Category Archives: Women's Fiction

The Mystery of Mercy Close – Marian Keyes

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marian keyesI employ this thing called The Shovel List.’
‘A shovel . . . ?’
‘No. A Shovel List. It’s more of a conceptual thing. It’s a list of all the people and things I hate so much that I want to hit them in the face with a shovel.’

Meet Helen – youngest of the Walsh sisters and a law unto herself. She’s easily bored, has an inability to filter her thoughts and was fired from every job she ever had before she found her true calling as a private investigator. But times are tough for PIs and Helen’s had no choice but to take on the search for AWOL boyband has-been Wayne Diffney – The Wacky One.

It’s not all bad this game of Where’s Wayne. It may have brought her charming crook of an ex Jay Parker back into her life, but it’s giving her an excuse to avoid the usual Walsh family dramas and the intense looks from her gorgeous boyfriend Artie that make her heart beat wildly with lust and panic in equal measure. But most of all it’s an excellent distraction from the huge swarm of black vultures gathering over her head. If she hides out in her target’s empty house on Mercy Close for long enough maybe they’ll go away . . .

But as Helen begins to unravel the mysteries secreted on Mercy Close she discovers a kindred spirit in a man unwilling to be found. Could someone be telling her to look a little closer to home . . . ? – Publishers Website

I’m divided on this particular book, for a few reasons.  The earlier books(s) I have read by Marian have been really fun reads.  This one I wasn’t so keen on.  I didn’t enjoy Helen’s demeanor, it was too hyper, too much double guessing herself.  In other terms too fidigety.  She second guesses everything or just about everything she does as a private investigator – what she has done for years.  The background on the book is well thought out, it’s just her main character or that could be the reason she is the way she is because of the plot lines in the book, but this wasn’t a great book for me.  I have thought about it probably more than I needed to and waited as long as I could without giving a scathing review about something that didn’t mesh with what I remember from her other novels, I just didn’t like this one as much as the earlier books I have read by Marian.

I do have to say though, she has a rocking twitter account!  I noticed that she has locked herself out more than once because of her tweeting….too much, too fast LOL

Marian’s Website – Facebook – Twitter – Goodreads

 

The Midwife Of Hope River – Patricia Harman

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Midwife Patience Murphy has a gift: a talent for escorting mothers through the challenges of bringing children into the world. Working in the hardscrabble conditions of Appalachia during the Depression, Patience takes the jobs that no one else wants, helping those most in need—and least likely to pay. She knows a successful midwifery practice must be built on a foundation of openness and trust—but the secrets Patience is keeping are far too intimate and fragile for her to ever let anyone in.

Honest, moving, and beautifully detailed, Patricia Harman’s The Midwife of Hope River rings with authenticity as Patience faces nearly insurmountable difficulties. From the dangerous mines of West Virginia to the terrifying attentions of the Ku Klux Klan, Patience must strive to bring new light and life into an otherwise hard world. – Publishers Website

I really enjoyed this book, until that is the end of it came and I felt like the main character did something that was completely out of character at least I thought it was out of character for her to do.

She has survived so many difficulties, overcome so many obstacles in her life, then to continue a relationship with one of the other characters in the book that they didn’t even really discuss; they just continued on with it, how it should progress, they didn’t discuss their feelings about one another, it just seemed as though the author needed to (in my opinion) end the book and didn’t have any other things to share about the couple.

Maybe it is me being in this modern world and all, I’m not sure.

Overall, it was a gorgeous book, written with a sense of the time period – the ’30′s. It had genuine parts of what it was like to be a midwife back in the day.   I was quite enthralled with it.

I just thought the ending of the novel could have been written better than it was.  I hope to read more from Patricia in the future.

Reading Guide – Patricia’s Website – Browse Inside – Goodreads – Facebook – Twitter

 

Forgotten – Catherine McKenzie

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Congratulations to Catherine!!, who just this week had this book published in the USA.   This is a re-posting of the review I had done for it’s Canadian Release. It is available through William Morrow in the USA.

When everyone thinks you’re dead, how do you start your life over again?

Emma Tupper, a young lawyer with a bright future, sets out on a journey after her mother’s death: to Africa, a place her mother always wanted to visit. But her mother’s dying gift has unexpected consequences. Emma falls ill during the trip and is just recovering when a massive earthquake hits, turning her one-month vacation into a six-month ordeal.

When Emma returns home, she’s shocked to find that her friends and colleagues believed she was dead, that her apartment has been rented to a stranger and that her life has gone on without her. Can Emma pick up where she left off? Should she? As Emma struggles to recreate her old life, everyone around her thinks she should change – her job, her relationships, and even herself. But does she really want to sacrifice everything she’s working so hard to gain? – Publishers Website

I really truly believe that this is Catherine’s best novel yet !  It had a soul that you couldn’t walk away from, that one thing that keeps you reading page after page, until the last one wanting there to be more in the story.  What would you do if this happened to you?!?  Would you scream and cry or pick up where you left off to start your life all over again or would you just throw in the towel and say to hell with it? Myself, since I have started over again when my marriage failed so miserably I didn’t really have a choice to just sit and cry, I had to get up and prove to people I was the person that I was saying I was, and not the one other people were portraying me to be.  So, I can identify with Emma, know what she was going through in a sense.  Your whole world is somewhat turned upside down.  You, yourself are the only one that can turn it back upright; and fight for what you believe in.  Even if that means falling in love with the one person who you didn’t think possible. My reviews of Catherine’s other books can be found here by clicking the links – Arranged – SPIN.  Here are 2 Q and A’s I have also done with Catherine – Q and A #1 – Q and A #2

Catherine’s Website – Browse Inside – Twitter – Facebook – US Publisher – William Morrow

The Deception of Livvy Higgs – Donna Morrissey Blog Tour

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For two traumatic days, Livvy Higgs is besieged by a series of small heart attacks while the ghost of her younger self leads her back through a past devastated by lies and secrets.

The story opens in Halifax in 2009, travels back to the French Shore of Newfoundland during the mid-thirties and the heyday of the Maritime shipping industry, makes its way to wartorn Halifax during the battle of the Atlantic in World War II, then leaps ahead to the bedside of the elder Livvy.

