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Posts by Jane J

Love and broccoli

Cover of Mrs. Nash's Ashes
A review of Mrs. Nash's Ashes by Sarah Adler

"Rose McIntyre Nash died peacefully in her sleep at the age of ninety-eight, and now I carry part of her with me wherever I go. I do not mean that figuratively. She's inside a small wooden box tucked away in my backpack as we speak. Not all of her, of course. Geoffrey Nash wasn't about to hand over his entire grandmother to the weird girl who lived in her spare bedroom. But Geoffrey was kind enough to give me three tablespoons of her ashes (again, not figurative; he portioned her out with a measuring spoon from the kitchen)."

Posted by Jane J on May 23, 2023

Royal romance (of the fictional variety)

Cover of A Duke By Default
A review of A Duke By Default by Alyssa Cole

Portia Hobbs was introduced in Alyssa Cole's A Princess in Theory (the first in her Reluctant Royals series) as a friend of that heroine. Portia was a bit of a mess; partying too much, drinking too much, and definitely too many men. As Duke opens she's just arriving in Scotland to take on an apprenticeship with a struggling swordmaker. If that sounds odd, Portia would agree.

Posted by Jane J on Apr 25, 2023

A night they'll never forget

Cover of The Housekeepers
A review of The Housekeepers by Alex Hay

I flew for the first time since the pandemic last week and I'd forgotten how much reading I can get done when I'm trapped in my seat on a crowded plane. Almost one book on the way out and another on the way home. In the first of them, a blurb describes The Housekeepers as a cross between Downton Abbey and Ocean's 8 - a description that appealed to me on all fronts. 

Posted by Jane J on Apr 18, 2023

Tea with a side of books and dragon eggs

Cover of Can't Spell Treason Withou
A review of Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne

I know you're out there. All those readers who helped make Travis Baldree's Legends & Lattes the biggest thing to hit fantasy fiction last year. If you're one of the many (like me) who ended that book with a sigh of delight and immediately began searching for other cozy fantasy to sustain you? Then look no further than Rebecca Thorne's entry into the sub genre, which has much (a lot, actually) in common with Baldree's novel.

Posted by Jane J on Mar 15, 2023

Above all things, honor

Cover of Someone to Honor
A review of Someone to Honor by Mary Balogh

I'll say up front that this Mary Balogh isn't going to work for everyone. It's a slow-build, slow-burn romance between a pair of guarded, reserved adults who come to their HEA in small, careful steps. Doesn't sound like a barn burner does it? But for this reader it was a nearly perfect read that let me settle in and savor each moment.

Posted by Jane J on Mar 6, 2023

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