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Archive for October, 2009

Hi all,

Just a minor oops on the blog owner’s part with Mailbox Monday posts and Mister Linky. I didn’t realize with the just the basic linky service that only one set of linkies would show at a time and you wouldn’t have access to other linkies associated with MM posts. In attempting to make MM posting easier I actually made it more difficult to visit other blogs! I discovered this browsing my own blog this evening. The linky issue has now been resolved or should be resolved soon. I upgraded my membership so all linkies in all MM posts will now be visible.

My upgrade also has some other linky features that I will be playing with once I return from vacation.

Marcia

Title: To Desire A Devil
Author/website: Elizabeth Hoyt
340 pages
Publisher: Vision
Publication date: October ‘09
Genre: Historical romance
Would I recommend it: Undecided
Journal notes: It was just OK for me. I never really warmed up to Beatrice or Reynaud. Sparks didn’t fly and sheets didn’t burn up. At some point in the story these relationships usually send skyrockets blazing forth but I didn’t get the anticipated fireworks. Here’s my problem: I don’t read much in this genre and the authors I do try I always compare to Lisa Klepyas. I love Lisa’s historical romances. That may not be fair but that’s the way it is.

NOTHING IS MORE INTOXICATING-
Reynaud St. Aubyn has spent the last seven years in hellish captivity. Now half mad with fever he bursts into his ancestral home and demands his due. Can this wild-looking man truly be the last earl’s heir, thought murdered by Indians years ago?

OR DANGEROUS-
Beatrice Corning, the niece of the present earl, is a proper English miss. But she has a secret: No real man has ever excited her more than the handsome youth in the portrait in her uncle’s home. Suddenly, that very man is here, in the flesh-and luring her into his bed.

THAN SURRENDERING TO A DEVIL.
Only Beatrice can see past Reynaud’s savagery to the noble man inside. For his part, Reynaud is drawn to this lovely lady, even as he is suspicious of her loyalty to her uncle. But can Beatrice’s love tame a man who will stop at nothing to regain his title-even if it means sacrificing her innocence?

(To Desire A Devil was provided to me by Anna of Hachette Book Group USA. I was not paid and will be donating this book to my local library )

Title: The Boleyn Wife
Author: Brandy Purdy
Publication date: January ‘10
Genre: Historical

Shy, plain Lady Jane Parker feels out of place in Henry VIII’s courtly world of glamour and intrigue–until she meets the handsome George Boleyn. Overjoyed when their fathers arrange a match, her dreams of a loving union are waylaid when she meets George’s sister, Anne. For George is completely devoted to his sister, and cold and indifferent to his bride. As Anne acquires a wide circle of admirers, including King Henry, Jane’s resentment grows. But if becoming Henry’s queen makes Anne the most powerful woman in England, it also makes her highly vulnerable. And as Henry, desperate for a male heir, begins to tire of his mercurial wife, the stage is set for the ultimate betrayal…

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Jill at Breaking the Spine hosts Waiting on Wednesday. Stop by and check out the great books your fellow readers can’t wait to get their hands on. What book are you waiting for?

Title: Top Producer
Author/website: Norb Vonnegut
342 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication date: September ‘09
Genre: Financial thriller
Would I recommend it: DNF’d @ pg. 164 of 342
Journal notes: Way too much Wall Street speak for me; mind numbing.

Ripples from the bizarre murder of Charlie Kelemen, wealthy hedge fund operator, quickly reach his best friend, Grove O’Rourke. A top producer at the boutique investment bank Sachs, Kidder and Carnegie, O’Rourke tries to help Kelemen’s widow sort out some financial questions. This process leads him deeper and deeper into a labyrinth of deceit. As fallout from Charlie’s death and dealings start to taint O’Rourke, the sharks, inside and outside his own firm, smell blood and begin to circle. O’Rourke won’t go down without a fight, and not all the blood in the water will be his.

