Death at a Highland Wedding (A Rip Through Time #4) by Kelley Armstrong

  

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre:  Mystery, Historical Mystery, Fantasy
Content: Strong Language

 

After slipping 150 years into the past, modern-day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson has embraced her new life in Victorian Scotland as housemaid Catriona Mitchel. Although it isn’t what she expected, she's developed real, meaningful relationships with the people around her and has come to love her role as assistant to undertaker Dr. Duncan Gray and Detective Hugh McCreadie.

Mallory, Gray, and McCreadie are on their way to the Scottish Highlands for McCreadie's younger sister's wedding. The McCreadies and the groom’s family, the Cranstons, have a complicated history which has made the weekend quite uncomfortable. But the Cranston estate is beautiful so Gray and Mallory decide to escape the stifling company and set off to explore the castle and surrounding wilderness. They discover that the groom, Archie Cranston, a slightly pompous and prickly man, has set up deadly traps in the woods for the endangered Scottish wildcats, and they soon come across a cat who's been caught and severely injured. Oddly, Mallory notices the cat's injuries don't match up with the intricacies of the trap. These strange irregularities, combined with the secretive and erratic behavior of the groom, put Mallory and Duncan on edge. And then when one of the guests is murdered, they must work fast to uncover the murderer before another life is lost.
 

 

I liked the progress of some of the relationships in this book. I feel like things are progressing on that front at just the right pace for me. For me, the mystery wasn't as compelling as it was in the last book, but it was still an enjoyable read. I wish that there was more back and forth interaction through time. What I was really hoping for when I started this series was a glimpse into both time periods and it looks like this is just settling into being a Victorian mystery series, which isn't a bad thing, but I've read a lot of those already. I also feel like certain characters in this series have accepted this reality too easily. There was hardly any push back on the idea of time travel in previous books by characters who find out about Mallory's secret. That being said, I'm in no way disinterested in this series. I will definitely be reading the next book after it's published.

 

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filthy Rich (The Scarsdale Fosters #5) by B. E. Baker

  

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre:  Romance, Contemporary Romance
Content: Clean

Jake Priest learned at an early age to take anything he could get and never look back. With the help of his foster sister Bea, and the catchy song she wrote, he finally gets a stroke of luck and becomes the hottest new entertainer in the industry. He’s always felt a little guilty for using Bea’s song as his ticket to fame, but after years of hiding her talent, Bea’s finally crafting musical masterpieces again. Jake credits one woman with inspiring her to do it.

When that woman, Octavia Rothschild, shoved Beatrice Cipriani into the limelight, she really had no idea that Bea would try and drag her on stage too. Octavia's finding the attention uncomfortable. Ever since an accident that left prominent burns on one side of her face, Octavia has attracted too much attention, none of it good.

And now the studio’s insisting that Octavia perform one of Bea's songs with Jake Priest. The label’s wild for the kind of publicity a duet would create, even if Jake’s famously impossible to deal with. Only, the more time Jake spends with Octavia, the more he's drawn to her voice and her unique beauty.

But Jake’s shady past was only contained, not erased.

When Jake’s father finally walks out of prison, the first person he wants to see is his newly rich and famous son. And good old dad has some demands—and some secrets—that may just change everything. Can Jake and Octavia heal from past trauma in time to deal with everything the world’s about to throw at them?

 

I think the best thing about this book was the character Octavia. I liked Octavia a lot in the last book, and I was happy that she got her own book. I enjoyed reading her backstory and felt for her with all the horrible people she had to deal with in her life. I know people with disfigurements or deformities have to deal with some people making hurtful comments to or about them. I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around how anyone could be so mean to another person, especially for something they can't help. Octavia goes through quite a lot of that in this book. I appreciated that the author mentioned that Octavia's character was inspired by her cousin, who was also disfigured by a burn. I think it's great that she was able to get input from her cousin on what it was like, and what she dealt with. 

The character Jake grew on me. He wasn't a favorite from the previous book, but I liked that we got to understand where he was coming from. I liked his growth as a character. I'm not usually a fan of stories where the main character or the love interest is a famous person, be they actors or musicians, or whatever, so that part of the book was a harder sell for me. Because of that, this wasn't one of my favorites in the series but that's just a taste preference and it doesn't reflect on the story itself. This was a nice, sweet love story, and I was rooting for Octavia and Jake. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series. 

 

Thanks to the author for providing me with a copy of this book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Giant Book Haul

I haven't posted a book haul in a long time and I've bought a lot of books over the past year, so these are all the physical books I've bought.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First up are the Fantasy books that I've collected- 

 

The first book in The Russian Witch's Curse Series by Bridget E. Baker. This one is a special edition that I think is gorgeous. It came with a beautiful necklace made of real amethyst beads.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The naked hardcover.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The end papers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

The second and third books in The Founders Trilogy by Robert Jackson Bennett I don't usually buy books for my bookshelf until I've either read them and know I like them, or it's an author I love. So I broke my rule (you will find out that I broke this rule a few times over the past year) with these next two books because I really liked the covers and they were cheap. Then I found out that the first book is hard to find without paying a lot for a hardcover copy. So, I'm going to wait to buy the first book until after I read it. If I end up not liking it then I'll probably trade these in at my local used book store, or hold onto them and sell them if they end up going up in price too. 

