#Book Review – Her Secret War; P. Lecky

I gave this review a lot of thought.  Lecky’s protagonist, Sarah, is an Irish spy with a tragic background—par for the course given the setting—and overall, she’s a character with a nice growth arc. That and the fresh take Lecky goes for, the use of Ireland as a backdrop, deserve a star, no questions asked.

#Book Review – The Mother of the Brontës; S. Wright

The Mother of the Brontës just suffers from Manzoni's curse: the first few pages of a novel are eye watering, but if you can get past them, it’s all smooth sailing. Scratch that, it’s captivating.

#Book Review – The Last Grand Duchess; B. Turnbull

Let me say right from the start that this book is amazing. Its main feature is the obvious amount of research Turnbull put into it, something I’m grateful for. It allowed me to learn more about the House of Romanov and the early ‘900–from an unique standpoint.

#Book Review – Sister Agatha: The World’s Oldest Serial Killer; D. O’Donoghue

So, I don't really agree with the 'hilarious' take everyone seems to label SIster Agatha with. It's not because you have an unfunny book in your hands--far from it! Sister Agatha is an entertaining novel, and humorous parts are def present; it's just not a guffwaf-inducing story, since the merry tone is a bit more subdued that I thought before starting it. If you ask me, it's a feature rather than a bug

#Book Review – Brazen: My Unorthodox Journey from Long Sleeves to Lingerie; J. Haart

Interesting work, but it could have been so much better! The first section is informative enough and I like all the details Haartz providesa her reader: I never had the chance to delve deep into religious topics before, so I latched onto Brazen with enthusiasm.

#Book Review – The Trial Show: The Resistance Rises; Konstantina P.

Konstantina P’s last book has been a wild ride: the plot is intricate yet captivating from the start, ripe with beloved red herrings. Tricking me is hard, and yet Konstantina P. managed to do it twice. Well done!

#Book Reviews – Amazing Gardens of the World / Amazing Theatres of the World; V. Hambly / D. Connolly

Cleaning up the backlog means it’s two-in-one today, on which ‘two’ stands for ‘a couple of impressive photography books’. The topics couldn’t be any more different: one is about gardens and the other features theatres; nature and architecture are maybe on the opposite side of the spectrum, but I think they can complement each other in a beautiful way.

#Book Review #Book Tour – 50 States; R.R. Becker

Not sure I already mentioned it, but writing short stories is a hard and often thankless job. Each story needs to be small, concise, and to the point, with interesting characters and clever plots; in a way, it takes more skill to produce them than a single book.

#Book Review #ARC – Summer at the French Café; S. Moorcroft

So, without further ado, I’ve got to say that Summer at the French Café is a peculiar one. It’s well-written, even if a bit slow here and there, and with an interesting pair of MCs. Kat and Noah have good inner voices, and they’re quite fun to follow along; maybe they should be a little more proactive though, less–less ‘life is steamrolling all over me’, but that’s a matter of personal tastes.

#Book Review #ARC – The Attic Child; L. Jaye

Jaye, however, did a tremendous job here. Her writing style is poignant yet delicate, crafting The Attic Child with slow, sure strokes. Every word has been chosen with care and delivered with a strength that leaves you staggering. Staggering while asking for more.