to the tenants on her family's estate and on the neighboring estate, Worthington, which she would have been mistress of had her fiance not been killed in the war. But Worthington is in a state of chaos. The new heir to the estate is a long-lost relative, a bohemian American whose arrival disrupts the staid order of English nobility. With her best friend, Diana, in the scandalous position of being pregnant with a married man's child, and terrified that the new earl is going to throw them all out on the street, Julia vows to do all she can to see the estate maintained. Getting close to the new earl is no hardship--he's gorgeous, progressive, and enigmatic--but getting to the heart of him and convincing him he has a place in her world is going to take some work.

Review: The Rebel of Clan Kincaid by Lily Blackwood

From the Back Cover:

LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD

Since childhood, Magnus has been led to believe he is the Laird Alwyn’s bastard, and raised to hate the Clan Kincaid. But when he learns he is without a doubt the son of the murdered Laird Kincaid, his life as he has always known it is shattered. Now, hiding his knowledge and his fury, he returns to Burnbryde Castle, awaiting the chance to strike against the man whose treachery robbed him of his legacy. His first act of rebellion: to steal a kiss from the redheaded beauty who’s betrothed to the Alwyn’s eldest son and heir.

Since her arrival at Burnbryde, Tara Iverach has been confined to a tower to guard her virtue before she marries. But after a surprise embrace with a lean, bare-chested Highlander who claims to be the Alwyn’s oldest son, she can’t contain her excitement over her good fate. Unfortunately, he is the wrong eldest son, and she is set to marry his cruel and lecherous half brother, Hugh. Can Magnus conquer his rivals and claim his Kincaid destiny before the woman who’s captured his heart becomes his sworn enemy’s bride?

My Thoughts:

I do enjoy a Scottish Highlands tale, and the description of this one really intrigued me. Who doesn't like a good tale of betrayal and vengeance? The Rebel of Clan Kincaid is second in a series, following right on the heels of The Beast of Clan Kincaid, and while I may have understood some of the politics and secondary characters better had I read it, this one stands alone just fine.

The story begins with Magnus, raised as the bastard son of the Laird Alwyn, discovering that he is really the son of the murdered Laird Kincaid and that he has been serving his parents' murderer all his life. Initially thrown for a loop, Magnus soon develops a burning desire for vengeance and vows to bide his time until the day he can prove Alwyn guilty and avenge his parents' death and the loss of their ancestral lands. As a fierce warrior and chief of the laird's war band, he is in the ultimate position to enact his plan with the help of his newfound brother, Niall. But the arrival of his half brother Hugh's betrothed threatens everything when Magnus falls in love with the vulnerable yet surprisingly brave beauty.

Tara Iverach has spent the past five years in a priory, ward to the powerful Earl of Buchan, the king's son. When he pays her a surprise visit, Tara hopes for a life outside the convent, and she is about to receive her wish, but at a terrible cost. Her beloved older sister, Arabel, has died, and Buchan needs Tara to take her place in a wedding designed to strengthen his alliance with Alwyn. But life at the Alwyn stronghold of Burnbryde turns out to be a nightmare rather than a dream. Locked in a tower, deprived of companionship except for a maid and the ailing Lady Alwyn, Tara quickly becomes suspicious of the circumstances surrounding her sister's death. Her betrothed is a malicious, angry man who takes pleasure in terrifying her, and Buchan's intentions and ambitions prove to be less than honorable. The only bright spot is her growing attraction to her betrothed's half brother, the handsome and noble Magnus. But their illicit romance is fraught with danger, and though Magnus promises to help her escape marriage to Hugh, when his ulterior motives come to light, Tara realizes the only person she can rely on is herself. But will she be able to pull off a daring escape by herself? And if she does, will she be able to leave Magnus to his fate?

Review: The Earl by Katharine Ashe

From the Back Cover:

How does a bookish lady bring an arrogant lord to his knees? Entice him to Scotland, strip him of titles and riches, and make him prove what sort of man he truly is.

Opposites…

Handsome, wealthy, and sublimely confident, Colin Gray, the new Earl of Egremoor, has vowed to unmask the rabble-rousing pamphleteer, Lady Justice, the thorn in England’s paw. And he’ll stop at nothing.

Attract.

Smart, big-hearted, and passionately dedicated to her work, Lady Justice longs to teach her nemesis a lesson in humility. But her sister is missing, and a perilous journey with her archrival into unknown territory just might turn fierce enemies into lovers.

My Thoughts:

I had not read Katharine Ashe before, and I found the description of The Earl so intriguing that I jumped at the chance to review it. This is the second book in the Devil's Duke series, which is a spin-off of the popular Falcon Club series, and while some brief snippets of backstory are included for new readers like me, I did find myself a tad confused as a lot of names and incidents were mentioned throughout that I was unfamiliar with, and though I probably would have had a bit more understanding and appreciation for the backdrop this story is set against had I read the previous books, the main story and romance in The Earl was able to stand alone just fine.

The story begins with a heartbreaking prologue featuring Colin Gray, the future Earl of Egremoor, as a child who cannot speak, and I was instantly sucked into the story, burning through the early pages as Colin, aka Peregrine, and Emily, aka Lady Justice, were introduced, and we learn that though they don't know each other's true identities, these two enemies share a long and troubled history. Having been abandoned by her only friend at the age of nine, Emily has forged her own path in life, championing women's and working class rights while eschewing the traditional role of wife and mother society expects of her. Her alter ego has made quite the name for herself, and she's also made a few enemies, including Colin, who she calls out in her pamphlets for refusing to support her referendums. She has also struck up a correspondence with the mysterious Peregrine, member of a shadow group that specializes in finding lost people, and now she needs his help. Her own sister has gone missing, and Emily is determined to find her. But the price may be too high to pay: Peregrine wants to meet Lady Justice face-to-face. She finally agrees to a nighttime meeting in a shadowy park, and, not wanting to invite scandal by revealing her sister as the missing woman, she gives him the name of the woman last seen in her sister's company, hoping that finding her will lead to finding her sister. She manages to hide her identity, but during the brief and intense exchange, she discovers a shocking truth: Peregrine is none other than Colin Gray, the man who broke her heart and never looked back so many years ago, a man who represents everything she hates about English society. Emily abruptly tells him she's changed her mind and no longer needs his help and flees before he can discern who she is.