5 Things: Proof of the Pudding

 

Book 17 in the Royal Spyness series!

This is a favorite cozy series of mine. Here are 5 things I loved about this book! 

Blog Tour: Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding

About the Book:

The date is set and arrangements are being made for royal amateur sleuth Georgie Rannoch’s wedding! At last, she will wed the incredibly charming, always mystifying Darcy O’Mara. With a dress in the works and a royal wedding party ready to waltz her down the aisle, Georgie’s next affair is finding a place to live with her betrothed after the big day.

But alas—house-hunting is harder than it seems! After visiting a series of less-than-glamorous lodgings, Georgie’s luck finally turns around when she’s invited by a close family friend to live in his grand estate in the English countryside. Georgie expects a life of luxury and elegance, but is met with a very different reality…

At Eynsleigh Manor, Georgie finds a gaggle of incompetent servants and a run-down estate. And when she wakes up in the middle of the night to find a gas tap running in her bedroom, Georgie suspects something rotten is afoot…will she have the chance to walk down the aisle, or will death get in the way of her happy ever after?

About the Author: 

Rhys Bowen is the New York Times Bestselling Author of the Royal Spyness Series, Molly Murphy Mysteries, and Constable Evans. She has won the Agatha Best Novel Award and has been nominated for the Edgar Best Novel. Rhys’s titles have received rave reviews around the globe.

My Review: This is book number 12 in the series and I've enjoyed reading them all. I loved this one for the wedding talk, especially the conversations about the dresses - and the princesses. I loved the moments between Lady Georgiana and her grandfather, he's a favorite character of mine. I also love Queenie; she's come into her own later in the series and I appreciate her.  I enjoyed learning more about Eynsleigh Manor - both the good and the bad. Of course I enjoyed the moments with the Queen and Fig. I can't wait to read what happens next!

If you haven't read these book, you're in for a treat.

Mysterious Cozy Review: Malice at the Palace

* Book 9 in the Royal Spyness Series *

After returning from America, Lady Georgiana stays at her friend Belinda's place. Belinda's supposed to be in America still, but she comes home quite unexpectedly. Now Georgie's looking for a place to live again. Luckily she runs into her brother, who's in town. He insists that she stay with them.

Knowing that Lady Georgiana is back in London, the Queen invites her to the palace. She has a job for Georgie. She asks Georgie show Princess Marina of Greece the city of London before her upcoming wedding to Prince George. Georgie couldn't be happier. She moves into a palace straight away.

Unfortunately, she also stumbles across another body - outside the palace. Socialite Bobo Carrington used to roam in the same circle as the groom. Rumors of her fast life swirl as Lady Georgie attempts to discreetly determine if any of her peers could be the guilty party without derailing the royal wedding.

My Thoughts: I still love this historical cozy series and I love seeing more of the Royals. I especially love it when Lady Georgiana has to meet the Queen for tea. I liked seeing more of the princes this book as well.

I love these books also for the secondary characters and we see quite a bit of them in this book. New additions include Princess Marina, who was lovely. And Countess Irmtraut who didn't understand enough about the English language. She was always out of the loop and had no sense of humor. 

I liked how Lady Georgie poked around society looking for clues as to who could have wanted the Prince framed for murder so close to his wedding. I like how the police used her to ask questions delicately while still getting answers.

Cover Thoughts: Charming
Source: My Library

Final Thoughts: Sprinkled with romance, danger, royalty, and historical moments, these ingredients blend together to create a perfect cozy series. Read one today!

Mysterious Saturday Review: Queen of Hearts

* Royal Spyness Book 8 *

Georgie's still in Kent when a car comes barreling up the driveway in the middle of the afternoon. It's her mother and she's on her way to America for a quickie divorce. She would like her daughter's company.

On the boat there, a priceless ruby's stolen causing Darcy to show himself to Lady Georgiana. He's been chasing a jewel thief through England and now across the pond.

Aboard ship, Lady Georgiana and her mother meed several prominent people including a famous Hollywood actress and her producer boyfriend. When he makes an offer to her mother to make her a star, a plan's hatched. They install a look-alike in Reno to make the divorce legal and then Lady Georgiana and her mother head to Hollywood.

