"The Midnight Witch" by Paula Brackston

SUMMARY :

Midnight is the most bewitching hour of them all…

From Paula Brackston, the New York Times bestselling author of The Witch’s Daughter and The Winter Witch, comes a magical tale that is as dark as it is enchanting.  Set in high society Edwardian England, The Midnight Witch is the story of a young witch who faces the choice between love and loyalty to her coven…

Lady Lilith Montgomery is the daughter of the sixth Duke of Radnor. She is one of the most beautiful young women in London and engaged to the city’s most eligible bachelor. She is also a witch.

When her father dies, her hapless brother Freddie takes on his title. But it is Lilith, instructed in the art of necromancy, who inherits their father’s role as Head Witch of the Lazarus Coven. And it is Lilith who must face the threat of the Sentinels, a powerful group of sorcerers intent on reclaiming the Elixir from the coven’s guardianship for their own dark purposes. Lilith knows the Lazarus creed: secrecy and silence. To abandon either would put both the coven and all she holds dear in grave danger. She has spent her life honoring it, right down to her engagement to her childhood friend and fellow witch, Viscount Louis Harcourt.

 

Until the day she meets Bram, a talented artist who is neither a witch nor a member of her class. With him, she must not be secret and silent. Despite her loyalty to the coven and duty to her family, Lilith cannot keep her life as a witch hidden from the man she loves.

To tell him will risk everything.

 

 

PRAISE FOR PAULA BRACKSTON'S WRITING:

 

Publishers Weekly

01/06/2014
Bestseller Brackston follows The Witch’s Daughter and The Winter Witch with another sturdy historical paranormal. In 1913 London, on the eve of WWI, Lady Lilith Montgomery takes the title of Head Witch of the Lazarus Coven after her father’s death. Lilith and her fiancé, fellow witch Louis Harcourt, must defend the secret of the elixir of life from rival sorcerers, but both are distracted when impoverished artist Bram Cardale wins Lilith’s heart. War and the schemes of her enemies leave Lilith isolated, but loosening social conventions allow her to find love with Bram and success in her pursuits. Brackston lightly layers in unusual historical locales, like war-torn Uganda, but otherwise provides the expected charms of Edwardian balls, decadent slumming in opium dens, and repentant work in wartime soup kitchens. Her characters also fit convention (unsure prodigy, flighty socialite, spurned yet noble suitor) but their sincerity and humor make them worth following to the end. (Mar.)

 

“A sensitive, beautifully written account… If the Brontë sisters had penned magical realism, this would have been the result.” –The Guardian (London)

“There’s a whiff of Harry Potter in the witchy conflict—a battle between undeveloped young magical talent and old malevolence—at the heart of this sprightly tale of spells and romance, the second novel from British writer Brackston (The Witch’s Daughter, 2011)…. Love of landscape and lyrical writing lend charm, but it’s Brackston’s full-blooded storytelling that will hook the reader.” --Kirkus

“Brackston delivers an intimate paranormal romance that grounds its fantasy in the reality of a 19th century Welsh farm.” –Publishers Weekly

“Brackston's imaginative story is fascinating, polished and intriguing.” –CurledUp.com

“Paula Brackston’s Winter Witch is a whimsical and mystical tale that’s part romance part mystery part fantasy and all extraordinary. Her beautiful narrative moves flawlessly throughout the story… This unique novel will appeal to fans of a multitude of genres from historical to fantasy and will engage fans of all ages as well.” -- www.thereadingfrenzy.blogspot.com/

 

 

PARTICULARS OF THE BOOK :

 

Published by:  St. Martin's Press

Pages:  352

Author:  Paula Brackston

Genre:  Fiction

Website:  http://www.paulabrackston.com

 

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR :

 

 

 

PAULA BRACKSTON is the New York Times bestselling author of The Witch’s Daughter and The Winter Witch. She has a master’s degree in creative writing from Lancaster University in the UK.  She lives in Wales with her family.

