Undressing Mr. Darcy by Karen Doornebos

UNDRESSING MR. DARCY is perfect for Jane Austen fans.

Mr. Darcy is on tour, and he finds his public relations expert, Vanessa, to be quite charming.  They begin to have feelings for each other, but it has to be hush, hush. Vanessa's sweet Aunt Ella is thrilled at what she sees happening with Vanessa and Mr. Darcy.  Aunt Ella has a surprise of her own to reveal as well.

I am really not a Jane Austen fan so I missed some of the inside jokes, but the book was entertaining and lighthearted.  If you are a Jane Austen fan, you will definitely enjoy UNDRESSING MR. DARCY.

There of course is love, a Jane Austen scavenger hunt, and a trip to Bath, England, for a Mr. Darcy festival where Julian is.  Will Vanessa be able to find Julian aka known as Mr. Darcy without any electronic connections among all these Regency-dressed folks?  She still couldn't believe he didn't use social media or
e-mails.

UNDRESSING MR. DARCY will take you on an entertaining journey from Chicago to England?  Will Vanessa and Julian become a couple?  Read UNDRESSING MR. DARCY to find out.  I do have to say that the ending was sweet.

My rating is 3/5 just because I normally don't read Jane Austen or this genre, but for any Jane Austen fan, UNDRESSING MR. DARCY will be a 5/5.

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

This Dark Road To Mercy by Wiley Cash

 

No mother, a deadbeat dad, a foster home, and then a kidnapping.

Easter and Ruby were placed in a foster home after their mother died since their father, Wade, had signed them away many years ago. But now he wanted them back. Wade was bad news all around.

Easter followed all the rules and Ruby followed whatever Easter said.  Both girls will steal your heart because of their innocence and sweet ways. Their father will make you worry. 

THIS DARK ROAD TO MERCY is told in alternating voices with themes of a mystery to be solved, crimes that were  committed, crimes that were being committed, and family dynamics. The book starts out with the main theme being the girls left in a foster home but it heats up when Wade's deeds surface.

Mr. Cash has a smooth, absorbing, detailed style of writing that pulls you in. The suspense of the book begins when Wade decides to do something stupid...well many stupid things.

All of the characters have a lot of charisma that make THIS DARK ROAD TO MERCY a book you don't want to put down. It tells the tale of families, life in a small town, the town's problems, and its police force.

I really enjoyed THIS DARK ROAD TO MERCY which was filled with Southern-style emotion and suspense.  Don't miss reading this book.  5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

Unravelled by M. K. Tod

A war, a woman, and memories plagued Edward for years and became more intense after he and his wife went back to France for a dedication ceremony for the company he was in during WWI.

UNRAVELLED goes back and forth from past to present revealing feelings, desires, and regrets. The characters are likable but not lovable. Edward does the unthinkable when he is in France and ruins his life as well as his wife's life.

UNRAVELLED is the perfect title for this book because of the war and the personal situations that cause people to become undone. You will share the pain of losing a family member or a friend to war or to infidelity and coping with the loss along with the characters. 

The author did a marvelous job researching both WWI and WWII and brought the characters' feelings in all situations masterfully to the surface. The war information dragged on a bit despite the themes of marriage and infidelity even though the wars and what they do to the survivors, the wounded, and families left with or without their loved ones was the main emphasis.

If you enjoy love and war which actually can't be separated, you will enjoy UNRAVELLED.  I honestly have to say it was good, but it also lacked some pizzazz - it seemed to run on an even keel without too much suspense.  I skimmed through some sections. 

UNRAVELLED was good, but needed to be a bit shorter and not as detailed with the war information.  If you enjoy detailed war strategies, though, you will definitely enjoy UNRAVELLED.   3.5/5

This book was given to me free of charge by the author and without compensation by the author in return for an honest review.

Wake by Anna Hope

Ada, Evelyn, and Hettie...three women all having their lives touched by WWI and all sharing the pain of loss.

Ada lost her son and still believes he is alive since there really wasn't any closure.  She thinks she sees him walking in the town on his way home, but he never does arrive home.

Evelyn works in the Pensions Exchange and must deal with maimed soldiers asking for more money or more help.  Her brother Ed becomes part of her job and an interesting part of another pensioner's life when the pensioner asks Evelyn to look for an Officer Montfort.  She tells him she can't look for him, and her brother denies knowing Rowan Hind, but obviously he does.

Hettie dances for six pence and has to give half of it to her mother and brother since her father has died and Fred can't work.

All three women need a change, but will they get the change they need in their lives? And…all three women have one person in common with their grief but don’t know it.

WAKE was a bit confusing to me.  I couldn't keep the characters straight and had to keep looking back as to which character was which because it kept jumping from one story to the next.  The Unknown Soldier part was confusing as well.

The gist of the book is that war changes everyone, but mainly the women left behind.  The characters were a bit unlikeable because of obsessions and not knowing what to do with their lives, but the author did develop them well enough that after a while you felt sorry for them.  

The descriptions of the characters and scenes was quite good and detailed as well. If the book had not been jumping from one scene and from one character to the other, it would have been much more appealing.  I did like WAKE despite all of this, but it took a while to get into the book.  I LOVED the cover...perfect for the era.

The historical fiction aspect was very well done, and the feelings of each character were easy to identify with.  The main feeling was that of despair and boredom with the situations these women were locked into in their daily lives.   

My rating is going to be a 3 1/2 out of 5.

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

Gracianna by Trini Amador

 

Gracianna is a beautiful person and a beautiful story.  I guess we can't really call it a story, though, because it is the life of a determined, strong, hardworking, and well-loved woman.  The tribute her grandson gave to her in this book is wonderful.

