Morbid Romantic

Book Review & Personal Blog

I just won a copy of Sweet Smell of Decay from historical-fiction.com.

With The Sweet Smell of Decay, Paul Lawrence introduces us to a memorable fictional creation, Harry Lytle, in the first of a new series entitled The Chronicles of Harry Lytle. Firmly located in Restoration England, these are universally enjoyable novels which combine wonderful period detail and atmosphere with a riveting page-turning quality.

It’s London,1664, and Harry has a big problem. He’s just discovered he has a young cousin, Anne Giles, and he’s had the pleasure of meeting her for the first time – mutilated and laid out on the slab for an autopsy. His father has tasked him with job of tracking down Anne’s murderer. Harry has some robust assistance from one David Dowling, a resourceful and impressively well-built, but equally hygiene-deficient, butcher. Together they follow a trail of blood, conspiracy and corruption that takes them to the dark and murky corners of Restoration London, featuring a great cast of ne’er-do-wells, cheeky wenches, harmless witches, likeable villains, and not a few unsavoury fellows keen on sending Lytle and his companion to an early grave.

I love, love, love the cover.

Reading the Past has awarded me the book Invasion by Julian Stockwin. Isn’t that amazing? Some good historical fiction for me with this win. Thanks so much!

In the 10th book of the popular series, rumors fly of Napoleon’s planned invasion of England, and British naval commander Thomas Kydd is sent to liaise with American inventor, Robert Fulton, who has created “infernal machines” that can wreak mass destruction from a distance. Fulton believes that his inventions, namely the submarine and torpedo, will win the day for the power that possesses them, and Kydd must help him develop the devices. Despite his own scruples, believing that standing man-to-man is the only honorable way to fight, Kydd agrees to take part in the crucial testing of these weapons of mass destruction, which just may decide the fate of England.

Thanks to Alyce at At Home With Books, I won a copy of Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. Yes, ANOTHER one that I can now remove from all of my wishlists.

See (Peony in Love) explores tradition, the ravages of war and the importance of family in her excellent latest. Pearl and her younger sister, May, enjoy an upper-crust life in 1930s Shanghai, until their father reveals that his gambling habit has decimated the family’s finances and to make good on his debts, he has sold both girls to a wealthy Chinese-American as wives for his sons. Pearl and May have no intention of leaving home, but after Japanese bombs and soldiers ravage their city and both their parents disappear, the sisters head for California, where their husbands-to-be live and where it soon becomes apparent that one of them is hiding a secret that will alter each of their fates. As they adjust to marriage with strangers and the challenges of living in a foreign land, Pearl and May learn that long-established customs can provide comfort in unbearable times. See’s skillful plotting and richly drawn characters immediately draw in the reader, covering 20 years of love, loss, heartbreak and joy while delivering a sobering history lesson. While the ending is ambiguous, this is an accomplished and absorbing novel.

The latest win, The Sinful Life of Lucy by Elizabeth Leikness, is all thanks to Cafe of Dreams! This is one that I am going to have to remove from my wishlist and paperbackswap wishlist! Awesome win here, guys.

Lucy Burns wants a normal life: friends, love, and a family of her own. And she could have it all if only she could break free from the job she hates.

That job? Facilitator to hell.

And her boss is a real devil.

At the age of eleven, to save her sister’s life, Lucy writes a desperate letter to “To Whom It May Concern”, but when He writes back, Lucy is bound for life. There are perks: sure she’s ageless, she’s beautiful, and she can eat as much chocolate as she wants and never get fat, but there are also consequences.

She can never see her family again.

She can never have a boyfriend.

She must spend her life leading sinners to their demise.

After nineteen years of doing the Devil s dirty work, Lucy wants out, but it all seems hopeless until Teddy Nightingale, her easy listening music idol, gives her the answer: a little-known loophole.

If she succeeds, Lucy gets love, happiness, and everything she ever really wanted. But the consequences? They’re considerably worse than death. To make it through, Lucy must decide what is evil and what is good, what is right and what is wrong, and if, in the end, there’s ever any way to truly know.

Smart, sassy, fun, and wickedly funny, “The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns” is a fast and stunning read perfect for any occasion. Elizabeth Leiknes’s fresh writing and comic wit will stick with you long after you’ve put the book down.

Hello! Thanks to author Donna Grant, I won a copy of her book Mutal Desire

The Hunger – Kate is a Scottish temptress who wants nothing but her freedom. When she is married against her will to a powerful laird, she vows to deny him – until his scorching touch unleashes primal urges she cannot control…The Longing – The beautiful Linarra is sent to her tribe’s archenemy as a peace offering, her body to be used as his sexual plaything. Once her new master claims her, Linarra discovers insatiable cravings that send her to the brink of wild ecstasy…The Pleasure – During an Amazonian adventure, wilful Princess Arian is kidnapped and presented as an erotic prize for a jungle warlord, who turns her captivity into a sensual journey that awakens her body’s most carnal demands…

Thanks to Lori over at Lori’s Reading Corner, I won a copy of To Tempt the Wolf by Terry Spear.

In this third in the series, wildlife photographer Tessa Anderson must prove her brother innocent of murder charges. But when she discovers a gorgeous naked man barely alive on her beach, she’s got a new world of troubles to deal with, not least of which is how he affects her with just a look, a touch, or a whispered word.

Hunter Greymore is a lupus garou, a grey werewolf. Hoping to keep a low profile at Tessa’s cabin on the coast, he’s drawn into her life—and into her bed. His animal instincts war with his human half, but in the end, the only thing he can do about this fascinating, adorable woman is to leave her forever —unless she becomes one of them.