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Tag: 4 Star

February 18, 2020

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Review – Elizabeth and Darcy: Ardently Yours

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Elizabeth and Darcy: Ardently Yours

by Evangeline Wright

Elizabeth and Darcy Ardently Yours

Genres: Regency Romance, Historical Romance, Romance, Classical Re-write, Adult
Release Date: August 2, 2019
Pages: 171
Purchase from: Amazon

My Rating: ★★★★☆

View ratings overview

☆☆☆☆☆ – Did not finish
★☆☆☆☆ – Hated it
★★☆☆☆ – Disliked it
★★★☆☆ – Okay
★★★★☆ – Liked it
★★★★★ – Loved it
Read the full explanation of my book rating system.

We all know what Lizzy and Darcy did last summer… Or do we?

This variation on Jane Austen’s beloved Pride and Prejudice asks two questions about the summer before Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy’s introduction.

What if Elizabeth visited Pemberley before meeting Darcy, and was prepared to think the best of him, rather than the worst?

What if Georgiana Darcy stayed home from Ramsgate, and Wickham’s dastardly schemes had not yet been revealed?

The answer: An ardent, inevitable love story that unfolds quite differently… but is, in essentials, very much what it ever was.

February 7, 2020

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Review – It Started with a Kiss

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It Started with a Kiss

by Beth Wood

It Started With a Kiss

Genres: Regency Romance, Historical Romance, Romance, Classical Re-write, Adult
Release Date: October 1, 2015
Pages: 133
Purchase from: Amazon

My Rating: ★★★★☆

View ratings overview

☆☆☆☆☆ – Did not finish
★☆☆☆☆ – Hated it
★★☆☆☆ – Disliked it
★★★☆☆ – Okay
★★★★☆ – Liked it
★★★★★ – Loved it
Read the full explanation of my book rating system.

When Darcy finds Elizabeth touring the park around Pemberley, he assumes he is in the grips of his dreams and acts accordingly. He is incredibly surprised to discover that the woman he has taken in his arms is not only very real, but also kissing him back.

This lighthearted variation explores how things might have progressed differently had Mr. Darcy left Elizabeth Bennet with no doubt concerning his continued affection upon finding her touring his beloved Pemberley.

October 8, 2019

Review – Dorothy in the Land of Monsters

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Dorothy in the Land of Monsters

by Garten Gevedon

Series: Oz ReVamped, Book 1
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult
Release Date: October 11, 2019
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Shifters, Zombies, and Vampires? Oh my!

My name is Dorothy Gale, and I think I might be dead.

When my dog Toto and I got swept up in a twister, we landed in hell. A very colorful hell. Like a rainbow dripping in blood. Now it looks as though this dreadful underworld plagued with vampires, zombies, and shifters will be the site of my eternal damnation.

They say this terrifying land called Oz isn’t hell or purgatory and escape is possible, but first I must survive the journey down the blood-soaked yellow brick road to the only place in Oz where vampires dare not tread—The City of Emeralds.

With enchanted footwear and the help of my three new friends—a friendly zombie, a massive shifter lion, and a heartless axe murderer of evil night creatures (who also happens to be the hottest guy I’ve ever seen)—Toto and I have a chance to make it to the Vampire Free Zone. When we get there, I must convince the most powerful wizard in this magical land of monsters to send us out of this radiant nightmare and back to the world of the living. They say he’s just as frightening as this monstrous land, that he detests visitors, and even the most horrifying creatures cower in his presence. But I must seek him out. And when I find him, I’ll do whatever it takes to make him send me home.

Review – Seize

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Seize

by Alexandrea Weis & Lucas Astor

Series: Magnus Blackwell, Book 3
Genres: Adult, Supernatural
Release Date: March 26th 2019
Pages: 359
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Lexie Arden has a loving husband, a thriving business, and consults with the New Orleans Police Dept on murder cases. Kalfu has given her everything she desires, but challengers to her authority are closing in.

