Catching up with some Netgalley reads… A Newlywed’s Guide to Fortune and Murder, Hooked and Spirit Guide

I decided that this year I won´t be doing reading goals for the whole year, but instead have shorter 3 month goals. And my first goal is to read all my Netgalley books before the end of March. Am I succeeding? Absolutely not. But I am making some progress… Which also means reviews 😀

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A Newlywed’s Guide to Fortune and Murder is the sixth book following the Countess of Harleigh solving a mystery. In this story the dowager Viscountess Winstead needs someone to sponsor her niece, Kate, for presentation to Queen Victoria. Obviously, Frances is the perfect person to do so. But it seems that someone is trying to poison the dowager, so mystery ensues. What follows is yet another delightful cosy mystery with a wonderful main character. This series also contains one of the very few romances I don’t dislike. Frances and George are just great together and their banter actually works. The mystery itself is entertaining, though I did feel the story dragged a bit at times. Overall, this wasn’t the strongest book in the series, but still a great read.

It isn’t fairly clear from the way this book is promoted, but reads very much as a sequel to Wendy, Darling. And I had a very good time with that book, so I was very excited to pick up Hooked. And I have to say I was kinda disappointed. The writing itself is amazingly beautiful, and I really liked how Wise decided to portray James Hook. He is definitely a villain, but you get why and you also get to see his other side. The internal struggles and character development were very interesting to read. And yet I found myself bored. This is a very slow read, but what was worse for me is that it lacked purpose. We got stuck in a constant meandering without goal and it was over halfway through the book when we got some sense of direction. Also, I would have preferred it if we just focussed on James. I get why we might want to see how Wendy and her daughter are doing after the previous book… but I can’t say I cared. I honestly think that if their part was cut from the book and we just focussed on James and his monster, this book would have been a lot better for it.

Spirit Guide is the third book in a series of novella’s which mixes historical mystery with the paranormal, set in a fantasy world. And they are great fun. In this novella Madame Chalamet goes looking for a missing noble woman, but it doesn’t take long for her to come across a dead body. Chalamet’s a talented Ghost Talker, which means she can hold seánces, but she can also replay the final memories of dead people. Chalamet also has the company of an apprentice this time around… a talented young girl who doesn’t always think things through and sucks up a lot of energy. Their interactions are Great. And, I have to say I also didn’t mind the romance. Although the mystery is just fine, the plot itself shows us more about the Morpheus Society that Madame Chalamet was taught by, as well as her father’s death. Overall, a very entertaining read and I am excited to find out where the next book will take us.

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That’s it from me for now. I do have another post with reviews lined up already though. Three posts in one week? Who is this woman?!