Something old, something new

The love of monsure George Gibbs ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved this one, from the beginning of it there was a smile on my face. But I didn’t like how the loyal “comrades” of the protagonist kept dying one after the other. And the ending wasn’t great either, but I enjoyed it nevertheless.

CHANGES OF THE HEART Debra Erfert ⭐️⭐️

The writing style is amateurish and very unconvincing, it sounded like a teenager diary . The characters are supposed to be adults but they act like immaturely. And the catastrophic events were unbelievably rapid and the heroine reaction to these events is like someone with a mental disability.

The Golden Bough by George Gibbs ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Romantic. suspenseful. intriguing. unpredictable with a successful use of the surprise element. Gibbs was a skillful author, there was no dull moment in this book and it had its funny moments too. I really liked Rowland character, especially his cheerful attitude.

Beach Wedding weekend ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I wasn’t sure who’s going to be the hero here but I hoped it’s Aiden and I did a little dance when I realized he was. The romance was growing gradually and beautifully and all the characters were perfect. Did I say that it’s a clean romance? It is and that’s my favorite part.

An unfinished story ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This one was like a sweet slap in the face, it was painful but oh so romantic and really short💔.

The forbidden way by George Gibbs ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Almost gave up reading it, now I’m glad I did! Its plot turned out to be one of my favorites, marriage of convenience. The couple are married at the beginning of it and not for love, but because “it just happened”. The only thing I didn’t like or cared for was the business, and there was plenty of it in this book. Admirable writing style, keeps you wondering and making the wrong conclusions -but I made some right ones- and a very satisfying ending.

Mount Royal by Mary Elizabeth Braddon ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Great work of tragedy. The cruelest romance I’ve ever read. From the beginning the author was contriving new ways to separate the two main characters in this book. There was a romance in the beginning but it all went down hill from there and there is no happy ending.

Genealogy by Mae Wood ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Clean and intriguing romance that keeps you guessing what will happen next. Unpredictable story line with some predictable events. Going back and forth between the two Allisons was somewhat confusing. I loved Elliot, didn’t care much about any other character especially his Allison.

Advertising for love by Darcee Tana ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Office romance in a fairytale style with some mystery. The writing is average but I enjoyed the first half of it, the second half was very repetitious.

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❤️That’s Amore ❤️

The wheat princess by Jean Webster ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What a surprise! I prepared myself to dislike this book and I ended up loving it. Very engaging writing style, vivid descriptions of the Italian scenery and a beautiful romantic tale. After I finished the book I couldn’t stop singing “that’s amore”.

The librivox narrator was one of the best.

That unfortunate marriage by Frances Eleanor Trollope ⭐️⭐️⭐️

While the decent writing style wasn’t bad, I didn’t like the book. It had a Jane Austen sense and was very slow and boring. Even the romance was a letdown.

Seventeen by Booth Tarkington ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The funniest classic I have read/listened to for years! The story of a seventeen year old boy turned out to be more interesting and funny than I expected. I was annoyed by William’s attitude towards Genesis and his dog, and miss Pratt’s baby talk became very irritating. But the ending was very satisfying.

Librivox narrator was one of the best, and the best part was that he sounded like he was enjoying the book too.

Princess Aline by Richard Harding Davis ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The writing is good but it’s very slow for a book as short as this one. Halfway through I’ve decided to dislike it if he ended up with the princess, but I liked how it ended.

Our mr. Wren ⭐️⭐️

The unromantic adventures of a naive man.

The rendezvous and other stories by Daphne du Maurier ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I actually enjoyed this book!! Short stories filled with mysteries and ghost stories . Different plots and non of them have romance or a happy ending. The only thing that I didn’t like was that some of the stories ending was inconclusive and left me wanting more.

Child Killer The True Story of The Atlanta Child Murders Jack Rosewood ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I probably shouldn’t say this but I really liked reading this book, detailed recounting of horrible events.

Olive ⭐️⭐️

Depressing plot heavied with religious remarks and poetic language. The progression of the story is very slow it sometimes made me wander with my own thoughts. And it was very predictable and too philosophical for my taste.

Love among the artists by George Bernard Shaw ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The plot of this book is the mother of unpredictability! The work is genius and style is intriguing and funny. Shaw states in the preface of this book that the reader might not like the book but I really liked it, it is unconventional kind of romance but this was surprisingly refreshing. My only complaint is that my favorite character in this book -Jack- didn’t get a happy ending, a new character , which was sprung on us out of nowhere, prevented the outcome that I was hoping for.

To have and to hold by Mary Johnston ⭐️⭐️

I don’t like poetry and some of the language in this book sounded poetic. It’s my first classic mail ordered bride. I didn’t like the female protagonist , I thought she was spoiled and immature. At some points I felt like I was watching a silent movie. In the end ,though, I have to admit it was a well written book with interesting plot.

