alvin 79

  • Subscribe to our RSS feed.
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Facebook
  • Digg

Saturday, 22 February 2014

"The Visionist" by Rachel Urquhart~Exotic Read

Posted on 19:22 by batista
SUMMARY :


An enthralling first novel about a teenage girl who finds refuge--but perhaps not--in an 1840s Shaker community.


After 15-year-old Polly Kimball sets fire to the family farm, killing her abusive father, she and her young brother find shelter in a Massachusetts Shaker community called the City of Hope. It is the Era of Manifestations, when young girls in Shaker enclaves all across the Northeast are experiencing extraordinary mystical visions, earning them the honorific of "Visionist" and bringing renown to their settlements.


The City of Hope has not yet been blessed with a Visionist, but that changes when Polly arrives and is unexpectedly exalted. As she struggles to keep her dark secrets concealed in the face of increasing scrutiny, Polly finds herself in a life-changing friendship with a young Shaker sister named Charity, a girl who will stake everything--even her faith--on Polly's honesty and purity.


PARTICULARS OF THE BOOK :

Published by:  Little, Brown & Co.
Pages:  338
Genre:  Historical Fiction
Author:  Rachel Urquhart
Websites:  See  http://www.littlebrown.com  re this author
http://www.rachelurquhartwriter.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR :


Rachel Urquhart’s 
Career as a Magazine Journalist and the Debut Writer of The Visionist



Though she has split her life (and her personality) living on a farm in Massachusetts and in an apartment in New York City, Rachel Urquhart was born in Manhattan and, at the ripe old age of 40, moved to Brooklyn. Since everyone in her new neighborhood had children and dogs and held close the fantasy of someday publishing a novel, she fit right in. She was fortunate enough to begin her magazine career at Spy—a job so singular that it would prove to ruin her desire to ever want to work full-time anywhere else. Lucky for her, Vogue stepped in and saved her from herself. She has spent her entire adult life as a writer, contributing pieces and the occasional snippet of fiction to a variety of publications, including Spy, Vogue, Allure, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Tin House, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Food & Wine, Travel & Leisure, Vanity Fair, Women’s Times and The Reader. She has also written three “lifestyle” books for the ChicSimple series (Knopf), and worked as an editor, at Vogue and, more recently, in service of college-bound teenagers and people in need of a decent toast. It took an abnormally long time for her to begin—and then complete—The Visionist, her first novel, and her heart goes out to anyone who finds him or herself in a similar predicament. She received her M.F.A. in Fiction from Sarah Lawrence College, and lives with her husband, two sons, two dogs and two cats.

*Photo by Sarah Shatz


THE BOOKISH DAME REVIEWS :

In the 1990's my husband, a real estate broker,  took me to a location in rural Massachusetts that had been a Shaker community.  It was on a beautiful landscape of rolling hills and stream with a vast expanse of sky.  The property was on the market for such a reasonable price I was shocked.  The buildings left were stark and eerie in their vastness and simplicity. There was a barn and a main building.  A lone sheep made its way across a narrow stream.  We went into the "main" building made of weathered blue wood.  It was huge and had an echoing emptiness to it.  Small windows...swept, unpolished wooden floors and plain walls...a narrow staircase.  The place felt haunted.  It was about three stories tall, but it seemed to reach to the sky.  I had a strange feeling about the whole place, as if people were watching us.  Beautiful as the entire package seemed, it was ghostly.

Rachel Urquhart has written a book that has made the Shakers come alive.  I've always had a fascination with them and their seemingly ethereal religious lives. They have seemed ghostly, as well, in their unattainable ways.  In a lifestyle not quite Quaker and perhaps far from Amish, the Shakers seemed even more set apart to me than other splinter religions.  In this novel I've had a glimpse of what their lives might have been like and it is magical in Urquhart's hands.

The storyline is rich and interesting primarily featuring Polly, a girl who has escaped an abusive father by murdering him only to find shelter with the Shakers who believe she is a "visionist," one especially selected to have spiritual insights and messages. We also follow another character's crime procedural as he ferrets out Polly's secret.  And, finally, we are brought into the mind of the Shaker sister who takes Polly into her heart and takes us into the intimacy of the community.  The three narrations carry the novel adding depth to the story.

Ms Urquhart is an author with strong talents.  It's hard to believe this is a debut novel.  Her literary voice is mature, her vision exotic and her story will touch your heart.  The world of the Shakers is unveiled and the lives of her characters evolve like a well-spring.

This is one of those books you have to read this year.  I can't say enough about it!

5 stars                           Deborah/TheBookishDame

 



Read More
Posted in 1800s, Author Rachel Urquhart, crime novel, Massachusetts, Shakers, The Visionist | No comments

Friday, 21 February 2014

"Dust" by Patricia Cornwell~Never Disappoints!

Posted on 16:29 by batista
SUMMARY :


From the world’s number-one bestselling crime writer comes the extraordinary new Kay Scarpetta novel. 


Massachusetts Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta has just returned from working one of the worst mass murders in U.S. history when she’s awakened at an early hour by Detective Pete Marino.

A body, oddly draped in an unusual cloth, has just been discovered inside the sheltered gates of MIT and it’s suspected the identity is that of missing computer engineer Gail Shipton, last seen the night before at a trendy Cambridge bar. It appears she’s been murdered, mere weeks before the trial of her $100 million lawsuit against her former financial managers, and Scarpetta doubts it’s a coincidence. She also fears the case may have a connection with her computer genius niece, Lucy.

At a glance there is no sign of what killed Gail Shipton, but she’s covered with a fine dust that under ultraviolet light fluoresces brilliantly in three vivid colors, what Scarpetta calls a mineral fingerprint. Clearly the body has been posed with chilling premeditation that is symbolic and meant to shock, and Scarpetta has reason to worry that the person responsible is the Capital Murderer, whose most recent sexual homicides have terrorized Washington, D.C. Stunningly, Scarpetta will discover that her FBI profiler husband, Benton Wesley, is convinced that certain people in the government, including his boss, don’t want the killer caught. 

In Dust, Scarpetta and her colleagues are up against a force far more sinister than a sexual predator who fits the criminal classification of a “spectacle killer.” The murder of Gail Shipton soon leads deep into the dark world of designer drugs, drone technology, organized crime, and shocking corruption at the highest levels.

With unparalleled high-tension suspense and the latest in forensic technology, Patricia Cornwell once again proves her exceptional ability to surprise—and to thrill.


PARTICULARS OF THE BOOK :

Published by:  Penguin Group
Pages:  512
Series:  Kay Scarpetta #21
Genre:  Crime/Suspense/Thriller
Author:  Patricia Cornwell 
Website:  http://www.patriciacornwell.com


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:



Patricia Cornwell sold her first novel, Postmortem, while working as a computer analyst at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia. At her first signing, held during a lunch break from the morgue, Patricia sold no copies of Postmortem and fielded exactly one question – an elderly woman asked her where she could find the cookbooks.
 
Postmortem would go on to win the Edgar, Creasey, Anthony, and Macavity awards as well as the French Prix du Roman d’Aventure prize – the first book ever to claim all these distinctions in a single year. To date, Cornwell’s books have sold some 100 million copies in thirty-six languages in over 120 countries. She’s authored twenty-six New York Times bestsellers.
 
Patricia’s novels center primarily on medical examiner Kay Scarpetta along with her tech-savvy niece Lucy and fellow investigator Pete Marino. Over twenty years, these characters have grown into an international phenomenon, eventually winning Cornwell the Sherlock Award for best detective created by an American author, the Gold Dagger Award, the RBA Thriller Award, and the Medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters for her contributions to literary and artistic development. Fox 20th Century currently owns the rights to the Scarpetta film.
 
Patricia’s literary career expands outside the realm of the Kay Scarpetta series – she’s authored a definitive account of Jack the Ripper’s identity, two cookbooks (Food to Die For and Scarpetta’s Winter Table), a children’s book (Life’s Little Fable), and a biography of Ruth Graham. She’s also developed two other series based on Win Garano, an upstart Boston detective, and Andy Brazil, an enterprising Charlotte reporter.
 
Though Cornwell now lives in Boston, she was born in Miami and grew up in Montreat, North Carolina.  After earning her degree in English from Davidson College in 1979, she began working at the Charlotte Observer, taking whatever stories came her way and rapidly advancing from listing television programs to covering the police beat. Cornwell received widespread attention and praise for her series of articles on prostitution and crime in downtown Charlotte. From the Charlotte Observer, Cornwell moved to a job with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia – a post she would later bestow upon the fictional Kay Scarpetta. It was during these years that Patricia penned Postmortem and began submitting it to major publishing houses in New York, without initial success.
 
When not writing from her Boston home, Patricia tirelessly researches cutting-edge forensic technologies to include in her work. Her interests span outside the literary: Patricia co-founded the National Forensic Academy and created a Chair in Organic Science at Harvard. She appears as a forensic consultant on CNN and serves as a member of Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital’s National Council, where she advocates for psychiatric research. She’s helped fund the ICU at Cornell’s Animal Hospital, the scientific study of a Confederate submarine, the archaeological excavation of Jamestown, and a variety of law enforcement charities.  Patricia is also committed to funding scholarships and literacy programs. Her advice to aspiring authors: “Start writing. And don’t take no for an answer.” Her latest book, Dust, is due out on November 12, 2013.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
THE BOOKISH DAME REVIEWS :
 
There's hardly anything I jump up and down for these days except a new Patricia Cornwell book!  I'm a long time fan of Kay Scarpetta, and I wait on tender hooks for the next episode every year.  Patricia Cornwell hardly ever disappoints in her novels; of course her readers and I love the stories now like M&Ms at the movies, and this book is no exception to the rule.
 
First, I have to say that this is a gorgeous book physically.  Penguin has gone all out in the publication.  It's a huge volume with a beautiful cover...glittering and giving the author's name a flash of illumination.  I love the inside page, as well, that touts a colorful helicopter landing outside a glass and steel building.  This is pure Scarpetta splash!  Love it.  It's the wrapper that entices even the most hardcore fan.
 
What compels me to read Patricia Cornwell's books is not only the fine writing about forensics and crime, but the relationships she continually fosters between her main characters.  I'm caught like a moth to the flame by the nuances between Scarpetta and her niece, Lucy; her detective/friend, Marino; and her oftimes absent FBI husband, Benton.  Their banter is sophisticated and witty while it covers pertinent crime details.  They're like the slightly dysfunctional family you love to spy on.  Even her crew at the forensics center are well known to us and are lovable characters.  In fact, Cornwell's stable of repeat characters are endearing and alive with humor, as well as talented in their individual fields of crime solving and other areas of expertise.
 
In this novel, the mystery of the crime is a complicated one because of  FBI involvement.  It wasn't a clear cut one I could easily solve, and it kept me guessing to the end.  I love this type of complicated story she weaves while she keeps us happily involved in her secondary distractions.  Just consummate Patricia Cornwell to me.
 
This crime's taking place in Boston was a great boon for me, as well, since that's my "home" city where I raised my children for over 25 years.  I loved all the city references and the country ones, too.  The writing is just vivid, and I could see the places clearly.  Made me homesick.
 
I highly recommend any of Patricia Cornwell's books.  You can start anywhere since she brings her characters and their past together in any of her books, including this one.  I especially recommend "Dust."  It's a great treat to read and moves quickly despite its daunting size.  The font is sizeable which  helps.
 
You'll love this great story!
 
5 stars                          Deborah/TheBookishDame
 
 
Read More
Posted in Author Patricia Cornwell, Boston based book, Dust | No comments

Tuesday, 18 February 2014

"A Killing of Angels" by Kate Rhodes

Posted on 17:57 by batista
 
SUMMARY :

The first death looked like a suicide. But someone had tucked a picture of an angel and a handful of white feathers into the banker's pocket before pushing him in front of a train. A killer is stalking The Square Mile—the financial district in London—an avenging angel intent on punishment. But why these victims? What were their sins?

Psychologist Alice Quentin swore she'd never get involved with police work again. Her duty is to the living, not the dead. But she owes Detective Don Burns a favor. He was the one who would sit for hours when the last case they worked on together had landed her in the hospital. That case had clearly taken its toll on him, and his career, too. So when he comes begging for help, how can she refuse?
In order to find the murderer, Alice and Detective Burns must dig deep into the toxic heart of one of the major financial centers in the world. A place where money means more than life, and no one can be counted innocent.
 
A Killing of Angels is the second book in Kate Rhodes' Alice Quentin Series.


PARTICULARS OF THE BOOK :
Published by:  St. Martin's Press
Pages:  336
Author:  Kate Rhodes
Genre:  Suspense/Thriller
Website:  http://www.katerhodes.org


SOMETHING ABOUT THE AUTHOR :

KATE RHODES was born in London and lives in Cambridge, England. She completed a doctorate in American literature, then taught English at universities in Britain and the United States. She is the author of the novel Crossbones Yard and two collections of poetry and has received a number of honors and awards for her writing.




THE BOOKISH DAME REVIEWS :

I decided it was time to take myself off the steady diet of historical fiction for a while and picked up a suspense/thriller by the relatively new author, Kate Rhodes.  She is the author of the well-received book "Crossbones Yard" of last year, which I have and can't wait to delve into very soon.  I was happy to have read this one; and, although it wasn't among the best of its kind I've ever read, I do recommend it for an easy afternoon of suspense.

The story itself kept me guessing all the way through and I love that.  I really couldn't figure out who was killing all the bankers of the Angel Bank and leaving the beautiful angelic pictures and feathers behind.  The main character, psychologist Alice Quentin, was engaging and very likable.  I could read about her every day.  She really kept the novel moving for me.  I thought the detective she was working with was somewhat a wet noodle at times, but very intriguing... I look forward to more from them in this series.

There were some glaring flaws in the book, sadly.  The main one that kept gnawing at me was the constant referral to hot weather.  It seemed on every page we were dripping wet with sweat!  I really disliked this element in the writing.  A couple of references would have been enough as it didn't add to the plot at all.

I also detested the detective's side-kick, Taylor, who was a conceited lout.  Supposed to be, but more prominent in the story than I cared for and not very subtle throughout or imaginative.  If one is supposed to be an idiot, he should have been more creative!

Aside from those two issues, I found the story flowed well and I enjoyed it.  I would absolutely read another of her books; and, as I've said, I'm set to read "Crossbones Yard" asap. This is a good read.

3.5 stars                     Deborah/TheBookishDame
Read More
Posted in A Killing of Angels, Author Kate Rhodes, Suspense Thriller | No comments

"Moving Target" by J.A. Jance- Author Interview

Posted on 09:31 by batista
SUMMARY :


“Jance adroitly combines well-rounded characterizations and brisk storytelling with high-tech exploits, arson, kidnappings, and a shootout for an entertaining and suspenseful addition to this solid series.” —Booklist

 

“This extremely interesting story has the reader traveling across the globe for a good dose of thrills. . . . Great characters make this new story one of the best she’s written in her entire career. Enjoy!”
—Suspense Magazine
 
Upon embarking on a trip to England with her longtime household assistant and right-hand man Leland Brooks, Ali’s greatest concern is helping her friend face his long-estranged family.  Yet, she soon finds herself investigating violent crimes spanning two continents and eras—as vicious attacks unfold in Texas and an unsolved murder from 1950s Bournemouth—Leland’s hometown—resurfaces.  Near Austin, Lance Tucker, an incarcerated juvenile offender and talented computer hacker, is set on fire and severely burned while Ali is investigating Leland’s father’s murder in England.  The two cases at first seem unconnected and faraway, separated by time and an ocean—until Ali nearly fatally veers off of an English roadway at the mercy of an unidentified man interested in Lance Tucker’s computer hacking skills, especially those involving the “dark web.”
 
 
PARTICULARS OF THE BOOK :
 
Published by:  Touchstone
Pages:  352
Genre:  Suspense/Thriller
Author: J.A. Jance
Website:  http://www.jajance.com
 
 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR :
 
 

J.A. Jance is the New York Times bestselling author of the Ali Reynolds series, the J.P. Beaumont series, the Joanna Brady series, as well as four interrelated Southwestern thrillers featuring the Walker family. Born in South Dakota, and brought up in Brisbee, Arizona, Jance and her husband live in Seattle, Washington, and Tucson, Arizona.

Biography


Considering J. A. Jance's now impressive career -- which includes two massively popular mystery series and status as a New York Times bestseller -- it may be difficult to believe that she was initially strongly discouraged from literary pursuits. A chauvinistic creative writing professor advised her to seek out a more "ladylike" job, such as nurse or schoolteacher. Moreover, her alcoholic husband (a failed Faulkner wannabe) assured her there was room in the family for only one writer, and he was it. Determined to make her doomed marriage work, Jance put her writing on the back burner. But while her husband slept, she penned the visceral poems that would eventually be collected in After the Fire.
 
Jance next chose to use her hard times in a more unlikely manner. Encouraged by an editor to try writing fiction after a failed attempt at a true-crime book, she created J. P. Beaumont, a homicide detective with a taste for booze. Beaumont's drinking problem was clearly linked to Jance's dreadful experiences with her first husband; but, as she explains it: "Beaumont was smart enough to sober up, once the problem was brought to his attention. My husband, on the other hand, died of chronic alcoholism at age 42." So, from misfortune grew one of the most popular characters in modern mystery fiction. Beaumont debuted in 1985's Until Proven Guilty -- and, after years of postponing her writing career, Jance was on her way.
As a sort of light flipside to the dark Beaumont, Jance created her second series in 1991. Inspired by the writer's happier role as a mom, plucky small-town sheriff Joanna Brady was introduced in Desert Heat and struck an immediate chord with readers. In 2005, Jance added a third story sequence to her repertoire with Edge of Evil, featuring Ali Reynolds, a former TV reporter-turned-professional blogger.
And so, the adventures continue!


Interview!!!!   Many thanks to Ms Jance for this private interview...


1)            Tell us something about yourself, please.  How do most people describe you?

