The Burton Book Review Rating System
1 star = Not recommended
2 stars = Interesting premise, someone else might like it
3 stars = Good but could be better, didn't totally rock my boat
3.5=I enjoyed it; Had some minor quirks
4 stars = Very Good, Recommend!
4.5 stars = Almost perfect! Enjoyed immensely!
5 stars = EXCELLENT! NEW FAVE!
Click to See my Top Ten Best Reads of 2009 at The Burton Review
Click to See my Favorite (top 8) Reads of 2010 at The Burton Review
The dates will show the year that I read and reviewed it, and my rating:
(Of the year 2009 published Qty. #64)
(Of the year 2010, published Qty. #61)
(Of the year 2011, published to date: Qty. #30)
General Fiction
13, rue Thérèse by Elena Mauli Shapiro (2011, 4 stars)
22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson (2011,4 stars)
Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie (2009, 4.5 stars)
Dracula in Love by Karen Essex (2010, 4.5 stars)
Fireworks Over Toccoa by Jeffrey Stepakoff (2010, 4.5 stars)
Follow Me by Joanna Scott (2009, 3.75)
Girl in Translation (2010, 4.5 stars)
Mothers and Daughters by Rae Meadows (2011, 4 stars)
Of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan (2009, 4.5 stars)
Sunset Park by Paul Auster (2010, 2 stars)
The End of Everything by Megan Abbott (2011, 3.5 stars)
The Girl She Used To Be by David Cristofano (2009, 3.5 stars)
The Housekeeper and The Professor by Yoko Ogawa (2009, 5 stars)
The Little Women Letters by Gabrielle Donnelly (2011, 3.5 stars)
The Matchmaker of Kenmare by Frank Delaney (2011, 4 stars)
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe (2009, 4 stars)
The Wish Maker by Ali Sethi (2009, 1 star, did not finish)
This Must Be The Place by Kate Racculia (2010, 5 stars)
Valeria's Last Stand by Marc Fitten (2009, 4 stars)
More Chick-Lit/Women's Fiction than not:
Laura Rider's Masterpiece by Jane Hamilton (2009, 3 stars)
The Mating Rituals of the North American WASP by Lauren Lipton (2009, 3.5 stars)
Crime/Mystery/Thriller
31 Bond Street by Ellen Horan (2010, 5 stars)
No Rest for the Dead by 21 authors (2011)
The Osiris Alliance by Jack Ford (2009, 3 stars)
Crowner Royal by Bernard Knight (2009, 3 stars)
Oscar Wilde and the Vampire Murders by Gyles Brandeth (2011, 4 stars)
Pray for Silence by Linda Castillo (2010, 3.5 stars)
Georgette Heyer
Arabella (2009, 5 stars)
My Lord John (2009, 2 stars)
The Convenient Marriage (2009, 4 stars)
The Devil's Cub (2009, 4.5 stars)
The Masqueraders (2010, 3.5 stars)
The Nonesuch (2009, 4 stars)
The Unfinished Clue (2009, 3.5 stars)
Regency
A Darcy Christmas: A Holiday Tribute to Jane Austen (2010, 4 stars)
Bellfield Hall, or the Observations of Miss Dido Kent by Anna Dean (2010, 3 stars)
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (2009, 5 stars)
Darcy and Anne by Judith Brocklehurst (2009, 3.5 stars)
Georgette Heyer's Regency World by Jennifer Kloester (2010, 3.5 stars)
Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy: The Last Man in The World by Abigail Reynolds (2010, 3 stars)
Pemberley Ranch by Jack Caldwell (2010, 3.5 stars)
The Darcy Cousins by Monica Fairview (2010, 4.5 stars)
The Other Mr. Darcy by Monica Fairview (2009, 4 stars)
Wickham's Diary by Amanda Grange (2011, 4 stars)
Victorian
Lady Julia Grey Mystery Series by Deanna Raybourn:
Silent in the Grave (Book One) (2010, 4.5 stars)
Silent in the Sanctuary (Book Two) (2010, 4.5 stars)
Dark Road to Darjeeling (Book Four) (2010, 4 stars)
Biblical Fiction
Delilah by India Edghill (2009, 4 stars)
Girl Mary by Petru Popescu (2009, 3 stars)
The Triumph of Deborah by Eva Etzioni-Halevy (2010, 4.5 stars)
Young Adult Historical Fiction
The Queen's Daughter by Susan Coventry (2010, 4 stars)Eleanor of Aquitaine's daughter
Historical Fiction
A Cottage By The Sea by Ciji Ware (2010, 5 stars) *
