Syrinx pulled a fast one on Pan to escape his raging lust. The God of Chastity wasn’t about to break her vows and succumb to his temptations. Transported to the twenty-first century, she runs a florist shop—fulfilling her fake, mortal life. Until the breathtaking Parker Thomas hires her to decorate his grand estate for a gala. Five hundred roses? Easy enough. Except Parker makes her feel things she can’t ignore…

As the God of Fertility, Pan is used to maidens flocking in droves to his pastures. So when Syrinx denies him, he’s determined to win the one that got away. He poses as a mortal to get close to her, but he doesn’t count on falling hard for his conquest—hard enough to make a life and stay.

But Syrinx is falling in love with a man that doesn’t exist. Can Pan hide his identity forever, or will the truth tear them apart

I love the myth and legend behind this book and for me you don’t get to read about Pan nearly enough so a Book with him as the love interest yes please! He has met his match in the Goddess of Chasity and is truly shocked when she flees from him. Made me smile a bit at that, cause I am sure he had that feeling of “shes saying no to me?!” that some men get. To me he took the high road though when opting for seduction even if it is under his fake mortal persona.

This book is well written and has a fantastic steady pacing that makes it enjoyable to read. There were no points that I felt were too slow or so fast that they were convoluted. It was just the right touch of everything.  This was the first time for me to read Aubrie Dionne but I can say with this style of writing and enjoyable characters it won’t be the last.

My Gemstone Rating:

Two months after dying, seventeen-year-old witch Graylee Perez wakes up in her twin sister Charlene’s body.

Until Gray finds a way back inside her own body, she’s stuck being Charlene every twenty-hour hours. Her sister has left precise instructions on how Gray should dress and behave. Looking like a prep isn’t half as bad as hanging out with Charlene’s snotty friends and gropey boyfriend.

The “normals” of McKinley High might be quick to write her behavior off as post-traumatic stress, but warlock Raj McKenna is the only person who suspects Gray has returned from the dead.

Now Gray has to solve the mystery of her death and resurrection and disentangle herself from Charlene’s body before she disappears for good.

Not much I can say about this one. I wanted to like it the concept was there, the cover was pretty, but the book for me was just not there. The writing is okay, the book is edited that isn’t the issue with this one. I think the issue for me was the characters. I could not connect with them because I didn’t understand why they did what they did. When I can’t connect or feel for a character (love or hate), I have issues with the book.

This one may be a good read for someone else, but for me it was a miss. I didn’t want it to be but can’t win them all.

My Gemstone Rating:

Following the tremendous success of her first novel, Innocent Traitor, which recounted the riveting tale of the doomed Lady Jane Grey, acclaimed historian and New York Times bestselling author Alison Weir turns her masterly storytelling skills to the early life of young Elizabeth Tudor, who would grow up to become England’s most intriguing and powerful queen.

Even at age two, Elizabeth is keenly aware that people in the court of her father, King Henry VIII, have stopped referring to her as “Lady Princess” and now call her “the Lady Elizabeth.” Before she is three, she learns of the tragic fate that has befallen her mother, the enigmatic and seductive Anne Boleyn, and that she herself has been declared illegitimate, an injustice that will haunt her.

What comes next is a succession of stepmothers, bringing with them glimpses of love, fleeting security, tempestuous conflict, and tragedy. The death of her father puts the teenage Elizabeth in greater peril, leaving her at the mercy of ambitious and unscrupulous men. Like her mother two decades earlier she is imprisoned in the Tower of London–and fears she will also meet her mother’s grisly end. Power-driven politics, private scandal and public gossip, a disputed succession, and the grievous example of her sister, “Bloody” Queen Mary, all cement Elizabeth’s resolve in matters of statecraft and love, and set the stage for her transformation into the iconic Virgin Queen.

Another story of the Tudor court and another good story. While I did not feel blown over by this one I did enjoy it. The story of Elizabeth I is something that I personally feel you can never really get enough of. She had such a life from her birth and on it is just a great interest. I always get a little laugh because we all know how badly Henry VIII wanted a boy and yet one of the greatest rulers England ever knew was his Heir but a Daughter. So take that guy.

Alison Weir as always does a good job of writing, mixing the history we know with the fiction that we couldn’t possible know what happened one way or another. If you like a good historical fiction this is a good read that will hold your attention. You may not learn any new facts (like me) if you read a lot of Tudor history but you will really enjoy the book.

My Gemstone Rating: