Mini-Reviews (14): These Vicious Masks, Night Study, Spinning Thorns

So sometimes I fail at writing reviews for the books I've read, and 2016 has me failing spectacularly (as did 2015). And because it's been AGES since I read these, I'm just gonna do mini-reviews of them, so as to clear my need-review shelf (cause it's humungous, it's not even funny anymore).

Title/Author: These Vicious Masks (These Vicious Masks #1) by Tarun Shanker & Kelly Zekas
Publisher/Date published: Swoon Reads, February 9t 2016
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley, thanks!

So obviously I'd pick up a novel that's described as Jane Austen meets X-men. I mean, holy wow, two of my favourite things! And I was not disappointed, I really enjoyed These Vicious Masks!
The heroine is spunky and definitely has no idea what this thing is they call 'giving up'. She's hindered by society's expectations, and more specifically her mother's expectations (wow, that woman annoyed me), but she manages to get around this beautifully. I loved the idea of people having a specific super power and how it's sometimes not even all that clear to the person themselves what that super power is exactly. I loved how loyal Evelyn is to her sister Rose and how she's just willing to do everything she can to save her. And that she has two handsome gentlemen with her doesn't hurt. There's lots of lovely banter that made me smile and not so much of a love triangle that it bugged me, it felt pretty natural.
And OMG THAT ENDING!! I need the next book right now!

My rating: 4,5 stars

Title/Author: Night Study (Soulfinders #2) by Maria V. Snyder
Publisher/Date published: Mira, January 26th 2016
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley and also bought myself a shiny copy of it!

As you may know, Maria V. Snyder = <3 basically. I haven't read a book by her that I didn't enjoy and Yelena and Valek hold a very special place in my heart, along with all the other characters in this world. And just when I thought she couldn't top what she'd did with them before, Night Study comes along and may just be my favourite out of all these books! It's Yelena and Valek as I love them best, and finally getting Valek's whole backstory and diving a little bit deeper into the mystery of his immunity to magic and I just LOVED it! I was so feeling for both of them through everything that happens in Night Study! I'm trying really hard not to say anything that might be a spoiler, but I just would love for everyone to pick up this series, starting with the original Study Trilogy and then just continue on and be immersed in all this awesomeness! I both dread and can't wait for the next book, because it will be the last! My rating: 5+ stars

Title/Author: Spinning Thorns by Anna Sheehan
Publisher/Date published: Gollancz, December 10th 2015
How I got this book: bought a shiny copy

So I was the only one of my book club to enjoy this. And I really did, it's far from perfect and I did struggle a bit to get into it, but then I was feeling it and second half was much better than the first in my opinion. I liked this twist on Sleeping Beauty, seeing what happened to our original Sleeping Beauty as she becomes the queen and has children of her own, mainly I just liked Willow. She's not much of a traditional princess, she's interested in magic, even though she's not really allowed to be and she's a bit too trusting at first and because of this and because of the unfairness of punishing a whole clan for the deeds of one fairy, things are getting set into motion.
It's a bit dark and there's a lot of build-up and also there's a really annoying sister and her fiancé who are like Barbie and Ken annoyingly 'perfect'.
But I really liked the story and the thing that grows between Willow and the unnamed fairy and I was rooting for the romance and towards the end had many feels about this.

My rating: 3,5 stars

Mini-Reviews (11): One Tempting Proposal, Da Vinci's Tiger, Maid-sama! Vol 1 & 2

So sometimes I fail at writing reviews for the books I've read, and 2015 has me failing spectacularly. And because it's been AGES since I read these, I'm just gonna do mini-reviews of them, so as to clear my need-review shelf (cause it's humungous, it's not even funny anymore).

Title/Author: One Tempting Proposal (Accidental Heirs #2) by Christy Carlyle
Publisher/Date published: Avon Impulse, November 17th 2015
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley, thanks!

It's been a while, but I remember liking One Tempting Proposal, but not loving it. There's a lot of pressure on Kitty to get married and her father is being an absolute pain in the ass about it and that was pretty annoying. I mean, I get that in that time period getting one's children married off was important, but why would he sacrifice the happiness (and marriage) of one of his daughters because he wanted to other one to get married? I mean, how is this logical?

Anyway, the romance between Kitty and Sebastian was nice, I didn't get all the feels, but it was ok. There's just so much going on around it and schemes and I just couldn't fully get into it. But I liked it.

My rating: 3 stars

Title/Author: Da Vinci's Tiger by L.M. Elliott
Publisher/Date published: Katherine Tegen Books, November 10th 2015
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley, thanks!

I really enjoyed this historical fiction set in the time period of Leonardo Da Vinci! L.M. Elliott introduces the concept of Platonical love/muses and I'd never heard of it before, it's fascinating! I'm still not entirely sure I fully understand it, but it is obvious that the author has delved into this subject and knows a lot about it and how it was handled in society back then. It seemed to be very good for your standing in society, especially if you were the female half of the pairing.

Ginevra was a decent main character, she's smart, she's passionate about art and I really liked her. She's stuck in this marriage to an older man and I was a bit confused as to mostly not being around of her husband, but apparantly this happened more often back then. The ending was a bit dissatisfying for me, cause I would have liked for there to have been a bit more romance to the story, but the man who made Ginevra his Platonic muse wigged me out, so that wasn't really an option for shipping. I guess it shouldn't matter, but I was basically being Team Ginevra because she's awesome and then she doesn't actually win at anything in the end. It was a bittersweet ending for me to a book that I otherwise really enjoyed.

My rating: 4 stars

Title/Author: Maid-sama! Vol 1 &2 by Hiro Fujiwara
Publisher/Date published: VIZ Media LLC, August 4th 2015
How I got this book: bought it

I'd been meaning to try manga and my friend Debby LOVES this series, so I decided to give it a try.
And guys, this is SO CUTE! I mean, I have to be honest and say that my feelings get involved more easily when it's a book, but this is so incredibly well done and the illustrations are amazing and just YES OK? I totally ship it.
It's just fun and whimsical and obviously I'm continuing this series.

My rating: 5 stars

Review of Worlds of Ink and Shadow by Lena Coakley

Title/Author: Worlds of Ink and Shadow by Lena Coakley
Publisher/Date published: Amulet Books, January 5th 2016
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley, thanks!

Goodreads summary: Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne. The Brontë siblings have always been inseparable. After all, nothing can bond four siblings quite like life in an isolated parsonage out on the moors. Their vivid imaginations lend them escape from their strict upbringing, actually transporting them into their created worlds: the glittering Verdopolis and the romantic and melancholy Gondal. But at what price? As Branwell begins to slip into madness and the sisters feel their real lives slipping away, they must weigh the cost of their powerful imaginations, even as their characters — the brooding Rogue and dashing Duke of Zamorna — refuse to let them go.

So I already knew that I loved Lena Coakley's writing, because I ADORED Witchlanders and as it had been over 4 years since I read that particular gem, I was beyond excited to get my hands on another one of her books, never mind that it's not the sequel to Witchlanders that my heart yearns for. I also feel very honored that Lena Coakley reached out to me to be a part of the blog tour for Worlds of Ink and Shadow, I'll have a guest post by this lovely lady up on Friday!

And guys, I totally loved Worlds of Ink and Shadow! It's not high fantasy goodness, but it is a crossover between historical fiction and fantasy and I was really feeling it! And it's definitely not a bad thing that it's centered around the Brontë siblings, I mean, Charlotte Brontë holds a special place in my heart for having written Jane Eyre, which is one of my favourite stories ever and very much due a reread. It was just so interesting! I love that it's based on things the siblings have written in their younger years, because now I can imagine things actually went down like they did in Worlds of Ink and Shadow and pretend the world is an even more magical place than it already is when I have all these stories to immerse myself in.

