Month: June 2020

Lord Shallow by Eileen Putman

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Lord Shallow (League of Rogues, #2)Lord Shallow by Eileen Putman

Tracy’s rating: 2.5/3 of 5 stars

Series: League of Rogues, #2

Release Date: May 20, 2020

Warning – this review might be considered spoilerish!

After reading and thoroughly enjoying the first book in this series (King of Hearts) I was eager to jump right into this book. The blurb was a bit vague and mentioned a secret marriage, but I didn’t really give it much thought – I should have.

This review is going to be short and I am not going to summarize the plot – such as it is – If you have ever read my reviews you know that I am a hater of cheating/adultery – when I read “secret marriage” I foolishly thought that it would be with the heroine – NOPE – Sebastian is married to his dear friend Elizabeth – HE IS MARRIED. I was surprised and disappointed, but I tried to keep an open mind, because despite being attracted to Gwynna, he does nothing that would be considered “cheating”, in fact at the halfway point he is still committed to Elizabeth and his marriage – it isn’t until the truth of his marriage comes to light that he and Gwynna have any sort of “romance” – so pretty late in the story.

The writing is good, but I just didn’t care for the story. There is some intrigue, a bit of betrayal and A LOT of secondary characters. And just because the main characters don’t have a romantic relationship from the beginning, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t any romance – there are other relationships swirling about and because of that sadly, I never felt like Sebastian and Gwynna’s relationship was the primary romance. This is the second book in the series, but they seem to be stand alone titles, so you don’t need to read them in order.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.*

The Grim Reader by Kate Carlisle

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Mystery2 Comments

The Grim Reader (Bibliophile Mystery, #14)Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Bibliophile Mystery #14
Publication Date: 6/2/20
Number of Pages: 336

This is a wonderful series and this book just adds to it. It is well-written, well-plotted, and the characters – both main and supporting – are superb. You’d love to meet them all in person and become friends with them. Brooklyn Wainwright, a bookbinder and restoration expert and her drool-worthy, security expert husband, Derek Stone, have their mothers to protect as well as multiple murders to solve in this story.

It has long been a dream of Brooklyn’s to have a book festival in her hometown of Dharma, and her mother, Rebecca, has worked for the last two years to make that happen. The festival is within a few days of beginning when Brooklyn and Drake arrive from San Francisco where they now live. Brooklyn is bubbling with excitement and can hardly wait for it to begin. Yet, when they head into town to pick her mother up from a planning committee meeting, they witness a large, burly man harassing and threatening her. While Rebecca deals with him and doesn’t let him cow her, Brooklyn and Derek worry that it could lead to more. When more harassment occurs and a dead body is found in the committee room, they go into high gear to protect Rebecca.

Their chief suspect is the nasty businessman, Jacob Banyan, who continues to harass Rebecca. But, as more clues are discovered, more attempts on Rebecca’s life are made, and yet another body is discovered, they have more suspects than they know what to do with.

Is embezzlement at the bottom of crimes, or is it the first edition of Little Woman that Brooklyn is restoring – or is it something else altogether? You’ll just have to read this delightful mystery, meet all of the suspects, and figure it out for yourself. Can there be more than one perpetrator?

In addition to the crimes to solve, we get a delightful visit with both Brooklyn’s and Derek’s delightful families. Brooklyn’s parents are deadheads from the sixties who followed Guru Bob to the Sonoma Valley and set about creating their own community, Dharma. They are all now very wealthy and well-respected members of the community – even though Rebecca still gets into karma, chakra’s, spirit cleansing, etc. You’ll love them. If you get the chance, be sure to read the series from the beginning so you can get to know and learn to appreciate all of the cast of characters.

If you are looking for a delightful read, this is the one for you. Happy solving!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.