A Love Unfinished by Bethany-Kris

LOVE
A Love Unfinished by Bethany-Kris
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal
Length: Full Length (258 Pages)
Other: BDSM, M/F, Anal Play, Voyeurism
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Lisianthus

Over two decades ago, an attack on The Clan of Cobalt left families of dragons in ruins. Now, with the clans able to start rebuilding their lives, history is beginning to rewrite, one dragon and one mate at a time…
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Dani Heartview spent a year running from the past she can’t forget and it’s about to catch up in the form of Holden Levy. When he suddenly disappeared, she was devastated, but now he’s back. Even if she can’t deny their connection, the man who returned is vastly different from the one who left.

With Holden’s secrets uncovered, the Alpha dragon inside the man is demanding for its mate to be claimed, but there’s danger lurking close by. Still, his abandonment is a monster she can’t shake. Can she forgive to restart their life, and if she does, can Dani handle exactly what it means to be a dragon’s mate?

Dragons, lost love and a second chance, this had it all. Holden disappeared a year ago, right before his wedding to Dani. The story starts with Dani, still not knowing if Holden is dead or what has happened to him, so when he shows back up, I understood how easily she took him back. Dani does make him work for it, a bit, perhaps not as much as another reader might think she needed to but I felt it worked for this couple. After all, with the secrets he reveals, how can she stay mad at him, when leaving her wasn’t easy for him?

I love the world that author presents, I also adore dragon shifters and the way this is set up and the details put forth about the dragon culture, were so thought out and well done. I could easily imagine it as something the author is just documenting from their life, and that dragons might actually exist.

This was a new author to me, and she’s won me over with her dragons. I look forward to reading more about these dragons and their mates, I hope that this is part of a larger series.

Witch Way by M. A. Marino

WitchWay

Witch Way by M. A. Marino
Publisher: Lycaon Press
Genre: Paranormal, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, YA
Length: Full Length (193 Pages)
Age Recommendation: 12+
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Cyclamen

“Evil isn’t something you are, it’s something you become.”

Are you cialis discount india a man who is suffering from erectile dysfunction. This particular sexual disorder faced by people who have crossed their forty but this is not true online prescription viagra without in all cases. Delivery can take up to 7 working days in the UK, and 10-14 days if you stay within the EU broadly. ordine cialis on line Many online pharmacies offer cialis sales canada to help a man combat his sexual problems. Jessica O’Rourke is learning the dangers that young witches face when dabbling in not-so-good magic for personal gain. All of the women in Jessie’s family are witches. Not the kind of witches that fly on brooms or cast spells with pointed sticks. They’re the kind of witches that Jessie’s mother called practical witches—that is, until she got killed. The worst part about her mother’s death is that her father was the one who did it and now Jessie has to live in a house full of witchy aunts who remind her way too much of how sad she is inside. Jessie’s father has gone missing but she knows he’ll back to take down the rest of her family.

After an encounter with a group of girls, who Jessie’s Aunt Abby describes as “bad news,” Jessie finds herself in a heated battle with the warlocks that threaten to destroy her entire bloodline. In time, she unveils an unimaginable secret about herself that will surely alter her future. Jessie has to decide which way she will turn and how she will use her new powers to stop her father from hurting anyone else. Can she stop herself from becoming evil in the process?

Jessie lands in an orphanage, and at fifteen, she is one of the oldest. She arrived two weeks earlier after her father murdered her mother. She had walked in on him and now she has to put up with the annoying Annie who tries to help every time Jessie has a nightmare, which is every night. She’s tried running away, but she always gets caught. Miss Mason, the coordinator of the group home, keeps trying to get her to talk, but Jessie refuses. She is mired in grief and anger and she tries to block it all out. But Miss Mason does support her when her aunt arrives and wants to be Jessie’s guardian. The state social worker thinks that Rhiannon is too young, at twenty-eight, to care for a troubled teen, especially since Rhiannon has two younger sisters, aged twenty-three and eighteen. With Miss Mason siding with Jessie, Rhiannon is allowed to assume guardianship, and thus begins a new life for Jessie, as she moves from California to New York, into the home of her three aunts and one small cousin, all of whom are witches, just as she is.

