2016 Book #119 – The Twilight Wife by A.J. Banner

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction, Thriller by rebeccabook17

Title: The Twilight Wife
Author: A.J. Banner
Date finished: 12/17/16
Genre: Fiction, suspense
Publisher: Touchstone
Publication Date: December 27, 2016
Pages in book: 304
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
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:

From bestselling author A.J. Banner comes a dazzling new novel of psychological suspense in the vein of S.J. Watson’s Before I Go to Sleep and Mary Kubica’s The Good Girl that questions just how much we can trust the people around us.
Thirty-four-year-old marine biologist Kyra Winthrop remembers nothing about the diving accident that left her with a complex form of memory loss. With only brief flashes of the last few years of her life, her world has narrowed to a few close friendships on the island where she lives with her devoted husband, Jacob.
But all is not what it seems. Kyra begins to have visions—or are they memories?—of a rocky marriage, broken promises, and cryptic relationships with the island residents, whom she believes to be her friends.
As Kyra races to uncover her past, the truth becomes a terrifying nightmare. A twisty, immersive thriller, The Twilight Wife will keep readers enthralled through the final, shocking twist.

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. This book tells the story of Kyra, a woman who was in a diving accident recently and now suffers from short term memory loss. Not only that but she can’t remember anything from the past 4 years. Thankfully (ha) her husband Jacob is there to help her and take care of her. During her recovery they’ve relocated to a remote island where Jacob’s parents had a house. There Kyra starts to recover snippets of her memories from the past four years, and some of her memories are dark and don’t make sense with what her husband Jacob has been telling her about their life. Kyra starts trying to remember more so maybe she can piece together what her strange but realistic dreams are about. Jacob doesn’t seem to want Kyra to recover anymore memories, he says he wants to start fresh but what is he hiding from her?
Overall I really liked this book! It was a great thriller and there were a couple surprise twists at the end that I didn’t see coming. This book reminded me a lot of a book I read recently for book club, Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson, but it was a little less repetitive since Kyra could retain her memories from day to day. I didn’t want to put the book down, I couldn’t wait to find out what had happened to Kyra before the accident and what Jacob was hiding from her. I was distrustful of him from the beginning, he seemed too good to be true from the start and I knew he couldn’t be as perfect as he was making himself out to be. This was a great suspense so if you’re looking for a book to keep you guessing this is a great one to read!

The bottom line: This was a great thriller, I couldn’t wait to find out what had happened to Kyra and what her real story was. There were some great plot twists that I didn’t see coming, I would recommend!

Link to author website

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16Dec2016

2016 Book # 118 – Love Connection by Camilla Isley

Posted in Book reviews, Contemporary romance, For the love of books by rebeccabook17

Title: Love Connection
Author: Camilla Isley
Date finished: 12/15/16
Genre: Contemporary romance
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Publication Date: September 23, 2016
Pages in book: 240
Stand alone or series: #1 in the First Comes Love series
Where I got the book from: Author/publisher NOTE: I received this book for free from the author/publisher 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:

Have you ever wondered what might have been?

Gemma Dawson is at the airport, staring at two plane tickets to two different cities. Two different weddings. Two possible futures. She’s at a crossroads.

Be maid of honor at her best friend’s wedding or crash her ex’s?

Gemma’s decision, unknown to her, hinges on a delayed flight and a chance meeting. Now her life is about to go down two parallel tracks–will Gemma fly toward a life with her first love or a future with a man she’s not even met yet?

In concurrent storylines, Gemma lives out the consequences of each journey. Different stories unravel with unpredictable outcomes for Gemma and her loved ones. As the alternative realities run their course, humor and romance intertwine raising questions about fate and chance. Will these parallel universes converge? Is true love meant to be? Is everyone destined to have a soul mate? Or are one’s cards just a choice away from reshuffling?

Love Connection is a romantic comedy about one woman, life’s infinite possibilities, and the destiny that lies beyond two different choices. First Comes Love is a series of interconnected romantic novels. However, each book in the series can be read as a standalone novel.

