June Challenge Update

I did a lof reading this month, including four more Historical Fiction books for the challenge. Alas, I can only remember what three of them were and I already returned my books to the library. But trust me, there was four, I'm not a cheater :-)

The first one, whose name I forgot, was really bad. It started out okay but did not end well and I wished my hours back so I turned to something more reliable, or really someone. Rhys Bowen*. She writes several mystery series and I'm currently in the middle of two so instead of reviewing random books in the series, I'd thought I'd review the series.

Molly Murphy Series:

I've read two of these so far, but alas not the first two**. They tell the story of Molly Murphy, an Irish immigrant living in New York City in the early 1900s. She ends up making her way through the city as a detective of sorts. I like Molly's character, she is spunky but believable.  These books remind me of the gaslight series and from what I've read, the series only gets better as it progresses so I'll definitely be sticking with it.

The Royal Spyness Series:

The first one of these was okay, I mean it was good enough that I picked up the second, but nothing amazing But then I fell in love with them and read the next two within 72 hours. The heroine of this series is Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenia  (aka Georgie) who is a royal cousin of King George V. But alas, it is 1932 and royalty or not, she's broke. Georgie is naive and way out of her element trying to make it on her own but she is also kind, generous and willing to work hard.

This series is more humorous and lighthearted than the Molly Murphy Series. It's the type of mystery book that I can read while Craig is out of town without becoming hypersensitive to every creak and moan in the house. One of the story-lines did perpetuate some negative adoption sterotypes which bothered me, but overall I found the mysteries to be imaginative and delightful. I love how she brings in other members of the royal family (Georgie is fiction but many of the side characters are real). The only other fault I have with the series is that there are only 4 books so far and I've read three of them.

* Also, I just found her blog. I love when authors have blogs, its so much fun! Rhys has also endeared herself to my heart by putting together a easy to print list of her books in order. I passionately hate it when I go to get the next in a series and can't figure out which one that would be. Why are so many series not numbered, all it takes is one little digit on the cover somewhere or a list on the inside, how hard is that?

** Why do libaries torture us and only get part of a series? Our library has a random assortment of these but not the second and third? If you are going to get four of the nine books in a series, get the first four!

Okay, I better end this post before I pop a blood vessel. It is just very important to me to read things in the correct order. Anyway, Happy Reading!