authentic reviews and insightful interviews for inquisitive readers
Another roundup of several smaller reviews I wrote in Summer 2025. Beware of spoilers! Title: The Otherwhere Post Author: Emily J. Taylor Series: n/a Thank you to Emily J. Taylor, Penguin, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Apologies for this review being overdue. Something felt off to me the entire time I listened to this audiobook. I think I didn’t get oriented on the time period or worldbuilding quite right …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper I Died for Beauty by Amanda Flower is the last Emily Dickinson book of the series. Not They Who Soar is the second book of the Katharine Wright series. I Died for Beauty has Emily Dickinson and her maid Willa investigating a fire in Amherst, 1857. As Amherst families attempt to keep their homes warm, fears of fire abound because of one of the worst winters in New England’s history. In the Irish community …
A roundup of several more small reviews I wrote in Spring 2025. Beware of spoilers! Title: A Most Extraordinary Pursuit Author: Juliana Gray Series: Emmaline Truelove #1 I liked Emma well enough, but there was a lot going on. 1. She inexplicably sees and converses with dead people; I think the intent is for her to wrestle with her conscience Jiminy Cricket-style, but it comes across more like she’s having full-on hallucinations. Frequently. 2. People are inexplicably moving through time, …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper An Unquiet Peace by Shaina Steinberg brings back the partners Evelyn Bishop and Nick Gallagher, who are now engaged. Not only are readers treated to the cases Evelyn and Nick are working on but also see the role their wedding will play in the story. The first book, Under the Paper Moon, shows how Nick and Evelyn fell in love during the war while working together as OSS partners, only to break up over …
Title: Bull Moon Rising Author: Ruby Dixon Series: Royal Artifactual Guild #1 MUCH thanks to Ruby Dixon, Berkley, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. I’m a recent Ruby Dixon fan, and I knew I wanted to read this book the moment I first read the premise and saw the pretty cover last year. Life happened and I wasn’t able to read it right away when it came out last fall, …
A roundup of several smaller reviews I wrote in Spring 2025. Beware of spoilers! Title: Perfect Fit Author: Clare Gilmore Series: n/a Thank you to Clare Gilmore, RB Media, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free eaudio ARC in exchange for an honest review. I didn’t intentionally DNF at 82%, but life interrupted and circumstances are preventing me from finishing it. I enjoyed what I did read, though. Josie and Will are wonderful, sympathetic characters with relatable …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The Only Light in London by Lily Graham is a heart-wrenching story. It delves with loneliness, love, endurance and compassion. The plot has a Jewish journalist, Sebastien, in Germany, needing to escape to London before he is captured. He must leave behind his sister and parents, hoping that they will join him soon. Alone and grieving his family left behind, he joins a local amateur dramatics group. When Sebastien enters the meeting place, he …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The Librarians of Lisbon by Suzanne Nelson is a fast-paced roller coaster ride of deceit, espionage, and danger inspired by real historical figures. The setting of Lisbon plays a significant role because Portugal was a neutral country filled with espionage, romance, and friendship. The main characters are two Boston librarians, Selene Delmont and Beatrice Sullivan, who are trained by the U.S. Office of Strategic Services (precursor to CIA) and assigned to work in Lisbon. …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The Last Fashion House in Paris, by Renee Ryan, is a companion novel to both The Widows of Champagne and The Paris Housekeeper. This story is more historical suspense than romance and the relationship in this book between the lovers takes a backseat to the platonic relationship between the women. It is about women community where the characters are mentors, friends, sisters, and mothers. They show strength, tenacity, solidarity and resilience in WWII Nazi …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Two Weddings and a Murder by Alyssa Maxwell is a great historical cozy mystery. Readers will be sad to learn this is the last book in the series. The book opens with the wedding of Phoebe Renshaw and Owen Seabright. Her lady’s maid, Eva Huntford, is distraught and worried that her boyfriend, Police Constable Miles Brannock, is not in attendance. After he finally appears, he brings the bad news that Chief Inspector Isaac Perkins …