King’s Highlander (Highland Wishes, #4) by Jessi Gage – Review

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5 stars, Book Review, fantasy, historical, Jessi Gage, romance, series

About King’s Highlander

Danu, goddess of Wolfkind, has fallen for a mortal. Ever since fate thrust her into the body of a mortal woman, potent desires have plagued her. Surely, returning to her true form will cure her of the longing to fall into bed with the handsome King Magnus. Unfortunately, in her current state, she has no power to transform herself. Worse, she has no power to save her people from the wicked demigod intent on subjugating them.

King Magnus has waited fifty years for Seona, the human woman prophesied to become his queen and the mother of his heir. Now that he has her, she wants nothing to do with him. Until a terrible accident steals her memory. Where Seona once hated him, she now flirts with him. Where she once fled his protective custody, she now marvels at every nuance of life within his castle walls.

Magnus has been betrayed too many times to trust easily. Seona’s new behavior is suspect. But try as he might, he cannot deny his growing passion for her. Just when he begins to believe Seona will finally be his in every way, he learns a truth that rocks him to his core and puts his kingdom in peril. To save his people, he must rely on a new, fragile faith that challenges everything he thought he knew, and risk losing a love that transcends mortality.

Warning: Two pairs of “happy ever afters” are on the line in this wild ride of a fantasy romance. It is recommended that readers experience The Wolf and the Highlander (Highland Wishes, Book 2)

Review of King’s Highlander

In 2015, at an online Facebook party, I received the audiobook of The Wolf and the Highlander from author Jessi Gage in exchange for an honest review. I absolutely loved it (review here). That book was #2 in the Highland Wishes series, but the nature of the series makes book 4 more of a sequel to book 2.

I don’t often go directly to authors to ask to review a book, but I made an exception this time.  I had great expectations for King’s Highlander and I was not disappointed one bit. The situation with King Magnus and Seona took such an immediate and compelling turn that I could not put this book down.

Danu, in the body of Seona, is both goddess and mortal. Both aspects of her personality appeal to Magnus but he is in the dark about how Seona changed from hating every fiber of his being to flirting at every opportunity. Magnus is suspicious but also terribly attracted to the new Seona.

Sadly, his attempts to act on that attraction will be thwarted by an attack on his kingdom. All the children disappear overnight. To understand how terrible this is, you must realize that the Wolfkind are a dying race. They have very few females and many are past the age of child bearing. So to lose the children is a horrendous blow.

While Danu is in the body of Seona, Seona is in Danu’s body and therefore, in her prison. Put there by the demi-god Hyrk, Danu was despairing of escape. It must also be hopeless for Seona, though she does have a friend. Fae Duff promises to help her escape, but she must make a promise in return.  Because that is just the way of the Fae.

The subsequent story of Magnus going after Danu’s enemy is full of energy and action and high emotions. I would not miss this story for the world! Add the story of the children and of Seona and Duff and you have a full course dinner of passion, tensions and excitement, with an ending that brings in an unexpected blessing. King’s Highlander is such a well told story. You can read this book without reading The Wolf and the Highlander, but reading the two in order would make for a fuller experience.

The author graciously provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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The Phantom Tree by Nicola Cornick – Review

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3.5 stars, historical, mystery, Nicola Cornick, romance, time travel

About The Phantom Tree

Browsing an antiques shop in Wiltshire, Alison Bannister stumbles across a delicate old portrait—identified as the doomed Tudor queen, Anne Boleyn. Except Alison knows better. The subject is Mary Seymour, the daughter of Katherine Parr, who was taken to Wolf Hall in 1557 and presumed dead after going missing as a child. And Alison knows this because she, too, lived at Wolf Hall and knew Mary…more than four hundred years ago.

The painting of Mary is more than just a beautiful object for Alison—it holds the key to her past life, the unlocking of the mystery surrounding Mary’s disappearance and how Alison can get back to her own time. To when she and Mary were childhood enemies yet shared a pact that now, finally, must be fulfilled, no matter the cost.

Nicola Cornick offers a provocative alternate history of rivals, secrets and danger, set in a time when a woman’s destiny was determined by the politics of men and luck of birth.

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Review of The Phantom Tree

There are several things going on in The Phantom Tree.  Alison’s story in the past.  Alison’s story in the present. Mary’s story in the past.  I little bit of fantasy.  A chunk of history. And a mystery.

Alison and Mary are connected by the time they spent at Wolf Hall as forgotten children of royalty and nobles with no place to go.  Alison was the older of the two, cold and distant to Mary.  Mary was always a bit different because she had some unique abilities that would some day get her into trouble. They were not really close, but share some bit of friendship since they shared a room.

When Mary does get into trouble, Alison has a plan to help her out, though her plan is selfish.  She will get Mary someplace safe in return for Mary’s assistance in finding her son who was taken from her at birth.  And then, Alison basically abandons Mary.