Title of almost every chapter was a spoiler for me.

A bride for Tom by Ruth Ann Nordin ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Funny sweet and sometimes funny, the plot is not typical at all and the characters are well written. But unfortunately the male protagonist character was weak and too sensitive for a man. I wanted to read the next book in the series but I didn’t when I noticed some reviews saying it has an explicit scene.

Cold river by Liz Adair ⭐️⭐️

I wanted to like this book, the plot was very promising, the characters are well written and the hint of a mystery at the beginning was interesting. But… it was too slow. Very descriptive . Repetitious. There was not much romance either, half way through the book and there still was none to speak of. And when it finally showed up, it was weird.

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Classic and non-fiction books review

THE BIG BOOK OF WAR PROPAGANDA POSTERS VOLUME THREE by Douglas DeLong ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Really enjoyable collection of war posters, I loved looking at the details in each one of them and the repair work on the damaged ones is really remarkable.

Nice guy, good guy, bad guy, a$sh*le by plane Jane E and tall dude ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Funny witty and useful guide for women to avoid unpleasant situations in their future attempts at an intimate relationship with the other sex. And “I love all the drawings” I really did.

Dragonwyck by Anya Seton ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Started with an Intriguing mysterious plot and sensational portrayal of romance. The protagonist is portrayed in a very attractive way that I was very disappointed when the doubts about his wife’s death started to arise. In fact, it was after the disguised Indians incident that things started to go south. I thought it’s going to be similar in style to Bronte’s Jane Eyre or Rebecca by daphne du Maurier but boy was I wrong! The Edgar Allan Poe part with other true events gave it a sense of reality and I loved the ending.

Dear Enemy by Jean Webster ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A second attempt to write another daddy long legs with some essential differences, and some similarities between Judy’s and Sallie’s style, which shouldn’t have accrued since they are two different people! I thought it would be as good as daddy long legs but it wasn’t, it’s full of details about the life in the orphanage and Sallie’s daily challenges in managing it and not much romance to speak of.

The silent battle by George Gibbs ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Very romantic and passionate. The battle itself was very admirable and very well portrayed. The heroine was a little bit immature but that’s expected due to her young age and lack of experience. For the first time ever I was lost with the names in a book! They sounded very similar and it was hard to distinguish who’s who in this one. All in all, I enjoyed the book and looking forward to reading more books by the same author.

Mindset by Benjamin Smith ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Quick uncomplicated and easy read. I found myself relating to some of it and started applying and using the techniques suggested by the author in my everyday life.

The brain fix by David Haze ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Very informative book about how the brain works. It’s mostly based on many researches and books, and it provides some useful tools to help using the brain more effectively.

Daddy long legs by Jean Webster ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Nice story about an orphan who gets proper education payed for by a mysterious man, we can tell who the man is before the end of the first half of the book. I enjoyed the story, But by the end of the book, I had too many questions that I couldn’t find an answer to. I wished the first meeting was more detailed, I was wondering why Judy wasn’t a little bit angry or at least reproachful about being deceived by master Jervis. And I didn’t like the style, I need more interaction between characters, not just one sided letters.

Vixen by Mary Elizabeth Braddon ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Started well with some innocent romance but it didn’t last, it became too wordy and descriptive. The author didn’t even spare us the details about some of the irritating events like the marriage of Vixen’s mother. The author writes romance so beautifully but unfortunately she kept it on a leash, consequently, the misery overwhelmed the romance.

Master your mind by Jenny Taylor ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mind opening and thinking inducer book. Practical and very useful practices that will help you on more than one level.

Evalina’s garden by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Nice plot, good characters and a happy ending. The romance was so sweet and the author kept it short but engaging.

A hypocritical romance, and other stories by Caroline Ticknor ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
So very romantic and even funny sometimes, all the stories are short but very well written and I really enjoyed the romantic ones.

Secret of lonesome cove by Samuel Hopkins Adams ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Very interesting and very engaging mystery! Never thought I would enjoy it this much. I liked Chester character and hoped there was another book about him, but never found one.

Just finished this

a.co/dACtwkJ

Penny for your thoughts

“Penny for your thoughts” he said. You don’t have to give me anything for my thoughts they’re yours for free. In fact, you’re already in them, you’re there every time I close my eyes, in every beautiful landscape I see and takes my breath away and wish I could share with you, every log house or a small cabin I admire and wish secretly it was mine I imagine the two of us living in it, you don’t have to pay for my thoughts , you are my thoughts!

Stars & Reviews

And they were married by Florence Morse Kingsley ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sweet little tale about two people preparing to enter the married life and their difficulties and joy in experiencing its ups and downs.

