Tag Archives: book review

2014 – Book #69

Posted in Book reviews, Literary Greats by

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The sixty-ninth book I read in 2014 was A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. I finished this book on 8/11/14. I rated this book (really a play) 4.5 stars out of a scale of 5. This was actually a re-read for me since I read this in high school for my AP English class. This play tells the story of really 4 groups of people: 1) Theseus, Duke of Athens, and his bride to be Hippolyta 2) 4 young Athenians Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius, and Helena 3) 6 Athenian workers who are rehearsing a play to perform at the Duke’s wedding and 4) Oberon and Titania, King and Queen of the Fairies. 

Lysander and Hermia are in love but Hermia’s father wants her to marry Demetrius, so Hermia and Lysander prepare to run away from Athens where they can be together. Helena is in love with Demetrius even though he’s in love with Hermia and so, in trying to endear himself to her, Helena tells Demetrius of Hermia and Lysanders’ plans. Demetrius follows the couple into the woods to try and stop them and Helena follows Demetrius. 

King Oberon wants to play a trick on his wife and so finds a flower that will make you fall in love with the next person you see when it is used. Thinking to help Helena, Oberon tells the fairy Puck to use the flower on Demetrius. Puck mistakenly uses the flower on Lysander and then trying to fix his error uses it on Demetrius as well, so now both the men are in love with Helena instead of Hermia. 

I really enjoy this story a lot because of the interesting plot. It is a great comedy. While I was reading I noted a few things that I found to be interesting. This play mentions the queen of Carthage, which I thought was interesting as this is the second book I have read in the past couple weeks that talks about this queen. A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James (https://rebeccabookreview.wordpress.com/2014/07/28/2014-book-61/) also mentions the Queen of Carthage (Dido). Act I scene 1 line 173 of A Midsummer Night’s Dream says “And by that fire which burned the Carthage queen” referencing the funeral pyre that Dido threw herself upon. I also found Act III scene 2 around lines 300-325 interesting because I do believe that was England’s portrayal of a cat fight. I can just picture Hermia with her fists up and Helena trying to find somewhere to hide so she doesn’t get punched in the face. 

This is a great play and a true comedy. Perfect for lifting your spirits! I found the “Pelican Shakespeare” vision so easy to use, there were footnotes that explained various words, phrases, and references. I know reading Shakespeare can appear a bit daunting to some but I would definitely recommend giving this play a try! It is a great read!!

Link to Wikipedia article on Queen of Carthage: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dido_(Queen_of_Carthage)

Link to Wikipedia article on A Midsummer Night’s Dream play: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Midsummer_Night’s_Dream

Link to website about William Shakespeare: http://www.william-shakespeare.info/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Midsummer-Pelican-Shakespeare-published-Classics/dp/B00E297RCE/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407789248&sr=1-9&keywords=pelican+shakespeare+midsummer+night%27s+dream

2014 – Book #67

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Cynster family series, Danvers family series, Governess Brides series, Historical Romance by

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The sixty-seventh book I read in 2014 was Hero, Come Back. This is an anthology of books written by 3 romance authors, and all 3 stories are set in the 1830’s in England. I finished this book on 8/6/14. 

Lost and Found by Stephanie Laurens is a story connected to the Cynster family series written by this author. I rated this story 4.25 stars out of a scale of 5. This story is about Reggie Carmathean (best friend to Amanda and Amelia Cynster from 2 books in the Cynster series) and Anne Ashford (sister to Luc, Penelope, and Portia, all of whom have their own books in the Cynster or Barnaby Adair series). This story was brief (only about 75 pages) and therefore was fast-paced, especially compared to Laurens’ other work. The story itself was good though and i thought it was a good addition to the overall series. 