 

 

The book trailer:

 

 

 

 

For an excerpt click here:  http://issuu.com/stmartinspress/docs/the_midnight_witch_excerpt

 

 

THE BOOKISH DAME REVIEWS :

 

To put it short and sweetly:  I loved this book.  It's been a while since I've read such a bewitching witch novel.  Paula Brackston is a captivating author with a gift for storytelling that is sure to keep even the most skeptical of readers wide-eyed!

Not only is the book a great story, but the details of a coven and witches were so realistic. Beautifully cast, the finest outlines of persons, clothing and places make this novel come alive.  I was spellbound.  I could see the vivid colors, the ghostliness of the coven's inter sanctum, and the fearsomeness of some of the characters.  Ms Brackston leaves no stone unturned to give us a gorgeous picture of her characters and their settings.  I also appreciated so much the secondary story of the artists, their sensibilities and passions. 

The love story of Lilith and Bram is wound elegantly throughout, and it's difficult not to fall in love with both of these main characters.  Bram, as an artist, appealed to me because of this additional dimension and his compassion.

This is a novel with much to offer.  Not the run-of-the-mill story...  It's a study in the sacred bonds of family and lovers, vows and secrets.

Not to be missed!!  I highly recommend it on many levels:  Excellence in writing, great characterization, descriptive detailing, background and ambience, love story, bewitching tale and more.

5 stars                          Deborah/TheBookishDame



 

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New Book Haul ~ 3/27/2014

Literally a gorgeous cache of books over this past week or so.  I love the beautiful covers and the subjects are so diverse and interesting.  I'm going to have an absolute feast with these.  I've started several of them...just couldn't wait.  Let me tell you about them without making you wait another minute:

From the internationally bestselling author, a lush and imaginative novel that crisscrosses time as passion and obsessions collide

Florence, Italy—1533:

An orphan named René le Florentin is plucked from poverty to become Catherine de Medici’s perfumer. Traveling with the young duchessina from Italy to France, René brings with him a cache of secret documents from the monastery where he was trained: recipes for exotic fra­grances and potent medicines—and a formula for an alchemic process said to have the poten­tial to reanimate the dead.

In France, René becomes not only the greatest perfumer in the country, but also the most dangerous, creating deadly poisons for his Queen to use against her rivals. But while mixing herbs and essences under the light of flickering candles, René doesn’t begin to imag­ine the tragic and personal consequences for which his lethal potions will be responsible.

Paris, France—The Present:

A renowned mythologist, Jac L’Etoile—trying to recover from personal heartache by throw­ing herself into her work—learns of the sixteenth-century perfumer who may have been working on an elixir that would unlock the secret to immortality. She becomes obsessed with René le Florentin’s work—particularly when she discovers the dying breaths he had collected during his lifetime.

Jac’s efforts put her in the path of her estranged lover, Griffin North, a linguist who has already begun translating René le Flo­rentin’s mysterious formula. Together they confront an eccentric heiress in possession of a world-class art collection, a woman who has her own dark purpose for the elixir . . . for which she believes the ends will justify her deadly means.

This mesmerizing gothic tale zigzags from the violent days of Catherine de Medici’s court to twenty-first-century France. Fiery and lush, set against deep, wild forests and dimly lit cha­teaus, The Collector of Dying Breaths illuminates the true path to immortality: the legacies we leave behind.

*Absolutely gorgeous cover on this book.  Thanks to Atria Books/Simon & Schuster for this opportunity to review!

Shortlisted for the Golden Dagger Award 2013.

Praise for Tequila Sunset:

"Haunting . . . recalls the best of James M. Cain."—The Financial Times

"A fascinating, tense, and engaging read that draws you into the lives of the characters with consummate ease until you reluctantly turn that final page."—Crimesquad

*I think this cover is so cool!  It's bright turquoise with gilt...love it.  I appreciate the copy from Serpent's Tail publishing and Meryl Zegarek Public Relations, Inc.

A mom, a dad, a baby...and another dad.

