Tara Chevrestt's Blog, page 43

The Reading Radar 10/4/2014

Spotted on Edelweiss and as I'm completely riveted by the blurb alone and of course I must read this one--you'll see why....The Fair Fight by Anna Freeman is on the wishlist.

Some call the prize ring a nursery for vice . . .

Born into a brothel, Ruth's future looks bleak until she catches the eye of Mr Dryer. A rich Bristol merchant and enthusiast of the ring, he trains gutsy Ruth as a puglist. Soon she rules the blood-spattered sawdust at the infamous Hatchet Inn.

Dryer's wife Charlotte lives in the shadows. A grieving orphan, she hides away, scarred by smallpox, ignored by Dryer, and engaged in dangerous mind games with her brother.

When Dryer sidelines Ruth after a disastrous fight, and focuses on training her husband Tom, Charlotte presents Ruth with an extraordinary proposition. As the tension mounts before Tom's Championship fight, two worlds collide with electrifying consequences.

THE FAIR FIGHT will take you from a filthy brothel to the finest houses in the town, from the world of street-fighters to the world of champions. Alive with the smells and the sounds of the streets, it is a raucous, intoxicating tale of courage, reinvention and fighting your way to the top.

***
Spotted on Amazon and I'm hoping one doesn't need to read book one to enjoy this one: The White Butterfly by Mary Christian Payne.

Butterflies symbolize hope to Lady Lily Claybourne. They also symbolize transformation from one stage of life to another - a more beautiful one. “The White Butterfly” is a fast-paced romantic novel set in Post-World War I. England. It is the story of one woman’s struggle to find herself and to become self-fulfilled in a society that very rarely recognizes women as equals to men. Lily Barton Claybourne has a deep-seated need to be the best she can be in life. Her compassion and ability to forgive are strong components of her personality. But, the aristocracy isn’t interested in her dreams of a better society and more equality for women.

She has married into a family where the old, tried and true traditions are held on to very tightly. Lily thinks it is all foolishness. Her husband, the Earl of Gloucester, Kit Claybourne is a wonderful man, but he too is mired in the past traditions of his heritage. He was raised by an iron fisted mother, who appears on the surface to be a sweet and charming woman, but who still makes the rules that are adhered to at Claybourne Court. Lily loves Kit, but it is very hard to live with him. In nearly every facet of their lives together there is a dichotomy. Over and over Lily is told that what she wants to do is not ‘the done thing’. She feel she is nothing but an ornament on Kit’s arm. After two very grave illnesses, Lily emerges as a different person. She is tired of being told that nothing she does is right. The primary concern in the Claybourne family is that nothing ever be done to mar the image of that great and ancient name. Yet, Lily discovers that there was one, significant mistake made in 1903, that has now returned to haunt them. With strength and determination, she makes the decision to let go of the ties that bind her to aristocracy’s strict rules, and to follow her own path.

With the support of a sixteen year old, she gathers her courage and makes a radical change in her life. This engaging novel presents the reader with characters who are neither all good nor all bad. They are real human beings facing the struggle that often comes after a war has torn the foundations from the world they once knew.

***
The Glassblower (Glasbläser-Saga #1) by Petra Durst-Benning, Samuel Willcocks Translator) made the wishlist after spotting the ad on Goodreads. I don't have the best record with translations, but this is worth a shot, I think.

In the village of Lauscha in Germany, things have been done the same way for centuries. The men blow the glass, and the women decorate and pack it. But when Joost Steinmann passes away unexpectedly one September night, his three daughters must learn to fend for themselves. While feisty Johanna takes a practical approach to looking for work, Ruth follows her heart, aiming to catch the eye of a handsome young villager. But it is dreamy, quiet Marie who has always been the most captivated by the magic—and sparkling possibilities—of the craft of glassblowing. As the spirited sisters work together to forge a brighter future for themselves on their own terms, they learn not only how to thrive in a man’s world, but how to remain true to themselves—and their hearts—in the process.

***
A War of Her Own by Sylvia Dickey Smith is a compelling World War II historical novel, set in Orange, Texas, in 1943, about a Texas version of Rosie the Riveter in search of happiness. In the summer of 1943, Orange, Texas, is a sleepy little town overrun with tens of thousands of new workers. With jobs galore at the wartime shipyards, the workers are rich with cash and looking for a good time.

Bea Meade, mother of an infant son, finds her life shattered when her philandering husband announces he is leaving her for another woman. To make ends meet, Bea takes a job at a shipyard as a riveter. Meanwhile, she searches for the love missing in her life.

Life is good for everyone in Orangeexcept Bea, who has to fight her own battles against a no-good husband, the prejudice facing women in the workplace, and the mysteries of her own past.

Bea's journey to discover who she really is, a vibrant woman of her times, serves up an entertaining story of the World War II homefront you'll remember...

Night of a Thousand Stars: Not A Credible Protagonist

The last book I read by Deanna Raybourn was the Lady Julia mystery, Dark Road To Darjeeling, because it took place in India. I liked it very much.  So I thought it was possible that a Deanna Raybourn book taking place in the Middle East might be just as welcome.  That's why I requested Night of a Thousand Stars from Net Galley, and this is my honest review.
                                       
I admit that I found the central character, Poppy March, somewhat sympathetic at the outset.  She was running away from her wedding.  It would have been a very tedious marriage, after all.  Yet I couldn't imagine why she waited until the wedding to decide that she couldn't go through with it.  I also enjoyed the eccentricity of her artist father as well as the background about the unconventional March family.  I don't consider these details spoilers.  This is the set up at the opening of the book.

Look before you leap is very sound advice.  Unfortunately, it's also advice that Poppy never heeded.  Another way of putting it is that she never thought through anything before acting.  I was exasperated by the fact that she didn't seem to learn from experience.  After a while, I started considering her appalling rather than appealing.

So Poppy March gallivants recklessly through all sorts of dangers, but people who probably should know better think that she has potential.  At the head of this list would be Sebastian, the hero of the narrative.  He introduces himself to Poppy with the unlikely surname of Cantrip.  The second definition of cantrip in The Free Dictionary is a mischievous trick.  If  I were Poppy, it would have immediately occurred to me that this is a pseudonym.  Sebastian is rather mysterious, but definitely dependable.  If it weren't for Sebastian, I doubt that Poppy would have survived all her risk taking.
 
Lady Hester Stanhope, a historical personage who was an adventurer in the Middle East, is mentioned a number of times in this book.  I imagine that Deanna Raybourn thinks that readers should consider Poppy akin to Lady Hester.  In my opinion, Poppy wasn't in Lady Hester's league.  Please read a biography of Lady Hester Stanhope.  She garnered respect while defying conventions, and expanded possibilities for women.  She was the real deal because she made an effort to understand the people of the region.  She didn't just blunder her way through Syria and Palestine.

Deanna Raybourn seems to have created a more successful woman adventurer in the aviatrix and explorer Evangeline Merriweather Starke, who is mentioned in Night of a Thousand Stars but never actually appears.  She certainly sounds like a character that I would have preferred over Poppy.  Evangeline is the central character of City of Jasmine.  It definitely looks like I read the wrong book.

The resolution of Night of a Thousand Stars was from my perspective totally incredible.  By this I mean that I couldn't believe it for a moment.  I won't reveal the specifics, but the idea that Poppy belongs in a responsible position where lives might be riding on her decisions seems like a spectacularly foolish notion.  It sounds more like Poppy's own wish fulfillment fantasy than a realistic possibility. 


***
New York Times bestselling author Deanna Raybourn returns with a Jazz Age tale of grand adventure…On the verge of a stilted life as an aristocrat’s wife, Poppy Hammond does the only sensible thing—she flees the chapel in her wedding gown. Assisted by the handsome curate who calls himself Sebastian Cantrip, she spirits away to her estranged father’s quiet country village, pursued by the family she left in uproar. But when the dust of her broken engagement settles and Sebastian disappears under mysterious circumstances, Poppy discovers there is more to her hero than it seems.With only her feisty lady’s maid for company, Poppy secures employment and travels incognita—east across the seas, chasing a hunch and the whisper of clues. Danger abounds beneath the canopies of the silken city, and Poppy finds herself in the perilous sights of those who will stop at nothing to recover a fabled ancient treasure. Torn between allegiance to her kindly employer and a dashing, shadowy figure, Poppy will risk it all as she attempts to unravel a much larger plan—one that stretches to the very heart of the British government, and one that could endanger everything, and everyone, that she holds dear.Buy the Book                                 Amazon (Paperback)Barnes & Noble (Nook)Barnes & Noble (Paperback)Books-a-MillioniTunesKobo
About the Author A sixth-generation native Texan, Deanna Raybourn grew up in San Antonio, where she met her college sweetheart. She married him on her graduation day and went on to teach high school English and history. During summer vacation at the age of twenty-three, she wrote her first novel. After three years as a teacher, Deanna left education to have a baby and pursue writing full-time.Deanna Raybourn is the author of the bestselling and award-winning Lady Julia series, as well as, The Dead Travel Fast, A Spear of Summer Grass, and City of Jasmine.For more information please visit Deanna Raybourn’s website and blog. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.Night of a Thousand Stars Blog Tour Schedule
Monday, September 29Review & Giveaway at Bookish
Tuesday, September 30Review at Flashlight CommentarySpotlight & Giveaway at Passages to the Past
Wednesday, October 1Interview at Flashlight CommentarySpotlight at Svetlana’s Reads and Views
Thursday, October 2Review at Ramblings From This Chick
Friday, October 3Review at Book Babe
Monday, October 6Review at Unabridged ChickSpotlight & Giveaway at Reading Lark
Tuesday, October 7Review at Candace’s Book BlogInterview & Giveaway at Unabridged Chick
Wednesday, October 8Review at Good Books and Good Wine
Thursday, October 9Excerpt at A Book GeekGuest Post & Giveaway at Good Books and Good Wine
Friday, October 10Review at History From a Woman’s Perspective
Monday, October 13Review at A Chick Who Reads
Tuesday, October 14Review at Reading the PastSpotlight at CelticLady’s Reviews
Wednesday, October 15Review at The Lit BitchReview at WTF Are You Reading?
Thursday, October 16Review at A Bookish Affair
Friday, October 17Interview & Giveaway at A Bookish Affair
Monday, October 20Review at The Life & Times of a Book AddictExcerpt at Historical Fiction Connection
Tuesday, October 21Review & Giveaway at Bookshelf FantasiesSpotlight & Giveaway at Susan Heim on Writing
Wednesday, October 22Review, Excerpt & Giveaway at Just One More Chapter
Thursday, October 23Review at Musings of a Bookish Kitty
Friday, October 24Review at Curling Up By the Fire
Monday, October 27Review & Giveaway at Let Them Read Books
Tuesday, October 28Review at To Read or Not to Read
Wednesday, October 29Review & Giveaway at Bibliophilia, Please
Thursday, October 30Review & Giveaway at Historical Tapestry
          

Welcome to the Quirky Side of History: A Guest Post from Sandra Schwab

I fell in love with historical fiction when I was eight or nine years old (for which I mainly blame Rosemary Sutcliff), so it is perhaps not surprising that I ended up writing historical fiction myself. And because I like a good love story and a happy ending that leaves a smile on your face, I write historical romance.
Needless to say, I also love history, but rather than to dry facts and figures, I’ve always felt more drawn to ... let’s say, the quirkier side of history, ranging from the Romans’ preference for fermented fish sauce (according to one recipe, ingredients are to be left in the sun to mature for up to 3 months *shudder*) (can you imagine the smell???) to the 18th-century medical wax figures at the museum La Specola in Florence (I’ve got a book with pictures of the whole collection – gives me the creeps). And in my new series about the fictional Victorian periodical Allan’s Miscellany, I’m exploring the stranger aspects, the quirkier side of the Victorian Age. For A Tangled Web, which is set in 1846, I chose the controversy surrounding Matthew Cotes Wyatt’s equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington (aka. the monster statue).
After Wellington’s successes during the Napoleonic Wars, he became a prominent political figure. As he grew older, it was felt that something needed to be done to further honor his many achievements. And what could be more natural and more proper than to erect an equestrian statue of the great man (and of Copenhagen, his horse)? And not just any equestrian statue! The LARGEST equestrian statue in the whole of Britain!!!
By 1846 the statue neared its completion, and a preview was held a for the Duke of Wellington and other worthy people at the artist’s workshop. Members of the press were also invited and were expected to be duly impressed by the statue’s magnificence. Alas, they weren’t. And that’s an understatement. The Daily News called the statue an "atrocious violation of all artistic principle": "Never since the time of the Trojan horse, such an equestrian monster paraded the streets of the capital. […] Without any desire to detract from the glories of his Grace F.M. the Duke of Wellington […] we wish to know why respect to the Duke must express itself by outrage to taste? Because his Grace's merits outrun all measure of praise, must his statue violate all laws of proportion?" (16 Sept. 1846) The famous satirical magazine Punch gleefully poked fun at the statue by depicting the Duke’s head as either disappearing into the clouds or attracting a flock of birds.  But it was not just the statue itself which garnered scorn and ridicule, but also the place where it was to be erected: on top of the Wellington Arch, facing towards Apsley House, Wellington’s home: "'The Iron Duke' can thus never approach his windows without having his gaze retuned by his brazen counterpart outside" (Morning Chronicle, 30 Sept. 1856).
And what about the weight of that monstrous thing? Punch speculated "that the whole concern will come down with a tremendous crash, and that the Duke's horse will be found kicking and plunging about in the fearful gap his own weight will have occasioned." Indeed, Wyatt's creation, Punch surmised, would probably tear the world asunder when it fell of the arch.
On 29 September 1846 the statue was finally dragged with great pomp and circumstance from Wyatt’s workshop to the triumphal arch. It was accompanied by two military bands, a trumpeter, and more than 400 members of the Life Guards and Grenadier Guards. Hundreds of people lined the streets to watch the strange procession. Due to the sheer size of the “monster statue” the procession was much slower than had been planned – and it probably scared a few people witless, too, Mr. Punch thought.

***
Lawrence Pelham works as a comic artist for Allan’s Miscellany. A chance meeting with a young woman dressed in mourning changes Pel’s whole life, and without his even knowing, he is thrown into a world of mystery and intrigue, where nothing is as it seems to be—especially not the woman he has given his heart to.Her whole life Sarah Browne has been told how plain she is, how nondescript, destined to become an old maid. For years she has been her family’s dutiful nursing maid and caretaker, but now a secret inheritance and an encounter with the charming Mr. Pelham seem to offer her a chance to break out of her life of duty and drudgery—if she dares to take it. Yet how could such an interesting, witty man like Mr. Pelham be possibly interested in her boring self?And so, Sarah soon finds herself entangled in a web of lies and deceit, which might even cost her the love of her life.

*** Award-winning author Sandra Schwab started writing her first novel when she was seven years old. Thirty-odd years later, telling stories is still her greatest passion, even though by now she has exchanged her pink fountain pen of old for a black computer keyboard. Since the release of her debut novel in 2005, she has enchanted readers worldwide with her unusual historical romances.
She lives in Frankfurt am Main / Germany with a sketchbook, a sewing machine, and an ever-expanding library.
You can find her online at www.sandraschwab.comOr connect with her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ScribblingSandyand Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SandraSchwab...

How Researching The Novice Uncovered A Family Feud and A Love Story: A Guest Post from Mirella Patzer

Historical fiction is one of the most challenging genres to write because it involves a great deal of research. Writers must research every aspect of daily life in the particular era they are writing about, from food, fashions, personal hygiene habits, politics, laws, and much, much more. It never fails that whenever I embark on a new story, my research always leads me to another fascinating story to be told. I’ve amassed about a hundred or more such fascinating stories that would one day make a great novel.

In researching The Novice, I began querying massacres in Italian convents, and this ultimately led me to a 17th century family feud between two families in southern Italy over a fiefdom. It’s a true story! It is an amorous love story with an explosive political plot, and all because of the jealousy over a woman. In a wild impetus, to kidnap the woman, one family massacres the other. Any survivors were imprisoned, and hostages taken. The beautiful young woman was forced into marriage with the son of the murderers. Of course, retaliation occurs and results in another massacre to the family of the murderers. The poor young woman at the heart of so much enmity, finally escapes to a convent where she lives her life confined in the cloister. The town where this all took place has since become a ghost town complete with its own curses and haunting legends! This is one story that will be worth the telling. Definitely one of my future novels!
***
Publication Date: September 15, 2014
H&W Press
Formats: eBook, Paperback; 380pGenre: Historical Fiction/Historical RomanceA young woman on the verge of taking her vows to become a nun.
A desperate flight from a murderous massacre.One honorable man comes to her rescue.
Another becomes her nemesis and captor.
And a life and death search to reunite with her one true love.In 10th century Naples, Saracens run rampant, annihilating villages, murdering women and children. Death and despair is everywhere. Alone in the world, Sara is a young novice plagued with doubts about taking her final vows to become a nun. When her convent is attacked, she flees for her life straight into the arms of a group of Saracens who leave her to die alone in the woods. An honorable cavaliere named Nicolo comes to her rescue and offers to take her to the safety of Naples. As they journey together, they are irresistibly drawn to each other. Believing Sara to be a nun, the honorable Nicolo is torn between love and duty to respect her vows. Heartbroken, he does what honor demands and sets her free before she can tell him the truth that she is not a nun. In her search to reunite with Nicolo, she encounters Umberto, a dark and dangerous man who will stop at nothing in his obsession to possess her. With her sharp intellect, and her heart, Sara must rely on her own courage and strength to escape her abuser and find the only man she will ever love. A story that burns with intensity, intrigue, and passion from the author of the highly successful novel, Orphan of the Olive Tree.