Hollywood isn't as glamorous as it seems; secrets lurk everywhere. The group takes a break from filming and head to the producer's castle for the weekend. During the first night, the host is found bludgeoned to death in the library. The murderer must be one of the them and still in the castle.

My Thoughts: I'm a huge fan of the series and I loved seeing old Hollywood and some familiar faces among the characters along with the behind the scenes look at the movies. It was also fascinating to see the differences between the Americans and the English mannerisms; how they treated the maids, their thoughts on familiarity, their thoughts on romantic relationships.  Lady Georigiana has always been up for an adventure, which I admire about her. She's also calm, cool, and collected when an incident occurs.  Everyone has secrets, but the very rich seem to have a few more and Georgie is very good at figuring them out, should the need arise.  

Cover Thoughts: Cute
Source: My Library

Mysterious Saturday Review: Heirs and Graces

* Book 7 in the Royal Spyness series* 

Lady Georgiana and her mother were all set up in a house in London, when things changed. Her mother decided that her memoir was simply too juicy to share, Plus her boyfriend wanted to rent a house in Switzerland.  Off she goes, leaving Lady Georgiana on her own.

Lady Georgiana has no idea where to turn. She doesn't want to go back to Scotland and her sister-in-law's forbidden her the use of the London House. Finally she wrote to the Queen - who asks her for tea with an old friend. The Queen's friend needs help teaching a long lost heir English manners.

Off Lady Georgiana goes to a country house, where the Duke isn't interested in either his family nor his duty continuing the line.  The lost heir from Australia arrives and days later the Duke is murdered.

Now the party's stuck at the house while the police investigate. Lady Georgiana stumbled upon the body and has quite a few opinions about the murder. No one likes to be stuck in a house with a murdered on the loose - or worse in the same house. 

My Thoughts: I love the Royal Spyness series - in this addition I love that Lady Georgiana landed a plum assignment (with a nice house and plenty of food.) I was impressed that she did ask the Queen for help and I love that the Queen sends her on these little assignments. I liked the differences of viewpoints between the Duke and the Dowager duchess- a relaxation of the rules and the struggles to maintain tradition. I loved the moments with Belinda - she adds a spark of humor. I loved that Darcy dropped in, unexpectedly as always. He's rather dreamy. So looking forward to the next book to see what scrapes Lady Georgiana will get into next.

Cover Thoughts: Cute
Source: My Library.

Movie Review: King's Speech

Over the weekend, I finally watched The King's Speech. I've been waiting to see this for ages, not just because of all the buzz, but because I simply adore Colin Firth.

I LOVED THIS MOVIE.

I loved the humor, especially the bits between Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush.

I Loved Lionel - he was funny, clever, witty, and not afraid of the King.

I loved the Princesses.

I loved the costumes.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie - laughing a number of times.

Book Pairing: Her Royal Spyness: a novel featuring Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, 34th in line for the throne - during the same time period. I love this series. GoodReads

Mysterious Saturday Review: Royal Blood

Lady Georgiana is asked by the Queen to attend the wedding of an old school classmate while representing the Crown of England. She's also asked to be one of the bridesmaids.

Georgiana is happy to escape the cold foggy London - where her sister-in-law and her brother have joined her. They aren't used to her style of living and they're making her crazy. The one downside about traveling to Transylvania is that Georgiana must travel with her maid and she can't afford one.

After her grandfather works out a deal - she acquires a rough around the edges maid. Together they travel from England by boat to France and then by train to their destination.

Once they arrive at the castle, the weather changes. Everyone's trapped inside the castle due to the snow. One night, at dinner, between the toasts the man sitting next to Georgiana falls face first into his food.

He's taken into another room, where it's discovered he's been poisoned. however, because of his political connections, the few in the know decide to announce he's had a heart attack. His death could mean a civil war between the two countries uniting by marriage. they can't stop the marriage, so they whisk the body away.

As Georgiana looks into the mysterious death, she remember the glass the man drank out of was not his own. Instead, he drank from the Prince's glass. Does someone desire to stop this wedding at all costs?

My Thoughts: This is the fourth in the Royal Spyness series - a charming blend of Royal life with everyday living as Georgiana has virtually no monies. There's always danger, a spark of romance, and snooty Royals involved.

The Cover: Elegant and in connection with the three previous books

Source: ILL