"Little Mercies" by Heather Gudenkauf- Absorbing!

SUMMARY :

In her latest ripped-from-the-headlines tour de force, New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf shows how one small mistake can have life-altering consequences…

Veteran social worker Ellen Moore has seen the worst side of humanity—the vilest acts one person can commit against another. She is a fiercely dedicated children's advocate and a devoted mother and wife. But one blistering summer day, a simple moment of distraction will have repercussions that Ellen could never have imagined, threatening to shatter everything she holds dear, and trapping her between the gears of the system she works for.

Meanwhile, ten-year-old Jenny Briard has been living with her well-meaning but irresponsible father since her mother left them, sleeping on friends' couches and moving in and out of cheap motels. When Jenny suddenly finds herself on her own, she is forced to survive with nothing but a few dollars and her street smarts. The last thing she wants is a social worker, but when Ellen's and Jenny's lives collide, little do they know just how much they can help one another.

A powerful and emotionally charged tale about motherhood and justice, Little Mercies is a searing portrait of the tenuous grasp we have on the things we love the most, and of the ties that unexpectedly bring us together.


PARTICULARS OF THE BOOK :

Published by:  Harlequin MIRA
Pages:  320
Genre:  Fiction
Author:  Heather Gudenkauf
Website:  http://www.heathergudenkauf.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR :

Heather Gudenkauf is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Weight of Silence and These Things Hidden.

Heather was born in Wagner, South Dakota, the youngest of six children. At one month of age, her family returned to the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota where her father was employed as a guidance counselor and her mother as a school nurse. At the age of three, her family moved to Iowa, where she grew up. Having been born with a profound unilateral hearing impairment (there were many evenings when Heather and her father made a trip to the bus barn to look around the school bus for her hearing aids that she often conveniently would forget on the seat beside her), Heather tended to use books as a retreat, would climb into the toy box that her father’s students from Rosebud made for the family with a pillow, blanket, and flashlight, close the lid, and escape the world around her. Heather became a voracious reader and the seed of becoming a writer was planted.
Heather Gudenkauf graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in elementary education, has spent her career working with students of all ages and continues to work in education as a Title I Reading Coordinator.

Heather lives in Iowa with her husband, three children, and a very spoiled German Shorthaired Pointer named Maxine. In her free time Heather enjoys spending time with her family, reading, hiking, and running. She is currently working on her next novel.


THE BOOKISH DAME REVIEWS :

It wasn't until I read Heather Gudenkauf's bio. that I discovered she has "profound unilateral hearing impairment."  Now that I'm deaf in one ear, I feel a new kinship with her.  I wonder if this hearing loss of  hers contributes to her extraordinary sense of characterization and conversational timing as she writes.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and can hardly wait to read her latest, "Little Lies."

The opening chapters of the book are shocking and simply drag us into the story.  The predicament of the social worker mother is one we immediately identify with, and; now that her same "mistake" is in our nation's attention this summer, it's even more compelling!  I was physically rocked by what happened to her and her child.

The secondary storyline kept close pace with the primary one...it was just as gripping.  Ms Gudenkauf is a great storyteller who knows how to captivate and keep us guessing.  None of her characters are run-of-the-mill.

If you're looking for a book that is different and will hold your attention throughout, this is one of them.  I've been tired reading books with similar plots and themes.  Heather Gudenkauf took me on a journey I appreciated and will look forward to in others of her books.

5 stars                                Deborah/TheBookishDame

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"Spun" by Catherine McKenzie~Novella Continues "Spin"

SUMMARY :

In this funny and touching novella, bestselling author Catherine McKenzie returns to the story of Amber Sheppard, It Girl and celebrity train wreck from McKenzie’s reader-favourite novel, Spin.

Life has been rough for starlet Amber since leaving rehab. She’s been two years sober, but no one seems to believe her -- not the gossip media, not casting agents, and most certainly not her spotlight-loving parents. With her friendships ruined by betrayal and her career at a standstill, Amber’s just trying to get her life back on track. It doesn’t help that her former love, movie star Connor Parks, keeps trying to draw Amber back in, not just to their relationship but to his hard-partying ways. One fateful night, Amber breaks down and agrees to join him on board his private jet as it readies for take-off -- a decision that will change her life forever and expose her to a whole new level of scrutiny and heartbreak.