Characterwise, I have a soft spot for Emily. Which is kind of surprising to me, as I didn't really like Wuthering Heights, but it does make me reconsider rereading it. I loved how she's passionate and how she doesn't shy away from danger and by being herself makes this wonderful man fall in love with her.

And you know what, Lena Coakley perfectly captured my feeling of 'No they're not JUST characters in a book' in a much more refined way. She made these historical figures come to life, but she also had the characters in their stories literally come to life and it just resonates with me that characters and stories are not just there in the books, we carry them with us wherever we go and I now feel fully justified in my frustration when a series (mostly TV, TV shows getting cancelled is a sad, sad thing) is discontinued and then we'll NEVER KNOW what happens next for the characters! It's just not a very good option.

Basically, I found myself again loving Lena Coakley's writing style and the way she has with words. I'm wishing for a lot more books from her in the future!

My rating: 4,5 stars

Review of Forbidden by Eve Bunting

Title/Author: Forbidden by Eve Bunting
Publisher/Date published: Clarion Books, December 1st 2015
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley, thanks!

Goodreads summary: In early-nineteenth century Scotland, sixteen-year-old Josie, an orphan, is sent to live with an aunt and uncle on the rocky, stormy northwest coast. Everything and everyone in her new surroundings, including her relatives, is sinister, threatening, and mysterious. She's told that Eli, the young man she's attracted to, is forbidden to her, but not why. Spirited, curious, and determined, Josie sets out to learn the village's secrets and discovers evil, fueled by heartless greed, as well as a ghostly presence eager for revenge. An author's note gives the historical inspiration for this story.

Forbidden should have been something that I could fall in love with in theory. I mean: it has a historical setting with a mystery and a forbidden boy, what's not to like? Well, it kinda didn't turn out as enjoyable as I'd hoped.

I never really connected to Josie. I mean, she's obviously been through a lot and then she arrives at her aunt and uncle's house and it's AWFUl, and I did like that she's curious to find out what exactly is going on, but other than that, I was just a little 'meh' about her. And maybe it's the fact that the story doesn't span a very long time, but I never really felt like we got to know her very well, I'm still not sure what kind of person she really is.

I had really big issues with the romance. I mean, Josie is really rude to Eli for no reason, while he's only trying to help, which bothered me. And then all of a sudden she's in love with him?? And she wants him to come with her when she leaves the town after only having known him for what? Two days?? I mean SERIOUSLY??? WTF?? This was such a huge intsa-love happening and I could not for the life of me figure out what they liked about each other and UGH! I mean, she was basically ready to die for him, WHERE IS YOUR BRAIN??

I was also pretty annoyed by Josie's aunt and uncle, they were cruel and the only reason we get is that the uncle was disfigured as a kid and he didn't like his brother, Josie's dad. I mean, what? So your ears are weird and that's the reason your a nasty person? I just cannot. And I'm still not sure what her aunt's deal was. And their dog, SO CREEPY! That thing was nasty and then it attacks a human and you don't take care of the wound an discipline the dog? WHAT THE WHAT??

I was horrified by the thing that goes on on the island that is the big mystery and I am even more horrified by the fact that this is actually something that used to happen way back when. But everything gets resolved so quickly and there was no real build-up for me, so the whole mystery isn't much of a mystery after all.

Basically this just didn't work for me, there were too many issues and WTF moments in a bad way and I don't think I would have finished this if I hadn't been stuck in a car for 7 hours driving back home from Berlin.

My rating: 1 star

Review of A School for Unusual Girls by Kathleen Baldwin

Title/Author: A School for Unusual Girls (Stranje House #1) by Kathleen Baldwin
Publisher/Date published: Tor Teen, May 19th 2015
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: It’s 1814. Napoleon is exiled on Elba. Europe is in shambles. Britain is at war on four fronts. And Stranje House, a School for Unusual Girls, has become one of Regency England’s dark little secrets. The daughters of the beau monde who don't fit high society’s constrictive mold are banished to Stranje House to be reformed into marriageable young ladies. Or so their parents think. In truth, Headmistress Emma Stranje, the original unusual girl, has plans for the young ladies — plans that entangle the girls in the dangerous world of spies, diplomacy, and war.

After accidentally setting her father’s stables on fire while performing a scientific experiment, Miss Georgiana Fitzwilliam is sent to Stranje House. But Georgie has no intention of being turned into a simpering, pudding-headed, marriageable miss. She plans to escape as soon as possible — until she meets Lord Sebastian Wyatt. Thrust together in a desperate mission to invent a new invisible ink for the English war effort, Georgie and Sebastian must find a way to work together without losing their heads — or their hearts...

You probably all know that I have a thing for historical fiction/historical romance. And basically the title of this book sold me, I mean, what's not to like about a school for unusual girls??

I really liked Georgiana, she's a character that I could definitely relate to, not interested in conforming to society's expectations and a scientist at heart. I love that she can't help herself when she thinks 'what if', it's made her jump out of a window trying to fly and accidentally set her father's stables on fire cause she wasn't allowed to do her expiriment inside the house in a safer environment. She's smart and driven and doesn't take no for an answer, and she also has her vulnerabilities, which made me like her even more.

So Georgiana and I were doing pretty well and then we enter Stranje House and there's a whole extra set of characters for me to be intrigued by. I mean, the other girls there are REALLY interesting, all with their own set of skills, some with a hint of paranormal that I enjoyed. I loved how they're all so fierce and how even though they've been burned before, they're still more than ready to include Georgiana in their group. And also, Miss Stranje herself sounds like the most awesome of ladies and OMG there's a romance brewing there that's just YES.

And of course there's a romance for Georgiana as well. I could very much get behind the ship, because Sebastian sounds dreamy and they do the banter thing that I love and actually share an interest in science. The only thing that didn't work so well for me is the speed at which their relationship progresses to love. I mean, wow, they haven't even really known each other for a week or so? I get that they've been in some situations together that have the potential to speed up things, but they were just a bit shy of insta-love for me. They did have wonderful chemistry though and there was a moment that had me reading with tears in my eyes, so the feelings were there for me.

I wasn't really impressed with the characterization of Georgiana's parents though, they're a bit cardboard and it felt unrealistic that parents would leave their daughter at a house they think she's going to be tortured. I mean, WTF? But as they're not a big part of the novel, I could get over this.
Of course there's also a villain, Lady Daneska, who seems like a complex character, but I'm not really sure what to make of her yet. There's probably a reason why she's so vile, but for now she just seemed to be evil for the sake of being evil mostly.

I did very much like the backdrop of Napoleon's exile and am very interested in seeing where Kathleen Baldwin takes us with her somewhat alternate history. I'm a bit sorry the sequel won't be from Georgiana's POV, but as I really like the other girls as well, I think this won't be a problem, cause I'm really intrigued by Tess!

My rating: 4 stars

Review of A Desperate Fortune by Susanna Kearsley

Title/Author: A Desperate Fortune by Susanna Kearsley
Publisher/Date published: Sourcebooks Landmark, April 7th 2015
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: For nearly 300 years, the mysterious journal of Jacobite exile Mary Dundas has lain unread — its secrets safe from prying eyes. Now, amateur codebreaker Sara Thomas has been hired by a once-famous historian to crack the journal's cipher. But when she arrives in Paris, Sara finds herself besieged by complications from all sides: the journal's reclusive owner, her charming Parisian neighbor, and Mary, whose journal doesn't hold the secrets Sara expects.

It turns out that Mary Dundas wasn’t keeping a record of everyday life, but a first-hand account of her part in a dangerous intrigue. In the first wintry months of 1732, with a scandal gaining steam in London, driving many into bankruptcy and ruin, the man accused of being at its center is concealed among the Jacobites in Paris, with Mary posing as his sister to aid his disguise.

