Monthly Archives: May 2016

Reading Retreat Read-a-thon Wrap up!

Posted in For the love of books by

readathon

So retreat is unfortunately over! I had such a great time with my mom this weekend and all our quilting friends and I am already eagerly awaiting next year’s retreat! For those of you who follow me on Facebook you saw some pictures I posted over the weekend to keep everyone updated on what was going on at retreat. But for those of you not on Facebook I wanted to also post them here and update my goals list for how I did!

Here were my original goals with their status:

 

And here are some pictures from the weekend!

2016 Book #57 – The Beast of Clan Kincaid by Lily Blackwood

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Highland Warriors series, Historical Romance by

51XnJLfZLLL._SX303_BO1,204,203,200_Title: The Beast of Clan Kincaid
Author: Lily Blackwood
Date finished: 5/31/16
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Publication Date: May 31, 2016
Pages in book: 320
Stand alone or series: #1 in the Highland Warriors series
Where I got the book from: NetGalley NOTE:I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

A Highland warrior battles to reclaim his birthright in the first of a new series filled with seduction, revenge, and soul-stirring passion…
They call him the Beast―a hardened mercenary whose heart seems as cold as his icy blue gaze. They do not know his true name: Niall Braewick, son of the Laird of Kincaid. It has been years since he escaped into the forest the night his father was murdered. Now he has returned, ablaze with a vengeful hunger. He will gain the MacClaren chief’s trust, gather his clan, and take back his lands. And take the MacClaren’s daughter as well…
Though he pulled her from the river, saving her life, Elspeth has been warned to keep her distance from her father’s hired warrior. He is a barbarian―a shame, as he is far more compelling than the lechers and fools competing for her dowry. Little does she know that, like the castle itself, she is a prize Niall intends to claim…but will he extract blood for blood and possess what is his, or will his enemy’s beautiful, innocent daughter tempt him to forsake his dream of conquest?

My rating:  4.5 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. I have a secret weakness for Highlander novels so when I saw this book available on NetGalley I was excited to read it. I’ve never read anything by this author before but the description for the book sounded too god to pass up. This book tells the story of Elspeth MacClaren, eldest daughter of the MacClaren chief, who at the request of her father is looking for a husband. She knows that she should be forming an alliance with a neighboring clan for the sake of her family, but for some reason she can’t get the mercenary warrior Niall out of her head. Niall Braewick is there to extract revenge for his family that was murdered seventeen years ago. Every moment since that fateful night he has spent honing his skills and planning his attack. Little does he expect to have his head turned once his plans are set into motion though, especially not by the man that he intends to kill.
Overall I really liked this book a whole lot. There was danger and intrigue and romance and everything you could be looking for in a historical romance novel. And the scene where Niall finally reveals who he is was AWESOME! Everything about this book was just great, I couldn’t put it down because I was just dying to find out what would happen next. And I read the description for the next book in the series (warning you all it will spoil the surprise at the end of the first book so make sure you read this book before you go snooping around!) and I CAN NOT WAIT to read this next book and I’m very much hoping there is a third book in the series! There are some violent scenes in the book but nothing overly graphic. And the Highlands is a pretty violent place so I think its almost to be expected. This was a great book though and I can’t wait to read more by this author!

The bottom line: Loved the premise for this book, I was hooked right from the beginning and I am eagerly awaiting the next book to find out what happened to Niall’s brothers. Some of the scenes are a little rough/violent (it is a Highlanders novel) but really it was a very romantic tale and I loved Niall’s character. I would definitely recommend this one.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2016 Book #56 – His Wicked Wish by Olivia Drake

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Cinderella Sisterhood series, Historical Romance by

516qyNe8MnL._SX304_BO1,204,203,200_Title: His Wicked Wish
Author: Olivia Drake
Date finished: 5/30/16
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Publication Date: May 31, 2016
Pages in book: 336
Stand alone or series: #5 in the Cinderella Sisterhood series
Where I got the book from: NetGalley NOTE:I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