ABOUT THE BOOK :

Published by:  HarperCollins
Pages:  150 
Genre:  Contemporary  (Novella)
Author:  Catherine McKenzie
Website:  http://www.catherinemckenzie.com
Twitter:  @CeMcKenzie1
Purchase:  Amazon


ABOUT THE AUTHOR :

 A graduate of McGill University in History and Law, Catherine practices law in Montreal, where she was born and raised. An avid skier and runner, Catherine’s novels, SPIN, ARRANGED and FORGOTTEN, are all international bestsellers. Her fourth novel, HIDDEN, will be released in June, 2013 in Canada and in Spring 2014 in the US. Her novels have been translated into French, German, Czech, Slovak and Polish. And if you want to know how she has time to do all that, the answer is: robots


THE BOOKISH DAME REVIEWS :

It's been a while since I read "Spin," but it wasn't difficult to remember the very brave and clearly drawn characters Catherine McKenzie drew in the novel.  So jumping into this small novella was easy and a whirlwind of a ride.  I do; however, recommend your reading "Spin" for the joy of it, if you haven't, although I don't think it's necessary to really get the impact of this one.

McKenzie whips us into a frenzy from the first pages of "Spun;" thus the title, I believe.  We are torn from one direction to the other as her protagonist Amber works to resettle herself as a starlet after rehab.  Not such an easy job with the confusion and expectations of so many who make demands of her and surround her.

Bringing back some of the old characters in new displaced roles was genius.  I loved seeing them in this new light.  Their individual struggles made them even more interesting, and caused the whole lot of them to blend a tighter web.  Beautiful characterization of people slightly on the warp. Comedic in a slightly tilted way.

At the end of the book I found myself deeply touched to tears.  I don't know why exactly except that I felt finally Amber had found her way to the "light."  She had kicked aside all the things and people who held her down, and was ready for a new life.  I thought she deserved it.

Quick and easy little novella.  I loved the way it wrapped up the "Spin" novel...

4 stars                     Deborah/TheBookishDame

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Book Haul~Week of April 18th

What a great week for books this was!  I'm delighted to get some of these, and can't wait to get to reading them.  It's such an burst of excitement to hear my little Yorkie barking when the mailman drops off a book.  She's all prancing and dancing around the door and I'm in a flurry to find out what's been sent by the very generous publishers.  My health has steadily been improving, and these books keep me encouraged and busy.  So, let's see what's new!

SUMMARY : 

“Maeve Kerrigan [is] a fascinating and plausible character…What she has is persistence, integrity and emotional intelligence, and a very deft way of insinuating herself into a reader's affections.”—The Irish Independent (UK)

Vast wealth offers London defense attorney Philip Kennford a lot of things: a gorgeous house with a pool in the backyard, connections in the top echelons of society, a wardrobe worthy of Milan runways. But his money doesn’t provide a happy marriage, or good relationships with his twin daughters…and it does nothing to protect his family when someone brutally murders his wife and daughter in their own home.

*Many thanks to St. Martin's for this one!

OVERVIEW :

At the height of the Cold War, Marilyn Monroe was the most infamous woman in the world. But what if she was also a secret Soviet spy?

In 1947, a young, unknown Norma Jeane Baker meets a mysterious man in Los Angeles who transforms her into Marilyn Monroe, the star. Twelve years later he comes back for his repayment, and Marilyn is given her first assignment from the KGB: uncover something about JFK that no one else knows...

*With thanks to Weinstein Publishing and FSB Media Associates for this opportunity to review.

SUMMARY :

In 1860, Alexander Ferguson, a newly ordained vicar and amateur evolutionary scientist, takes up his new parish, a poor, isolated patch on the remote Scottish island of Harris. He hopes to uncover the truth behind the legend of the selkies—mermaids or seal people who have been sighted off the north of Scotland for centuries. He has a more personal motive, too; family legend states that Alexander is descended from seal men. As he struggles to be the good pastor he was called to be, his maid Moira faces the terrible eviction of her family by Lord Marstone, whose family owns the island. Their time on the island will irrevocably change the course of both their lives, but the white house on the edge of the dunes keeps its silence long after they are gone.

