Review: The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever

The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever by Julia Quinn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This novel starts when Miranda Cheever is ten years old and meets Viscount Turner for the first time. He is kind to her where others have not be and she falls in love. Instead of growing out of the childhood love she remains in love with him. Turner does not realize this until after his wife dies and he finds himself drawn to her.

While I enjoyed the novel, I felt like Turner was a bit slow.

I liked the story for the most part, I just didn't find it as fun as I would have liked from a Julia Quinn novel.

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Review: Silk Is for Seduction

Silk Is for Seduction by Loretta Chase
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book had me smiling to myself as I read the funny interplay between a determined dressmaker and a Duke who wants nothing more than to seduce her and send her on her way. Little do they know that won't happen. I however, did know that they would not walk away from each other the way they thought they would. Historical Romance is predictable in the on the way to the alter plot. This one had plenty to keep me smiling and laughing as it made its way to the ending.

Marcelline Noirot is determined she will be the dressmaker for the Duchess of Clevedon, so she sets on to convince the Duke of Clevedon to have his future fiance come to her shop. She does not count on the Duke being handsome and clever. They both get more than they realized when they come to a clash of wills. Really a fun read.

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Review: The Luckiest Lady in London

The Luckiest Lady in London by Sherry Thomas
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the first historical romance I've read by Sherry Thomas. I've read her young adult series, The Elemental Trilogy and I liked the characters, setting, and plot for that a lot. I did not care for this novel nearly as much as I did the young adult fantasy.

I wasn't sure about the attraction between the characters. Sure, there is something but it didn't seem to be enough to have them tripping over themselves to the alter.

What I did like about this book was the use of dreams and imagined touches. The dialogue between the characters could be tantalizing. However, I didn't feel it enough to make the story come to life. I liked the book but I didn't find myself smiling as I was reading it.

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Review: The Queen of Blood

The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book. It felt a little like a mix between young adult and adult fantasy. After a horrific attack on her village, Daleina, who has an affinity with the spirits, decides to become a queen of Renthia. She wants to protect the people and make sure no one has to live through what she did in her village.

The world created in this book reminds me a little of the spirits in some of Miyazaki's films. However, the spirits are not kind in this world. They are bound not to hurt the humans, but they desire to hurt them and sometimes they do.

Ven is a disgraced Champion of the realm and he is in Daleina's village after the attack happens. Later he picks her as his candidate for Queen. Ven also recruits Hamon, a healer, to travel with them. There was a little romance, but it didn't take over the story the way it does in some novels. This was a story about the conflict between spirits and humans, and the romance helped develop the characters but it did not become the story. I appreciated that. I'm looking forward to reading the next in this series.

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