MARRIAGE TO A NOBLEMAN? NOT IN HER WILDEST DREAMS. . .
The daughter of a disgraced woman and a common actor, Madelyn Swann has been shunned by the nobility. No proper lady would traipse about on a Covent Garden stage, let alone sell herself at auction to the highest bidder. So why in heaven’s name would Nathan Atwood, Viscount Rowley, make a generous offer for her hand?
Turns out Maddy is exactly the type of woman Nathan wants as his wife. Finally, he can embarrass his snobbish and cruel father, the Earl of Gilmore—and scandalize London society—with his beautiful, unsuitable bride. Then he’ll depart England forever and leave his wife behind. Having secret plans of her own, Maddy is happy to play the role … only to find that enjoying her husband’s seduction requires no acting whatsoever. But as she falls madly in love with Nathan, can she persuade him to stay with her for always?

My rating:  3.75 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. I love anything involving fairy tale retellings and so when I saw this book available on NetGalley I definitely wanted to read it. It didn’t turn out to be quite the fairy-tale retelling that I was expecting but since it is part of a series I suspect that each book in the series holds a piece of the plot that ties it to the Cinderella story. For this book there was a godmother who, while not a fairy, was instrumental in bringing the two lovers together and there was also a pair of fantastical shoes. This book tells the story of Nathan Atwood, who returns home to England after spending 10 years in the Far East when he receives a distressing letter from his godmother. Nathan thinks (really hopes) that he’s returning home to a dead father but he is surprised to learn on his arrival that his father did not die from smallpox, but his brother did. Shocked that he is now the heir, Nate determines that he will marry some tawdry loudmouth in the hope of embarrassing his father. That’s where he thinks Maddy comes in. Maddy is a very successful actress who has dreams of a bigger future. Her mother was actually the daughter of a duke, shunned when she married a lowly actor. Maddy wants to find her grandfather, the Duke, and confront him over how he treated her mother so many years ago.
Overall I liked this book a lot. There were a lot of pieces included in the plot development that I really liked, including a secret granddaughter, questionable parenthood, a tawdry actress, lots of snobbish behavior, a villainous rogue, and a dimpled hero. The only thing that really did not appeal to me with this book is that I thought the development of Maddy and Nate’s relationship was not quite what it could have been. I usually like to see the relationship between the hero and heroine be full of emotion and a deep connection, but I didn’t necessarily feel that in this story. I still really liked the book and would still recommend it. I am excited to try another book in the series as I liked the author’s plot developments.

The bottom line: This was an ok book for me. I would probably read more in the series. The relationship development between the hero and heroine was somewhat lacking for me but other than that this book had some great plot developments and was highly entertaining. I would recommend it and I will try more in the series once I have time in my reading schedule.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2016 Book #55 – Lana and the Laird by Sabrina York

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Historical Romance, Untamed Highlanders by

51+OIAoGJ8L._SX303_BO1,204,203,200_Title: Lana and the Laird
Author: Sabrina York
Date finished: 5/29/16
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Publication Date: May 31, 2016
Pages in book: 384
Stand alone or series: #3 in the Untamed Highlanders series
Where I got the book from: NetGalley NOTE:I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD
Lachlan Sinclair cannot escape his accursed heritage in his Highlands homeland. Somewhat resigned to the fate that destroyed his ancestors, he is prepared to live his life without an heir, without a wife―without love. But when he meets the woman of his dreams in the flesh, the bewitching lass makes him want to throw away his cursed, restrained existence…and unleash the highlander within…
Lana Dounreay has only seen the Duke of Caithness in her dreams as a wild, rugged man, while in reality, his life has been cramped by curses and cravats. He may have forgone his kilt and lost his brogue, but Lana knows that the heart of a true Scotsman beats within his broad, muscular chest. But what plans does the mysterious, passionate Lachlan have in mind for her―and can she convince him that love is stronger than all else?

