The Darkling Bride by Laura Andersen

The Darkling Bride by Laura Andersen Synopsis: Three generations of Irish nobles face their family secrets in this spellbinding novel from the award-winning author of the Boleyn King trilogy. The Gallagher family has called Deeprath Castle home for seven hundred years. Nestled in the Wicklow Mountains of Ireland, the estate is now slated to become a public trust, and book lover and scholar Carragh Ryan is hired to take inventory of its historic library. But after meeting Aidan, the current Viscount Gallagher, and his enigmatic family, Carragh knows that her task will be more challenging than she’d thought. Two decades before, Aidan’s parents died violently at Deeprath. The case, which was never closed, has recently been taken up by a new detective determined to find the truth. The couple’s unusual deaths harken back a century, when twenty-three-year-old Lady Jenny Gallagher also died at Deeprath under mysterious circumstances, leaving behind an infant son and her husband, a renowned writer who never published again. These incidents only fueled fantastical theories about the Darkling Bride, a local legend of a sultry and dangerous woman from long ago whose wrath continues to haunt the castle. The past catches up to the present, and odd clues in the house soon have Carragh wondering if there are unseen forces stalking the Gallagher family. As secrets emerge from the shadows and Carragh gets closer to answers—and to Aidan—could she be the Darkling Bride’s next victim?

The Darkling Bride was an enjoyable historical mystery, with a bit of current day thrill and a little romance thrown in! The setting is an old castle with a dark past that has a presence all it's own. Our heroine gets hired on to catalog the library of the castle before it is given over to the National Trust, but she has a bit of an ulterior motive in that she believes there may be an unpublished manuscript related to the family's history. There are many intertwined relationships that made for an interesting and twisting story.

It may not be detailed enough for hard core historical fiction fans, but it was a decent and enjoyable story and I would definitely be interested in more from this author.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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The English Wife by Lauren Willig

Synopsis: Annabelle and Bayard Van Duyvil live a charmed life: he’s the scion of an old Knickerbocker family, she grew up in a Tudor manor in England, they had a whirlwind romance in London, they have three year old twins on whom they dote, and he’s recreated her family home on the banks of the Hudson and renamed it Illyria. Yes, there are rumors that she’s having an affair with the architect, but rumors are rumors and people will gossip. But then Bayard is found dead with a knife in his chest on the night of their Twelfth Night Ball, Annabelle goes missing, presumed drowned, and the papers go mad. Bay’s sister, Janie, forms an unlikely alliance with a reporter to uncover the truth, convinced that Bay would never have killed his wife, that it must be a third party, but the more she learns about her brother and his wife, the more everything she thought she knew about them starts to unravel. Who were her brother and his wife, really? And why did her brother die with the name George on his lips?

I am a long time fan of Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation series so I was excited to try something different from her. I was not disappointed! Far from the humorous adventures of the Pink Carnation's compatriots, this is a historical mystery that kept me guessing until the end!

The story vacillates from the past to the present, finally meeting in the middle as the murder is solved much differently that I expected!  The characters are well crafted, as are the elements of their lives, helping to create the tension and make you wonder what really happened!  I was interested from beginning to end, and still not entirely convinced about how the ending truly stands. 

I gave this a 5/5, I definitely need to read more of Lauren Willig's non-Carnation books!

Enchantress of Numbers by Jennifer Chiaverini

Synopsis: The only legitimate child of Lord Byron, the most brilliant, revered, and scandalous of the Romantic poets, Ada was destined for fame long before her birth. Estranged from Ada’s father, who was infamously “mad, bad, and dangerous to know,” Ada’s mathematician mother is determined to save her only child from her perilous Byron heritage. Banishing fairy tales and make-believe from the nursery, Ada’s mother provides her daughter with a rigorous education grounded in mathematics and science. Any troubling spark of imagination—or worse yet, passion or poetry—is promptly extinguished. Or so her mother believes. When Ada is introduced into London society as a highly eligible young heiress, she at last discovers the intellectual and social circles she has craved all her life. Little does she realize that her delightful new friendship with inventor Charles Babbage—brilliant, charming, and occasionally curmudgeonly—will shape her destiny. Intrigued by the prototype of his first calculating machine, the Difference Engine, and enthralled by the plans for his even more advanced Analytical Engine, Ada resolves to help Babbage realize his extraordinary vision, unique in her understanding of how his invention could transform the world. All the while, she passionately studies mathematics—ignoring skeptics who consider it an unusual, even unhealthy pursuit for a woman—falls in love, discovers the shocking secrets behind her parents’ estrangement, and comes to terms with the unquenchable fire of her imagination.

