Overwhelmed and Underwhelmed: A Bookish Saga

My current "to read" stack is overwhelming me. I ran into a similar situation last month, where all my needs-reviewed books and library holds arrived at once. I powered through, and read a ton of books. But for some reason this month, it makes me want to hide away and watch Netflix. There are just so many good choices that I can't choose! 

It also doesn't help that Juliet's been on a staying-up-late kick, so by the time I get her to bed I'm usually ready to just sleep. The other night I actually got her down by 9, and I was hoping to get a good chunk of reading time, but instead I found myself staring at my huge pile of books/instagramming my dilemma.

Since I took the pic I managed to read one library book (The Vault of Dreamers), and one book for review (The Angels' Share), which were both a bit underwhelming, sadly. I've never read J.R. Ward since I'm not into paranormal stuff; but she gets tons and tons of 5 star reviews. The Angels' Share is book 2 in a trilogy about a Kentuckian family that's practically bourbon royalty, but I found it rather misogynistic. Not sure if that compares with her vampire fiction or not.

I loved Caragh M. O'Brien's Birthmarked trilogy, and I liked the premise of The Vault of Dreamers, the first book in her newest series, a lot - it's about a girl at an exclusive arts-centered high school which is a reality show by day. But, all students are required to take a sleeping pill to knock them out at night, which supposedly makes them more creative during the day. Rosie becomes convinced that bad things are happening at night, and she starts skipping her sleeping pill. It got a little redundant in the middle, but then it had a HUGE CLIFFHANGER ending. I had been losing interest in the story a bit, but naturally now I need to know how it ends, so I just requested that the library buy book two - The Rule of Mirrors.

And now, I should probably quit blogging, and get back to those big ole piles of books! Some of them are due at the library in just a day or two. And hopefully one of them will be super awesome and motivate me to read the rest!

Anything underwhelmed you lately?

Sum-Sum-Summertime Giveaway! (Two Books for You to Win!)

Summer has been here in Arizona for a while, but judging by social media, even Canada is warming up now!

So in honor of summer temperatures and schedules, here are two books for you to win! They're both light, fun reads, perfect for reading poolside, or on the beach.

The first is a novel set on Butternut Lake in Minnesota. Two sisters: straight-laced Win and free spirit Poppy, end up back at the cabin where, as children, they spent summers with their grandparents. What starts out as awkward ends up with both sisters discovering truths about themselves and each other (and meeting some handsome men along the way...). 

The second is a historical mystery set in Edwardian England. Fans of the Maisie Dobbs series are sure to enjoy Lady Frances Ffolkes, an intrepid suffragist. I particularly liked the relationship between Lady Frances and her maid, who assisted her in her investigation into the missing manuscript of a dead Boer War veteran.

To win one: leave a comment telling me which book sounds more interesting to you. Both books will be published on 6/14, so the giveaway closes that night. Then I'll contact the winning commenter on 6/15... and you will have 24 hours to get me your address in order to win BOTH books. US & Canada residents only please. (The publishers are kindly providing copies of the books to one of you... they also sent me copies for review, but all opinions are my own.)

6/16: Edited to announce the winner! Commenter #15 - Moira @ Hearth and Homefront. Congrats Moira, I'll be contacting you for your mailing details.

6 Ways to Celebrate Spring (Including Springtime Book Recommendations, of Course!)

Inspired by episode 49 of Sorta Awesome, I decided instead of being doom and gloom about how we've been in the high 80s/low 90s since the first week of February (sigh), I'll think of some fun ways to celebrate Spring! Spring is not my favorite, because it means Summer is coming, and because (AH-CHOOOO), I have really terrible seasonal allergies. But, Spring still has its charms, and here are 6 ways I'm celebrating the season.

