Title: Da Vinci’s Tiger
Author: L.M. Elliott
Series: No Series – Stand Alone
Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books
Published: November 10th, 2015
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4 out of 5) Continue reading
Tag Archives: Historical Fiction
Velvet Undercover by Teri Brown
Title: Velvet Undercover
Author: Teri Brown
Series: No Series – Stand Alone
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Published: October 30th, 2015
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4 out of 5) Continue reading
Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson
Title: Walk on Earth a Stranger
Author: Rae Carson
Series: The Gold Seer Trilogy
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Published: September 22nd, 2015
Rating: ★★★★★ (5 out of 5) Continue reading
A Desperate Fortune by Susanna Kearsley
Title: A Desperate Fortune
Author: Susanna Kearsley
Series: Standalone (although some character crossover with other novels)
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Published: April 7, 2015
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5 out of 5) Continue reading
Front Lines by Michael Grant
Title: Front Lines
Author: Michael Grant
Series: Solider Girl
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Published: January 26, 2016
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5 out of 5) Continue reading
Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke by Anne Blankman
Title: Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke
Author: Anne Blankman
Series: Prisoner of Night and Fog
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Published: April 21, 2015
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4 out of 5) Continue reading
Book Review: A Cold Legacy by Megan Shepherd
Title: A Cold Legacy
Author: Megan Shepherd
Series: Madman’s Daughter trilogy
Rating: ★★★★
I didn’t realize how much I liked dark retellings until this series. The Madman’s Daughter was not a book I would have usually picked up. And then I loved it and had to read Her Dark Curiosity. And then I was even more in love and couldn’t wait to read A Cold Legacy.
Juliet is engaged to Montgomery. She’s finally admitted that while she cares for Edward and the Beast, she truly loves Montgomery. She’s also a little horrified by the actions she took at the end of Her Dark Curiosity. She’s afraid she’s turning into a madwoman, taking after her father. She doesn’t want to go down that road, but she feels a pull towards it anyway.
Juliet, Montgomery, Edward, and Lucy travel to Ballentyne to escape from police after the events of Her Dark Curiosity. There, they find a new mix of people and questions. Juliet discovers a secret that would push her beyond her father’s legacy and she must decide what her road will be.
I don’t want to say too much about the plot, as I think everything is best discovered as you read, but I will say I could not put the story down. I read page after page, and didn’t even want to stop to sleep. The Scottish moors location provides the perfect backdrop for the dark tale. I only really had one issue with the book, and it happens at the end of the story. I felt like a storyline was left just a little too open and unresolved.
I am happy Juliet decided to be with Montgomery. Even if she can’t see it, when she chooses Montgomery, she also choses the kind of scientist she wants to be. Edward and the Beast represent the mad desire she wants to run from so badly, and Montgomery represents the other curious, but respectful side. I think, in making her choice between the two, she unknowing decides the type of scientist she will be. She might question herself and keep secrets, but I just think she doesn’t really understand herself until the very end.
My only issue with the book is how much emphasis is put on which parent she will take after. It was a little frustrating to read, over and over, how Juliet didn’t want to end up like her father, but she also didn’t want to end up like her mother. It seemed like Juliet, as well as her friends, never really voiced the opinion that Juliet is Juliet; she doesn’t have to end up like either of her parents. Just because she was their daughter does not mean those are the only two paths she has.
A Cold Legacy was an almost perfect end to a wonderful series. I would still recommend it, though. It’s definitely not a book series for everyone, as it’s dark and a little gruesome at times, but it still is completely fantastic. If you’re up for a little darkness, the entire Madman’s Daughter series is perfect.
If you’d like to read A Cold Legacy, you can purchase it here:
Amazon
Audible
Barnes and Noble
IndieBound
Thank you to Edelweiss and Balzer + Bray for an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.
Book Review: Her Dark Curiosity by Megan Shepherd
Title: Her Dark Curiosity
Author: Megan Shepherd
Series: The Madman’s Daughter trilogy
Rating: ★★★★
I really enjoyed The Madman’s Daughter and was anxious to read Her Dark Curiosity. I became even more anxious when I read it was inspired by The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
There are certainly issues with this novel. Juliet definitely made some stupid decisions. There’s a love triangle and some people just aren’t fans. But those issues never took me out of the novel. Shepherd explains them, or they play such a big part of the story that they make complete sense.
Take Juliet, for example, and some of her more unintelligent decisions. She feels compassion for the Beast and Edward. She trusts him when she probably shouldn’t. She keeps secrets when she shouldn’t. But each time she does one of these things, it makes sense. She herself isn’t completely human, so she understands Edward and the Beast in a way. She questions whether she can truly be at peace with what she is if she treat someone else created is a negative way. She knows and recognizes how mad her father had gotten, and she knows how far she fell after he was cast out. She fears that admitting she has the same curiosity means she will end up like her father, and telling people those secrets scares her.
