Genre: Historical

ARC Review: Lamp Black, Wolf Grey by Paula Brackston

ARC Review: Lamp Black, Wolf Grey by Paula Brackston

August 12, 2015 0 Comments Regina

In the latest from Paula Brackston, a young artist goes to the Welsh mountains in search of love, but is faced with ancient legends and a mysterious man from the past – Merlin himself. You can find my reviews of other Paula Brackston novels HERE. All I have to do is see Paula Brackston’s name on a novel and know that I’m going to love it. Her writing is so rich and engrossing, and as […]

Flappers, Flasks and Foul Play ( A Jazz Age Mystery #1) by Ellen Mansoor Collier

Flappers, Flasks and Foul Play ( A Jazz Age Mystery #1) by Ellen Mansoor Collier

August 3, 2015 1 Comment Regina

  I discovered Ellen Mansoor Collier’s Jazz Age Mystery series while doing some Historical research of my own, and by God, I feel like I struck gold, babies! GOLD! We’ve all read the 1920s Historical Fiction set in New York, Chicago, Paris, New Orléans, but I never would have thought about experiencing the Jazz Age via Galveston, Texas until I read Flappers Flasks, and Foul Play. To be honest (I admit with my head hung […]

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 […]

Dangerous Deceptions ( Palace of Spies #2) by Sarah Zettel

Dangerous Deceptions ( Palace of Spies #2) by Sarah Zettel

July 6, 2015 0 Comments Regina

You can check out my review of the first book in this series, Palace of Spies #1 HERE.   (I love this series. HARD.) I love Historical Fiction and Non-Fiction and read quite a bit of both, so I wouldn’t say I’m easily impressed. There’s just something so clever about Sarah Zettel’s characters/dialogue, and something so sneaky-educational about her writing. I’ve never learned so much about the time period and customs of King George I’s […]

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 […]

The Silver Witch by Paula Brackston Review + Giveaway!!!

The Silver Witch by Paula Brackston Review + Giveaway!!!

May 21, 2015 2 Comments Regina

If you’ve ever had any interest in Welsh or Celtic mythology or ancient Welsh culture, you will be obsessed with this book. The Silver Witch was AWESOME. I was enthralled with how Paula Brackston wraps up her fantasy/supernatural narratives in solid, mesmerizing historical research. You can find some of the historical artifacts she writes about in this novel here. With spellbinding craft,  Ms. Brackston weaves the life of a contemporary widowed woman with the life of […]

Monarch Madness: His Last Mistress by Andrea Zuvich Review + GIVEAWAY!

Monarch Madness: His Last Mistress by Andrea Zuvich Review + GIVEAWAY!

April 18, 2015 4 Comments Regina

I’m wrapping up my Monarch Madness posts this weekend! Today I’m reviewing and posting a GIVEAWAY of Andrea Zuvich’s intoxicating novel, His Last Mistress. You will fall madly in love with this book if you are a fan of The Seventeenth Century, political intrigue, court gossip, romance, and betrayal. His Last Mistress follows the passionate love affair between the Duke of Monmouth, an illegitimate son of King Charles II, and Henrietta Wentworth, a Lady of […]

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 […]

Euphoria by Lily King

Euphoria by Lily King

January 29, 2015 5 Comments Regina

Euphoria is one of those books that I feel a little nervous about reviewing because it is a story built around a very specific topic, and I don’t want to interpret something wrong or say something that is completely off target. So, for the most part, I’ll just keep it as general as possible. Although I did take an Intro to Anthropology class, and a Magic, Ritual, and Religion anthropology class in college, I don’t […]

Palace of Spies by Sarah Zettel

Palace of Spies by Sarah Zettel

January 25, 2015 2 Comments Regina

Let’s start with the AWESOME book trailer, shall we?   Fans of Etiquette and Espionage will (should) love Palace of Spies. I try to refrain from doing this- but after reading the book and giving it five stars on Goodreads, I scanned some of the less than stellar reviews of the novel. One reviewer commented that the book had ”casual racism” in it and I was a little perplexed by this. There were no instances […]

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

January 16, 2015 4 Comments Regina

(Skip to the end of the post for the SHORT VERSION of my review) August, 2014. I walk into my local Barnes and Nobel and am stopped in my tracks by a “New Releases” display table. There is one obvious ”winner” to this display: The Miniaturist. Shiny hardcovers of it are stacked left and right, on top, below, and facing me on one of those nifty display stands. It feels like Christmas in July. The […]

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 […]

A Mad, Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller

A Mad, Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller

December 31, 2014 2 Comments Regina

It’s almost been a year since I read this book, but I can’t let the New Year ring in without reviewing it because A Mad, Wicked Folly was one of my FAVE books of 2014. Imagine the lush world created in 1998’s Titanic film or the luxurious settings of PBS’s Downton Abbey, and you  have the story world of  A Mad, Wicked Folly. As if that isn’t enough to make someone run to their nearest […]

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 Ring and The Crown by Melissa De La Cruz + GIVEAWAY!!!

The Ring and The Crown by Melissa De La Cruz + GIVEAWAY!!!

August 13, 2014 10 Comments Regina

    Magical Realism in a historical setting makes me HAPPY. Think “The Young and The Restless” meets ” Camelot” on steroids. TR & TC unfolds against the unstable historical setting of London during the Franco-British empire and Melissa De La Cruz immediately dazzled me with the sensibilities of her characters just as much as she did with the story setting. There are several key players in this book that move around like pieces on […]

ARC Review: The Lovely and The Lost (The Dispossessed #2) by Page Morgan

ARC Review: The Lovely and The Lost (The Dispossessed #2) by Page Morgan

May 21, 2014 0 Comments Regina

    I REALLY HATE to admit this, but…….. TheLovelyandTheLostisEVENBETTERthanTheBeautifulandTheCursed!!$!!#! THIS. BOOK. Ohmawgawd. Okay, calming myself down now. Time to review like the civilized bibliophile that I am. *coughs* You can check out my review of TB&TC (The Dispossessed #1) and Marco’s Story (The Dispossessed #.5) here and here. This review will be SPOILER FREE for those who have not been lucky enough to read The Beautiful and The Cursed yet.  I’m glad I read […]

Fallen Beauty by Erika Robuck: Review+Giveaway!

Fallen Beauty by Erika Robuck: Review+Giveaway!

April 23, 2014 1 Comment Regina

I was in a poetry rut. Shakespeare, Keats, Wordsworth and Wadsworth, Hesse, Byron, The Brownings: I was familiar with them all on a quotable level. I needed a new poetic fix and ended up running my index finger along the spines of paperback books in the poetry section at a Barnes and Noble store in Austin, Texas. Edna St. Vincent Millay. It was that name that made me pause. There was just something about it. […]

Tsarina by J.Nell Patrick

Tsarina by J.Nell Patrick

April 4, 2014 2 Comments Regina

So I was at Barnes & Noble trying to decide if I wanted to splurge on Tasarina or The Winner’s Curse and I couldn’t make up my mind because I had heard such great things about the latter. I decided to read the first few pages of both books to help me decide and ended up going with Tsarina. I can’t remember the first time I ever learned about the Romanov’s but I do remember […]