Tag: mystery

adult

Review: Butterfly Palace by Colleen Coble

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Butterfly Palace #1

butterfly palace -colleen cobleWhen Lilly Donnelly arrives at the Cutlers’ famed Butterfly Mansion in 1899, the massive house and unfamiliar duties threaten to overwhelm her. Victorian Austin is lavish, highly political, and intimidating, but with the help of the other servants, Lilly resolves to prove herself to her new employers.

Then, while serving at an elegant dinner party, Lilly recognizes one distinguished guest as Andrew, the love of her life, who abandoned her without a word back home. He seems to have assumed a new identity and refuses to acknowledge her, leaving her confused and reeling.

Before Lilly can absorb this unwelcome news, she’s attacked. Could it be the sinister Servant Girl Killer who has been terrorizing Austin? Or is it someone after something more personal–someone from her past?

Does she dare trust Andrew to help or is he part of the danger threatening to draw Lilly into its vortex?

4 Drink Me Potions

For some reason, I’ve been on a historical fiction binge and I’m absolutely adoring it. Butterfly Palace not only lived up to its time period, but it was steeped in intrigue and a lovely romance of second chances.

Lilly was my kind of heroine. She wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty and become a maid in order to survive. Finding her old beau (is that what they called them back then?) who had up and vanished on her was totally unexpected. And awesome.

Drew (or Andy as he was known to Lily back then), I had initially wanted to despise for leaving a girl like that without a word. He had a lot of explaining to do . But I wanted so badly to have their old spark kick up again.

That was definitely no disappointment.

Aside from the rekindled romance, the mystery was delicious. Sometimes Coble’s writings don’t focus on the mystery aspect as much, but this novel was heavy in that department. A killer after maids fitting Lily’s description was on the loose. At the same time, someone (or could it be a group of people?) were plotting the demise of the man who owns the Butterfly Palace. Mystery upon mystery.

And what was all that fascination with butterflies? I used to find such creatures lovely, but imagining myself surrounded by a bunch of them fluttering in the air just gives me the heeby-jeebies.

I loved that the perspective of this novel wasn’t only on the two main protagonists. Belle, the spoiled niece of the household at the Butterfly Palace, also had her own POV. She started off as a princess used to the riches given her, but she has a keen, intelligent mind that was later put to work and truly flowered under the opportunity to help catch a potential killer. It was a refreshing change to see someone else’s view of things beyond the two characters who were falling in love.

Overall, it was a delectable story. The identity of the killer(s) wasn’t immediately obvious, but for a lover of mysteries, I may not be the best example but I could guess it out before the identity was revealed. The only thing I found myself wishing for at the end was a sequel with Belle as the protagonist. She deserves a story all of her own, and a happy ending tagged to it. Maybe Coble will listen to my wish one of these days.

Overall Recommendation:
Butterfly Palace was a beautiful standalone story set in a gorgeous time period in the Victorian era. Both Lilly and Drew were strong characters in their own way, with a rekindled love blooming for both of them. It was a cute romance to watch re-bloom. But, hands down, the refreshing take on the story came from a 3rd POV in the form of Belle, a spoiled heiress, who learns there’s more to life than just finding a wealthy husband. Steeped in not one, but two, mysteries, this novel is bound to make your heart leap as it takes you for a ride.

adult

Review: Blue Moon Promise by Colleen Coble

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Under Texas Stars #1

blue moon promise -colleen cobleLucy Marsh’s worldly resources are running out, but she’s fiercely determined to care for her younger brother and sister. When she discovers that their father’s recent death was no accident, Lucy is eager to leave town. She accepts a proxy marriage she believes will provide safe refuge. But trouble follows her to Texas where her new husband is surprised to suddenly have a wife and children to care for.

Nate Stanton always hoped he’d marry someday, but running the family ranch meant he had no time for romance. When his father deposits Lucy Marsh–a city girl–on his doorstep, with two siblings in the bargain, he expects ranch life will send her running on the first train out of town. But Lucy is made of tougher stuff than Nate imagined. When danger moves in, Nate finds he’d give anything to protect Lucy and the children he’s grown to love. Even if it means giving up his ranch.

Blue Moon Promise is a story of hope, romance, and suspense . . . immersing the reader in a rich historical tale set under Texas stars.

 

3.5 Drink Me Potions

It’s been a long, long time since I’ve read a Colleen Coble novel. I’ve forgotten just how much I love her mysteries. Blue Moon Promise has not let me down in any way. I haven’t read a historical novel in a while, but I instantly fell in love with the characters here. Lucy, right off the bat, was a protagonist that I could root for. She had so much heart and yearned to be the one who could take care of everyone. Her family situation wasn’t ideal. She had to care for her baby brother and sister while trying to escape a dangerous person who may have had something to do with their father’s death.

Enter the less-than-ideal marriage agreement with Nate. He wanted nothing to do with a wife, and Lucy tried so hard to be the typical rancher’s wife that he could at least imagine being with. Things weren’t easy for her, but she did her best.

