Robyn Reviews: TRA SARAH M. EDEN BRITISH ISLES COLLECTION by Sarah M. Eden

Book Description: 

The SARAH M. EDEN BRITISH ISLES COLLECTION contains two brand new historical romance novellas A FRIEND INDEED and A HAPPY BEGINNING, as well as four hand-picked readers’ and reviewers’ favorites of Sarah’s popular Timeless Romance Anthology novellas. Readers will love this selection of six historical romance novellas set in the British Isles.

Audience: Adult (Clean)

Genre: Historical Romance

Length: 272 pages

Rating: 5

Review: Sarah M. Eden is one of my most favorite authors! She is a gifted writer who involves you immediately in the story she is writing. Her characters are real and experience real life, just like we do. This collection has some of my favorites and a couple of new ones. I love them all. Sarah shows wit and charm in each of her stories. I just wish they were longer!

A FRIEND INDEED is a new story about Caroline and George. She is being ‘auctioned’ to be married to save her family from financial ruin. She is afraid that George, her lifelong friend is offering out of pity and it will ruin her friendship with him. Along the way there are the usual pitfalls and funny misconceptions, but Sarah manages to make them all seem just the thing.

A HAPPY BEGINNING is so much fun. I loved how Sophia and Dermot get to know each other and that Sophia is so brave and Dermot is the perfect hero. He is brooding and quiet, but definitely gets under Sophia’s skin and causes all sorts of misunderstandings. Dermot is a true hero and Sophia is strong and brave, but also very feminine. I loved this story.

ROAD TO CAVEN TOWN is and old but favorite story. Alice is in love with Isaac, but it takes him a while to figure out that he loves her too. I loved how this story tells us the true meaning of love. And the storytelling is just too good!

A CHRISTMAS PROMISE is another favorite (I favorite all of Sarah's books). I loved the mishaps and the joking with each other, but when it came right down to it, they both knew what was right. This was just a fun, fun story.

DREAM OF A GLORIOUS SEASON is a sweet story of figuring out which sister our hero, Julian really loves. Sarah always shows us what true love really looks like!

A LESSON IN LOVE was a story about a husband and wife who had to learn to listen to each other instead of everyone else. I enjoyed the misunderstandings, because they were real life and I could see my own relationship here. It was fun to watch them finally take matters into their own hands and listen to their hearts.

Sarah always provides fun, love, romance, and insight into the lives of those she writes about. Her characters truly come alive!

Content:

Sex - 0

Violence - 0

Language - 0

Overall Content Rating - PG

Source: Review Copy

Robyn Reviews: Timeless Regency Collection A MIDWINTER BALL by Heidi Ashworth, Annette Lyon, and Michele Paige Holmes

Book Description: 

           

From the publisher of the #1 Amazon bestselling A Timeless Romance Anthology series in Clean Romance.

Join three bestselling regency romance authors, Heidi Ashworth, Annette Lyon, and Michele Paige Holmes, for three new regency romance novellas in A MIDWINTER BALL.

MUCH ADO ABOUT DANCING by Heidi Ashworth. Two years have passed since Lord Northrup declared his intentions for Miss Analisa Lloyd-Jones and forbade any other man to court her. Angry at the neglect, Analisa stopped reading his letters, never even breaking the seals. Tired of waiting, Analisa joins the house party at Mrs. Smith’s famous country home, determined to find a beau. When Lord Northrup unexpectedly joins the party, Analisa discovers she is no longer repulsed by the man who first laid claim to her hand.

SWEETER THAN ANY DREAM by Annette Lyon. Olivia Wallington is firmly established as a spinster, but that doesn’t stop her from dreaming about the perfect man. Ever since her father’s death, Olivia has been forced into seclusion by her mother. When her brother and his wife come for a visit, they discover the extent to which she lives under their mother’s thumb. With their help, Olivia sneaks out to attend a local ball, where she meets Edward Blakemoore. For a few divine moments, all of her dreams seem possible. But even someone like Mr. Blakemoore would be hard pressed to get past Mrs. Wallington’s fortress of protection—or past Olivia’s pride.

