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Wicked Tales & Wild Romances

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Step into a sanctuary of Wicked Tales & Wild Romances, where we explore the most captivating corners of dark fantasy and heart-tugging rom-coms. This is more than just a reading log; it’s a collection of Curated Chronicles for the Modern She-Wolf who isn’t afraid to get lost in the shadows or fall for the monster. ​Whether it’s a slow-burn magic system or a spicy contemporary trope, every story here is chosen to be Wildly Devoured.

  • Anatomy: A Love Story

    By Dana Schwartz, pub date 1/18/2022

    4*s, Best enjoyed when you want a story of star crossed lovers who make eyes over bodies (If you do, you’re my people).

    Publisher’s synopsis (St. Martin’s Press):

    “Hazel Sinnett is a lady who wants to be a surgeon more than she wants to marry.

    Jack Currer is a resurrection man who’s just trying to survive in a city where it’s too easy to die.

    When the two of them have a chance encounter outside the Edinburgh Anatomist’s Society, Hazel thinks nothing of it at first. But after she gets kicked out of renowned surgeon Dr. Beecham’s lectures for being the wrong gender, she realizes that her new acquaintance might be more helpful than she first thought. Because Hazel has made a deal with Dr. Beecham: if she can pass the medical examination on her own, Beecham will allow her to continue her medical career. Without official lessons, though, Hazel will need more than just her books—she’ll need corpses to study.

    Lucky that she’s made the acquaintance of someone who digs them up for a living.

    But Jack has his own problems: strange men have been seen skulking around cemeteries, his friends are disappearing off the streets, and the dreaded Roman Fever, which wiped out thousands a few years ago, is back with a vengeance. Nobody important cares—until Hazel.

    Now, Hazel and Jack must work together to uncover the secrets buried not just in unmarked graves, but in the very heart of Edinburgh society.” – Synopsis provided by St. Martin’s Press.

    Review/My Synopsis

    Anatomy: A Love Story was a delightful gothic murder mystery set amongst the cemeteries and city alleys of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the early nineteenth century. Hazel is a headstrong girl who wants more than anything to be a surgeon, but though her breeding and status open a lot of doors for her, they are still a golden handcuff tying her to the traditional roles of a Lady in British society. She is to marry her cousin Bernard. Though her cousin and her have long been friends in addition to their betrothed status, Bernard seems less and less keen to allow his future wife to do such scandalous things as surgery, despite knowing it is her driving passion. Note: Bernard seems like such a great guy until she actually starts pursuing that passion, then he admits he thinks it was just a flight of fancy for her which left me so bothered. In my opinion, he’s a bit of a wanker who deserves some syphilis. Anyways…

    When she does get the opportunity to see a lecture and demonstration by Dr. Beecham, the grandson of the scientist who wrote the veritable anatomist’s bible, she jumps at the chance. But women aren’t allowed through the main doors of the establishment. That’s when she runs into Jack Currer, who is able to sneak her in under the bleachers. Of course Jack knows of this little hidey-hole. He’s a resurrection man. A body snatcher—but not a grave robber. He makes that quite clear. He steals nothing but the bodies (semantics if you ask me—and you kind of did).

    When Beecham announces that he will be teaching the newest surgery courses, Hazel feels compelled to find a way to attend and get her license in the surgical arts. By dressing as her deceased brother, George, she is able to disguise herself as a lad long enough to attend these lectures (This is somewhat ironic. Here’s some background: George and Hazel both had the Roman Fever, a highly contagious decease that seems to have reemerged in Edinburgh. George, the heir to their family, died. Hazel did not. This caused obvious distress for her family and her mother and her relationship has been strained ever since. Not only that, but the death triggered two more things. Her younger brother, now being the heir, is basically a helipad to her mother’s helicopter parenting, while Hazel–who has become largely ignored by her mother–is hell bent on finding a cure. The reason I say ironic (maybe ‘poetic’ is a better term?) is that she is ‘resurrecting’ the very person who died and created this passion for surgery in her. Good job on that one, Schwartz.) 

