Upcoming Events - Book Tour of A Seaside Christmas by Sherryl Woods

I will be participating in my first book tour the end of September.  Here are the details

 "A Seaside Christmas" by Sherryl Woods

Friday -     September 20th - PJ's Book Nook

Saturday - September 21st  -  A Book Addicts Musings

Sunday -    September 22nd - My Recent Favorite books

Monday -   Sept. 23rd - Creative Madness Mama

Thursday's Review: The The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England by Dan Jones

A Copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for a review.

Publisher:  Viking Adult

Publication Date:  April 18, 2013

Price: $24.99 Hardback

           $16.99 Digital Edition

           $10.99 Trade Paperback (to be released in US March 2014)

Genre: Non-fiction History

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I am a self proclaimed history geek.  Although my first love was, and always will be, Historical Fiction, over the years I have developed an intense love affair with many well written History books of the non-fiction variety.  I have said many time, on here no less, that a good Historical Fiction book should peak my interest and make me seek out factual books on the given subject to fill in the gaps and give me the "true" picture.  As a result, I am always excited when I found one of the said History books that I can not only enjoy, but recommend.  The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens who made England  by British historian Dan Jones is just such a book.   

When it comes to history, nothing is more fascinating to me than the history of the families designated as Royalty and their nobles.  If you look throughout history, there are not many families or dynasties that you can find who would be more fascinating than the Plantagenets.  From the beginning of their rule in England in the 1100s, to the splintering of their family into the Lancasters and Yorks, and on to the takeover of England by the Tudors, the Plantagenets have had a huge affect on the history of England and Great Britain.  To me, they are the dynasty that all other Royalty, English and other, are measured by. 

Dan Jones' book begins with the death of Henry I's son William and the demise of Norman rule in England. From there he deftly covers the history of the Plantagenet Dynasty, ending with Henry Bollingbrooke's takeover as Henry IV and the end of the reign of Richard II.  Here is a family full of heroes and heroines, crusaders, thieves, murderers.  Their lives had tragedies and triumphs.  At times they were both brilliant in their rule and careless in their mistakes, but through it all, they made England into a force to be reckoned with.  Dan Jones captures all of these events and their consequences and impacts, and he does it with a writing style that reads more like a good story than just the listing of facts and dates.  That is perhaps the best thing about this book.....it reads like a good story, not like a textbook.  I became so engrossed in the lives of the various members of this ruling family, that I would find that I had been reading for an hour or more without realizing it.  

In the end, I enjoyed this one so much that I actually spent the $25.00 to buy myself a hardback copy to read and re-read at my leisure.  I can say, that almost never happens when I am given a book to read for review.   Dan Jones' book, though, is the kind of book that I can see myself enjoying more than one, while also using it as a reference on the Plantagenet Dynasty.  My only complaint was that the book ended too soon, leaving out some of the more familiar members of the family.  Although I understand the reason to stop at the point that this books ends, I am holding Dan Jones to his "promise" of  a second book to finish the tale.  I am highly anticipating this second book, and only hope that he meant what he said about writing it and that it comes out soon.  This book is highly recommended by me to anyone who is interested in the history of the ruling families of England, but of England and Great Britain itself.  

Tuesday's Review: Wedding Cake and Big Mistakes by Nancy Naigle

A Copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for a review

Publisher: Montlake Romance

Publication Date:  July 9, 2013

Price:  $12.95 Paperback,  3.99 Digital Edition

Genre: Romantic Mystery

Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

Over the first two books, I have grown to love the inhabitants of Adams Grove, VA, so I was excited to read Nancy Naigle's third Adams Grove book, Wedding Cake and Big Mistakes.   In this installment, Carolanne Baxter and Connor Buckham are law partners and long time friends.  As their best friends, Garrett and Jill (remember them from the first book, Sweet Tea and Secrets?) are getting married, murder breaks out in the town and Carolanne's father is implicated, putting Carolanne and Connor at odds.  

Once again, Nancy has taken us to the small town of Adams Grove,where everyone knows each other and their secrets....at least they think they do.  I love spending time in this little town.  Nancy's writing style is wonderfully warm, just like the town and it's inhabitants.  Her books always make me feel as if I am living in Adam's Grove with the characters. The people in the town are just the way I would imagine a small town populace to be.   You have your town busybodies, some with quite quirky personalities, the predictable and the unpredictable, but below it all is a common thread in their lives that allows them to really care for each other.  My favorite thing about this series is the way that Nancy makes me feel about he characters in the stories.  As in the past books, I found the characters in this one easy to become involved with and easy to love or hate, trust or mistrust, as was required.  

The other thing that is great about these books is that they are such relaxing reads.  Here there are not convoluted plots that take a lot of brain power to figure out, or follow, for that matter.  What you see is what you get, and that is a nice, easy love story with a little bit of intrigue thrown in and a lot of Southern charm.  The what is pretty easy to figure out and follow, and there is just enough blurring of the why to make it interesting.  I find these books delightfully refreshing and a great break from some of the more complex books that I might read.  

Although I am usually a stickler for reading a series in order, Nancy has made it easy to pick up these books and read them in any order.  In fact, I would probably be more accurate to refer to them as books whose characters are linked, rather than an actual series of books.  In fact, in looking the books up on several sites, there is some confusion as to how the books are related.  On some lists Wedding Cakes and Big Mistakes is listed as the second book in the series, on others it is listed as the third, and on still others it is listed simply as "An Adams Grove Novel".  I would go with the last descriptions.  Whichever way is correct, I would recommend all three of the novels currently published and am looking forward to the next one, Pecan Pie and Deadly Lies.   

