Review: Warrior by Zoe Archer

Warrior by Zoe Archer

Series: The Blades of the Rose
Genre: Historical/Romance/Paranormal
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To most people, the realm of magic is the stuff of nursery rhymes and dusty libraries. But for Capt. Gabriel Huntley, it’s become quite real and quite dangerous… 

IN HOT PURSUIT…
The vicious attack Capt. Gabriel Huntley witnesses in a dark alley sparks a chain of events that will take him to the ends of the Earth and beyond—where what is real and what is imagined become terribly confused. And frankly, Huntley couldn’t be more pleased. Intrigue, danger, and a beautiful woman in distress—just what he needs.

IN HOTTER WATER…
Raised thousands of miles from England, Thalia Burgess is no typical Victorian lady. A good thing, because a proper lady would have no hope of recovering the priceless magical artifact Thalia is after. Huntley’s assistance might come in handy, though she has to keep him in the dark. But this distractingly handsome soldier isn’t easy to deceive…

Review: A Tyranny of Petticoats

A Tyranny of Petticoats by Assorted

Series: No
Genre: Historical
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From an impressive sisterhood of YA writers comes an edge-of-your-seat anthology of historical fiction and fantasy featuring a diverse array of daring heroines.

Criss-cross America — on dogsleds and ships, stagecoaches and trains — from pirate ships off the coast of the Carolinas to the peace, love, and protests of 1960s Chicago. Join fifteen of today’s most talented writers of young adult literature on a thrill ride through history with American girls charting their own course. They are monsters and mediums, bodyguards and barkeeps, screenwriters and schoolteachers, heiresses and hobos. They're making their own way in often-hostile lands, using every weapon in their arsenals, facing down murderers and marriage proposals. And they all have a story to tell.

Review: The Girls at the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine

The Girls at the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine

Series: Standalone
Genre: Historical
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A reimagining of the fairytale of the Twelve Dancing Princesses as flappers during the Roaring Twenties in Manhattan.

Jo, the firstborn, "The General" to her eleven sisters, is the only thing the Hamilton girls have in place of a mother. She is the one who taught them how to dance, the one who gives the signal each night, as they slip out of the confines of their father's townhouse to await the cabs that will take them to the speakeasy. Together they elude their distant and controlling father, until the day he decides to marry them all off. 

The girls, meanwhile, continue to dance, from Salon Renaud to the Swan and, finally, the Kingfisher, the club they come to call home. They dance until one night when they are caught in a raid, separated, and Jo is thrust face-to-face with someone from her past: a bootlegger named Tom whom she hasn't seen in almost ten years. Suddenly Jo must weigh in the balance not only the demands of her father and eleven sisters, but those she must make of herself. 

Review: A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan

Series: Memoir by Lady Trent #1
Genre: Fantasy/Historical
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All the world, from Scirland to the farthest reaches of Eriga, know Isabella, Lady Trent, to be the world’s preeminent dragon naturalist. She is the remarkable woman who brought the study of dragons out of the misty shadows of myth and misunderstanding into the clear light of modern science. But before she became the illustrious figure we know today, there was a bookish young woman whose passion for learning, natural history, and, yes, dragons defied the stifling conventions of her day.

Here at last, in her own words, is the true story of a pioneering spirit who risked her reputation, her prospects, and her fragile flesh and bone to satisfy her scientific curiosity; of how she sought true love and happiness despite her lamentable eccentricities; and of her thrilling expedition to the perilous mountains of Vystrana, where she made the first of many historic discoveries that would change the world forever. 

Review: The Master Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg

The Master Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg

Series: The Paper Magician #3
Genre: Historical/Fantasy
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Throughout her studies, Ceony Twill has harbored a secret, one she’s kept from even her mentor, Emery Thane. She’s discovered how to practice forms of magic other than her own — an ability long thought impossible.

While all seems set for Ceony to complete her apprenticeship and pass her upcoming final magician’s exam, life quickly becomes complicated. To avoid favoritism, Emery sends her to another paper magician for testing, a Folder who despises Emery and cares even less for his apprentice. To make matters worse, a murderous criminal from Ceony’s past escapes imprisonment. Now she must track the power-hungry convict across England before he can take his revenge. With her life and loved ones hanging in the balance, Ceony must face a criminal who wields the one magic that she does not, and it may prove more powerful than all her skills combined.

Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury

Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury

Series: Wrapped #1 (book 2 supposedly out in 2017)
Genre: Historical/Mystery
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Agnes Wilkins dreams of adventures that reach beyond the garden walls, but reality for a seventeen-year-old debutante in 1815 London does not allow for camels—or dust, even. No, Agnes can only see a mummy when she is wearing a new silk gown and standing on the verdant lawns of Lord Showalter's estate, with chaperones fussing about and strolling sitar players straining to create an exotic "atmosphere" for the first party of the season. An unwrapping.

This is the start of it all, Agnes's debut season, the pretty girl parade that offers only ever-shrinking options: home, husband, and high society. It's also the start of something else, because the mummy Agnes unwraps isn't just a mummy. It's a host for a secret that could unravel a new destiny—unleashing mystery, an international intrigue, and possibly a curse in the bargain.

Get wrapped up in the adventure . . . but keep your wits about you, dear Agnes.

Review: A Breath of Frost by Alyxandra Harvey

A Breath of Frost by Alyxandra Harvey

Series: The Lovegrove Legacy book 1
Genre: Historical/Urban Fantasy (YA)
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In 1814, three cousins—Gretchen, Emma, and Penelope—discover their family lineage of witchcraft when a binding spell is broken, allowing their individual magical powers to manifest. Now, beyond the manicured gardens and ballrooms of Regency London, an alluring underworld available only to those with power is revealed to the cousins. By claiming their power, the three cousins have accidentally opened the gates to the underworld. 

Now ghouls, hellhounds—and most terrifying of all, the spirits of dark witches known as the Greymalkin Sisters—are hunting and killing young debutante witches for their powers. And, somehow, Emma is connected to the murders…because she keeps finding the bodies. 

Can the cousins seal the gates before another witch is killed…or even worse, before their new gifts are stripped away? (from goodreads)

Review: Heart's Blood by Juliet Marillier

Heart's Blood by Juliet Marillier

Series: Standalone
Genre: Romance
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Whistling Tor is a place of secrets and mystery. Surrounded by a wooded hill, and unknown presences, the crumbling fortress is owned by a chieftain whose name is spoken throughout the district in tones of revulsion and bitterness. A curse lies over Anluan's family and his people; those woods hold a perilous force whose every whisper threatens doom.

For young scribe Caitrin it is a safe haven. This place where nobody else is prepared to go seems exactly what she needs, for Caitrin is fleeing her own demons. As Caitrin comes to know Anluan and his home in more depth she realizes that it is only through her love and determination that the curse can be broken and Anluan and his people set free.

Review: A Change of Fortune by Jen Turano

A Change of Fortune by Jen Turano

Series: Ladies of Distinction
Genre: Christian/Historical/Romance
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(Synopsis in review)

Review: The Bane Chronicles by Clare, Brennan and Johnson

The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan and Maureen Johnson

Series: The Bane Chronicles #1-11
Genre: Short Stories
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This collection of eleven short stories illuminates the life of the enigmatic Magnus Bane, whose alluring personality, flamboyant style, and sharp wit populate the pages of the #1 New York Times bestselling series, The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices. (from Goodreads)

Review: Full Steam Ahead by Karen Witemeyer

Full Steam Ahead by Karen Witemeyer

Series: Stand Alone Novel
Published by Bethany House
Pages: 346
Genre: Christian/Romance/Historial
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Nicole Renard is on a mission: find the perfect heir and husband before her father dies and his company, Renard Shipping, is overtaken by their business rivals. However, a wrench is thrown into her plans when she finds herself short of funds and takes a job working for Darius Thornton - a man obsessed with boiler explosions after one nearly took his life. Although the mutual attraction is almost immediate, Nicole must continue on to find the heir her father needs because this man is completely unsuitable. But...Does God have other plans for the pair?

Review: Wild Orchid by Cameron Dokey

Wild Orchid by Cameron Dokey

Series: Once Upon A Time Fairytales #14
Published by Simon & Schuster
Pages: 199
Genre: Fairytale Retelling (YA)
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Mulan is unlike any other girl in China. When the emperor summons a great army, each family must send a male to fight. Tomboyish Mulan is determined to spare her aging father and bring her family honor, so she disguises herself and answers the call.

"How can one so young, a stranger I've just met, see so clearly the conflicts of my heart?"

Mini-Review: A River in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters

A River in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters
Series: Amelia Peabody #19
Published by HarperCollins
Pages: 307
Genre: Historical/Mystery
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Set during the simmering tensions of pre-world war one Palestine. Into this melting pot we throw Ramses, working for an American archaeologist, and the rest of his family, on the hunt of an amateur archaeologist suspected of being a German spy.

