Fathoms by Lisa T. Bergren

 

Ercole has firmly ensconced himself in castle Paratore and has managed to gain favor with many to align themselves against the Forelli's. His demands to make peace come at a high price. Thwarted from marrying Tiliani he demands the hand of a child-Lady Celeste is just 9 years old! He agrees to allow Luciana and Tiliani to chaperone the child until she comes of age. Everyone knows he cannot be trusted, their only hope is to be able to convince others to stand with them to defeat him. 

Such an exciting and stressful read! Time travel, castles, battles, intrigue and romance. Along with a villain that one cannot wait gets his comeuppance! I love seeing the strong women characters. They definitely deserve the title She-Wolves! Ercole is the perfect villain. I hate to say I wanted him to die a gruesome death, but I really did! He was evil! Confession: it took me almost a month to read this! Not because it was boring, not because I didn't enjoy every bit of it, but because I would get so stressed I'd have to put it down! And then when I read the last page...I missed all of the characters and wanted more! I loved the River of Time series, and I loved the Ocean of Time series just as much. I fell in love with the time travel and I fell in love with all of the characters. Seriously, read this series! 

 

Not They Who Soar by Amanda Flower

 

Katherine Wright is attending the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis while visiting her dearest friend. On their first day touring the fair Katherine stumbles upon a murder. Katherine is determined to find out who killed the girl and why. The mystery seems to be centered around the aeronautics competition which the Wright brothers refused to enter. There are plenty of other competitors in the game though so who has the most motive for murder?

I loved the history sprinkled throughout the story! I love that real people are scattered throughout the story along with some entertaining made-up characters. The mystery was pretty good as well and did offer some surprises at the end. As with most of author Amanda Flower's books there is an animal character. You'll have to read the book to find out what kind! Very entertaining and well-written. I enjoyed the book very much.