Title: Romancing Mister Bridgerton: The Second Epilogue Author: Julia Quinn Series: Bridgertons #4.5 In: The Bridgertons (Julia Quinn) Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Historical romance, Regency romance Dates read: 7th March 2020 Pace: Medium Format: Short story Publisher: Avon Year: 2007 5th sentence, 74th page: “There really wasn’t an appropriate time.”
We can’t really say more without giving away a big, fat spoiler, but it turns out that Colin is a bit of a meddler, Hyacinth is more of a meddler, and the only time all of the Bridgertons stop talking at once is when Penelope has something really embarrassing to say. Hey, we never said it was easy to marry a Bridgerton, just that it was fun.
This wasn’t quite the epilogue that I was expecting. I had kind of thought that it would be much further into the future than it was (or at least further than the initial epilogue). And, I didn’t expect it to centre so much on Eloise and Penelope’s friendship.
Not that that’s a bad thing. Sometimes the most surprising moments are the ones that you enjoy the most. Sometimes it’s those small glimmers that make you go wow. I didn’t know that I needed this. And this second epilogue was kind of like that.
I can’t really say much in this review without giving away one of the big wow moments in Romancing Mister Bridgerton, but I can tell you that this is a great story. It highlights the Bridgerton relationships in a much more pointed way. It’s also made me love Eloise and Hyacinth even more. There is just something about these two meddlesome, troublemaking sisters that makes me grin like a maniac. Who wants a boring family anyway?
Title: Romancing Mister Bridgerton Author: Julia Quinn Series: Bridgertons #4 Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Historical romance, Regency romance Dates read: 5th – 7th March 2020 Pace: Fast Format: Novel Publisher: Avon Year: 2002 5th sentence, 74th page: But Penelope had a feeling she wasn’t quite as firm in her convictions as her friend.
IEveryone knows that Colin Bridgerton is the most charming man in London…
Penelope Featherington has secretly adored her best friend’s brother for… well, it feels like forever. After half a lifetime of watching Colin Bridgerton from afar, she thinks she knows everything about him, until she stumbles across his deepest secret… and fears she doesn’t know him at all.
Colin Bridgerton is tired of being thought of as nothing but an empty-headed charmer, tired of the notorious gossip columnist Lady Whistledown, who can’t seem to publish an edition without mentioning him. But when Colin returns to London from a trip abroad, he discovers nothing in his life is quite the same – especially Penelope Featherington! The Girl who was always simply there is suddenly the girl haunting his dreams. When he discovers that Penelope has secrets of her own, this elusive bachelor must decide…is she his biggest threat – or his promise of a happy ending?
I’ve been wanting to know how Penelope and Colin ended up together ever since their appearance in The Duke and I: The Second Epilogue. It was a bit of a hint as to what was to come, but, since these are romance books as soon as you read about the two leads, you know that they’re going to end up together anyway. But the way in which they do it? That’s the journey that I was excited about. And it turns out that the excitement was TOTALLY justified.
Of the two “spinsters” in this story, I’m more like Eloise than Penelope. I’ve never been the full centre of attention, but I also haven’t been a total wallflower with no attention. Yet, it was still kind of relatable reading about a woman who is like this. She’s not odious, she’s not ugly. But she also doesn’t get attention. She’s kind of invisible. Which is a little gut wrenching, but I love how Penelope isn’t bitter and snarky about it. She just kind of accepts that this is what life will be and continues to hold her loved ones close.
Colin is probably my favourite of all the Bridgerton brothers. He has been since he was announced as Daphne’s favourite in The Duke and I. Which made it incredibly nice to find out that he also gets an amazing happily ever after. Especially when the happily ever after has been in front of him for TWELVE damn years. Who said men aren’t just a little bit silly?
But, even though the romance in this was fun, witty and quite light… it was actually the shock reveal that was the best. For two people who have known each other for twelve years, you would think that Colin and Penelope have got a pretty good understanding of each other. They don’t. they both have secrets that they’ve kept hidden from everyone. And I just LOVED the jaw drop moment when these secrets are revealed… it certainly left me in my deliriously happy place.
Title: Break No Bones Author: Kathy Reichs Series: Temperance Brennan #9 Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Anthropology, Crime, Science, Strong women Dates read: 31st January – 6th March 2020 Pace: Medium Format: Novel Publisher: Arrow Year: 2006 5th sentence, 74th page: In one fragment, I was sitting in a circle at an AA meeting.
