Read-a-thon Hour 8 UPDATE

Still reading!  Just finished my first book.  I haven’t been reading as fast as I’d hoped, but I’m happy that I finished at least one and will hopefully tick off another before my eyes give out on me!

Hemingway’s Girl by Erika Robuck was a great book.  I’m glad I started out with it as it was interesting, well written and a fast, easy read.

I read it on my iPad via the Kindle app.

Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-Thon

Ahhh, spring.  I adore this time of year with all of its lovely perks – fruit blossoms, flowers growing, warmer weather, the April session of read-a-thon….

I’ve done Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-thon quite a few times now.  I believe this is my 5th, but it might be my 6th.  I enjoy it so much.  It gives me a chance to get caught up on some reading (especially now that I’m WORKING..  woe is me) and the great thing is that my daughters get into it, too.  They are 15 and 11 now, but still interested, maybe mostly in the snacks!  Whatever gets them involved though, right?

Speaking of snacks…

I went out and bought some snacks today.  Missing from the picture are 8 beautiful palmiers from a French bakery here in town.  I knew if I opened the box, they would get eaten so they shall remain unseen until tomorrow!!  Which is actually today because I wrote this post yesterday but posted it just now..  that makes sense, yes?  :)

Now for the books.  I had a hard time choosing.  There are so many on my TBR list.  I decided to change the format of each book I read to keep it interesting – and to change things up so it doesn’t get monotonous.  On my iPad/Kindle app, I decided on Hemingway’s Girl by Erika Robuck.  I’ve heard it’s really great!  On my NEW Kobo Aura (I got one early for free from Kobo for review – that will be coming soon) I’ll be reading The Queen’s Dollmaker by Christine Trent.  I sounds interesting and has a Marie Antoinette connection so I’m all over that.  As for the actual book I’m going to read, the pick is Rebeckah but Jill Eileen Smith.  I really enjoy Biblical fiction.

I’d love to hear what you’re reading, too!  Share with me

INTRODUCTORY QUESTIONNAIRE:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?  Kelowna, BC, Canada
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?  Can’t pick…  *twitch*
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?  Strawberries… and palmiers!
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!  Mom, wife, Canadian, book junkie, lover of classic Hollywood (Clark Gable is the KING), hockey queen
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? More resting.  Taking breaks is good!

Roses Have Thorns by Sandra Byrd, review

ABOUT THE BOOK:

From the acclaimed author of To Die For comes a stirring novel told that sheds new light on Elizabeth I and her court.  Like Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir, Sandra Byrd has attracted countless fans for evoking the complexity, grandeur, and brutality of the Tudor period.  In her latest tour de force, she poses the question: What happens when serving a queen may cost you your marriage–or your life?

In 1565, seventeen-year-old Elin von Snakenborg leaves Sweden on a treacherous journey to England. Her fiance has fallen in love with her sister and her dowry money has been gambled away, but ahead of her lies an adventure that will take her to the dizzying heights of Tudor power. Transformed through marriage into Helena, the Marchioness of Northampton, she becomes the highest-ranking woman in Elizabeth’s circle. But in a court that is surrounded by Catholic enemies who plot the queen’s downfall, Helena is forced to choose between her unyielding monarch and the husband she’s not sure she can trust–a choice that will provoke catastrophic consequences.

Vividly conjuring the years leading up to the beheading of Mary Queen of Scots, Roses Have Thorns is a brilliant exploration of treason, both to the realm and to the heart.

MY REVIEW:

As I’m not a great fan of Elizabeth I, part of me didn’t want to read this book.  But, I loved the first two books in the series sooo much (Sandra Byrd even made me slightly sympathetic to Anne Boleyn – also not a fan of her) that I just couldn’t say no.

It is a wonderful book.  As well written as To Die For and The Secret Keeper, it pulled me right in and kept me intrigued from start to finish.  With drama coming in all directions, which is exactly what you’d expect from anything Tudor related, it was hard to put down.