The Third Suitor by Christina Dodd is a story connected to her Governess Brides series, which I have not yet read but hope to now in the future. I rated this book 4 stars out of a scale of 5. This story is about Lady Jessie Macmillian and Harry Chamberlain. Jessie’s father has set her up with three suitors and told her that she must choose one to marry. Unfortunately she is repulsed by all of them, and enlists the help of Harry Chamberlain, another resident of the inn she is staying in, to help her hide so that her suitors can not force any more of their kissed on her. This was a very good story, I thought the heroine had a great strength of character. I would’ve liked to delve a little more into Harry’s psyche but you can only go so far with a short story. I look forward to reading more in this series in the future!

A Matchmaker’s Bargain by Elizabeth Boyle is a story connected to her Danvers familly series. I rated this book 4 stars out of a scale of 5. This story is about James Reyburn and Miss Amanda Preston. Amanda has run away from home and after getting caught in a storm manages to unwittingly enter herself into a bargain with a matchmaker. Apparently its against the law to leave the town of Bramley Hollow until this bargain has been fulfilled, and since Amanda was only passing through on her way to Brighton this is especially unfortunate for her. James Reyburn tries to help her escape but when his mother gets involved in planning a betrothal ball for Amanda, he realizes that it will take a great deal of stealth to get Amanda out of town without getting arrested. This was an entertaining story, though I thought both the hero and heroine could have used a tad bit more confidence. Overall very good story though, I might read the rest of the series as well!

Link to author website – Stephanie Laurens: http://www.stephanielaurens.com/

Link to author website – Christina Dodd: http://christinadodd.com/

Link to author website – Elizabeth Boyle: http://www.elizabethboyle.com/

Link to Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/Hero-Come-Back-Stephanie-Laurens/dp/0060564504/ref=tmm_mmp_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1407376775&sr=8-1

2014 – Book #66

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Guinevere Jones series, Romantic suspense by

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The sixty-sixth book I read in 2014 was The Chilling Deception by Jayne Castle. This is the second book in the Guinevere Jones series by this author. I finished this book on 8/4/14. I rated this book 4.0 stars out of a scale of 5.This book continues the story of Guinevere Jones and her investigator boyfriend Zac Justis. Gwen is concerned about her current client, Mr. Vandyke, and his current stress level. She convinces Zac to offer his security services on Mr. Vandyke’s upcoming buisness trip to the San Juan islands. 

Zac is not thrilled about being a bodyguard to Gwen’s client. Especially when it means being at Mr. Vandyke’s beck and call and not getting any alone time with Gwen. Gwen was hoping to get some alone time this weekend as well, but not for exactly the same reasons as Zac. Gwen was hoping that she might be able to talk to Zac this weekend about their relationship status. But things seem to keep getting in the way.

Overall I thought this was a good story. It was a quick read at only about 165 pages and the plot was interesting and well-paced. The climax was riveting and well done, I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happened next. As I said in my post on the first story in the series though, the hero in these stories is a little too heavy-handed for me. He was almost mean in this story, calling the heroine names and stuff. I’m excited to read the next in the series!

Link to author website: http://jayneannkrentz.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Chilling-Deception-Guinevere-Jones-Book-ebook/dp/B007P7HV9E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407191209&sr=8-1&keywords=the+chilling+deception

2014 – Book #65

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Guinevere Jones series, Romantic suspense by

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The sixty-fifth book I read in 2014 was The Desperate Game by Jayne Castle. This is the first book in the Guinevere Jones series by this author. I finished this book on 8/2/14. I rated this book 3.75 stars out of a scale of 5. This book introduces us to Guinevere Jones, the owner of a small-business temp agency. While covering one of her assignments, she encounters a man named Zac Justis, who she discovers has been looking for her. 

Zac has been hired to get to the bottom of some equipment shipment thefts that were discovered due to a new inventory computer program. Starr Enterprises is Zac’s first big client of his brand new investigation/consulting firm and he wants to make sure this customer walks away happy. He decides to use Gwen to infiltrate the computer programming division of Starr Enterprises and find out who is behind the thefts. 