Laurie and Alan are expecting, again. After two miscarriages, Laurie was afraid they'd never be able to have a child. Now she's cautiously optimistic — the fertility treatment worked, and things seem to be different this time around. But she doesn't yet know how different.

Jack can't seem to catch a break — his parents are on his case about graduating from college, he's somehow dating two girls at once, and he has to find a way to pay back the money he borrowed from his fraternity's party fund. The only jobs he is qualified for barely pay enough to keep him in beer money, but an ad for the local sperm bank gives Jack an idea.

Laurie and Alan's joy is shattered when their doctor reveals that Laurie was accidentally impregnated by sperm from a donor rather than her husband. Who is Donor 296. And how will their family change now that Donor 296 is inarguably part of it?

*Wow!  Doesn't this one sound amazing!?   Very kindly sent a copy from Sourcebooks...

A mother risks everything to uncover the truth behind her daughter's botched suicide attempt

To the outside world, Susan Jackson has it all-a loving family, successful husband, and beautiful home-but when Charlotte, her teenage daughter, steps in front of a bus and ends up in a coma, she is forced to question all of it.

Desperate to find out what caused Charlotte's suicide attempt, she discovers a horrifying entry in her diary: "keeping this secret is killing me." As Sue spins in desperate circles, she finds herself immersed in a dark world she didn't know existed-and the closer she comes to the truth, the more dangerous things become.

Can she wake up from the nightmares that haunt her and save her daughter, or will Charlotte's secret destroy them both?

* I'm very interested in this one!  Can't wait to start it.  Beautifully constructed book so that the pages don't bend as you turn...    Thanks to Sourcebooks

The winner of the National Book Award returns with a moving story of a family of women drawn together by the trials of the times.

The women in the Hand family are no strangers to either controversy or sadness. Those traits seem, in fact, to be a part of their family?s heritage, one that stretches back through several generations and many wars. A Dangerous Age is a celebration of the strength of these women and of the bonds of blood and shared loss that hold them together.

*  With many thanks to Algonquin Books, I'm delighted to begin this novel by Gilchrist!

“Refreshing, Engaging, and Inspiring . . .[Gilchrist] unabashedly and movingly celebrates life, true love, and triumphs over calamity and adversity . . . [These stories] reflect a lifetime of observing,writing, and living.” —Library Journal

Critical Acclaim for Ellen Gilchrist

“Gilchrist’s writing is funny, wise, and wonderful . . . Her stories seem charged with an irresistible energy . . . Stories of passion and science, poetry and shyness.

*I've already started this book.  It's fabulous!  I've loved Ellen Gilchrist since I was in my 30's.  Awesome writer.   Thank you Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill!

RedDevil 4 is spine-tingling techno-thriller based on cutting edge research from surgeon and inventor Eric C. Leuthardt.

Renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Hagan Maerici is on the verge of a breakthrough in artificial intelligence that could change the way we think about human consciousness. Obsessed with his job and struggling to save his marriage, Dr. Maerici is forced to put his life’s work on the line when a rash of brutal murders strikes St. Louis....

*Started this one the other night and I have hardly been able to put it down.  It's a great scientific thriller...highly recommended.   Most appreciated to Forge books via Meryl L. Moss Media Relations, Inc.

“Alice is cast in the mold of a character created by an earlier Alcott, the passionate and spunky Jo March. A refreshingly old-fashioned heroine, she makes THE DARING LADIES OF LOWELL appealing”--The New York Times Book Review
“Offers up a compelling slice of both feminist and Industrial Age history”--Christian Science Monitor

From the New York Times bestselling author of THE DRESSMAKER comes a moving historical novel about a bold young woman drawn to the looms of Lowell, Massachusetts--and to the one man with whom she has no business falling in love.

Eager to escape life on her family’s farm, Alice Barrow moves to Lowell in 1832 and throws herself into the hard work demanded of “the mill girls.”  In spite of the long hours, she discovers a vibrant new life and a true friend—a saucy, strong-willed girl name Lovey Cornell.

