Review: Poison Study

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Yelena is set to be killed for murder when she is given the choice to become the food taster. She takes it. She then trains with Valek, the Commander's valued adviser, assassin, and it seems friend, to identify different poisons and taste the food.

The story is told from the first person so it takes a while to get to know the different characters. As Yelena starts to trust Valek so does the reader. As the story progresses we get to see Yelena gain confidence while making the best of a not so good situation.

There was a little romance which developed slowly. I didn't think the age of the second main was ever given.

This was a good story and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

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Review: Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover

Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover by Sarah MacLean
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed the close to the series. What I liked about these series was that we had a close with each book and the next book came back to follow a different owner of the Gaming Hell.

This book follows Chase the elusive founder of the Fallen Angel. It was interesting to see get hints about Chase throughout the previous novels and to finally see things from her perspective. Georgina was an interesting character in her many different disguises. Duncan West the newspaper man who was present in past novels as well is the love interest. I enjoyed the romance and the struggle for power between the two characters.

I'm a little sad to see the end of this series. The Fallen Angel was a fun setting and the idea of secrets ruling London society was very intriguing.

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Review: No Good Duke Goes Unpunished

No Good Duke Goes Unpunished by Sarah MacLean
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I've been enjoying the stories of the owners of the Fallen Angel. This time we have the story of Temple, the Killer Duke, who supposedly killed his father's much younger bride on the eve of their wedding. After 12 years, Mara comes back to save what she has build for herself.

I enjoyed the tension and release that build up between Mara and Temple. It was nice to see Bourne and Penelope, and Cross and Pippa again.

This book started a little slowly for me but by the middle I was engrossed and really enjoying the build of the romance between the characters.

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Review: The Duke's Disaster

The Duke's Disaster by Grace Burrowes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was an enjoyable historical romance. I wasn't sure about the reveal at the end, and the uncertainty made the build up to it worth while.

I liked Thea and Noah, but their lack of communication lead to a lot of misunderstandings that could have been avoided. There might not have been a book without these misunderstandings, but it did feel a little forced to me. I did enjoy the characters and I thought the novel was worth reading.

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Review: The Rogue Not Taken

The Rogue Not Taken by Sarah MacLean
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sophie had enough of the London society and a mistake leads to her escaping the city. When the Marquess of Eversley, King, is returning home for the first time in fifteen years the last thing he expects is to find one of the society ladies hiding as his footman. Lady Sophie's and her sisters are the darlings of the gossip pages and Sophie has never wanted a part of that.

The relationship between Sophie and King was fun to watch develop. I like strong characters and Sophia was a strong woman. She spoke her mind and she stood up for what she believed. This was a fun read.

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Review: Because of Miss Bridgerton

Because of Miss Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was not familiar with Julia Quinn. I enjoy historical romances and this one fit in very nicely. I'll be looking for more novels by Julia Quinn.

Billie Bridgerton is strong willed, and she does not like to be thought of as incapable of things men can do. She is also a little bit of a smart ass. I liked that about her. The novel was light and had just the right amount of tension build up before the release at the end.

I absolutely loved the opening with the mean cat on the roof. It fit the story perfectly. While nothing in the book surprised me I didn't want to put the book down, so much so that I wondered about taking a paper book into the shower for about 10 seconds before the rational part of my brain kicked in and said you can pick it back up when you get out. This was a fun read and I'm looking forward to reading more novels by this author.

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Review: Lolita

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I feel a little weird giving a book with such a despicable narrator a five star rating. However, the book is extremely well written and I really enjoyed listening to the audio book. This is not a love story, do not be confused. It is the story of obsession and brutality, but it does have a sensual side.

I knew from very early on in the story that HH was not a reliable narrator. I felt dread when I knew what was coming, but some how I still found myself feeling compassion for HH. I didn't want to feel compassion or anything else towards the narrator, but I found I did. I think the opening of the novel had a big impact on how I reacted to the rest of the novel. It created that opening that made HH into a narrator the reader is drawn to. That doesn't mean at times you don't want to scream at the narrator for being a brute, I did. He was horrible, but yet I was still taken in by his story.

I am torn by this novel. It was easy to listen to and the story did an amazing job telling HH's story in a way that the reader relates to him. I understand why this novel is considered a classic. I also understand why it is considered controversial. I think this novel will continue to be read long into the future and future readers will feel just as conflicted as we do now.

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Review: Dark Tide

Dark Tide by Jennifer Donnelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book focused less on Serafina's story and more on the rest of the girls. I found that I really enjoyed Astrid and wanted to read more about her. This book delved into the backstories of Ling, Astrid, and Becca. We got to see a little of Ava, but not as much as we did Astrid and Ling.

The story switches between the different characters as the travel home or travel to search for the talisman which was hidden in their part of the ocean. As they travel we get to see a little more of the world underwater. This story is very character driven, so occasionally I felt like the setting was lacking. However, I didn't think it took away from the story, and I really am looking forward to continuing this series.

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Review: Truthwitch

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book followed four primary characters. The first chapters were a little slow as the author introduced the characters. The world is one where their are witches, who can control different parts or the world. The world was not explained fully and we learned about the world as we traveled through it with the different characters. I appreciated that it unfolded slowly.

I found this world engaging and I'm glad I found this book. I'm looking forward to seeing the relationships develop and the world come to life. I'll definitely be looking for the next book in the series and more novels by this author.

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Review: Glass Sword

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

We are haunted by the past and it could all shatter like glass if we examine it to closely.

Mare is haunted by her actions, but she isn't ready to trust anyone to help her. I thought that was a reasonable response to what she went through in the first novel. This novel had more action and movement than the first novel, which I liked. I enjoyed both novels and I think the character development in this was good. I'm looking forward to reading the next.

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