Night of a Thousand Stars by Deanna Raybourn

I received a galley of this novel from NetGalley for review. This in no way affected my opinions.

Another great novel from Deanna Raybourn! I just love her style, which is breezy and engaging.

Like her previous novel City Of Jasmine, Night of a Thousand Stars takes us to the Middle East for another adventure. And we see characters from Raybourn's previous books pop up, and there's even a connection to her Lady Julia books!

The opening chapters grab you immediately: a runaway bride who is helped in her getaway by a curate. I am already wondering about this gutsy heroine, who is already making a pretty bold decision.

Finding herself seeking a purpose after ditching her fiance at the altar, with her newly obtained ladies maid, she goes out in search of said purpose. And in trying to find her curate to thank him, she finds more than her purpose, she find a life-altering adventure.

Like I implied at the beginning, the writing flows easily. If you liked Raybourn's other books, especially her recent ones, you'll like this just as much.

City of Jasmine by Deanna Raybourn

I received a galley of this novel from NetGalley for review. This in no way affected my opinions.

First of all, I highly recommend reading the prequel to this novel: Whisper of Jasmine. It shows how Evie and Gabriel met, and gives good insight into the beginning of their relationship.

That being said, City of Jasmine takes place in 1920 Syria, and seeing as how I didn't know a whole lot of what was going on in that area then, I learned a lot. Evie and Gabriel were thrown into lots of adventures and came across a lot of suspicious characters, some dangerous, some just shady. The descriptions and seeing the area through the eyes of Evie totally brought the country to life. The descriptions were not overdone, but were the right amount.

While I miss the Lady Julia books, I'm just happy to have another book by Deanna Raybourn. Her style and feisty, independent heroines are still strong in books like City of Jasmine.

I couldn't put this down! Deanna Raybourn fans will not be disappointed.

A Spear of Summer Grass by Deanna Raybourn

I received a galley of this novel from NetGalley for review. This in no way affected my opinions.

A delightful story set in 1920s Africa starring a scandalous flapper.

Even from reading the summary beforehand, I still didn't know what to expect when I started reading this. It was a fast read, although I'm not sure if the reason for that was the writing style or the fact that the story just moved quickly. Regardless, I never really felt a lull in the story. While it took a little while for the story to get going, once it did, there was no stopping it.

I admit to not reading a whole lot of historical fiction set in Africa, but that was because the books always looked so stuffy. A Spear of Summer Grass managed to evoke the beauty of a country without gagging me with it.

The characters were fantastic, although I admit to not being able to keep some of them straight. The main character Delilah started out as a frivolous, flighty flapper, but her character growth made for great reading.

A fantastic read set in a rarely visited time and location.

The Dark Enquiry by Deanna Raybourn

I received a galley of this novel from NetGalley for review. This in no way affected my opinions.

Another winner!

Julia and Brisbane have settled in London after their honeymoon. However, unsurprisingly, there is no marriage normalcy in sight. Brisbane is still as secretive as ever, and Julia sets out to find out why he is keeping certain secrets from her, especially when she knows it concerns her family. This leads her to the Spirit Club, were séances are held.

Of course, Brisbane immediately finds her out. Seriously, nothing gets by this guy. And Julia and Brisbane unexpectedly find themselves witnesses to someone's unfortunate death. Interestingly enough, the death is ruled an accident, but Julia and Brisbane aren't so sure.

Their marriage is tested when Julia oversteps her bounds and she finds herself that subject of newspaper gossip. Tension arise between her and Brisbane as the investigation unfolds, and Julia wonders if their marriage will endure.

I found the investigation very intriguing. The suspects were characters with a variety of different personalities and positions in society.

However, what I found the most enjoyable was watching Julia and Brisbane's relationship. I was so relieved while reading the last book to find out they were not going to have a fairytale marriage and work together during investigations in perfect harmony. I would have been very disappointed if that happened.

The scenes in this book between the two of them, especially towards the end, were very intense. More about Brisbane and his past were revealed, but I'm still happy to report, that even after five books, there is still more mysteries surrounding him left to be revealed.

The Dark Enquiry ended on a little bit of a cliffhanger, albeit not much. We just find out where they're headed to next. I can't wait!

Dark Road to Darjeeling by Deanna Raybourn

I received a galley of this novel from NetGalley for review. This in no way affected my opinions.


Another great installment in the Lady Julia Grey series!

One of favorite things about this series is the mysteries surrounding Brisbane and one of my fears that with he and Julia married, that would end. Not so! I'm glad to say that Brisbane is as mysterious and as sneaky as ever.

Still on their honeymoon, Julia and Brisbane are surprised by a visit by Julia's siblings Portia and Plum. They are on their way to Darjeeling to visit Portia's now widowed ex-lover Jane, who is also pregnant. Portia has surmised from Jane's letters that her late husband was a victim of a murder and that Jane may be next. Portia convinces her sister and brother-in-law to travel with them to Darjeeling, but without revealing her true motive – helping to solve a possible murder.

Arriving on the tea plantation, Julia is introduced to the Cavendish family and the surrounding residents of the area, that includes a peculiar family, along with relatives of Julia's that may possibly have a motive for motive. Also lurking about is a man they call the White Rajah. Trying to solve a murder that may or may not have even happened is difficult for Julia, especially when there's a man-eating tiger on the loose! However, she weaves her way through all suspicious characters, finding that even with so few suspects, this wasn't going to be as easy as she thought.

Julia also has other motives, she wants to solve this possible murder on her own, in order to gain her husband's respect and prove to him that she's an asset in his investigations. Through doing this, she discovers things about herself that she was unaware of, things about herself that she does not like.

I was completely gripped by this book. I saw absolutely nothing coming. I thought I had a few things worked out only to be completely wrong. And that Brisbane, still pops up with the surprises. He did not disappoint. This is one mystery series that shows no signs of slowing down.