But conditions at the factory become increasingly dangerous, and Alice finds the courage to represent the workers and their grievances.  Although mill owner, Hiram Fiske, pays no heed, Alice attracts the attention of his eldest son, the handsome and reserved Samuel Fiske. Their mutual attraction is intense, tempting Alice to dream of a different future for herself.

This dream is shattered when Lovey is found strangled to death. A sensational trial follows, bringing all the unrest that’s brewing to the surface. Alice finds herself torn between her commitment to the girls in the mill and her blossoming relationship with Samuel.  Based on the actual murder of a mill girl and the subsequent trial in 1833, THE DARING LADIES OF LOWELL brilliantly captures a transitional moment in America’s history while also exploring the complex nature of love, loyalty, and the enduring power of friendship.

*  Bought this one myself.  My grandmother was a mill worker in NC nearly 100 years ago, so I'm very interested in this subject.   This book is published by Doubleday.

Arthur Conan Doyle has just killed off Sherlock Holmes in “The Final Problem,” and he immediately becomes one of the most hated men in London. So when he is contacted by a medium “of some renown” and asked to investigate a murder, he jumps at the chance to get out of the city. The only thing is that the murder hasn’t happened yet—the medium, one Hope Thraxton, has foreseen that her death will occur at the third séance of a meeting of the Society for Psychical Research at her manor house in the English countryside. 

Along for the ride is Conan Doyle’s good friend Oscar Wilde, and together they work to narrow down the list of suspects, which includes a mysterious foreign Count, a levitating magician, and an irritable old woman with a “familiar.” Meanwhile, Conan Doyle is enchanted by the plight of the capricious Hope Thraxton, who may or may not have a more complicated back-story than it first appears. As Conan Doyle and Wilde participate in seances and consider the possible motives of the assembled group, the clock ticks ever closer to Hope’s murder, in The Revenant of Thraxton Hall by Vaughn Entwistle.

*  This copy most graciously sent by Minotaur Books.  Looking forward to reading the story combining Conan Doyle and Oscar Wilde!

Mesmerizing and illuminating, Alice Hoffman’s The Museum of Extraordinary Things is the story of an electric and impassioned love between two vastly different souls in New York during the volatile first decades of the twentieth century.

Coralie Sardie is the daughter of the sinister impresario behind The Museum of Extraordinary Things, a Coney Island boardwalk freak show that thrills the masses. An exceptional swimmer, Coralie appears as the Mermaid in her father’s “museum,” alongside performers like the Wolfman, the Butterfly Girl, and a one-hundred-year-old turtle. One night Coralie stumbles upon a striking young man taking pictures of moonlit trees in the woods off the Hudson River.

The dashing photographer is Eddie Cohen, a Russian immigrant who has run away from his father’s Lower East Side Orthodox community and his job as a tailor’s apprentice. When Eddie photographs the devastation on the streets of New York following the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, he becomes embroiled in the suspicious mystery behind a young woman’s disappearance and ignites the heart of Coralie.

With its colorful crowds of bootleggers, heiresses, thugs, and idealists, New York itself becomes a riveting character as Hoffman weaves her trademark magic, romance, and masterful storytelling to unite Coralie and Eddie in a sizzling, tender, and moving story of young love in tumultuous times. The Museum of Extraordinary Things is Alice Hoffman at her most spellbinding.

* Another personal purchase.  I adore Alice Hoffman, so can never pass up one of her new books.  This one is published by Scribner.

_________________________


AND FINALLY:  Here are some books I forgot to post last Haul.....

In early 20th century British East Africa, there are rules for the British and different ones for the Africans. Vera McIntosh, the daughter of Scottish missionaries, doesn't feel she belongs to either group; having grown up in Africa, she is not interested in being the well-bred Scottish woman her mother would like her to be. More than anything she dreams of seeing again the handsome police officer she's danced with. But more grisly circumstances bring Justin Tolliver to her family's home.