This is a very compelling novel with fantastic, well-developed characters. Jessie is obviously very troubled and it doesn’t help that she is empathic and hence can feel all the sadness of those around her. But she is smart and she responds to her Aunt Rhiannon’s kindness and gentleness. As the story surrounding Jessie comes out, there are more mysteries to solve and Jessie is afraid that she is actually evil, because of her paternal heritage. She has very tough choices to make and while most of us will never know what it is like to be a witch, all of us can identify with Jessie’s battle. Her aunt Abby tells her that “evil is a choice.” The novel portrays Jessie’s search for truth, for her very identity, for the strength not to choose evil.

The story is filled with action and the pacing is excellent. The portrayal of high school life rings true. The small community where Jessie now lives with her aunts is realistic and I really felt as if I were in the heart of the action. The author has enriched the story with many details, making it fully developed and very believable.

Readers of fantasy and paranormal stories are sure to find this to be both exciting and thought-provoking. I hope to read more from this author.

 

The Fine Art of Keeping Quiet by Charity Tahmaseb

QUIET
The Fine Art of Keeping Quiet by Charity Tahmaseb
Publisher: Collins Mark Books
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (200 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Sometimes staying silent is the biggest lie of all.

Sophomore Jolia does the one thing no one expects from the girl who has perfected the art of keeping quiet.

She joins the speech team.

Jolia can’t confess the real reason–not to her best friend, her new teammates, or even to crush-worthy rival Sam who offers to coach her in secret.

The heart has four order cialis uk chambers. This viagra 25 mg is why we have provided a list of things that you should inform your doctor about before taking Sildenafil tablets. In the erected state, the medicine cialis uk increases the blood circulation to penile region naturally to augment sexual performance. Therefore if you are dating a beautiful woman, other men will really envy uk levitra you. Keeping quiet might be the easy way out, but when what Jolia doesn’t say starts to hurt those around her, it might just cost her a best friend, her spot on the team, and even Sam.

But she isn’t the only one with a secret. It’s going to take words–her words–to make things right.

If only Jolia can find them.

The longer certain secrets are carried, the heavier they become. If only Jolia knew how to lighten her load.

I immediately sympathized with Jolia’s anxiety about her secret and what the reactions of other people might be if they figure it out. Her personality oozes out of every scene, and Ms. Tahmaseb did a great job at allowing readers to figure it out for ourselves instead of directly telling us what sort of person Jolia is.

It would have been helpful if more time had been spent showing why Jolia and Caro are such good friends. They don’t seem to have a lot in common, and their differences are a regular source of tension between them. Developing Caro’s character more fully would have made it easier for me to understand why she says and does certain things, and it also would have easily lead to a higher rating for this book.

Trying new stuff can be scary and exhilarating at the same time. My favorite scenes involve what happens to Jolia when she first begins competing alongside the rest of the members of her team. The author captures the highs and lows of participating in a public speaking event quite well, and I appreciated the fact that she wrote it from the perspective of someone who isn’t naturally good at it.

The romantic subplot never quite blended in with everything else that was going on in this tale. While the characters who are involved in it do have good chemistry, this story would have worked better if it had focused on developing a strong friendship between them first. Given their personalities and everything else that is happening in their lives, a romantic relationship between them would have made more sense in a sequel than in this particular story.

Mr. Henderson, the speech teacher, came across as a little gruff to me at first, but as I got to know him better I really liked him. Too often teachers are written as antagonists in young adult fiction, so it was refreshing to meet one who honestly cares about his students and wants to help them succeed. If Ms. Tahmaseb ever decides to write a sequel, I’d be interested in seeing what she does with this character as well.

The Fine Art of Keeping Quiet is a good choice for anyone who is shy or fears public speaking. It captures the fluttery feeling that develops when you’re pushed out of your comfort zone beautifully, and for this reason I recommend it to adult and young adult readers alike.

Zero by Sam Crescent

ZERO
Zero by Sam Crescent
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Full Length (176 Pages)
Other: M/F, Anal Play
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Tulip

Zero’s foolish mistake could get them all killed.

Ten years ago, Zero tortured a man for killing his friend. Then Zero set the building on fire, to kill the man and torch the evidence. When he left the burning building, he thought the man was dead—but he wasn’t. Now, Zero’s enemy is back, and the game of cat and mouse is about to start.