 
I've always wanted to be a writer and a storyteller.  Not being allowed in a Creative Writing program in college on account of being a "girl" was a bump in the road but not a roadblock.  In the past thirty years I've penned 50 books, 49 of them mysteries.  Because of that, people often refer to me as "prolific."  I would rather be called "productive."
 
2)            Briefly, from where did the idea for your novel germinate?
 
Leland Brooks has been part of Ali's life for seven of the eight previous books.  I've always wondered about his back story.  Moving Target gives me a chance to explore that.  And an article I read about the Dark Web turned into the Lance Tucker part of the story.
 
3)            Who first told you you could write well, and how did it affect you?
 
As a high school sophomore, I was enrolled in Latin II.  As an extra credit assignment, I wrote a paper on Servius Tullius, one of the five kings of Rome.  The handwritten paper came back to me with an A+ written in red in the upper right hand corner of the first page.  At the bottom of the final page, also written in red, was a note from my teacher that said, "Research worthy of a college student."  That note from Mr. Guerra was the first hint in my life that maybe, just maybe, I might be college student material.
 
4)            Which contemporary authors do you most admire?
 
J.K. Rowling, Ann B. Ross, Jo Nesbo, Lee Child.
 
5)            Who are your favorite classical authors?
 
Charles Dickens.
 
 
6)            What was your first book as a child?  What’s your all-time favorite book?
 
Smokey the Crow was the first book I read on my own.  My all time favorite?  The Wizard of Oz.  While reading that book in second grade I was fascinated not so much by the wizard hiding behind the green curtain as I was in Frank Baum, the man hiding behind the words.  From the moment I read that book, I wanted to be a writer.
 
7)            Read any good books in the past 6 months?
 
I just read a Department Q. book, The Purity of Vengeance, by Jussi Adler-Olsen
 
8)            What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
 
Working in the refreshment stand at the Fort Apache Drive-In in Bisbee, Arizona.  I was fired for waiting on the kids who were first in line rather than the grownups who were standing in line behind them.
 
9)            What’s your earliest memory?
 
We moved to Arizona from South Dakota in early 1949 when I was four.  It was 28 degrees below zero on the day we left the farm.  A team of plow horses had to pull the car through the snow to get us out to the road.  I don't remember any of that.  We bought the house in Bisbee and moved into it in March.  There was an ornamental iron fence that ran all around the yard.  My first memory is from the day we moved into the house.  I was hanging on the fence, looking up into a clear blue sky, and feeling the sun all over my body.  I've been in love with the desert ever since.
 
 
10)          What’s your most treasured possession?
 
The battered copy of The Treasury of the Familiar that once belonged to my father.  When I was growing up, on long evenings, both winter and summer, before television made it over the mountain pass and down through the canyons to Bisbee, our whole family gathered in the living room or out on the front porch to listen to our father read from that treasured Treasury.  The Wreck of the Herperis, Horatius at the Bridge, The Song of the Shirt, It was Six Men of Indostan.  The words may be in my head, but in my heart I hear them in my father's voice.
 
11)          Are you working on a new novel?
 
Joanna Brady # 16 is due out this summer.  I'm doing editorial work on it right now, and I'm writing next winter's Ali Reynolds book.  So far Ali # 10 is unnamed.
 
Thanks so much for taking the time to answer these questions for us, Ms Jance.  Your books have kept me up many a night!


 
THE BOOKISH DAME'S NOTE :

This is Jance's 50th  suspense/thriller!!  I think it's very worthwhile taking a look at this winter!

Read More
Posted in Author JA Jance, Moving Target, Suspense Thriller | No comments

Thursday, 13 February 2014

"The Invention of Wings" by Sue Monk Kidd

Posted on 08:15 by batista
SUMMARY :


From the celebrated author of The Secret Life of Bees, a magnificent novel about two unforgettable American women

Writing at the height of her narrative and imaginative gifts, Sue Monk Kidd presents a masterpiece of hope, daring, the quest for freedom, and the desire to have a voice in the world.


Hetty “Handful” Grimke, an urban slave in early nineteenth century Charleston, yearns for life beyond the suffocating walls that enclose her within the wealthy Grimke household. The Grimke’s daughter, Sarah, has known from an early age she is meant to do something large in the world, but she is hemmed in by the limits imposed on women.

Kidd’s sweeping novel is set in motion on Sarah’s eleventh birthday, when she is given ownership of ten year old Handful, who is to be her handmaid.We follow their remarkable journeys over the next thirty five years, as both strive for a life of their own, dramatically shaping each other’s destinies and forming a complex relationship marked by guilt, defiance, estrangement and the uneasy ways of love.
As the stories build to a riveting climax, Handful will endure loss and sorrow, finding courage and a sense of self in the process. Sarah will experience crushed hopes, betrayal, unrequited love, and ostracism before leaving Charleston to find her place alongside her fearless younger sister, Angelina, as one of the early pioneers in the abolition and women’s rights movements.

Inspired by the historical figure of Sarah Grimke, Kidd goes beyond the record to flesh out the rich interior lives of all of her characters, both real and invented, including Handful’s cunning mother, Charlotte, who courts danger in her search for something better.

 This exquisitely written novel is a triumph of storytelling that looks with unswerving eyes at a devastating wound in American history, through women whose struggles for liberation, empowerment, and expression will leave no reader unmoved.


PARTICULARS OF THIS BOOK :

Published by:  Viking Adult
Pages:  384
Genre:  Historical Fiction
Author:  Sue Monk Kidd


ABOUT THE AUTHOR :




Sue Monk Kidd first made her mark on the literary circuit with a pair of highly acclaimed, well-loved memoirs detailing her personal spiritual development. However, it was a work of fiction, The Secret Life of Bees, that truly solidified her place among contemporary writers. Although Kidd is no longer writing memoirs, her fiction is still playing an important role in her on-going journey of spiritual self-discovery.

Despite the fact that Kidd's first published books were nonfiction works, her infatuation with writing grew out of old-fashioned, Southern-yarn spinning. As a little girl in the little town of Sylvester, Georgia, Kidd thrilled to listen to her father tell stories about "mules who went through cafeteria lines and a petulant boy named Chewing Gum Bum," as she says on her web site. Inspired by her dad's tall tales, Kidd began keeping a journal that chronicled her everyday experiences. 
Such self-scrutiny surely gave her the tools she needed to pen such keenly insightful memoirs as When the Hearts Waits and The Dance of the Dissident Daughter, both tracking her development as both a Christian and a woman. "I think when you have an impulse to write memoir you are having an opportunity to create meaning of your life," she told Barnes & Noble.com, "to articulate your experience; to understand it in deeper ways... and after a while, it does free you from yourself, of having to write about yourself, which it eventually did for me."   Once Kidd had worked the need to write about herself out of her system, she decided to get back to the kind of storytelling that inspired her to become a writer in the first place. Her debut novel The Secret Life of Bees showed just how powerfully the gift of storytelling charges through Kidd's veins. The novel has sold more than 4.5 million copies, been published in over twenty languages, and spent over two years on The New York Times bestseller list.   Even as Kidd has shifted her focus from autobiography to fiction, she still uses her writing as a means of self-discovery. This is especially evident in her latest novel The Mermaid Chair, which tells the story of a woman named Jessie who lives a rather ordinary life with her husband Hugh until she meets a man about to take his final vows at a Benedictine monastery. Her budding infatuation with Brother Thomas leads Jessie to take stock of her life and resolve an increasingly intense personal tug-of-war between marital fidelity and desire.
Kidd feels that through telling Jessie's story, she is also continuing her own journey of self-discovery, which she began when writing her first books. "I think there is some part of that journey towards one's self that I did experience. I told that particular story in my book The Dance of the Dissident Daughter and it is the story of a woman's very-fierce longing for herself. The character in The Mermaid Chair Jessie has this need to come home to herself in a much deeper way," Kidd said, "to define herself, and I certainly know that longing."


THE BOOKISH DAME REVIEWS :

This is a tough one for me because I am surely standing against a large crowd of people who just loved this book and have given it rave reviews.  It was a good book, but I expected more from Sue Monk Kidd at this point.  We could say she's a prolific writer by now, certainly since her "The Secret Life of Bees."  I thought she would have grown some in her style and presentation.  I was a bit disappointed in that.

I found her "voice" to be somewhat juvenile and simplistic...or something to that affect.  The characters had a good deal to convey about their lives, but it was done in such a way as to make it seem like a young adult was telling the story.  At least to me it seemed so.  Throughout the book, I kept wishing they would "grow up!"  While the storyline was interesting, the narration was faulty in my humble opinion.

I don't know if this was the result of having a true account and trying to build the fiction around it.  But, it seemed contrived in parts.  Or, I just may not be a fan of her style of writing...

The characters, nevertheless, were engaging in their own ways.  I just felt they were a bit shallow within the story.

I seem to be one of the very few who feels this way, so I would take my review with a grain of salt and read this book for yourself.  The story of Sarah and Hetty is presented in the book without a doubt, and that fact alone may carry you through it.  Good, but not great.

3 stars             Deborah/TheBookishDame


 

Read More
Posted in abolution, Author Sue Monk Kidd, Charleston SC, slavery, The Invention of Wings | No comments

Monday, 10 February 2014

"The Queen's Dwarf" by Ella Chase March~Interview w/ Author!

