Month: August 2020

Blog Blitz Review: How to Catch a Sinful Marquess

Title: How to Catch a Sinful Marquess (The Disreputable Debutantes #3)
Author: Amy Rose Bennett
Genre: Romance, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Berkley
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: August 25, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

A reserved debutante and a former soldier make an unlikely but fated match as they hasten for the Isle of Skye.

Orphaned heiress Olivia de Vere should have the world–or at least the men of the ton–at her feet. But when she’s thrown out of a young ladies’ academy, Olivia doubts she’ll ever find someone who will love her, rather than her bank account. To make matters worse, her dissolute cousin Felix is determined to marry her against her wishes. A virtual prisoner in her guardians’ London townhouse, Olivia can’t help but develop a tendre for her neighbor, a handsome Scottish marquess.

Battle-scarred in more ways than one, Hamish MacQueen, Lord Sleat, has braved many dangers in life. But nothing has quite prepared him for the shock of having a young child dumped on his doorstep, with a note claiming she’s his daughter. Just in the nick of time his pretty neighbor appears, offering to act as a nursemaid for the young girl on their journey to his estate in Scotland. He suspects she has her own reasons for wanting to flee the country…

The close traveling quarters leads to a fierce attraction between Olivia and Hamish that seems impossible to resist. But when ghosts from the past and monsters from the present threaten to tear them apart, will their unlikely love survive?

Review:

The orphaned heiress, Olivia de Vere, lives with her uncle and his family. Her cousin Felix is meant to marry her so her fortune can stay in the family, but when Felix threatens Olivia after she discovers that he is stealing from her inheritance, she realizes she must run away. Their neighbour, Hamish MacQueen, is a Scottish marquess. He finds a child left on his doorstep with a note claiming she is his child. Hamish needs a nursemaid to help look after the child on his journey to his castle in Scotland. Olivia shows up just as he’s looking for a nursemaid, which gives her the perfect excuse to run away from her family. Olivia and Hamish soon realize this new relationship could be an advantage to both of them, as long as they can get past the ghosts in their pasts.

Olivia was an avid reader. She carried Northanger Abbey, The Mysteries of Udolpho, and Frankenstein with her. She even referenced these books, when she had to find a fake name and decided on Morland, from Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey. I noticed some similarities to other novels, such as Outlander and Jane Eyre. Hamish was a tough Highlander like Jamie in Outlander. Olivia had to look after Hamish’s ward, just like Jane looked after Rochester’s ward in Jane Eyre. I loved seeing these references to popular stories.

This story was fast paced. There were a couple of steamy scenes, but there was a lot more to the story than just the romance. The characters were more concerned with their social standings and securing their reputations than finding romance. I liked how well the plot and characters were developed.

I really enjoyed this regency romance!

Thank you Berkeley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

How to Catch a Wicked Viscount by Amy Rose Bennett

To Have and to Hoax by Martha Waters

Other books in the series:

  • How to Catch a Wicked Viscount
  • How to Catch an Errant Earl

Have you read How to Catch a Sinful Marquess? What did you think of it?

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It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? – August 31

This blog meme is hosted by Book Date. It is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week.  It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever growing TBR pile!

What I just finished:

This weekend I finished How to Catch a Sinful Marquess (The Disreputable Debutantes #3) by Amy Rose Bennett.

What I’m currently reading:

I’m currently reading Queen of Volts (The Shadow Game #3) by Amanda Foody.

What I’m reading next:

Next I will be reading Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore.

What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?

Jill’s Weekly Wrap-Up – August 30

Here are my reviews for the week with my ratings:

I did 9 weekly blogging memes:

How was your week? What did you guys read?

Sundays in Bed With… How to Catch a Sinful Marquess

The meme that dares to ask what book has been in your bed this morning? Come share what book you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed, or which book you wish you had time to read today! This meme is hosted by Midnight Book Girl.

This Sunday I’m reading How to Catch a Sinful Marquess by Amy Rose Bennett.

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Goodreads Synopsis:

A reserved debutante and a former soldier make an unlikely but fated match as they hasten for the Isle of Skye.

Orphaned heiress Olivia de Vere should have the world–or at least the men of the ton–at her feet. But when she’s thrown out of a young ladies’ academy, Olivia doubts she’ll ever find someone who will love her, rather than her bank account. To make matters worse, her dissolute cousin Felix is determined to marry her against her wishes. A virtual prisoner in her guardians’ London townhouse, Olivia can’t help but develop a tendre for her neighbor, a handsome Scottish marquess.

