Tag Archives: HarperCollins

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

 

The Printmaker’s Daughter – Katherine Govier

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Recounting the story of her life, Oei plunges us into the colorful world of nineteenth-century Edo, in which courtesans rub shoulders with poets, warriors consort with actors, and the arts flourish in an unprecedented moment of creative upheaval. Oei and Hokusai live among writers, novelists, tattoo artists, and prostitutes, evading the spies of the repressive shogunate as they work on Hokusai’s countless paintings and prints. Wielding her brush, rejecting domesticity in favor of dedication to the arts, Oei defies all expectations of womanhood—all but one. A dutiful daughter to the last, she will obey the will of her eccentric father, the man who created her and who, ultimately, will rob her of her place in history.

Vivid, daring, and unforgettable, The Printmaker’s Daughter shines fresh light on art, loyalty, and the tender and indelible bond between a father and daughter.

A lost voice of old Japan reclaims her rightful place in history in this breathtaking work of imagination and scholarship from award-winning and internationally acclaimed author Katherine Govier. In the evocative tale of 19th century Tokyo, The Printmaker’s Daughter  delivers an enthralling tale of one of the world’s great unknown artists: Oei, the mysterious daughter of master printmaker Hokusai, painter of the Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. In a novel that will resonate with readers of Tracy Chevalier’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, Lisa See’s Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, and David Mitchell’s The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, the sights and sensations of an exotic, bygone era form the richly captivating backdrop for an intimate, finely wrought story of daughterhood and duty, art and authorship, the immortality of creation and the anonymity of history. – Publishers Website

I was very enthralled with this book.  A daughter who takes over her fathers painting when he gets too old to be able to do it.  She has spent her whole life studying beside him, going from place to place in object poverty, providing himself and his family the little money he can make under Communist China.  The threat of death, starvation, and shunning from the Government itself sits on their shoulders everyday while printing ‘approved’ books, and paintings; all the while painting ‘non-approved’ pieces for more money, but a much greater chance of being caught and their small livelihood obliterated with a jail sentence or worse.  As the daughter grows up in this time, she meets a friend of her fathers; really a prostitute who will figure into her whole life – from being able to apply makeup, to other womanly secrets.  They are linked for their lifetimes, in good times and bad.  It was the sad story of a woman who is attempting to eek out an existence where it is heavily controlled by the Government.  If they shun you, you are finished.  Love for family, survival, relationships on the brink of collapse, poverty, and self-sufficiency all had me engrossed along with the gracefulness of the geisha’s in the brothels who hone their craft for decades until long past their expiry date.

On  a side note - In CANADA it is entitled The Ghost Brush.  Catherine is also a Canadian!

Katherine’s Site – Twitter – Goodreads – Facebook – Browse Inside

 

#24 – The Confession – Charles Todd

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Scotland Yard’s best detective, Inspector Ian Rutledge, must solve a dangerous case that reaches far into the past in this superb mystery in the acclaimed series

Declaring he needs to clear his conscience, a dying man walks into Scotland Yard and confesses that he killed his cousin five years earlier during the Great War. When Inspector Ian Rutledge presses for details, the man evades his questions, revealing only that he hails from a village east of London. With little information and no body to open an official inquiry, Rutledge begins to look into the case on his own.

Less than two weeks later, the alleged killer’s body is found floating in the Thames, a bullet in the back of his head. Searching for answers, Rutledge discovers that the dead man was not who he claimed to be. What was his real name—and who put a bullet in his head? Were the “confession” and his own death related? Or was there something else in the victim’s past that led to his murder?

The inspector’s only clue is a gold locket, found around the dead man’s neck, that leads back to Essex and an insular village whose occupants will do anything to protect themselves from notoriety. For notoriety brings the curious, and with the curious come change and an unwelcome spotlight on a centuries-old act of evil that even now can damn them all. – Publishers Website

This was my first foray into Inspectors Ian’s world and I wasn’t disappointed.  Continuing on after Ian has come back from the War, he’s back at Scotland Yard when he talks to someone who says  a murder has happened.  Yes, someone comes forward to tell him of a murder that has happened – 5 years earlier.   When this  person passes away suddenly and floating in the river, Ian takes a trip to rural village outside London to see if he can find any clues about who this person was who came to him, when a whole can of worms opens up that Ian isn’t so sure of.  Through the bends of the narrative, Ian sleuths out the people involved, the lies, the deceit, and what is behind it all in a historical mystery that will have you hooked until the end.

Then of course there is Ian himself – shattered and broken from the War and the nightmares that never seem to go away…

Charles’ Website – Facebook – Excerpt – Fun Stuff

#23 – Bloom – Finding The Beauty in The Unexpected – Kelle Hampton

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Love me. Love me. I’m not what you expected, but oh, please love me.

That was the most defining moment of my life. That was the beginning of my story.