AN INVITATION TO DANCE by Michele Paige Holmes. Lady Ella has been isolated on her father’s estate since her mother’s death as her father travels the world. When Alex Darling arrives with a letter from her long-dead fiancé, and a demand that she travel to London for a series of engagements, Ella thinks her father instigated the strange demands and agrees. In London, she discovers the truth behind her fiancé’s death, and that new love might be possible in the arms of the most unexpected man

Audience: Adult (Clean)

Genre: Historical Romance

Length: 244 pages

Rating: 5

Review: The Timeless Romance books are always great to read. They are fun and always clean. I really like this collection because I’m a huge fan of regency romance. These novellas are reminiscent of Georgette Heyer.  They are funny, witty and romantic.

MUCH ADO ABOUT DANCING by Heidi Ashworth is a nice story about Analisa, who has been betrothed for 2 years but hasn’t seen her intended, Lord Northrup for that time. She has been upset and hasn’t read any of his letters. This sets the stage for misunderstandings and some interesting problems. I liked how they each had to realize their mistakes and then learn to trust each other and of course realize their feeling towards each other.

SWEETER THAN ANY DREAM by Annette Lyon is about spinster, Olivia. This is a sweet Cinderella story and I loved how her hero, Edward overcame the difficulties in the relationship and showed Olivia that he did indeed love her. I especially loved Olivia’s brother and wife and their help in making sure the romance happened. I really liked Olivia and her pride. She was a fun one.

AN INVITATION TO DANCE by Michele Paige Holmes is a very interesting tale of lost love, lost father and a little mystery thrown in to make things interesting. I enjoyed reading about Lady Ella and her suitor, Alex. It was fun watching them develop a relationship and watching Lady Ella realize what she really wanted

These stories are fun and interesting. They are a great way to spend a winter afternoon!

Content:

Sex -  0

Violence - 0

Language - 0

Overall Content Rating -  PG

Source: Review Copy

Review: CODE NAME VERITY by Elizabeth Wein

From Amazon: Oct. 11th, 1943-A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France. Its pilot and passenger are best friends. One of the girls has a chance at survival. The other has lost the game before it's barely begun.

When "Verity" is arrested by the Gestapo, she's sure she doesn't stand a chance. As a secret agent captured in enemy territory, she's living a spy's worst nightmare. Her Nazi interrogators give her a simple choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution.

As she intricately weaves her confession, Verity uncovers her past, how she became friends with the pilot Maddie, and why she left Maddie in the wrecked fuselage of their plane. On each new scrap of paper, Verity battles for her life, confronting her views on courage, failure and her desperate hope to make it home. But will trading her secrets be enough to save her from the enemy? 

A Michael L. Printz Award Honor book that was called "a fiendishly-plotted mind game of a novel" in The New York Times, Code Name Verity is a visceral read of danger, resolve, and survival that shows just how far true friends will go to save each other.

Genre: Historical

Audience: Young Adult (?) (It's listed in Amazon under Teens>Historical Fiction. I can't remember if it states Verity and Maddie's ages, but I believe they're in their late teens.)

Length: 368 pgs

Rating: 5 

Review: There was a point in the book where I was considering giving 3.5 to 4 stars for this. The writing was exquisite, very much so. I felt sort of like I did when reading Matched by Allie Condie--that technically this book deserved a very high rating, but I wasn't connecting. Then BAM. I connected. And I wanted to go back through those parts I wasn't connecting on and reread them. I have a bachelors degree in history and I spent the better part of my time earning that learning about World War II and spent some semesters specifically studying women's roles in WWII, so this is so obviously up my alley. While I was reading it, it made me want so hard to be able to write what seemed like effortless sentences in this book, but what I know is very talented word crafting. Where all of them mattered. So. Well. Done. And all the feelings, of course. There's very little you can say about this book without giving things away. This book. 

Content:

Sex - 1 (Some innuendo. Minor things.)

Language - 5 (Verity admits right off she has a foul mouth and she really does. Littered with damns, hells, and the Lord's name in vain. 7 instances of bas*, 7 instances of sh*, 2 instances of a*, 2 f-bombs--To be honest, I'm strict about language, and if I'd known the extent, I'm not sure I would have read it. And these are the instances I noted on my Kindle book. I easily could have missed some in the thick of it.)

Violence - 4 (I'm vacillating between giving it that and a 5...or a 3.5. I mean, it's a WWII book, and it's about a girl who gets capture behind enemy lines. She's tortured and it describes some of it--but it could have been a lot more graphic, so I'll just go with 4.)

Overall ratingI - PG-16 (It has heavy themes and heavy things happening. As conservative as I am, I wouldn't recommend it to my 18 year old sister for a year or two, but you all know that's how I roll.)

