Book Review: Murder at Rudhall Manor (A Lucy Anne Trotter Mystery #1)

Murder at Rudhall Manor
Anya Wylde
3/5

I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review so here we go. After leaving the orphanage which she has called home for her whole life, Lucy Trotter transitions into the life of a governess. Three months after starting, she is accused of not only robbing the family, but murdering the lord of the manor. Only the combined investigative skills of herself and Lord Adair, a visiting investigator, can absolve her of the crime.

I liked the general plot of it, I think it had a fun twist that I didn't see coming. I did have a difficult time following the progression of events, it felt clunky and not as fluent as I prefer my mysteries to be. The exposition was too given, it should have been interpreted through actions. The character development was kind of awkward in the same way- too direct.

I did like the mystery though and I think that it has a lot of potential for the future. I don't know if a romance is on the horizon but I did like the chemistry between Lord Adair and Lucy, there was some potential there. I thought the "love" she had with Peter was weird and under-developed, but if there's romance later on, I won't be complaining. Thank you Anya for the chance to read this one!

Book Review: Forgotten & Remembered: The Duke's Late Wife (Love's Second Chance #1)

Forgotten & Remembered
Bree Wolf
3/5

Graham lost his wife a year ago and has realized that his daughter needs a mother, so he marries Rosabel without speaking with her a single time. As the daughter of a scandal, she really has no choice except to accept.

It's different in the aspect that she really does just solely take care of the daughter at first. Which was nice, she has a tragic backstory of a mother who died young and a father who died of a broken heart, so she loves to give another child that experience which she missed. Her backstory is "tragic" but built up to in such a minimum way, she tells basically everyone who she meets and it loses its significance. Society doesn't play a major role here, she basically lives on a country estate in solitude for the majority of the novel.

I know that the trope in these novels is angst, Graham has missed out on his first love and he'll be bitter forever because of it, but it was really overdone here. He kept going back to it, he said he loved his daughter but really expressed no actual interest in her. It was like her backstory, they kept talking about it but I didn't actually see what they were talking about.

It was okay as a read, I finished it and didn't hate it by the end. I don't know if I would recommend it because it's just kind of a diluted form of the tropes and cliches that I see over and over again, not super exciting or shocking in any way.  

Book Review: Wild at Heart (Wild #2)

Wild at Heart
K.A. Tucker
4/5

I was so nervous for this book, starting like immediately after the end of the first book, Calla has to make a pretty significant choice.  Does she move to Alaska with her kind-of-boyfriend Jonah, or does she not abandon the life she's always known? Obviously, she elects to leave the country and move to Alaska cause otherwise where would they be?

Like I said, I was extremely nervous the whole time. Obviously, Jonah and Calla are two very different people and what they had when she was in Alaska can't exactly seamlessly translate into a normal relationship. There were a lot of ups and downs here, and I was waiting for the big blow up that drove them apart- I was hoping it wouldn't be too irredeemable. There were a lot of them, they're both transitioning from very different lives. Jonah was a bachelor who flew wherever he wanted whenever he wanted, Calla lived with her parents and partied in the city every night. Even aside from the geographical transition, transitioning into a long-term relationship is a pretty big deal.

I think they handled it pretty well, they always talked things out. The biggest issue I had with it was the blowup that happened about 82 percent of the way into the book- I don't think you can come back so easily from saying that you hate a place completely when they both care so much about the others happiness. I'm happy that it panned out the way that it did, I just don't like how much empty time was building up to it, then how quickly it all dissipated.

It was great though, I love this duology and I'm definitely recommending it to people who love the a little bit of the classic enemies-to-lovers romance and like to see how it follows through to the real world.

Book Review: Murder on Mulberry Bend (Gaslight Mystery #5)

Murder on Mulberry Bend
Victoria Thompson
4/5

I want to say that this one was super predictable, and I feel like the actual mystery was, but that end had me shocked. This is the fifth book in Victoria Thompson's Gaslight Mystery series, following the crime-solving skills of midwife Sarah Brandt along with her reluctant partner, Sergeant Detective Frank Malloy.

The relationship in this series develops so slowly, I feel as though they have to get together but also it's moving at a snail's pace. Which is fine, relationships in this time period tend to just jump straight into it and that can be disconcerting. I loved the scene at the beginning of this book though, when Frank found a murder victim in the park and had a moment of confusion. I live for moments like that and am perfectly satisfied reading 22 books just for those kinds of scenes.

These mysteries are tending to follow a very similar progression, which is making them so predictable as they go along. They investigate the murder, they arrest the wrong person, the right person tries to kill Sarah. It's the same in all five of the books so far, so I'm looking forward to more of a twist later on in the series.

Book Review: Murder on Washington Square (Gaslight Mystery #4)

Murder on Washington Square
Victoria Thompson
4/5

This was another great mystery in the Gaslight Mystery series! I really love how Sarah and Malloy are both growing as characters- particularly Malloy who isn't acting nearly as roughly as he did in the first novel. I love the relationship which both of them are creating with Brian and I'd really like to see more of him in the rest of the series.

The mystery was a little easier for me to solve again this time, though I didn't see every element of it coming and I loved the little twist. It kind of got a little more dull than the others in the series did, a lot more stalling. This is a slowburn romance(hopefully?) and while that's okay and entertaining, I can't imagine how frustrating this series would be if I had to wait a year for each of the books.

Super interesting, I learn something new from every book! If you love mysteries and historical fiction or you just want to be entertained, I'd definitely recommend.

Book Review: Crush the King (Crown of Shards #3)

Crush the King
Jennifer Estep
5/5

I loved this book and I loved this entire series. I think it's rare that you see a trilogy fit together so cohesively, that you see a character grow so beautifully from the beginning of the series to the end of the series. It's even rarer that you see an author name-drop the names of all the books in the series in the final series- which I loved.

Evie was discarded and ignored but she was stronger than anyone knew, with more potential than anyone could have expected. From being thrown off a cliff in the first book through gladiator battles and battles of wit, she's done it all. I can't express how proud of her journey I am, it was honestly an amazing ride from start to finish and I'm so glad that I got to watch it happen.

The only problem I had here was how Sullivan's part was so shrunken. I get that the last book was largely dedicated to their relationship and that I had issues with that, but I would prefer a better balance. He had literally three lines in this one, not even the obligatory rehashing of her backstory which she had never given him. I get it, it's all about Evie's own personal strength and her evolution into who she became, but I missed their banter.

I would strongly recommend this series, it's not YA, it could maybe be called NA but it's probably more of an Adult novel. The fantasy element, the monarchy element, everything is beautifully developed and you really won't regret reading it.

Book Review: Murder on Gramercy Park (Gaslight Mystery #3)

Murder on Gramercy Park
Victoria Thompson
4/5

Honestly, it's to Victoria Thompson's own detriment that I love this series so much because I'm holding it to such a high standard. I loved this one, the mystery was easier for me to solve though than the other two books and the culprit's reveal was comparatively lackluster. Not to say that it wasn't a great book, the other two just shocked me a lot more and I wanted more from this one.

The character development continues to amaze me, Malloy is turning into a very likable character as Sarah "ruins" him. I do wish that he could stop comparing himself to other cops, it has a real "I'm not like other girls" vibe to it and I would prefer that we could all just understand his character progression through his actions.

I'm super excited to read the next book, I haven't run into any hold blocks yet so I'm just chugging through the series. Still standing by recommending the series though, it's the perfect time for a huge binge!