Review: The Viscount Who Loved Me

Title:  The Viscount Who Loved Me
Author: Julia Quinn
Pages: 352
Challenges: Romance Reading Challenge, Mount TBR
Rating: 4/5

Summary from Goodreads:

1814 promises to be another eventful season, but not, this author believes, for Anthony Bridgerton, London's most elusive bachelor, who has shown no indication that he plans to marry.
And in truth, why should he? When it comes to playing the consummate rake, nobody does it better...
--Lady Whistledown's Society Papers, April 1814

But this time, the gossip columnists have it wrong. Anthony Bridgerton hasn't just decided to marry--he's even chosen a wife! The only obstacle is his intended's older sister, Kate Sheffield--the most meddlesome woman ever to grace a London ballroom. The spirited schemer is driving Anthony mad with her determination to stop the betrothal, but when he closes his eyes at night, Kate is the woman haunting his increasingly erotic dreams...

Contrary to popular belief, Kate is quite sure that reformed rakes do not make the best husbands--and Anthony Bridgerton is the most wicked rogue of them all. Kate is determined to protect her sister--but she fears her own heart is vulnerable. And when Anthony's lips touch hers, she's suddenly afraid she might not be able to resist the reprehensible rake herself...

Ahh, how I am adoring this series!!

The Viscount Who Loved Me tells the story of Anthony Bridgerton, the eldest son in the large Bridgerton family.  We first met Anthony in The Duke and I, and I was extremely anxious to hear his story.  I certainly wasn't disappointed!!

Anthony is stubborn and headstrong.  He knows what he wants and he isn't afraid to go after it.  But the one thing he never wanted was to fall in love.  Enter Kate Sheffield, the annoying older sister of the woman Anthony wants to marry.  How I loved Kate!  She was fierce and independent and absolutely not afraid to tell me people how she felt.  She wasn't soft spoken, and didn't let Anthony walk all over her.  He really had to earn his trust, and I loved that about her.

While I didn't love this one as much as The Duke and I, it wasn't far behind.  Julia Quinn's writing is amazing.  Her characters are spot on, and I fear she's ruining me for all other historical romance authors.  I can see myself quickly reading my way through her backlist, and adding her to my must buy list.  The Bridgerton family series will be a definite re-read in the future!

I did find myself falling more in love with Colin Bridgerton in this book, and I can't wait to read his story.  He is an excellent character, and I think his story will be quite charming.  I believe he may just be my favorite Bridgerton!

Review: Bookplate Special

Title: Bookplate Special
Author: Lorna Barrett
Listening Time: 8 hours and 24 minutes
Challenges: Cozy Mystery Challenge
Rating: 3/5

Summary from Goodreads:

Tricia Miles, owner of Haven’t a Clue mystery bookstore, is still settling into Stoneham, New Hampshire, the kind of town where everybody knows your name—and where everyone’s quick to lend a hand, even when murder is afoot . . .

The kinder folks of Stoneham might call Pammy Fredericks a free spirit. The less kind, a freeloading thief. Tricia has put up—and put up with—her uninvited college roommate for weeks. In return, Pammy, has stolen $100, among other things. But the day she’s kicked out, Pammy’s found dead in a dumpster, leaving loads of questions unanswered. Like what was she foraging for? Did her killer want it too? To piece the case together, Tricia will have to dive in head-first.…

I thought that this third book in the Booktown cozy mystery series started off a bit slower than the first two books.  I had a bit of a harder time getting involved in the mystery, and I found that I didn't like the murder victim or a few of the newer characters introduced.  It made it more difficult for me to listen.  However, about a third of the way through the book, it began to pick up pace and I became more intrigued.

I had a much more difficult time figuring out who the criminal was in Bookplate Special.  This one really kept me guessing, and I had about five or six different theories, and of course they were all wrong.  When the true killer was revealed I was shocked.  Never once did I suspect this person of any crime.