My rating:  4.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. I have a secret weakness for Highlander novels so when I saw this book available on NetGalley I was excited to read it. I’ve never read anything by this author before but I have one of the earlier books in this series on my TBR list. This book tells the story of Lana Dounreay, the third sister featured in the Untamed Highlanders series, and Lachlan Sinclair, her laird. Lachlan grew up in England learning how to be a proper duke, but when he nears his thirtieth birthday he returns to his Scotland home. Lachlan believes that his family is cursed and that he will die before his thirtieth birthday. Haunted by his father’s ghost, Lachlan returns to Scotland with the main purpose of restoring his family home. His plans change however, when he meets Lana at her brother-in-law’s castle. Lana’s brother-in-law is the Laird of Dunnet and is a Baron of Lachlan’s. Lachlan is desperate to do whatever it takes to appease his father’s ghost before he dies himself, even if that means drastic measures, but once he meets Lana he discovers that maybe there are more important things to do with the short amount of time he has left.
Overall I really liked this book. I loved Lana’s character, she was extremely feisty/opinionated and I thought it was awesome that she could see and communicate with ghosts. While most people found this scary, Lachlan found this fact interesting and even appealing because of his experiences being haunted by his father. I really enjoyed the supernatural aspect and the fact that Lana and Lachlan had this in common. The whole cast of characters was just extremely amusing, especially Isobel, Lana’s niece. After reading this novel I would definitely be interested in reading the other books in this series, in fact I am quite eager to do just that! The only thing I can say was somewhat frustrating was Lachlan’s naiveté (for lack of a better word) in regards to the villain of the story. Lachlan was being tricked for most of the book and I kept wanting to yell at him to open his eyes! Other than that though, I thought this was a sweet and engaging story. It was entertaining and dramatic and very romantic. I would definitely recommend this one.

The bottom line: I very much enjoyed this book! I am eager to read the other two books in the series when I can find time in my reading schedule. The relationship between the two main characters was well developed and I loved the supernatural element in the book. Great read I would definitely recommend!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2016 Book #54 – Duke of Sin by Elizabeth Hoyt

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Historical Romance, Maiden Lane series by

51OK+NK3wVL._SX308_BO1,204,203,200_Title: Duke of Sin
Author: Elizabeth Hoyt
Date finished: 5/28/16
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: May 31, 2016
Pages in book: 368
Stand alone or series: #10 in the Maiden Lane series
Where I got the book from: NetGalley NOTE:I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

A MAN OF SIN
Devastatingly handsome. Vain. Unscrupulous. Valentine Napier, the Duke of Montgomery, is the man London whispers about in boudoirs and back alleys. A notorious rake and blackmailer, Montgomery has returned from exile, intent on seeking revenge on those who have wronged him. But what he finds in his own bedroom may lay waste to all his plans.
A WOMAN OF HONOR
Born a bastard, housekeeper Bridget Crumb is clever, bold, and fiercely loyal. When her aristocratic mother becomes the target of extortion, Bridget joins the Duke of Montgomery’s household to search for the incriminating evidence-and uncovers something far more dangerous.
A SECRET THAT THREATENS TO DESTROY THEM BOTH
Astonished by the deceptively prim-and surprisingly witty-domestic spy in his chambers, Montgomery is intrigued. And try as she might, Bridget can’t resist the slyly charming duke. Now as the two begin their treacherous game of cat and mouse, they soon realize that they both have secrets-and neither may be as nefarious-or as innocent-as they appear . . .