Her dark secret remains hidden from everyone except Magnus. He sees the evil growing stronger, changing her, and hurting her marriage. If Lexie doesn’t rid herself of Kalfu’s influence soon, the consequences will be irreversible.

When she unexpectedly inherits a cottage in the swamp, she uncovers a library of rare books on voodoo. Their spells can reverse the dark lord’s hold and set right the balance between darkness and light. But such magic requires a great sacrifice; one Lexie isn’t willing to make.

With the shadow spirits and raging voodoo gods vying for her attention, Lexie is on the verge of losing everything—her husband, her power, Magnus, and possibly, her life.

The battle for control of the mambo’s soul is about to begin.

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Review – The Unreformed Mr Darcy

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The Unreformed Mr Darcy

by Lin Mei Wei

Genres: Classical Rewrite, Historical Fiction, Romance
Release Date: November 3, 2018
Pages: 249
Purchase from: Amazon
My Rating: ★★★★☆

What if Elizabeth Bennet had accepted Mr Darcy’s proposal in Kent? What if they married before he stopped being the proud, arrogant man she detested? What if, in order to avoid the ruin of her beloved sister, Elizabeth chose to swallow her pride and say yes to a pre-reform Darcy?

Mr Bingley has left Netherfield, and in his stead a rich and unscrupulous man takes possession of the manor. While Elizabeth is in Kent, visiting her recently married friend Charlotte, she receives letters which tell her how Jane is soon to be wed to a man Elizabeth can’t stand. And then, unbelievably, Mr Darcy, the last man in the world she would ever choose to marry, proposes to her. Elizabeth is torn. But thoughts of rescuing Jane make her do something that will change the course of her life forever…

The Unreformed Mr Darcy is a Pride and Prejudice variation romance by the author of Stranded with Mr Darcy.

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Review – Mistress

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Mistress: A Pride and Prejudice Variation

by Sophie Turner

Genres: Classical Rewrites, Historical Fiction, Romance
Release Date: March 5, 2017
Pages: 186
Purchase from: Amazon
My Rating: ★★★☆

One night, to decide his entire life’s happiness.

Chastened by Charles Bingley following Mr. Bennet’s untimely death, Fitzwilliam Darcy determines he will offer marriage to Elizabeth Bennet, but she marries another.

Years later, a widowed Elizabeth is mistress of Longbourn, and has vowed she will never marry again. A house party at Netherfield brings them back together, but Darcy will have to win more than her heart if he is to have any chance at making her mistress of Pemberley.

February 14, 2019

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Review – The Ghostly Father

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The Ghostly Father

by Sue Barnard

Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Classical Rewrite
Release Date: October 6, 2018
Pages: 252
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Was this what really happened to Romeo & Juliet?

Think you know the world’s most famous love story? Think again. What if the story of Romeo & Juliet really happened – but not quite in the way we’ve all been told?

This part-prequel, part-sequel to the original tale, told from the point of view of the Friar, tells how an ancient Italian manuscript reveals secrets and lies which have remained hidden for hundreds of years, and casts new doubts on the official story of Shakespeare’s famous star-crossed lovers.

If you love the Romeo & Juliet story but are disappointed with the way it ended, this is the book for you.

February 5, 2019

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Review – Becoming Mr. Bingley

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Becoming Mr. Bingley

by Samantha Whitman

Series: Ditching Mr. Darcy, Book 2
Genres: Classical Re-write, Historical Fiction
Release Date: July 20, 2018
Pages: 402
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Letting the man of her dreams go would have been much harder had he been a real person. Living happily ever after with her soul mate would be much easier if reality was as uncomplicated as her dreams. And for Elizabeth Baker, the future would be much clearer if the lines between dreams and reality were not blurring yet again.

January 3, 2019

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Review – My Lady Jane

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My Lady Jane

by Cynthia Hand Jodi Meadows, and Brodi Ashton

Series: The Lady Janies, Book 1
Genres: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Retelling
Release Date: June 7, 2016
Pages: 512
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Edward (long live the king) is the King of England. He’s also dying, which is inconvenient, as he’s only sixteen and he’d much rather be planning for his first kiss than considering who will inherit his crown…

Jane (reads too many books) is Edward’s cousin, and far more interested in books than romance. Unfortunately for Jane, Edward has arranged to marry her off to secure the line of succession. And there’s something a little odd about her intended…

Gifford (call him G) is a horse. That is, he’s an Eðian (eth-y-un, for the uninitiated). Every day at dawn he becomes a noble chestnut steed—but then he wakes at dusk with a mouthful of hay. It’s all very undignified.

The plot thickens as Edward, Jane, and G are drawn into a dangerous conspiracy. With the fate of the kingdom at stake, our heroes will have to engage in some conspiring of their own. But can they pull off their plan before it’s off with their heads?

December 18, 2018

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Review – Hunting Prince Dracula

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Hunting Prince Dracula

by Kerri Maniscalco

Series: Stalking Jack the Ripper, Book 2
Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Horror, Romance
Release Date: September 19, 2017
Pages: 480
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Following the grief and horror of her discovery of Jack the Ripper’s true identity, Audrey Rose Wadsworth has no choice but to flee London and its memories. Together with the arrogant yet charming Thomas Cresswell, she journeys to the dark heart of Romania, home to one of Europe’s best schools of forensic medicine…and to another notorious killer, Vlad the Impaler, whose thirst for blood became legend.

But her life’s dream is soon tainted by blood-soaked discoveries in the halls of the school’s forbidding castle, and Audrey Rose is compelled to investigate the strangely familiar murders. What she finds brings all her terrifying fears to life once again.

December 11, 2018

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Review – Stalking Jack the Ripper

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Stalking Jack the Ripper

by Kerri Maniscalco

Series: Stalking Jack the Ripper, Book 1
Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Horror, Romance
Release Date: September 20, 2016
Pages: 352
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord’s daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.

Against her stern father’s wishes and society’s expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle’s laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.

November 8, 2018

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Review – Anne Boleyn: A King’s Obsession

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Anne Boleyn: A King’s Obsession

by Alison Weir

Series: Six Tudor Queens, Book 2
Genres: Historical Fiction, Tudor England, Royalty
Release Date: May 16, 2017
Pages: 572
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Born into a noble English family, Anne is barely a teenager when she is sent from her family’s Hever Castle to serve at the royal court of the Netherlands. This strategic move on the part of her opportunistic father also becomes a chance for the girl to grow and discover herself. There, and later in France, Anne thrives, preferring to absorb the works of progressive writers rather than participate in courtly flirtations. She also begins to understand the inequalities and indignities suffered by her gender.

Anne isn’t completely inured to the longings of the heart, but her powerful family has ambitious plans for her future that override any wishes of her own. When the King of England himself, Henry VIII, asks Anne to be his mistress, she spurns his advances—reminding him that he is a married man who has already conducted an affair with her sister, Mary. Anne’s rejection only intensifies Henry’s pursuit, but in the absence of a male heir—and given an aging Queen Katherine—the opportunity to elevate and protect the Boleyn family, and to exact vengeance on her envious detractors, is too tempting for Anne to resist, even as it proves to be her undoing.

While history tells of how Anne Boleyn died, this compelling new novel reveals how fully she lived.

October 25, 2018

Review – The Scythian Trials

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The Scythian Trials

by Elizabeth Isaacs

Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction
Release Date: October 16th 2018
Pages: 374
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Descendants of the Amazons, the Scythians work alongside prominent governments but answer to no one. Warriors living on the fringe of civilization, they live by one credo: Strength through Equality. Power through Knowledge.

Nya Thalestris is the brightest Scythian of her generation. Strong, capable, ruthless, she is sure to earn a spot in the Trials, a time-honored mating ritual responsible for the evolution of her species.