Gwen’s not thrilled about being blackmailed into helping Zac, but what forms as a result is an unlikely alliance. But after Zac begins to doubt whether Gwen is actually involved in the thefts. Gwen is hurt by Zac’s accusations and sets out to prove him wrong.

This was a really a very good story. It was well-paced and the plot was interesting. I very much liked the heroine, but i did find the hero to be a little heavy-handed. Since this story was originally published in 1986, the alpha-male character is a little different than those of today. For instance, at one point in the story the hero knocks the heroine over the back of the head (thinking she is someone else) and the heroine never brings this up later on and the hero never even apologizes. I found this to be an issue. Other than that though I did enjoy the book!

Link to author website: http://jayneannkrentz.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Desperate-Game-Guinevere-Jones-Book-ebook/dp/B007P7HZFE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407032368&sr=8-1&keywords=the+desperate+game

2014 – Book #64 – Part 2

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction by

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Little Lies is a prequel novella to Little Mercies, which was the sixty-fourth book I read in 2014 (see previous blog post). Since this novella was only 44 pages I decided to count it as a second part of #64 rather than its own book post. I finished this novella on 8/2/14. I rated it 4.0 stars out of a scale of 5. This novella tells the story of Ellen Moore as she and her friend Joe investigate a crime involving a young child. 

Since this was a pretty short story I don’t want to go into too much detail on the plot. This was a great prequel though and I would highly recommend reading it in connection with Little Mercies. 

Link to author website: http://www.heathergudenkauf.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Little-Lies-Heather-Gudenkauf-ebook/dp/B00J1ZETMU/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1407003329

2014 – Book #64

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction by

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The sixty-fourth book I read in 2014 was Little Mercies by Heather Gudenkauf. I finished this book on 8/2/14. I rated this book 4.25 stars out of a scale of 5. This book tells the story of veteran social worker Ellen Moore and how one mistake changes her family forever. The story also chronicles the journey of ten-year-old Jenny Briard to try and find her grandmother. Ellen and Jenny’s lives collide in unexpected ways and this book looks at how their lives change forever based on their time together. 

Ellen wakes up one morning late for work and on her way into the office for a meeting she gets called to an emergency situation with one of her case families. She goes straight to the scene to try and help the two young girls involved but in the process she leaves her one-year-old daughter Avery strapped in her car seat for 45 minutes on one of the hottest days of the year. Avery is unconscious and not breathing by the time she is pulled out of the car with an internal temperature of 105.6. Avery is rushed to the hospital while Ellen is left with the horror that she may have just killed her daughter. 

After this, Ellen’s life is changed. While her husband does forgive her and takes on some of the blame for the situation, Ellen is being charged with child neglect and is not allowed to see her daughter. For a social worker who has put countless families through the process of losing their children (the charges, the investigations, and even for some the jail time), Ellen now finds herself on the other side of the system when she is charged herself. She is stripped of her dignity and humiliated and still she asks herself, I deserve worse than this for what I’ve put my daughter and my family through. 

Jenny has had a very rough life, but when she ends up on a bus without her father she decides try to find her grandmother that she’s never met. When she was young she was abused by her mother’s boyfriend and was later placed in her father’s care. Since then she has lived with her father, and while he doesn’t abuse her, she has still had a rough time. Her father is an alcoholic and sometimes Jenny doesn’t have enough food to eat. Jenny finds herself alone in Cedar City and ends up becoming a part of Ellen’s story. 

Overall this was a very interesting book. I found it though-provoking, especially considering the epidemic of children being left in hot cars during summer temperatures. I thought it was interesting how the author switched between Ellen and Jenny’s view, portraying Ellen’s view in the first person and Jenny’s view in the third person to distinguish the two stories. I enjoyed this story a lot and it really made me think about the consequences of Ellen’s actions and how a thoughtless mistake can change your entire life. Definitely worth a read! 

