I have mixed impressions of and feelings about this novel. I found the plot intriguing, and enjoyed Serafina's narrative voice in her alternating chapters, as compared to Sara's, which disappointingly tended to fall more often into cliché turns of phrase. I understand the need to set the characters' "voices" apart and distinguish the eras in which they are living, but wonder if this could have been done with a bit more finesse for Sara's chapters. Some plot revelations were telegraphed and therefore more predictable, while others felt more satisfyingly surprising. At times, the events and interactions themselves seemed to draw on stereotypes, though I appreciate that the author appears to have researched the book quite thoroughly. There were also some unexpectedly graphic passages in the book, so readers who are especially sensitive to intimate and/or violent imagery may wish to be aware of this before reading. Overall, though it would be missing a meaningful modern dimension, I think I might have preferred this as a purely historical fiction novel, set entirely in Serafina's time period. All that said, I would still be interested to read other novels by this same author, in the hopes that they are more of the quality of Serafina's chapters than Sara's.

BSD is one of my favorite series and every volume I read builds so much for the plot, characters, and relationships. The new settings brought to ex-guild and ex-port mafia members was one of the highlights.

I read Bill’s book about the Appalachian Trail and found it hilarious, so I decided to read this book. It wasn’t as funny as A Walk in the Woods, but it was amusing. It was really about the history and geography of Australia. Very interesting.

Set in the fashion world, primarily in the 1970s but also present day and early 1940s. This is historical fiction but definitely a blend of history and fiction, as the author details at the end. The main characters are fictional but real people abound. Beyond an entertaining story and a mystery, the book is a commentary on how people are portrayed in the media, how their stories and history in general can be shaped by the offhand comments when people don't look further. Good book.

If I could rate this book zero stars I would. It has the stereotypical romance plot and I didn’t like either Rue or Eli. There were past characters from her other books mentioned in this but I would rather read one of those than this one. This is my second book of hers and it wasn’t for me.

Really fun read. Plot-driven, moves at a great pace, was everything I’d hoped the book would be. Flashbacks weren’t intrusive to the current plot events, nor too numerous; anytime we departed the main action for some backstory it was equally captivating. This is the kind of book that makes me delighted to know it’s a series.

This is S.T. Dubbs debut novel that takes place in Tucson, AZ where the author actually resides. I really wanted to like this book and placed it on hold because I, too, love birding. There was a very simple plot of an avid birder, John Maguire, who enters a birding contest but his partner drops out at the last minute and asks an acquaintance to step in. Enter Celeste who knows nothing about birds. The rest of the book is a basic boy meets girl, and they fall in love with no twists or surprises. John and Celeste are in their 40's and the sex scenes, sexting, etc. were a bit much and not believable, and I am no prude. But it is called Birding with Benefits...!

At first I thought this book was very silly but once I got about 1/2 way through it got better. I started to like Vera more and see her transform and develop.

I liked this one. I had read Throne of the Fallen before starting this series and I really enjoyed it so I figured why not go back and try this one,

This had me going back and forth trying to guess what the ending was going to be the entire time! It kept me hooked!