Quote:
Ordinary villains are one thing; religious rioters and spies of various nationalities are less predictable.

This is actually quite a different Amelia Peabody and Co. mystery than usual. We've traded in the usual Egypt for Palestine. There is less archaeology and more spies. There is also a good deal more narrated from Ramses' point of view than all except the chronologically newest books. I have heard some people being a little upset by all this, but it was honestly very timely for me. I loved the spy aspect in this story and how well it ties into Ramses and David's characters.

I really only had two, very small, problems. One was that I wished the characters had been all together for more of the book. They were split up for a good portion of it, the story being told both from Amelia and Ramses point of view. Also, my other complaint would be that I missed Egypt. I do understand why this story wasn't in Egypt, but it's obvious that no one - not the characters and not even Ms. P. herself - is as interested in Palestine as Egypt.

Pros:

• Characters I've come to love
• Spy/espionage story

Cons:

• Egypt-less

Five Stars

Read as part of the following challenges: Book Bingo & Series Challenge & Key Word & Lucky No.14

Review: The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan

The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan
Series: The Dispossessed #1
Published by Delacorte Press
Pages: 341
Genre: Historical/Horror (YA)
Rating: Good, but borderline Meh
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Ingrid and Gabby have traveled to Paris with their mother. However, their brother Grayson, who left England ahead of them to find a suitable place for them to live, has gone missing. And no one seems concerned. However, with her twin connection to him, Ingrid knows Grayson's alive. And that something is wrong. Her fears don't abate when she sees the 'suitable' living arraignments he chose for them: An old, ruined abbey with gargoyle statues.

Quote:
'So this was what a nightmare looked like by the light of day.'

Honestly, I don't know what to make of this book. I was doing really well with it until the last seventy-five or so pages. It seemed that everything I had been having slight problems with, but was generally able to ignore, hit me full force in those last pages. When I say that, I mostly mean Luc.

The major reason I was interested in this book - and I think this is true for many other people - was because of the gargoyles. France used to be the country I was interested in - for probably a good eight or ten years. I read a lot about its history, I studied the language a little. And yes, I read about gargoyles. I've even got two little gargoyles in my bedroom. One's a stone one that I think is supposed to be out in your yard or garden, the other is paper mache with burlap wings that I think I bought around Halloween five or six years ago. So yes, I am quite interested in gargoyles.

This book really seemed like it was going to be perfect for me. For one thing, I just mentioned wanting more groups in YA fiction (Top Ten Tuesdays: Reading Wishlist) and this story actually followed four people. That's right, there were four people whose heads we got to get inside of on a regular basis. That was probably my favorite thing about this book. Plus, there were several other major characters that we didn't get inside the head of, but that did play large parts in the story. So that was great.

I also really, really liked how things weren't kept as secrets just for secrets sake. Yeah, there were things that some of the characters didn't know, but it seemed like if something was pertinent to the situation, the people that needed to know would be told. There was no added drama because someone was keeping secrets from everyone else. So nice.

The setting was completely new to me. It's been a long time since I read a historical book without it being marketed as steampunk and I've never read a historical novel set in Paris. However, I found the world that Ms. Morgan created to be a little off-putting - just the way things were done was very unsettling for me. That being said, the book had a delightfully creepy feel. It wasn't scary (least not in my opinion) but atmospheric.

As for the characters, Gabby and Vander were my favorites. Gabby's just so vibrant and she really takes to everything splendidly. Vander is such a gentleman and a real calming influence compared to some of the other characters - plus he manages his uncle's bookstore. (Yeah, like that wasn't going to make me fall in love with him right there.)

I tolerated most of the other people, though I did think when I first met them that Ingrid would be my favorite of the girls. After all, she was the mature one, the one that likes to read... Really though, she never impressed me the way her younger sister did. Ingrid felt more like the typical leading female in a YA novel - a type I'm getting rather tired of. Speaking of tired of… Luc. I was willing to overlook his near possessiveness because of what he was but, as the story stretched on, I really started to hate him. The personality type is one I don't like and am just getting really feed up seeing.

Final notes? I can forgive a book better if the problems I have with it is dealt with early, as opposed to towards the end. This book was just clumping issues at the end for me.

Read as part of these challenges: Goodread challenge & Bingo challenge.