Thursday's Review: Weather Witch by Shannon Delaney

A Copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for my review

Publication Date:  June 25, 2013

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Price:  $9.99 Paperback

           $6.75 Digital

Genre: Young Adult/ Fantasy

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

In 1844, the New World is a closely regulated place where your Rank is everything, steam power has been suppressed, and everything runs on stormcell crystals.  In this world, the Weather Witches are the key that makes everything run.  They are the ones who control the weather, their power runs the stormcell crystals that make everything run, and they are the Conductors of the huge airships that transport people and things from place to place.  They are also enslaved by the powers that be and, as far as Rank goes, they are the lowest of the low.  In this world, the Astraea family is one of The Nine, the highest ranking families who run the country, and Jordan is their youngest member.  On her 17th birthday, she is accused of being a Weather Witch and taken into custody.  

Weather Witch is the first book in the Weather Witch series by established author Shannon Delaney.  Delaney's other series, 13 to Life, is a highly popular Young Adult Urban fantasy series with Werewolves as the central characters.  Although I have not read any of the books in that series, knowing that it exists did come into play when deciding what I thought of this book as the flaws were things that a novice might be forgiven, but an established author should be able to avoid.  

The premise of this book had a lot of promise, and for the most part, I think it lived up to expectations.  I found the characters in the book interesting as characters.  They were true to their purpose, the tragic heroine, the reluctant hero, the evil master, and a whole host of backstabbing characters.  There was even a misunderstood character who we do not quite know yet on which side he will land.  All of this makes for a fun fictional romp, and for most of the book that is what I got.  As I read I found myself feeling bad for Jordan, wanting Rowan to become all that he could be, hoping things worked out for Bran and his family.  I would say, on the whole, both the characters and the story line worked. 

As I said, above, though, there were a number of things in this book that didn't work and most of them, I think, center around the fact that this is the first book in a series.  As such, I feel that the author was a bit too ambitious.  A number of people have mentioned that the shear number of characters and story lines are confusing.  I did not have trouble with that on a large scale, but there were a few things that I felt did not need to be included.  For one, the focus on Jordan's mother, Lady Astraea, seemed to be an unnecessary side story.  In addition, Sybil's story should have been given either more detail or less.  Then there were two characters that appeared at the end of the book that just seemed out of place.  They appeared, but there was no mention at all as to what their role was.  Knowing this was the first book in a series, you could surmise that they were to play a role in the future, but it would have been better to explain a bit about them, or to leave them out entirely for now.  Their presence just added confusion to the end of the story for me. 

Perhaps the most glaring thing that did  not work for me, though, was the end.  The book just ended........I know this is the beginning of something and there is more to come, but the author had just introduced two new characters (well, okay, one was reintroduced) and there was absolutely no slow down or phasing out of the story.  I know that authors like to leave series books with a cliff hanger, but the ending of this story didn't even qualify as that, to me.  It was as if the author decided that was enough for this book and the next paragraph would be in the next book.  It actually caught me so off guard that I did some research to make sure that my copy wasn't missing the actual end of the book.  My second reaction was to be frustrated enough that I don't know if I will even read the second book of the series, and up until that point I thought I would.  

I have read, and am reading, several series currently.  Some of them are young adult and some are not, but none of them have ever had such an abrupt ending for me.  Usually there is some sort of wrap up and you can tell that this installment is coming to an end.  Basically, if it wasn't for the ending to this book, I would be looking forward to the next one and it would have gotten a 4 star rating from me, perhaps a bit more.  In my opinion, the author need to do some work to correct these errors before she publishes the next installment to the series. 

Thursday's Review: One Step Too Far by Tina Seskis

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for a review

Publication Date: April 7, 2013

Publisher: Kirk Parolles

Price:  $12.25 in Paperback

           $  2.99 Kindle Edition (not yet available on other sites)

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Rating: 4.25 out of 5 Stars

What would make a woman who seemingly has everything decide to leave her established life and start over from scratch?  That is the subject of One Step Too Far,  the debut novel by Tina Seskis. The book opens with Emily Coleman sneaking out of the house that she shares with her husband, Ben.  With great sadness, Emily goes on the run and decides to start a new life on her own in London, taking nothing with her accept a bit of money, not even her name.  As the book progresses, Ms. Seskis lays out for us a combination of the past and present that paints the picture of the events that shape Emily's life and ultimately influence her to make the decision to leave it all behind and become someone else.  

In order to tell Emily's story, the author chose to use multiple viewpoints.  The story is alternately told through chapters devoted to the present and flashbacks of the past.  In addition, we get to see the story from the viewpoint of the people who are the closest to Emily, her mother, father, twin sister Caroline, husband, and even her new best friend, Angel.  Some readers I have talked to found the large number of different viewpoints confusing, but it definitely worked for me.  I found that the use of both different time periods and multiple characters to tell the story made the story richer and more complete.  For me, I especially like when authors tell a story from the viewpoint of several characters. When it is done correctly, as is the case with this book, it allows me to become more involved with each one, increasing the amount that I am invested in the story overall. 

