tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53618599557508318632024-02-07T20:01:46.689-08:00My Literary LeaningsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00944451615808381698noreply@blogger.comBlogger105125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5361859955750831863.post-73350101039902496942016-05-15T14:24:00.000-07:002016-05-15T14:24:12.449-07:00Death in the English Countryside<img alt="Title: Death in the English Countryside, Author: Sara Rosett" class="full-shadow" src="http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781500687304_p0_v1_s118x184.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Review of <i>Death in the English Countryside </i>by Sara Rosett</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com: </span></b>Location scout and Jane Austen aficionado, Kate Sharp, is thrilled when
the company she works for lands the job of finding locations for a new
film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, but then her boss, Kevin, fails
to return from a scouting trip to England. Afraid that Kevin has slipped
back into some destructive personal habits he struggles with, Kate
travels to England to salvage Kevin's and the company's reputation
before word gets out that he is missing. <br />
Things go from bad to
worse when Kate arrives in Nether Woodsmoor, a quaint village of golden
stone cottages and rolling green hills, only to find no trace of Kevin
except his abandoned luggage. Even the rumpled, easygoing local scout
they consulted, Alex, doesn't know where Kevin might be. <br />
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My Review:</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I can’t be quite certain but I believe that this
story falls into the cozy mystery genre and thus that is what I am labelling
this as. The story begins with our protagonist, Kate Sharpe who works for a
company that finds locations out in the real world where movie companies can
shoot their movies. Kate comes into work one day only to discover that her boss
Kevin has not yet returned to the office after a scouting trip to the English
countryside—and what’s worse, he apparently did not use his return ticket.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kate’s clandestine mission is to fly to England and
find him all the while keeping his past alcohol problems under wraps so that
their current client doesn’t bolt. Expecting to find him in a local pub
somewhere hung-over, Kate is dismayed to learn that has been days since he has
been seen and that his disappearance is looking less and less likely to be alcohol-related.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With the help of the location scout (Alex) that
Kevin had been working with, she attempts to discover what really happened to
him and convince the police to spend less time focusing on her as a potential
suspect. Meanwhile she begins to wonder if her instincts about Alex’s innocence
were not to be trusted after all as Inspector Quimby casts doubt on his alibi shortly
after an unknown assailant makes an attempt on her own life.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This story was great. I really liked the characters
as well as the plot itself. I believe it is the first book in a series and if I
am right about that it should make a very interesting one at that. It would be
unique to say the least to have a woman working for a film locations company as
an amateur sleuth in a cozy mystery. It is different and refreshing though I
would love to know where the author will find future situations for Kate to be
exposed to other crime investigations.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The English village did not play out in the
stereotypical way that I have often seen in the past. The villagers seemed
generally kind to our main character but not nauseatingly so. In other words, I
found the setting entirely believable.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Also, the story was clean. I don’t remember much in
the way of foul language or sex scenes. The violence was minimal. I don’t even
recall any blood though I am sure that there was some.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The plot was engaging enough to keep me guessing up
to nearly the very end. It did not feel like the author left anything out. In
the end, as Kate herself said, it was just a bunch of little things that didn’t
add up and made her think twice.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I recommend this book for a good light-hearted read,
a good summer read. It won’t take long to get through and it kept my attention
throughout. As of this writing, it is not too expensive either. If you like
this genre, you’ll probably want to check it out.</span></div>
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<![endif]-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00944451615808381698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5361859955750831863.post-41280850282438241322016-05-07T08:05:00.000-07:002016-05-07T08:12:39.321-07:00The Martian: The book vs. the movie<br />
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<img alt="Title: The Martian, Author: Andy Weir" class="full-shadow" src="http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780553418026_p0_v4_s118x184.jpg" /> </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>The Martian: </b></i><b>The book vs. the movie</b></span></div>
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Sometime back I said I would discuss <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Martian </i>book versus the movie version. It took longer than I
thought but here it is as promised. I should start by stating where I stand. I
am generally of the old school, that is, the idea that the book is always
better than the film, well maybe not always in my case. I do have to say that
it generally is in most cases. However, there are a few exceptions; I think
therefore when viewing, I try to give the movie a fair shot.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The book</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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If you want to know more about the book and what I thought
of it read my review in the last post. I don’t want to reiterate what I have
already said about it except as it relates to a direct comparison or contrast
of the movie. To sum it up I will say that I generally liked it with a few
exceptions.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How the movie stacks up: differences</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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First off, the movie strips most of the swear words and fbombs
out. For people like me who don’t like fbombs in particular, this is a good
thing. As part of my school work we had discussions about the perceived efforts
of the film industry to make this movie family friendly. Some were against it
because they thought it took away something from the character of Mark Watney. I
don’t agree with them, I felt it made it a bit easier to like him.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Casting</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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That brings me to my next point, the casting of the movie.
Matt Damon was a great choice for the role of Mark Watney. He added a certain
charm to it. I wasn’t as thrilled about some of the other members of the cast.
I liked Kristen Wiig as the PR rep. but did feel like they drastically shrunk
her role from the one that her character plays in the book.</div>
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<br /></div>
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However for me the biggest negative was how they changed the
ethnicity of Dr. Kapoor. In recent years we have finally begun to see more
roles for Indian Americans or people whose background originates in India. The
fact that they took that away really bugged me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yes, they had another Indian guy in there but he had a much smaller
role. Plus, Dr. Kapoor had one of the best lines in the book, the funniest,
that related directly to the Hindu religion of the character. It then obviously
had to be taken out when they changed his ethnicity. So sad.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Recommendation</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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My recommendation for this movie is that you see it. It is
certainly worth taking a look at, even if some aspects of it are disappointing.
Those who like some of the original characters from the book might find it a
little disappointing but I am preparing you for it ahead of time so hopefully
it won’t be a big shock. As far as book versus movie, I guess I am going to
have to root for the book though it is difficult for me to do so with all the
fbombs but overall, it tells the better story.</div>
<br />
Watch the trailer here:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ej3ioOneTy8/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ej3ioOneTy8?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00944451615808381698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5361859955750831863.post-64937768952534794982016-03-26T18:16:00.001-07:002016-03-26T18:16:55.218-07:00The Martian: the book<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="Title: The Martian, Author: Andy Weir" class="full-shadow" src="http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780553418026_p0_v4_s118x184.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>Review of <i>The Martian </i>by Andy Weir</b></span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com:</span> </b>Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. <br />
Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there.<br />
After
a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while
thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with
no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get
word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. <br />
Chances
are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged
machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much
more likely to kill him first. <br />
But Mark isn't ready to give up
yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless,
dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly
insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be
enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My Review:</span></span><br />
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Okay
peeps. Long time, no hear. I am sorry about that, I really. I only have all the
usual excuses about school, which brings me to my next point. I am here to
discuss <i>The Martian</i>, not a literal Martian
obviously but the book with that same title. In another future post I will
probably also give my assessment of book versus movie however this time I focus
strictly on the book.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Our main
character is a guy named Mark Watney. He’s not just any guy but to answer your
unspoken question, he is not a Martian. He is, however, an astronaut. He gets
left behind for dead during a mission to Mars. You don’t get far into this book
before you realize that Mark is wise-cracking type scientists who likes to make
jokes about almost everything, even his mistakes.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So what
does a guy like that do on Mars? Well apparently he just keeps making jokes and
working out the science to stay. And that brings me to his personal mission or
goal which is simply to stay alive until NASA can come and get him.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As per
my usual, I will start with the positives on this story. First, it is an
interesting concept. When I first heard about the plot it struck me as being a
twist on the man stranded on the deserted island plot except that you’ve upped
the ante because now he has to worry about being able to breathe as well as
grow food “on a planet where nothing grows.” So it has that going for it.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Second,
as I said before, Mark Watney is a funny guy. For the most part he is a
likeable character although I have to admit it took me a while to figure that
out. Some of his remarks came out more of bitter type of funny which I didn’t
care for too much but as the story got going I started to really appreciate his
sense of humor. I got the point where I could ignore the objectionable parts
and enjoy the story.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Third,
some of the other characters are also funny and fun to read. I loved Venkat
Kapoor, for example. It was nice to read a major Indian character in an
American story and I can only say—it’s about time. Lewis and her disco
collection were also useful in serving as the butt of Watney’s jokes.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The aforementioned
objectionable parts for me, well it was really one objectionable part—the language.
There are a ton of fbombs in this one. I might have stopped reading it
altogether due to that fact alone except for two things:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>·<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span>It
was a class assignment (I couldn’t believe it but I finally got to read a novel
for a class assignment, how awesome is that!)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>·<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span>It
was a really interesting plot.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">That
being said, you might want to consider that if you are going to read this book.
Also, I wouldn’t recommend it for younger readers. In fact, I would probably
suggest adults only.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
other down side was that I didn’t always understand the science behind it and
that made the scientific explanations hard to follow. I guess that’s my fault though
for not understanding more about science.<span>
</span>And since I didn’t have time to research it while I was reading it, I
got lost in a few places. However, that didn’t mean that I wasn’t able to
follow the story. I got all the major plot points and even most of the minor ones;
I just didn’t understand how they happened.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So I
recommend it only if you can either stomach or ignore the language. Otherwise,
you might want to consider the movie version instead.</span></span></div>
<br />
<b> </b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00944451615808381698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5361859955750831863.post-38658918163526107312016-01-23T04:08:00.000-08:002016-01-23T04:08:55.680-08:00The Secret Life of Anna Blanc<b><img alt="The Secret Life of Anna Blanc" class="full-shadow" src="http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781633880801_p0_v2_s118x184.jpg" /> </b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Review of <i>The Secret Life of Anna Blanc</i> by Jennifer Kincheloe</b></span><br />
<b><br /></b>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com:</b></span> <span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">It's 1907 Los Angeles. Mischievous socialite Anna Blanc is the kind
of young woman who devours purloined crime novels—but must disguise them
behind covers of more domestically-appropriate reading. She could match
wits with Sherlock Holmes, but in her world women are not allowed to
hunt criminals. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Determined to break free of the era's rigid
social roles, Anna buys off the chaperone assigned by her domineering
father and, using an alias, takes a job as a police matron with the Los
Angeles Police Department. There she discovers a string of brothel
murders, which the cops are unwilling to investigate. Seizing her one
chance to solve a crime, she takes on the investigation herself. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">If
the police find out, she'll get fired; if her father finds out, he'll
disown her; and if her fiancé finds out, he'll cancel the wedding and
stop pouring money into her father's collapsing bank. Midway into her
investigation, the police chief's son, Joe Singer, learns her true
identity. And shortly thereafter she learns about blackmail.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Anna
must choose—either hunt the villain and risk losing her father, fiancé,
and wealth, or abandon her dream and leave the killer on the loose.</span><br />
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My Review:</span></h3>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I am happy to be with you again to share my thoughts
about my last piece of fiction. This week I review <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Secret Life of Anna Blanc </i>by Jennifer Kincheloe.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It features a main character who is a well-known Los
Angeles socialite at the turn of the century, but that’s not all she is. As the
title suggests, Anna Blanc has a secret, a whole secret other life, under the
name of Matron Holmes.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Her love of playing detective and the chance for
excitement get the best of her. After a failed attempt at marriage, her father
literally catches her immediately after marrying someone he does not approve,
another man miraculously wants her for himself and his money is something that
her father can’t refuse.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After being arrested as a suffragette, Anna becomes obsessed
with the idea of having a job as police matron, something that she knows her
father and fiancé won’t approve of. When a positon opens up at the LAPD though,
she knows that she can’t let that stand in her way. So she bribes her chaperon
to look the other way, tells her new boss that she is a married woman, and gets
a job as Matron Holmes.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When she visits a brothel one day, she discovers
that prostitutes are being murdered on a regular basis and vows to herself to
solve the crime. Meanwhile it becomes more difficult by the day to keep her
double life a secret from her father, her friend, and her fiancé.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My overall analysis on this was is that it is a
great story. It is nice to see a strong and independent female character from this
time period. The author handles the tie-in with the suffragettes nicely.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Also the ending was something of surprise for me.
