Summary
Against the backdrop of the 1893 World’s Fair, a new kind of crime comes to Gilded Age Chicago . . . and a lonely young woman is always at risk. Back on the farm in Wisconsin, Rosalind’s plan had seemed logical: Move to Chicago. Get hired on at Sloane House, one of the most gilded mansions of Chicago. Discover what transpired while her sister worked as a maid there―and follow the clues to why she disappeared. Now, as a live-in housemaid to the Sloanes, Rosalind realizes her plan had been woefully simple-minded. She was ignorant of the hard, hidden life of a servant in a big, prominent house; of the divide between the Sloane family and the people who served them; and most of all, she had never imagined so many people could live in such proximity and keep such dark secrets. Yet, while Sloane House is daunting, the streets of Chicago are downright dangerous. But when Rosalind accepts the friendship of Reid Armstrong, the handsome young heir to a Chicago silver fortune, she becomes an accidental rival to Veronica Sloane. As Rosalind continues to disguise her kinship to the missing maid―and struggles to appease her jealous mistress―she probes the dark secrets of Sloane House and comes ever closer to uncovering her sister’s mysterious fate. A fate that everyone in the house seems to know . . . but which no one dares to name. Positives The Victorian vibes of the novel were great. And there were so many red herrings in the mystery. It kept me guessing every direction I turned. I was annoyed with the characters I was supposed to be annoyed with—and others that I knew I should be annoyed with turned out to have interesting facets. When all was said and done, I truly did not expect the culprit. The resolution of the story also actually showed the culprit’s family dealing with the fallout—a rarity. Negatives However, some scenes got repetitive really fast. (I see this happen in my own writing a lot.) Scene: Rosalind talks to a member of the staff who warns her not to look for her sister. Next scene: Rosalind talks to somebody new who warns her not to look for her sister. Next scene: Rosalind talks to somebody different who warns her not to look for her sister. While the culprit did surprised me, the answer to Miranda’s disappearance did not. Nothing much stood out about Rosalind. She could have been any other female character in any other book. The whole story revolved around her finding herself and ultimately realizing that she was a stronger, braver person than before. Except she really wasn’t—she just had Reid there to save the day for her. Also, her pouring her whole life story—including her secret identity and her sister’s disappearance—to a guy whom she’s never met before? A little sketchy. The wealthy man's son always taking advantage of maids trope also didn't catch my attention. This seems to be a very tired-out trope in historical romances. The book had some really random info-dumps in really weird places. While they didn’t ruin the book for me, they could have been solved with some thought and editing. For instance, one chapter ended and the next began with, “Reid’s brother died when he was young.” While this was important to know, we got some random pages that didn’t really fit in the narrative—nothing had triggered Reid thinking of this. Then we jerked back to Reid in the ballroom somewhere. Add on to this one lonely scene from a side character's point of view which seemed put there only to set her up for the second book. Conclusion Secrets of Sloane House is a fantastic mystery, but slowed down just a bit by lack of character depth and a few scenes of clunky writing. Still, it was the perfect low-key read for a fall evening.