By Fire, By Water by Mitchell James Kaplan (2010, 4 stars)
Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks (2011, 4.5 stars)
Castile for Isabella (part 1 of Ferdinand & Isabella trilogy) by Jean Plaidy (2009, 3.5 stars)
Claude and Camille by Stephanie Cowell (2010, 4.5 stars)
Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran (2009, 4.5 stars )
Harriet and Isabella by Patricia O'Brien (2009, 4.5 stars)
Hugh and Bess by Susan Higginbotham (2010, 4 stars)
Incognito by Gregory Murphy (2011, 4 stars)
Indiscretions of The Queen by Jean Plaidy (Georgian Saga) (2009, 4 stars)
Island of the Swans by Ciji Ware (2010, 5 stars)
My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira (2010, 4.5 stars)
O, Juliet by Robin Maxwell (2010, 5 stars)
Palace Circle by Rebecca Dean (2009, 3 stars)
Partners by Dave McGowan (2009, 3.5 stars)
Penelope's Daughter by Laurel Corona (2010, 4 stars)
Receive Me Falling by Erika Robuck (2010, 4 stars)
Roses by Leila Meacham (2010, 4.5 stars)
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles (2011, 4.5 stars)
Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant (2009, 4.5 stars)
The Darling Strumpet by Gillian Bagwell (2011, 4 stars)
The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan (2009, 4.5 stars)
The Invention of Everything Else by Samantha Hunt (2010, 4.5 stars)
The Kingdom of Ohio by Matthew Flaming (2010, 3.5 stars)
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom (2010, 5 stars)**
The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner (2009, 5 stars)
The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott (2010, 5 Stars)**
The Murder in The Tower by Jean Plaidy (2009, 4 stars)
The Secret of the Glass by Donna Russo Morin (2010, 3 stars)
General Medieval Historical Fiction:
Brothers of Gwynedd: Book One by Edith Pargeter (2010, did not finish)
Lady of the English by Elizabeth Chadwick (2011, 5 stars)*
To Defy A King by Elizabeth Chadwick (2011, 4.5 stars)
Within the Hollow Crown by Margaret Campbell-Barnes (2010, 4 stars)
Eleanor of Aquitaine Related Novels:
Captive Queen: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine (2010, 4 stars)
Devil's Brood by Sharon Kay Penman (2009, 3 stars)
The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick (2010, 4 stars)
The Queen's Pawn by Christy English (2010, 3.5 stars)
The Scarlet Lion by Elizabeth Chadwick (2010, 4.5 stars)
The Second Duchess by Elizabeth Loupas (2011, 4 stars)
The Secret Eleanor by Cecelia Holland (2010, 3.5 stars)
To Be Queen by Christy English (2011, 4.5 stars)
Queen Defiant: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine by Anne O'Brien (2011, 4stars)
France/French Revolution Novels:
Before Versailles by Karleen Koen (2011, 5 stars)*
Désirée: The Story of Napoleon's First Love by Annemarie Selinko (2010, 4.5 stars)*
Finding Emilie by Laurel Corona (2011, 5 stars)*
For The King by Catherine Delors (2010, 4 stars)
Madame Bovary's Daughter by Linda Urbach (2011, 4.5 stars)
Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran (2011, 4.5 stars)
The Queen's Dollmaker by Christine Trent (2010, 4 stars)
Twilight of A Queen (Book#5) by Susan Carroll (2009, 3.5 stars)
Wars of the Roses Related Novels:
Queen by Right (about Cecily Neville) by Anne Easter Smith (2011, 3 stars)
The Founding by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles (2010, 3.5 stars)
The Rose of York: Love and War by Sandra Worth (2009, 3.5 stars)
The Stolen Crown by Susan Higginbotham (2010, 3.5-4 stars)
The White Queen by Philippa Gregory (2009, 4 stars)
Tudor Genre:
All the Queen's Players by Jane Feather (2010, 3 stars)
Elizabeth I: A Novel by Margaret George (2011, 5 stars)*
Her Mother's Daughter: A Novel of Mary Tudor by Julianne Lee (2009, 4 stars)
His Last Letter: A Novel of Elizabeth I and The Earl of Leicester by Jeane Westin (2010, 3 stars)