Such discount cialis drugs can be harmful and dangerous to humans and therefore, need to be tested and accepted before they are availed for sale. Both has a disparate part to take an interest in addition to it buying that best prices on levitra will help you to recognize what every does and for which kind of male enhancement pills are likely to work fit for your body. It generally arises in the over age people, which is also seen increasing in pill sildenafil the middle age people due to unhealthy lifestyle. The time of ejaculation is not the same for every individual who view this now order cialis is living on this earth. Prue has loved Zero for a long time. He was her brother’s best friend, and he’s protected her through thick and thin. After she got shot by his enemy, he’s there to save her life. The ghost of his enemy lurks everywhere, hitting out when they least expect it.

No one can stop him, and no one can save them.

One by one, Zero’s friends fall, and he’s helpless to stop it. His enemy has all the control, and there’s nothing he can do. The only one he can trust is Prue. She’s been with him through everything, and now it’s time for them to take the man responsible for tearing their lives apart and put him in the ground.

How much can Zero sacrifice before it’s too late?

Sam Crescent outdid herself on this one! I’ve read every book in the Skulls series, and I’m fairly sure that I’ve said that a time or two before. But this one truly is the best one yet. I absolutely loved it!

Zero finally gets his own woman in this book, just when a long buried mistake comes back to threaten the people close to him. I loved Prue! I couldn’t believe how much sass that girl had. She didn’t take crap from anybody. It was great to see her go at it with Tate and come out the winner. She fit right in with the club because she had strength, character and grit. She had love for Zero and that was what he needed. He had to let go of his feelings for Sophia first though. I was glad when he finally saw the light and owned up to his mistakes. It caused some conflict for most of the book.

This book had a great plot with some good suspense. It had action, violence and blood, as nobody in the club was left untouched by a madman’s revenge. Of course, there were some scorching love scenes for Zero and Prue. This is a Sam Crescent book. It’s hard to find hotter sex scenes. If you’ve read her books then you know this is true. This one had a lot of conflict between the club members. Crescent has made her characters stronger in this book, with a few of them standing out and shining brighter this time around. This one was so easy to read. It had a story that flowed easily and much improved grammar. It also left off by putting something in play indicating that we haven’t seen the last of the Skulls MC. Cheers to that!!!

Deep Down by Elle Aycart

DEEP
Deep Down by Elle Aycart
Publisher: Loose Id
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Full Length (293 pages)
Other: M/F, Anal Play
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Lisianthus

Mike Haddican, proud small-town gym owner and renowned karate instructor, is an all-around good guy. He’s never needed much to be happy. Only his family, his friends, his girl. Especially his girl. So when that girl up and left him seven years ago to chase her dreams, she all but destroyed him.

There is always a desire to outperform that dwells in men’s heart. http://djpaulkom.tv/should-you-send-out-credit-bank-and-record-5/ cialis 10 mg RC helicopters are prone to damage if they are not handled buy generic viagra well. More and more people are now cheap levitra prescription ordering the medication due to safety concerns. When students share generic viagra purchase their experiences which may be related to either health problems or poor eating habits. Sure, contemporary dancer Kyra Brims made it big, but it cost her dearly. Now her life and career are in shambles. She doesn’t need a do-over; she needs a friggin’ miracle. Injured, broke, and out of options, she returns to Alden, the town she swore she’d never see again — and home of Mike Haddican, the man who ripped her soul to pieces — to lick her wounds and recover.

Forgetting and letting go proved impossible when they were worlds apart; now that they’re stuck together they don’t stand a chance, especially with Mike’s grandma and her partners in crime plotting, meddling and refusing to give up on them. But as the passion that never died burns out of control, so do old hurts and unresolved issues. They’re going to have to dig deep down to find forgiveness and the wisdom to move on.

I loved the quirky older ladies in this book who are meddling in their grown grandchildren’s lives so they end up happy. I love how that provided a feeling of a small town where everyone knows everyone.

Kyra Brims and Mike Haddican have a past, they were each other’s first loves, and honestly they never fell out of love. A huge misunderstanding in their youth set them on different paths, and I think this allowed them to grow and become strong characters so that when they do get together now, they know how to compromise and really make their love last a lifetime.

There is some outside conflict, but a lot of the conflicts are centered around their past, and finding a way back to each other. I love second chance romances, and this one has all the elements that I love. Two characters that never stopped loving each other, and despite all the time that has passed still can’t keep their hands off of each other.

I definitely recommend this story, it’s loosely connected to another series from the author since it takes place in the same small town, but is easily read without having read that series. I know that I look forward to coming back to Alden in the future.

