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Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese

Stacey Irving • May 9, 2022

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I just reviewed Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese

Isobel Gamble is a young seamstress with flaming red hair, married to the owner of an apothecary with a terrible addiction. After they lose everything in their home of Scotland in the 1800s they try their fortunes in the new world. After the Captain of the boat takes a shine to Isobel, he offers to take her husband on their next crossing as a medic in exchange for 1.5% of the total profits. Edward leaves but not before stealing a few gold coins from Isobel that her father had given her.
Isobel now has to find a way to take care of herself in a place where she knows no one.
She ends up meeting Nathanial Hawthorne, a man troubled by the legacy his family left behind. A legacy of sending innocent women to their deaths during the Salem witch trials. Unbeknown to him, Isobel has some extraordinary abilities that almost had her own ancestor killed. As the 2 are drawn together, something sinister is happening in the town of Salem. This time it’s not witches being persecuted but the now freed people of color. Someone is hunting them to return them to their slave owners.
Her closeness to her neighbor compels Isobel to help in the only way she knows whilst walking away from her love for Nathaniel she becomes the unwitting lead in his published book, The Scarlet Letter.

This reimagining took my breath away. The author took this story and really made it their own. The story they wove had me enthralled from the first sentence and it still hasn’t let me go. They breathed a magic so intoxicating that the words came alive right in front of my very eyes!

I wanted to reach out and hold Isobel’s hand so many times through the book. I loved watching her story unfold and all the colors that exploded from her gift was a treasure I wanted to hold on to. Her life was mixed with such tragedy and wonder that it made you wonder where she found the strength. Not all women were as lucky as her but still the things she was put through and had to get through would break anyone I know. Being a woman was a dangerous time especially without the safety of a husband. Not that her husband was worth the marriage license. I couldn’t stand Edward from the get go. I know addiction is ugly but I just got the creeps from him right from the start. She was worth a million of him. Don’t get me wrong, I didn't like Nathanial either. I felt he was weak and quite disgraceful to do what he did but I also understand that they were in a unique situation.

I don’t usually get crushes on book characters but Captain Darling really exemplified what a man should be and how to treat people in general.

I really felt the character building was top notch and I loved how the author covered how people of color were treated even after it was illegal to keep slaves in the north. It was cleverly done and I really feel that this book has checked every box for me.

If you love your historical fiction with a little magic and a dash of social issues, this is definitely the book for you! 5 stars!!

Thank you netgalley and st martins press for my ARC copy in exchange for my honest review
#bookreview #bookrecommendation #netgalley #hester #LaurieLicoAlbanese #historicalfictionrecommendation #womensfiction #literaryfiction #readersgonnaread #bookalorianrecommends #kindlebook #arcread #readingonasunday
04 Nov, 2024
I just finished How to help a Hungry Werewolf by Charlotte Stein and here are my thoughts. Cassandra returns to her hometown after the death of her grandmother. The last person she expects to see is her old best friend Seth. Seth needs her help. He is a werewolf and he needs the potion her grandmother was making for him and she just discovered she is a witch.. They come to a truce to get what they both need but the mating bond that is heating up between them and it really is a case of life or death. Cassie is my kind of MC. She was funny and sweet. I wasn’t a massive fan of Seths. I think he did a poor job of apologizing to Cassie for how he treated her. The pace was a bit insane. One minute the story was going a million miles per min then it didn’t seem to go anywhere but I kinda liked it. It felt like it was giving me time to catch up with my heart. The smut was perfect. Even if you don’t enjoy the story, the steam will do it for you. I think it was a good start to a series, the paranormal storyline was highly entertaining. I enjoyed the humor and I laughed out loud a few times. The world building was done really well but the writing got a bit juvenile in places but I could overlook that. 4 stars Thank you to @stmartinspress for my gifted copy. #howtohelpahungrywerewolf #charlottestein #paranormalromance #shifterromance #smuttyread #booklover #smp #stmartinspress #bookinfluencer #bookreview #bookishblog #readerblog #reading #bookalorian #thewrightkindofbooktalk
By Stacey Irving 26 Oct, 2024
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By Stacey Irving 26 Oct, 2024
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By Stacey Irving 16 Oct, 2024
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11 Oct, 2024
Bitter is the heart by Mina Hardy When Tamar has to allow her abusive mother to move in with her temporarily, all the old memories resurface but the things happening now can’t be explained and remembering what happened in her mothers house all those years ago… Makes her wonder just what other evils were lurking within those walls. I really enjoyed this book. It was the right mix of horror and thriller with some excellent characters. The pace wasn’t fast enough for my freaky brain but this book was fantastically scary on a whole other level. I thought all the threads came together nicely at the end and definitely a must read for the spooky season. 4.5 stars
11 Oct, 2024
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By Stacey Irving 30 Apr, 2024
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By Stacey Irving 30 Apr, 2024
I just finished The First Day without you by Melissa Hill Moving to California was a snap decision made by Leonie. She needed a fresh start, a place to flee from the mess she left behind back home. Not ready to face what she did, Leonie, while cleaning her new home, finds a stack of letters. Unable to help herself, Leonie decides to get the letters to the person they are addressed to. Dragging her neighbor into her quest, Leonie embarks on a journey with Alex to try and give someone else the happily ever after she knows she doesn’t deserve. I quite enjoyed this book. It's split between two POV, Leonies that span current day and her past and Alex’s. I usually like one POV more in these kinds of books but I enjoyed both ladies' stories. Alex is trying to divorce her ex Seth but he is as elusive as bigfoot. She works as a reporter and her skills helped Leonie track down Helena. As a hopeless romantic myself I found the book very cute and I liked the cynical balance that Alex provided Leonie the romantic. The writing was solid and I was entertained through the whole book. I liked the ending. I don’t think it could have been done better. I like the mystery of the letters and all the descriptive talk of San Francisco. I feel like it’s never too late to reach out when your heart aches for someone. 4 stars Thank you @bookmarked @melissahillbooks for my gifted copy #sourcebooks #landmarkbooks #melissahill #thefirstdaywithoutyou #romanceread #chicklit #bookblogger #bookstagram #booksbooksbooks #igreader
By Stacey Irving 29 Apr, 2024
I just finished Book Lovers by Emily Henry and here are my musings. Nora Stephens is a workaholic and who can blame her? Well, everyone she meets thinks she has no work life balance but she is a literary agent and she is a shark at what she does. The only person she is soft for is her little sister Libby. And when Libby wants to go to Sunshine Falls for a month. A sister bonding trip before Libby’s third child arrives into the world. Libby has a bucket list of small town things they are both to do. Proving it is a small world, Nora keeps jumping into an editor from New york, a man she has contrasting viewpoints on with one of her authors. Charlie may be hot, but he isn’t what she’s there for. The cosmos has other ideas and the two of them find themselves unexpectedly bumping into each other and each time the ice thaws a little more. This book is CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE….. Did I mention how cute this book is? I was completely charmed by Nora from the get go. Kindred spirit and all that. She crushes her goals then makes new ones. Charlie is too cute. That frosty bookish man just needed to get in the water with the “shark” to figure out that there is more to life. I love small town settings. If I could read one type of book for the rest of my life, it would be a small town book. I loved all the fun things Libby had them doing and the budding friendship between Nora and Charlie. I have fast become a fan of Emily Henry so maybe I am biased but I don’t care. This book is well written, highly entertaining and I love falling in love with books like this. 4 stars! Excellent read! #booklovers #emilyhenry #romancereader #chicklit #februaryread #bookworm #bibliophile #booksofinstagram #bookcommunity #bookdragon #bookishlife
By Stacey Irving 29 Apr, 2024
I just finished The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins and here are my thoughts. Camden thought he left it all behind. He turned his back on the estate, the money…. The adoptive family, all of it. He was content to teach and be with his wife Jules. Ruby McTavish isn’t a woman to be beaten, even in death. She was larger than life before she died, a victim of a kidnapping as a child and 4 dead husbands to boot but having Camden take over everything was her wish. Camden can’t put off going back to the Estate after his uncle dies. His family are not happy to see him and he would rather chew his own arm off than have to stay there a second longer than necessary. Being home brings up unanswered questions Camden always had but some secrets are better left alone. THIS BOOK BLEW MY MIND. I literally was turning the pages of my kindle like I was possessed. It was so good. The story balances from Camdens POV, Jules POV and letters that Ruby had written to someone while she was still alive. Ruby explains her own family secrets from her childhood and then what happened to her 4 dead husbands and each one will leave you gasping in horror! She was clever and her family couldn’t even beat her in death. It was glorious! I really felt for Camden all the way through the book and even his dark secret just made me feel bad for him. Then we have Jules… She is split for me. Part of me understands and the other part has me thinking Camden needs to watch his back. His family.. All D-bags. The manor was described in a beautiful and rich way and I felt like I was truly there. It was a fast paced, well executed masterpiece of pure perfection. All other thrillers have a lot to measure up to, this one set the bar in outer space. So many twists and the delicious family drama, made this book one heck of a book. 5 stars @stmartinspress thank you so much for this fabulous read and to @netgalley for this gifted copy #booklover #bookstagram #bookcommunity #booksofinstagram #readingtime #ilovebooks #bookblogger #bookblog #booknerdigans #bookobsessed #bookishfeatures #bookphotography #rachelhawkins #theheiress #thrillerreader #5starbook
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