A Stranger’s Promise by Tarah Scott (Lords of Chance, #1) – Audiobook Review

Tags

5 stars, audiobook, Book Review, historical, Regency, romance, Stevie Zimmerman, Tarah Scott

About A Stranger’s Promise by Tarah Scott

Penniless and jilted, Charlotte Atchenson accepts a position as governess to Lord Alistair Cassilis ’s illegitimate children. When Eliza sets foot in the Scottish lord’s carriage, she faces the most dangerous foe a woman can face: a charming rogue. The danger is not only to her heart, however, but to her life, as well.

In an effort to deny her son’s illegitimate children, Alistair’s stepmother insists on a dour governess who will break their rebellious spirits. Alistair, however, decides that the pretty lass with a colorful French vocabulary who shows up in his stepmother’s drawing room is exactly what the children need. If the notion offends his stepmother, all the better. If the lass is what he needs…well, a man can’t ask for more. His stepmother doesn’t intend for Alistair to open his heart to her grandchildren, or the woman who cares for them. Her plans include forcing them onto the streets.

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Review of A Stranger’s Promise

I loved this story. It’s got all the good stuff you need in a romance set in the early nineteenth century. A lovely, intelligent heroine whose father left her penniless. A society that provide almost no support for a single woman. A need for a governess for two adorable children. At least they have potential to be adorable – they start out a little bratty. And a handsome Scottish lord for a hero.

You have the feeling that when Lord Alistair first met Charlotte, he immediately saw her potential. As a governess and as someone he very much wanted to get to know. But Charlotte only sees an employer. Well, a very handsome and personable employer.

Early in the story there is a scene with Alistair and Charlotte and some whiskey that was fun. Read by narrator Stevie Zimmerman, it was hilarious. Ms. Zimmerman’s interpretation of Alistair (with a lovely, slight Scottish accent) and Charlotte was delightful in this scene and in the entire book. Her rendition of the aggravating stepmother rounds out the cast quite nicely.

While Alistair’s stepmother tries to prove he is not the legitimate heir, Charlotte charms her way into the hearts of the children and Alistair. For someone with no experience as a governess, she is nicely inventive when it comes to getting what she wants from the children. Smart girl. And she knows French. Well, a few French words. Colorful words. Oh my! I did enjoy Charlotte’s delightful tendency to speak her mind. Which annoys the annoyingly well-bred society. But enchants all the people that really count.

A Stanger’s Promise is a truly delectable. Pure fun with a happy ending. What more can you ask for?

Thanks to the author who provided a copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

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Midnight on the River Grey by Abigail Wilson – Review

Tags

5 stars, Abigail Wilson, Book Review, historical, mystery, Regency, romance

About Midnight on the River Grey by Abigail Wilson

She knew the house was keeping secrets. If only the darkness would speak…

After her elder brother’s mysterious death, Rebecca Hunter vows to expose the man she believes responsible: Mr. Lewis Browning—known by the locals as the Midnight Devil and by Rebecca as her new guardian.

Summoned to his reclusive country estate to await her London season, Rebecca plans her own secret investigation among the darkened corridors of the mysterious Greybourne Hall. Yet Lewis Browning is not as she once imagined, and his motivation is horribly unclear. Recurrent night-mares and Rebecca’s restless feelings are further complicated by the shadow of her mother’s pri-or descent into madness and whether she, too, will follow the same heartbreaking path.

Even as midnight rides, strange injuries, and further murders lead back to Mr. Browning, Rebec-ca can’t ignore the subtle turn of her heart. Has she developed feelings for the man she swore to see hanged? And moreover, can she trust him with her uncertain future?

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Review of Midnight on the River Grey

This historical mystery/romance has everything I look for in this genre. The strong heroine who must overcome her 19th century restrictions. The atmospheric setting – this time a country manor with fog, forest, barking dogs and gunshots. And a hero who is not what he appears to be. Add an unexplained death, mysterious meetings between neighbors, midnight rides and missing bottles of wine and you have a tale to keep you imaging all sorts of possible outcomes, right up to the last bit of the story.