From the outside looking in, Kelle Hampton had the perfect life: a beautiful two-year-old daughter, a loving husband, a thriving photography career, and great friends. When she learned she was pregnant with her second child, she and her husband, Brett, were ecstatic. Her pregnancy went smoothly and the ultrasounds showed a beautiful, healthy, high-kicking baby girl.

But when her new daughter was placed in her arms in the delivery room, Kelle knew instantly that something was wrong. Nella looked different than her two-year-old sister, Lainey, had at birth. As she watched friends and family celebrate with champagne toasts and endless photographs, a terrified Kelle was certain that Nella had Down syndrome—a fear her pediatrician soon confirmed. Yet gradually Kelle’s fear and pain were vanquished by joy, as she embraced the realization that she had been chosen to experience an extraordinary and special gift.

With lyrical prose and gorgeous full-color photography, Bloom takes readers on a wondrous journey through Nella’s first year of life—a gripping, hilarious, and intensely poignant trip of transformation in which a mother learns that perfection comes in all different shapes. It is a story about embracing life and really living it, of being fearless and accepting difference, of going beyond constricting definitions of beauty, and of the awesome power of perspective. As Kelle writes, “There is us. Our Family. We will embrace this beauty and make something of it. We will hold our precious gift and know that we are lucky.” – Publishers Website

I have to say there was a lot of talk of this book on twitter, so I knew that I had to get it and read it for myself to see what all the hype was about.  At about page 10 I was bawling like a baby, just imaging what the parents of this beautiful baby were going through.  When having my own children, there were a few really scary moments especially with my 2nd and 3rd child, so I have some idea of how they were feeling; but nothing could I imagine prepare anyone for something like this.  I have to admit, I was really enjoying the memoir up until near the end and Kelle was coming around, she had taken on this almost over the top mother of this beautiful child, who nearly goes overboard.

Now don’t get me wrong, I have close friends that have children with disabilities, and have cared for children who have severe and not so severe ones in my education as a health care professional, I realize that you can take on enormous projects and do it with grace, but I found Kelle to be nearly super-human in a sense in the book.  Hands down you will be bawling the ugly cry for sure.  Just make sure you have the tissue box ready.  Oh, one more thing…The photographs are absolutely STUNNING !! it is a gorgeous book !

Kelle’s Website - Reading Guide – Facebook – Twitter – YouTube – Excerpt

#22 – Sidney Sheldon’s Angel of the Dark – Tilly Bagshawe

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It was his first big murder case—and one of the bloodiest and most violent crimes LAPD detective Danny McGuire would ever encounter. Andrew Jakes, an elderly multimillionaire art dealer, had been brutally murdered in his Hollywood home, his lifeless body tied to his naked young wife. Raped and beaten, the lovely Angela Jakes had barely survived the attack herself. Gazing into her deep, soulful eyes, Danny swore that he’d find the psychopath behind this barbarous act. But the investigation didn’t turn up a single solid lead, and within days of Angela’s release from the hospital, the stunning young widow—Danny’s only witness—had vanished.

For ten years Danny McGuire could not forget the sweet face of Angela Jakes and the terrible crime that had shattered her life; his obsession with her nearly cost him his sanity. Now in France, thousands of miles from the past—with a new life, a new job with Interpol, and a ravishing new wife—he’s happier than he’s ever been . . . until he meets Andrew Jakes’s estranged son, Matt Daley.

Curious about his father’s murder, Matt has been digging into the cold case—and made some shocking discoveries. Three killings nearly identical to his father’s have taken place across the globe. The victims were elderly, newlywed millionaires, their young wives assaulted. And in each case the widow, the sole beneficiary of the will, donated her newfound wealth to children’s charities and then vanished. Could it be true? Had the Jakes killer struck again? If so, Danny knows he must tread carefully or risk losing everything for good.

The evidence points to a single killer—a brilliant and ruthless criminal who travels across the globe under a string of assumed identities, cleverly keeping one step ahead of the law. Joining forces, Danny and Matt pursue this intriguing shadow from Los Angeles to London, New York to Italy and the French Riviera, in a tantalizing game of cat and mouse filled with promising leads and frustrating dead ends. When another murder fitting the profile occurs, Matt heads to Hong Kong, hoping to get answers from the latest widow, Lisa Baring, and perhaps uncover the hard evidence they need.

But Matt becomes besotted with the irresistible beauty, nearly derailing the investigation, and Danny wonders whether Lisa is truly a victim or something more sinister. When a break in the case sends Danny to Mumbai, he knows he must act quickly, for the clever killer is poised to strike again.

A fast-paced story full of mystery, glamour, excitement, and spectacular twists that build to a stunning ending, Sidney Sheldon’s Angel of the Dark is quintessential Sheldon from first page to last. – Publishers Website

I was looking forward to this book, since Sidney Sheldon or rather the genre that he had meticulously made into a best-selling series had been great.  I was a bit disappointed with this one.  Tilly Bagshawe has taken over the series from the master after his passing, and I have to say it was a great premise, but for me, it fell short in its delivery.  Smaller than the earlier books, I just kind of thought it a bit rushed in its delivery, some things weren’t described in detail as much as it had been before.  I think that fans of Sidney and his work may find it a bit different, but Tilly does a grand job of attempting to integrate his style of writing and hers into one cohesive style.  For me, I’m divided.  Although, I was excited to have a chance of reading some Sidney Sheldon style mystery/thriller/detective type book, for me it just left me going huh?at the end of it.

Tilly’s Website – Sidney’s Website – Browse Inside

 

#23 – Voyagers of The Titanic – Passengers, Sailors, Ship Builders, Aristrocrats, and The Worlds They Came From – Richard Davenport – Hines

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Late in the night of April 14, 1912, the mighty Titanic, a passenger liner traveling from Southampton, England, to New York City, struck an iceberg four hundred miles south of Newfoundland. Its sinking over the next two and a half hours brought the ship—mythological in name and size—one hundred years of infamy.

Of the 2,240 people aboard the ship, 1,517 perished either by drowning or by freezing to death in the frigid North Atlantic waters. What followed the disaster was tantamount to a worldwide outpouring of grief: In New York, Paris, London, and other major cities, people lined the streets and crowded around the offices of the White Star Line, the Titanic’s shipping company, to inquire for news of their loved ones and for details about the lives of some of the famous people of their time.

While many accounts of the Titanic’s voyage focus on the technical or mechanical aspects of why the ship sank, Voyagers of the Titanic follows the stories of the men, women, and children whose lives intersected on the vessel’s fateful last day, covering the full range of first, second, and third class­—from plutocrats and captains of industry to cobblers and tailors looking for a better life in America.

Richard Davenport-Hines delves into the fascinating lives of those who ate, drank, reveled, dreamed, and died aboard the mythic ship: from John Jacob Astor IV, the wealthiest person on board, whose comportment that night was subject to speculation and gossip for years after the event, to Archibald Butt, the much-beloved military aide to Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft, who died helping others into the Titanic’s few lifeboats. With magnificent prose, Voyagers of the Titanic also brings to life the untold stories of the ship’s middle and third classes—clergymen, teachers, hoteliers, engineers, shopkeepers, counterjumpers, and clerks—each of whom had a story that not only illuminates the fascinating ship but also the times in which it sailed. In addition, Davenport-Hines explores the fascinating politics behind the Titanic’s creation, which involved larger-than-life figures such as J. P. Morgan, the ship’s owner, and Lord Pirrie, the ship’s builder.

The memory of this tragedy still remains a part of the American psyche and Voyagers of the Titanic brings that clear night back to us with all of its drama and pathos. – Publishers Website

Since it was the 100th Anniversary of the fatal accident that sank the Titanic along with most of its passengers, I thought it would be interesting to see how they lived 100 years ago.  I have to say and be perfectly honest, I think the people who served the people as well as the third class passengers had much more interesting stories then the first class passengers and the people who were in charge of the ship building.  Not that having money isn’t a bad thing, the lower class passengers/employees had more of an interesting background.  Where they were going, where they had come from, where they running from something, What was behind their going on the ship to America? That sort of stuff.  It wasn’t the how much money I have more than you, or wether their honeymoon was cut short.  I found it interesting how the decisions were made about how many lifeboats compared to how many passengers were on the ship that had originally piqued my interest.  It was quite the impressive work the Richard had put into this book.  If you are a fan of this sort of genre, I think you should pick this one up.  It may be some of the same information you have heard before, but it was interesting to see how they lived, what they were striving for, before the ship sank on that night.

Richard on Goodreads

 

#12 – The Look of Love – Mary Jane Clark

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A Piper Donovan Mystery – Book Two

Piper Donovan accepts when the owner of Elysium, an exclusive spa and plastic surgery center, offers her an all-expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles to create a dazzling and unique wedding cake. The job also gives Piper the time and distance she needs to sort out her feelings for handsome FBI agent Jack Lombardi.

The ultra-luxurious spa caters to the rich and famous in need of a little “refreshing”—a nip here, a tuck there, a little Botox, a little detox. Nestled in the Hollywood Hills, Elysium seems picture-perfect: the grounds, the staff, even the guests. But no sooner does Piper arrive than a guest is brutally murdered in one of the private bungalows. Someone, it seems, wants to make sure Elysium’s beautiful director, Jillian Abernathy, never gets to walk down the aisle. Piper soon discovers that beneath the glamorous surface of this idyllic oasis lies an ugly truth—and a cold-blooded plan for murder. – Publishers Website

Mary Jane does it again!  With her new series, Piper is invited to create a wedding cake for Jillian Abernathy who is just as famous as her parents in the Hollywood realm.  But when someone is murdered, everyone knows they are out for Jillian, and not anyone else.  But Why?!?

