Tag Archives: book series

Waiting on Wednesday (7): 7 Brides for 7 Bodies by Stephanie Bond

Posted in "Waiting On" Wednesday, Book memes by

New WoW

“Waiting On” Wednesday” is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights eagerly anticipated upcoming releases.

This week’s spotlight is on:

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7 Brides for 7 Bodies by Stephanie Bond

Release Date: March 17, 2015

Blurb from the cover (Amazon):

Happily never after…
Carlotta Wren’s life has taken a startling turn–she’s not sure what’s going to happen next. So when her retail job temporarily plants her in the world of wedding planning, she’s happy for the distraction–at first. Because the happily-ever-after setting only heightens the stress surrounding the decisions she faces about her romantic life. The three hot men vying for her attention aren’t going to wait forever for her answer.
On the other hand, at least the bridal show gets her away from body moving for a while, right? Wrong. Because when grooms all over Atlanta start dropping like flies, once again, Carlotta finds herself square in the middle of a murder mystery!

Why Am I Waiting?

I have read every book in the series so far, granted it was a couple of years ago that the last book came out so its been awhile since I’ve read them. But I have been waiting FOREVER for this book to come out it feels like. This is an entertaining and funny series and I think I might re-read the series before I read this book since its been so long since I’ve read any of them. I would definitely recommend giving this series a try! I can’t wait for this book, I’m so excited!

2015 Book #13 – Winning the Wallflower by Eloisa James

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Bookish Bingo: Jan-March 2015, Fairy Tales series, Historical Romance, Reading Challenges by

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Title: Winning the Wallflower
Author: Eloisa James
Date finished: 2/15/15
Genre: Historical romance / fairy-tale retelling
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: December 6, 2011
Pages in book: 170
Stand alone or series: #2.5 in Fairy Tale series

Blurb from the cover:

A delightful ebook original novella from New York Times bestselling author Eloisa James. Winning the Wallflower introduces Lady Lucy Towerton, who is plain, tall, and considered very lucky to be betrothed to a man who lauds her irreproachable propriety. When she unexpectedly becomes an heiress—and belle of the ball—she breaks her engagement and makes up her mind to never be proper again.

My rating: 3.5 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will count towards my “Bookish Bingo” reading challenge, marking off the “Romance” square. I ended up reading this book slightly out of order, it is actually a prequel to The Duke is Mine. In this story, Lucy Towerton (friend to Olivia Lytton from The Duke is Mine) becomes an heiress, and her mother decides that Lucy could do better than her current fiance, Mr. Ravensthorpe. Lucy doesn’t care that Cyrus doesn’t have a title. She thinks that he is the most handsome man she’s ever seen. But she also refuses to marry someone who doesn’t love her. And since Cyrus has barely paid any attention to her even after they became engaged, she doesn’t think that Cyrus is necessarily the one for her. I liked this book. It was cute and even though it was short, it was interesting and I found the plot to be well paced for a novella.

The bottom line:  I thought this was a cute book. It was short but it was a sweet story. I would say its worth the read, I thought it was cool that Olivia (from the third book in the series) is introduced in this story as the friend of the heroine.

Author website
Link to Amazon

2015 Book #12 – The Duke is Mine by Eloisa James

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Bookish Bingo: Jan-March 2015, Fairy Tales series, Historical Romance, Reading Challenges by

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Title: The Duke is Mine
Author: Eloisa James
Date finished: 2/13/15
Genre: Historical romance / fairy-tale retelling
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: December 27, 2011
Pages in book: 367
Stand alone or series: #3 in Fairy Tale series

Blurb from the cover:

Tarquin, the powerful Duke of Sconce, knows perfectly well that the decorous and fashionably slender Georgiana Lytton will make him a proper duchess. So why can’t he stop thinking about her twin sister, the curvy, headstrong, and altogether unconventional Olivia? Not only is Olivia betrothed to another man, but their improper, albeit intoxicating, flirtation makes her unsuitability all the more clear.
Determined to make a perfect match, he methodically cuts Olivia from his thoughts, allowing logic and duty to triumph over passion…Until, in his darkest hour, Quin begins to question whether perfection has anything to do with love.
To win Olivia’s hand he would have to give up all the beliefs he holds most dear, and surrender heart, body and soul…
Unless it’s already too late.
Don’t miss a new version of The Princess & the Pea, asking an age-old question: What is a perfect princess?