My rating:  3.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. I have been a big fan of the Maiden Lane series from the beginning, this one being the tenth book in the series. This is my second book I’ve finished during my Reading Retreat, the first one being the previous book in this series. This book starts up pretty much right where the last book left off, with a scene between Valentine, the Duke of Montgomery, and his housekeeper, Bridget Crumb. The last book in the series left off in something similar to a cliffhanger, meant to entice the reader by leading them into this book’s story. (***SPOILER ALERT***) As we learned in the last book in the series, Bridget was planted in Val’s house on purpose in order to retrieve certain items he was using to blackmail women that Bridget knew well. While working for Val though, Bridget grows to care for him (somehow) and even though she knows he is somewhat evil, she still finds herself falling in love with him (again somehow).
Overall this was not my favorite book in the Maiden Lane series. I was really looking forward to this book because Hoyt (usually) does such a great job of taking a total jerk and making the reader like him. And Val had been mentioned in the last few books in the series as a quasi-villain so I was interested to see how she was going to turn his character around. I didn’t really feel like that ended up happening though. Val kept up with his blackmail and actually killed someone in front of Bridget in this book and she still ends up liking him. Most of the other villain-y heroes in the Maiden Lane series have some kind of redeeming quality but from what I could tell from this book Val was pretty much a sociopath. He had no version of right or wrong, he thought he could do whatever he wanted without caring about consequences, he was power-hungry, and he thought everything revolved around him. He did act redeeming in certain situations, for example his actions towards his sister Eve, but overall I didn’t see how anyone could’ve fallen in love with him and survived. He wasn’t really a good man. He was willing to join the Lords of Chaos for more power without really caring about the fact that they were harming women and children. So anyways, suffice it to say I couldn’t really connect with the hero and heroine in this book. It was still a good book and it was interesting to hear Val’s story but it wasn’t what I expected.

The bottom line: This definitely wasn’t my favorite in the series but I would still say that this is a good addition to the series so I would still recommend!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2016 Book #53 – Sweetest Scoundrel by Elizabeth Hoyt

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Historical Romance, Maiden Lane series by

51JCXeLmnuL._SX308_BO1,204,203,200_Title: Sweetest Scoundrel
Author: Elizabeth Hoyt
Date finished: 5/27/16
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: November 24, 2015
Pages in book: 328
Stand alone or series: #9 in the Maiden Lane series
Where I got the book from: Purchased

Blurb from the cover:

SHE’S TAKING CHARGE
Prim, proper, and thrifty, Eve Dinwoody is all business when it comes to protecting her brother’s investment. But when she agrees to control the purse strings of London’s premier pleasure garden, Harte’s Folly, she finds herself butting heads with an infuriating scoundrel who can’t be controlled.
HE’S RUNNING THE SHOW
Bawdy and bold, Asa Makepeace doesn’t have time for a penny-pinching prude like Eve. As the garden’s larger-than-life owner, he’s already dealing with self-centered sopranos and temperamental tenors. He’s not about to let an aristocratic woman boss him around . . . no matter how enticing she is.
BUT LOVE CONQUERS ALL
In spite of her lack of theatrical experience-and her fiery clashes with Asa-Eve is determined to turn Harte’s Folly into a smashing success. But the harder she tries to manage the stubborn rake, the harder it is to ignore his seductive charm and raw magnetism. There’s no denying the smoldering fire between them-and trying to put it out would be the greatest folly of all . . .

My rating:  4.0 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I hadn’t read this book yet even though it was released last year, and this is one of the series that I usually try to stay up to date on. But I was approved for the next book in the Maiden Lane series on NetGalley so I decided to catch up before reading the newest release, out this next Tuesday May 31st! This book is about Eve Dinwoody, sister to the wicked Duke of Montgomery. The Duke of Montgomery has been a semi-villanous character in the last few novels in the series, though he doesn’t really seem truly evil. His actions towards his half-sister show that the Duke of Montgomery is in fact soft-hearted. Eve is acting as her brother’s “man-of-business” while he’s exiled to the Continent. Because of this, she is put in direct contact with Asa Makepeace, also known as Mr. Harte and the owner of Harte’s Folly, a theatre and pleasure gardens. At first meeting, Asa doesn’t find Eve appealing at all but the more he gets to know her, the more he falls for her.
Overall I liked this book a lot. When Asa was first introduced, I didn’t think there was going to be any way he could redeem himself as a character. I was pleasantly surprised in that I actually enjoyed his surly attitude by the end of the book and found his personality endearing. And Eve as a heroine was wonderful, she inspires empathy from the reader but at the same time we’re not encouraged to pity her since she really is a strong person. You can feel the tension between Eve and Asa coming off the pages and there are some pretty steamy scenes between these two. And I thought it was great that a lot of the characters from previous books were brought back in this book for a variety of scenes. I think that this book did a really great job of setting the stage for the next book, The Duke of Sin, which features the awful Duke of Montgomery. I find that to be a prevailing characteristic in some of Hoyt’s novels in that the heroes aren’t always a paragon of gentlemanly ways and honor. They’re a little crude and rough around the edges but she still gets you to fall for them all the same. There aren’t many authors who attempt that, let alone succeed so continuously. I’m looking forward to the next book, which by the time I post this I’ll have already read!