Posted on 09:09 by batista
SUMMARY :


A richly imagined, gorgeously written historical novel set in the Stuart court featuring a unique hero: Jeffrey Hudson, a dwarf tasked with spying on the beautiful but vulnerable queen.

It's 1629, and King Charles I and his French queen Henrietta Maria have reigned in England for less than three years. Young dwarf Jeffrey Hudson is swept away from a village shambles and plunged into the Stuart court when his father sells him to the most hated man in England—the Duke of Buckingham. Buckingham trains Jeffrey to be his spy in the household of Charles’ seventeen-year-old bride, hoping to gain intelligence that will help him undermine the vivacious queen’s influence with the king.

Desperately homesick in a country that hates her for her nationality and Catholic faith, Henrietta Maria surrounds herself with her "Royal Menagerie of Freaks and Curiosities of Nature"—a "collection" consisting of a giant, two other dwarves, a rope dancer, an acrobat/animal trainer and now Jeffrey, who is dubbed "Lord Minimus."

Dropped into this family of misfits, Jeffrey must negotiate a labyrinth of court intrigue and his own increasingly divided loyalties. For not even the plotting of the Duke nor the dangers of a tumultuous kingdom can order the heart of a man. Though he is only eighteen inches tall, Jeffrey Hudson's love will reach far beyond his grasp—to the queen he has been sent to destroy.

Full of vibrant period detail and perfect for fans of Carrolly Erickson and Philippa Gregory, The Queen's Dwarf by Ella March Chase is a thrilling and evocative portrait of an intriguing era.


PARTICULARS OF THE BOOK :

Published by:  St. Martin's Press
Pages:  384
Genre:  Historical Fiction
Author:  Ella March Chase
Purchase the book:  Barnes & Noble  or Amazon


ABOUT THE AUTHOR :




When Ella March Chase was in third grade, she informed her teacher she didn't need to learn multiplication tables because she was going to be a famous writer when she grew up.  At twenty-five, she combined her passion for researching  history and spinning stories.  Her daughter Kate claims that when she was growing up even the family dogs were discovered while researching King Charles II--  Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Though Ella now shares her home with a rescue Shetland Sheepdog named Oliver Twist, she never lost her fascination the intrigue of royal court-- be it during the reign of the Tudors or, most recently, the Stuarts.

She travelled to England where she fell under the spell of the Tower of London—the infamous Traitor’s Gate, the chapel where beheaded queens lay buried, the story of the two princes allegedly murdered by Richard III.  Ella began unearthing the obscure historical details that make larger than life figures painfully human.  From that fascination, the concepts for The Queen's Dwarf, The Virgin Queen's Daughter and Three Maids for a Crown emerged.

When Ella is not writing books, haunting the local libraries or burying herself in stacks of research books, she spends her time making up stories about pirates and dragons to delight her grandsons, growing fresh herbs to use in her legendary 'magic' soup, knitting all the bright colored yarn she can lay her hands on, having tea with her family and friends and playing folk ballads on her guitar because people who love her are too polite to beg her to stop.



INTERVIEW WITH MS CHASE!!!

I'm so pleased to be able to bring this interview with Ella March Chase to my readers today.  I find her so interesting...Can't wait for you to read this interview!!!




 
1)     Tell us something about yourself, please.  How do most people describe you? 
 
 I figured that my critique partner and dear friend of twenty-nine years, author Susan Carroll, would be best able to answer this, so I’m handing it over to her. “Ella is the kind of person you'd love to have afternoon tea with.   Not only would the scones and shortbread be delicious (she's a fabulous cook) you would be treated to some great conversation.   She's intelligent, well read and has such a great sense of humor.   And I have never known anyone with a greater enthusiasm for history.  She is totally absorbed when doing research for her books.  I think this is what makes her such a gifted writer of historical novels. She has this amazing ability to see beyond the facts and understand the people of a different era.  She is such a warm, compassionate woman and puts her whole heart into everything she does, whether it is writing a book, being a devoted grandmother or the best friend anyone could ever have.   And right about now, as she is reading this, I am certain she is blushing, because she is also excessively modest! “  I am blushing, but Sue made me promise I wouldn’t edit it.
 
2)      Briefly, from where did the idea for your novel germinate? 
 
I’m a huge Downton Abbey fan and love the interplay between the upstairs/downstairs lives. I had written about court intrigue from the viewpoint of the powerful aristocrats.  I started wondering what it must be like for the royal household’s staff. I remembered a portrait I had seen of Queen Henrietta Maria by Van Dyke. It featured a tiny man with a monkey perched on his shoulder.  When I researched it further, I discovered Jeffrey Hudson, known as ‘The Queen’s Dwarf’, an eighteen-inch tall man whose heart and spirit of adventure far outstripped his size.  In the portrait, Jeffrey looks up at Queen Henrietta Maria with affection, but also wariness.  I could feel the tension in him, as if he knew how easy it would be to fall from favor.  I researched Jeffrey and discovered that he was placed in the queen’s household by the scheming duke of Buckingham.  Buckingham was Henrietta Maria’s great enemy and the king’s best friend.  My mind was off and running.  Jeffrey’s courage and resourcefulness, the historical facts about his life could be spun into a wonderful story.
 
3)     Who first told you you could write and how did it affect you?
 
My grandmother, a children’s librarian.  She nurtured my writing and always believed I would be a writer.  My mom was also a huge supporter and arranged for one of her patients to take me to Writer’s Studio when I was still in high school.  She also showed the staff at the doctor’s office a school project—my first attempt at historical fiction—a story set during the French Revolution.  The lab tech cried.  I was so empowered, knowing I could evoke that kind of emotion.  I recently reconnected with the lab tech on Facebook.  She still remembered my heroine’s name was Angelique!
 
4)      Which contemporary authors do you most admire? 
 
There are so many fantastic writers. First of all, J.K. Rowling who rekindled the joy of reading long books in children hungry for magic.  She’s my hero.   Anne Perry, Tami Hoag and Susan Carroll are three of my long time favorites. I tend to hoard their books until the perfect reading weekend, because I know once I start reading I’m not going to be able to put the book down.  Lately I’ve discovered Nancy Bilyeau, Melanie Benjamin, Michelle Moran, C.W Gortner and Sandra Byrd.  They make pleasure reading a joy.
 
5)      Who are your favorite classical authors? 
 
 I adore Louisa May Alcott.  Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre always haunts me—the Red Room alone!  Yikes!  George Elliot is brilliant.  My personal favorite is Silas Marner discovering treasure in the love of his little Eppie. I’m a Jane Austen and Charles Dickens fan and must read Frances Hodgson Burnett’s A Little Princess and A Secret Garden at least once a year.
 
6)      What was your first book as a child?  What’s your all time favorite book? 
 
With a grandmother who was a children’s librarian, you can imagine how lucky I was.  I was showered with the very best in children’s literature.  My most memorable incident with a book was when I was in second grade.  I was upstairs in my room, reading Charlotte’s Web by E.B.White.  My mom heard me sobbing and rushed upstairs to see what was wrong.  “Charlotte died!”  I wailed.  My mom cuddled me close, and said “Oh, sweetie, who was Charlotte?”  I cried: “A spider!”  As for my favorite book, I think Little Women.  Every time I open its pages, its like being enveloped in a warm hug from the March family and my grandma.
 
7)      Read any good books in the past 6 months? 
 
 The Aviator’s Wife by Melanie Benjamin was phenomenal.  I’ve loved Anne Morrow Lindbergh since I was a girl.  So was the children’s novel Wonder by R. J. Palacio, the tale of a boy with a severe facial deformity entering middle school.    I’ve been researching a new novel, so I’ve been reading a lot research.
 
8)      What’s the worst job you’ve ever had? 
 
 Cleaning tables at Ponderosa Steak House as a teenager.
 
9)      What’s your earliest memory?
 
 My mom worked nights as a nurse so dad was in charge at night.  He would put me to bed but left the hall light on for me.  The minute I heard him snore, I’d creep out of bed and take my pile of books out into the hall and read there until mom got home at two in the morning.   My poor parents.  It was a good thing I loved my books.  Imagine what mischief an unattended three year old could have gotten into!
 
10)  What’s your most treasured possession? 
 
The Tasha Tudor edition of Little Women that my grandmother, a children’s librarian, gave me for Christmas when I was fourteen.
 
11)   Are you working on a new novel? 
 I am.  It’s set in Paris and will combine two tales, one set in World War II, the other in 1968.  I also hope one day to revisit Jeffrey and the Menagerie.
 What a great life and interesting, Ella.  Thanks so much for visiting with us.  It must have been just fantastic to have a grandmother who was a librarian throughout your life. I have also been a long time fan of Anne Morrow Lindbergh and her writings.  I look forward to your new novel.
 
 
THE BOOKISH DAME REVIEWS :
 I had a wonderful weekend reading "The Queen's Dwarf."  It was the perfect get-away!  The gorgeous cover gave a glimpse of all that was inside, and author Ella Chase March delivered on her promises.  This is a book to cozy down with an enjoy.  I highly recommend it.

