Jeannie Hudson's Blog: Bookmarks - Posts Tagged "love"

I found EAT,PRAY,LOVE so tedious I couldn't finish either the book or movie. Elizabeth Gilbert has more than redeemed herself with her grand, sweeping saga, THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS. I adored this story of charismatic and intrepid Alma Whittaker born during the Age of Enlightenment. Her limitless thirst for knowledge keeps pace or surpasses that of her contemporaries.- Born the daughter of Henry Whittaker whose brilliant mind enables him to become the wealthiest man in Philadelphia by gathering medicinal
flora and the world's most gorgeous blooming plants into his vast gardens and greenhouses to fill the burgeoning
market for such hitherto scarce goods. Alma is an equally gifted botanist and an invaluable asset in her father's business. Yet,she yearns to understand the very essence of life and her search turns to the puzzles of evolution and the universe. Courageous in all ways, she dares go after what she wants in life even when decisions may prove ill advised or tragic - When she falls in love with Ambrose Pike,a brilliant artist and mystic,they discover their mutual desire to comprehend the inner workings of life itself. - Awash with historical detail, the novel follows Alma on her travels to the far, exotic reaches of the world, meeting a myriad of fascinating characters who challenge her perspective while nourishing her wise and questing soul. - I love THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS and give it five stars. Who
would have thought, Alma's study of mosses could be so captivating?

"...She looked down at her hands twisted in her lap,determined to dismiss what he said. Still, she was unsure. One part of her wanted to argue that Lareina wouldn't disapprove as he feared. Another remembered how little she still knew about her aunt. In the end, her doubt kept her silent. 'Can we be friends?' she asked after a long time.
'I truly don't know. I long to say yes but I doubt putting that label on what exists between us would change anything.'
'So, are we to wait 'til I reach a suitable age?'she demanded. 'What age will that be? Twenty-one? Thirty? How old will you be then? Sixty?" She stashed the hamper and slid to the far edge of the seat.
Aiden jumped down and strode around the
wagon, then placed his hands at either side of her waist and lifted her down, his eyes warm despite his earlier detachment. 'I don't know the answers, Regan,'he said, his voice weary. 'Perhaps when Lareina returns....'
Regan pulled herself free and walked a
few steps,angry,afraid,feeling the joy sliding out of reach.
Aiden followed and took her shoulders,
turning her to face him again. 'Please,
let's not talk about the future. Let's
enjoy today and let that be enough for now.'
She searched his eyes, acknowledging a
faint hope. He hadn't denied that a future existed for them.
'Are you with me on that?'he prodded.
Knowing she had no choice, she nodded,
wanting what time was left. 'But I won't
give up. Not until you've given me better
reasons that what I've heard so far....'
He pressed one finger to her lips, then outlined mouth. She stood beneath his sad,wanting gaze, his body tense. He appeared about to kiss her and she willed
him to, but slowly he disengaged himself
and stood with his back turned.
Shaken by their intimate exchange, she
moved to her equipment. A damp wind had
come up and she shrugged deeper into her
cloak. Aiden approached, touching her arm. 'While you do your work, I'm going to load the gold, then we'll start back.'"

'Grateful when she neared Aiden's camp she found him seated at a small table covered with papers. He leaned over his work, intense in his concent-, ration and she faltered to a stop.
She yearned to run to him, giving free rein to the joy rushing along every nerve but uncertainty kept her rooted a few yards away. Slowly drawn by her eyes, he looked up as if she'd just appeared in his parlor.
His brain could not accept that she
was truly there. His preoccupation with her shining hair, the soft lines of her stylish frock suspended time. He wasn't immediately obliged to face the danger yet again. He could drink her in like a man dying of thirst.
It took time for the truth to catch
up with his runaway reaction and he was
possessed by the profound desire to take her in his arms, bury his face in the silk of her hair and weep.
Regan watched emotions playing over
his features like light on water and she
struggled to decipher what he was thinking. She identified pleasure and a
bemused confusion. His dark, wary eyes
seemed to worship and rebuke her all at once;she saw no trace of the cold she feared. But gradually the rest seeped away, and he looked at her with unmist-
akable panic. And something else, some-
thing that jolted her.
Was it a warning she saw? Or terror? Revulsion? She couldn't be sure.
She was only conscious of the terrible
pain deep inside as she glimpsed what
had been hidden until now....'

