The Vanished Bride

The Vanished Bride by Bella Ellis
Bronte Sisters Mysteries, book one
Published Sept 2019 by Berkley Books

Physical book received in exhange for an honest review

Description from Goodreads:

Yorkshire, 1845. A young wife and mother has gone missing from her home, leaving behind two small children and a large pool of blood. Just a few miles away, a humble parson's daughters--the Brontë sisters--learn of the crime. Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë are horrified and intrigued by the mysterious disappearance.

These three creative, energetic, and resourceful women quickly realize that they have all the skills required to make for excellent "lady detectors." Not yet published novelists, they have well-honed imaginations and are expert readers. And, as Charlotte remarks, "detecting is reading between the lines--it's seeing what is not there."

As they investigate, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne are confronted with a society that believes a woman's place is in the home, not scouring the countryside looking for clues. But nothing will stop the sisters from discovering what happened to the vanished bride, even as they find their own lives are in great peril...

My Review: 

As some of you may know, I read a lot of cozy mysteries. I lead the cozy mystery book club at my Library.  So, I was really excited when Berkley Books (Penguin Random House) offered to let me read this book as part of the release tour.  And while this book is truly a love letter to the Bronte sisters, the actual mystery itself was a little disappointing.

So, the positives - each Bronte sister has her own distinct personality and watching them interact was not only fun and interesting, it made me want to go research them more on my own.  The author is obviously very familiar with both their lives and their works.  Seeing the relationship they had with their father and brother was also illuminating.  I loved that these smart, independent women would be brave enough to go out "detecting."

What I didn't love, as I said, was the mystery itself.  It was messy. There were a lot of bits and pieces and while some of it seemingly tied into how the sisters developed their published works later, which was an intriguing concept, there was just too much going on sometimes.  That was what led to me pretty much losing interest in the mystery itself. I honestly didn't care by about two-thirds of the way into the book what had happened to the young bride who disappeared.  Which... was about when things circled back around and I figured out what happened before the sisters did.

So, overall, I was not really impressed with this book as a mystery per se.  I did, however, thoroughly enjoy it as a piece of fictionalized history focusing on three famous women authors.  I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys the Bronte sisters' works, but if you purely want a cozy mystery, sadly, this would not be at the top of my recommendation list. 

December Challenge Wrap Up Post

2018 Books I Already Own Challenge

December, a month that feels both endless and passes in a blink! Full of holidays and the anticipation that builds along with them.  I was terrified this month that I wasn't going to get a chance to read anything, but I actually got quite a bit of reading in along the way!

I was super happy that I managed to fit in the two Christmas themed books I'd planned, as I was really feeling in the spirit this year and I wanted the chance to embrace that in my reading. I also finished some great romances that I had flirted with reading in the past so it was a month filled with love and joy.

I hope it felt that way for you, too!

So here's what I read in December:

Audiobooks I Own
Boy Toy by Sarina Bowen and Tanya Eby
Sweet Tea and Sympathy by Molly Harper
Getting Schooled by Emma Chase

Audiobooks I Borrowed
All the King's Horses by Lauren Gallagher
Unbreak My Heart by Lauren Blakely
From Here to You by Jaime McGuire

Physical Books I Own 
Wanderlust by Lauren Blakely
The Real Deal by Lauren Blakely
Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Vox by Christina Dalcher
The Christmas Sisters by Sarah Morgan

eBook I Own
Butterface by Avery Flynn

Required Reading
(for review) Hating to Love You by Erin Rylie
(for work) The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay

Borrowed from the Library (to finish my A to Z Reading Challenge!)
Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke

I've discovered in the last few months that I can actually do a LOT of audiobook listening at home. My husband leaves for work before I even get out of bed most days so while I'm working out, getting ready for work, and eating breakfast I can have an audiobook running.  It's making my "reading" go a lot faster at home. 

I read some really great books this month. I loved Six of Crows and finally understood all the hype it had gotten.  Wanderlust had me sighing out loud in the best way (and what great accents in the audiobook!). Vox was legitimately terrifying to contemplate and Jane, Unlimited felt like it expanded my brain as it unfolded.  I also loved The Christmas Sisters and found that to be the perfect holiday read this year.  I only hope my reading moving into 2019 continues to be this good!!

Happy New Year and Happy Reading all!

November Challenge Wrap Up Post

2018 Books I Already Own Challenge

Ah November.  The month that somehow manages to feel super long and super short every year.  As we ramp up to the Holidays, the first part of the month always seems to stretch, then the last two weeks or so FLY by, and suddenly it's December.  EVERY year. 

Though I managed to read a decent amount of books, it was not quite what I'd hoped... As part of a group online, I read A Discovery of Witches, which has been on my TBR long list for ages and while it was EXCELLENT, it also took longer than I expected to read.  It's surprisingly dense. Well worth the read, though! One of my favorite books of this entire year.

So, here's what I actually read in November:

Audiobooks
Possession by Jessica Hawkins
How to Walk Away by Katherine Center
The Other Lady Vanishes by Amanda Quick
Hello Stranger by Lisa Kleypas
A Rogue of Her Own by Grace Burrowes

Physical Books I Own
Renegade by JA Souders

eBooks I Own
Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire
Move the Stars by Jessica Hawkins
Neutral by Jane Washington and Jaymin Eve
Pain by Jane Washington and Jaymin Eve

Nonfiction Title of the Month: FAIL. I did not read one AGAIN.

Required Reading
(work) Murder at the Brightwell by Ashley Weaver *technically a re-read*

Group Read: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

DNF (Did Not Finish): Zero Repeat Forever by Gabrielle Prendergast
I read 25% of this book from my home library and decided that I was not interested enough to finish it.  There are too many other books to read! So, this one has a new home as a prize for a teen at our Library...

I did very little actually sit down with a book reading this month! It was much more audiobook listening and sneaking in books on my kindle or phone between things... probably going to be similar in December, but we'll have to wait and see. How was your November reading?

October Challenge Wrap Up Post

2018 Books I Already Own Challenge

Hey, does anyone know what happened to October? I'd like it back! Seriously, this month FLEW by and I feel like Fall's already on it's way out and before we know it, it's going to be winter and I'm going to cry. 

So, realizing I now only have TWO months left in the year and that there is no humanly way possible for me to finish this challenge within the year, I still found myself staring angrily at my bookshelves as if by somehow wishing hard enough more of those books would be simultaneously read... so, instead of just stewing, I went through my collection again and took about fifteen books off my TBR pile and donated them to the Library.  I can't honestly say I was dying to read them anymore, so out they go.

That still leaves me with almost 75 books I haven't read yet, but it looks a little less intimidating and I may be able to get through them before, say April 2019, which isn't too, too bad. With the holidays coming up, which somehow usually gives me both more and less time to read, we'll see what kind of dent I make in what's left...

So, what did I manage to read in this super fast passing October?

Audiobooks
Something in the Way by Jessica Hawkins

Escapades by Lilly Atlas

Soul of the Witch by Deanna Chase

Born of Darkness by Lara Adrian

Physical books I own
Somebody Else's Sky by Jessica Hawkins

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas

eBook I own
Trial of Three by Alex Lidell

The Hookup by Kristen Ashley

Hour of the Lion by Cherise Sinclair

Nonfiction Title of the Month: None (I sadly did not pick one up this month. Boo)

Official cheat book(s): 

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina vol. 1 (graphic novel) by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa/Robert Hack

The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory

Required Reading
(work) Death Overdue by Allison Brook
(professional review) Johnny by DJ Molles

I started reviewing audiobooks for the awards this month so that took away some from my regular reading.  I can't specify at all what I'm judging, so just trust me when I say it takes a lot of time and it means the rest of 2018 will be split between that and this challenge.  I'm still planning to pick away as much as I can at what I own though!!

How're you all doing with your reading?

September Challenge Wrap Up Post

2018 Books I Already Own Challenge

So, September started out as a pretty great reading month, then sort of petered out... I'm in a bit of a reading slump now. *cries gently*

I think it's sinking in that there's only three months left of 2018 and I have too many unread books to reasonably finish this year.  *sigh* Somehow I'd convinced myself I could do it all in 2018!!

I think, though, that if I could get down to less than say, thirty or thirty-five books sitting there waiting to be read, I wouldn't feel too badly ending the year-long challenge...

So, what did I read in September?

Audiobooks I own
The Crown's Fate by Evelyn Skye
Strength by Jaymin Eve and Jane Washington
Flame in the Dark by Faith Hunter

Physical books I own
To Bear an Iron Key by Jackie Morse Kessler
Lies Jane Austen Told Me by Julie Wright
Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas
Illegal by Eoin Colfer *graphic novel*

eBook I own
Witch's Reign by Shannon Mayer

Nonfiction Title of the Month: The Atlas Obscura Explorer's Guide for the World's Most Adventurous Kid by Dylan Thuras and Rosemary Mosco

Official cheat book: Lethal Licorice by Amanda Flower

Required Reading
(work) Sprinkle with Murder by Jenn McKinlay
(professional review) The Oddling Prince by Nancy Springer
(professional review) The Stars Now Unclaimed by Drew Williams

So, I also got a third of the way through Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas, but it's so big, and we're so close to the end of the series that my brain is just like, "Noooooooo..." and it doesn't want me to read any more of it.  I'm working on my current book club book for work trying to take a mini-break, but then my next group discussion for EOS is on the 17th so I have to get it done before then.  Do you ever have that happen where a book is almost too good and you just don't want to finish it because then it'll be DONE?

I'm also starting my annual audiobook judging this month, so that's going to affect my reading.  I can't really tell you more than that, but it'll mean books I can't record here and time away from my own collection. *Sigh*

How're you all doing with your reading?

Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding by Rhys Bowen

Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding by Rhys Bowen
A Royal Spyness Mystery, book twelve
Berkley, 2018
Finished copy received from publisher in exchange for honest review

It's always hard to write a review for a book this far into a series without giving too much away! I'm going to attempt it anyway. 

Georgie is a relative of the British Royal family.  Not directly in line to the throne, but close enough to fall into many of the trappings of the highest level of society.  Needless to say, when this somewhat shy young lady has finally gotten permission to marry her dashing, but somewhat less-than-desirable (in the eyes of the crown) fiance, she feels trapped... the Queen wants to invite half the royals in Europe, she's going to have two young princesses as bridesmaids, and the fact that they are going to get married in a Catholic Church...the horror! All Georgie wants to do is finally marry Darcy, in a quiet little ceremony, and set up a small household all her own. 

Aside from the tribulations of being too close to the crown for comfort, Georgie realizes she and her future husband do not have the means to afford a comfortable house in any decent part of London! Though she doesn't need all the pomp and circumstance, it's hard for Georgie to admit, she does need some creature comforts.  She thinks her problems are solved when her ex-stepfather gifts her the house she would one day inherit early, letting her move in prior to the wedding to prepare for the wedded couple to live their after the ceremony.

However, the gift of the house is too good to be true.  Things are just not right.  All of the staff is new... and seemingly largely untrained. Not up to snuff by any means.  There are rumors of wrong-doing, a death that might not have been accidental, and an attempt on Georgie's life!

Full of the charm of the previous books in the series, the delightful contrast of the "upstairs" and "belowstairs" characters with Georgie bridging the divide, and scenes that made me snort with laughter, I could not put this one down.  This is a light-hearted, but clever series that entrances me each time I read a new addition to the series.  Highly recommended.  I will be curious to see how this series changes as Georgie moves into her new position as a married woman, perhaps even eventually a mother herself!

Reading for Comfort

Is anyone else like me where when life gets just a little too much to handle... a little too "real,"  you just try to lose yourself in a book?  That's been my go-to escapism move for as long as I can remember. 

Last week when I found myself bemoaning the horrid weather we've been having this January in New England and work got a little extra stressful, I found myself longing to just dive into some comforting books.

So...with my 2018 Books I Already Own Challenge this threw me off my game a little bit.  I wanted to try as much as possible to stick within the parameters of my challenge and yet still have the freedom to read books I knew without a doubt would leave me feeling a little more lighthearted.  So, what did I end up reading?

The first book was an easy choice, since it wasn't really a choice at all! I may or may not have mentioned that I run the Cozy Mystery Book Bunch book club at my library.  Once a month I get to read a cozy and have a discussion with other readers about its plusses, minuses, and hilarious bits... and I get paid! LOVE. 

January's book club choice was Daisies for Innocence by Bailey Cattrell, the first book in the Enchanted Garden mystery series. It was the perfect mix of light fun, cute pets, hints of magic, and murder. The main character was someone interesting to follow and it reminded me how much I like to dabble with aromatherapy knowledge. I thoroughly enjoyed it and plan to read the second book in the series... in 2019. 

The other book I picked up to lighten my mood was the novella prequel to the Secret World of Alaina Downs series, The Princess and the Stableboy by Rebecca Rynecki.  Technically, I've read this one already a few years ago, so it was a re-read, but it was my first time reading it since it was officially printed.  Rebecca is one of my good friends and writing partners and I was actually a beta reader for this novella.  Such a different experience to read it again all pretty and formatted correctly!

Anyway, this series is one set in the fantasy world of Isleen, where magic abound and adventure and romance are always around the next corner.  I knew exactly what I was going to find in this re-read.  Evil wizards, a princess learning that she can survive horrifying things, and a sweet romance blossoming into true love.  *sigh*  One of my happy reading places. 

I was so happy that technically I didn't jump off my challenge path to find solace in my reading choices!  Even this morning when I looked at the next book on my list and wasn't quite feeling it, I was able to hunt for another book that I own to take it's place, so I'm still on track!