Tara Chevrestt's Blog, page 33

The Reading Radar 1/10/2015

Spotted on Historical Novel Review, I've decided to try the re-released trilogy of Gracelin O'Malley by Ann Moore. It's on my wishlist.

Ann Moore brings to life the haunting beauty of nineteenth-century Ireland and its tumultuous, heartbreaking history in the first novel of her critically acclaimed trilogy

Gracelin’s father, Patrick, named her for the light of the sea that shone in her eyes. But joy and laughter leave the O’Malley clan when Gracelin is six-and-a-half and tragedy befalls the family. Less than a decade later, Gracelin must put her romantic dreams aside and marry a local landowner, the son of an English lord, to save her loved ones from financial ruin. Although she is a dutiful wife to capricious Bram Donnelly, Gracelin takes dangerous risks. With political violence sweeping through Ireland and the potato blight destroying lives, she secretly sides with the Young Irelanders, among them her brilliant brother, Sean, and the rebel leader Morgan McDonagh.

Set against the rise of the Irish rebellion, with a cast of unforgettable characters led by the indomitable eponymous heroine, Gracelin O’Malley weaves a spellbinding story of courage, hope, and passion.

***
Suggested to me by fellow Book Babe blogger, Shomeret, and on my to acquire list: The Alchemy of Murder by Carol McCleary.


Paris, the capital of Europe and center of world culture. People have gathered to celebrate the 1889 World's Fair, a spectacular extravaganza dedicated to new industries, scientific discoveries, and global exploration. Its gateway is the soaring Eiffel Tower. But an enigmatic killer stalks the streets, and a virulent plague is striking down Parisians by the thousands.

The world's most famous reporter - the intrepid Nellie Bly - is convinced that the killings are connected to the epidemic. Hot off another sensational expose, she travels to Paris to hunt down the mysterious man she calls "the Alchemist." Along the way she enlists the help of a band of colorful characters: science fiction genius Jules Verne, notorious wit and outrageous rogue Oscar Wilde, and the greatest microbe-hunter in history, Louis Pasteur.

This dazzling historical adventure pits Nellie and her friends against one of the most notorious murderers in history. Together they must solve the crime of the century.

***
Spotted on NG and of course I must read it: Just One More Day by Jessica Blair.

When Britain declares war on Germany in 1939, Carolyn Maddison is still a schoolgirl. Her elder brother Alastair wastes no time in joining the RAF as a flying officer, and Carolyn decides that when she is eighteen she will follow him into the service by joining the Women's Auxiliary Air Force.

While reporting to the Air Ministry in London she meets a good-looking, charismatic pilot, Charlie Wade, currently employed in propaganda work. He believes that with her calm demeanor and resilience, Carolyn should work as an Intelligence officer, and suggests she serve on an active bombing station. At her side throughout the courses and postings that follow is Lucy Gaston, naturally quick-witted and sparky, a perfect foil for her friend.

The young WAAFs both obtain prestigious postings in 5 Group Bomber Command, where they perform the vital tasks of briefing and debriefing aircrew returning from operations over Germany. Lucy, an incorrigible optimist, falls head over heels for a member of a Lancaster bomber crew while Carolyn resists her feelings for its dashing pilot. She decides it's not worth the risk of loving a man in wartime. . . only to wonder if she has done the right thing when a new WAAF on the station sets her cap at him.

For Lucy and Carolyn, life on a WWII bombing station brings drama, heartbreak and suspense in this touching love story.***
Maud's Line by Margaret Verble caught my attention on Edelweiss because it not only promises a strong heroine but takes place in historical Oklahoma. I grew up there.


A debut novel chronicling the life and loves of a headstrong, earthy, and magnetic heroine

Eastern Oklahoma, 1928. Eighteen-year-old Maud Nail lives with her rogue father and sensitive brother on one of the allotments parceled out by the U.S. Government to the Cherokees when their land was confiscated for Oklahoma’s statehood. Maud’s days are filled with hard work and simple pleasures, but often marked by violence and tragedy, a fact that she accepts with determined practicality. Her prospects for a better life are slim, but when a newcomer with good looks and books rides down her section line, she takes notice. Soon she finds herself facing a series of high-stakes decisions that will determine her future and those of her loved ones.

Maud’s Line is accessible, sensuous, and vivid. It will sit on the bookshelf alongside novels by Jim Harrison, Louise Erdrich, Sherman Alexie, and other beloved chroniclers of the American West and its people.

