Book Review: The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 5 (The Unselected Journals #5) by Beth Brower

March 3, 2025February 7, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Historical Fiction
Length: 261 pages
Author: Beth Brower
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: November 24th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

I took Treasure Island to church with me as a talisman.
“What a lovely bible,” Mrs. Tribly said.
“Isn’t it just?” I replied, hoping she would not ask me to read a favorite verse aloud.
I do not believe the psalmist wrote,
Fifteen men on a dead man’s chest,
Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum. The Year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London neighbourhood of St. Crispian’s. But Emma’s plans for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian’s.

Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be, which comprise a series of volumes. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.

Readers have compared Beth Brower’s writing to Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde, P.G. Wodehouse, and L.M. Montgomery.

CHARMING AS ALWAYS.

I love this series and how every time I’m cranky about a book slump (or a string of bad reads) this series cures me every time. These book are a delight. I love how quick they are to read but how the time moves slowly as you watch Emma grow and learn.

This had some beautiful themes of working through grief and strong friendships. I love all of these characters and look forward to continuing this series.

Overall audience notes:

Historical Fiction
Language: none
Romance: flirting
Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a loved one (recounted), depictions of grief

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Book Review: The Key to Deceit (Electra McDonnell #2) by Ashley Weaver

March 2, 2025September 6, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Historical Mystery
Length: 272 pages
Author: Ashley Weaver
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Release Date: June 21st, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The second in the Electra McDonnell series from Edgar-nominated author Ashley Weaver, The Key to Deceit , is a delightful World War II mystery filled with spies, murder, romance, and wit.

London, 1940. After years of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor―well, to themselves, anyway―Ellie McDonnell and her family have turned over a new leaf as they help the government’s war effort. It’s true that the straight-laced Major Ramsey didn’t give them much choice, but still, Ellie must admit she doesn’t miss breaking and entering as much as she might have thought. What she does miss is the challenge of unlocking an impossible code and the adrenaline rush that comes from being somewhere she shouldn’t.

So when Major Ramsey turns up unannounced with another job, she can’t say no. A woman’s body has been found floating in the Thames, with a bracelet locked onto her wrist, and a cameo locket attached to it. It’s clear this woman was involved in espionage, but whose side was she on? Who was she reporting to? And who wanted her dead?

LOVED.

Gosh, go read this series y’all!! Two books in and I am obsessed. I love the mystery and history vibes. I love that they are fast paced and great audiobooks and I am SMITTEN with the romance. There is angst and tension and alllllll the things.

I love how well the story is crafted that leaves me guessing and plowing through pages so I can see who the culprit is while also being well balanced with Electra and her journey too. I love all of these characters and am anxious to get my hands on the next book.

Overall audience notes:

Historical Mystery
Language: low
Romance: kisses
Violence: moderate
Content Warnings: weapons violence, murder, attempted murder and near death experiences

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Book Review: The Huntress by Kate Quinn

February 12, 2025January 23, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Fiction
Length: 550 pages
Author: Kate Quinn
Publisher: William Morrow
Release Date: February 26th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling novel, THE ALICE NETWORK, comes another fascinating historical novel about a battle-haunted English journalist and a Russian female bomber pilot who join forces to track the Huntress, a Nazi war criminal gone to ground in America.

In the aftermath of war, the hunter becomes the hunted…

Bold and fearless, Nina Markova always dreamed of flying. When the Nazis attack the Soviet Union, she risks everything to join the legendary Night Witches, an all-female night bomber regiment wreaking havoc on the invading Germans. When she is stranded behind enemy lines, Nina becomes the prey of a lethal Nazi murderess known as the Huntress, and only Nina’s bravery and cunning will keep her alive.

Transformed by the horrors he witnessed from Omaha Beach to the Nuremberg Trials, British war correspondent Ian Graham has become a Nazi hunter. Yet one target eludes him: a vicious predator known as the Huntress. To find her, the fierce, disciplined investigator joins forces with the only witness to escape the Huntress alive: the brazen, cocksure Nina. But a shared secret could derail their mission unless Ian and Nina force themselves to confront it.

Growing up in post-war Boston, seventeen-year-old Jordan McBride is determined to become a photographer. When her long-widowed father unexpectedly comes homes with a new fiancée, Jordan is thrilled. But there is something disconcerting about the soft-spoken German widow. Certain that danger is lurking, Jordan begins to delve into her new stepmother’s past—only to discover that there are mysteries buried deep in her family . . . secrets that may threaten all Jordan holds dear.

In this immersive, heart-wrenching story, Kate Quinn illuminates the consequences of war on individual lives, and the price we pay to seek justice and truth.

BEST ON AUDIO.

This was a hefty book y’all. And one I think is best read on audio because I feel like it helped the pacing a lot more. Some of the middle gets bogged down in sub plots that took awhile to come back around to where this story was always heading towards.

As a surprise to me, this had a great diverse cast! I loved seeing the development of all the relationships and the heartache and trials that come with a wartime romance. I felt all the things and yet was satisfied where the conclusions led to.

I thought the overall intrigue and premise was interesting and I liked much of the buildup and mystery surrounding the Huntress. It had this aura of danger and awareness and those reveals towards the end were fantastic.

Overall audience notes:

Historical Fiction + Romance
Language: moderate
Romance: fade to black/closed door
Violence: high
Trigger/Content Warnings: antisemitism, racism, threats of sexual assault, murder, bombings, war themes

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ARC Book Review: Gate to Kagoshima (Ancestor Memories #1) by Poppy Kuroki

January 28, 2025January 5, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Romance (Time Travel)
Length: 320 pages
Author: Poppy Kuroki
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Release Date: January 28th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In this exciting historical romantasy in the spirit of The Hurricane Wars and The Time Traveler’s Wife—Outlander set in Japan—a young Scottish woman is magically transported to the last Samurai era, where she encounters ghosts from the past, her own Japanese ancestry, and a love that transcends time.

While in Japan researching her family’s history, a vicious typhoon sends Isla Mackenzie 128 years back in time, to the dawn of the Satsuma Rebellion. There she meets her ancestors, and a charismatic samurai, Kei, with whom she unexpectedly finds romance.

But, unlike her Beloved, Isla knows about the looming Samurai rebellion—and Kai’s fate. Should she attempt to change history or somehow make her way back to the life she’d had before?

Compulsively readable, historically grounded, and irresistibly immersive, Gate to Kagoshima is an unforgettable tale of duty, and of timeless love.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted ARC and LibroFM for the audiobook.

I’LL READ BOOK TWO.

And sometimes that’s the best review I have. I also think the audiobook did a great job of upping my thoughts on this book. I was able to breeze through it quickly and the narrator did an amazing job.

This is definitely in the Outlander vibe but less wide scale. I was surprised at how short this book was and how much history it was trying to cover at the same time. I loved the historical aspects though and learning more about samurai’s and the culture of the time period.

The romance took a bit for me to get behind and I think it could have used a few more romantic notions buuut the ending scenes were super good. They very much increased my desire to read book two and see how this will continue to progress.

Overall audience notes: