This was an excellent writing week! I wrote four book reviews: The Secret Thread, by Eve Chase, Cursed Ever After, by Andy C. Naranjo, When Dealing with Dragons, by Dana Swift, and Witch Season, by Julia Bianco.
Happy writing!
Category: books
Book Review: The Secret Thread, by Eve Chase
Title: The Secret Thread
Author: Eve Chase
Genre: Mystery/thriller
Rating: 4 out of 5
Even the darkest secrets unravel in time. . . .
2024: Jo O’Mara, a young writer, lands a job working for Mimi Mott, a wealthy style icon and legendary founder of a decorating empire. Newly widowed and in her seventies, Mimi is preparing to auction off her possessions, through them finally telling the story of her early life. Famously private, Mimi has kept her past shrouded in mystery. Jo doesn’t dare reveal how closely it touches her own.
Tasked with collecting the untold tales behind each auction lot, Jo peels back the layers of Mimi’s origin story and discovers it’s far darker than anyone ever suspected.
1969: Mimi and her sister, Pamela, live in a cramped, musty staff cottage on the grounds of Rushwood, an idyllic English country estate owned by the Caswell family, their demanding new employer. Working alongside their gardener parents, the girls have been raised with their hands in the soil and know only a traditional, simple life—but spirited Mimi hungers for more.
When the Caswells’ adult children, Nancy and Lawrence, arrive at Rushwood for the summer, the sisters are drawn into a privileged, intoxicating world, unsettling their own, and passions spark under the blazing sun—until a shattering death at Rushwood’s high-society party tears Mimi and Pamela apart.
Now time is running out. Jo discovers both a missing auction piece and a missing sister and vows to find them no matter how dark the secret they expose—or the cost to herself.
This was a fascinating read! I loved Miriam’s/Mimi’s POV in the ‘60s, and I also loved Jo’s timeline in the present day. I did not much like younger Pamela, however older Pamela was great. I was pretty much enthralled with this from the very beginning, through its twists and turns, its dark days, the glimmers of hope and sunlight. Everything woven together until the complete pictured merged together in the light of the present.
Eve Chase is a bestselling author. The Secret Thread is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Ballantine | Ballantine Books in exchange for an honest review.)
Book Review: Scandal of the Summer, by Alexandra Vasti
Title: Scandal of the Summer
Author: Alexandra Vasti
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3.8 out of 4
Eccentric heiress Lady Ruby Ballimore has had enough of the Marriage Mart. After offending yet another Very Important Marquess―and imperiling her father’s diplomatic career―Ruby flees London for the holiday house of a glamorous (and better yet, absent) princess. Armed with a forged invitation and accompanied by her like-minded friends, Ruby arrives at the Cornwall estate expecting a summer of blissful freedom.
Instead, she discovers a derelict mansion and the most suspiciously charming man she’s ever met.
Former privateer and current con artist Captain Malcolm Archer has dragged his ramshackle crew into a new life. Posing as staff at a princess’s abandoned estate provides the perfect cover for Archer’s smuggling scheme (not to mention free rent). Everything’s going according to plan―until an unorthodox London heiress crashes the party.
But when Archer and his crew attempt to frighten off their uninvited guests, Ruby’s unfazed by insect invasions and sham sea monsters. Harder to ignore? The scorching heat between the rakish pirate and the debutante who can see right through him. As sparks fly, deceptions run wild―because in this Great Cornish Fake Off, the only thing riskier than telling the truth is falling in love.
This was a decent romance read that delivered exactly what I expect from an Alexandra Vasti novel: a quirky heroine who’s “different” from everyone and who society judges, a hero who seems cranky/bad but has a heart of gold, solid female friendships…As always, the friendships were my favorite part. This was a quick read that I had no issues with, but that also didn’t deliver any surprises.
Alexandra Vasti lives in New Orleans. Scandal of the Summer is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press | St. Martin’s Griffin in exchange for an honest review.)
Sundays are for Writing #375
I only wrote two book reviews this week, Scandal of the Summer, by Alexandra Vasti and The Secret Thread, by Eve Chase. Just…too tired to read much, much less actually write anything.
Happy writing!
Book Review: The Chateau on Sunset, by Natasha Lester
Title: The Chateau on Sunset
Author: Natasha Lester
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
After her parents’ deaths, Aria Jones is sent to live with her reclusive starlet aunt at the Chateau Marmont, the hotel on Hollywood Boulevard with a notorious reputation.
Left alone to wander the hotel, Aria sees everything-all the ways people wheel and deal for fame. But the Marmont isn’t meant for young girls with big hearts, and Aria discovers an insidious secret that will haunt her childhood.
As she matures, she finds solace in the hotel’s library. Her sole goal is to be as inconspicuous as possible. Until one day, the hotel is sold to mysterious rock star Theo Winchester and his troubled daughter, Adele. Will Aria realize there’s more to life than being invisible?
This ended up being such a wonderful read! Poor Aria lost her parents and then got thrown into the deep end of craziness in Hollywood—with no road map. I found life in the hotel to be fascinating and horrifying, too. Lots of strong, vivid characters that I loved reading about, mixed with the ugliness of the casting couch era. I loved seeing Aria grow and change and become such a strong woman who can help and inspire other women.
Natasha Lester is a bestselling author. The Chateau on Sunset is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Ballantine | Ballantine Books in exchange for an honest review.)