Early on in the book you become aware that a personal tragedy was the catalyst for Emily's decision to run away.  I felt that the author did a brilliant job with this part of the story.   Although the tragedy was alluded to many times in the book, and by several of the characters, never once was enough information given to reveal the ending twist to this book.  There were definitely clues, and definitely times when I thought I had figured out what exactly the catalyst was, but when the actual event was revealed, I was stunned.  After first being confused and taking a moment to think about what I was reading, I began wondering what I had missed.  After a short time, though, I found myself saying, "Well done, Ms. Seskis, well done."  I admit, I get particularly excited when an author is able to put a twist into a book that I could not see coming at all.  In the end, I definitely understood why Emily would want to start over. 

There were two minor things that kept this from being a 5 star book.  First, there were several flashbacks to the younger years of Emily's friend Angel.  By the end of the book it did not seem that these chapters necessary and I felt myself wondering how they tied in.  Additionally, I would have liked the ultimate ending to have played out a bit differently, but that is just me. 

I would have to say, though, that this book was a solid read from start to finish.  I found myself looking forward to reading it and being a bit upset if something interrupted me and I had to put it down.  It both made me think about the characters, and feel for them, and the twist at the end really caught me by surprise.  

I just found out that Ms. Seskis has another book being released soon, and I am also looking forward to reading that one. 

Tuesday's Review: You Know Your Way Home by Suzanne Jauchius

A copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for my review. 

Publication Date: August 10, 2009

Publisher: Bree Noa Publishing

Price:   $15.00 Paperback

             $ 4.99 digital copy

Genre: Memoirs

Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars

You Know Your Way Home is Suzanne Jauchius' memoir highlighting the struggles she faced throughout her life.  To begin with, Suzanne had a very rough childhood.  Couple this with the psychic gift of "seeing", and it is no wonder that she spent most of her adult life trying to find acceptance.  Unfortunately, as every good psychologist will tell you, you first have to accept yourself.  A lesson it took Suzanne a very long time to come to grips with.  Through her 5 marriages and many ups and downs, it was she who most needed to accept herself and her gift.  Once that was accomplished, she could begin to live a successful life. 

The phenomena of the psychic is a subject that fascinates me, not the least because it is so controversial and so hard to prove or disprove.  I think that was the main reason that I was drawn to this book.  I never tire of hearing the stories of people who have had brushes with their sixth sense.   Straight out memoirs, though, are not something that I am usually drawn to unless I am familiar with, or curious about, the person whose story is being told.  In the case of You Know Your Way Home, what interested me was the fact that Suzanne is a practicing psychic and has participated in a few high profile missing person cases.  Although I liked the portions of the book where Suzanne talked about this, there were too few of them in my opinion. The focus in this book is really more about the struggle that Suzanne dealt with.  How it manifested itself throughout her life, how the people in her life either helped or hindered her development, and how she eventually was able to pull her life together and become more successful.  As such, it read a bit more like a self help book than a memoir to me.  For me, so much of the book was centered on the negative parts of Suzanne's life,that the writing actually came across as whiny.  By the time she got to the part where she learned to accept herself, and therefore was able to improve her life, I found it hard to be uplifted.  

Although this book was a fast read, and was reasonably well written, there was just too much focus on the negative for me to really become invested in it.  There were so many things that Suzanne alluded to, but never really covered, that seemed much more interesting to me.  For example, I would love to read Suzanne's case book, hear more about her "conversations" with her friend Bob, read more about her family history and the grandma's and aunts that had similar gifts.  Even the life of the "brash mystery man" and his Lakota friends would have been nice to know more about.  As a result, this was a 3.5 star read for me. 

Tuesday's Review: Blood of Heaven by Ken Wascom

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for my review

Publication date:  May 28, 2013

Publisher: Grove Atlantic

List Price:  $25.00 Hardcover

                   $11.99 Digital

Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Kent Wascom's aptly named debut novel, The Blood of Heaven comes with a ton on accolades from the publishing world, as well as large numbers of reviews singing it's praises.  It has been called "a startling debut" and Kent Wascom an author with "the kind of talent rarely seen in any novelist".  The amount of positive press surrounding this novel, the fact that it is historical fiction, and that it is set in the American South before it WAS the American South, all peaked my interest.  When I began to read, I sat down ready for a treat the likes of some of my favorite historical fiction epics like James Michener's Hawaii, or Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind.  Unfortunately, for me, this book did not live up to my high expectations.

The main part of the book takes place in the area of the Louisiana Purchase and West Florida at the time when the land was mostly owned by the French and Spanish.  It is the story of the birth of this area of America as the new country pushes to acquire the land in question, and a group of renegade settlers try to form their own country under the leadership of Aaron Burr.  I have to admit, I have not read a lot about the founding of this area of the US, and therefore, there were a lot of things in the book that intrigued me and left me wanting more information.  That, in a way, is one of the disappointments that I found in this book. The story was very ambitious, including many story lines, but not really doing justice to any of them.  A few less pages and a bit more focus on one or two of the story lines would have allowed me to get more involved in the story.

On the whole, I found the flow of the book hard to follow.   Wascom's writing had brilliant moments, but more often, I found it disjointed and harried.   The book is told from the viewpoint of the main character, Angel Woolsack, in a linguistic style that was popular in the 1880s.    Perhaps this unfamiliar linguistic style was part of the problem, but I was never really able to get into the rhythm of the character's story telling voice.  In addition, the voice of the main character, and therefore the book, was very harsh.  There was a lot of graphic descriptions of fighting, death, bodily functions, etc. which just didn't endear me to the main character, or any of the other characters for that matter.   I will readily agree that the life of these people was not the "genteel" life of the planters and plantations, and as such, the main character's voice was appropriate, in the end, my inability to identify with the characters made it all the more difficult for me to get involved in the story.