Don’t worry, I am not going to give anything away but the mystery itself was
interesting though I think the most interesting part of the story for me was
Anna story as a girl who was ruined only to be “saved” again by the attentions
of Edgar Wright who then decides to risk everything to help solve a crime that
the police seem to ignore.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the end, Anna also proves herself a capable
detective in her own right who is able to make decisions for herself. It would
really be nice if this story became a series complete with more mysteries to
solve.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the downside, some readers might find the mystery
slow going initially but for me, that part of the story was just as interesting
as the mystery. I appreciate the way the author tackled a time period that does
not seem to appear much in historical fiction. It reminded me of some of the
stories that my grandfather used to tell me in some ways.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone
interested in historical fiction, particularly if he or she also likes a good
mystery. The background about Los Angeles during this period as well as the
Arrow Collar man is fascinating in and of itself. I am hoping someday to score
an interview with author about that but in the meantime pick up a copy and read
it for yourself.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Contains:
</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">language,
some sexual situations</span></div>
</span> <br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00944451615808381698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5361859955750831863.post-66938956613587219152015-12-19T05:21:00.000-08:002015-12-19T05:21:16.515-08:00Lost and Found, Stories of Christmas<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><img alt="fpo" class="full-shadow" src="http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/2940045312448_p0_v2_s118x184.jpg" /> </b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Review of <i>Lost and Found, Stories of Christmas </i>by Wendell E. Mettey</b></span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com:</span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Lost and Found, Stories of Christmas is a collection of stories written
by Reverend Wendell Mettey for his congregations. While written over a
span of years, the stories have a timelessness that appeals to readers
of all ages. These simple stories share the emotional journey of
characters whose struggles with doubts, fears and resentments cause them
to lose hope, but who ultimately find a great gift through the
discovery of the true meaning of Christmas. Readers will recognize their
own anxieties and concerns in the reactions of the characters and
celebrate with them their triumph as they discover the joy of giving…
the true spirit of Christmas.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">My Review:</span></b></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This time we take a departure from the usual books
and start with a story or stories related to the Christmas season. I have
occasionally done reviews on short stories but it’s been a while so I am glad
to review a few others.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The book that I review this week was interesting.
Firstly, they all have a Christmas theme. I suppose that it was partly for this
reason I immediately began to think of the famous short story by O’Henry called
“The Gift of the Magi.” I mention that because the more I read, particularly on
the first short story presented in this collection, the more it reminded me of
that story. I can’t that this story was as good as “The Gift of the Magi” but
“The Little Candle” had a similar message about giving and the spirit of
Christmas. Some parts of the story were a little slow and I did find myself losing
interest at times but I did like the message.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As I continued reading though I noticed something,
the subsequent stories did not seem to be as good as the first. Also there was
a lot more telling than showing which is usually the reverse of what most
writing workshops and coaches recommend. I am a writer also so I can’t help but
notice these things, I know. I do believe though that most other readers might
get bored by it as well.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is not to say that you shouldn’t read this
book. I think it is nice if you want to read something to put you in the
holiday mood or that is uplifting. This collection of short stories can provide
both of those things. And the other nice thing about it is that it is free so
you don’t have to worry about it coming out of your Christmas gift budget.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">However overall, this writer is no O’Henry. I
realize though that asking him to be one is probably asking a lot. Perhaps if I
hadn’t made the O’Henry connection early on, I might have had a more positive
impression of the book. Still you might want to read these stories to your
family on Christmas Eve, if nothing else but to get you into the Christmas
spirit. Just know that your expectations should not be too high.</span></div>
</span><b> </b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00944451615808381698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5361859955750831863.post-29749342761145561322015-11-18T10:00:00.000-08:002015-11-18T10:00:28.758-08:00Brothers in Exile<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="fpo" class="full-shadow" src="http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/2940046259124_p0_v1_s118x184.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<b>Review of <i>Brothers in Exile </i>by Joe Vasicek</b><br />
<br />
<b>Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com: </b>Deep in the Far Outworlds, a derelict space station holds the bones
of a long-dead people—and a beautiful young woman locked in cryofreeze.
When the star-wandering brothers Isaac and Aaron Deltana find the
sleeping girl, they soon realize that they are her only hope for rescue.
If they don't take her, then slavers certainly will.<br />
<br />
With no way
to revive her, they set a course for the New Pleiades in hopes of
finding someone who can help. But a storm is brewing over that region of
space. After a series of brutal civil wars, the Gaian Empire has turned
its sights outward. A frontier war is on the verge of breaking out, and
the brothers are about to be caught in the middle of it.<br />
They
both harbor a secret, though. Somewhere else in the Outworlds is another
derelict station—one that they used to call home. That secret will
either bind them together or draw them apart.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;">My Review:</span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">I apologize in advance for not prioritizing
correctly this week but it seems this next review is again for the Sci-Fi genre
which is something I usually don’t do. That is, I try not repeat genres too
much with the exception of Historical Fiction which is my favorite. I will try
to do better next week.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Our novel, or novella, is the story of Aaron and
Isaac, two brothers travelling out in space. Their home planet ran out of room
for them as well as opportunities so they took off as space traders, which was
something of a tradition among their people but only for the oldest son.
However because of their situation, their father sent both of his sons out.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Things seem to be going fine until they reach a space
station where almost everyone appears to be dead. Everyone except a girl covered
in henna tattoos and frozen in a cryogenic state. They can’t figure out how to
thaw her out so they take her with them, along with the other cargo they’ve
collected, to prevent her from being discovered by slavers and made into a
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Thus, begins Aaron and Isaac’s adventure. I won’t
give any spoilers here, that’s not my style. But overall the story is good. The
characters are interesting. The only that I didn’t like about this book were
its use of the word “very,” which is meaningless, and because there were some
other errors that probably could have been caught by hiring a good editor.