This series has really renewed by interest in cozy mysteries.  I've been checking out the Berkley publishing website, looking at the different cozy mysteries that they published and I'm really intrigued.  This has always been a genre that I've thought about reading, but up until this past year, I've never really looked any further.  I'm so glad that my library had this series on audio because it really opened my eyes.

I already have the next book in the series downloaded and ready to go as soon as I finish Baby, Drive South.  Book five is on hold!  I'll probably have the whole series caught up in the next week or so depending on how long book five takes to get to me.  I think I'll use my audible credit for book six library doesn't have it yet.

Have you read any good cozies lately, or know of any other series that I might enjoy?

Review: The Duke and I

Title: The Duke and I
Author: Julia Quinn
Pages: 371
Rating: 5/5
Challenges: Romance Reading Challenge, Mount TBR Challenge, Woman's Author Challenge

Summary from Goodreads:

Can there be any greater challenge to London's Ambitious Mamas than an unmarried duke?
--- Lady Whistledown's Society Papers, April 1813

By all accounts, Simon Basset is on the verge of proposing to his best friend's sister, the lovely---and almost-on-the-shelf---Daphney Bridgerton. But the two of them know the truth--it's all an elaborate plan to keep Simon free from marriage-minded society mothers. And as for Daphne, surely she will attract some worthy suitors now that it seems a duke has declared her desirable.

But as Daphne waltzes across ballroom after ballroom with Simon, it's hard to remember that their courtship is a complete sham. Maybe it's his devilish smile, certainly it's the way his eyes seem to burn every time he looks at her...but somehow Daphne is falling for the dashing duke...for real! And now she must do the impossible and convince the handsome rogue that their clever little scheme deserves a slight alteration, and that nothing makes quite as much sense as falling in love...

Oh my goodness, why have I waited so long to read this book from Julia Quinn!!

I read this book after reading about the new book club that The Book Binge started.  I figured what better why to motivate myself to read this first book than this.  I started it and finished it in practically one setting.  And then today, I hit up the Books A Million and bought the other seven books in the series.  I just can't get enough of the Bridgerton family.

I'm not sure what I loved most about this book.  Daphne was an awesome heroine, and I really enjoyed her personality and characterization.  And Simon was just the right about of brooding and darkness to make him likeable and, dare I say it, sexy at the same time.  I just loved the interaction between these two!  I also loved the introductions to the other members of the Bridgerton family, and look forward to finding out more and more about them.  This series just seems different from other Regency romances that I've read, and I found myself enjoying it much more than I normally would a historical romance novel.  It's opened up a whole new world for me!

Julia Quinn is a very talented writer, and I'm glad that The Duke and I was my first introduction to her.  I've always heard great things about her, and about this series.  I'm looking forward to finishing these up, and then I'm open to other suggestions by this author.  Does she have other series that I should try?

Review: Bookmarked for Death

Title: Bookmarked for Death
Author: Lorna Barrett
Listening Time: 8 hours and 28 minutes
Rating: 3.5/5
Challenges: Cozy Mystery Challenge

Summary from Goodreads:

What do a stone book and a stabbed cake have to do with Zoë Carter's death?

Once a struggling town, Stoneham, New Hampshire is now enjoying a renaissance--thanks to booksellers like Tricia Miles, proprietor of Haven’t Got a Clue. It’s a great place to find a good mystery to read--or to solve ….

To celebrate her bookstore’s anniversary, Tricia Miles hosts a book signing for bestselling author Zoë Carter. But the event takes a terrible turn when the author is found dead in the washroom. Before long, both police and reporters are demanding the real story. So far, the author’s obnoxious assistant/niece is the only suspect. And with a sheriff who provides more obstacles than answers, Tricia will have to take matters into her own hands--and read between the lines to solve this mystery….

This is the second book in the Booktown Cozy Mystery series, and I continued to enjoy it as much as the first.  These are really cute books, with a lot of literary references.  I love books that mention other books, and this one was chocked full of them!

In Bookmarked for Death, Tricia is settling in at Haven't Got a Clue bookstore, when lo and behold, the famed author at her book signing is found strangled on the tiolet.  Will Tricia be accused of murder again?  Armed with her mystery solving smarts that she's honed from years of reading mystery novels, Tricia sets out to find the who dunnit, with the help of her sister and the entire cast of townies.

