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Archive for December, 2009

US Cover

Title: Fantasy in Death (In Death #37)
Author: Nora Roberts / J.D. Robb (auto-buy; I love this series)
Release date: February ’10

UK Cover

They were best friends, driven by one shared vision – to rule the world of virtual reality games. Cill, hard-edged and beautiful, Var and Benny, brains and business acumen, and Bart, the genius behind the idea. Their newest invention, developed to transport the player into a fantastical virtual world, is just about to be launched. Then, suddenly, Bart is found brutally killed, defeated by their own game. Their close-knit group is torn apart. Who could have engineered a virtual death with such devastating consequences? Even Eve Dallas, New York City’s most cunning investigator, is hard-pressed for an answer. But as she digs deeper, peeling back layers of secrets, revenge and misplaced allegiances, she realises with growing dread the depth of the killer’s master plan. And she knows his game is far from over…

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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?

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: Blood Royal
Author: Vanora Bennett
Release date: April ’09

Catherine de Valois, daughter of the French king is born in troubled times. Though she is being brought up in a royal court, it is a stormy and unstable environment. Her only firend is the remarkable poet and writer Christine de Pizan. She is married off to Heny V as part of a treaty honouring his victory over France, and is destined to be a trophy wife. Terrified at the idea of being married to a man who is at once, a foreigner, an enemy and a rough soldier, Catherine nevertheless does her duty. Within tow years she is widowed, and mother of the future King of England and France – even though her brother has already claimed the French crown for himself. Caught between warring factions and under threat the powerful lords of the English court and her own brothers-in-law, she has to find her own way, if only for the sake of her baby son.She takes strength from the teachings of her mentor de Pizan, and the possibility that she will be able to return home to France. She is also supported by Owain Tudor, controller of her household-a dangerous support as rumours of their relationship would jeoperdise her right to keep her child. To save her son, and herself, She must turn away from her love and all that is familiar and safe to find another way forward.

Title: Figures in Silk / Queen of Silks
Author: Vanora Bennett
Release date: 2009 (WL)

US/UK Cover HB

UK Cover PB

UK Cover PB - title change

Two sisters discover passion during the War of the Roses–one in the arms of the king, the other in the world of silk From the author of the acclaimed novel “Portrait of an Unknown Woman” comes an epic tale of love and intrigue. The year is 1471. Edward IV, who won the throne with the help of his brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, is restoring law and order after years of war. Under Edward IV, life in England begins to improve. Business is booming once more and the printing and silk industries prosper in London. When silk merchant John Lambert marries off his two beautiful daughters, their fortunes are forever changed. Elder daughter Jane Shore begins a notorious liaison with the king while industrious and clever Isabel finds herself married into the house of Claver, a wealthy silk dynasty. Fate delivers Isabel a challenge when her new husband is killed and she is forced into apprenticeship to her mother-in-law, Alice Claver. It is from Alice Claver that Isabel learns to love silk and the exotic and passionate fabrics from Italy, Persia, Spain, Tunisia, and beyond. Isabel learns to make her way in this new world of silk–to find friends and enemies–and she strikes an alliance with her sister’s lover, King Edward IV, that will bring the secrets of silk-making to London. As Isabel grows in power and her plan for a silk industry run by Englishwomen is set into motion, the political landscape shifts in dangerous ways. One sister will fall as the other rises and choices must be made that will change their lives forever.

Title: Portrait of an Unknown Woman
Author: Vanora Bennett
Release date: 2007 (WL)