In most stories of this type, the protagonists are young and attractive, so of course, they are going to live happily ever after. I really enjoyed seeing the older woman, Aunt Jo who is Rebecca’s companion, get her HEA also! Having a sweet dog, Sophie, in the story doesn’t hurt my opinion either.

Midnight on the River Grey takes place in the same time period as Ms. Wilson’s first book, In the Shadow of Croft Towers. There is a teeny bit of overlap between the two novels – from an historical perspective. But they are completely standalone stories. It was just nice to see that bit of continuity.

Abigail Wilson has made her mark in my literary brain. After reading her first two books I am, undeniably, a fan.

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

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Westside by W.M. Akers – Review

Tags

5 stars, alternative history, Book Review, historical, horror, mystery, New York City, scifi, W. M. Akers

About Westside by W.M. Akers

New York is dying, and the one woman who can save it has smaller things on her mind.

A young detective who specializes in “tiny mysteries” finds herself at the center of a massive conspiracy in this beguiling historical fantasy set on Manhattan’s Westside, a peculiar and dangerous neighborhood home to strange magic and stranger residents.

It’s 1921, and a thirteen-mile fence running the length of Broadway splits the island of Manhattan, separating the prosperous Eastside from the Westside—an overgrown wasteland whose hostility to modern technology gives it the flavor of old New York. Thousands have disappeared here.

Slightly built, but with a will of iron, Gilda follows in the footsteps of her late father, a police detective turned private eye. Unlike that larger-than-life man, Gilda solves tiny mysteries: the impossible puzzles that keep us awake at night.

Yet on Gilda’s Westside, tiny mysteries end in blood—even the case of a missing white leather glove. Mrs. Copeland, a well-to-do Eastside housewife, hires Gilda to find it.  When Gilda witnesses Mr. Copeland’s murder at a Westside pier, she finds herself sinking into a mire of bootlegging, smuggling, corruption—and an evil too dark to face.

All she wants is to find one dainty ladies’ glove. But as she begins to see the connection between his murder, her father’s death, and the darkness plaguing the Westside, she faces the hard truth: she must save her city or die with it.

NOTE:  The blurb has been edited for length.  See retail sights for more details.

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Review of Westside

When I started reading Westside, I called it a ‘quirky little book’ – after a few chapters. Quirky, yes, but using just that one word does not do justice to the book. So here are a few more:

Unusual – the setting and plot of Westside are truly unique. I crave true originality in books, and when such imagination is expressed in a book, I must tell the world! The setting is an alternative early 20th century New York City. A wall divides the East from the West because the West started to go weird. Really weird.  Houses started sinking, vegetation took over, rust overtook everything rustable and people started disappearing. But Gilda Carr loves her home and would not even consider changing where she lives.

Interesting – Good thing Gilda is a Westsider, because she makes a compelling heroine. Five-foot-tall, solver of tiny mysteries. “Those impossible puzzles that burrow into our brains like splinters and keep us awake at night.”  Because big mysteries are dull. Interesting philosophy. Also interesting is the fact that a peace loving petite detective suddenly becomes a gun-toting, body-slamming big mystery solver.  Gilda’s evolution was swift but, strangely, did not seem out of character.  In all fairness, the big mystery started with a tiny mystery.  The Case of the Missing Glove.

Action-packed – the story takes place over just a few days. It felt like longer, not because the story dragged, but because there was so much crammed into it. And not always neatly crammed, but messy, sloppy, what-the-heck-is-going-to-happen-next? crammed.

Which leads me to twisty. Reading the first few chapters, I could never have imagined how things would play out. Not even close. If I can’t guess the ending of a book, I call it a good one!

Colorful – so many big characters, dark corners, loud music and stormy skies. Imagine the Aurorae Borealis only more colors. And louder. Beautiful and fascinating and I just couldn’t take my eyes away from the page.

Genre-bending – okay, that may be a given, if you read the blurb. Historical, mystery, scifi, and horror. Take your pick, you will find it all in Westside.

So to summarize:  unusual, interesting, action-packed, twisty, colorful, and genre-bending. When I put those all together, I get Quirky! 5 stars!

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

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