Caught between a troubled past, and her present and worsening living conditions, Livvy is forced to pick apart the lies and secrets told by her greedy, prideful father, Durwin Higgs, who judges her a failure, and her formidable Grandmother Creed, who has mysteriously aligned herself with Livvy’s father, despite their mutual hatred.

Tending to Livvy during her illness is her young next-door neighbour, Gen, a single mother, social-work student, and part-time drug dealer. Overnight, a violent scene embroils the two in each other’s lives in a manner that will entwine them forever. In The Deception of Livvy Higgs, the inimitable Morrissey has written a powerful tale, the Stone Angel of the East Coast. – Publishers Website

What a book !  Not sure what to expect at first when I received the email about this particular book.  I actually had to stop and start a few times, just because of the nature of the book.  I had to get my head right so to speak so that I could delve into Livvy’s mind and her past bringing together past and present into this fantastic piece of literary fiction.

Livvy is having dreams, but in actuality she is having mini heart attacks.  She’s forgetting to go to the grocery store, feeding her cats, among other household chores.  Her younger neighbour who is a student and single mother helps her from time to time, but Livvy doesn’t want to depend on her all the time.  The dreams she is having have to do with her past – as a girl growing up in an upper class family where her father owns the general store – who decides if you are good enough for credit or not through the harsh winter months.  As the past reaches into the present, Livvy and Gen her neighbour come to blows about an incident that happens.  Will Livvy come to terms with her past, deal with it and live a calm existence in her last days? Or will Gen’s drama splinter that fragile relationship they have and drive them both on a path they aren’t meant to be on.

As both women go back and forth, it is almost a mirror image of the two in different times.  Both have made mistakes in their younger years, Both have made sacrifices for the good and bad.  Both have done things they aren’t proud of, but in the moment they did what they had to do to survive.  As we all go through life, I know in my own there are things that I have done that I am not proud of because of circumstances, and things that have happened I didn’t wish on anyone, but I learned from them and the mistakes I have made.  I cannot change any of it, but yet, if I could I don’t think I would.  It gave me things to think about, situations that have made me a better person, and strengthened my reserve to make me a stronger person.  In Livvy’s case, I believe that she needed to make amends for what she did so that she could finally let it go instead of hanging on to it for so long.  In Gen’s case, I think she learns from Livvy and her mistakes in a way that she can avoid them in the future if that makes any sense.  Both women are teaching and learning from one another, in different times if course, but the outcome and the lessons are still the same.  Do you want to be happy or do you want to be right?

Anger, Resentment, and hanging onto feelings for years or even decades isn’t good for you, come clean and be lifted of that weight to be able to be happy and free.  Donna has written a fantastic piece of Literary Fiction that will become a Canadian Classic!

 

Read an Excerpt - Donna on Facebook - Donna’s Website - 49th Shelf - Goodreads

 

For more reviews and commentary, check out the others on tour with Donna’s book!

September 18 Luanne –  http://luanne-abookwormsworld.blogspot.com/
September 19 Marci –  http://serendipitous-readings.com/
September 20 Aislynn –  http://www.stitchreadcook.com/
September 21 Nicole –  http://www.nicoleabouttown.com/
September 24 Allison –  http://bibliomama2.blogspot.com/

Dance, Gladys, Dance – Cassie Stocks

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27-year-old Frieda Zweig is at an impasse. Behind her is a string of failed relationships and half-forgotten ambitions of being a painter; in front of her lies the dreary task of finding a real job and figuring out what “normal” people do with their lives. Then, a classified ad in the local paper introduces Frieda to Gladys, an elderly woman who long ago gave up on her dreams of being a dancer.

The catch? Gladys is a ghost.

In Dance, Gladys, Dance, Cassie Stocks tells the uplifting story of a woman whose uncanny connection with a kindred spirit causes her to see her life in a new way —as anything but ordinary. – Publishers Website

I have to say, what a quirky, funny, interesting read ! Not so much classic chic-lit in any way; it is certainly a book that makes you think about the instances that Frieda encounters throughout the book.  Is Frieda’s life really such a mess?!?  Is she really alone and untalented as she thinks she is?!?  Does Frieda believe in herself?!? Why do others think of herself much more than she does? It seems to me she is going through some sort of crisis she brings upon herself; those negative messages she starts to believe from what other people have told her.

Don’t we all at one time or another fall into that trap.  Depending on whether we are having a bad day, or just feeling down upon ourselves, Frieda finally through the help of Gladys, who is a ghost who is chasing her own mistakes she has made in life, while attempting to help from beyond the grave.

We, as women, or even men for that matter need to stop the negative back talk and regrets in our own lives or in other for that matter and start to believe in ourselves.  This book is laugh out funny, deeply inspirational, and with characters’ quirkiness which, will have you glued to the pages wondering what will happen next.  We need to stand up for one another as the characters did midway to the end of the book for what we believe in, maybe not as drastic as some of the members did with going with all out nudity, but we can make our presence known in other ways.

As part of this blog tour, please stop by these other blogs that are participating.  Although, I don’t offer book giveaways, these other blogs may be holding one if you want to try your luck and try to win a copy.  If you aren’t lucky, please support the author by going to your indie bookstore or chapters/indigo/kobo and buy your copy !

Tomorrow, I have the Q and A where I had a chance to ask Cassie some questions, stay tuned !

Dance, Gladys, Dance Blog Tour

June 26th and 27th: The Indextrious Reader

July 2nd and 3rd: Lavender Lines

July 13th and 19th: Koala Bear Writer

July 16th and 17th: The Book Chic Blog

July 19th and 20th: Serendipitous Readings - HERE

August 7th and 8th: Peeking Between the Pages

Unknown date – The Book Drunkard

Cassies Blog – Goodreads – Twitter – Download an Excerpt – Listen to a Podcast

Thank You for Flying Air Zoe – Erik Atwell – REVIEW and Q & A

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Old enough to know better, young enough to do it anyway

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fasten Seat Belt sign has been turned on, but feel free to ignore it, because sometimes life is best lived on its dizzy edges. Your cruising altitude today will be sky-high, and you will be flying at staggering speeds as you travel alongside Zoe Tisdale, former Valley Girl and rock star turned bored butter saleswoman.