The bottom line: This was a good book and a great addition to the series. Hoyt does a great job of making the heroes rough around the edges but also endearing. I would definitely recommend this one!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2016 Book #52 – Wicked Whispers by Tina Donahue

Posted in Book reviews by

61AEh1qCkUL._SX322_BO1,204,203,200_Title: Wicked Whispers
Author: Tina Donahue
Date finished: 5/25/16
Genre: Erotic historical
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Publication Date: May 24, 2016
Pages in book: 222
Stand alone or series: #2 in the Dangerous Desires series
Where I got the book from: NetGalley NOTE:I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

Follow the heart through darkness . . .
As the Inquisition gains force, even the faintest rumor can brand one a heretic. In this world it is Sancha’s gift–or curse–to be blessed with the gift of healing. But the villagers are in need of her arts more than ever, and she feels it is her duty to help them at the risk of losing her life. And at the sacrifice of her heart . . .
Enrique has never wanted a woman as he does Sancha. Determined to have her love, he woos her with exquisite passion, giving her refuge to pursue her healing in secret. But their very desire and escape from the ruthless forces of the world may be their undoing. And together, they must pit themselves against a jealous rival and archaic tradition to secure their place in a hopeful new dawn . . .

My rating:  3.0 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. I was invited to read this title through NetGalley and though I don’t usually read novels in this particular genre I decided to give it a try. This book was set in the late 1480’s in Andalusia, Spain. This book is the second in a series by this author, the series so far has featured two sisters from the same family. This book is about Sancha Lopez de Lara, sister to Isabella who was featured in the first book. Sancha is a healer and spends much of her time studying medical journals, which was actually quite dangerous during that time period due to the Inquisition. Regardless of the danger, she spent her time helping those less fortunate, that is until she meets Enrique. She feels an attraction to Enrique unlike anything she’s ever felt before, but he wants her to give up her healing practice to make sure that she’ll stay safe. While she loves Enrique, this isn’t something she wants to consider as she feels an obligation to use her knowledge to help those in need, no matter the cost of herself. When Sancha’s life is threatened by rumors though, Enrique will do whatever it takes to protect her.
Overall I liked this book more than I expected to. I don’t usually read erotic novels because, well, I’m kind of a prude I guess. And there’s a generalization that novels in this genre have no plot line, are just about sex, and for the most part are not meant for recreational reading but for something a little more… involved. To go on a little rant, that’s always been one of the things that frustrated me most in people’s assumptions about romance novels. I think a lot of people confuse romance novels with erotic novels, because they think people are reading romance novels for the sex scenes. No everyone is different but honestly there aren’t usually an overwhelming amount of sex scenes in romance novels. There are a couple (maybe) but the main point of romance novels isn’t sex its emotions, like love. The point of erotic novels is (for the most part) sex. The plot line tends to focus around the main characters’ lust. And while this book did focus a lot on sex, there was an actual plot line and it turned out to be quite interesting. I did find some of the conversations and scenes to be somewhat awkward or they felt forced, but the drama in the last few pages was interesting and felt real. I love revenge plots so the ending of this book really grabbed me. This isn’t the type of book that I would normally pick out for myself to read, but it turned out to be an ok read. There was a lot of commentary about women being obedient to man, which didn’t particularly appeal to me but it was fitting for the time. This isn’t really a genre that usually appeals to me but if you like books in this genre or even if you like historical romances with steamy sex scenes, this book would be a good read for you!