    However, when Hazel is caught posing as a lad, she is told she can no longer attend the lectures put on by Beecham or Straine—a practicing surgeon in Edinburgh who knows Hazel from  his associations with her uncle and future father in law. (Do you think that will stop Hazel? Of course not. She’s a girl of means, independence and fortitude.) Instead of giving up, Hazel tracks down Dr. Beecham and strikes a deal with him. She will study and he will allow her to sit for the surgeon’s exam. If she passes, the school will open its doors to other women. If she does not, she will turn away from surgery and into the arms of her betrothed to do as all the other Ladies of means do for the rest of her life. What’s a girl to do? (Are you kidding? She has all of woman kind to think about now—she is the potential harbinger of change. Of course she takes the deal!)

    But there’s one problem. She will need to study human corpses. Fortunately, she has a connection: handsome and charming Jack Currer, who lives and works in a recently closed theatre, only closed due to the new spread of Roman Fever. The downside is his partner has recently gone missing. Hazel must team up with Jack to not only keep her secrets, but also to help him procure bodies. During her ‘adventures’ with Jack, she finds out that there are people suddenly showing up without body parts in the poor hospitals of London, and some of the bodies they are pulling out of the ground that are marked as deaths due to Roman Fever are decidedly not. 

    Not only does Hazel need to study for the most important exam of her life, but she and Jack are now embroiled in what appears to be a murder investigation where they seem to be the sole investigators. And the conclusion that they come to is something that neither they—nor the reader—will ever expect. 

    Thoughts:

    I really loved the setting. I’ve always wanted to go to Edinburgh and if it’s even half as atmospheric as the author describes, it would be worth every penny. I also adored Hazel. She had a goal and she did everything to pursue that goal while trying so hard not to fall in love with Jack over dead bodies. I’m sure there’s a joke in there, I just can’t sus it out right this second. The villain at the end was truly diabolical and I never expected it. Them, yes. But the why? Never. There were so many suspects and possibilities and the conclusion…just…(insert mind blown emoji here). 

    If you’re looking for a gothic fiction book, this is the one that you need to pick up. There’s honestly no better description than that. It’s a gothic love story. Classically done. I’m surprised that fog doesn’t roll out of the pages when you open in, almost equally surprising is that ending. 

    Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for the advance copy in exchange for this honest review. 

  • Unravel the Dusk

    Elizabeth Lim.

    5*s. Best Enjoyed after Spin the Dawn…like, immediately.

    Pardon me, E. Lim, but what exactly have you done to me? You truly must have enchanted me because the stories you write are so full of emotion and crackling with energy and the plots are thicker than a snicker. If your books were walking down the street, I’d definitely do a double check.

    The first Elizabeth Lim book I read was Six Crimson Cranes. I received it is a Galley and it was so much more wonderful than I had expected, so I decided to give Spin the Dawn a try. Thank goodness Unravel the Dusk was out because as soon as I finished Spin the Dawn I had to jump into this one (and now I’m practically going full on Elementary School making paper chains counting down the days until The Dragon’s Promise comes out).

    At the end of Spin the Dawn, we are in a full crush of emotions surrounding the future for Edan and our amazing Maia, who appears to becoming a full-on demon in secret if she can’t find a way to save herself. Not to mention, there’s Shansen’s army right outside the gates of the Winter Palace. It’s crazy how loyal Maia remains to her sovereign even after finding out what a jerk he is. But Maia is loyal to A’landi first because it’s her home and she will do anything to protect it–and her loved ones–even if it means she must take Bandur’s place in Lapzur and sacrifice all of herself for her country and family.

    The problem comes when her Weaver magic is not enough to save A’landi, but her demon magic and the magic that is held within Amana’s dresses–what she sacrificed almost everything to make–would be enough if she chose to wield it. But using it means that her decent into demonhood is all the faster. What is a girl to do when she’s the hope of everything she holds dear?

    I don’t know if you already realize, but I absolutely LOVED this book. The entire Blood of Stars series is amazing and worth every last little moment of time it takes to read it. The characters from Ammi to Xina feel like they are right next to you, the settings from forest to dungeon pop into your mind with clarity, and you can practically feel the heat–or cold, in most cases– of the battles and wind from the swords that slash at you through the pages.

    Elizabeth Lim is an author that must be heeded.

  • Belladonna

    Cover Image. NetGalley. 2022.

    by Adalyn Grace. Pub Date August 23, 2022

    5*s. Best Enjoyed when you need an eerie, well-written story of a girl and death.