Alison left home with no idea, really, of where she would end up.  All she knew was it was a very different place than her current circumstance.  In fact, it was four hundred years into the future.  Alison was not really smart enough to wonder if she could really even get back.  And she left her baby behind.  It was already established that she was somewhat cold and prickly.  Going to the future did not change her.  Her relationship with Adam proves that.  Alison is a main character that I could not develop any sympathy for.

On the other hand, I did like Mary.  The author filled in fictional details of Mary Seymour’s life that made her interesting and I wanted to see her get a happy ending.  However, Alison’s story seemed to be the main focus of the book, so I did not really get enough of Mary’s story.

I debated about posting this review on my blog. I was not really into it mostly because of Alison, though I did finish the book which is a positive.  I am giving it 3.5 stars (which I will round to 4 for other review sites).  I know there are many that will really enjoy this story and it does have a few good things to recommend it.  1) The character of Mary Seymour, as I mentioned earlier 2) historical settings were very well done and added to the overall atmosphere of the story 3) the use of clues provided in a portrait to research the past and provide answers to Alison’s questions.

The Phantom Tree is for history lovers who like a little mystery too.

Through NetGalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Tiffany Blues by M.J. Rose – Review

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5 stars, Art, Book Review, historical, Jazz Age, M.J. Rose, mystery, romance, Tiffany

About Tiffany Blues

New York, 1924. Twenty‑four‑year‑old Jenny Bell is one of a dozen burgeoning artists invited to Louis Comfort Tiffany’s prestigious artists’ colony. Gifted and determined, Jenny vows to avoid distractions and romantic entanglements and take full advantage of the many wonders to be found at Laurelton Hall.

But Jenny’s past has followed her to Long Island. Images of her beloved mother, her hard-hearted stepfather, waterfalls, and murder, and the dank hallways of Canada’s notorious Andrew Mercer Reformatory for Women overwhelm Jenny’s thoughts, even as she is inextricably drawn to Oliver, Tiffany’s charismatic grandson.

As the summer shimmers on, and the competition between the artists grows fierce as they vie for a spot at Tiffany’s New York gallery, a series of suspicious and disturbing occurrences suggest someone knows enough about Jenny’s childhood trauma to expose her.

Supported by her closest friend Minx Deering, a seemingly carefree socialite yet dedicated sculptor, and Oliver, Jenny pushes her demons aside. Between stolen kisses and stolen jewels, the champagne flows and the jazz plays on until one moonless night when Jenny’s past and present are thrown together in a desperate moment, that will threaten her promising future, her love, her friendships, and her very life.

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Review of Tiffany Blues

Jenny Bell is my character of the month. Of all the books I’ve read in the last 30 days, Jenny is the one I loved the most. Maybe it is her tragic past. Which made me cry. Or her artists optimism. Or determination to move forward. Its all those things really.

But if she does not have good supporting characters, the story would go nowhere. Minx Deering is the rich girl that does whatever she wants and gets away with it. You really want to set her down for a good talking to sometimes. Ben is the reporter that Jenny wants to trust, but can’t because he is a reporter and reporters ruin lives.

Then there is Oliver Comfort Tiffany, grandson of the great Louis Comfort Tiffany. He is the sort of rebel without a cause who befriends Jenny and encourages her when she needs it. Jenny and Oliver will become the two halves of one heart. But they are from opposite sides of the social spectrum and really, can that ever work out?

Perhaps my favorite supporting character is the man Louis Comfort Tiffany himself. He tells his own stories to enlighten his art. He guides Jenny with both suggestions and orders. His interactions with Jenny are beautiful and even spiritual. It is his line “…there is beauty even in broken things.” that brought tears to my eyes.

In addition to these exceptional characters, there is jazz, art and philosophy. And there is a mystery. While I did not find the mystery all that mysterious, it was critical in leading up the the climax, so pay attention!

In Tiffany Blues, the author’s notes are at the beginning of the story, which I liked. One of the reasons for the placement, I believe, is to tell the story of Laurelton Hall, the place Jenny and her fellow artists go to study with Mr. Tiffany. There is a mystery there too. In 1957, the magnificent hall was burned down and no explanation was ever made. The thing is, despite the precisely worded Author’s Note, while I was entranced by Jenny Bell’s Jazz Age story, I forgot all about Laurelton Hall’s unfortunate demise until the very end. Tiffany Blues is Ms. Rose’s brilliant explanation for the fire.

Tiffany Blues is a heartachingly beautiful story set in the Jazz Age amidst the exquisite art of Louis Comfort Tiffany. Art lovers will be drawn to this story, but anyone can savor it, as I did.

Through NetGalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book so that I could bring you this honest review.

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