And Only to Deceive (A Lady Emily Ashton Mystery)

And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander (2006)

Pages: 310

ISBN: 9780061148446

Description: Emily's desire to learn more about her late husband takes her to the quiet corridors of the British Museum, where, amid priceless ancient statues, she uncovers a dark, dangerous secret involving stolen artifacts from the Greco-Roman galleries. To complicate matters, she's juggling two very prominent and wealthy suitors, one of whose intentions may go beyond the marrying kind. Her search to solve the crime leads to surprising discoveries about the man she married and causes her to question the role in Victorian society to which she, as a woman, is relegated.

Review: Lady Ashton is in morning after losing her husband to illness on a hunt in Africa. She hardly knew her husband as they were only married for a matter of months before he left on his final expedition to Africa. As time goes on, Emily learns more and more about her husband and his love of all things Greek. She herself becomes quite the scholar and delves deep into the subject. As she does this, she learns more and more about her husband and eventually falls in love with him. Meanwhile, she has two of his friends, Colin Hardgreaves and Andrew Palmer are both after her affections. The more she learns about Philip (her husband), she discovers a mystery involving stolen antiquities and the British Museum. She lands herself in danger that can only result in scandal.

I was intrigued with the writing style of Alexander from the beginning. She makes it easy to keep turning the pages to read more. The characters were well written although somewhat unbelievable for the era (a bit too modern at times). For the most part the story was interesting and captured my attention; however, it lagged somewhat in the beginning. I also could have done without the mystery of Philip's demise (is he dead or not). All in all, a nice mystery with some spunky ladies and a slight hint of romance in the air. I will continue on with her second book, A Poisoned Season.

Score: 3 out of 5

The Lightening Theif

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (2005)

Description: Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school... again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into this life. And worse, he 's angered a few of them. Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

Review: What a captivating book. I had a really hard time putting this one down. It's a great way to teach Greek mythology to kids. I had a real fun time reading it as well. The tone of the book was really great. I just absolutely love Percy Jackson. I can't wait to read about his further adventures. All in all, a great, fun read. I highly recommend picking this book up and giving it a whirl.

Score: 4 out of 5