My rating: 4.0 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will count towards my “Bookish Bingo” reading challenge, marking off the “Fairy Tale Retelling” square. I have read the previous two books in the Fairy Tales series by Eloisa James and I have to say I really have enjoyed the series thus far overall. I loved fairy tales growing up and reading James’ interpretations of them in a historical romance novel setting are really interesting. There were many things that I liked about this novel, including the heroine’s less than slender figure (which I myself unfortunately suffer with as well) and how fiercely loyal Olivia is to her twin, Georgiana, even when it may mean turning her back on the only man she’s ever loved. I also liked that there was a happy ending for Georgiana that didn’t necessarily involve marrying someone else, this specifically I enjoyed mostly because I found it to be out of the norm from what you usually find in the historical romance genre. Which is another thing I liked about this book, I found it to be a little more unpredictable than most. Even towards the middle of the story, I knew there would be a happy ending but I had no idea where it would come from. And then it seemed like the happy ever after came like 100 pages before the end of the book and I thought to myself, what are we going to do with the next 100 pages, bask int heir happiness? But nope! Turns out there is another adventure on the horizon.

The bottom line:  I really liked this book. I think it would be great read on its own or especially as part of the series. I would recommend it!

Author website
Link to Amazon

2015 Book #8 – Nancy Drew: Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Bookish Bingo: Jan-March 2015, Fiction, Mystery, Nancy Drew, Reading Challenges by

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Title: Nancy Drew: The Secret of the Old Clock
Author: Carolyn Keene
Date finished: 1/25/15
Genre: Mystery, ages 8-12, graphic novel
Publisher: Penguin Group
Publication Date: May 1, 1930
Pages in book: 180
Stand alone or series: #1 in Nancy Drew series but can be read as a stand alone

My rating: 3.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will count towards my “Bookish Bingo” reading challenge, marking off the “Middle Grade” square. I have always loved Nancy Drew books ever since I was little girl. Re-reading one as an adult was not quite as thrilling as I expected though. Most of the conversations felt stilted and overly-simplified, which makes sense for a book written for children between ages 8 to 12 but was awkward and somewhat boring to read as an adult.
Other than that though, it was a good book with an interesting mystery. I like that the Tophams got what they deserved in the end.

The bottom line:  I would recommend this book to a young girl and maybe to women who are feeling nostalgic.

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Secret-Old-Clock-Anniversary-ebook/dp/B001R11CJY/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1422313866&sr=8-1

2015 Book #7 – Babymouse, Queen of the World by Jennifer L. & Matthew Holm

Posted in Book reviews, Bookish Bingo: Jan-March 2015, Fiction, Reading Challenges by

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Title: Babymouse, Queen of the World
Author: Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm
Date finished: 1/24/15
Genre: Fiction, ages 7-10, graphic novel
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: December 27, 2005
Pages in book: 96
Stand alone or series: Was ok for a kid’s book

Blurb from the cover:

Meet Babymouse, a sassy young mouse who dreams of glamour, excitement, adventure, straight whiskers, being queen of the world, and of course, being invited to Felicia Furrypaws’s oh-so-exclusive party. Readers will love Babymouse’s vivid imagination–an empty locker becomes a black hole that sucks her into space, boring party becomes a Wild West adventure–and the clever illustrations and hilarious storyline of brother-sister team Matthew and Jennifer Holm.

My rating: 3.0 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will count towards my “Bookish Bingo” reading challenge, marking off the “Graphic Novel” square. This was an ok book, but it was a kids book. Nothing thrilling. If you’re a kid though I think it would be a cute book to read. In this installment, Babymouse learns who her true friends really are. I like that the illustrations were all in pink, black, and white. It was cute but if it weren’t for the bingo I wouldn’t have read it.

The bottom line:  I would recommend this book to a kid around 7, particularly if they haven’t read a lot before. Its more like a comic book anyway.

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Babymouse-Queen-Jennifer-L-Holm/dp/0375932291/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1422138046

Waiting on Wednesday (5): Dangerous Deception by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Posted in "Waiting On" Wednesday, Book memes, For the love of books by

New WoW

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights eagerly anticipated upcoming releases.

This week’s spotlight is on:

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Dangerous Deception by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Release Date: May 19, 2015

Blurb from the cover (Amazon):

From the world of Beautiful Creatures–a dangerous new tale of love and magic continues in the sequel to Dangerous Creatures.
Love is ten kinds a crazy, right?
Let me put it to you this way: If you can get away, run. Don’t walk.
Because once you’re exposed, you’ll never get a Siren outta your head.
Some loves are cursed. Others are…dangerous. Especially the love between wannabe rocker and quarter Incubus, Wesley “Link” Lincoln, and Dark Caster, Siren, and bonafide bad girl, Ridley Duchannes.
But now Ridley is missing, and Link was with her–right up until she vanished. Determined to find her, Link reunites with his New York bandmates and the mysterious Lennox Gates, who wants Rid for himself. Together they travel to the deep south, find the crossroads where blues guitarist Robert Johnson made his deal with the devil, discover a menagerie of Casters locked in cages, and uncover an evil in New Orleans that threatens to destroy them all.
This time, love might not be enough.
Why am I waiting?
I loved the Beautiful Creatures series and also enjoyed the first book in Ridley’s spin-off series. I am looking forward to see what happens next for Link and Ridley.

2015 Book #3 – By Winter’s Light by Stephanie Laurens

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Bookish Bingo: Jan-March 2015, Cynster family series, Cynster Next Generation, Historical Romance, Reading Challenges by

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Title: By Winter’s Light
Author: Stephanie Laurens
Date finished: 1/14/15
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: Mira
Publication Date: October 28, 2014
Pages in book: 347
Stand alone or series: Series – Cynster family series Holiday special, 1st book in Cynster Next Generation series

Blurb from the cover:

It’s frosty December and six Cynster families come together at snowbound Casphairn Manor with members of their households to celebrate the season in true Cynster fashion—and where Cynsters gather, love is never far behind.
The festive occasion brings together Daniel Crosbie, tutor to Lucifer Cynster’s sons, and Claire Meadows, widow and governess to Gabriel Cynster’s daughter. Daniel and Claire have met before and the embers of an unexpected passion smolder between them.
However, Claire, once bitten, twice shy, believes a second marriage is not in her stars. Yet Daniel is determined. He’s seen the kind of love the Cynsters share, and Claire is the lady with whom he dreams of sharing his life. Assisted by a bevy of Cynsters—innate matchmakers every one—Daniel strives to persuade Claire that trusting him with her hand and her heart is her right path to happiness.
Claire is increasingly drawn to Daniel and despite her misgivings, their relationship deepens. But then catastrophe strikes, and by winter’s light, she learns that love—true love—is worth any risk, any price.

My rating: 3.75 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will count towards my “Bookish Bingo” reading challenge, marking off the “2014 Release You Missed” square. I have read all the other books in the Cynster series up to this point (many for which a review is posted on my blog, see link above) and I am very much looking forward to reading Lucilla’s story (to be released February 24). By Winter’s Light is the 23rd (technically) book in this series, with a seemingly never-ending listing of possible novels to come in the future. Laurens is just about to begin writing about the “next generation” with Lucilla’s story, and since Lucilla is one of about 70 cousins and extended cousins, we could see another 69 books from this generation (Jeez Louise that’s a lot). Anyways, its hard to keep who’s who straight sometimes. Luckily, Laurens has developed an extensive family tree that can show you all the children in each family (scroll over the couples to see the children’s names) that can help us make sense of where we are in the Cynster world.
I have to be completely honest. I went into this book expecting not to like it. I read about the whole Cynster family thus far and I’ve been so excited to get into reading about the next generation that I couldn’t help but think, who cares about the damned tutors?? But Laurens managed to surprise me yet again but making this a fun and interesting read. I found myself becoming involved in Claire’s story and rooting for her to open herself up to love. I also loved the back and forth between all the different P(s)OV. It made the overall story very well rounded and fun to see from all sides. Lucilla and Thomas’s interactions make me that much more excited to read her story on Feb 24.

The bottom line:  I would recommend this book both as part of the series and also based on the merits of the book itself.

Author website: http://www.stephanielaurens.com/
Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Winters-Light-Cynster-Stephanie-Laurens/dp/0778317471/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1421331366&sr=8-1

2015 Book #2 – Darling Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Historical Romance, Maiden Lane series, Pop Sugar Reading Challenge 2015 checklist, Reading Challenges by

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Title: Darling Beast
Author: Elizabeth Hoyt
Date finished: 1/7/15
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: October 14, 2014
Pages in book: 321
Stand alone or series: Series – Maiden Lane #7

Blurb from the cover:

A MAN CONDEMNED . . .
Falsely accused of murder and mute from a near-fatal beating, Apollo Greaves, Viscount Kilbourne has escaped from Bedlam. With the Crown’s soldiers at his heels, he finds refuge in the ruins of a pleasure garden, toiling as a simple gardener. But when a vivacious young woman moves in, he’s quickly driven to distraction . . .
A DESPERATE WOMAN . . .
London’s premier actress, Lily Stump, is down on her luck when she’s forced to move into a scorched theatre with her maid and small son. But she and her tiny family aren’t the only inhabitants-a silent, hulking beast of a man also calls the charred ruins home. Yet when she catches him reading her plays, Lily realizes there’s more to this man than meets the eye.
OUT OF ASH, DESIRE FLARES
Though scorching passion draws them together, Apollo knows that Lily is keeping secrets. When his past catches up with him, he’s forced to make a choice: his love for Lily . . . or the explosive truth that will set him free.