Mystery wise, I had an idea of who the murderer was pretty early on - but I had a harder time pinning down the motive, figuring it out just before Tricia did.  Again, I really enjoyed the narrator and felt the pacing of the story worked well.  I've already downloaded bok three, and can't wait to see what happens to the little town of Stoneham.

What are you reading??

It's hard to believe another week has passed.  The closer it gets to Spring, the faster time seems to go.  I had a really good week.  My brother was in town, and we got to visit for a while, plus he came over a two days and painted Anthony's big boy room for me.  I was thrilled because I just didn't know when I was going to find the energy to do it myself, and hubby hates to paint.  Now all we need to do is refinish the dresser and hang everything on the walls, plus paint a few accessories and he should be all ready to move in.  I'm starting to get excited about how it will all look.

Reading wise, I had a pretty good week.  I didn't get a lot of actual reading time, much less than I had originally assumed, but I did get to listen to a lot more audio.  Except for Friday.  I didn't get a chance to download anything new onto my phone before heading to work, and didn't have anything downloaded.  It made for a super long work day!  I made sure I downloaded four new titles from the library this weekend so I'm all set to go!  I'm really enjoying my audio lately :)

This past week I completed the following:

 

I LOVED Scarlet, and thought that both Rescue Me and Murder is Binding were really cute and fun reads.  I would highly recommend all three.

 

This coming week I'm hoping to catch up on a few things and we have plans for the coming weekend so I'm not sure how much reading time I'll have, but I'm hoping to get a few things completed.  Here's what's on the TBR pile for the next few days.  I know its a lot but three of them are audio and I'm already half way through The Duke and I which is so so good.  I reading it for the monthly book club over at Book Binge!

 

 

 

 

 

Here's to a great reading week!  What do you have planned?



Review: Scarlet

Title: Scarlet
Author: Marissa Meyer
Pages: 452
Challenges: Fairy Tale Re-tellings, Woman Authors
Rating: 5/5

Summary from Goodreads:

The fates of Cinder and Scarlet collide as a Lunar threat spreads across the Earth...

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

Soon after finishing Cinder, I bought Scarlet on my Kindle and started it almost right away.  I'm so glad I did, but now I have to wait an ENTIRE YEAR to find out what happens!!  I can't believe how much I love these books!

Scarlet was just as well written and adventurous as Cinder, and, to be honest, I liked Scarlet even better than Cinder.  Something about this story seemed to flow more, and I thought all the characters were absolutely amazing.  There wasn't one negative thing about this book.

I think my favorite character in this book was Wolf.  I love how the author developed the relationship between him and Scarlet and I never knew whether to completely trust him or not.  It made the reading exciting and I kept flipping the pages to see what would happen next.

I also liked how Meyer worked in the continuing adventures of Cinder.  It was like two books for the price of one!  I can't wait to see who they meet next and how their story will connect.

February Month in Review

February was a great reading month for me.  On the personal end, it was pretty crappy.  We lost hubby's grandmother, Anthony and I both ended up with the flu, and various things kept breaking down at our house.  Hopefully, March will be a better month.

I know have three months (only 14 weeks!) left until we welcome baby girl into our lives.  This has a been a wonderful pregnancy, but I'm starting to develop a lot of pelvic and hip pain that is making it ridiculousy difficult to sleep.  I ordered a special pregnancy girdle that is supposed to help, so we'll see how that goes!

In February, I read or listened to 16 different books.  My favorites for the month included Fireworks Over Toccoa, The Fault in the Stars, and Cinder.  I was totally blown away by how much I enjoyed Cinder, since it was so completely different from anything I've read before.  I think I was most disappointed in I Hunt Killers and The Raven Boys.

 

 

With January's totals, I've now read a total of 28 books for the year.  I'm hoping that I can keep up this momentum as the year progresses.  I'd love to have a 100 plus book year!