Abducted by their sworn enemy, the Drahzda, Nya is forever altered and spirals out of control. The Society sends in Jax Nickius. Infamous psychologist and one of the most brutal warriors of their kind, he discovers triggers planted in Nya’s mind. As Nya solidifies her spot in the Trials, Jax develops a plan to help her heal—while pursuing her as a mate. But, Nya’s attraction to Jax is at war with her instinct to never let anyone get too close.

During the Trials, Nya’s repressed memories surface, revealing a new enemy—one from inside the consulate walls—and a traitorous alliance on the horizon that could irrevocably change the course of history.

Since before the Bronze Age, the Society has managed to safeguard humanity from itself … until now.

October 16, 2018

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Review – Too Gentlemanly

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Too Gentlemanly: An Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy Story

by Timothy Underwood

Genres: Historical Romance, Regency, Classical Re-write
Release Date: November 29, 2017
Pages: 288
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Fitzwilliam Darcy had grown unused to female society during his five years of seclusion since Georgiana had her illegitimate child. That was why he accidentally insulted Mrs. Bingley’s sister. And why he kept thinking about her.

When Georgiana became pregnant with Wickham’s child, Darcy had not made her marry the man Colonel Fitzwilliam found to preserve her reputation. She had begged him not to, and Darcy would do anything for his sister. He would even attend the Hertfordshire assembly with Mr. Bingley, because Georgiana wanted him to enjoy society. Bingley’s neighbors had refused to let a fallen woman like Georgiana amongst them. Darcy would not pretend to be pleased to meet them.

Elizabeth thought Mr. Darcy was a grand philanthropist: His rudeness provided everyone with a handsome and rich man to hate. But why, if he was actively determined to sneer at all the company, had he bothered to attend their assembly? Still, he was a very handsome man.

Darcy needed to overcome his bad first impression if he wanted Elizabeth. But he was rich, handsome and clever.

August 23, 2018

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Review – The Mysterious Lord Millcroft

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The Mysterious Lord Millcroft

by Virginia Heath

Series: The King’s Elite, Book 1
Genres: Historical Romance, Regency, Espionage, Thriller
Release Date: September 1, 2018
Pages: 288
Purchase from: Amazon | Kobo | iBooks
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Life as a duchess…
Or something much more dangerous…?

Part of The King’s Elite. Constantly told her beauty and charm is all she has to offer, Lady Clarissa is intent on marrying a duke. And intriguing spy Sebastian Leatham will help her! Only first she’ll assist him with his new assignment—playing the part of confident aristocrat Lord Millcroft. Sebastian awakens a burning desire within Clarissa which leaves her questioning whether becoming a duchess is what she truly longs for…

August 21, 2018

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Review – The Good Sister

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The Good Sister

by Rachael Stewart

Genres: Erotica, Contemporary Romance
Release Date: August 21, 2018
Pages: 205
Purchase from: Amazon
My Rating: ★★★★☆

HE WASN’T HERS TO LOVE … BUT HER HEART DOESN’T CARE…

When Isla Evans agrees to switch lives with her rising star of a twin for three weeks, she has no idea the move will thrust her into the same bed as her teenage celebrity heartthrob, Bradley King. Trapped there at her sister’s request, she gives her desire free reign and finds herself falling hard and fast.

And she’s not alone.

Bradley wants a wife to tick all the boxes, save for one: love. It’s not part of the deal, never was, never will be. But when he returns home early to find his hopeful-fiancée behaving all sorts of different, he likes it. A lot. Suddenly, he wants a real marriage, with all the trimmings, and he will stop at nothing until he gets it.

But this Hollywood HEA faces one big hurdle—she’s not who he thinks she is…

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Review – Stir Until Petrified

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Stir Until Petrified

by Theda Vallee

Series: Violetta Massoni Adventures, Book 1
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Witches
Release Date: May 13, 2018
Pages: ~435
Purchase from: Amazon
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Welcome to beautiful Palermo Bay, where the witches are fierce

…and the biscotti is to die for.

Violetta “Etta” Massoni is an Italian witch living and working with her overbearing family in the sleepy seaside town of Palermo Bay. Healing from tragedy, she wants nothing to do with the magic she was born with.