Pale Rose of England by Sandra Worth (2011, 4 stars)
Rivals in the Tudor Court by D.L. Bogdan (2011, 4 stars)
Secrets of The Tudor Court by D.L. Bogdan (2010, 4.5 stars)*
Secrets of The Tudor Court: The Pleasure Palace by Kate Emerson (2009, 5 stars)
Secrets of The Tudor Court: Between Two Queens by Kate Emerson (2009, 4 stars)
Secrets of The Tudor Court: By Royal Decree by Kate Emerson (2010, 4.5 stars)
St. Thomas's Eve aka The King's Confidante by Jean Plaidy (2009, 4 stars)
The Arrow Chest by Robert Parry (2011, 4 stars)
The Boleyn Wife by Brandy Purdy (2009, 2.5 stars)
The Captive Queen of Scots by Jean Plaidy (2009, 5 stars)
The Dark Rose (Book 2 in Morland Dynasty) by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles (2010 reissue, 3 stars)
The Other Queen by Phillipa Gregory (2009 0 stars)
The Queen of Last Hopes by Susan Higginbotham (2011, 5 stars)*
The Queen's Mistake: A Novel by Catherine Howard by Diane Haeger (2009, 3 stars)
The Queen's Rival by Diane Haeger (2011, 4 stars)
The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory (2010, 4 stars)
The Royal Road to Fotheringay by Jean Plaidy (2009, 5 stars)
The Tudor Rose: A Novel of Elizabeth of York by Margaret Campbell Barnes (2009, 3.5 stars)
The Tudor Secret: Book 1 Elizabeth I Spymaster by C.W. Gortner (2011, 5 stars)
The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory (2010)
Young Bess by Margaret Irwin (2010, 4 stars)
Tudor Non-Fiction
After Elizabeth: The Rise of James of Scotland by Leanda De Lisle (2009, 3.5 stars)
Arbella by Sarah Gristwood (2009, not a typical review, but 4 stars)
Bess of Hardwick: Empire Builder by Mary S. Lovell (2008, 5 stars)
Elizabeth's Women:The Hidden Story of The Virgin Queen by Tracy Borman (2009, 4 stars)
Jane Seymour: Henry VIII's True Love by Elizabeth Norton (2010, 3 stars)
Mary Tudor: Princess, Bastard, Queen by Anna Whitelock (2010, 3.5 stars)
The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn by Alison Weir (2009, 4.5 stars)
The Six Wives of Henry VIII by David Loades (2010, 4 stars)
Other Historical Non-Fiction
Anne Frank Remembered: The Story of the Woman who Helped Hide the Frank Family by Miep Gies (2009, 4.5 stars)
Historical Fantasy/Arthurian
Dark Moon of Avalon by Anna Elliott (2010, 4 stars)
The Twilight of Avalon by Anna Elliott(2009, 4.75 stars)
Child of the Northern Spring by Persia Woolley (2010, 3 stars)
Historical Romance
Highland Rebel by Judith James (2009, 3 stars)
My Unfair Lady by Kathryne Kennedy (2009, 3 stars)
The Treasures of Venice by Loucinda McGary (2009, 4 stars)
The Wildest Heart by Rosemary Rogers (2009, 3.5 stars)
Romance - Contemporary Fiction
Wild Highland Magic by Kendra Leigh Castle (2009, 3.75 stars)
Too Hot To Handle by Robin Kaye (2009, 4 stars)
What Would Jane Austen Do? by Laurie Brown (2009, 3 stars)
Inspirational Non-Fiction
The Noticer by Andy Andrews (2009, 5 stars)
The Sitting Swing by Irene Watson (2009, 4 stars)
General and Biographical Non-Fiction
Betsy Ross and The Making of America by Marla R. Miller (2010, 3 stars)
Crimes of Paris: A True Story of Theft, Murder and Detection by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler (2009, 4 stars)
The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University by Kevin Roose (2009, 3.5 stars)
Must You Go? My Life with Harold Pinter by Antonia Fraser (2010, 3.5 stars)
I have been quoted at Sourcebooks May 2009 Review round up:
What Would Jane Austen Do~This is full of romance, a hunky guy, and even some Jane Austen to boot, which I think Regency romance fans would enjoy. The Burton Review
Too Hot To Handle~If you like Janet Evanovich as I do, you will enjoy Robin Kaye. This book is an easy victory for Robin Kaye and I look forward to more of her accomplishments. The Burton Review
.JPG)