When their location is betrayed, they’re forced to put a desperate plan in action, heading south along the road to Rome, protected by the enigmatic Highlander Hugh MacPherson.

As Mary's tale grows more and more dire, Sara, too, must carefully choose which turning to take... to find the road that will lead her safely home.

I read and adored Susanna Kearsley's The Rose Garden a couple of years ago, it was SO amazing. And since I have pretty much been eyeing all her other books, but never found the time to actually read one. Until now. And it was awesome.

I love how Susanna Kearsley takes an unknown, normal woman in history and weaves a story around her. It makes my heart very happy. And in A Desperate Fortune, I loved both the story set in the present and the one in the past.
Mary Dundas has been left behind by her father as a child, and was taken in by her aunt and uncle. Who, while being good guardians, are not her own parents and she misses her father and brothers. But Mary's personality has not suffered because of it, she's strong and determined and works through whatever gets in her way. And also, I love how she cares for her little dog. I mean, she took him in when he was left behind by his 'family' and I can totally get how she relates to this. She's smart and I loved her storytelling abilities, she's pretty amazing.

Sara Thomas also totally stole my heart. She's been diagnosed with Asperger's and while she's not always the most socially adept person, she manages very well and I just loved her. Someone told her that she's not capable of being in a relationship and it's hurtful and I totally adored how the man in her life gets her to give him a chance by using logic. When she tells him it won't work because her other relationships didn't work, he reasons that in those other relationship the man wasn't him and therefore it may work this time. I loved how he's really in this and is actively chasing this woman that is wonderful and intelligent and has a lot of heart. And I loved that with the right person, it doesn't have to be a struggle to be in a relationship for Sara, she doesn't have to prove herself or be anyone other than herself.
And I also totally adored her bonding with the little boy, who was pretty darn cute himself.

So basically, there are also two lovestories and I loved both of them! There's the strong, protective man in Mary's story that I just wanted to hug and yell at him to tell her how much he cares about her. And to Mary herself as well! OMG, these two communicate in the end and I get how it wasn't normal in that time period to talk about your feelings for each other, but WOW I just wanted them to get together and KISS ALREADY. It was pretty sweet seeing them fall for each other.

I loved disovering along with Sara what happened to Mary and I'm glad we got more details than Sara did from the diary. I wouldn't have survived not knowing what happened to Mary and Hugh and the little dog. But mostly I just loved Susanna Kearsley's amazing writing that totally sucked me in and made me want to keep reading and then after finishing it, hug my e-reader to my chest and breathe a happy sigh.
This book was amazing. Go read it.

My rating: 5 stars

Review of Searching For Grace Kelly by Michael Callahan

Title/Author: Searching For Grace Kelly by Michael Callahan
Publisher/Date published: Mariner Books, January 27th 2015
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: For a small-town girl with big-city dreams, there is no address more glamorous than New York’s Barbizon Hotel. Laura, a patrician beauty from Smith, arrives to work at Mademoiselle for the summer. Her hopelessly romantic roommate, Dolly, comes from a working-class upstate town to attend secretarial school. Vivian, a brash British bombshell with a disregard for the hotel’s rules, rounds out the trio of friends. Together, the girls embark on a journey of discovery that will take them from the penthouse apartments of Park Avenue to the Beat scene of Greenwich Village to Atlantic City’s Steel Pier — and into the arms of very different men who will alter their lives forever.

So this story is set in 1955, which is an important thing to remember and something that I didn't figure out till about 3/4 through the book. I'm not sure if that's my fault or if it was just the first time it was mentioned, but it's something to keep in mind while reading this book. And as I hadn't read anything set in New York in this time period before, it was very interesting!

Searching For Grace Kelly centers around a group of friends, at times they feel more like girls who casually know each other and sometimes share things, as they do live very separate lives while living in the same building. In the end I believe they were friends, but they just didn't always show it.
I liked Laura, I could understand wanting to break free from her mother's smothering parenting and the rules of society and just LIVE. A thing that bugged me was that even though she kept saying she wanted to be a writer, she never really did anything to try and actually BE one. I mean, throughout the novel she never once wrote a story, the only thing she wrote was in a diary and didn't even stick with that. But I liked that she was bookish and went to a lovely bookstore. I wish we had a bookstore like that one somewhere around here.

I also really liked Dolly, though I was confused by her love interest and in the end it makes sense, but OMG, at times I just wanted to shake Dolly because she was so down on herself and negative! She seemed like a lovely girl and she should have some faith in herself instead of constantly comparing herself to Laura and Vivian and thinking she came up short. I mean, I get it, we all do it, but it was hard to see her doing it.
Vivian never really grew on me, she was impulsive and made a LOT of bad choices and I'm not really sure about her family dynamic, but she worked with the other two girls.

There's a whole lot of drama going on in Searching For Grace Kelly, far more than I originally expected when picking it up. In the beginning I had some trouble getting into the story, but towards the end of the book I REALLY wanted to know what would happen and I'd actually forgotten about the foreshadowing at the very beginning of the book and so what happened at the end was a bit of a surprise for me. I think what gave this book a little extra was that I realised that my grandma was a young woman in this time period, starting a family and everything, and even though she wasn't an American, this made it a little more special to me.
But while it was interesting, I never really felt that connection to the story or the characters and I was very easily distracted while reading it. I did end up enjoying it and am glad I stuck with it.

My rating: 3,5 stars

Review of Her Dark Curiosity by Megan Shepherd

Title/Author: Her Dark Curiosity (The Madman's Daughter #2) by Megan Shepherd
Publisher/Date published: Balzer + Bray, January 28th 2014
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: To defeat the darkness, she must first embrace it.

Months have passed since Juliet Moreau returned to civilization after escaping her father's island — and the secrets she left behind. Now, back in London once more, she is rebuilding the life she once knew and trying to forget Dr. Moreau’s horrific legacy — though someone, or something, hasn’t forgotten her.

As people close to Juliet fall victim one by one to a murderer who leaves a macabre calling card of three clawlike slashes, Juliet fears one of her father’s creations may have also escaped the island. She is determined to find the killer before Scotland Yard does, though it means awakening sides of herself she had thought long banished, and facing loves from her past she never expected to see again.

As Juliet strives to stop a killer while searching for a serum to cure her own worsening illness, she finds herself once more in the midst of a world of scandal and danger. Her heart torn in two, past bubbling to the surface, life threatened by an obsessive killer — Juliet will be lucky to escape alive.

With inspiration from Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, this is a tantalizing mystery about the hidden natures of those we love and how far we’ll go to save them from themselves.

***WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR FIRST BOOK IN THE SERIES***

So, I remember really liking The Madman's Daughter, it was creepy and unique and I loved how there was something off with all the characters. So I was expecting a similar experience with Her Dark Curiosity. I'm sad to say that I didn't really get that.

So Juliet is back in London and obviously both boys turn up at some point, because hello love triangle, you are back too. I felt that Juliet was a little too woe-is-me in Her Dark Curiosity and not really the strong girl I'd gotten to know in A Madman's Daughter. And she really wasn't appreciating the things she had in her life that were really good. I mean, the professor who took her in seemed wonderful and I know she's not like other girls and she doesn't really fit in with society, but just, I don't know, I was just unhappy with her attitude.

The creep-factor was definitely back, as Edward is back as well and his dual personality, the Beast and the boy, is WAY eerie. Also, the whole setting is gloomy, and it's probably also due to my need for fluff and fun reads lately, but it was kinda depressing. I had to push myself to read on and it's really not bad writing, but it just didn't get me excited like The Madman's Daughter did. It could also be that I wasn't a fan of Juliet's choices regarding her love life. I mean, I was going NO WTF ARE YOU DOING??? at one point, which is never a good thing.

