Books by Beth O
I thrive on Beauty and the Beast retellings, but my, is Beauty Reborn a just-okay trip through the same story beats. The Beauty here annoys, the Beast is mediocre, and the story doesn’t do that much to differentiate itself from every other take I’ve seen on the material.
Beauty wants anything ...
Her Hometown Detective by Elizabeth Mowers is an entry in Harlequin’s kisses-only Heartwarming line. The characters and storyline are a little outside what I usually see in small-town romances, but they reflect the sorts of folks I actually encounter in small towns and I enjoyed this one quite a ...
I picked up Elizabeth O'Roark's A Deal With the Devil after I saw a reader comment about it on a blog here at AAR and I'm so glad I did. My first impression was great! I immediately got pleasantly sucked into the smart, witty banter between leads Natalia (Tali) and Hayes and I didn't want to put the ...
Elisabeth Hobbes’ Daughters of Paris is a story of intrigue, romance, and redemption. I found it to be an enjoyable if somewhat predictable read till the end of the novel, where things took a turn for the worse.
While playing in the yard of the high-end Parisian apartment building in which they ...
The No-Show didn’t quite jibe for me. While Beth O’Leary normally can do no wrong in my eyes, this is the lowest grade I’ve given any of her books, and that’s for one reason – she expects us to feel sympathy for Joseph, the central guy here. Naturally, she weaves a mature narrative out ...
First, a bit of backstory. Months ago, I optimistically requested The No-Show on Netgalley. I was thrilled (and surprised) when I received a notification that my request was accepted. To be honest, I requested The No-Show because it was an O’Leary book, and not because of anything I knew abo ...
Elisabeth Hobbes dips her toes into the historical fiction side of the writing pool with Daughter of the Sea, the tale of a foundling and the woman who takes her in. This pretty, lyrical tale is honest and lovely, with some perfect prose imagery.
Effie Cropton has a sailor husband and an infant ...
The best literary retellings take us to new places and bring new worlds to light. So Many Beginnings does a beautiful job of applying the basic background of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women and adding a whole new layer of emotions and experiences to it. I have read many retellings of the story, ...
Beth Morrey’s The Love Story of Missy Carmichael is a well-realized character study with a firm, brash, non-soppy narrative tone that draws the reader right in and keeps them close at heart, but it left me with a few reservations.
Stoke Newington resident Mrs. Millicent “Missy” Carmichael i ...
Narrated by Josh Dylan and Eleanor Tomlinson
The Road Trip opens in the PoV of Dylan Abbott, just after he and close friend Marcus set off on a road trip to northern Scotland to attend a friend's wedding. Dylan’s sort of listening to Marcus struggle to apologize (for what we don’t know - ye ...