    Synopsis: 

    Belladonna Plant (flowering)

    Ever since her mother died when she was only an infant, Signa Farrow has been passed from guardian to guardian, each progressively worse and only interested in her eventual fortune. Death has been a frequent companion in her life and somewhat of a rival. After all, what kind of cruel force would continue to eliminate her guardians and leave her alone again and again? Yet, she has her own secret and strange relationship with it as she has approached it many times but has never succumbed. Not only can Signa see spirits, but she’s broken her neck falling down the stairs, has ingested the poisonous fruits from the belladonna plant, and has had accidents she should not have come back from, but she remains alive, healing quickly each time. To Death, Signa herself is intriguing, especially when she begins to exhibit powers that only he shares. 

    Signa doesn’t want these strange abilities, however. Her only goal is to be the socialite her mother was with hopes for good marriage prospects that would allow her a husband she loved and a life of parties and companionship.

    Belladonna (Berries)

    At the death of her latest guardian, Signa is sent to live with her wealthy relatives, the Hawthornes. When Signa arrives to Thorn Grove manor, she finds grief and chaos running rampant. Her mother’s cousin, Lillian, recently died of a mysterious illness, leaving behind a deeply grieving husband, a solemn son, and her daughter, Blythe, who is now suffering the same illness that killed her mother. However, Signa knows these symptoms and also the taste of the ‘medicine’ that is in her cousin’s tea. This is not a regular illness. Someone slowly and methodically poisoned Lillian to death and she can only assume that the same person is responsible for Blythe’s current condition. 

    When Death approaches her cousin, Signa begs him to spare Blythe for a time while she tries to find the killer. As she races against the clock to find who did this, Signa enlists the help of the handsome and brooding stable boy, Sylas Thorley, her cousin Percy, and even Death himself. As they race against the clock to find the person responsible, she finds herself wanting things she never knew she desired. Then again, Death has an incredible ability to change your perception on what you crave most in life, and Signa finds herself learning that lesson all too well.

    Review: 

    Carey Mansion
    https://www.discovernewport.org/blog/post/haunted-spots/

    Belladonna is one of those books that has an absolutely incredible cover and you just hope the book inside is just as beautiful. Spoiler alert? It is. I loved Thorn Grove and its inhabitants, and the plot was actually two interwoven, one a mystery and the other a romance. The romance I was somewhat expecting and, if I’m honest, hoping for. The murder plot? Never. Not in the way it was presented. 

    The book was dark, but not as dark as I had expected at first. I also LOVE Signa. And Death. And Sylas. And Blythe’s fiery and independent spirit. I even enjoyed Elijah, the husband lost in grief. The spirits that featured were also very interesting and the concepts for life beyond were something I’d never really thought about, and I think about death a lot (I’m delightfully morbid). 

    There are a lot of books coming out with the same concept of death or Hades as an option for romance, but Grace’s Belladonna stands out. I am very excited for Foxglove to come out next year as the twist ending in the Epilogue left me practically salivating. Please add this to your “To Read” pile if you love historical paranormal mystery/fantasy/romance stories. This one is going to be worth the wait, and I cannot wait to fangirl with you all!

    Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown books for the advanced copy in exchange for this fair and honest review!

  • Two Truths and a Lie

    by April Henry, Pub Date May 22, 2022

    4.5 Stars. Best Enjoyed when you need a fast paced ya thriller set during a snowstorm that has a lot going on–like, a lot.

    The Synopsis: 

    Nell and her drama club classmates are on their way to a national drama competition that they have been working very hard for. This competition could lead to awards, scholarships, and opportunities for them and they are excited and confident. What they were not prepared for was the winter storm of the century catching the California teens and their teacher to be stranded a strange, worn-out hotel far from their intended destination. As they hunker down for the night, they meet other storm-bound people who have found themselves equally stuck at the Travel Inn & Out, including another group of teens who had a competition of their own to attend. 

    Dark Road During Blizzard

    As the storm rages on outside, the teens decide to meet in the common room to socialize in front of the fire. However, their gathering begins to take on a sinister tone as a creepy message appears in the slips of paper they are using to play a seemingly innocent game of Two Truths and a Lie. As a sense of unease settles on the group, they also find out that the hotel is the sight of a 20 year-old unsolved double murder, one that took place in room 238. They decide to do a séance and it goes about as well as one can expect a séance to go in a creepy hotel. And then the power goes out. 

    Stanley Hotel, fourth floor

    The next morning, Nell and a few others in their party group stumble upon the body of one of the girls they had hung out with the night before, apparently hung sometime in the night, a sign pinned to her chest saying “THIS IS THE FIRST.” Was it suicide or something more sinister? As another girl disappears and they find her room splattered in more blood than one could survive losing, with another sign scrawled in blood on the bathroom mirror reading “THIS IS THE SECOND,” all hell breaks loose. Not only are they stranded far away from home and safety without heat, phone service, and power, but they also may be stuck in a hotel in the middle of nowhere with a murderer. Is this the same killer who 20 years ago killed the couple in 238, or is this someone new who has only just begun?

    The Review:

    I definitely finished this one quickly. The plot throughout is fast-paced and it had everything in it. Suspicious hotel guests, possible supernatural phenomena, unsolved murders, and teenage hormones run rampant. The setting was well described and plays a huge roll throughout the entire book. It’s like the setting is another character entirely, moaning and creaking around its inhabitants. 

    Cougar

    The storm also adds a ton to the overall atmosphere of the book and if you have ever experienced a blizzard, you know exactly the feelings they have. The isolation, the disorientation when you find yourself in a world that has turned the outside into a black and white alien landscape where the white and fluffy snow becomes an icy desert of drifts and plains, some which may even hide other dangerous creatures. It creates a stark and unforgiving backdrop for a story of people desperately clawing their way to the truth. 

    There is a cadre of red herrings and strange happenings that make you question the evidence and what might be true verses what might be coincidental. Many of the characters show their true colors throughout the book, which makes them seem all the more real. It’s also always fun to read about people who are tied intrinsically to technology go through an experience where they don’t have any available and have to find ways to survive varying circumstances, like how to unmask a killer while trying to stay warm and fed in a place not meant to be run without electricity. It’s one reason I absolutely love fictional survival stories set far in the wilderness, especially ones where dumb mistakes are made that the protagonist has to survive. Although there aren’t many of those in Two Truths and a Lie, there is still plenty of unpreparedness to keep a reader feeling like this book is both a survival story and a mystery-thriller. 

    If you’re in the mood for a quick and thrilling read, I would advise picking up a copy of Two Truths and a Lie. 

    Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown books for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

  • Captured by the Earl

    Cover Image

    by Melanie Rose Clarke. Pub Date 10/14/2021

    5*. Best enjoyed when you really want a historical romance but you also want some comedy thrown in.

    The Synopsis:

    Lady Emma Sinclair is betrothed to the influential Earl of Peyton—or, at least, that’s what she wants everyone to think. See, the Earl of Peyton doesn’t exactly know that they are engaged as he’s not even in England and isn’t scheduled to return until after she disabuses the Ton of the engagement. In the meantime, she plans to use her newfound influence as the future Lady of Peyton in order further her own political prowess for the betterment of society as a member of the secret social justice society, The Ladies of Distinguished Purpose. And after the vote is cast, she will be able break the engagement with the Earl none the wiser. 

    Hidden Passage

    What Emma doesn’t plan for, however, is the early return of the Earl. 

    Philip Fitzgerald, Earl of Peyton, finds himself oddly engaged while he was far away from England on a secret mission. His faux-finacee, Lady Emma Sinclair, is an intelligent woman with her own secrets, secrets he plans to find out before allowing her out of the engagement she started. 

    Philip follows Emma during one secret charity outing in a rough part of town and, masked so as not to be seen and give away his secret work, saves her from a group of ruffians. Word quickly spreads to the ton about the Masked Avenger that seems to be one of their own. 

    As Philip tries to hide his identity and Emma works to uncover the person who saved her in order to make sure her secret is kept, they grow begin to grow closer. Their dance of deception and secrecy can only last so long, however, and as each gets closer to the other’s truth, danger lurks right around the corner for them both. Will they be able to admit their growing attraction before it’s too late?

    The Review: 

    I can’t say enough about how M R Clarke writes her internal and external character dialogues. There are absolutely moments when I laughed out loud and startled the dog. Or the cat. Or my husband. The characters are just so funny. Part of that is because they are well fleshed out as imperfect people trying to find happiness and make it through whatever crazy scenario they have gotten themselves into. In this case, a false betrothal that begins to slip into a magnetic attraction and eventual affection. That’s the true mark of a mainstay historical romance, but the hilarity is what truly sets Clarke apart. 

