Recent Reads

Royal Heirs Academy (Royal Heirs Academy #1) by Lindsey Duga (2025)

After fifty years on the throne, King Leander is finally ready to name an heir - but first, he's going to make his three grandchildren and one stranger duke it out for the ultimate role by making them all attend an elite school and tracking their progress.  Titus, Alaric, Emmeline, and Sadie must face challenging classes, interpersonal feuds, and fierce competitions for the chance to take the throne.  This book was full of teen angst as the 4 young adults get to know each other and their new situation.  I appreciated how each character's backstory was very different, yet they all ended up in the same place.  I did think the level of scheming and just overall intelligence/skills attributed to both the throne contenders and their schoolmates was a bit unbelievable, and there was some odd tension between the story wanting to be gritty but still somewhat innocent that was a bit jarring, but I cannot resist a royal story, so overall I did enjoy this one!  4 stars

An American Beauty by Shana Abe (2023)

A fictionalized account of the life of Arabella Huntington, a Southern woman who came from nothing to become one of the richest women in America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  Arabella worked at a gambling parlor until she began an affair with Collis Huntington, a railroad baron.  He brought her to New York and gave her a life she only dreamed of, but she was also shrewd and intelligent, amassing her own wealth through land and property deals.  Eventually, she and Collis married, but her story didn't end with Collis.  I really enjoyed this book - although the Huntington name is well-known, I didn't know really anything about Arabella and this book piqued my curiosity.  This depiction certainly painted her as smart (but not cunning), loyal, and with impeccable taste.  I really felt the partnership between her and Collis - a love affair, yes, but also respect and admiration (not to say that affairs are acceptable!).  The Gilded Age setting also came through really well.  4 stars

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