But that I even cared enough to yell at her in my head, does mean that I cared. I did care. I do. These characters have wormed their way into my heart and the ending left me like WHOA. Towards the end, I started recognizing Juliet as the girl I'd met in The Madman's Daughter and that's when things picked up and got REALLY CREEPY and also HORRIBLE, but it was way more interesting.

I guess I'm just a little bit disappointed that I didn't like it more, but the ending saved it in a very disturbing way. It was sort of a weird point to end a book though. But I'll pick up A Cold Legacy soon, cause I do need closure.

My rating: 3 stars

Review of The Agincourt Bride by Joanna Hickson

Title/Author: The Agincourt Bride (Catherine de Valois #1) by Joanna Hickson
Publisher/Date published: HarperCollins, August 19th 2014
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: When her own first child is tragically still-born, the young Mette is pressed into service as a wet-nurse at the court of the mad king, Charles VI of France. Her young charge is the princess, Catherine de Valois, caught up in the turbulence and chaos of life at court.

Mette and the child forge a bond, one that transcends Mette’s lowly position.
But as Catherine approaches womanhood, her unique position seals her fate as a pawn between two powerful dynasties. Her brother, The Dauphin and the dark and sinister, Duke of Burgundy will both use Catherine to further the cause of France.

Catherine is powerless to stop them, but with the French defeat at the Battle of Agincourt, the tables turn and suddenly her currency has never been higher. But can Mette protect Catherine from forces at court who seek to harm her or will her loyalty to Catherine place her in even greater danger?

So you guys probably know that I enjoy reading about historical figures, they come more to life than from the stuff you read in history books and I have a bit of a Tudor obsession, so reading about the mother of the first Tudor king is just the thing for me!

And I enjoyed The Agincourt Bride, just not as much as I would have hoped to. It was ok, but it wasn't exciting, I wasn't scared for Catherine or for Mette, even when something really terrible happened to Mette. I was disgusted, but I never doubted that either of them would be ok and not only in the sense that they wouldn't die, but also mentally ok.

I did like Mette, she's thrust into the royal household just hours after she's lost her own child and manages to get through this without basically any support, I know that it probably happened more often back then, but it still feels barbaric to just expect a woman to get over it immediately and get to work. But Mette is a smart, sensible and strong person and somehow she manages. Probably also because she has baby Catherine to care for.

Catherine is sweet and loyal and has a quick mind, all things I appreciate. Sometimes I wondered if she was a bit too good to be true, but those moments passed. It's such a contradiction how she has power as a princess and at the same time really doesn't have much say in what happens in her life. I liked seeing the interactions between her and King Henry towards the end of the book, they had really sweet moments.

I think most of the excitement is probably still coming in the sequel, The Tudor Bride. There are some awful and wonderful things that history tells me are still in store for Catherine and I wonder how Mette will play her part in them.
The Agincourt Bride was an ok read but not one of my favourites so far, maybe The Tudor Bride will be.

My rating: 3 stars

Review of Diamonds and Deceit by Leila Rasheed

Title/Author: Diamonds and Deceit (At Somerton #2) by Leila Rasheed
Publisher/Date published: Disney-Hyperion, January 7th 2014
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: One house, two worlds... book two in our sumptuous and enticing YA series about the servants and gentry at Somerton Court.

A house divided...

London is a whirl of balls and teas, alliances and rivalries. Rose has never felt more out of place. With the Season in full swing, she can't help but still feel a servant dressed up in diamonds and silk. Then Rose meets Alexander Ross, a young Scottish duke. Rose has heard the rumors about Ross's sordid past just like everyone else has. Yet he alone treats her as a friend. Rose knows better than to give her heart to an aristocrat with such a reputation, but it may be too late.

Ada should be happy. She is engaged to a handsome man who shares her political passions and has promised to support her education. So why does she feel hollow inside? Even if she hated Lord Fintan, she would have no choice but to go through with the marriage. Every day a new credit collector knocks on the door of their London flat, demanding payment for her cousin William's expenditures. Her father's heir seems determined to bring her family to ruin, and only a brilliant marriage can save Somerton Court and the Averleys' reputation.

Meanwhile, at Somerton, Sebastian is out of his mind with worry for his former valet Oliver, who refuses to plead innocent to the murder charges against him - for a death caused by Sebastian himself. Sebastian will do whatever he can to help the boy he loves, but his indiscretion is dangerous fodder for a reporter with sharp eyes and dishonorable intentions.

The colorful cast of the At Somerton series returns in this enthralling sequel about class and fortune, trust and betrayal, love and revenge.

***WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR FIRST BOOK IN THE SERIES***

YOU GUYS! THIS BOOK! I totally love this series!! It's historical romance in YA form and I LOOOOOOOVE IT! It's the thing I've been wanting for ages and which never seemed to fully happen and I'm JUST SO HAPPY!

I was sick when I was reading this and it was so good that it managed to distract me from feeling wretched. That is how good this book is.

There's a whole bunch of characters to keep track off and at times I was just trying to keep up with the constantly changing POV, but after a while I settled into it and I was ok. I think the only thing that I can say that isn't praise for Diamonds and Deceit is that I would have liked it even better if it had focused on maybe 2 or 3 of the characters instead of ALL of them in turns. Though it did offer some perspective that we otherwise wouldn't have gotten. So I think I'm actually ok with it after all.

Same as with Cinders and Sapphires, Rose, Ada and Sebastian are the characters I liked best. They are just so full of passion and spunk, though Ada lost some of it due to her situation in Diamonds and Deceit. But by the end she picked it up again and I was cheering her on towards the end! I even started liking Charlotte, because while she may not be expressing her feelings in the best way and is being kind of mean, towards the end she redeems herself and I love seeing a bit of growth in a character.

And man, while I wasn't a big fan of Laurence Fintan in Cinders and Sapphires, Diamonds and Deceit made me REALLY annoyed with him. I mean, seriously?? SERIOUSLY? That guys just does something that makes me want to bitchslap him and made all my douche alarms go off. Just. UGH.
On the other hand, there was this other guy that I could totally swoon over, so my little romantic heart was happy.

Leila Rasheed definitely does dramatic the way I like it and there's a whole lot of stuff going down and OMG THOSE ENDINGS! That's right, multiple endings for multiple storylines and some of them made me want to scream and some made me smile and pretty much all of them make me wish for the next book in the series! And also: really worried because it is 1913 and WW I is on its way and EEEP!

My rating: 5 stars

Review of Witch Finder by Ruth Warburton

Title/Author: Witch Finder (Witch Finder #1) by Ruth Warburton
Publisher/Date published: Hodder Children's Books, January 2nd 2014
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: London. 1880. In the slums of Spitalfields apprentice blacksmith Luke is facing initiation into the Malleus Maleficorum, the fearsome brotherhood dedicated to hunting and killing witches.

Luke’s final test is to pick a name at random from the Book of Witches, a name he must track down and kill within a month, or face death himself. Luke knows that tonight will change his life forever. But when he picks out sixteen-year-old Rosa Greenwood, Luke has no idea that his task will be harder than he could ever imagine.

Look at that cover. Isn't it gorgeous?? I was expecting some epic witchy goodness from this book and I'm sad to say that the book itself didn't quite live up to that pretty cover.

I came SO close to DNF-ing this. I really can't deal with animals dying or animal cruelty in books/movies/real life and this book had some brutal stuff in it. It put me off my chocolate, which pretty much NOTHING can do. But seriously, if I could unread some of the parts in this book, I would, cause I think those images in my head scarred me for life. And I hate it when this kind of stuff is used to get my feelings going, cause it will, but in a really bad way.

So the concept of the Malleus Maleficorum is pretty interesting, other than that we basically get no details on it whatsoever and the only thing that's clear is that they're a bunch of guys who REALLY don't like witches and want all of them dead. I could get why Luke would join, because his parents were killed by a witch, but why would you join something you yourself don't really know much about? But it did make for some high stakes with the whole thing that he had to kill the witch he pointed in the book in a month or he'd be killed himself.

