#CoverCrush: Tears of Pearl by Tasha Alexander

For new visitors do I want to explain that Cover Crush is something that my friend Erin over at Flashlight Commentary came up with and I adopted the idea together with some other friends. And, now we try to put up a Cover Crush every week. You can check below my pick of the week for their choices this week!

Set amid the beauty and decadence of the Ottoman Empire, Lady Emily’s latest adventure is full of intrigue, treachery, and romance.

Looking forward to the joys of connubial bliss, newlyweds Lady Emily and Colin Hargreaves, diplomats of the British Empire, set out toward Turkey for an exotic honeymoon. But on their first night in the city, a harem girl is found murdered, strangled in the courtyard of the Sultan’s lavish Topkapi Palace. Sir Richard St. Clare, an Englishman who works at the embassy in Constantinople, is present and recognizes the girl as his own daughter who was kidnapped twenty years earlier. Emily and Colin promise the heartbroken father that they’ll find her killer, but as the investigation gains speed, they find that appearance can be deceiving—especially within the confines of the seraglio

As a woman, Emily is given access to the forbidden world of the harem and quickly discovers that its mysterious, sheltered walls offer no protection from a ruthless murderer. As the number of victims grows, Emily must rely on her own sharp wits in a heart-stopping finale if she is to stop a killer bent on exacting vengeance no matter how many innocent lives he leaves in his wake. 

Some thoughts about the cover:

I have to admit that the I quite like covers with women's faces cut off. Well, not in a bloody kind of way of course. But just like the cover for Tears of Pearl by Tasha Alexander. But, that's not really what caught by attention. It's the city of Constantinople at the bottom of the cover that really caught my eyes. I just look at the city, amides the mist and clouds and in that light and it looks magical.

Check out what my friends have picked for Cover Crush's this week:

Flashlight Commentary

2 Kids and Tired Books

Layered Pages

The Maidens Court

A Literary Vacation
IndieBRAG

#BookReview A Terrible Beauty by Tasha Alexander

A Terrible Beauty by Tasha Alexander
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In this thrilling new novel in the New York Times bestselling series, Lady Emily travels to Greece where a ghost from her past returns to haunt her amid the ruins.

Lady Emily retreats to her villa on the island of Santorini for a brief respite from London. But when she arrives, the housekeeper informs her that the master of the house has returned—Emily’s first husband who died a decade earlier...

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First I want to say how refreshing it is with a blurb that doesn't give away half the book or some key events. Instead, it just intrigues one's mind with the question: what if Philip didn't die all those years ago? What happened to him, and why would he reveal himself to Emily now?

I have to confess that I struggled with the first book in this series when I read it a little while ago. I wanted to read the first book before I read this book and since I had it on my bookshelf for over one year did I find it was perhaps time for it now. My problem with the first book was that I didn't find the characters nor the story engrossing and I hoped this one would appeal to me a bit more. And, yes in a way it did, but in a way, I still struggled with the characters. Lady Emily isn't really a bad character, she just does not interest me so much. I have nothing against her, she just feels a bit lackluster as an individual. But, I don't mind reading about her. However, I found Colin boring as hell. Sorry, he's just not a person that I like especially much, not in this book nor in the first book. I was actually quite dejected when I read the first book and realized that Emily and Colin were getting cozy. And, now, here in book eleven are married with children. *sigh* Sorry, sometimes some characters just don't appeal to me for some reason...

However, I was interested in finding out how it all would turn out. Was this really Philip back from the dead? And, I have to admit, I did like Philip more than Colin (probably the only reader who does). But, then I did like Philip quite a lot in the first book, despite him being "dead".

The mystery of Philip and if he is really Philip, and where he had been was the highlight of the book and the one thing that really made this book interesting to read. I was curious to see how it all would end, and I did not expect that ending. Perhaps it was a bit over the top. But, still, it was surprising...

I want to thank St. Martin's Press for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley! 

Weekly Update!

Weekly Update!

A very hot week together with working 8 hours a day has not made me read that many books. However, I finished 2 audiobooks and started a new one, so at least I can listen to books at work. I do need to get some ARC's read, but that's not easy since I don't have them on audiobook. So, I will try to get some more read in the evenings this week and hope for some cooler weather. On the plus side, I did finish The Last Days of Jack Sparks by Jason Arnopp yesterday and that means that I have a respite from blog tours for a while (I think so at least).

Did not get that many books this week (thankfully). But, the ones I got looks interesting. And, I finally got my hands on When we meet again by Kristin Harmel that I was rejected for on NetGalley. Price drop are the best thing! 

I still haven't finished Washingtondekretet by Jussi Adler-Olsen. Since it's hardcover and a pretty heavy book do I not feel like bringing it along so I usually read it when I can. And, that means other books have a tendency to get before in line. 

I just finished The Highwayman by Craig Johanson and it was such a great book. Now I'm looking forward to An Obvious Fact!

I hope you all have a great Sunday and a great week! With lots of new books! ;)

Currently reading:

Last week's posts:

Book review: Ritual by Mo Hayder

Cover Crush: A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan

July Wishlist: Time Travel

Blog Tour: Fatal Affair by Marie Force (Excerpt + Giveaway)

Book review: Body of Lies by Iris Johansen

Blog Tour: The Last Woman Standing: A Novel of Mrs. Wyatt Earp by Thelma Adams

Book review: Baby Doll by Hollie Overton

New ARC's

 

New Ebooks bought:

NEW books to read and review:

Books won!