Sandra has become one my favourite Tudor authors – no, one of my favourite authors, period.  She is so creative with the way she brings  an obscure historical figure to life and makes the book so much more interesting than just the same old same view of the ‘regular’ Tudor characters.  It’s a great change to read about the more well known people through the eyes of someone you’ve never heard of.  Elin von Snakenborg is a very interesting person and I’d love to read more about her in the future.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Sandra Byrd has published more than three dozen books in the fiction and nonfiction markets, including the first book in her Tudor series, To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn.  Her second book, The Secret Keeper: A Novel of Kateryn Parr, illuminates the mysteries in the life of Henry’s last wife.

For more than a decade Sandra has shared her secrets with the many new writers she edits, mentors, and coaches. She lives in the Seattle, Washington, area with her husband and two children. For more Tudor tidbits, please visit www.sandrabyrd.com. Follow Sandra Byrd on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

The Chalice by Nancy Bilyeau, review

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

In the midst of England’s Reformation, a young novice will risk everything to defy the most powerful men of her era.

In 1538, England’s bloody power struggle between crown and cross threatens to tear the country apart. Novice Joanna Stafford has tasted the wrath of the royal court, discovered what lies within the king’s torture rooms, and escaped death at the hands of those desperate to possess the power of an ancient relic.

Even with all she has experienced, the quiet life is not for Joanna. Despite the possibilities of arrest and imprisonment, she becomes caught up in a shadowy international plot targeting Henry VIII himself. As the power plays turn vicious, Joanna realizes her role is more critical than she’d ever imagined. She must choose between those she loves most and assuming her part in a prophecy foretold by three seers. Repelled by violence, Joanna seizes a future with a man who loves her. But no matter how hard she tries, she cannot escape the spreading darkness of her destiny.

To learn the final, sinister piece of the prophecy, she flees across Europe with a corrupt spy sent by Spain. As she completes the puzzle in the dungeon of a twelfth-century Belgian fortress, Joanna realizes the life of Henry VIII as well as the future of Christendom are in her hands—hands that must someday hold the chalice that lies at the center of these deadly prophecies. . . .

MY REVIEW:

After previously reading and reviewing Nancy Bilyeau’s debut novel,  THE CROWN, it was an easy decision to agree to review THE CHALICE.  Basically, take everything I said in my review of the first book and multiply that by two!  It’s suspenseful, intriguing and a refreshingly different page turner.

What a fantastic talent Nancy is.  She has a knack for creating a world that a reader can happily get lost in for hours at a time.  So rich are her descriptions that I became fully ensconced in Joanna Stafford’s world.  It’s obvious how much research went into this story.  I didn’t feel that I was being ‘told’ how things were or how they looked.  It was almost as if I already knew those things just by how they were described.  Fantastic!

As for Joanna herself, what an intriguing lady.  I can’t think of another character in any other book quite like her.  She’s such a unique heroine, so strong willed and full of qualities all women should strive for.  I’d say she is a great role model for women of all ages.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Nancy Bilyeau, author of The Crown, is a writer and magazine editor who has worked on the staffs of InStyle, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and Good Housekeeping. Her latest position is features editor of Du Jour magazine. A native of the Midwest, she graduated from the University of Michigan. She lives in New York City with her husband and two children.

Connect with Nancy Bilyeau:  Website | Facebook | Twitter

Reconstructing Jackson by Holly Bush, review

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

1867 . . . Southern lawyer and Civil War veteran, Reed Jackson, returns to his family’s plantation in a wheelchair. His father deems him unfit, and deeds the Jackson holdings, including his intended bride, to a younger brother. Angry and bitter, Reed moves west to Fenton, Missouri, home to a cousin with a successful business, intending to start over.

Belle Richards, a dirt poor farm girl aching to learn how to read, cleans, cooks and holds together her family’s meager property. A violent brother and a drunken father plot to marry her off, and gain a new horse in the bargain. But Belle’s got other plans, and risks her life to reach them.

Reed is captivated by Belle from their first meeting, but wheelchair bound, is unable to protect her from violence. Bleak times will challenge Reed and Belle’s courage and dreams as they forge a new beginning from the ashes of war and ignorance.

