“Escaping From Houdini” – Kerri Maniscalco

In this third installment of Maniscalco’s Ripper series we find Audrey aboard the RMS Etruria on her way to America to assist her uncle with a case there. However, the dazzling cruise liner isn’t the unsuspecting voyage she signed up for. The haunting Midnight Carnival is aboard as the entertainment, but on the very first night a passenger winds up dead at dinner! Things only get more complicated as they travel further and further into the sea. Isolated and running on limited time it’s up to Audrey, her Uncle, and Thomas, to find out who is committing these heinous acts; while not falling into the illusions herself.

Honestly, I’m here for Maniscalco. You must realize how much I love her by now since I’ve been praising her for three books and as many weeks. This was a great addition to the series and I loved it. I can’t wait to see what more Maniscalco comes up with.

Loving every minute of the drama, the action, the adventure, the death, the mystery. Brava!

“Hunting Prince Dracula” – Kerri Maniscalco

In this riveting sequel to “Stalking Jack The Ripper” we find Miss Audrey Rose Wadsworth on her way to study Forensic Science in Romania. When a fellow passenger is murdered on the train it is just the beginning. In a series of deaths that look like a war has broken out between Dracula and those who hunt him could the immortal prince still be alive? Or is it all a ruse? Audrey, still fighting the terror of what happened in London, takes its upon herself to find out.

I loved the sequel! Usually I’m not as into the sequels but I’m going to start classifying this as a “saga” instead because that seems more fitting and because saga’s don’t bother me. Anyway, I love the characters, I love that Maniscalco didn’t go for the obvious ending. I loved the character development. I loved the change in scenery. I loved the new case. I could have done without the spider tunnel to be quite honest, but that just shows Maniscalco created a perfect atmosphere!

Honestly, the second book in the saga is completely on par with the first. I read the sneak peak of Houdini and I’m dying to read the rest of that! I’ll let you know how it goes when I’ve finished.

Happy Reading!

“Stalking Jack The Ripper” – Kerri Maniscalco

Picture it, Whitechapel London, 1888, women are being found brutally murdered, organs missing from their bodies… and no one knows who is responsible. Meanwhile Miss Audrey Rose Wadsworth, daughter of a Lord with all the wealth and privilege one could have at the time, is secretly studying forensic science with her uncle and alongside the insufferable Thomas Cresswell. When the investigations begins to hit a little close to home Audrey takes matters into her own hands, trying to solve this vicious murder before anyone else dies, and before it’s her own kin sent off to Bedlam.

This is one of those books that I would see in the store and be like “oh that looks interesting” and then never buy it or would “put it on my to-read list” and then never read. Anyway, I had recently read the HistoryChannel publication of Jack The Ripper that they released, a short little 100pg magazine about his reign of terror in 1888, and I was in a Ripper mood so I was like “why not” and I finally got it out of the library.

Let. Me. Just. Say. That I wish I had written this book. It was everything I love about reading, honestly. It was captivating, well written, it was fun, it had horror, suspense, thrill, a little romance, a little science,  gore, and it was set in Victorian London? Yes please! Honestly, I was enamored. I immediately sought out the sequel but sadly it wasn’t available so I am having to read something else in the meantime. Great job Maniscalco honestly. Pure delight. I can’t wait to see what “Hunting Prince Dracula” (The sequel) is like!

Happy reading!

“A Hundred Summers” – Beatriz Williams

“Memorial Day, 1938: New York socialite Lily Dane has just returned with her family to the idyllic oceanfront community of Seaview, Rhode Island, expecting another placid summer season among the familiar traditions and friendships that sustained her after heartbreak.

That is, until Greenwalds decide to take up residence in Seaview.

Nick and Budgie Greenwald are an unwelcome specter from Lily’s past: her former best friend and her former fiancé, now recently married—an event that set off a wildfire of gossip among the elite of Seaview, who have summered together for generations. Budgie’s arrival to restore her family’s old house puts her once more in the center of the community’s social scene, and she insinuates herself back into Lily’s friendship with an overpowering talent for seduction…and an alluring acquaintance from their college days, Yankees pitcher Graham Pendleton. But the ties that bind Lily to Nick are too strong and intricate to ignore, and the two are drawn back into long-buried dreams, despite their uneasy secrets and many emotional obligations.

Under the scorching summer sun, the unexpected truth of Budgie and Nick’s marriage bubbles to the surface, and as a cataclysmic hurricane barrels unseen up the Atlantic and into New England, Lily and Nick must confront an emotional cyclone of their own, which will change their worlds forever.” – Goodreads

I literally copy and pasted the synopsis from GoodReads (credited) because I didn’t like the book enough to bother typing out something myself. I read this book about two weeks ago and was putting off even posting.

The book was okay. It wasn’t aggressively horrible. I mean, it had it’s good points. It was an interesting historical fiction. There was some historical accuracy which helped shape the story. My biggest complaint is that the characters were kind of one dimensional. I mean, overall it was okay. I just felt that there was a great idea, a good theme, and then it wasn’t executed all that well… I guess I was just hoping for something…. more. I’m not even sure what I was expecting.

As a bit of a spoiler the climax and ending were a bit trite and cliche too. But normally I am totally fine with trite and cliche. And I did still like it. I’m making it sound like I thought this book was the worst thing since “50 Shades” and believe me; it’s not. I just… maybe I wasn’t in the mood for it? Or maybe it just wasn’t my cup of tea? But it might be yours? I’m not sure. I just know that at this time in my life it was not something that suited me.