The Trouble with Harry by Katie MacAlister

HARRY
The Trouble with Harry by Katie MacAlister
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: Historical
Length: Full Length (342 pgs)
Heat Level: Spicy
Rating: 4.5 stars
Reviewed by Xeranthemum

You think you’ve got troubles?

As a spy for the Crown, Lord Harry Rosse faced clever and dangerous adversaries-but it’s his five offspring who seem likely to send him to Bedlam. At his wits’ end, he’s advertised for a wife and found one, but perhaps he should have been a bit more forthcoming on certain points…

Wait till you meet Harry and Plum…

Frederica Pelham, affectionately known as Plum, spent years avoiding the scandals of her past, and is desperate for quiet security and a chance to make a family. What she finds is a titled husband and five little devils who seem bent on their own destruction, not to mention hers. And while all kinds of secrets are catching up with them, Plum knows the real trouble with Harry… is that he’s stolen her heart.

The Trouble with Harry cracked me up. It had elements of Yours, Mine and Ours, a movie about a blended family that was pretty funny in and of itself. There are not quite as many children as in the movie but that’s unnecessary – rambunctious, mischievous and clever children make their mark in unforgettable ways – and this book benefits tremendously from their input.

Let’s face it, annoying people are everywhere and anyone can be annoying in some regard, and someday everyone will be “difficult” for some reason or another. cheapest price on viagra Short walks purchase cialis on line are perfect for improving blood circulation. Peruvian Ginseng Maca comes from the Andes with a cipla tadalafil history of cholestatic jaundice dysfunction associated with prior use of azithromycin. According to the FDA’s office Generic drugs “a generic drug is identical, or bioequivalent to a brand cheapest viagra from india name medication and will also have the same side effects. Plum is a very unique heroine. She’s shunned from the ton and has had to make the best of a very bad situation. There’s a lot to respect in a woman who refused to admit defeat and pushed back at life, believing that there’s something better waiting for her, she just had to find it.

What she finds is Harry. Harry the desperate, the very rich but beleaguered earl who only needs someone to take his kids in hand. What he gets is something far more wonderful – something his money could never buy – love.

As adorable and wonderful as the romance is that grows and blossoms between Harry and Plum, there is a brilliant suspenseful plot conflict that truly spiced up the tension nicely. Plum has secrets and one is so scandalously delicious that of course it gets used against her. And yet, as sick and twisted as the culprit turns out to be, it’s not as simple as a reader first thinks. That is why I liked this book so much – the twist, the surprise and the not knowing how it was going to be solved is what kept those pages flipping.

My favorite secondary character is Juan. He made me grin. I enjoyed his passionate and protective nature for Plum. At first it’s silly but later, later it is important. I liked that.

Second favorite secondary characters were Thom and Nick. I enjoyed the initial misconception and miscommunication between them and about Nick. It helped make the novel more rich and special.

Even though Harry comes across as less than effective with his kids, he’s actually a very strong man, of body and mind. His history is fascinating and his quest is filled with all kinds of delightful drama and suspense. He’s a terrific hero.

My favorite silliness is when they quote positions from ‘the book’. The titles are hilarious even though I truly have no idea what they mean. It’s the reactions that Harry has when Plum mentions certain ones that made me giggle. So much fun and it showcased just how perfect they were for each other.

Another thing that had me laughing was the birth process. The dialogue is hysterical and true to Plum’s character. What came after was sweet, sentimental and poetic.

The Trouble with Harry is a story rich in storytelling talent. It made me laugh, gasp and giggle. The interesting thing about this novel and the other two, Nobel Intentions and Noble Destiny, is the one tiny element that loosely ties them all together. I didn’t expect that and I liked how the author used it for the grand finale in the series. Each book has entertainment value but I liked The Trouble with Harry the best. There is something in Harry and Plum’s relationship dynamic that worked for me and I loved getting to know them and watching them fall in love, even plagued with all the zany antics of the kids, the kitten, the animals and all the mysterious incidents that seemed to happen to them. This book is a keeper.

Saving Grace Devine by Catherine Cavendish

GRACE
Saving Grace Devine by Catherine Cavendish
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, Historical, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (204 pages)
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Can the living help the dead…and at what cost?

When Alex Fletcher finds a painting of a drowned girl, she’s unnerved. When the girl in the painting opens her eyes, she is terrified. And when the girl appears to her as an apparition and begs her for help, Alex can’t refuse.
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But as she digs further into Grace’s past, she is embroiled in supernatural forces she cannot control, and a timeslip back to 1912 brings her face to face with the man who killed Grace and the demonic spirit of his long-dead mother. With such nightmarish forces stacked against her, Alex’s options are few. Somehow she must save Grace, but to do so, she must pay an unimaginable price.

