Tag: #MagicalRealism

Book Review: The Mirror by Nora Roberts

BonnieReadsAndWrites2 Comments

In this second book of THE LOST BRIDE trilogy, Sonya McTavish is living in a beautiful mansion she inherited on the coast of Maine, along with her friend Cleo and an assortment of ghosts, because the gorgeous home holds a lot of haunted secrets. And not all of the ghosts are friendly. There is one horrible witch who has killed seven brides on their wedding day. Sonya finds an enchanted mirror and is able to travel back in time to those murders to try and stop her.

The magical realism works very well in this story. Nora Roberts does a great job of making the house come alive with magic and sometimes evil. The backstories of the ghosts and of Sonya herself are intriguing. This wasn’t marketed as horror, but does have some horror elements and sometimes gets a little dark for my personal taste, but overall this is a wonderful second book in the series. It ends on a cliffhanger, but the third book of the trilogy is coming.

My rating is 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 on sites with no half-star option.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple Books | Google | Kobo

Book Review: The Lives of Diamond Bessie

BonnieReadsAndWrites11 Comments

This is another review I did for the May edition of Historical Novels Review, the magazine of the Historical Novel Society. It’s true crime meets magical realism. A fascinating combination.

In 1860s New York, Annie Moore is sent to a convent for fallen women after getting pregnant out of wedlock. After the nuns take her baby, she tries to find the child but ends up going into prostitution just to survive. She becomes Bessie and is soon highly sought after by men. She earns her own money, is showered with jewels, and gets the opportunity to travel. However, she longs for a different life. When the man who she thought would return her to respectability betrays her, she begins to seek revenge. Based on a true story, this is a captivating book with a surprise.

The first half of this book stays very true to the real-life story, but then there is a supernatural element that begins midway through. It makes the novel even more interesting and unpredictable. As Annie, the main character is treated abominably by society and the church. As Bessie, she is used by men and madams but still finds a measure of success. After marriage, she eventually realizes that her husband has no intention of living a normal life with her. But by then it’s too late. We travel with Bessie to Chicago, New Orleans, Cincinnati, and Texas, and then into the world of the paranormal as Bessie seeks revenge. The magical realism aspect of this story really sets it apart. The plight of women in those times is evident, and the theme of revenge is explored. This is an intriguing combination of genres—true crime, women’s fiction, and the paranormal—all woven into a compelling historical novel. Highly recommended.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jody Hadlock’s love of history goes all the way back to junior high, when she was a member of the Junior Historians of Texas, so it’s no surprise her first novel is historical. She studied journalism at Texas A&M University and worked as a broadcast journalist and then in nonprofit public relations before turning her focus to fiction. She also writes screenplays and won the 2020 Dallas International Film Festival’s screenplay contest.

Jody’s Social Media: Instagram|Bookbub|Facebook|Website

BUY LINKS

AMAZON|AMAZON UK|B&N