***About the Author A true blue Taurean in every way, Mirella Sichirollo Patzer grew up in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, a city famous for the Calgary Stampede, oil companies, and the wild west. Historical fiction books are one of her obsessions, especially those that pertain to medieval eras and with Italy as a backdrop. Her fascination for women of history and Italy is often reflected in her work, her various blogs, and website. She lives in Cochrane, Alberta, Canada with her husband and family. Her house is brimming with books and toys. For her, life couldn’t get any better.For more information please visit Mirella’s website. Mirella also blogs at History and Women & Historical Novel Review. Connect with Mirella on Facebook,Twitter, Goodreads and Pinterest.The Novice Blog Tour ScheduleMonday, September 29Review at Flashlight CommentaryTuesday, September 30Review & Giveaway at Peeking Between the PagesInterview at Triclinium – Elisabeth StorrsWednesday, October 1Guest Post at Book BabeSpotlight at Historical Fiction ObsessionThursday, October 2Review & Giveaway at The Book Binder’s DaughterInterview & Giveaway at Historical Romance LoverFriday, October 3Spotlight & Giveaway at Historical Fiction ConnectionMonday, October 6Review at History From a Woman’s PerspectiveTuesday, October 7Review at UnshelfishSpotlight at Princess of EboliWednesday, October 8Guest Post & Giveaway at Historical TapestryThursday, October 9Spotlight at CelticLady’s ReviewsFriday, October 10Review at With Her Nose Stuck in a BookGuest Post at Keely Brooke Keith

Color Song: A YA Heroine Struggles To Be An Artist in 16th Century Italy #Giveaway

 
By the author of the acclaimed Passion Blue, a Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Book of 2012 and “a rare, rewarding, sumptuous exploration of artistic passion,” comes a fascinating companion novel.
Artistically brilliant, Giulia is blessed – or cursed – with a spirit’s gift: she can hear the mysterious singing of the colors she creates in the convent workshop of Maestra Humilità. It’s here that Giulia, forced into the convent against her will, has found unexpected happiness, and rekindled her passion to become a painter – an impossible dream for any woman in 15th century Italy.

But when a dying Humilità bequeaths Giulia her most prized possession – the secret formula for the luminously beautiful paint called Passion blue – Giulia realizes she’s in danger from those who have long coveted the famous color for themselves. Faced with the prospect of lifelong imprisonment in the convent, forever barred from painting as a punishment for keeping Humilita’s secret, Giulia is struck by a desperate idea: What if she disguises herself as a boy? Could she make her way to Venice and find work as an artist’s apprentice?

Along with the truth of who she is, Giulia carries more dangerous secrets: the exquisite voices of her paint colors and the formula for Humilità’s precious blue. And Venice, with its graceful gondolas and twisting canals, its gilded palazzi and masked balls, has secrets of its own. Trapped in her false identity in this dream-like place where reality and reflection are easily confused, where art and ambition, love and deception hover like dense fog, can Giulia find her way?

This compelling novel explores timeless themes of love and illusion, gender and identity as it asks the question: what does it mean to risk everything to follow your true passion?

*************Review**************
Color Song by Victoria Strauss is a sequel.  The first book of this YA historical saga is Passion Blue.   Readers should be aware that Color Song contains many references to the events of Passion Blue.  These would be a good reminder if you’ve already read it, but they would be spoilers if you haven’t read it.    This wasn’t a problem for me, but spoiler sensitive readers are advised to read Passion Blue first.  I received an uncorrected proof of this book from the publisher via Net Galley.                                                  
The fictional central character, Guilia Borromeo, is a young female painter in 16th century Italy who hears colors singing to her.  This factor is what makes the book distinctive.  It’s the reason why I was attracted to it.   Hearing colors, or seeing music are examples of a difference in perception that is known as synesthesia.  I am interested in artists with synesthesia.  Find out more about it from the Wikipedia article Synesthesia in Art. 
Guilia, the illegitimate daughter of a nobleman, had been consigned to a nunnery in Padua.  It’s there that she learned to paint.  Guilia seemed to think that her convent was the only place where nuns painted.  I came across a 16th century prioress in Florence who painted named Plautilla Nelli.  She wasn’t the only one.  There is actually a scholarly study called Nuns As Artists: The Visual Culture of a Medieval Convent by Jeffrey F. Hamburger.
Although there is a romance element in this novel, this book is primarily about Guilia’s efforts to continue painting and attain some degree of autonomy in a historical period where few women could ever hope to have any freedom at all.  There were exceptions.  The exceptional autonomous woman shown in Color Song will surprise readers.. On the other hand, there were also some events in the plot of this book that I found predictable.
Synesthesia wasn’t in the foreground for the overwhelming majority of Color Song, but one plot development did turn on Guilia’s ability to hear colors.  That incident led me to imagine an art detective series in which the protagonist has a gift like Guilia’s.  I continue to look for a book whose central focus is an artist’s synesthesia.
                                            Buy the Book

Barnes & NobleIndieBound
About the AuthorVictoria Strauss is the author of nine novels for adults and young adults, including the STONE duology (THE ARM OF THE STONE and THE GARDEN OF THE STONE), and a historical novel for teens, PASSION BLUE. She has written hundreds of book reviews for magazines and ezines, including SF Site, and her articles on writing have appeared in Writer's Digest and elsewhere. In 2006, she served as a judge for the World Fantasy Awards.