There were silly moments, like finding a pet tarantula in the pantry, and there were heartfelt moments like Nate beginning to fall for his new already-made family. The mystery wasn’t very integral in this novel, which surprised me as that is what Coble’s really good at. However, it was still an amazing story of finding the best in any situation, and realizing in hindsight that this was exactly where everyone was meant to be.

All in all, I couldn’t put this book down and I do believe I will be browsing through many more of Coble’s novels very soon.

Overall Recommendation:

Blue Moon Promise was a delight that I hadn’t expected. Set in a historical setting on a rancher’s farm, Lucy and her little brother and sister embark on a new life with her new husband that she’s agreed to marry for the sake of her family. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but Lucy’s strong-willed character and desire to be the best that she can be no matter how dire the situation had me really rooting for her success. A little lighter in the mystery department, this novel still had all the trademarks of Colleen Coble from what I remember in another piece of work I’ve read from her a long time ago. This was definitely worth the read.

YA

Review: Legacy of Lies & Don’t Tell by Elizabeth Chandler

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Dark Secrets #1-2

dark secrets 1 -elizabeth chandlerTwo girls haunted by the past… and destined to relive it

In Legacy of Lies, Megan has to stay with the uptight grandmother she wants nothing to do with. She’s determined to get through the visit without any drama, but when she falls into a twisted love triangle with potentially fatal consequences, Megan may be caught up in her family’s legacy in more ways than she realizes.

In Don’t Tell, Lauren knows that by returning to the town where her mother drowned seven years ago, she’ll be reliving one of her most haunting memories. When she arrives, she is propelled into a series of mysterious events that mimic the days leading up to her mother’s death. Maybe her mother’s drowning wasn’t an accident after all…and maybe Lauren is next.

2 Drink Me Potions

It has been a long time since I’ve read Dark Secrets Volume 1, and can I just say? Time has NOT been nice to it.

As a younger person, such fast-paced attractions and supernatural occurrences would have been a fun and intriguing read at night. Now? Not so much. Let me explain why.

In Legacy of Lies, having our protagonist fall for her cousin (even though they’re NOT actually blood-related) was a little weird for my tastes. Did they have to be related? Was that TRULY necessary for the plot line to have worked out? I would say no, but I guess people can argue if they must.

As for the actual plot in that story – where the heck should I even begin? It had suspense, I will admit. And by suspense, I mean the feeling of what the hell is going on and why are such freaky dreams/sleep walks happening to Megan? It was entertaining in the paranormal sense. Obviously there’s something not quite logical or real occurring in this old house of her grandmother’s. That’s not what I’m bashing.

It was the absolute horrifying and confusing conclusion/rationale to all the craziness that was occurring. Even for a paranormal explanation, some things just never added up. The synopsis talks about a potentially fatal love triangle. Well, the grandmother was part of it (I know right? That’s just weird) in the past as a young girl, but now that she’s old and the love triangle is stirring again, WHERE THE HECK DOES SHE FIT INTO THIS PRESENT DAY TRIANGLE WITH HER GRANDDAUGHTER AND HER GRANDSON? I never quite understood the whole frenzy that was brought on Megan upon her arrival at the old house. And now that I re-read this again, the killer was surprising enough but the motive wasn’t fleshed out enough. The red herrings weren’t fully cleared either, in my opinion. So they might not have actually committed the final blow, but there was intent? Doesn’t that still make them a “bad guy”?

I’m just confused. Period. It left a very bitter after taste in my mouth.

As for Don’t Tell, don’t you worry. It’ll get its turn in bashing.

Likewise, there was suspense in it as well. And also similar to the previous story, the conclusion was just unsatisfying and too vague of an explanation . That’s me being generous. Actually, a villain disappears and no reader will ever know what’s to come of that person. The rest of the explanation for why the mother drowned made enough sense, but one of the girls just freaked the crap out of me. Of course, Chandler threw in the odd paranormal activity (HA, had to put that phrase into this review) that really was never fully fleshed out, and left only with the poor explanation of “oh, these things happen ’cause it’s a paranormal kinda world where people have such things occurring to them – big whoof”.

Anyway, time has most definitely not made it any better. Which leaves to me to wonder….

WHAT THE HECK WAS LITTLE ME THINKING WHEN I THOUGHT THIS WAS RE-READABLE MATERIAL?

Overall Recommendation:
For a younger audience in the YA category, Dark Secrets 1 does have its merits (albeit very, VERY few). With a setting of suspense and dark secrets (of course – ’cause that’s the title) woven into either an old mystery/unsolved murder, it initially draws you in with intrigue. However, don’t be fooled, young ones! The conclusions, even coming from the perspective of a paranormal book, are hardly thought-out, riddled with holes and things that just don’t settle well. They were sloppy and could’ve been a whole lot better.
For a quick read ’cause there’s nothing better to do? Sure, go ahead and skim through it. But don’t expect it to be one of those masterful pieces with grand plots. They’re simply stories with dark pasts that ultimately come back to haunt the present, mixed in with a bunch of paranormal activities to “make sense” of the scary things that happen.