Book Review Club: A Curious Beginning #amreading #review

Curious Beginning coverA Curious Beginning
(Veronica Speedwell Mystery Series Book 1)
by Deanna Raybourn

Veronica Speedwell is an English spinster of about 25 who makes her living as a lepidopterist, a collector of butterflies. When she has the money, she takes expeditions to different parts of the world to gather her specimens which she sells to collectors for money to go on her next expedition.

The book opens with Veronica at the funeral of her last remaining aunt. The two older ladies raised her from infancy and she believes she is a foundling. But strange events begin with the funeral and lead to her being whisked away to London by a German baron who tells her she’s in danger and claims to have known her mother.

In London, he leaves her with a grumpy natural historian who goes by the name of Mr. Stoker. (Not his real name.) After the baron is killed, the two of them go on the road and things get curiouser and curiouser. And more dangerous.

The book takes place in 1887, the year of Queen Victoria’s 50th year on the throne, but Veronica is not your typical Victorian lady. Like the butterflies she loves and kills, she’s a free spirit, though she keeps her more unconventional behaviors, like indulging in sexual liaisons with foreign gentlemen, to her travels.

Stoker is a man with a past, and it’s a while until we find out how he received the scar on his face and even longer until we learn his internal wounds. Veronica is a good match for him. She’s not the least sentimental and keeps him in line with her sharp tongue.

Along the way we visit behind the scenes of a traveling carnival with a group of odd and sometimes dangerous characters. The writing is often amusing, esp. Veronica and Stoker’s banter. They push each others’ buttons, but are able to work together as an effective team. I really enjoyed the book and look forward to more of their adventures.

Click on the graphic below for more great reviews in Barrie Summy’s Book Review Club.

Linda

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Stanalei Fletcher’s January Blowout Sale #BlogTour @reviewbycrystal

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Stanalei Fletcher’s January Blowout Sale Blog Tour
All 5 Northstar Security Series books are on sale for only
$.99 during the tour only

GiveAway: Stanalei is offering some fabulous prizes during this tour. One Lucky winner will have the chance to choose an ebook from her backlist, another lucky winner will receive a $50 Amazon Gift Certificate, and one lucky winner will have the chance to choose a print book from Stanalei’s backlist. Please use the Rafflecopter below to enter. Remember to follow along with the tour to increase your chances of winning. You may find the other tour locations here.

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Series Blurb:

Northstar Security Firm is an elite private security agency whose mission statement: GUIDED BY THE TRUTH, is the guiding principle to provide justice for those who have been wronged. Founded by former CIA agents Byron O’Neal, Katherine O’Neal, and Sean Malone, Northstar Security has a ninety-nine percent success rate. That one percent is a still open case involving Katherine’s murder and Sean Malone’s career-ending gunshot wound. Nothing is a hundred percent guaranteed, and angst over one unsolved case doesn’t stop good men and women from fulfilling their duty.

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Proving Ground coverProving Ground
Northstar Security Series Book #1

About the Book:

Caitlin Malone believes screw-ups don’t get second chances. When she returns to Oregon after failing her first Northstar Security assignment and stumbles across a plot to steal deadly pathogens, she sees a chance at redemption.

For USDA Forest Ranger, John ‘Mac’ MacAlistair, having Caitlin home again brings up feelings that are better left buried.

When Caitlin is trapped by the wildfire, started by the terrorists, her only hope of rescue is pinned on Mac, the man she’s tried two years to forget.

Buy Links:  Amazon | The Wild Rose Press

Proving Ground teaser

Dead Reckoning coverDead Reckoning
Northstar Security Series Book #2

About the Book:

Byron O’Neal, Northstar Security Firm’s director didn’t always run an elite private investigation firm. His early CIA years were spent chasing Soviet spies. Now his past is catching up, and Kellee, Bryon’s daughter is caught in the middle of a game of Russian Roulette. Northstar agent and former Navy SEAL, Egan Maddox, is tasked to save Kellee from the Russian mafia before it’s too late, a task that puts not only his life, but his heart on the line.