An active member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), she's co-founder, with Ann Crispin, of Writer Beware, a publishing industry watchdog group that tracks and warns about literary fraud. She maintains the popular Writer Beware website, Facebook page, and blog, for which she was a 2012 winner of an Independent Book Blogger Award. She was honored with the SFWA Service Award in 2009.

She lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.

For more information please visit Victoria's Strauss's website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Goodreads.

Color Song Blog Tour & Book Blast ScheduleMonday, September 16
Book Blast at Passages to the Past
Book Blast at The True Book Addict
Tuesday, September 17
Review at Oh the Books
Book Blast at The Maiden's Court
Wednesday, September 18
Review at Casual Readers
Review at Leeanna.com (Passion Blue)
Thursday, September 19
Review at Leeanna.com
Monday, September 22
Review at Ageless Pages Reviews
Feature at Oh the Books
Tuesday, September 23
Book Blast at Flashlight Commentary
Wednesday, September 24
Review at History from a Woman's Perspective
Interview at Bibliophilia, Please
Book Blast at Reading Lark
Thursday, September 25
Book Blast at A Book Geek
Friday, September 26
Review at Reading Room Book Reviews
Book Blast at Just One More Chapter
Monday, September 29
Review at Tribute Books Mama
Interview at Math, Science & Social Studies...Oh My!
Tuesday, September 30
Review at Book Babe
Book Blast at Historical Fiction Connection
Wednesday, October 1
Review & Interview at Bookish
Book Blast at Historical Tapestry
Thursday, October 2
Review at Brooke Blogs
Review at Oh, for the Hook of a Book
Friday, October 3
Review at A Bibliotaph's Reviews
Book Blast at The Lit Bitch
Saturday, October 4
Book Blast at Susan Heim on Writing
Monday, October 6
Review at WTF Are You Reading?
Book Blast at Let Them Read Books
Tuesday, October 7
Review at A Leisure Moment
Wednesday, October 8
Review at Peeking Between the Pages
Friday, October 10
Review at A Bookish Affair

GiveawaysTo enter to win any of the following prizes please complete the form below:
2 Grand Prizes Winners: One Kindle Paperwhite with custom Color Song cover with Color Song and Passion Blue ebooks pre-loaded, plus swag (postcards, bookmarks), and signed paperback editions of Strauss's Stone duology (The Arm of the Stone and The Garden of the Stone) (US only)

2 winners: Signed hardcovers of Color Song and Passion Blue, plus swag (postcards, bookmarks) (US and Canada)

5 winners: Signed paperbacks of Color Song and Passion Blue, plus swag (postcards, bookmarks) (US and Canada)
Giveaway ends at 11:59pm on October 10th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
Winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter on October 11th and notified via email.
Winner have 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Amazon Burning: Dramatic Red Alert With Compelling Characters

It’s been some time since a book has taken me to Brazil.  Those who used to read my previous blog, The Unmasked Persona's Reviews , would know that I reviewed several books by the widely revered classic Brazilian author Jorge Amado, that I’m interested in Brazilian history and in Afro-Brazilian religion.  Amazon Burning by Victoria Griffith also isn’t the first book I’ve read dealing with the need to preserve the fragile ecology of the Amazon Basin.  Its fragility isn’t addressed in this novel, but I thought I’d mention it before beginning my discussion of Griffith’s work.
Here’s the background on this issue. Many people aren’t aware that when all the trees are logged out of the Amazon jungle, there will be no topsoil left.  The entire area will become a vast desert.  Stripped of the jungle’s resources, the Brazilian economy will collapse.  Even worse, global warming will become irreversible.  See this Climate Warning From 2006. Preserving the jungle’s biological diversity is certainly important, but what is really crucial is preserving Brazil’s future and the future of humanity.  These are the reasons why the struggle of the heroic central characters of Griffith’s book is so urgent. 
I consider Amazon Burning a very timely red alert.  I received a free copy from the publisher in return for an honest review.
                                                                                                      