Some extras from the seller on Pangobooks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher, a retelling of Sleeping Beauty 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course I had this one on pre-order! The fifth book in The Stormlight Archives Series by Brandon Sanderson

 

 

 

Book one in Roman's Chronicles by Ilona Andrews 

 

 

 

Book four in the Arcadia Bell Series by Jenn Bennett. I had two books in this series on my shelf but was missing this one and one other. I found this one for cheap on Book Outlet. I just wish it was available in trade paperback like the other three. This one is the only book in the series that only got published in mass market paperback, so it's smaller than the others. It really annoys me when a set of books in a series don't match on my shelves.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Novella in the Legends of Muirwood Series by Jeff Wheeler. I backed the Kickstarter for the special edition of The Legends of Muirwood to help the author out, but since Muirwood was one of my least favorite series by the author I didn't want to spend the money on a nice copy of it. So, I ended up just choosing the level with this novella as a reward. If he ever does a Kickstarter for special editions of the Kingfountain Series, I'll definitely want a copy of that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I saw this one on Book Outlet and had to have it. It's Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkein that he did for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. I'm keeping this one on my coffee table. I've included three of my favorite pictures. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Misty Mountains

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next are the Sci-Fi / Space opera books-

 

Books five and six in The Icarus Saga by Timothy Zahn. The last two books in the series.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mystery / Suspense-

 

Book seven in the Verity Kent Series by Anna Lee Huber 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All six books in the Daniel Pitt Series by Anne Perry. I decided to collect this series even though I haven't read anything by Anne Perry in a long time, and I still need to finish her Thomas and Charlotte Pitt Series and her William Monk Series. This one is connected to the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt Series because the main character is their son. I felt like my collection wouldn't be complete without them. One day I will get around to reading them.

A standalone gothic suspense, The Secrets of Heartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden. Another case of me buying without having read the book or anything from the author. This one looked and sounded good and I needed an extra book to get free shipping with an order.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Mother's Secret by Karen Clarke. This is another standalone. I love this author's books, and I was so excited when I saw she had written another one. I had this one on pre-order and I'm looking forward to reading it.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

Books one, two and three of the Rip Through Time Series by Kelley Armstrong. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book eleven in the Tracy Crosswhite Series by Robert Dugoni. I now have all but one of the published books in this series.

The Locked Door, a standalone by Freida McFadden

The first book in The Housemaid Trilogy by Freida McFadden.

Books one and two in the Ernest Cunningham Series by Benjamin Stevenson, along with book three, which is a novella. I bought this series after I had read and enjoyed the first book. I thought I would most likely enjoy all of them but unfortunately that wasn't the case. Now I'm not sure if I will keep the second book or the novella. Also, it drives me crazy that the novella is smaller in size than the other two books. It doesn't look good as a set on the shelves.

I got extras from the seller with this one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Book four of the Rosaline Thorne Mysteries by Darcie Wilde. I broke my rule again. I bought this book and I have never read it or anything by this author. The series is on my to-read list, and this was cheap on Book Outlet. I still need the first three books. I'll probably just read the ebooks first to make sure I like them before I decide if I want to keep buying books from this series.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Romance / Women's Fiction

 

The first book in The Irish Escape Series by B.E. Baker. I like the way this book has photos of some of the real places in Ireland that are mentioned in it. I also like that the chapter headings have photos as well. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book three in the Ladies of the Manor Trilogy by Roseanna M. White. This was the last book I needed to complete this series on my shelves. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book one of the Waverly Family Duology by Sarah Addison Allen. I got this one from our book club Christmas gift exchange. We each brought a book as a gift with items that related to the book. This one had wind chimes with it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The third book in the On Devonshire Shores Series by Julie Klassen 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last book in The Imposters Trilogy by Roseanna M. White. My collection is now complete.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Celia, a standalone by Sophia Holloway. My favorite book by this author! I had to have a copy for my shelves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two standalones by Julie Klassen. The Bridge to Belle Island, and A Castaway in Cornwall. I bought these two Julie Klassen books more to be a completionist than anything else. I liked them but didn't love them as much as most of her other books. I also decided to buy copies of these for my mom who also enjoyed her books. Somehow I ended up with three copies of one of them instead of two. I guess I'll trade it at the used book store.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two Standalone novels by Amy Clipston. The View from Coral Cove, and Something Old, Something New. This was another time I broke my rule of not buying something I hadn't read and liked, or was by an author I loved. I wanted to try this author's books because she's local but unfortunately I didn't like this one all that much. I'm hoping the other book I bought will be better.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My favorite Katherine Center book, Happiness for Beginners.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Books One and Three in the Southern Eclectic Trilogy by Molly Harper. I bought book two a while ago and finally bought books one and three. I got them each from different sources. I went against my better judgement and bought book three from a seller I'm not always happy with. I was not happy with the condition of the book for it to have been advertised as very good condition!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

The cover and spine of the book are very worn.

 

  

 

The third book in The Huntresses Series by Sarah M. Eden.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three more standalones by Sophia Holloway, Kingscastle, Isabelle, and To Catch a Husband.