Awakening by Traci Higley

Kallie is an ancient history buff and works at a large museum doing research into the lives and language of the Ancient Minoans. She is totally absorbed in this because she has no memory of her life before 7 years previous. She teams up with Dimitri Andreas, a rich philanthropist whose interest in her research is as strong as hers and they go on a world search for an artifact that will crack the code of the language.

Tracy Higley takes us through a whirlwind tour of Egypt, Venice (Italy) and the Greek island of Santorini. She has traveled to these places and has first hand knowledge of the tourist haunts in all these places which makes it real and fun. I have been to two of the three locations and enjoyed visiting again via this book.

I read this book pretty much straight through with a few brief stops when life got in the way. I was fascinating, mesmerizing and different from any book I've read recently. It is even different from most or all of Tracy Higley's other books, all of which I have devoured as soon as they came out. I am still reeling from the twist the storyline took and trying to process it but I would definitely give 5 stars to this book and recommend it to all of my friends. It's fresh and exciting and unique.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Murder at the Mikado by Julianna Deering

Drew Farthering and Madeline Parker, amateur sleuths, are making plans for their wedding when they get embroiled in a murder mystery at the local theater. The acting crew at the theater specialize in Gilbert & Sullivan comic operas and the Mikado is on the marquee when the owner and lead actor is murdered. The wife of one of Drew's employees and a former friend is implicated in the murder so they are determined to figure out who the culprit might be.

This book is set in the 1930s in England. I was skeptical at first as to whether I would like reading about this time frame but I was very soon caught up in the story and enjoying every second. Lines from Gilbert & Sullivan's shows ran throughout the story and that was fun. Apparently this is the 3rd in a series about Drew Farthering and Madeline and the ending hints at more to come. I am now on a mission to buy the two previous books and watch for number four to come out. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to seeing more from this author.

This book was given to me by Bethany House to review. I did not receive any compensation for the review, other than the pleasure of reading this book. All opinions expressed here are my own.