1. Exercising. What? Me? I know! But the knowledge that swimsuit season will start in mere weeks is giving me extra incentive. As are Juliet's epic tantrums lately. And the fact that the YMCA offers two free hours of childcare every day... Plus, for a lot of you, it's your first chance to get outside and walk in non-freezing temps!
2. Smelling Fresh. In related news, I don't want to *smell* like I've just been to the gym though. Luckily in a Birchbox* last month I got a sample of this detangler that (a) smells fantastic (b) really detangles my hair and (c) also makes it magical and glossy. So I'm keeping the sample size one in my gym bag, and I bought a full-size one for myself! 
3. Reading books set in spring. It's funny because I had kind of a hard time thinking of adult books set during the spring. Apparently authors mostly either go for the vivacity of full summer, or bleak mid-winter? I thought of a few that feel spring-like to me though; even if I'm remembering wrong, and they're actually set at a different time of year.
• Donna Leon's Acqua Alta. I associate the flooding in this one with springtime rain. Perhaps it's winter rain? Either way, it's a great book, one of the best in the Commissario Guido Brunetti series.
• Mary Stewart's Thornyhold. All about flowers and herbs, and a surprise inheritance. It also includes a sweet love story, which seems very springy. 
• Kate Morton's The Forgotten Garden. Also flowery. A darker story, with some disturbing secrets, but still poetic and springlike somehow.
• Susanna Kearsley's The Rose Garden. Hm. Clearly I just associate books with gardens in them with spring. But this time traveling romance is one of my favorite Kearsley novels.
• Leslie Meier's The Easter Bunny Murder. I haven't actually read Meier, but her books were quite popular when I worked at Bookmans. And, the cover of this one is very festive!
• Agatha Christie's The Murder at the Vicarage. Again, I'm probably making gardening associations here, but I reread The Murder at the Vicarage a few years ago, and quite enjoyed it.
4. Kid books, however, are SUPER easy to come up with. I made a whole list of Easter books here. In addition, for spring books without an Easter/bunny connection, we also love Miss Rumphius, Spring, Bear Wants More, and Amy Loves the Sun.  
5. Wearing springy clothes. I'm really into maxi skirts lately, and I found some really cute new ones at Target. Plus I got a couple of tank tops on ThredUp, and I'm good to go! I realize this is probably summer attire for most of you, but hey. Just keep my maxi skirt and tank top idea in mind for later.
6. Eating asparagus. I don't know about your neck of the woods, but asparagus is gloriously cheap here. I've been flash-steaming tons of it, and just eating it as a snack with a little garlic salt on top. But I also HIGHLY recommend this asparagus tart, if you want to be a little fussier. (I'm not actually sure if that's the recipe I used, but the ingredients seem all the same. Pinterest has about a million different variations, and I can't keep track!) I think I'm going to do a variation on that tart for our Easter dinner!

How are YOU celebrating spring?

*PS - if you want to try Birchbox for yourself, I highly recommend it! And if you wouldn't mind signing up via my link; I'll earn some points toward free products. This post also contains some Amazon links - if you buy something via one of my book links (at no additional cost to you), I'll earn a few cents.

Book Review: The Things We Keep by Sally Hepworth

I read this book about 3 months ago, and I still keep thinking of it at random times! I recently read this article and this article, both about a family here in Tucson plagued by early-onset Alzheimer's, and I started obsessing about The Things We Keep all over again.

When the book begins, Anna, only 38, has early-onset Alzheimer's. After she causes an accident that burns her five-year-old nephew, she voluntarily goes into assisted living. Understandably embittered by the turn her life has taken, Anna is surprised when she and Luke, another patient with early-onset dementia, find a connection that she thought she'd never feel again. But can Anna and Luke cling to their love, even as their memories of each other slip away?

Eve, whose husband's Ponzi scheme just collapsed with devastating results, is humiliated to have to take a job as a cook and cleaner in an assisted living facility. But Eve soon discovers unexpected hope as she's cooking meals and scrubbing floors. She finds Anna and Luke's love so compelling that she's willing to do anything to help them, even at the cost of alienating their families and hurting her own.

A lovely novel about the depth of memory, The Things We Keep will leave very few readers with dry eyes. It's told in flashbacks and present-day snippets alternating from Anna and Eve's perspectives, allowing the reader to see Anna's mental deterioration first-hand as she starts to use phrases like "sleeping bench" (after she forgets the word bed). Sweet and sad, The Things We Keep is a testament to the endurance of love.

