Elizabeth Gilbert is an emotional train wreck. She’s going through a tortuous divorce and her on-again-off-again relationship with her new boyfriend is just killing her. She realizes that she needs a change in her life if she is going to save it. So she sets off on a year-long journey through Italy, India, and Indonesia Continue Reading…
Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer: Book Review
Mary “Jacky” Faber is an orphan in eighteenth-century London. She actually came from a good family, but when both her parents died of illness, there was nowhere for Jacky to go but the streets. Luckily, she made her way into one of the gangs of street orphans, groups of children who watch out for each Continue Reading…
The Jewel of St. Petersburg by Kate Furnivall: Book Review
Taking place before The Russian Concubine, The Jewel of St. Petersburg tells the story of Valentina Ivanova and Jens Friis as they meet during the fall of the Russian monarchy. Valentina is the privileged daughter of a wealthy Russian minister and Jens is a Danish engineer, working to improve the overall water quality in St. Continue Reading…
The Secret Lives of Princesses by Philippe Lechermeier: Book Review
Sure, you know all about the fairy tale princesses. There’s that Cinderella chick and her pumpkin coach. Another fell asleep for a hundred years or so. And wasn’t there one who had crazy-long hair? Sure, you know them. You don’t know these princesses. Covering a gamut of traits, from Princess Hot-Head to Princess Eelizabeth (not Continue Reading…
The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey: Book Review
Elena Klovis is badly mistreated by her stepmother. She is forced to clean the house, cook the food, and dress her stepmother and her two stepsisters, while she herself dresses in rags and goes hungry. Sound familiar? That’s because Elena is supposed to be her kingdom’s Cinderella. But her “Prince Charming” is completely wrong for Continue Reading…
Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce: Book Review
Scarlett March was horribly scarred when she defended her younger sister from a Fenris (werewolf) when they were both young. They lost their beloved grandmother in the same attack. With guidance from the local woodsman, Pa Reynolds, and with Silas Reynolds as a partner, the March sisters become deadly Fenris hunters. Now that the girls Continue Reading…
Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland: Book Review
Girl in Hyacinth Blue follows the path of a painting, possibly by Vermeer, from an aloof math professor backwards to the painter and the subject. Each owner has a different story to tell, and even a little bit of a different relationship to the painting, but they all love it and find echoes of something Continue Reading…
Spell Hunter by R. J. Anderson: Book Review
Something isn’t quite right in the Oakenwyld. The fairies are terrified to go outside, they’re losing their creativity, and their numbers are dwindling. Young Bryony has a chance face-to-face meeting with a human that leaves the other fairies aghast and Bryony remorseful but curious. After Bryony comes of age, Queen Amaryllis appoints her as the Continue Reading…
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón: Book Review
Daniel Sempere’s father takes him to The Cemetery of Forgotten Books when he’s ten years old. One of the cemetery rules is that on your first visit, you choose a book, take it with you, and protect it forever. Daniel chooses The Shadow of the Wind by Julián Carax. Daniel falls in love with this Continue Reading…
The Education of Bet by Lauren Baratz-Logsted: Book Review
Elizabeth is an intelligent young woman growing up within the constraints of Victorian society. To make matters worse, she is “the maid’s daughter.” After her mother and the owners of the house where she worked died, Bet is taken along with the heir, Will, to live with Will’s uncle. Bet is treated as something between, Continue Reading…
Shadow of the Swords by Kamran Pasha: Book Review
The famous Muslim leader Saladin believes that he has finally driven the Christian crusaders from Israel’s shores. The King of Jerusalem has surrendered, most other nobles have gone home, and there’s only a small, stubborn contingent to deal with outside the town of Acre. Newly-crowned King Richard I of England (Richard the Lionheart) sees this Continue Reading…