On the heels of a brush with mortality, Zoe concludes that she’s been letting time pass her by. Realizing she needs to awaken her life’s tired refrains, Zoe vows to recapture the one chapter of her life that truly mattered to her – her days as drummer for The Flip-Flops, a spirited, sassy all-girl garage band that almost hit the big time back in 1987. But reuniting the band won’t be easy. The girls who were once the whiz kid guitarist, the prom queen bass player, and the hippie lead singer grew up and became women who are now a reclusive dog trainer, a wealthy socialite, and a sociopathic environmentalist. Will Zoe bring the band back together and give The Flip-Flops a second chance at stardom? Is it possible to fully reclaim the urgent energy of youth?

As you follow this wild flight path, please know that your destination could be anywhere at all, complimentary oxygen is provided upon request, and baggage flies free. We hope you enjoy the ride, and Thank You For Flying Air Zoe. – Publishers Website

I wasn’t really into this book until I got about a third through it for some strange reason.  It is one of those books where at least for me, it has to grow a bit and spread its wings before I devour it like I have been lately.  The even more strange thing about it, is it’s a male, yes, a male writing a female chic lit book!

Sadly the last one that I had read, was a disaster.  Didn’t like it one bit.  This one is a complete 180 in comparison.  Light, funny, exactly what you want in one of those type books.  It was a light airy read, that I found myself chuckling to along the way albeit, a few of the classical themes.  Sometimes predictable, but like I stated before, light airy, I have said a lot about that….

Don’t believe me?  Pick it up for yourself and let me know how you liked it.

Below is the Q and A I recently did with Erik, I hope you enjoy the questions I posed and I really liked his answers back! Engaging and well-informed !

How much of yourself is in your novel?

You mean was I ever in an all-girl garage band? ;-)

Kidding, of course. Despite obvious gender differences, I think Zoe and I have a common core in the importance we place on maintaining a sense of youthful spirit. I am a firm believer that it’s never too late to chase after something you’ve always wanted, even if time is seemingly against such a crusade. Dream large, take chances, and never subject yourself to regret.

What is the reason behind you writing chic-lit instead of another genre?

The truth is, I didn’t actively set out to write a chick lit novel. I just wrote what I thought was a fun, heartfelt story, and the chick lit community, much to my delight, completely embraced it. As for why I wrote a novel told from a female P.O.V., that’s the real mystery. Ever since college, I’ve enjoyed the writing process more when I’m focusing on a woman’s story. Not sure why that’s been the case, but so long as it’s yielding positive feedback, I’ll probably run with it! It’s a great challenge to write outside one’s gender, one that I both relish and respect greatly.

What would be your idea of perfect happiness?

Isn’t any sort of happiness perfect in and of itself? As I see it, if I’m in the middle of a happy moment, no matter how long or short its ultimate duration, life right then and there is pure and perfect bliss.

What is the one talent(s) you would like to have besides writing?

Singing, simply because I’ve mangled one too many songs on various Karaoke stages across the country.

To be sure, I am not your next American Idol.

If you died and had the chance to come back as anything you wanted, what would it be and why?

Would it be too narcissistic of me to say that I want to come back as myself? In the past, I might have had a more creative answer, but the thing is, my wife and I welcomed our first child just about a year ago. He is a charming and curious marvel of a little man, and I absolutely don’t want to miss a single second of his growth.

So yeah, I’m coming back as myself. I wanna see what this awesome little guy becomes. :)

Did you or have you borrowed real life things that have happened in your own life to be able to craft the characters in this novel, or other stories?

If I borrow anything for my writing, it’s probably only places and settings. Many say that the best writing comes from experience, but sometimes I feel too close to my experiences to accurately write about them. I wouldn’t be able to bring pure objectivity to the source material. Lately, however, I’ve started toying with a project that would completely toss this notion aside. Maybe I actually can write from a place closer to the source material.

Do you have any new projects that you are doing now? If you are, when can we expect them?

My family and I have recently just completed a cross-country move, so we’re only now starting to make the leap from scattered to settled. I have two projects at the proverbial tip of my pen, but I’m not quite sure which one will get the call. There’s an Air Zoe sequel brewing, but if the sales figures aren’t quite up to justifying such a project when the time comes to write, I will possibly have to shift gears and take on the other project — a super top-secret project I’m too superstitious to discuss.

But I’m pretty sure it’ll be totally fun to write.

Do you have any favorite heroes in fiction? Who are they and why?

Wow, I’m actually surprising myself here, but I actually can’t think of a character who straightaway comes to mind. I’ve certainly been a fan of some literary greats — Mockingbird’s Scout Finch, Jimmy Rabbitte from The Commitments, and now that I’m a new Dad, Seuss’s Cat in the Hat! But these are more characters who’ve entertained me more than characters I see as heroes. I think I tend to be more in awe of the writers who created them — Harper Lee, Roddy Doyle, Dr. Seuss… I’m not sure I can be actively moved by a fictional character as much as by the author who pens their story.

Are there any qualities in other people who you most admire? If so, what are they?

I’m sure I admire far too many virtues to list them all, but one in particular that registers highly in my book — and correlates to the characters in my novel — is loyalty. I come from a town where my childhood friends are still some of my best friends, and in many ways, I believe that an individual is in part defined by the relationships they cultivate.

What phrase(s) do you most overuse?

It’s not actually a phrase, per se, but I think I actually use the word actually too often in my prose, actually.

But I’m actually working hard on that. ;)

Thank you so much for the questions and for giving THANK YOU FOR FLYING AIR ZOE some space on your blog!

Thank you Erik for allowing me to ask you questions and allowing me to read your nice piece of writing !

Other Tour Dates and Blogs

Thursday, June 21st:  Chick Lit is not Dead

Thursday, June 28th:  Girls Just Reading

Monday, July 2nd:  A Musing Reviews

Tuesday, July 3rd:  Luxury Reading

Thursday, July 5th:  Shoe-girl.com

Monday, July 9th:  Chick Lit Central

Tuesday, July 10th:  Seaside Book Nook

Wednesday, July 11th:  Peeking Between the Pages

Wednesday, July 11th:  Life in Review

Thursday, July 12th:  A Chick Who Reads

Monday, July 16th:  girlichef

Monday, July 16th:  From the Heart of a Bookworm

Tuesday, July 17th:  Mom in Love with Fiction

Wednesday, July 18th:  Serendipitous Readings – That’s me !

Thursday, July 19th:  Sara’s Organized Chaos

Friday, July 20th:  The Book Chick

Monday, July 23rd:  Sweet Southern Home

Tuesday, July 24th:  Acting Balanced

Erik’s Twitter – Facebook – Blog/Website

Much thanks to Lisa at TLC Book Tours, even with her broken arm/elbow, she’s still got it and what I like in choices of books…or maybe she just guessing because of the pain meds LOL ;-)

#16 – The Winter Palace: A Novel of Catherine the Great – Eva Stachniak

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From award-winning author Eva Stachniak comes this passionate novel that illuminates, as only fiction can, the early life of one of history’s boldest women. The Winter Palace tells the epic story of Catherine the Great’s improbable rise to power—as seen through the ever-watchful eyes of an all-but-invisible servant close to the throne.

Her name is Barbara—in Russian, Varvara. Nimble-witted and attentive, she’s allowed into the employ of the Empress Elizabeth, amid the glitter and cruelty of the world’s most eminent court. Under the tutelage of Count Bestuzhev, Chancellor and spymaster, Varvara will be educated in skills from lock picking to lovemaking, learning above all else to listen—and to wait for opportunity. That opportunity arrives in a slender young princess from Zerbst named Sophie, a playful teenager destined to become the indomitable Catherine the Great. Sophie’s destiny at court is to marry the Empress’s nephew, but she has other, loftier, more dangerous ambitions, and she proves to be more guileful than she first appears.

What Sophie needs is an insider at court, a loyal pair of eyes and ears who knows the traps, the conspiracies, and the treacheries that surround her. Varvara will become Sophie’s confidante—and together the two young women will rise to the pinnacle of absolute power.

With dazzling details and intense drama, Eva Stachniak depicts Varvara’s secret alliance with Catherine as the princess grows into a legend—through an enforced marriage, illicit seductions, and, at last, the shocking coup to assume the throne of all of Russia.

Impeccably researched and magnificently written, The Winter Palace is an irresistible peek through the keyhole of one of history’s grandest tale. – Publishers Website

I absolutely LOVED this book.  Eva portrays these two women with such confidence, surety, and conviction in what they believe in and what they will do to get it.  I am sure that Catherine the Great, and all of what she has done in the past surely has her heroes and haters, but I really liked this book.

It is filled with drama, dilemmas, fighting and intrigue, and if you haven’t read it yet, go and get it I LOVED this book!

Reader’s Guide – Eva’s Website – Facebook – Twitter


#62 – The Ninth Wife – Amy Stolls

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What sane woman would consider becoming any man’s ninth wife?

Bess Gray is a thirty-five-year-old folklorist and amateur martial artist living in Washington, DC. Just as she’s about to give up all hope of marriage, she meets Rory, a charming Irish musician, and they fall in love.

But Rory is a man with a secret, which he confesses to Bess when he asks for her hand: He’s been married eight times before.

Shocked, Bess embarks on a quest she feels she must undertake before she can give him an answer. With her bickering grandparents (married sixty-five years), her gay neighbor (himself a mystery), a shar-pei named Stella, and a mannequin named Peace, Bess sets out on a cross-country journey—unbeknownst to Rory—to seek out and question the wives who came before. What she discovers about her own past is far more than she bargained for.

The Ninth Wife is a smart, funny, eye-opening tale of love, marriage, and the power of stories to unlock the true meaning of home and family. – Publishers Website

This book interested me from just the title.  As I read the back of the book to peek at what was inside, I was curious.  I wasn’t disappointed.  Funny, The back story of a girl who meets her prince charming, albeit it will be HIS ninth trip down the aisle, his story unfolds with what happens in each of those marriages, what he learned, as well as what he wants to avoid in the future.  Now, a serious question(s) for all of you.  Would you have reservations about dating someone who has had that many failed attempts at marriage?  Would you run for cover, or would you listen to what they had to say, then make your decision?  Would he be in your opinion too impulsive for you?  I won’t ruin the ending for you, but it was a good read, filled with laughter, seriousness, love and forgiveness.

Amy’s Website - Facebook - Reading Guide


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#61 – Ellis Island – Kate Kerrigan

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Sweethearts since childhood, Ellie Hogan and her husband, John, are content on their farm in Ireland—until John, a soldier for the Irish Republican Army, receives an injury that leaves him unable to work. Forced to take drastic measures in order to survive, Ellie does what so many Irish women in the 1920s have done and sails across a vast ocean to New York City to work as a maid for a wealthy socialite.

Once there, Ellie is introduced to a world of opulence and sophistication, tempted by the allure of grand parties and fine clothes, money and mansions . . . and by the attentions of a charming suitor who can give her everything. Yet her heart remains with her husband back home. And now she faces the most difficult choice she will ever have to make: a new life in a new country full of hope and promise, or return to a life of cruel poverty . . . and love. – Publishers Website

From page one, it is clearly clear that Kate has talent.  From the first beginnings in Ireland to the big city of New York, she delves into important issues that still plague us in the 21st century – love, hope, forgiveness, money, as well as a few others that you can imagine.  She slowly guides you into the early 1900′s when war is raging, her husband is injured, they need a way to make money to be able to keep their house and land.  She discovers that she can travel to America to become a servant.  She is conflicted as she leaves her country to a brand new place in the world.  But, as she gets used to her new surroundings, she is torn – America or Ireland, Her Husband back home – A new man in her life.  Would she give up her life in Ireland for one in America that is filled with opulence and security?  I won’t tell you how it ended, but it is clear that she will be quite happy with whatever she is doing.  I really enjoyed this novel.

Kate’s  Blog – Kate’s Website – Facebook – Twitter


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#43 – The Linen Queen – Patrica Falvey

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Abandoned by her father and neglected by her self-centered, unstable mother, Sheila McGee cannot wait to escape the drudgery of her mill village life in Northern Ireland.

Her classic Irish beauty helps her win the 1941 Linen Queen competition, and the prize money that goes with it finally gives her the opportunity she’s been dreaming of. But Sheila does not count on the impact of the Belfast blitz which brings World War II to her doorstep.

Now even her good looks are useless in the face of travel restrictions, and her earlier resolve is eroded by her ma’s fear of being left alone.

When American troops set up base in her village, some see them as occupiers but Sheila sees them as saviors–one of them may be her ticket out. Despite objections from her childhood friend, Gavin O’Rourke, she sets her sights on an attractive Jewish-American army officer named Joel Solomon, but her plans are interrupted by the arrival of a street-wise young evacuee from Belfast.