For reals guys, I heartily recommend it - but have tissues handy!

Do YOU like sad books?

I originally wrote most of this review for Shelf Awareness. And the cover image is an affiliate link. Thanks for supporting Quirky Bookworm!

Love of Reading and Books About Love

Do you remember long, long ago, when I had guest-posters for Love of Reading Week every February? I meant to try it again this year - but February arrived in sneaky fashion, and I wasn't prepared. It's been a few years though, so I figured for those of you who are new to the blog, or those of you who have bad memories, I'll link-up some of my favorites from the past!

• Books You're Embarrassed to Admit You Love -- Alyce from At Home with Books shared all about her love of Outlander.
• The Book I Can't Stop Recommending -- Speaking of embarrassment, I'm ashamed to admit that three years later I still haven't read the book that Anne from Modern Mrs. Darcy recommended!
• The Comfort of Rereading -- I agree with so many of Katie from Cakes, Tea and Dreams' choices! I love to reread a lot of those same books.
• YA Dystopias - Jill from Rhapsody in Books is largely responsible for my own love of YA books. I starting reading Maggie Stiefvater, the Lunar Chronicles, and SO many other books based on her recommendations!

And, if talk of Valentine's Day has you in the mood for a nice lovey-dovey read, here are some of my recommendations: 

• Cute Valentine Books for Kids
• The Runaway Princess by Hester Browne
• Madam, Will You Talk? by Mary Stewart
• That Summer by Lauren Willig
• The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris by Jenny Colgan
• Pretty much any of Susanna Kearsley's books

I'm thinking I might have to squeeze in a Mary Stewart reread sometime this weekend! I read a few of Jenny Colgan's books over Christmas break, but I haven't read any romances yet in 2016.

Happy Valentine's Day!

31 Days of Book Pics - Day 23 - So Bad It's Good

I have a sneaking fondness for these Emilie Loring romances. I own about a dozen of them. They're ridiculously cheesy. The dialogue is atrocious, and they're completely dated. But every now and again I can't resist rereading one of them. My mom and my aunt both own tons of them, and when I was 12 or 13, I loved them. So the nostalgia factor makes them good, even though they're so bad!

Do YOU love any cheesy books?

This is Day 23 of my 31 Days of Book Pics series for 2015. I'd love it if you'd play along on Instagram and Twitter by posting a bookish picture each day of October. Don't forget to hashtag your photos with #31bookpics so that I can find them! Click the image below to find the whole series!

Summer Readin' (And an Awesome GIVEAWAY for You!)

We've had a couple of big milestones in our family this week. Monday was Eleanor's first day of school. And Wednesday is our 9th wedding anniversary!

Since I'm busy hanging out with my big ole kindergartener, and celebrating with Noel, I'm going to take a few days off blogging.

But I'm going to leave with you some reviews of some three books I've really enjoyed lately - AND, I'm giving away copies of all of them!

 
The Third Wife

Lisa Jewell is sure to appeal to fans of Liane Moriarty and Jojo Moyes. Just like Jewell's earlier novels, The Third Wife explores complicated family dynamics in a genuine way that is witty yet realistically nuanced.

Adrian Wolfe has been mourning the death of his third wife, Maya, for a year. Maya's death seemed to be a tragic accident--she stepped out in front of a bus--until a strange woman shows up asking weird questions, and then a series of poison pen e-mails surfaces. Suddenly Adrian is rethinking everything: Maya's death, his two divorces and the way he's raised his children.

(Read the rest of my review of this one over at Shelf Awareness.) 


The Other Daughter

Lauren Willig always has likeable historical heroines. (You may remember I really liked The Ashford Affair). In her latest (non-Pink Carnation) historical novel, Willig turns to the Edwardian era, and Rachel Woodley, a nursery governess.

When Rachel’s mother dies unexpectedly, Rachel discovers some shocking secrets about her past, including the fact that she's illegitimate, the other daughter, and her father is an earl. Determined to meet her father, she enlists the help of a gossip columnist named Simon to transform herself into one of London’s Bright Young Things. With freshly bobbed hair, Rachel slips into her new persona amidst the fast-paced world of high society London, although she may not be prepared for the secrets she will uncover.

If You Only Knew

Wedding dress designer Jenny Tate has had trouble distancing herself from her ex-husband, because he and his new wife are freakishly nice, and have even named their new daughter in Jenny's honor. Determined to escape this weird situation, Jenny leaves Manhattan for her hometown -- a small, upscale town on the Hudson River. She's excited to be close to her sister Rachel and her triplet nieces. Sadly, it turns out her move is perfectly timed to help Rachel; who thought she had the perfect marriage, until she discovered her husband was having an affair.

This was the first novel I've read by Kristan Higgins -- seems like this one is a bit of a departure from her usual funnier romances (I'd call it "women's fiction"). I really enjoyed it though! It won't be out until the end of August - so you'll have to wait a bit if you win.

Win All Three

Please fill out the following form to be entered to win (you may have to click through to see the form if you subscribe via email). One lucky winner will win ALL THREE books. See instructions in form for an additional giveaway entry. Max entries: 2 per person. (And you must have a US mailing address, sorry!) Giveaway will close 8/3/15, and I'll notify the winner soon after.

(FYI: I received advance copies of these books to review, either directly from the publisher or from Shelf Awareness. I contacted all 3 publishers and asked them if they'd give a copy to one of my readers, and they all said yes!)

The Best Books of The Year (So Far)

2015 is more than halfway over! I read 80 books in the first half of the year. (Well, I finished 79. I'm also counting The Martian because I started it in June, and I wanted an even number.)

Funniest

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell. Oh Rainbow. I love your books. SO MUCH. I sum them all up here. I particulary liked the friendship between Jennifer and Beth that's featured in Attachments. Runner up: Crazy Little Thing by Tracy Brogan.

Best Mystery

Gun Street Girl by Adrian McKinty. Set during the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland. I really enjoyed the noir-ishness, and the darkly funny Irish setting. Lines from it keep popping into my head, even though I read it back in January. Runner up: Fallout by Paul Thomas.

Best Nonfiction

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. Oh man is this one intense. I cautiously recommend it - it's a great read, but there's a LOT of violence. What he endured is unbelievable. Runner Up: Bunker Hill by Nathaniel Philbrick.

Most Romantic

The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan. Such fun, especially if you're a royal watcher. Read more of my ravings about The Royal We here. Runner up: The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley.

Best Science Fiction

The Martian by Andy Weir. This one completely blew me away. Who knew that a book with so much math could be so spectacularly good? Absolutely worth every bit of hype. Runner up: Red Rising by Pierce Brown.

Favorite Audiobook

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. I was literally pacing my house listening to this one, because the suspense was so intense. Caroline Lee is an excellent narrator (I love Australian accents!), and this title was pitch perfect on audio. Runners Up: Fool's Fate by Robin Hobb, narrated by James Langton, The Martian by Andy Weird, narrated by R.C. Bray.

Best Historical(ish) Fiction

The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley. I've read a ton of Susanna Kearsley this year (read my full round-up here), but I really, really enjoyed both the historical and modern day story lines in this one, and the Scottish setting is great. Runner Up: The Siege Winter by Ariana Franklin.

Favorite YA Book

I think I'm going to go with Red Rising by Pierce Brown here. I really enjoyed These Broken Stars and The Winner's Curse too, but there was something so gripping about Darrow's story. (It's kinda Hunger Games meets The Knife of Never Letting Go, with an Irish flavor.) Can't wait for the rest of the trilogy. Runners Up: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski.

Best Reread

Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster. This is such a great little book. Sweet and charming, and full of pithy advice. So glad I picked it for the #YABMC. Runner-up: Cousin Kate by Georgette Heyer.

And for an overall favorite, I think I might have to go with The Martian! It's hard to know, since I just finished it, and it's fresh in my head, but I think it may end up being my favorite for all of 2015. It's amazing.

What are YOUR favorite books of the year?

Book Review: The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan dished out Hollywood secrets in their earlier novels, Spoiled and Messy. In The Royal We, they tackle royal relationships, with a story clearly inspired by Prince William and Kate Middleton's romance. At first glance this might sound trite (I almost didn't even start reading it!), but The Royal We is surprisingly thought-provoking, invoking questions of love, privacy and sibling rivalry.

American Rebecca "Bex" Porter isn't fascinated by the royals, unlike her twin sister, Lacey. So when Bex arrives in Oxford for a year of study abroad, she doesn't realize at first that Nick, a guy down the hall, is Prince Nicholas, heir to the British throne. (In Bex's defense, it was raining. Otherwise I'm sure she would have.)

Swept up into the dazzling world of the British upper class, Bex finds herself falling for Nick in a big way. But there is a dark side to the glamour: Bex and Nick's every public move is analyzed, the paparazzi are always on their tail, and becoming "the famous twin" is hurting Bex and Lacey's relationship. How much pressure can Bex take? Is the fairytale romance worth the sacrifice?

Told in a friendly, first-person style by Bex, The Royal We is both a compelling love story and an introspective look at how far people will go for fame. A delightful read, sure to please romance readers, royal watchers and Anglophiles alike, The Royal We is nearly impossible to put down. I'm speaking from experience here, I could NOT stop reading it. It's pretty long for a romance actually - around 500 pages, and I finished it in less than 24 hours. My children may or may not have gotten a fair bit of extra screen time during that 24 hours...

Maybe now that Will and Kate have two kids (ahem, I wasn't the only one obsessively stalking Twitter in the lead-up to Princess Charlotte's name reveal, right?), Cocks and Morgan will write a sequel where Nick and Bex are married and trying to navigate raising kids in the royal spotlight! I really hope so, I loved The Royal We so much. 5 stars!

Are YOU a royal watcher?

I originally wrote most of this review for Shelf Awareness. And this post contains a few affiliate links. Thanks for supporting Quirky Bookworm!

Triplets, Spaceships, and Broken Families: What I've Been Reading

Hello! I'm sorry I went almost a whole week without blogging. But I warned you that I was about to spend more time reading, and less time blogging. Now it's time to reverse the book blogger's paradox and start blogging about what I've been reading!

In the last week or so I've read a couple of really fun books, thanks in large part to Noel sending me off for almost FOUR kid-free hours in the afternoon on Mother's Day! I ran to Target for a few things, and then spent nearly three hours reading. It was pretty blissful.

My run of fun reads started with Lisa Jewell's The Third Wife. It tells the story of Adrian Wolfe - who thought everything was grand till his third wife died. After Maya's death, Adrian realized that what he thought was his big, contented blended family wasn't quite so happy after all. Could one of his two ex-wives or five children have been involved in Maya's death? I could not put this one down! (I'm reviewing it for Shelf Awareness, so I had an ARC. It'll be published in June.)

Next came These Broken Stars, which I'd seen praised on several different blogs. I checked it out from the library ages ago, I'd renewed it twice, but I finally got to it on Mother's Day. It's a fairly typical poor-boy meets rich-girl romance - but it's well-written, and, intriguingly, set in outer space. Poor boy (Tarver) and rich girl (Lilac), end up stranded together on an unknown planet when the spaceship Icarus crashes out of hyperspace. Lilac and Tarver's struggle for survival brings them close. It is the first in a trilogy - but I understand that the books are fairly loosely connected, and These Broken Stars has a completely satisfactory ending, if you want to read it as a standalone.

And then today I finished Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty. It wasn't quite as addicting as Big Little Lies, but I still couldn't read it fast enough. Lyn, Cat, and Gemma, triplets, are about to turn 34 when the book opens. Then it flashes back and tells of the year leading up to their birthday - pregnancy, miscarriage, divorce, panic attacks, parenting, sisterly rivalries, infidelity. It sounds like it should be sad, but it was actually laugh-out-loud funny several times, because the sisters have such fun triplet-y interactions, and they're so different.

If you're looking for a quick and enjoyable read, I highly recommend all three of these!

What have YOU been reading?