The funny thing is, as disappointed as I was in this story, there were parts of the story that I enjoyed.  The bond between Angel and his wife, Red Kate, which stood the test of time and weathered so many hardships, was a plus. In addition, I was intrigued by the politics that went into defining the future of this area of the country, and the fact that a group of renegades, lead by Aaron Burr, tried to put together a revolution in West Florida is something I would like to read more about.

All in all I would say that, although there were parts of the book I enjoyed, overall this was not the book for me.  As I read it, though, I kept thinking that this would be the perfect book for either of my adult sons, my father, and many other people who like the rough and tumble, down and dirty, no sugar coating stories of the frontier.   In addition, the flashes of brilliance throughout the book lead me to believe that Kent Wascom has a bright future.  He definitely has already captured an audience for his story....it is just a group that does not include me.

Tuesday's review: The Light in The Ruins by Chris Bohjalian

A copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for my review

Publication Date: July 9, 2013
Publisher: Doubleday
Price:  $25.95 Hardcover
           $12.99 e-book
Genre: Contemporary/Historical Fiction
Rating:   5 out of 5 stars

Chris Bohjalian pens another spectacular book with The Light in the Ruins.  I have read several of Chris' books and have not found one yet that I didn't like.  The story opens in 1955 with the murder of Francesca Rosati.  Like Skeletons at the Feast,thought,  his latest effort is primarily set set late in WWII, as the tide is turning away from the Germans and toward the Allies.  The focus of the story is the life of the Rosati family, who are headed by a marchese and marchesa, and live in their Tuscan villa.

First of all, Chris is a consummate story-teller.   In most of his books, the chapters alternate between viewpoints.  Sometimes it is the differing viewpoints of the characters, but in this case it is between the events of 1943 and 1955 when Francesca is murdered in Florence.  Chris is one of the best authors out there when it comes to telling a story from alternate viewpoints, and in The Light in the Ruins he does this by making use of both alternate time periods and alternate character viewpoints.  I especially like the way that he threw in the thoughts of the murdered every once in a while.  I found myself looking for clues in these small chapters to try to figure out who the murderer was.  In addition, his descriptions really make the settings come alive for me.  Another thing that I liked about this book, and most of Chris' books, is that there is usually a bit of a twist at the end.  I have not been able to figure out these "reveals" in most of his book, and this book was no different.  I really enjoy when an author can surprise me with something relevant at the end of the story.  If I know this is coming, I find myself trying to figure it out throughout the book and it really keeps my interest.

As for character development and use, there is none better than Chris Bohjalian.  Once again, in this book, he has crafted characters perfectly suited to illustrate the many sides of  his story.  In this book there are two pairings that do this well.  There are the brothers Rosati, who are participating in the war in very different ways, but the best example is the pair of Cristina and Serafina.   The similarities and juxtapositions between these two characters was a great way to show the alternate sides of the story.  Both women were the same age, both women were heavily affected by the war, but their lives, both in 1955 and 1943, couldn't have been more different.

The thing that I like the best about Chris Bohjalian's work, though, is the way that he can weave a story around such different subjects.  None of his books really resemble the others.  Sure there are similarities, but when I pick up a book by Chris I know two things.  One, that I will enjoy the stories, settings, characters, etc., and two, that it will not be a rehashed or retold version of any of his other stories.  Most importantly, I know it will be an enjoyable experience that I will not want to end.

Thursday's Review: Not By Sight by Kathy Herman

A Copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for a review

Publication Date:  May 1, 2013

Publisher: David C. Cook

Price:  $14.99 Paperback

          $ 8.99 E-Book

Genre: Christian/Mystery/Young Adult

Rating:  4 out  of 5 stars

I need to start by saying that true "Christian" literature is not my cup of tea.  It is just a personal idiosyncrasy, but they are usually too preachy for me.  Therefore I hardly ever seek them out.  What drew me to this book, though, was the setting.  I grew up in the Midwest US and spent most of my summers in the Ozark Mountains.  When I saw that this book was set in the Ozarks, it peaked my interest and I will readily admit that I did not look any further.  So, I want to say upfront, this book is definitely Christian Lit and it never pretends to be anything else.  Accordingly, although I would have enjoyed the book much better myself without the strictly religious references, that is my fault and not that of the book or the author.  

The main protagonists in this story, Abby and Jay, are best friends and high school students.  Abby has lived with the tragedy of her father and youngest sister's disappearance 5 years before the book is set.  Jay has his own set of skeletons that he would like to keep buried.  When Abby sees a girl in town that she feels HAS to be her missing sister, she enlists Jay in helping her to find out who she is and whether she could, in fact, be Riley Jo.  The story that the author weaves around the sighting of the young girl and the subsequent search for her identity was well presented and kept my interest throughout the book.  I really did become engrossed in the story, and found the mystery part of the book hard to put down.  I found myself saying "just a few more pages.....and a few more.....and a few more...."   In addition, the characters in the book were well developed and easy to identify with.  Although I wasn't sure how things were going to turn out, I really found myself rooting for all of the characters and hoping that everything turned out just the way that they wanted it to.  

I admit, though, that I was most drawn to the setting of this book.  As I said above, I spent most of my summers as I was growing up in the Ozark Mountains.  In fact, my grandparents had a house on Beaver Lake in Arkansas, and my cousin still lives in the house today.  I am very familiar with the area.....the lake, Benton County (my cousin works for the sheriff's department), Fayetteville, Rogers, Eureka Springs, etc.  I loved reading about this area in a book and felt that the author's representation of the inhabitants,the town folks and the "mountain" families, the sheriff's department, the tourists, and those that cater to them, was spot on.  