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Summary
Could Following the Opportunity of a Lifetime Cost Them the Love of Their Lives? One of the many immigrants struggling to survive in 1850s New York, Elise Neumann knows she must take action to care for her younger sisters. She finds a glimmer of hope when the New York Children's Aid Society starts sending skilled workers to burgeoning towns out west. But the promise of the society's orphan trains is not all that it seems. Born into elite New York society, Thornton Quincy possesses everything except the ability to step out from his brother's shadow. When their ailing father puts forth a unique challenge to determine who will inherit his railroad-building empire, Thornton finally sees his chance. The conditions to win? Be the first to build a sustainable community along the Illinois Central Railroad and find a suitable wife. Thrown together against all odds, Elise and Thornton couldn't be from more different worlds. The spark that ignites between them is undeniable, but how can they let it grow when that means forfeiting everything they've been working toward? Positives I loved Thornton right away. His first chapters nailed it. I related so much to him wanting approval like his brother receives. While I didn’t like Elise as much, I did relate to her trying to protect and take care of her siblings. While both he and Elise developed negative traits that made them unlikeable at times (see below), maybe that was the whole point. None of those negative traits stuck around until the end. They overcame them in the course of the story. They became better people. And isn’t that what life is? The tension was brilliant. By instituting the bet between Thornton and this brother, it kept me turning pages even through slower sections. The concept felt fresh and unique. Reinhold was fantastic as the other corner of the love triangle. He was supportive even when Elise didn’t reciprocate his feelings. We need more characters like that. While Thornton had me rooting for him, I have to admit, there were a couple times when Thornton was being obsessed and creepy that I wondered if Reinhold was a better option. I'm hoping Reinhold appears in the next book in the series. Negatives At time, both main characters were extremely unlikeable. Elise was very wishy-washy and a bit on the weepy side. Characters repeatedly called her strong and independent, but she didn’t really think or act that way (especially not in the beginning). Thornton was obsessed and selfish. And the way he kept sneaking up to Elise and touching her? I think it was supposed to be romantic, but it was really just super creepy, especially since Elise was not consenting to this action. None of these traits were set up in the first act and just blasted onto the page somewhere in the second act (unless I missed the set up). It was a bit of a jolt. I really, really disliked Marianne. She drove me insane. She was constantly weeping and whining and throwing herself at this guy. And then lied to him and about him. And then when she got in trouble for it, had the nerve to weep and whine some more about her misfortune. Maybe this will be developed more in the second book and she will be made more likeable, but she really didn’t add a whole lot to the current plot, especially since most of her story was summed up in Reinhold telling Elise about her letters. While I want Reinhold to appear in the next one, I really hope for his sake and mine that he doesn't get paired up with Marianne. Conclusion With You Always isn’t a perfect book. Neither are its characters. But that’s part of the intrigue and beauty of this book. Summary For fans of bestselling WWII fiction comes a powerful novel from Lynn Austin about three women whose lives are instantly changed when the Nazis invade the neutral Netherlands, forcing each into a complicated dance of choice and consequence. Lena is a wife and mother who farms alongside her husband in the tranquil countryside. Her faith has always been her compass, but can she remain steadfast when the questions grow increasingly complex and the answers could mean the difference between life and death? Lena’s daughter Ans has recently moved to the bustling city of Leiden, filled with romantic notions of a new job and a young Dutch police officer. But when she is drawn into Resistance work, her idealism collides with the dangerous reality that comes with fighting the enemy. Miriam is a young Jewish violinist who immigrated for the safety she thought Holland would offer. She finds love in her new country, but as her family settles in Leiden, the events that follow will test them in ways she could never have imagined. The Nazi invasion propels these women onto paths that cross in unexpected, sometimes-heartbreaking ways. Yet the story that unfolds illuminates the surprising endurance of the human spirit and the power of faith and love to carry us through. Positives Ans was my favorite character and plotline in this book. At first, I didn’t think I would like her—the “rebellious” teenager who wants to see more of the