Link to author website: http://www.heathergudenkauf.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Mercies-English-Edition-Heather-Gudenkauf/dp/0778316335/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1406993681&sr=8-1

2014 – Book #63

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Fairy Tales series, Historical Romance by

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The sixty-third book I read in 2014 was the novella Storming the Castle by Eloisa James. This novella is book 1.5 in the Fairy Tales series by this author. I finished this book on 7/29/14. I rated this book 3.5 stars out of a scale of 5. This book tells the story of Jonas Berwick (illegitimate brother of Prince Gabriel from book #1 in the series A Kiss at Midnight) and Miss Philippa Damson.

Phillipa is betrothed to a man that she realizes is just awful. Fleeing the confines of her betrothal, she finds freedom at Pomeroy Castle where she becomes a nursemaid to Princess Kate’s newborn son, little Jonas. The baby cries and cries and looks so sickly that everyone in the castle is worried he will soon die. Phillipa recognizes these symptoms to be from colic due to the knowledge she gained while helping her uncle. Phillipa helps Kate and Gabriel bring their son back to good health, all the while becoming more and more infatuated with the castle’s majordomo, Wick.

Jonas Berwick has always been treated as part of the royal family even though he is really only the bastard son of Gabriel’s father. Now that he is living in England and has become a servant to his brother (by choice) he can not offer for Miss Phillipa’s hand in marriage without bringing her down to the level of a servant as well. So he must formulate a way to be more than just a servant so he can spend the rest of his life with her.

Overall this novella was ok. I was very interested in hearing Wick’s story after being introduced to his character in the first book in the series and it was a quick read. It only ended up being about 125 pages and was well-paced for the length. While some of the plot was a bit choppy to accomodate a faster paced, it was a sweet story and a good addition to the series.

Link to other novels in the Fairy Tales series: https://rebeccabookreview.wordpress.com/category/book-reviews/book-series-book-reviews/fairy-tales-series/

Link to author website: http://eloisajames.com/index.php

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Storming-Castle-Original-Short-Content-ebook/dp/B00486UF6G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406749186&sr=8-1&keywords=storming+the+castle

2014 – Book #61

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Fairy Tales series, Historical Romance by

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The sixty-first book I read in 2014 was A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James. This is the first book in the Fairy Tales series by this author. I finished this book on 7/28/14 (just past midnight). I rated this book 4.25 stars out of a scale of 5. This book tells the story of a girl named Katherine Daltry. Kate has lived practically as a servant in her own household ever since her father died and left her step-mother as her legal guardian. Kate has been managing multiple pieces of her father’s estate on her own for the last few years, as her step-mother has a tendency to fire most of the servants on the estate.

Prince Gabriel bundled up all the people who were thrown out of his country by his over-zealous religious brother and brought them all to his castle in England. The only problem with this is that now he has to find a way to pay and support this horde of family and friends. While the income from the estate will fund the castle’s needs in future years, the estate won’t make any income for the first year. Therefore the prince decides he must wed a wealthy heiress in order to care for the people living under his roof. When Kate arrives at the castle for the ball that is to be held in a few days time, Gabriel has a princess on her way from Russia with a significant dowry.

Kate ends up taking her sister’s place at the Prince’s betrothal ball through a twist of Fate, but she must attend while posing to be her step-sister Victoria, along with Victoria’s fiancee Algie. The whole thing reminded me slightly of a comedy of errors and it was very entertaining and funny. Once the prince figures out that Kate is.. well Kate and not Victoria, he begins to pursue her in earnest even though he is betrothed to a Russian princess. 

Overall I thought this was a great book and I look forward to reading more books in this series. As Kate goes through the story she realizes she has many people she can consider family who support her. The story was very sweet and also was interesting. 