The bottom line: This book wasn’t really one that I would have picked on my own. It had a solid plot line and was ok but probably isn’t something I would read again. If you like erotic novels or even historical romance, this book may interest you. Also if you like a hero that lived during a time when a woman was supposed to be super obedient then this book may interest you.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

Reading Retreat! 2016

Posted in For the love of books by

20140601_091101

So this weekend is my annual Reading Retreat! For those of you who haven’t seen my posts in prior years, I’ll give a little explanation. Every year my Mom goes on a Quilting Retreat with her Quilt Guild. The retreat is at the Incarnation Camp in Ivoryton, CT. While I’m not a big quilter, I went a few years ago to spend the weekend with my Mom and have gone every year since. I spend the whole weekend reading, hanging out with Mom, and chatting with all the awesome ladies at retreat. The Camp provides our meals which means extra reading time since there is no food prep. I always have a great time and I usually get a lot of reading done. I wrote about my experience at retreat for the past two years, you can see those posts here: 2014 and 2015.

So for this year I wanted to make it a little more structured, mostly because I still have so many books to get done for the month of May. So I’m doing a Reading Retreat Read-a-thon for the coming weekend!

readathon

 

Looking at my review schedule (I sort by publication date on my priority list) the next 5 books on my To Read list are all historical romances, so this is going to be a great fun weekend! I love historical romances and I haven’t been able to read quite as many lately so this is a great coincidence that I have so many on my goals list for the weekend! I’m including more books here than I will most likely be able to read in 3 days because I am an optimist and would love to actually be able to read all of them this weekend. My goals for this weekend are as follows:

So that is my plan for this weekend and I am very excited to be spending the weekend at retreat with my mom and our friends! I am doing something different this year in that I am not bringing my computer so I won’t be doing any of my review posts until most likely Monday. If you’d like to keep up to date with my travels and adventures this weekend though be sure to check out the Rebeccabookreview Facebook page to keep up to date! Happy Memorial Day weekend to you all!

2016 Book #51 – People Who Knew Me by Kim Hooper

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction, Women's fiction by

51XE0ajiVKL._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_Title: People Who Knew Me
Author: Kim Hooper
Date finished: 5/24/16
Genre: Fiction, women’s fiction
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication Date: May 24, 2016
Pages in book: 294
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: The Reading Room NOTE: I received this book for free from The Reading Room in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

Everything was fine fourteen years after she left New York.
Until suddenly, one day, it wasn’t.
Emily Morris got her happily-ever-after earlier than most. Married at a young age to a man she loved passionately, she was building the life she always wanted. But when enormous stress threatened her marriage, Emily made some rash decisions. That’s when she fell in love with someone else. That’s when she got pregnant.
Resolved to tell her husband of the affair and to leave him for the father of her child, Emily’s plans are thwarted when the world is suddenly split open on 9/11. It’s amid terrible tragedy that she finds her freedom, as she leaves New York City to start a new life. It’s not easy, but Emily—now Connie Prynne―forges a new happily-ever-after in California. But when a life-threatening diagnosis upends her life, she is forced to rethink her life for the good of her thirteen-year-old daughter.
A riveting debut in which a woman must confront her own past in order to secure the future of her daughter, Kim Hooper’s People Who Knew Me asks: “What would you do?”

My rating: 4.5 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. Reading the description of this book I was intrigued, and while not dying to read this book at first, I definitely wanted to know more. This book hooks you right from page one though and sucks you in for the rest of the story, only spitting you out at the end feeling lost and a little heart-broken. I couldn’t put this book down, the story line really progresses masterfully by alternating between the past and the present, consistently only giving the reader enough of a glimpse so that you’re dying to learn the rest of what happened. This book was about Emily Morris, who disappeared from New York a week after the tragedy of 9/11 without telling any of her family or even her husband that she was still alive. As a reader, when I first heard that she had done this I was appalled. How could she abandon her life and her loved ones without a word? What about the pain she was causing them? These are questions, I have to be honest, I struggled with through most of the book. As we learn more about Emily/Connie’s background, there is a certain understanding of why she took the path she did, but it is still heart-breaking. When Emily/Connie learns that she has cancer though, she has to start thinking about where her thirteen year old daughter Claire would go if she died. And with these thoughts come the realization that she must tell her daughter Claire the truth about her past and Claire’s parentage.
Overall I liked this book a lot. Like I said, I couldn’t put it down and I was hooked on the story from the very beginning. Some of the subject matter was tough for me since I could not at all imagine myself doing what Emily/Connie did. At the same time though, put in that extreme situation I couldn’t help but wonder, who can say what I would actually do? Emily had to deal with way too much stress on her young marriage and its no wonder that her unhappiness from that situation manifested in such an extreme way and that she walked away without looking back. That is one of the things that I ended up really liking about this book: even though some of the decisions that Emily/Connie made really turned my stomach, I couldn’t help but really think about what I would have done put in the same situation. It is easy to say I would be noble and honest when I’m not faced with making that choice and dealing with the consequences of that choice. But it is hard not to wonder if I might end up taking the easy way out. Who can say what any one of us would have done in Emily’s shoes.