It will be more than a century before the Sea House reluctantly gives up its secrets. Ruth and Michael buy the grand but dilapidated building and begin to turn it into a home for the family they hope to have. Their dreams are marred by a shocking discovery. The tiny bones of a baby are buried beneath the house; the child's fragile legs are fused together—a mermaid child. Who buried the bones? And why? To heal her own demons, Ruth feels she must discover the secrets of her new home—but the answers to her questions may lie in her own traumatic past. The Sea House by Elisabeth Gifford is a sweeping tale of hope and redemption and a study of how we heal ourselves by discovering our histories.

*Most graciously sent by St. Martin's Press, thank you!

SUMMARY :

Edgar Award finalist and international bestselling author Brian Freeman brings the long-awaited return of Lieutenant Jonathan Stride to the bitter cold of Duluth, Minnesota.

Sixteen-year-old Catalina Mateo shows up unannounced one night in Detective Jonathan Stride’s home, dripping wet from a desperate plunge into the icy waters of Lake Superior. Her sodden clothes stained with blood, Cat spins a tale of a narrow escape from a shadowy pursuer.
  

*Thanks to Quercus and author Brian Freeman for sending this one for a review.  Thank you!

Overview :

"Every note of the characters' correspondence rings true."—Le Nouvel Observateur

"A page-turning novel with a skilfully woven plot."—Page des Libraires

"Rich in deftly turned prose and subtle character study."—Sud-Ouest

"A wonderful book about the archaeology of memory."—Le Magazine Littéraire

"Elegant, restrained, and poetic."—France Inter

The three figures in the photograph are frozen forever, two men and a woman bathed in sunlight . . .

The chance discovery of a newspaper image from 1971 sets two people on the path to learning the disturbing truth about their parents' pasts.

Parisian archivist Hélène takes out a newspaper advert calling for information about her mother, who died when she was three, and the two men pictured with her in a photograph taken at a tennis tournament at Interlaken in 1971. Stéphane, a Swiss biologist living in Kent, responds: his father is one of the people in the photo. Letters and more photos pass between them as they embark on a journey to uncover the truth their parents kept from them. But will the relics of the past fill the silences left by the players?

Winner of fifteen literary awards, this dark yet touching drama deftly explores the themes of blame and forgiveness, identity and love.

*Many thanks to Meryl Zegarek Public Relations Inc. and Gallic Books, for this very exotic little book.

SUMMARY :

The New York Times bestselling author John Hart raved that “If you like stories of good people struggling to do right in the world’s forgotten places, there is no one better suited than Corban Addison to take you on the ride of your life.” In The Garden of Burning Sand, Addison, the bestselling author of A Walk Across the Sun, creates a powerful and poignant novel that takes the reader from the red light areas of Lusaka, Zambia, to the gilded chambers of the Washington, D.C. elite, to the splendor of Victoria Falls and Cape Town.

Zoe Fleming, an accomplished young human rights attorney, has made a life for herself in Zambia, far from her estranged father—an American business mogul with presidential aspirations—and from the devastating betrayals of her past.

When a young girl with Down syndrome is sexually assaulted in a Lusaka slum, Zoe joins Zambian police officer Joseph Kabuta in investigating the rape. Piecing together clues from the victim’s past, they discover an unsettling connection between the girl—Kuyeya—and a powerful Zambian family who will stop at nothing to bury the truth.

As they are drawn deeper into the complex web of characters behind this appalling crime, Zoe and Joseph forge a bond of trust and friendship that slowly transforms into love. Opposed on all sides, they find themselves caught in a dangerous clash between the forces of justice and power. To successfully prosecute Kuyeya’s attacker and build a future with Joseph, Zoe must risk her life and her heart—and confront the dark past she thought she had left behind.

*This one was sent by Quercus, as well.  Interesting book...

SUMMARY :

It's October in Buffalo as four long-time friends, The In Accord Book Club, gather around a fireplace while a fierce windstorm amasses strength outside. They are deeply disappointed with the unfaithful characters and lackluster resolution of the novel they've met to discuss. When they agree to each write a richer, more satisfying conclusion in lieu of their next month's selection, none has any idea of the tempests about to erupt in her own world.

*Also kindly sent by Kelley & Hall book publicity and promotions.  Thanks, Jocelyn!


