I really enjoy Victorian mysteries, so was pleased to accept a copy of this book from the author. I should note first off that this is the third book in the D.S. Billings Victorian Mystery series, and I much prefer to read a series in order, but was willing to read Book 3 on the…
Twelfth Night is a novella in the Lady Julia Grey series by Deanna Raybourn. I’m not really a big fan of these novellas that all the series authors seem to be required to write. It just isn’t long enough to tell a satisfying story. And while I love the Julia Grey series, I’m equally as…
I’m still trying to decide if I liked The Moonstone better or The Woman in White… but it’s a silly question, really. Both books are fun reads, if you can say that about Victorian novels the size of these two books. You can see how they were real cliffhanger reads at the time, and why…
Thomas Hardy is probably a love-him or hate-him kind of author, and I love him. The more I read, the more respect I have for his work. With some authors, you feel like you’re reading the same book over and over again, but every Hardy book I’ve read feels very different, even where the themes…
At this point in my mid-winter doldrums, it was definitely time for something fluffy. If you like Victorian mysteries with a little bit of romance, you can’t do better than Deanna Raybourn’s Lady Julia Grey series. Each of these books is better than the next, and it’s fluff I don’t feel too guilty about reading…
I read The Woman in White because so many bloggers listed it among their favorites. I’m glad I did. The Woman in White is a Victorian mystery and a love story, and is full of drama, action, and fascinating characters. Written in 1859, the story begins with Walter Hartright, a struggling artist who obtains a…
This weekend I traveled to sunny California for my husband’s 20th high school reunion. I haven’t gone to my own reunions, so this was a strange experience. Even without knowing anyone, I couldn’t help but flash back to my own not-so-pleasant high school experiences – it’s hard not to when surrounded by 80s photos, 80s…
I first read Return of the Native when it was assigned in my high school English class. I was a senior at the time and basically an emotional mess. This book was a perfect fit. Reading it again, I wondered if it would read differently. Then I was seventeen, full of emotional angst and a…
I finished Middlemarch at last, and while I’m a little bit happy to move on to a new book, Middlemarch is a book I’ll be thinking about for a long time! It’s too big a novel for me to write any kind of comprehensive review, but here’s a summary and some brief thoughts (and see…
Reading about bloggers’ favorite books recently inspired me to pick up some classics I missed in college. A lot of people mentioned Middlemarch as a favorite. I always meant to read something by George Eliot so this was long overdue, and I’m really enjoying it so far. A couple of months ago I wrote a…
I greatly enjoyed the first book in this series, Soulless, primarily because of its unique voice and story. The world of fantasy these days seems to take itself much too seriously and this series was refreshing in its different view of the supernatural , its setting in the Victorian era, and its humorous voice. It…
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"She had read novels while other people perused the Sunday papers" - Mary Elizabeth Braddon
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