Dr Temperance Brennan and her students are working on a site of prehistoric graves on an island near Charleston, South Carolina, when a decomposing body is uncovered in a shallow grave off a lonely beach.
The bones are fresh and the remains are still topped by wisps of hair – it’s a recent burial, and a case Tempe must take.
She determines that the deceased is a middle-aged white male – but who was he? And why was he buried in a clandestine grave?
Before long, another body is discovered – and Tempe finds herself drawn deeper into a shocking investigation which will challenge her entire view of humanity.
It’s been a while since I picked up a Temperance Brennan book. And I had honestly forgotten how damn amazing the writing in these are. Not just the great science behind the criminal investigation (which, lets face it, that alone would have me intrigued). But also the touching storyline, the intriguing mystery and the intense reveal at the end. There is a reason that I started reading crime novels after I picked up my first Kathy Reichs novel.
One thing that always makes me laugh a little at the Temperance Brennan stories is that Tempe ALWAYS manages to get herself into some kind of trouble. There is always a moment that she is in danger because she just can’t let the mystery lie. She has to discover the truth. Alright, laugh may not be the right word… I’ve jumped out of my skin a few times when she’s attacked, I did in this story! But it’s an intriguing story tactic – one that not only ups the stakes, but, since you suspect something bad is going to happen to her at some point, you also spend most of the story with your heart in your throat…
This Temperance Brennan story deals a little more with Tempe’s relationship to ex-husband (or estranged, whatever), Pete. Although he’s made many appearances in past novels, he is actually present throughout the majority of this one. Which is quite interesting. That dynamic between two people who have ended their relationship, but still have close ties to one another. And it goes beyond the fact that they share a child together. I loved this insight into not only Brennan’s relationships, but also a relationship dynamic that I have never experienced or witnessed up close. Yet more insight into a world that I am not intimately familiar with.
The culprit, the motive and the activities of the “bad guy” in this story were seriously creepy. Somehow, the reasons behind the killers’ killing were enough to bring up goosebumps, even after I had guessed it before the great reveal. There was just something spine-tingling about it, probably because it is a more likely motive than just the run of the mill serial killer…
He might be the frog the princess rescued from her enchantment, but there was an extra curse. Sometimes, in the fairy tales, there isn’t a happily ever after. Or at least, not one that’s remembered.
It takes a little while to realise which fairy tale this story is based on. Mostly because the lead has amnesia and the fairy tale has already happened. And the same sentences are repeated again and again. But then there’s the mention of the ball… and it starts to fall into place again.
Happily ever afters are not something that I strongly believe in. I love the idea of them. But I don’t think that just because two people find each other and fall in love / get married, they’re going to live happily ever after. Especially considering the fact that there is a whole lot of life left to live. This story kind of echoes this feeling, but in a seriously insane way.
I love the repetition throughout. It’s a story about amnesia, but normally you would find such tales didn’t repeat the same phrases over and over again. This one does. It drives home the idea that there isn’t a happily ever after, and sometimes we don’t remember all of the things that have happened.
Title: That’s Not What Happened Author: Kody Keplinger Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Contemporary, Young adult Dates read: 25th February – 6th March 2020 Pace: Medium Format: Novel Publisher: Hodder Year: 2018 5th sentence, 74th page: She was young, only twenty-three, and very pretty with golden-blonde hair that fell in loose waves to her shoulders.
It’s been three years since the Virgil County High School shooting. Three years since my best friend, Sarah, was killed in a bathroom stall. Everyone knows Sarah’s story.
But it’s not true.
I know because I was there when she died. This might be my last chance to set the record straight … but I’m not the only survivor with a story to tell about what did – and didn’t – happen that day.
And the fake Sarah story is important to a lot of people, people who don’t take kindly to what I’m trying to do. The more I learn, the less certain I am about what’s worse: the guilt of staying silent or the consequences of speaking up …
This is a seriously intense book. Wicked, brilliant. But fairly intense. Mostly because of the subject matter that it deals with – school shootings in America. I finished this. Put it aside, and then just said “WOW”. There are no other words for it…. Just…. Wow.
I’ve always been grateful / happy to be an Aussie. And this kind of just completely drove that home. Partly because in all of my school days we had TWO lockdown drills. And that was it. Actually, we had more bushfire drills than lockdown drills. There have been no mass shootings since 1996 (since before I even went to school). And then reading a story which features the survivors of such a thing… the pain, the horror…. I just can’t imagine it. And for that I’m glad.
