And Only to Deceive (Lady Emily, #1) by Tasha Alexander

Emily hastily agrees to marry London's most eligible bachelor in a desperate attempt to get out from underneath her overbearing mother. Before she even has a chance to get to know her groom, he dies on a hunting expedition. Feeling guilty at her lack of grief (she barely knew the man), she begins to discover him through his journal, stories from his friends and family, and by learning more about his interests and hobbies, like art and antiquity. In the process, the young widow begins to discover herself too, and eventually, uncovers her late husband's potential involvement in a crime. Who was he really? And which of his friends can she trust?

Coincidentally, this bore some resemblance to "Silent in the Grave (Lady Julia Grey #1)" by Deanna Raybourn - a young and headstrong widow in Victorian times discovers some threatening notes in her late husband's books and papers and realizes he wasn't the man she thought he was. Since I read them almost back to back, I can't help but compare them. Alexander's novel is certainly slower paced and earns the tagline of "a novel of suspense" but I found it a touch more realistic. Emily doesn't go pursuing an investigation, teaming up with a P.I., and barreling headlong into dangerous situations like Julia did, in fact she largely ignores the clues that drop in her lap until she can't deny them any longer. While amateur sleuthing novels are fun, they can come across as somewhat fabricated sometimes and this one didn't feel that way.

Although slow paced, I really enjoyed watching Emily discover herself through her discovery of her late husband. With a few amusing stumbles and a touch of pretension, Emily evolved from a naive blank slate to a fully formed independent woman - and, oh yeah, uncovered and righted a crime too.

Review: Silent in the Grave (Lady Julia Grey #1) by Deanna Raybourn

After her husband dies suddenly but not entirely unexpectedly, Lady Julia Grey is approached by a private investigator who claims it may have been murder. She refuses to believe him until a year later when she finds a threatening note while clearing out her husband's old things, but has the trail gone too cold to find the killer?

A little bit of a character/scene spoiler warning (not a crucial plot spoiler).

I think I would have enjoyed this more if the main character's love interest hadn't drugged her without her consent. I realize it wasn't for any malicious purpose, but even so, it made it difficult to understand her interest in him after that point, especially given her more modern and feminist beliefs. I suppose the author was trying to make him daring and a bit dangerous but I think there are ways to do that without violating consent like that, especially given that it served no purpose for the plot.

I am still debating whether to carry on with the series or not. With this one exception, I did enjoy the characters, the witty dialogue, and even the plot, although I must say I called whodunit from very early on (though I admit for not the reasons I originally thought). I am a bit curious to see where Lady Julia goes from here.

Review: Death in Kew Gardens by Jennifer Ashley

Release Date: June 4, 2019

Kat makes fast friends with a Chinese gentleman the police suspect of the murder next door, but she is adamant it couldn't have been him. Suspicious people surround the widow and her home, while Kat fights her own battles in the house of her employment.

Based much on the prejudice towards the Chinese in London at the time, and how the English unjustly pillaged goods from China, every time you think you have this mystery figured out, something happens to prove you wrong or throw you off!

But the characters are what make this series so great. As swoon-worthy as Daniel and Kat's relationship is, I've also enjoyed watching Lady Cynthia and Mr. Thanos's budding relationship too, as well as seeing how Kat and Cynthia try to navigate the socially complicated friendship between Lady and servant. At first, I wasn't too keen on Tess, but even she has grown on me now. The latest antagonist within the household had me wanting to scream.

Just as with the Captain Lacy series, this story just keeps getting better and better with each installment.

Advanced review copy from publisher via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

Review: The Ballad of John MacLea (War of 1812 Book 1) by AJ MacKenzie

Release Date: January 14, 2019 (sorry, getting behind on my ACR's!)

An adventurous novel set in Canada during the War of 1812 about a British militia Captain caught up in a spy ring.

There's a lot of action, which is fun, but there's also some head-hopping which is generally a bit jarring and I'm not a big fan of it. I know it's intended to give the reader perspective of more than one character, but that can be done without head-hopping. For me, it does the complete opposite and jars me out of the scene and makes it more difficult for me to connect with the characters. There's nothing wrong with multi-character perspectives, but keep them exclusive to different chapters or sections, don't jump back and forth within the same paragraph or section (or worse, sentence, though I don't think that happened here).

As a result, I didn't feel much connection to the characters and found it dragged a bit. The writing was otherwise good, and the characters believable and sympathetic, just a shame about the head-hopping.

Advanced review copy from NetGalley via publisher. My opinions are my own.