(Top Producer was provided to me by Anne of Minotaur Books. I was not paid and donated this book to my local library )

US Cover

I’m a very visual person and love beautiful, or interesting, cover art. It entices, and invites, me to stop and take a peek instead of walking right on by. Here’s a cover that caught my eye.
Title: The Ruby in Her Navel: A Novel of Love and Intrigue in the 12th Century
Author: Barry Unsworth
Release date: October ‘06

UK Cover

Set in the twelfth century against the backdrop of the Crusades and during the brief yet glittering rule of the Norman kings, THE RUBY IN HER NAVEL opens in a Sicilian society in which Latin and Greek, Arab and Jew lived together in harmony. The novel tells the story of how the war between Islam and Christendom impinges on the mind and heart of Thurstan Beauchamp, a young Norman and would-be Knight at the Court of King Roger in Palermo.

Known for his loyalty but divided between the ideals of chivalry and the harsh political realities of his tumultuous times, Thurstan is dispatched to uncover the conspiracies brewing against his king. During his journeys, he encounters the woman he loved as a youth, Lady Alicia, now returned a widow from the Holy Land; at the same time, he is gripped by the earthy sensuality of the dancer, Nesrin, whose troupe he brings to the Court to dance for the king. In a compelling tale of love, passion, intrigue, and treachery, Thurstan finds himself caught in a tangle of plots, counter-plots, and deceptions, which force him to question the nature of his ambition and the folly of uncritical reverence for authority.

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Its very rare that I don’t like the UK cover as much or more than the US cover but so not the case here. I actually think the UK cover is ugly.

What book cover caught your eye? Leave a post link and share with your fellow readers.

Title: Lift
Author/website: Rebecca K. O’Connor
208 pages
Publisher: Red Hen Press
Publication date: November ‘09
Genre: Memoir
Would I recommend it: Yes
Journal notes: Lift is a love story. A love story between a human and a falcon. Rebecca loves Anakin. From the first page to last you’re surrounded by her total devotion this wild, winged, predatory creature. The opening prologue is both spellbinding and haunting. Rebecca and Anakin are hunting, killing game. There is nothing pretty about what they’re doing. There will be death and yet in death there is life. Anakin hunts because it is what he does, Rebecca flushes game for Anakin because she is his provider. From the moment Anakin comes into Rebecca’s life they are bound by mutual need. Theirs is relationship based on trust. Anakin trusts that Rebecca will look out for his best interests, Rebecca trusts that Anakin will faithfully return to her. Both Rebecca and Anakin display exceptional fortitude showing the other how to survive and move forward.

Anakin

The culmination of a ten-year career in falconry, Lift is a memoir that illustrates the journey and life lessons of a woman navigating a man’s ancient sport. Captivated by a chance meeting with a falconer’s peregrine as a child, the indelible memory eventually brings the author’s life full circle to flying a peregrine of her own. Exploring themes of predator and prey, finding tribe, forgiveness and femininity, the memoir asks universal questions through a unique backdrop. Lift illustrates the beauty and meaning the sport of falconry can add to a falconer’s life, echoing the challenges and triumphs of being human.

(Lift was provided to me by the author, Rebecca. I was not paid and I have deleted the pdf file from my Kindle )

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

If you’re new to Mailbox Monday welcome! Thank you to everyone who stops by Mailbox Monday. Whether you comment or visit I appreciate your taking the time to drop in.

Vacation book spree, part 2 is hold until next week because I had some review/Read It Forward books arrive this week. Read It Forward books will start mailing in January after vacation and the holidays.

I had some downtime at work so I went blog visiting. After reading some of your posts/comments I realized that many of you would like to post Sundays instead during the Monday morning rush hour. So starting with this MM post I will start publishing on Sundays. Starting next week it will be Sunday mornings (12AM Mountain time). Just as using Mister Linky made everyone’s lives easier maybe moving to posting on the weekends will do this same. Hopefully posting on Sundays will also take some of the hassle out of trying to squeeze in Monday visits to your fellow bloggers MM posts. I’m always open to new ideas for MM so don’t hesitate to suggest changes you’d like to see.

