Format: Paperback

Talk to the Paw by Melinda Metz

Talk to the Paw by Melinda Metz

October 17, 2018 3 Comments Regina

I read this book when it first came out, but I am just now getting around to reviewing it on the blog.   First, here’s a little history about the author. Melinda Metz is a librarian and the co-author of the original Roswell High book series that was eventually adapted for television as the CW’s Roswell T.V. show. The Roswell books and television series have a cult following and fans have been campaigning for a […]

Not Her Daughter by Rea Frey

Not Her Daughter by Rea Frey

August 20, 2018 1 Comment Regina

Wow. If you start this book with looming deadlines or close to bedtime, be prepared to disregard both once you start reading Rea Frey’s immensely absorbing novel, Not Her Daughter. This is, hands down, one of the most compelling and complex books I’ve read so far this year. It is a fast-paced story that alternates between two female narrators, leading up to and during the kidnapping of a five-year-old girl. This book immerses the reader into […]

What the Librarian Did by Karina Bliss: Book Review + ASMR Librarian Role Play

What the Librarian Did by Karina Bliss: Book Review + ASMR Librarian Role Play

June 2, 2017 0 Comments Regina

“She’s got a secret that’s long overdue.” I am blushing as I type this review post; but YES, I read a Harlequin Super Romance. As I went through one of the handy self-checkout stations at my local library, I convinced myself that this romance novel was probably going to be a DNFer. The synopsis did not sound especially intriguing to me, but the cover and the title were enough to make me risk my prudish […]

The Sharp Hook of Love: A Novel of Heloise and Abelard by Sherry Jones

The Sharp Hook of Love: A Novel of Heloise and Abelard by Sherry Jones

October 14, 2016 4 Comments Regina

Sapiophiles unite. Heloise and Abelard are our heroes. Faith. Knowledge. Friendship. Lust. CASTRATION. Thus is the story of Heloise and Abelard. A love story steeped in provocative intellectual sparring and the knowledge of forbidden fruit. If you are a fan of the great and tragic romances of Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra, or Tristan and Isolde, then you are a fan of Heloise and Abelard: star-crossed lovers whose characters were crucified for the love […]

Hurricane Kiss by Deborah Blumenthal

Hurricane Kiss by Deborah Blumenthal

July 18, 2016 0 Comments Regina

            And all anyone will remember is that there were unanswered questions about the two kids who thought they could get out of a car in the middle of the freeway and survive a hurricane by running directly into it instead of getting the hell away. Two stupid kids who thought they were smarter than everyone else.   Hurricane season is upon us, and for those who live in coastal […]

Paris Is Always a Good Idea by Nicolas Barreau

Paris Is Always a Good Idea by Nicolas Barreau

April 10, 2016 0 Comments Regina

As one customer aptly put it in her review on Amazon, “Reading this book is a GREAT idea.” I concur. If you are like me and have never had the pleasure of visiting Paris, then you probably have a stack of travel books and travel fiction as tall as the Eiffel Tower. Not to mention ones with the word “Paris” in the title. Queue my NON-reluctance to read JUST ONE MORE book set among the […]

The Secrets of Midwives by Sally Hepworth

The Secrets of Midwives by Sally Hepworth

February 20, 2016 0 Comments Regina

Check out another fantastic book I reviewed that centers around midwifery HERE.  Here’s a vague, three run-on sentence long history of delivering babies:  Skilled women helped other women deliver their babies and would pass the torch of ”mystical delivery” down to other women because, after all, a woman knows how women things work better than a man. Fast forward to the nineteenth century and the medical field becomes ”professionalized” and the field of gynecology was […]

The Hollow Ground by Natalie S. Harnett

The Hollow Ground by Natalie S. Harnett

September 5, 2015 0 Comments Regina

“We walk on fire or air, so Daddy liked to say. Basement floors too hot to touch. Steaming green lawns in the dead of winter. Sinkholes, quick and sudden, plunging open at your feet.” The synopsis of this book is the kind that plants little hooks inside my historically minded brain and pulls on it. Especially the part of my brain that loves hauntingly atmospheric settings set among neglected snapshots of American history. The below […]

Girl on the Golden Coin by Marci Jefferson

Girl on the Golden Coin by Marci Jefferson

July 8, 2015 2 Comments Regina

Are you a fan of Historical Fiction? Then join me and others in the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge! I read a ton of European Historical Fiction/Romance and general History but I have to admit, my reading experience with the Stuart era has been nil until the past year. What inspired me to delve into literature on King Charles I and II was a lovely blog I follow called The Seventeenth Century Lady. You can find […]

Seared With Scars (Book 2 of The 2nd Freak House Series) by C.J. Archer

Seared With Scars (Book 2 of The 2nd Freak House Series) by C.J. Archer

June 30, 2015 0 Comments Regina

You can check out my reviews for the first Freak House Series HERE: and for C.J. Archer’s The Medium trilogy HERE: My review of The Memory Keeper, The 1st book in the 2nd Freak House series can be found HERE. C.J. Archer is my go-to-author for Historical Romance and luckily for me, she puts out books faster than I can keep up with. Especially concerning the Freak House series. The second book revolving around Charity […]

We’ll Always Have Paris: A Mother/Daughter Memoir by Jennifer Coburn

We’ll Always Have Paris: A Mother/Daughter Memoir by Jennifer Coburn

June 16, 2015 0 Comments Regina

If you’re like me, a Summer Vacation, or any kind of real vacation, is out of reach on a seasonal basis. Between paying for school, paying the bills, paying for my zoo, and just plain paying to live (the daily grind kind), I’m lucky if I have enough cash to go on a road trip from Houston to Austin. So, naturally, I spend all of the disposable income I just denied having on books that […]

Monarch Madness: The Midnight Witch by Paula Brackston + GIVEAWAY!