Review: A Well-Behaved Woman by Therese Anne Fowler

Release Date: October 16, 2018

A leader of the woman's suffrage movement, Alva Vanderbilt (nee Smith) rejected much about the social convention of her time, and yet arguably also beat them at their own game. If you can't join them, beat them.

The first half of this was a little boring. I know it was setting the scene for Alva coming into her own later on, and we did get to see sparks of the woman she would become, but much of it was just inane snobbish chatter. I suppose it's fitting because that's probably exactly how Alva felt about it too, but it didn't make for the best reading. If we'd gotten to see a bit more of that sarcastic wit that occasionally flared up in Alva, even just internally, it probably would have been a lot more entertaining.

Additionally, I kept waiting for this to turn more political and see how Alva became so important to the suffrage movement, but we actually see very little of that, and only at the very end. It's definitely more about her earlier private life, which could have been more interesting if her characterization was fuller.

Still, watching Alva go from dutiful daughter, sister, wife, and mother to taking her fate and future into her own hands was very fulfilling and I was cheering her on the whole time. About the last third of the book is when it gets most interesting.

Advanced review copy from publisher via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

Review: Scandal Above Stairs by Jennifer Ashley

Release Date: July 3, 2018

Jennifer Ashley is so good at creating lovable and fascinating characters, I just want to eat them up (pun intended). Kat is much more astute than her profession as head chef requires, her observant and inquisitive mind is always looking for puzzles to solve, and one of her employers, Lady Cynthia, is more than happy to provide her with one. Asked to look into the disappearance of a few paintings from the wealth household of one of Lady Cynthia's friend's, it only takes Kat mere moments to sort out what's been going on. But more significant thefts have been happening around London too, in the dark underworld of the antiquities black market, and the mysterious and elusive Daniel McAdam is, of course, right at the heart of it.

Kat thinks herself too sensible to get involved with someone who jumps in and out of her life, someone she knows precious little about, but when a man turns up dead in the pawnshop Daniel is working undercover in and she's overwhelmed with concern for him, it's difficult to deny her feelings. We learn a little bit more about Daniel, but each morsel of information leaves us wanting second helpings.

Clever plots, witty dialogue, compelling characters, yummy food descriptions - what's not to love? I didn't want it to end.

Advanced review copy from publisher via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

Review: Between Earth and Sky by Amanda Skenandore

Release Date: April 24, 2018

A slow paced but poignant exploration of the treatment of Native Americans in history from the point of view of a young, coming of age girl. Alma, the main character, is a young white girl in a unique position of growing up among Native American children at her father's boarding school for "civilizing" them. Naturally, she befriends them, and like them, she is caught between two worlds, but does she truly understand them and their situation? As an adult, she has to the face the ghosts of this past.

I really enjoyed the way this story was told, set in two time periods but told in parallel to each other. I know lots of book have used this method before, but few do it quite so well as this one. It's slow paced, but never boring. The chapters set in 1906 hint and foreshadow at something significant that happened in the past, while the chapters set in the past slowly evolve to show you what happened. Eventually, the past catches up and it all comes to a head.

Beautifully written with realistic, three dimensional, sympathetic characters, and complex relationships, this is easily the best novel on this subject matter I've read so far. I definitely look forward to what this debut author has to offer in the future.

Advanced review copy from publisher via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

Review: Death Below Stairs (Kat Holloway #1) by Jennifer Ashley

The first full length novel in this new Victorian mystery series with cook Kat Holloway was everything I'd hoped it'd be after reading the teaser of a prequel novella. We learn a little bit more about the mysterious Daniel McAdams, and lot more about Kat herself, and they do not disappoint. The character development was every bit as good as the prequel novella promised, including the new characters. The plot takes us around London and into the countryside, keeping you hooked till the end, as things escalate to royal proportions.

I loved the delicious descriptions of food throughout the story too - they made me hungry. It was interesting to see the author's note mention Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management as a main source of her food descriptions. This book is available for free from several venues, if anyone is curious.

I do think Jennifer Ashley has set herself quite the challenge in making the main character a cook. By Kat's own accounts, she rarely has time for anything other than cooking. She is pretty much constantly cooking or buying food for the next meal she has to prepare. She managed to take a break from it to stay in the midst of the action this time, but going forward, whenever will she have the time for amateur sleuthing? I can't wait to find out.

I recommend reading the prequel novella first. Although I'm sure this could be read on it's own, the prequel is a better introduction to Kat and Daniel's relationship.

