Historical

Review: Kiss of the Spindle by Nancy Campbell Allen

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I adore fairy tale retellings and Kiss of the Spindle fit the bill. This had everything that made me happy. Witches, shifters, curses and swoony men. Can’t go wrong with that.

Isla Cooper has been put under a spell and she must do everything in her power to find the witch that cast it, even if it means blackmailing her way onto an airship. She basically sleeps like the dead every night. She’s running out of time. Soon the curse will be permanent. Her calling as a shifter empath has put her in the sights of a few who would like her to fail in her endeavor. So she must call upon her fellow airship occupants to help her, even though she’s used to doing things alone.

Captain Daniel Pickett was mot amused into being blackmailed. He’s a mission and he doesn’t have time to be messed around with. He has no idea what’s in store for him. Just when he’s content with his life, Isla brings a spark into it and draws him into her. He falls hard. But when he find out what’s happening to her each night, he does everything in his power to help her.

I love the slow burn of this romance. It kept me turning the pages. I was so excited to see where this was headed. I’m glad we got to see Daniel’s story. We met him in the previous story, Beauty and the Clockwork Beast. But this is a standalone, so don’t worry about missing anything.

I’m still fairly new to the world of steampunk. I’ve read less than a handful of them. But I gotta admit, they intrigue me. They’re like historical, and yet not. Kiss was no exception. I just have to reset my mind and jump into a world of gadgets and gizmos. I hope we get more in this series.

~Melpomene
Buy Kiss of the Spindle https://amzn.to/2tt4mUW

Review: The Myth of Perpetual Summer by Susan Crandall

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I love stories like this. Historical, epic, tales of families and their pasts & presents. And of course, all families have secrets. Those secrets play a big role in this latest book from Susan Crandall.

Tallulah had a very unusual childhood. Growing up in a small town means being part of the gossip. And her family offered up much to gossip about. Her parents’ erratic, volatile relationship meant that she and her siblings were left to their own devices much of the time. It fell upon her shoulders to raise her younger siblings during the many times her mom was off saving the world.

So when Tallulah escapes and goes off to build her own life, she has little intention of ever returning. But she can’t stay away when her brother is accused of murder. And this family reunion of sorts will expose all kinds of secrets from her childhood.

Great story, wonderful characters, and beautifully written!

~Thalia

Buy It Now: The Myth of Perpetual Summer

Review: The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore

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This was a truly fascinating read. I’m not much of a science person. Never have been. It was perhaps my least favourite subject in school. I even liked maths more…and I HATE maths…but regardless, I found this novel fascinating.

Two points, as I am sure you don’t need me to summarize this novel and tell you what it’s about…that’s what the blurb on the cover is for!

First point, whilst I loved this novel it was a bit off-putting after a while to be so obsessed with needing to know what was fact and what was fiction. The author does a decent job helping separate the fact from fiction in the notes in the back of the novel…however, I didn’t know this whilst reading it! Ha! I kept putting the novel down and searching out different incidents to see if they really happened. This was wonderful at the start…but it soon became hard work!!! It was distracting me time and time again from actually enjoying this novel as much as I think I could have.

This novel probably educated me more about history and inventions than school ever did. I couldn’t help but to wonder what it must have been like. To live in the an era that was changed so much by new inventions. How lives were forever changed by such men as were in this novel. Yes, there will always be new inventions…but I can’t imagine any that change so many lives in such a huge fashion.

Now, second thing, history is shaped just as much by the people who write it as it is shaped by the actual events that happen. Simplified, imagine all those times in primary school when your parents told you to ignore something and it would go away. That if you keep on fighting with someone and giving them attention it wold never stop. Well history is the same. If the media, or schools or whatever, never talk about xy&z, well it’s not very long before xy&z just completely disappears in the history books…but on the other hand, the things that the media choose to report, or the schools decide to teach…well they remain the history that future generations start to believe. It doesn’t matter if huge chunks are missing…or even if they aren’t all exactly true…they *become* true over time as more and more people hear and repeat it.

It really makes one wonder…

Until next time…
Urania xx

Buy it now The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore

Review: The Beekeeper’s Promise by Fiona Valpy

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Looking for a fun little piece of historical fiction? Look no further!

When Abi finds herself in need of some time to heal, she decides on a yoga retreat in rural France. Soon, however, she ends up taking a summer job at a château with a long history. As she herself recovers, she learns the story of another brave young woman from long ago…

Under the threat of war, young Eliane occupies herself with tending to the gardens and beehives at Château Bellevue. It is here that she finds, and then loses, love. Circumstances lead her to join the Resistance as France finds itself engulfed by the war and under German occupation.

As is the case with many pieces of historical fiction, this story is told from two viewpoints in two different time periods. And as is the case with the best of them, this one does a great job of meshing the two all the way to the very end. A definite must read if you’re a fan of the genre!

