This is the second installment in the Brown sisters series. I kicked off last year with reading about Chloe Brown so it made sense to start the year with reading about Dani. And, oof, this one is so good. Dani and Zafir are both so awesome. Dani is an academic and Zafir is a former rugby player and current security guard at the university. Zafir suffers from anxiety and also started a charity that helps teach kids how to deal with their emotions called Tackle it. Following an incident during a fire drill where Zafir is photographed carrying Dani out of the building that goes viral, they decide to fake a relationship in order to capitalize on the viral photograph to raise money for Tackle it.
I love a good fake to real story and Dani felt like a very real character to me, as a fellow academic. I recognized her focus and excitement for her topic (and that feeling other people just not understanding.) Actually, I identified with a lot of Dani’s behavior in the novel. It’s both nice (and mortifying) to be seen.
Anyway, the story was amazing, the characters were fantastic and the spice was very spicy. This was so good. I whole heartedly recommend it.
This is the story of Briseis, a young woman who has the magic touch when it comes to plants. She receives a surprise inheritance and she and her Moms move to a grand house in Rhinebeck, New York. She discovers secrets and mysteries in the house.
This was so fun. I was so interested to what happened next that I wanted to keep listening. It also inspired me to start a little knitting project, which I was able to finish while I was listening. These little wrist warmers with their falling leaves are so cozy.
Back to the book, I was delighted by the characters and their growth through the story. This is a series and I’ve already requested the next one from the library!
This is a spooky little modern folk lore tale about Iris and her sister’s Vivi and Grey. When they were little, they went missing on New Year’s Eve for weeks before turning up mysteriously and changed. They all had little scars are their necks, their hair had turned white blonde, and they couldn’t remember what had happened or where they had been. Now, ten years later, Iris must delve into her family’s secrets now that Grey has once again gone missing.
I enjoyed the fairy tale and folk lore elements of this story and the dynamics at play between the sisters. This was a fun, twisty little read that I binged my way through. I really liked the main character, Iris, and the supporting casts of her sisters, Grey and Vivi, and Grey’s boyfriend Tyler were interesting and dimensional. The ending was good enough that I’m not clamoring for a sequel, but there were some threads left open that I wouldn’t mind continuing with these characters. If you like stories that play with folk tale elements and mystery, this is a fun one. Check it out.
Celine Rosseau has fled Paris for New Orleans, in hopes of starting a new life. She’s running from a secret that weighs heavy on her. She begins her life in New Orleans at the Ursuline convent with her new friend Pippa, who has also left things in Europe in hopes of finding a new life.
Unlike some of the other girls who came over on the ship with them, Celine and Pippa don’t have what you might call practical skills. They weren’t governesses, so they aren’t meant for the classroom. They can’t cook or garden. Pippa is a painter and Celine was apprenticed at one of the best ateliers in Paris. So, they are relegated to making little baubles and selling them outside the church to raise money for the orphanage. They hear rumors about a violent murder that has taken place in the city. It must have something to do with the court, the gossipers say.
While selling her handstitched handkerchiefs, Celine meets Odette Valmont. One of the upper echelons of society, money is no object for Odette. It is carnival season in New Orleans and she needs something absolutely smashing for the masquerade ball. She asks Celine to design a costume for her. Celine, of course, agrees. She has mad fashion skills and it would raise a lot of money for the orphanage. How could she say no?
Celine meets the most beautiful man she has ever seen, Bastien, on the way to take Odette’s measurements. She finds out Bastien and Odette are both members of this mysterious court. And then, of course, there are more murders. Can Celine solve the murders before she becomes a victim? Is Bastien a jerk in a nice suit, or is there something special underneath his gilded exterior.
This was a fun and fast read. Celine is a great main character. She has good energy. She grows through the story. Bastien is good, too. There’s an excellent cast of character surrounding them. The plot is intriguing and includes a mysterious villain who is planning these murders with an ulterior motive. The villain’s chapters are in first person while Celine and Bastien, who both of chapters from their perspective, are written in third person. It was really interesting to see the narrative arc unfold from Celine and Bastien’s point of view and to then get explanations and little details here and there from the villain in the shadows.
There’s a bit of a twist at the end that sets up the second book in the series. I’ve already picked it up from the library, so you know I enjoyed this one.
So, if you like historical fantasy and/or vampires, smart leading ladies, and you’d like to see an interesting twist on New Orleans vampire lore, I’d say check this one out.
2 Women, So Many Books 