    Emma Sinclair’s imperfections are on full display. Some reviewers have said she’s a little bit of a flibberty gibbet in that she can’t see what’s right in front of her, but really she’s just in denial. It’s not that she doesn’t think it could be Philip, it’s more that she knows it’s him but that would be too good and fit too well. It’s just too perfect to fit in the imperfect world she finds herself in. Plus she is still in full denial of her feelings. Her entirely ‘irrational’ feelings. 

    Philip as a spy is also so perfect. As Emma tries to uncover his secrets and the identity of her masked savior, he is able to sidestep and dispel her notions that it could be him. It speaks to his cleverness and abilities as a spy. Unfortunately, his profession is also his downfall as he has isolated his family and must repair his relationship with his sister. He also isn’t able to be true to himself until his current case is over. That also means that he cannot admit to anyone his growing affection for Emma, which lends to the overall suspense in the perfect way. It’s a true will they won’t they throughout. 

    I really enjoyed this book and I am excited to start the third book in the series!

    Thanks to NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for this fair and honest review. 

  • The Fear

    The Fear

    By Natasha Preston. Pub Date March 1, 2022

    3.5*s. Best enjoyed when you want a teen-oriented slasher thriller.

    The Synopsis: 

    Movie Poster for Halloween Party, 2020

    There’s a new viral trend going around in a small fishing town that asks participants to repost with what they think is the worst way to die. Everyone thinks it’s just a dumb meme. Until it’s no longer just a meme. 

    Izzy finds the first body of a classmate lying in the snow in the middle of the street, a girl that she and her friends had just seen at a party less than an hour before. Shortly after calling the police, first responders find another body of another one of their classmates in the river near the other body. People throw around that it is probably a murder-suicide or suicide pact, but Izzy feels it’s something different. Both of her classmates died of the very things they had claimed would be the scariest way to die. 

    Drew Barrymore, Scream, 1996

    Izzy starts to suspect that what everyone thought was just a meme was really a way for a killer to gain insight into how to scare his victims the most as he killed them. Izzy is glad she didn’t repost the meme, but when she realizes that those closest to her have, it spurs her into protective detective mode. Is it her crush, Justin, who was friends with the victims? Is it her classmate, Axel, the mysterious troublemaker with whom she is developing an unlikely friendship?  Or is it someone else who is lurking in the shadows, watching her? Will Izzy be able to uncover the killer before it’s too late?

    The Review: 

    The premise of this story reminded me of a cross between Scream and the movie Halloween Party. Halloween Party was the first to come to mind when reading the original synopsis of the book as it’s very similar when it comes to asking about your biggest fear, but as I read the book, it felt a lot more like Scream if it were set in the winter. Sometimes you just really want to get involved in the slasher-thriller vibe and this definitely fed that part of my brain. 

    Scene from Halloween Party, 2020

    I honestly really loved the ride. It was a constant question as to which person could be the one who was terrorizing the town by killing off young people in the most horrific of ways. It was a bloody and surprising ride filled to the brim with suspense. The ending was also totally unsuspected, with a super startling twist. I think the only actual problem I had was not having all the answers at the end to my copious questions, but I also like things that are wrapped up in a bow and I just don’t think this was meant to be. It kind of leaves a sense of suspense in the air as you close it. Sometimes we just don’t get all of the answers and in a way, the unknown is the truly scary part.

    Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the advanced copy in exchange for this fair and honest review.

  • The Night Shift

    by Alex Finlay. Pub date 03/01/2022

    4 stars. Best enjoyed when you want something twisty, turning, and ultimately satisfying.

    New Year’s Eve, 1999. A mass murder at the local Blockbuster rocks the nation as four teens are killed. Only one teen, Ella, survives the attack. The main suspect, Vince Whittaker, is released from custody only to disappear hours after he is freed.

    Almost 20 years later, the same thing happens at an ice cream parlor. Only one survivor remains. Ella, now a therapist, gets a call from her former teacher asking her to help the lone teenager, Jesse Duvall, come to terms with what has happened. However, what Jesse tells her shocks her. It seems that the two incidents may not have been a coincidence. Could the killer be back? 

