Month: June 2025

A Daughter’s Guide to Mothers and Murder by Dianne Freeman

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, Part of a Series, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

A Daughter's Guide to Mothers and Murder (A Countess of Harleigh Mystery, #8)Barbara’s rating: 3.7 out of 5 Stars
Series: Countess of Harleigh Mystery #8
Publication Date: 6/24/25
Period: Victorian – Paris
Number of Pages: 304

George and Frances Hazelton are back in Paris to enjoy their interrupted honeymoon and to refresh themselves after solving a murder in Deauville. Goodness, a lot is going on in Paris – the Exposition that we thoroughly explored in the last book, and the Olympics that we learn a bit about in this book. So many people – so many potential victims. 😊

As Frances and George enjoy their time together, Frances is approached by a frenemy, Alicia Stoke-Whitey, who seeks Frances’s assistance in investigating Carlson Deaver, who is trying to court her daughter. At the same time, George is approached by Inspector Daniel Cadieux, from the Sûreté, to assist them in following up on new leads in an old murder case. Are the cases related – you bet! 😊 The new clue is to the year-old murder of Isabelle Deaver, wife of Carlson Deaver – and the person who provided the clue is none other than the famous actress, Sarah Bernhardt.

The mystery is excellently done with twists, turns, and red herrings galore. While we are all down a rabbit hole with several clues, another murder happens. Can that one be related to the first murder? More suspects, more clues, and Frances and George have to unravel it all – and they do it with a surprising ending.

I thoroughly enjoyed all of the supporting characters in the book, especially the close friends and family of George and Frances. Frances’s mother was particularly enjoyable in this book and quite different from previous books. What I did not enjoy was the amount of infidelity in the book. It almost seemed as if every male character was unfaithful. It got to the point where I read a new male character’s name and started looking for where it would be mentioned that he was unfaithful. It was too much! I was waiting for George to be accused of being unfaithful. I didn’t enjoy all the infidelity, and hope it isn’t a trend. One unfaithful character (male or female) is enough for any book.

If you enjoy an excellent mystery with a set of clues that twist and turn, then set it all upside down, you will enjoy this book.

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

View all my reviews

Never Run From An Immortal by Victoria Price

On By TracyIn Check Content Warning/Triggers, New To Me Author, Paranormal / Fantasy, Part of a Series, Romantasy, Tracy's Reviews2 Comments

Never Run From An Immortal (Immortals #1)Never Run From An Immortal by Victoria J. Price

Tracy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Immortals, #1

Release Date: June 17, 2025

With people disappearing at random, tensions are running high in Demesia, the factions at odds and no one sure who is responsible for the disappearances. Rae Farren is a witch with a plan and a lot of secrets, but when her employee and dear friend witch Nimala “Nim” and her fae boyfriend Reed go missing, Rae knows she needs help. She turns to the Vampire Lord, Aidan Vale and makes a deal – she will help find his lost magic and he will help her find Nim. But to make it believable, Aidan insists they marry, making her his “odalik”. That is fine by Rae, as long as she has access to his resources and he stays out of her mind and her bed.

Aidan Vale knows Rae is hiding something, but he too has secrets and has his own plan for the future of Demesia. But implementing his plan is no easy task, despite being the leader of the Vampire faction, and de facto ruler of Demesia, there is always someone trying to kill him so they can take his place. Add to that the missing people, his missing magic and his inconvenient attraction to his wife and it is clear that Aidan has a lot on his plate. He tries to stay focused on his own plan, but there is something huge going down and his wife is smack in the middle of it.

I have mixed feelings about this book; I was sucked in by the blurb and thought the author did a great job with world building. But it was not an easy book to get into – there are a lot of characters and different types of characters, as well as different types of each type – it is a lot to grasp. I also felt like the author was a bit stingy releasing information to the reader about the character’s secrets, thoughts and their pasts. I also had a hard time connecting with Rae – there is so much anger in her, but the reader doesn’t really understand why until almost the end of the book. And OMG, the ending, to say I felt disappointed would be an understatement. Overall, I did like the book, I was completely invested in the story, and I will definitely be impatiently waiting for the next installment.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *