Icon Tag: Historical

Audio Review ~ Heiress Without a Cause ~ Sara Ramsey

Audio Review ~ Heiress Without a Cause ~ Sara Ramsey

Oh boy did I enjoy Heiress Without a Cause! This is the first installment of the Muses of Mayfair series. Three women, all heiresses, and all essentially on the shelf, have unconventional interests which they engage in. These interests would cause quite the scandal in the ton. 😉 Heiress Without a Cause specifically revolves around Madeleine, who has a love of acting. She’s so talented that she won a role and has been performing on stage under an alias. However, when the theater manager becomes greedy and threatens Madeleine into performing past their agreed timeline, she’s at risk of being ruined. Enter Ferguson, the newly minted Duke of Rothwell. He’s returned to London from exile following his father’s death. He […]

Posted 8 September, 2022 by Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 2 Comments
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Review ~ Pride and Prometheus ~ John Kessel

Review ~ Pride and Prometheus ~ John Kessel

I’m rather enamored of all things Pride & Prejudice so when I saw Pride and Prometheus on the library shelf, I couldn’t resist. I’m happy I didn’t pass it up. Pride and Prometheus, a mashup of Pride & Prejudice and Frankenstein, was engaging and thought-provoking, and I felt JKessel served both classics honorably. Pride and Prometheus places our story following the end of Pride & Prejudice but during Frankenstein, and has a very gothic feel. While Victor Frankenstein and his monster are main characters, Mary Bennet is the heroine rather than Elizabeth. Victor is on a mission to create a companion for his original creation as his monster is threatening Victor’s loved ones. However, he struggles with the ramifications of […]

Posted 20 May, 2022 by Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 7 Comments
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Review ~ A Study in Scarlet Women ~ Sherry Thomas

Review ~ A Study in Scarlet Women ~ Sherry Thomas

A Study in Scarlet Women landed on my radar and TBR thanks to Caffeinated Reviewer’s review. I don’t read mysteries much so I decided to include this for COYER’s Outside the Box Read-a-Thon. I’m every so grateful for the RAT since I’m now a huge fan of Lady Sherlock! I will admit that A Study in Scarlet Women got off to a slow start for me. However, it was very necessary to set up the back story and the foundation for the series and this mystery. And after the foundation was laid, the story took off. Lady Charlotte Holmes is a quirky young woman with a talent for what she refers to as discernment. She’s certainly unconventional for the times […]

Posted 4 April, 2022 by Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 12 Comments
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Audio Review ~ The Duchess Deal ~ Tessa Dare

Audio Review ~ The Duchess Deal ~ Tessa Dare

I was giggle-snorting in the first few minutes of The Duchess Deal. Between Emma’s antics and Ashbury’s reactions to them, I knew I was in for an entertaining romp. Mary Jane Wells once again impressed me with her narrating skill. All in all, this was an aural delight! Emma Gladstone, a seamstress, has darkened the doorstep of the Duke of Ashbury in order to demand payment for the wedding gown of his former fiancee. Emma is rather in dire straits, as her rent is due and her cupboards are bare. She happens upon the Duke at a serendipitous moment as he’s just determined he’s in need of a wife with a few qualifications. All of which Emma meets – most […]

Posted 13 July, 2021 by Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 6 Comments
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Review ~ The Duke I Tempted ~ Scarlett Peckham

Review ~ The Duke I Tempted ~ Scarlett Peckham

Scarlett Peckham is a new-to-me author who I found at the library when I was, *ahem* looking for another duke. (Do I need to specify which duke I was looking for?!? LOL) I’m happy to have made SPeckham’s acquaintance though as I enjoyed The Duke I Tempted. I found the story to be well-written overall and I’ll happily be continuing the series. Poppy Cavendish is an orphan nurserywoman whose spent the last decade of her life ensuring her independence. Marriage is the last thing on her to-do list. So upon meeting the Duke of Westmead and his sister, Constance, the attraction she feels towards the Duke is highly inconvenient. Spending time in close proximity while planning the greenery and flowers […]

Posted 20 April, 2021 by Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 3 Comments
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Review ~ The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared ~ Jonas Jonasson