I really enjoyed Mary Jane’s latest novel.  It was a quick, entertaining read with that pizzazz that she uses to keep you engrossed and entertained.  It will appeal to those who don’t like those real gritty mystery, suspense novels.  It is geared more to the younger generation of women, but male readers may enjoy, as well as the older woman who have enjoyed Mary Jane’s earlier novels.  I look forward to reading more from Mary Jane in the future!

Goodreads – Book Tour – I Interview MJC – HC Interview – Mary Jane’s Website – Facebook – Piper Donovan Facebook – Read an Excerpt

 

 

#11 – The Face Thief – Eli Gottlieb

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Gottlieb introduces the mystery of the charismatic Margot, a promising journalist who morphs—with stunning panache—from a high-achieving affluent twentysomething into a grifter making her living preying on the weaknesses of men.

Having studied the ancient Chinese art of face reading, she becomes an expert at reading people and is also able to rearrange her look and persona with uncanny skill to fit any social situation. She is an avenging angel, shattering marriages and draining bank accounts.

What drives her quest to deceive and disarm? Exploring this question, The Face Thief moves fluidly forward and back in time, drawing vivid portraits of Margot’s rocky childhood and her adult victims: an amiable, newly married man enticed into a catastrophic fraud; an esteemed teacher outwitted by his most dangerous student; and a well-meaning New York City cop tripped up by his belief in redemption.

Ingeniously constructed and exquisitely written, The Face Thief swirls a hypnotic dance of predator and prey, creating a contemporary landscape where the educated are violent, the beautiful ugly, and the well-intentioned hapless. And yet we never give way to despair, because the protagonists of the book push back against the maelstrom and attempt tirelessly to right their toppled lives. Rich in suspense, psychological depth, and nuance, The Face Thief confirms Gottlieb’s standing as “a master” (Denver Post) and, in the words of essayist Phillip Lopate, “an enthralling stylist who[se] . . . characters are shockingly, electrically alive.” – Publishers Website

I was looking forward to digging into this book,  heard so many good things about it online and from the publishers.  I was a bit disappointed, I will explain in a bit.

Opening the book is the story of an unknown woman in the hospital regaining consciousness.  Her name isn’t known at the time, but as you read further, she has this uncanny ability to deceive people to get what she wants.  It was cryptic, getting you deeper and deeper into the novel.  At one point, I thought that it was going to be a really good ending, the suspense was adding up getting bigger and bigger as the end neared.  Just at the point where the plot was going to show itself, at least for me, it fell flat on its face on page 211.  I did finish the book, but was a bit disappointed at how the author had or hadn’t made the ending with more of a bang so to speak.  If you read the novel, I think you may agree with me…It would have been a far better book if the ending was more thought out.

Goodreads – Eli’s Website – Browse Inside – Reading Group Guide

#7 – The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories Volume 1 – HitRecord and Joesph Gordon Levitt

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HitRECord’s collaborative coalition of artists and writers are making history with The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories: Volume 1, a collection of innovative crowd-sourced creative projects that pushes the limits of originality, cooperation, imagination, and inspiration. HitRECord, a grassroots creative collective founded by actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, known worldwide for his performances in (500) Days of Summer and Inception, is a forum where thousands of artists worldwide share work and contribute to their peers’ projects in writing, music, videos, illustration, and beyond. Alongside Dean Haspiel’s ACT-I-VATE, a groundbreaking comics collective, and the photographer JR’s Inside Out Project, hitRECord is a haven for budding creatives. Now, the collective has edited together its most promising stories and illustrations to serve as its face in introducing the world to a new generation of talent, in The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories.

From hitRECord, the immensely popular open collaborative production company, and its founder, Golden Globe-nominated actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, comes The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories: Volume 1.

The universe is not made of atoms; it’s made of tiny stories.

To create The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories: Volume 1, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, known within the hitRECord community as RegularJOE—directed thousands of collaborators to tell tiny stories through words and art. With the help of the entire creative collective, Gordon-Levitt culled, edited and curated over 8,500 contributions into this finely tuned collection of original art from 67 contributors. Reminiscent of the 6-Word Memoir series, The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories: Volume 1 brings together art and voices from around the world to unite and tell stories that defy size. – Publishers Website

What a great little book to get your creative juices flowing so to speak.  When I received this book, I opened it to the beginning like we always do when we read a book…once I got to the end however, it told me to read from back to front, which gave me a totally new story and opposite ending.  How novel!

It has not only little pieces of text, prose, but also drawings that have been contributed by many people from around the world.  So join the site, and add your own little pictures, feelings, music, videos,  anything really and see what happens next, you could be featured in Volume Two, or Three.

hitRECord – Browse Inside – hitRECord on twitter – Joseph Gordon-Levitt – Twitter – Interactive Video/Book

#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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#60 – Russian Winter – Daphne Kalotay

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A mysterious jewel holds the key to a life-changing secret, in this breathtaking tale of love and art, betrayal and redemption.