MY REVIEW:

Reconstructing Jackson by Holly Bush begins after the US Civil War ends – with Southern Jackson moving North to live with his cousin and his cousin’s wife.  Since he can no longer use his legs (or can he?) he’s in a wheelchair and angry at the world.  But, he’s determined to make a new life for himself, even if he’s a cranky SOB to pretty much everyone.

Since there are things that I like and dislike about this book, I think I’ll begin with the positive.  I really like the story.  It was interesting, I liked the characters and I thought the book was fairly unique.  The author’s writing style made it easy to read and it didn’t take me long to finish.  Okay, so the cons.  There were a bunch of characters who could have been really interesting but I just didn’t feel they were developed enough.  I wanted to get more inside their heads, but the story sort of felt rushed.  I didn’t feel there was enough background.  Because of that, I felt that the relationships, particularly between Reed and Belle, were just too rushed.  I didn’t gain any pleasure in their love story because it happened so suddenly.  All in all, I enjoyed the book and would read another of the author’s books.

If you’d like to check out other reviews for the Holly Bush Virtual Tour (she also has another book out), click the banner below.

About the Author

Holly Bush was born in western Pennsylvania to two avid readers. There was not a room in her home that did not hold a full bookcase. She worked in the hospitality industry, owning a restaurant for twenty years and recently worked as the sales and marketing director in the hospitality/tourism industry and is credited with building traffic to capacity for a local farm tour, bringing guests from twenty-two states, booked two years out.  Holly has been a marketing consultant to start-up businesses and has done public speaking on the subject.Holly has been writing all of her life and is a voracious reader of a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction, particularly political and historical works. She has written four romance novels, all set in the U.S. West in the mid 1800’s. She frequently attends writing conferences, and has always been a member of a writer’s group.Holly is a gardener, a news junkie, has been an active member of her local library board and loves to spend time near the ocean. She is the proud mother of two daughters and the wife of a man more than a few years her junior.Connect with Holly Bush: WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOOGLE+ | PINTEREST

 

A Cast of Stones by Patrick W. Carr, review

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

An Epic Medieval Saga Fantasy Readers Will Love

In the backwater village of Callowford, Errol Stone’s search for a drink is interrupted by a church messenger who arrives with urgent missives for the hermit priest in the hills. Desperate for coin, Errol volunteers to deliver them but soon finds himself hunted by deadly assassins. Forced to flee with the priest and a small band of travelers, Errol soon learns he’s joined a quest that could change the fate of his kingdom.
Protected for millennia by the heirs of the first king, the kingdom’s dynasty is near an end and a new king must be selected. As tension and danger mount, Errol must leave behind his drunkenness and grief, learn to fight, and come to know his God in order to survive a journey to discover his destiny.

MY REVIEW:

A Cast of Stones is the first book in the The Staff and the Sword series.  As it’s published by Bethany House, it’s considered Christian fiction, but I’d also add fantasy and adventure to the mix.  It sort of reminded me of A Game of Thrones in some ways.

The story is an interesting one – and really imaginative.  It’s not at all preachy and mostly tells of Errol’s journey to finding God and, in many ways, himself.  I enjoyed watching his growth.  He’s an interesting character – and he’s not the only one.  The cast is very well rounded, each person unique.

Patrick W. Carr is a wonderful writer and is able to weave an epic tale.  I’m really looking forward to the rest of the books in the series.  Highly recommended!!

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group

 

Scent of Triumph by Jan Moran

Set during the second world war, The Scent of Triumph by Jan Moran is the story of Danielle Bretancourt who is a perfumer with a great talent for scents.  The book takes the reader, and Danielle, on a journey from Europe to the United States as she tries to remake her life after a series of tragedies.

I love how strong Danielle was throughout the book.  Most people would have crumbled under all the pressure but she rose to the occasion – and all without a man!!  Don’t get me wrong, there are men in the story – and romance – but the fact that she didn’t need a man to get her life back together was a plus for me.

Jan Moran weaves a sweeping tale that could be described as “epic”.  The characters are interesting, different and are a nice mixture that help give the story life.  I really couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen with each and every one of them.  I look forward to reading another book by this author.

I got this book from Netgalley for review in exchange for my honest review.