This book was a wonderful blend of historical fiction, contemporary fiction, and fantasy. It also has some literary history thrown in, as it deals with John Milton's three put-upon daughters, and it explains how he came to be "of the Devil's party without knowing it."
It was one of those books that resulted in several sleepless nights. Though it's over 500 pages, I flew through it in only a few days.
From Australia's Queen of supernatural fiction comes a tale of an angel's demonic intentions...Sophie needs to pay the rent and a story on the occult would sell around Hallowe'en time. the Lodge of the Seven Stars is good for research but Sophie's a sceptic and doesn't believe in any of the rituals. Until she meets the Wanderer who has a story to tell her: a story of three sisters in 17th-century London, their love for each other torn apart by an angel. Not plague, nor Paradise Lost, nor the Great Fire of London can prevent the youngest from trying to…
I'm not usually a romance reader, but I love Eva Ibbotson's romances. Sadly, Ibbotson is no longer with us, but when I heard that Laura Wood has a similar style, I knew I had to check out her work.
I had a smile on my face all through this book. Though it's inspired by Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, it's set amongst British characters living in Italy in the early 1930s.
The lighter elements of romance and fun are tinged with the coming specter of fascism and war. Wood balances these two contrasting elements wonderfully.
"...it will sweep you into a glorious, romantic summer haze!" - thebookactivist
A long, hot Italian summer. A duel of kisses. The rules: sparks must fly. Dreams must dance. Neither party must fall in love. In grey, 1930s England, Bea has grown up kicking against the conventions of the time, all the while knowing that she will one day have to marry someone her parents choose - someone rich enough to keep the family estate alive. But she longs for so much more - for adventure, excitement, travel, and maybe even romance.
Sarah Addison Allen is one of my favorite authors. Prior to Other Birds, which was released in 2022, her last book came out in 2015. But this was worth the wait!
Like most of Addison’s other work, this was a mash-up of genres, including coming-of-age, mystery, romance, and fantasy. It’s about love and loss as much as it’s about marshmallows (yes, marshmallows) and ghosts.
I was amazed at how Allen managed to pull all the threads of her story together in the end.
From the acclaimed author of Garden Spells comes an enchanting tale of lost souls, lonely strangers, secrets that shape us, and how the right flock can guide you home.
Down a narrow alley in the small coastal town of Mallow Island, South Carolina, lies a stunning cobblestone building comprised of five apartments. It’s called The Dellawisp and it is named after the tiny turquoise birds who, alongside its human tenants, inhabit an air of magical secrecy.
When Zoey Hennessey comes to claim her deceased mother’s apartment at The Dellawisp, she meets her quirky, enigmatic neighbors…
Eimear is Faerie. She left the land of her birth, to find a place where she felt like she could belong. She finds herself in the World, a strange place, where she is the only magical being, and she begins to build a life for herself. But when she encounters Finn, supernaturally beautiful but thoughtless and selfish, she gets angry. In a fit of rage, she casts a spell on Finn. It’s a spell that she can’t undo, even when she discovers that she’s ruined Finn’s life.
Finn is wealthy, arrogant, and cruel. He didn’t think twice about insulting Eimear until it was too late. Now, exiled from the only home he’s ever known, he is forced to make his own way, for the first time ever. He does have support- if he wants it. Eimear wants to assuage her guilt by helping him.
In an isolated place, thrown together initially out of desperation and need, Eimear and Finn find a way to live together. That alliance eventually blossoms into friendship, and even love. But before they can have their happily ever after, Eimear must go on a perilous journey that will force her to confront everything that she ran away from when she left Faerie.