Etta soon finds herself forced into the world of magic that she had resisted for so long. The peaceful calm of her community is shattered by a string of attacks that leaves fifteen people trapped in their dreams. An ominous magic task force is sent to investigate, with Etta as their number one suspect.

Her family has never been able to mind their own business, and they aren’t about to start now! Dragging her grandmother from crime scenes will be the least of her worries. Join Etta and the whole Massoni girl gang on a perilous, hilarious adventure filled with magic, myth, and minestrone!

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Review – Madam Love, Actually

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Madam Love, Actually

by Rich Amooi

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Romantic Humor
Release Date: March 29, 2018
Pages: 246
Purchase from: Amazon
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Lance Parker is an arrogant know-it-all. As author of the bestselling book Your Soulmate Doesn’t Exist, he says love is for losers. Madam Love is a fortune teller and matchmaker who has brought hundreds of couples together.

When the two clash during a radio interview, she admits even someone as irritating and impossible as Lance has a soulmate. He says she’s delirious and a fraud. Then the gauntlet is laid down: Madam Love has two weeks to prove Lance wrong and find him a soulmate.

When Lance meets wonderful Emma by chance, he doesn’t know what to think anymore. But Emma has a secret. She’s Madam Love, actually. And it’s going to take a whole lot more than a crystal ball to get her out of this mess.

Review – When Life Gives You Demons

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When Life Gives You Demons

by Jennifer Honeybourn

Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult, Demons
Release Date: July 17, 2018
Pages: 272
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Some people have school spirit.

Shelby Black has real ones.

Shelby Black has spent the past six months training to be an exorcist. Her great-uncle Roy―a Catholic priest―has put her through exorcist boot camp hell, hoping to develop her talent, but ohmygod, he still doesn’t trust her to do an exorcism on her own.

High school is hard enough without having to explain that you fight demons for a living, so Shelby keeps her extracurricular activity to herself. The last thing she wants is for her crush, Spencer, to find out what she does in her off time.

But Shelby knows how to keep a secret―even a big one. Like the fact that her mom left under mysterious circumstances and it’s all her fault. Shelby is hellbent on finding her mom, no matter what it costs her―even if what it ends up costing her is her soul AND a relationship with Spencer.

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Review – Magic Born

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Magic Born

by Rayanne Haines

Series: The Guardian, Book 2
Genres: Paranormal, Romance, Fantasy, Magic, Adult
Release Date: June 6, 2018
Pages: 258
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Maria Del Voscova is a powerful witch with a past. When she’s asked to become a member of the elite Guardians she knows she can’t risk sharing the truth about her messed-up family. But we don’t always get what we want. Sometimes, we don’t always know what we want.

Though Mar absolutely knows she doesn’t want Neeren, King of the Parthen. She alone sees the darkness in him and it reminds her too much of the past. She knows better than to fall for his stoic, tortured soul façade.

She’s training to be a Guardian, a shadow; tasked with keeping the balance between good and evil in the world. It’s what she wants—to be better than her family was.

But the past has a way of catching up to Mar and the future has a morbid sense of humor. On her first mission, she’s kidnapped by the enemy she’s been running from her entire life. Thankfully the guardians look after their own. As it turns out, so does Neeren.

As Mar finds herself caught between the past and the future; between blood and bond; between the light and the dark, she realizes her only chance at surviving may be in trusting a man who is the most dangerous of them all.

Books

☆☆☆☆☆ - Did not finish
★☆☆☆☆ - Hated it, shouldn't have finished it
★★☆☆☆ - Disliked it
★★★☆☆ - Liked it, might recommend it
★★★★☆ - Would re-read and recommend it
★★★★★ - Loved everything about it
Read the full explanation of my updated book rating system.

FanFiction

☆☆☆ - Did not finish
★☆☆ - Disliked it
★★☆ - Okay/Good
★★★ - Loved it
+ (e.g. ★★★+) - Story had few spelling and grammar errors
Read the full explanation of my fanfiction rating system.