Still, it is a free book, or at least it was last time I checked. If you like Sci-Fi,
you might want to check it out. Not sure I like it enough to follow the series
though.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00944451615808381698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5361859955750831863.post-22457564787091501102015-11-07T04:24:00.001-08:002015-11-07T04:24:56.949-08:00Unfinished<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Review of <i>Unfinished </i>Kendra C. Highley</b></span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com:</span> </b>In a world where genetically-engineered humans serve as slave labor
to “real” humans, ten-year-old Quinn is an anomaly. Designed with
superior intelligence and physical attributes, he lives and trains at
Maren DeGaul’s lakeside mansion, being readied for some mysterious
purpose as dictated by Precipice Corporation. Despite the comfortable
surroundings, Quinn is frequently pushed to his limits by his human
guardians, often learning lessons in pain and loneliness.<br />
That all
changes the day they introduce him to a new artificial, one who is both
his equal and his soul-mate. But when Maren decides the new artificial
is flawed and should be decommissioned, it’s up to Quinn to find a way
to save his only friend.<br />
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My Review:</span></span> </h2>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">For this week’s offering we delve into the world of Sci-Fi.
Our main character is a young boy named Quinn. He is not a regular human but
rather something called an artificial. I didn’t really fully understand what
that meant because the context made it seem like it did not mean a robot but
rather some kind of genetically-altered person. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The people that he stays with then go on to create
some other kind of genetically-altered person who is supposedly made just for
him. His own personal Eve I guess except that her name is Lexa, a name Quinn
has chosen for her. The book’s plot revolves around the adventures of Quinn and
Alex as they attempt to break out of their environment—both literally and
figuratively and attempt to find new lives that help them take full advantage
of their potential.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My ranking on this one is simple. If I were using a
five star rating, I would give this one a three out of five stars overall. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The story is compelling but at the beginning it was
hard to follow. Right after the chapter headings on most of the chapters it
would read: Seven years ago. My first thought was, why not just wait till you
get to that point in the story where it is the present and then put seven years
later, just to indicate that seven years has passed? It makes more sense to me.
But then the author kept doing that on almost every chapter and I was getting a
little confused wondering if it was seven years before or after the last
chapter. Finally there was a chapter in present day and if I remember correctly
it had the heading “seven years later.” A bit strange but also convinces me
that I was right and that the author should probably take out all those seven
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The story itself was interesting though. It also
became easier to follow after I started ignoring all of those headings. And now
that we have travelled with the characters to the present point, the author
asks us to take a journey with them to the next novel. It could be interesting
but I am still not sure that I want to join them. For now, I have lots of other
books to read though so I guess I best get cracking.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Contains:
</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>mild swearing and elements of torture</span></div>
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00944451615808381698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5361859955750831863.post-63989439490429349862015-10-24T04:41:00.001-07:002015-10-24T04:42:35.592-07:00The Legend of Sleepy Hollow<br />
<b><img alt="fpo" class="full-shadow" src="http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/2940151497718_p0_v1_s118x184.jpg" /> </b><br />
<br />
<h4>
<b>Review of <i>The Legend of Sleepy Hollow</i> by Washington Irving</b></h4>
<br />
<b>Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com: </b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The story is set in 1790 in the countryside around the Dutch settlement
of Tarry Town (historical Tarrytown, New York), in a secluded glen
called Sleepy Hollow.<br /><br />The "Legend" relates the tale of Ichabod
Crane, a lean, lanky and extremely superstitious schoolmaster from
Connecticut, who competes with Abraham "Brom Bones" Van Brunt, for the
hand of 18-year-old Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter and sole child of a
wealthy farmer, Baltus Van Tassel. Crane, a Yankee and an outsider,
sees marriage to Katrina as a means of procuring Van Tassel's
extravagant wealth.</span><br />
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">My Review:</span></span></span></h2>
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</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In honor of
the fact that many people here in the USA will soon celebrate Halloween, I have
chosen a book, or rather a story, which reflects the Halloween mood. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Legend of Sleepy Hallow </i>is of course
a classic favorite. It has been so long since the last time that I read it that
I wrongly assumed that it was a novel instead of a short story.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Still, I have
always loved it. It is a great story which seemed unique to me from the first
time I read it. The style of the writing is much more in the period of the time
yet I have found it much easier to read than many of the works of Charles
Dickens. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">One of the
most obvious ways that it differs from modern stories is that three main
characters emerge (or perhaps four if you include the headless horseman as a
character as well). The first one is the one that I remember most—one Ichabod
Crane. Mr. Crane is a local school teacher who is attempting to settle down in
the area where he now lives when the story opens. In life he loves chiefly two
things: food and girls. However he also hopes to improve his wealth with his
latest pursuit of a local young Dutchwoman whose father owns a great deal of
land.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The next main
character is naturally the young lady herself. Her name is Katrina and she is
described as attractive as well as plump. Boy how times have changed. She is
also apparently quite a catch since many of the local bachelors have all tried,
more or less unsuccessfully, to court her. She always keeps them guessing
though.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Our final
character is one Brom Bones who is also one of Katrina’s suitors. He is nearly
the complete opposite of Crane. While Crane is the thin and scholarly type,
Bones sounds more like what we would now call a jock. He is a big, burly sort
of guy, or at least that’s how I had always pictured him.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In our story,
Sleepy Hallow is haunted by one Headless Horseman. Brom Bones himself has
boosted of nearly beating the horseman in a horse race. He claims that the same
horseman disappeared as he passed a bridge otherwise he would have one. It is
this claim that later leads to Crane’s own disappearance in connection with the
same horseman.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Overall, this
is still a great story. I enjoyed reading it. I think I could read it over and
over again and not get bored. I try to imagine what really happened to Ichabod
after I finished reading it. Last time I was trying to figure out who the
horseman was. I still wonder about that but now I wonder more about Ichabod.
What happened to him? Where is he now? Think about the next time you visit an
isolated wooded area and keep a look out for the Headless Horseman.</span></div>
</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span><b></b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00944451615808381698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5361859955750831863.post-932983064451516132015-10-12T10:57:00.000-07:002015-10-12T10:58:26.225-07:00High Plains Justice<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/high-plains-justice-maryk-lewis/1121100586?ean=2940046522075"><img alt="fpo" class="full-shadow" src="http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/2940046522075_p0_v1_s118x184.jpg" /></a><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Review of </span><i><span style="font-size: large;">High Plains Justice</span></i><span style="font-size: large;"> by Maryk Lewis</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com:</span></b> <br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hot lead flew, and blood flowed freely in 1859. The Cheyenne were raiding. When outlaws gunned down two sleepy cowpokes, and rode off with a thousand Texas longhorns, their main problem was what to do with the slow-moving cattle. Johnnie Bell’s problem lay in getting them back. The army couldn’t help — they had the marauding Indians to deal with. Texas Rangers had no jurisdiction once the cattle were over the border, and other settlers had their own homes and herds to guard. Luckily for Johnnie, he had two Comanche friends with points to prove, and along the way he met up with a feisty widow woman, who had lost both husband and herd to the self-same rustlers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">My Review:</span></h2>
<div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Sorry again for the long absence but
thankfully the book I pulled out of my Nook this week, or rather last week, to
read, was rather short. Otherwise I might have taken twice as long to post this
review since it would have taken me twice as long to read. The good news is
that this new class I am taking at the university is teaching me new things so
you should probably expect some changes in the future. For example, this week I
have changed the font. Not earth shattering, I know, but hey, it’s something.</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Anyway, back to the review. Our story this
week seemed at first to be your run of the mill Western which takes place in
Texas. We have Johnnie Bell, our main character, out one day minding his own
business herding cattle when he encounters a problem. Some men come from out of
nowhere and steal their cattle. Like I said a run of the mill Western.</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The fun comes when he and his coworkers
decide to go after them. Law enforcement officials are busy, very busy with
“trouble at the border.” Then they discover that there are others in the area that
have also had cattle stolen. One of them lost his life and left behind a wife.
Enter Mary-Lou. She has a reputation of someone who has lived a sheltered life
on southern plantation with no head for herding cattle but she’s about to prove
them all wrong.</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">With the army and other law enforcement busy
with the border, the men and one woman must take it upon themselves to discover
who took their cattle, track them down, and get their cattle back. And they all
have a lot invested in the outcome of this sad business.</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The story overall was a good one. There were
some typos that I noticed but they didn’t detract from the story too much. Also
interesting was the use of British spellings which tells me one of two things:</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<ul>
<li><div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The writer is British or from a country that uses British spellings (that is not the USA)</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The book was published in England or a country which uses British spellings.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Keeping those two possibilities in mind, it
is interesting to think that this story might have been written by someone who
is not American. That seems unusual to me so I found it interesting.</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The story was interesting and not too drawn
out. Overall, I found it to be interesting. It was a good, clean story even if
it wasn’t great. Worth a read since it’s free.</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<h4>
</h4>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00944451615808381698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5361859955750831863.post-15700274875783950872015-09-28T12:07:00.000-07:002015-09-28T12:07:34.342-07:00The Jesuit Letter<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-jesuit-letter-dean-hamilton/1121851977?ean=9780993917400"><img alt="fpo" class="full-shadow" src="http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780993917400_p0_v1_s118x184.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
<b>Review of <i>The Jesuit Letter</i> by Dean Hamilton</b><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com: </b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>England 1575</b></div>
Ex-soldier turned play-actor Christopher Tyburn thought he had left bloodshed and violence behind him when he abandoned the war against the Spanish in Flanders, but fate has different and far bloodier plans waiting.The inn yards of London are closed due to plague and the Earl of Worcester's Men are on the road, touring the market-towns of the Midlands.When Tyburn accidentally intercepts a coded letter from a hidden Jesuit priest in Warwickshire, he is entangled in a murderous and deadly conspiracy. Stalked by unknown enemies, he must race to uncover the conspirators and hunt down the Jesuit to clear his name... or die a traitor's death.<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">My Review:</span></h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Again, I
issue what is becoming my standard apology for being late with this post.
Rather than go into all the boring details, let’s just dive right in.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">My
review for today focuses on the novel <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Jesuit Letter </i>by Dean Hamilton. This one promised to be very much in the
vein of a previous book that I reviewed a while back (and liked) called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sacred Treason </i>by James Forrester.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Plot-wise,
Mr. Hamilton’s novel measure up nicely and involves similar types of
situations. Instead of William Harley, King of Arms, our main character is one Christopher
Tyburn, otherwise known as Kit. His main occupation, and I mean that literally,
is as a player. And when I say player, I don’t mean that he has a few girls on
the side. I am guessing that it is an Elizabethan term for an actor.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Kit is
out for a stroll one day while his company is playing in Stratford, yet that
Stratford, when he comes upon a young Will Shakespeare being assaulted by some
not so nice men. The men are after a letter that young Master Shakespeare
carries. Against his better judgement, Kit retrieves Shakespeare’s letter while
the later bolts only to find a longtime family friend dead at the same hands
that assaulted him. Thus begins our story.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">When Kit’s
friend is later killed because he is suspected of having the same letter in his
possession, Tyburn determines to find out why this letter is so important. To
do that, he must borrow young Shakespeare from his father while the two put
their heads together to try to figure out how they can stay alive.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The good
points of this story are that it has plenty of action and great characters.
Tyburn is not a perfect man thankfully but he does have some heroic qualities
even if he does make his living by lying to people and pretending to be
something that he is not. We get the impression that he is the reason for young
Will’s later interest in the stage, though his impeccable Latin might also have
something to do with it.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">It is
been a while since I last read a biography of Shakespeare so I really couldn’t
remember how accurate this story is with what we know about the bard as a
person. I think most of my information was about his adult life anyway.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The
biggest negative was how the pages were organized. My e-book copy had references
besides some of the dialogue so as to explain certain points to the reader.