Buy Links: Amazon | The Wild Rose Press

Dead Reckoning Teaser

Beyond Duty coverBeyond Duty
Northstar Security Series Book #3

About the Book:

Northstar Security agent, Riley O’Neal, balks at posing as anyone’s husband for an assignment. Nevertheless, to rescue the kidnapped wife of a U.S. Senator, he’ll perform his duty and do his best to resist the charms of the very woman who deceived him on a previous mission.

U.S. Army Lt. Mary “Chip” Anderson is uneasy about the undercover assignment to pose as newlyweds. Concealing her attraction to Riley while staying focused on the task, may be the biggest challenge. Despite efforts to remain objective, enforced proximity ignites emotions and a desire to make the fake honeymoon real.

When Chip is kidnapped during a botched rescue attempt of the senator’s wife, both women become pawns in the case that threatens the nation’s security. Riley must remain objective, save the women, and avert the threat. But after that, can he convince Chip that she wants to wear his ring forever?

Buy Links:

Amazon | The Wild Rose Press

Excerpt:

Riley waited until the conference door closed and then picked up the sealed envelope on the table. “What’s this?”

His father gestured with his hand. “Open it.”

Riley tore one end of the envelope. Not seeing anything at first, he tipped it upside down. Two gold bands slid out. The innocent symbols of eternal love clattered ominously on the table. The larger one spun a moment before coming to rest, barely touching the smaller ring.

Chip gasped.

Riley felt immobilized by the significance of the gold glinting under the room’s fluorescent lights. As though on cue, they both reached for the rings. When their hands collided, Chip snatched hers back and balled it into a fist.

He picked up the smaller ring first, and rolled the smooth metal between his fingers. He strode around the table and stopped in front of the petite lieutenant.

She stood her ground. Taking her left hand, he heard her draw a breath.

His gaze locked on to the violent storm brewing inside her gray eyes. The temperature inside the room increased. His breathing matched the rise and fall of her chest as the room filled with white noise. Her slender hand trembled ever so slightly as he slipped the band onto her fourth finger. It fit perfectly. He stared into the dark pools of her eyes, like a man dying of thirst in the scorched desert. Uninvited, the timeless words from the marriage ceremony echoed through his head. “With this ring…”

Stunned by the thought, he stopped short of speaking the words aloud. At the head of the table, Byron cleared his throat and broke the spell.

Riley dropped her hand as though he’d been burned. He returned to his side of the table, picked up the other ring, and slid it on the fourth finger of his left hand. No fanfare. No ceremony. Only an unfamiliar burden he was about to carry. A partner—a wife as a cover story—with two lives and the nation’s security at stake.

Beyond Duty teaser

Breaking the Honor Code coverBreaking the Honor Code
Northstar Security Series Book #4

About the Book:
Cyber-terrorism brings even the most powerful companies to their knees. When Northstar Security Firm discovers a breach inside their computer firewall, agent Sloan Cartland will do anything to help the firm’s brilliant computer tech, Allison Richards, find the culprit—even after he learns that all evidence of the hack points back to Allison.

Buy Links: Amazon | The Wild Rose Press

BTHC Teaser

Tell It Like It Is
Northstar Security Series Book #5

About the Book:

FBI agent, Nelson Kane’s Aunt Rosalee has a story to tell. Someone wants her stopped. When Northstar Security’s unconventional bodyguard, Justine Shelby, is assigned as Aunt Rosalee’s protection, Shelby learns she’s as welcome as a wiretap at the annual J. Edgar Hoover Christmas party. Ornaments start to fly when Shelby informs by-the-book, Agent Kane to stay out of the way while she helps his aunt complete her tell-all memoirs.

Buy Links: Amazon | The Wild Rose Press

Stanalei FletcherAbout the Author:

Stanalei’s love of writing romance stems from reading favorites such as Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Barbara Cartland, and Alistair MacLean. She has over twenty years of training in the martial arts and holds the rank of Sandan, a third-degree black belt, in Aikido.

After a taste of life on both U.S. coasts, she now resides near the beautiful Wasatch Mountain Range with her hero, who just happens to be her best friend and husband. Together they enjoy backcountry dirt trails on a RZR, visiting our National Parks, or exploring museums and ghost towns. You may visit Stanalei at:

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