I must apologize for starting this review with a lecture.  Amazon Burning is not some ponderous academic study.  It’s actually a suspenseful romantic eco-thriller that begins with the murder of activist Milton Silva.  The point of view character is Emma Cohen, an idealistic journalism student at New York University who has left behind a major legal predicament that gradually unfolds over the course of the novel.  Like her crusading journalist father, Emma believes that her vocation is to right all wrongs through investigation and publication of every instance of inequality and injustice.  Until she came to Brazil, she hadn’t quite grasped how dangerous her career can be.  Griffith deals with Emma’s maturation along with the critical problems that she faces in the Amazon.  In many cases, this process of growing up entails a surrender to cynicism, but Emma’s commitment to her principles survives all her hardships. I found this really wonderful to behold.  By the end of the novel, Emma has become more resilient and a credit to her profession.
Another significant element in this book is the people that Griffith calls the Yanomami.  Elsewhere I have seen them named the Yanomamo.  The Yanomami/Yanomamo are only one of many indigenous groups that reside in the Amazon jungle.  Anthropologist Napoleon A. Chagnon romanticized them, but Griffith portrays the degradation of their environment and the decline of their health.  If you would like to learn more about them, I would recommend Spirit of the Rainforest which is written from their perspective.  Griffith shows that they aren’t passive victims.  When they become aware of their options, they are quick to take advantage of them.  I really liked seeing a bit of Brazilian indigenous culture in this book.  Griffith provides us a genuine sense of place.  I definitely felt transported to Brazil.
The romance took time to develop due to plausible barriers that resulted from the characters' circumstances.  Some readers might consider these barriers contrived, and might have preferred the course of true love to have been smoother.  Yet that would have interfered with the tension necessary in a thriller plot.  So I think that Griffith's decisions about the romance relationship were good ones.
Even though Amazon Burning has a number of strengths, I had doubts about a couple of details.  Emma is depicted as being able to see what is happening outside a plane while traveling in a cargo compartment.  I’ve been advised by co-blogger Tara, who knows a great deal about airplanes, that it’s highly unlikely that there would be windows in a cargo compartment.  More importantly, I wondered which judge would have allowed Emma, a defendant faced with a serious charge, to travel as far as Brazil while awaiting trial.  I kept on wanting her legal situation to be fully clarified. I didn’t feel that I ever understood how or why she had no restrictions on traveling in her position.   It could be that one or the other of her parents had officially posted bond and told the judge that they would make certain that she appeared in court, but I would have been happier if readers were told that up front. 
Finally, I had a disagreement with a statement that was made by one of the characters about capoeira.  He said that it was more like dance than a martial art and that it was “pretend fighting”.  That may be an accurate representation of that character’s practice of capoeira, but capoeira isn’t uniformly non-violent.  Capoeira can be beautiful in an exhibition, but so is a solo karate kata sequence.  That too may appear to be like a dance, but no one would argue that karate isn’t a genuine martial art.  Capoeira can actually be quite deadly despite appearances.  Please read Is Capoeira An Effective Martial Art?  I found it to be very informative article about the history and practice of capoeira.
Despite these relatively minor missteps, I really did enjoy Amazon Burning.  There were some clever red herrings provided for readers to chew on during the course of the murder investigation.  I never guessed who murdered Milton Silva until the truth was finally revealed close to the end of the novel.   
So Victoria Griffith has given us a successful mystery dealing dramatically with important themes, containing sympathetic characters who develop over the course of the narrative, and a credible representation of Brazil.
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What's the Truth About Women?

I had to think on this movie for an entire night and day before deciding it was review worthy. Oh--I liked it, very much. It was extremely enjoyable. I just didn't--at least right away--"get it".

It took me a bit to realize there is no truth about women. Like men, women are all different. And why not? We come from different walks of life, different cultures, religions, households, countries. None of us are going to be the same. We'll perhaps have some things in common and we, each and every one of us, can drive men batty, as witnessed in this movie directed by Muriel Box.

The main character in this movie is a man, an older gentleman who sits down with another man (less likable and needing a good wallop upside the head) and tells this younger man about his past with many different women. It then goes back in time, to Victorian? England or Edwardian and we meet all these different women who have influenced his life.

There's the suffragette who doesn't believe in hunting and wants to live with him a year before they marry. Imagine that! Back then! Needless to say though, I loved her. This relationship goes awry due to a bit of a misunderstanding and some bad luck. From there we go to India or a country similar (I can't remember the name) where we meet a lady who goes to the Sultan's harem and I had a hard time seeing why this bit was added to the movie at all. But I appreciated the conversation the Sultan has with the hero, about just who was barbaric in their treatment of women--the Sultan with a woman "per job" or England who has one woman to do it all. You have to watch it. Seriously.

Then we go to France where the women marry for money and have affairs. And there's an absolute mess and this had me shaking my head, saying, "Well, Muriel, you didn't do us any favors with this bit here. You made us women look horrid", but in the end I realized this story shows our loyalty--not to men, but to each other.

Then we go to America where we see both happiness and sadness, a combination of love and disappointment. A woman becomes a wife and mother and seems overjoyed with her lot in life, but at the same time has to quit painting. This was moving. I didn't know whether to be happy or sad for the woman and I think that's what Muriel was going for here.

Muriel BoxAnd the last woman...a nurse in WWI...takes us to the English courts, where a price is put on her head. How much is a wife worth? Should a man sell his wife? At this point in history, were we still considered mere property? And here we see yet another woman sacrifice her dream for a man.

So what is the truth about women? We're all different, but we all have hearts, dreams, and experience love and passion. Some of us will do anything for those we love, even give up our own happiness. Some of us are careless with our hearts; some less so. But there is one thing every single woman has in common in this movie: they all sacrifice something. I guess the question is, is it worth it?

Directed in 1957 by a feminist film director, The Truth About Women is worth watching. It's enjoyable, goes all over the place, and introduces us to some interesting and remarkable ladies. It also has adventure. In the end we're no closer to the "truth" about women, but it sure is a fun romp getting to that conclusion.

I learned of this movie whilst reading a biography about ten successful women in the fifties. In it, Muriel Box is quoted as saying, "Unable to chain myself to the railings, at least I could rattle the film chains." She was intrigued by the suffragettes and wanted to make a feminist movie.

I watched this free on Amazon Prime.

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley: A Story that Shows the Parallels In the Different Types of Hatred in American History

It's been nearly four months since we first came to Jefferson. Still, every day, when I walk out of that school building, my heart pounds and my hands tremble. Every day, there's a roaring in my ears no voice can penetrate.

Can you imagine going to school worrying about whether you'd be hung from the flag pole? Imagine not being able to join the cheerleader team because nobody would hear your cheers over the sounds of people calling you names. Imagine fearing for your life every day.