Ms March writes like the best of the historical fiction authors.  There is a depth and sensitivity to her writing.  The historical background is thoroughly researched, you can easily discern, as well as the cultural details.  Her richness of place and time set the stage for a story that is intriguing and heartwarming at the same time.  I was swept up from the first chapter.

There are many characters to love in this novel.  But, who wouldn't fall for the dwarf, Jeffrey?  He is small, but beautiful in "design."  His heart is big and his courage is monumental!  I loved the way Ms March created him.  I loved his loyalty and his intelligence, too.  Amongst the great menagerie the Queen held dear, Jeffrey was the heart.  I felt like he was the light in a dark time.

This is a novel that you can't miss.  Beautifully written, exceptional plot, and characters who live and breathe.  I think you'll be pleased if you add this one to your reading list this winter.

5 stars                   Deborah/TheBookishDame
 
 
 




Read More
Posted in Author Ella Chase March, dwarf, English setting, historical fiction, King Charles I, The Queen's Dwarf | No comments

Tuesday, 4 February 2014

"Becoming Josephine" by Heather Webb~Enchanting!

Posted on 20:10 by batista
SUMMARY :

A sweeping historical debut about the Creole socialite who transformed herself into an empress

Readers are fascinated with the wives of famous men. In Becoming Josephine, debut novelist Heather Webb follows Rose Tascher as she sails from her Martinique plantation to Paris, eager to enjoy an elegant life at the royal court. Once there, however, Rose’s aristocratic soldier-husband dashes her dreams by abandoning her amid the tumult of the French Revolution. After narrowly escaping death, Rose reinvents herself as Josephine, a beautiful socialite wooed by an awkward suitor—Napoleon Bonaparte.

“A debut as bewitching as its protagonist.” —Erika Robuck, author of Hemingway’s Girl and Call Me Zelda

“Vivid and passionate.” —Susan Spann, author of The Shinobi Mysteries 



PARTICULARS OF THE BOOK :

Published by:  Plume/Penguin Group
Pages:  306
Genre:  Historical Fiction
Author  Heather Webb
Website:  http://www.heatherwebb.net
Purchase this book:  Amazon 
Barnes & Noble
Indiebound


ABOUT THE AUTHOR :

Heather Webb grew up a military brat and naturally became obsessed with travel, culture, and languages. She put her degrees to good use teaching high school French for nearly a decade before turning to full time novel writing and freelance editing.
When not writing, Heather flexes her foodie skills or looks for excuses to head to the other side of the world.
For more information please visit Heather’s website. You can also find her on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.


THE BOOKISH DAME REVIEWS :

There are few women of history who are more fascinating than Josephine Bonaparte.  I've often thought of her as the most mysterious and exotic of women, but never knew what it was about her that captured one of the most powerful men of all times.  Heather Webb has gone a long way to answer many of my questions.  Her book, "Becoming Josephine" is the best of any I've read thus far that attempts to portray Josephine as a real woman with depth and character.  This is an extremely worthy book of historical fiction.

While it's not a long book, or it doesn't seem so when you're reading it, this one is fraught with many wonderful details about Josephine and her life in its early and later times.  It builds her persona from her days as a child on Martinique, explaining her roots in religion and the exotic which she brought all the way through her days as the enchanting Empress who won the heart and soul of Napoleon.  She lives in the pages of this novel as we've never seen her before.

I thought the best element of the book was how Ms Webb "aged" Josephine along as a person who was young and searching for the fulfillment of her life, to a woman who had discovered and embraced her destiny.  It's this search for her authentic self that is so charming and persuasive in the novel.  We travel along with her through her times of love, horror, loss and majesty to the end when she can look back on it all.  I loved this broad overview and found it never bogged down by too much in one time frame or relationship in her life.

Heather Webb is a gifted writer who captivates and carries us along with her as she tells her story.  Josephine is a living, breathing person in this novel.  One who will absolutely convince you of her unique spirit and gorgeous allure.

I highly recommend this historical fiction to all HF fans.  It's one you won't forget....

5 stars                        Deborah/TheBookishDame



*This review is brought to you in cooperation with Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours; however, the review and all opinions are strictly my own.



Please find more reviews, interviews and author comments about this book by visiting http://www.hfvirtualbooktours.com



Read More
Posted in Author Heather Webb, Becoming Josephine, historical fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Josephine Bonaparte, Martinique, Napoleon | No comments

"Girl On The Golden Coin" by Marci Jefferson~Gorgeous Debut

Posted on 12:21 by batista
SUMMARY :

In 1660, the Restoration of Stuart Monarchy in England returns Frances Stuart and her family to favor. Frances discards threadbare gowns and goes to gilded Fontainebleau Palace, where she soon catches the Sun King’s eye. But Frances is no ordinary court beauty—she has Stuart secrets to keep and her family to protect. King Louis XIV turns vengeful when she rejects his offer to become his Official Mistress. He sends her to England with orders to seduce King Charles II and help him form an alliance with England. The Queen Mother likewise orders Frances to become her son's mistress, in the interest of luring him away from the Protestant mistress he currently keeps.
 
Armed in pearls and silk, Frances maneuvers the political turbulence of Whitehall Palace, but still can’t afford to stir a scandal, determined to keep her family from shame. Her tactic to inspire King Charles to greatness captivates him and the two embark on a tenuous relationship. Frances survives the Great Fire, the Great Plague, and the debauchery of the Restoration Court, yet loses her heart to the very king she must control. A startling discovery will leave her with no other choice but to break his heart, while the fate of England hangs in the balance.
 
In the tradition of Philippa Gregory, debut author Marci Jefferson brings to life a captivating woman whose beauty, compassion, and intellect impacted a king and a nation, in Girl on the Golden Coin.


PARTICULARS OF THE BOOK :

Published by:  St. Martin's Press/Thomas Dunne Books
Pages:  311
Genre:  Historical Fiction
Author:  Marci Jefferson
Website:  http://www.MarciJefferson.com


ABOUT THE AUTHOR :

 
MARCI JEFFERSON grew up in an Air Force family and so lived numerous places, including North Carolina, Georgia, and the Philippines. Her passion for history sparked while living in Yorktown, Virginia, where locals still share Revolutionary War tales. She lives in Indiana with her husband and children. This is her first novel.


THE BOOKISH DAME REVIEWS :

It's no secret that I enjoy a well-written historical fiction.  But, when I was asked to review this new one by an unknown author...a debut novel, I had my reservations.  Then, after just one chapter, I was hooked until the end.  Marci Jefferson is a wonderful author who sorts out time, carrying you off to another place and scene with all the aplomb of a seasoned historical fiction author.  I loved her book!

While we are taken up by the gorgeous courts of France and England during the Restoration Period, Marci creates an atmosphere alive in details.  The settings are splendid, and the costumes are finely described.  I'm an absolute fan of any book that does this sort of thing.  It sets me right down in the time frame and makes me see vividly the people within.  Perfection!

The characters Ms Jefferson carves out for us are just as detailed.  They are lively and spirited.  Frances Stuart is the girl/woman we all want to be...alluring, intelligent and beautiful...the center of two kings' attention.  The kings are wonderfully drawn in their own courts and times.  The period detail with these characters as centerpieces is such a joy to read.  It's difficult to highlight all my favorite characters here, as there are so many who were sensational.

Marci Jefferson's writing style is easy and fast paced.  She builds her plot swiftly,  holding our attention throughout the story.  I found it difficult to put the book away, and always enjoyed coming back to it.

Readers who pick up this book are going to discover a heartwarming novel, but also will find one full of fine details in history and in design and setting.  This is a treasure of a book.  Beautifully written...

I'm thrilled to be one of the early ones to introduce you to this new historical fiction author whom I feel certain will be high on our favorites list this year and in those coming!

5 stars                       Deborah/TheBookishDame



Below is a long list of other places you can read more about this book:



Marci Jefferson’s GIRL ON THE GOLDEN COIN Blog Tour

 

1/29 – giveaway, Devourer of Books: http://www.devourerofbooks.com/

1/31 – interview/giveaway, Literary, etc: http://literaryetc.com/

2/1 – review, A Bookish Libraria: http://abookishlibraria.blogspot.com/

2/3 – review, The Bookish Owl: http://thebookishowl.wordpress.com/

2/4 – review/giveaway, Writing the Renaissance: http://writingren.blogspot.com/

2/5 – interview, Writing the Renaissance: http://writingren.blogspot.com/

2/6 – interview, Between the Sheets/Heather Webb: http://www.heatherwebbauthor.com/category/blog/

2/7 – interview, Spann of Time: http://www.susanspann.com/

2/8 – review/giveaway, Passages to the Past: http://www.passagestothepast.com/

2/9 – review, Royal Reviews: http://theroyalreviews.blogspot.com/

2/10 – Picture This, SheReads: http://www.shereads.org/

2/10 – review/giveaway, The Lit Bitch: http://thelitbitch.com/

2/11 – review, Reading the Past: http://readingthepast.blogspot.com/

2/11 – interview/on-sale announcement, Enchanted by Josephine: http://enchantedbyjosephine.blogspot.com/

