Search

Search only in certain items:

H(
Heartless ( Scarlet Suffragette 3)
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
78 of 235
Kindle
Heartless ( Scarlet Suffragette 3)
By Nicola Claire
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Qualified physician? A menace to society? The next Chief Surgeon?

Returning to life in the Antipodes has not gone quite as expected for Dr Anna Cassidy; an axe hangs over her head. With no sign of her nemesis in Auckland City, Anna finds herself holding her breath.

But a gruesome surprise awaiting her in her home surgery one morning changes all of that.

Puppet policeman? Blind protector? Steadfast husband?

For Inspector Andrew Kelly, however, the subsequent murders are very personal indeed. As a ghost from his past haunts his present and threatens his future, he must first find the truth amongst the lies before he can end his misery.

But this killer wants their pound of flesh.

When the bodies pile up, and the heartless are identified, can Andrew protect the one woman he loves? Or will the murderer have the last laugh and crush his heart forever?

A gritty, twisted, and authentic Victorian romantic suspense, sure to rip you apart... just like old Jack.

This was the best one of the trilogy and perfect ending! I have enjoyed this series so much it’s the time period I love and has a Jack the Ripper link as well as the most amazing female characters just a really good series. The 5 star review is well warranted for the whole series too. I really enjoy Nicola Claire’s writing style.
  
40x40

ClareR (5779 KP) rated The Beholders in Books

Jan 19, 2024  
The Beholders
The Beholders
Hester Musson | 2024 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This was such a good book. I felt thoroughly ill at ease throughout, and the excellent narration by Ashley Tucker, Harriet Carmichael and Elliot Fitzgerald added to that. Victorian society is always portrayed as being very primitive and proper and on the surface, the Gethins are. But dig a little deeper and there are a lot of frightening things going on in this house.

Ralph Gethin MP, owner of the house, isn’t at all what he seems, and there’s a simple explanation why all of the staff are so attractive.

Clara Gethin’s attitude towards her baby did puzzle me, though. It’s understandable that she doesn’t like her husband and what he and his friends get up to, but why she should distance herself from her baby seemed to be out of character. There would (to me) always be the hope that Clara could influence her sons attitudes towards the staff and those less fortunate and make him less swayed by his father.

Harriet’s diary entries are a really good way of showing just how claustrophobic life as a servant could be: in one house all day, every day, not even able to get fresh air in the grounds, not really able to form friendships. It sounds awful.

This was a gripping listen, made more impactful by the different narrators. I didn’t want to stop listening!

I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.
  
40x40

Louise (64 KP) rated The Unseeing in Books

Jul 2, 2018  
TU
The Unseeing
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I am a lover of Historical fiction especially Victorian London so when I read the synopsis of ‘The Unseeing’ I knew I had to read it. This is Anna Mazzola’s debut novel and I can tell you it certainly delivered.

The year is 1837 and Sarah Gale is sentenced to be hung, she is believed to have aid and abet James Greenacre in the death of Hannah Brown. Sarah Gale was having an on/off relationship with Greenacre and living with him in his home until he met Hannah. Hannah Brown was a spinster with a bit of money and business’s in her possession,until her body parts were found randomly around London.Greenacre a conniving man that he is only wanted Hannah for her money and threw Sarah out a few days before Christmas. A few days after Christmas Hannah Brown is gone and Sarah Gale is back in Greenacre’s bed. Sarah is adamant that she knows nothing about the disappearance or death of Hannah Brown, but no-one believes her.

Sarah Gale and a Women’s institute have requested Sarah to be pardoned as she is to be hung but is adamant she knows nothing. Edmund Fleetwood has been assigned the case, his job is to see if she will talk or if there is any new evidence. This is one of the most spoken about cases of the time and this could be the career break that Edmund needs, however Sarah Gale is still adamant that she knows nothing. Can this meek, pale women really be involved in a murder?

This book was amazing, I felt like I had been transported to London in 1837. The writing was so atmospheric, the descriptions of the sounds, the streets and the way the characters spoke just blew me away, and it was consistent throughout the book. The Unseeing is a slow burn book that drip feeds you information slowly and you start piecing it together like a jigsaw puzzle. I was definitely hooked and needed to know how Hannah had come to be in pieces around London and what was going to happen to Sarah. There is a twist and I didn’t see it coming whatsoever and was left shocked for some time.

