Author: Barbara

Avid reader/reviewer of historical romance and historical mysteries.

Mr. Malcolm’s List by Suzanne Allain

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Regency Era (1811-1820)Leave a comment

Mr. Malcolm's ListMy rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Publication Date: 7/28/20
Number of Pages: 256

This was a fun and entertaining read from a new-to-me author. She brings the whole range of emotions into it – I giggled, I teared up, I sighed – it was a really nice read. I will mention that it is not in the least steamy, so if you like steam, you won’t get it here. Since I just love a good romance – with or without steam – it was good for me. The writing is good, the characters are pretty well-developed, and the plot was mostly tight and excellently paced.

I believe this is a re-release as the author mentions that she enjoyed being able to go watch the filming of the movie made from it. You’ll like the characters – even the baddies aren’t really so bad. Plus, you get two romances for the price of one, so you can’t go wrong there.

Jeremy Malcolm is one buttoned-up dude! He’s rich, handsome, and has his own estate. If he were female, he’d be a diamond-of-the-first-water. He’s decided it is time to marry, but he is very, very, particular, and has a list of qualifications his bride must meet. Can anyone live up to that perfection? When he fails to pursue one female in particular, she decides to have her revenge on him. Imagine him embarrassing her by not at least calling the following day after escorting her to the opera.

Selina Dalton is the daughter of a vicar. She is very sweet, giving, caring, and very beautiful. She’s been working as a lady’s companion to an older friend of her mothers until the lady died. With her future unsure, she decides to write to a friend from school – and then hope for an invitation to visit London. She could return home to her parents, but that isn’t what she wants to do – at least not right now. When the invitation from her friend arrives, Selina has no clue it comes with some very tightly laced strings.

Now, you must be wondering why this isn’t a 5-star rating for me. The character development – especially for Julia and Cassie – just wasn’t there. For Julia, it was like there was a line down the middle of the book – on one side she was one person and on the other side, she was a different person. For Cassie, well, I felt sorry for him as it seemed his only character trait was that of a buffoon. Anyway, I enjoyed the story – even with Jeremy annoying me regularly.

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

Deadlock by Catherine Coulter

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Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 Stars

Series: FBI Thriller #24
Publication Date: 7/28/20
Number of Pages: 480

I can hardly believe it is the twenty-fourth book in the series and it is just as exciting and interesting as the first book – and I have read all of them. The book, as always, is very well-written, well-paced, and well-plotted. Savich and Sherlock are, yet again, in the cross-hairs of a psychopath who is very cunning and bent on revenge. What nefarious plans does the psycho have in store for them? Oh! You’ll just really need to read the story to find out. As with most of these books, we have two stories to follow – with multiple agents involved – which means it is a very busy read – and I love that!

The ’main’ story involves a psychopath bent on revenge against Savich because he has her locked up for attempted murder. She plans and executes a complex scheme to rob Savich of everything that gives his life meaning. It will take all of Savich and Sherlock’s skills along with a couple of new characters, Agent Pippa Cinelli and Police Chief Wilde, to thwart the plot and see that justice prevails.

The secondary story revolves around a lovely young art forgery expert, a medium, a dead lawyer, a dead congressman, and huge family secrets. Rebekah Clarkson Manvers, an art forgery expert, and wife of a congressman twice her age has absolutely no clue there are secrets in her family. She isn’t close to either her mother or her grandmother, but she and her grandfather were very close and she still misses him every day. When a medium, Zoltan, calls Rebekah to ask to meet with her because Rebekah’s grandfather has been contacting her and really wants to speak with her, Rebekah is skeptical, but agrees. What follows is a head-spinning series of events that reveal deadly secrets that can and will team a family apart.

If you love mystery and suspense, you’ll love this series. As soon as I finish a book in the series, I start counting the days until it is time for the release of the next. They are always great reads and this addition to the series is certainly no exception to that. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

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