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Archive for the ‘ARC/ARE’ Category

Title: Juliet
Author/website(s): Anne Fortier
444 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication date: August ’10
Genre: A mix of contemporary & historical fiction
Review book or pleasure reading: Pleasure reading
New-to-me author: Yes
Would I recommend this book: Yes, yes, yes
Would I read more from this author: Yes
Journal notes: Loved it! OK it does get a bit melodramatic, in parts, towards the end but then Romeo and Juliet weren’t without their own melodramatic moments. This is a minor quibble about an otherwise very entertaining and highly enjoyable story. And personally I like the new spin on the standard tale of Romeo and Juliet. Some of my most enjoyable reading has come from story lines that mix the contemporary with the historical. If you’re a fan of authors such as Christi Phillips (The Devlin Diary, The Rossetti Letter), Carol Goodman (The Night Villa, The Sonnet Lover) and Lauren Willig (The Pink Carnation series) add Ms. Fortier to your authors to read list. And get your hands on a copy of her debut novel Juliet.

When Julie Jacobs inherits a key to a safety deposit box in Siena, Italy, she is told it will lead her to an old family treasure. Soon she is launched on a precarious journey into the true history of her ancestor Giulietta, whose legendary love for a young man named Romeo turned medieval Siena upside down. As Julie crosses paths with the descendants of the families involved in Shakespeare’s unforgettable blood feud, she begins to realize that the notorious curse – “A plague on both your houses!” – is still at work, and that she is the next target. It seems the only one who can save her from her fate is Romeo… but where is he?

Juliet was provided to me by Quinne at Ballantine Books. I was not paid and this book is being passed along to another book blogger

Title: The Botticelli Secret
Author/website(s): Marina Fiorato
514 pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s
Publication date: March ’10
Genre: Historical fiction
Review book or pleasure reading: Pleasure reading
New-to-me author: Yes
Would I recommend this book: I would with a language rating
Would I read more from this author: Yes
Journal notes: Unlike most reviewers at Amazon I wasn’t disappointed with The Botticelli Secret. I very much enjoyed the story and would read more from this author. As fair warning to other readers this book should probably come with an R rating for language. What you won’t find in the book description from Amazon but is mentioned in the book blurb on the back cover is that “Luciana Vetra is foul-mouthed.” Her occupation is street whore and in this story her language at times is most appropriate for the gutter. I was a bit surprised by Luciana’s language as it isn’t what I expected from this type of historical fiction but it was in keeping with her character. I’ve been known to blister some ears myself. If you read far enough into this story you come to find out that Luciana is much more than a street whore and her background might surprise you. 

In this exhilarating cross between The Da Vinci Code and The Birth of Venus, an irrepressible young woman in 15th-century Italy must flee for her life after stumbling upon a deadly secret when she serves as a model for Botticelli… 

When part-time model and full-time prostitute Luciana Vetra is asked by one of her most exalted clients to pose for a painter friend, she doesn’t mind serving as the model for the central figure of Flora in Sandro Botticelli’s masterpiece “Primavera.” But when the artist dismisses her without payment, Luciana impulsively steals an unfinished version of the painting–only to find that somone is ready to kill her to get it back. 

What could possibly be so valuable about the picture? As friends and clients are slaughtered around her, Luciana turns to the one man who has never desired her beauty, novice librarian Brother Guido. Fleeing Venice together, Luciana and Guido race through the nine cities of Renaissance Italy, pursued by ruthless foes who are determined to keep them from decoding the painting’s secrets. 

The Botticelli Secret was provided to me by OregonKimm at My Eclectic Reads. This book is being passed along to another book blogger  

Primavera by Sandro Botticelli

Title: Hush
Author/website(s): Kate White
341 pages
Publisher: Harper
Publication date: March ’10
Genre: Suspense
Review book or pleasure reading: Pleasure reading
New-to-me author: Yes
Would I recommend this book: Definitely
Would I read more from this author: Yes
Journal notes: Pleasure reading – no review except to say that I wanted a page turner. I got exactly what I asked for and thoroughly enjoyed reading Hush.

When Lake Warren learns that her husband Jack is suing for full custody of their two kids four months after their separation, she’s pretty certain that things can’t get any worse. The upside is that she’s working with the Advanced Fertility Center as a marketing consultant alongside the attractive, flirtatious Dr. Keaton. But when Lake finds Keaton with his throat slashed the morning after their one-night stand, she learns that things can indeed become worse—they can become deadly.

So as not to jeopardize her case for custody, Lake is forced to lie to the police. Having just been intimate with a man who has been murdered and wanting to protect herself from being charged with the crime, she begins her own search for the truth. But when the police start looking at her closely, people at the clinic start treating her with hostility, and strange and dangerous clues begin dropping—quite literally—on her doorstep, Lake realizes that she is dangerously close to dark secrets about Keaton and the clinic. But can Lake stop what she’s started before it’s too late?

Hush was provided to me by Nicole at Authors on the Web. I was not paid and this book is being passed along to another book blogger

Title: City of Dragons (A San Francisco mystery)
Author/website(s): Kelli Stanley
335 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication date: March ’10
Genre: Historical mystery (1940)
Review book or pleasure reading: Pleasure reading
New-to-me author: Yes
Would I recommend this book: DNF’d @ pg. 113
Would I read more from this author: No
Journal notes: Pleasure reading – no review except to say this author forgot to capture my interest in her story.

February, 1940.

Gone With The Wind packs movie palaces two months after its December premiere. “Moonlight Serenade” echoes from jukeboxes all over the country. And the Sino-Japanese war still rages, while France waits anxiously for the Nazi blitzkrieg to hammer the Maginot line.

In San Francisco’s Chinatown, fireworks explode as the city celebrates Chinese New Year with a Rice Bowl Party, a three day-and-night carnival designed to raise money and support for China war relief.

Miranda Corbie—thirty-three-year-old private investigator, Spanish Civil War nurse and ex-escort, waits impatiently in the crowd. Until small-time numbers runner Eddie Takahashi stumbles into Sacramento Street and into her life … fatally shot.

The Chamber of Commerce wants it covered up. The cops acquiesce. Japanese boy in a Chinese carnival … wrong place at the wrong time.

All Miranda wants is justice—whatever it costs. From Chinatown tenements to a tattered tailor’s shop in Little Osaka, to a high-class bordello draped in Southern Gothic—she shakes down the city—her city—seeking the truth.

City of Dragons was provided to me by Bridget at Minotaur Books. I was not paid and this book is being passed along to another book blogger

Title: Pray for Silence (Kate Burkholder, book #2)
Author/website(s): Linda Castillo
304 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication date: June ’10
Genre: Police procedural/murder mystery
Review book or pleasure reading: Pleasure reading
New-to-me author: No
Would I recommend this book: Yes; a must read (I read 2/3 of the book in one sitting)
Would I read more from this author: Waiting for Kate Burkholder book #3
Journal notes: Pleasure reading – no review except to say if you enjoyed Sworn to Silence (book #1) you’re gonna love this one. If you enjoy suspenseful police procedruals and haven’t yet read Sworn to Silence you need to get your hands on a copy so you’ll be caught up when Pray for Silence is released in June.** I recommend reading this series in order.

In the quiet town of Painters Mill, an Amish family of seven has been found brutally murdered on their farm. Chief of Police Kate Burkholder and her small force have few clues, no motive, and no suspect. Formerly Amish herself, Kate is no stranger to secrets, but she can’t get her mind around the senseless brutality of the crime. State agent John Tomasseti arrives on the scene to assist. He and Kate worked together on a previous case during which they began a tentative relationship, but each is wary of commitment. The disturbing details of this case will push them to their limits and force them to face demons from their own troubled pasts. When Kate discovers a diary, she realizes a haunting personal connection to the case. One of the teenage daughters may have been leading a lurid double life. As the case develops, Kate’s list of suspects grows. Who is the attractive stranger that stole the heart of the innocent young Amish girl? Did her estranged brother—a man with a violent past who was shunned by his family and the Amish community—come back to seek out revenge? Driven by her own scarred past, Kate swears she’ll find the killer and bring him to justice—even if it means putting herself in the line of fire.

Pray for Silence was provided to me by Bridget at Minotaur Books. I was not paid and this book is being passed along to another book blogger

Title: Deliver Us From Evil
Author/website(s): David Baldacci
406 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication date: April ’10
Genre: Suspense/thriller
Review book or pleasure reading: Pleasure reading
New-to-me author: Oh no, Mr. Baldacci has been on my favorite authors/auto-buy list since his very 1st novel Absolute Power
Would I recommend this book: You betcha
Would I read more from this author: Absolutely
Journal notes: Pleasure reading – no review.

Evan Waller is a monster. He has built a fortune from his willingness to buy and sell anything . . . and anyone. In search of new opportunities, Waller has just begun a new business venture: one that could lead to millions of deaths all over the globe.

On Waller’s trail is Shaw, the mysterious operative from The Whole Truth, who must prevent Waller from closing his latest deal. Shaw’s one chance to bring him down will come in the most unlikely of places: a serene, bucolic village in Provence.

But Waller’s depravity and ruthlessness go deeper than Shaw knows. And now, there is someone else pursuing Waller in Provence-Reggie Campion, an agent for a secret vigilante group headquartered in a musty old English estate-and she has an agenda of her own.

Hunting the same man and unaware of each other’s mission, Shaw and Reggie will be caught in a deadly duel of nerve and wits.

Deliver Us From Evil was provided to me by Miriam at Hachette Book Group. I was not paid and this book is being passed along to the another book blogger through Read It Forward

Title: Am I Not A Man? The Dred Scott Story
Author/website(s): The Dread Scott Story
430 pages
Publisher: Valor Publishing Group
Publication date: November ’09
Genre: Historical fiction
Review book or pleasure reading: Review book
New-to-me author: Yes
Would I recommend this book: Yes
Would I read more from this author: Most likely though it would depend on the subject matter
Journal notes: Am I Not A Man? is very readable and enjoyable mix of Dred Scott’s story and national history. Its the story of a man determined to right a wrong and a young country at a crossroads that threatens the very values it was built on. Mr. Shurtleff weaves together Dred’s story with a wonderful narrative of the political tensions of the time. He starts with some of our country’s founding fathers who were tortured men regarding the issue of slavery. These men were slave owners who knew that the system was inherently wrong but found themselves unable to reach resolution to such a intensively sensitive topic. He continues to provide insightful background material that helps the reader understand the significance of Dred’s struggle for freedom up to the ratification of the 14th amendment. I found Am I Not A Man? a very interesting book leaving me wondering why I put off reading it for so long.

An illiterate slave, Dred Scott trusted in an all-white, slave-owning jury to declare him free. But after briefly experiencing the glory of freedom and manhood, a new state Supreme Court ordered the cold steel of the shackles to be closed again around his wrists and ankles. Falling to his knees, Dred cried, “Ain’t I a man?” Dred answered his own question by rising and taking his fight to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Dred ultimately lost his epic battle when the Chief Justice declared that a black man was so inferior that he had “no rights a white man was bound to respect.”

Dred died not knowing that his undying courage led directly to the election of President Abraham Lincoln and the emancipation proclamation.

Dred Scott’s inspiring and compelling true story of adventure, courage, love, hatred, and friendship parallels the history of this nation from the long night of slavery to the narrow crack in the door that would ultimately lead to freedom and equality for all men.

Am I Not A Man? The Dred Scott Story was provided to me by Tristi at Valor Publishing Group. I was not paid and this book is being passed along to the another book blogger through Read It Forward )

Title: Winter Garden
Author/website(s): Kristin Hannah
391 pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication date: February ’10
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Review book or pleasure reading: Review book
New-to-me author: No; favorite/auto-buy author
Would I recommend this book: Undecided
Would I read more from this author: Yes
Journal notes: As much as I enjoyed Firefly Lane and True Colors I was disappointed by her newest Winter Garden. Just as Meredith and Nina found their mother cold and remote that how’s the storytelling felt to me. I thought it was missing the usual heart and soul Ms. Hannah puts into her stories. Reading this particular KH novel took a lot of patience for me. I almost DNF’d it.

Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard; the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters. As children, the only connection between them was the Russian fairy tale Anya sometimes told the girls at night. On his deathbed, their father extracts a promise from the women in his life: the fairy tale will be told one last time—and all the way to the end. Thus begins an unexpected journey into the truth of Anya’s life in war-torn Leningrad, more than five decades ago. Alternating between the past and present, Meredith and Nina will finally hear the singular, harrowing story of their mother’s life, and what they learn is a secret so terrible and terrifying that it will shake the very foundation of their family and change who they believe they are.

Winter Garden was provided to me by Nicole at Authors on the Web. I was not paid and this book is being passed along to the another book blogger through Read It Forward )

Title: The Cold Room
Author/website(s): J.T. Ellison
401 pages
Publisher: Mira
Publication date: March ’10
Genre: Police procedural
Review book or pleasure reading: Review book
New-to-me author: No
Would I recommend this book: Definitely
Would I read more from this author: Eagerly anticipating book #5 and book #4 isn’t even available until March of this year.
Journal notes: I’m pretty sure it isn’t fair to classify The Cold Room as a review book because J.T. Ellison’s Taylor Jackson series has quickly become a favorite of mine and hits the auto-buy authors list. Now that isn’t to say the relationship has been this way from the start (All The Pretty Girls) because I was a bit unsure at first. While I enjoyed All The Pretty Girls I wasn’t raving about it. When the opportunity came along to get The Cold Room as a review copy I thought ‘why not?’. I’d enjoyed All The Pretty Girls enough to give Ms. Ellison’s work another try. But first I needed to read 14 and The Judas Kiss as I have this little hangup about reading series in order. I did read 14 and The Judas Kiss and with each book my love of Ms. Ellison’s Taylor Jackson series was quickly growing into a long-term relationship. Taylor Jackson is a strong female lead character. Taylor reminds me a lot of Eva Dallas in J.D. Robb’s In Death series. There are several similarities in both Taylor’s and Eva’s professional and personal lives. Because I’ve been of the fan of the In Death series from the first book I wasn’t surprised by Taylor getting her hooks into me (reading wise that is). There is never a dull moment in this series. If you’re a fan of police procedurals check out The Cold Room. It kept me reading into the wee hours of the morning.

He Can Only Truly Love Her Once Her Heart Stops

Homicide Detective Taylor Jackson thinks she’s seen it all in Nashville—from the Southern Strangler to the Snow White Killer. But she’s never seen anything as perverse as the Conductor. Once his victim is captured, he contains her in a glass coffin, slowly starving her to death. Only then does he give in to his attraction.

When he’s finished, he creatively disposes of the body by reenacting scenes from famous paintings. And it seems similar macabre works are being displayed in Europe. Taylor teams up with her fiancé, FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin, and a New Scotland Yard detective named James “Memphis” Highsmythe, a haunted man who only has eyes for Taylor, to put an end to the Conductor’s art collection.

Has the killer gone international with his craft? Or are there dueling artists, competing to create the ultimate masterpiece?

(The Cold Room was provided to me by TJ at Planned Television Arts. I was not paid. This book doesn’t have a home yet so the first reader to tell me they want it can have it )

Title: The Confessions of Catherine de Medici
Author/website(s): C.W. Gortner (redesigned site which I like)
397 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication date: May ’10
Genre: Historical fiction
Review book or pleasure reading: Review book
New-to-me author: No
Would I recommend this book: Yes; another great book from this author
Would I read more from this author: Yes
Journal notes: Another book about Catherine de Medici. Was I courting trouble requesting a review copy of The Confessions of Catherine de Medici? I hadn’t finished reading other books about this queen I’d picked up and put down leading me to ponder: a queen I wasn’t interested in or storytelling styles that couldn’t capture my attention? After turning the last page of Confessions I’d say subject matter wasn’t the issue. In the talented storytelling style of Mr. Gortner I found her to be a very compelling individual. Mr. Gortner brings to life Catherine’s struggles to save her family and her kingdom during times of great religious strife. Of all the queens I’ve read about her story is by far the most fascinating. If you enjoyed The Last Queen, as I did, you won’t be disappointed with The Confessions of Catherine de Medici. I’m already looking forward to reading Mr. Gortner’s 2011 release of Princess Isabella, about the rise of the famous Spanish queen and the early years of her reign.

At the age of fourteen, Catherine de Medici, last legitimate descendant of the Medici blood, finds herself betrothed to the King Francois I’s son, Henri. Sent from her native Florence to France, humiliated and overshadowed by her husband’s life-long devotion to his mistress, when tragedy strikes her family Catherine rises from obscurity to become one of 16th century Europe’s most powerful women.

Patroness of Nostradamus and a seer in her own right, accused of witchcraft and murder by her foes, Catherine fights to save France and her children from savage religious conflict, unaware that her own fate looms before her — a fate that will demand the sacrifice of her ideals, her reputation, and passion of her own embattled heart.

From the splendors of the Loire palaces to the blood-soaked battles of the Wars of Religion and haunted halls of the Louvre, this is the story of Catherine’s dramatic life, told by the queen herself.

(The Confessions of Catherine de Medici was provided to me by Quinne at Ballantine Books, a division of Random House. I was not paid and this book is being passed along to the another book blogger through Read It Forward )