It's like the main character of The Invited has never seen a scary movie. Or, knows nothing about Lorraine and Ed Warren's Occult Museum. Or, seen an episode of -- or even a commercial for -- the Haunted Collector. Okay, okay. I realize many of you are scratching your heads right about now. I'm aware that I have a niche knowledge of all things supernatural thanks to my life-long obsession with the paranormal. But, still. I think we can all...
Words can’t express how much I loved The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living. I actually put off writing this book review because I honestly didn’t know how to capture how delightful the story is. What's The City Baker's Guide to Country Living about? The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living is all about leaving your comfort zone – or, what you think is your comfort zone – and embracing changes and...
Looking for a fun and spooky-but-not-too-scary book to put you in the Halloween mood? Well, The Hocus Pocus Magic Shop has you covered. I simply adored this wonderful novel by Abigail Drake. It's a delightfully saucy romp filled with enchanting magic and a deliciously satisfying romance. There's also a lovable cast of charismatic characters and a steady stream of mounting mystery. That's right, folks. This one's got it all. ...
The Silent Companions is a damn good ghost story. Except, it’s not a ghost story. The house in which the main characters live is most decidedly haunted, but not by ghosts, per se. The things that go bump in the night are far less sinister at first glance, which makes their effect upon the story that much creepier. However, calling this a “bewitched wooden figurine story” just doesn’t carry quite the same weight. ...
Did anyone else feel the earth move? Sorry, that was because of me. I just added a Jenny Colgan novel – The Bookshop on the Shore -- to my DNF pile. *Gulp* It’s no secret that I adore Colgan’s novels. The Bookshop on the Corner (or, The Book Shop of Happy Ever After, if you’re in the U.K.) was my first foray into the wonderful world of Jenny Colgan. Although I didn’t love it, I liked it enough to read The Little Beach Street Bakery,...
It pains me to write this book review of The Friends We Keep. Many of you know that I’m a huge Jane Green fan; I’ve read all of her books, and I’ve recommended quite a few of them on the Tart. Whenever I hear she has a new book coming out, I immediately get on the waiting list for it at my local library. (And, there’s always a waiting list for her new books.) However…after reading The Friends We Keep, I have to finally acknowledge that...
It'd been awhile since I read a new thriller, so I was pretty excited when Beautiful Bad arrived from the library. Before you get too excited, though, you should know that this book ended up on the DNF pile. *Womp womp* Apart from it sounding like a good thriller, I was originally drawn to Beautiful Bad because of the exotic locations in which part of the story is set. While the novel starts with a present-day crime scene, a lot of the first 100...
I've never been happier to be an only child than after reading I Owe You One. The latest novel from Sophia Kinsella is a romantic comedy, like most of her novels, but it’s also about a young woman finding her own voice and learning to stand up for herself against bullies -- most of whom are her own family members. There’s a charming little IOU game that runs back and forth between main character Fixie and love interest Seb, and this...
Well, I’ve done it. I’ve finally read the Goodreads Readers’ Choice Best Fantasy book of 2018: Circe, by Madeline Miller. And, it only took me until halfway through 2019 to post my book review of it. I usually don’t read fantasy, which is a bit ironic considering that the novel I’ve written is a blend of historical fiction and fantasy. But, I love stories based on religion and mythology, particularly ones that create backstories for...
“I’m looking for a good Mormon mystery.” Said not most people. Honestly, until I read Death in the Covenant by D.A. Bartley, I didn’t even know such a genre existed. But, exist it does, and lemme tell ya – it’s pretty darn great. I loved the TV show Big Love, and I also really enjoyed reading The 19th Wife. So, when JKS Communications reached out to me about Death in the Covenant, I was immediately enticed by the Mormon mystery...