Battle-scarred in more ways than one, Hamish MacQueen, Lord Sleat, has braved many dangers in life. But nothing has quite prepared him for the shock of having a young child dumped on his doorstep, with a note claiming she’s his daughter. Just in the nick of time his pretty neighbor appears, offering to act as a nursemaid for the young girl on their journey to his estate in Scotland. He suspects she has her own reasons for wanting to flee the country…

The close traveling quarters leads to a fierce attraction between Olivia and Hamish that seems impossible to resist. But when ghosts from the past and monsters from the present threaten to tear them apart, will their unlikely love survive?

What book are you in bed with today?

Six for Sunday – Pink Covers

This meme is hosted by Steph at A little but a lot. The weekly prompts for 2019 can be found here.

This week’s prompt is Your Favourite Colour, so I’m making a list of pink covers. Here’s my list:

1. Chicken Girl by Heather Smith

2. Four Days of You and Me by Miranda Kenneally

3. Reveal Me by Tahereh Mafi

4. Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki, Rosemary Valero-O’Connell

5. My Ideal Boyfriend is a Croissant by Laura Dockrill

6. Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

(All book covers from Goodreads)

Did you make a Six for Sunday list?

Review: Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 2

Title: Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 2
Author: Tomohito Oda
Genre: Manga, Contemporary
Publisher: VIZ Media
Source: Library
Format: Ebook
Release Date: August 13, 2009
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

The journey to 100 friends begins with a single conversation.

Socially anxious high school student Shoko Komi’s greatest dream is to make some friends, but everyone at school mistakes her crippling social anxiety for cool reserve! With the whole student body keeping their distance and Komi unable to utter a single word, friendship might be forever beyond her reach.

It’s time for the national health exam at Itan High, and the excitement of eye exams and height measurements have fanned the flames of competition for the unremarkable Makeru Yadano. She’s determined to beat the class idol Komi in the health test, and Komi’s total obliviousness to their impassioned duel just feeds Makeru’s determination. As the epic battle heats up, how will Komi handle her first rival when she’s barely made her first friends?!

Review:

Komi is still on her quest to have 100 friends. She also still can’t communicate with others, so making new friends is a challenge. Komi is idolized by other students, such as Makeru who wants to “beat” Komi in the health exam at school. Along with her few friends, Komi goes outside of her comfort zone to meet new people and have new experiences.

Komi does a variety of things she’s never done before in this story. She goes to a ramen restaurant, where she faces the challenge of having to order her food without speaking. She also goes shopping for clothes, which she has never done before. Even though these outings were outside of Komi’s comfort zone, she was still open to trying new things.

It’s interesting to see how other people interpret Komi’s lack of communication. Most people thought Komi wouldn’t speak to them because she was entitled and popular. They didn’t realize that she can’t speak to them. Komi is actually extremely shy and can’t speak. She didn’t think she was better than everyone else, which is what they interpreted from her silence.

I enjoyed this manga!

What to read next:

Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 3 by Tomohito Oda

Not Your Idol, Vol. 1 by Aoi Makino

Have you read Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 2? What did you think of it?

Top 5 Saturday – Detective Books

This is a weekly meme hosted Devouring Books. This week’s prompt is Detective Books. Here’s my list:

1. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

2. As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley

3. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

4. One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

5. A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro

(All book covers from Goodreads)

If you’d like to do this list too, consider yourself tagged!

Did you make a Top 5 Saturday list?

Blog Tour Review: Lola Benko, Treasure Hunter

Title: Lola Benko, Treasure Hunter
Author: Beth McMullen
Genre: Middle Grade
Publisher: Aladdin
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: August 25, 2020
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Stuart Gibbs meets The Lost Property Office in this action-packed mystery about a young girl searching for her father from the author of Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls—the first in a new series!

Having a world-traversing archaeologist dad means twelve-year-old Lola Benko is used to moving around not putting down roots anywhere. But every day and every hunt for something hidden is an adventure, and no matter what, she and her dad are an unbeatable team.

Then her father disappears. The official story is that he was caught in a flash flood, but Lola’s research shows the day in question was perfectly pleasant. And it will take more than empty reassurances from suspect strangers for Lola to give up on her dad. She has a feeling his disappearance has to do with a mythical stone he was studying—a stone so powerful, it could control the world. But in the wrong hands, it could end it, too…

With the help of some new friends at her school, it’s up to Lola to go on the most important search of her life. 