In His Keeping (Slow Burn #2) by Maya Banks

I recently read and reviewed the first book in this series - Keep Me Safe - and really enjoyed it. It had been my first Maya Banks book and I knew it wouldn't be my last. In His Keeping was a miss for me. I had a hard time getting into this one for some reason. It may have been because I was struggling to figure out if this book was written in the future, which it didn't seem to be, or if there had been a big mistake in the beginning.

You see, in the first few chapters that are set are when Arial is a child. Right before we skip to, what I assume is modern time because nothing seems for futuristic during the book, the father is watching the new on his IPad --- 22 years before the story begins with Arial as an adult.

I did try to push this error aside and read the story for itself, but I never really felt that connection with the hero Beau that I would've liked.

Every book isn't for every person. Maya Banks writing style was still well written. I found no issues with that. Not liking this one book doesn't mean I don't want to read her again, because I do.

I'm choosing not to rate this book at this time, because I can't decide what I would rate it.

About the book
#1 bestselling author Maya Banks continues her suspenseful and steamy Slow Burn series with this second book—a twisting tale featuring a strong yet vulnerable heroine in danger and the sexy alpha hero who must save her.

Abandoned as a baby to a young wealthy couple and raised in a world of privilege, Arial has no hint of her past or who she belonged to. Her only link lies in the one thing that sets her apart from everyone else—telekinetic powers. Protected by her adoptive parents and hidden from the public to keep her gift secret, Ari is raised in the lap of luxury, and isolation. That is, until someone begins threatening her life.

Beau Devereaux is no stranger to the strange. As the head of Deveraux Security, he’s more than familiar with the realities of physic powers. So when a family friend approaches him about protecting his daughter, he’s more than ready to jump on board. What Beau isn’t prepared for is the extent of his attraction to his beautiful and powerful client. What began as a simple assignment, just another job, quickly turns personal as Beau discovers he’ll do anything at all to protect Ari. Even if it costs him his life.

Joint Review: Breaking the Silence (Hard Drive Series #2) by Tricia Andersen

Lacey and Tara are doing a joint review of this title.



Here's the blurb:
MMA Bad Boy Rico Choate falls for Avery, a deaf Marine – but will she stick around when she learns of his career in the octagon?

Rico Choate is a MMA bad boy with a love them and leave them attitude. That is until he meets Avery Walker, a deaf Marine who lost her hearing when her transport is destroyed in an I.E.D explosion in Afghanistan. He falls hard for her, even learning sign language from his friend, Chloe, so he can talk to her. However, Avery’s hatred for all celebrities forces Rico to keep his career in mixed martial arts a secret. How long can he keep such huge parts of his life separate? And if she does find out will she leave him or put her stubborn pride aside to stay with the man she loves?



Tara: Okay, Lacey. I must confess I had a very hard time with this hero at first. He comes across as such an asshole! I almost abandoned the story, I disliked him so much. It wasn't until the ....55% or thereabouts point that he began to earn some major points with me.

He grinned, and he knew his smile was as dazzling as the summer highway. I am just that incredible.

“You are beautiful. And I certainly was lucky to have you last night. But one night was all I wanted from you. Would you have had sex with me if I'd told you it was a one night deal?"

But then he rushes to learn sign language just to talk to this girl and he sticks up for her at the carnival and there's this huge moment when he realizes how badly he's treated women. 
What's your take on Rico?
Lacey: I found him to be very arrogant and unlikable in the beginning. The way he thinks of himself is as though he is God's gift to women...or more like the world. And as soon as he sees Avery, he wants her. I was kinda put off then as well because I wanted to see him do the work to get her-such as learning to sign to ask her out.

As I read on, I started to like him and I could tell he really cared for Avery, and her well being. So he eventually won me over on being a good guy. Perhaps Avery was able to bring him back down to earth. She gave him a reason to live, aside from being a MMA fighter.
Tara: I liked that, his having to actually work for a woman for a change. I think, however, he
learned sign language way too fast. Fluent in just weeks? I get he's a determined guy. I
mean, look at how much time he spends training, but....eh...I've attempted to learn and it's
not likely he'd be fluent that quick. I agree with you on the insta-love.
What's your opinion on Avery? Did you figure out her age? I had some trouble with that. I'm curious what conclusion you came to. I decided that after 5 years of the Marines and a couple years of recuperation and learning to sign, she'd be around 30, but the whole "I hate all celebrities because of ONE basketball player" seemed really young and immature.