Publication Date: December 5th, 2017
Imprint: Dutton
Publisher: Penguin Group Dutton
Genre: Historical Fiction
Received From: Netgalley in exchange for honest feedback
My Rating: 4/5

This cover is gorgeous and I was interested to find out more about Ada Lovelace's work with Charles Babbage as I knew they were associated, but only vaguely.  This was a slow read for me, tedious at times as so much of it is Ada, alone with her governesses or her mother's friends, angry and lonely, a brilliant mind with not enough to keep it busy.  She did not have an exciting life, and was often ill, but in spite of being the daughter of a wealthy mother, she was nearly a prisoner, as her mother sought to keep her from falling prey to her bad Byron blood, by keeping her imagination reined in.  Luckily her mother did approve studies in math and science, or the world might not be where we are now!

This is my first read by Chiaverini, but I am interested in more.  While it was not a quick and smooth read, as I mentioned above parts were somewhat tedious as there was much description of not a lot happening, that does serve to give an idea of how Ada herself must have felt, wanting so badly to experience life and being held in check by her mother's fears that she will turn out like her father.  Apparently I was the only person who didn't already know that Lord Byron the poet was her father!

I think lovers of historical fiction with an interest in Ada Lovelace's life will enjoy this, it is not heavy in actual math and science, but more description of Ada's experiences and interests in those studies and relationships with some of the great minds of the time.  The Analytical and Difference Engines of Babbage are mentioned, and described in a way that a person not familiar with them should be able to follow along and have a good idea why they were important. Even though it is told from Ada's point of view, there is a lot of set up from before her birth and while she was very young that helps to establish her mother's feelings about her father, which will in turn affect Ada's entire life.  Her story is often a sad and lonely one, but then I wonder, had she not been watched so closely and kept focused on math and science, but allowed more freedom of imagination, what might she have done instead with her brilliant and all too short life? Would we have computers as we now know them?

A Hope Divided (The Loyal League #2) by Alyssa Cole

Description: The Civil War has turned neighbor against neighbor--but for one scientist spy and her philosopher soldier, war could bind them together . . . For three years of the War Between the States, Marlie Lynch has helped the cause in peace: with coded letters about anti-Rebel uprisings in her Carolina woods, tisanes and poultices for Union prisoners, and silent aid to fleeing slave and Freeman alike. Her formerly enslaved mother's traditions and the name of a white father she never knew have protected her--until the vicious Confederate Home Guard claims Marlie's home for their new base of operations in the guerilla war against Southern resistors of the Rebel cause. Unbeknowst to those under her roof, escaped prisoner Ewan McCall is sheltering in her laboratory. Seemingly a quiet philosopher, Ewan has his own history with the cruel captain of the Home Guard, and a thoughtful but unbending strength Marlie finds irresistible. When the revelation of a stunning family secret places Marlie's freedom on the line, she and Ewan have to run for their lives into the hostile Carolina night. Following the path of the Underground Railroad, they find themselves caught up in a vicious battle that could dash their hopes of love--and freedom--before they ever cross state lines.

Publication Date: November 14th, 2017
Imprint: Kensington Books
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance
Received From: Netgalley in exchange for honest feedback
My Rating: 4/5

I have always been drawn to Civil War fiction, John Jakes' North and South being an early favorite of mine.  I have been interested in trying Alyssa Cole's Loyal League series, and when I saw A Hope Divided available on Netgalley I jumped at the chance, and luckily was approved!

I enjoyed the characters, Marlie is in a difficult position of being considered Negro, yet protected by her family name, and Ewan is not at all your conventional romance hero, often unsure of himself and confused by Marlie's reactions, being relatively inexperienced with the opposite sex.  He's very detail oriented and inventive, in this story someone who constantly tries to keep his mind occupied by reading, and fixing and thinking things through logically.  Marlie is a good match for him, and is constantly challenging the philosophical ideas he has held as guiding precepts in his life.  They are both firmly scientific, but Marlie's healing skills, though carefully derived and precise, originate from a background in arts a little more mystical from her mother, that she struggles with, on the one hand wanting to reject them as unrealistic, but on the other, sometimes they seem to prove out in unexpected ways. 

There are plenty of heart stopping moments as Marlie's home is invaded by the Confederate Home Guard hunting down deserters and resisters, and her life quickly changes and even becomes endangered, her family name no longer a protection compared to the color of her skin. Overall this was an interesting story that gives a good representation of the fear and complications of being a Union sympathizer in the South during the Civil War, and I recommend it if you enjoy stories set in this time period.

New and out now! - A Strange Scottish Shore by Juliana Gray

Description: Scotland, 1906. A mysterious object discovered inside an ancient castle calls Maximilian Haywood, the new Duke of Olympia, and his fellow researcher Emmeline Truelove north to the remote Orkney Islands. No stranger to the study of anachronisms in archeological digs, Haywood is nevertheless puzzled by the artifact: a suit of clothing that, according to family legend, once belonged to a selkie who rose from the sea and married the castle’s first laird. But Haywood and Truelove soon realize they’re not the only ones interested in the selkie’s strange hide. When their mutual friend Lord Silverton vanishes in the night from an Edinburgh street, their quest takes a dangerous turn through time, which puts Haywood’s extraordinary talents—and Truelove’s courage—to their most breathtaking test yet.

Publication Date: September 19th, 2017
Imprint: Berkley
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Genre: Romance, Historical Fiction
Received From: Netgalley in exchange for honest feedback
My Rating: 4/5


I am a sucker for anything Scottish, so obviously this title hooked me right away! I do like the cover, though it puts me more in mind of a cozy mystery, and other readers on Goodreads have shelved it in mystery, so I spent most of the book thinking it was a mystery, and I'm pretty sure that it showed up in that genre to me on Netgalley, even though they considered it Historical Fiction and Romance in the write up. Be that as it may, there IS a mystery to be solved, and a very interesting one at that!

First off, this is the second in a series, but that didn't give me too much trouble, other than making me want to go back and read the first one!  It has several of my favorite touchstones, time travel, archaeology, mysterious artifacts and Scotland, and it didn't disappoint!  I found Truelove to be a bit like Amelia Peabody in my favorite Egyptian mystery series by Elizabeth Peters, which is to say, she must be in the middle of everything and she will satisfy her curiosity, even at great danger to herself! I'd like to see the development of her friendly/working relationship with Max which I believe happens in the first book, as we don't see much of him here.  It seems like a very close friendship, which causes more than a few misunderstandings for them,   The main focus of the story is on Truelove and Silverton (also an enigma as we get to see two very different versions of his personality).

There are many twists and plenty of action!  I expected the ending to work out differently than it did, and I'm interested to see where the series goes from here, because the premise can't just end there!  I definitely recommend this one to the Scotland/Ancient Scotland romance and time traveling fans, this wasn't your typical historical romance in my opinion, as my notion that it was a mystery really never ended.  I felt there was just as much focus on that, as on the romance, and I'm interested in more!

August TBR List Winner - A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas

And the winner is...

Book Synopsis: With her inquisitive mind, Charlotte Holmes has never felt comfortable with the demureness expected of the fairer sex in upper class society. But even she never thought that she would become a social pariah, an outcast fending for herself on the mean streets of London. When the city is struck by a trio of unexpected deaths and suspicion falls on her sister and her father, Charlotte is desperate to find the true culprits and clear the family name. She’ll have help from friends new and old—a kind-hearted widow, a police inspector, and a man who has long loved her. But in the end, it will be up to Charlotte, under the assumed name Sherlock Holmes, to challenge society’s expectations and match wits against an unseen mastermind.

This was a pretty clear cut vote! I've seen a lot of people excited about this one, so I'm looking forward to it!

74% of the votes

21% of the votes

5% of the votes