When she decides to auction her remarkable jewelry collection, Nina Revskaya, once a great star of the Bolshoi Ballet, believes she has finally drawn a curtain on her past. Instead, the former ballerina finds herself overwhelmed by memories of her homeland and of the events, both glorious and heartbreaking, that changed the course of her life half a century ago.

It was in Russia that she discovered the magic of the theater; that she fell in love with the poet Viktor Elsin; that she and her dearest companions—Gersh, a brilliant composer, and the exquisite Vera, Nina’s closest friend—became victims of Stalinist aggression. And it was in Russia that a terrible discovery incited a deadly act of betrayal—and an ingenious escape that led Nina to the West and eventually to Boston.

Nina has kept her secrets for half a lifetime. But two people will not let the past rest: Drew Brooks, an inquisitive young associate at a Boston auction house, and Grigori Solodin, a professor of Russian who believes that a unique set of jewels may hold the key to his own ambiguous past. Together these unlikely partners begin to unravel a mystery surrounding a love letter, a poem, and a necklace of unknown provenance, setting in motion a series of revelations that will have life-altering consequences for them all.

Interweaving past and present, Moscow and New England, the backstage tumult of the dance world and the transformative power of art, Daphne Kalotay’s luminous first novel—a literary page-turner of the highest order—captures the uncertainty and terror of individuals powerless to withstand the forces of history, while affirming that even in times of great strife, the human spirit reaches for beauty and grace, forgiveness and transcendence – Publishers Website

Being Ukrainian, I do have somewhat of an affinity to some not all things Russian/ Ukrainian, when I read the synopsis for this book, it really intrigued me.  Not just because it is Russian, but because of the time when Stalin was head of the country, the things that happened to the country and its people.

Nina’s reluctance to tell what happened during this time long ago, what eventually happened to her husband and her friends during this time.  Which is just as painful as the pain she feels in her body from years and years of dancing and training, while becoming one of the more famous dancers you could say that were coming out of Russia at the time.  It is her jewellery that she is auctioning off before she becomes any more ill in her advancing age.

The jewellery also has some sort of hold on another person in Boston –   Grigori Solodin.  Whom Nine doesn’t know, but she will – it will all come out, but is she ready to discuss it? Does time heal all wounds?  Will she have the strength to accept the past and to come to terms with it?  Will she be able to forgive finally?

Daphne’s Website  - Daphne on Facebook - Reading Group Guide


 


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#59 – Jerusalem Maiden – Talia Carner

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In the waning days of the Ottoman Empire, a young Orthodox Jewish woman in the holy city of Jerusalem is expected to marry and produce many sons to help hasten the Messiah’s arrival.

While the feisty Esther Kaminsky understands her obligations, her artistic talent inspires her to secretly explore worlds outside her religion, to dream of studying in Paris—and to believe that God has a special destiny for her. When tragedy strikes her family, Esther views it as a warning from an angry God and suppresses her desires in order to become an obedient “Jerusalem maiden.”

But when a surprising opportunity forces itself on to her preordained path, Esther finds her beliefs clashing dangerously with the passions she has staved off her entire life—forcing her to confront the most difficult and damning question of all: To whom must she be true, God or herself? - Publishers Website

When I received the email for this book, I was intrigued by not only the title, but what the book description said.  When I finally started to read it, I was mesmerized by the tale of history, the wanting to do something that was out-of-bounds for women at the time.  Esther wanted to do her own thing, not be bound by what society or what her family expected her to do.  She eventually did what was best, but during that time, she experienced some things that she thought she wouldn’t ever have imagined.  Her love of art, family, history, and the eventual outcome of the book had me thinking about things.  Would you go against what your family wanted for you?  Would you give everything up that you have to gain independence, happiness?  Would there be a way of compromising to achieve a little bit of everything?  I imagine it would be individualized for everyone, but would the cost of attempting to achieve it be worth it?

Talia’s Website - Facebook -Talia on Twitter


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#51 – Jamrach’s Menagerie – Carol Birch

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London, 1857: meet Jaf, a young street urchin who survives an encounter with an escaped tiger in the city’s East End and stumbles into a job for its owner, Mr. Jamrach, a collector and seller of wild animals.

Commissioned by Jamrach to find and collect a half-mythical dragon, Jaf joins a whaling ship headed south and begins a wonder-filled voyage of discovery. But when disaster befalls the crew, Jaf ’s journey becomes a desperate survival tale that pushes love, friendship and humanity to their outermost limits.