I couldn't really bring myself to care for either Luke or Rosa, they were both a little dull. Luke is confused and doesn't know whether to kiss or kill Rosa, but then he goes and tries to kill her anyway and STUPID BOY HURTS AN ANIMAL! UGH! That lost him all sympathy I could have mustered for him.
Rosa just wasn't a consistent character. She's supposed to be a really powerful witch, but she doesn't have much of a spine and doesn't stand up for herself or use her magic when she's being beaten. I mean, seriously? She also mirrored my reaction when she sees someone beating a puppy to death and then she goes around and thinks he may not be so bad, WTF?? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?? There's a special place in hell for people who do stuff like that! And then she goes off on a hunt, I mean, HELLO, foxes are animals too you know? I was just not digging it and it didn't make any sense.

Also, I couldn't get behind the romance. I mean, there was just an "I love you" out of the blue and I was just staring at it to see if it would go away because it felt so wrong! There was no real build up or anything and BOOM there it was. And I didn't believe it.

For all that it is about witches and people wanting to kill witches, there wasn't all that much magic in Witch Finder. I would have loved for there to be a bit more, because the parts that I did see seemed pretty interesting.

I guess that what I'm trying to say is that Witch Finder had some really awful parts and other parts that were just meh. I'd been so looking forward to reading this book and was pretty disappointed.

My rating: 1,5 stars

Blog Tour! Review of Confessions of Marie Antoinette by Juliet Grey

Title/Author: Confessions of Marie Antoinette (Marie Antoinette #3) by Juliet Grey
Publisher/Date published: Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, September 24th 2013
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: Confessions of Marie Antoinette, the riveting and sweeping final novel in Juliet Grey’s trilogy on the life of the legendary French queen, blends rich historical detail with searing drama, bringing to life the early years of the French Revolution and the doomed royal family’s final days.

Versailles, 1789. As the burgeoning rebellion reaches the palace gates, Marie Antoinette finds her privileged and peaceful life swiftly upended by violence. Once her loyal subjects, the people of France now seek to overthrow the crown, placing the heirs of the Bourbon dynasty in mortal peril.

Displaced to the Tuileries Palace in Paris, the royal family is propelled into the heart of the Revolution. There, despite a few staunch allies, they are surrounded by cunning spies and vicious enemies. Yet despite the political and personal threats against her, Marie Antoinette remains above all a devoted wife and mother, standing steadfastly by her husband, Louis XVI, and protecting their young son and daughter. And though the queen and her family try to flee, and she secretly attempts to arrange their rescue from the clutches of the Revolution, they cannot outrun the dangers encircling them, or escape their shocking fate.

Guys, I am so stoked to be part of this blogtour!! I don't nearly read enough historical fiction, though I pretty much always love it when I do and this series is one of the reasons why I'm a fan of the genre! We've all heard about Marie Antoinette, this historical figure who had a tragic ending and I love seeing the person behind such a historical character!

Juliet Grey has made her a lovable woman, a person I could truly care about and I love it when that happens! I mean, she's really gone from person of the past to flesh and blood and emotions and everything! Aside from her fashion choices, there's more to Marie Antoinette, she's a loving mother, lonely woman isolated from her homeland and dutiful wife. She's a woman who lost two of her children and grieves for them. She looks for love and comfort. And I found myself rooting for her, and this made it all the more heartbreaking to know how her story ends.

Confessions of Marie Antoinette is definitely a darker book than the first two in the series. The Revolution has started and things are looking more and more dire for Marie Antoinette and her family. The riots are starting and the people cry out for Marie Antoinette's head. There's slander going about and it's crazy what people will believe of a public figure! I mean, I get that people had no idea who their king and queen really were, but the lies told about Marie Antoinette are outrageous!

The sheer darkness of the atmosphere in this book made me struggle a bit to get into it, but once I devoted some time to really immerse myself in the story, it all went smoothly. Seeing the brutal scenes of the Revolution through both Marie Antoinette and a sculptress' eyes was a bit depressing. But mostly because I knew there wasn't any hope for the queen. She wouldn't see brighter days again and I so wanted that for her! But even in the middle of all this heartache, there are some beautiful moments that maybe even broke my heart a little more! There's the kindness of the queen's jailers and the child who blows a kiss to Marie Antoinette as she's being led to the guillotine (which I was delighted to discover actually happened!).

And while I did tear up at the ending, it was perfect and I love how it featured all the important people in Marie Antoinette's life. And I really liked that Juliet Grey put an addendum at the end where she tells us what happens to some of the figures in the novel who are still alive at its conclusion. I had been planning on googling some of them and this saved me the trouble! It's horrifying to be reminded of exactly how many people died during the Revolution and with what ease they were convicted and executed.

I have loved getting to know more about Marie Antoinette through this series and I will never forget the woman Juliet Grey made her be!

My rating: 4,5 stars

Made me crave: cappucino, with a brownie

Review of My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century by Rachel Harris

Title/Author: My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century (My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century #1) by Rachel Harris
Publisher/Date published: Entangled Publishing, September 11th 2012
How I got this book: bought it :)
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: On the precipice of her sixteenth birthday, the last thing lone wolf Cat Crawford wants is an extravagant gala thrown by her bubbly stepmother-to-be and well-meaning father. So even though Cat knows the family’s trip to Florence, Italy, is a peace offering, she embraces the magical city and all it offers. But when her curiosity leads her to an unusual gypsy tent, she exits . . . right into Renaissance Firenze.

Thrust into the sixteenth century armed with only a backpack full of contraband future items, Cat joins up with her ancestors, the sweet Alessandra and protective Cipriano, and soon falls for the gorgeous aspiring artist Lorenzo. But when the much-older Niccolo starts sniffing around, Cat realizes that an unwanted birthday party is nothing compared to an unwanted suitor full of creeptastic amore.

Can she find her way back to modern times before her Italian adventure turns into an Italian forever?

Guys, I LOVED THIS BOOK!! It was so cute and YAYYY!!! :D I read it on a very sunny afternoon spend at the lake near my house and it was just perfect!

So Cat has parental issues. Her parents have split up and now her father is engaged to another woman, who Cat liked at first, but now she's really getting on her nerves. I thought Rachel Harris handled this situation really well, I mean, I could feel Cat being unsure because of all of the drama going on there and you know, this does have an impact on someone and I like that it's not something that just functioned as background noise. It's a true part of the story and I like that.

So Cat goes exploring and ends up at a gypsy tent after which she's POOF transported to the sixteenth century. Yeah, I would have been a bit surprised at that as well if I'd been in her position. Cat actually deals with it pretty well, she someone figures out that she's probably supposed to learn something and after that she'll be sent back. So she goes with the flow and tries to figure out what it is she needs to learn. And while this is going on, she gets to stay with an amazing loving family and meet a sixteenth century hottie! I'd say that's a pretty good deal :)

I really liked Cat, she's trying so hard to hide her insecurities behind this game face she puts on and it was really good to see her opening up when she's in the sixteenth century! I mean, she doesn't really have any friends because she doesn't trust anyone and isn't willing to put herself out there and that's really sad. I loved that she had such a passion for art and wouldn't it be awesome to travel back to the Renaissance and actually see these people in action? I mean GAH!

And guys, I REALLY loved the family Cat meets in the sixteenth century! They are warm and loving and welcoming and just good people. I love that Cipriano is instantly a protective older brother to Cat as well as his sister Alessandra. And Alessandra is AWESOME! Seriously, that girl is so sweet! I just wanted to hug her! So their parents definitely have different views on marrying and how much a girl has to say in the choosing of the groom than people nowadays, but this added some brilliant conflict and I can imagine things going down that way in the actual time period.