Book Review: The Stargazer of Nantucket, by Julie Gerstenblatt
Title: The Stargazer of Nantucket
Author: Julie Gerstenblatt
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Massachusetts, 1851
Winifred Starbuck wants only one to join her parents on their final merchant voyage—from Nantucket Island to bustling San Francisco, then across the glittering Pacific to the distant ports of China. Yet renowned trade captains Nell and Peter Starbuck have forbidden their daughter from coming aboard on the adventure of a lifetime. So Winnie does what any strong-willed eighteen-year-old would, she stows away.
Once the ship sets sail, Winnie is plunged into turbulent waters, treachery, and the thrill of life on the high seas. As she drifts farther from shore, and closer to fabled Canton port, she uncovers a long-buried secret—one that reveals the truth behind her parents’ desperate fear. And as she continues to chart her own course, she’ll have to plumb the depths of her courage to take on a world far bigger—and more dangerous—than she ever imagined.
This wasn’t a bad read, but I found it a bit unrealistic. I just can’t imagine Winnie’s parents not only being okay with her mixing in with the crew on the ship, but actively supporting her working shifts and doing everything the crew does. No, sorry, not buying it. That’s probably why I didn’t like this more, because that was so far-fetched, the rest of it didn’t really matter.
Julie Gerstenblatt lives in Rhode Island. The Stargazer of Nantucket is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Harlequin Trade Publishing | Park Row in exchange for an honest review.)
Sundays are for Writing #374
This was an okay writing week. I wrote my May reading post, my best books I read in May, and wrote a book review for The Stargazer of Nantucket, by Julie Gerstenblatt.
Happy writing!
Book Review: The Unicorn Hunters, by Katherine Arden
Title: The Unicorn Hunters
Author: Katherine Arden
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5 out of 5
Anne of Brittany was a child when her realm was invaded, her home besieged, and her royal father driven to his death.
Now her treasury is empty, her land occupied by her enemies, and she is ordered, under threat of renewed war, to become queen of her conquerors and marry the King of France.
This marriage means her country’s annexation. But Anne promised her father that Brittany would never be conquered.
Defiantly, she betroths herself in secret to France’s greatest enemy. But in a world where courts may spy on each other by magic, there is only one way to solemnize this illicit union.
Anne takes her court deep into a legendary forest, where the court diviners’ skill cannot reach. The world thinks they are only a hunting party, coursing after unicorns. But that is a lie, a trick, a feint. No one in living memory has seen a unicorn. All Anne wants is this secret wedding, which is her only hope of salvation.
But when against all hope a unicorn appears and a stranger out of legend stumbles from the trees and falls at her feet, Anne is plunged into a world of enchantment where a doomed sovereign might find the power to change her own and her country’s destiny—or be lost in the shadows forever.
This was a lovely fantasy/historical fiction read! I truly loved reading Anne’s story and this wonderful fictional twist. Anne was a great character, and the supporting characters were also believable to read. I really enjoyed all aspects of this, and found Katherine Arden’s writing to be as beautiful as always.
Katherine Arden was born in Austin. The Unicorn Hunters is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore | Del Rey in exchange for an honest review.)
Book Review: My Roman Summer, by Bruna De Luca
Title: My Roman Summer
Author: Bruna De Luca
Genre: YA
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Sixteen-year-old Scottish-Italian Livia feels like an outsider, working in her ailing grandmother’s bar in Rome. Smug local boy, Guilio, works there too, and quickly becomes Livia’s nemesis. She is not going to be the cliché foreign girl who has a summer romance. But as Livia navigates family drama, newfound friendships and… Giulio, she starts to see the city (and herself) in a new light.
This was a quick, fun, read, but nothing unexpected. It all resolved about like I expected—with the added bonus of great scenery and lovely little local details. Lots of family drama and teenage angst, but this was an entertaining, cute read.
Bruna De Luca lives in Scotland. My Roman Summer is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Scholastic | Chicken House in exchange for an honest review.)
Book Review: The Heirs, by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Title: The Heirs
Author: Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Genre: Mystery/thriller, YA
Rating: 4.0 out of 5
Octavius the Maestro.
Fola the Brain.
Bilal the Olympian.
Perdita the Artist.
Romeo the Failure.
These are the five heirs of the illustrious billionaire Leontes Button. Adopted and viciously trained with their father’s infamous “Button Method” to prove his hypothesis for creating prodigies—child geniuses—the Button siblings have had no choice but to be brilliant according to their father’s impossibly high standards.
Until he is murdered at his annual Prodigy Ball.
Now, all who attended the ball are required to stay in the Button Manor while the police investigate. But the officers have their work cut out for them—each of the Button siblings has something to hide, but The Heirs aren’t the only ones with secrets. After all, Leontes Button was especially good at making enemies. . .
This felt a tiny bit like The Inheritance Games—except I liked all the heirs in those books. This? Not so much. Romeo was the only one here I actually liked. The other four I was ambivalent about at best. Leontes Button was obviously a horrible person, so I didn’t feel bad for him. This was an interesting sort of closed-room mystery with lots of red herrings, but it didn’t take me long to read and it held my interest. As long as you’re not expecting terribly likable characters, you should be good.
Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé is a bestselling author. The Heirs is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group | Feiwel & Friends in exchange for an honest review.)
Tomorrow Is Another Day 