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Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home by Rhoda Janzen (new-to-me author/publicist contact) (Claimed by Beth)

At first, the worst week of Janzen’s life—she gets into a debilitating car wreck right after her husband leaves her for a guy he met on the Internet and saddles her with a mortgage she can’t afford—seems to come out of nowhere, but the disaster’s long buildup becomes clearer as she opens herself up. Her 15-year relationship with Nick had always been punctuated by manic outbursts and verbally abusive behavior, so recognizing her co-dependent role in their marriage becomes an important part of Janzen’s recovery (even as she tweaks the 12 steps just a bit). The healing is further assisted by her decision to move back in with her Mennonite parents, prompting her to look at her childhood religion with fresh, twinkling eyes. (She provides an appendix for those unfamiliar with Mennonite culture, as well as a list of shame-based foods from hot potato salad to borscht.) Janzen is always ready to gently turn the humor back on herself, though, and women will immediately warm to the self-deprecating honesty with which she describes the efforts of friends and family to help her re-establish her emotional well-being.

Out at Night (A Grace Descanso Novel) by Susan Arnout Smith (new-to-me author/Authors on the Web) (Donated to local library)

It’s the dead of night, and Professor Thaddeus Bartholomew is frantically crawling through a field to stay alive. With mere moments to act, he has only enough time to type out a text message—a name—before his stalker overcomes him. Later he’s found with a hole in his chest, shot with a crossbow, and burned to death.

Meanwhile, San Diego crime scene tech Grace Descanso has gone on vacation with her daughter, but the FBI feels far from guilty about interrupting them after her name turns up on the professor’s phone. Grace knows vaguely who he is, but can’t imagine why his dying act would involve her in any way—not that it matters. The FBI won’t let her walk away; she can either join the investigation or become a suspect in it. Soon, political leaders and extremists will converge at the world’s largest agricultural conference, and all signs indicate that Bartholomew’s brutal murder in a field of genetically modified soy is just the beginning of something much larger than one man’s death.

A gripping sequel to her heart-racing series debut, The Timer Game, Susan Arnout Smith’s Out at Night entangles Grace in a sweeping conspiracy that hits her dangerously close to home.

The Secret Mandarin by Sara Sheridan (new-to-me author/publicist contact) (Claimed by Serena)

Desperate to shield her from scandal, Mary’s brother-in-law, the ambitious botanist Robert Fortune, forces her to accompany him on a mission to China to steal tea plants for the East India Company. But Robert conceals his secret motives – to spy for the British forces, newly victorious in the recent Opium War.His task is both difficult and dangerous – the British are still regarded as enemies by the Chinese and exporting tea bushes carries the death sentence. In these harsh conditions Mary grieves for her London life and the baby she has been forced to leave behind, while her fury at Robert intensifies.As their quest becomes increasingly treacherous, Robert and Mary disguise themselves as a mandarin and man-servant. Thousands of miles from everything familiar, Mary revels in her new freedom and the Chinese way of life – and when danger strikes, finds unexpected reserves of courage.The Secret Mandarin is an unforgettable story of love, fortitude and recklessness – of a strong woman determined to make it in a man’s world and a man who will stop at nothing to fulfill his desires.

Supreme Courtship by Christopher Buckley (new-to-me author/Hachette)

President of the United States Donald Vanderdamp is having a hell of a time getting his nominees appointed to the Supreme Court. After one nominee is rejected for insufficiently appreciating To Kill A Mockingbird, the president chooses someone so beloved by voters that the Senate won’t have the guts to reject her — Judge Pepper Cartwright, the star of the nation’s most popular reality show, Courtroom Six.

Will Pepper, a straight-talking Texan, survive a confirmation battle in the Senate? Will becoming one of the most powerful women in the world ruin her love life? And even if she can make it to the Supreme Court, how will she get along with her eight highly skeptical colleagues, including a floundering Chief Justice who, after legalizing gay marriage, learns that his wife has left him for another woman.

Soon, Pepper finds herself in the middle of a constitutional crisis, a presidential reelection campaign that the president is determined to lose, and oral arguments of a romantic nature.

