Bell of Eternity is the second book of the Celtic Legends series by Martina Boone and while I enjoyed this one, I think I liked the first one a bit more. Don’t get me wrong, Brando and Emma’s story was great so definitely read this if you enjoy a good romance (and really…who doesn’t??).

Emma has spent the last few years taking care of her mother and has basically put her life on hold to do this. When her mother passes away, Emma finds out that she put a stipulation in her will stating that in order for Emma to get her inheritance, she had to get married. Enter Treave…one of Emma’s good friends and someone her mother trusted and cared about. After the funeral, Treave tells Emma he would be willing to marry her so she could get her money and while Emma loves him as a friend, she isn’t quite sure she could feel more for him. To give them time to connect, Treave invites Emma to join him on a trip to Cornwall for a family wedding and she jumps at the opportunity.

When Emma and Treave make it to the island we are introduced to Treave’s family and if you have read book one of this series, you will remember Brando. I liked him in that book but after learning more about him and seeing him interact with Emma in the kitchen, I liked him even more. Their trip starts out pretty bumpy not only because Treave introduces Emma as his fiancé. A storm hits the island and things take a turn when everyone jumps into action to help. As Emma tries to figure out how to balance Treave’s actions and reactions, she also finds herself drawn to Brando.

As I mentioned, Brando was great in this book. He always seemed to be there for Emma when she needed a shoulder or someone to bounce ideas off of and talk. He wasn’t going to pressure her for anything or even push her to change her mind on her relationship with Treave no matter what his fate is supposed to be. Regardless, they are both drawn to each other and as they spend more time together in the kitchen, their relationship takes a turn toward more than friendship.

So the piece I haven’t mentioned yet is that Treave is up to something and his personality shifts drastically when they hit the island. He becomes more secretive and a bit shifty and Emma is determined to figure out what is going on. I have to admit, I wasn’t really a fan of Treave, even before they hit the island. I know Emma enjoyed and appreciated his friendship but there was something about him I didn’t care for.

Overall this was a great story. While I would have liked a bit more steam and swoon between Emma and Brando, I thought their friendship and then romance was developed well. The history of the island and the superstitions play a big role in this story and I loved how it helped move the story forward but also added something to the story that you don’t necessarily find in other books. While this is a book two, you could definitely read this as a stand-alone if you haven’t checked out book one but trust me, if you are going to read these, you should read book one. I will be watching for more books from Boone in the future.

Thank you to the author for a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

A Rake’s Guide to Seduction is the first book I have read by Caroline Linden and it won’t be the last. This one happens to be book three in a series and while I didn’t have all the background I would assume I would have gotten by reading the other books, I didn’t have a problem jumping right into this book.

Celia Reece and Anthony Hamilton are the main characters and while they seem to be drawn to each other, they come from very different backgrounds. Celia is the sister of a duke and Anthony is the most scandalous man in London. Because Anthony is a good friend of Celia’s brother, she has been in his presence off and on while growing up and while everyone in London thinks the worst of him and his actions, Celia looks at him differently.

Anthony is at a disadvantage as he doesn’t have anything other than a reputation and when Celia catches his eye at a ball he takes a leap and goes to her brother to ask if he can court her. Unfortunately for both of them, he is too late and this is the beginning of the turn in both of their fortunes because while Anthony continues to change his standing, Celia gets married to a man she thinks she loves.

Celia’s story is unfortunate. It is clear that she and her husband moved too quickly and didn’t really know how to live with each other outside of London where they have others around them. Add to that, her husband tends to take off without her and their relationship truly suffers. When an accident takes her husband’s life, Celia finds herself back with her family and it is pretty jarring to her to be surrounded by a lot of people after spending years in the countryside with only her father-in-law to keep her company.

When Celia goes back to her family, her mother decides to put together a party to get her back into the fold. Since her brother is good friends with Anthony, he invites him to the extended event and he turns out to be the only good thing Celia sees in the whole thing.

Eventually these two are able to recognize that they are what the other needs. Not only to heal but to be happy and although they have various challenges in their way, they do ultimately get their happy ending. I did enjoy this book and like any historical romance, found this to be a fairly quick and engaging read. I will definitely be looking for more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.

Love, love, love this story and the narrator did a fantastic job!

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill is one of those books that had me from the first page of the book. It has wonderful characters, a great story, romance and time travel. I read this on a plane and I had to force myself to put the book down when we landed as the story is so riveting. I NEEDED to know what was going to happen next and there were so many twists. Just when I thought I knew what was going to happen, Terrill would move the story in another direction.

We open with Em and find out she is a prisoner being held in a cell next to Finn…someone very familiar to her but she has recently only spoken to him through the vent in their cells. Em is tough and it is mostly because she has to be. She definitely didn't start out that way but after finding out what she has been through and the lengths she has gone to in order to make things right, I’m not surprised.

The book rotates between Em’s and Marina’s points of view. This is critical as it shows you the events that lead to where all of the characters are today. We see Marina with James and Em with Finn as well as all the other characters that help move this story forward. Terrill does a great job with rotating the perspective to give the reader all the information at the right time. Going into the book you don’t know exactly what is going on and it is ok because as the story moves forward, all of the dots are connected and things begin to make sense.

The characters in this book are great. Em is tough yet still shows a bit of a soft side when it comes to James and Finn. Marina is the exact opposite. She loves James and early on, can’t stand Finn. These two characters are what drive the story but their relationships with the other characters have a huge impact on what happens.

I had a love/hate relationship with James. Mostly because of the choices he made. I wanted him to be better than he was and I understand that his decisions were a result of the things he had gone through but it didn't make me any more sympathetic toward him. Despite his intent to use his smarts and invention for good, it ultimately didn't end up that way and he did nothing to change it. In addition to that, he does some horrible things to those he calls friends in the name of science.

Finn was great…from the very beginning it is clear that he cares a great deal about Em and will do whatever he can to help her as well as try to keep her safe. I can’t say too much about him but you should know that I loved him and thought he was great. He had a lot to worry about and added James, Marina, and Em to the list as soon as he began to hang out with them. His sense of humor and ability to take control when it was needed was exactly what was needed.

The catalyst to this entire story is something that happens with James years before we are introduced to anyone. James is Marina’s best friend and he is brilliant. When he loses his parents in an accident and something happens to his brother, he begins to think about how he can use his brilliance to change things in the world. Nudging him along is someone named Richter. Again, I can't say a lot (SORRY) without giving anything away but if there is a bad guy...it's definitely him.

It is hard not to give anything away so I hope this review doesn't sound too vague and I apologize if it does. With that in mind, if you enjoy a lot of action, a bit of romance and of course, time travel, I really recommend you get this as soon as you can. I don’t think you will be disappointed.