I now have lots of work on my hands!  Maybe you'll choose one or two of these books to read along with me.  Keep reading and hope to see you back here as I continue my reviewing journey...

Deborah

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"The Red Lily Crown" by Elizabeth Loupas~Author Interview!

 

SUMMARY :

 

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.

Witness to sensuous intrigues and brutal murder plots, Chiara seeks a safe path through the labyrinth of Medici tyranny and deception. Beside her walks the prince’s mysterious English alchemist Ruanno, her friend and teacher, driven by his own dark goals. Can Chiara trust him to keep her secret s…even to love her …or will he prove to be her most treacherous enemy of all?

ABOUT THE BOOK :

Published by:  Penguin Group
Pages:  448
Genre:  Historical Fiction
Author:  Elizabeth Loupas
Website:  http://www.elizabethloupas.com


ABOUT THE AUTHOR :

Elizabeth Loupas held various positions in radio and television, and worked as an editor, writer, and marketing consultant.  She holds degrees in literary studies and library/information science.  She lives with her husband and two beagles. She is the author of The Second Duchess and The Flower Reader.

 

INTERVIEW:

 

The Bookish Dame is delighted to host Ms Loupas today with an author interview.  Thank you so much for joining us, Elizabeth!  Love your interesting life, and it's so great to share it with our readers.  Let's get right to it...

 

 

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

Most people would probably describe me as kind of solitary and stay-at-home. I suspect I’m the only writer in the world who grew up reading Little Women and wanted to be Beth.

                Briefly, from where did the idea for your novel come from?

When I was researching The Second Duchess, I learned that Barbara of Austria and her younger sister Joanna traveled south from Austria together and were married at virtually the same time—Barbara to Alfonso II d’Este, Duke of Ferrara, and Joanna to Francesco de’ Medici, Prince of Florence. This intrigued me, and in early drafts of The Second Duchess, there were actually scenes in which Joanna (in Florence called Giovanna) visited Barbara in Ferrara. Those scenes were cut (primarily because they would have been historically inaccurate), but I didn’t forget Giovanna. A little reading about Francesco uncovered the fact that he was historically obsessed with alchemy, and the story pretty much exploded from there.

2)      Who first told you that you could write well, and how did it affect you?

The first person who encouraged me to write stories (as opposed to school “reports”) was my junior high school home room and English teacher, Maida Dugan. How I adored her! I wrote rambling romantic tales (even then I loved historical fiction) for her and she commented on them very kindly and patiently. I wish I could talk to her today and coax her to tell me what she really thought!

She also assigned us poems to memorize, and I always chose the long story-poems—Poe and Browning and Longfellow. To this day I’ll start reeling off lines and lines of poetry when something jogs my memory, much to the amazement of my husband.

3)      Which contemporary authors do you most admire?

This will vary from day to day, depending on my mood. Some contemporary authors I’m reading at the moment are Deanna Raybourn, Lisa Brackmann, Kate Quinn, Sharon Kay Penman, Anne Rivers Siddons, and Kate Morton. I hate making lists like this because I want to include hundreds of authors!

4)      Who are your favorite classical authors?

This is another case of wanting to make a huge list of thousands of names. The swashbucklers, of course—Dumas, Baroness Orczy, Sabatini, Shellabarger, Dunnett. My beloved comfort reads—E.F. Benson, Angela Thirkell, Miss Read, E.M. Delafield, Flora Thompson. Jane Austen, the Brontes, Elizabeth Gaskell, Nathanial Hawthorne. The Pre-Raphaelites—the Rossettis, Swinburne, and Browning, of course, although he wasn’t technically a Pre-Raph. Oh, and now that I’ve strayed into poetry, Edwin Arlington Robinson. Sorry, I’ll stop now.

5)      What was your first book as a child?  What’s your all-time favorite book?

The first books I owned were Little Golden Books. (Am I dating myself?) I remember The Pokey Little Puppy and one that had a fuzzy yellow cat—the pictures of the cat were flocked with velvety stuff so you could actually pet them. I was enthralled. I don’t think I have one all-time favorite book. Perhaps the six books of the Lymond series by Dorothy Dunnett—it’s all one story, so that would count as one book, right?

6)      Best book you’ve read in the past 6 months?

The one I got lost in most deeply was a re-read, ...And Ladies of the Club by Helen Hooven Santmyer. It’s enormous and reading it is like living a whole alternate life.