HB Cover

PB Cover

PB Cover

“The year is 1527. The great portraitist Hans Holbein, who has fled the reformation in Europe, is making his first trip to England under commission to Sir Thomas More. In the course of six years, Holbein will become a close friend to the More family and paint two nearly identical family portraits. But closer examination of the paintings reveals that the second holds several mysteries… ” Set against the turmoil, intrigue and, tragedy of Henry VIII’s court, “Portrait of an Unknown Woman” vividly evokes sixteenth-century England on the verge of enormous change. As the Protestant Reformation sweeps across Europe to lap at England’s shores, relations between her king and the Catholic Church begin to plummet-driven by Henry VIII’s insatiable need for a male heir and the urgings of his cunning mistress Anne Boleyn-and heresy begins to take hold. As tensions rise, Henry VIII turns to his most trusted servant and defender of Catholic orthodoxy, Sir Thomas More to keep peace in England, but soon the entire More family find their own lives at risk. At the center of “Portrait of an Unknown Woman” is Meg Gigg’s, Sir Thomas More’s twenty-three year old adopted daughter. Intelligent, headstrong, and tender-hearted, Meg has been schooled in the healing arts. And though she is devoted to her family, events conspire that will cause Meg to question everything she thought she knew-including the desires of her own heart. As the danger to More and his family increases, two men will vie for Meg’s affections: John Clement, her former tutor and More’s protege who shares Meg’s passion for medicine, but whose true identity will become unclear, and the great Holbein, who’s artistic vision will forever alter her understanding of the world. With a striking sense of period detail “Portrait of an Unknown Woman” is an unforgettable story of sin and religion, desire and deception. It is the story of a young woman on the brink of sensual awakening and of a country on the edge of mayhem.

Title: Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home
Author/website(s): Rhoda Janzen
DNF’d @ pg. 162
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Publication date: October ’09
Genre: Memoir
Review book or pleasure reading: Review book
New-to-me author: Yes
Would I recommend this book: No
Would I read more from this author: I don’t think so
Journal notes: My love of memoirs and having Mennonite cousins sparked my initial interest in reading Mennonite in a Little Black Dress. The first chapter of this book is an absolute laugh riot. I could totally identify with, or imagine myself, in Rhoda’s situation. After that opening chapter I had high hopes for this book that were quickly dashed the more I read. It digressed from funny to OK to a snooze fest. I found myself reading the words on the pages and losing focus on the gist of her story. By the time I got to the end of a chapter I didn’t even remember enough of the beginning to put everything in between together. I stewed for about six hours at work trying to decide if it was worth finishing having only a bit more than hour’s worth of reading left. Finally I decided to move on to something else. This is another book that most readers will love and I’ll be in the minority – oh well.

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.

(Mennonite in the Little Black Dress was provided to me by Jason at Henry Holt and Company. I was not paid and this book is being passed along to the another book blogger through Read It Forward )

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.

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Dead Game by Jennifer Chase (new-to-me-author/author contact) (this is pdf file so not available for Read It Forward)

In this Video Game, “Game Over” Means You’re Dead

In her independent efforts to catch child killers, Emily Stone discovers the evidence that the cops can’t – or won’t – uncover. Now, this covert investigator is back on the hunt for the world’s most sick and twisted murderers. But even with help from ex-police detective Rick Lopez, this time she’s facing her most dangerous opponent yet.

The headlines in the San Jose Mercury News blare updates on a serial killer who seems able to slaughter with impunity. Men, women – it doesn’t matter; the victims serve only to satisfy a perverted need to kill. The killer watches the moment of death on multiple computer screens, over and over again. The only connection is that they’re all devotees of the latest video-game craze – a sophisticated brain-puzzler called EagleEye.

When the killer goes after Lopez’s law-enforcement mentor, Lopez and Stone decide to give the cops a little extra, unsolicited help. What follows takes them deep inside a shocking high-tech world, a kind of social-networking community for serial killers. But when they start getting too close to the truth, all hell’s going to break loose.

Now, Stone and Lopez become the killer’s next target as Stone must make a difficult decision to leave the ones she loves in an all-or-nothing effort for survival. Can they stay alive long enough to blow the whistle on this unlikely perpetrator?

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Read It Forward details

US Cover

Title: Pirate Latitudes
Author/website(s): Michael Crichton
320 pages
Publisher: Harper
Publication date: November ’09
Genre: Fiction, historical setting
Review book or pleasure reading: Pleasure reading
New-to-me author: Yes
Would I recommend this book: I would
Would I read more from this author: I might depending on subject matter
Journal notes: Pleasure reading – no review.