Monarch Madness: The Midnight Witch by Paula Brackston + GIVEAWAY!

March 27, 2015 5 Comments Regina

  Okay, so this book doesn’t technically involve a monarch BUT it does involve a Duke and Duchess, so I’ve decided to include this review and the giveaway hosted by St.Martin’s Press. I had not had the pleasure of reading one of Paula Brackston’s books until The Midnight Witch, and I cannot believe it took me this long to get around to it. I can’t imagine a more magical combination for a Historical Fiction lover […]

Monarch Madness: The Queen’s Dwarf by Ella March Chase + GIVEAWAY!!!

Monarch Madness: The Queen’s Dwarf by Ella March Chase + GIVEAWAY!!!

March 19, 2015 3 Comments Regina

  The Queen’s Dwarf was a completely engrossing historical tale of turmoil and  intrigue from the perspective of the cherubic, 18 inch tall Jeffrey Hudson- a spy planted in the Queen’s Menagerie of freaks. Jeffrey Hudson, The Queen’s Dwarf, and Queen Henrietta Maria   I have not read much historical biography or fiction from the reign of King Charles I, and this book was such a great introduction to the time period. The Stuart era […]

Fever (Parallon #1) by Dee Shulman

Fever (Parallon #1) by Dee Shulman

February 7, 2015 0 Comments Regina

The Parallon Trilogy trailer from Dee Shulman’s website: I really liked this book. On top of the eye-catching, must-own cover, the love story at the heart of Fever was beautifully woven in and out of the past and present.   The first part of Fever takes place in present day London with our female protagonist, Eva. Eva is characterized as a girl who is too smart for her own good. Bored by the public school system, […]

Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin #2) by Robin LaFevers

Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin #2) by Robin LaFevers

January 7, 2015 0 Comments Regina

You can check out my review for Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin #1) HERE. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy Dark Triumph like I did Grave Mercy. This second book in the series was close to 200 pages shorter but seemed much longer. To be honest, it was a laborious read for me. Dark Triumph seamlessly picks up where Grave Mercy ends, but we are now looking through Sybella’s eyes. Sybella is a contemporary of Ismae’s. She […]

Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin #1)  by Robin LaFevers

Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin #1) by Robin LaFevers

December 29, 2014 0 Comments Regina

I remember the first time I almost purchased Grave Mercy. It was a fateful spring night and under a facade of calmness, I was trying to decide on a book to purchase from Target’s limited selection of YA lit as the clock clicked closer to closing time. The book I had come for was out of stock, so I scanned the section for something else that looked appealing. I HAD to have a book. Going […]

The Memory Keeper (1st book of the 2nd Freak House trilogy) by C.J. Archer

The Memory Keeper (1st book of the 2nd Freak House trilogy) by C.J. Archer

December 15, 2014 0 Comments Regina

The Memory Keeper is the first book in the second Freak House series, which I love fiercely. You can check out my reviews for the first Freak House series, here. The Romance and Mystery continue at The Frankingham Estate aka Freak House: The Memory Keeper picks up with Samuel and Charity’s story right where we left off at the end of the first Freak House trilogy. I was SO ATTACHED and IN LOVE with Jack […]

Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution by Michelle Moran

Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution by Michelle Moran

November 25, 2014 3 Comments Regina

          I’m just gonna be honest here and admit that I am a MONARCH SYMPATHIZER and I despise how the French Revolution played out. *I’m looking at YOU Thomas Jefferson and Lafayette!* Looking back safely from my cocoon of present-day democratic America, with the knowledge of all I have read on the subject, I can say with conviction that I would have been an anti-revolutionary. And that’s why I enjoyed Madame […]

The Warrior (Dante Walker #3) by Victoria Scott: Review+GIVEAWAY!!!

The Warrior (Dante Walker #3) by Victoria Scott: Review+GIVEAWAY!!!

September 8, 2014 5 Comments Regina

I don’t mind first endings, second endings or sad endings. But I do mind farewell endings. There’s no one who hates the ”farewell” ending of a series more than I do. Now, I can’t technically prove that last statement. But I CAN prove how much I loved the Dante Walker trilogy and how much Victoria Scott’s debut series meant to me. How can I prove this you ask? With glowing praise and reverent reviews and […]

Crank (Crank #1) by Ellen Hopkins

Crank (Crank #1) by Ellen Hopkins

August 4, 2014 0 Comments Regina

I had ulterior motives for reading this book. I was doing research on the correlation between drug addiction and sexual promiscuity among adolescent girls who grew up with an absentee or poor father figure.(Don’t ask.) I really wanted to read something that was structured like a novel after scouring statistical research articles about the topic, and that’s how I stumbled upon Ellen Hopkins’ work. I would not call this book enjoyable but it’s definitely worth […]

Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg

Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg

July 8, 2014 0 Comments Regina

This book made me feel embarrassed to be a Texan. It reminded me of every time I cringe when I see a national commercial showing guys and gals wearing cowboy hats and Wranglers, driving out to their Texas ranches in their Chevy trucks at five a.m. It’s why my cousins in New York can’t believe I drive a Honda and don’t raise cattle for a living. I feel like Texas was demonized in this novel, […]