Miss Mackenzie by Anthony Trollope ⭐️⭐️⭐️
What a saga! Full of details about everything and so many unnecessary repetition-including sentences- which is obviously Trollop’s style. But unlike Rachel Ray, this book has more romance even if it’s came very late at the book. Thank Goodness for audiobooks, for I would never read a Trollop book, the librivox narrator of this book was very good.

Christmas diamond by Hallee Bridgeman ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sweet nice and short romance that revolves around one of my favorite subjects, I love all kinds of aircrafts and dream of flying one someday.

A holland kiss by Dawn Michelle ⭐️⭐️
I liked Dutch and tulip story and scenes but nothing else was interesting or romantic.

Bride of Paradise Mail Order Ministers Book One By Katie Crabapple ⭐️⭐️
I liked the plot but the preaching was very heavy, it is a chrisitan romance after all.

BAH, HUMBUG Heather Horrocks ⭐️⭐️
Romantic with little comedy and a happy ending.

A Crazy Little Winter Vacay by Rena Manse
Fast paced clean romance, too fast maybe.

Rachel Ray by Anthony Trollop ⭐️⭐️
Very little romance and a lot of everything else. It has a little bit of a Jane Austen sense, the thorough description of everything and everyone, the social differences, the needless repetition…etc.

A Trip Back to Snowy Pines by Lisa Pendergrass ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Really good but very short. I wished it was longer because the story is so sweet and meaningful.

Mail Order Bride: DEVOTED (Frontier Love Book 1) by Terri Grace ⭐️⭐️
An okay read. This is part of three installments about one mail order bride, it’s filled with unbelievable events that take place in a very short time, and ends with a promise of more.

Dream Wife By Mario V. Farina ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sweet short story that will leave you with some questions and a smile.

The Mask by Florence Irwin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I wouldn’t call it a romance, it’s very heavy and too intense to be a romantic story. I liked it, it’s really good, but I wouldn’t read it again.

Loving the soldier by Erica Millard ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The plot was very realistic and very intense, the writing style and the personal experiences made it more vivid. Even with the a slight repetition of facts and thoughts, and the need of a little bit more editing, this book was really good, romantic and satisfying.

THE BOSS’S LITTLE MIRACLE by Barbara McMahon ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Emotional and romantic, the story was very interesting. The characters were very well developed and the writing style was really good.

Love’s Dream Betty McLain ⭐️⭐️
Nice plot but the writing felt a little bit juvenile. The writing style wasn’t very interesting, the author was trying to fill up the book by detailing and repeating everything.

Gertrude’s Grace A Short Regency Romance uh…Comedy by Jaimey Grant ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I liked the humor but Gertrude’s incidents were a bit too much. I also liked that the hero wasn’t perfectly perfect, he was perfect in his own way.

For the Woman He Loved p.d.r. lindsay ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Very sweet short story, romantic and realistic at the same time.

Knitwits p.d.r. lindsay ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I enjoyed this short story, it was funny and had a small touch of romance.

When a man marries by Mary Roberts Rinehart ⭐️⭐️
Childish heroine and poor attempt at humor. The heroine seemed like a teenager caught in a lie made by her friends, inexperienced and spoiled child who doesn’t know how to do anything. The writing style wasn’t very good either, the author kept bringing up unexplained events and saying “but that will come up later in the story”.

Lake of destiny Martina boone⭐️⭐️
While I liked the plot and the setting, I didn’t care much for the writing style. Maybe I would have liked it if it wasn’t too wordy repeating the same thing over and over again, and if the hero wasn’t portrayed as a demigod.

A Dangerous Tune A Contemporary Romantic Mystery by Rosemary Carr & Evan Asher ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I liked that it was a clean romance but the mystery was easy to figure out, I figured who’s after the heroine from the very beginning and the hero’s secret wasn’t hard to conclude from stuff he mentioned, and the romance wasn’t very interesting or romantic.

Wanted: A husband by Samuel Hopkins Adams ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Cheesy in a good way. Probably the cheesiest classic romance I’ve read. I laughed so much and enjoyed the whole book from beginning to end.

Unopened – Deploying Faith Volume 1 Michelle Lynn Brown ⭐️⭐️
The first chapter was the best, after that it was a long and painful state of agony and misunderstandings between the two main characters, which ended after one couples counseling session.

Northanger Abby Jane Austen ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Nice plot and enjoyable story with a happy ending. What I didn’t understand is why Austen took all sense from every man except Mr.Tilney and his father(even he was a disappointment at the end) Most of the men in this book are blind to see how obnoxious the women of their choices are! Or so full of themselves to acknowledge a rejection.
With this book I have read the majority of Austen’s books, and I am sorry if this will offend her fans but I think she is overrated! If she was one of today’s authors, readers would be complaining about how much she dragged her plots and her detailed description of literally everything.