7)      What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?

The one (which shall remain unidentified) where I was shouted at repeatedly by my boss (who shall remain nameless). Or even worse, was trapped into sitting by while he shouted at someone else. I don’t do shouting well at all. See above about me wanting to be Beth March.

8)      What’s your earliest memory?

Being sick with the measles (according to my mother I was about three at the time) and “coloring”—scrawling all over with a bright red crayon—a drawing my older brother brought home from Sunday School. I swear I can still see all those loopy red scribbles. My brother was not amused.

As a child who liked to draw and color, in a family with musical talent, I called myself the “artical” one. I suppose now I’d describe myself as “writacal.”

9)      What’s your most treasured possession?

Barring the beagles—and I’m probably more their possession than they are mine—the first thing I’d grab in a fire would be a banker’s box filled with pictures, including the baby book my own mother lovingly created, and my own scrapbooks through the years. Oh, and I suppose the external hard drive I use for computer back-ups, so I’d have all my digital pictures and documents.

10)   Are you working on a new novel?

I am! It’s still in very early stages, so I don’t want to talk too much about it, but it will have something to do with the introduction of chocolate to Europe, and a priceless casket of cacao beans that was a Spanish princess’s betrothal gift to a French king...

 

Oh, so delightful!  You certainly are the "artical" one, Elizabeth.  I look forward to the next book in your cache.  I'm a huge fan!

 

THE BOOKISH DAME REVIEWS :

This is a delicious book of intrigue, mysticism and glamour.  Ms Loupas never fails to pull us into a story.  She had me from the first chapter with her brave and brazen young Chiara, and her introduction of the strong and stand-offish Englishman, Ruanno.  The chemistry in this book isn't just alchemy!!

Brilliant in details about the time and place of the Medici in Florence, this novel is vivid and engaging.  I couldn't help visualizing as I read. Elizabeth Loupas is an alchemist herself with the use of color-effects and characterization.  These characters are fiery and beautiful to read about.  It's a sophisticated novel, not fluff.

The plot of the story is well-developed with intrigue and mystery.  I learned a great deal about the tools and mystique of alchemy, the House of Medici, and the culture of Florence.  And the enchanting love story had me turning pages, as well.

This is a "must read" for historical fiction aficionados.  You will love the depths the story brings you into.  I dare you not to identify with Chiara! I dare you not to be obsessed with the House of Medici in all its glory and madness!

 

5 stars                Deborah/TheBookishDame

 

 

 





 

 

 

 

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"Days of Blood and Starlight" by Laini Taylor

 

 

SUMMARY :

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war.


This is not that world.


Art student and monster's apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.

In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she'll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.

While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope.

But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream?

ABOUT THE BOOK :
Published by:  Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages:  544
Genre:  Fantasy
Author:  Laini Taylor
Series:  Daughter of Smoke and Bones #2
Author's website is www.lainitaylor.com
Purchase this book:  Barnes & Noble  and  Amazon



ABOUT THE AUTHOR :

Laini Taylor is the New York Times bestselling author of Days of Blood & Starlight, Daughter of Smoke & Bone, the Dreamdark books Blackbringer and Silksinger, and the National Book Award finalist Lips Touch: Three Times. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, illustrator Jim Di Bartolo, and their daughter, Clementine.


An Award-Winning Trailer for "Days of Blood & Starlight"

 

 

THE BOOKISH DAME REVIEWS :

Not having read the "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" all the way through puts me at a disadvantage to review this sequel.  I decided to try it, however, because I had heard such accolades about Laini Taylor and her writing style.  I have to tell you this book was a mixed bag for me. 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed her world-building and her prose in places.  Although the density of her lovely prose was just overwhelming at times and diminished her story.  I wanted more about the angelic beings to be described and thought I'd probably missed out on that in the first book.

 

Her main characters were engaging and beautifully created so that they held my attention throughout.

Absolutely a book of strong characters, but I don't think the story befits them.  It's a book of beautiful descriptions of places and magical things, but I don't think the story itself is particularly moving.  Probably because I'm not much on demons and battles...and the love story got lost for me.