Review ~ The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared ~ Jonas Jonasson

What a fun, quirky story! The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared is reminiscent of Forest Gump and Allan Karlsson is every bit as endearing and loveable. Steven Crossley, the narrator, who was new to me, made the story that much more entertaining. He was able to convey the wit of Allen’s antics perfectly. Allan, a Swedish man with unique talents (specifically blowing up things), has had a hand in many – possibly every – historical event in his century-long life. Of course, Allan never intended to play a role in any of the events he inadvertently participated in. The only things he truly cared about were having food to eat, vodka to drink, and a place […]

Posted 14 April, 2021 by Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 12 Comments
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Review ~ Sing, Unburied, Sing ~ Jesmyn Ward

Review ~ Sing, Unburied, Sing ~ Jesmyn Ward

Sing, Unburied, Sing is beautifully written and emotionally gripping. It’s also thought-provoking and the thoughts aren’t always easy to sit with. This being because the story deals with systemic racism and the lasting repercussions of it. Sing, Unburied, Sing also incorporates grief and guilt, among other things, and the role they play in how we, as humans, live our lives. Sing, Unburied, Sing follows 3 generations of one family. Pop and Mam, their daughter, Leonie, and Leonie’s children, JoJo and Kayla. This family has endured much. Prison, poverty, discrimination, and grief. Lots and lots of grief. JWard deftly portrays life in rural Mississippi. The hardships faced by people still experiencing racism. The culture differences in the population. She also conveyed […]

Posted 22 March, 2021 by Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 3 Comments
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Review ~ The Only Woman in the Room ~ Marie Benedict

Review ~ The Only Woman in the Room ~ Marie Benedict

The Only Woman in the Room was a book club read and one I’m glad was suggested. I didn’t know much about Hedy Lamarr other than she was an actress. I applaud MBenedict for highlighting all that Lamarr accomplished beyond being a pretty face. While the story was interesting, the prose felt stilted much of the time and there were other quirks in MBenedict’s writing that I found tedious. Those things took away from an otherwise enjoyable read yet I’m still happy to have read it. Highlights Hedy was a rather fascinating woman. She was a stage actress in Vienna and despite the fact she lived in a Jewish neighborhood, she didn’t realize she was Jewish. A few years prior […]

Posted 29 June, 2020 by Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 4 Comments
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Audio Review ~ The Rogue Not Taken ~ Sarah MacLean, Justine Eyre

Audio Review ~ The Rogue Not Taken ~ Sarah MacLean, Justine Eyre

The Rogue Not Taken was in my introduction to both SMacLean and JEyre and the meeting was a pure delight! SMacLean crafted a story that was riveting, humorous, exciting, heartbreaking and heartwarming while JEyre brought the characters to life. I’m eager to continue this series in audio. Highlights Plot I really enjoyed the circumstances under which Sophie and Eversley meet. SMacLean employed both humor and heartbreak in their meeting and in their subsequent journey together. There was also quite a bit of suspense due to the fact that Sophie was gallivanting around England unchaperoned. All these elements were well balanced and made for an exciting story as both Sophie and Eversley worked towards what they wanted in life – to […]

Posted 17 June, 2020 by Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 4 Comments
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Review ~ Where the Crawdads Sing ~ Delia Owens #UnearthingaBookishBounty

Review ~ Where the Crawdads Sing ~ Delia Owens #UnearthingaBookishBounty

Where the Crawdads Sing was a marvel. I really have no words. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to do this story justice in a review but here’s my first attempt: Where the Crawdads Sing is beautiful, lyrical, emotional, thought-provoking, eloquent, and…just, amazing! A true gem! Kya is a young girl – a little girl – living in a shack in the swamp in 1950’s North Carolina. She’s abandoned by her family, one by one, and the marsh adopts her. This story, her story, is about how capable and resilient Kya is, raising herself with a little help from Mother Nature. Or maybe Mother Earth. She also has some help from a “colored couple.” It’s about loneliness and its effects […]

Posted 4 March, 2020 by Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 6 Comments
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