To Desire A Devil by Elizabeth Hoyt (new-to-me author/Hachette) (Donated to local library)

NOTHING IS MORE INTOXICATING-
Reynaud St. Aubyn has spent the last seven years in hellish captivity. Now half mad with fever he bursts into his ancestral home and demands his due. Can this wild-looking man truly be the last earl’s heir, thought murdered by Indians years ago?
OR DANGEROUS-
Beatrice Corning, the niece of the present earl, is a proper English miss. But she has a secret: No real man has ever excited her more than the handsome youth in the portrait in her uncle’s home. Suddenly, that very man is here, in the flesh-and luring her into his bed.
THAN SURRENDERING TO A DEVIL.
Only Beatrice can see past Reynaud’s savagery to the noble man inside. For his part, Reynaud is drawn to this lovely lady, even as he is suspicious of her loyalty to her uncle. But can Beatrice’s love tame a man who will stop at nothing to regain his title-even if it means sacrificing her innocence?

Doubleback by Libby Fischer Hellmann (new-to-me author/Librarything) (Claimed by Rebecca)

Little Molly Messenger is kidnapped on a sunny June morning. Three days later she’s returned, apparently unharmed. Molly’s mother, Chris, is so grateful to have her daughter back that she s willing to overlook the odd circumstances.

A few days later, the brakes go out on Chris’s car.

An accident? Maybe. Except that it turns out that Chris, the IT manager at a large Chicago bank, may have misappropriated three million dollars. Not convinced that his daughter is safe, Molly’s father hires PI Georgia Davis to follow the money and investigate Chris’s death.

Doubleback, the sequel to the acclaimed Easy Innocence, reunites PI Georgia Davis with video producer Ellie Foreman (An Eye For Murder, A Picture Of Guilt, An Image Of Death, A Shot To Die For). The two women track leads from Northern Wisconsin to an Arizona border town, where illegal immigrants, smuggled drugs, and an independent contractor called Delton Security come into play. Georgia and Ellie go to great lengths to find the truth, and Georgia discovers that you can cross a line, but sometimes you have to double back.

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What books came into your house last week? Don’t forget to fill out Mister Linky or leave a comment with a list of books if you don’t blog. If you’re interested in Read It Forward you will need to leave a comment in addition to filling out Mister Linky.

• In the “Your name:” box, please enter either your name or your blog’s name.

• In the “Your URL:” box please enter the URL/link that will lead directly to the post you are submitting (also called the permalink). This is not the URL to the blog’s home page.

Powered by… Mister Linky’s Magical Widgets.

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Read It Forward details

US Cover

Title: Even Money
Author/website: Dick Francis (and Felix)
350 pages
Publisher: Putnam Adult
Publication date: August ‘09
Genre: Mystery
Would I recommend it: I would

UK Cover

Journal notes: I very much enjoyed Even Money by Dick Francis and his son, Felix. It’s a good solid mystery that blindsided me a time or two. Its a bit beyond a cozy mystery but definitely not of the hard-boiled variety. While there is murder, mayhem and mischief its not the bloody, messy, hide-your-eyes kind. Ned manages to maintain his sense of humor in the face of a myriad of personal and work issues. And once the trouble starts it continues to pile up in spades. I may have read Mr. Francis years ago but can’t remember that far back. I know that I’ll be reading more of his work in the future. I did have a some trouble following the shop talk concerning betting and bookmaking but only because I’m not a numbers kind of girl.

A taut crime thriller, features an especially sympathetic hero. Bookmaker Ed Talbot is struggling with his wife’s mental illness, even as technology threatens to give the big bookmaking outfits an insurmountable advantage over his small family business. Soon after a man shows up at Ascot and identifies himself as Ed’s father, Peter, whom Ed believed long dead, a thug demanding money stabs Peter to death. Ed is in for even more shocks when he learns his father was the prime suspect in his mother’s murder—and that Peter’s killing, rather than a random act of violence, may be linked to a mysterious electronic device used in some horse-racing fraud. Ed must juggle his amateur investigations into past and present crimes with his demanding family responsibilities.

(Even Money was provided to me by Anna of Authors on the Web. I was not paid and the book is being shipped to another book blogger. )

Title: The Queen’s Governess
Author: Karen Harper
Publication date: January ‘10
Genre: Historical

A fresh and intriguing historical novel told in the voice of Queen Elizabeth I’s governess.