My rating: 4.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will be counting towards my goal for the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge 2015 checklist under the “book with antonyms in the title” check box (darling and beast). I have read the other books in the Maiden Lane series, though none are yet discussed on this blog (hopefully that will be fixed in the future). I think that this is an excellent series, though I have trouble keeping the previous characters straight sometimes. Luckily, Hoyt has included a series of family trees to demonstrate the connections in the novels of the series.
I very much enjoyed this novel, there were a good amount of interesting plot twists and I was interested in the story throughout the novel. One piece of this novel specifically that I found very interesting was that at one point Lily is writing a farce (play) that her brother intends to sell to pay off his debts. I couldn’t find the exact words again but she describes a farce as a bunch of a bunch of plot twists each happening one after the other so much so that the whole idea of the play feels exaggerated and improbably. At the point in the novel when many of the characters were gathered together at the house party, I couldn’t help but notice that the events were happening much as Lily described a farce to be. I just found that interesting.

The bottom line:  I would definitely recommend this book both as part of the series and also based on the merits of the book itself.

Author website: http://www.elizabethhoyt.com/
Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Darling-Beast-Maiden-Lane-Elizabeth/dp/1455586307/ref=tmm_mmp_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1420719107&sr=8-1

2014 – Book #106

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Fiction, Paranormal comedy, Undead series (Betsy Taylor) by

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The hundred and sixth book I read in 2014 was Undead and Unsure by MaryJanice Davidson. This is the twelfth book in the Undead/Betsy Taylor series by this author. I finished this book on 12/28/14. I rated this book 4.25 stars out of a scale of 5. This book picks up a few days (I think) after the last book leaves off. Betsy has just killed the devil in front of her half-sister (the devil’s daughter). This causes a bit of family tension at the Thanksgiving 2.0 holiday that Betsy has planned. The Antichrist is pretty upset that Betsy got her into this situation, where she’s stuck being the devil’s replacement.

Sinclair is ecstatic that he can now go outside in the sunlight with his two puppies, Furr and Burr. Betsy is ashamed that he is acting so “cute” and not at all like the bad-ass vampire king that she has come to know and love. Betsy is trying so very hard to recover her fragmented relationship with her sister and thinks that Thanksgiving dinner will do the trick. However, Laura has other ideas and drags Betsy to hell and then ditches her there. Also this whole time Dr. Taylor (Betsy’s mom) is very worried about the fact that no one knows when Jessica got pregnant, no one knows when Jessica is due, and no one seems to be worried about these facts.

Overall I really liked the story line in this book. The Antichrist acts like a scared little girl in this book, which was a tad different from how we’ve seen her in the past. And I loved that we got to hear pieces of the story from Eric’s point of view in this book. I loved that Jess’s babies turned out to be weird and I think its hilarious that Marc ended up having to deliver them. (Oh yea, SPOLIER ALERT 🙂 )I can’t wait to read the next book in the series (the new one)!!!

Link to author website: http://www.maryjanicedavidson.net/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Undead-Unsure-MaryJanice-Davidson/dp/0425263436/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1419907889&sr=8-1

2014 – Book #104

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Fiction, Paranormal comedy, Undead series (Betsy Taylor) by

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The hundred and fourth book I read in 2014 was Undead and Unstable by MaryJanice Davidson. This is the eleventh book in the Undead/Betsy Taylor series by this author. I finished this book on 11/26/14. I rated this book 4.0 stars out of a scale of 5. This book picks up about a week after where the last book left off. Marc has just died and everyone is trying to deal with the repercussions of that. Betsy seems to be taking it less well than the others. Betsy is determined to save Marc and bring him back from the dead. Jess and Nick (those darned humans) are opposed to this idea but Betsy is going to do it anyways.

Fortunately for Betsy, she doesn’t need to do a thing. She goes into the attic to put something away and discovers zombie Marc just shambling around up there. And then we find out from Laura that the Book of the Dead is actually made out of Sinclair. Like from his skin. Because the devil skins him alive in the future and Betsy uses his skin to make the Book of the Dead. So then Sinclair goes off for awhile and Betsy thinks it’s because he is scared but I guess he was researching.

And then Ancient Betsy pops up and says that she’s waiting for something to happen but she won’t say what. So Betsy decides on a spur of the moment decision to do something a little unexpected and kill the devil. And then Laura will have to take her place. But hopefully because she doesn’t end up working with the Lena Olin devil, hopefully Betsy doesn’t do a bunch of bad shit and the world as they know it won’t come to an end.

Overall I did really like this book, as I liked all the books in this series. This book specifically I liked the plot twists and turns and I like that Betsy took some kind of action to try and save her and Sinclair. And since the Book of the Dead was gone in the end of this book, I’m hoping she succeeded. Good read and good addition to the series.

Link to author website: http://www.maryjanicedavidson.net/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Undead-Unstable-Queen-Betsy/dp/B00B1LDDRE/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1417029191&sr=8-2