And then it's time to talk about the boy: LORENZO. Say it with me: LORENZO. Doesn't just saying his name make you think of warm summer sunshine and a beautiful Italian boy? Oh, and really good icecream. But that could just be me. Lorenzo is insanely swoonworthy with this artistic soul and beautiful personality beneath that pretty-boy-veneer. He's passionate and gorgeous and romantic and just *SWOON* I can totally get Cat falling for him.

So there's a lot going on and it was just wonderful to see Cat actually learning the lesson she was sent to the past to learn. She really does grow as a person and I love that she really does something with what she's been taught. And seriously, THE ENDING! It made me SO EXCITED for the next book, A Tale of Two Centuries!! I cannot wait!

My rating: 5 stars

Made me crave: cookie dough icecream

Review of Tarnish by Katherine Longshore

Title/Author: Tarnish by Katherine Longshore
Publisher/Date published: Viking Juvenile, June 18th 2013
How I got this book: bought it, because HOW COULD I NOT??
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: Anne Boleyn is the odd girl out. Newly arrived to the court of King Henry VIII, everything about her seems wrong, from her clothes to her manners to her witty but sharp tongue. So when the dashing poet Thomas Wyatt offers to coach her on how to shine at court - and to convince the whole court they're lovers - she accepts. Before long, Anne's popularity has soared, and even the charismatic and irresistible king takes notice. More than popularity, Anne wants a voice - but she also wants love. What began as a game becomes high stakes as Anne finds herself forced to make an impossible choice between her heart's desire and the chance to make history.

So do any of you by chance remember how much I LOVED Gilt?? Because I totally did and combine this with my Tudor obsession and GAH YOU JUST HAVE THE PERFECT NOVEL IN TARNISH!!!

Excuse me while I continue to gush.

I cannot even begin to explain how much I love books of the English court and in particular of Anne Boleyn (and Elizabeth I) because she is SUCH an interesting historical figure! I mean, can you imagine if she'd had a son and lived? How different the world would probably be? I really need to read The Boleyn King in which this turn of events is explored.

I LOVE that Katherine Longshore doesn't villify Anne, as is done in so many of the novels set around these events. Anne is an actual person here and not just a backstabbing, manipulating girl who makes a dramatic rise AND fall. I felt how Anne just wanted to be accepted and mostly just wanted to be seen as a person instead of a sister/daughter to be sold to the highest bidder. And of course every author takes some poetic liberties with the truth, but I really feel that women didn't have much other choice than to try to rule through men and I FELT this.

This is probably why I love Katherine Longshore's books so much, because I actually FEEL what's happening in history and all of the people in it seem to come to life and become real people with goals and emotion and not just flat things on a page. And I LOVE THIS! It's so nice to see Anne's vulnerable side! To see George in a different light than I did in The Other Boleyn Girl and to just see the beginning of Anne's rise to power.

I think this is also the first novel ever to make me care about Thomas Wyatt. I never thought much of him, but in Tarnish this man has hidden depths and is actually swoonworthy! And I KNOW things don't work out, but I was so rooting for him! Even though he's married and it's kinda despicable and yadayada, I KNOW OK and I still loved him.

I also loved that Jane is Anne's friend and not just the horrible person she is depicted as most of the time. She mostly comes on scene in these novels as the jealous, nagging wife and here she actually stands up for Anne. Even though there are some awful moments in which you see how she could evolve to become this person in history.

This one quote nearly killed me:
"I have but a little neck," I tell the king. "It will not hurt if the blow comes clean."

KILLED ME! TEARS! ALL THE TEARS!

All the events are so bittersweet because I know what actually goes down in history and every time I read about it, I still start wishing things will turn out differently this time, but I know they can't. I liked that Katherine Longshore leaves us with a somewhat happy Anne, at the beginning of her relationship with the king with the whole world open to her and not with the sad events that I know will happen to her later on. All of the hard things she will go through.

Bottom line: I LOVED THIS BOOK! SO MUCH! I cannot even begin to explain the genius that is Katherine Longshore's writing, but I just get all these feelings while reading it and I love to see history come to life and just GAH GO READ IT! ALL OF YOU! You won't regret it, it is AMAZING!

My rating: 5+ stars

Made me crave: strawberries

Review of Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross

Title/Author: Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross
Publisher/Date published: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, June 11th 2013
How I got this book: from the author for review, thanks!
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: When Maude Pichon runs away from provincial Brittany to Paris, her romantic dreams vanish as quickly as her savings. Desperate for work, she answers an unusual ad. The Durandeau Agency provides its clients with a unique service — the beauty foil. Hire a plain friend and become instantly more attractive.

Monsieur Durandeau has made a fortune from wealthy socialites, and when the Countess Dubern needs a companion for her headstrong daughter, Isabelle, Maude is deemed the perfect foil.

But Isabelle has no idea her new "friend" is the hired help, and Maude's very existence among the aristocracy hinges on her keeping the truth a secret. Yet the more she learns about Isabelle, the more her loyalty is tested. And the longer her deception continues, the more she has to lose.

The idea behind this novel fascinates me! I mean, it really is quite ingenious: make yourself look better by having a less well-looking person stand beside you and shine in comparison. It's like a theory I once read somewhere or saw on TV, how being in a group of beautiful people can transform someone from average to beautiful as well. It's really interesting to see how your perception can change because of your surrounding.

So we meet Maude, one of the so-called 'ugly' girls. She's come to Paris to escape what would have been an unhappy marriage and needs a job. She gets hired by the Durandeau Agency and soon the Countess picks her to be the companion for her daughter. But unlike usual, said daughter isn't supposed to know Maude is making her look better. So Maude tries to become friends with the somewhat difficult Isabelle and slowly they get to know each other and actually do become friends. Until Maude has to choose between keeping her secret and keeping her friend.

I liked Maude, I liked that you could feel that she wasn't worldly, being from a small town and just wanting to make her own way into the world instead of the one her father would have picked out for her. At times I was just cringing and wanting to yell at her to not be such a brat to her friends, and to stop being so UGH NAIVE! But it definitely felt like this was all in character for her, I just had this sense of foreboding you sometimes get. You know, the 'this has to go wrong SOMEWHERE' feeling.

And I really liked Isabelle, who I can truly respect for wanting to just be MORE. Learn MORE. Be a scientist. Though I thought she could have been a little less contrary at times, she knew what she wanted and wasn't afraid to go for it. She did have a healthy dose of arrogance and entitlement that sometimes rubbed me the wrong way a bit, but I liked that once she's your friend, she's a TRUE friend, that's always a good quality in my book.

It did sometimes feel a bit as if the countess was being evil just for the sake of it and didn't really seem to have her daughter's best interests at heart at one point in the story and that just felt a bit off to me. I get that she wanted to see her daughter get married, because hello, it's what having a debut and a season was all about, but you'd think she'd actually want her to get married to a decent person.

I really enjoyed Belle Epoque, I love that in the end there was a definite feeling of female empowerment and as I said at the beginning: the concept is just fascinating! Elizabeth Ross has written a strong debut and I hope we'll see more of her soon!

My rating: 3,5 stars

Review of Born of Illusion by Teri Brown, Blog Tour & Giveaway!

I am so stoked to be part of the blog tour for Born of Illusion!! I've been wanting to read it for MONTHS and I even get to post on its release date :)

For the full tour schedule go here.

Title/Author: Born of Illusion (Born of Illusion #1) by Teri Brown
Publisher/Date published: Balzer & Bray, June 11th 2013
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley

Goodreads summary: Anna Van Housen has a secret. A gifted illusionist, Anna assists her mother, the renowned medium Marguerite Van Housen, in her stage show and séances, easily navigating the underground world of magicians, mediums, and mentalists in 1920’s New York. As the illegitimate daughter of Harry Houdini — or so Marguerite claims — sleight of hand illusions have never been a challenge for Anna. The real trick is keeping her own gifts secret from her opportunistic mother. Because while Marguerite’s own powers may be a sham, Anna possesses a true ability to sense people’s feelings and foretell the future.