world has been so overdone and isn’t that true to life, I’m finding. But as the book went on, she developed into a sympathetic character. I loved that her plotline didn’t end with pat answers, that it changed it up a little bit. She struggled with real questions in very real ways and found real answers. Lena was my second favorite. Because who can’t relate to wanting control when everything is nose-diving? Miriam was my least favorite. Her story was just something that happens in so many novels. Girl meets guy, they fall in love, get married, have a baby, are separated for some reason, and spend the rest of the book crying and searching for each other. That being said, I loved the connection of her violin. And the emotion she worked through while giving her child up was very real and raw, giving a good glimpse into what mothers of the time actually would have been feeling. The prologue did exactly its job! It makes you want to figure out how the characters got there, but doesn’t give away how it ends. I also loved the inclusion of Ans’ friend who is fighting depression. It is a topic that needs addressed more in fiction and often gets glossed over or sensationalized in historical fiction. Negatives The book felt a little detached from the characters sometimes. This may have been just part of the writing voice of this one, but I would have liked to get inside the heads of the characters some more. There were also some of the spies that worked with Lena that I would have loved to know more about. In fact, the ending seemed a tad bit on the rushed side. But there were also three plotlines to be closed up and only a few pages to do it in. Honestly, the author did fantastic juggling those three plotlines. Summary Chasing Shadows is definitely worth a read. While it doesn’t dive into the characters’ heads too much, it does provide a realistic glimpse into what life in the time was like. Summary A story of second chances and secrets, this mysterious Regency romance will transport you to 19th-century England as one young lady reunites with her childhood love to find his missing sister. Her friend is missing. After five years abroad, Charity Halliwell finally returns to Loxby Manor, the home of dear friends—and her lost love. No longer a young girl, she is now haunted by a painful secret and the demise of her dreams. Instead of the healing and happiness she hopes to find, she encounters a darkness lurking in the shadows of the once-familiar house. When her friend, Seline, disappears the very night of her arrival, Charity is determined to uncover the truth. Her only hope is the man who broke her heart. Branded a coward, Piers Cavanaugh has lived the last five years as an outcast far from his family home. When his sister presumably elopes with a stable hand, Piers joins forces with an unlikely partner—the one woman he thought he’d never see again. Together they launch an investigation that leads to strange nightly meetings in the ruins of an old abbey and disturbing whispers of a secret organization. The more they learn, the more desperate the situation becomes. The house seems determined to keep its secrets. As they struggle to piece together the clues, Charity and Piers also endeavor to rebuild their friendship. One cryptic letter changed everything between them. To find happiness they will have to overcome the grief and shame keeping them apart. But first they must discover why Seline vanished and confront the growing fear that she may never return. Settle in, because once you start The Vanishing at Loxby Manor, you won’t be able to put it down. Positives I rolled my eyes a bit when I first met Charity. Here we go. Another “traumatized” female character who jumps at every shadow and bursts into tears. But Charity wasn’t like that. Yes, she was slow to trust, and could get spooked easily. But it was realistic—it actually took into consideration what actual people who have been through her kind of trauma are like, and recognized that there are as many reactions to trauma as there are personalities and people. While the author acknowledged the struggle this brought Charity, she also gave Charity her strengths, too. This mystery was so well done. I had no idea who had done it. Everyone could have been suspects. (And they were until proven otherwise.) Good characters had dark sides. Bad characters had good sides. It also had a very interesting premise—the idea of the secret societies that did, in fact, exist in that time period is rarely, if ever, explored in historical fiction. Selina’s mother was an especially intriguing character to me. One moment, she ruthlessly defended her family’s “honor” with no thought to her children. The next, she was coming to confide in Charity. And the next she was almost motherly. Very much a three-dimensional character and an interesting addition to the story. Negatives The back cover is a bit misleading when it says Piers broke her heart. He really didn't--the trauma Charity faced separated the two of them. Conclusion All in all, a clever Regency mystery that takes a very specific form of trauma and handles it sympathetically. Summary Cordelia Owens can weave a hopeful story around anything and has long since won the hearts of Savannah's society with her whimsy. Even when she receives word that her sweetheart has been lost during a raid on a Yankee vessel, she clings to hope and comes up with many a romantic tale of his eventual homecoming to reassure his mother and sister. But Phineas Dunn finds nothing redemptive in the horrors of war. Struggling for months to make it home alive, he returns to Savannah injured and changed. The beliefs he once held about slavery and the entire war have been upended, and he's all too sure that he is not the hero Delia seems determined to make him. When the Confederacy deems Savannah a lost cause and the future wavers, Phin and Delia must both decide where the dreams of a new America will take them--and if they will go there together. Positives Dreams of Savannah is a bit slower of a story than I was used to from Roseanna M. White. Considering its predecessors (Shadows Over England, Codebreakers, The Nature of a Lady), it was remarkably short on spies, codebreakers, thieves, or treasure hunters. But it didn’t fall any short of any of her other novels. Delia was an interesting addition for me. I must admit, I tend to like the tough girl heroine. Delia certainly wasn’t that. And yet, her romantic way of viewing the world and active imagination drew me in just as much as any of the other heroines I have related to. It was a good reminder to me that softer heroines have just as much impact as tougher ones. Phin and Luther’s meeting and relationship wove some truths worthy of thought into the story, and then explored those thoughts well through their tension. Negatives None. Conclusion Dreams of Savannah succeeds in bringing both hope and thought into a reader’s life. And it definitely deserves a home on a bookshelf of good reads. Summary In this heroic gaslamp fantasy, superhuman abilities bring an adventurous new dimension to 1820 London, where an outlaw speedster and a master of illusion do battle to decide who will own the city. Think being a superhero is hard? Try being the first one. Will’s life is a proper muddle—and all because he was “accidentally” inflicted with the ability to run faster and leap higher than any human ever. One minute he’s a blacksmith’s apprentice trying to save his master from debtor’s prison. The next he’s accused of murder and hunted as a black-hearted highwayman. A vengeful politician with dark secrets and powers even more magical than Will’s has duped all of London into blaming Will for the chilling imprisonments of the city’s poor. The harder Will tries to use his abilities to fight crime, the deeper he is entangled in a dark underworld belonging to some of Georgian England’s most colorful characters. Only Will stands a chance of stopping this powerful madman bent on “reforming” London by any means necessary. Unfortunately, Will is beginning to realize becoming a legend might mean sacrificing everything that matters. Positives First off, this book is LONG. With little print. So be prepared. I mean, the premise is brilliant. Superheroes in 1800’s London. What is not to like about that? I also love that each of the heroes in the story had their limitations. Sometimes pretty big limitations. (Not being able to look at light is a pretty big limitation.) It added more conflict and tension to the story since they couldn’t just zip around and do whatever they felt like at the moment. I loved Will’s little adopted family trio he puts together. Rose is fantastic. She stands out as a sidekick. I loved the inclusion of a younger character and the sibling relationship the two of them develop. For the record, Isabella was a well-developed character, too. Her and Will's romance did not at all take the turns I was expecting when they met earlier in the book, and the twist of ending was a creative change. And, dang it, the author went and killed the character I didn’t want killed! Negatives I had a love-hate relationship with how she spelled the characters’ dialects out. On one hand, I loved it because I could hear exactly how they talked in my head. Then, after a while, it just got a little distracting. They started using catchphrases that I was unfamiliar with and that I struggled to figure out what they meant using the context. This may just be a problem on my part, other people might read it and be able to figure out exactly what they meant. But from some of my own research a while back, people either love or hate spelled-out dialects. I’m somewhere in the middle on this one. The message was a little bit blatant, at least to me. It could have been more subtle and I wouldn’t have minded—but that didn’t detract from the message AT ALL, and the theme was very well-developed throughout the story. So neither one of those were truly negatives. Just kind of “eeh” things, I guess. Conclusion Wayfarer was definitely worth the read, and I’m looking into another of her novels to add to my shelf. Summary