I recently gave my historical suspense novel BEHOLD A LONE HORSEMAN to Dawn Newland the gifted artist who is creating
the cover for MARIPOSA. I was delighted by her response after reading BALH. I must share - "I just finished BEHOLD A LONE HORSEMAN. I must tell you I couldn't put it down. What a creative and captivating writer you are. I am honored to be doing your next cover...."

I would love it if my fellow Goodread
members would read BALH or my romantic
suspense TEN HOURS 'TIL SPRING and write a review. Thanks so, so much!!!

Now here's another excerpt from my brand
new historical romance MARIPOSA BOOK ONE -THE QUEST that will be published in May.

'He stopped at the edge of the wood,
his breath catching at the sight of her absorbed in her drawing, her slender body
inclined over her sketchbook. She'd discarded her bonnet onto the grass and the dappled sunlight through the branches
bathed her delicate features in soft light. Her low-cut summer gown offered an
enticing view, the elegant column of her
throat, creamy ivory shoulders and cleavage. He full mouth was pursed in thought. Heat flooded Damien's groin when
he recalled that her sensuality was no longer completely forbidden.
He hadn't expected such fervor in one so young and innocent, though he had
sometimes been sorely tempted by her amorous teasing. He had thought weeks of
gentle lovemaking would be required to unlock the passion he was determined would nourish their marriage. As it was,
he found in her an eager desire that roused his own carnal appetite and fueled a burning impatience. Now that he
knew her promise, he was half mad with his love for her and knew he'd never want
another woman in his bed. If she would agree, he'd elope with her tonight, the consequences of such brash action be damned.
When he stepped nearer, she looked up from her work, her eyes lighting. Tossing aside the sketchbook, she reached for his hand to stand, then dove headlong into his arms, searching his face for answers. "Please, what did she
say?"
"Kiss me first." He lowered his mouth to hers, glorying in her unabashed
answer, the warm melding of her body to his.
"Damien, I love you so," she said
some minutes later, her eyes shiny, her
limbs trembling. "When can we be married?"
He tenderly traced the curve of her cheekbone. "Tonight if you like, darling."
Her lips parted in confusion mixing with her joy. "But how...."
He pressed a slender finger to her
mouth. "Come sit with me and I'll tell you what Aunt Pris told me." One hand spanned the small of her back as he shepherded her to a low chestnut limb where they sat. "Aunt Pris doesn't want us to marry right away, Harper."
Her hand convulsed on his arm; worry
chased away the last of her gaiety. "She
loves you like a son. She's known since I
was small that I'd marry either you or
Brendon. She's known for years and years
that you're the one I chose...." She held
to the haven of his steady gaze as tears
threatened her composure.
"My love, she disapproves neither of
me, nor our marriage. She's merely determined that you see something of life beyond the refuge of Laughlin and
Willow Rook. In spite of her prim demeanor, Aunt Pris is a freethinking
woman, Harper. She hates the idea that
you might have a typical marriage where
you're only a subservient accouterment
of my life...."
"Our marriage won't be like that!
You said you wouldn't have it!'
"Certainly not, darling, I'll cherish and care for you, protect you with my life. Yet I want us to nurture
each other, sharing equally as we love and make love. You will be mistress of
Willow Rook and share equally in our life there...."

I absolutely love THE SWAN THIEVES, a
magical story of art and love. The author's masterful description creates glorious images of art by famous and lesser-known artists, each striving for the elusive muse that will inspire a masterpiece.- Robert Oliver has found his muse while descending into mental illness. A gifted artist and art teacher, Robert becomes obsessed
with the l870s work of Beatrice de Clerval,a woman of great beauty. She was an artist during the French Impressionism era and in love with a contemporary artist Olivier Vignot. Robert steals letters written by the lovers and becomes obsessed with their relationship as well. The lovely Beatrice de Clerval becomes Robert's subject in dozens of stunning paintings, his preoccupation with the woman causing the end of his marriage - When in his madness, Robert attacks a painting at the National Gallery of art, he becomes the patient of psychiatrist Andrew Marlow, entering the hospital with his packet of 130 year-old love letters
and the disinclination to speak after uttering a few words - Marlow, himself an artist, is eager to help Robert but his efforts are thwarted by his refusal to talk. - Marlow must learn about Robert through the people who knew
him best, his ex-wife, his former girlfriend, his former teaching associates. During his search for whatever accounts for Robert's condition,he travels to speak to people who have personal knowledge of
Beatrice de Clerval and her lover. He
discovers a great deal about himself and
his patient. He unravels a mystery that
spans over a century and finds the woman who will become his wife.- The truly
amazing plot kept me reading avidly through nearly 600 pages. I loved the
inspired descriptions of the art world,
I loved the mystery inherent in the plot,
I loved the two romances. I highly recommend this lovely book and give it
five stars.