What I am reading NOW

“it was two days before April Fools’ Day.” – Martina Boone, Lake of Destiny

I’m reading this two days before April Fools day!

Bookholic Reviews

Mansfield park⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Austen tends to go on and on about describing a place or a character, it wasn’t any different here but at least I enjoyed the story.

Jamaica inn ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mystery, crime and a little bit of romance, great combination and very interesting characters. And the end was good too. I just wished there was more romance but the book wasn’t a romance novel.

ADOPTED: FAMILY IN A MILLION ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Oh so sweet and full of passion! And without the need to be graphically descriptive. Today’s romance authors should read McMahon’s books and take notes, because -for me- she’s one of the best contemporary romance authors. The book was good, but I felt like it needed more research about overseas countries.

Sylvie’s cowboy ⭐️⭐️
It went very well with a good story line and nice character development and even a nice dose of humor that made me laugh out loud…until it all came down crashing when the author decided to kill one of the good guys, a character I really liked from the get go. So I stopped reading at this point because this ruined the whole book for me.

Tempting Gabe ⭐️
I was ready to overlook the robotic narrator but the book wasn’t better. Poor writing style and obnoxious characters.

Patricia Brent, A spinster ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Lovely sweet romance, nice characters with some humorous moments. I liked the plot and the ending was very satisfying.

Lou’s Tattoos, A Comedy of Errors ⭐️
There was many things that I didn’t like but my main dislike was that I expected more romance and less characters.

WINTER IN SWEET WATER COUNTY CIARA KNIGHT ⭐️⭐️
It started well, nice plot and and promising romance. But then it got weird and some of it didn’t really make sense. The repetition of how everyone is feeling and thinking didn’t help, plus there was way too many “heck” and “geesh” -is that a word?- through out the book.

Spring IN SWEET WATER COUNTY CIARA KNIGHT⭐️⭐️
An okay read at best. Nothing special or interesting, and like the first book there was some weirdness in it but not as much as the first book.

Love and potato chips ⭐️⭐️⭐️
It has a lot of typos and needs more editing but the writing style is good. Despite the title it wasn’t all about love, there was a lot of childhood flashbacks and most of them didn’t relate to the romance in the story. Too many events took place in the plot so the romance was less than enough.

The daredevil tycoon ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I liked that it was a clean -with no graphic scenes- story. The plot was dominated by air ballooning, and the romance was not as good as other books by the author.

Books and Reviews

Stormsurge Shawna Lynn Brooks ⭐️⭐️
I didn’t like it. It started well until the two main characters in this romance finally got together. From there it was a cliche after another, except for some funny lines here and there.

Guardian Angels By Janet Kaderli ⭐️⭐️
Hardly a romance. It felt like reading a journal, it dragged on so I stopped reading half way through. The plot is very common and predictable, there wasn’t anything interesting in this book.

A room with a view ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I liked the story and the sight seeing description. I thought it was a little bit philosophical at some parts but it wasn’t heavy. The book is really enjoyable and I highly recommend it.

Madam, will you talk ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is a genre I never thought I would enjoy. Crime is not a favorite genre but I really enjoyed this book. The romance was very sparse but really good and the plot got a bit too predictable for a classic book.

Special delivery by Linda Goodnight ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is a Christian romance, heavy with religion and preaching. I liked the romance though, and the baby was very well written.

Emily Fox Seaton ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Very well written novel about an angelic woman who is so innocent that everyone calls her foolish and stupid. I loved Emily and feared for her life because the author built up a sense of suspense and it was very intense for me. My only disappointment is that there was not enough romance, and it’s not because the author can’t write it, she wrote very well but it was just a couple of moments that kept me hoping for more.

Cowboy to the Rescue by Linda Ford ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Really nice enjoyable western romance, especially with the little girls. But it needs more historical research and some editing. And I have to confess that I skipped some of it due to the unnecessary repetition.

Persuasion Jane Austen
I loved the movie more. The book seemed about everything but Ann and Wentworth, the family, the parties, each individual and how they feel! But it’s a Jane Austen book and I’m glad I finally read it. Even though I felt like crying at the end of it because she found her happily ever after and I haven’t, yet.

Kiss me under the moonlight Lindzee Armstrong ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I really liked this one, no cliches, not wordy and the suspense was very interesting. Don’t be fooled by the cute name and the romantic cover, there’s more than romance in this book.

Temptation In Maverick County A Western Romance Novel by Evelyn Boyett ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Well written western and the multiple POVs are nice and refreshing, but the romance felt forced and unbelievable. And what little romance that was there can only be found in the saloon. I liked the leading characters but I loved the secondary more, like Travis and Mayme.

Spies of London ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Good plot and well written characters. The romance was very slow but the suspense was nice. The style of writing reminded me of Georgette Heyer and Jane Austen.
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