Blog Tour + Review: Dangerous Alliance by Jennieke Cohen

Dangerous Alliance: An Austentacious Romance
by Jennieke Cohen
My rating: 3 hearts
Publication date: December 3, 2019
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: Young Adult, Historical, Romance

Synopsis:

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue meets Jane Austen in this witty, winking historical romance with a dash of mystery!

Lady Victoria Aston has everything she could want: an older sister happily wed, the future of her family estate secure, and ample opportunity to while her time away in the fields around her home.

But now Vicky must marry—or find herself and her family destitute. Armed only with the wisdom she has gained from her beloved novels by Jane Austen, she enters society’s treacherous season.

Sadly, Miss Austen has little to say about Vicky’s exact circumstances: whether the roguish Mr. Carmichael is indeed a scoundrel, if her former best friend, Tom Sherborne, is out for her dowry or for her heart, or even how to fend off the attentions of the foppish Mr. Silby, he of the unfortunate fashion sensibility.

Most unfortunately of all, Vicky’s books are silent on the topic of the mysterious accidents cropping up around her…ones that could prevent her from surviving until her wedding day.

Add to Goodreads!

An Unforgettable Story With Masterful Storytelling - Escaping from Houdini Review

Title: Escaping from Houdini
Series: Stalking Jack the Ripper #3
Author: Kerri Maniscalco
My rating: 5 hearts
Genre: Young Adult, Historical, Mystery
Pub. date: September 18, 2018
Publisher: JIMMY Patterson
Synopsis: In this third installment in the #1 bestselling Stalking Jack the Ripper series, a luxurious ocean liner becomes a floating prison of scandal, madness, and horror when passengers are murdered one by one…with nowhere to run from the killer. . 

Audrey Rose Wadsworth and her partner-in-crime-investigation, Thomas Cresswell, are en route to New York to help solve another blood-soaked mystery. Embarking on a week-long voyage across the Atlantic on the opulent RMS Etruria, they’re delighted to discover a traveling troupe of circus performers, fortune tellers, and a certain charismatic young escape artist entertaining the first-class passengers nightly.

But then, privileged young women begin to go missing without explanation, and a series of brutal slayings shocks the entire ship. The strange and disturbing influence of the Moonlight Carnival pervades the decks as the murders grow ever more freakish, with nowhere to escape except the unforgiving sea. It’s up to Audrey Rose and Thomas to piece together the gruesome investigation as even more passengers die before reaching their destination. But with clues to the next victim pointing to someone she loves, can Audrey Rose unravel the mystery before the killer’s horrifying finale? (synopsis from Goodreads)

Author Interview with Jodie Lynn Zdrok

Hi guys! I'm so excited to share my interview with the author of Spectacle, Jodie Lynn Zdrok. I read an early copy of Spectacle and really enjoyed it, and was exactly what I expected; mysterious with a paranormal twist, and amazing settings that added to the intrigue. Honestly, it's a perfect read for readers like me, looking for more YA mystery novels, and perfect for fans of Stalking Jack the Ripper. Now, without further ado, I'll let you get to the fun stuff.

Terrifying and twisty, but a little slow - Spectacle ARC Review

*Disclaimer: I received an Advance Reader's Copy from Netgalley for review consideration. This does in no way affect my opinion, and all thoughts expressed in this review are unbiased and my own.*

Title: Spectacle

Author: Jodie Lynn Zdroc

My rating: 3.5 hearts

Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Historical

Pub. date: February 12, 2019

Publisher: Tor Teen

Synopsis: A YA murder mystery in which a young reporter must use her supernatural visions to help track down a killer targeting the young women of Paris.

Paris, 1887.

Sixteen-year-old Nathalie Baudin writes the daily morgue column for Le Petit Journal. Her job is to summarize each day's new arrivals, a task she finds both fascinating and routine. That is, until the day she has a vision of the newest body, a young woman, being murdered--from the perspective of the murderer himself.

