Tag: historical romance

The Seven Sisters (The Seven Sisters #1) by Lucinda Riley [BOOK REVIEW] The Seven Sisters (The Seven Sisters #1) by Lucinda Riley [BOOK REVIEW]
Book Review · Books

The Seven Sisters (The Seven Sisters #1) by Lucinda Riley [BOOK REVIEW]

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The Seven Sisters (The Seven Sisters #1) by Lucinda Riley [BOOK REVIEW]

The Seven Sisters is one of those books that whilst you read it, you know you’re reading something special. And once you’re finished, you wish you could read it again for the very first time.

The Seven Sisters (The Seven Sisters #1) by Lucinda Riley [BOOK REVIEW]

Pages: 622

Genre: Historical Romance

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Format I read it in: Paperback

Rating: ★★★★★

Synopsis:

Maia D’Apliese and her five sisters gather together at their childhood home, “Atlantis”—a fabulous, secluded castle situated on the shores of Lake Geneva—having been told that their beloved father, who adopted them all as babies, has died. Each of them is handed a tantalizing clue to her true heritage—a clue which takes Maia across the world to a crumbling mansion in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Once there, she begins to put together the pieces of her story and its beginnings.

Eighty years earlier in Rio’s Belle Epoque of the 1920s, Izabela Bonifacio’s father has aspirations for his daughter to marry into the aristocracy. Meanwhile, architect Heitor da Silva Costa is devising plans for an enormous statue, to be called Christ the Redeemer, and will soon travel to Paris to find the right sculptor to complete his vision. Izabela—passionate and longing to see the world—convinces her father to allow her to accompany him and his family to Europe before she is married. There, at Paul Landowski’s studio and in the heady, vibrant cafes of Montparnasse, she meets ambitious young sculptor Laurent Brouilly, and knows at once that her life will never be the same again.

Thoughts:

“Well, as a true artist knows, every rule is there to be broken, every barrier to be pulled down. We have one life, mademoiselle, and we must live it as we choose.”

The book holds so many stories, each of them beautiful and intriguing in their own way. First, we dive into Atlantis, in Pa Salt’s world – and meet his six adoptive daughters. Pa’s death gathers all sisters together and we get the glimpse of their personalities.

But this book’s focus is on Maya, the oldest sister. From Switzerland, her destiny brings her to sunny Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, and through the streets of Paris, France. Through Maya, we go a few decades back and witness another love story, also shared between Brazil and France, with the connection of how the Cristol got built and the many secrets that structure holds. Every page kept me glued to the book and I couldn’t put it down in the evenings.

Between three different timelines and two love stories, I thought I’ll have a hard time remembering everything. But the story is so well written that not once did I have an issue. Firstly, I loved getting to know all the sisters. The family dynamic reminded me a bit of the Umbrella Academy. I also loved getting to know Maya and through her -Bel. Bel’s story was heart-wrenching. Her sacrificing her own happiness just to please her family was truly heartbreaking. I loved watching her blossom in Paris and I also enjoyed that the statue of Cristo was part of the love story and the book.

Lucinda combined history and fiction and created a masterpiece. I will cherish this book so much and cannot wait until I get my hands on the next one. Five amazing stars from me.

“I think we often don’t deserve what we get. But then, maybe in the future we get what we deserve.”

About The Author:

The Seven Sisters (The Seven Sisters #1) by Lucinda Riley [BOOK REVIEW]

AKA: Lucinda Edmonds
Lucinda Riley was born in Northern Ireland. After an early career as an actress in film, theatre and television, wrote her first book aged twenty-four. Her books are translated into thirty-seven languages and sold thirty million copies worldwide. She is a No.1 Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller.

Lucinda’s The Seven Sisters series, which tells the story of adopted sisters. It is inspired by the mythology of the famous star cluster, has become a global phenomenon. The series is a No.1 bestseller across the world with total sales of over fifteen million copies.

Lucinda and her family divided their time between the UK and a farmhouse in West Cork, Ireland, where she wrote her books.

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No Life For A Lady by Hannah Dolby [BOOK REVIEW] No Life For A Lady by Hannah Dolby [BOOK REVIEW]
Book Review · Books

No Life For A Lady by Hannah Dolby [BOOK REVIEW]

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No Life For A Lady by Hannah Dolby [BOOK REVIEW]

No Life for a Lady by Hannah Dolby transported me into the 1890’s, and our strong heroine Violet made that journey quite memorable!

