Review: The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley

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22609358I loved this novel. It was such a pleasant surprise. I’m not even sure what I loved the most about it…the layers of mysteries….the hints of things to come…the love story…the other love story…the past…the present…or the future…there are so many different things to love that it is hard to choose one…so I shall just say I loved them all..

Yes, this will be a long series…one that still has a long way to go…but regardless of the fact, each book proves to be a solid read all on their own merits…and I don’t believe it will prove to be complicated series that you’ll struggle to remember and catch up when you start a new book, trying to remember the last book…

Although the romance is very essence of this novel…it certainly isn’t a romance novel to me…I think the writing and the atmosphere and the places around the world are very bit a part of that essence as are any of the characters….I dare say that romance haters (is there such a thing) will love this series every bit as much as those that consider themselves romance lovers (which I would not classify myself as).

Yes, I have only read the first book…but it doesn’t matter…I have no doubt that they shall all be just as wonderful in their own way…that’s just how much I loved this novel…

Until next time…
Urania

Review copy provided by Edelweiss for an honest review

Buy your copy now The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley

Review: Detached by Christina Kilbourne

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There’s  a game my fellow Muses & I like to play from time to time.  We call it “Guess the Muse” and it involves guessing which one of our brilliant reviewers has written a certain review.  Yes, we are that predictable at times.  And I’ve been known to gravitate towards books involving young people facing issues of all kinds.  So for this review,  I’m staying true to form.

Anna is in a very dark place.  She enjoys nothing, feels nothing, even tastes nothing.  Everything in her life is just there.  So she dreams of an escape route, even going so far as to make a list of possible ways to commit suicide.  And she makes a few attempts, although none of them come close to being successful.  Until the very last one.

Depression and suicide in teens are always difficult topics to read about. But they’re   important ones because they’re  very real. This book does a good job of telling the story of one such teen in a way that’s entirely believable. Another aspect of the book that I enjoyed was hearing Anna’s story told from three different perspectives: Anna herself, her mother, and her best friend. It’s a reminder that these are issues that don’t just affect one person but instead everyone around that person.

~Thalia

Buy It Now:  Detached

Sunset in Central Park by Sarah Morgan 

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Frankie and Matt are so fun!  Frankie is anti-commitment… and Matt’s a little bit in love. Watching them work together and live in the same building is pure entertainment. And Matt is my favorite kind of alpha male – he’s buff, brainy, and full of tender loving care for the women in his life. Frankie appreciates the attention but can’t imagine she deserves it… until her best friends give her a reality check. 

I just love the boy chases girl, boy gets girl storyline. Sarah Morgan surpasses expectations of a predictable romance by developing Frankie’s friendships and family ties, as well as having her come to terms with her past. I also enjoyed the wedding, the Maine seascape, and the welcoming islanders. Oh, and the walks in Central Park!! 

-calliope

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Review: Like a Bee to Honey by Jennifer Beckstrand

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I think this third installment of The Honeybee Sisters is my favorite! Josiah is the sweetest, most tender hearted boy. Having loved Rose for four years, he will stop at nothing to make her happy and comfortable. Rose has a few personal hang ups, though, and doesn’t want the expectations that come with a relationship – nor does she think she deserves Josiah. But when trouble starts on the farm, Rose has to depend on others for help- including Josiah. 

Beckstrand put together a wonderful cast of characters who really love each other. Rose and her sisters don’t always agree, but they find cute ways to figure out their problems. Josiah and his best friends rib each other constantly, but are there for each other when push comes to shove. And Aunt Bitsy shows her nurturing side to more than just the girls and their beaus: she helps out a couple of local boys beyond their expectations. 

Though I view this series as sort of light, relaxing reading, Like a Bee to Honey made me cry. The examples of forgiveness were so authentic and heartfelt – and not a preachy moment in the whole book. Beckstrand spoke to my heart through the honeybee sisters, their aunt, and their friends. 

-calliope

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Review ~ In a Dark, Dark Wood, by Ruth Ware. 