Don't get me wrong. I loved her character otherwise. She's so kind, sweet, and the work she does for Veterans is awesome. But...she's not very Marine-like or independent.

I can give her the whole "I don't want to drive thing" even though I think it made her kind of a hypocrite with all her, "I'm a Marine, not a princess" boasting. She sure acted like a princess. And she becomes a weeping mess after one day of not hearing from Rico? Seriously?

Lacey: I never figured out her age, but I assumed late twenties or early thirties. I did like her for the most part. She didn't let the fact that she was deaf hold her back. She still went to school to get her degree. She did have to depend on people to drive her places, if I had been through the things she had, I might not be able to drive either. Every person reacts to situations differently, so I didn't hold it against her that she didn't speak or drive.

Tara: As a deaf person who strives to be independent, lip-reading is a necessity for me. I was bothered at first that she didn't lip read. Again with the "I'm independent" and when she's really not stuff...but I emailed the author and asked why she didn't have Avery reading lips and she said that Avery over-embraces deafness. Perhaps it's a barrier from the rest of the world. I can understand that, but it didn't fit with her character, who she constantly claimed to be. And I could get past this after reading the author's explanation, BUT the point is I had to email the author and ask. This was not made clear to me in the story. It should be clearer in the story.

Lacey: I've only met a few deaf people in my life, and while I've not met Tara in person, we have grown very close over the years with an online relationship. I did recently encounter two deaf women at a gym, and at first I had no idea they were. They walked up to the trainer I was working with and began talking to him. Sure, they spoke a little different, but I didn't think much of it. It was when the two ladies needed a sign they'd read clarified is when one said they were both deaf.

I don't know sign language, and neither does my trainer.So I did find it odd that so many people in this book knew how to, and could communicate in full sentences with Avery. Such as Rico, he learned sign language so fast.  He could sign and understand everything Avery said. Realistically, I would think he'd still need her to write a lot of what she needed, or him. However, this is a book of fiction, so I guess to progress the story along, the author wrote it that way.

I would have liked to see Avery read lips. It's just odd to me that she was so stubborn not to learn this when she needs it to communicate. I didn't always understand how she was taking classes. Did she bring a sign language interpreter with her?

Tara: Yes, it said at one point she had to watch an interpreter. She got all distracted one day 'cause she was daydreaming of Rico and missed some signs. The actual mention of the interpreter was just one sentence though, so it could have been missed.

Lacey: I know it sounds like I'm being hard on the author here. I really did enjoy the story, but these were aspects I had a hard time with and really made me stop and think.

I'm curious, Tara, how many people have you encountered who could sign? How does your current job accommodate you?
Tara: I can count on ONE hand all the hearing people I have met in my life who knew how to sign. So that is actually a quibble of mine in the book: how just about everyone Avery meets conveniently knows how to sign, except of course the hero. The people she works with, Chloe, Max, Mark. My workplace has never accommodated me in that manner. For me it's always been, "You're in our world. You figure it out. We're not doing anything special for you." And I've worked a variety of places. Maybe I need to become a barista? LOL

Lacey: I'm gonna take a moment to review a few points that I liked. I liked Chloe and Max a lot. I read this book first (it's the second in a stand-alone series). I will go back and read book 1. While it sounds like I picked the story apart early due to the heroine being deaf, it's only because Ms. Andersen put in a topic that got me thinking and talking. For the, I applaud the author. The fact that she got Tara and I talking is an accomplishment. This was not a book I read, put aside, and moved onto the next one.

I will be going back to read the first one, and I'm looking forward to it.
Tara: I liked them too, Max and Chloe. I noticed a reference to her having some kind of Vomiting Syndrome--another disability.

There were more things that didn't work for me in this story than did...but I thought the romance was really sweet once I got past the insta-love and I appreciate the author writing about heroines with struggles and disabilities in this series as she has been.

And hey, let's not forget to address the author's writing style. How'd you like the style?

Lacey: I think the author did a good job. She can tell a story. She knows how to add conflict to a story, stretch out the black moment, and not make the couple have an instant back together (something I myself as a writer sometimes struggle with). There were a few editing issues in the book, but I don't hold that against the author at all since authors typically aren't editors.

Tara: Agree. Great writing.