The body of Vera's uncle, Dr. Josiah Pennyman, is found with a tribesman’s spear in his back. Tolliver, an idealistic Assistant District Superintendent of Police, is assigned to the case. He first focuses on Gichinga Mbura, a Kikuyu medicine man who has been known to hatefully condemn Pennyman because Pennyman’s cures are increasingly preferred over his. But the spear belonged to the Maasai tribe, not Kikuyu, and it's doubtful Mbura would have used it to kill his enemy. Tolliver's superior wants him to arrest the medicine man and be done with it, but Tolliver pleads that he have the chance to prove the man's guilt. With thote help of Kwai Libazo, a tribal lieutenant, Tolliver discovers that others had reasons to hate Pennyman as well, and the list of suspects grows.
 

Annamaria Alfieri's Strange Gods is the first in a new series. Romantic and engaging, this mystery captures the beauty and the danger of the African wild and the complexities of imposing a culture on a foreign land.

*  I appreciate Minotaur Books/St. Martin's sending me this copy for review

"It's a clever plot and Le Floch is sympathetic, but it's the superb Parisian detail and atmosphere that truly beguiles."—The Times

This is the second volume of the Nicolas Le Floch Investigations.

October 1761 finds newly promoted Commissioner Le Floch on duty at a royal performance of Jean-Philippe Rameau's latest work. Events take a dramatic turn and Nicolas is soon embarked on a major investigation when the body of a courtier's son is found. The evidence points to suicide, but Le Floch's instincts tell him he is dealing with murder of the most gruesome kind.

Jean-François Parot is a diplomat and historian.

*This is going to be a strange little book, to be sure!  But I'm interested to try it.  With many thanks to Gallic Books and Meryl Zegarek Public Relations, Inc.!

Publishers Weekly

★ 02/03/2014
The latest from author and journalist Osborne (The Forgiven) is a searing portrait of addiction and despair set in the glittering world of Macau’s casinos. “Lord Doyle,” as he’s known to the other gamblers, is an English lawyer who has embezzled from a client and fled to Asia. Doyle spends his days and nights playing baccarat, which he calls “a game of ecstasy and doom.” At the tables he drinks fine wine, handles his cards wearing kid gloves, and slowly but surely loses. Doyle’s descriptions of the tables, the players, and the game’s siren allure are by turns touching, acid, and depressing. A fellow gamer has eyes that reveal “worlds of private pain.” A particularly garish casino inspires Doyle to muse, “There is something in kitsch that reminds you there is more to being alive than being alive.” But Doyle’s jaundiced eye barely masks his monstrous compulsion; indeed, the novel’s energetic portrait of the highs and lows of a gambler’s fortunes are as good as anything in the literature of addiction. Just when it seems Doyle’s luck may have at last run out, he’s rescued by Dao-Ming, a beautiful prostitute, whose genuine concern for him seems to rouse Doyle from his dissipation and downward spiral. But the novel subverts an easy storybook ending and reveals something much bleaker. Osborne’s intriguing Chinese milieu and exquisite prose mark this work as a standout. (Apr.)

* Looking forward to reading this small book.  With many thanks to Hogarth Books.

Bound by the attributes of valor and compassion, the Beloved are sent by the Father to battle demons head on in order to help those in greatest need. But as their prowess and power grows they face a new threat, their own weaknesses.

Major Daniel Parker's life changes in an instant when he comes to the aid of one his soldiers. In a flash, Major Parker transforms from a Union Officer fighting in the Civil War to a Beloved. But Daniel's thirst for power clouds his judgment leaving him damned to an eternal hell of suffering and remorse at the hands of an ancient demon. His only chance at salvation now lies with his younger brother, Jonathan.

No matter the price, Jonathan will not abandon Daniel. But does he have the strength and courage to save his brother? Can he overcome the temptations that consumed Daniel or will he become a victim as well? The scar upon his chest is the key to who he must become.