~Thalia

Buy It Now: The Beekeeper’s Promise

Review: Miss Wilton’s Waltz by Josi S. Kilpack

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What an heartbreaking and heart healing story. Once I sat down, I couldn’t stop reading. I needed to know that Lenora ended up happy. When we first met her, in The Vicar’s Daughter, I had hoped we’d see more from her. She deserved an HEA, just like her sister, Cassie.

After stepping aside, so her sister could marry her fiance, Lenora leaves town to make a new life for herself. She decides that teaching music, at an all-girls school, is perfect thing for her. She moves in with an aunt and decides that she will no longer wait for marriage but continue on with her life in the hopes of just being happy. Her heart needs healing and she needs a break from all the stares.

But her quiet life is interrupted by a 12 year old girl with a load of attitude. It takes all her power and patience to dig deep and find the cause of it all. But as she deals with all that stress, the girl’s uncle somehow weasels his way into her heart. From a late night mishap to informal conversations about his niece’s schooling, Lenora tries to keep her feelings close to her heart, at the risk of being hurt again. But after an innocent kiss, a secret is revealed, and her life is flipped yet again. She is devastated and doesn’t know how she’ll ever face society again. Her heart can’t take any more.

My heart was shattered right along with her. I felt like crying when she did. Whether it was trying to teach an unruly child or trying to hide feelings for an unobtainable man, Lenora’s pain was pouring off the pages of this book. But you gotta stay strong, just as she did. Life isn’t without drama. But if you’re lucky, true love will find a way into your heart.

As I’ve said many times before, I love these Proper Romances. They are a palette cleanser. A nice and refreshing story filled with sweet love and enough heartache to keep you flipping those pages.

~Melpomene

Buy Miss Wilton’s Waltz https://amzn.to/2qxxGIs

Review: A Duke Like No Other by Valerie Bowman

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Y’all!! I just finished this book and now have a stupid grin on my face. What a fun story this was. It’s part of the Playful Brides series, so if that’s any indication…

Mark and Nicole haven” seen each other in 10 years. To say they had a bit of a falling out, after they got married, would be an understatement. Lots of hurt feelings and misunderstandings kept them apart. But now, they need each other. Him, for work. In order to get the promotion he’s been working for, they want a family man in the position. So he needs Nicole to come back and play the loving wife. As for her, after 10 years alone, she’ll come and help him, but only if he helps her. And what she wants is a baby. A legitimate baby.

So essentially, they’re already together, but they’re really not. This reconciliation was not without heartache and sorrow, but it had an underlying of love. It was hard, I’ll admit, watching these two circle one another. They both had past hurts, but together they can heal from them.

I’ve only read one other book from this series, but I am definitely going back and reading them. We see a few people pop in, and I’m sure they’re from the series, and I liked the way they interacted with each other. They weren’t just co-workers, they were friends. They made quite an impression on me and I look forward to reading how they found love. I bet it’ll be just has fun.

~Melpomene

Buy A Duke Like No Other https://amzn.to/2IfwkcD

Review: The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

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100% my type of book. I loved every single minute of it and hated for it to end.

Oh. My. Word.

Sometimes I look at my library and despair at ever finding a book to read. I have thousands of books in my TBR pile. No, I jest not. My “to-read” list on Goodreads is currently at 9,886. These are books I own in one format or another (audio, DTBooks or Ebooks). I don’t have them all listed of course. so you could probably add a couple thousand more. My cloud on Amazon alone lists over 6,000.

I can spend hours trying to decide what to read next. I am always trying to find the perfect book for me. I hate to know that I can pick a book that, although a good book, isn’t a great book.

The book I am forever searching for is THIS TYPE OF BOOK! This is the type of book I live for. Some people live for chocolate. I live for this type of book.

Just oh my word. What did I NOT love about it? Ummm….I can’t think of anything…except maybe that it ended. Some say it has a fairy tale sort of feel. Yes, I can see that. It also has that fable type of feel as well. It has moral conflicts scattered throughout. It has old folklore scattered about as well. It has strong secondary characters that one finds just as intriguing as the main characters. And oh my dear lord, Chava and Ahmad. *swoons* Talk about two halves of a whole. Two creatures that mirror and reflect off each other. I’m not talking romance here. This novel isn’t a romantic type of read. Please don’t think this is some hot and steamy romance. It’s so not. This is…well it’s just what I said…It’s two halves of a whole and reflections off one another that go on to shape who these creatures are. What does it mean to be human?

This is one of those novels that you have to stop and leave all your expectations at the door. This isn’t a novel that you go into imagining it to be some sort of read…because what you imagine won’t be true…you just need to let the story unfold and let it be your guide…not some preconceived notions of what a story is meant to be.