Ultimately this was a book about faith.  Faith in God, faith in the people around you, faith in the law and those that administer it, and faith in the world in general.  As such, the book presented just the right balance of things that worked out and those that didn't.   In fact, it would have been easy for the author to give this story an unbelievable, sugar sweet, Happily Ever After ending.  To her credit, she did not do that.  The ending had just the right amount of positive elements without having everything turn out perfect.  Kudos to her for that!

In short, this story was well written, with engaging, positive characters who were good role models.  If you are a fan of Christian Literature in all of its forms, I would highly recommend this book.   Alternately, if you have middle schoolers and even young high schoolers and you would like to present them with a book that has a positive message and good role models, I would also recommend this book.  It is the first in a trilogy, and while I am not sure whether I will read the others or not, I am keeping an open mind about it.  To the author - the fact that I read a book so far out of my regular wheelhouse and enjoyed it so much is a testament to your writing skill and ability to tell a story.  

Tuesday's Review: The Dream You Make by Christine Nofli

A copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for my review.  

Publication Date:  June 13, 2013

Publisher:  Christine Nolfi

Price:  $3.99 (available in e-book only)

Genre: Romance

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.  

Although the Romance genre is not my usual choice, I enjoy breaking from my traditional fare and reading a romance every once in a while.  I  find the usual "happily ever after" endings and lighter bent to this type of book a nice break.  When I decide to read a romance, however, I am always on the lookout for something that is a bit different.  Maybe it has a mystery attached with it, or an unusual plot line, or, as is the case with The Dream You Make by Christine Nolfi , a deeper story behind the romance.   In this case, the main character's life is complicated by a custody battle.  

Annie's life has not always been easy.  Her mother died when she was quite young, and growing up, her father seemed to be more focused on the life and problems of her older sister.   After her father dies and her sister is brutally murdered, she finds herself both trying to keep the greenhouse business that her father built alive and to be a mother to Dillon, the 5-year-old son that her sister left behind.  Needing extra cash and benefits for Dillon's care, Annie takes a job at a local marketing firm.  Into her life waltzes Micheal Rowe, owner and CEO of said firm, and well, you can probably guess where it goes from there. 

As far as the romance side of this story goes, Christine Nolfi is a top notch author.  She has filled this book with just the right amount of chemistry between the main characters.  There is just the right amount of push and pull, attraction and barriers,  to keep even the most ardent romance readers happy.  In addition, there are the requisite secrets that indicate the characters inability to just trust each other and the ultimate chipping away at each others defenses that make the modern romance story what it is.  There are also a host of helpful, and unhelpful, supporting characters that are interesting, not juts because they have an affect on the romance of the main characters, but also in their own right.  There were several of them who were interesting enough that I would have gladly read a whole book about them.  In short, as a romance, this story delivers it all in spades.  

What was equally, or maybe even more, intriguing to me was Annie and Dillon's story.  Dillon's character, and his predicament, really tugged on my heartstrings, as did Annie's quest to provide for him and keep him with her.  Alternately, I also felt sorry for the couple who were trying to adopt Dillon.  Their lives weren't easy either, and I could truly feel their pain and confusion as well as Annie's and Dillon's.  While the romance part of the story made me smile, and eventually feel happy and satisfied, this part of the story made me cry.  It also really brought home to me that there is no "right" answer in custody battles.  I In the end, I was thankful to Christine by giving me a glimpse, even if it was a little one, into the lives of those that are fighting to keep the ones that they love. 

In the end, though, what I felt was that Christine really got it right.  The two parts of the story combined to give it the right amount of good emotions, while still giving me something to think about.  That is not necessarily the case in all romance books, and I really love it when it occurs.  I am looking forward to reading more of Christine's books as I get the chance and would like to thank The Sisterhood of the Traveling Book for introducing me to Christine and her work.  Great job with this one, Christine!

Thursday's Review: The First Rule of Swimming by Courtney Angela Brkic

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for my review

Publication Date:  May 28, 2013

Publisher:  Little, Brown and Company

Price:  $26.00 Hardback

           $11.00 Ebook

Genre: Fiction

Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars


The First Rule of Swimming is the debut novel by author Courtney Angela Brkic. The title quote of the book comes from Luka, the patriarch of a Croatian family from the island of Rosmarina, "the first rule of swimming....is to stay afloat" is what he tells each successive generation as he teaches them to survive in the waters around the island. This is a very fitting metaphor for the book as a whole as Luka's family has been trying to do just that...stay afloat despite all of the turmoil and changes happening in Croatia and in their family. 

The book centers on Luka's two granddaughters. The oldest of the two, Magdalena, loves everything about Rosmarina and is content to live her life their in much the same way that her family has for generations. She is the old, traditional Croatia. Jadranka, on the other hand, is a free spirit who has never quite fit in on Rosmarina or the old ways.  Through the interactions of the two sisters, both with each other, and with other members of their family, a picture of the family begins to emerge.  It is through this picture that we learn about the choices each member has made, and just how much they have all done to survive.  

The story of Magdalena, Jadranka, and their family was an enjoyable read.  Unfortunately, I thought the story was a bit uneven.  The parts of the story that took place in Croatia, especially those that were set on the island of Rosmarina, were mesmerizing.  This is where the author definitely warmed to her subject.  Her descriptions of the island and it's inhabitants were very poetic and lyrical.  The parts of the story that took place in the US, though also enjoyable,  did not seem to me to be of the same caliber.  Here the story was more in line with the average fare of many contemporary novels.  In addition, although the ending fit the book well, there were no huge revelations or spectacular outcomes.  

The same can be said of the characters.  By far the most interesting characters were those that lived in Croatia.   By far Magdalena was the character that I was able to connect with the most.  Luka was another one and I especially liked what the author did with his character later in the book.  Here the descriptions of feelings and life were the most vivid and interesting.  Of the US characters, Marin was my favorite as he seemed to get the most detail and therefore was the most interesting.  I would have liked to see the author do a bit more with Jadranka and some of the other characters, though.  

All in all, I thought this was a good effort for a debut novel.  It was an enjoyable read with interesting characters and a story that was at times mesmerizing, but on the whole interesting.  I would definitely like to read more by this author, especially if she is writing about life in Croatia, or in Croatian settlements in the US.  A job well done for a first book and I would give it 3.5 stars.  

Thursday's Review: Spirit of Lost Angels by Liza Perrat

The book was provided by the author in exchange for a review. 

Publication Date: June 2, 2012
Publisher:  Self Published
Price: $4.38 eBook from Amazon only
           No longer available in paperback
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

After reading numerous mystery/thrillers, lately I have been on an Historical Fiction bent.  I have been in love with HF since I was in my teams and first read the books of James Michener, Kathleen Woodiweiss, and Jean Plaidy.  There is just something about reading a book that takes you back in time and allows you to feel, hear, smell, etc., what life was like for the people in that time period. I love immersing myself in other cultures and time in this way.  Liza Perrat's debut novel, Spirit of Lost Angels certainly fits this bill.

As soon as I began reading the book, I instantly fell in love with the heroine, Victoire Charpentier.  In a time when women were largely illiterate and considered as possessions, Victoire is an exception.  Not only is she able to read and write, courtesy of her mother, but she also possesses a strong personality.  I really enjoy books where the author uses women with strong personalities in order to illustrate how exceptional this occurrence was in medieval times.  In fact, this book was filled with strong female characters.  In addition to Victoire, there was her mother, the village midwife and healer, who insisted that her daughter learn to read and write in a time where that was not an acceptable skill for women.  Another great female character in the book was Jean de Valois.  Jean is, in fact a historical character, and while actual knowledge of how she thought and felt is hard to come by, in this case the author did a wonderful job of giving her a personality that fit her persona.

The story presented here was also top-notch.  Through the eyes of Victoire, her family, and the many acquaintances that she makes through out her life, I felt that I was able to really get a good feeling for life in France during the time of the French Revolution.  Her joys and pains were my joys and pains. Her confusion and depression were so well written,  that I was immersed in the agony right along with her.  In addition, the author's descriptions of life in France were wonderful.  I really felt like I was in the small village of Lucie, the dungeons of a French prison, and the streets of Paris.  Most of the books that I have read regarding this time period were from the perspective of the aristocracy or royalty and I really enjoyed being able to look at things from the perspective of the average French citizen.  In this respect, I cannot believe there is a book that does a better job.

On finishing the book I was excited to find that it was the first in a trilogy of books about the women of the Charpentier family.  In fact, I am anxiously awaiting the next book in the series, which is about the French Resistance during WWII.  I am giving this book 4.5 out of 5 stars and it is going on my highly recommended list.


   

Tuesday's Review: Bristol House by Beverly Swerling

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in return for my review. 

Publication Date: April 4, 2013

Publisher: Viking Press

Price: $27.95 Hardback

          $11.99 eBook

Genre: Thriller/Romance/Historical Fiction

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

The publisher's blurb for Beverly Swerling's new novel, Bristol House talked about the blending of historical fiction with a supernatural thriller in a "dual period narrative".  For that reason alone, I would have read it.  Then it mentioned  that the historical part was set in Tudor England, a period of history that I am particularly fond of.  At that point I was hooked.  

Annie Kendall is a historical researcher who accepts a job to travel to London to verify the existence of a Jewish community in London during the reign of Henry VIII, a time when Jews were still forbidden to live in England.  In particular, her wealthy patron is looking for information regarding a specific inhabitant of the community, know as the Jew of Holborn.  It seems like perfect job to get her career back on track, but is it really? 

Rather than one story, there were really four separate stories  being told simultaneously in this book.  Each one was interesting in it's own right, but the author also did a marvelous job of seamlessly weaving them together into one cohesive main story.  Although I enjoyed the modern day story of Annie and Geoff Harris, it was the stories of the Jew of Holborn, Dom Justin, and Maggie Harris, Geoff's mother, that I enjoyed the most.  It was definitely the historical bent of these stories that drew me to them.  I found myself wanting to further research the possibility of a forbidden Jewish colony in Tudor England, and to further investigate the existence of the Kindertransports that Maggie was a product of.  I am always excited when a historical story presents new material that I can further research.  In contrast, the story of Annie and Geoff was a more contemporary romance sort of story, and, while well done, took second place in my mind. 

The use of the historical characters to actually tell their own stories and present the historical perspective of the book was a brilliant move on the author's part.  Giving the historical characters their own voice allowed me  to connect with them in a more intimate way.  This connection lent more realism to these stories, in my opinion.  I really enjoyed hearing about the Tudor times from Dom Justin and The Jew of Holborn, much more than having someone else talk about them, and wish that more of Maggie's story was included in the book.  Dom Justin, in particular, was an interesting character, although as a ghost, he was neither scary nor "haunting" as the publisher's blurb stated.  In fact, this is the only place in the book that fell short in my opinion.  I understood and enjoyed the author's use of the ghost as a story telling device, but I did not feel that the supernatural part of the story would have worked on it's own.  