Contrasting the valiant qualities of the Beloved with the vicious intent of the demons, Rogue inextricably weaves real-life battles of the Union and Confederate armies with the mystical wars between demons and the Beloved.

 *  Just a strange little book sent on by Smith Publicity.   I'm curious!


 That's all for now.  Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Belated Book Hauls!!!

Seriously, I've been remiss in making note of the books that have been coming in.  And they are so interesting and I'm very anxious to get to them, so I need to share with you....  

I have been taking it easy this past couple of months because I haven't been well, actually.  I was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma, a benign brain tumor which affects the nerves having to do with hearing, the face and balance.  I had a series of Cyberknife radiation treatments to halt the growth and kill the tumor the end of Sept., and have been dealing with the side-effects since then.  I've completely lost my hearing in my left ear which has been a horrifying thing for me...and unexpected.  And, I'm now getting physical therapy for vertigo and balance issues.  What do I mean by vertigo?  It's as if I've been twirled around on a swing and then let go!  My head is often just wonky, so my balance is off slightly.  When I walk sometimes I look like I'm a bit tipsy.  It's not like this all the time, Thank God!!   I'm learning to live with these side effects, and hoping the tumor will shrink and go away in the coming months.  They tell me it can take up to 2 years.

Meanwhile, you may have noticed my reading and reviewing has slowed up a bit to compensate for this issue.  I'm not taking on as many books a week as I was in the past.  But, thankfully, this situation has nothing to do with and does not affect my ability to read, write and reason!!  All of that is as normal...for whatever that's worth!!  We can't blame the tumor for my opinions and thoughts!  :]


So, on to the books in my 3 Month Haul!  I hope you enjoy seeing what's new and coming soon to the book shops:

Library Journal

01/01/2014
Present-day brothers Reggie and Nigel answer Sherlock Holmes-related correspondence since their law practice is at 221 Baker Street. This time, a case transcends reality and puts the brothers in danger. Sherlockians will grab this fourth entry (after The Baker Street Translation).

*Many thanks to St. Martin's Press


 

Introducing Alice Quentin, a London psychologist with family baggage, who finds herself at the center of a grisly series of murders

Alice Quentin is a psychologist with some painful family secrets, but she has a good job, a good-looking boyfriend, and excellent coping skills, even when that job includes evaluating a convicted killer who’s about to be released from prison. One of the highlights of her day is going for a nice, long run around her beloved London—it's impossible to fret or feel guilty about your mother or brother when you're concentrating on your breathing—until she stumbles upon a dead body at a former graveyard for prostitutes, Crossbones Yard. 

*In appreciation to St. Martin's Press

 

Midnight is the most bewitching hour of them all…

From Paula Brackston, the New York Times bestselling author of The Witch’s Daughter and The Winter Witch, comes a magical tale that is as dark as it is enchanting.  Set in high society Edwardian England, The Midnight Witch is the story of a young witch who faces the choice between love and loyalty to her coven…

*Thanks, again, St. Martin's Press!

 

 

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.

*Note:  I reviewed this book in February.  Please check the "Search" box on the left to find the review.  With gratitude to St. Martin's Press!

Elizabeth Loupas returns with her most ambitious historical novel yet, a story of intrigue, passion, and murder in the Medici Court...

April, 1574, Florence, Italy. Grand Duke Cosimo de’ Medici lies dying. The city is paralyzed with dread, for the next man to wear the red lily crown will be Prince Francesco: despotic, dangerous, and obsessed with alchemy.

Chiara Nerini, the troubled daughter of an anti-Medici bookseller, sets out to save her starving family by selling her dead father’s rare alchemical equipment to the prince. Instead she is trapped in his household—imprisoned and forcibly initiated as a virgin acolyte in Francesco’s quest for power and immortality. Undaunted, she seizes her chance to pursue undreamed-of power of her own.

*In appreciation to Penguin!