I get it. I understand why Juliet sometimes comes off as making bad choices. She makes stupid decisions, but I can understand the reasoning behind them.
As for the love triangle, I never really felt like it was done to make people love one person and hate the other. The two interests mirror Juliet’s feelings about herself. There’s Edward and the Beast on one side, playing to Juliet’s fear of her father and her own madness. On the other side is Montgomery, showing Juliet that science doesn’t have to mean madness. I thought it was really well done.
Her Dark Curiosity continues the amazing journey The Madman’s Daughter started. It makes you think about what makes people good and evil. It’s fantastic in its descriptions and story. Like its predecessor, it’s dark, but wonderfully so. I am loving this series.
If you’d like to read Her Dark Curiosity, you can purchase it here:
Amazon
Audible
Barnes and Noble
IndieBound
Book Review: Forbidden by Kimberley Griffiths Little
Title: Forbidden
Author: Kimberley Griffiths Little
Series: Forbidden series
Rating: ★★★
Forbidden is different from any other book I’ve read before, in that it takes place in ancient Mesopotamia and revolves around the life of a tribal girl. It’s historical fiction, but not my usual type of historical fiction. I thought the idea behind it was incredibly interesting and could create the backdrop to a beautiful novel.
Jayden is about to go through the betrothal ceremony that will bind her to Horeb, the son of the tribal leader. Jayden cared for Horeb at one time, but he has changed and she no longer feels the same affection for him. She fears for what her life will become once they are married. When she comes upon a wounded stranger named Kadesh, she starts to question her feelings about the tribe and where her place truly is. Horeb is her betrothed, but Kadesh warms her heart.
I liked Jayden. I didn’t really feel connected to her until later in the novel, but it’s clear that she loves her family and always wants to do what is best for them. She understands that to make life better for her family, it is a part of herself that will be sacrificed. She had come to terms with that until Kadesh came along. She also knows that to be a woman in to be in danger, and she takes steps to ready herself for whatever comes her way.
The plotline was interesting and engaged me enough that I wanted to keep reading. The focus on dancing is interesting, although I tended to glance over those pieces after a while. I liked the emotions Little wrote about during the dances, but the details of the dances didn’t work for me. The only other issue I had with the book was with the pacing of the story. A few times it felt like time was dragging on. I’d start to skim until I read about something new happening.
Forbidden wasn’t as great as I’d hoped it would be, but it was still a good book. The ending made my breath catch and I’m definitely going to read the next book.
If you’d like to read Forbidden, you can purchase it here:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
IndieBound
Thank you to Edelweiss and HarperCollins for an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.
Review: Arcana by Jessica Leake
Title: Arcana
Author: Jessica Leake
Rating: ★★★★
Arcana started off a little shaky for me. It wasn’t that it was bad, but it didn’t hook me right away. I continued reading, though, mostly because I’m a history nut and this book has some history in it. After the rocky start, things really started to pick up, and I found myself unable to put the book down until I had finished.
Katherine Sinclair is different from most people in more than a few ways. As a girl, she’s completely uninterested in going to London for her debut. She doesn’t really think she needs a husband, and she finds the social rules smothering. She also has the power of the sun inside her. She can call upon this power for magic, and even though she keeps it hidden most of the time, sometimes she can’t help but let her magic flow. On top of this, she is forced to London where the handsome Earl of Thornewood is her companion. She must figure out who is part of the Order whose only goal is to harness the power of Arcana through destructive means, while trying to maneuver London society.
Katherine didn’t connect with me right away. Her character felt a little out of reach. Once she made it to London, where she struggles with keeping her true character hidden behind the picture society paints, I started to like her more. She has a quick wit, and sometimes her mouth runs without thinking. She thinks of her family first, and cares deeply for anyone who she considers close to her. She also knows that she can’t depend on anyone else for her safety. She may not always be ready to fight, but she’ll try to find a way to keep herself from harm.
The two male characters in this novel were interesting. I would have liked maybe a little more mystery about who was good and who was bad, but I’ll take what I can get. It was pretty clear from the moment both characters were introduced how they would be divided. While there’s really nothing wrong with this, sometimes I like to guess.
The plot itself was interesting. I would have liked a little more weaving of the arcana into the story. I think the novel could have easily read as a good book without the magical element. I wanted the magic there, though. Near the end, it became more of the storyline, but I would have liked more throughout the entire novel.
Arcana started off slow, but soon I was completely drawn into the world Leake created. She has a beautiful writing style and she really made me interested in the characters’ lives. It’s a good book, although you’ll have to like historical fiction and debutante politics.
If you’d like to read Arcana, you can purchase it here:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
IndieBound
Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher, Talos, for an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.
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