Lacey's Rating:


Tara's Rating:
Tara: And hey, guess what? We have the author with us today briefly telling us about the most challenging thing about writing a deaf character. I had to chuckle and nod my head as I read it. It is indeed very hard to drive and communicate when you're dependent on visual communication... I have to tell passengers, "I can't look at you right now, so shut up!" Please welcome Tricia Andersen.
When I started writing Breaking the Silence, I knew writing Avery, a deaf Marine, wouldn’t be easy. I didn’t realize just how difficult it would be. The first hurdle I had to jump was how to write her dialogue. With printed word it’s very difficult to interpret sign language. After talking to my proofreader Molly, who also knows ASL, we decided to treat it as our publisher treats any foreign language and put it in italics.

However, the greatest challenge wasn’t Avery, it was the other characters especially Rico. There were many times that I would write a scene and realized his body placement would make it near impossible for Avery to see his hands or lips. And the four hour car ride from Minneapolis to Des Moines where I originally thought they could get to know each other? Yeah…not without a major accident. There were several rewrites to put Rico in the right place to talk to Avery. But in the end it was completely worth it. These two are my favorite characters.

Iris Fan

Publication Date: December 9, 2014Minotaur BooksFormats: eBook, HardcoverSeries: Sano Ichiro Mystery Series (Book 18)Genre: Historical Mystery


Japan, 1709. The shogun is old and ailing. Amid the ever-treacherous intrigue in the court, Sano Ichiro has been demoted from chamberlain to a lowly patrol guard. His relationship with his wife Reiko is in tatters, and a bizarre new alliance between his two enemies Yanagisawa and Lord Ienobu has left him puzzled and wary. Sano’s onetime friend Hirata is a reluctant conspirator in a plot against the ruling regime. Yet, Sano's dedication to the Way of the Warrior—the samurai code of honor—is undiminished.

Then a harrowing, almost inconceivable crime takes place. In his own palace, the shogun is stabbed with a fan made of painted silk with sharp-pointed iron ribs. Sano is restored to the rank of chief investigator to find the culprit. This is the most significant, and most dangerous, investigation of his career. If the shogun's heir is displeased, he will have Sano and his family put to death without waiting for the shogun's permission, then worry about the consequences later. And Sano has enemies of his own, as well as unexpected allies. As the previously unimaginable death of the shogun seems ever more possible, Sano finds himself at the center of warring forces that threaten not only his own family but Japan itself.

Riveting and richly imagined, with a magnificent sense of time and place, The Iris Fan is the triumphant conclusion to Laura Joh Rowland's brilliant series of thrillers set in feudal Japan.

*****REVIEW*****

Laura Joh Rowland has decided to end her Sano Ichiro series dealing with a samurai detective during the Tokugawa Shogunate.  I have been following Sano’s adventures for quite a while now.  According to Goodreads, Rowland is my most read mystery author.  So I’ve grown attached to Sano, and his wife Reiko who often assists with Sano’s investigations.  When I agreed to participate in the blog tour for this book, my hope was that Rowland would end the series well.  I received a free copy of The Iris Fan from the publisher via Net Galley and this is my honest review.
The character dynamics and plot motifs in this series tended to repeat themselves.  This is why I’ve complained that a number of these books were formulaic.  I was most impressed with this series when the characters dealt with new situations or a new environment (The Snow Empress).
 I was pleasantly surprised by how Rowland played with the formula in this book.  I saw the same characters grappling over the same issues, but the plot brought about changes in their attitudes toward one another.  The dynamic was much less predictable.
When the novel starts, Reiko has been in mourning for the child she lost in a miscarriage for four years.  She has turned in on herself and hasn’t been active in investigations.  Since I loved Reiko’s independence and courage, her passivity bothered me.   I thought that involvement in a case would be the best thing for her, and I turned out to be right.   Sano, who was concerned about Reiko’s safety, may not have agreed at the time.  Yet I think in the end, he was happy to see the unconventional wife and mother he knew and loved again. 
The character arcs of those who were most prominent in this series seemed complete by the end of The Iris Fan.  So I felt satisfied by the resolution.  There could conceivably be more stories told about Sano’s son, Masahiro or about his daughter, Akiko.  A Masahiro or Akiko novel could be marketed as a YA mystery.  Rowland could find a whole new audience.  Yet if Rowland decides to move her career in a completely different direction, I probably won’t feel too disappointed.