UK Cover

The Caribbean, 1665. A remote colony of the English Crown, the island of Jamaica holds out against the vast supremacy of the Spanish empire. Port Royal, its capital, is a cutthroat town of taverns, grog shops, and bawdy houses.

In this steamy climate there’s a living to be made, a living that can end swiftly by disease—or by dagger. For Captain Charles Hunter, gold in Spanish hands is gold for the taking, and the law of the land rests with those ruthless enough to make it.

Word in port is that the galleon El Trinidad, fresh from New Spain, is awaiting repairs in a nearby harbor. Heavily fortified, the impregnable harbor is guarded by the bloodthirsty Cazalla, a favorite commander of the Spanish king himself. With backing from a powerful ally, Hunter assembles a crew of ruffians to infiltrate the enemy outpost and commandeer El Trinidad, along with its fortune in Spanish gold. The raid is as perilous as the bloodiest tales of island legend, and Hunter will lose more than one man before he even sets foot on foreign shores, where dense jungle and the firepower of Spanish infantry stand between him and the treasure. . . .

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Title: The Silent Gift
Author/website(s): Michael Landon Jr & Cindy Kelley
362 pages
Publisher: Bethany House
Publication date: October ’09
Genre: Historical fiction by faith-based authors
Review book or pleasure reading: Review book
New-to-me author(s): Yes
Would I recommend this book: Definitely
Would I read more from this author(s): Definitely
Journal notes: If I was wandering through a bookstore and saw you holding The Silent Gift in your hands I would stop and tell you how much I enjoyed the story. I’d tell you it isn’t a book to be left sitting on the bookstore shelf. Its a book to be taken home and read more than once. A book that will touch you deep down. A book to be shared with those you love.

I accepted this book with some trepidation and actually wrote that in my responding email the publicist. I don’t usually read books written by faith-based authors but I’m willing to make exceptions if a story sounds especially appealing to me. Such was the story of The Silent Gift. Frankly Michael Landon Jr as an author was a big draw for me. I adored his father watching Michael Landon Sr in both Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie (some of my favorite books as a young girl). Wanting a break from my usually fare of royal intrigue and suspenseful mystery I plucked The Silent Gift off the shelf.

The Silent Gift isn’t going to challenge your beliefs. It isn’t going to try and beat you into submission and convert you. The Silent Gift is going to warm your heart. Hopefully it will spark acts of kindness, giving and paying it forward. Even though it isn’t a holiday story I found it especially fitting to read this time of year. My print edition is going to a new home but I’ll be buying the Kindle edition so that I can re-read this wonderful story over and over again. Like Sarah from Sarah’s Key Jack will be with me for a very long time.

The 1930s were a decade of enormous uncertainty–for the world, for America, and in particular for one lonely, struggling mother and her disabled son. Their story is one of love and enormous sacrifices in the face of circumstances horrendous beyond belief. When her husband leaves her for someone whose time isn’t wrapped up in a silent, handicapped kid, Mary and little Jack are out on their own in a world that has no room for the poor and disabled. Especially not at a time when most Americans are simply trying to survive their economic woes and job losses. But then arrives The Gift…where has it come from, and why? How can a young boy who can neither hear nor speak provide comfort, direction, and sometimes challenges to seekers who learn of the special ability? Whatever the source, its presence brings a single shaft of light and hope to Mary and her beloved Jack. Will it be enough?

(The Silent Gift was provided to me by Eillott at Edify Media. I was not paid and this book is being passed along to the another book blogger through Read It Forward )

Title: The Secret of the Glass
Author: Donna Russo Morin
Release date: February ’10

At the dawn of the 17th Century, the glassmakers of Murano are revered as master artisans, enjoying privileges far beyond their station, but they are forced to live in virtual imprisonment, contained by the greedy Venetian government who fears other countries will learn the intricacies of the craft…and reap the rewards.