When the body of another woman is retrieved from the Seine days later, Paris begins to buzz with rumors that this victim may not be the last. Nathalie's search for answers sends her down a long, twisty road involving her mentally ill aunt, a brilliant but deluded scientist, and eventually into the Parisian Catacombs. As the killer continues to haunt the streets of Paris, it becomes clear that Nathalie's strange new ability may make her the only one who can discover the killer's identity--and she'll have to do it before she becomes a target herself. (synopsis from Goodreads)

Review: Stalking Jack the Ripper (Stalking Jack the Ripper #1) by Kerri Maniscalco

Title: Stalking Jack the Ripper

Author: Kerri Maniscalco

My rating: I'm going to rebel against my own rating system and give it 6 stars

Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Historical 

Pub. date: September 20th 2016

Publisher: Jimmy Patterson

Synopsis: A #1 New York Times Bestseller! 

Presented by James Patterson's new children's imprint, this deliciously creepy horror novel has a storyline inspired by the Ripper murders and an unexpected, blood-chilling conclusion...

Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord's daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.

Against her stern father's wishes and society's expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle's laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.

The story's shocking twists and turns, augmented with real, sinister period photos, will make this dazzling, #1 New York Times bestselling debut from author Kerri Maniscalco impossible to forget. (synopsis from Goodreads)

ARC Review: Blood Rose Rebellion (Blood Rose Rebellion #1) by Rosalyn Eves

*I recieved an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not in any way affect my opinion, and all thoughts expressed in this review are unbiased and my own.*

Title: Blood Rose Rebellion

Author: Rosalyn Eves

My rating: 2.5 hearts

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Historical

Pub. date: March 28th 2017

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Synopsis: The thrilling first book in a YA fantasy trilogy for fans of Red Queen. In a world where social prestige derives from a trifecta of blood, money, and magic, one girl has the ability to break the spell that holds the social order in place.

Sixteen-year-old Anna Arden is barred from society by a defect of blood. Though her family is part of the Luminate, powerful users of magic, she is Barren, unable to perform the simplest spells. Anna would do anything to belong. But her fate takes another course when, after inadvertently breaking her sister’s debutante spell—an important chance for a highborn young woman to show her prowess with magic—Anna finds herself exiled to her family’s once powerful but now crumbling native Hungary.

Her life might well be over.

In Hungary, Anna discovers that nothing is quite as it seems. Not the people around her, from her aloof cousin Noémi to the fierce and handsome Romani Gábor. Not the society she’s known all her life, for discontent with the Luminate is sweeping the land. And not her lack of magic. Isolated from the only world she cares about, Anna still can’t seem to stop herself from breaking spells.

As rebellion spreads across the region, Anna’s unique ability becomes the catalyst everyone is seeking. In the company of nobles, revolutionaries, and Romanies, Anna must choose: deny her unique power and cling to the life she’s always wanted, or embrace her ability and change that world forever. (synopsis from Goodreads)

Thursday Quotables: Stalking Jack the Ripper (Stalking Jack the Ripper #1) by Kerri Maniscalco

Hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome to Thursday Quotables! This weekly feature is the place to highlight a great quote, line, or passage discovered during your reading each week.  Whether it’s something funny, startling, gut-wrenching, or just really beautifully written, Thursday Quotables is where my favorite lines of the week will be, and you’re invited to join in!

Blog Tour: Forget Me Not by Allison Whitmore

I'm so excited to share the Blog Tour of Forget Me Not, a Young Adult Historical Romance by Allison Whitmore. It was published September 14th 2015. I have a giveaway and an interview to share, so keep reading!

Review: Born Wicked (The Cahill Witch Chronicles #1) by Jessica Spotswood

Title: Born Wicked
Author: Jessica Spotswood
My rating: ❤❤❤
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Historical
Release date: February 7th, 2012
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Summary: Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they’re witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word... especially after she finds her mother’s diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family’s destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren’t safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.