When you click on them you are taken to the notes section. However, when you
want to go back to where you were, there’s no link to take you there. You are
on your own. This was annoying. I hope that when this book comes out officially
as e-book, the publisher will have fixed this problem but if not, beware.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The downside
for me was, unlike Forrester’s novel, our main character is a less moral man.
He has experienced his own version of PTSD and seems to be scared by it many
years later. Also he has a job where he is considered only one step above a
beggar in the hierarchy of things which I suppose accounts for his lack of
manners at times (he likes to swear in both Dutch and English).</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Because
of this character trait there are scenes in the book that I skipped over due to
sexual content that was a bit too explicit for me as well as the swearing which
became more and more intense throughout the progress of the book. If you can
overlook these things and you enjoy your Historical Fiction with a lot of intrigue,
you just might enjoy this.</span></div>
</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00944451615808381698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5361859955750831863.post-39825980014197583882015-09-06T17:31:00.000-07:002015-09-06T17:31:34.364-07:00Half Killed<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-half-killed-quenby-olson/1122532399?ean=9780989446068"><img alt="fpo" class="full-shadow" src="http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780989446068_p0_v1_s118x184.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
<b>Review of<i> Half Killed </i>by Quenby Olson</b><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Overview from <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/">www.barnesandnoble.com</a>: </b>Dorothea Hawes has no wish to renew contact with what lies beyond the veil. After an attempt to take her own life, she has retired into seclusion, but as the wounds on her body heal, she is drawn back into a world she wants nothing more than to avoid.</div>
She is sought out by Julian Chissick, a former man of God who wants her help in discovering who is behind the gruesome murder of a young woman. But the manner of death is all too familiar to Dorothea, and she begins to fear that something even more terrible is about to unleash itself on London. And so Dorothea risks her life and her sanity in order to save people who are oblivious to the threat that hovers over them. It is a task that forces her into a confrontation with her own lurid past, and tests her ability to shape events frighteningly beyond her control.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">My Review:</span></h3>
<div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">More apologies from me as I have to ask pardon for
making you wait so long for this latest review. I think I might have to amend
my review schedule to one review every other week instead of every week. This,
as I mentioned before, is due to me going back to school. I will publish more
often when I can but I apologize in advance for the times when it is not
possible.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This week’s story was sent to me by a fellow author
on Facebook months ago and I am just now getting around to reviewing it. I also
have another story from a fellow Facebook member whose book I will be reviewing
next time which just shows how far behind I am on keeping my promises.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The story centers on a young London woman whose name
is Thea Hawes. Thea has a troubled past but not in the way that most of us do,
she is troubled by the spirits of the dead rather than the confrontations with
the living. Specifically those of her parents who were mysterious killed years
ago.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One day she receives a visit from a Mr.Chissick who
claims to know her yet she knows that she has never met him before. Soon enough
she finds out the purpose for his visit and doesn’t like it one bit. Chissick
brings her to the body of murder girl who has an unusual burn wound across her
throat, the apparent cause of death. But who or what could have done this? This
is what she must find out. And the most disturbing thing of all is that it is
exactly the same way her parents were found on the night they died.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The story itself gets points for uniqueness. I can’t
say that I have ever read anything quite like it before. I kept wanted to turn
the page. First, I was trying to figure out the time period. I knew it was
historical but I couldn’t tell in the beginning if it was the 1800’s or the
early 1900’s. It was only the reference to the queen that gave me any idea at
all. That and the fact that there were no cars mentioned.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Later, I was drawn in further by this unusual; I
guess you could call it a supernatural mystery. It becomes apparent from the
beginning that this is no ordinary crime and so the perpetrator must not be any
ordinary person either.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The characters were also well-done and interesting.
You can feel for both Thea and her Mr. Chissick and, to a lesser extent, some
of the less minor characters.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The downsides for me were the Prologue and the
description. The Prologue is set in second person and this bothered me. I
didn’t want to read an entire story in second person and I didn’t know whether
or not it would continue on that way. I kept thinking that if the author did it
intending for the reader to identify with Thea, she would have done better to
use first person, and beginning in the first chapter, that is exactly what she
did.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Then there was the description. Don’t get me wrong
it was beautiful. It just seemed like there was too much of it. I felt like a
lot of it didn’t really need to be there, especially in the beginning.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I did like it in the end. I liked it quite a lot
though I don’t think I would go so far as to say that I loved it. Still it was
a great story without a lot of objectionable material so that counted for a lot
and it got me through it. I hope you agree.</span></div>
</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00944451615808381698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5361859955750831863.post-91427040719760388832015-08-22T04:20:00.000-07:002015-08-22T04:20:01.825-07:00The Kitchen Boy<img alt="fpo" src="http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780142003817_p0_v6_s118x184.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<b>Review of <i>The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar </i>by Robert Alexander</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com: </b><span style="font-family: PTSans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24.0799999237061px;">Drawing from decades of work, travel, and research in Russia, Robert Alexander re-creates the tragic, perennially fascinating story of the final days of Nicholas and Alexandra Romanov as seen through the eyes of their young kitchen boy, Leonka. Now an ancient Russian immigrant, Leonka claims to be the last living witness to the Romanovs’ brutal murders and sets down the dark secrets of his past with the imperial family. Does he hold the key to the many questions surrounding the family’s murder? Historically vivid and compelling, </span><i style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: PTSans; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24.0799999237061px;">The Kitchen Boy</i><span style="font-family: PTSans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24.0799999237061px;"> is also a touching portrait of a loving family that was in many ways similar, yet so different, from any other.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: PTSans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24.0799999237061px;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="line-height: 24.0799999237061px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My Review:</span></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="line-height: 24.0799999237061px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Today we have the story of the boy who witnessed the
demise and execution of the entire Romanov family. This is the fictional
account of the author through his main character, a boy named Leonka.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The boy named Leonka grew up to become a man named
Misha and Misha immigrated, along with his wife, to the United States. He
was/is fabulously wealthy thanks to a stash of Romanov jewels that he managed
to bring away from the scene of the crime.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And now, when he is old and dying, he decides to
come clean about his involvement in the crime as well as his failure to protect
the family.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Before committing suicide, he sits down with a tape
recorder and details his confession of what happened during those last days of
the Romanov’s and their heirs. His role in the House of Special Purpose and in
their death is detailed for her to hear, after he has gone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But when she returns to Russia, his granddaughter,
Katya, has more questions than answers. This is her real purpose in visiting
Russia and not simply to carry out her grandfather’s last wishes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The main story however is almost entirely in Misha’s
voice. His version of events is what we read even as Katya will later hear it
on tape. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And how we want to believe it, that every word on
the tape is true though throughout the story we are told that Dear Misha is
holding something back, but what?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We obviously have an unreliable main character here,
yet even as he tells his story he feels some sense of relief and absolution
somehow in this altered version of what actually happened. We don’t really
understand though how this is possible. More importantly, like Katya, we want
to know what the real version of these events is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The characters here seem very real though I don’t
know much about the assassination of the Romanov family except that they were
gunned down like dogs to make way for Lenin’s rise to power and that has always
bugged me. Even if the Czar himself is partly to blame for his own downfall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Still it is tragic in a Romeo and Juliet kind of
way. So the story is a good one. It makes you think. It makes you wonder.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The only downside to this story is some of the
language and the violence. If you can look past this though, it is worth a
read.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00944451615808381698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5361859955750831863.post-10775977753164188372015-08-15T04:59:00.000-07:002015-08-15T04:59:41.438-07:00Under a War-Torn Sky<img alt="fpo" src="http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780786817535_p0_v4_s118x184.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<b>Review of <i>Under a War-Torn Sky</i> by L.M. Elliott</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com: </b><span style="font-family: PTSans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24.0799999237061px;">When Henry Forester is shot down during a bombing run over France,the World War II pilot finds himself trapped behind enemy lines. In constant danger of discovery by German soldiers, Henry begins a remarkable journey to freedom. Relying on the kindness of strangers, Henry moves from town to town—traveling by moonlight, never asking questions, or even the names of the people who help him along the way. Each day brings him closer to home, yet every step in enemy territory invites new dangers.</span><br />
<br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: PTSans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24.0799999237061px;" /><span style="font-family: PTSans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24.0799999237061px;">Even as Henry fights for his own life, he quickly grows to realize the peril that surrounds all of the French people, and to admire the courage of the freedom fighters who risk death to protect him. Suspenseful and achingly true, this critically-acclaimed and deeply beloved novel explores the heartbreak of war, the strength of human spirit, and one young man's struggle to protect the things he loves.</span><div>
<span style="font-family: PTSans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24.0799999237061px;"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 24.0799999237061px;">My Review:</span></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 24.0799999237061px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">File this one under a recommendation from a fellow
writer who was critiquing my own work. My story comes from the same era (World
War II) and involves speakers of a foreign language but that is where the
similarities end. Still I was intrigued.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This story is also in the YA or Young Adult genre
which includes pretty much any genre that you can find for adults, just written
for a younger audience. So in this case we have a YA Historical Fiction story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Our main character is a young American pilot named
Henry. He comes from a farm somewhere in Virginia. The war of course is a
change of pace for him but what changes his life most dramatically when his
plane is hit and he parachutes out in the middle of Switzerland.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After being treated in the hospital he is given the
choice between spending the rest of the war in Switzerland or trying to escape
through France. He chooses the latter and that is when his new adventures
begin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dependent on the kindness of strangers, he must play
an unwitting game of hide and seek with the SS who would love nothing better
than torture and intimidate him into giving up those who helped him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I enjoyed this story quite a bit. It was well-fleshed
out as were the characters in it which surprised me somewhat as those
characters were constantly changing as Henry tries to make his way North and
hopefully to England or the Allies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Henry was my favorite and he carried the story well.
I can honestly say that reading this one was one of the few times where I could
remember a story that could not be filed under the heading of Christian fiction
and yet had such a positive and consistent character main character who claimed
himself as a Christian. I found it refreshing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The only downside for me was the crazy amount of
dialogue that was mostly in French. The author did translate things that were
important but some pieces of dialogue were left untranslated. I was able to
figure out some of it based on my limited knowledge of French as well as my
Italian but sometimes trying to figure it out slowed me down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the other hand, it did give the dialogue a bit of
authenticity. I am just thinking that maybe it was a bit overdone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As you might have guessed, it didn’t stop me from
reading it to completion. Ms. Elliot’s story is an exciting one that I would
have no hesitation in recommending to younger readers as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Contains:
</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">some
war violence<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00944451615808381698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5361859955750831863.post-5617771300981754182015-08-08T04:12:00.000-07:002015-08-08T04:12:18.361-07:00Tuscan Rose<img alt="fpo" src="http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781451679076_p0_v5_s118x184.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<b>Review of <i>Tuscan Rose </i>by Belinda Alexandra</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com: </b><span style="font-family: PTSans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24.0799999237061px;">FLORENCE, 1914. A mysterious stranger known as The Wolf leaves an infant with the sisters of Santo Spirito. A tiny silver key hidden in her wrappings is the one clue to the child’s identity. . . . FIFTEEN YEARS LATER, young Rosa must leave the nuns, her only family, and become governess to the daughter of an aristocrat and his strange, frightening wife. Their house is elegant but cursed, and Rosa—blessed with gifts beyond her considerable musical talents—is torn between her desire to know the truth and her fear of its repercussions. All the while, the hand of Fascism curls around beautiful Italy, and no citizen is safe. Rosa faces unimaginable hardship: her only weapons her intelligence, intuition, and determination . . . and her extraordinary capacity for love.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: PTSans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24.0799999237061px;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="line-height: 24.0799999237061px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My Review:</span></span></h3>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">First off, I must apologize for not putting out a
review last week. The book I am reviewing was long and it took me a while to
finish it. Which by the way is no reflection on the book itself, although there
were some points where I was tempted to stop (more on that later), as much as
it was on my schedule for that week. I am currently registering for school as I
am returning to university for some graduate work in Technical Writing.