It’s easy to brush away a fleeting glance of something dark and wispy as a figment of your imagination, but what happens when the form begins to take on a curiously human shape?

One of the most important things any good ghost story needs is a gloomy, isolated setting. What makes Arnsay an even better place for Alex to figure out who or what has been following her around is how perfectly ordinary this community appears to be at first glance. Many small towns are slightly obsessed with the people who put them on the map, but what makes this one unique is how its chosen to remember Grace and her family. Their reactions to the legends surrounding her life and death are nearly as intriguing as Alex’s increasingly bizarre encounters with the paranormal.

It would have been helpful to have more character development in this piece. Alex’s reactions to the spirits she encounters are well done, but it was difficult for me to get a sense of the personality she had before all of this began. So much time was spent on showing how her paranormal encounters affected her that I didn’t get to know much about Alex as an individual.

Strong pacing made it hard for me to put this book down. Hints about the backstories of the ghosts that are haunting Alex pop up pretty early on in the plot. At times they involve some rather detailed flashbacks, yet jumping into a previous era for a little while made the present even more interesting due to how closely everything is tied together.

Saving Grace Devine is a solid choice for anyone who enjoys the darker, more unpredictable side of paranormal fiction. This is one of the creepier tales I’ve read recently, and I’m looking forward to reading it again.

The Romantics by Stephanie Queen

QWUEEN
The Romantics by Stephanie Queen
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (188 pgs)
Heat Level: Spicy
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Poinsettia

Big bad bodyguard Joseph Allario kept his secret fear close to his vest until a so-called cupcake assignment takes him to London to play undercover babysitter to Lady Veronica Douglas. Ronnie lost her parents and made a deathbed promise to prove her father was murdered. Joe finds himself falling for Ronnie as he tries to stop the killer before the killer stops her. Even if it means overcoming the one thing he fears most.

Joe knows romance with Ronnie is a bad idea. Too bad his heart didn’t get the message.
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Joe thinks his assignment protecting Ronnie will be an easy one. All he has to do is keep the young woman out of trouble. However, Ronnie is a woman on a mission, and she isn’t easily sidetracked. Her investigation has made her the target of some nefarious characters willing to do anything to silence her. As Joe and Ronnie struggle with their rapidly growing attraction, danger lurks much closer than they ever imagined.

It is abundantly clear that Joe is smitten by Ronnie from the moment he sees her. I smiled as Joe is struck by Ronnie’s beauty and innocence. When Ronnie smiles at him for the first time, his reaction is particularly interesting. “An angel’s choir in heaven struck a chord in his veins as if they’d presented him with their most prized gift.” While Joe’s reaction seems a little over the top, I couldn’t help but chuckle as I witnessed Joe fall very hard for Ronnie. The Romantics is filled with amusing banter between Joe and Ronnie as they dance around their feelings for each other. However, I think Joe spends way too much time thinking about how “perfect” Ronnie is. I enjoyed watching Joe fall in love with Ronnie, but his musings over her perfection became much too frequent and lost their emotional impact.

I must admit that I was a little frustrated with the pace of The Romantics at the beginning. The story moved along very slowly, and I was seriously beginning to doubt whether Joe and Ronnie’s investigation would actually lead anywhere. My patience was certainly rewarded. When Joe and Ronnie make an important discovery, the pacing really picks up. The last half of the book is very intense and had me on the edge of my seat wondering how the action would all play out.

Some questions remain unanswered at the conclusion of The Romantics, but the ending is still very satisfying. I do think one of the last scenes between Joe and Ronnie was a bit uncomfortable. They have a very emotionally intimate moment that should have occurred in private, but was witnessed by a small group of people. I was unable to enjoy the romance of their moment because I kept thinking about the other people in the room. After everything that Joe and Ronnie have been through, I really think they deserved a moment alone.

Despite my issues, I think The Romantics is a good book. Joe and Ronnie have great chemistry, and the last half of their tale is loaded with suspense. Readers who like a tough hero whose heart melts at the sight of his heroine should check out The Romantics today.

