robinwalter's reviews
1741 reviews

The Mistletoe Countess by Pepper Basham

hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

A sweet romance, with good chemistry between the couple. A bit cloying at times, and not compelling enough for me to read more in the series

A Match in the Making by Jen Turano
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.

Nearly one third through and the book was prim and lifeless. Zero chemistry or spark between the leads and no romance 

The Mysterious Marquess by Grace Burrowes

emotional hopeful mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The mystery was more engaging than the romance, and once again, St Didier is the most interesting piece of the story for me

Murder at the Mushaira by Raza Mir
Did not finish book. Stopped at 45%.

Having absolutely LOVED Raza Mir's The Taste of Words: An Introduction to Urdu Poetry I really, REALLY wanted to like this book. The concept sounded fun, with the legendary Mirza Ghalib as a sleuth. Sadly, it din't quite work for me. The history worked into the story as background and context was very interesting, albeit also very disturbing. Being set in the week before the Rebellion  sprang into full life made reading the historical tidbits and the historically accurate interpolations very difficult to read. 

But the reason I gave up was simply that the mystery didn't work. The investigative bits read far too modern, I got no sense of time and place from them. In the end, this killed my interest in the story. 

Garden of Lamentations by Deborah Crombie

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

A very good wrap up for the corruption arc. All the pieces came together nicely, but not TOO neatly, and most importantly, the storyline was not dragged into yet another book. 

Delphine and the Dangerous Arrangement by Alicia Cameron

emotional hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Fast and fun, a sweet short story done very well

Murder Among Us: A Kate Austen Mystery by Jonnie Jacobs

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

Not bad, scored up for throwing me well of the track early on

To Dwell in Darkness by Deborah Crombie

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

A fine addition to the series, scored up for surprisingly straightforward answer to the whodunnit

The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures by Dougal Dixon

informative medium-paced

4.0

A  good overview  for complete layperson like me. 

A Gentleman of Unreliable Honor by Grace Burrowes

hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

An entertaining mystery, which I came very close to solving quite early on, but the highlight of this story was definitely the mother and child reunion