Read the Sano Ichiro Mystery Series:ShinjuBundoriThe Way of the TraitorThe Concubine's TattooThe Samurai's WifeBlack LotusThe Pillow Book of Lady WisteriaThe Dragon King's PalaceThe Perfumed SleeveThe Assassin's TouchThe Red ChrysanthemumThe Snow EmpressThe Fire KimonoThe Cloud PavilionThe Ronin's MistressThe Incense GameThe Shogun's DaughterThe Iris FanBuy the Book

Amazon UKBarnes & NobleBook DepositoryIndieBoundAbout the Author Granddaughter of Chinese and Korean immigrants, Laura Joh Rowland grew up in Michigan and where she graduated with a B.S. in microbiology and a Master of Public Health at the University of Michigan. She is the author of sixteen previous Sano Ichiro thrillers set in feudal Japan. The Fire Kimono was named one of the Wall Street Journal's "Five Best Historical Mystery Novels"; and The Snow Empress and The Cloud Pavilion were among Publishers Weekly's Best Mysteries of the Year. She currently lives in New Orleans with her husband. She has worked as a chemist, microbiologist, sanitary inspector and quality engineer.

For more information please visit Laura’s website. You can also follow her on Facebook.
The Iris Fan Blog Tour & Book Blast ScheduleTuesday, December 9Book Blast, Excerpt, & Giveaway at Passages to the Past
Wednesday, December 10Review at Oh, For the Hook of a BookBook Blast at Literary Chanteuse
Thursday, December 11Review at Buried Under Books
Friday, December 12Book Blast at Queen of All She Reads
Monday, December 15Book Blast at Layered Pages
Tuesday, December 16Review at Book DilletanteInterview at Dianne Ascroft's Blog
Wednesday, December 17Book Blast at CelticLady's Reviews
Friday, December 19Review at UnshelfishBook Blast at I'd So Rather Be Reading
Monday, December 22Review at Broken Teepee
Tuesday, December 23Review at Book Nerd
Monday, January 5Review & Interview at Jorie Loves a Story
Wednesday, January 7Review at Book BabeReview at Svetlana's Reads and Views

Enter the Early Days of Women's Wrestling in The Sweetheart by Angelina Mirabella

I knew next to nothing about women's wrestling before picking this book up. I had no idea that in the 1950s, women were not even allowed in the ring in some states. We had to fight for the right to fight. Learning that made me appreciate the characters in the book all the more.

And they are characters, with flaws, hopes, and dreams. There's Mimi, Johnny, Lacey, Sam. The women are ton between following their hearts, having marriages and babies and being champions in wrestling. You couldn't do both back then. The men need to protect their women and can't seem to accept their women don't need protecting.

Leonie is the heroine of the story. She just wants to be admired. She's been a wallflower most of her life and feel self conscious about her body. When she joins the world of wrestling she has to learn to put on a show, to look haughty when she isn't, appear sexy when she doesn't know what sexy is. She gets confused and begins playing a role all the time, undecided as to what her real role in life really is.

There are great rough and tumble scenes. There are morals--the photo shoot with the Gorgeous Girls--and really, how far should you be willing to go to make people like you? And do they like you for the right reasons? There are funny moments--not LOL ones--but sarcastic, witty prose.

But the book has a major flaw, at least for me. Most novels have one of the following types of narrative: third person, past tense; first person, past tense; third person, present tense; first person, present tense. This had a new one that I've never ran into before and hope to never run into again. The YOU person, present tense.

You will end the day in this position, too. At present, there's no snow or ice outside, so after you finish your coffee, you will on your Keds and go for a run, reacquainting yourself with your neighborhood, before...

This made a difficult read for me, but I was interested enough in the story to keep reading. I wanted this book because I'd never before read about women wrestlers. But it wasn't so much about wrestling as a coming-of-age, finding-oneself story, and I struggled very hard to like and even understand this heroine. By the time I hit the 75% mark, I just wanted to get the book over with.

It is not a bad story, just goes on too much about things I didn't care about or things that didn't seem relevant to me--her dad's marriage, Cynthia, the Turnip--and honestly, why was the Sam story even in the book?, and less about things that did interest me: the struggle to be a woman in wrestling. It did, however, show us some of the struggle to be taken seriously as a woman wrestler, the battle to be seen as a serious fighter and not a sex symbol, though it takes the heroine a while to figure out which one she wants to be.

I have been inspired to learn more about the early women wrestlers and have a new-found respect for them.

I received this via Edelweiss.

A Grave Inheritance

Publication Date: December 1, 2014Carina PresseBook; ASIN: B00OHV6MFASeries: Goddess BornGenre: Historical/Paranormal/New Adult/Romance



Selah Kilbrid may descend from the goddess Brigid, but her heart beats—and breaks—the same as any human. Yet enduring the scorn of London's most noble lords and ladies is a small price to pay for a chance at true happiness. Selah would endure much more for love, and her betrothed, Lord Henry Fitzalan, is prepared to challenge anyone foolish enough to stand in their way—even another goddess born.

But when a captivating young gentleman draws Selah into a world shadowed by secrets, she is forced to confront her darkest fears. What if some differences are too great to overcome and a future with Henry is doomed from the start?

With these doubts threatening her impending marriage and the very last of Brigid's fire draining from her soul, a violent attack on an innocent child pushes Selah to the very edge of her power. She must find a way to cross into the Otherworld and regain her strength—or forfeit the streets of London to death and disease.


*****REVIEW*****
When I've read the first book, I usually evaluate a sequel on whether it develops the author's premise further.   This is an aspect of  A Grave Inheritance  that I would judge successful.   When Selah Kilbrid travels from Pennsylvania to London, she encounters other goddess born with different gifts, and even a different goddess.  There are also new abilities and possibilities available to her as a child of Brigid that she had never imagined.  For Selah, the Old World opens a new world of experiences.

I admit that I hadn't expected originality because  the aristocracy of Georgian England is a well-trod territory for historical romance.  I am not really interested in the lives of aristocrats in any period.  I  preferred the first book because the Pennsylvania Quaker environment was so unexpected for a novel in this category.  Yet I did find several characters in this book that I considered remarkable--particularly Lady Dinley who I very much enjoyed. 

As in the first novel, there were also predictable elements involving traditional romance relationship character dynamics.  From a romance perspective, there is nothing I found unusual in this novel. There is a suspended HEA, but this is consistent with an ongoing series primarily focusing on one relationship.  

Unfortunately, the storyline in this second novel wasn't resolved.  There is a cliffhanger ending.   It might be advisable to put off reading this book until the third novel is available.  The cliffhanger caused me to rate this book lower than I would have if the ending had been more satisfying.

The publisher provided this book to me for free in return for this honest review.

                                             









Buy the eBook


Amazon UK
Barnes & Noble


About the Author Kari Edgren is the author of the Goddess Born series. In 2010 and 2011 she was a semifinalist for the Amazon Break Through Novel Award. In 2013, she was a RWA Golden Heart finalist. Ms. Edgren enjoys writing both historical and contemporary fiction, so long as there’s a spark of paranormal. She resides on a mountain top in the Pacific Northwest where she spends a great deal of time dreaming about the sun and torturing her husband and children with strange food and random historical facts.

For more information please visit Kari Edgren’s website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Sign Up for Kari Edgren’s Newsletter.

A Grave Inheritance Blog Tour ScheduleMonday, December 2
Spotlight & Giveaway at Passages to the Past
Thursday, December 4
Review at A Book Geek
Review at I'd So Rather Be Reading
Friday, December 5
Spotlight at The Reader's Hollow
Monday, December 9
Review at Book Lovers Paradise
Wednesday, December 11
Review at Oh, for the Hook of a Book
Monday, December 22
Review at The Mad Reviewer
Friday, December 26
Review at The Book Nerd
Monday, December 29
Review at Peeking Between the Pages
Tuesday, December 30
Review at 100 Pages a Day - Stephanie's Book Reviews
Thursday, January 1
Review at Mel's Shelves
Friday, January 2
Review at So Many Books, So Little Time
Monday, January 5
Review at Book Babe
Review at The True Book Addict
Friday, January 9
Review at Romantic Historical Reviews

A Bit of Eye-Rolling, Inappropriate Humor

I was in some debate as to whether to share this on here or not, but it made me laugh, made the husband laugh, made the waiter laugh, and so I figured what the hell, it may make you laugh too.

The husband and I went to this fancy seven-course dinner on New Year's Eve at this very nice restaurant in Ogden.

On top of the seven courses, one could (and of course I did) also have a wine pairing.

And this was the menu.


It may take you a bit to see it. I'm not going to draw a red circle around it or nothing. But when the husband pointed it out to me, I laughed and darn near choked on wine #3.

Husband says that whoever created the winery name must have an ex named Liana.

The waiter serving us laughed and told us an older couple had felt it their duty to point out the "misprint", only it wasn't a misprint at all.

*smh*

But in all honesty, the wine in question was delicious.

Enjoy the chuckle or the groan or the eye roll that results from this and may you all have a great 2015.