Not all illusions happen on the stage. Wren Lockhart, apprentice to master illusionist Harry Houdini, uses life on a vaudeville stage to escape the pain of her past. She continues her career of illusion after her mentor’s death, intent on burying her true identity. But when a rival performer’s act goes tragically wrong, the newly formed FBI calls on Wren to speak the truth—and reveal her real name to the world. She transfers her skills for misdirection from the stage to the back halls of vaudeville, as she finds herself the unlikely partner in the FBI’s investigation. All the while Houdini’s words echo in her mind: Whatever occurs, the crowd must believe it’s what you meant to happen. She knows that if anyone digs too deep, secrets long kept hidden may find their way to the surface—and shatter her carefully controlled world. Set during one of the richest, most vibrant eras in American history, this Jazz Age novel of illusion, suspense, and forgotten pasts is perfect for fans of The Magician’s Lie, challenging all to find the underpinnings of faith on their own life’s stage. Positives Finally, a book that treats a non-girly girl as more than a punchline. Her unique interests intrigued me. But the longer the story went on, I related a lot to Wren’s character and enjoyed how they portrayed her just being herself, whether that was in full fledged stage costume or a comfortable dress at home. I also enjoyed that they made her smart and resourceful. So often, girls in books are only there to be rescued by the main man. While Wren did need rescued every so often, it wasn’t because she was weak or incapable. All in all, she had some unique skills and traits, and she made the book the experience that it was. I could not have imagined who the culprit was. The story pointed in the complete opposite direction, then smack in the middle new information came to light that made me doubt the villain it had set up. By the time the climax rolled around, I was taken completely by surprise—which was perfect. The setting is very vibrant and now has me wanting to include the twenties in a novel of my own sometime. I mean, it's a book about illusionists! How cool is that? Negatives None. Conclusion The Illusionist’s Apprentice truly does steal the show. Summary One night in the Ardennes Forest will change everything she holds dear... December, 1944, Malmedy, France. Annie Rawlings, an army nurse, spends her days and nights patching up the American boys who are fighting the Krauts. Soldiers so young they should be back home, playing baseball and flirting with girls on a Saturday night. Annie can't help but hate the Germans, especially when she hears about the atrocities at the Baugnez crossroads, where Nazis shot the American wounded. All Annie wants is for the war to stop long enough so she and Lieutenant Keith Mitchell can have their longed-for honeymoon in Paris over Christmas. But aircraft continue to roar overhead. Trucks, tanks, and personnel carriers rumble in the distance. More casualties pour in. Then, one snowy night, Annie and her friend Mouse drive an ambulance into the middle of no-man's-land on a desperate mission.... Positives The emotion in this book is what astounded me. This book grappled with some hard questions, made even harder by the fact that the characters were going through excrutiating losses. It was the type of thing that made me think of losses in my own life and to wonder the same questions about myself. Also, the author did a great job writing from a woman’s perspective. I really shouldn’t, but sometimes, when I see a male author has a female as a main character, I get a little skeptical. (To be fair, I’m sure there’s men out there that would look skeptically at my male main characters.) Honestly though, the author wrote her perspective better than some female authors. He also did a great job making me care about some characters in a very short amount of time. This isn’t a long book, but he set up the whole cast succinctly at the beginning, which meant when the action was underway and those characters were threatened, I sat up and took notice. His villain is the most annoying person ever. Just saying. (Annoying in a good way. He did all the things a villain should.) I’m honestly divided about the ending. Part of me wanted more closure. Part of me glanced skeptically at it. But most of me thinks it is just perfect—leaving a lot to my imagination. Negatives If you do find a copy of this book to read, please, please, PLEASE skip the prologue. In my opinion, it spoils the whole story and basically lets you know who makes it out alive and who doesn't. I wish it had been left in chronological order and that scene had not been in there until the end. Conclusion Dear Enemy is a worthwhile read. It touches the deep and painful places in our lives while also keeping me turning pages. Summary A WWII novel of courage and conviction, based on the true experience of the men who fought fires as conscientious objectors and the women who fought prejudice to serve in the Women's Army Corps. Since the attack on Pearl Harbor, Gordon Hooper and his buddy Jack Armitage have stuck to their values as conscientious