books

Fantasy Mystery Romance Comics Non-Fiction

The Heiress Effect

The Heiress Effect (2013) Courtney Milan (Brothers Sinister) Set in England in 1867. Miss Jane Fairfield has just one goal–to not get married until her sister comes of age. So far, she’s succeeded. Poor Miss Fairfield. She had the opposite of conversation, the opposite of taste. They were going to rip her to shreds, and […]

A Kiss for Midwinter

A Kiss for Midwinter (2012) Courtney Milan (Brothers Sinister) Set in England in 1863 I re-read the previous book in this series because I was wanting to re-read this story. Dr Jonas Grantham wanted more than anything to become a doctor. Right before he left for medical school, he followed the town doctor around to […]

The Duchess War

The Duchess War (2012) Courtney Milan Set in England in 1863 Minnie has spent her adolescence learning how to be quiet. Unnoticed. Unexceptional. When she was taken in by her great aunts, she agreed with them this would be the best path for her, but now she has reached the point where she needs to […]

The Lost Letter

The Lost Letter (2017) Mimi Matthews Set in England in 1860. Sylvia Stafford now works as a governess. The suicide of her father left her destitute, abandoned by society and her friends. So she is shocked when a young lady appears, asking her to come to the country. Sebastian Conrad, once a colonel in India, […]

Death in Kew Gardens

Death in Kew Gardens (2019) Jennifer Ashley (Kat Holloway) Set in London in 1881 Kat Holloway and the rest of the staff have been working hard, since Lady Cynthia’s aunt keeps refusing to hire a new housekeeper. Unfortunately, the woman she finally hires is a complete nightmare. When the gentleman next door is murdered, everything […]

Scandal Above Stairs

Scandal Above Stairs (2018) Jennifer Ashley (Kat Holloway Mysteries) Set in London in 1881 Kat Holloway is still cook at Lord Rankin’s house, even though he has retired to the country, Lady Cynthia remains, and to give her countenance, her aunt and uncle are living with her. Kat and the rest of the staff may […]

Death Below Stairs

Death Below Stairs (2018) Jennifer Ashley (Kat Holloway) Set in London in 1881. I read the novella A Soupçon of Poison awhile ago, and when I didn’t find a novel immediately, forgot about it. Kat Halloway has just taken a position as cook for Lord Rankin. She is relatively young for her position, but sought […]

The Winter Companion

The Winter Companion (2020) Mimi Matthews Set in England in 1860 This is the 4th book of The Parish Orphans of Devon series, and about the most complicated of the four men. Neville Cross has spent as much time as possible with animals, rather than people, after the accident that almost killed him, and permanently […]

The Art of Theft

The Art of Theft (2019) Sherry Thomas Charlotte Holmes has been taking a break from consulting after her last case. But when Mrs. Watson’s old friend asks for help, Charlotte, Livia, and everyone else is drawn into a heist. I’ve had a request for this from the library since it came out, so when it […]

A Holiday By Gaslight

A Holiday By Gaslight (2018) Mimi Matthews Set in England in 1861. Sophie Appersett has decided that although Mr Edward Sharpe is handsome as well as wealthy, they do not suit. After months, she still knows nothing about him, other than that he and his best friend made their money in an investment that paid […]

Gilded Cage

Gilded Cage (2019) K.J. Charles (Lilywhite Boys) Set in London in 1865. This is the second Lilywhite Boys book, and finds Templeton Lane in a great deal of trouble, as he ends up suspected of murder while trying to steal an opal necklace. Unfortunately, the only person it seems he can turn to is his […]

A Convenient Fiction

A Convenient Fiction (2019) Mimi Matthews Set in England in 1860 Laura Hayes father died three years earlier of the same fever that crippled her brother and left her weakened but also in charge of her family–but with few resources to do so, since their properties were left to be managed by a lawyer–one who […]

The Rat-Catcher’s Daughter

The Rat-Catcher’s Daughter (2019) K.J. Charles (Lilywhite Boys) Set in London in 1893. Miss Christiana is in trouble. She’s all but owned by Kammy Gizzard, and she failed in the task he set out for her, that might have allowed her to buy her way out of debt, so now Kammy is coming to make […]