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. This book tells the story of Gemma Dawson, who we first meet at the airport when she’s trying to decide whether she should fly home for her best friend’s wedding, in which she’s supposed to be the maid of honor, or crash her ex-boyfriends wedding to tell him that she still loves him. It is from this first decision that the story forks into two different paths, each one following Gemma after that first choice. In each life Gemma is faced with crises and both love and heart break. The two story lines overlap in some interesting ways and we meet up with many of the same characters in both lives, just at different times. Through it all though, can Gemma find her happily ever after in both worlds?
Overall I just loved this book. The idea behind the plot line was so interesting and while it reminded me a lot of another book I read last year (Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid) I actually liked the way that this one ended better. And I loved all the characters in this book. I have to say I especially loved the fortune teller detail in the story (I’m not going to spoil it for you readers) it was so creative to add that piece and I thought it really did a great job of tying both stories together. I couldn’t put this book down once I started it, I think I finished it in less than 24 hours. It was a great read and I would most definitely recommend! And I can’t wait to see what else the next book in the series will bring!

The bottom line: I just loved this book, the story line was so different and unique. And I loved the way the story lines intertwined and how much fate ended up being involved. And what a great ending!! Just loved this book, I would definitely recommend.

Link to author website

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16Dec2016

2016 Book # 117 – Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction, Women's fiction by rebeccabook17

Title: Vinegar Girl
Author: Anne Tyler
Date finished: 12/14/16
Genre: Fiction, women’s fiction
Publisher: Hogarth
Publication Date: June 1, 2016
Pages in book: 240
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
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:

Kate Battista feels stuck. How did she end up running house and home for her eccentric scientist father and uppity, pretty younger sister Bunny? Plus, she’s always in trouble at work – her pre-school charges adore her, but their parents don’t always appreciate her unusual opinions and forthright manner.
Dr. Battista has other problems. After years out in the academic wilderness, he is on the verge of a breakthrough. His research could help millions. There’s only one problem: his brilliant young lab assistant, Pyotr, is about to be deported. And without Pyotr, all would be lost.
When Dr. Battista cooks up an outrageous plan that will enable Pyotr to stay in the country, he’s relying – as usual – on Kate to help him. Kate is furious: this time he’s really asking too much. But will she be able to resist the two men’s touchingly ludicrous campaign to bring her around?

My rating: 3.5 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. This book tells the story of Kate Battista, a 29 year old woman who has gotten herself into something of a rut. After getting expelled from college, she moves back home with her father and her much younger sister Bunny. Kate ends up getting a job at a local preschool as an assistant and between that, taking care of her father’s household, and basically parenting Bunny, all of a sudden she realizes she’s 29 and has been stuck in the same routine for years. Really what wakes her up is a ridiculous idea that her father comes up with – for Kate to marry his research assistant, Pyotr, to keep him in the country. Pyotr’s visa is about to expire and Kate’ father is desperate to find a way to keep him so they can finish an important research project. At first Kate rejects this idea, thinking she deserves better, but as she spends more time considering Pyotr’s offer and the freedom it would afford her, Kate realizes this might be just the change she needs in her life.
Overall I liked this book. It was interesting how the book turned out, it didn’t end how I expected but I really enjoyed the ending. This book is a modern-day retelling of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew and since I haven’t read that one previously, I’d really love to read it now especially to see how parallel the story lines are. I did find Kate to be a hard character to connect with, I didn’t really understand why she put up with a lot of the things that she puts up with in the book but everything seems to work out ok in the end for her. Her cast of supporting characters (her father, Bunny, her aunt, etc) all seemed very self-absorbed and were only interested in what Kate was able to provide for them. It made for an interesting story though and I can feel Shakespeare’s influence in it even if I haven’t read this exact comedy of his before. This was an interesting book and was a fairly quick read, I would recommend it!

The bottom line: This was an interesting read, it was definitely different than my normal book choice. I think it would have been better if I had already read The Taming of the Shrew and could connect the stories. It was still a good read though, I would recommend!

Link to author website

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

6Dec2016

2016 Book #115 – Thirty Days to Thirty by Courtney Psak

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction, Women's fiction by rebeccabook17

Title: Thirty Days to Thirty
Author: Courtney Psak
Date finished: 12/3/16
Genre: Fiction, women’s fiction
Publisher: CAMP Publishing
Publication Date: October 19, 2015
Pages in book: 228
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
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:

What if you were on the cusp of marrying the guy of your dreams and reaching that career goal you set for yourself, only for all of it to be taken away in one fell swoop?
What if this all happened a month before you turned 30?
This is the story of Jill Stevens, who after moving back home, finds a list she made in high school of thirty things she wanted to accomplish before her thirtieth birthday.
With a month left and hardly anything crossed off her list, she teams up with old friends to accomplish as much as she can before the big 3-0. Along the way, she discovers her true self and realizes it’snot about the material successes in life but the journey.

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. This book tells the story of Jill Stevens, a woman who loses her job and finds out her boyfriend (of 6 years) is cheating on her in the same night just about a month before her thirtieth birthday. Suddenly single, homeless, and jobless, she’s forced to move back in with her parents while she figures out what her next step is. While at home she finds an old high school writing assignment, 30 things to accomplish before she turns 30. She hasn’t accomplished more than a couple items from that list, and while re-establishing old relationships she decides that she will use the next month before her birthday to do as many of the additional items as she can. Along the way she finds out things about herself that she never knew and she decides that maybe losing her job and her boyfriend were two of the best things that could have happened to her.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. The story line was interesting and sweet. I liked seeing Jill’s character evolve during the book and her cast of supportive characters was hilarious. This book made me (literally) laugh out loud multiple times, you can’t help but laugh at how ridiculously awful Jill’s life is at certain points. She is surrounded by people who love her though and for that she realizes she is extremely lucky. This was a heart-warming story about one woman’s journey to self-discovery and happiness. I would definitely recommend if you’re looking for a good read!

The bottom line: This was a great, uplifting read. It was heart-warming and it was a quick read. I enjoyed this one a lot.

Link to author website

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

29Nov2016

2016 Book #114 – My Girl by Jack Jordan

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction, Thriller by rebeccabook17

Title: My Girl
Author: Jack Jordan
Date finished: 11/28/16
Genre: Fiction, thriller
Publisher: JJP
Publication Date: July 4, 2016
Pages in book: 226
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
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:

Paige Dawson: the mother of a murdered child and wife to a dead man. She has nothing left to live for… until she finds her husband’s handgun hidden in their house. Why did Ryan need a gun? What did he know about their daughter’s death? Desperate for the truth, Paige begins to unearth her husband’s secrets. But she has no idea who she is up against, or that her life isn’t hers to gamble – she belongs to me. From the bestselling author of Anything for Her, Jack Jordan’s My Girl is the new chilling thriller that you won’t want to miss.

My rating: 4.0 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. This book is about Paige Dawson, a woman who has been broken by the hands life has dealt her: her only child murdered and her husband’s suicide. Paige spends all her time in a drug and alcohol induced fog, not wanting to face reality in any way. She has multiple people who care for her though and who want her to get better, including her father, brother, and her husband’s parents. Paige starts having odd things happen to her, little things that at first she blamed on her drinking. But when every picture of her family has her husband’s face cut out of it, she starts to wonder if someone else has been in her house or if she’s truly just going mad. After the police have to get involved on two of her more recent drinking stints (including her driving into her husband’s gravestone and trying to kidnap a young girl in the department store), Paige is forced to get better or go to jail. Its around this time that Paige discovers she has alcoholic hepatitis, and if going to jail wasn’t enough of a motivation then keeping herself from dying is and Paige moves in with her brother for a few days while she transitions into being sober. And its there that Paige discovers a long held family secret that could destroy her.
Overall I really did like this book. Once I started it was impossible to put down, so it was good that it ended up being a quick read. Paige reminded me a lot of the main protagonist in The Girl on the Train, though the story lines weren’t exactly similar. This book did get pretty dark and scary so I’d just like to forewarn the reader of that. There is a great twist in the story though that I didn’t see coming and while it was definitely creepy enough to turn my stomach it was also surprising enough that I gasped. This is a great thriller/scary read and I would definitely recommend reading it!

The bottom line: This was an awesome psychological suspense read, the only reason it didn’t get a higher score is it was just a little too dark/creepy/scary for me. There is some sick stuff that goes on in here. If you’re looking for a good thriller though I would most definitely recommend.

Link to author website

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29Nov2016

2016 Book #113 – Mistletoe, Mischief, and the Marquis by Amelia Grey

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Historical Romance by rebeccabook17

Title: Mistletoe, Mischief and the Marquis
Author: Amelia Grey
Date finished: 11/27/16
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: Swerve
Publication Date: November 29, 2016
Pages in book: 87
Stand alone or series: Heirs’ Club of Scoundrels 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:

The Marquis of Wythebury, is expecting an ordinary Christmastide at Hurst—until he is set upon by a beautiful miss who takes him to task for not allowing his young nephews to play outside. In his mind, a five and seven year old needn’t get chilled in the snow; better to plop them in front of the fire with a book. Few people have ever been brave enough to challenge him over anything, much less the rearing of his wards. The cheeky Miss Prim has no such compunction. No matter how fetching he finds her, he can’t give in to his attraction…for she is the sister of his best friend.
Growing up the middle child of five rambunctious girls, Lillian Prim doesn’t understand why two young boys visiting Hurst don’t know how to play until she meets their dashing guardian. The Marquis of Wythebury is commanding and intensely serious-minded. To her surprise, she’s captivated by him. It’s all she can do not to give into her feminine fantasies about her kissing him. Lillian has no intention of falling in love with the Marquis, but she will create Christmastide mischief and teach the boys and the handsome Marquis how to play, in Mistletoe, Mischief, and the Marquis, by New York Times bestselling author Amelia Grey.

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. This short story is about Lillian Prim and Seth, the Marquis of Wythebury. Lillian is the sister of Louisa from book #1 in the series, The Duke in My Bed. They are brought together to celebrate Christmas with Lillian’s sister and members of the Heirs’ Club. Seth’s sister and brother-in-law recently died of a fever and left Seth as guardian for two young boys. In the days leading up to Christmas, Lillian helps watch over the boys and tries to tell Seth that he’s being to strict with them and not letting them be young boys. Seth thinks that Lillian is a little to loose with her stricture and also a little too free with her opinions.
Overall I liked this short story it was sweet and had a good Holiday vibe to it. It was obviously a short story being only 87 pages so there was not a lot of detail to it but it was still a Holiday-spirited, romantic read. I would recommend it, especially for people who’ve read and enjoyed other books in this series.

The bottom line: I liked this, it was a nice short story. This was a quick read and was great for getting the reader into the holiday spirit. I would recommend, especially for fans of the series.

Link to author website

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

26Nov2016

2016 Book #112 – Class of ’59 by John A. Heldt

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction by rebeccabook17

Title: Class of ’59
Author: John A. Heldt
Date finished: 11/24/16
Genre: Fiction, Time travel
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: September 1, 2016
Pages in book: 293
Stand alone or series: #4 in American Journey series
Where I got the book from: Author/publisher NOTE: I received this book for free from the author/publisher 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:

When Mary Beth McIntire settles into a vacation house on June 2, 2017, she anticipates a quiet morning with coffee. Then she hears a noise, peers out a window, and spots a man in 1950s attire standing in the backyard. She panics when the trespasser sees her and enters the house though a door to the basement. She questions her sanity when she cannot find him.
In the same house on March 21, 1959, Mark Ryan finds a letter. Written by the mansion’s original owner in 1900, the letter describes a basement chamber, mysterious crystals, and a formula for time travel. Driven by curiosity, Mark tests the formula twice. On his second trip to 2017, he encounters a beautiful stranger. He meets the woman in the window.
Within hours, Mary Beth and Mark share their secret with her sister and his brother and begin a journey that takes them from the present day to the age of sock hops, drive-ins, and jukeboxes. In CLASS OF ’59, the fourth book in the American Journey series, four young adults find love, danger, and adventure as they navigate the corridors of time and experience Southern California in its storied prime.

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. This book tells the story of Mary Beth McIntire, a recent college graduate preparing to head to medical school, and her sister Piper, a recent high school graduate. Mary Beth has been through some trauma lately as her long-time sweetheart and fiancee was shot and killed in front of her during a convenience store robbery. Mary Beth has been trying to recover ever since then, so after Piper graduates from high school their parents take them on a vacation to California to stay in a friend’s house, the house of Mr. Geoffrey Bell. Readers of this series would know Geoffrey from previous books, as the tunnel under his house has been used in multiple time-travel adventures. Mary Beth encounters Mark Ryan as he discovers this exact use of the tunnel, and after reconciling the fact that they now have access to a time travel tunnel Mark, Mary Beth, Piper, and Mark’s brother Ben (a senior in high school) decide to have a few fun adventures. With Mary Beth and Piper being from the year 2017 and Mark and Ben from 1959 though, they all certainly never expected to develop deep, long-lasting attachments to each other. But after a month spent in each other’s company that is exactly what happens and the two couples must face this and decide what to do about it. And when their lives come to be in danger from mobsters who’ve figured out their secret, will they even be able to make it out of the past alive?
Overall I liked this book. I have found each book in this series interesting and I love the creative process of creating a time travel tunnel and all that entails. This book didn’t end up being my favorite in the series, mostly because I felt like the ending was a little to convenient and was just a little rushed compared to the rest of the story, it didn’t fit right for me. This didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book, just left me a little unsettled still at the end. I love that in each book the reader learns about a different era/region. It is fun to hear what the different characters in each book decide to do with this opportunity. This would be a great read for those interested in time travel and for anyone looking for a light-hearted adventure.

The bottom line: I overall like the series and the time travel aspect in general is very interesting. This wasn’t my favorite of the series but was still a good read. I would recommend, especially if you’ve enjoyed the other books in the series.

Link to author website

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24Nov2016

2016 Book #111 – The Duke of Pleasure by Elizabeth Hoyt

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Historical Romance, Maiden Lane series by rebeccabook17

Title: The Duke of Pleasure
Author: Elizabeth Hoyt
Date finished: 11/23/16
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: November 29, 2016
Pages in book: 336
Stand alone or series: #11 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:

IN THE ARMS OF DANGER
Bold. Brave. Brutally handsome. Hugh Fitzroy, the Duke of Kyle, is the king’s secret weapon. Sent to defeat the notorious Lords of Chaos, he is ambushed in a London alley-and rescued by an unlikely ally: a masked stranger with the unmistakable curves of a woman.
IN THE HEAT OF DESIRE
Cocky. Clever. Courageously independent. Alf has survived on the perilous streets of St. Giles by disguising her sex. By day she is a boy, dealing in information and secrets. By night she’s the notorious Ghost of St. Giles, a masked vigilante. But as she saves Hugh from assassins, she finds herself succumbing to temptation . . .
ONE KISS WILL CHANGE THEIR LIVES FOREVER
When Hugh hires Alf to investigate the Lords of Chaos, her worlds collide. Once Hugh realizes that the boy and the Ghost are the same, will Alf find the courage to become the woman she needs to be-before the Lords of Chaos destroy them both?

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. This book tells the story (finally!) of Alf. Alf has been a supporting character for a good portion of this series, when we’re first introduced to her character its as the young boy who is an information collector/seller in St. Giles. Alf was abandoned at a young age and so in order to protect herself, she’s disguised herself as a young boy for a very long time. She’s also recently started training to replace the most recent Ghost of St. Giles, since all the other ones we’ve learned of have settled down and retired and started families. So Alf takes on a new job as an informant for the Duke of Kyle, who she seems to have a bit of a crush on. And when the Duke of Kyle (Hugh) discovers that Alf is not only a girl, but also the Ghost of St. Giles who kissed him so passionately recently. And when Hugh realizes that he needs Alf’s help on an upcoming reconnaissance mission at a ball, he asks her to uncover the woman she really is deep down. As Hugh sees more of the facets that make up Alf though, he can’t resist falling in love with her.
Overall I really liked this book a lot. It was a bit unusual since the heroine starts out the story attracted to the hero but the hero thinks she’s a boy. And Alf is from the streets and it shows not only in her language but also in her thought process and her personality. I think that was one of the things I ended liking most about this book though was Alf and how full of life she was. And it was really great to read her story after hearing so much about her in the other books in the series. Readers be warned there are some steamy scenes in this book, this one definitely is a sexy read! But there was also some great character development and some really deep emotions in this book. Alf’s character develops from a cocky lad to a young lady in love (who is also still cocky). And I think the book had a great overall message, that sometimes you need to put your faith in love and have hope.

The bottom line: I really enjoyed this one, this probably ended up being one of my favorite books in the series. This was definitely an unconventional story though, Alf isn’t your classic romance heroine but she was entirely refreshing and fun. This was a great read and I would definitely recommend.

Link to author website

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

24Nov2016

2016 Book #110 – The Danger of Desire by Sabrina Jeffries

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Historical Romance by rebeccabook17

Title: The Danger of Desire
Author: Sabrina Jeffries
Date finished: 11/20/16
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: Pocket Books
Publication Date: Novemeber 22, 2016
Pages in book: 416
Stand alone or series: Sinful Suitors series #3
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:

To root out the card cheat responsible for her brother’s death, Miss Delia Trevor spends her evenings dancing her way through high society balls, and her late nights disguised as a young man gambling her way through London’s gaming hells. Then one night, handsome Warren Corry, the Marquess of Knightford, a notorious member of St. George’s Club, recognizes her. When he threatens to reveal her secret, she’s determined to keep him from ruining her plans, even if it means playing a cat-and-mouse game with the enigmatic rakehell.
Warren knows the danger of her game, and he refuses to watch her lose everything while gaining justice for her late brother. But when she starts to delve beneath his carefully crafted façade, can he keep her at arm’s length while still protecting her? Or will their hot desires explode into a love that transcends the secrets of their pasts?

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. This book tells the story of Delia Trevor, an eligible maiden whose brother recently died and left her with a crippling debt and a mortgaged estate. Her aunt is trying to marry her off and secure a place for Delia in society. Her Aunt is also trying to find a husband for Delia’s brother’s widow. Delia’s good friend Clarissa notices that Delia has been acting odd lately and wonders if a fortune hunter is trying to blackmail her. So Clarissa enlists the help of her cousin, the marquess of Knightford (Warren) to look into the matter. Warren is a self-confirmed bachelor who is determined not to marry, mostly because he’s sure that no woman should have to put up with his fear of the dark and his need to stay awake all night. Delia intrigues him though and when he notices that she is indeed acting strangely as Clarissa claimed, he is determined to find the underlying cause. Turns out Delia’s brother was cheated in a card game and now she’s determined to find whoever it was that they may soon lose their house to.
Overall I really liked this book. Delia’s character was very entertaining and I loved how vulnerable and charming Warren was. There were some references to Clarissa’s story too, which I would love to read. This book does read as a stand alone story technically but I feel like reading Clarissa’s story would have added more context to some of the things that happened in the beginning of the book. And I have a feeling that Brilliana’s story is going to be next in the series, and I’d love to read that one as well. I haven’t read much by this author previously but I am excited to read more by her. I thought she did a great job of creating tension and emotion between the main characters. I like this story a lot and I would recommend reading it.

The bottom line: This was a good book, I just loved Delia’s character. I can’t wait to read more in the series!

Link to author website

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21Nov2016

2016 Book #109 – Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Posted in Book Clubs, Book reviews, Fiction, Historical fiction, Terryville - Fiction Lovers by rebeccabook17

Title: Sarah’s Key
Author: Tatiana de Rosnay
Date finished: 11/17/16
Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Publication Date: September 2008
Pages in book: 293
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: Terryville Public Library

Blurb from the cover:

Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family’s apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.
Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France’s past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl’s ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d’Hiv’, to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah’s past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.
Tatiana de Rosnay offers us a brilliantly subtle, compelling portrait of France under occupation and reveals the taboos and silence that surround this painful episode.

My rating: 4.0 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I read this book for the Terryville Library’s Fiction Lover’s Book Discussion group discussion for this month (November). This book alternates between telling two stories, that of Sarah from her viewpoint in July of 1942 when she and her parents are arrested by the French police for being Jews, and that of Julia from her viewpoint in the same city in 2002 when she is assigned by her editor to write an article about the tragic events of July 1942. While we hear about Sarah’s story, we also learn of what Julia is uncovering in her research. Julia actually ends up having a fairly close connection in her life to Sarah and it was really interesting to see how the stories were interwoven. This was a tough read as it deals with some horrible subjects and delves deep into some very dark periods of time for humanity as a whole. It was terrible to read about what Sarah had experienced at “the camp” because even though she’s a fictional character, those kinds of things happened to real people. And not just a handful but so, so many. I think it is something that is important for people to realize truly happened though and I would encourage people to read it even if it is difficult. Event with the tough subject matter, I really liked this one and it was an engaging read. I would definitely recommend!

The bottom line: This was a tough book for me, subject matter like this is painful and really gets under your skin. I think that makes it doubly important though for us to experience it and realize that while this is a fiction novel, this actually happened to so many people. I think this is an important book for everyone to read, I would definitely recommend reading it.

Link to author website

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