Planning to link up with Modern Mrs Darcy's Quick Lit.

Author Profile: Susanna Kearsley

I first encountered Susanna Kearsley's books a little more than a year ago, when Shelf Awareness asked me to review The Splendour Falls. I loved it, and was excited to find a modern author who reminded me a lot of Mary Stewart. Since then I've read nearly all of her books, and I thought since I had so much fun profiling Rainbow Rowell's books recently, that I'd also profile Kearsley's. They're all romantic, and a bit paranormal, and so much fun!

The Splendour Falls is set in France. In the modern era Emily Braden, having given up on love, is planning to vacation with her unreliable cousin Henry in Chinon, France. But Henry never shows up at their hotel, and Emily is cast into a series of strange events, including dreams/flashbacks to the tragic life of Queen Isabelle. Her fellow hotel guests include several handsome (and single) men...

Mariana takes place in England. Julia Beckett has felt a strange connection to a house called Greywethers since her childhood. Once she moves there as an adult, she begins to slip back and forth in time; to the body of a girl called Mariana, in the 17th century. Soon Julia feels strangely connected to a man who bears a startling resemblance to Mariana's lover; forcing her to resolve things both in the past, and in her own time.

The Winter Sea might be my favorite. It's set in Scotland, during an early Jacobite uprising. I love both the modern day romance of Carrie McClelland, and the romance in the novel that Carrie is writing. Carrie's visions of the past influence her writing strongly, and the Scottish setting is just lovely, causing me to add Slains Castle to my Literary Bucket List. 

The Firebird begins at Slains, but the storyline expands to include Russia, and some lovely scenes set in 18th century St. Petersburg. I found the modern romance less compelling in this one, but I loved Anna, the 18th century heroine. This one involves straight-up ESP, rather than dreams or visions, which was interesting at first, but got a bit repetitive after a while.

The Shadowy Horses - I haven't actually gotten this one from the library yet! I'm excited to read it, since there was a slight reference to this one in The Firebird. I love it when authors subtly connect their books. This one centers around an archaelogical dig, and a young boy who can see the Roman legion who used to be stationed there.

Season of Storms is set in Italy, in a lovely palazzo called Il Piacere. Strange things keep happening when young Celia Sands, a modern actress named after an earlier Celia Sands, goes to Il Piacere for a summer theatrical production. Servants vanish, artwork goes missing, actors squabble and Celia could swear that Celia the First haunts her bedroom. She finds herself turning to the handsome Alex for answers--answers that may not be Alex's to share.

The Rose Garden is my other contender for favorite. (You may remember that I couldn't stop listening to it.) Eva's recently lost her beloved (and famous) sister Katrina, who was an actress. Eva leaves LA to go back to Cornwall to spread Katrina's ashes. To her surprise, Eva finds herself jerked back in time 300 years, to the Jacobite era, and starts falling in love with a handsome smuggler. 

Every Secret Thing is a departure from Kearsley's other books: it's a straight up thriller, not paranormal at all. (And it also shows the heroine's face! Not just the back of her head, ha.) It starts out quite like her others, but then all of a sudden the bodies start dropping, which caught me off guard. But I adored the parts of the book set in Lisbon - I don't think I've ever read a book set in Portugal before.

Named of the Dragon has a 15 year old English edition, but won't be published in the US till this fall. The main character has been struggling with nightmares since the death of her child, which makes me a little nervous. Ever since having kids, I've really had a hard time reading/watching things where children die. I think I'll have to make sure not to read this one right before bed.

A Desperate Fortune came out a couple of weeks ago. I was trying to wait for the library to get it, but I couldn't resist buying it. In the modern day Sara, who has Asperger's, has been hired to decipher a coded journal kept by Mary, a young woman caught up in the French Jacobite cause in the 1730s. I really liked the novelty of a heroine with Asperger's, and the French setting, although I am getting a wee bit tired of Jacobites.

Have you read Susanna Kearsley?

What's your favorite title?

Cover images are Amazon affiliate links. If you use a link to buy something, Amazon will pay me a few cents of the transaction. Thanks for your support!