 

I suspect this is a great sequel to those young readers who loved "Daughter of Smoke and Bones," however. It had all the makings of being that kind of book.  So, if you're one who would like to start a new series, I would say go for this one, but start from the beginning.  It's gotten rave reviews from those who are familiar with the series.

 

I would give it a 4 stars for one who hasn't read the first book, but who finds magical prose and angelic beings interesting. And, I do like the way Ms Taylor writes. Laini leaves a cliff hanger at the end that portends the third book in the series for all her many fans.

 

4 stars                             Deborah/TheBookishDame

 



 

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"The Winter People" by Jennifer McMahon~Scary Story!

 

 

SUMMARY :

 

The New York Times bestselling author of Promise Not to Tell returns with a simmering literary thriller about ghostly secrets, dark choices, and the unbreakable bond between mothers and daughters . . . sometimes too unbreakable.

 

West Hall, Vermont, has always been a town of strange disappearances and old legends. The most mysterious is that of Sara Harrison Shea, who, in 1908, was found dead in the field behind her house just months after the tragic death of her daughter, Gertie. Now, in present day, nineteen-year-old Ruthie lives in Sara's farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and her younger sister, Fawn. Alice has always insisted that they live off the grid, a decision that suddenly proves perilous when Ruthie wakes up one morning to find that Alice has vanished without a trace. Searching for clues, she is startled to find a copy of Sara Harrison Shea's diary hidden beneath the floorboards of her mother's bedroom. As Ruthie gets sucked deeper into the mystery of Sara's fate, she discovers that she's not the only person who's desperately looking for someone that they've lost. But she may be the only one who can stop history from repeating itself.

ABOUT THE BOOK :

Published by:  Knopf Doubleday
Pages:  336
Genre:  Fiction/Gothic/Mystery
Author:  Jennifer McMahon
Find this book:  Amazon  and  Barnes & Noble
Website:  http://jennifer-mcmahon.com


ABOUT THE AUTHOR :

I was born in 1968 and grew up in my grandmother’s house in suburban Connecticut, where I was convinced a ghost named Virgil lived in the attic. I wrote my first short story in third grade. I graduated with a BA from Goddard College in 1991 and then studied poetry for a year in the MFA in Writing Program at Vermont College. A poem turned into a story, which turned into a novel, and I decided to take some time to think about whether I wanted to write poetry or fiction. After bouncing around the country, I wound up back in Vermont, living in a cabin with no electricity, running water, or phone with my partner, Drea, while we built our own house. Over the years, I have been a house painter, farm worker, paste-up artist, Easter Bunny, pizza delivery person, homeless shelter staff member, and counselor for adults and kids with mental illness — I quit my last real job in 2000 to work on writing full time. In 2004, I gave birth to our daughter, Zella. These days, we’re living in an old Victorian in Montpelier, Vermont. Some neighbors think it looks like the Addams family house, which brings me immense pleasure.



 

 

 

 

THE BOOKISH DAME REVIEWS :

 

It's been a while since I've read a really good scary story.  Jennifer McMahon writes that kind you'd hope to hear around a fireplace on a wintry evening in Vermont...fitting since that's her personal surrounding.  It's the perfect novel if you want a gothic mystery that's a page turner when you're alone some night or weekend.  It simply draws you in and makes you feel as if you know the creaky floors of the old Victorian farmhouse you're walking about in, you can see the dense, craggy woods beyond the farmland, and you sense the presence of ghostly beings.

 

I've lived in the North Country of New Hampshire and Vermont and know very well the type of landscape, snow, rock formations and lonely old farmhouses Ms McMahon writes about, but even if you haven't, or aren't a native of that area, you can't help falling into the pace of this book.  It's an old-fashioned gothic with a mystery that runs the gamut of several generations.  It's creepier than a modern witch story because it seems more set in reality.

 

The characters are well drawn and vivid.  The women in particular leap from the pages.  Neurotic, deeply loving mothers, risk-takers, committed wives, these women are tough and tender at the same time.  It's difficult not to identify with them and their heart-felt run for saving their children at all costs.  The men characters are crafted more shadowy.  While their emotions are told, they are not as strong as the women involved in the story.

 

If there's anything to complain about, it would be that I found it difficult to follow all the different voices and timeframes bouncing back and forth in the novel since I read it in ebook format.  I find I loose the context when I read from ebooks.  I don't think the same thing would have happened had I had the actual book in hand.

