Posts Tagged 'England'

Royal Scandal by Aimee Carter

Published April 8, 2025 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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Genre: Realistic Fiction/Romance

In this sequel to Royal Blood, Evan is still trying to adjust to royal life and it seems like people are both fascinated with her and aren’t sure she belongs. The media in particular has been very interested in everything they can find on Evan, especially her mother. As Evan’s father, the king, and other members of the family try to shield her there are definitely those who have not warmed up to the idea of a new royal daughter. When the family goes away for a planned hunting trip there is an attempt on Evan’s life, which shakes everyone up as they were supposed to be completely safe in this location. Which means, in Evan’s mind, that there is someone within the palace walls that wants to harm her. Despite everything, she is enjoying getting to know her father and sister so she is determined not to be chased away. Will the person trying to hurt her be found out before it is too late? Has her appearance changed the monarchy forever? Does she know who she can really trust?

This sequel is just as tantalizing at the first book. It’s easy to sympathize with Evan who has been put in a difficult situation that she did not create, but yet is trying to make the best of without compromising who she is. The other characters are very compelling as well because they are written with many emotions and motivations, which makes them seem real and human. There is still more story to tell with these characters as not everything was settled and fans will want to know more. Recommended for fans of the American Royals and the Selection series.

Royal Blood by Aimee Carter

Published March 11, 2025 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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Genre: Realistic Fiction with a touch of romance and mystery

Evangeline (or Evan) has known for awhile that she is the illegitimate daughter of the King of England, Alexander. However, she has never met him and very few people know of her existence. Due to her mother’s illness, she lived with her grandmother until she died and has been in boarding schools ever since. Unfortunately, she seems to find trouble wherever she goes and after getting kicked out of boarding school they reluctantly bring her to England where the Queen, Helene, and the legitimate princess, Maisie, are none too pleased. Everyone hopes to keep her identity a secret, but it leaks out shortly after her arrival and the media goes crazy. After failing to trust the right person one night, Evan finds herself assaulted and accused of murder, which she isn’t totally positive she didn’t do. Can she navigate this new public life without it completely destroying her? Will she ever connect with her father or half sister? Will she ever be accepted as her father’s daughter?

This book is fun right from the beginning and the intrigue keeps growing. The characters all behave in ways that seem believable with real emotions, motivations, and frustrations as life doesn’t turn out how they all planned. The pieces to the puzzle surrounding who is trying to frame Evan are there, but it takes awhile for them all to come together. Evan’s situation also seems very plausible once the entire story is explained. There is a little bit of mystery, romance, and family drama mixed into this truly engaging, fun story. Fans of the Selection series and the Inheritance Games series will enjoy this title and be eager to see more books in this series.

Have You Seen My Sister? by Kirsty McKay

Published April 25, 2024 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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Genre: Mystery

Esme is visiting her older sister, along with her parents, all the way from England. Her sister is taking a gap year and is currently working at a ski resort. On the night before Esme is supposed to leave, her sister, Gaia, disappears and no one has any idea where she might have gone. Obviously, Esme’s family stays to look for her and it quickly becomes quite a group effort as searches are organized all over the snowy mountains. Esme has a condition called dyspraxia, which means she has trouble keeping track of details such as how much time has passed and when she last saw her sister. As Esme and another resort worker, Bode, try to retrace her sister’s footsteps, she quickly realizes that her sister was not telling her family everything about her life in the U.S. The other resort workers all seem to be hiding something as well. Is it possible they know where Gaia is? Could Gaia have run away? Esme and her parents are determined not to leave until they know what happened to Gaia.

This mystery is engaging from the beginning, but does set itself apart due to the fact that the main character has dyspraxia which does hinder her ability to help in the investigation. Slowly, information comes out about Gaia’s relationship with the family and how her being in another country all of this time has greatly challenged those relationships. The way all of her friends handle the disappearance really shows how much technology has changed reality in both how they try to find clues for finding Gaia to actually trying to use her disappearance to bring more attention to themselves and possibly elevate their online presence personally. It is unclear exactly why no one really thinks Esme could be helpful in locating her sister, but in many ways it works in her favor as she is able to do her own thing and investigate in ways that the adults around her might not approve of. Recommended for mystery lovers.

The Princess Spy by Melanie Dickerson

Published February 16, 2015 Adventure , Historical Fiction , RAC Leave a Comment
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princess spy

Genre:  Historical Fiction

# of Pages:  293

RAC:  Yes

Margaretha lives on her father’s estate in Germany and knows she must choose a suitor to marry soon.  When a man named Claybrook comes and begins to woo her she thinks he might be the one, but then an injured man is brought to the healer’s cottage from England.  She is one of the few people around who knows English and she translates what he’s saying.  He followed a man named Claybrook from England in order to make him pay for murdering a young girl, but instead Claybrook’s men beat him and left him for dead in the street.  Margaretha is unsure who to believe, but decides to spy on Claybrook and learns he is plotting to murder her father and take over his estate.  Can she save her family and her family’s land without alerting the wrong people to the threat?  Does she know whom she can trust?  Is she equipped for such a venture?

This is a fun, fast paced adventure story in which Margaretha and her new companion from England try to save her family from a very miserable future in which they are pushed out of their own land by sheer force and violence.  There are many twists in the plot as Claybrook tends to be one step ahead of them at all times.  Many of the characters lack depth, but they do not need to be over developed since the plot rests mainly on Margaretha and her English gentleman.  Fans of other period stories like The Selection and The Queen of Someday will enjoy this title.