Frustrated, Sheila fights to hold on to her dream but slowly her priorities change as the people of Northern Ireland put old divisions aside and bond together in a common purpose to fight the Germans. Sheila’s affection for Joel grows as she and Gavin are driven farther apart. As the war moves steadily closer to those she has grown to love, Sheila confronts more abandonment and loss, and finds true strength, compassion, and a meaning for life outside of herself. – Publishers Website

I was looking forward to reading this, after I had read her first book The Yellow House.  I was a bit disappointed in this one.  It just didn’t have that wow factor like it did in her first novel.  Although, it does follow along the same lines, it just didn’t grab me as much as the Yellow House did.

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#20 – The Midwife of Venice – Roberta Rich

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Hannah Levi is known throughout sixteenth-century Venice for her skill in midwifery. When a Christian count appears at Hannah’s door in the Jewish ghetto imploring her to attend his labouring wife, who is nearing death, Hannah is forced to make a dangerous decision. Not only is it illegal for Jews to render medical treatment to Christians, it’s also punishable by torture and death. Moreover, as her Rabbi angrily points out, if the mother or child should die, the entire ghetto population will be in peril.

But Hannah’s compassion for another woman’s misery overrides her concern for self-preservation. The Rabbi once forced her to withhold care from her shunned sister, Jessica, with terrible consequences. Hannah cannot turn away from a labouring woman again. Moreover, she cannot turn down the enormous fee offered by the Conte. Despite the Rabbi’s protests, she knows that this money can release her husband, Isaac, a merchant who was recently taken captive on Malta as a slave. There is nothing Hannah wants more than to see the handsome face of the loving man who married her despite her lack of dowry, and who continues to love her despite her barrenness. She must save Isaac.

Meanwhile, far away in Malta, Isaac is worried about Hannah’s safety, having heard tales of the terrifying plague ravaging Venice. But his own life is in terrible danger. He is auctioned as a slave to the head of the local convent, Sister Assunta, who is bent on converting him to Christianity. When he won’t give up his faith, he’s traded to the brutish lout Joseph, who is renowned for working his slaves to death. Isaac soon learns that Joseph is heartsick over a local beauty who won’t give him the time of day. Isaac uses his gifts of literacy and a poetic imagination—not to mention long-pent-up desire—to earn his day-to-day survival by penning love letters on behalf of his captor and a paying illiterate public.

Back in Venice, Hannah packs her “”birthing spoons”—secret rudimentary forceps she invented to help with difficult births—and sets off with the Conte and his treacherous brother. Can she save the mother? Can she save the baby, on whose tiny shoulders the Conte’s legacy rests? And can she also save herself, and Isaac, and their own hopes for a future, without endangering the lives of everyone in the ghetto? – Publishers Website

I really enjoyed this book.  From the strong women who portray the characters to the historic references to not only Venice but to Malta as well gave me a sense of the time period, the sacrifices that women made for their families, and people they knew.  Her decision to help deliver a Christians baby was one of life and death for not only the baby, but for herself being a Jew.  It just wasn’t heard of during that time.

Roberta’s Website

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#5 – Arranged – Catherine McKenzie

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Anne Blythe is lucky. She’s got a brand new book contract, a great newspaper job and a steadfast best friend, and she can land just about any man she sets her sights on — and the ones that appeal are typically tall, dark and handsome.

Problem is, the men she chooses never last. Shortly after yet another relationship goes down in flames, Anne comes across a card for what she believes is a dating service, and pockets it just in case. If she’s so unlucky in love, maybe she could use a little assistance. Then her best friend announces she’s engaged, and envy gets the better of Anne. Now’s the time, she decides, to give the service a try — and she is shocked to discover that what the company specializes in are exclusive, and pricey, arranged marriages. After learning of the company’s success rate, however, she overcomes her reluctance and signs on. After all, arranged marriages are the norm for millions of women around the world, and she’s not done so well selecting a mate on her own. So why not use a professional service that claims it can produce the perfect match?

Some time later, Anne is travelling to a Mexican resort, where in one short weekend she will meet and marry Jack, the man they have chosen for her. And against all odds, it seems to be working out, until Anne learns that Jack and the company who arranged their marriage are not what they seem at all. - Publisher’s Website

This was a good book.  Between the writing which is always great, wonderfully plotted, and gives you a good entertainment value.  It is a good and interesting aspect nowadays with everyone either online or trying new and different things to find a partner.  Arranged marriages are primarily in some cultures, where you don’t have a choice.  It is your parents or family members who make the decision for you.  Now, my question to you is, would you go through this process?  Are you just so inundated with all of these online dating sites that you are tired of the same old thing, just a different day type of thing? Or are you willing to go out on a limb?

I will be posting a giveaway as well as a Q and A I recently have done with Catherine, so stay tuned for more information!

HarperCollins

Reading Group Guide

Catherine’s Website



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#4 – The Lake of Dreams – Kim Edwards

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With revelations that prove as captivating as the deceptions at the heart of her bestselling phenomenon The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, Kim Edwards now gives us the story of a woman’s homecoming, a family secret, and the old house that holds the key to the true legacy of a family.

At a crossroads in her life, Lucy Jarrett returns home from Japan, only to find herself haunted by her father’s unresolved death a decade ago. Old longings stirred up by Keegan Fall, a local glass artist who was once her passionate first love, lead her into the unexpected. Late one night, as she paces the hallways of her family’s rambling lakeside house, she discovers, locked in a window seat, a collection of objects that first appear to be useless curiosities, but soon reveal a deeper and more complex family past. As Lucy discovers and explores the traces of her lineage—from an heirloom tapestry and dusty political tracts to a web of allusions depicted in stained-glass windows throughout upstate New York—the family story she has always known is shattered, Lucy’s quest for the truth reconfigures her family’s history, links her to a unique slice of the suffragette movement, and yields dramatic insights that embolden her to live freely.  – Publisher’s Website

Another Winner ! Between her life in Japan, and her life in the US, Lucy the main character feels that there is something missing from her life.  Unanswered questions that have left her feeling incomplete.  It would make each of us think (or at least I would hope so) what is missing in our lives that is keeping us from finally being happy and feeling free.  This is the first I have read of Kim’s work and it certainly won’t be the last, fantastic book for one of those lazy days sitting inside relaxing with your favorite hot beverage watching the snow fall outside.