I found THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS by Vanessa
Diffenbaugh to be a most enjoyable read.
The main character Victoria's harrowing
passage through the foster care system was a sensitive work of character development.
We learn why Victoria is so scared, so
vulnerable, so angry, so weary. We can
understand her stubborn need for self-
reliance. She's been let down or has let herself down too many times. When she is
emancipated from the foster care system at 18 because 'there's nowhere else for her to go' she faces the hard truth that it's up to her alone whether she has a life or not. During one of her trial adoptions, she was taught 'the language of flowers' by her foster mother and she carries this with her until it is ultimately the source of her
redemption. Through her own unstable attempts to find love, friendship, motherhood and success, she comes close to having a stable, happy life. Yet she
continues getting in her own way because
of her ingrained lack of self-confidence
and belief that she is damaged beyond
repair. At this juncture when she teeters
at the brink of either grand success or
total failure, she turns to the lessons
she's learned while studying 'the language of flowers.' Because she identifies so completely with these tenets and has the ability to apply them
to the needs and problems of others, she
finds her gift that brings her untold
success happiness.

The title THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS sounds
like a rather lighthearted romp. The actual story is filled with quite serious themes with a satisfying ending.
I give it 4.5 stars.

SHOTGUN LOVESONGS is a wonderful book, one
of the best I've read in the past year. It
is about coming home for four friends, all
born and raised in Little Wing a small town in WI. The author Nickolas Butler deftly describes the losses and triumphs of the four as some seek success elsewhere. His honest and heartfelt descriptions of the love among them and their women are nothing short of miraculous. You'll lose yourself in this rollicking tale, be moved to laughter and tears and perhaps be inspired to call an old friend or two yourself. Filled with
compassion and joy, SHOTGUN LOVESONGS is
positively a Midwest masterpiece and I
am already anxious for Nickolas Butler's
next work

Upon winning a recent giveaway, I discovered an exciting new author in
Christian Strayhorn Spence. I really
enjoyed her story in THE PAIN COLLECTOR.
Early in the plot, I felt great sympathy
for Eva Kingley whose quiet, rather solitary life is abruptly assaulted by the
death of her father by suicide. She's
suddenly aware that a dark family secret
resides within her history. She inherits
a house and a library full of recorded pain
and hints from her father about a sinister
past. Intent on learning what she doesn't
know about her relatives because she never
had the opportunity to become acquainted
with them, not even her father, Eva sets
out on a journey to uncover the truth. In
the course of her quest, she learns of
appalling acts by her family amidst the
corruption of WWII. I loved the strong
characterizations and the weaving of a
beguiling and satisfying storyline. If
this novel is any indication of what Ms.
Spence may be capable of in the future, I look forward to more work by this promising new voice. I give THE PAIN
COLLECTOR 5 Stars.

PAINTED HORSES is a story of huge contrasts. Modern and historic, Good and evil. It is the well-written debut by a
writer who obviously loves his subject, the American West of the 1950s when the
opportunities for the intrepid soul were endless. Catherine Lemay is a young archeologist with recent experience on ancient history digs in England, who has taken a job in Montana, her assignment, to be certain nothing of historical value will be destroyed when a remote canyon is flooded in a major dam project. The job proves to be psychologically and physically harrowing while tempered by deep friendships and startling new love. But just as the untamed West was never a place where life unfolded in predictable experiences that resolved themselves in happyily-ever-after conclusions, PAINTED HORSES will delight and enchant you even as it shocks and enrages you. I give it five stars***** and look forward to the next offering from Malcomn Brooks.