I have never actually read an original Sherlock Holmes novel or story. I think we read a children’s version of The Hound of Baskerville at one point but it was definitely a simplified version since it was in 6th grade, during our second year of English language instruction at my German school (I of course was already fluent but it’s not like there was an alternative course I could have taken so it made more sense for me to just be in the class with […]
It’s OK to be Genre Fiction, I Promise
This review is for the audiobook version of The Quick, by Lauren Owen. This book wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. I don’t think that it’s what it thinks it is either. This is genre fiction that thinks it’s literary, with quirks that seem to scream “I’m different and unique,” when in fact it’s just another vampire story. The blurb described the book as being about a woman, Charlotte, who goes to London after her brother disappears and discovers a few […]
I accessorize for one and all
I steamed through the remaining books of The Parasol Protectorate series and then came to a screaching halt when it came time to write the reviews. It’s not because the books aren’t fantastic, its because I’m easily distractable. The series is a fun read. I highly recommend. Lady Alexia Maccon, neé Tarabotti, is a preternatural living in steampunk Victorian England. Her husband is the Alpha of London’s werewolf pack and the head of the Bureau for Unnatural Registration (BUR), and sits on the Queen’s Shadow […]
Taking the Romance out of the Victorian Era
I picked this book based on a recommendation from NPR’s Book Concierge for 2014., under the category For History Lovers. It’s a very long, very detailed book. I did some research on the author afterwards and learned that she did live the life of a Victorian for a BBC show called Victorian Farm. So when she talks about what it was like to wear period clothes and use a scythe, she had that experience for a year. The book discusses everything from the morning wash […]