Penguin / Viking

Kim’s Website

#3 – Left Neglected – Lisa Genova

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Sarah Nickerson is like any other career-driven supermom in Welmont, the affluent Boston suburb where she leads a hectic but charmed life with her husband Bob, faithful nanny, and three children—Lucy, Charlie, and nine-month-old Linus.

Between recruiting the best and brightest minds as the vice president of human resources at Berkley Consulting; shuttling the kids to soccer, day care, and piano lessons; convincing her son’s teacher that he may not, in fact, have ADD; and making it home in time for dinner, it’s a wonder this over-scheduled, over-achieving Harvard graduate has time to breathe.

A self-confessed balloon about to burst, Sarah miraculously manages every minute of her life like an air traffic controller. Until one fateful day, while driving to work and trying to make a phone call, she looks away from the road for one second too long. In the blink of an eye, all the rapidly moving parts of her jam-packed life come to a screeching halt.

A traumatic brain injury completely erases the left side of her world, and for once, Sarah relinquishes control to those around her, including her formerly absent mother. Without the ability to even floss her own teeth, she struggles to find answers about her past and her uncertain future.

Now, as she wills herself to regain her independence and heal, Sarah must learn that her real destiny—her new, true life—may in fact lie far from the world of conference calls and spreadsheets. And that a happiness and peace greater than all the success in the world is close within reach, if only she slows down long enough to notice. – Publisher’s Website

I loved this book probably just as much as I loved Still Alice.  She writes from the heart, incorporating everything and then some of what the main character and the family are experiencing.  With her experience in the field of Neuroscience, she adds it with a flair for what someone would be able to understand without all of the heavy scientific jargon that most won’t understand.

Just as important is the fact that we shouldn’t use any kind of devices while driving, it does have severe consequences for not just that person using them, but for family members, and others on the road.  We hear so much nowadays of accidents happening because people have been using their cell phones, pda’s and other devices while driving.

Stay tuned for a Q and A I have done with Lisa, it will be posted soon !

Simon and Schuster

Lisa’s Website Fan her on Facebook

Oprah’s Pledge – No Phone Zone Pledge

# 2 – The Dressmaker – Posie Graeme-Evans

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Ellen Gowan is the only surviving child of a scholarly village minister and a charming girl disowned by her family when she married for love. Growing up in rural Norfolk, Ellen’s childhood was poor but blessed with affection.

Resilience, spirit, and one great talent will carry her far from such humble beginnings. In time, she will become the witty, celebrated, and very beautiful Madame Ellen, dressmaker to the nobility of England, the Great Six Hundred.

Yet Ellen has secrets. At fifteen she falls for Raoul de Valentin, the dangerous descendant of French aristocrats. Raoul marries Ellen for her brilliance as a designer but abandons his wife when she becomes pregnant. Determined that she and her daughter will survive, Ellen begins her long climb to success. Toiling first in a clothing sweat shop, she later opens her own salon in fashionable Berkeley Square though she tells the world – and her daughter – she’s a widow.

One single dress, a ballgown created for the enigmatic Countess of Hawksmoor, the leader of London society, transforms Ellen’s fortunes, and as the years pass, business thrives. But then Raoul de Valentin returns and threatens to destroy all that Ellen has achieved. - Publishers Website

I really enjoyed this book.  Not because it was chick lit, but because it showed the ingenuity and drive of a woman who had nothing become something of her self against all odds, with a child and help from the family she never knew she had.  Then to have her most wanted dream come true – love.

Simon and Schuster / Atria Books

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# 1 – The Jewel of St. Petersburg – Kate Furnivall

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Russia, 1910. Valentina Ivanova is the darling of St. Petersburg’s elite aristocracy-until her romance with a Danish engineer creates a terrible scandal and her parents push her into a loveless engagement with a Russian count.

Meanwhile, Russia itself is bound for rebellion. With the Tsar and the Duma at each other’s throats, and the Bolsheviks drawing their battle lines, the elegance and opulence of Tsarist rule are in their last days. And Valentina will be forced to make a choice that will change not only her own life, but the lives of those around her forever…(Publisher’s Website)

I really enjoyed this book.  From the opulence of pre-war Russia, to the circumstances the family and many more others went through, it was a nice balance of what the family and more notably Valentina was going through.  I was just a bit confused in the beginning when the book started, but as you get more into it, you will see what I mean.  I am looking forward to her other books that were written before this one – The Russian Concubine, The Red Scarf, and The Girl from Junchow to see how the story ends so to speak, because the novels were written in a different sequence.

Penguin / Berkley

Kate’s Website

Reading Group Guide

 

This Cake is For The Party – Sarah Selecky

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In This Cake is For The Party, Sarah delves into the lives of young people in their 20′s and 30′s, giving a glimpse into their lives, longing, what they want out of life, what they are experiencing.  The little glimpses of what their friendships are all about, how they change, how they are carving out that niche they want or have ideas about.

I have thought about when I was that age, and one thing came to mind – how things have changed.

This Cake for the Party, or at least the title for the book is actually a short story in itself, but wasn’t included in this compilation of short stories.

Even more interesting, some of the characters have been used in previous short stories.  So, if you want to read this collection, make sure you read the previous stories, it will give you a more rounded insight of some of the characters.

I can say it was an all right collection of short stories.  I wasn’t immersed as much as I would with other short story collections that I have read, but it wasn’t terrible either.  It is one of those cases of I kind of liked it, but I wasn’t completely overjoyed about it that I would scream it from the rooftops saying you absolutely must read this book.

This book was short listed for the 2010 Giller Prize

Thomas Allen and Son Ltd Publisher

The Distant Hours – Kate Morton

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Edie works for a small publishing house in London.  After breaking up with her boyfriend and needing a new place to move into, for the meantime, her partner at work offers her his sofa until she can find a better option.

As she is at her parents house for those obligatory sunday dinners, she doesn;t tell her parents right away that she has broken up with her boyfriend and needs a new apartment.  Her mother receives a letter that was lost long ago from 1941, when she was sent to the countryside as the war started.

Meredith was staying at Milderhurst Castle, home of the author of “Mud Men” and his three daughters.  Edie loved the book as a child, who has had a long time obsession with the book.  As she is driving back from a meeting, she comes across Milderhurst Castle on her way back to London.  Memories come back to her as she sees the gates.

As present day gives way to the past, Edie makes her way to the castle, although, not in its former glory for a tour.  She has no idea what secrets are inside, the suffering all of them who live at the castle have gone through.  But as she is going through the castle itself, she can hear voices, conversations from long ago, although, the sisters now quite old say it is part of the castle, the history, all of it.

There are secrets that are about to merge the past with the present, and possibly finally laid to rest.

This is where Edie unravels her Mother’s past – her passion for writing, the things she once adored, now a distant memory, her life taken another path.

The truth lies in the distant hours, some by circumstance, haunted by memories will have you enthralled from the beginning right through to the end.

Simon and Schuster – Atria

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Kate’s Website

Band of Angels – Julia Gregson

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Catherine, A young woman who lives on a farm in Wales has had a prized childhood.  Being able to roam free racing ponies with her best friend and neighbour Deio, who is a cattle drover (cattle driver).

All of this changes when her parents forbid her to hang around Deio, citing it is some sort of impropriety.  She longs to leave and make her own mark on the world as she chooses.

When her mother dies in childbirth, the urge to leave is even moreso, she runs away disguised as a drover with Deio’s help on one of his trips to London.

When she arrives in London, a unfamiliar city, so large and busy, she lands a position in Florence Nightingale’s home for sick governesses.

As the country is gripping with the Crimean War, Catherine is determined to go and learn the skills to become a doctor or nurse.

Her life changes in an instant.  She is thrown into a living, breathing nightmare beyond all comprehension.

She has to grow up faster than she has ever imagined.  She not only learns about love, but the cruelty of war, as well as how far it will take you.

I loved the novel, I started it and finished it in about 24 hours time.

I have one difficulty with the book.  With my background in Nursing and knowing all about Florence Nightingale, what she did during this war, what she has done for nurses, I had a slight disagreement with how she was portrayed as an administrator, and not a hands on Nurse that revolutionized  the care of patients then and now.

Knowing this, I guess let me down a bit.  I realize that Julia had some editorial discretion in how she was portrayed, but then again it is Women’s Fiction.

Julia is a favorite author of mine, and I have read another of her books – East of the Sun last year.  I am looking forward to more of her future novels.

Simon and Schuster – Touchstone

Read an Excerpt – Chapter 1 and Chapter 2

Reading Group Guide

Julia’s Website

 

 

Girls To The Front – The True Story of The Riot Grrrl Revolution – Sara Marcus

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Once, a radical feminist uprising that was started in the 1990′s, being difficult as it was to be a woman, much less voicing your opinion about equal rights was almost unheard of.

Then came the Riot Grrrls.

Girls and young women were upset, not having patience about was happening with their voices weren’t being heard.  A few girls from Seattle started an underground movement, that once it started hit the musical waves, it became to be noticed and listened to.

With the start of grunge bands such as Bikini Kill not to mention many others, helped make the movement mainstream.

Throughout the US, Canada and then Europe and beyond with their music, their homemade zines, the local chapters and most importantly through personal introspection of every one  that joined, it grew.

Even today, as they started the movement, it still goes on, with women’s movements, groups and just a few women sitting down after a long day at work or tending to everyday life, they are learning to stand up for what they believe in, which at one time was easier than it sounded.

These no holes barred women are the ones that brought women’s rights and the right to be heard to the forefront.  So that if a woman needed to be heard, it is easier now then it once was and for future young women.

Sure, there was problems along the way, but they brought feminism back to the main stage so to speak.

Not only is it a story about finding your own place in the world, but being not afraid to show it.

Girls to the Front Website

Harper Collins – Harper Perennial

 


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The White Woman On The Green Bicycle – Monique Roffey

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George and Sabine Harwood moved to Trinidad from London, England shortly after they were married.  As soon as they came to the island, George has been in a love affair with it.  Between the heat and humidity amongst other things, there has been one love for Sabine that keeps her there – Eric Williams.  In the beginning, she used to write letters to him, but never sent them.  They lay in boxes up in the attic until George comes across them while researching facts for an article he is writing for the local newspaper.

He is furious, but George has his own skeletons in the closet himself.

Between the moment they arrive on the island to the present with George helping a native man with his own problems with the corrupt police department.   George’s secrets that he is keeping from Sabine over the decades they have been there have  haunted him.

He realizes that he must tell Sabine (he doesn’t know she knows all about them already) about all of his indiscretions, before something else happens.  He needs to be able to tell her about the undying love that he has for her since the time he married her and put up with him.

From George finding Sabines letters in the attic one night to the violence and desperation of a country which is in turmoil, can he do it and find some sort of peace before it is too late?

As both of their stories are told, you can tell they do love one another and will continue to do so.  It is about the jealousies that both have for each others secrets, things they should have done and said to one another throughout their marriage.  Not only to each other but to their friends and family.

The White Woman on the Green Bicycle was long-listed for the Orange Prize for Fiction on the UK.

A special thanks to Ally at Simon and Schuster UK for sending me this gem of a book.

Simon and Schuster

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Monique’s Website

Dracula In Love – Karen Essex

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Mina is happy with her life, working as a teacher of manners, betrothed to her fiancée, making plans to be married in the near future even when she thought she would be a spinster considering her meager upbringing until she moved to where she now works in London for a finishing school for girls.

Lately, she’s been having these really vivid sexual dreams that seem as real as the life she is living.  She has no idea as to who the man is in her dreams, it certainly isn’t her fiancée.

He is the count we all know as Dracula.

As her fiance is out-of-town researching, he becomes ill with some kind of delirium where he has the same kind of vivid dreams as his fiancée.  His involves three women from a strange place.  When he recounts his interaction with these women from his hospital bed, the doctors think he is a bit mad.

This book is the opposite of the original Dracula, based on the women’s perspective.  I have to admit, while intrigued, this really wasn’t my cup of tea, and I did not finish it.

If you have read Dracula and liked it, you will like Karen’s interpretation from the woman’s point of view.