I can’t express enough how much I loved this book. If a jinni came up to me and granted me one wish of a book I would like to read…well, I would be completely unable to tell them exactly what I wanted/needed/craved…but if I were able to tell them and express every desire…

Well here you would have it…

Until next time…
Urania xx

Buy it now The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

Review: Middlemarch by George Eliot

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This is a book I wish I had read a very long time ago. I wish I was reading it over and over again. There are just so many characters involved and I know I missed out on bits…but never fear, I am already starting it over again!

This book is just so delightful. I was so angry at some of these people. I adored some of these people. I was totally exasperated with some of these people. With some of them, I was all three things at different points within the novel.

When I started this novel, I won’t lie, I thought Dorothea was a bit silly. However, by the end of the book I loved every single thing about her. I wouldn’t change a single thing about her.

There are just so many things going on in this novel! So many little storylines that all make up the day-to-day life in Middlemarch…I feel as if I really MUST do a re-read to make sure I have not neglected or overlooked anyone.

I wish I could recommend this book to every single person in the universe. There just aren’t words enough to express how much I enjoyed it. At the same time, it makes me a bit sad because I know most of my friends would ask me what the big deal was and they found it boring.

So these feelings just leave me a bit dejected and I don’t even know how to deal with that.

This is how much this book means to me…I am heartbroken over a perceived notion that my mates won’t enjoy it that much…how crazy is that…

although I must say….many of the problems the characters of Middlemarch found themselves in could have just been avoided entirely if people had just spoken their minds…

So I say now…Go forth and read this book…Love it as much as I do…and if you don’t like it…well….shame on you!!!

Until next time…
Urania xx

Buy it now Middlemarch by George Eliot

Review: Ashes on the Moor by Sarah M. Eden

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Oh, my sweets, this book was so lovely!! Positively lovely.

Evangeline lived a life of luxury, but after the death of her parents and brothers, her younger sister and her are at the mercy of relatives. They make all the decisions for them and they must adhere to it. Women don’t have a lot of choices. If she wants to have access to her small inheritance she must do everything she is ordered to do, and do it perfectly. So she is separated from her sister and forced to be a teacher, even though she has zero experience. She is alone and sad but is determined to do a good job, to get in the good graces of her grandfather, so she can be reunited with her sister. I can’t even imagine how strong she must’ve been.

The part I love most about this was Dermot and Ronan. Dermot was this outsider, trying to make a living so he can care for his boy. Ronan was special. Autistic really. And I loved him. I loved the way he changed little by little under the care and love from Evangeline. She was learning right along with her students and she learned what he needed and how he needed it. I got chocked up at how those changes manifested themselves. Back in those days they didn’t know what autism was and I can only imagine what those poor children went through.

While she still struggled daily, her relationship with Dermot helped ease the loneliness. What started out as neighborly, turned into friendship, which then turned into more. And I loved it!! They had their moments of distress but that’s nothing compared to the love that shown through. He helped her grow and was with her as she got stronger and more independent, took control of her life, and that of her sister’s. They were so sweet to watch. We get both of their points of view, so it was lovely to see his thoughts about her. He wasn’t looking for a woman, but life likes to throw us curve balls every now and then.

As I’ve said before, I love these Proper Romance books. I love the sweetness and romance of it all. They tend to stay with me long after I’m done reading them. And Ashes on the Moor is no exception.

~Melpomene

Buy Ashes on the Moor http://amzn.to/2FOKqSx

Reviewed Again: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

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Sometimes I love a book so much I feel compelled to read it over again. When this happens I oftentimes feel a bit let down and get upset with myself. That I ruined a great book with a reread.
For me, very few books are as good the second time around. Having said that I have a few I read over and over again (TKaM, TNotW, TWMF and PiL). Each time I read them I love them. Never did I love them more the second time around…I loved them as much…or nearly as much…but never more…

Despite having books I love during a reread, I can’t ever recall a feeling like I’ve had reading this novel for the second time. When I first read this book I knew instantly that it was a 5 star read for me and that I loved it. With the second book coming out soon I wanted to refresh the story in my mind…So I once again went deep into the Rus’ forest at winter…

Once I started it again…well…magic happened. The first time I loved the story. The second time, I knew the story and I fell in love with the storytelling. I honestly loved it more than I did the first time. I must be getting old (hell, I AM getting old!!!!) but at times I just wanted to cry…for no other reason than I loved what I was reading.

It’s like looking over at your spouse sitting on the couch, and feeling a tug at the heartstrings and an overwhelming feeling of love…suddenly the emotions well up and you have a huge lump in your throat…that’s what happened to me whilst reading this book.

The only issue I have is that…well….I have wanted to start the second book for months now…I opened the cover (I received an ARC months before it’s release) but I was worried I wouldn’t love it as much…I’ve had friends read it and tell me it’s just as fantastic…I can’t explain it, but I am really scared to read it! I thought rereading this one would fix that problem…but now I am terrified…

Until next time…
Urania xx

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden