2016 Book #62 – The Girl Who Came Back by Susan Lewis

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

Title: The Girl Who Came Back
Author: Susan Lewis
Date finished: 6/13/16
Genre: Fiction, suspense
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: June 7, 2016
Pages in book: 400
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:

When Jules Bright hears a knock on the door, the last person she expects to find is a detective bringing her the news she’s feared for the last three years.
Amelia Quentin is being released from prison.
Jules’s life now is very different from the one she knew before Amelia shattered it completely. Knowing the girl is coming back, Jules must decide what to do. Friends and family gather around, fearing for Jules’s safety. They know that justice was never served; each of them wants to make the Quentin girl pay.
The question is: What will Jules do?
And which of them—she or Amelia—has the most to fear?

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 Jules Bright. When we are first introduced to her there are many subtle hints to the reader that she is still recovering from a traumatic event, though we don’t find out for quite a while into the book what actually happened. This was one of the things that frustrated me as I thought it was a little too far into the story but at the same time this is a good tactic to increase the reader’s tension. After we’re first introduced to Jules, the book alternated between the present day and Jules’ memories of her past that led up to the present point. I have to be honest in that these transitions between memories and present day were not always 100% clear to me and I didn’t always know how much time had passed since the last memory, so it was hard to coordinate a timeline in my head. It was confusing at first but it did seem to get better/easier as the book went on. So anyways, the book is (for the most part) about Jules Bright and her husband, Kian, and their family. Other characters are mentioned early in the book, before the reader is even properly introduced to them, and this also added to the confusion I felt at first. I pieced it together eventually though.
Overall I liked this book ok. It was hard for me to get into the story, I felt like the beginning confused me enough that I almost wanted to give up. But once I got into the meat of the story it was much easier to get through. There is a murder in the book (I won’t tell you who because that would ruin a great plot point) and while it didn’t make me dislike the book, the description of the murder is pretty grisly. Definitely not for the faint of heart! Other than those things I already mentioned, I thought the book was quite good. Once I was about midway through the book, I didn’t want to put it down. And the author was able to evoke a lot of emotion from me, especially anger at Amelia. The ending was left a little bit open in my consideration but I like to think that justice was served. I would recommend this one for summer reading.

The bottom line: This was an ok book for me. It had some points with great amounts of tension but overall this one just wasn’t my favorite. I would still recommend it for summer reading with the warning that it has a grisly murder and is a tad confusing at first.

Link to author website

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

11Jun2016

2016 Book #61 – The Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction, Thriller by rebeccabook17

Title: The Girls in the Garden
Author: Lisa Jewell
Date finished: 6/11/16
Genre: Fiction, suspense
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: June 7, 2016
Pages in book: 320
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:

Imagine that you live on a picturesque communal garden square, an oasis in urban London where your children run free, in and out of other people’s houses. You’ve known your neighbors for years and you trust them. Implicitly. You think your children are safe. But are they really?
On a midsummer night, as a festive neighborhood party is taking place, preteen Pip discovers her thirteen-year-old sister Grace lying unconscious and bloody in a hidden corner of a lush rose garden. What really happened to her? And who is responsible?
Dark secrets, a devastating mystery, and the games both children and adults play all swirl together in this gripping novel, packed with utterly believable characters and page-turning suspense. Fans of Liane Moriarty and Jojo Moyes will be captivated by The Girls in the Garden, the next unforgettable novel by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell.

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 tells the story of a number of families living in a complex in Central London, with the complex surrounding a three acre communal park. No one has their own “back yard” all residents share one very large and well groomed garden for a back yard. Clare has just moved into a small apartment with her two daughters, Grace and Pip (whose real name is Lola). Clare is trying to hide from a recent traumatic situation with her husband, the girls’ father. She finds comfort at first in the friendship that comes with sharing the communal back yard. Her girls seem to be adapting well, especially Grace who is spending a lot of time with another set of sisters who live across the way. Once Grace is found unconscious and bloody though, Clare learns about what her daughter has really been doing when she’s not at home and that the other girls are not exactly as innocent as they seem.
Overall I really liked this book. The story line was interesting and I thought the author did a great job with how she made the story flow. The story begins with Pip finding her sister after Grace had been attacked. Then the story back tracks to the six months leading up to the attack and then continues past the attack to what happened after Grace was found. The story was also told from Pip’s point of view as well as Clare’s and Adele’s (the other set of sisters’ mother) with two more points of view added in the last few chapters. The ending didn’t turn out quite as I expected but I really liked the plot and it was a fairly quick, fast-paced read. The author really did a great job with creating tension in the story, the drama and tension was coming off the book in waves and we kept finding out more scandalous tidbits the more the characters delved into the mystery. I think this will be a great read for this summer, I would definitely recommend trying this one!

The bottom line: I found this book very interesting and at the same time slightly disturbing. Not disturbing in a bad way, more in a suspenseful way. The author creates a real world for the reader inside the communal garden and the separate points of view added a lot of different pieces to the story line. I would definitely recommend this one!

Link to author website

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

10Jun2016

2016 Book #60 – The Wedding Sisters by Jamie Brenner

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

Title: The Wedding Sisters
Author: Jamie Brenner
Date finished: 6/9/16
Genre: Fiction, women’s fiction
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Publication Date: June 7, 2016
Pages in book: 317
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:

Meryl Becker is living a mother’s dream. The oldest of her three beautiful daughters, Meg, is engaged to a wonderful man from one of the country’s most prominent families. Of course, Meryl wants to give Meg the perfect wedding. Who wouldn’t? But when her two younger daughters, Amy and Jo, also become engaged to celebrated bachelors, Meryl has to admit that three weddings is more than she and her husband, Hugh, can realistically afford.
The solution? A triple wedding! At first, it’s a tough sell to the girls, and juggling three sets of future in-laws is a logistical nightmare. But when Hugh loses his teaching job, and Meryl’s aging mother suddenly moves in with them, a triple wedding is the only way to get all three sisters down the aisle. When the grand plan becomes public, the onslaught of media attention adds to Meryl’s mounting pressure. Suddenly, appearances are everything – and she will do whatever it takes to keep the wedding on track as money gets tight, her mother starts acting nutty, and her own thirty year marriage starts to unravel.
In the weeks leading up to the nuptials, secrets are revealed, passions ignite, and surprising revelations show Meryl and her daughters the true meaning of love, marriage and family. Jamie Brenner’s The Wedding Sisters invites readers to the most unpredictable wedding of the year.

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 Meryl Becker, along with her husband and their three daughters: Meg, Amy, and Jo. Hugh has always had a keen interest in Louisa May Alcott, and had even written a book chronicling the life of the author’s mother, which was published when he first met Meryl. Meg Amy, and Jo are all grown up now, and through an interesting series of events all three sisters find themselves engaged within a couple months of each other. And when Hugh loses his job, Meryl realizes the only way they could possibly afford to marry off all three daughters within a year is to have all three weddings at the same time. And thus the idea of a triple wedding was born. And due to the fact that all three daughters are marrying what can only be described as “well-off” men, once the media gets wind of the triple wedding the press circus begins. As the wedding looms closer though, each sister starts to see cracks in their relationships that weren’t there before.
Overall I really enjoyed this book so much. It was tension and drama filled, it was fast-paced and I just didn’t want to put it down. I thought the book really did a great job of examining multiple types of relationships: mother and daughter, husband and wife, sister and (other) sister, and also friendship and new love. It was interesting to hear the sisters three very different stories. And the ending was heart warming and inspiring. There was a lot going on in this book between all the characters’ separate dramas but the author combined the stories flawlessly and I thought the story line flowed very well. I would highly recommend this book, this is one of summer’s must reads!

The bottom line: I immensely enjoyed this book. It was tension and drama filled and kept me interested through the whole story. I also liked the view this book gave on a number of different relationship categories. Very interesting and exciting read, I think this is a great summer read! I would definitely recommend.

Link to author website

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

5Jun2016

2016 Book #59 – The Cresswell Plot by Eliza Wass

Posted in 2016, Book reviews, Book Riot Read Harder Reading Challenge 2016, Reading Challenges, Young Adult by rebeccabook17

Title: The Cresswell Plot
Author: Eliza Wass
Date finished: 6/5/16
Genre: Young adult
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publication Date: June 7, 2016
Pages in book: 272
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:

The woods were insane in the dark, terrifying and magical at the same time. But best of all were the stars, which trumpeted their light into the misty dark.
Castella Cresswell and her five siblings-Hannan, Casper, Mortimer, Delvive, and Jerusalem- know what it’s like to be different. For years, their world has been confined to their ramshackle family home deep in the woods of upstate New York. They abide by the strict rule of God, whose messages come directly from their father.
Slowly, Castley and her siblings start to test the boundaries of the laws that bind them. But, at school, they’re still the freaks they’ve always been to the outside world. Marked by their plain clothing. Unexplained bruising. Utter isolation from their classmates. That is, until Castley is forced to partner with the totally irritating, totally normal George Gray, who offers her a glimpse of a life filled with freedom and choice.
Castley’s world rapidly expands beyond the woods she knows so well and the beliefs she once thought were the only truths. There is a future waiting for her if she can escape her father’s grasp, but Castley refuses to leave her siblings behind. Just as she begins to form a plan, her father makes a chilling announcement: the Cresswells will soon return to their home in heaven. With time running out on all of their lives, Castley must expose the depth of her father’s lies. The forest has buried the truth in darkness for far too long. Castley might be their last hope for salvation.

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. Also, this book will count towards my Book Riot 2016 Read Harder reading challenge, marking off the “read a book about religion (fiction or nonfiction)” since this book features a family involved in a cult-ish doomsday religion. Castella Cresswell is one of the six children in the Cresswell family. Everyone in town gives the family a wide berth since they are so odd. The patriarch of the Cresswell family has started his own weird religion that is extremely strict and foretells that their family is the only pure one left and therefore they will be the only ones to get into heaven. The more the reader learns about the family though, the more we learn that the patriarch is really just a crazy abusive dad with a short temper. Cass is a junior in high school who makes a new friend in her drama class, and when she starts learning more about who she is as a person and that she wants to have more of what is a normal life, she begins to stand up to her father. Unfortunately, circumstances are not great for the Cresswell family since the mother and father both don’t work, and the father counts on God to provide for the family. When things become bleak, the father decides that it is time for the family to take their rightful place in God’s kingdom, and yes that is as sinister as it sounds.
Overall I thought this was a good idea for a book and I liked the book. I thought that the story line could have been organized a tad bit better and the characters could have been a little better developed but the book itself was dark and thrilling and also a little sad. There was a wealth of emotions in the writing and as a reader I was looking to empathize more with the main character but I couldn’t connect with her enough to feel a lot of emotions towards her. I still think it was an interesting idea for a book though and I would recommend reading it. Although I would add a warning that if you get scared or freaked out easily this may not be something to add to your to read list.

The bottom line: I liked the idea behind this book but I thought it could have been developed a little better. It was a good story but I had trouble connecting with some of the characters. I would still definitely recommend it with a forewarning that it is a little horror-ish.

Link to author website

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

3Jun2016

2016 Book #58 – Frayed by Kara Terzis

Posted in 2016, Book reviews, Book Riot Read Harder Reading Challenge 2016, Reading Challenges, Young Adult by rebeccabook17

Title: Frayed
Author: Kara Terzis
Date finished: 6/2/16
Genre: Young adult
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: June 7, 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:

Dear Kesley,
My therapist tells me I should write you a letter. Like flushing all my thoughts and feelings out of my system and onto paper. I tell her it’s a stupid idea.
But here I am, writing a letter to a dead girl. Where do I start? Where did our story begin? From the moment you were born…or died?
I’ll start with the moment I found out the truth about you. Your lies and my pain. Because it always begins and ends with you.
And that end began when Rafe Lawrence came back to town…
Ava Hale will do anything to find her sister’s killer…although she’ll wish she hadn’t. Because the harder Ava looks, the more secrets she uncovers about Kesley, and the more she begins to think that the girl she called sister was a liar. A sneak. A stranger.
And Kesley’s murderer could be much closer than she thought…
A debut novel from Wattpad award-winner Kara Terzis, Frayed is a psychological whodunit that will keep you guessing!

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. Also, this book will count towards my Book Riot 2016 Read Harder reading challenge, marking off the “read a book with a main character that has a mental illness.” I’m not going to say who because you should read it to find out but one of the main characters in this book is suffering from a mental illness. This book tells the story of Ava Hale, beginning about a month after her sister dies while she tries to figure out who murdered Kelsey. The police have no leads and as Ava starts to delve a little deeper into Kelsey’s life before her death, she discovers that she didn’t know her sister as well as she thought. Kelsey managed to hide a lot of things from her little sister Ava, including the fact that she tried to buy a gun to protect herself. But what exactly was Kelsey scared of? And why didn’t she think she could tell Ava about whatever was scaring her?
Overall I really liked this book. It was intriguing and kept me hooked right up until the end. I honestly didn’t see the ending coming, it was one of those great shocker endings. The ending was a little sad for me because I just felt so bad for Ava. The reader learns a lot about Ava through the book and it seemed like at every turn there was someone else betraying Ava’s trust. It was very sad. Other than that though I liked the book a lot! I don’t want to give too much away with the review so I would tell everyone to go read it for yourselves and find out!

The bottom line: I really liked this book, it was definitely a heart-pounding thriller and it kept me guessing right up until the very end. I just felt so bad for Ava, it seemed like there wasn’t anyone who cared about her enough to have her back and it saddened me a little. Other than that, this was a great thriller and I would definitely recommend it!

Link to author website

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

31May2016

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

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

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

30May2016

2016 Book #56 – His Wicked Wish by Olivia Drake

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

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

30May2016

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

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

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

30May2016

2016 Book #54 – Duke of Sin by Elizabeth Hoyt

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

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

30May2016

2016 Book #53 – Sweetest Scoundrel by Elizabeth Hoyt

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

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 31^st! 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