Weekly Update!

Weekly Update!

A whole new week has almost gone by and I worked this Friday my last 4 hour a day for at least 4 weeks. Tomorrow it's time to work 8 hours a day instead. And weirdly, I look forward to it. Not just earning more money, but listening to audiobooks is something I begone to enjoy quite a lot while working and just think how much I can listen during an 8-hour shift. 

I've gotten a whole lot of ARC's this week, which booth great and a bit daunting. But, I feel that my reading slump has passed and now I'm almost back to normal. I also had some great news this week from S:t Martin Press with two widgets sent to me for books I've been declined. A Terribly Beauty by Tasha Alexander  and Night and Day by Iris Johansen. I had already gotten Iris Johansen's book from Fresh Fiction, but still, it made me very happy. It's always a bit sad when you get rejected for books that you really want.

Currently reading:

Last week's posts:

The Eden Tree Blog Tour (Author Spotlight)

5 Best Books Read In June

Book review: And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander

Book review: Play Dead by Angela Marsons

Cover Crush: A Terrible Beauty by Tasha Alexander

Book review: The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey (SWE/ENG)

As Death Draws Near Book Blast & Giveaway

Book review: The Forgotten Holocaust by Scott Mariani (SWE/ENG)

New ARC's

New Ebooks bought:

NEW books to read and review:

And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander

And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Emily agreed to wed Philip, the Viscount Ashton, primarily to escape her overbearing mother. Philip's death while on safari soon after their wedding left Emily feeling little grief, for she barely knew the dashing stranger.

But her discovery of his journals nearly two years later reveals a far different man than she imagined-a gentleman scholar and antiquities collector who apparently loved his new wife deeply. Emily's desire to learn more about her late husband leads her through the quiet corners of the British Museum and into a dangerous mystery involving rare stolen artifacts. To complicate matters, she's juggling two very prominent and wealthy suitors, one of whose intentions may go beyond matrimony into darker realms.

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Sometimes, a book just doesn't work for me no matter how much I want to enjoy it. And Only to Deceive have everything that I should like, interesting characters, a mystery and a tragic love story. However, somewhere along the way the story just lost my interest and unfortunately I never found it as interesting as it was, in the beginning, to read.

So, what went wrong? Why did this book not appeal to me? I think the biggest problem for me was that the plot, Emily's hunt for the truth about Philips involvement in the forgery of art, or rather the whole forgery plot was so simple to figure out that it took away the enjoyment to read the book. Since this book is bit old now and several new books have been published was it easy to cross one person of the list as suspects and that made the list of people that could be involved pretty small. And, a book that started off interesting just lost its spark along the way.

I did find Emily's newfound love for Philip tragic and sweet, but alas even that went a bit boring after a while. She discovered new things about him and she realized that the man she married was a different man than she had imagined and suddenly she fell in love with him. With the problem that he is dead. Like the forgery part that also lost its spark after a while.

However, I do want to continue with the series. I did like Emily enough to want to read more about her. I just hope the stories in the rest of the books are better and that the mysteries will be much more interesting to read about. Also, I'm not really that fond of Colin, and I hope that I will grow to like him.

Cover Crush: A Terrible Beauty by Tasha Alexander

Erin over at Flashlight Commentary is the one that came up with the cover crush idea and I loved it so much that I decided that every Thursday would I post a cover that I really love. 

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The cover to this book and the blurb actually made me start reading the first book in the series. And, every time I see this book I yearn to read it. Historical mystery is one of my favorite genres and I think the cover for this book seems just perfect when you read about what the book is all about. And. I love the combination of the colors, the ruins, the fonts and the man and woman on the cover. Just so perfectly tantalizing! I want the book now (so, of course, I got an email about being rejected for the book on NetGalley a couple of hours after posting this. Hurray I got the book!)!

In this gripping new novel in the New York Times bestselling series, Lady Emily travels to Greece where a ghost from her past returns to haunt her amid the ruins.

On a quest to distract her lifelong friend Jeremy from his recent heartbreak, Lady Emily organizes a holiday in Greece. As a lover of all things Greek, she quickly finds herself occupied with tours of ancient ruins, lively debates with Margaret, a devoted Latinist, and slightly more scandalous endeavors with her dashing husband, Colin Hargreaves. But the pleasantries are brought to an abrupt halt when a man long believed dead greets the party at their island villa. Lord Philip Ashton, Colin's childhood best friend and Emily's first husband, has returned. But can Philip really be who he claims, even if he has the scars and stories to prove it? Where has he been for all this time? And will his undying love for Emily drive him to claim what's his?

Intrigue mounts as Philip reveals that he has been plagued for the past few years by an illegal antiques trader who believes he is in possession of a piece of Achilles' helmet, a priceless relic that was stolen from him moments after he unearthed it on an archaeological dig. Emily must employ all of her cunning and expertise to thwart thieves who threaten not only her own safety, but that of those precious artifacts she holds so dear. A trail of overheard conversations, murderous assailants, and dead bodies leads her on a chase to uncover more than one buried truth.

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Check out this week's cover crush over at 
Flashlight Commentary
2 Kids and Tired Books
Layered Pages 
The Maidens Court