Review:

Lola Benko has always traveled the world with her archaeologist father, but one day he sends her to stay with her great-aunt in San Francisco, rather than go with him on a dangerous trip. Soon after that, she gets the news that he has disappeared and is presumed dead. Lola is certain that her father is still alive, so she takes over the investigation that he was doing. Along with her new friends from school, she looks for the mythical stone that her father was searching for when he went missing.

This was a fun adventure story. Lola took a lot of risks. In order to start her investigation of her father’s disappearance, she needed money, so she decided to steal expensive pieces of art to sell for millions of dollars. This was a risky thing to do, and it didn’t work out for her. Even though Lola did some bad things with good intentions, she was very smart. She entered a STEM competition with her friends. She also invented many devices. She was a smart girl who took a lot of risks.

I found the twists predictable and not surprising. I’ve read many similar adventure books, so that may be why I could figure it out. This story also has the stereotypical absent parents. Lola’s great-aunt wasn’t very hands-on because she had agoraphobia, so she never left the house. However, she didn’t seem as concerned about Lola’s whereabouts by the end of the story. I would have liked her great-aunt to be more consistent throughout the story. I enjoyed the adventure that Lola went on, though the twists weren’t surprising.

This is a fun middle grade story!

Thank you Simon and Schuster for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls by Beth McMullen

Jinxed by Amy McCulloch

Have you read Lola Benko, Treasure Hunter? What did you think of it?

The Friday 56 – Bringing Down the Duke

This is a weekly meme hosted by Freda’s Voice.

The Rules are:

  • Grab a book, any book.
  • Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
  • Find any sentence, (or few, just don’t spoil it) that grabs you.
  • Post it. And share your link.
  • It’s that simple.

I chose Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore.

Here is my line from page 56 in my copy:

“Seven years had passed since she had stood in another grand library and another aristocrat had torn her limb from limb.”

Did you make a post for the Friday 56?

Review: Intercepted

Title: Intercepted
Author: Alexa Martin
Genre: Romance
Publisher: Berkley
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: September 11, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Marlee thought she scored the man of her dreams only to be scorched by a bad breakup. But there’s a new player on the horizon, and he’s in a league of his own…

Marlee Harper is the perfect girlfriend. She’s definitely had enough practice by dating her NFL-star boyfriend for the last ten years. But when she discovers he has been tackling other women on the sly, she vows to never date an athlete again. There’s just one problem: Gavin Pope, the new hotshot quarterback and a fling from the past, has Marlee in his sights.

Gavin fights to show Marlee he’s nothing like her ex. Unfortunately, not everyone is ready to let her escape her past. The team’s wives, who never led the welcome wagon, are not happy with Marlee’s return. They have only one thing on their minds: taking her down. But when the gossip makes Marlee public enemy number one, she worries about more than just her reputation.

Between their own fumbles and the wicked wives, it will take a Hail Mary for Marlee and Gavin’s relationship to survive the season.

Review:

Marlee is dating one of the football stars of the Denver Mustangs. They’ve been together for ten years, but they aren’t married. The other wives of the football players reluctantly accept her into their club, even though she isn’t technically married to a player. One day, the team gets a new quarterback. Gavin Pope had a one night stand with Marlee years ago and she hasn’t been able to forget it. When she discovers her boyfriend has been cheating, it’s easy for Marlee to leave him and let Gavin come to her rescue. It’s not so easy for her to deal with the gossip that follows her since she left one football player for another. She has to put the gossip aside to focus on her new relationship.

This was such a fun story. I’m not athletic and I don’t play any sports but I really enjoyed this story. There was a reality show years ago called Hockey Wives, that followed the wives of Hockey players during their clubs and charity work. The football wives in this story reminded me of those women. It’s fun to see how they have their own groups that go alongside their husbands’ jobs. However, there was also a lot of gossip and rumors that started in this group of women.

I became so attached to these characters. I loved Marlee and I felt so sympathetic towards her when she had her heartbroken. I was rooting for her and Gavin the whole time. I loved the ending of the story! I’m excited to see this series continue, and to see what happens with the characters in the next book.

What to read next:

Fumbled (Playbook #2) by Alexa Martin

Get a Life, Chloe Brown (The Brown Sisters #1) by Talia Hibbert

Other books in the series:

  • Fumbled
  • Blitzed
  • Snapped

Have you read Intercepted? What did you think of it?