Book Review: Hell to Pay by Jenny Thomson

This was a well-written crime drama. It details horrific events but wasn't too graphic. Nancy Kerr, the heroine, is tough but resilient and determined to get revenge. Tommy appears later in the book but is an interesting character. Its a quick read and a very satisfying first book in a series. I highly recommend it if this is your genre.

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Book Review - The Romanov Sisters by Helen Rappaport

The Romanov Sisters tells the story of the Romanov family from the time Alexandria, the mother, is a small girl until the family's death. It is well-written and well-researched, using letters and interviews with friends and other family members to reconstruct their life. It ends abruptly with their deaths and  I would have been interested in a little more information about that. But otherwise I enjoyed this book. I was given this book as an ARC for an honest review.

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Announcement - new distribution!

The Black Swans is now available at Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks, and other major outlets as well as Amazon.

Link to B&N

Link to Kobo

Link to iBooks

Link to Amazon

Book Review - Children of the Mist by Hywela Lyn

This is world-building at its finest. Tamarith fell in love with a man she can never have but meets handsome Vidarh who has abilities beyond most of their people. The people in this world are psychics, but have suddenly fallen prey to a deadly disease. They call for help from some old friends (see Starquest, the first book in this series) and then have to fight off invaders. A nice romance in an interesting world.

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Book Review: Me & Georgette by D.B. Schaefer

My sister introduced me to Georgette Heyer when we were both very young and I've never stopped reading regency romances. So when I saw this book I knew it was for me. It's a lovely story, well-written and in the style of Georgette Heyer. Devorah Asher is an Orthodox Jewess living in present day Brooklyn who is a huge fan of Heyer's books. When she falls and hits her head, she is transported back to the Regency era.
Every character is well-drawn and the plot resolves itself in true Heyer style. I've never read about Orthodox Judaism in a regency novel before, but the author incorporates it seamlessly. Well-done and bravo.

Link to Amazon

Trad Tuesday - Celtic music from Brittany - Kemmesk by Arany Zoltán

The Seven Celtic Nations are Brittany, Ireland, Cornwall, Scotland, Wales, Galicia (or Spain), and the Isle of Man. Since I am currently traveling and will be in Brittany later this week I thought I'd share some music from Bretagne. This is not traditional music, but the images are lovely, so this will have to do for the next few weeks until I return. 

Jouir!

Book Review - Chaos Bound by Adriaan & Rebecca Brae

This was an interesting book, well-written and with complex engaging characters. Jessica is in 10th grade (the book takes place in Canada so I think that translates to a Junior in the US). Her boyfriend has moved to the city and her two girlfriends have moved on to other friends. Jessica is pretty well adjusted and even though made the butt of practical jokes she handles it all pretty well. What really freaks her out is the odd events happening around her and the visions she is having. She makes new friends Drew, a First Nation boy, and Mac, an ethnic Japanese girl with super fighting skills. This trio is determined to get to the bottom of the strange happenstances in their town.
This is where I had some trouble as a reader. The story vacillates between paranormal and science fiction and as a result the plot is weakened. I would have been more comfortable if the story decided on one or the other because it didn't make sense as to what was happening - was it dark forces that possessed a boy or was it aliens from another world. For a while I thought the aliens were actually from a fantasy world, but I finally settled on another planet because of the chapter heading information. It wasn't too clear to me as a reader and so I lost the thread of the plot a few times.
I'll be curious to see where the series goes with the next books.

Link to Amazon