Katherine Ashley, the daughter of a poor country squire, happily secures an education and a place for herself in a noble household. But when Thomas Cromwell, a henchman for King Henry VIII, brings her to the royal court as a spy, Kat enters into a thrilling new world of the Tudor monarchs.

Freed from a life of espionage by Cromwell’s downfall, Kat eventually befriends Anne Boleyn. As a dying favor to the doomed queen, Kat becomes governess and surrogate-mother to the young Elizabeth Tudor. Together they suffer bitter exile, assassination attempts, and imprisonment, barely escaping with their lives. But they do, and when Elizabeth is crowned, Kat continues to serve her, faithfully guarding all the queen’s secrets (including Elizabeth’s affair with the dashing Robert Dudley) . . . and ultimately emerging as the lifelong confidante and true mother-figure to Queen Elizabeth.

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I’ve read the first three books in Karen Harper’s Queen Elizabeth I mystery series in which governess Kat Ashely is a prominent character. I have the other six books in the series which I’m looking forward to reading along with The Queen’s Governess. They are fun, light-hearted mysteries solved by Queen Elizabeth I and a close group of confidants.

Jill at Breaking the Spine hosts Waiting on Wednesday. Stop by and check out the great books your fellow readers can’t wait to get their hands on. What book are you waiting for?

Title: Vera and the Ambassador: Escape and Return
Author/website: Vera and Donald Blinken
284 pages
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Publication date: February ‘09
Genre: Memoir
Would I recommend it: Absolutely
Journal notes: I really, really enjoyed Vera and Donald’s book Vera and the Ambassador: Escape and Return. Vera’s story of escape as a young child from war torn Europe is nothing short of amazing. And then to return to your birth country as an Ambassador for your adopted country is a tale of true personal fortitude. While Donald’s personal story isn’t as gripping as Vera’s it doesn’t lack achievement. Donald’s accomplishments in the business world speak highly to his success. The Ambassadorial posting to Hungry which the Blinkens pursued was one that suited each perfectly. It gave Vera the opportunity to return home and Donald the opportunity to bring this shattered country into the 20th century. Their posting wasn’t glamorous nor as much sought after as some others might be. But their posting turned out to be highly visible and not without its struggles and triumphs. Bits and pieces of the government have always been an interest of mine. I’ve often thought about what life as a diplomat would really be like. Vera and Donald take the reader behind the scenes and into the inner workings of a US embassy.  It was very, very interesting and enlightening .

Vera’s chapters are touching and filled with the myriad of small details that make up life in a country just emerging from dictatorship into a free thinking, democratic society. In Vera’s chapters Hungry, at times, almost seemed to be third world. She writes about networking for industry professionals which was unheard in a country where you were never sure who was spying and who wasn’t. Iron curtain mentality was definitely still existent in the 1990s. Donald’s chapters also incorporate this iron curtain mentality. But they also reflect his business background as he guides the government and its political leaders through the mine fields of acceptance on the international stage. If you think getting your coworkers to agree on a single idea can be tedious try getting these players all on the same page. He had his work cut out of him.

The Blinkens alternate chapters to recount their years as the U.S. ambassadorial couple to Hungary during Bill Clinton’s first term as president. Vera Blinken escaped Hungary as a child with her mother after WWII as the iron curtain started its descent on central Europe. Donald Blinken, a former investment banker, was appointed at the dawn of Hungary’s nascent democracy and entry into the world economy, and negotiated its entry into NATO. Together they breathed new life into U.S.-Hungary relations, negotiated the opening of American military bases that contributed to the end of the Bosnian conflict and started health initiatives in the local community. Theirs is a candid behind-the-scenes look at the glamour and challenges of diplomatic life: along with consorting with the pope and Madonna came inevitable security concerns, death-defying trips in formerly Soviet helicopters and the struggle to reshape attitudes toward what was perceived as American cultural imperialism. The energetic narration moves seamlessly from historical to contemporary political themes to the more personal and particular highlight of the book—accompanying Vera Blinken as she rediscovers what remains of the Budapest of her childhood.

(Vera and the Ambassador: Escape and Return was provided to me by Charlotte of Charlotte Abbott Communications. I was not paid and the book is being donated to my local library. )