Through some rabbit hole on the internet, I stumbled across the name Anya Seton and a fancy cover for her book, The Turqouise. Intrigued, I waited patiently for the inter-library loan snail to bring it to me, and boy was I surprised when the book delivered was a battered hardcover bound with actual thread and smelling of an octogenarian’s basement. While slightly put-off, I accepted it anyway and went home to discover the strange and satisfying pleasure of reading an old book. I ripped my fare share […]
Old Money, Twelfth Night and Murder
Though I’ve read the entirety of the Pink Carnation series, this was my first time trying any of Willig’s other work, and while her voice was recognizable, it had a very different feel. While the Pink Carnation series certainly deals with dark subject matters (espionage, war, murder, and secret societies), especially the first few novels in the series were very light hearted. As a result, I was surprised by how much darker and more serious this one felt in comparison. While at her brother Bay’s […]
A Gilded Age mystery
From New York Times bestselling author, Lauren Willig, comes this scandalous novel set in the Gilded Age, full of family secrets, affairs, and even murder. This book is a mixture of historical romance with an intriguing plot of family secrets and mystery that is very well done. It’s set at the end of the 1800’s, in the wealthy environs of New York society where rigid rules of appearance were adhered to. Bayard and Annabelle Van Duyvil are the glamorous couple that appear to have it […]
Modern acting heroines in historical settings are my jam
This series got off to a good start with a novella, and I liked this first full length novel even more. I’m not crowing about a new favorite author or anything, but this was a solid book and really hit the spot for what I wanted to read. Elizabeth Sloane is a young woman brought up in incredible privilege in New York during the Gilded Age (I can’t remember the exact year – late 1880s, I believe). Her brother runs the family railway and she […]