Search

Search only in certain items:

Mirrorfall (Ash & Blue, #1)
Mirrorfall (Ash & Blue, #1)
Stormy Sto Helit | 2020 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Independent Reviewer for Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!


Steph has been headhunted to help unravel a code that has been found that so far nobody has had any luck trying to decipher. Whilst working on the code she finds the mansion under attack she hides out in the best place she can think of, she does get found and for some reason, the person that found her seems very familiar and when he reveals why she is stunned!


Mirrorfall is the first in the series Ash and Blue. I found the book quite interesting - it's a bit MIB mixed with Winx saga and a bit more besides. Although I found it captivating there were times when I kind of thought hang on a minute, really would you process news like that as quickly as she seemed to? There were also times I did feel slightly confused as to what was going on that was more in the first few chapters though it may just have been me.


I did enjoy the overall story and experiences that happened in there so would definitely recommend you read this.


** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
  
Murder at Rough Point
Murder at Rough Point
Alyssa Maxwell | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Murder Makes a Retreat Rough
It is September of 1896 and Emma cross has been asked to cover an artist retreat happening at Rough Point, a mansion owned by Frederick Vanderbilt. When she arrives, Emma is surprised by some of the people included in the retreat. But even more surprising is the death of one of the artists at the base of the cliffs. It looks like it could be an accident, or even suicide. But something about the incident doesn’t sit right with Emma. Could it be murder?

This is the first time a book in the series is set off season, and I found I missed the real-life characters we’d gotten to know, although we did get updates on them. Due to that, the focus is on the cast of new characters and the mystery. I liked the clues and red herrings, although another subplot or two to break things up would have been nice. The one we did get allowed Emma to grow, which was nice. And an ongoing storyline got more complicated here. Overall, I enjoyed this and am looking forward to seeing what comes next.
  
Bitter Orange
Bitter Orange
Claire Fuller | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Very eerie tale involving three delusional housemates. Each delusional in their own right. Ending was a total surprise for me. (0 more)
One of the housemates story jumped around so often in her re-telling of said events, it was difficult to keep up and understand what she was saying. (0 more)
Bittersweet Bitter Orange
Bitter Orange has three main characters and the story is told from their narrative.

Francis Jellico who has never left home, much less her mother's side, until this year when her mother passed. Even after her mother's passing, Francis kept the death a secret for at least a month until the stench got too great.

Francis inherited her mother's eccentricities which included wearing her dead mother's undergarments even tho they did not fit and also a locker her mother wore that had a generic picture in it. Her mother had never put Francis' picture in.

Cara- young, sexy, assertive, self assured, talkative and friendly. Her glaring sin was she had problems with remembering which was truth and which were lies and keeping the truths and the lies straight so basically , she didn't make any sense most of the time.

Peter - older than Cara and very much in love with her but not liking her much on most days. He seemed genuinely caring but also as if he would like to break away from her. He also had a good idea for property value and costs of goods...especially antiques and knew what to sell to whom for what price point.

Basically, these three characters have been hired by an American investor to catalog the items in a mansion the investor had bought as well as to catalog the grounds and flower gardens. It is believed the investor plans to sell the property.

The mansion is large with many spacious rooms and bathrooms but only two of the bathrooms actually work. For some unknown reason ,Frances has been put in the maids quarters in the attic and the couple on the first floor with a mini suite at their disposal,.

As the three begin working together , each performing their job they soon begin hanging out together after hours, eating and smoking together.

This is where the story starts getting twisted. There seems to be a bit of jealousy between Cara and Peter over Francis. Cara gets jealous if Peter spends too much time with her, even if they are working and Francis misinterprets Peter's friendship.

All in all, this was a great read. It really kept me on the edge of my seat and the ending totally surprised me.

Bitter Orange: A bittersweet story set in 1969.