Random House – Doubleday

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Hot House Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire – Margot Berwin

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Gloxinia – Love at first sight

Mexican Cycad – Plant of Immortality

Moonflower – Bringer of fertility and procreation

Sinsemiella – Plant of female sexuality

Mandrake – Plant of magic

Lilly of the Valley – Delivers life force, can replace digitalis as a medication for an ailing heart

Chicory – Plant of Freedom

Datura – Plant of mind travel and high adventures

10th Plant – has no name, but you will find out inside the book

Lila works in publicity bouncing back from a divorce.  She lives in a plain apartment, where she is recommended a Bird of Paradise plant from on of the vendors in her New York neighbourhood market.

This is where it really becomes interesting.

The man she buys the plant from, shows her a life outside people and places – plants.

She then comes across a laundromat that looks more like a garden filled with lush and vibrant plants, even grass on the floor.  It is filled with tropical and rare plants.  The owner of this place is just as quirky as his laundromat that is smack dab in the middle of the city.

He gives her a clipping of a plant that is in the window and tells her if she can get it to root, he will show her the rest of the plants he has locked away in the back of his storefront.

The legend of the nine plants supposedly brings the owner fame, fortune, immortality and passion.  They are so rare, they are worth thousands of dollars, not to mention the medicinal properties to rival anything found in today’s drugstores.

Through the city, the rainforests of Mexico Lila enters another world of shamans, spirits, animals, snake charmers and one particular sexy man, but then again it could be the plants talking.

She is forced to learn more than she’s ever wanted to know about the plants and herself on a journey of self discovery, amongst adventure, and possible death, humidity and heat in more ways than one.

Intriguing, yet mystical, a perfect novel for when one needs a bit of escapism, who are a bit skeptical, and possibly ones who have always believed.

It is the perfect book to take you away from the cold and the rain that fall and winter brings to us around this time of year alongside your favorite hot beverage being taken away to the hot and humid weather of Mexico into another world, what else could be a better remedy?

Random House – Vintage

Hot House Flowers Website

Hot House Flower Facebook page

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Readers Guide

Quickie Q and A with Author Anne Fortier

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Usually, I have more than 5 questions for an author, but as Anne travels the internet, I was asked this time to only ask a max of 5.  Plus, with all of the writing she is doing on top of her book and those edits, I can say I don’t blame her one bit!

So, welcome Anne to Serendipitous Readings,  possibly you will be interested in what I had to ask her recently and what she had to say back!

You were raised in Denmark, Immigrated to the United States, You now live in Quebec, and consider Siena your second home, are there any other places where you would like to call home?  Anyplace that you have been dying to visit yet, but haven’t had the opportunity? –    Right now I can’t imagine living anywhere other than Canada, although I always do feel very much at home both in the US and Europe. When I was younger I had a dream of trekking through the Sahara, but I’m not sure I have the courage anymore. I would love to travel in the far North, although I would rather not travel through grizzly bear territory. Maybe a cruise to Alaska …

Why a Shakespearean tale set in Italy? What was it that made you want to do historical fiction, with many different drafts of Romeo and Juliet among a present day mystery, suspense, thriller all rolled into one? -   I wish we could ask Shakespeare why so many of his plays are indeed set in Italy. There is something magical about Italy, I think, and as an author I was drawn to the idea of mentally living in that beautiful country while I wrote my story. As for the combination of many genres, well, those are the kinds of books I like to read myself. And I knew that once I embarked upon a retelling of the Romeo & Juliet-story, it had to become partly an historical novel, and then, when I introduced the treasure-hunt into the mix, it became what I would call an “adventure” novel.

What is your favorite part about the book? Was there a special item in it that have you remembering fondly to a specific day or memory? -    I have a few favorite scenes, which I very much enjoyed writing. One of them is the balcony scene with Romeo and Giulietta, where I really felt they were talking “through” me, so to speak, and another is the scene where Julie and Alessandro have a long conversation at Fontebranda. It is such a playful scene, with so much emotion rippling just beneath the surface, and it was quite difficult to keep it short, because they just kept talking and talking … Apart from that, it was always lots of fun to write Janice’s dialogue, because she is such a wild card. Overall I would say I had a rollicking good time writing the book in general, and that I would write a sequel any day.

If you could go back to the 14th century, would you, what would you do while you were there? -  Well, first of all I think I would be very unromantic and hide in a barn throughout my stay, hoping not to catch the bubonic plague or get killed by highway gangs. If I couldn’t hide, I would probably try to find Maestro Ambrogio at work on a fresco somewhere and just sit and watch him. I might also try to experience the Palio horserace, probably from a spot in Piazza del Duomo, hoping that I would be a lot taller than my medieval buddies and actually able to see the finish line. Howsoever tempted I might be to taste the local wine and food … I had probably better not.

Who are your favorite authors and why? -  I love the classic, British tone of Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, and P. G. Wodehouse; I can read those again and again, simply to enjoy their turn of phrase. For a more modern voice, but equally exquisite, I am a great fan of Sara Gruen and absolutely love her new book, “Ape House”, which made me laugh out loud many times. As far as adventure books go, I was very inspired by Katherine Neville’s classic, “The Eight”, and pretty much devoured Jane Johnson’s recent book, “The Tenth Gift”.

So, check out The Savvy Reader for all of the other Canadian Blogs she will be visiting, and if you haven’t caught my review, it is here.

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Juliet – Anne Fortier

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Of all the love stories ever told, Hers is perhaps the most famous.

To me, she is the key to my families fate.

To you, she is Juliet.

Julie Jacobs is doing her normal everyday things – working, eating, sleeping.  It is when her beloved Aunt dies and bequests a safe deposit box key in her will to her which is in Siena, Italy;  which could contain a family treasure which has been lost for decades.  She is told it could change her life forever.

Julie is drawn into the journey of one of the most famous plays ever written, and re written over time made famous by William Shakespeare, the history of her ancestor Giulietta, whose love for a man named Romeo turns the medieval town on its end.

As she gathers more information,  clues, past, legend, the trail becomes treacherous and at times even deadly as she deciphers them -  clues, writings, as well as the journey to what happened so long ago which affects her life in the present day.

As well as the old curse “A Plague on both your houses” between 2 families still has its hold on each of them, until of course if she finds the treasure or dies trying.  Will she find her one true love as well?

I loved this book.  Full of present day, the past, potions, curses, medieval wedding rituals, not to mention the beautiful,  breathtaking scenery and history of Siena, Italy.

Is love strong enough to conquer even death?

For any woman who is a fan of the historical, romantic, thriller genres, you will love this novel as much as I did, possibly even more!

HarperCollins

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