Get a sneak peek at the pretty, back cover art for DOUBLE PLAY!

When I first saw this back cover art, I gasped. I love it; it's so pretty and the perfect finishing touch for the cover. While the front exemplifies Sophie Pope, the main character, the back cover art gives a taste of David Savage. The vlog is the only place I'll be posting it, so here's your chance to see the back cover before it releases in January!

Enjoy!

Review: QUEEN OF SOMEDAY by Sherry D. Ficklin

From Amazon: Before she can become the greatest empress in history, fifteen-year-old Sophie will have to survive her social-climbing mother's quest to put her on the throne of Russia--at any cost.

Imperial Court holds dangers like nothing Sophie has ever faced before. In the heart of St. Petersburg, surviving means navigating the political, romantic, and religious demands of the bitter Empress Elizabeth and her handsome, but sadistic nephew, Peter. Determined to save her impoverished family--and herself--Sophie vows to do whatever is necessary to thrive in her new surroundings. But an attempt on her life and an unexpected attraction threatens to derail her plans.

Alone in a new and dangerous world, learning who to trust and who to charm may mean the difference between becoming queen and being sent home in shame to marry her lecherous uncle. With traitors and murderers lurking around every corner, her very life hangs in the balance. Betrothed to one man but falling in love with another, Sophie will need to decide how much she's willing to sacrifice in order to become the empress she is destined to be.

In a battle for the soul of a nation, will love or destiny reign supreme?

Audience: Young Adult

Genre: Young Adult, Historical

Length: 262 pgs

Rating: 3.5

Review: The research was done well. It was a good story, but the proof in the pudding was that I wasn't compelled to read the second and third books--I did look them up to see what happened in them . . . so that's something. A few instances of more modern language took me out of the setting a time or two. I enjoyed the author's video notes at the end of the chapters, mostly because when reading something based on a real person's life, I always like to separate the truth from the fiction. It's a well done story and worth a read. :)

Content:

Sex - 1+ ("Going further" per se is thought about and spoken of and almost done, but everything in a non-graphic manner. One couple is discovered without clothes on.)

Language - 0

Violence - 2 (A fight scene at the beginning and other various fight scenes. One man is beaten viciously. Nothing graphically described.)

Overall Rating - PG-13

Review: THE POWER OF THE MATCHMAKER

From Amazon: A prequel novella to the POWER OF THE MATCHMAKER Series 
Mystical . . . Beautiful . . . Romantic . . . 

Read the matchmaker’s story to find out where it all starts . . . 

Mae Li has been in love with Chen Zhu for years, and he with her. But when the matchmaker arrives at the Zhu family home, she recommends another village girl for Chen. 

Heartbroken, Mae Li watches as Chen does his duty by marrying another. Mae flees her village with the clothes on her back and her only possession—a pearl embedded comb, given to her as a goodbye gift from Chen Zhu. 

Upon Mae’s arrival in Shanghai, she quickly learns that she’ll starve within days unless she sells her prized comb or joins a courtesan house. She goes to the Huangpu River and promises the River God that she’ll always be selfless if he will save her from becoming a prostitute . . . Her wish is granted when Ms. Tan, the matchmaker of Shanghai, finds Mae. But Mae must completely change her future and her name if she is to become the next matchmaker. 

Audience: Adult (Clean)

Genre: Romance, Historical

Length: 60 pgs

Rating: 3.5

Review:

This novella did exactly what it was supposed to: interest me in the upcoming one-a-month novels in the Matchmaker series. I'm beyond curious about what role Mae will play in these new novels! It is a quick, lovely read with lots of cultural detail to devour. Though it's obvious the Matchmaker's life (and the novels to follow) will cover many, many years, it was unclear to me when exactly "Power of the Matchmaker" took place from some of the dialogue (it seemed too modern sometimes for the period depicted). Still, I enjoyed traveling with Mae, watching her struggle, and cheered her on to be able to keep her dignity and the comb given to her by her beloved. Looking forward to the rest of this series!

Content
Sex - 1 (Mae is shown naked pictures of women as some characters try to force her into modeling/prostitution; her only option being prostitution is discussed.)
Language - 0
Violence - 1 (Mae is drugged)
Overall Rating - PG

Vlog: Why I Love The LDStorymakers Conference!

I've blogged multiple times about the LDStorymakers Conference, so obviously it was time for a vlog!

You can win free registration to the conference by making your own video about the conference! Check out here for details.

In the meantime, enjoy the vlog!