Jane Seymor: The Haunted Queen by Alison Weir

Title- Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen
Author- Alison Weir
Publisher- Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine
Publish Date- May 15, 2018
Rating: 📖📖📖/5
// I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review //

I'm going to keep this one short as there isn't too much to say about it in my opinion. If you don't know the story of Jane Seymour, then I'll give you a quick overview. She was the third wife of Henry VIII of England and died after giving birth to Henry's only legitimate son. Little is known about her for sure. She was a pious woman and said to be Henry's favorite wife (probably because she was the only one to give him a son).

This is very clearly a historical fiction book. If you're looking for a biographical account, look elsewhere. As little is known about her life, I can see why the book is so heavy on the fiction side. Weir does a decent job of painting Seymour's world and filling in the gaps where the historical record is lacking. I only wish she didn't make Seymour so naive and borderline annoying. I don't believe that anyone was as clueless as she is painted to be in this story. Though I never really thought about reading a book about Jane Seymour, Weir made her a little more tolerable.

After reading reviews about Weir's book on Anne Boleyn, I was very skeptical about reading this book as Jane came after Anne. And I can see why people didn't like Weir's depiction of Anne. Almost every interaction and description of Anne in the book is negative and petty. I can't imagine every time Jane saw Anne it was horrible. And I mean EVERY TIME. It was annoying and frankly unnecessary. Anyway, if you are just looking for a book about Jane Seymour, then you can pick this one up for a good read. However, if you're looking to learn more about her in more of a research capacity, I would probably steer clear. Or just read the author's notes in the back of the book which honestly I found more interesting than most of the book.

#reading #netgalley #janeseymour #henryviii #alisonweir #ballantine #randomhouse #history

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

Title: The Broken Girls
Author: Simone St. James
Publisher: Berkley
Rating: 📖📖📖📖/5

What do you do when you can't give up on someone even after their death? In 2014 a reporter named Fiona Sheridan, after the murder of her sister Deb twenty years prior, cannot let go of the past. The murderer is in jail and the case has been solved. So why must she dig deeper? Fiona digs deeper into the case and finds that the abandoned Idlewild Hall, where Deb's body was discovered, is being renovated. Her research leads down a road she never thought she would discover, secrets that have been kept hidden for good reason.

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James was definitely not what I was expecting. After reading a string of thrillers and murder stories, I thought that this book would be more of the same. I was wrong. St. James paints a story that different from expectations. For some reason Fiona resonated with me. I don't easily give up on something I feel passionate about. Not to mention if something feels off, I have to investigate further. I guess you could say I am stubborn. Anyway, it is plain to see in this book that St. James knows how to keep a secret. There are twists in the story that are so subtle that the reader won't even pick up on them. At least I didn't. I admire how the author made such a realistic and believable world that not even I could have guessed exactly how the book would end. Not many authors have done that for me.

The story is told both in the 1950s and 2014. Normally, I dislike books that skip through time. They often leave me confused and quickly lose my focus. However, St. James weaves both time periods seamlessly together. When one aspect is touched on in one time period, the other follows with a similar theme. This makes it much easier for a reader like me to follow the story.

But there are two aspects in this story that often make many readers put books down: the supernatural and boarding schools. I honestly believe that a mystery story that centers itself on the supernatural often becomes predictable and, lets say it, boring. You have the ghost that goes around tormenting and killing people blah blah blah. BUT in The Broken Girls the ghost isn't the center at all! The ghost, Mary Hand, is a welcome addition without taking away from the real story. I was SO thankful for this. The other aspect, the boarding school, wasn't even cliche! I was expecting a bunch of snotty girls who complain for the whole story, but instead I found a group of girls with very different backgrounds and personalities that come together in a less-than-glamorous boarding school. Again, I found the boarding school theme to be welcoming and not boring.

Overall, I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who may read this blog. Supernatural, mystery, boarding school drama and even general readers would all enjoy this book in my opinion. Please check it out if you get the chance!

#bookofthemonth #botm #mystery #suspense #horror #supernatural #murdermystery #thebrokengirls #berkleypublishing #mrsmadonnareads #accordingtomrsmadonna

She Was The Quiet One by Michele Campbell

Title: She Was The Quiet One
Author: Michele Campbell
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Rating: 📖📖📖/5
Check out this book on July 31, 2018!
// I received this ARC for free from Book of the Month in return for an honest review //

She Was The Quiet One by Michele Campbell takes us to the prestigious Odell Academy where Bel and Rose Enright, twin sisters, are the new girls brought to the school by their grandmother after the death of their mother. From the start we can see the differences between the sisters as they assimilate into the student body. Bel makes friends with the "wrong crowd" and Rose sticks with the safe crowd. Jealousy between the sisters as well as the students in the school start to be revealed as the story unfolds. The story heightens as a body is found on what was thought to be a safe campus. Who is responsible for the murder? Is it one of the sisters or another sinister entity?

When Book of the Month sent out an email looking for reviews for possible upcoming books I was totally excited! To be honest, this book wasn't the one I was hoping for but it was probably number two on the list so I was still interested in reading it. The premise didn't seem that different from many other murder mysteries after reading the review, so I didn't come in with high hopes. However, Campbell does have a way with her writing that paints pictures in your head. If it weren't for her writing style in the long run I probably would have given up on the book.

I tried really hard to become invested in the story despite my personal issues with it. You have the pretty standard twins (one bad and one good), the rich school where the kids run the show and a love triangle gone wrong. By the climax of the story the pieces start to fall into place as to why the murder happened although it seems pretty obvious from the start. But Campbell threw in an epilogue that seemed both out of place and unnecessary. No spoilers here, so I won't go into detail, but it sort of threw off the whole story in the last few pages.

Overall, I suggest this story for a quick read maybe if you're just getting into the murder mystery genre. It may seem run-of-the-mill for the average mystery reader.

#bookofthemonth #botm #bookreview #books #michelecampbell #stmartinspress #mystery #murder #mrsmadonnareads #accordingtomrsmadonna