California Thyme by Casey Dawes

THYME
California Thyme by Casey Dawes
Publisher: Crimson Romance
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Full Length (174 pgs)
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Hawthorn

Mandy Parker doesn’t want to turn out like her mother, an aging actress desperate for the love of the crowd. Avoiding anything Hollywood related is vital for Mandy’s sanity; however, a bad economy forces her to take a job catering to a movie crew.

Since the woman he’d loved married his best friend, James Lubbock has put women far behind his career in the movie business. The assistant caterer is attractive, but he’s more focused on figuring out who’s sabotaging his set.

Sparks fly between Mandy and James, but can they overcome their painful pasts to risk a chance on love?

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The most important message in California Thyme, for me at least, is that a loving family can give us a firm basis for a happy life, and when we don’t get to experience that as children, the hurt follows us long into adulthood. It takes a special sort of love to help us overcome the barriers that we set up. This is exactly what James does for Mandy in Dawes’s romance.

I think how Lola and Dana’s shadows follow Mandy everywhere is something that the novel really excels in showing. Perhaps even too much, as Mandy’s indecision towards the end gets slightly cumbersome. She is hurting and insecure, but maybe obsessing a little bit too much about her parents and the way they failed her. James brings his own share of baggage to the first meeting with Mandy at Costanoa Grill. His portrayal seems more and more convincing as we get to glimpse details from his past.

I wished for more immediacy in the descriptions of the fast paced film world. I feel there was a lot of talk about how intense and wild Hollywood was, but I got to see little of that in the descriptions of the film shootings. Even with the sabotage subplot there was no real suspense or mystery, and the discovery of the perpetrator was no real surprise to me.

While the scenes between James and Mandy were sweet and told us much about them as individual characters, I never really felt any chemistry between them. Despite the ‘should they or shouldn’t they’ atmosphere throughout their romance, I didn’t feel any tension nor any physical attraction. Perhaps they should’ve both been a bit more active in the budding relationship and not take everything so passively; I think that would have helped make them seem more involved and ‘passionate’.

This is a sweet romance that puts a lot of emphasis on family values, honesty and loyalty. It makes true love sound like something everyone can gain, if only they’re willing to take that risk.

 

A Weaver’s Web by Chris Pearce

WEB
A Weaver’s Web by Chris Pearce
Publisher: Self-published
Genre: Historical
Length: Full Length (238 pages)
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Handloom weaver Henry Wakefield, his wife Sarah and their five children live in abject poverty in the Manchester area of the UK in the early 19th century at the time of the Industrial Revolution. Henry hates the new factories and won’t let his family work in them. He clashes with Sarah, a factory agent, a local priest and reformers, and son Albert runs away. The family are evicted and move to Manchester but are even worse off, living in a cellar in a terrace and have another little mouth to feed.

Henry’s love of money overrides his hatred of factories and he starts one of his own, but it is beset with problems. The Wakefields eventually become quite wealthy, but Henry holds the purse strings and this has a devastating effect on the family. Albert is caught stealing and is transported to New South Wales. Her baby’s death, Albert’s unknown fate and society parties become too much for Sarah, who hears voices and is taken to the lunatic asylum. Son Benjamin faces eviction from the family home for having a baby with an orphan girl too soon after their marriage.
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Family members, including Sarah who has got out of the asylum and Albert who has returned to England unbeknown to Henry, have had enough and seek revenge.

Every parent dreams of giving his or her children a better life. Henry Wakefield is convinced he has what it takes to pull his family out of poverty…at any cost.

I was impressed by how much detail Mr. Pearce packed into this story. His descriptions of English life in the early 1800s were so extensive that I felt like I was walking alongside the characters as they struggled to survive. My favourite passages discussed how grimly the weakest members of their society were treated by anyone who thought they could get away with it. They weren’t always easy scenes to digest, but they were so well written that I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the page.

There wasn’t a great deal of character development in this book. The personalities of both the main and supporting characters relied heavily on the use of certain stereotypes about gender, social class, and religion. There were several scenes that would have been much more effective if I could have better understood why these characters behaved the way they did or what prevented them from learning from their previous experiences.

With that being said, this is a fascinating glimpse into the dark side of human nature. It’s easy to point out the faults of others, but it’s far more difficult to be on the other side of that judgement. This tale worked best when it showed just how easy it is to believe that you’re smarter and more resilient than every other person who has been hobbled by the same temptation before.

Reading A Weaver’s Web made me feel as though I’d travelled back in time 200 years. This is a good choice for anyone in the mood for a richly detailed historical novel.