March 18, 2020

REVIEW: Dark Season by Joanna Lowell

JanineBook Reviews / C+ Reviewsepilepsy / historical romance / loneliness / medium / secret / tortured hero / viscount2 Comments

Dear Joanna Lowell, Your Victorian-era historical romance, Dark Season, came to my attention via this article in Publishers Weekly. The article mentioned that you are a professor who writes literary fiction under the name Joanna Ruocco, and that you have received the prestigious Pushcart Prize. This, in addition to the ... more >

JanineB Reviews / Book Reviews / DNF Reviews#ownvoices / 18th-century / brothel / Earl / English countryside / high-school / Korean American / London / murder mystery / prostitute / Reading lists / Regency Romance / YA5 Comments

Death and the Harlot by Georgina Clarke I read 39% of this book historical mystery set in mid-eighteenth century London before quitting. The period detail seems quite good and the book is pretty page-turning but unfortunately, the heroine’s motivations don’t make sense. Lizzie Hardwicke is a sex worker in a ... more >

March 4, 2020

REVIEW: Realm of Ash by Tasha Suri

JanineB+ Reviews / Recommended Reads#ownvoices / Fantasy / Fantasy Romance / India / Magic / POC1 Comments

Dear Tasha Suri, I greatly enjoyed your 2018 debut romantic fantasy novel, Empire of Sand, so I was eager for Realm of Ash, your recently-published follow up. The two books are interconnected despite being centered on different characters, so I recommend reading Empire of Sand first. Besides filling out the ... more >

February 24, 2020

REVIEW: False Value by Ben Aaronovitch

JanineB+ Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Readsbiracial hero / diversity / London / Magic / police procedural / UF / Urban-Fantasy12 Comments

PLEASE NOTE: If you haven’t read Lies Sleeping, the previous novel in the Rivers of London series, and wish to avoid spoilers for that book, skip this review. Big events took place in Lies Sleeping that are mentioned in this review of False Value. Dear Ben Aaronovitch, I’ve enjoyed all ... more >

JanineA- Reviews / B+ Reviews / Recommended Reads1870s / classic books / engineer / England / historical romance / joint review / London / magnate / reading / urchin6 Comments

Janine: As a lot of people probably already know (because I couldn’t stop talking about it), I’m a huge fan of Devil’s Daughter, the previous book in Lisa Kleypas’s Ravenels series. So I was thrilled to get an ARC of Chasing Cassandra, the sixth and final book in the series. ... more >

February 14, 2020

REVIEW: Untamed Shore by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

JanineB+ Reviews / Recommended Reads#ownvoices / 1970s / coming-of-age / crime novel / Deception / Mexico / noir / POC / Suspense / villageNo Comments

PLEASE NOTE: It’s almost impossible to discuss this novel’s strengths and weaknesses without giving away spoilers, so if you prefer not to be spoiled, read no further. Dear Silvia Moreno-Garcia, I don’t generally read crime novels, but the description of Untamed Shore as a “novel of suspense with an eerie ... more >