Jewish Poet Emma Lazarus Murdered. Nellie Bly Hot on Killer's Heels.

In this historical novel we meet the legendary Nellie Bly, lady reporter/investigator who infiltrated the Bellevue mental hospital by actually entering as a patient herself. Only the first part of the story touches on this, briefly, however, showing us how it was the start of her investigative journalism career. She'd been mostly confined to the gardening section until then, women having a hard time getting into journalism back then.

We watch her earn the grudging respect of many male coworkers as she tries to solve a case: who killed Emma Lazarus and why.

This ended up being a mystery with Nellie Bly as the sleuth. Emma Lazarus was a real woman. She was a Jewish poet who wrote The New Colossus, the poem on the Statue of Liberty. This was interesting to me. Upon further online research, I discover there were indeed some rumors she was a lesbian and she was very outspoken about the hatred and discrimination toward Jews. I think some license was taken with this story as none of the biographies I read mentioned any hint of foul play regarding her death, but in this novel, obviously, she's murdered.

As Nellie investigates, she discovers lesbian love affairs, railroad tycoons with greedy intentions and murder on "their" hands, the wrongful deaths of an Indian tribe, and a family who would rather let a murderer run loose than having more "scandal" on their hands.

They mystery is interesting and keeps one guessing. The author managed to reveal all kinds of historical things I never heard of before--both people and events.

The ending is really far fetched though, IMO. How Nellie came to her conclusion and the the proof she had was really thin. I didn't really buy it all, her suddenly figuring out whodunnit in the manner she did. It was too much of a stretch. To be Frank, the ending stank. I almost brought this down to a two. I don't need a cheesy HEA, but this was an awful ending. The narrative is omnipresent, God-like, and makes the book more telling than showing at times and reads like a biography in bits. The story also strays a lot and divulges all kinds of details and history about the characters that becomes overwhelming after a while. I already cannot remember half of it. It's distracting.

I thought at first this was a start to a series featuring Nellie Bly: lady reporter solving a new mystery each novel, but the terrible ending kind of nipped that hunch of mine in the bud.

So this wasn't a winner for me, but it wasn't a dud either. It's somewhere in between.

I received this via Netgalley.

What Today’s Young Women Can Learn from Annie Oakley: A Guest Post from Jeffrey Marshall

Please welcome the author of Little Miss Sure Shot: Annie Oakley’s World as he shares with us today what we can all learn from the famed sharpshooter.
"Annie Oakley c1880" by Baker Art Gallery -
Heritage Auction Gallery.
 Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
1.       Your background may be a hurdle, but it’s not a barrier. Annie grew up dirt-poor in a log cabin, to a Quaker family who had migrated west to western Ohio. Her father died when she was very young, and her mother remarried twice more. They were subsistence farmers, like so many others around them, and Annie competed for attention with six other siblings.

Annie took it upon herself to learn how to shoot, to bring game home for the family table; before long, she was selling what she shot – birds, squirrels, rabbits – to a local purveyor of meats. From there, she continued honing her skill and broke into competitive shooting.

If Annie had been born into a well-to-do family, it’s unlikely she would have taken up shooting, and especially the world of competitive target shooting, which was almost entirely ruled by men.
2.       Persistence and practice are vital in any profession. It’s unclear exactly how Annie developed the jaw-dropping skill she had with firearms (some of it certainly involved extraordinary hand-eye coordination), but she must have spent many hours honing that talent when she was quite young. Even when she was shooting professionally before large crowds with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, she was practicing and adding new elements to her act. The famous trick in which she shot a target while looking at a mirror and sighting behind her was something she and her husband, Frank Butler, added to her act only after she had done it often enough to be sure of her accuracy. The same was true of such tricks as shooting from the back of a pony or twirling a rope while she shot.
3.       Find a specialty that satisfies you and appeals to others. Obviously, Annie’s specialty was target shooting, but she did it so spectacularly that she became a star. In that era, the women who rose to fame were often performers, like Annie – the singer Jenny Lind and actresses Lillian Russell and Sarah Bernhardt chief among them. And Annie was quite a performer, by all accounts: despite a general shyness, she included crowd-pleasing elements like blowing kisses to the crowd, curtseying, and stomping her foot if she missed a shot. It’s unlikely that anyone could ever emulate what Annie did, but she showed that finding a niche and cultivating it could lead to tremendous success.
4.       Work on developing traits like courage, modesty and integrity. Annie’s ascent into the shooting sports firmament took a good deal of courage, especially when she was in her teens and competing in local events where the other contestants were all men and the crowds were betting against her. Later, when she was touring and came out as a performer each day, she had to block out everything, overcome any butterflies (it’s likely she had some when she first shot before royalty) and – like a stage actress, which she briefly was – give it her best.