Link to author website: http://www.eloisajames.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Kiss-at-Midnight-Eloisa-James/dp/0062232568/ref=tmm_mmp_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1406561491&sr=8-1

2014 – Book #59

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

taming of ryder

The fifty-ninth book I read in 2014 was The Taming of Ryder Cavanaugh by Stephanie Laurens. I finished this book on 7/22/14. This is the second book in the Cynster Duo and the twentieth book in the Cynster family series. The Cynster Duo is actually a sub-series within the Cynster family series. I have read other books in the Cynster series and have many other blog posts on them (see link below). I rated this book 3.5 stars out of a scale of 5. This book tells the story of Mary Cynster and Ryder Cavanaugh.

Mary Cynster is the last unwed Cynster of her generation and as such is a great catch. The last available Cynster of her generation, she pretty much has her pick of who she’d like to marry. And her pick is not Ryder Cavanuagh, who annoys her and who she believes would be a dictator-like husband. The hilarious twists of fate though bring them together and Mary realizes that her and Ryder would actually suit, their strong personalities melding to form a powerful force.

Ryder has been looking for a woman to share his life with, a woman who will bring the broken pieces of his family together. And he knows that Mary Cynster, with her extended family and their obvious familial bond, is just the woman to help him accomplish that. But when an unknown villain starts threatening Mary’s life, Ryder knows he must do whatever it takes to save the woman he is falling in love with.

Overall this book was good and was an interesting addition to the series. Honestly as this point it is starting to get hard to get all the branches and members of the family straight because there are just so many of them. This book ends with all the Cynsters and connections gathering for a summer family picnic and the author spends like 3 pages alone just listing out all the children and who belongs to who and what not. It just gets to be a bit long. Otherwise is a good book and I look forward to hopefully seeing more books about the “Next Generation” of Cynsters from this author. Currently only one on the drawing board per her website is an in between book about the tutors of 2 of the Cynster Next Generation. I want to see Lucilla’s (future Lady of the Vale’s) story though.

Link to other reviews in the Cynster family series: https://rebeccabookreview.wordpress.com/category/book-reviews/book-series-book-reviews/cynster-family-series/

Link to author website: http://www.stephanielaurens.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Taming-Ryder-Cavanaugh-Cynster-Sisters/dp/0062068652/ref=tmm_mmp_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1406125599&sr=8-1

2014 – Book #57

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

Current cover of And Then She Fell

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The fifty-seventh book I read in 2014 was And Then She Fell by Stephanie Laurens. I finished this book on 7/5/14. This is the first book in the Cynster Duo and the nineteenth book in the Cynster family series. The Cynster Duo is actually a sub-series within the Cynster family series. I have read other books in the Cynster series and have many other blog posts on them (see link below). I rated this book 3.75 stars out of a scale of 5. This book tells the story of Henrietta Cynster and James Glossup.

After Henrietta, known to polite society as “the Matchbreaker” for her part over the years in breaking up various matches that would not suit in the long run, finds herself in a difficult position when she ends one of her brother Simon’s friend’s possible courtship. James is furious when Henrietta involves herself in his situation but when the girl he has been courting rebuffs him, he knows he needs to do something quickly. As part of his aunt’s will, he must marry within a year after her death to keep his inheritance. And with so many staff depending on him for their livelihoods, he has to find a wife and soon.

After explaining his situation to Henrietta, she starts to feel guilty for her part in his problems. She offers to help him find a suitable new bride. As they spend time together in their search though, they realize how much they care for each other and how attracted they are to each other. But when Henrietta starts being threatened by a mysterious gentleman, James begins to realize he may have to fight in order to hold on to her for long.

Overall this was not my favorite book in the Cynster series. I found it really hard to stay interested in the story. The hero and heroine were likable I just couldn’t get involved in the plot.

Link to other reviews in the Cynster family series: https://rebeccabookreview.wordpress.com/category/book-reviews/book-series-book-reviews/cynster-family-series/

Link to author website: http://www.stephanielaurens.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/And-Then-Fell-Cynster-Sisters/dp/0062068644/ref=tmm_mmp_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1404582969&sr=1-1