Sophia Fiolario, the comely daughter of a glass making maestro, has no desire for marriage, finding her serenity in the love of her family and the beauty of the glass. She learns of its secrets at her father’s side, where a woman is forbidden to be. The life Sophia loves is threatened by the poor health of her father and the determined attentions of a nobleman who could and would never love her but seeks to possess her wealth and the privilege it affords. Thrust into the opulent world of the Venetian court, Sophia becomes embroiled in the scheming machinations of the courtiers’ lives. The beauty of Venice, the magnificence of the Doge’s Palace, are rivaled only by the intrigue and danger that festers behind their splendid facades. As she searches for an escape, she finds the arms of another, a man whose own desperate situation is yet another obstacle in their path.

Amidst political and religious intrigue, the scientific furor ignited by Galileo, and even murder, Sophia must do anything to protect herself, her family…and the secret of the glass.

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Title: The Courtier’s Secret
Author: Donna Russo Morin
Release date: February ’09 (WL)

In this historical adventure novel set in the fascinating, sexy, excessive, and dangerous world of Louis XIV’s court of Versailles, Jeanne du Bois, the daughter of a cruel and controlling comte, fights against an arranged marriage to a weak, ineffectual, effeminate man of her father’s choosing; she fights with a small, dedicated group of Musketeers to save the life of the Queen of France; and she fights for the true love of her life.

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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?

UK 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 Crimson Rooms
Author: Katherine McMahon
Release date: February ’10

US Cover

Evelyn is a young woman who has defied convention to become one of the country’s pioneer female lawyers. Living at home with her mother, aunt, and grandmother, Evelyn is still haunted by the death of her younger brother James in the First World War. Therefore when the doorbell rings late one night and a woman appears, claiming to have mothered James’s child, her world is turned upside down. Evelyn distrusts Meredith at first, but also finds that this new arrival challenges her work-obsessed lifestyle. Coming to a head, and her heart in limbo, Evelyn takes matters into her own hands.

So far her legal career has not set the world alight. But then two cases arise that make Evelyn realise perhaps she can make a difference. The first concerns a woman called Leah Marchant whose children have been taken away from her simply because she is poor. The second, Stephen Wheeler – a former acquaintance of Daniel Breen, her boss – has been charged with murdering his own wife.

It is clear to Breen and Evelyn that Wheeler is innocent but he won’t talk. After being humiliated in court, Evelyn is approached by a dashing lawyer called Nicholas Thorne. She is needled by his privileged background and old-fashioned attitudes, but despite being engaged, he cannot seem to resist sparring with this feisty young female. In the meantime, Meredith makes an earth-shattering accusation about James. With the Wheeler case coming to a head, and her heart in limbo, Evelyn takes matters into her own hands.

Title: The Murdered House
Author/website(s): Pierre Magnan
247 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication date: November ’09 (original french publication date: ’84)
Genre: Mystery
Would I recommend this book: DNF @ pg. 50
Would I read more from this author: Most likely no
Journal notes: I was so looking forward to reading The Murdered House but frankly I found this story line just plain strange. I got through the beginning where the family except for the baby is murdered. So far so good. Then we jump ahead 23 or so years and the child has become a man newly returned home from WWI. Still doing OK. Then things just go south. He learns the story, or part of it, surrounding the murder of his family. He finds himself drawn back to start destroying the house as he is haunted by images of a mother he never knew. Then low and behold two country lasses are drawn to him for no apparent reason. One comes on to him and the other steps in his way as he starts his path of destruction. And now I’m done with The Murdered House.

One dark night in the winter of 1896, in remote upper Provence, a family is brutally massacred. Only a three-week-old baby miraculously survives. In 1920, the orphan, Seraphin Monge, finally returns home from the war to pursue the truth. Haunted by the image of his mother’s dying moments, he turns on the house that has seen such misery, destroying it stone by stone. As the walls crumble, the killers’ identities are laid bare and his anger turns to vengeance. But for every murder Seraphin plots, another hand silently executes it in his place.

(The Murdered House was provided to me by Anne at Minotaur Books. I was not paid and this book is being passed along to the another book blogger through Read It Forward )