“Goldilocks and the Sorceress” is an inventive reimagination of the Goldilocks story. A grown-up Princess Goldilocks runs away from an arranged marriage, only to end up in the hut of an evil sorceress who was spurned by the king, Goldilocks’s father, long ago and still harbors a grudge. Coira, the sorceress, assumes Goldilocks’s identity and […]

Read more "“Goldilocks and the Sorceress” by Lana Axe"

Another great entry in the Shopaholic series. To her delight, Becky is pregnant–but it turns out being a mother-to-be isn’t always blissful. Especially when, in your quest to be seen by the hottest OB-GYN in Britain, you find yourself throwing your husband in the way of his super-hot ex-girlfriend. There are the usual Becky hijinks–honestly, […]

Read more "“Shopaholic and Baby” by Sophie Kinsella"

The adventures of Becky Bloomwood, now Becky Brandon, continue. Becky and Luke are finishing up their monster round-the-world honeymoon (in a great scene, Becky has a moment of enlightenment when she runs barefoot across hot coals in pursuit of souvenir bracelets) and have to return to “real life.” But a huge surprise is waiting for […]

Read more "“Shopaholic and Sister” by Sophie Kinsella"

“Shopaholic on Honeymoon” is a fun free little short about the beginning of Becky and Luke’s honeymoon and totally worth reading if you’re a fan of the “Shopaholic” series.  Like the rest of the series, it’s lighthearted and seemingly frivolous–Becky goes on a shopping spree while in Venice, surprise surprise!–but, again like the rest of […]

Read more "“Shopaholic on Honeymoon” by Sophie Kinsella"

So, I’m totally in love with the Shopaholic series, but this book was the one I had the most difficulty relating to. I’m still giving it five stars because I think it was really well-done, but the conflict in this one was difficult for me to deal with–almost TOO scary! I’d like to say that […]

Read more "“Shopaholic Ties the Knot” by Sophie Kinsella"

I’d heard about the Shopaholic series for years before finally taking the plunge when I came across the first book on sale recently. As I thought might happen, I was completely captivated. There are a lot of criticisms one could make of the Shopaholic series (I’m now on book 5 as I write this review […]

Read more "“Shopaholic Takes Manhattan” by Sophie Kinsella"

“Confessions of a Shopaholic” is a delicious treat, just like the gorgeous things that its heroine Becky Bloomwood obsesses about. Becky is a 20-something Londoner who’s fallen into financial journalism more or less by accident, but–oh, the irony!–she herself is a financial disaster. Even as she’s giving financial advice to others, she herself is constantly […]

Read more "“Confessions of a Shopaholic” by Sophie Kinsella"

A very solid entry in what I’ll call the “hitman’s redemption” genre. Peace has come to Northern Ireland, but it’s a fragile peace, with all the same old players with all the same old dirty hands. Former hitman Gerry Fegan is out of prison but is haunted by the ghosts of the people he killed, […]

Read more "“The Ghosts of Belfast” by Stuart Neville"

A very fun entrant in the paranormal romance genre, with the exotic (for the genre) location of KY!  As a Kentuckian it made me sooooo happy to read something set there that wasn’t a bunch of stereotypes about rednecks and hillbillies.  Anyway, while this book does have pretty much all the cliches of the vampire/paranormal […]

Read more "“Fashionably Dead” by Robyn Peterman"

A fantasy/paranormal romance featuring Slavic characters who are the good guys was an exciting find for me, and I was also drawn by the setting of Ljubljana.  The author depicts the Slavic background and setting matter-of-factly, which is a welcome change from the “exoticification” of Slavdom in most Western literature, although readers who don’t speak […]

Read more "“The Dark Ones” by Gaja Kos"