No Life For A Lady by Hannah Dolby [BOOK REVIEW]

Pages: 400

Genre: Historical Romance

Publisher: Head of Zeus

Format I read it in: Special Edition Uncorrected Proof

Rating: ★★★★

Synopsis:

Violet Hamilton is a woman who knows her own mind. Which, in 1896, can make things a little complicated…

At 28, Violet’s father is beginning to worry she will never find a husband. But every suitor he presents, Violet finds a new and inventive means of rebuffing.

Because Violet does not want to marry. She wants to work, and make her own way in the world. But more than anything, she wants to find her mother Lily, who disappeared from Hastings Pier 10 years earlier.

Finding the missing is no job for a lady, but when Violet hires a seaside detective to help, she sets off a chain of events that will put more than just her reputation at risk.

Can Violet solve the mystery of Lily Hamilton’s vanishing before it’s too late?

Thoughts:

I am beyond thankful to Tandem Collective, Head of Zeus and Hannah Dolby, for letting me join this special readalong. I was lucky to receive an exclusive interactive readalong edition copy, full with QR codes, challenges and topics to discuss whilst reading the book. The format of the book was very interactive and although it distracted me a bit, I enjoyed finding out about this period in history. What people wore, what was popular at the time, how the streets and towns used to look like, what were people’s main professions, and most importantly, what were the women’s roles in society at this point in time.

First of all, Violet is an amazing character. She knows exactly what she wants(to find her mum) and also what she doesn’t want (to marry). She hires a detective to search for her mum, and she’s also quite busy rejecting men left, right and centre – much to the annoyance of her father. 

The more clues are being discovered, the more unsure Violet is about the investigation and the detective. She starts interacting with Mr. Blackthorn in the hopes that he would be a better detective for this case, but Mr. Blackthorn is set to give up that career path. 

The book highlights the era so well, the way women are treated in society and the audacity that men have.

No respect towards women (with exceptions), yet all they seem to care about is reputation. The part that hurt and angered me the most is the lack of freedom, and no freedom of choice. To be rejected for books in a library, to be denied education and a career, if you so wish to have… Yet they are able to get away with murder. In an environment like this, where all the odds are stacked against her, Violet was a breath of fresh air. I loved that she would stop at nothing to achieve the things she wants.Her determination, dedication and sense of humour made this book so enjoyable. The pace of the book started slowly at first, but then it picked up, and by the end I couldn’t stop turning the pages.

About The Author:

No Life For A Lady by Hannah Dolby [BOOK REVIEW]

Hannah’s first job was in the circus and she has aimed to keep life as interesting since. She trained as a journalist in Hastings and has worked in PR for many years, promoting museums, galleries, palaces, gardens and even Dolly the sheep.

Hannah completed the Curtis Brown selective three-month novel writing course, and she won runner-up in the Comedy Women in Print Awards for this novel with the prize of a place on an MA in Comedy Writing at the University of Falmouth.

She lives in London and her debut novel, No Life for a Lady, will be published in Spring 2023.

Twitter – @LadyDolby

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The Princess Plan by Julia London Book review historical romance mills & boon blog blogging diary of difference diaryofdifference The Princess Plan by Julia London [BOOK REVIEW]
Book Review · Books

The Princess Plan by Julia London [BOOK REVIEW]

innah9611 Comments

★★★

I received The Princess Plan by Julia London from the amazing team at Mills & Boon. This is the first book in the series A Royal Wedding. 

Historical romances are a hit or miss for me, and this one didn’t really hit the mark like I wanted it to. Prince Sebastian of Alucia is on his visit in London, when his personal secretary is murdered. 

And a murder such as this one creates a very big buzz in London’s high society. When a scandal like this occurs, it’s all anyone talks about, including Eliza Trickelbank, who happens to own a gossip gazette. 

When her gazette receives an anonymous tip off about this crime, Prince Sebastian has no choice, but to work with her in order to solve the mystery of his friend’s murder. 

With a trade deal on the line and a pressure to find a noble bride, there is nothing more dangerous than a prince socialising with a commoner. They can’t seem to agree on anything, and find each other frustrating, but the temptation between them becomes harder and harder to be ignored. 

My Thoughts:

I loved the Cinderella vibe around this book, and the trope of prince meets commoner. I also enjoyed the trope of enemies becoming lovers. Even though, in this case, it was more of a forbidden temptation meets annoyance that turns into affection. 

I liked Sebastian as much as I disliked Eliza. Everything that annoyed me about her, he somehow managed to compensate for. She was trying very hard to be independent, but instead, she gave up a vibe that was almost unbearable and very insecure. With Sebastian I loved the dilemma between country vs heart, which I assume many nobles, especially during that time in England felt. I am sure that many of them sacrificed their love just to do right by their country. 

I found the gazette excerpts quite funny at times, and very enlightening. They take you into a whole new world, where you feel as if you’re there, getting ready for a ball, or reading about the latest gossip of the nobles. The writing style matches the time setting perfectly. I think Julia London did an amazing job when it comes to that. Here is an excerpt that really made me giggle: 

“New information suggests that if a lady wishes to enjoy a romp without consequence, trotting a horse briskly the day after the romp should remove said consequence.”

To conclude, I enjoyed The Princess Plan, but it wasn’t a favorite.

The writing was beautiful and I am sure this will be a favorite for people that love historical romances. The only reason I didn’t love it is because of Eliza’s character and the tropes that I have already seen before. 

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Would I Lie to the Duke by Eva Leigh [BLOG TOUR] Would I Lie to the Duke by Eva Leigh [BLOG TOUR]
Blog Tour · Book Review · Books

Would I Lie to the Duke by Eva Leigh [BLOG TOUR]

innah9614 Comments

★★★★

Thank you to Mills & Boon, for sending me a copy of Would I Lie to the Duke by Eva Leigh, and for the opportunity to participate on this blog tour. 

Would I Lie to the Duke by Eva Leigh is the second book in the Union of the Rakes series. It can be easily read as a standalone though.

Synopsis:

This is the story of Jessica McGale. Her family business is in need of investors, after it collapses due to a fire. Jessica is determined to acquire investors for her business at any cost. When she realises that London’s elite will never give a chance to a humble farm girl like herself, she does the unthinkable. She poses as “Lady Whitfield” and joins the elite on the table. She especially tries to get close to the Duke of Rotherby, as his influence and support could save her company. But one thing Jess never expected to happen, is to grow feelings for him. 

Noel is the carefree and notorious duke, but only his close friends truly know him. When he meets Lady Whitfield at the business bazaar, his world shifts. She makes him want to obey every command she tells, which is something he never imagined doing. He struggles to trust people, but trusting Jess is so easy. 

But what happens when the business bazaar is over, and so is the fake portrayal of Lady Whitfield? How do you cope when someone has lied to you, but you want them in your life forever? Read this amazing book to find out! 

My Thoughts:

I was so hooked about this book, and I finished it in two days. While the plot is a bit predictable and it has a Cinderella vibe to it, I still enjoyed it a lot. 

I could completely understand where Jess was coming from, and in order to save her business, I don’t think there were any other options, given how much rejection she faced in the first chapters. But as soon as she started developing feelings, she should’ve been honest with Noel. The person in me felt uncomfortable for her every single time she would deliberately put herself in an awkward situation and not tell the truth when she had a chance to. And the business trip to the farm? Oh, that got me biting my nails again. I also understand that continuing with the deception was a crucial part of the plot, to produce the drama that it did, but I am just not a fan of dishonesty. 

Noel was an amazing character, even though, at times, he seemed like the typical rich boy.

I loved the way his relationship with Jess progressed during the couple of days, and how he started opening up. Honestly, I didn’t believe it at first, given that it was based on a lie. I thought that given the fact how much trust issues he had, he could never get past her betrayal. And for me, his way of coping and resolving the issue didn’t fit with his character. I have the feeling that people who are lucky enough to have a high income and live in the elite societies are much more wary of “gold diggers”, and everything Jess does (even though for a good reason), seems to be for her business. So I wouldn’t have blamed him if he reacted in a way more different way and just told her to “bugger off”.

Overall, I enjoyed Would I Lie to the Duke and it was a very pleasurable short read to get me away from reality. I don’t always dive into historical romance, and this was a surprising change that ended on a positive note. Honestly, I am glad that it sparks a debate in my mind and makes me think of “what I would have done” on either side of the relationship. I would have acted very differently. And maybe that’s the reason I’m not married to a duke (yet). 😀 

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