Murder on Amsterdam Avenue

Murder on Amsterdam Avenue (2015) Victoria Thompson Set in New York city in the late 1800s–probably 1898 Sarah Brandt and Frank Malloy are waiting for the remodeling of Frank’s house to be finished so they can finally get married. In the meantime, she is spending time with her parents, and because of her new change […]

Devil’s Daughter

Devil’s Daughter (2019) Lisa Kleypas Set in England in 1877 This is a sequel to Devil in Spring, which I really liked, and enjoyed Hello Stranger so this ended up on my wish list. Phoebe, Lady Clare married her childhood best friend and love, even knowing he would make her a young widow. Now that […]

A Dangerous Collaboration

A Dangerous Collaboration (2019) Deanna Raybourn Set in England in 1888 My opinion of Deanna Raybourn’s books, is that they are perfectly fine. There is nothing wrong with them, but I don’t love them the way one would expect me to, considering they are historical mysteries with a strong female lead. So I requested this […]

A Modest Independence

A Modest Independence (2019) Mimi Matthews (Parish Orphans of Devon) Set in England, Egypt, and India in 1860 Solicitor Tom Finchley has worked his way up from nothing. He craves security, which is why he puts up with a job that often leaves him feeling uncomfortable, since the men he represents aren’t always good people. […]

Mrs. Martin’s Incomparable Adventure

Mrs. Martin’s Incomparable Adventure (2019) Courtney Milan Set in England in 1867. Miss Violetta Beauchamps had worked for the same family her entire life, managing their properties. For decades, the reigning Toggerts had praised her diligence, her book-keeping, her careful work. The latest Mr. Toggert had promised her a pension if she worked for him […]

The Matrimonial Advertisement

The Matrimonial Advertisement (Parish Orphans of Devon) (2018) Mimi Matthews Set in England in 1859. Helena Reynolds has fled London. She’s in Devon responding to a matrimonial advertisement, but if this doesn’t work, she return to London. Justin Thornhill was a captain in the British army who served in India, and returned home physically scarred. […]

Any Old Diamonds

Any Old Diamonds (2019) K.J. Charles (Lilywhite Boys) Set in England in 1895. Lord Alexander Pyne-ffoulkes–who goes by Alec Pyne–desperately wants revenge upon his father. So he hires the Lilywhite Boys to steal the diamond parvane his father is planning to give his second wife on their 20th anniversary. But Jerry Crozier knows far more […]

A Dangerous Deceit

A Dangerous Deceit (2017) Alissa Johnson Miss Jane Ballenger is a spinster and a recluse. This is due to the fact she has difficulty hearing, and so avoids going out in public. At one point, he related a story involving three turnips and a brick. She was fairly certain she had misheard that bit, but […]

A Gift for Guile

A Gift for Guile (2016) Alissa Johnson Set in England in 1872 Esther Walker is the daughter of a famous thief and con artist. Although none of her family knows, she also helped her father, acting as his tiny thug, threatening people with the knives she was taught to throw. But the man everyone thinks […]

A Talent for Trickery

A Talent for Trickery (2015) Alissa Johnson Set in England in 1872 Owen Renderwell and his partners became famous as the Thief-Takers who rescued a kidnapped duchess, so they became private investigators, however, a series of thefts followed by a murder returns them to the criminals who assisted the government during that time. Charlotte Walker […]

Love In The Afternoon

Love In The Afternoon (2010) Lisa Kleypas Set in England in 1854. Beatrix is the youngest Hathaway sister, and the least tame of the family, preferring to spend most of her time with animals. But when a friend is going to dismiss a letter from a soldier without responding, Beatrix asks to reply in her […]

Married By Morning

Married By Morning (2010) Lisa Kleypas Set in England in 1852. This is the fourth book in the series. And I really enjoyed this one. Leo Hathaway, Lord Ramsay, spent several self-destructive years after the death of his fiancee. It took him several years to forgive Merripen for saving his life, and it was only […]