Alexandra: The Last Tsarina by Carolly Erickson (✬✬✬✬)

This was an excellent read on Alexandra. This book stayed focused on the Tsarina herself and doesn’t stray too far from her even though the Tsarevich’s illness is addressed. This book explored her relationship within the court and the power struggles with her mother-in-law, the former Empress. Alexandra had her flaws to be sure but comes across as so human in this book.

The Scent of Sake by Joyce Lebra (✬✬)

This wasn’t a good read. The story lacked any kind of tension or conflict and was more like a list of events that just happened. No actual plot and too much reliance on fortunate coincidences or an overheard bit of gossip. To be honest, it was boring. The author goes into a lot of detail about the domestic life of the characters, but nothing interesting happens.

Black Seeds: SF Novelette by Stjepan Varesevac Cobets (✬✬✬✬✬)

This book is short and very engaging, full of detail, and provoking. Never boring, it grabs the reader’s attention from the first page until the end, with its enjoyable storyline, interesting viewpoints, some outstanding characters, and a believable ending. 

I have enjoyed everything I’ve read by this author so far as he is extremely imaginative and a gifted storyteller and this book isn’t an exception, and I strongly recommend the book to those who are searching for an excellent sci-fi.

Sex with the Queen: 900 Years of Vile Kings, Virile Lovers, and Passionate Politics by Eleanor Herman (✬✬✬✬✬)

“Sex with the Queen” is a delightful book.  Author Eleanor Herman is skilled and starts with a powerful look at life as a European princess and understanding that such a life was hardly a rose garden for most of the women involved. After carefully providing the reader with a close and deeply fascinating look at daily royal life throughout Europe, she then works her way through the centuries with each chapter, bringing us delightful tales of the women who dared to find comfort and sex outside of marriage.

The Gifts Of Life by Oliver Smuhar (✬✬✬✬✬)

“The Gifts of Life” takes readers on a magical adventure. The storyline is unique, and the world author has made has been established through a lot of time, and with plenty of details, with strong fantasy plotline and elements, it’s a story of survival, discovering and learning how to work together to find freedom, friendship, and strength.

I find this book to be a fascinating read and I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence(✬✬✬✬)

Prince of Thorns is a unique reading experience. Most fantasy books focus on the brighter aspects of the human condition, such as our capacity to be epic heroes saving the innocent from harm or saving the world from some vague, ancient evil. This book, however, focuses on the grimmer, more realistic aspects of humanity. It took some time for me to get used to this style of dark fantasy, and for the first hundred pages, I was unsure if I even liked the book. But as I got deeper into the book and its twisted plot, my eyes were glued to the page and I was eager to find out what happens next.

Love in Idleness by Amanda Craig(✬✬)

On the surface, this story seems to have it all to make a highly appealing read. The setting is Italy, the cast of characters large and diverse, ranging from precocious children to rich, mean mother-in-law. The relationships shift, and love is explored.  Yet it never lived up to my expectations. It took me forever to finish it;  I was never fully drawn to the characters or the plot. Overall, I am sorry to say I was disappointed.

Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah(✬✬✬✬)

Magic Hour was a fast read once I got started it was hard to put down. And the first half of the book was interesting. But I thought the main plot lines became pretty predictable. Still worth a read through.

The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald(✬✬)

This book was not as interesting as I thought it would be, the characters were not as exciting. The characters in the story were easy to relate to, but there could have been more drama, and more exciting things happening. The story is very boring at first, then towards the middle, there is a little excitement, but still not enough.

The Maiden of Mayfair by Lawana Blackwell (✬✬✬)

This novel definitely has its limitations: it’s slow in parts, the characters are pretty much stock characters, and there’s a fair amount of religious moralizing, which can get tedious. But if you like the sweet, old-fashioned tales and don’t mind occasional preachiness, this has its charming moments and might be worth a look.

The Steady Running of the Hour by Justin Go (✬✬)


I liked the concept of this book, but the writing style was hard to follow. He seemed all over the place in both plot and characters. I almost put it down a few times, but ended up finishing it. The ending was rather dull.

Juliet by Anne Fortier(✬✬)


I wanted to love this book. Historical fiction, mystery, romance. I kept trying to read even though I was incredibly bored. It seemed like the book just kept going and was getting nowhere. Every chapter sounding like the one I had just read and there wasn’t a single likable character. The end of the story was so silly that I was disappointed that I wasted my time trying to finish the book. I was very relieved when it was over so I could move on to something else.


An Evil Eye by Jason Goodwin(✬✬✬✬)


I enjoyed this book both for the wonderful depth of history that Jason Goodwin gives and the sense of change reflected in this pivotal moment in the Ottoman empire. Some may have been disappointed by the change of tone, but this reflects grief and the hush of an aging empire on the brink.

The May Bride by Suzannah Dunn(✬✬✬✬)


I found this book a good read - hard to put down. I have read a lot of the novels around Henry VIII and his wives and lovers. This book offered a different view. It was mainly set in Wolf Hall so not so much about court life but more about life outside of the court. I found the characters interesting, and well developed.

Sex with Kings: 500 Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, and Revenge by Eleanor Herman (✬✬✬✬✬)


Sex with Kings is an interesting look at history through the love affairs of many Kings and the influence many of their mistresses had over them and sometimes history itself. Highly educational yet fun to read, it’s a good look at how Royalty and Nobility across time and of various countries lived, loved and ruled, and the sometimes surprising women they took to their beds. Entertaining and fun!


An Italian Wife by Ann Hood (✬✬)


 Too many characters and not enough follow through on each one. Josephine is the first principal character and the story abruptly moves to the next generation and leaves her behind as a very minor part of the story - she is in the room or as in the third's case generation she becomes a nasty old woman who makes a mean comment at family gatherings. These people struggle, yes, but I did not cheer for them, I did not feel for them - there wasn’t enough of each person to care about. And there were no moments of triumph that made the story worthwhile. This made the story tedious.