Review: Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

October 30, 2018October 30, 201820 Comments

Title: Stalking Jack the Ripper
Author: Kerri Maniscalco
Publisher: Jimmy Patterson
Publication Date: September 20, 2016

Summary (from Goodreads):

Presented by James Patterson's new children's imprint, this deliciously creepy horror novel has a storyline inspired by the Ripper murders and an unexpected, blood-chilling conclusion...

Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord's daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.

Against her stern father's wishes and society's expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle's laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.

The story's shocking twists and turns, augmented with real, sinister period photos, will make this dazzling, #1 New York Times bestselling debut from author Kerri Maniscalco impossible to forget.

Amazon | Book Depository

Review

As Halloween is drawing near, I thought Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco would be the perfect festive read. It is is a little bit out of my comfort zone since I don’t typically read scary books, but I found myself loving the thrilling plot and the intelligent main character. The writing style is perfect for the genre, and I would definitely recommend this one, even to those who aren’t big fans of horror, like myself. Continue reading →

Review: The Paris Secret by Lily Graham

October 4, 2018October 4, 201812 Comments

Title: The Paris Secret
Author: Lily Graham
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication Date: October 4, 2018

Summary (from Goodreads):

On the brink of the second world war, a beautiful Parisian bookshop hides a heartbreaking secret that will tear one family apart forever …

The last time Valerie was in Paris, she was three-years-old, running from the Nazis, away from the only home she had ever known.
Now as a young woman, Valerie must return to Paris, to the bookshop and her only surviving relative, her grandfather Vincent, to find out what really happened to those she loved. As she gets to know Vincent again, she hears a tragic story of Nazi occupied Paris, a doomed love affair and a mother willing to sacrifice everything for her beloved daughter.
Can Valerie and Vincent help each other to mend the wounds of the past? Valerie isn’t after a fairy-tale ending, she only wants the truth. But what is the one devastating secret that Vincent is determined to keep from his granddaughter?

Amazon

❃ I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. ❃

Review

The Paris Secret by Lily Graham is an epic story set during World War II. It tells the tale of how Valerie discovers the truth about her heritage through the use of alternating timelines. The writing is beautiful, and the characters are ones that you will instantly fall in love with. Continue reading →

Review: My Lady’s Choosing by Kitty Curran and Larissa Zageris

March 26, 2018March 26, 201815 Comments

Title: My Lady's Choosing: An Interactive Romance Novel
Author: Kitty Curran, Larissa Zageris
Publisher: Quirk Books
Publication Date: April 3rd 2018

Summary (from Goodreads):

This scandalous chooseable-path romance novel demands you determine your own romantic adventure-and satisfy all your earthly desires along the way!

Endless scenarios of high romance, deep desire, and quivering...comedy await your tender caress in this chooseable path romance novel. You are the plucky but penniless heroine in the center of 19th-century society, the courtship season has begun, and your future is at hand...

* Will you flip forward fetchingly to find love with the bantering baronet, Sir Benedict Granville?
* Or turn the page to true love with the hardworking, handsome, horse-loving highlander, Captain Angus McTaggart?
* Or perhaps you will chase through the chapters a good man gone mad, bad, and scandalous to know, in the arousing form of Lord Garraway Craven?
* Or read recklessly on to take to the continent as the "traveling companion" of the spirited and adventuresome Lady Evangeline?
* ...or yet another intriguing fate?

Whether it's forlorn orphans and fearsome werewolves, mistaken identities and swashbuckling swordfights, or long-lost lovers and pilfered Egyptian artifacts, every delightful twist and turn of the romance genre unfolds at your behest! Prepare to open your heart, open your mind, and open-this book.

Amazon | Book Depository

❃ I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. ❃

Review

It has been a long time since I have read a “choose-your-own-adventure” book. My Lady’s Choosing by Kitty Curran and Larissa Zageris is an historical romance that is a humorous and engaging book of stories that allows the reader to decide the path of the book. There is a plethora of interesting characters to meet in this unique novel, however the sexual innuendos become a little bit too much. Continue reading →

Audiobook Review: The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

August 14, 2017May 15, 201813 Comments

Book cover for Th Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue

Title: The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue (Guide #1)
Author: Mackenzi Lee
Narrator: Christian Coulson
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: June 27, 2017
Stars: 4.5/5

Summary (from Goodreads): Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men.

But as Monty embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy.

Still it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores. Continue reading →

ARC Review: Maud by Melanie J. Fishbane

April 24, 2017April 5, 201811 Comments

Book cover for Maud by Melanie J. Fishbane

I received an e-ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Title: Maud: A Novel Inspired by the Life of L.M. Montgomery
Author: Melanie J. Fishbane
Publisher: Razorbill Canada
Publication Date: April 25, 2017
Stars: 5/5

Summary (from Goodreads): For the first time ever, a young adult novel about the teen years of L.M. Montgomery, the author who brought us ANNE OF GREEN GABLES.

Fourteen-year-old Lucy Maud Montgomery — Maud to her friends — has a dream: to go to college and become a writer, just like her idol, Louisa May Alcott. But living with her grandparents on Prince Edward Island, she worries that this dream will never come true. Her grandfather has strong opinions about a woman’s place in the world, and they do not include spending good money on college. Luckily, she has a teacher to believe in her, and good friends to support her, including Nate, the Baptist minister’s stepson and the smartest boy in the class. If only he weren’t a Baptist; her Presbyterian grandparents would never approve. Then again, Maud isn’t sure she wants to settle down with a boy — her dreams of being a writer are much more important.

But life changes for Maud when she goes out West to live with her father and his new wife and daughter. Her new home offers her another chance at love, as well as attending school, but tensions increase as Maud discovers her stepmother’s plans for her, which threaten Maud’s future — and her happiness forever. Continue reading →