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  Since it was the first book that I have read by this author, I researched her other work and was excited to see that she has written a series of books about New York that begins in the Pilgrim times and follows it's development through the years.  I will definitely be adding ths series of books to my reading list.  I hope she does as good of a job with them as she has with Bristol House.  I would recoommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good mystery story with a historical backdrop.  I am giving it 4 stars.  

Thursday's Review: What Matters Most by Bette Lee Crosby

Copy of book was provided by the author in exchange for review

Published: March 31, 2013
Publisher: Bent Line Publishing
Price: $14.00 Paperback
               $ 3.99 e-Book
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

There is just something about a Bette Lee Crosby book that allows the story to just slide off the pages. I think that I have read almost everything that Bette has written, and thoroughly enjoyed them all. What Matters Most is another enjoyable and charming read from this master of southern literature. 

Louise and Carl have an established life in New Jersey. He has worked at the local bank for his whole working career, she has successfully raised two children and is active in the local scene. That is until Carl's Uncle Charlie leaves them a house in Florida. Suddenly their life is in upheaval.

Like all of Bette's books, this story was easy to get into and flowed quickly for me. She has a wonderful voice which makes me feel like she is sitting in front of me telling me the story, rather than being miles away while I am reading her book. In addition, Bette's characters are always full of personality and pizazz. There were several characters in this book that really fit that bill, and although I had a bit of a hard time identifying with the main characters of Louise and Carl, there were several supporting characters who I identified with right off the bat. It's not that Louise and Carl were not great characters, they were. It was just that, in the beginning, they were not very likable. In fact, I remember thinking several times that they had to be the most self centered, clueless people in the world....but that was the point. As usual, Bette painted this picture in a true to life way that everyone can enjoy. 

As I said, overall this book was thoroughly enjoyable. The story itself was told with Bette's customary charm and wit and the characters were incredibly real. My only regret is that I only have one more of Bette's books left to read. I can only hope that she writes and publishes more soon, so I don't have to wait too long.

Tuesday's Review: Parallax View by Allan Leverone

This book was provided by the author in return for my review. 

Released: March 26, 2013
Publisher: Rock Bottom Books
Price:  $ 13.95
                 $  3.99 Kindle Edition
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Tracy Tanner is a CIA operative who is tasked with what she feels could be the easiest operation she has ever been assigned to. All she has to do is deliver a letter from the head of one superpower to the head of another. What could be so hard about that, right?

Put yourself into late 1980's, back when the US and USSR were the "Superpowers" and the balance of the world depended to a large extent on their relationship with each other. I remember this time period quite well -- the interplay between President Reagan and Premier Gorbachev, the famous "Tear Down the Wall" speech, and the subsequent dismantling of the USSR. InParallax View, thriller writer extraordinaire Allan Leverone has crafted an action packed and explosive back story to these events that definitely kept me riveted. The story that Mr. Leverone presents in this book is not only riveting, but entirely plausible, which only made it more exciting in my mind. From the first chapter to the last, I was never quite sure what was going to happen next, but I certainly knew that I couldn't wait to find out. 

The setting of this book and the story were not the only things that drew me in, either. As he has in prior books, Mr. Leverone has thrown into the mix a cast of interesting characters that I quickly came to love or hate as the story dictated. CIA operative Tracy Tanner is the type of heroine I love to see in books. She is a strong female with many skills that has no trouble "keeping up with the boys". On top of that, she can really kick ass. On the other hand, Air Traffic Controller Shane Rowley is a surprise. Ordinary to the extreme on the surface, there is much more to him than you at first expect. As the book progressed he quickly became my favorite character, and in my mind, the hero of the story. By the time the book ended, I was wishing he was real....I really would like to have met him. 

And then there is the author. Allan Leverone has quickly established himself as a thriller author extraordinaire, partly through his ability to write noteworthy books across several genres. Whether you are reading one of his psychological thrillers, mysteries, horror thrillers, or politically based thrillers, his work is always top notch with lots of twists, explosive action (and I do mean explosive), riveting story lines and masterfully crafted characters. His current novel, Parallax View, definitely fits this profile and is another successful chapter in his career. 

I have been thinking lately that I missed reading the Tom Clancy political thrillers that I used to love so much. This book would hold it's own with any of them and definitely sated my appetite. Many thanks to Mr. Leverone and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Book for making this book available to me. 

Tuesday's review: Amity & Sorrow by Peggy Riley

This book was provided by the publisher in return for my review

Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company
Price: $25.99 Hardback
              $11.00 eBook
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Religious Fiction
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The current cultural spotlight on polygamous cults has peaked my interest in the subject, and it was for this reason that I decided to accept the invitation of Little, Brown and Company to read an ARC of Amity & Sorrow: A Novel ,Peggy Riley's debut novel, and review it. I started the book with trepidation as several of my friends thought that it was just okay. At first I thought I would agree, but the more I got into the story, the more that I realized that this book was going to be one that spoke to me on a certain level. 

The success of cults in our culture is a subject that has fascinated me for quite a while. For this reason I am drawn to books where the cult phenomena takes center stage. I admit, my purpose in reading these stories is to try to shed some light on why cults are so successful. 

