strange and random happenstance

Silverwolf by Jacey Bedford
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: January 3rd, 2017
Format: Paperback, 432 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Will's ghost has been laid to rest and Ross feels like her life with Corwen is about to begin. And when you entwine your life with another you entwine yourself with their family as Corwen well knows after his escapades with Ross's family. Corwen has been estranged from his family, the Deverells of Denby Hall, Yorkshire, for many years. They couldn't come to grips with the fact that he turns into a wolf. Yet he always made sure they could contact him. And they finally have. Though perhaps a little later than they should have. A lot has changed in six years, his little sister Lily and his twin brother Freddie both turned out to be shapechangers as well, and in December their eldest brother Jonathan died resulting in their father having an apoplexy. Freddie should have stepped into the breach left by Jonathan's death but instead he fled to friends in London and now hasn't been heard from in four months. There's been no one to hold the family estate together and there's trouble at the mill. But first things first, the widow Rossalinde Sumner must be introduced to the family as Corwen's fiance. Which is an oddly joyous greeting and homecoming, with only some minor recriminations. Perhaps Corwen's father regrets how they ended things? With very little ability to communicate their problems might never be resolved, but Corwen can at least show his family that he is up to the task at hand. First there's the mill, which is being unscrupulously run, which Lily takes into hand. Then there's the bigger problem of Freddie... He was trying to reject his true nature, a dangerous undertaking. When they arrive at his lodgings in London they can see something bad has happened. With the rowenkind free and wild magic on the loose Walsingham has risen from the ashes to harness this new threat to his own advantage. Can they save Freddie from Walsingham's clutches? And if they do can they then save him from himself?

When the average reader thinks of Regency England they think of Jane Austen. More well read readers might also throw in Georgette Heyer and Julia Quinn. But these women all wrote about a very specific echelon of society. Everyone is, for the most part, financially secure, or at least has the prospects to be secure. In other words, it doesn't really reflect society as a whole it was a very specific slice of Regency life. It would take authors like Dickens and Gaskell to actually shine a light on the working class and the poor. And yet the Industrial Revolution which is so associated with their works was already underway. Which is why I so love this second volume in Jacey Bedford's Rowankind series, because it doesn't just draw on the drawing room aspect of society that was so often written about. In fact I would more associate this book with Elizabeth Gaskell than with Jane Austen. I couldn't help compare Silverwolf to Mary Barton and North and South. Very favorably I might add. We get to see the plight of the workers, the treatment of the rowankind, and an actual effort made to improve the lives of those who are dependent on the Deverell family. This volume is Downton Abbey meets Elizabeth Gaskell, or, because it's all about family drama in Yorkshire, this is Jacey Bedford doing her Barbara Taylor Bradford Emma Harte saga! I never wanted this book to end. But more importantly I could have just stayed at Denby Hall forever. I do love a big country house and a family business and compassionate people, but so many times they are a pale carbon copy of something truly original. And yes, for as much as I love Downton Abbey, it's just Upstairs, Downstairs in Yorkshire with a nicer house that's actually not in Yorkshire. Downton Abbey literally lifts plot points left and right. This world that Jacey Bedford has created is just so original and new. Old themes seen in a different light. And I just think I talked myself into re-reading this volume again. I seriously loved it so much, plus if someone were to ask what I was reading I could respond "trouble at t'mill" which everyone who's anyone knows that that's the start of Monty Python's Spanish Inquisition Sketch. And if there's one thing I love as much as family sagas, it's Monty Python.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Barbara Taylor Bradford, Corwen, Downton Abbey, Elizabeth Gaskell, Georgette Heyer, Jacey Bedford, Jane Austen, Julia Quinn, Mary Barton, North and South, Regency Magic, Ross Tremayne, Silverwolf, Yorkshire

When Queen Charlotte was announced I honestly think that I was more excited to see it than I was another season of Bridgerton. I have many issues with Bridgerton. Many. Mostly musical. In fact almost none of my issues involve the cast, which is lucky because several of them appear in Queen Charlotte as a "current" framing device, which honestly, aside from two heartbreaking scenes in the final episode they could have done without. But I have a feeling Shonda Rhimes might be playing the long game and was sneaking in a backdoor pilot to a new series starring Lady Danbury and Violet Bridgerton. Because as Lady Danbury so succinctly puts it, the likes of Lady Whistedown don't talk about the likes of them. Older women and their needs and their stories aren't talked about, they are fed on gossip and forgotten, which I heartily agree with and will agree with even faster if I never have to hear about euphemistic gardens ever again. As for the rest of the show? I'm of two minds. Part of me loved every single second of it, they obviously had a bigger budget, which apparently couldn't stretch to original music, please, seriously, stop it with the bad covers, but another part of me is seriously questioning the underlying meaning of the show. While this show is all about love conquering all, even mental illness, there's this other message that everything is in service to the King. The Queen loves the King, that I do not doubt, but her way of sacrificing all else for him means that she lost out on connecting with her children. She is a good Queen, but not a good mother, which is where the "current" storyline is important. But it undercuts this message that love conquers all. The dynastic push that George will live on is heartbreaking because it takes the journey we've been on and makes it transactional. Get wife get heir. And while their story starts out that way they find love. We don't see this happening with any of her children, which is why I think they should have been left out. The vision would have been clearer had they taken one concept and told it perfectly. And that one concept should have been love conquers all. Because Charlotte's love for George is all that matters in the end, much like George's mother loves him, and in a wonderful secondary plot how Brimsley loves Reynolds. This is what matters, love. And hella amazing acting. Seriously, I know Yellowjackets has really raised the bar on casting when it comes to the same character at different ages, but I really think that India Amarteifio takes it to a whole other level. I think that she and Golda Rosheuvel might be the same person at different ages. It's uncanny. But in the end, would I watch another season? Again, more willingly than Bridgerton but honestly I'm more excited to read the book and see how Julia Quinn put her spin on it.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: And the Emmy Goes To, Bridgerton, Brimsley, Dynasty, George III, Golda Rosheuvel, India Amarteifio, Julia Quinn, Lady Danbury, Love, Mental Illness, Queen Charlotte, Shona Rhimes, Violet Bridgerton, Yellowjackets

Silverwolf by Jacey Bedford
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: January 3rd, 2017
Format: Paperback, 432 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Will's ghost has been laid to rest and Ross feels like her life with Corwen is about to begin. And when you entwine your life with another you entwine yourself with their family as Corwen well knows after his escapades with Ross's family. Corwen has been estranged from his family, the Deverells of Denby Hall, Yorkshire, for many years. They couldn't come to grips with the fact that he turns into a wolf. Yet he always made sure they could contact him. And they finally have. Though perhaps a little later than they should have. A lot has changed in six years, his little sister Lily and his twin brother Freddie both turned out to be shapechangers as well, and in December their eldest brother Jonathan died resulting in their father having an apoplexy. Freddie should have stepped into the breach left by Jonathan's death but instead he fled to friends in London and now hasn't been heard from in four months. There's been no one to hold the family estate together and there's trouble at the mill. But first things first, the widow Rossalinde Sumner must be introduced to the family as Corwen's fiance. Which is an oddly joyous greeting and homecoming, with only some minor recriminations. Perhaps Corwen's father regrets how they ended things? With very little ability to communicate their problems might never be resolved, but Corwen can at least show his family that he is up to the task at hand. First there's the mill, which is being unscrupulously run, which Lily takes into hand. Then there's the bigger problem of Freddie... He was trying to reject his true nature, a dangerous undertaking. When they arrive at his lodgings in London they can see something bad has happened. With the rowenkind free and wild magic on the loose Walsingham has risen from the ashes to harness this new threat to his own advantage. Can they save Freddie from Walsingham's clutches? And if they do can they then save him from himself?

When the average reader thinks of Regency England they think of Jane Austen. More well read readers might also throw in Georgette Heyer and Julia Quinn. But these women all wrote about a very specific echelon of society. Everyone is, for the most part, financially secure, or at least has the prospects to be secure. In other words, it doesn't really reflect society as a whole it was a very specific slice of Regency life. It would take authors like Dickens and Gaskell to actually shine a light on the working class and the poor. And yet the Industrial Revolution which is so associated with their works was already underway. Which is why I so love this second volume in Jacey Bedford's Rowankind series, because it doesn't just draw on the drawing room aspect of society that was so often written about. In fact I would more associate this book with Elizabeth Gaskell than with Jane Austen. I couldn't help compare Silverwolf to Mary Barton and North and South. Very favorably I might add. We get to see the plight of the workers, the treatment of the rowankind, and an actual effort made to improve the lives of those who are dependent on the Deverell family. This volume is Downton Abbey meets Elizabeth Gaskell, or, because it's all about family drama in Yorkshire, this is Jacey Bedford doing her Barbara Taylor Bradford Emma Harte saga! I never wanted this book to end. But more importantly I could have just stayed at Denby Hall forever. I do love a big country house and a family business and compassionate people, but so many times they are a pale carbon copy of something truly original. And yes, for as much as I love Downton Abbey, it's just Upstairs, Downstairs in Yorkshire with a nicer house that's actually not in Yorkshire. Downton Abbey literally lifts plot points left and right. This world that Jacey Bedford has created is just so original and new. Old themes seen in a different light. And I just think I talked myself into re-reading this volume again. I seriously loved it so much, plus if someone were to ask what I was reading I could respond "trouble at t'mill" which everyone who's anyone knows that that's the start of Monty Python's Spanish Inquisition Sketch. And if there's one thing I love as much as family sagas, it's Monty Python.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Barbara Taylor Bradford, Corwen, Downton Abbey, Elizabeth Gaskell, Georgette Heyer, Jacey Bedford, Jane Austen, Julia Quinn, Mary Barton, North and South, Regency Magic, Ross Tremayne, Silverwolf, Yorkshire

Queen Charlotte by Julia Quinn and Shonda Rhimes
Published by: Avon Books
Publication Date: May 9th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 350 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From #1 New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn and television pioneer Shonda Rhimes comes a powerful and romantic novel of Bridgerton's Queen Charlotte and King George III's great love story and how it sparked a societal shift, inspired by the original series Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, created by Shondaland for Netflix.

"We are one crown. His weight is mine, and mine is his..."

In 1761, on a sunny day in September, a King and Queen met for the very first time. They were married within hours.

Born a German Princess, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was beautiful, headstrong, and fiercely intelligent... not precisely the attributes the British Court had been seeking in a spouse for the young King George III. But her fire and independence were exactly what she needed, because George had secrets... secrets with the potential to shake the very foundations of the monarchy.

Thrust into her new role as a royal, Charlotte must learn to navigate the intricate politics of the court... all the while guarding her heart, because she is falling in love with the King, even as he pushes her away. Above all she must learn to rule, and to understand that she has been given the power to remake society. She must fight - for herself, for her husband, and for all her new subjects who look to her for guidance and grace. For she will never be just Charlotte again. She must instead fulfill her destiny... as Queen."

I am literally more excited for this book and the accompanying series than I am for the new season of Bridgerton.

The House on Prytania by Karen White
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: May 9th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A woman is haunted - both literally and figuratively - by ghosts of the past in this second novel of the Royal Street series by New York Times bestselling author Karen White.

Nola Trenholm may not be psychic herself, but she's spent enough time around people who are to know when ghosts are present, and there are definitely a few lingering spirits in her recently purchased Creole cottage in New Orleans. Something, or someone, is keeping them tethered to this world. And not all of them are benign.

But with the sudden return of Sunny Ryan, Beau Ryan's long-lost sister, Nola has plenty to distract her from her ghostly housemates. Especially when the tempting - yet firmly unavailable - Beau, wanting to mete out justice to those he blames for Sunny's kidnapping, asks Nola for a favor that threatens to derail her hard-won recovery and send her hurtling backward. He asks her to welcome Michael Hebert back into her life, even though Michael is the reason for Nola's bruised heart. Beau is convinced that Michael's powerful family was behind Sunny's disappearance and that Michael is the key to getting information the police won't be able to ignore - if Nola is willing to risk everything for which she's worked so hard.

Torn between helping Beau and protecting herself, Nola doesn't realize until it's almost too late why the ghosts are haunting her house - a startling revelation that will throw her and Beau together to fight a common enemy. Assuming Nola can get Beau to listen to what the spirits are trying to tell him, because ignoring them could prove to be a fatal mistake..."

Always listen to the ghosts. Always.

The Prodigal Women by Nancy Hale
Published by: Library of America
Publication Date: May 9th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 875 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Rediscover the sensational 1942 bestseller that unveiled the Jazz Age as women lived it.

Ranging from posh Beacon Hill to go-go New York City to stately Virginia, a sweeping coming-of-age story of three women's lives, loves, and ambitions in the 1920s, '30s and '40s.

Set in Boston, New York, and Virginia, The Prodigal Women tells the intertwined stories of three young women who come of age in the Roaring Twenties, not flappers and golden girls but flesh-and-blood female protagonists looking wearily - and warily - at the paths open to women in a rapidly changing world.

Leda March, "frantic with self-consciousness and envy and desire," is the daughter of poorer relations of a prominent Boston family and an aspiring poet torn between an impulse to conformity and the pursuit of personal freedom. Betsy Jekyll, newly arrived with her family from Virginia, becomes Leda's closest childhood friend, bringing a beguiling new warmth and openness into the New Englander's life. But Betsy soon abandons Boston to land a job at a fashion magazine and enjoy life as a single woman in New York before falling in love with - and marrying - an abusive, controlling man. Betsy's older sister, Maizie, a Southern belle idolized by the two younger friends and pursued by numerous men, grows tired of "running around" and fatefully looks for happiness in marriage to a turbulent artist.

When The Prodigal Women was published in 1942, its uncompromising portrayal of women's shifting roles, open sexuality, and ambivalence toward motherhood made it a succèss de scandale, spending twenty-three weeks on the New York Times Best Sellers list. Now Library of America restores Nancy Hale's lost classic to print with a new introduction by Kate Bolick exploring how the novel measures "the gap between what liberation looks like, and what it actually is.""

A look at the truth of the Jazz Age as written at the time and restored to us by Library of America.

The Nightingale Affair by Tim Mason
Published by: Algonquin Books
Publication Date: May 9th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The New Victorian Detective Thriller from the Author of The Darwin Affair.

Tim Mason's gripping new novel finds Inspector Charles Field hunting a ruthless serial killer who is terrorizing Florence Nightingale and her nurses in Crimea in 1855. But when the main suspect turns up dead, Field determines the case is closed. Or is it? Twelve years later in London, amidst the turmoil surrounding the expansion of voting rights, Field discovers a woman's body, mouth covered by the killer's signature embroidered rose. Did Field suspect the wrong man before, or is he dealing with a copycat? Either way, with his own family now at risk, he must race against time to stop the killer before more bodies turn up.

Populated with real figures of the day, from Benjamin Disraeli to Florence Nightingale herself, The Nightingale Affair offers vivid details, surprising twists, and an unforgettably creepy villain. A stand-alone novel, perfect for fans of Charles Finch's Victorian detective stories."

A serial killer targeting Florence Nightingale? Yes please!

Sepulchre Street by Martin Edwards
Published by: Head of Zeus an Aries Book
Publication Date: May 9th, 2023
Format: Kindle, 380 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"How can you solve a murder before it's happened?

'This is my challenge for you,' the woman in white said. 'I want you to solve my murder.'

London, 1930s: Rachel Savernake is attending renowned artist Damaris Gethin's latest exhibition, featuring live models who pose as famous killers. But that's just the warm-up act...

Unsure why she was invited, Rachel is soon cornered by the artist who asks her a haunting favour: she wants Rachel to solve her murder. Damaris then takes to the stage set with a guillotine, the lights go out - and Damaris executes herself.

Why would Damaris take her own life? And, if she died by her own hand, what did she mean by 'solve my murder'?

There are many questions to answer, and the clues are there for those daring enough to solve them...

Rachel Savernake faces her most puzzling murder yet in this glamorous gothic mystery from the winner of the CWA Diamond Dagger. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Richard Osman."

I mean, armchair detectives that we are, our blood runs hot at the idea of being asked to solve a murder by the victim themselves right?

Playing It Safe by Ashley Weaver
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: May 9th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The third in the Electra McDonnell series from Edgar-nominated author Ashley Weaver, Playing It Safe is a delightful World War II mystery filled with spies, murder, romance, and wit.

As the Blitz continues to ravage London, Ellie McDonnell - formerly a safecracking thief, but currently determined to stay on the straight and narrow to help her country - is approached by British Intelligence officer Major Ramsey with a new assignment. She is to travel under an assumed identity to the port city of Sunderland and there await further instructions. In his usual infuriating way, the Major has left her task as vague and mysterious as possible.

Ellie, ever-ready to aid her country, heads north, her safecracking tools in tow. But before she can rendezvous with the major, she witnesses an unnatural death. A man falls dead in the street in front of her, with a note clutched in his hand. Ellie's instincts tell her that the man's death is connected in some way to her mission.

Soon, Ellie and the major are locked in a battle of wits and a race against time with an unknown and deadly adversary, and a case that leads them to a possible Nazi counterfeiting operation. With bombs dropping on the city and a would-be assassin shadowing their every move, it will take all of Ellie's resourcefulness and Major Ramsey's fortitude to unmask the spymaster and avert disastrous consequences - for England and for their own lives."

I don't generally read WWII books, Ashley Weaver is the exception.

No One Needs to Know by Lindsay Cameron
Published by: Bantam
Publication Date: May 9th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When an anonymous neighborhood forum gets hacked, the darkest secrets of New York's wealthiest residents come to light - including some worth killing for - in this gripping suspense novel from the author of Just One Look.

It was all confidential. Right up to the moment when it wasn't.

UrbanMyth: It was lauded as an alternative to the performative, show-your-best-self platforms - an anonymous discussion board grouped by zip code. The residents of Manhattan's exclusive Upper East Side disclosed it all, things they would never share with their friends or their spouses: secret bank accounts, steamy affairs, tidbits of juicy gossip. The same people who, as parents, go to astonishing lengths to ensure that their children gain admission to the most prestigious boarding schools and universities. So when a "hacktivist" group breaks into the forum and exposes the real identity of each poster, the repercussions echo down Park Avenue with a force that none could have anticipated.

And someone ends up dead.

Is the murderer Heather, the outsider who would do anything to get her daughter into the elite's good graces and into their even better schools? Norah, the high-powered executive failing to balance work with the emotional responsibilities of motherhood? Or Poppy, whose perfect-on-the-outside façade conceals more than her share of secrets?

Each of them has something to hide.

Each of them will do anything to keep secrets hidden.

And each of them just might kill to protect their own."

Seeing as I live for the gossip and fighting on my neighborhood Facebook group, this book was written for me!

This Is the Way the World Ends by Jen Wilde
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: May 9th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Fans of One of Us Is Lying and The Hazel Wood are cordially invited to spend one fateful night surviving an elite private school's epic masquerade ball in Jen Wilde's debut thriller, This Is the Way the World Ends.

As an autistic scholarship student at the prestigious Webber Academy in New York City, Waverly is used to masking to fit in - in more ways than one. While her classmates are the children of the one percent, Waverly is getting by on tutoring gigs and the generosity of the school's charming and enigmatic dean. So when her tutoring student and resident "it girl" asks Waverly to attend the school's annual fundraising Masquerade disguised as her, Waverly jumps at the chance - especially once she finds out that Ash, the dean's daughter and her secret ex-girlfriend, will be there.

The Masquerade is everything Waverly dreamed of, complete with extravagant gowns, wealthy parents writing checks, and flowing champagne. Most importantly, there's Ash. All Waverly wants to do is shed her mask and be with her, but the evening takes a sinister turn when Waverly stumbles into a secret meeting between the dean and the school's top donors - and witnesses a brutal murder. This gala is harboring far more malevolent plots than just opening parents' pocketbooks. Before she can escape or contact the authorities, a mysterious global blackout puts the entire party on lockdown. Waverly's fairy tale has turned into a nightmare, and she, Ash, and her friends must navigate through a dizzying maze of freight elevators, secret passageways, and back rooms if they're going to survive the night.

And even if they manage to escape the Masquerade, with technology wiped out all over the planet, what kind of world will they find waiting for them beyond the doors?"

Gossip Girl goes Escape from L.A.! 

I'm Not Supposed to Be in the Dark by Riss M. Neilson
Published by: Henry Holt and Company
Publication Date: May 9th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the author of Deep in Providence comes a paranormal young adult romance that follows a teen convinced that her best friend-turned-enemy is possessed by a ghost, perfect for fans of White Smoke and Twilight.

Seventeen-year-old Aria Cayetano dreams of ghosts. She used to see them too, but thanks to a special tea brewed by her grandfather, Aria's connection to the spirit world has been severed. Until a decades old rosebush suddenly dies across the street, convincing Aria that something supernatural is happening in her neighborhood.

She aches to investigate it, but the rosebush sits on her ex-best friend Derek Johnson's front lawn, and she can't question him because he hates her now. Aria doesn't know what drove them apart years ago, but she does know Derek's been acting strange for weeks, sneaking out in the dead of night to who knows where.

Then, days after the rosebush dies, Derek begins speaking to her again. At least Aria thinks it's him. Until she discovers there's a ghost inside of Derek that will take his life if it doesn't find what it's searching for.

As Aria and Derek race to uncover the mystery, another kind of magic takes them by surprise: love. But Aria has to decide how far she's willing to go to save Derek, especially when helping the ghost means tapping into whatever the tea has buried inside of her.

Bone-chilling and spellbinding, I'm Not Supposed to Be in the Dark is an alluring ghost story that's about exorcising the past to find a future to believe in."

Always here for a good ghost story!

To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose
Published by: Del Rey Books
Publication Date: May 9th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 528 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A young Indigenous woman enters a colonizer-run dragon academy - and quickly finds herself at odds with the "approved" way of doing things - in the first book of this brilliant new fantasy series.

The remote island of Masquapaug has not seen a dragon in many generations - until fifteen-year-old Anequs finds a dragon's egg and bonds with its hatchling. Her people are delighted, for all remember the tales of the days when dragons lived among them and danced away the storms of autumn, enabling the people to thrive. To them, Anequs is revered as Nampeshiweisit - a person in a unique relationship with a dragon.

Unfortunately for Anequs, the Anglish conquerors of her land have different opinions. They have a very specific idea of how a dragon should be raised, and who should be doing the raising - and Anequs does not meet any of their requirements. Only with great reluctance do they allow Anequs to enroll in a proper Anglish dragon school on the mainland. If she cannot succeed there, her dragon will be killed.

For a girl with no formal schooling, a non-Anglish upbringing, and a very different understanding of the history of her land, challenges abound - both socially and academically. But Anequs is smart, determined, and resolved to learn what she needs to help her dragon, even if it means teaching herself. The one thing she refuses to do, however, is become the meek Anglish miss that everyone expects.

Anequs and her dragon may be coming of age, but they're also coming to power, and that brings an important realization: the world needs changing - and they might just be the ones to do it."

Indian boarding schools via Game of Thrones. 

Our Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: May 9th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Historical fiction with a dark twist in the spirit of Circe, Ariadne, and Mexican Gothic, Our Hideous Progeny is a brilliant revisiting of Mary Shelley's classic Frankenstein that unfolds with a fresh, provocative, queer twist.

It's 1853 London, and former medical student Victor Frankenstein has been missing for years. Inspired by his brilliance and daring, his great niece Mary Saville and her husband, Henry, are determined to follow in Victor's scientific footsteps. Both are intelligent and determined, yet they lack the reputation necessary to be recognized among the British Empire's most renowned paleontologists. Though Mary is admired for her sharp mind, her fierce tongue and Henry's gambling addiction hinder endorsement by their peers.

But after uncovering clues to her great uncle's disappearance, Mary devises a plan to realize her ambitions. Like Victor Frankenstein did long ago, she and Henry will create life. No one will be able to ignore their achievement - the scientific community must accept them if they succeed.

When they construct their Creature, Henry's ambition soars, yet Mary finds herself contemplating disturbing questions - and unexpected feelings - she cannot ignore. As Henry's desire for fame grows, Mary must decide how far she will go to protect this Creature - the hideous progeny - she has grown to love."

A Mary Shelly twist worthy of Penny Dreadful!

The Department of Truth by James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds
Published by: Image Comics
Publication Date: May 9th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 520 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Cole Turner has studied conspiracy theories all his life, but he isn't prepared for what happens when he discovers that all of them are true: the JFK Assassination, Flat Earth Theory, Bigfoot, Mothman, and so much worse. One organization has been covering them up for generations, controlling the narrative for what they claim is the greater good. What is the deep, dark secret behind the Department of Truth - and will learning it destroy Cole's life from the inside out? The first three arcs of the critically acclaimed series by Eisner Award-winning writer James Tynion IV (Something is Killing the Children, The Nice House on the Lake) and art Martin Simmonds (Dying is Easy) are collected here for the first time in deluxe hardcover format. Experience...The Complete Conspiracy. Collects The Department of Truth #1-#17."

Love James Tynion IV and quite enjoyed Martin Simmonds's art on Dying is Easy. So this is a must buy.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Ashley Weaver, Bridgerton, C.E. McGill, James Tynion IV, Jen Wilde, Julia Quinn, Karen White, Lindsay Cameron, Martin Edwards, Moniquill Blackgoose, Nancy Hale, Queen Charlotte, Riss M. Neilson, Tim Mason

It's in His Kiss by Julia Quinn
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: June 28th, 2005
Format: Paperback, 399 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Gareth St. Clair has one person in all the world whom he loves, that is his maternal grandmother Lady Danbury. His father would publicly declare Gareth a bastard if it wouldn't make himself look like a cuckold. But now that Gareth's older brother has died and he is to inherit, one would think things might change. Well they do, but not because of his father, because of Hyacinth Bridgerton. Much like Gareth, Hyacinth is a darling of Lady Danbury's. In fact they really are the only two. Which is why they are sitting next to each other at the Smythe-Smith Musicale. An evening of "entertainment" that Lady Danbury insists they go to because someone needs to cheer those poor Smythe-Smiths on. And for the first time in memory Hyacinth didn't hate the evening. Could it be because of Gareth? She's being continually hounded to get married, and she's under no delusions that it's because her family wishes to be ride of her. She knows she can be a bit much, but no one has ever even come close to getting near her heart. But is that because, as her mother says, she won't let anyone in? Well, the last person she'd let in is Gareth St. Clair. He's a hardened rake. Hyacinth has heard ALL the stories from his grandmother. Yet there's something about him. Something that is different. The next day, a Tuesday, Hyacinth is reading Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron to Lady Danbury as she does every week when Gareth arrives and interrupts the two lamenting the heroine's fate. Gareth has just come into possession of his paternal grandmother's diary which his brother left him. He's dying to know what it says, perhaps she knew his real father! But the problem is the diary is in Italian. Hyacinth happens to mention she knows Italian, perhaps overstating her skills a little just to impress him. But she offers to have a go and is instantly obsessed with Isabella's life and a secret she held, a cache of diamonds she never told her husband about. Gareth and Hyacinth become frantic in their search for the jewels. Could there be a better revenge on his father than stealing the jewels out from under him? Perhaps marrying Hyacinth, the girl his father said would never accept him. Unless that is exactly what his father wants...

Hyacinth, as the youngest Bridgerton, hasn't played much of a role in the previous volumes due to her age. From Colin's book onward we've had hints that she's rather a handful with a love of gossip and an unguarded tongue she seems to share more DNA with Lady Danbury than she does with the Bridgertons. She's the sibling whom Anthony longs to have off his hands as, all things considered, while her family loves her, she's a bit of a nightmare. And this, right here, is why I so heartily love Hyacinth. Yes, she puts on a strong front and knows it's important, nay, imperative to always be yourself, but she knows that she can be "too much" for some people and I can so relate to this that it's painful. It took me a long time to find friends whom I could be myself around. Friends who didn't think I was too loud, or too enthusiastic, or just too much. It's painful when you know your faults are an intrinsic part of yourself. I have tried to be quiet, I've tried to tone myself down, but it's frustrating to the point of tears sometimes to feel that the world just doesn't get you. And when Hyacinth's mother had a rather frank conversation about her muchness that told the truth but blunted the sting with so much love and admiration for her daughter amongst the frustration I too cried. Why can't Violet be my mother? I've had the truth handed to me in harsh ways and to have someone love you enough to express the truth through love instead of through vindictiveness just makes me love this book all the more. And the fact that Hyacinth finds love with Gareth just makes me happy, because he loves her because she's different and outspoken and just Hyacinth. And as for Gareth, well, this might be the only Bridgerton novel where I connected with both halves of the couple completely. I totally related to his desolation that there was just one person in the world who loves him and whom he loves. That small unit can be scary. That one connection so fierce yet so fragile. Dammit, now I think I'm going to cry again. Thankfully whenever I feel maudlin I just have to remember how much Lady Danbury is in this volume. Dammit, she's just awesome. Her love of purple prose and romance underneath all that snark just adds another layer of perfection to someone I already thought damn perfect to start with.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Gareth St. Clair, Hyacinth Bridgerton, Illegitimate, It's in His Kiss, Italian, Julia Quinn, Lady Danbury, Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron, Purple Prose, Rake, Regency Romp, Sarah Gorley, Smythe-Smith Musicale

When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: June 29th, 2004
Format: Paperback, 404 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Francesca Bridgerton made a perfect match. She and John Sterling, the Earl of Kilmartin, were made for each other. And Francesca got her dream come true, her own home, her own family. John's cousin Michael even became her best friend. Michael is a notorious rake and she loves to ask him about his wicked ways. Little does she know that he would give it all up for her. The second he set eyes on her he was lost. She was his everything, but he knew he could never have her. And when John dies suddenly he can't help thinking that some greater power is playing the world's cruelest trick on him because yes, he wants Francesca but not like this, never like this. He never wanted John's life or his title so bad to live in a world without John. So he leaves for India and doesn't look back, and in one fell swoop Francesca lost her husband and her best friend. Therefore she did what she had to do, she took up not only the mantel of Countess but that of Earl and runs Kilmartin for the husband and friend she lost. Four years later Francesca comes to a realization. She wants a baby. Of course for that to happen she needs a husband. She's not even sure she can have a baby, John and her were together for two years and she miscarried after his passing. It seems a hassle to go to the work of getting a husband when she just wants a baby, but she has made up her mind and therefore sets off from Scotland earlier than usual to London to go husband hunting. As it happens Michael arrives in London at the same time as Francesca and despite the years that have passed he still loves her as he ever did. Why did she have to come to London early? Why does she have to be on the marriage market? Why can't she be his? He searches his soul and the bottom of a lot of bottles but oddly it's Colin Bridgerton who breaks through when he explains that Michael has the right to be happy. What's more, doesn't Francesca? He could give her the child she wants and she wouldn't even have to love him just be his wife. But what if they could have it all?

With a long running series it's hard to keep it fresh. Just look to Lisa Kleypas's wallflower series. She started with a set four books in mind and by Scandal in Spring had obviously run out of ideas. Here Julia Quinn has set up a series double Kleypas's in length in order to make sure all the Bridgertons get their happily ever afters and yet with the sixth book she has created perhaps one of the strongest and most unique entries in the series so far. In the previous two volumes we have gotten hints about what has been going on in Francesca's life, perhaps the least discussed Bridgerton, and it was quite shocking to find out secondhand that she had not only gotten married by that she was already widowed. Where do we go from here? We go into perhaps the most relatable and affecting of the Bridgerton series. When He Was Wicked is about love and loss and guilt and it was a melancholy tale about taking a second chance at life and love. It was about coming to terms with what has passed and finding a way to forgive yourself for wanting to move on and find happiness. At times I was moved to tears by the way Francesca and Michael handled their grief over John and their desire to love again. Romance is usually just escapism and wish fulfillment, but here I found something more, something relatable. But of course no book is perfect so there was one aspect I really didn't relate to and that's Francesca's desperate need for a child. Children are a complicated issue, as Daphne saw with her Duke. There are people who want them, people who have them and don't want them, people who can't have them, people who choose not to have them, so many different kinds of people, and yet romance tends to lean very heavily to people wanting babies. I'm sorry, but I don't feel that my entire purpose on this planet is to breed and sometimes, just sometimes, it pisses me off that romance books think that I am wrong because it's not what I want. And I get Francesca and I are in different situations, she grew up in a large family and there's the familial bond and it makes sense that she wants a baby. I just want it acknowledged that not everyone wants one. Or can be talked around to wanting one, like the Duke.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Babies, Bridgerton, Colin Bridgerton, Daphne Bridgerton, Francesca Bridgerton, Grief, Julia Quinn, Kilmartin, Lisa Kleypas, Michael Sterling, Regency Romp, Scandal in Spring, Scotland, When He Was Wicked

On the Way to the Wedding by Julia Quinn
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: June 27th, 2006
Format: Paperback, 048 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy

Anthony is the closest thing to a father that Gregory has ever had. So Anthony is giving him some flack. Not only has Gregory arrived late for his sister-in-law's house party but he has apparently made no decision on what he's going to do with his life, maybe he'll marry, or hem and haw about a career to get Anthony to leave him alone for awhile longer. Sure being a forth son has it's limitations, but Gregory has always assumed that whatever life had planned for him he'd know it when he saw it. Just like he knows that one day he'll see the love of his life and the rest will take care of itself. He just didn't expect it to happen right after talking to Anthony. He sees her back, the curve of her neck, the spun gold of her hair, and he is ruined for anyone else. The problem is the woman he has fallen in love with, Hermione Watson, also believes in love at first sight because she experienced it with her father's secretary whom she is hoping her parents will let her eventually marry if her heart remains true. Gregory and Hermione have eerily similar beliefs on love, which Hermione's best friend, Lady Lucinda Abernathy, is shocked to discover. She's not shocked that yet another man has instantly fallen for Hermione, she's seen it a hundred times. She's shocked that she wants to help Gregory. Gregory is the perfect man and Hermione's parents will never let her marry a secretary, so why shouldn't Lucy help Gregory? If he could just behave differently than any of Hermione's previous suitors, perhaps he'll have a chance. And, despite all of Hermione's objections to open up her mind to the possibility of an advantageous match she actually flutters a little for Gregory. The problem is she flutters for Lucy's brother more. So now Hermione is going to be Lucy's sister and Gregory is left brokenhearted. Or at least he should be but he finds that he isn't. He finds himself thinking of Lucy. Only Lucy is engaged to Lord Haselby. An engagement that went from "practically" to "now" faster than she could have wished. But she's always wished for the match with Lord Haselby, why should she be questioning it now? Could it be because of a Bridgerton?

Now that I have officially read all the Bridgerton books I can safely say there is a distinct pattern to how they are written. The first half of the book is the setup, the meet cute, the initial obstacles, and the second half of the book switches up the narrative to move away from the setup to how are these two crazy kids going to work it out and get into bed. Sometimes the bed comes before they work it out, because Bridgertons seem to be OK with being compromised because they know they'll get their happily ever after. Because they are, despite Lucy's observations, in a romance after all. And yes, I'm sure this division of the narrative is common in romances, but here it's very much a blueprint. The problem is sometimes the back end of the book fits perfectly with the front, but sometimes it just don't. Like here. The house party, Lucy and Gregory scheming, all that was wonderful, and then it went off the rails. I mean, in general, romance has a certain level of suspension of disbelief. Not everyone gets a duke and a happy ending, their just aren't enough dukes to go around. But when you compromise the heroine's best friend, find out her own fiance is secretly gay, that her wedding to him is because her future father-in-law is blackmailing the family, and that that ties into selling secrets to the French during the Napoleonic Wars, oh and then she goes through with the marriage only to have it annulled, but first there's kidnapping and drawn pistols, you're left wondering what the hell are you reading. This was all over the place. Seriously, I'm thinking Hyacinth's obsession with finding jewels and Eloise marrying a man she'd never met weren't that far-fetched anymore. I mean, now that I've read the book I can't see it having a different back half, I just wish I could go back to before, before I knew what happened when I was still totally in love with this book and try to think of what I wanted to happen. Yes, I knew there was going to be the wedding and the big Dustin Hoffman moment from The Graduate, but I just wish it had felt less far-fetched. I think maybe I'm taking this too hard because I just so strongly relate to Lucy. I'm always saying "I'm sorry" and doing what's better for others than myself and I have totally been the ignored best friend, so maybe I'm taking it too personally. Or maybe I just need some blackmail and drawn pistols in my life? Oh dear, I hope not.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Arranged Marriage, Bridgerton, Eloise Bridgerton, Gregory Bridgerton, Hermione Watson, Hyacinth Bridgerton, Julia Quinn, Lady Lucinda Abernathy, On the Way to the Wedding, Regency Romp, Romance, The Graduate

Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron by Julia Quinn and Violet Charles
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: May 10th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 160 Pages
Rating: ★★
To Buy

Priscilla Butterworth's luck has never been the best. She was born in a small town the day before the pox arrived. She lost almost her entire family. Her mother and grandmother mercifully survived and then thrived turning the family coffin business into a hostelry. But everything went downhill one day when Priscilla was almost killed by a wild boar. A kindly older man saved her but sadly died in an attempt to vault over the boar to save himself. His two grandsons were devastated by the loss while Priscilla was soon to regret her survival as her mother was carted off to prison due to tax evasion. At least Priscilla had her grandmother she thought. She did try to always look on the bright side. But her grandmother had a secret, she was dying of consumption. Therefore she sent Priscilla to live with family, her brother's son's wife. This callous lady wanted nothing to due with Priscilla but decided she and her three daughters could do with a servant and so Priscilla was allowed to stay on. But one day when Priscilla was left behind to clean the house while her family vacationed Priscilla snuck out to see her mother in prison. And she couldn't just leave her there! What kind of daughter would she be? Therefore using a washerwoman's cart she breaks her mother out of prison. They might have nothing but each other but will that stop them? No it won't! They will become pirate queens and sail the high seas and make their fortune! Sadly, that future isn't to come. As they sit under the very tree where Priscilla was saved by that kindly older man from the boar her mother is killed by pigeons. While Priscilla has both her legs broken by a runaway cart. She drags herself and her mother's body back to her relatives and begs to be taken back in. They reluctantly accept and she pays for her keep by keeping bees. But she overhears a plan to do away with her so that the money wasted on Priscilla can go to new dresses. She comes up with an elaborate plan to sell the honey in Brighton but uses the trip to escape, but it's a dark and stormy night when she stumbles on the Baron's estate. And that is when her story and her happily ever after really start.

The origins of this book are both bitter and sweet, much like Priscilla Butterworth's story. Julia Quinn created this book with her younger sister Violet Charles, though Quinn is quick to point out that really, this is Violet's baby. Which makes it all the more sad that she didn't live to see it published, being killed in a car crash last year by a drunk driver along with her father, her beloved dog, and her husband, who died later from injuries sustained in the crash. Just the facts of this book's release have me tearing up. Miss Butterworth's story? Neither in sadness or mirth. Sadly. So who will like this book? Well, the Briderton fans, which are legion, because this book is not for the graphic novel aficionados. The main problem lies in the fact that I'm just not a fan of Violet Charles's artwork. I feel eyes should be where eyes should be and anatomy is important. If this artwork was to succeed the writing needed to be far crisper and over-the-top. Just look to Kate Beaton, she of Hark! A Vagrant fame. Kate Beaton's art is very rough and stylized and yet it just works. Her style and writing fit together like peanut butter and jelly or pastries and gooseberries as the case may be. Whereas Violet Charles's style is cartoonish, and not in a good way. Kind of like Adam Ellis, whose work is good but best in small doses. Or like that Sense and Sensibility graphic novel Marvel released a few years ago which missed the mark so badly and very much because of the art. And this disparity for who will like this book and who won't is problematic for me because I fall on the graphic novel end of the spectrum because I've only been a Bridgerton fan for a year and a graphic novel addict my entire life. I have favorite artists and creators I follow just for the look if not for the story as well. I have high expectations in art and this just didn't float my boat. And as for the story? I kind of wish it had stuck more to what we know the plot was from what Hyacinth and Lady Danbury have said. There needed to be more hills, more than one cliff, and Priscilla needed to be a little stupider and not so resilient. Personally, what I think would fix it would be annotations by Lady Danbury. That would be enough.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Adam Ellis, Graphic Novel, Hark a Vagrant, Hyacinth Bridgerton, Julia Quinn, Kate Beaton, Lady Danbury, Marvel, Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron, Pigeons, Priscilla Butterworth, Regency Romp, Violet Charles

It's in His Kiss by Julia Quinn
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: June 28th, 2005
Format: Paperback, 399 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Gareth St. Clair has one person in all the world whom he loves, that is his maternal grandmother Lady Danbury. His father would publicly declare Gareth a bastard if it wouldn't make himself look like a cuckold. But now that Gareth's older brother has died and he is to inherit, one would think things might change. Well they do, but not because of his father, because of Hyacinth Bridgerton. Much like Gareth, Hyacinth is a darling of Lady Danbury's. In fact they really are the only two. Which is why they are sitting next to each other at the Smythe-Smith Musicale. An evening of "entertainment" that Lady Danbury insists they go to because someone needs to cheer those poor Smythe-Smiths on. And for the first time in memory Hyacinth didn't hate the evening. Could it be because of Gareth? She's being continually hounded to get married, and she's under no delusions that it's because her family wishes to be ride of her. She knows she can be a bit much, but no one has ever even come close to getting near her heart. But is that because, as her mother says, she won't let anyone in? Well, the last person she'd let in is Gareth St. Clair. He's a hardened rake. Hyacinth has heard ALL the stories from his grandmother. Yet there's something about him. Something that is different. The next day, a Tuesday, Hyacinth is reading Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron to Lady Danbury as she does every week when Gareth arrives and interrupts the two lamenting the heroine's fate. Gareth has just come into possession of his paternal grandmother's diary which his brother left him. He's dying to know what it says, perhaps she knew his real father! But the problem is the diary is in Italian. Hyacinth happens to mention she knows Italian, perhaps overstating her skills a little just to impress him. But she offers to have a go and is instantly obsessed with Isabella's life and a secret she held, a cache of diamonds she never told her husband about. Gareth and Hyacinth become frantic in their search for the jewels. Could there be a better revenge on his father than stealing the jewels out from under him? Perhaps marrying Hyacinth, the girl his father said would never accept him. Unless that is exactly what his father wants...

Hyacinth, as the youngest Bridgerton, hasn't played much of a role in the previous volumes due to her age. From Colin's book onward we've had hints that she's rather a handful with a love of gossip and an unguarded tongue she seems to share more DNA with Lady Danbury than she does with the Bridgertons. She's the sibling whom Anthony longs to have off his hands as, all things considered, while her family loves her, she's a bit of a nightmare. And this, right here, is why I so heartily love Hyacinth. Yes, she puts on a strong front and knows it's important, nay, imperative to always be yourself, but she knows that she can be "too much" for some people and I can so relate to this that it's painful. It took me a long time to find friends whom I could be myself around. Friends who didn't think I was too loud, or too enthusiastic, or just too much. It's painful when you know your faults are an intrinsic part of yourself. I have tried to be quiet, I've tried to tone myself down, but it's frustrating to the point of tears sometimes to feel that the world just doesn't get you. And when Hyacinth's mother had a rather frank conversation about her muchness that told the truth but blunted the sting with so much love and admiration for her daughter amongst the frustration I too cried. Why can't Violet be my mother? I've had the truth handed to me in harsh ways and to have someone love you enough to express the truth through love instead of through vindictiveness just makes me love this book all the more. And the fact that Hyacinth finds love with Gareth just makes me happy, because he loves her because she's different and outspoken and just Hyacinth. And as for Gareth, well, this might be the only Bridgerton novel where I connected with both halves of the couple completely. I totally related to his desolation that there was just one person in the world who loves him and whom he loves. That small unit can be scary. That one connection so fierce yet so fragile. Dammit, now I think I'm going to cry again. Thankfully whenever I feel maudlin I just have to remember how much Lady Danbury is in this volume. Dammit, she's just awesome. Her love of purple prose and romance underneath all that snark just adds another layer of perfection to someone I already thought damn perfect to start with.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Gareth St. Clair, Hyacinth Bridgerton, Illegitimate, It's in His Kiss, Italian, Julia Quinn, Lady Danbury, Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron, Purple Prose, Rake, Regency Romp, Sarah Gorley, Smythe-Smith Musicale

When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: June 29th, 2004
Format: Paperback, 404 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Francesca Bridgerton made a perfect match. She and John Sterling, the Earl of Kilmartin, were made for each other. And Francesca got her dream come true, her own home, her own family. John's cousin Michael even became her best friend. Michael is a notorious rake and she loves to ask him about his wicked ways. Little does she know that he would give it all up for her. The second he set eyes on her he was lost. She was his everything, but he knew he could never have her. And when John dies suddenly he can't help thinking that some greater power is playing the world's cruelest trick on him because yes, he wants Francesca but not like this, never like this. He never wanted John's life or his title so bad to live in a world without John. So he leaves for India and doesn't look back, and in one fell swoop Francesca lost her husband and her best friend. Therefore she did what she had to do, she took up not only the mantel of Countess but that of Earl and runs Kilmartin for the husband and friend she lost. Four years later Francesca comes to a realization. She wants a baby. Of course for that to happen she needs a husband. She's not even sure she can have a baby, John and her were together for two years and she miscarried after his passing. It seems a hassle to go to the work of getting a husband when she just wants a baby, but she has made up her mind and therefore sets off from Scotland earlier than usual to London to go husband hunting. As it happens Michael arrives in London at the same time as Francesca and despite the years that have passed he still loves her as he ever did. Why did she have to come to London early? Why does she have to be on the marriage market? Why can't she be his? He searches his soul and the bottom of a lot of bottles but oddly it's Colin Bridgerton who breaks through when he explains that Michael has the right to be happy. What's more, doesn't Francesca? He could give her the child she wants and she wouldn't even have to love him just be his wife. But what if they could have it all?

With a long running series it's hard to keep it fresh. Just look to Lisa Kleypas's wallflower series. She started with a set four books in mind and by Scandal in Spring had obviously run out of ideas. Here Julia Quinn has set up a series double Kleypas's in length in order to make sure all the Bridgertons get their happily ever afters and yet with the sixth book she has created perhaps one of the strongest and most unique entries in the series so far. In the previous two volumes we have gotten hints about what has been going on in Francesca's life, perhaps the least discussed Bridgerton, and it was quite shocking to find out secondhand that she had not only gotten married by that she was already widowed. Where do we go from here? We go into perhaps the most relatable and affecting of the Bridgerton series. When He Was Wicked is about love and loss and guilt and it was a melancholy tale about taking a second chance at life and love. It was about coming to terms with what has passed and finding a way to forgive yourself for wanting to move on and find happiness. At times I was moved to tears by the way Francesca and Michael handled their grief over John and their desire to love again. Romance is usually just escapism and wish fulfillment, but here I found something more, something relatable. But of course no book is perfect so there was one aspect I really didn't relate to and that's Francesca's desperate need for a child. Children are a complicated issue, as Daphne saw with her Duke. There are people who want them, people who have them and don't want them, people who can't have them, people who choose not to have them, so many different kinds of people, and yet romance tends to lean very heavily to people wanting babies. I'm sorry, but I don't feel that my entire purpose on this planet is to breed and sometimes, just sometimes, it pisses me off that romance books think that I am wrong because it's not what I want. And I get Francesca and I are in different situations, she grew up in a large family and there's the familial bond and it makes sense that she wants a baby. I just want it acknowledged that not everyone wants one. Or can be talked around to wanting one, like the Duke.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Babies, Bridgerton, Colin Bridgerton, Daphne Bridgerton, Francesca Bridgerton, Grief, Julia Quinn, Kilmartin, Lisa Kleypas, Michael Sterling, Regency Romp, Scandal in Spring, Scotland, When He Was Wicked

To Sir Phillip, With Love by Julia Quinn
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: July 1st, 2003
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy

Eloise loves to receive letters. She is smart enough to know that in order to receive one must give. So she's always jotting off notes to friends and family. Her hands are perpetually covered in ink as the words flow unimpeded from her hand much as they do from her mouth. Conversation and discussion are her very lifeblood. Therefore taking up a correspondence with her distant cousin Marina's widower after Marina's passing isn't that untoward. The importance Sir Phillip Crane's letters become in her life is surprising. And then he offers to marry her. He doesn't say it's because he just wants to have a happy wife and someone to look after his kids while he putters about in his greenhouse. He just assumes that Eloise still being unwed she would naturally want to avoid being a spinster and offers for her. With conditions, because he doesn't expect a woman from London to come to the wilds of Gloucestershire and marry him sight unseen. He suggests he has a chaperone come to Romney Hall and accompany her for a few weeks to see if they will suit. But then Eloise's brother marries her best friend and her world is turned upside down. So instead of writing to Sir Phillip that she is coming she just arrives on his doorstep. And neither is what the other expected. Sir Phillip thought he'd meet a demure spinster, instead he meets the woman of his dreams, until she opens her mouth and starts talking a mile a minute. This is definitely a woman who hasn't lacked suitors, in fact she's turned down more than a handful of them. Eloise knew nothing of his children, the terrors of the county, but thankfully she has so many nieces and nephews she knows how to handle children. Even if they decide to wage war on her the second they see her. But the main problem is her showing up unannounced means there's no chaperone. Every minute she stays Eloise is risking her and Sir Phillip being wed whether they wish it or not. And there is hope they will suit. Eloise is good with the kids, he is good with the kissing. But once her family descends on them... Well, things rapidly get out of hand. Especially as they assumed she had been kidnapped. Eloise did leave a note. She always does! She just didn't think it would be misplaced and the chaos that was enveloping her life would spread. But maybe things will all work out. Maybe.

Eloise's story is part The Parent Trap part Jane Eyre. It's occasionally cringeworthy, funny, horrifying, boring, and sexy with everyone getting their happily ever after except Marina. And that is my problem with To Sir Phillip, With Love, Marina, AKA Bertha by another name. She was a very sad and depressed woman who took her life. Yet she is little more than just a plot device to bring Eloise and Phillip together and because of that she lacks a voice. She isn't understood. She is handled almost callously. She was depressed and now she's gone so let's move on. There was a part of me that was crying out for her to have her own Wide Sargasso Sea moment. I wanted to see what happened to her through her eyes, not those of a detached male. The problem for me then becomes rooted in a conundrum; do I want the characters to handle mental illness as it was viewed then or as it was viewed when this book first came out. And added to that is how much mental health has even changed in the almost twenty years since this book was released. Mental illness historically wasn't well treated, just look what England did to their own King. So at least Marina wasn't in an asylum. Which means the real problem I have is with Phillip, who just seemed to give up. Fans of his, and I don't know who you are, would say, oh, but he jumped into the lake to save her, and what about when he vents to Eloise in front of Marina's portrait of all he claims to have done. I say too little too late. Julia Quinn was trying to walk back the insensitivity of a man who is all about himself. Yes, maybe Marina was so depressed nothing Phillip could have done would have helped her. But I see a man who locked himself in a greenhouse and shut out the world instead of trying to face what he didn't want to face. Personally I think my husband just leaving me in a room with the curtains drawn while he's more concerned about his plants would make me depressed too! What's more he ignores his children, not even knowing they are being abused, because again, he doesn't want to deal with that. And then he's so self-centered he plans to marry to have a happy wife who will take care of everything he doesn't want to deal with. And as for the criteria of a "happy" wife? That is horrible and putting a heck of a lot of pressure on your spouse. They MUST be happy! But all's well, because Eloise is happy and Marina is written off as someone who was sad her whole life so Phillip gets what Phillip wants. Phillip is an ass. And yet still not nearly as annoying as Benedict.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Bertha Mason, Compromised, Correspondence, Depression, Eloise Bridgerton, Jane Eyre, Julia Quinn, Marina Crane, Mental Illness, Regency Romp, Sir Phillip Crane, Suicide, The Parent Trap, To Sir Phillip With Love

Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: July 1st, 2002
Format: Paperback, 408 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Yet another season in London. Nothing ever changes and boredom reigns. Lady Whistledown reports on the goings on of the ton, but it doesn't really seem like much is actually going on. Colin Bridgerton has returned from his latest sojourn abroad, but he will never be caught by the scheming mamas, he's too clever, and thus the status quo remains. So Lady Danbury rashly declares a bounty on Lady Whistledown. 1,000 pounds to whomever unmasks the writer! This puts everyone on high alert. Anything you say might be taken as a clue. Any odd behavior could signal you out. The mob mentality holds sway over the ton and Colin is worried. He's worried because he has an inkling he knows who Lady Whistledown is. Given whom Lady Whistledown reports on it's obvious that she, or he, is a member of the ton. What's more Lady Whistledown really does tend to talk about Colin, a lot. Which makes Colin think it has to be someone he knows. His sister Eloise has been acting suspicious. There's no doubt she has the brains and skill to pull this off. In fact all his younger sister are quite devious, it could be any one of them. So he turns to his dear friend Penelope. She's the only one he can think of who will listen to him and not think him insane. But Penelope seems different since his time abroad. She's more assured of herself. It's almost as if he's never really seen her before. Now that he has, the confirmed bachelor has more than just Lady Whistledown on his mind. And when Penelope asks for her first kiss he obliges and everything changes. Colin wants Penelope to be his. But while he's trying to get his mind around this life altering realization the odious Lady Twombley, formerly Cressida Cowper, announces that she is Lady Whistledown. No one believes it. She's too mean, she's too thick, she's too broke. And that's the key, she's scheming because she needs money and if she "unveils" herself who is to contradict her? Will the real Lady Whistledown stand up or will Penelope have her heart broken in more ways than one? Because to think that Lady Whistledown is Cressida breaks Penelope's heart in two. If only there was a Bridgerton to mend it...

You have to applaud Julia Quinn. She drew out the reveal of who Lady Whistledown is until the forth book in her series and yet it didn't feel unnecessarily drawn out. It felt right. So this is the book you've all been waiting for, Colin and Pen and the unmasking of Lady Whistledown. Or if you watched the first season of Bridgerton you already know who Lady Whistledown is. This was the main reason why I wanted to read the books before the series. I wanted to know how the author intended the reveal to happen before it was hastily shoved into the first season of the show because it would be too cruel to make a television audience wait. Because you just know that that was the first change they insisted on making as they mucked up the plot to make it that weird fairy tale amalgam where Dukes are telling young debutantes how to masturbate. In other words, I have issues with the adaptation. And for all my due diligence I was still spoiled on the big reveal. How you ask? Because I stupidly read an article about how the Featheringtons were inspired by the Kardashians and the "real" Lady Whistledown responded to Kim Kardashian and that as we say is that. I mean, it didn't say in big bold letters, THIS IS LADY WHISTLEDOWN, but it still spoiled it. Just another reason to hate the Kardashians. But now that my mini rant is over I'm trying to think how to write this review without spoiling if for those two people who don't know who Lady Whistledown is, because I don't want to be a Kardashian for you! OK, maybe if I ignore the Lady Whistledown reveal altogether and just say that the "hunt" led by Lady Danbury was pure comedy gold. Yes. I can say that because you don't necessarily know who they caught! Yes yes, semantics. But really, it's comedy gold. I love Landy Danbury so much. She reminds me of my grandmother. As for the romance, Colin! Pen! Finally! They are just a perfect couple. The whole friends become lovers trope played right. Because we as readers have always loved Pen and in several instances probably overly identified with her and her unrequited love. To see Colin finally SEE her and understand her and come to love her... Well, it brings me all the happy feels. And isn't that what reading Julia Quinn is all about?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Adaptation, Bounty, Bridgerton, Colin Bridgerton, Eloise Bridgerton, Julia Quinn, Kardashian, Lady Danbury, Lady Whistledown, Penelope Featherington, Regency Romp, Romance, Spoiled, Spoiler, Ton, Unmasking, Writer

Siren Queen by Nghi Vo
Published by: Tordotcom
Publication Date: May 10th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
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The official patter:
"From award-winning author Nghi Vo comes a dazzling new novel where immortality is just a casting call away.

It was magic. In every world, it was a kind of magic.

"No maids, no funny talking, no fainting flowers." Luli Wei is beautiful, talented, and desperate to be a star. Coming of age in pre-Code Hollywood, she knows how dangerous the movie business is and how limited the roles are for a Chinese American girl from Hungarian Hill - but she doesn't care. She’d rather play a monster than a maid.

But in Luli's world, the worst monsters in Hollywood are not the ones on screen. The studios want to own everything from her face to her name to the women she loves, and they run on a system of bargains made in blood and ancient magic, powered by the endless sacrifice of unlucky starlets like her. For those who do survive to earn their fame, success comes with a steep price. Luli is willing to do whatever it takes - even if that means becoming the monster herself.

Siren Queen offers up an enthralling exploration of an outsider achieving stardom on her own terms, in a fantastical Hollywood where the monsters are real and the magic of the silver screen illuminates every page."

THE author of last year brings us some Golden Age Hollywood that's magical. Literally.

The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian
Published by: Doubleday
Publication Date: May 10th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
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The official patter:
"A luxurious African safari turns deadly for a Hollywood starlet and her entourage in this riveting historical thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of The Flight Attendant.

Tanzania, 1964. When Katie Barstow, A-list actress, and her new husband, David Hill, decide to bring their Hollywood friends to the Serengeti for their honeymoon, they envision giraffes gently eating leaves from the tall acacia trees, great swarms of wildebeests crossing the Mara River, and herds of zebras storming the sandy plains. Their glamorous guests - including Katie’s best friend, Carmen Tedesco, and Terrance Dutton, the celebrated Black actor who stars alongside Katie in the highly controversial film Tender Madness - will spend their days taking photos, and their evenings drinking chilled gin and tonics back at camp, as the local Tanzanian guides warm water for their baths. The wealthy Americans expect civilized adventure: fresh ice from the kerosene-powered ice maker, dinners of cooked gazelle meat, and plenty of stories to tell over lunch back on Rodeo Drive.

What Katie and her glittering entourage do not expect is this: a kidnapping gone wrong, their guides bleeding out in the dirt, and a team of Russian mercenaries herding their hostages into Land Rovers, guns to their heads. As the powerful sun gives way to night, the gunmen shove them into abandoned huts and Katie Barstow, Hollywood royalty, prays for a simple thing: to see the sun rise one more time. A blistering story of fame, race, love, and death set in a world on the cusp of great change, The Lioness is a vibrant masterpiece from one of our finest storytellers."

And this is classic Hollywood in Africa!

Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak
Published by: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: May 10th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
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The official patter:
"From Jason Rekulak, Edgar-nominated author of The Impossible Fortress, comes a wildly inventive spin on the classic horror story in Hidden Pictures, a supernatural thriller about a woman working as a nanny for a young boy with strange and disturbing secrets.

Fresh out of rehab, Mallory Quinn takes a job as a babysitter for Ted and Caroline Maxwell. She is to look after their five-year-old son, Teddy.

Mallory immediately loves it. She has her own living space, goes out for nightly runs, and has the stability she craves. And she sincerely bonds with Teddy, a sweet, shy boy who is never without his sketchbook and pencil. His drawings are the usual fare: trees, rabbits, balloons. But one day, he draws something different: a man in a forest, dragging a woman’s lifeless body.

Then, Teddy’s artwork becomes increasingly sinister, and his stick figures quickly evolve into lifelike sketches well beyond the ability of any five-year-old. Mallory begins to wonder if these are glimpses of a long-unsolved murder, perhaps relayed by a supernatural force.

Knowing just how crazy it all sounds, Mallory nevertheless sets out to decipher the images and save Teddy before it’s too late."

I got chills just reading the description!

The Beloved by Harriet Evans
Published by: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: May 10th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
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The official patter:
""It's a funny old house. They have this ceremony every summer...There's an old chapel, in the grounds of the house. It's half-derelict. The Hunters keep bees in there. Every year, on the same day, the family processes to the chapel. They open the combs, taste the honey. Take it back to the house. Half for them -" my father winced, as though he had bitten down on a sore tooth. "And half for us."

Catherine, a successful barrister, vanishes from a train station on the eve of her anniversary. Is it because she saw a figure - someone she believed long dead? Or was it a shadow cast by her troubled, fractured mind?

The answer lies buried in the past. It lies in the events of the hot, seismic summer of 1989, at Vanes - a mysterious West Country manor house - where a young girl, Jane Lestrange, arrives to stay with the gilded, grand Hunter family, and where a devastating tragedy will unfold. Over the summer, as an ancient family ritual looms closer, Janey falls for each member of the family in turn. She and Kitty, the eldest daughter of the house, will forge a bond that decades later, is still shaping the present...

'We need the bees to survive, and they need us to survive. Once you understand that, you understand the history of Vanes, you understand our family.'"

It's been too long since I've read a Harriet Evans book. This will rectify that wrong!

Someone in Time edited by Jonathan Strahan
Published by: Solaris
Publication Date: May 10th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 420 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Anthology of inclusive tales of people through time looking for one another and for ways for the world to be better.

Even time travel can’t unravel love.

Time-travel is a way for writers to play with history and imagine different futures - for better, or worse.

When romance is thrown into the mix, time-travel becomes a passionate tool, or heart-breaking weapon. A time agent in the 22nd century puts their whole mission at risk when they fall in love with the wrong person. No matter which part of history a man visits, he cannot not escape his ex. A woman is desperately in love with the time-space continuum, but it doesn’t love her back. As time passes and falls apart, a time-traveller must say goodbye to their soulmate.

With stories from best-selling and award-winning authors such as Seanan McGuire, Alix E. Harrow and Nina Allan, this anthology gives a taste for the rich treasure trove of stories we can imagine with love, loss and reunion across time and space.

Including stories by: Alix E. Harrow, Zen Cho, Seanan McGuire, Sarah Gailey, Jeffrey Ford, Nina Allan, Elizabeth Hand, Lavanya Lakshminarayan, Catherynne M. Valente, Sam J. Miller, Rowan Coleman, Margo Lanagan, Sameem Siddiqui, Theodora Goss, Carrie Vaughn, Ellen Klages."

SO HERE for Zen Cho, among others!

Misrule by Heather Walter
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: May 10th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Does true love break curses or begin them? The dark sorceress of "Sleeping Beauty" reclaims her story in this sequel to Malice.

The Dark Grace is dead.

Feared and despised for the sinister power in her veins, Alyce wreaks her revenge on the kingdom that made her an outcast. Once a realm of decadence and beauty, Briar is now wholly Alyce’s wicked domain. And no one will escape the consequences of her wrath. Not even the one person who holds her heart.

Princess Aurora saw through Alyce’s thorny facade, earning a love that promised the dawn of a new age. But it is a love that came with a heavy price: Aurora now sleeps under a curse that even Alyce’s vast power cannot seem to break. And the dream of the world they would have built together is nothing but ash.

Alyce vows to do anything to wake the woman she loves, even if it means turning into the monster Briar believes her to be. But could Aurora love the villain Alyce has become?

Or is true love only for fairy tales?

Book Two of the Malice Duology."

I have been obsessed my whole life with anything to do with Sleeping Beauty!

Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron by Julia Quinn
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: May 10th, 2022
Format: HPaperback, 160 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From #1 New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn comes this irresistible treat, a charming and jaunty graphic novel, based on story snippets peppered throughout a number of her books. Originally mentioned in It’s in His Kiss - one of the Bridgerton novels which inspired the smash Netflix series Bridgerton - Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron is finally told here in its entirety for the first time.

A madcap romantic adventure, Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron has appeared in several Julia Quinn novels and enthralled some of her most beloved characters. Now this delicious tale of love and peril is available for everyone to enjoy in this wonderfully unconventional graphic novel.

Born into a happy family that is tragically ravaged by smallpox, Miss Priscilla Butterworth uses her wits to survive a series of outlandish trials. Cruelly separated from her beloved mother and grandmother, the young girl is sent to live with a callous aunt who forces her to work for her keep. Eventually, the clever and tenderhearted Miss Butterworth makes her escape...a daring journey into the unknown that unexpectedly leads her to the "mad" baron and a lifetime of love.

Delightfully illustrated by Violet Charles, told in Julia Quinn’s playful voice, Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron is a high-spirited nineteenth-century romp that will entertain and enchant modern readers."

Because after reading all the books, watching the show multiple times, what you need is a new book!

This Much is True by Miriam Margolyes
Published by: John Murray
Publication Date: May 10th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"BAFTA-winning actor, voice of everything from Monkey to the Cadbury's Caramel Rabbit, creator of a myriad of unforgettable characters from Lady Whiteadder to Professor Sprout, Miriam Margoyles, OBE, is the nation's favourite (and naughtiest) treasure. Now, at the age of 80, she has finally decided to tell her extraordinary life story - and it's well worth the wait.

Find out how being conceived in an air-raid gave her curly hair; what pranks led to her being known as the naughtiest girl Oxford High School ever had; how she ended up posing nude for Augustus John as a teenager; why Bob Monkhouse was the best (male) kiss she's ever had; and what happened next after Warren Beatty asked 'Do you fuck?'

From declaring her love to Vanessa Redgrave to being told to be quiet by the Queen, this book is packed with brilliant, hilarious stories. With a cast list stretching from Scorsese to Streisand, a cross-dressing Leonardo di Caprio to Isaiah Berlin, This Much Is True is as warm and honest, as full of life and surprises, as its inimitable author."

Fuck I love Miriam Margoyles!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Catherynne M. Valente, Chris Bohjalian, Harriet Evans, Heather Walter, Hollywood, Jason Rekulak, Julia Quinn, Margo Lanagan, Miriam Margolyes, Nghi Vo, Seanan McGuire, Sleeping Beauty, Theodora Goss, Zen Cho