Beautifully written and utterly spellbinding, Jamrach’s Menagerie conjures the smells, sights and flavours of the nineteenth century, from the squalor of Victorian London to the lush islands of the Dutch East Indies. A great, salty, historical adventure, with an extraordinary story of love and sacrifice at its core, this book is an astonishing literary achievement. – Publishers Website

I really enjoyed this novel.  With Jaf learning the animal trade as you would call it by being hands on, he realizes that he is doing something he enjoys, as well as learning about all sorts of new and unknown things.  Then comes the ship, with all of its quirky, but hard-working crew.  Some of the crew will never know just how much they gave.  It will only be two people on the boat who will fully know that.  Will they talk about it? Will they agonize over their dire straits and do the unthinkable?  You will just have to read the novel to find out just how much the crew sacrificed.  It was a bit unsettling for me, but Carol swept me up in the narrative, and ultimately spat me out, it was that good, between the long tales the crew told, the adventures, the drink, the animal (at least I think it was an animal) they search for, as well as the sacrifices they all give.  Will they come back the same as when they left?  You will have to be the judge about that.

Jamrach’s Menagerie was long-listed for the 2011 Orange Prize.


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#49 – Don’t Breathe A Word – Jennifer McMahon

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On a soft summer night in Vermont, twelve-year-old Lisa went into the woods behind her house and never came out again. Before she disappeared, she told her little brother, Sam, about a door that led to a magical place where she would meet the King of the Fairies and become his queen.

Fifteen years later, Phoebe is in love with Sam, a practical, sensible man who doesn’t fear the dark and doesn’t have bad dreams—who, in fact, helps Phoebe ignore her own. But suddenly the couple is faced with a series of eerie, unexplained occurrences that challenge Sam’s hardheaded, realistic view of the world. As they question their reality, a terrible promise Sam made years ago is revealed—a promise that could destroy them all. - Publishers Website

This was an unexpected book from the publisher.  I am almost glad that I didn’t leave it on the bookcase.  From the first few pages I was taken in…In the first few hours I was engrossed in this book to the point where I swear this has NEVER happened before, but, the hair on the back of my neck started standing up.  You have to admit, that is one great book !

It flips  from past to present in the chapter set-up,  where Jenifer gives you a brief glimpse into both, then switches you away to another part.  It was creepy, it was suspenseful, it was scary!  I loved it from the beginning, and if you love books like this you will not be disappointed in the least.

Just don’t read this one on a cold dreary raining night, it will creep you out even more !

Jennifer’s Website – Reading Group Guide – Facebook – Goodreads – Twitter


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#47 – Lyrics Alley – Leila Aboulela

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In 1950s Sudan, the powerful Abuzeid dynasty has amassed a fortune through their trading firm with Mahmoud Bey at its helm. But when Mahmoud’s son, Nur, suffers a debilitating accident, the family is suddenly divided in the face of an uncertain future.

As British rule nears its end, Sudan is torn between modernizing influences and the call of traditions past — a conflict reflected in Mahmoud’s two wives: Nabilah, who longs to escape the dust of “backward-looking” Sudan, and Waheeba, who lives traditionally within the confines of her open-air kitchen. It is not until Nur begins to assert himself outside the strict cultural limits that both his own spirit and the frayed bonds of his family can begin to mend.

This sweeping tale by the IMPAC and Orange Prize– nominated writer is one of the most accomplished and evocative portraits ever written about Sudanese society at the time of independence. – Publishers Website

This is the first of the long-listed books for the 2011 Orange Prize I intend to read in the next few months.  As you may or may not know, the winner of the prize will be announced on June 18, 2011.

I enjoyed getting to see a snapshot into 1950′s Sudan, while this family and many others were trying to establish their own voice.  Something of which is still happening in this area today.  The older parents and elders of the family already stuck in their own ways learnt from their elders, the young people learning those ways and incorporating their own amid turmoil, non acceptance from their parents, and war.

It was interesting how some things do change over time, and some do not.  The accident of Nur twists and turns the family apart and fighting to find their own voice, their way of dealing with the pain and uncertainty of what will be.

Leila’s Website

#28 – To Kill A Mockingbird – Harper Lee

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Harper Lee‘s classic novel of a lawyer in the Deep South defending a black man charged with the rape of a white girl.

One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has earned many distinctions since its original publication in 1960. It won the Pulitzer Prize, has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than thirty million copies worldwide, and been made into an enormously popular movie. Most recently, librarians across the country gave the book the highest of honors by voting it the best novel of the twentieth century. – Publishers Website

I so loved this classic novel ! At the time I finished it, I also watched the movie adaptation as well.  I have to say in my honest opinion the movie should be remade.  As I watched it, it seemed to me it just wasn’t the same.  The time in which the book was placed couldn’t have been more lopsided in the movie.  The staging and props for the movie I felt were more of like a 1960′s period of time instead of the 1930-1935 timeline as told in the novel.  I did love the brashness of the town, the people, the situation.  On its 50th Anniversary of being published and being voted as the best novel of the 20th century, as well as the many other accolades this novel and the author have received,  this novel will be in my vast collection of books for life.  I will read it again and again.  Just a fabulous book.  If you haven’t already read it or have read it previously, go and re-read it, it is just that wonderful of a book.