Advanced review copy from publisher via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

Review: I, Eliza Hamilton by Susan Holloway Scott

Release date: September 26, 2017

This novel about the wife of Alexander Hamilton felt like it was missing something. I think it was the fact that there was no real antagonist or any main trial or obstacle for the protagonists to overcome. There were interesting events and hardships that cropped up but they were quickly resolved. I understand real history doesn't always lend itself to a clear antagonist or the arc of a good story line, but it's still necessary for a captivating novel.

I also felt there was too much "telling" and not enough "showing" which I felt made it more difficult to really connect with the characters.

It was well written though, and there were some very good scenes I enjoyed. I also couldn't help but picture Eddie Redmayne as Alexander for some reason, I guess because he had red hair in Pillars of the Earth, which certainly helped increase the enjoyment factor. But ultimately, I felt like portions of the book dragged, and the duel with Burr wound up rather anti-climatic.

Advanced review copy from publisher via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

Review: A Mystery at Carlton House (Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries Book 12) by Ashley Gardner

The Prince Regent, later known as George IV, asks for Captain Lacey's help in solving the theft of valuable items from his home at Carlton House, against the wishes of James Denis.

Finally! Captain Lacey meets royalty. Surely, it was bound to happen given that he is best friends with London society's most popular man, and married to one of the most popular women. You'd think London society would run in some of the same circles as the royal court every now and then. Granted, I can appreciate wanting to keep the characters fictional but this just added an extra touch of reality by involving a historical figure.

There's so much more going on in this novel too, but I don't want to spoil it. I'll just say that Donata suffers a difficult birth, Grenville and Marianne's relationship takes a turn as she goes missing, Spendlove is still out to get Lacey, and Brewster questions where his loyalties really lie. That's just what happens in the very beginning, imagine where the rest of the novel goes.

And can I take this moment to ask the author: please, please, pretty please, can we have a spin-off novel of Grenville and Marianne? Carlton House sort of set up an introduction to one rather perfectly...

Review: Girl in Disguise by Greer Macallister

Release Date: March 21, 2017

This book caught my attention because I loved the idea of a novel about Kate Warne, the first female Pinkerton agent, and I just hoped the writing, plot, and characters would be as good as the premise. I knew from the first few pages they would be.

Excellently written with great characters, fictional and historic alike, the plot takes the reader into the spy world of the Civil War. I did feel as though the romance was a little superficial, but otherwise, I felt the character development was very good, especially Kate's. Told in first person, we really get to see and feel Kate's thoughts and emotions, how she deals with the moral questions of lying, deceiving, and hurting people for the greater good, and how she deals with knowing she'll never have a normal, family life.

The plot is what really drives this though, and I frequently found it hard to put down, always wanting to know what would happen next. Lot's of action and adventure.

I'm interested in the author's first novel now. Though it wasn't a premise I was previously interested in, knowing how much I enjoyed this one, I have to give it a try.

Advanced review copy from the publisher via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

Review: India Black (Madam of Espionage Mysteries #1) by Carol K. Carr

India Black, madam of a brothel, gets caught up in international espionage after a government official dies in her, er, establishment. She is recruited by the Prime Minister's office to help recover the important papers stolen after the death before they fall into the hands of either two factions who want to use them against Britain/the Prime Minister.

The Stephanie Plum of the 19th century, India Black is headstrong and clever but not always very graceful and it lands her in a number of dangerous yet amusing situations that she handles with dry wit and sarcasm. Hell, she even has her own black sidekick at one point. Then there's the handsome Mr. French, a spy who works for the Prime Minister's office, but he only resembles Ranger with his mysterious background. India has her own secrets though, and I can't wait to read the rest of the series to find out what they are.

I did think the way Vincent, the young street urchin, kept sneaking into the most unlikely places was a little unrealistic, but it didn't play too big of a role in the plot so I was able to overlook it.

I saw a few reviewers saying the "strange" vocabulary like "bint", "cove", and "rogering" used throughout the novel wasn't very historically accurate, but actually, they are. "Bint" is a derogatory British term that dates from the mid 19th century for a woman or girl, like "tart". "Cove" is an informal British term that dates from before the 19th century for a person, especially male. "Rogering" is British slang for having sex and dates from the early 18th century. The authentic language was precisely one of the things I loved about this novel, the author made a good effort to use real slang from the time period. Maybe some readers haven't seen these words used before because most historical novels they read aren't about whores who would use language like that? Or perhaps most historical novelists don't make as great an effort to incorporate authentic language because they don't want to alienate readers so some people aren't used to it (though that's not to say most historical novelists use anachronistic language).