Amaranth is the first wife of Zachariah, the patriarch of a polygamous cult. The central story in this book revolves around what happens to her when she decides to flee the cult and take her two daughters, Amity & Sorrow, with her. The three of them end up in Oklahoma, stuck on a farm in the middle of nowhere with the man who owns the farm, his father, and his adopted son. The compelling story of what transpires between the girls, their mother, and the inhabitants of the farm, and how it transforms the lives of everyone involved, is only half of the story, though. The other half of the story is about their life in the cult, which is told through the memories of the three characters that escaped the cult. It is this part of the story where the author attempts to answer the basic question about the psychology of a cult that is my prime fascination. These two sides of Amity & Sorrow's story and the way that the author was able to successfully entwine them was what drew me into this book. 

I also liked the way that the author used the characters of Amaranth, Sorrow, Amity, Bradley, his father, and Dust to represent the various layers of the story. Through the individual stories of these characters we see the contrast between the world of the true believer, the world of the non believer, and the world of those still trying to make up their minds. 

When discussing this book with friend, the most common negative comment that I came across was the author's unconventional writing style. I do admit, the writing style was different, and for the first few chapters I found it a bit distracting. After I got into the story, though, it ceased being something to overcome and became an integral part of the story as a whole. In fact, as the story continued, I felt that the author's writing style, like the behavior of some of the main characters, became less strange and more -- normal, for want of a better word. 

All in all, I found this book, its characters, and what it had to say about the psychology of a cult interesting. It showed me various sides of a question that fascinates me, and took me on a journey that I was glad to take. I thank Little, Brown and Company for the opportunity to read and review it.

Celebrating the Short Story: General Thoughts

I don't have a short story or book of short stories to review today, but I am working on several of them.  I find that I am really enjoying focusing on one aspect of reading and celebrating it.  The particular challenge that this feature of my blog was inspired by, to read a short story for every week of the year, was introduced by Laurie Upson, one of the moderators of the GR101 group that I belong to on Goodreads.  I started reading short stories for the challenge and found I was enjoying them so much, that I decided to celebrate the short story for the rest of 2013.

Now that I am almost 6 months into my love affair with the short story, it occurred to me that almost every story that I had read so far was in the mystery genre.  Either a paranormal mystery, mystery/thriller, or cozy mystery.  While the mystery genre is definitely one of my favorite genres, I began to feel that just reading and discussing mystery stories and novellas was not doing justice to the whole genre of  "short stories".  With that in mind, I did some research at my local library to see what types of books I could get to help me branch out.  The following books are ones that I have on tap to read and discuss in future weeks.









Women of Mystery - Stories from today's top women mystery authors
The Short Stories of Jack London: The Authorized One Volume Edition - What it says it is
Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman - Scifi-fantasy and horror from one of the best
The Doll: The Lost Stories by Daphne du Maurier - One of my favorite authors and a definite "find"
Mrs. Darcy and the Blue Eyed Stranger by Lee Smith - Shooting in the dark on this one, but it looks intriguing
Thereby Hangs a Tale by Jeffrey Archer - I have always wanted to read this author, so what better way to start than with short stories.  Besides, who can pass up that title.

Tuesday's Review: The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

Book furnished by Publisher in return for review

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Children
Price:  $17.99 Hardback
                $ 9.99 Ebook
Genre: Young Adult
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Whenever a book becomes hugely popular, there are bound to be a lot of copy cat books that occur. With the huge success of The Hunger Games, the market has been inundated with dystopian books targeted to the Young Adult market. In that respect, The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau is no different from the rest. It is definitely a book based on the very successful formula used in the Hunger Games trilogy. There are, however, some differences. These differences, coupled with the author's obvious talent for writing, make this one copy cat that is well worth the read. 

The Seven Stages War has left the Earth devastated. It is in this environment the the new United Commonwealth finds itself trying to survive. To meet this goal, the UC needs to discover the best and the brightest that its various colonies have to offer. Their talents and skills, along with a coveted education at The University, are needed to rebuild the Earth. To aid this process, the government of the UC has devised The Testing. 

Like the Hunger Games and others, the story in The Testing relies on Young Adult protagonists who are thrown into a do or die situation which they must navigate by using their skills and intellect. Another similarity to most of the books of this type, their is romantic interest between some of the characters. The most important similarities to the Hunger Games, though, is the author's ability to craft characters that the reader can identify with. People that you want to win and survive. In addition, the author's ability to tell the story in an engrossing, intriguing way that draws the reader in is another similarity. 

To me, though, the similarities that this book had to the others, especially the Hunger Games, were less important than what it had that its differences. Although survival is a big part of this story, it is not the only attribute that is important. For example, I really liked the way that The Testing was structured. I found the author's use of testing environment that looked at the participant's academics, decision making abilities, problem solving skills, and team work skills, set this story apart. The fact that the characters needed more to accomplish their goals than just survival skills was more to my liking. In addition, I really liked the way that the author included the understanding of several scientific abilities in the main characters arsenal, and the fact that they were able to discuss these abilities amongst themselves. There were some other differences that I particularly liked as well, but most of them were things that would spoil the story if I listed them. All of these differences, though, went a long way toward allowing me to feel that this story had its own identity. 

Even though I knew where this book was heading, could guess most of the twists, and was not surprised by any of the situations, I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy. In fact, I found it as enjoyable as the Hunger Games and think that the fact that the stories are so similar one of the things that I particularly enjoyed. Reading this story felt like visiting an old friend, but yet there was plenty to discover at the same time. I give it 4 stars.