Listen to an audio excerpt – Download the reading guide – Read an excerpt

http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/cbsnews_player_embed.swf

#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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The Matter With Morris – David Bergen

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Morris Shutt is a syndicated newspaper columnist to many newspapers around the country.  His wife is a Psychiatrist who is in practice.  They also have three grown children – one is married, he also has a grandchild.

Everything in his life is as it seems – ordinary, peaceful, happy times. He works at his office, he answers letters from his readers, he writes his columns.  Just everyday normal stuff.

Then that is, on one of these perfectly normal days that the bottom drops out of everything he has lived for.  His son who has recently joined the army and stationed in Iraq is killed.

Morris’ column suffers tremendously as a result and is asked to take a sabbatical of sorts.  He starts to lay blame with the politicians, and anyone else he can conjure up.  To say the least, this is the beginning of his bottom – going from somewhat famous to somewhat psychotic.

Then his marriage falls apart. He leaves and buys a condominium and decides that one day he is going to cash in all of his investments – buy a safe – and store the money in the safe in his home.

In this very revealing introspective, Morris attempts to examine his life in different, diffused ways.  He slowly bares all of his soul, how he was raised, his father being a pastor in the Mennonite faith.  How his ideals have changed over time, the mistakes he’s made.  He bears the responsibility of his son’s death in Iraq. Did I mention he also stashed $10,000 of cash pasted up behind his fridge..

But once he realizes that at an estate sale of a former professor he had in college; where he buys all of the philosophy books he can carry – Plato and Cicero, that for him these calm him in a strange sense.  It helps him come to terms that it really wasn’t his fault his son joined the army, it was because his son really wanted to be there.

He realizes the most important part of all – Nothing is really as it seems to him.  Even the craziness that he thinks his life has become.

This book was a finalist for the Giller Prize of 2010.

HarperCollins

Watch this Video where the author talks about Morris


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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

Anne’s Website

Anne’s Facebook Page


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Room – Emma Donoghue

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Room is Jack’s and his Mom’s whole world – he was born in room, he sleeps in room, he eats in room, he plays in room.

To his mom, sure it may hold precious memories of her and Jack learning and growing together, but it also holds a deep dark secret.

Through fierce determination, spunk and sheer will she has raised Jack as best she could.  When the day arrives that she realizes that Jack needs more than just room she constructs a plan, something, anything, everything that it takes.

This book will have you crying your heart out.  Bearing your feelings on the outside as you would on your sleeve.  It WILL be the most talked about book this fall, or for maybe longer.  That decision is up to you.

I could not tear myself away for even a second.  This book took me on a journey that should only be taken – in a book, a fictional account for sure.  It chilled me to the bone, it ebbed and flowed, it grew into a dream that at first you didn’t think was real, but, once you realized that you were in the middle of this particular dream, it was too late.  It sucked you in, the characters your heart bled for, your soul cried tears of the sheer bravery of Jack and his Mother on their harrowing journey.

Quite unique in the narration you will find in Room.  Emma must have lived inside the character Jack for quite a while.  Her ingenuity of Jack and his character was flawless and complete.  It could be the little boy down the street, it could be any little boy, anywhere.

Room was long-listed for the 2010 Man Booker Prize as it states on the sticker on my hardback copy I purchased, it was just recently shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.

HarperCollins Canada – Canadian Publisher

Hachette – Little Brown – American Publisher

Reading Group Guide

Enter ROOM by Emma Donoghue


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Skin – Mo Hayder

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Oh, how I love Mo Hayder ! She is back with yet another Jack Caffrey thriller that will have you glued to the pages until the very end.  I craved more, maybe you will too.

The walking man returns to ask more questions than Jack needs answers to more than the questions themselves.  He also has this uncanny ability to find the walking man never knowing where he is.

A badly decomposing body is found on some railroad tracks with slits to the wrists.  Jack isn’t so sure at first.  Some of the clues and evidence just doesn’t add up.

Other bodies have been found with the same injuries, along with other similarities in underground abandoned mines outside of the city that also have some familiar voodoo aspects.

Flea as she is called, takes it upon herself to investigate on her own after being spooked on a dive in one of these underground mine shafts that have been filled with water before her air line is cut and she passes out.  It doesn’t makes matters any better when she went below the dive limit either.

That same night, Flea’s brother borrows her car for a so-called business meeting.  But Flea doesn’t notice anything until the smell of rotting flesh surrounds her, her alert beacon and where does she find it…in the trunk of her car.

Creepy, Shocking, Thrilling, Scary.  Mo certainly hasn’t lost her touch in the least.

Blood chilling, yes.  Be careful if you experience bad dreams, because these books may make them worse !

But then again, if you are into that sort of thing, then it’s ok.

HarperCollins


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Island Beneath The Sea – Isabel Allende

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Tete is African, born on Saint Dominique who never knew her mother.  She was sold as a slave and grew up during the 18th century.  Slavery is at its highest – St. Dominique is later known as the island of Haiti.

