Blog Tour – Review & Excerpt: A Tempest at Sea by Sherry Thomas

A Tempest at Sea by Sherry Thomas
A Tempest at Sea
Sherry Thomas
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: March 14, 2023
Series or Standalone: Lady Sherlock #7
Links: Amazon Barnes & NobleGoodreadsStoryGraph
Rating:4 Stars

MY REVIEW

CW: murder; blood; suicidal ideation

I’ve been a huge Lady Sherlock fan for years now as it falls perfectly into my favorite (made-up) genre – lady detectives in Victorian England. Truly, we are so blessed that Berkley gave us a new Veronica Speedwell and a new Lady Holmes story within a week of each other.

A Tempest at Sea marks the seventh entry in Sherry Thomas’ incredibly smart spin on Sherlock Holmes. This book, more so than the previous few books in the series, feels like a lighter adventure – if you could say murder is light. In many ways, this feels like a classic detective story in the vein of Christie’s Death on the Nile. The stakes are lower as the threat from Moriarty has lessened after the events of Miss Moriarty, I Presume?, so it’s a nice change of pace to have a self-contained murder mystery aboard the RMS Provence. Now, that’s not to say the threat from Moriarty is gone entirely – he’s still lingering out there, but it’s nice that he’s not at the center of the mystery this time. 

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Review: The Book of Azrael by Amber Nicole

The Book of Azrael by Amber Nicole
The Book of Azrael
Amber Nicole
Publisher: Rose and Star Publishing
Publication Date: April 26, 2022
Series or Standalone: Gods & Monsters #1
Links: Amazon Barnes & NobleGoodreadsStoryGraph
Rating: 4.5 Stars


MY REVIEW

CW: Violence; torture; murder; death; depression/PTSD; suicide; war

I came to this book for the hero but stayed for the villain. Or villainess, I should say.

Don’t be scared of the length of The Book of Azrael – once you start reading it, you’ll fly through it and not want to put it down! But be warned – there is a killer cliffhanger at the end!

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ARC Review: Something Wild & Wonderful by Anita Kelly

Something Wild & Wonderful by Anita Kelly
Something Wild & Wonderful
Anita Kelly
Publisher: Forever
Publication Date: March 7, 2023
Series or Standalone: Standalone
Links: Amazon Barnes & NobleGoodreadsStoryGraph
Rating: 5 Stars


MY REVIEW

CW: familial estrangement due to queer identity; harsh homophobic language (used in Chapter 16); religion and strict religious upbringing (Christianity); mentions of Alzheimer’s/dementia care; brief references to past toxic romantic relationships.

How do your review a book that was literal perfection? I don’t throw that word around often, but Something Wild & Wonderful was perfect. This was a beautiful tale of two people finding themselves and finding love while on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). I didn’t expect to fall in love with this book so quickly, but the characters and their journey hooked me immediately and swept me away. I was an emotional mess at the end because I was just so happy for Alexei and Ben. 

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ARC Review: The Duke Gets Even by Joanna Shupe

The Duke Gets Even by Joanna Shupe
The Duke Gets Even
Joanna Shupe
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: January 24, 2023
Series or Standalone:The Fifth Avenue Rebels #4
Links: Amazon Barnes & NobleGoodreadsStoryGraph
Rating: 3.5 Stars

MY REVIEW

CW: domestic violence; domestic abuse; chronic illness

I so desperately wanted to love this one as I adore Joanna Shupe and have been dying for Nellie and Lockwood’s story since I read The Heiress Hunt. Unfortunately, this fell short of my expectations. I felt something was missing from Nellie and Lockwood’s relationship that stopped me from falling head over heels in love. 

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February 2023 Reading Recap

The shortest month of the year has come and gone in the flash of an eye. Somehow it also turned into a really good reading month for me though, so I cannot complain! 

This month, I ended up reading 7 books, which was more than I expected, so go me! 

We also FINALLY got a resolution to the HarperCollins Strike this month, so I have a lot of fantastic HC books I’ve read over the last three months that I cannot wait to review and talk about here!

Here’s everything I read in February:

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