Review: The Little Cottage on the Hill

The Little Cottage on the Hill by Emma Davies
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A cute fluffy feel good romance with some depth. This book followed Maddie who is hired to help restore and manage an old property of cottages and farmland in order to help lure corporate retreats there. This is a great opportunity for Maddie to prove her worth and start fresh again after dealing with a painful history.
The property is what is called Joy's Acre and has a lovely past of it's own. Joy's Acre was built during Victorian times and served as an oasis for people who needed it. Upon arriving, Maddie finds herself in direct odds to the property owner, Seth, who sees change as harmful to the integrity and history of the property. Things only escalate from there and Maddie has to decide whether to run away or try to see things from a different perspective. Additionally, she starts to feel drawn to this picturesque land and the history it holds.
This book was a fun quick read and I flew through it. I enjoyed the descriptiveness of Joy's Acre as well as the history that the property claimed. I enjoyed seeing the development of the two main characters. They each had to grow a bit and comes to terms with their past and who they truly were. Maddie especially changed quite a bit for the better.
Overall great read and sweet romance.

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Review: The Queen: The Life and Times of Elizabeth II

The Queen: The Life and Times of Elizabeth II by Catherine Ryan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The was a wonderful account of the life of Queen Elizabeth II before and during her reign. This book gives a comprehensive history starting with King George V. The book goes into depth on not only the good times but the trials and scandals that faced the monarchy over the many decades.
I appreciated the layout of the book especially in the gorgeous pictures and spreads. The writing in the book gives you a greater understanding of the royals and protocols. It helped shed a light on certain scandals that are well known and helped you to see behind the curtain a bit which helps to give a more sympathetic or objective view of past events. I further appreciated the facts given of the problems that faced the common people and their frustrations when it came to the monarchy, the economy, and other crisis.
I highly recommend this book if you are interested in British history, the monarchy, or just the queen herself.
#netgalley #TheQueen

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Review: The Mitford Murders

The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was such a fun book and I absolutely adored everything about it. The Mitford Murders blend fact with fiction. I didn't realize until the end of reading, that this book was based on a real murder and a real family. The book takes place in the 1920's and begins with the murder of Florence Nightingale Shore, the goddaughter of her namesake, on the Brighton Line. The story unravels from there as the police investigate and try to solve this mystery. When the police become stuck with no evidence and no suspect, Guy, a young policeman, decides to investigate on his own time determined to solve this crime.
As a secondary plot we follow Louisa who runs from an abusive Uncle and finds a job as a nurse's maid for the Mitford family in their grand estate. The Grand Estate had many of the feels of Downton Abbey. The two plots eventually mesh together as Louisa meets Guy, the policeman, and gets invested in solving this mystery as well.
The Mitford sisters are fascinating in their history. However, in this book, the most prominent character is the eldest daughter, Nancy. Louisa and Nancy both become invested in solving the crime and form their own sleuth team. I adored Louisa as a character. She was just so endearing and I found myself rooting for her the entire way through.
The atmosphere of the 1920's really came alive in this book as well as life as a servant during that time period. The class distinctions were still very evident at that time. The evidence of the war is
apparent with many wounded soldiers suffering from the trauma of the aftermath.
This is a wonderful historical fiction. The Mitford family was a real family that lived during this time and many real facts are blended into the story. The events of the Shore murder are also fact. I was fully enthralled the entire read and the ending definitely took me by surprise.
#Netgalley #TheMitordMurders

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Review: Shaken, Not Purred

Shaken, Not Purred by Kelle Z. Riley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was so much fun. It was filled with spies, covert operations, and animals, specifically, a feisty little feline named Sherlock. It's James Bond with a female lead including all of the major Bond like elements such as mystery, undercover disguise, explosions, romance, and a little bit of comedy. It is a fast enjoyable read.
Basically, this follows a chemist named Bree who works for a company that is a cover for espionage activities. Her newest mission is to infiltrate a drug lab to see if they are manufacturing illegal drugs. Bree is to pose as a graduate student intern and cozy up to the other lab workers. During her investigation, a person turns up dead in the lab. Now, Bree must uncover two truths as she delves further into dangerous territory.

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Review: Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. I just fell in love with the main character who is in fact the author. This is the story of the author's childhood growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution.
I loved Marji's curiosity and her imagination as she was trying to take in everything that was going on around her from the overthrowing of the Shah, dealing with the new regime, and being at war with Iraq.

I also really loved the parents as side characters. There was such a difference between Margi's life in her home and life outside the home. Her parents were so modern and even protested the new regime putting themselves in a lot of danger sometimes. They did many things that were banned like playing cards, having small parties indoors, and drinking alcohol. All of these things were forbidden once the new regime took over. The parents tried to keep her childhood somewhat lively despite having to be very careful and not having anyone outside of family find out.

Overall, I just thought this was really charming. The graphics helped a great deal and really brought this story alive. I appreciated learning about Iran and learning about the Islamic Revolution. It is a tough subject but it was made easier to read since it was told through the eyes of child. Additionally, there was a lot of humor added in which was very enjoyable.
This graphic novel was educational while also being a simple story of a girl coming of age.

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Review: The Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazing book in the fact that it was raw and based in reality. Although this was a fictional book, part of it were very reminiscent of actual slave narratives that I've read in the past. This provided a very real portrayal of a brutal and horrifying time that should never be forgotten.

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Review: The Roanoke Girls

The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this! The Roanoke Girls had a disturbing plot and was somewhat predictable but enjoyable nevertheless. It is an extremely fast read as well.

After the suicide of her mother, Lane Roanoke who is 15, is sent to live with her grandparents on a rural farm in Kansas. Along with Lane, her grandparents also take care of Allegra who is Lane's cousin. Because of unknown events, Lane ran away after only 3 months there and hasn't returned since. Now, years later, Lane finds herself returning home after finding out that Allegra has disappeared.
We know that there are secrets and mysterious circumstances regarding this family's history and we, along with the author, are trying to unravel everything. Every Roanoke Girl is born beautiful and all live short troubled lives. We as readers are left trying to figure out what happened to Allegra and why all of the Roanoke girls seem to die or disappear so young.
This is really a heartbreaking, dark, and haunting tale. This book sucked me in from the beginning and despite the disturbing material, I was emotionally invested in Lane and Allegra's story.

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