    Told from varying point of views between Ella, FBI detective Sarah Keller, and attorney Chris Martin, formerly Whittaker, this suspense thriller whodunnit will leave you questioning until the shocking conclusion. 

    If you enjoy police procedurals and dark dramas, this book is a perfect addition to your shelf. I really did enjoy it, even though at times I was kind of feeling that the plot was dragging, which is why it lost a star for me. There are a lot of situations that add up to more questions, but this is definitely not the kind of book that leaves you unsatisfied at the end. That is something that I truly appreciate when it comes to complex mystery stories. Alex Finlay did an excellent job tying up the loose ends to some very surprising twists. 

    Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for an advanced copy of Night Shift in exchange for this fair and honest review. 

  • Six Crimson Cranes

    By Elizabeth Lim, Pub date

    5 stars. Best Enjoyed when you’re in a reading slump, because this will get you out of it really quick.

    Before I begin the normal cadence of one of my reviews, let me first say that as soon as I finished this, I immediately moved forward and devoured the first in her Blood of Stars series, Spin the Dawn. I absolutely adored both and I am sitting on my hands waiting for the sequel to this one. 

    Shiori’anma of Kiata is preparing for her betrothal to Lord Takkan, who lives far in the north within a land of barbarians. She is not looking forward to any of it. However, on the day of her betrothal ceremony, she escapes from the palace and retreats to a nearby pond, into which she falls only to be rescued by a dragon. Of course, no one believes her.  Magic was banned in Kiata a long time ago and no one has seen dragons for longer than that. However, Shiori knows magic exists. She has some of it herself, some that she has hidden to the best of her ability since she was a young girl. However, when the dragon returns and begins to teach her magic, she unwittingly learns that she is not the only one in the palace with secrets. Her stepmother, Riakama, has magic of her own. 

    When Shiori tries to expose Raikama, she finds herself at the center of a curse involving her and her brothers, who are turned into cranes and sent far from the palace. Shiori is banished far away, a magic bowl is stuck to her head and covers her eyes, and is told not to utter a word or for every sound that escapes her lips, one of her six brothers will die. 

    Shiori, silenced and alone, must fight her way to her brothers as best as she can and find some way to break their curse and return home before the kingdom is plunged into war. However, Shiori finds that the world is not as it seems, and there are underlying plots that are taking place she never could have imagined. She must find the resilience and strength necessary to not only save her brothers and herself, but also everyone and everything else she loves. 

    This was an absolutely magical retelling of the Six Swans fairy tale mixed with a heaping helping of the Goose Girl. I honestly had the hardest time sleeping while reading this as it invaded all of my thoughts. This was my first introduction to Elizabeth Lim and I can honestly say that it has made me a fan for life. The heartbreak in her stories caused tears, the triumphs lead to audible sighs of relief, and the twists to gasps and held breathes. 

    Every character came to life on the pages. It was like the ink leaped from my e-reader to paint gorgeous shadow shows full of dragons, forests, jewels, and far away castles. I was so absorbed that I felt like I was there at times. I also kind of feel like I am waiting for the rest of my life to start. I am so psyched to read the next one. 

    Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Children’s for a copy of this incredible story in exchanged for this fair review. I loved it.

  • Immortality: A Love Story

    Dana Schwartz, Pub Date Feb 28, 2023

    4*s.

    Publisher’s Synopsis:

    “Immortality: A Love Story is the eagerly-anticipated sequel to Dana Schwartz’s #1 bestselling gothic romance, Anatomy: A Love Story.

    Hazel Sinnett is alone and half-convinced the events of the year before—the immortality, Beecham’s vial—were a figment of her imagination. She doesn’t even know if Jack is alive or dead. All she can really do now is treat patients and maintain Hawthornden Castle as it starts to decay around her.

    When saving a life leads to her arrest, Hazel seems doomed to rot in prison until a message intervenes: Hazel has been specifically requested to be the personal physician of Princess Charlotte, the sickly granddaughter of King George III. Soon Hazel is dragged into the glamor and romance of a court where everyone has something to hide, especially the enigmatic, brilliant members of a social club known as the Companions to the Death.

    As Hazel’s work entangles her more and more with the British court, she realizes that her own future as a surgeon isn’t the only thing at stake for her. Malicious forces are at work in the monarchy, and Hazel may be the only one capable of setting things right.”

