Weyward by Emilia Hart

August 4, 2025

Weyward by Emilia Hart

Kate flees from her abusive partner to a cottage she inherited from her great aunt Violet, who lived there from the 1940s until her death. While living there, Kate finds writings from a woman named Altha, an earlier ancestor who was tried as a witch in the 17th century.

This book should come with a warning, several actually. Plenty of sensitive subjects and triggers including domestic abuse, animal abuse, violence against women, rape and sexual assault, obsession, humiliation, pregnancy termination, and violence in general, so reader, be warned. Three interconnected stories set in different times. I was much more interested in Altha and Violet's stories that in Kate. I've read enough variations of Kate's story to be over it. Yeah, men suck and they've been treating women like shit since time began. It was hard to read a whole book where there is one good male characters (Graham, Violet's brother) and only two women characters who haven't been abused by men (Kate's mother and her friend Emily). Also, magical realism is just not my thing. It does have a beautiful cover.

Weyward was the original form of weird, as in the Weird Sisters or witches in Macbeth. The first editions of Macbeth used weyward instead of weird.

The Nightingale's Castle by Sonia Velton

August 24, 2024

The Nightingale's Castle by Sonia Velton

A young girl named Boroka is sent to work at the castle of Countess Erzsebet Bathory, one of the wealthiest and most influential women in Hungary. The countess employs dozens of women and girls as seamstresses, laundresses, and kitchen help, as well as running a school for the education of daughters of the gentility. But before long, Boroka begins to notice that an unusually large number of girls are falling ill of a mysterious illness.

Known as the Blood Countess, Erzsebet Bathory is believed to have lured young women to her castle to murder them in order to bathe in their blood. But she may have received a bad rap, since the accusations against her may have been an attempt to bring down her politically powerful family and destroy their influence. Legends about her evil deeds were recorded long after her death through oral tradition passed down by locals. Vlad the Impaler was accused of some of the same misdeeds as the countess. A well-researched novel about a lesser known historical figure.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Erzsebeth Bathory, the Blood Countess - this is the portrait that is featured in the story

Boy of Chaotic Making by Charlie N. Holmberg

April 25, 2024

Boy of Chaotic Making by Charlie N. Holmberg

Hulda and Merritt's wedding is only weeks away, when Merritt receives a letter from Queen Victoria (yes, that Queen Victoria) expressing interest in Owein. Owein is Merritt's 223 year old many-times-great uncle who died at the age of 12 and originally inhabited the walls of Merritt's house. Owein currently resides in the body of a mixed-breed terrier, and is also a powerful wizard. The queen's necromancer believes he has a way of transferring Owein's spirit and magical powers to a human body. With plenty of reservations, Merritt, Owein and Hulda travel to England to find out if such a thing is possible and the potential fallout. But almost as soon as they arrive, they realize that not everyone may want the experiment to succeed.

The third book in the Whimbrel House series. I love Owein, so I was happy that we got a book about him. This is a charming historical fantasy series. I recommend reading the books in order.

Example of a Victorian necromancer

The House Witch by Delemhach

August 23, 2023

The House Witch by Delemhach

Finlay Ashowan is a house witch who serves as cook to the king and queen of Daxaria. Fin and his familiar, a kitten named Kraken, just want everyone to stay out of the kitchen and let him get on with putting meals on the table. Fin is able to keep it all under control and his identity under wraps, until war is looming with a neighboring country. At the same time, he is drawn to a highborn lady far above his station.

Cooking? Yes. Fantasy? Yes. Sign me up. Light romantic fantasy. A lot of the humor is on the 14 year old boy level and the writing could have been more polished (how many times does the author need to describe Annika as a black-haired beauty?). The main character also delivers a number of soliloquies on respecting others, political correctness, etc., which got old. Note to writers: show, don't tell. Recommended only if you're a diehard fantasy fan who reads only fantasy.

The art of kitchen witchery

Mrs. Porter Calling by A. J. Pearce

August 14, 2023

Mrs. Porter Calling by A. J. Pearce

Emmy Lake is working at Woman's Friend magazine as the Reader and Advice Editor. While her husband Charles is serving in the RAF, Emmy is sharing a house with her BFF Bunty, and their friend Thelma and her children are taking the empty flat in their house. Everything is going as well as it can in the middle of a war, until the mag is taken over by the Honorable Mrs. Cressida Porter ("call me Egg") who has specific ideas about changing the magazine's format, content, and audience.