2/11 – Three Favorite Things, USA TODAY’S Happy Ever After: http://www.usatoday.com/blog/happyeverafter/

2/12 – review/giveaway, Enchanted by Josephine: http://enchantedbyjosephine.blogspot.com/

2/12 – review, Muse/Erika Robuck: http://www.erikarobuck.com/Blog.html

 2/13 – review, Unabridged Chick: http://unabridged-expression.blogspot.com/

2/13 – interview/giveaway/excerpt, Harlequin Junkie: http://harlequinjunkie.com/

2/14 – interview, Unabridged Chick: http://unabridged-expression.blogspot.com/

2/15 – review, Historical Fiction Obsession: http://historicalfictionobsession.blogspot.com/

2/16 – review, Lesa’s Book Critiques: http://lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com/

2/17 – review/interview, A Bookish Affair: http://abookishaffair.blogspot.com/

2/18 – review, Let Them Read Books: http://letthemreadbooks.blogspot.com/

2/19 – interview, Let Them Read Books: http://letthemreadbooks.blogspot.com/

2/20 – review/giveaway, The Maiden’s Court: http://themaidenscourt.blogspot.com/

2/21 – review/giveaway, No More Grumpy Bookseller: http://nomoregrumpybookseller.blogspot.com/

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­____________________________________________________________________________________

 

“Jefferson’s intoxicating first novel superbly draws readers into the mischief and maneuverings, loyalties and treacheries, and lust and hostility of powerful 17th century kings and scheming court sycophants…this is an exciting, solid debut.”

—Publishers Weekly,Starred Review
_____________________________________________________________________________________



Read More
Posted in Author Marci Jefferson, England, France, Frances Stuart, Girl on the Golden Coin, Reformation | No comments
Newer Posts Older Posts Home
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Popular Posts

  • GIVEAWAY!! "Pure" by Julianna Baggott~Post-Apocalypse Drama!
    SUMMARY :    We know you are here, our brothers and sisters . . . Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Bef...
  • "Her Majesty's Will" by David Blixt~Guest Post with the Author
    SUMMARY : From the Author HER MAJESTY'S WILL is many things. It's a spy novel. It's a Tudor novel. It's a Shakespeare nov...
  • "The Imposter Bride" by Nancy Richler~Beautifully Written...
    SUMMARY: The Imposter Bride  by Nancy Richler is an unforgettable novel about a mysterious mail-order bride in the wake of WWII, whose sudde...
  • "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld~YA Dystopian
    SUMMARY : Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license -- for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixt...
  • "The Sleeping Dictionary" by Sujata Massey~Exotic and Enticing...
    SUMMARY : In 1930, a great ocean wave blots out a Bengali village, leaving only one survivor, a young girl. As a maidservant in a British bo...