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We’re now approaching late summer and it now seems to be the perfect time to get in those last fast paced, thrilling reads. Ruth Ware’s debut thriller, is sure to fit the bill. I can’t even remember how I came across this book, but right from the start, the title, and cover art, really pulled me in. The plot, very reminiscent in an Agatha Christie kind of way, sounded fun, easy and interesting; centering around a hen party (a British term for a bachelorette party), comprising of old school friends who haven’t seen each other in years, Ware takes us on a journey to hell. The opening few pages start with a character waking up in a hospital, so we immediately know that something has gone terribly wrong. 

The novel takes a fairly standard format: we alternate between the present and the past in order to keep us guessing and to keep the flow of the plot. Like I said above, this has a very familiar feel of Agatha Christie to it – a cozy mystery but just turned up a few notches. The characters are well written for this type of novel; enough depth in order to get to know them, but not enough to really care if one of them gets the chop. In some novels this would be a detriment, but as this is a very plot driven read, it works rather well. 

I listened to this via audible and the narrator was excellent, really distinguishing each character. I’ve also just read that there is going to be a movie produced, which actually, in the right hands, could turn out rather well. 

Pick up this book, get a glass of wine, and enjoy the last few weeks of sun! 

~ Pegasus

In a Dark, Dark Wood

Review: Liar’s Key by Carla Neggers

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FBI agents Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan are at it again – solving international crimes even as they navigate their personal relationship with each other (wedding planning… yippeeeeee!!!!) and their friends in the art world. 

This time, con artist Oliver York is so good at secrets that sometimes not even he himself can figure out the whys and wherefores of his globe trotting. The shores of Maine bring York together with retired FBI agent Gordy Wheelock and some art collectors, each of whom hold secrets that rival York’s.  I was a little frustrated that Sharpe and Donovan couldn’t get Gordy to talk! But that’s part of the fun of this caper – loved being on the edge of my seat thinking about who holds the key… and who’s lying. 

-calliope

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Review: Every Dead Thing (Charlie Parker #1) by John Connolly

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175242This was a really good book considering it’s was a debut novel. I don’t imagine it was meant to be an ongoing series…I say this because there was just so much going on in this book! It was over 400 pages long and it read more like 600. I’m not saying it was boring. It wasn’t. There was just really too much going on. It easily could have been made for two complete books with two great story lines. With a few twists and a minor changes I dare say it could have made for three. If Connolly had planned on making a series, I do believe he would have broken this up into multiple books….I dare say we would all have been the better if he had….

If you’re wondering what it was all about….in this novel we meet Charlie Parker for the first time. I read the last Charlie Parker, #12 in the series, earlier this year because I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of the novel. It was fantastic (

Review: The Wolf in Winter by John Connolly

). He’s a police detective. Parker’s family is killed right off in this book and we fast forward to months later. Now Parker has quit the force and is working for himself. He takes a job and in the midst of solving that case he is also solving his family’s murders.

There are a few bits that didn’t make sense with me as far as the time frame went. I’m not sure how Parker got from point A to B at times either. Perhaps I was just too distracted to understand, or perhaps it was just a matter of a debut novel and an author that was coming into his own. At any rate, it was a really good read, and having sampled his current writing style, I can vouch that it will indeed get better. This is a storyline and a cast of characters I truly look forward to getting to know. Parker is very complex. Connolly might be writing detective novels, but don’t let it fool you….he really has a way with words…and some of the depth that he lays out amongst the blood, guts and gunfire really give you a cause to stop and reflect. I’m going to leave this review and let Connolly’s own words convince you that you really need to be reading this series….

For a moment they still lived and I experienced their deaths as a fresh loss with each waking, so that I was unsure whether I was a man waking from a dream of death or a dreamer entering a world of loss, a man dreaming of unhappiness or a man waking to grief.

I believe in evil because I have touched it, and it has touched me.

He sat back in his chair. “But I let it go. In the end, you have to let things go. The things you regret are the things you hold on to.” “So is nothing worth holding on to?” asked Rachel. Angel looked at Louis for a while. “Some things are, yeah, but they ain’t made of gold.