 

This is a great book with the perfect timing of a gothic, ghostly mystery.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and strongly recommend it.  Unlike anything else I've read this year.  It's a book that kept my attention firmly in place to the end.

 

4.5 stars                       Deborah/TheBookishDame

 

 

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"The Jade Temptress" by Jeannie Lin~Exotic Historical Mystery

SUMMARY :

Welcome to the infamous Pingkang li—home of the celebrated Lotus Palace courtesans, and a place of beauty and treachery….

Charming and seductive, Mingyu is the most sought-after hostess in the pleasure quarter. She has all men wrapped around her finger—except Constable Wu Kaifeng, the one man she can't resist, the only man to have placed her in chains.

Wu Kaifeng's outwardly intimidating demeanor hides a reluctant, fierce attraction to beautiful Mingyu. But the passionate temptation she presents threatens to destroy them both when a powerful official is murdered and they find themselves on a deadly trail. Amid the chaos, a forbidden affair could change Mingyu's fate forever, for following her heart is bound to have consequences.…

ABOUT THE BOOK :

Published by:  Harlequin
Format:  ebook
Pages:  384
Genre:  Historical fiction/Mystery
Author:  Jeannie Lin
Purchase:  Barnes & Noble  or  Amazon


ABOUT THE AUTHOR :

 

For news on new releases and events, sign up for her newsletter at: http://conta.cc/1b2M4NP

Find out more about Jeannie Lin online at http://www.jeannielin.com

USA TODAY bestselling author Jeannie Lin grew up fascinated with stories of Western epic fantasy and Eastern martial arts adventures. When her best friend introduced her to romance novels in middle school, the stage was set. Jeannie started writing her first book while working as a high school science teacher in South Central Los Angeles.

Jeannie is known for writing groundbreaking historical romances set in Tang Dynasty China starting with her Golden Heart award-winning debut, Butterfly Swords. Her Chinese historicals have received multiple awards and starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Library Journal.

She currently writes historical romance Chinese warriors and scholars, courtesans and swordswomen. Beginning in 2014, she will be starting a steampunk series set during the Opium Wars.


Titles by Jeannie Lin:
The Jade Temptress (The Lotus Palace #2)
The Lotus Palace
Butterfly Swords
The Dragon and the Pearl
My Fair Concubine
The Sword Dancer



MORE ABOUT THE BOOK :

From Booklist

While it is true that Lady Mingyu didn’t love General Dang Zhi, she didn’t hate him enough to murder him either. However, Mingyu discovers that someone else truly did despise Dang when she arrives at his home in Changan and finds his headless corpse. The only man Mingyu can turn to for help is the one man she has never been able to charm: Constable Wu Kaifeng. Discovering that Mingyu is involved in yet another murder case convinces Wu that the beautiful courtesan is nothing but trouble, and this proves to be even truer once Wu realizes his feelings for Mingyu are seriously interfering with his mission to find the killer. The colorful sights, sounds, and even scents of Tang Dynasty China provide a fascinating backdrop, and romance readers tired of cookie-cutter settings will devour this expertly crafted novel. By incorporating some intriguing investigative details into the plot, Lin also gives historical-mystery readers an incentive for giving this captivating series a chance. --John Charles

 

 

THE BOOKISH DAME REVIEWS :

 

Exotic and engaging, this murder mystery is a particularly enticing one to solve while we get a gorgeous glimpse of the orient in delicious detail, and a sexy love story between a courtesan and a constable.  I highly recommend this book to all those who love a story set in ancient China, but also to those looking for a little change in the ordinary murder/suspense novel.

 

Ms Lin creates a magnetic push-pull chemistry between her characters, Constable Wu Kaifeng and Lady Mingyu.  Mingyu is a beautiful courtesan from the pleasure house, Lotus Palace, who finds herself enmeshed in the murder of one of her "clients."  Since this is not the first time Kaifeng and Mingyu have found themselves solving a murder together, it is interesting and exciting to see how they interact.  A course in the cultural differences and the setting!

 

I was glued to the pages of this novel.  I rarely read an ebook for review, but found this one on netgalley and couldn't stop racing through it.  It's one of those you'll be happy you picked up.

 

5 stars                      Deborah/TheBookishDame

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