This book is based on a true crime that happened in 1837 and is known as the Edgeware Murder. Sarah Gale and John Greenacre are the names of the actual people involved and the court scripts can be seen at the Old Bailey website. You can definitely tell that the Mazzola had knowledge of the justice system as it was very well researched. I loved that Mazzola managed to make a fictional book out of a true crime and it makes it even more intriguing to read. It does make you think of how the justice system failed a lot of people back in Victorian times.

I will definitely be reading anything else Anna Mazzola release and recommend this book you are interested true crime and historical fiction.

I rated this 4 out of 5 stars
  
Ahsoka
Ahsoka
E.K. Johnston | 2016 | Young Adult (YA)
7
6.8 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
I've been wanting to read this novel for a long time, as Ahsoka Tano is my favorite character from the Clone Wars cartoon, and second-favorite in the entire Star Wars series. (Because General Leia exists.) I picked the book up at a used book store in Oregon when we went home from the holidays, but I've just had so many other things to read. I finally read it for May 4th, Star Wars Day.

I didn't like it as much as I wanted to. I've read another book by Johnston, That Inevitable Victorian Thing, which I enjoyed but thought was too fluffy. And comparing this to the last Star Wars book I read - Phasma - this tilts that way too. It's not as fluffy as TIVT - people die, and the Empire is the ever-looming possible doom that it always is - but it just didn't feel as gritty as Phasma did. Perhaps it shouldn't; Phasma is a villain, and her backstory is suitably dark. And Ahsoka, here, is floundering a little in the wake of Order 66, and being alive when none of her compatriots, to her knowledge, are.

I did enjoy learning how she got her lightsabers back, and the story should lead well into the Rebels cartoon, which I have yet to watch.

So I don't know. It was an entertaining book, and it was effective at furthering Ahsoka's story, it just...wasn't quite what I wanted.

You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
  
40x40

Louise (64 KP) rated After Alice in Books

Jul 2, 2018  
After Alice
After Alice
Gregory Maguire | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
4
4.8 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
After Alice by Gregory Maguire is told from two alternating point of views, we hear from Ada who is briefly mentioned in Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll as one of Alice’s friends and from her older sister Lydia. Ada is setting off to deliver a package to her neighbours when she manages to escape the clutches of her housekeeper and accidentally falls into the world of Wonderland, and so, begins her mission to find Alice.

I thought this was going to be more of a retelling when I requested it, but it’s more of a sequel from other perspectives. Lydia’s point of view gives more of a background into their family life and the Victorian society, with even some famous names added into the mix.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and was hoping this would have a bit of a spin on it. The writing is very ‘Wordy’ so be prepared to get a dictionary out and the world building was a bit wishy washy, some bits were good and others I just couldn’t imagine. As well as the normal characters like the White Rabbit and the Cheshire Cat there were additional characters added, which was interesting and they felt right in the world of Wonderland.

I was very bored reading this book and it seemed all a bit pointless,I was expecting so much more from the man who created Wicked!

I rated this 2 out of 5 stars
  
A thoroughly enjoyable and informative book which brings the history of Highclere to life in energetic and engaging story telling.

Initially, the author shows their 'upper class' voice a little too often but as the story progresses and you begin to engage more with the people involved, it becomes less obvious, therefore making the book much more easy to read and enjoyable.

As an avid Downton Abbey fan from day one, I was engrossed with learning the true history of the actual house, and can honestly say that the connections between Downton and Highclere are not limited to merely the house. The Carnavons are a wonderful and very energetic family with fingers in so many pies and so rich a history that they truly deserve the accolade this book should give them. They do not come across as typical aristocrats at all, rather 'real' human beings who are committed to the improvement in lifestyle of all they are connected with, true philanthropists and dedicated historians.

I can honestly say that this book reads like a fiction story, and you have to pinch yourself at times to realise that these were real people who lived and breathed and carried out all of these wonderful acts. Truly, it is a fantastic read which is fully deserving of more than 5 stars and something that anyone interested in either Downton, late Victorian/early Edwardian society, the First World War and it's aftermath, or even the tomb of Tutankhamen should most definitely add to their 'to read' list.