The bottom line: This book had a couple of great plot twists included and even beyond the excitement of those I just couldn’t put this book down. It was like when you’re watching a video of a car crash and you know the crash is coming but you want to see really just how much the car caught on fire in the end. This book was heart-wrenching, scandalous and for me was really thought provoking psychologically. I would say this one is a must-read for this summer!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2016 Book #50 – Because of Miss Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Bridgerton family series, Historical Romance by

51AKmi4waTL._SX303_BO1,204,203,200_Title: Because of Miss Bridgerton
Author: Julia Quinn
Date finished: 5/22/16
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: March 29, 2016
Pages in book: 375
Stand alone or series: Part of the Bridgerton series but not sure where it falls exactly. I think that this may be a spin-off from the original series. Goodreads says it is a new series, Rokesby series #1.
Where I got the book from: The Reading Room NOTE: I received this book for free from The Reading Room in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

Sometimes you find love in the most unexpected of places…
This is not one of those times.
Everyone expects Billie Bridgerton to marry one of the Rokesby brothers. The two families have been neighbors for centuries, and as a child the tomboyish Billie ran wild with Edward and Andrew. Either one would make a perfect husband… someday.
Sometimes you fall in love with exactly the person you think you should…
Or not.
There is only one Rokesby Billie absolutely cannot tolerate, and that is George. He may be the eldest and heir to the earldom, but he’s arrogant, annoying, and she’s absolutely certain he detests her. Which is perfectly convenient, as she can’t stand the sight of him, either.
But sometimes fate has a wicked sense of humor…
Because when Billie and George are quite literally thrown together, a whole new sort of sparks begins to fly. And when these lifelong adversaries finally kiss, they just might discover that the one person they can’t abide is the one person they can’t live without…

My rating: 4.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. I hadn’t yet read anything by Julia Quinn but I had heard a lot of good things about this book over the last couple months. I’ve definitely always been interested in reading something by her but hadn’t picked anything up yet so I was excited when I won this book on The Reading Room. This book is about Billie Bridgerton and her neighbor George Rokesby. While its not 100% clear based on the family tree listed on Quinn’s website, I think that Billie is the sister of the patriarch of the Bridgerton family featured in the books thus far (Billie’s brother Edmund is mentioned though he is at school during this book). Billie and George have been neighbors their whole lives and have always found each other insufferably annoying. Until one day a strange encounter where George has to rescue Billie from a rooftop shifts something within both of them.
Overall I liked this book a lot. As I mentioned I hadn’t read anything by Quinn before this book but if all her other books are as witty and funny and sweet as this book was then I have a new back list of books I need to start working on! Billie and George were very entertaining characters and their story was tension filled but sweet. The reader can really feel the emotions of the characters coming off the pages of the book, which is a mark of success to me. I’m interested to see what other books will come of this series after this one (I’m hoping for one about Edward). This was a good read and I would definitely recommend!

The bottom line: I thought this was a quite story with great characters and entertaining dialogue. While I’m a little confused as to how it relates to the Bridgerton series (I think that the Edmund listed as the head of the family tree on the original series is Billie’s brother but am unsure), I liked the book a lot and would definitely recommend. I am looking forward to reading some of this author’s backlist when ever I have time.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page