By all accounts, Annie was modest about what she did – but not too much so. She thought she deserved top billing, and when it happened, she didn’t lord it over the other performers. Yet when a series of newspaper articles mistakenly attached her name to a theft, she launched a series of libel actions – the most extensive in American history to that date. Her name and reputation were extremely important to her and she refused to have them sullied.Annie also showed a number of instances of real physical courage. She was injured in accidents in 1901 and 1922, both of which required extensive rehabilitation, but she refused to let them keep her from her livelihood.
5.       Give back to others. When she had the opportunity, and especially after she retired from active touring, Annie set up classes to teach people – especially women – how to shoot. She didn’t spark a huge surge of interest in the sport, but she stayed with the instruction because she truly felt it conferred important qualities like independence and self-reliance – and to her, it was fun. Even in her late 50s, she was teaching shooting in Pinehurst, NC.
Annie also was always conscious of the station she had earned, and tried to help others who also had been disadvantaged. In her later years, she gave generously to orphanages and charities for the needy, and reportedly paid for the schooling of as many as 20 young women who would otherwise been unable to afford an education.

About the book:
Little Miss Sure Shot is a fictionalized account of the life of Annie Oakley, drawing heavily on the real timelines and events of her life. However, the book is not a biography - it invents situations, people she meets, and a myriad of conversations. Moreover, while the book is presented chronologically, apart from the prologue, it skips certain periods and attempts to focus on those that are especially vital, such as the early years Annie spent with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, including the tours through Europe. A special feature of the novel is the framing of Annie's loving marriage to fellow sharpshooter Frank Butler, whom she married at sixteen and remained married to for 50 years until her death. Frank was far more than just her husband - he was her manager (he gave up his own shooting for that role) and her constant companion. The novel closes with an epilogue in Frank's voice, presenting an overview of their lives together and the circumstances of her death in 1926.




***

Jeffrey Marshall is a writer, poet and retired journalist. Little Miss Sure Shot is his first novel but third book, having published a business book on community reinvestment more than 20 years ago and a volume of collected poetry, River Ice, in 2009. He has an undergraduate degree in history from Princeton and a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern.
Book website: http://www.annieoakleynovel.com/

Violins of Autumn by Amy McAuley

All I have to do is drop into a foreign country, aid and train members of the ever-growing Resistance movement, sabotage railways, travel the country on a bicycle while concealing top-secret information, blow things up, and try not to get killed.
That sounds pretty exciting, right? Sounds like a story I should love. Truth is, despite dedicating three days to it, I couldn't make it past the 50% mark. But I paid for it, so I'm going to post my two cents.The 411: You got a 17-year-old American female who has lied about her age, joined the British SOE, and has jumped into occupied France to save the people.
It's been done before and it's been done better. Check out Becoming Clementine by Jennifer Niven. Or for a better story of a heroine helping the French Resistance: Chateau of Secrets by Melanie Dobson.
My quibbles: I was expecting her to train members of the resistance, maybe blow up train tracks...gee, I wonder why I got that impression?...but in the first half of the story she does nothing but ride around on a bike and seem lost and do things that are just too stupid for words. I'll get to that. If there's any intense action, it comes very late in the tale.
She is 17, claims she's 22, and acts 11. That could be because this book is marketed toward the younger crowd, but still....she's supposed to be an agent/spy.
There's supposed to be some love triangle and as soon as I got a "whiff" of one of the participants (Pierre) I was rolling my eyes and dreading it. What did she see in him? He's rude, doesn't even like her, isn't remotely kind. 
There's a war on but the characters are like children playing war games. Everything is really too preposterous. In Nazi-occupied France, an American airman is NOT going to merely sit on a parachute and pretend to be picnicking, nor is he going to be able to walk the streets of Paris without anyone asking for his papers, not when every single able-bodied man in France has been sent to Germany to work in factories. His haircut and height alone will be a dead giveaway. Be real. 
And what kind of idiots sing American songs for all to hear?
And to just peddle up to a Nazi factory and began taking pictures? Is this girl for real? And get offered a tour to boot? No, no, no. The author made things way too easy for this so-called agent. Easy to the point, the story lost its seriousness.
I bought this on Amazon. It simply wasn't for me.