The whole time I was reading the book, I was thinking it would make a great movie. Lot's of adventure and humor, and even the hint of a potential romance in the future. There's not a huge amount of depth, but it is a lot of fun, and sometimes that's just what I'm looking for.

Review: What Gold Buys: A Silver Rush Mystery #5 by Ann Parker

I feel like I've been waiting forever for this book! I really enjoyed the first four books in this series, and I was worried that the author had abandoned it since it has been 5 years since the last book, and never before did she wait so long in between the books in this series. I was so excited to see this new one was out, and I snatched it up immediately.

Coincidentally, I read this first four books in this series while living in England, but since then have wound up living in Colorado, not far from Leadville and right in the heart of where the four book had taken place. So I was doubly excited to read this fifth book now that the location setting is much closer to my heart.

This one introduced readers to the seances which were popular in the late 19th century when a gypsy medium is murdered, leaving a tough but vulnerable daughter behind, while also dealing with Inez's divorce going on in the background. The plot was just as intriguing as the previous books, and I couldn't wait to find out what would happen with Inez's marriage. Hopefully I won't have to wait another 5 years for the next book!

Review: The Second Mrs. Hockaday by Susan Rivers

Advanced review copy from publisher via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

Release Date: January 10, 2017

This novel about a young woman who is thrust into a hard life as the wife of an absent soldier and farmer during the American Civil War is told through letters, diaries, and other documents. At only 17 years old, and after only one week at her new home, she is left alone to care for her husband's farm and his son by his previous marriage as he returns to the battle front. When he finally returns two years later, he finds his young wife has given birth to another man's child in his absence, and is being accused of murdering the infant.

I struggled to read this at first, because all dialogue described through the letters or journals is completely unquoted. I'm not sure why, because any quote should be in quotation marks, regardless of whether it's within a letter or diary or not. It was very difficult to know whether the start of a sentence was going to be narrative or dialogue until you reached the end of the sentence. It felt very disjointed.

But the other reviewers seemed to rave about it, so I stuck with it, and it did get easier to read. However, I found myself simply not caring very much about the characters or what happened to them, and I struggled to finished it.

Review: The Alexandria Affair (Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries #11) by Ashley Gardner

Captain Lacey's next case of amateur sleuthing occurs while he's vacationing in Egypt. At first, it seems this mystery will just be about locating an artifact that James Denis wishes him to procure, but of course it's not really a Captain Lacey tale if there's not a dead body. Throw into the mix the mysterious impostor who wants Lacey dead, and a rouge henchman of Denis' and there's a lot going on in this novel!

While I wouldn't have previously said that the London setting in most of the first ten books was getting stale, this one definitely shakes things up a little bit by showing us a glimpse of what was going on in another part of the world during this time period. It was very refreshing and I'm now kind of hoping Lacey will take other vacations elsewhere in future books (my fingers are always crossed that there will continue to be many more books to come in this series).

Review: A Soupçon of Poison by Ashley Gardner

A novella kick-starter of a new series from Ashley Gardner (aka Jennifer Ashley) about a talented cook, Kat Holloway, in 1880 London who is accused of murdering her wealthy employer.

I absolutely love Gardner's other historical mystery series about Captain Lacey, but this new series with fresh characters is very promising. I don't even love novellas all that much, nor am I a big fan of when protagonists are set up and falsely accused of murder, but this really wet my appetite for more and I can't wait for the first full length novel in the series coming out sometime this year. As ever, Gardner's excellent characterization and clever plots peppered with history are what make this short tale shine. I'm dying to know more about Daniel McAdam! I predict this is going to quickly be added to my list of favorite series.

Review: Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson

This non-fiction book about the Chicago World Fair of 1893 and how it was marred by the killing spree of H.H. Holmes really does read more like a novel. It's extremely well researched, well written, and highly readable, which is why it is understandably so popular.

However, it did feel like two books were thrown together. It's as though Larson either wanted to write a book about the Chicago World Fair, but he or his editors thought it would be too boring on its own so they threw in the Holmes murders; or he wanted to write about the Holmes killings, but there wasn't enough information about them to fill up a whole book so he filled it out with background on the Fair and it's creators.

It still works really well though, because it's so well written. It may feel like two unrelated books but two very good unrelated books.

The information about the building of the Fair dragged on at times, but it picked up in the second half once the Fair had opened. It was fascinating to read about Holmes and his murders, and how he avoided suspicion for so long.

Creative non-fiction is definitely an art that Larson has flawlessly mastered.