In 1959, five years after the federal courts said integration of school was the LAW, the state of Virginia still balked, protested, and even shut the schools down to avoid this. This was way after Little Rock. But imagine being the first African-American to enter this school, this place in which there was so much resistance to your presence. The heroine, Sarah, faces this nonsense along with 9 others. It's an angry mob of white kids day after day, hour after hour, yelling, screaming names and insults, throwing baseballs and spitting. Stories like this make me very ashamed to be American.

Sarah's parts were just painful to read. Sad. I cried, grew angry, and many times had to set the book aside as my emotions were just too much. Robin Talley did a superb job.

But the blurb doesn't mention that there's another battle here, another type of prejudice that Sarah must worry about on top of this. The hatred against gays. She's attracted to her own sex and is constantly trying to hide it, has been raised to feel ashamed of her feelings. It's unnatural. Sinful. And things get out of hand with a white girl named Linda, who is also confused.

And this is where the book lost me. I'm totally fine with the lesbian story line, but if you're going to make two girls attracted to each other, make something attractive about them! While Sarah was a sweet and strong soul and I could see why Linda would be attracted to her, I could not--not even for a second--see what Sarah saw in the racist, bigoted, evil Linda. Sarah's attraction to Linda was just completely unbelievable to me. I don't care that Linda changed in the end--too little too late. She was an ugly person still.

And I'm torn as to what I thought about Linda's parts. She was half the narrative. She's ugly and has ugly thoughts. I didn't care to read about her racist, nasty ways. BUT on the other hand, I admire the way the author tackled this: showing us both sides of the race issue. Did I agree with Linda? Not one little bit, but I came to understand that she was merely brainwashed and as she slowly learned to think for herself, she was confused. What she'd been told and what she was seeing were two entirely different things. Her story really goes to show how much our parents influence us.

I appreciate learning about this particular situation in American history. It didn't stop with Little Rock. You hear so much about LR, but not Virginia. I hated how ugly things were, but it really happened that way. I think the writing is stellar, but the lesbian story just didn't work for me in light of what I mentioned above. There was never anything attractive about Linda. I just can't see or feel this supposed connection. It came out of nowhere. I also think that the blurb should at least hint to this extra story line, as the LBGT thing isn't for everyone.

Take an adventure down under in Charming The Outback by Leesa Bow

In Charming the Outback, we get to take a trip to Australia and experience the way they live and their culture. I enjoyed seeing the differences from how things are where I live in the USA. I found Maddy to be a strong woman to want to change her usual ways and embrace the more country and hard working lifestyle of working on a station.

What is a station?
In Australia, a station is a large landholding used for livestock production. It corresponds to the North American term ranch or South American estancia. The owner of a station is called a grazier (which corresponds to the North American term rancher) or pastoralist.

Charming the Outback is a second chance love story...usually one of my favorite types of romance stories. I enjoy seeing two people find their way back to one another and working through their problems. Which is what Luke and Maddy did. 
The beginning of this story was slow and I didn't feel the connection right away between Maddy and Luke. He was awful to her and a big jerk. She became friends with another guy, Zane. And to be honest, I felt more chemistry between them. They were more flirtatious with one another, joking, and more at ease. When Maddy was with Luke, it was just anger toward one another, which I usually like, don't get me wrong. I like a strong conflict and the hero and heroine having a hard time getting along. I think throwing Zane into the story, made me want to see Maddy with him. I hope that Zane gets a story soon. I'd like to see him find love and settle down from his playboy ways.
*Possible spoiler*The heroine grows a lot in this story. She matures - which is one of Luke's biggest complaints about her. She shows him that she can be the woman he wants her to be. Until the very end, I never saw Luke changing for her. He was very hard on the heroine and the way she was throughout the story. Thankfully in the end, he wised up and finally saw he needed to compromise as well if things were going to work out with the woman he loved.*End possible spoiler*
All in all, I enjoyed the story. This is a very sweet story, little to no sex in it. And when there is sex, it's not in much detail. You get the idea they are together and that's as far as it goes. I enjoyed all the secondary characters and will be interested in their stories when they come out. I've not read the first book Winning The Player, but it's not needed to enjoy this story. As they are written as stand alone stories.
My Rating:

The book summary: When jaded city girl Maddy McIntyre packs up and leaves Adelaide for a new job in the country, it's not only a chance at a fresh start. Six months ago, the first guy she'd ever loved shattered her heart before moving home to Broken Hill. Deep down inside, Maddy is hoping that living in the same town will give her an opportunity to prove to Luke that she's one temptation he can't resist.

But when she arrives in Broken Hill, Luke White is not the same guy she knew in the city. And it soon seems very clear that he doesn't want her there. Although Maddy settles in quickly, excelling at work and partying with her new friends, she can't understand why Luke is remaining so distant. Particularly when all her instincts are telling her that they're meant to be together – and that he feels the same burning attraction.

As Maddy learns more about Luke's family and background, she begins to understand that his mixed messages are caused by balancing what's expected of him with what he really wants. Maddy gave Luke her heart long ago and, despite their differences, she knows she'll only ever be happy with her hot country boy. But how can she convince him that she's the risk he needs to take?

Goddess Born: A Magically Gifted Healer Faces Witch Hysteria in 18th Century Pennsylvania

In colonial America the concept of an ethical magical practitioner didn’t exist.  There was no vocabulary that would allow people to discuss such a person, and therefore no way to even imagine that someone like the protagonist of Goddess Born could be real.  Selah Kilbrid was a healer and midwife in a predominately Quaker town in Pennsylvania, but she was also secretly a descendant of the Goddess Brigid who gave her super-human powers to heal magically.  In modern parlance, I would characterize Selah as a priestess of Brigid.  In 1730 the full truth about Selah could never be known because she would be condemned as a witch.  Selah is forced to take some highly unusual steps to escape this accusation.  Historically, colonial witch hysteria targeted people who didn’t practice magic at all with the possible exception of the slave Tituba, but Goddess Born by Kari Edgren is a historical paranormal romance.  I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in return for an honest review.                                                 We generally associate Puritans with colonial witch hysteria, not Quakers.  Since Quakers are supposed to be non-violent and officially did not believe in witchcraft, it’s hard to imagine that the lodging of a formal accusation of witchcraft would have arisen in Pennsylvania during that time period.  Yet it actually did happen once.  See Pennsylvania's Only Witch Trial on the website Quakers in the World to learn more.