The third installment in the Emmy Lake series, warm, cozy, heartfelt. Good escapist reading for a hot summer day.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Members of the London fire service during World War II, where Emmy and Thelma work in the evenings

The Benevolent Society of Ill-mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman

May 1, 2023

The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman

Lady Augusta and Lady Julia are unmarried twin sisters, past their "sell by" date at age 42. Their mean-spirited much younger brother has inherited the title and the family estate, and he and his despicable new bride are treating the sisters with disdain. To ease her boredom, Lady Augusta (Gus) agrees to help a friend secure some love letters that she sent to a most unsuitable man. After the successful completion of their task, Gus realizes that she quite likes being useful and having something to do. So she agrees to help another friend, and so on, and so on. Meeting a handsome highwayman doesn't hurt, either.

The first book in a planned new series. After a slow start, this was a very enjoyable read. Unlike many novels set in the Regency period, there is less emphasis on gowns, jewels, and balls. As in C. S. Harris' Sebastian St. Cyr novels, there is solid history and a focus on daily life, especially among the middle and lower classes instead of just the bon ton. The women visit a brothel and a private lunatic asylum, both horrible places. Like Sebastian, Gus and Julia can move in a variety of social circles and they too have their faithful retainers to assist and aid them. I quite hope that the brother gets murdered in a future novel.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

19th c. private lunatic asylum

A Sinister Revenge by Deanna Raybourn

March 28, 2023

A Sinister Revenge by Deanna Raybourn

Veronica Speedwell is back for her 8th adventure. Following a misunderstanding regarding her marital status, Veronica and her partner Stoker (nee Revelstoke V. Templeton-Vane) are temporarily estranged. With Stoker's brother Tiberius, Viscount Templeton-Vane, Veronica travels to Bavaria to find Stoker, who is himself in search of a wolpertinger for Lord Rosemarron's collection. At first, Stoker is reluctant to return to England, until Tiberius reveals that he has located a megalosaurus that requires restoration. Oh, and Tiberius has also been receiving death threats.

Fun series. I love me a mystery set at an English country house, so this one was definitely in my wheelhouse. My only problem with book #8 is that Stoker is not in the first half of the book very much, and one of the series major charms is the interplay between Veronica and Stoker. Unfortunately the next installment won't be out for probably about a year. Love the cover art on the Veronica Speedwell series.

Megalosaurus

A wolpertinger, a creature out of German mythology

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by K. J. Charles

February 21, 2023

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by K. J. Charles

Gareth Inglis is estranged from his father and living a marginal life in London, working for his uncle as a law clerk and looking for companionship in the city's gay underworld. He has a romantic encounter with a man who lives in a rural area, but a misunderstanding pushes them apart. When his father dies suddenly, Gareth finds himself in possession of a title, a country estate, a sister, and wealth. Life in the country is a lot different than Gareth expected, but as he slowly learns the pleasure of country living, he also begins to suspect that his father was not only a selfish man, but may have been a traitor to his country as well.

Boy meets boy in this LGBTQ romance/adventure. I'm not much of a romance reader but I had read another of the author's books (The Magpie King, a gay fantasy/romance), so when NetGalley offered an eARC of her forthcoming book, I decided to give it a try. Good characters (although there are a lot of Doomsdays), interesting circumstances, good writing. There are several strong female characters as well. Be advised that there is pretty graphic gay sex starting on about page three, and a lot more sex in the last half of the book. I don't have a problem with that except that it's hard to read about other people having sex when you're not getting any.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Gay men have been looking for each other throughout history

River of the Gods by Candice Millard

February 1, 2023

River of the Gods by Candice Millard

Since Roman times, explorers searched for the source of the River Nile. In Victorian England, two explorers - Sir Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke - join together to mount an expedition to discover the source of the "White Nile." Companions at first, they disagreed about which of them deserved the credit for the discovery and eventually became bitter enemies.

Speke was a British aristocrat who was largely ignorant of Africa's people, languages, and customs, and his main interest was hunting and killing as many animals as possible. Burton was an Anglo-Indian who grew up outside of England and spent much of his early life in India, a brilliant but odd man who spoke more than 20 languages. While Speke claimed to have found the source of the Nile, it was actually their guide, an African named Sidi Mubarak Bombay, who was the real hero of their exploits.

While maybe not as gripping as the author's other works, there is still excellent research and loads of gripping historical detail. The narrative was successful in that I learned about something that I had formerly known little about. I had heard of Sir Richard Burton, but it was for his translations of works including The 1,001 Arabian Nights rather than his explorations. I had never heard of John Hanning Speke, or suspected there was so much controversy about the source of the Nile. Interesting narrative nonfiction.

Sir Richard Burton

John Hanning Speke

Who Speaks for the Damned by C. S. Harris

April 26, 2021

Who Speaks for the Damned by C. S. Harris

June 1814 - Napoleon has finally been defeated, and the Prince Regent invites the royal families from Austria, Russia, and the German/Prussian states to a celebration in London. But the festivities are marred by the discovery of a corpse in a popular tea garden. Unbelievably, the body is that of a nobleman believed to have been dead for many years. Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin is drawn into the investigation by his valet Jules who was acquainted with the dead man. Why did the nobleman return to England after all these years? Who is the child who accompanied him, and where is the child now?

C. S. Harris presents a multi-layered story that incorporates history, politics, and real people with fictional characters and events. This is the 15th book in the Sebastian St. Cyr series, and although I have enjoyed all of the books, this one is one of the best in the series. Really good mystery.

The Prince Regent

Who Slays the Wicked by C. S. Harris

March 24, 2021

Who Slays the Wicked by C. S. Harris

The death of a depraved nobleman hits close to home for Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, when his niece's husband is found murdered. While the man is no loss to society, the world, or his family, Sebastian's niece Stephanie is immediately a suspect. When the evidence points to a female killer, Sebastian is tasked with finding the real murderer and saving his niece from the gallows. At the same time, Sebastian continued to search for the truth regarding his parentage. 

This is the 14th book in the Sebastian St. Cyr historical mystery series. Historical and political events, and real and fictional characters are blended seamlessly. Daily life for the upper and lower classes is realistically portrayed, with grinding poverty contrasted against fabulous wealth. I do love the descriptions of the clothes, parties, etc., although the upper class did seem to spend a lot of time changing clothes.

Hero, Sebastian's dynamic wife, unfortunately takes a backseat in this one. Her main contribution is her investigation and articles about the poor. But this is one of my favorite series and well worth reading. I highly recommend it.

Regency dandies

What Darkness Brings by C. S. Harris

October 24, 2019

What Darkness Brings by C. S. Harris

When a well-known and much-despised gem dealer/loan shark is found murdered, there aren’t a lot of people mourning his passing.  The police quickly arrest a man who was found standing over the body and then fled the scene.  But the man, Russell Yates, insists that he is innocent and his wife asks for Sebastian’s help to find the real killer.  The only problem is that Yates’ wife is none other than the actress Kat Boleyn, Sebastian’s ex-lover.  Although Sebastian agrees to help them, he fears that unresolved feelings for Kat will again be stirred up.  Complicating his attempts to discover the true killer and his worry over his wife's Hero’s safety is his grief over the mysterious death of an old army friend.

The Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries are a wonderful mix of historical fiction, political intrigue, mystery, social justice, and gossip.  A constant round of parties, balls, and receptions, lots of eating and drinking, a fat spoiled prince, and even the men changed their clothes at least six times a day – wasn’t Regency England fabulous (at least, it was if you were rich and connected)!  Plus, Sebastian’s family is back in all its messy glory – I suggest reading the series in order to really get a picture of the complicated St. Cyr family.  Although the author does a good job of summarizing important information from previous titles, the books are just too much fun to miss.  This is one of the best entries in the series so far, and even though it is described as historical fiction, anyone who enjoys Regency romances should also enjoy the St. Cyr mysteries.  A very enjoyable read.

The Nanny by Gilly MacMillan

August 31, 2019

The Nanny by Gilly MacMillan

When Jocelyn Holt was seven years old, her beloved nanny left in the middle of the night without saying goodbye.  When she asked where Nanny Hannah had gone, her mother blamed Jocelyn for the nanny's departure, saying that she was a terrible child and the nanny couldn't stand her anymore.  With her parents spending most of their time in London, the little girl was soon shipped off to boarding school, and she never forgave her parents' for her loveless childhood.  Thirty years later, Jo is widowed and forced to return to her family's estate in rural England with her daughter, Ruby.  While Jo and Ruby are boating on the lake, they find a human skull in the water.  Jo suspects it may be Hannah, but if it is, who put it there?  And if it's not Hannah, who is it?

I enjoyed this very much.  Nannies are popular fictional characters because they are outsiders who are invited into the home to share intimate space with the family.  Fictional nannies can be wonderful (like Mary Poppins) or they can be psychopaths.  I usually don't read "nanny" books (The Perfect Nanny, Woman No. 17, The Au Pair) because the nannies all tend to be troubled women out for revenge, but this one appealed to me because it was about a missing person at an English country home that might be a cold case.  

The Nanny includes many of the themes that make psychological fiction so great:  family secrets, false identity, tense relations between the family and the locals, missing or false memories, illegal business dealings.  With interesting characters and fast pacing, this is a great reading choice for vacation or a long weekend.

Many thanks to NetGally and the publisher for an e-ARC in return for a review.