Gracianna is an impressive woman and a woman who wanted to make something of herself and be proud of it for herself and her family.  Halfway was not good enough for Gracianna.  She had to do everything over and above.  I felt her knowingly doing everything correct so she could fulfill her dream of making it to America.

You will fall in love with Gracianna by the end of the first five pages.  You will also wonder what drove her besides her heritage.  If the story doesn't grab you, and I don't see how it won't, the cover definitely will have you intrigued.  The cover is what caught my eye to begin with.

Mr. Amador tells the story of his great grandmother very lovingly and with so much pride.  His pride oozes through his descriptions of her life and all the situations she endured.  I was fascinated at Gracianna's determination in good times and bad.  The bad of course being her living in Paris during the Nazi occupation. The Paris she grew to love and fight for through the horrors of the Nazi occupation.  There are some tense moments throughout the book, but that is expected for this time period in history.  You will definitely fear for Gracianna as she is helping the French resistance.

Everyone should read GRACIANNA for the pure beauty of how her story is told and how her life shows that anything is possible no matter how awful circumstances are. The most wonderful part of GRACIANNA is that Trini sends out his love that fills the pages and gives the reader a cozy feeling.

I thoroughly recommend GRACIANNA for the historical aspect as well as the wonderful descriptions and lessons taught.  Gracianna was a bit harsh on herself, but we all have a personality that was shaped in our childhood and Gracianna took her shaping to the highest point and made herself happy doing it.

You will want to read GRACIANNA so you can feel the power and the beauty of her story as well as feel her strength and determination.       5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the author in return for an honest review.

Tahoe Chase by Todd Borg

Owen McKenna is back again breaking hearts, breaking jaws, breaking rules, and solving murders.

Murders that were made to look like accidents were plaguing this ski town, and all the reasons for the murders were pointing back to one man, Joe, who was opposing the building of another ski resort.  Could this be the real reason or was it a diversion?

Why would someone want to hurt or kill anyone associated with Joe and especially his sweet wife?  Joe had no idea, and Owen was on the trail as one person after another kept being eliminated.  It wasn't an easy trail to follow even in ski country.

The characters are well developed as in Mr. Borg's other books, and most are likable and pleasant, especially Owen. The book also brought up domestic abuse and psychological issues along with the murders.  Every facet was very well researched.

The tension of the investigation isn't one that will have you chewing your fingernails, but I liked it that way.  It is a good mystery that will have you guessing until the end about who the murderer is. TAHOE CHASE has a good twist on who the murderer turns out to be.  I thought I definitely knew, but did not guess correctly.  I actually had two suspects in mind, and neither was correct.  :)

TAHOE CHASE was an easy, smooth read with skiing as a major theme.  If you are a skiing fan, you will be drooling over the details...they were phenomenal, but the skiing detail was a bit too much for me, though.  It actually was overwhelming in the sense that it wasn’t of interest.

I am going to rate this book a 4/5.  It is another good read by Mr. Borg. 

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the author in return for an honest review.

Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield

A rook was the beginning and the end for William Bellman.

Black was the color of the day for this book along with rooks, who according to the author never forget.

BELLMAN & BLACK was an unusual read with the premise of death, darkness, black birds (rooks), the color black, and black events...namely funerals and mourning goods.

William Bellman inherited a cloth mill and made it very successful, but when a deathly illness plagued and overran his town, he had another business in mind partnering with the mysterious man in a black cloak.

Who was the cloaked man who took all the light away at Will's mother's funeral?  Why was this man always around when there was a funeral?

Was this cloaked man and all the deaths in Will's family the result of Will's killing a rook when he was ten? Was this man with the black cloak Bellman's inspiration, success, or his downfall? Why were these rooks always hanging around?

BELLMAN & BLACK is a bit dark, but it still held my interest.  Ms. Setterfield has a way with words and dark themes, but despite holding my interest, BELLMAN & BLACK was a bit dragged out hearing about William's life and then his new-found wealth.  

I didn't seem to find the "ghost" in this ghost story until the very end.  The "ghost" was a subtle theme even though it was to be the main theme.  You will enjoy the wrapup in the ending pages....they were very unique.

Ms. Setterfield definitely did her research when it came to rooks.  The different names that a collection of rooks can be called was quite interesting.

I am going to rate BELLMAN & BLACK a 3.5/5 even though Ms. Setterfield does draw you in with her excellent writing skills, her fantastic descriptions of scenes, her brilliance, and her amazing creativity because something just seemed to be off the mark a bit in this novel.

If you like dark themes, and you don't mind being told every detail of someone's life, you will enjoy this book.  So please don't let me "frighten" you away from reading BELLMAN & BLACK.

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

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ABOUT DIANE SETTERFIELD 

Diane Setterfield became a literary cause célèbre when her first novel, The Thirteenth Tale, soared to the #1 spot on The New York Times bestseller list within its first week of publication. 

A haunting gothic mystery, the Washington Post summed up the novel’s appeal succinctly in the first sentence of its review: 

“If you are a Reader with a capital R, as is the narrator of Diane Setterfield’s debut novel, the pages of The Thirteenth Tale will remind you of what you know and love: the world of books.“   

Released to tremendous acclaim, the novel was called “a page turner in every sense of the word” (The Financial Times); “…eerie and fascinating and should delight lovers of books old and new” (USA Today); “a novel for book lovers” (Reader’s Digest); and People Magazine lauded: “Readers will feel the magnetic pull of this paean to words, books and the magical power of story.“


I LOVED HER FIRST BOOK.....

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Now, seven years after her bold debut, Emily Bestler Books will publish BELLMAN & BLACK the much anticipated second novel by Diane Setterfield.  

“I have heard it said, by those that cannot possibly know, that in the final moments of a man’s existence he sees his whole life pass before his eyes.”  So begins a dark and mesmerizing tale guaranteed to haunt you to your very core…