 

Egypt, 1400s BC. The pharaoh’s pampered second daughter, lively, intelligent Hatshepsut, delights in racing her chariot through the marketplace and testing her archery skills in the Nile’s marshlands. But the death of her elder sister, Neferubity, in a gruesome accident arising from Hatshepsut’s games forces her to confront her guilt...and sets her on a profoundly changed course.

Hatshepsut enters a loveless marriage with her half brother, Thut, to secure his claim to the Isis ...

*Note:  Thanks again to Penguin!

 

Tolstoy wrote, "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." This is the statement that inspired bestselling author Gretchen Rubin to wonder whether she could foster an even greater happiness in her home. During The Happiness Project, the same questions kept tugging at her. How can I raise happy children? How can I maintain a tender, romantic relationship with my spouse--after fifteen years of marriage? How do I keep my Blackberry from taking over my private life? How can I foster a well-ordered, light-hearted atmosphere in my house, when no one else will lift a finger to cooperate?

This book is Gretchen's account of her second journey in pursuit of happiness. Prescriptive, easy-to-follow, and anecdotal, Happier at Home offers readers a way of thinking and being that is positive and life-affirming. With specific examples following the calendar year, an intimate voice, and drawing from science and pop culture, this book will resonate with anyone looking to strengthen the bonds of family.

*Note:  With thanks to Crown Publishing/Random House

 

Nancy Turner burst onto the literary scene with her hugely popular novels These Is My Words, Sarah’s Quilt, and The Star Garden. Now, Turner has written the novel she was born to write, this exciting and heartfelt story of a woman struggling to find herself during the tumultuous years preceding the American Revolution.

The year is 1729, and Resolute Talbot and her siblings are captured by pirates, taken from their family in Jamaica, and brought to the New World.

 *Note:  With gratitude to St. Martin's Press

 This mesmerizing coming-of-age novel, with its sheen of near-magical realism, is a moving tale of family and the power of stories. 

    After their mother's probable suicide, sisters Olivia and Jazz take steps to move on with their lives. Jazz, logical and forward-thinking, decides to get a new job, but spirited, strong-willed Olivia—who can see sounds, taste words, and smell sights—is determined to travel to the remote setting of their mother's unfinished novel to lay her spirit properly to rest.

*Thank you, Crown Publishing!!!

For fans of Meg Wolitzer and Allegra Goodman, an intimate and provocative novel about three couples whose paths intersect in their New York City neighborhood, forcing them all to weigh the comfort of stability against the costs of change.

Nina is a harried young mother who spends her evenings spying on the older couple across the street through her son’s Fisher-Price binoculars. She is drawn to their quiet contentment—reading on the couch, massaging each other’s feet—so unlike her own lonely, chaotic world of nursing and soothing and simply getting by. One night, through that same window, she spies a young couple in the throes of passion. Who are these people, and what happened to her symbol of domestic bliss?

 *Note:  I appreciate the book Houghton, Mifflin Harcourt!

From the author of The Personal History of Rachel Dupree, shortlisted for the Orange Award for New Writers and long listed for the Orange Prize.

1900. Young pianist Catherine Wainwright flees the fashionable town of Dayton, Ohio in the wake of a terrible scandal. Heartbroken and facing destitution, she finds herself striking up correspondence with a childhood admirer, the recently widowed Oscar Williams. In desperation she agrees to marry him, but when Catherine travels to Oscar's farm on Galveston Island, Texas—a thousand miles from home—she finds she is little prepared for the life that awaits her. The island is remote, the weather sweltering, and Oscar's little boy Andre is grieving hard for his lost mother. And though Oscar tries to please his new wife, the secrets of the past sit uncomfortably between them. Meanwhile for Nan Ogden, Oscar’s housekeeper, Catherine’s sudden arrival has come as a great shock. For not only did she promise Oscar’s first wife that she would be the one to take care of little Andre, but she has feelings for Oscar which she is struggling to suppress. And when the worst storm in a generation descends, the women will find themselves tested as never before.

*Note:  Thanks so much for the book,  Skyhorse Publishing!