I’m not a huge fan of the media, never really have been. And I’m honestly banned from watching the news when anybody else is around because I frequently yell at the TV… very loudly. Which meant it was really interesting reading a book which featured the ways in which the media gets it wrong. And the consequences of that. The different stories that can come out of one moment… regardless of how and why they started, but everyone has their own story – one which might not necessarily agree with others. But everyone’s story does deserve to be heard. At least, that was the strong, very strong message I got from this. It started out being driven by the truth, and then it started to be more about the loss of a voice in the frenzy of the media.
Although it wasn’t a driving factor of the storyline, I really liked that this story had an asexual lead. Other than Sherlock Holmes, I haven’t had the privilege of this kind of character. And even in Sherlock, it’s not out and out admitted. This is completely out in the open, honest and realistic as to the experience. Yet, there isn’t a big deal made out of it – it’s just an aspect of this character that you come to love and treasure.
If you’re anything like me, you probably won’t be able to put this down. It is intriguing, engaging and absolutely soul wrenching. Yet, there is a lightness and relatability to it that I really wasn’t expecting for this subject matter. I also loved that it was written in a slightly different format to most of the novels that I read. A format that really told the story brilliantly.
Title: Disillusioned Author: Lawrence Schimel & Mike Resnick In: The Mammoth Book of Dark Magic (Mike Ashley) Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Dark fantasy, Magic Dates read: 5th March 2020 Pace: Fast Format: Short story Publisher: Robinson Year: 1995 5th sentence, 74th page: Vivian sighed, wishing she were elsewhere, but she displayed no outward sign of her boredom, laughing along with the other assembled members of the Thirteen Families.
The world is run by those with powerful magic. Members of the Thirteen Families. But, when do the illusions end and reality begin? When does it become something much, much more?
This is a great story that reminds us – even when we get everything that we want, it might not be what we actually need. Vivian manages to rise to the top of her society, she uses all of her cunning and intelligence. Yet, once she’s there… there is nothing. No feeling of excitement no feeling of accomplishment. Just. Total. Disillusionment.
I found this short story quite a poignant reminder – sometimes the thing that you are working towards (power, prestige) isn’t necessarily what you need to be happy. Sometimes it is just empty and meaningless. Especially if you have a split moment in which you realise that it is all just an illusion. A figment of reality that is constructed by others.
This story is a little bit funny, a little bit dark and definitely one that will draw you in from the very beginning. It is intriguing and engaging. And not one that I am likely to forget anytime soon.
Title: An Offer from a Gentleman: The Second Epilogue Author: Julia Quinn Series: Bridgertons #3.5 In: The Bridgertons (Julia Quinn) Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Historical romance, Regency romance Dates read: 5th March 2020 Pace: Fast Format: Short story Publisher: Avon Year: 2001 5th sentence, 74th page: “She said that Mr. Fibberly called.”
Did you wonder what happened to Posy after she finally stood up to her mother? Did she finally find her own happily ever after? Find out in this second epilogue.
At the end of An Offer from a Gentleman, all I could think was “I hope that Posy gets her happily ever after”. After all, she tried to be a good sister to Sophie for years. And, ultimately, stood up for her at the detriment of the possibilities of her own future. Which all made me exceedingly happy when I started the first sentence of the second epilogue…. And found out that it was about Posy.
Sophie and Benedict do make an appearance throughout this short story. Which is good, because it’s nice to know that a few years after their marriage, they are still happy and have a few boys to show for their nuptial delights. But, mostly it’s about finding Posy her own happily ever after.
I love that lightning strike, infatuation at first site moment that happens when Posy does find her true love. I love that Sophie and Benedict thought to set them up because he has a nice smile. And, I love that although Posy is finally happy in and of herself, she still has some issues of self image. Mostly through her eating habits. It shows that the damages of her childhood don’t miraculously disappear, but they do diminish and let her, too, have her happily ever after.
Title: An Offer from a Gentleman Author: Julia Quinn Series: The Bridgertons #3 Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Historical romance, Regency romance Dates read: 23rd February – 5th March 2020 Pace: Medium Format: Novel Publisher: Avon Year: 2001 5th sentence, 74th page: A rather attractive, extremely fashionable blond woman in her forties glided into the room.
Will she accept the offer before the clock strikes midnight?