Categories

  • 1100's
  • 13th c
  • 1600's
  • 1600's England
  • 1660s
  • 1800's Paris
  • 1800s
  • 1930's setting
  • 1960's
  • 19th c London
  • 200th Anniversary of Pride and Prejudice
  • 2013
  • 2013 Review of Books
  • 2014
  • A Divided Inheritance
  • A Fatal Likeness
  • A History of the Present Illness
  • A Killing of Angels
  • A Lack of Temperance
  • A Murder At Rosamund's Gate
  • A Thing Done
  • A White Room
  • A White Wind Blew
  • abolution
  • Abraham Lincoln
  • Acquitaine
  • action novel
  • adoption
  • Afghanistan
  • Africa
  • Al Quaeda
  • Alaina Claiborne
  • alchemy
  • Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
  • Alice Hoffman
  • aliens
  • Allegiant
  • Always Watching
  • Amarok
  • American history
  • American novel
  • American Revolution
  • Amity & Sorrow
  • An Italian Obsession
  • Ancient Athens
  • Angel Baby
  • Angelology
  • angels
  • Angels Assassin
  • Ann Boleyn
  • Anne Boleyn
  • Antarctica
  • antebellum
  • apocalypse
  • apple orchard
  • Archers of Avalon
  • Archetype
  • art forgeries
  • art world
  • artist
  • Aryan race
  • Astor + Blue Editions Publishers
  • Astor Place Vintage
  • asylum
  • At Home In Mitford
  • Atria books
  • audio book
  • Audio CD
  • Audio CDs
  • Austensibly Ordinary
  • Author Alana White
  • Author Alice Hoffman
  • Author Allen Wyler
  • Author Alyssa Goodnight
  • Author Amanda Scott
  • Author Amy Hatvany
  • Author Angela Hunt
  • Author Angela J. Townsend
  • Author Anne Easter Smith
  • Author Anton Disclafani
  • Author Becky Aikman
  • Author Brunonia Barry
  • Author Catherine McKenzie
  • Author Chelsea Fine
  • Author David Morrell
  • Author Deb Elkink
  • Author Deborah Swift
  • Author DL Bogdan
  • Author Elin Hilderbrand
  • Author Ella Chase March
  • Author Erika Robuck
  • Author Hannah Fielding
  • Author Heather Gudenkauf
  • Author Henry Massie
  • Author Irina Shapiro
  • Author Jeffrey Deaver
  • Author Jennifer Laam
  • Author Juliette Fay
  • Author Karin Slaughter
  • Author Kfir Luzzatto
  • Author Khanh Ha
  • Author Kirsten Miller
  • Author Kristyn Kusek Lewis
  • Author Lynn Shepherd
  • Author Maggie Stiefvater
  • Author MD Waters
  • Author Melody Carlson
  • Author Michelle Diener
  • Author Morgan K Wyatt
  • Author Nelson DeMille
  • Author nna Loan-Wilsey
  • Author Paula Brackston
  • Author Robin Bridge
  • Author Sam Thomas
  • Author Sandra Byrd
  • Author Stephanie Carroll
  • Author Stephanie Lehmann
  • Author Susan Gregg Gilmore
  • Author Susanna Calkins
  • Author Suzanne Jenkins
  • Author Tiffany Baker
  • Author Tinney Sue Heath
  • Author Wally Lamb
  • Author Abigail Reynolds
  • Author Adam McOmber
  • Author Alissa Nutting
  • Author Ally Condie
  • Author Alyxandra Harvey
  • Author Amanda Coplin
  • Author Amanda Hocking
  • Author Ann Leary
  • Author Ann Weisgarber
  • Author Anne Easter Smith
  • Author Anthony V. Aqua
  • Author ASA Harrison
  • Author Barbara Kyle
  • Author Benjamin Constable
  • Author Blair Richmond
  • Author Brandy Purdy
  • Author C W Gortnor
  • Author Carol Tibaldi
  • Author Catherine McKenzie
  • Author Cathy Marie Buchanan
  • Author Chelsea Cain
  • Author Chevy Stevens
  • Author Colleen McCullough
  • Author Cornelia Read
  • Author Crystal Leigh McVea
  • Author Curtis Sittenfeld
  • Author Cynthia Woolf
  • Author D. J. Niko
  • Author Danielle Trussoni
  • Author Darien Gee
  • Author David Blixt
  • Author David Cristofano
  • Author Dean Crawford
  • Author Dianne Dixon
  • Author DJ Niko
  • Author Donna Fletcher Crow
  • Author Donna Tartt
  • Author Eben Alexander MD
  • Author Edie Eckman
  • Author Eleanor Catton
  • Author Elin Hildebrand
  • Author Elizabeth Berg
  • Author Elizabeth Black
  • Author Elizabeth Flock
  • Author Elizabeth Fremantle
  • Author Elizabeth Loupas
  • Author Emma Donoghue
  • Author Erika Mailman
  • Author Frances Mayes
  • Author Francisco Haghenbeck
  • Author Gail Godwin
  • Author George Eliot
  • Author Gerbrand Bakker
  • Author Gillian Flynn
  • author guest post
  • Author Hank Phillipi Ryan
  • Author Hannah Kent
  • Author Heather A Clark
  • Author Heather Webb
  • Author Hilary Mantel
  • Author Hugh Brewster
  • Author Ian McEwan
  • Author JA Jance
  • Author James Houston Turner
  • Author James MacManus
  • Author James Markert
  • Author Jan Karon
  • Author Jane Grey
  • Author Jason Mott
  • Author Jean Burnett
  • Author Jean Zimmerman
  • Author Jeannie Lin
  • Author Jennie Fields
  • Author Jennifer Chiaverini
  • Author Jennifer Cody Epstein
  • Author Jennifer duBois
  • Author Jennifer McMahon
  • Author JL Spelbring
  • Author Jo Baker
  • Author Joelle Hoverson
  • Author Joyce Carol Oates
  • Author Judith Kischt
  • Author Judith Merkle Riley
  • Author Julianna Baggott
  • Author Juliet Grey
  • Author Justin Cronin
  • Author Kate Atkinson
  • Author Kate Rhodes
  • Author Kathy Reichs
  • Author Kayla McLaren
  • Author Ken Follett
  • Author Kim Rendfeld
  • Author Kimberly Elkins
  • Author Laini Taylor
  • Author Laura Joh Rowland
  • Author Laurel O Donnell
  • Author Lauren Willig
  • Author Lee Martin
  • Author Lee Smith
  • Author Leila Meacham
  • Author Lisa April Smith
  • Author Lisa Carter
  • Author Liz Curtis Higgs
  • Author Liz Jensen
  • Author Lousie Aronson
  • Author M J Rose
  • Author Marci Jefferson
  • Author Marci Nault
  • Author Maria Semple
  • Author Marlene Dietrich
  • Author Mary Sharratt
  • Author Maryanne OHara
  • Author Maurice Sendak
  • Author Melissa Darnell
  • Author Mia March
  • Author Michael Schofield
  • Author Michelle Diener
  • Author Michelle Madhok
  • Author Millicent Monks
  • Author Mingmei Yip
  • Author MJ Rose
  • Author MK McClintock
  • Author Mo Hayder
  • Author Nancy Bilyeau
  • Author Nancy Richler
  • Author Naomi Alderman
  • Author Nelson DeMille
  • Author Nina Benneton
  • Author of Sharp Objects
  • Author Patricia Cornwell
  • Author Peggy Riley
  • Author R Ira Harris
  • Author Rachel Cohn
  • Author Rachel Urquhart
  • Author Raymond Khoury
  • Author Richard Lange
  • Author Rick Yancey
  • Author Rita Gerlach
  • Author Robert Garnett
  • Author Ronald Frame
  • Author Sandy Nathan
  • Author Sarah Jio
  • Author Sarah Raynor
  • Author Sarah Selecky
  • Author Scott Westerfeld
  • Author Sophie McKenzie
  • Author Stephanie Thornton
  • Author Sue Monk Kidd
  • Author Sujata Massey
  • Author Suzanne Desrochers
  • Author Syrie James
  • Author T. J. Brown
  • Author Tarina Tarantino
  • Author Tatiana de Rosnay
  • Author Tess Gerritsen
  • Author Therese Anne Fowler
  • Author Tom Rob Smith
  • Author Tracy Chevalier
  • Author Tracy Guzeman
  • Author Vanessa Diffenbaugh
  • Author Veronica Roth
  • authors
  • Authors Julie Mannix von Zerneck and Kathy Hatfield
  • Authors Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
  • Bad Girls of the Bible
  • Ballet
  • Banquet of Lies
  • Barbara Delinsky
  • Baudelaire
  • beachy
  • Beautiful Creatures
  • Becoming Josephine
  • Bermuda Triangle
  • Bernadette
  • Beside Two Rivers
  • Best Books of 2012
  • Beta
  • Beyond the Valley
  • biography
  • Black Dahlia and White Rose
  • Black Venus
  • Blackberry Winter
  • Blood Between Queens
  • Blood Prophecy
  • body parts
  • bombing of Japan
  • Bones of the Lost
  • Book Anew
  • Book Last to Die
  • Book My Bookshop
  • Book Songbird
  • Book Finds
  • Book haul
  • Book Haul 10 13
  • Book Haul 11 9 13
  • Book Haul 1st Nov
  • Book Haul 3 27 14
  • Book Haul 4 22 13
  • Book Haul 5 2013
  • Book Haul 8 17 13
  • Book Haul 8 2014
  • Book Haul Dec 2
  • Book Haul December End
  • Book Haul End of April
  • Book Haul Feb March
  • Book Haul March April 2013
  • Book Haul My Purchase 10 24 13
  • Book Haul week Jan 26 2013
  • Book Hauls Belated 3 26 14
  • Books
  • Books in Review
  • books in the mail
  • books read
  • Border Bride
  • Boston based book
  • Boston-based
  • Brad Meltzer
  • Break the Skin
  • Bring Up The Bodies
  • British Empire colonialism
  • British novel
  • British Thriller
  • brothel
  • Burial Rites
  • Buried Treasure
  • Burning Embers
  • cadavers
  • Call Me Zelda
  • Canada
  • Canadian American Author
  • Canadian authors
  • cancer survival
  • Carnegie
  • Carolina Reckoning
  • Cartwheel
  • Cascade
  • Castles
  • Catching Fire
  • Celts
  • Charlemagne
  • Charles Dickens
  • Charles Dickens In Love
  • Charleston SC
  • Charlotte NC
  • Chicago
  • Child 44
  • child abduction
  • child abuse
  • child kidnapping
  • child murder
  • childhood mental illness
  • childhood schizophrenia
  • China
  • Chinese culture
  • christian fiction
  • Christmas 2013
  • Christmas at the White House
  • Clann Series
  • Clara and the Mouse King
  • clones
  • Close My Eyes
  • Close Your Eyes Hold Hands
  • clothes and dressing
  • coming of age novel
  • communes
  • Compulsively Mr. Darcy
  • Confessions of Marie Antoinette
  • Connect the Shapes Crochet Motifs
  • Contemporary Fiction
  • Contemporary novel
  • Contest
  • convent
  • courtesans
  • Covet
  • crafts
  • cremation
  • crime novel
  • Crochet
  • cross over fiction
  • cross stitching
  • Cuba
  • Cuban Revolution
  • cults
  • Cumberland Island
  • Customs and Kings
  • Daddy Love
  • Dangerous Illusions
  • Daniel Deronda
  • Darkness Dwellers
  • Daughter of the Sky
  • Daughters of the Potomac
  • Days of Blood and Starlight
  • death and dying
  • December TBR
  • demons
  • Desert
  • Divergent series
  • doctors
  • Drake Vampires
  • Dream Lover
  • Dream When You're Feeling Blue
  • Druids
  • Dust
  • dwarf
  • dystopian
  • dystopian novel
  • early1900s
  • earth's end
  • ebooks
  • eclectic reading
  • Edgar Degas
  • Edited compilation
  • Edith Wharton
  • Edwardian England
  • Elephant in the Sky
  • Elizabeth Boleyn
  • Elizabeth I
  • Elizabeth of England
  • Ellen Gilchrist
  • Emile Zola
  • Emily Dickinson
  • England
  • English history
  • English queen
  • English setting
  • English spys
  • English writer
  • environment
  • espionage
  • Everything I Never Told You
  • Exceeding Expectations
  • Exploration
  • Expressionist art
  • F Scott Fitzgerald
  • F. Scott Fitzgerald
  • faeries
  • family dynamics
  • fantasy
  • fashion