 

"Every child knows how the story ends. The wicked pirate captain is flung overboard, caught in the jaws of the monster crocodile who drags him down to a watery grave. But it was not yet my time to die. It's my fate to be trapped here forever, in a nightmare of childhood fancy, with that infernal, eternal boy."

Meet Captain James Benjamin Hook, a witty, educated Restoration-era privateer cursed to play villain to a pack of malicious little boys in a pointless war that never ends. But everything changes when Stella Parrish, a forbidden grown woman, dreams her way to the Neverland in defiance of Pan’s rules. From the glamour of the Fairy Revels, to the secret ceremonies of the First Tribes, to the mysterious underwater temple beneath the Mermaid Lagoon, the magical forces of the Neverland open up for Stella as they never have for Hook. And in the pirate captain himself, she begins to see someone far more complex than the storybook villain.

*With thanks to St. Martin's Press

 The mesmerizing story of Hillary Clinton's political rebirth, based on eyewitness accounts from deep inside her inner circle Hillary Clinton’s surprising defeat in the 2008 Democratic primary brought her to the nadir of her political career, vanquished by a much younger opponent whose message of change and cutting-edge tech team ran circles around her stodgy campaign. And yet, six years later, she has reemerged as an even more powerful and influential figure, a formidable stateswoman and the presumed front-runner for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, marking one of the great political comebacks in history. 


*I appreciate the opportunity to have a "look-see,"  Crown Publishing!

Litigation lawyer and harried single mother Kate Baron is shocked when her daughter's exclusive Brooklyn private school calls to tell her that Amelia—her intelligent, high-achieving fifteen-year-old—has been caught cheating. But when Kate arrives at Grace Hall, she's blindsided by far more devastating news: Amelia is dead. Despondent, she's jumped from the school's roof. At least that's what Grace Hall and the police tell Kate. It's what she believes, too, until she gets the anonymous text: Amelia didn't jump. ...

 *Note:  Published by Harper Collins

The Wind Is Not a River is Brian Payton's gripping tale of survival and an epic love story in which a husband and wife—separated by the only battle of World War II to take place on American soil—fight to reunite in Alaska's starkly beautiful Aleutian Islands.

Following the death of his younger brother in Europe, journalist John Easley is determined to find meaning in his loss. Leaving behind his beloved wife, Helen, he heads north to investigate the Japanese invasion of Alaska's Aleutian Islands, a story censored by the U.S. government...

*Note:  Thanks to Harper Collins!

At the end of a particularly grueling summer day, Ash is heading home to his wife and kids when he discovers a pair of bodies, shot execution style, in the front seat of a crashed vehicle. As the first officer on the scene, Ash finds himself and his department 20 minutes behind a killer in a race where every second counts. With two victims down and a third unaccounted for, the clock is ticking and Ash must find the killer before he strikes again...

 

*Note:  Thanks to Grand Central/Hachette Publishing

 

 

When Eve Petworth writes to Jackson Cooper to praise a scene in one of his books, they discover a mutual love of cookery and food. Their friendship blossoms against the backdrop of Jackson's colorful, but ultimately unsatisfying, love life and Eve's tense relationship with her soon-to-be married daughter. As each of them offers, from behind the veils of semi-anonymity and distance, wise and increasingly affectionate counsel to the other, they both begin to confront their problems and plan a celebratory meeting ...

 

 *Note:  Thanks so much to Grand Central/Hachette Publishing!!

 

 

 

"This assured, compassionate first novel channels the suburban angsty of Updike and Cheever...with pitch-perfect prose and endearingly melancholy characters."--Booklist (Starred Review)

Anders Hill, entering his early sixties and seemingly ensconced in the "land of steady habits"--a nickname for the affluent, morally strict hamlets of Connecticut that dot his commuter rail line--abandons his career and family for a new condo and a new life...

*Note:  With thanks to Little, Brown & Co.


MORE BOOKS COMING SOON!!!  :]

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