Book Review: Season of Storms by Susanna Kearsley

I don't know about you, but something about it being almost Valentine's Day puts me in the mood for a good romance. I was browsing the library website for one to read, and saw a Susanna Kearsley book*, and that made me double-check my archives to see when I last reviewed a Kearsley. To my surprise, I never actually got around to sharing my review of Season of Storms with you. So without further ado...

In 1921, Celia Sands was the muse of Galeazzo D'Ascanio, the celebrated playwright. He wrote a spectacular play for her to star in, but she vanished the night before it opened and was never seen again. Now, some 70 years later, Galeazzo's grandson Alex D'Ascanio plans to stage the play in order to bring attention to the palatial family estate, Il Piacere, which is being given to an Italian historical trust for preservation.

Alex offers the lead to a struggling young English actress--also named Celia Sands. Celia is reluctant at first, because she's tried to avoid trading on her famous name, since she's no relation to Celia the First (as she's dubbed her namesake). But Celia can't resist the lure of playing the role of a lifetime in the midst of a star-studded cast, and she's excited to give up her waitressing job in London to head to Italy.

Once at Il Piacere, however, strange things happen. Servants vanish, artwork goes missing, actors squabble and Celia could swear that Celia the First haunts her bedroom. She finds herself turning to the handsome Alex for answers--answers that may not be Alex's to share.

Much like Mary Stewart's Nine Coaches Waiting or This Rough Magic, Season of Storms tells the story of a young English woman in a foreign setting who must dodge danger as she seeks love. Susanna Kearsley (The Splendour Falls) makes Il Piacere a destination worth of readers' dreams with her trademark blend of mystery and gothic romance.

Do YOU read more romances this time of year?

This post contains a couple of affiliate links. Also, I wrote the main part of this review for Shelf Awareness.

*Although could I download it? No, no. Because Freading is dumb.

Book Review: Rosie Hopkins's Sweetshop of Dreams by Jenny Colgan

Jenny Colgan (Meet Me at the Cupcake Café, The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris) has a knack for creating likable, ordinary heroines. Rosie Hopkins, a nursing assistant in London, has a nice--albeit tiny--flat with Gerard, her slightly boring boyfriend of seven years. Mostly content with her lot, Rosie is caught off guard by a phone call from her mother advising a change of pace. Her mum has the perfect opportunity in mind: her great-aunt Lillian needs help recovering from surgery.

Reluctantly, Rosie sets out for tiny Lipton, hoping to be gone from Gerard and her job for only a few weeks. But to her surprise, Rosie is enchanted: by her aunt, by the little village and by the irresistible sweetshop that Lillian has run for decades. And soon, several very different men are vying for Rosie's attention, forcing her to rethink her uneventful relationship with Gerard. Meanwhile, Rosie's presence causes Lillian to reminisce about her own star-crossed love story.

The chapters of Sweetshop of Dreams alternate between Rosie's present and Lillian's past, some 60 years ago. Each one starts with a paragraph or two from a candy cookbook Lillian once wrote. In these excerpts, Lillian shares recipes, reflects fondly on old-fashioned sweets and bemoans the modern prevalence of chewing gum. Thanks to the confectionery theme linking the romances, it is perhaps too cliché to call Sweetshop of Dreams a sweet story, but it is indeed a charming little tale of love and family.

I preferred both Cupcake Cafe and Loveliest Chocolate Shop to this one; but it was still a fun little read on a rainy afternoon.

Rating: 3 out of 5
Should I recommend this to my grandma? If your grandma likes romances with a steamy moment or two... 

I originally wrote most of this review for Shelf Awareness.

Adventure and Illusion: An Interview With Rosie Thomas

I was lucky enough to get to interview Rosie Thomas for Shelf Awareness a few months ago. She has done some totally crazy stuff in real life, and she writes some awesome books, so I thought you'd enjoy the interview.