Brutality and fear is an everyday occurence.

Tete finds comfort in the drums she hears from across the land she calls home along with the mysterious history and culture she hears from the local elders known as voodoo.

She is the slave to Toulouse Valmorian.  He travelled from France to help and eventually take control his families sugar plantation after his father dies.  The plantation does very well in Toulouse’s hands.  He yearns to return to civilization (France), but realizes that he is doomed to stay on the island.

He eventually marries a Cuban woman whom he does love until she becomes mentally ill, and eventually dying after giving birth to their one and only child.

The lives of Tete and Valmorian are inexplicably intertwined as master and slave live together, amid somewhat brutal circumstances.  Even after they leave the island for safety when riots erupt between whites and blacks for New Orleans.

To new lives, new connections, new situations, new loves for both.  Old situations, jealousies appear at the surface that were once forgotten or just not talked about give them each situations that they must face together and separately.

I enjoyed this book.  The translation was impeccable being translated from Spanish to English.  It kept the richness of the writing alive as you experienced Saint Dominique and New Orleans like you were there yourself.  The richness of the writing was there as well to keep the narrative smooth and flowing.

Cruelty, Love, detailed as if you were there in the cane fields of Saint Dominique or in early New Orleans talking to someone on the street in Creole.

Make sure you watch the video below, such a funny and articulate lady, stunning!

HarperCollins


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The Truth About Deliah Blue – Tish Cohen

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Delilah is one of those 20 somethings who hasn’t exactly found what she wants to do as a profession, and out of life as of yet.  She is an artist, but as a way of affording her passion, she’s gone to modelling nude in art classes.

She lives in L.A. with her father, who lately has been forgetting things rather mor and more, affecting his job as well as his personal life.

Delilah is one of those kids that came from a divorced family.  She’s been told by her father that he mother didn’t want her.  So, her father decided to move to the US, leaving all of her old haunts in a part of Toronto called Cabbagetown behind.  Since then she’s pretty kept to herself, trying to find her way, her passions, until one day at an art studio, someone notices a portrait of her done by the gallery owners daughter, that will change her world forever and then some.

Her Mother…

Her Mother is back in the picture, along with a younger sister, with the truth.

She was kidnapped by her Father, her mother has always wanted her.

Parental abduction is happening more and more these days, a lot of parents are having distrust with the legal system, or of one of the other distrust of the parent.  With the addition of Delilah’s fathers early onset Alzheimer’s, it complicates things even further.

What would you do in a similar case of Parental Abduction?  Would you try to get to the bottom of the real reason, the reasons why?

Tish certainly does write so that you are all comfy into the story, which then she weaves it together that will have you asking questions that you thought you would never be asking let alone thinking about.  Having wondering how or what you would feel if you happen to be in the same situation.

I have read Tish’s Inside, Out Girl as well, she does a fantastic job as always !  Full of insight, serious issues, and a few laughs along the way.

HarperCollins

Tish’s Website

Reading Group Guide


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Make sure you also check out the other book blogs on tour

Double Post – The Dakota Cipher and The Barbary Pirates – William Dietrich

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If you are a fan of historical/action/adventure books with some great writing, then you have found your author for that.

I had read The Rosetta Key and Napoleon’s Pyramids about 2 years ago, since then there have been 2 more added to the Ethan Gage Adventures.

The third in the series is entitled The Dakota Cipher, where Ethan who should have learned his lesson the first few times he befriended Napoleon Bonaparte, the US and British armies to be able to further his investigations around the world.  This time Bonaparte has asked him to return to the United States to check o a place called Louisiana ( which isn’t yet a state, or really a part of the US).

Accompanying him is Norseman Magnus Bloodhammer who is on a quest of his to find out if some of the land was first inhabited by the Norse.  (there has been big speculations about this as to who came first).  Whether the Native Indians, the Norse, the French or British came first.

So, after befriending some French Canadians that are doing fur trading in the lush area where fur can be found and then traded and then sold to be made into luxurious garments – yes, the mayhem that is Ethan Gage begins.

In the latest escapades of Ethan and all who accompany him on his adventures, have all said it; Ethan gets himself into more trouble than he can handle, and then some.

He is journeying across the seas this time once again for treasure of sorts, a mysterious dome.  Guess who is hot on his path once again, yep, the Egyptian Rite.

As he travels the canals of Venice, the caves of Santorini, the dungeons of Tripoli, to meet treachery on the high seas of the Mediterranean.

His long-lost love Astiza whom he lost while in Egypt miraculously returns with such a surprise that Ethan cannot even believe until he is put to the test.

The real historical fasts in each and every novel is one of brilliance.  To be able to write about a place so far in the past is one of long hours of research, and a creative monsoon of sorts.  Oh yeah, and will he be able to destroy the Egyptian Rite once and for all?

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Harper Collins

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Harper Collins