Dark Souls by Paula Morris

Published February 7, 2013 Fantasy , Mystery , RAC Leave a Comment
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dark souls

Genre:  Fantasy/Mystery

# of Pages:  292

RAC:  Yes

Miranda and her brother, Rob, are in a terrible car accident that kills Miranda’s best friend.  After the fact, Rob has some serious fears about riding in cars and claustrophobia, while Miranda is mourning her friend.  Her parents have professional reasons for visiting York, England and decide it is a perfect time for the family to get away.  Upon arrival, Miranda realizes she can now see ghosts, but is most intrigued by the one across the street that she can see in the attic of a boarded up house.    She meets a troubled young man, Nick, who can also see ghosts and invites her to some mysterious places in order to interact with them.    The more time she spends with Nick the more she suspects he is planning something big and mysterious.   Can she save him from making a terrible mistake that will change his entire future?

This story includes a lot of folklore about York which ties into the story well.  The characters are well developed, especially Miranda’s family, despite being in the story rather infrequently.  The mystery moves a tad slow at the beginning, but eventually takes off and it’s obvious that the groundwork for solving it has been laid from the beginning.  Fans of ghost and/or mystery stories will enjoy this title.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

Published April 22, 2010 Historical Fiction , Mystery , RAC 1 Comment
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Genre:  Mystery/Historical Fiction

# of Pages:  384

RAC Book:  Yes

Flavia de Luce lives in England in the 1950s.  Her mother died when she was a baby and her father is a recluse in their country manor.  She has two older sisters, Daphne and Ophelia, who enjoy tormenting her.  Flavia loves to work in her own chemistry lab and is always asking questions, to the annoyance of her sisters.

One evening she is awakened when she hears someone arguing with her father in his study, but the gardener catches her listening at the door and sends her to bed.  In the morning, Flavia finds a dying man in their garden and calls the police.  Unfortunately, they arrest her father for the murder and Flavia is not completely sure of his innocence since this is the man who was arguing with her father the night before.  Nevertheless, Flavia decides to go after the truth and begins investigating herself.  Can she piece together the facts to find out what happened to the mysterious stranger from the garden?  Can she clear her father’s name?

This story is a fun mystery story with very colorful and interesting characters.  The tone of the book and style of the mystery  is reminiscent of Blue Balliett’s Chasing Vermeer.  There are many details of the story that the reader needs to remember in order to crack the case, which is reminiscent of The Westing Game.  Finally, the main character is captivating, clever, and a strong female character, reminiscent of Down the Rabbit Hole.  The story has all of the ingredients to be a lasting mystery for this age level for many years to come.

Kipling’s Choice by Geert Spillebeen

Published May 18, 2009 Award Winners , Historical Fiction , RAC 2 Comments
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Genre:  Historical fiction

Age Level:  14 and up

# of Pages:  150

RAC:  Yes

Award Winner:  Iowa Teen Award 2009-2010

This fiction story is based on the true events of the famous Jungle Book author Rudyard Kipling’s son, John.  Rudyard had always wanted to serve his country in the armed forces and was disqualified due to physical limitations.  From a young age, he groomed John to want to be a soldier as well, but John had weak eyes.  Rudyard used all of his influence to get John into the army as an officer, which John appreciated.  When John goes to his first battle, however, he realizes that it is a little different than he imagined and he wishes he could just go home and play the rich son again.

The format of the story is interesting because it flashes from John in his first battle back to all the memories of him growing up.  As a child John loved to play with the expensive toys his father gave him, but he often played recklessly and Rudyard encouraged it as typical boy behavior.  In the flashbacks it becomes apparent how important it was to Rudyard for his son to fight for his country like he couldn’t.  He fails to see the possible dangers and never truly believes anything could possibly happen to his son.  Although this story is very interesting, it will be difficult to get young adults to read it.  Many young adults do not like to read historical fiction type topics, but students who like reading about war will enjoy this title.

Austenland by Shannon Hale

Published October 17, 2007 RAC , Realistic Fiction , Romance Leave a Comment
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Genre:  Romance, Realistic Fiction

Age Level:  15 and up

# of pages:  196

RAC Book:  Yes

Jane has had an obsession with Jane Austen or more specifically, Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, for many years.  As she experienced one horrendous boyfriend after another in her life she began to dream of the perfect gentleman.  Her great Aunt saw this and in her will arranged for Jane to visit Pembrook Park, which is a place where people dress, talk, and live like they are in Jane Austen’s books.  Jane is unsure if this vacation was for her to get the fantasy out of her system or for her to embrace it.

Upon arriving at Pembrook Park Jane is fitted with clothes and taught the rules she is to follow during her stay.  As Jane interacts with other guests and actors playing parts she begins to have trouble deciding what is real and what is part of the fantasy.  She befriends a gardener as well as the difficult Mr. Nobley.  The idea is for all women to feel like they have lived the romance, which is why Jane struggles to choose which man she really likes as well as which one, if either, truly cares for her.

Austenland is a must read for fans of Jane Austen.  The story is unpredictable, but yet contains many Austen elements, which makes it a lot of fun for those of us who enjoy those types of stories.  Jane is not the only one who would love to live this fantasy and through this book we are all led through this time with a modern eye.  This book is for all those women who love Jane Austen, her stories, her romances, and most of all her men.

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