    Review:

    Immortality: A Love Story was the perfect follow up to Anatomy: A Love Story. It brings us right back to Edinburgh, where we see Hazel practicing medicine for people who might not otherwise be able to afford the services of a surgeon. She dives headfirst into her work so she doesn’t have to think about Jack and wonder if he made it out of the hangman’s noose. However, her compassionate spirit soon lands her in prison awaiting her own execution when she helps the wrong woman survive after an overdose of plants meant to terminate her pregnancy. 

    The date of her execution arrives and she is whisked away from her cell—but not to face her death. Rather, she is brought to the palace to serve as Princess Charlotte’s personal physician. Princess Charlotte has been suffering an unknown malady that many have tried to treat but have made no headway with. Hazel might be the one who can figure out what is going on with the Princess. 

    Thus begins the second journey of Hazel Sinnett, one in which she experiences palace life and court intrigue, as well as an invitation to join a secret society that has had great influence over European politics for quite some time, and whose members are famously known throughout England and into the continent. But is there mission really one that Hazel can adhere to? And is she really the right person to help the Princess? And will she ever have the chance to see her Jack again, or will the handsome royal doctor make her forget her immortal love?

    Anatomy: A Love Story was fantastic, but I really and truly loved Immortality. The palace intrigue, the strange secret society, and the moral dilemmas that Hazel faces are much higher stakes than just posing as a boy attending classes in surgery and medicine in Edinburgh. Although I’m not sure I would have chosen the same way that Hazel did, I understand why she made the decisions she did and it made the story no less potent and relevant. 

    If you love historical fiction set in the early 1800s and smart women saving kings, put this on your TBR STAT. The romances are sweet, the intrigue is delicious, and the stakes are sky high. 

    Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for the advanced copy in exchange for this fair and honest review. 

  • How To Be a Wallflower

    By Eloisa James. Pub Date 03/29/2022.

    5 stars. Best enjoyed when you want some romance and hilarity with a tough business woman who bucks tradition and a male love interest that is rough around the edges in all the right ways.

    Jacob Astor Addison is in England mainly for business. He wishes to obtain some new people and assets for his growing theatre operation in the states, and London seems to be the prime spot to find such assets given its rich theatrical history. His next venture lies in costuming, specifically obtaining Quimby’s Costume Emporium and its extremely talented proprietor, Martha Quimby. However, his efforts are soundly thwarted when Quimby decides that she would rather sell to another than to move her entire operation and its dedicated employees all the way across the Atlantic. 

    When Cleopatra Lewis–whose fanciful name does not match the shrewd business woman who goes by it—realizes that the proprietor of the very establishment in which she stands is at a dire crossroads between closing shop and moving it far from its intended home, she feels she must do something to save it. She purchases the business right out from under the American for more than his original offer. After all, she needs Quimby’s costuming to help her escape the marriage mart so she can continue to run Lewis Commodes as she has since her father died and left it to her when she was 19. Who better to  help her dress as a wallflower than the prominent costumier? 

    When Jacob, or Jake to his friends, finds out that Ms. Lewis has upturned his deal with Ms. Quimby, he is both furious and intrigued by the lady who stands in the middle of the shop. Her sharp gaze and lovely façade is hardly what he would expect to find in a business rival. As they enter a tango of wills, they find that their mutual interest in the Emporium is not the only thing that they have in common. As rivalry gives way to revelry and hearts begin to get involved, will this business deal lead to something far more lasting?

    One aspect I found entirely different from many other historical romance works set in England was the hero. It was very refreshing to have a less than polished American being the love interest and I felt a lot more connection to Cleopatra Lewis having come from a business background. The H reminded me of my own H and I really saw myself in this story, which made it all the more intriguing and real. I loved how she had her own mind and they both had their own traumas that shaped their shared principles and moral code. It was new and refreshing. 

    And the carriage scenes? Delightful!

    Eloisa James is a very popular name on the HR scene and for very good reason. Her settings are lush, her descriptions are excellent without being overly flowery, and her characters are well thought out and even the smallest ones add to the story. This was another excellent example of her work and you’d be remiss not to pick this one up!

    Thank you to NetGalley and Avon + Harper for the advanced copy in exchange for this fair and honest review.