objectors. Much to their families' and country's chagrin, they volunteer as smokejumpers rather than enlisting, parachuting into and extinguishing raging wildfires in Oregon. But the number of winter blazes they're called to seems suspiciously high, and when an accident leaves Jack badly injured, Gordon realizes the facts don't add up. A member of the Women's Army Corps, Dorie Armitage has long been ashamed of her brother's pacifism, but she's shocked by news of his accident. Determined to find out why he was harmed, she arrives at the national forest under the guise of conducting an army report . . . and finds herself forced to work with Gordon. He believes it's wrong to lie; she's willing to do whatever it takes for justice to be done. As they search for clues, Gordon and Dorie must wrestle with their convictions about war and peace and decide what to do with the troubling secrets they discover. Positives THIS. BOOK. First off, the smokejumper thing is cool. I’ve never read a book with smokejumpers in it, and I didn’t know there were CO smokejumpers before this book either. The descriptions drew me in. Dorie is amazing. While some of her antics made this introvert cringe, I also liked her fire and her refusal to be kept down. Gordon was also fantastic in his own way, and I appreciated that a quiet, peace-loving character like him finally got his chance in the spotlight. I related a lot to his struggle to know when to step up and act and when to stand down and wait. The mystery definitely kept me going. I had no idea who it could be, all the ones I had figured out got knocked out one after the other. Never would have guessed the true culprit. I really appreciate how much she explores viewpoints in her story. She didn’t set one up as the good guy and the other as the bad guy. She took a look at ALL angles of an issue. She showed bad guys who believed good things and good guys who believed bad things. That alone would be enough for me to recommend this book. We need more books that make us think instead of hitting us over the head with morals. (Personal opinion, for what it’s worth. ;) ) She also didn't try to talk her main character out of his opinion. It was nice to see someone stand firm in the beliefs they know to be true, the things that matter, even as they grow and change. On the other hand, it was balanced out with the characters' willingness (or eventual willingness) to admit when and where they were wrong and make amends. Negatives None. Conclusion The Lines Between Us did not disappoint after her debut novel. It made me think about my own lines while it quickly made a line to my bookshelf. Summary
In a land where being the fairest maiden is a curse . . . A young queen trying to stay alive until she comes of age to rule, and a prince turned into a pauper. Queen Aurora of Mercia has spent her entire life deep in Inglewood Forest, hiding from Warwick’s Queen Margery, who seeks her demise. As the time draws near for Aurora to take the throne, she happens upon a handsome woodcutter. Although friendship with outsiders is forbidden and dangerous, she cannot stay away from the charming stranger. Only two months away from completing his royal testing, Prince Kresten of Scania is ready to be finished with the poverty and hardships of being a woodcutter. When he meets a beautiful peasant woman, he doesn’t plan to fall in love, especially when he must soon leave and return to his homeland. As Queen Margery’s forces close in, Aurora finds herself in mortal danger. Kresten knows a future with Aurora is impossible, but he is desperate to save her and bring an end to the queen’s threat. To do so, he joins the ultimate battle against the evil queen, risking everything, including his chance at true love. Positives Both Aurora and Kresten are much more outgoing and open to people than I am. The skeptical side of me of course was thinking, “You just met each other and you’re telling each other all this? Especially after Aurora was almost killed by her aunt?” But it quickly quieted. The author did a fantastic job of taking character’s with very different personalities than mine and making me understand and like them despite that. I also love that Aurora and Kresten think about each other. Yes, they’re cute and in love and everything. But they actually think about how their actions will affect each other—a rarity in romance. I was warned before I started reading that the ending wasn’t as out-of-nowhere-awesome-plot-twist as Beholden. But this is still my favorite book in the series. While the ending wasn’t exactly unheard of for a Sleeping Beauty retelling, it was still a beautiful ending. If anyone ever tells you that tropes don’t work . . . Plus, it was just so satisfying to see all the threads from across the trilogy come to a close. Negatives None. Conclusion Besotted finishes out the trilogy with a sweet familiarity for fans of fairy tale retellings. |
Rachel's Reads
Hi there! Rachel again. Check out this section for book reviews and cover reveals of some of my favorites! Archives
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