Sophie Beckett never dreamed she’d be able to sneak into Lady Bridgerton’s famed masquerade ball. Though the daughter of an earl, Sophie has been relegated to the role of servant by her disdainful stepmother. But now, waltzing in the strong arms of the debonair and devastatingly handsome Benedict Bridgerton, she feels like royalty. Alas, she knows all enchantments must end when the clock strikes midnight.
Who was that extraordinary woman? Ever since that magical night, a radiant vision in silver has blinded Benedict to the attractions of any other – except, perhaps, this alluring and oddly familiar beauty dressed in housemaid’s garb. He has sworn to find and wed his mystery miss, but this breathtaking maid makes him weak with wanting her. If he offers her his heart, will he sacrifice his only chance for a fairy-tale love?
I absolutely adored this little ode to Cinderella. One of the things that I’ve always questioned about the original fairy tale is the fallout when the prince marries a woman who is socially beneath him. In a time when class was very much an issue. Quinn deals with that question kind of perfectly. With a great sense of style and wit. A great dose of humour. And just generally, a great storyline. One that had me giggling and going to my happy place all the way throughout.
Sophie is completely adorable throughout this story. She is sweet and kind of innocent, less outspoken than the women in the first two Bridgertons books. But she’s also got a backbone of steel. A total knowledge of who and what she is. And a great ability to be who she is without apologies. The fact that she turns down the man that she loves because she knows what he is asking of her (even when he doesn’t) just made me love her all the more. She doesn’t think that everything will be okay just because there is love in their relationship, she knows that there is something more that is required for a happily ever after.
Benedict is kind of silly – especially when he doesn’t understand what asking someone to be his mistress truly entails. But, he’s also really sweet. And I love that he constantly wants to be something more than just the “Second Bridgerton”. He falls for the only woman who can figure out just who he is. And then accepts him, flaws and all. I also love that he is an artist and totally willing to follow his heart – even if it takes him a little while to figure out what his heart truly desires.
This is a great, humorous story. A especially loved the constant referrals to the fact that this wasn’t a romance novel… it had a great little turn of wit including those little comments that made the story seem both more realistic, and more fantastical. I finished this story with a giant smile on my face and a happily beating heart. Now I get to move onto the next beautiful instalment of this fantastic series…
Title: Attachments Author: Pat Murphy In: Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling) Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Romance, Twisted romance Dates read: 5th March 2020 Pace: Medium Format: Short story Publisher: EOS Year: 1998 5th sentence, 74th page: She laughed as she tossed a corner of the blanket over his face to hide his staring eyes.
They’ve always been attached to one another. But that’s not truly how they want to be. Especially when one brother loves the others’ wife… things tend to get a bit awkward there…
I’ve always wanted a twin. Never wanted a conjoined twin though. That’s just WAY too much closeness. I really wasn’t expecting to find a story about conjoined twins in a collection about daemon lovers though. And, it does kind of make sense – it’s a collection of romances between those who are different. But it was still far less mystical than I was expecting.
There’s kind of a bit of an incestual feel to this story… two conjoined brothers marry two sisters. One falls in love with the other brother’s wife (who is also HIS wife’s sister). It’s kind of sweet in that whole forbidden love way… but also just incredibly complex and… yeah, incestual.
I did absolutely love the ending of this story though. There was just something about it that kind of worked… in a weird and unexpected way. It wasn’t the happily ever after that I was expecting, but it was a great ending nonetheless.
Title: The Beginning of the Year Without a Summer Author: Caitlin R. Kiernan In: The Monstrous (Ellen Datlow) Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one) My Bookshelves:Dark fantasy Dates read: 5th March 2020 Pace: Fast Format: Short story Publisher: Tachyon Year: 2015 5th sentence, 74th page: Me and my mom both found them.
Dark, deep and intriguing. An impossible short story to put down.
There is something dark and intriguing about this short story. Which I’m starting to recognise as a bit of a hallmark of Kiernan’s writing. There is a sense of vagueness in the story, but one which worked brilliantly. It gave an even darker, more mystical feel to the storyline.
Although this short story stood well on its own, it would have also been fantastic as the introduction to a novel. It felt like there was so much more behind the scenes of this story. So much more that could have been teased out.
I loved the feel of this story. I also loved the fact that I read it late at night, with a glass of wine in hand and the dogs on my lap. It kind of helped to build that feeling of mystery and darkness that Kiernan does so well. Definitely one that I’ll go back and read again soon.