I think I wanted to say more, to try to explain to her what it was like without alcohol, about how I was afraid that, without alcohol, each day would now leave me with nothing to look forward to. Each day would simply be another day without a drink. Sometimes, when I was at my lowest ebb, I wondered if my search for the Traveling Man was just a way to fill my days, a way to keep me from going off the rails.

I don’t believe in the next world, Bird. It’s just a void. This is Hell, Bird, and we are in it. All the pain, all the hurt, all the misery you could ever imagine, you can find it here. It’s a culture of death, the only religion worth following

Until next time…

Urania xx

Buy it now Every Dead Thing by John Connolly

Review: My Fair Princess by Vanessa Kelly

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What a fun story! I’ve been a historical romance kick lately. When I saw the title of this I knew it was going to be cute. I was so right.

Gillian Dryden’s is not happy with the thought of changing herself to find a husband. In fact, she’s content with never having one. But for her mother and grandmother she has agreed to let the Duke of Leverton help her fit in better. But she’s not going to make it easy on him.

Charles has no time for this silly girl, who is quick tempered and outspoken, but once he’s around her, he is quite intrigued and very much drawn to her. Now most of the time they mix like oil and water, but that is where the fun lies. No one can predict that words that will leave her mouth, or the behavior she portrays. For that day in age, some were rather cringe worthy.

This book was by far the funniest historical romance I remember ever reading. The banter between the two main characters had me smiling almost non stop. It was a bit like enemies to lovers mixed in with friends to lovers. Banter all over the place. Two people, who are used to doing things their own, are now forced to work together for a common goal. Things are bound to get messy.

This is my first Vanessa Kelly, but I know it won’t be my last.

~Melpomene

Buy My Fair Princess HERE

Review: Beware That Girl by Teresa Toten

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Such an intriguing title, and such an ambiguous beginning.  Two girls, both blonde, in a hospital.  One’s in a bed, one is not.  The question is, just which girl is which?

Kate.  Rising up from the ashes, working to better herself, crafting a master plan from day one never to be dissuaded from it.  She’s had a hard life.  Orphaned in theory, dad in prison for killing her mom.  She’s become very good at taking care of herself.  The perfect image is everything, and Kate is very good at it.  When she enters a new school, she sets her eyes on the prize.  She knows exactly who to target.

Olivia.  Poor little rich girl, mom dead, dad loving but always working.  She’s harboring a secret, one that took her away from school for an entire year.  Now back, she’s determined to finish her senior year while at the same time keeping everyone from getting too close.  When she and Kate happen upon each other, they feel like two lost souls destined to become friends.

As the story progresses, we’re left to wonder just who is in charge?  And who is being played?  Sometimes I thought it was Kate, sometimes I thought it was Olivia.  And even after finishing the story I’m not entirely convinced it wasn’t indeed both.

The story switches back and forth between Kate and Olivia, giving each girl her own stage from which to tell their perspective.  And some chapters blend the two combining their stories into one.  This isn’t a distraction and works well.  The author does an excellent job of giving us enough but not giving away too much until the very last pages.  Then it all comes together splendidly.  Still, I’m left wondering if the door remains ajar for a possible sequel?

~Thalia

Buy It Now:  Beware That Girl

 

Review: Return to the Little French Guesthouse by Helen Pollard

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The top of this book cover says “A feel good read to make you smile.” Well, it’s quite more than that. Yes, Emmy’s optimism and hard work make for a cheery read. Her support of guesthouse-owner Rupert will endear any reader to her, as will her deference and friendly respect for the very French guesthouse-keeper. Accountant Alain’s adoration of Emmy is the cutest thing ever. And the Thompson clan spending the week at the guesthouse brings all the joy and camaraderie you’d expect from a family celebration. 

So, yeah, it’s a feel good read. 

But here’s the “more” —

Return to the Little French Guesthouse is full of love. Real, deep, abiding love. Love for friends and family. Love for one’s country. Love for neighbors and those in need. Love for the cute gardener. Love for one’s spouse. Old love. New love. Without being syrupy or contrived, this book uplifts and fulfills the reader with an authentic look at relationships and the choices we make that weaken or strengthen them. 

I finished this book feeling full of hope for humanity, knowing it all starts with just a little love. 

-calliope

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