This has been a year in which I’ve discovered historical Quakers engaging in activities that are against Quaker principles.  In Slavery and the Meetinghouse by Ryan P. Jordan, which I reviewed on my blog at http://shomeretmasked.blogspot.com/2014/08/slavery-and-meetinghouse-complex.html, I read about Quaker abolitionists who carried guns and even some Quakers who fought in the Civil War.  These are Quakers that I had never envisaged.  The modern Quakers that I’ve encountered have been strong proponents of non-violence.  Now Kari Edgren has asked me to contemplate 18th century Quakers persecuting a young woman who had benefited many members of her community.  Do I think it’s believable?  Unfortunately, I do.  There was another novel that I read some time ago which causes me to find Goddess Born credible. It was Impassioned Clay by Stevie Davies (1999) which deals with Quakers persecuting women as heretics in 17th century England.  Stevie Davies is a historian who also wrote a non-fiction book called Unbridled Spirits which, as one of the reviews on Goodreads points out, contains some Quaker women.  For more information about Stevie Davies, see her website at http://www.steviedavies.com/.
This book does contain some predictable elements that are due to its being a romance.  Romance readers will want to know whether it adheres to the rule that every romance must end with HEA.  I have to tell them that it isn’t quite HEA.  Goddess Born ends with the chance of HEA which could be setting up for a sequel.  A sequel would justify a delayed HEA.  I found the ending a satisfying one.  It resolves the Pennsylvania story line.   I also enjoyed both the heroine and the hero.  The heroine was unusual and the hero turned out to be both courageous and principled.                                                  
***
The power to heal is her divine gift, the fear of discovery, her mortal curse.Selah Kilbrid is caught between two worlds. A direct descendant of the Celtic goddess Brigid, she is bound by Tuatha Dé law to help those in need. Yet as a human, she must keep her unique abilities hidden or risk being charged for a witch. In 1730 Pennsylvania, the Quaker community of Hopewell has become a haven for religious freedom—and fanaticism—and there are those who would see her hanged if the truth were revealed.For eighteen years, Selah safely navigates the narrow gap between duty and self-preservation, until the day a prominent minister uncovers her secret. Obsessed with her power, Nathan Crowley disregards her betrothal to a distant cousin from Ireland and demands marriage in exchange for his silence. Selah stalls for time, but when news reaches the Colonies of her cousin’s death, time has run out.Rather than submit to Nathan, Selah coerces a stranger to pose as her husband. It’s a good plan—her only plan—even though Henry Alan harbors his own dark secrets. But when she returns to Hopewell a married woman, the real fight has just begun. As unseen forces move against her, Selah doesn’t know which poses the greater danger—a malignant shadow closing in from outside or the internal fire that threatens to consume her heart.Book Two in the Goddess Born series will be published in November 2014 and Book Three in June 2015.Buy the eBook
Barnes & Noble Carina Press
***About the Author Kari Edgren did not dream of becoming a writer. Instead, she dreamed of everything else and was often made to stay inside during kindergarten recess to practice her letters. Despite doting parents and a decent school system, Ms. Edgren managed to make it through elementary school having completed only one book cover to cover – The Box Car Children, which she read approximately forty-seven times. Things improved during high school, but not until she read Gabrielle Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude in college, did she truly understand the power of a book.Ms. Edgren aspires to be a Vulcan, a world-acclaimed opera singer, and two inches taller. She resides in the Pacific NW where she spends a great deal of time torturing her husband and children with strange food and random historical facts. Ms. Edgren hasn’t stopped dreaming, but has finally mastered her letters enough to put the stories on paper.For more information please visit Kari Edgren’s website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, andGoodreads.Sign Up for Kari Edgren’s Newsletter.Goddess Born Blog Tour ScheduleMonday, September 22Review at Peeking Between the PagesTuesday, September 23Spotlight at Passages to the PastWednesday, September 24Review at The Readers HollowInterview at Manga Maniac CafeThursday, September 25Review at Book BabeFriday, September 26Review at Curling Up With a Good BookSunday, September 28Spotlight & Excerpt at Casual ReadersMonday, September 29Review at Unabridged ChickReview at The Mad ReviewerTuesday, September 30Review at Oh, for the Hook of a Book!Interview & Giveaway at Unabridged ChickWednesday, October 1Review & Excerpt at Book Lovers ParadiseThursday, October 2Review at Books, Etc.Review at 100 Pages a Day – Stephanie’s Book ReviewsFriday, October 3Review at So Many Books, So Little TimeMonday, October 6Review at BookishGuest Post at Historical Fiction ConnectionTuesday, October 7Spotlight & Giveaway at The Flashlight ReaderWednesday, October 8Review at A Bookish AffairThursday, October 9Review at The True Book AddictFriday, October 10Review at CelticLady’s ReviewsMonday, October 13Review at Book NerdInterview at The Maiden’s CourtTuesday, October 14Review at I’d So Rather Be ReadingWednesday, October 15Review at Let Them Read BooksThursday, October 16Review at A Book GeekGuest Post at Historical TapestryFriday, October 17Review at Historical Tapestry