But as Anna’s powers intensify, she begins to experience frightening visions of her mother in peril, which leads her to explore the powers she’s tried so long to hide. And when a mysterious young man named Cole moves into the flat downstairs, introducing Anna to a secret society that studies people with gifts like hers, she is forced to confront her past and rethink everything she’s ever known. Is her mother truly in danger, or are Anna’s visions merely illusion? And could the great Houdini really be her father, or is it just another of Marguerite’s tricks?

From Teri Brown comes a world bursting with magic, with romance, and the temptations of Jazz Age New York — and the story of a girl about to become the mistress of her own destiny.
GOODREADS | AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE

Guys, I must confess that I was obsessed with magic shows as a kid. Now with all the exposing of how tricks are done, it's kinda worn off and mostly this obsession returns when it's Hugh Jackman performing the illusions. I'm not really all that familiar with Houdini's life, but the pictures I've seen of him all look REALLY fierce, determined and he's done some really amazing things. So of course I was excited to read a book about a girl who may or may not be his daughter and seriously, the 20s is a fascinating decade no matter what kind of plot you have!

I really, really liked Anna. I love how loyal she is to her mother, though she may not exactly like her at times. But she's not afraid to stand up for herself and maybe go against her mother's wishes if it's what it takes to achieve her dream and I can respect that. She's so used to living in the shadow of her mother's beauty that she doesn't really know what to do when two attractive young men start showing interest in her. And though it easily could have been, it's not a love triangle. It's Anna getting to know both guys and trying to figure out if she likes one of them. And I really liked that she wasn't kissing both guys in the process, cause I kinda hate it when that happens.

Teri Brown really captured that sense of excitement that I used to get when watching a magic show and it was nice to see it from the other side for a change! And I loved the supernatural element and seeing Anna getting the hang of her powers and coming to terms with them. I really felt her loneliness because she thinks she's the only one and it's hard for her to make friends because of her and her mother's profession.

Anna and her mother have a VERY complicated relationship and at times I was just really confused as to whether or not Anna's mother was really trying to sabotage her daughter's success. I mean, it was just a little off and it may just have been their personalities clashing, but I had a hard time understanding it. But in the end we get an explanation, and while it made me want to scream at them to GAH! COMMUNICATE! I know not everyone can always talk about everything.

Aside from all the drama surrounding the show and Anna trying to figure out if Harry Houdini really is her father and the seances and Anna's powers, there's also a sweet little romance. There was also a major twist towards the end that I hadn't seen coming until right before it happened, which really had me turning the pages!

With Born of Illusion, Teri Brown has created a really strong historical read and I just love the time period it's set in! I'm really looking forward to reading Born of Deception, which will feature Rasputin (who I think is really creepy)!

My rating: 4,5 stars

Teri Brown is proud of her two children but coming in a close second is the fact that she parachuted out of a plane and beat the original Legend of Zelda video game.

She is a word scribbler, head banger, math hater, book reader, rule breaker, food fixer, novel writer, kitty keeper, and city slicker. Teri lives with her husband and way too many pets in Portland, Oregon.

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS

The Giveaway:

To celebrate the launch of BORN OF ILLUSION, Teri is giving away 10 sets of BORN OF ILLUSION earth mineral eye shadow available for a limited time only from Glamour Doll Eyes. You, too, can get the glam look of the twenties!

Eye Shadow Giveaway (10 sets)

Teri will also be giving away not, one but THREE grand prizes that Cari Cucksey, (of HGTV’s Cash and Cari), picked out from her RePurpose shop especially for the BORN OF ILLUSION launch!

Grand Prize Giveaway – Vintage Spoon Bracelets

Giveaway is US/Canada adresses only.
Must be 13 or older to enter.
Giveaway winners will be chosen via Rafflecopter. Grand Prize winners will be chosen first, then the 10 standard prize winners.
Winners will be announced in the Rafflecopter and contacted by email.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review of Changeling by Philippa Gregory

Title/Author: Changeling (The Order of Darkness #1) by Philippa Gregory
Publisher/Date published: Simon Pulse, May 24 2012
How I got this book: bought it
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: Italy, 1453. Seventeen-year-old Luca Vero is brilliant, gorgeous — and accused of heresy. Cast out of his religious order for using the new science to question old superstitious beliefs, Luca is recruited into a secret sect: The Order of the Dragon, commissioned by Pope Nicholas V to investigate evil and danger in its many forms, and strange occurrences across Europe, in this year — the end of days.

Isolde is a seventeen-year-old girl shut up in a nunnery so she can’t inherit any of her father’s estate. As the nuns walk in their sleep and see strange visions, Isolde is accused of witchcraft — and Luca is sent to investigate her, but finds himself plotting her escape.

Despite their vows, despite themselves, love grows between Luca and Isolde as they travel across Europe with their faithful companions, Freize and Ishraq. The four young people encounter werewolves, alchemists, witches, and death-dancers as they head toward a real-life historical figure who holds the boundaries of Christendom and the secrets of the Order of the Dragon.

Guys, I love Philippa Gregory. I have never read a book by her that I didn't enjoy very much. Until now.

I cannot help but feel that this novel was just sort of... boring. Philippa Gregory always makes history come to life for me and manages to make me be on the edge of my seat, rooting for things I know can't be, because hey, it's history and it can't be changed. And I expected this to be so for her YA series as well. But I feel pretty lukewarm about Changeling.

We meet both Isolde and Luca, and well, they are probably the least interesting characters in this novel for all of them being the main characters. Pretty boy meets pretty girl and sort of falls for her, even though he said vows of celibacy, OOPS! Beside that Luca was pretty smart, I didn't really care much for him.

Both of their 'sidekicks', Freize and Ishraq are SO MUCH MORE interesting! Freize has a way with animals that's just beautiful and he's all mysterious and funny and I totally liked him! And Ishraq is a strong, loyal woman who I'd love to have as a friend. She knows about medicine and fighting and is just a take-action kinda person. I liked it. I expect much more entertainment from them than from the main characters.

Mostly, my complaint is that nothing much happened. Or, well, their were 2 mysteries that are solved by this motly crew, but I never felt any urgency at solving the mystery and the solution to the second one was kinda lame. I mean, I know people didn't know everything we know now, but seriously, that was kinda... stupid.

I sincerely hope that this book just suffered from being the first in a series and serving as build-up and that Philippa Gregory will step up her game in the next book, like she normally does, and that there'll be intrigue and romance and just all of those good things I come to expect from her books, because frankly, this was a bit disappointing.

My rating: 2,5 stars

Review of Royal Mistress by Anne Easter Smith

Title/Author: Royal Mistress by Anne Easter Smith
Publisher/Date published: Touchstone, May 7th 2013
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: From the author of A Rose for the Crown and Daughter of York comes another engrossing historical novel of the York family in the Wars of the Roses, telling the fascinating story of the rise and fall of the final and favorite mistress of Edward IV.

Jane Lambert, the quick-witted and alluring daughter of a silk merchant, is twenty-two and still unmarried. When Jane’s father finally finds her a match, she’s married off to the dull, older silk merchant William Shore — but her heart belongs to another. Marriage doesn’t stop Jane Shore from flirtation, however, and when the king’s chamberlain and friend, Will Hastings, comes to her husband’s shop, Will knows his King will find her irresistible.

Edward IV has everything: power, majestic bearing, superior military leadership, a sensual nature, and charisma. And with Jane as his mistress, he also finds true happiness. But when his hedonistic tendencies get in the way of being the strong leader England needs, his life, as well as that of Jane Shore and Will Hastings, hang in the balance.