  • Father Christmas
  • Father Christmas update
  • Favorite Books of 2013
  • favorite bookshops
  • Felice's Worlds
  • feudal Japan
  • Fiction
  • Finding Colin Firth
  • Flesh
  • Flora
  • Florence 1400s
  • Florence Italy
  • flowers
  • forensics novel
  • Forgotten
  • Forgotten Tales of China
  • France
  • Frances Stuart
  • French
  • French poet
  • French Revolution
  • Friendship Bread
  • friendships
  • Frog Music
  • Fuse
  • futuristic
  • Galveston TX
  • gangsters
  • General Fiction
  • Germany
  • ghosts
  • Gilded Lives Fatal Voyage
  • Girl on the Golden Coin
  • Giveaway winners
  • giveaways
  • gold hunting
  • gold rush
  • Gone Girl
  • Goodwill Hunting
  • gothic mystery
  • Grief
  • Guests on Earth
  • Havisham
  • healing
  • Heat Like Mine
  • heaven
  • Henry VIII
  • Her Majestys Will
  • Highland Fling
  • Hildegard von Bingen
  • Hiroshima
  • historical fiction
  • Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours
  • historical India
  • historical romance
  • Holland
  • Hollywood
  • Holocaust
  • Holocaust survivor
  • home and garden
  • horror
  • horses
  • How I Came to Sparkle; grief
  • How I Read Books
  • human trafficking
  • Huntingtons Disease
  • Iceland
  • Illuminations
  • illustrations
  • immortal love
  • In My Book Stacks
  • incest
  • India
  • individual booksellers
  • infidelity
  • insane asylum
  • insanity
  • inspirational fiction
  • Insurgent
  • iPad cover case
  • Island of the White Rose
  • IVFertilization
  • Jack Caffery
  • Jacobean
  • Jane Austen
  • Jane Austen Christmas Week
  • Jane Austen inspired
  • Jane Grey
  • Jani
  • January First
  • Japan
  • Jeffery Deaver
  • Jeffery Deavers
  • Jennifer Gilmore
  • jesters
  • Jesus
  • jewelry
  • jewelry making
  • Jewish culture
  • Jhumpa Lahiri
  • Josephine Bonaparte
  • June 1st week Book Haul
  • Karin Slaughter
  • Katerina Trilogy Vol II
  • Katherine Grey
  • Katherine Parr
  • kidnapping
  • Kiki Strike
  • King Arthur
  • King Charles I
  • KKK
  • knitting
  • Knitting classic style
  • LasVegas
  • Laura Bridgman
  • Laura Lippman
  • lesbians
  • Library Loot
  • Library Loot Haul
  • Literary Fiction
  • Little Brown and Co.
  • Little Mercies
  • London
  • London 1600's
  • London England
  • Longbourn
  • Louis of France
  • Louisville KY
  • love story
  • Lullaby
  • Lydia Bennet
  • MA
  • MA author
  • mafia
  • magical
  • Maine
  • Manhattan
  • Marie Antoinette
  • Marilyn Monroe
  • marriage
  • Martinique
  • Mary Grey
  • Mary Queen of Scots
  • Mary Shelley
  • Mary Todd Lincoln
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • medical thriller
  • Medici
  • medieval England
  • Memoirs and Non-Fiction
  • Memoirs and Other
  • mental illness
  • Mercy Snow
  • Mexican cartel
  • Mexico
  • Midnight Witch
  • Midwifery
  • MJ Rose
  • moral issues
  • More Last Minute Knitted Gifts
  • motherhood
  • mothers
  • mountains
  • Moving Target
  • Mr. Darcy
  • Mr. Darcy's Refuge
  • Mrs. Keckley
  • Mrs. Lincolns Dressmaker
  • multi-cultural
  • murder
  • Murder As A Fine Art
  • murder mystery
  • My Purchasing Criteria
  • mystery
  • mystery and suspense
  • Mystery Writers of America
  • mystery/thriller
  • mystical creatures
  • Mything You by Greta Buckle
  • mythology
  • Nantucket
  • Napoleon
  • Napoleonic era
  • Narrator Mary Beth Hurt
  • NC
  • NC novel
  • NDE afterlife experiences
  • necromancy
  • needlework
  • Nephilim
  • New Amsterdam
  • New England
  • New France
  • New York
  • New York City
  • news reporter
  • Non-fiction
  • NonFiction about Jane Austen books
  • North Carolina
  • nuns
  • NW USA
  • NYC
  • obsessive love
  • Old South
  • Oleander Girl
  • One Kick
  • orphans
  • overcoming rejection
  • Paradise Misplaced
  • paranormal
  • Paris
  • past lives
  • pedophile
  • Penguin
  • Penguin classics
  • Perfection
  • Playlist Pride and Prejudice
  • Polio
  • polygamy
  • Poppet
  • post traumatic stress disorder
  • Post war Europe
  • post-apocalypse
  • Pride and Prejudice
  • Princeton
  • prohibition
  • Proof of Heaven
  • prophesy
  • prostitute
  • prostitution
  • psychological novel
  • Quakers
  • queen
  • Queen Elizabeth I
  • Queen Mary Tudor
  • Queens Gambit
  • Rasputins Shadow
  • recipes
  • Reddevil 4
  • Reformation
  • reincarnation
  • Rennaissance
  • restauranteur
  • Restoration Period
  • Review Questionnaire
  • Richard III
  • River's End
  • rivers in MA
  • Rizzoli and Isles
  • Roaring 20's
  • Romance
  • romance novel
  • Roses Have Thorns
  • Royal Mistress
  • Russia
  • Russian mafia
  • Russian secret service
  • Salem MA
  • sanitorium
  • Saturday Night Widows
  • Scarlet Letter
  • scary story
  • schizophrenia
  • scientific
  • Scotland
  • Scottish
  • Scottish History
  • scrap booking
  • seafaring
  • seances
  • secret society
  • Secret Storm
  • Seduction
  • Sensory Integration Disorder
  • Sensory Processing Disorder
  • Sept 2012 Finds
  • series
  • series book
  • servants
  • sex slave
  • sexually explicit
  • Shakers
  • Shakespeare
  • Shanghai
  • Sharing Reading Habits
  • Shelley
  • Shieldmaiden
  • short stories
  • Simo and Schuster
  • sirens
  • Sisterland
  • sisters
  • Sisters of Treason
  • ski town
  • slavery
  • Snatched
  • snow
  • Socialism
  • soldiers
  • Somerset
  • Songs of Three Islands: A Memoir
  • Sourcebooks
  • South America
  • Southern Gothic
  • Southern town
  • Spain
  • speakeasy
  • spiritual novel
  • Spun
  • St. Martin's Press
  • step mothers
  • Summer read
  • Summer Reading List
  • Summerset Abbey
  • summertime
  • supernatural
  • surrogacy
  • Survival Lessons
  • Suspense Thriller
  • Suspense Thrillers
  • Sweden
  • Sweet Tooth
  • Sweetness #9
  • sy fy
  • syfy
  • syfy inclined
  • Tampa
  • teachers
  • techno thriller
  • Ten White Geese
  • Tennessee Textile workers
  • terrorism
  • Texas
  • The 5th Wave
  • The Accursed
  • The Accused
  • The Age of Desire
  • The Ashford Affair
  • The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society
  • The Bad Miss Bennet
  • The Beautiful Mystery
  • The Blue Bistro
  • The Boleyn Bride
  • The Bone Bed
  • The Book of Fragrances
  • The Book of Someday
  • The Chalice
  • The Cross and the Dragon
  • The Drowning House
  • The Emperor's Conspiracy
  • The Emperors Conspiracy
  • The Forgotten Queen
  • The Funeral Dress
  • The Ghost Runner
  • The Gilded Lily
  • The Girl She Used To Be
  • The Girl With All The Gifts
  • The Gods of Heavenly Punishment
  • The Goldfinch
  • The Good House
  • The Gravity of Birds
  • the grotesque
  • The Hands of Time
  • The House I Loved
  • The Imposter Bride
  • The Independence of Mary Bennet
  • The Inheritors
  • The Invention of Wings
  • The Jade Temptress
  • The Jazz Age
  • The Killing Room
  • The Lace Reader
  • The Ladys Slipper
  • The Lake House
  • The Language of Flowers
  • The Last Runaway
  • The Liars Gospel
  • The Lowlands
  • The Luminaries
  • The Matchmaker
  • The Midwife's Tale
  • The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen
  • The Mothers
  • The Nine Fold Heaven
  • The Nutcracker
  • The Offering
  • The onahlossee Riding Camp for Girls
  • The Orchardist
  • The Orphanmaster
  • The Other Woman
  • The Painted Girls
  • The Panther
  • The Paris Architect
  • The Passage
  • the plague
  • The Postmistress
  • The Predator
  • The Promise
  • The Queen's Dwarf
  • The Queens Rivals
  • The Quest
  • The Raven Boys
  • The Red Lily Crown
  • The Reformation
  • The Returned
  • The Riddle of Solomon
  • The Sea House
  • The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo
  • The Secret Daughter of the Tsar
  • The Secret History Empress Theodora
  • The Secret Keeper
  • The Shogun's Daughter
  • The Shortest Way Home
  • The Sign of the Weeping Virgin
  • The Silent Wife
  • The Sleeping Dictionary
  • The Snugg
  • The Sparkle Factory
  • The Tenth Saint
  • The Tudor Conspiracy
  • The Uninvited
  • The Visionist
  • The Winter People
  • therapy
  • This Cake Is For The Party
  • Thomas Cromwell
  • Three Lives of Tomomi Ishikawa
  • thrillers
  • Titanic
  • Tsar
  • tuberculosis
  • Tudor England
  • Two Week Wait
  • Uglies
  • Undercover Rebel
  • Underground Railroad
  • Unfailing Light
  • unwed mothers
  • Valley of Ashes
  • Vampires
  • Vanity Fair magazine
  • Vermont
  • Vespucci
  • Victor Hugo
  • Victorian era
  • Vietnam
  • Viking history
  • vintage clothing
  • violence
  • Waking Up In Heaven
  • war
  • Waverly Hills Sanatorium
  • We Are Water
  • Wear This Now
  • Weekly Book Haul
  • Western
  • Western Romance
  • What Happened To My Sister
  • What I'm Reading
  • What Is Visible
  • What's in the mail
  • Whats on my shelf
  • Where'd You Go
  • White Forest
  • Who I Review
  • Why I Buy Books
  • widowed
  • witches
  • witness protection agency
  • wolves
  • Woman of Ill Fame
  • Women Authors
  • Women Writers
  • women's friendships
  • Women's issues
  • women's temperance league
  • womens story
  • Woodrow Wilson
  • World Without End
  • writers
  • WWI
  • WWII
  • YA fiction
  • YA Novel
  • Z A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald
  • Zelda Fitzgerald

Blog Archive

  • ▼  2014 (39)
    • ►  August (2)
    • ►  July (7)
    • ►  May (1)
    • ►  April (7)
    • ►  March (9)
    • ▼  February (8)
      • "The Visionist" by Rachel Urquhart~Exotic Read
      • "Dust" by Patricia Cornwell~Never Disappoints!
      • "A Killing of Angels" by Kate Rhodes
      • "Moving Target" by J.A. Jance- Author Interview
      • "The Invention of Wings" by Sue Monk Kidd
      • "The Queen's Dwarf" by Ella Chase March~Interview ...
      • "Becoming Josephine" by Heather Webb~Enchanting!
      • "Girl On The Golden Coin" by Marci Jefferson~Gorge...
    • ►  January (5)
  • ►  2013 (182)
    • ►  December (13)
    • ►  November (17)
    • ►  October (22)
    • ►  September (6)
    • ►  August (15)
    • ►  July (12)
    • ►  June (16)
    • ►  May (13)
    • ►  April (17)
    • ►  March (11)
    • ►  February (10)
    • ►  January (30)
  • ►  2012 (79)
    • ►  December (33)
    • ►  November (17)
    • ►  October (16)
    • ►  September (13)
Powered by Blogger.

About Me

batista
View my complete profile