A Portrait of Ash & Lace - Review

 

By: Sofia Aves

Genre: Romance, Fantasy 

Publication Date: May 21st 2021, by Perfectly Poisoned Press

Rate: ♥♥♥♥

SOURCE: NetGalley

Goodreads│Amazon

Book Summary:

An endless ocean. A ship full of women she’s never seen before. A small wooden box containing the remnants of her life.

Clutching her few belongings Gisella is shipped to strange shores to meet an unknown husband.

Sebastian.

Sold and abandoned by her father into a nunnery, Gisella sails to the shores of New Orleans with her sister Casket Girls to provide French wives for the gentlemen of the fledgling city.

A gentleman husband of her own and an uncertain future.

Passengers whisper that the filles a la cassette are vampyre. But while the girls laugh at such silly superstition, they disguise their own fears that they are to be brides of such a monstrosity.

My Thoughts:

This was a quick read for me as it's only 139 pages. I enjoyed the story and was able to read the entire thing in an afternoon. I loved Giselle's attitude as she embraced life and tried to see things in a positive light. She had an I can deal with this attitude. I liked the twists and turns the book took and the outcome.

I gave it 4 hearts as I enjoyed the entire story and I would recommend it to a friend.

Aphrodite in Bloom - Review

 

By: Anonymous

Genre: Erotica 

Publication Date: August 2021 by Entangled Publishing

Rate: ♥♥♥

SOURCE: NetGalley

Goodreads│Amazon

Book Summary:

This erotic anthology has something for everyone and caters to many different tastes and proclivities. Discover what interests or excites you. Explore which is your perfect story. Return to it again and again. We dare you.

A virgin receives an especially satisfying gift at a masked ball...

A duke offers to settle a man’s debt for one night with his wife...

As an introduction to a secret club, a viscount’s heir is made over into a woman—and discovers her true self...

Plus nine more sensual stories of libidinous lust, catering to the tastes of varying sexual appetites. Whatever your fancy, Aphrodite in Bloom is ready and willing to serve… 

My Thoughts:

Big thanks to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

This is a book of 12 erotic short stories. There's a little bit of everything female/female, male/male, and polyamorous relationships. There is also transgender and asexual representation.. I enjoyed some stories more than others but liked them all. I particularly liked One Night with a Duke where a wife agrees to one night with a duke to settle her husband's debt. I also really enjoyed An Evening of Cards where a french courtesan passes herself around a table during an erotic card game. All the stories had enough naughtiness to keep me interested and reading.

I gave it three hearts because although I liked it I didn't love it but I would recommend it.

Sweetshop of Dreams - Review

 

By: Jenny Colgan

Genre: Fiction, Romance

Publication Date: May 5th, 2014 by Sourcebooks Landmark

Rate: ♥♥♥♥

SOURCE: NetGalley

Goodreads│Amazon

Book Summary:

Were you a sherbet lemon or chocolate lime fan? Soft chewy ones or hard-boiled sweeties (you do get more for your money that way)? The jangle of your pocket money . . . the rustle of the pink and green striped paper bag . . .

Rosie Hopkins thinks leaving her busy London life, and her boyfriend Gerard, to sort out her elderly Aunt Lilian's sweetshop in a small country village is going to be dull. Boy, is she wrong!

Lilian Hopkins has spent her life running Lipton s sweetshop, through wartime and family feuds. As she struggles with the idea that it might finally be time to settle up, she also wrestles with the secret history hidden behind the jars of beautifully colored sweets.

My Thoughts:

An adorable story of a woman named Rosie who goes to help out her aging aunt Lilian. She has taken a spill and needs someone to help her straighten up her sweet shop and sell it so she can afford to move to a good old age home. Rosie is leaving her boyfriend in London to move to the country temporarily so she thinks. Little does she know country life will grow on her and she may even find true love and come to love selling sweets.
I thoroughly enjoyed following Rosie's journey to finding herself and what makes her happy. I recommend you giving it a try.

The Last Thing He Told Me - Review

 

By: Laura Dave

Genre: Mystery, Fiction, Triller

Publication Date: May 4th, 2021 by Simon & Schuster

Rate: ♥♥♥♥♥

SOURCE: Book of the Month

Goodreads│Amazon

Book Summary:

Despite her confusion and fear, Hannah Hall knows exactly to whom the note refers: Owen’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey. Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. Bailey, who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother.

As Hannah’s increasingly desperate calls to Owen go unanswered; as the FBI arrests Owen’s boss; as a US Marshal and FBI agents arrive at her Sausalito home unannounced, Hannah quickly realizes her husband isn’t who he said he was. And that Bailey just may hold the key to figuring out Owen’s true identity—and why he really disappeared.

Hannah and Bailey set out to discover the truth, together. But as they start putting together the pieces of Owen’s past, they soon realize they are also building a new future. One neither Hannah nor Bailey could have anticipated.

My Thoughts:

I connected with Hannah right away having to deal with her teenage stepdaughter Bailey who doesn't want her there and treats her with undisguised distrust. Then Hannah's husband disappears leaving Hannah to deal with Bailey and figure out what's going on. I really enjoyed this book, it kept me wanting to find out what happens until the end. 

I gave it 5 hearts because I stayed up late to finish it and it kept me interested.