Sorcerer to the Crown, by Zen Cho lured me with its promise of an alternate London, magic and Fae. Politics, prejudice and magic are central themes in this fantasy set against an alternate Regency England. Despite some issues, Sorcerer to the Crown with its dry humor and colorful character ended up making me smile.
It is always bittersweet to say good-bye to a series/trilogy you have thoroughly enjoyed. Jenn Bennett’s Roaring Twenties trilogy is one I will miss. The final book Grave Phantoms has a friend to lovers’ romance with a forbidden twist that readers have been anxious for from the beginning. Add in the reappearance of a missing yacht and its strange inhabitants and you have the makings of a page-turner.
The Alchemist’s Daughter by Mary Lawrence is the first in her new Bianca Goddard Mysteries. The tale takes place during the reign of King Henry VIII and offers a heroine who dabbles in forensics as she tries to exonerate herself from murder charges.
I rarely read non-fiction but from time to time, a book comes along that speaks to me. I am a history buff, a History channel junkie and have a particular fondness for early American history. Liar, Temptress, Soldier Spy by Karen Abbot screamed read me, when I discovered it was about four woman undercover during the civil war.
Inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Her Dark Curiosity, the second book in the Madman’s Daughter trilogy by Megan Shepherd continued Juliet Moreau’s story while introducing a mystery that kept me enthralled. Old characters and love interests appear and we get fresh faces as Shepherd continues this dark and macabre tale. Mini review: A dark, atmospheric and beautifully written tale that suffered because of the characters.
