B- Reviews / Book Reviews1900s / Business woman / class differences / family relationships / Gilded Age / Historical / inspirational / New York City / Russia / social critique / social justice / social unrest / turn of the 20th century10 Comments
He carries a dangerous secret, but can he survive long enough to expose it? Count Dimitri Sokolov has been charged with overseeing construction of the legendary Trans-Siberian Railway, but during this work, he witnesses an appalling crime, the truth of which threatens the Russian monarchy. In an effort to silence ... more >
B+ Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Reads19th century / forced proximity / Historical / Historical fiction / lady's companion / military hero / Napoleonic wars / road-romance / Russia / Russian Series / War / Military7 Comments
He was sick of the violence, the killing In the face of the advancing might of Napoleon’s Grande Armeé, Major Lev Orlov longed for a return to normality. And the bewitching young countess, whom a bizarre twist of fate had placed in the hands of his band of battle-scarred infantrymen, ... more >
B Reviews / B Reviews Category / Book ReviewsHistorical fiction / Literary fiction / Russia / Russian character16 Comments
From the New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Civility—a transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel With his breakout debut novel, Rules of Civility, Amor Towles established himself as a master of absorbing, sophisticated fiction, bringing ... more >
A- Reviews / B+ Reviews / Book Reviews / C- Reviews / D Reviews / DNF ReviewsCanada / Contemporary / enemies to lovers / enemies with benefits / Game Changers series / hockey players / hockey rivalry / LGBTQIA+ / m/m / New York City / Out for You / Reading lists / Russia / Russian / star-crossed lovers / Toronto / values conflict25 Comments
Earlier in the year I read (or in one case, tried to read) the first three books in Rachel Reid’s m/m contemporary romance series, Game Changers, which follows queer NHL players as they fall in love and have to deal with the conflict presented by the heteronormative culture of the ... more >
B Reviews / Book Reviews18th-century / 19th century / class differences / classic literature / Deception / fathers and daughters / First-Person / gambling / Historical / Russia / Russian literature / War / Military3 Comments
A dazzling new collection of Pushkin’s fiction, in definitive translations by the acclaimed Anthony Briggs As complex as they are gripping, Pushkin’s stories are some of the greatest and most influential ever written. Foundational to the development of Russian prose, they retain stunning freshness and clarity, more than ever in ... more >
B- Reviews / Book Reviews1910s / Baba Yaga / Dark Fantasy / fairy tale / friendship / Historical Fantasy / quest / Russia / teens / Witches / World War I / YA fantasy / YA romance / Young-Adult3 Comments
It’s 1919, but in Edenfall, Pennsylvania, the Great War is not over — not for Vasilisa, at least. Papa is presumed dead, Mama is being courted by an absolute ogre, and now Babka, her beloved grandma, has had a bad spell. Or has she fallen under one? Only the Old ... more >