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A Dreadful Splendour
By B.R. Myers. Harper Collins. Back when I was a teenager, we didn’t have the lovely young adult books available today. Once you were beyond what I called chapter books that were common for young readers, there were only adult books to read. I quickly took to reading books my mom read, many of them gothic romances. Think Victoria Holt, Phyllis Whitney, etc. I loved the combination of mystery, darkness and romance these combined. This genre seems to have fallen off my radar upon adulthood. While this book isn’t quite the same, it is a gothic murder mystery and there is a romance that evolves. And it definitely evokes some…
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Convergence of Desire
By Felicity Niven. Bletherskite Books. Harriet (Harry) Lovelock has important concerns with regard to Fermat’s Theorem. She is sure she can solve it if only she could rid herself of the balls and social occasions required of her as an unmarried young lady in English society. Meanwhile, Thomas Drake is trying to enjoy life without allowing his heart to begin feeling for others, particularly women. After a chance encounter, Harry decides on a plan that she believes will benefit both of them: a marriage of convenience that will allow her to continue her work undisturbed and for him to carry on life with no feelings attached. What follows is a…
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The Liar’s Crown
By Abigail Owen. Entangled Teen. Twin princesses run in the family. The older twin eventually becomes queen while the younger one is the spare, the one who keeps the older one safe. Meren is a younger twin and lives away from the palace while her sister trains to be queen. When their grandmother, the queen dies, older sister Tabra is to be crowned. Meren will continue to be the backup to her sister. That’s the plan until fate intervenes and she is kidnapped by the Shadowraith. He has his reasons, believing her to be Tabra for much of the book. Meanwhile back at home, the evil Eidolon is “courting” Tabra…
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Neanderthal
Neanderthal by Avery Flynn. Entangled Publishing Kinsey has graduated and is off to Harbour City to start her dream job as a junior research chemist for a perfume maker. It just happens that she’s been an online friend to Morgan for years and guess where Morgan lives? Anyway, due to a lack of suitable affordable apartments, Morgan invites Kinsey to be her roommate. And that’s how she meets Morgan’s brother Griff, a bit of a silent type who mostly communicates in grunts. By the way, Griff is head of research and development at the competition to her new company. Nothing can go wrong there, right? The setup is pretty good…
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Under the Whispering Door
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune. Tor Books. Wallace Price is a lawyer, and like many of his kind, he’s cold, analytic, and mean. One day he wakes up at his own funeral and is soon escorted away by the newly minted reaper, Mei. At first, Wallace doesn’t quite get what’s happening and he’s pretty calm. But he soon catches on and he suddenly wants to get back home and runs away. By this time he’s arrived at Charon’s Crossing at the teahouse run by Hugo, who just happens also to be the ferryman. It’s while at this way-house that Wallace learns how to live. This was a delightful…
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Once Upon a Broken Heart
Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber. Hodder and Stoughton. Evangeline Fox has long believed in the notion of a happy ever after in life. She’s been meeting Luc in secret and she thinks he’s the one for her. But then he proposes to her stepsister, Marisol, out of the blue instead. She’s heartbroken and seeks out assistance from the Prince of Hearts to stop the wedding. In exchange, she must kiss someone three times, at the prince’s choosing. The way the wedding is stopped isn’t what she expects and she’s soon on a path that she’d never have dreamed of and is travelling to the North, where her…
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He’s Cancelled
He’s Cancelled by Sophie Ranald. Bookouture Natalie and Archie have been going out for a year now and then Archie proposes, launching the wedding preparation process. While Natalie is from a single-parent family with limited funds, Archie’s family is reasonably well-to-do and has offered to pay for the whole shebang. Archie’s sister gets involved along with his mum and the planning takes off in ways neither Natalie nor Archie could imagine. They really just wanted a simple and small wedding with a “do” at the local pub afterwards. At the heart of the story is a couple with family taking over plans and leaving them with little control. I found…
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Aggie the Horrible vs. Max the Pompous Ass
Aggie the Horrible vs. Max the Pompous Ass by Lisa Wells. Entangled Publishing In the last eighteen months, Aggie has had numerous jobs and hasn’t stuck to even one of them. Meemaw, her grandmother, has raised her from a young age and she still lives with her. Max owns his own business and has a bet with his father, with whom he constantly butts heads, to win. It just happens his grandmother, his closest family ally, makes the acquaintance of Meemaw, and soon they hatch a plan to get their grandchildren together. Because they are sure Aggie and Max are perfect for each other. Their plan starts out with getting…
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Winterly
Winterly: Dark Creatures Book One by Jeanine Croft It’s while Emma Rose is in London that Markus Winterly comes to her aid one night and she is both entranced and afraid. Winterly invites Emma and her sister to stay with him and attend a ball. It’s while at Winterthurse that Emma falls further under Winterly’s spell and she finds herself making a bargain with him to keep her sister Milli safe from harm. While she is afraid, it’s not so much of Markus as the darkness she fears that is inside her. I will say from the outset this is a pretty complicated book. It’s long and it goes on…
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Ancient History
Ancient History by Sophie Penhaligon BooksGoSocial Athena Duncan is the archaeologist daughter of an archeologist. It’s all she’s ever wanted to be and her life revolves almost exclusively around it. Life is good until her parents are killed in a car accident while they are holidaying in Crete. Her world collapses around her and she leans on close family friends for support. It’s as she starts to re-engage with the world that she is suddenly pursued by Patrice while in Paris. He’s a much older man who apparently wants to show her she might be wrong about a few things in life. Then there’s Jack, who also seems to have…