This dramatic tale has been an inspiration to poets and playwrights for 500 years, and told through the unique perspective of a woman plucked from obscurity and thrust into a life of notoriety, Royal Mistress is sure to enthrall today’s historical fiction lovers as well.

You may have heard of my anglophilic tendencies before, I LOVE historical fiction revolving around the English royals! There are some who fascinate me more than others, namely Anne Boleyn, but part of this story also deals with one of the greatest mysteries in my opinion: what happened to the two little princes in the Tower? Elizabeth Woodville and Edward's sons.

I'd already 'met' most of the players in The Kingmaker's Daughter by Philippa Gregory, but I'd never heard of Jane Shore before and I must admit that she's a fascinating historical figure! It's not every day that you come across a woman who not only held the interest of England's king for 8 years as his mistress, but also went on to be the mistress to two other influential men and finally marry another!

Jane is very much a victim of her time period, because she is completely dependent on the men in her life to provide for her. I really felt for her when her first husband turned out to be impotent, because Jane was so ready to be a mother! I liked that she's bold enough to seek an annulment because of it. I liked that she never forgot where she came from and tried to help the people who used to be her neighbours when she could.
I'm kinda glad Edward is depicted as a loving scoundrel, because from everything I've learned of him, I can truly believe that's exactly what he was. He may not always have made the best decisions, particularly regarding his dealings with Eleanor Butler, but I believed he was a good man at heart and for some reason royalty always seems prone to infidelity, not that that makes it any better.

I'd seen most of the events through Anne Neville's eyes in The Kingmaker's Daughter, and seeing it through Jane's added that extra dimension to it. I love all the intrigue and was truly scared a couple of times for Jane's life. Losing your head was all too easy back then. There were a couple of surprises, but mostly I was just anxiously waiting on some stuff to happen and wondering what would happen to Jane because of said things.

Anne Easter Smith truly made me care for this remarkable woman and I loved the bits of poetry that Jane seems to sprout of the top of her head, they were very clever. I did think that some of the 'bad guys' were a bit one-dimensional, but most of the historical figures really came to life through her writing and I love that! These were real people and it's easy to forget that and just focus on the battles and murders instead of the men and women behind it.

My rating: 3,5 stars

Review of Maid of Secrets by Jennifer McGowan

Title/Author: Maid of Secrets (Maids of Honor #1) by Jennifer McGowan
Publisher/Date published: Simon & Schuster, May 7th 2013
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: Seventeen-year-old Meg Fellowes is a wry, resourceful thief forced to join an elite group of female spies in Queen Elizabeth’s Court. There she must solve a murder, save the Crown, and resist the one thing that will become her greatest freedom–and her deadliest peril.

For Meg and her fellow spies are not alone in their pursuit of the murderer who stalks Windsor Castle.

A young, mysterious Spanish courtier, Count Rafe de Martine, appears at every turn in the dark and scandal-filled corridors of the Queen’s summer palace. And though secrets and danger are Meg’s stock-in-trade, she’s never bargained on falling in love…

Ok, so you may now how I'm a huge anglophile? And I'm slightly obsessed with anything to do with English royalty of the past. So this combined in a YA historical fiction made me all excited! And I'm happy to report I was thoroughly entertained by Maid of Secrets.

Though I did have to get over the fact that I was constantly thinking 'but WHY would the queen hire a group of young girls to do all these things for her???' It seemed slightly implausible to me and I kinda struggled with this a bit throughout the novel.

But I did very much like the girls in question, especially Meg and Jane. I must say that reading books like these made me thankful for my sheltered childhood and teens, because to already have learned everything these girls know by the time they're 17? Yeah, that's kinda harsh. They've really had to made a living for themselves and are frequently involved in live-and-death type plots. And then there's the threath of imprisonment when they don't obey the queen or her councillors, who may not always have the same agenda.

I loved seeing Meg navigate her way through all of this and I was genuinely rooting for her. I liked that she's smart and street-savvy and at least TRIES to do the right thing, even if it isn't always easy. And you guys, I loved the scenes with her and Rafe! Rafe is mysterious enough to intrigue me and seems to care enough to forgive him for the not-so-decent things he sometimes pulls on Meg. And I'd really like to see more of him in the next novel!

The murder mystery and the search through the castle with all the hidden passageways and danger lurking around every corner had me turning the pages, wanting to know out exactly WHO was behind all of it. I did figure out who it was before Meg did, which was mostly due to some seemingly random scene that had me thinking there had to be MORE to this person.

This was a strong debut for Jennifer McGowan and a good start to a series, which I expect to only become better with the next books! I still have lots of questions, most of them revolving around Meg's parents, but Maid of Secrets did wrap up the storyline nicely and I'm relieved it didn't end with a cliffhanger. Highly recommended to anglophiles like me!

My rating: 4,5 stars

Review of The River of No Return by Bee Ridgway

Title/Author: The River of No Return by Bee Ridgway
Publisher/Date published: Dutton, April 23rd 2013
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley
Buy it at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: “You are now a member of the Guild. There is no return.” Two hundred years after he was about to die on a Napoleonic battlefield, Nick Falcott, soldier and aristocrat, wakes up in a hospital bed in modern London. The Guild, an entity that controls time travel, showers him with life's advantages. But Nick yearns for home and for one brown-eyed girl, lost now down the centuries. Then the Guild asks him to break its own rule. It needs Nick to go back to 1815 to fight the Guild’s enemies and to find something called the Talisman.

In 1815, Julia Percy mourns the death of her beloved grandfather, an earl who could play with time. On his deathbed he whispers in her ear: “Pretend!” Pretend what? When Nick returns home as if from the dead, older than he should be and battle scarred, Julia begins to suspect that her very life depends upon the secrets Grandfather never told her. Soon enough Julia and Nick are caught up in an adventure that stretches up and down the river of time. As their knowledge of the Guild and their feelings for each other grow, the fate of the future itself is hanging in the balance.

I am a bit unsure of how I should review this book. There were some really good parts and some stuff that didn't make all that much sense to me. Let me try to explain.

I thought the writing was really good, it was engrossing and Bee Ridgway really managed to make me excited about time travel again. The only problem was that she got me all wanting to know EVERYTHING and we barely got answers. Nd while the writing was good, I did still feel like barely anything happened. The plot was SO SLOW. I was still entertained, but looking back, there were huge stretches of the novel in which nothing actually happened to propell the story onward.

I liked Nick, he's a truly good guy. I liked that he adjusted to the 21st century and how he at first had trouble accepting that he couldn't go back and then that he could in fact go back! I mean, I can totally understand the doubts and hesitation that comes with something like this! Julia was a bit too passive for me to truly connect with her. I wasn't completely sold on the romance between her and Nick either. I mean, his sorta obsession with her is based on one moment. It felt a little too much like insta-love too me and while I do think they had a connection, it wasn't enough to fully convince me.

But oh my lord, I absolutely ADORED Arkady, Nick's Russian companion! He is the most quotable of the characters and says things like "Because it's beautiful and romantic to do so" and I LOVED it! He may not always be a good guy, but he's such an interesting, passionate character that I can forgive him for this.

I think what bothered me the most is that the plot was moving along at a turtle's pace and then all of a sudden it just ended. And I just have all these questions! It doesn't say anywhere if there'll be a sequel! And I'm... confused. I hate it when endings are like that! It makes me reconsider the whole book because it leaves me with a bad feeling.

So I'm a bit unsure about The River of No Return. While it was an entertaining story, the plot dragged a bit and then the ending just threw me completely off! The whole time travel concept Bee Ridgway introduces us to is fascinating, but I still have so many unanswered questions. I really hope there'll be a sequel!

My rating: 3,5 stars