The American Heiress

I cannot recall how The American Heiress came to be in my to read pile but I am thankful it did.

Cora Cash is the catch of the season in New York, rich beyond belief and the only daughter of the family she is due to inherit all the family money. No normal man is enough for Mrs. Cash's daughter and she has her mind made up that Cora will marry as close to nobility as possible. Determined to see her daughter safely wed Mrs. Cash bundles her up and sends her to England to find a title. Thrilled beyond belief when Cora is saved by a bachelor Duke Mrs. Cash quickly plays match maker.

Cora was a fascinating character, determined to live her own life out from under the control of mother Cora fights every chance she gets for freedom. I love the struggle that is shown with Cora, despite being rich she just wants to be normal and accepted by everyone not seen for the amount of money she has. A well rounded character with flaws, weaknesses, and moments of strength Cora came to life right out of the pages of the story.

The writing was elegant and an experience all it's own. I would gladly read another work by Daisy Goodwin.

The Christmas Catch

The Christmas Catch was a Free Friday book and it sure was a cute book to get into the holiday spirit with.

Christine wants to connect with her four year old son so she rents a car and agrees to house sit for her best friend. On her way to the cabin Christine manages to get her vehicle stuck and a good samaritan stops to help her out. Little does Christine know she wont be able to get the man out of her mind. All too soon Christine bumps into John at the store and their story begins.

The Christmas Catch is a sweet, caring, clean, fast read story that was just for fun. Well a written plot with some fun twists it does not require deep thought or extensive concentration. I would read another story by Ginny Baird if I ever see one.

The Other Einstein

Women's history has always fascinated me so when I noticed a book about Einstein's first wife in the local bookstore I knew I had to read it. The Other Einstein is a fascinating book written from Mileva Einstein's point of view.

Mileva was an interesting character and obviously a strong woman to attend a university at a time when women were suppose to stay home, tend to their husbands, and raise children. Clearly she was brilliant and I did get the impression throughout the whole story that Marie Benedict assumed Albert's interest in her was to use her impressive intelligent to advance his own ideas. This became more apparent as the story went on, while this is a work of fiction I would like to think that Marie Benedict did get some of her assumptions correct. 

The writing was smooth and clearly creating a vivid picture of Mileva's lifestyle and dreams. I would read more of Marie Benedict's work.

Terra Incognita

Terra Incognita was a random choice from the local bookstore that was closing. Sadly the description was the most exciting part for me. I did like the start and the set up of the plot but it quickly got boring for me however I did want to know who the "Stag Man" was so I kept reading. I think part of the problem was that Terra Incognita is the second book in a series and I did not know that at the time.

Ruso was an interesting character, being a military doctor I expected him to be disciplined and firm he was not that. He was funny though when he tried to make sense of his slave Tilla and her womanly ways. While both character felt well rounded with strong personalities the story did drag and gave a lot of useless information in my opinion. It also left some other smaller mysteries unsolved that I would have liked to know more about. I do not think  will read anymore of Ruth Downie's work the writing is just not to my liking.

Land

I am not sure how Land ended up on my Nook but it was a late night pick when I could not sleep. The overall story was a bit strange and the plot line too convenient for the kids but despite that I enjoyed the story and do plan on reading Sea at some point.

When some Canadian's kids trip to Disneyland goes horribly wrong they are left stranded with no way to communicate with home. Determined to get back to Canada five kids decide to make their way from the happiest place on earth back to home. The trip is not without perils though.

Overall the story felt more like a fluffy light read that was somehow dystopian. The writing was not bad but not always clear at times. I did see improvement as the story continued so I hope that will be reflected in Sea.

Pirates!

I grabbed Pirates! from a clearance shelf at the local book store because I liked the cover and it was cheap. While I did like the story it is hard to say why, the story was nothing like I though it would be. Despite being a good length book I am hard pressed to really describe the story to someone else, it felt like it should have been full of action but it never seemed that way and it was not a love story either.

Nancy's life spiraled out of her control when her father died and she was left in the care of her elder brothers. Determined to keep their business they decide to marry Nancy off to a rich merchant in hopes of saving their late father's business. Having none of that Nancy runs away in the middle of the night with two slaves she has made friends with. Fearing her prospective husband hunting her down Nancy does the only thing she can think of she joins a pirate crew to hide.

I expected a lot of adventure, gruffness from Nancy, and pirate escapades, I got none of that. It felt a lot like I was reading a diary of a young woman and less like the adventure it was presented as. Despite the slow writing I also found I could not stop reading. The writing pulled me in and it was hard to put the book down at times. I would consider reading more work by Celia Rees because I like the writing style immensely.

Hunting Prince Dracula

Hunting Prince Dracula is the second book in the Stalking Jack the Ripper series. It is the intriguing cover that drew me to research the series and get it from the library.

Audrey Rose continues to be one of my all time favorite literary characters. Still fascinated with cadavers Audrey travels with Thomas to Romania to compete for a chance to attend a school of forensics medicine. It is not long before a murder takes place right outside the train car Audrey is riding in and soon she finds herself in another tangled web of horrific murders. I really enjoyed seeing the trauma Audrey was suffering from being involved with Jack the Ripper cases, instead of just taking it all in stride Audrey struggled mentally and emotionally to come to terms with what happened. Despite struggling Audrey fought to keep it hidden in order to let her peers see her as an equal and not handicapped by her gender.

A couple times I did get confused at the end but it was a complex ending and I was super tired so that could be why.I cannot wait for the third book and I am already trying to think of which famous murders in history Audrey will begin to investigate. I do hope to see more of the wit between Audrey and Thomas continue, they are hilarious when they get going and I love their easy friendship. I was a bit shocked by some of the things that happened in Hunting Prince Dracula but I do not want to post spoilers so I will refrain from mentioning them.