Rosie Thomas is the author of 20 romantic novels, including The Kashmir Shawl. Her books are set in locations across Europe, Asia and as far as Antarctica, reflecting many of Thomas's real-life adventures (which include competing in the Peking-to-Paris classic car rally and hiking in the Himalayas). Her most recent book, The Illusionists, tells the story of Devil Wix, an extraordinary illusionist who is determined (with the help of a talented dwarf, an enterprising young woman and a secretive old friend) to be a success in the Victorian theater world.

The Illusionists, unlike many of your other novels, is set in London, and the Victorian era theater world is striking. What made you choose an unusual subculture, rather than an exotic locale, for this book?

It chose me, in fact. It all began with a tiny bit of reading I did about stage magic to flesh out one of the characters in The Kashmir Shawl. I remember sitting in the London Library one day (itself a rather magically Victorian place) making notes about the inventions and devices of Robert-Houdin, the French illusionist who is thought of as the father of modern stage magicians (Houdini took his name from him). Suddenly I got that shiver up the spine that says idea. I knew at once that there was a complete novel waiting to be set in a music hall theater with a demonic anti-hero hero at the heart of it. There was absolutely no question from that moment: my next book was going to explore the art of illusion, and the best time to pick seemed to be the point when electricity and electromagnetism, among other new sciences, were ready to be harnessed to dramatic effect. Which meant the 1870s--which seemed as exotic as any of the other settings I have created.

Were you inspired by any real historical performers in creating the characters for The Illusionists? 

Very much so. I read volumes of material about the real-life acrobats and tenors, performing dwarves and creators of fantastic automata who performed in the music halls of the day. Most usefully of all I discovered the Maskelynes, three generations of real-life magicians and inventors who operated from their own theater of illusions, the Egyptian Hall in London's Strand. The grandson of the dynasty, Jasper Maskelyne, famously became the leader of Churchill's company of war magicians, whose task was to deploy camouflage and other concealment techniques (drawing directly on conjuring skills) during World War II.

The Palmyra theater in my book is based partly on the Egyptian Hall (now gone) and partly on the wonderful old Wilton's Music Hall in London's East End, which is still in use.

Your characters are involved in a complicated romantic situation. Eliza, the only major female character, has tricky waters to navigate, with many of her colleagues in love with, even obsessed with, her. Were you attempting to showcase different types of love? Or just enjoying making Eliza's life difficult?

I was just having fun and telling a story and letting my imagination run free, really. Nothing more structured than that--to begin with, anyway. I wanted to make the world of the Palmyra seem both exotic and claustrophobic, and so to have all the threads of passion tangled within it seemed natural. I also wanted to make Eliza stand out as a vivid and fascinating creature with whom any man would fall in love... and so to be a female who could not only match up to Devil Wix but also make her own way in a world where most women were still wholly dependent on matrimony.

In real life you've navigated tricky waters, too. Is it possible to narrow down your favorite adventure so far?

Oh, definitely! I went on an expedition to South Georgia a couple of years back. Sir Ernest Shackleton, the Antarctic explorer, has always been one of my heroes, and when I was offered the opportunity to retrace the route he and two companions took across the island to bring help to their stranded companions, I grabbed it with two hands. In 1916 the island was unmapped and uninhabited except for a couple of whaling stations. Shackleton stormed nonstop across high mountains, glaciers, crevasses, and made it to the whaling station in 36 hours, even though he and the others were starving and exhausted after 18 days in an open boat. As a result, he brought his entire crew of 29 men safely home.

We had maps, GPS, tents, skis, sledges, down clothing and all the food we could eat. It took us five days, and it still wasn't any picnic! Interested readers might enjoy reading more on southbyeight--start from the bottom up!

What's on the horizon? More adventures? More historical fiction?

More adventures, I hope! Although I'm getting on a bit now, so it isn't going to be K2. And I am halfway through the sequel to The Illusionists, which takes us (I think) up to 1944. After that, who knows?

I really liked The Illusionists, and I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for the sequel! Check out my full review of The Illusionists here. I also am impressed by all the adventures Rosie has been on! I can't imagine trekking across the Antarctic.

What's the craziest adventure YOU have ever taken?

Just so you know, I was compensated for this interview by Shelf Awareness. And pssst, did you take my survey yet?