Applying to be considered a resident student was more difficult than a thought
it would be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But without any further ado, let’s get to this
week’s story. As you can imagine, this week’s story takes place in Tuscany and
our main character is a girl/woman named Rose. As an infant, a man appears at
the convent of Spirito Santo to leave her to be raised by the nuns.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The story starts and the very beginning and goes at
least half way through her life I think but all the elements of a good story
are there. We have first the mystery of Rose’s origins. The man who has left
her at the convent left his charge with only a key as a hint to her birthright.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">She grows up there surprisingly happy until she is
told by one of the nuns that she must leave. And that is when most of her
troubles begin. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Marchese of the Villa Scarfiotti has hired her
as a governess for his daughter Clementina and from the get-go it is clear that
his wife, the Marchesa, intensely dislikes her along with almost everyone else.
And there seems to be a very evil force at work. A force that eventually gets
her labeled as enemy of the new Fascists state and compels her to leave her
beloved Clementina.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As World War II progresses things get gradually
worse for both Rosa and the majority of the Italian population who live and
sometimes die at the whim of Mussolini and his black shirts. It seems that she
goes from one problem to the next but manages to keep her style and dignity
while trying to discover the history of her past.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I liked most of the story as I said earlier because
it was in Italy and I appreciated that it covered a part of Italy’s history
that I previously knew little about. I did not realized exactly how much the
citizens of Florence suffered under the Mussolini government as well as under
German occupation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I liked Rosa for the most part but there were times
when the things that she did bothered me. I mean I know people aren’t perfect
but sometimes it was hard to like her. It probably had a lot to do with the
love triangle part of the story since I have never been a fan of love
triangles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The other characters had their intended feel I am
guessing. The Marchesa and Osvaldo creeped me out while I couldn’t help but
also like Clementina.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This story also relied on the supernatural quite a
bit as we discover early on that Rosa has the ability to sense the origin of
items, especially those that once were alive such as the fur coats. That was an
interesting twist to the story as well and it fooled me a bit as to which
direction the story was going.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There is some language in the story but most of the
words are in Italian so I don’t know if that will offend anyone. There are also
two sex scenes which account for the two times that I almost stopped reading.
One in particular bothered me a bit but I kept reading in an effort to find out
the end of both the story of Rosa and the city of Florence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So in the end, I am recommending it but with the
above caveats. It is a unique and interesting story. Give it a try.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00944451615808381698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5361859955750831863.post-91076570177351183812015-07-25T04:04:00.000-07:002015-07-25T04:04:32.620-07:00The Crown in the Heather<img alt="fpo" src="http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/2940016353661_p0_v3_s118x184.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<b>Review of <i>The Crown in the Heather </i>by N. Gemini Sasson</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com: </b><em style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: PTSans; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.72;">Love and loyalty. Betrayal and murder. What is the cost of a crown?</em><br />
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: PTSans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.72;">
In 1290, Scotland is without a king. Two families - the Bruces and the Balliols - vie for the throne.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: PTSans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.72;">
Robert the Bruce is in love with Elizabeth de Burgh, the daughter of an adherent of the ruthless Longshanks, King of England. In order to marry her and not give up his chances of someday becoming King of Scots, Robert must abandon his rebel ways and bide his time as Longshanks' vassal.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: PTSans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.72;">
But Edward, Longshanks' heir, doesn't trust the opportunistic Scotsman and vows to one day destroy him. While quietly plotting his rebellion, Robert is betrayed by one of his own and must flee Longshanks' vengeance.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: PTSans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.72;">
Aided by the unlikely brilliance of the soft-spoken young nobleman, James Douglas, Robert battles for his throne. Victory, though, is never certain and Robert soon learns that keeping his crown may mean giving up that which he loves most-his beloved Elizabeth.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: PTSans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.72;">
<br /></div>
<h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.72;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My Review:</span></h3>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This week’s story, like many, is the first in series
(probably a trilogy). It was free when I got it on Barnes & Noble’s
website. And last I checked it is still free now as an e-book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Our story opens with Robert the Bruce and primarily
features his point of view. Although some of the action shows Robert as a young
man, most of it takes places as he is aging. The narrative seems to take off
when he crosses his father by deciding that he will no longer be Longshanks’
man—think <i>Braveheart</i> because that is
exactly the time period we are talking about.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Later Robert changes sides briefly to be with the
woman he loves and to stay alive. It is not enough to put him back in his
father’s good graces even if he thinks he is only doing what he thinks is best
for his beloved Scotland.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Robert along with another main character, James
Douglas, another Scottish noble, knows what it means to play both sides of the
fence. Unfortunately James Douglas also sees what happens to those who double
cross Longshanks when Longshanks kills his father.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Our final main character, the one I liked the least,
is Longshanks’s son, also named Edward I think. We get an idea of the hatred
between father and son from the get go as Edward refers to his father as his “sire.”
It struck me as a rather cold name for a father and as I read further and
further into the book, I believed that this was the author’s intention. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The writing was well done. I kept turning pages and
wondering what was to happen next and yet the language seemed respectful of the
time period it came from. Also, two out of the three protagonists were
likable. The third was someone I felt sorry for but not enough to find him
likable. He seemed as cruel as his father was and was not able to turn his bad
childhood experiences into something positive the way that Douglas did.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I learned a lot from this story. The thing I
appreciated the most was learning about Marjorie Bruce, Robert’s daughter. I
didn’t know she had even existed. Her relationships with her father and step
mother were beautifully portrayed here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The story took me on a great ride and it was nice to
see someone other than Mel Gibson as William Wallace as well, even if it is
only in this story. I recommend this one as a great read and not too much bad
language though there is some. There is also some violence, as well as
attempted rape.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00944451615808381698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5361859955750831863.post-62865595408168779162015-07-18T04:19:00.001-07:002015-07-18T04:19:40.907-07:00Two Reviews for the Price of One<br />
<img alt="Product Details" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51FC92c4giL._AA160_.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">First up: <i>The Eyes That Moved</i> (short story) by Rachelle M. N. Shaw</b><br />
<b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">Overview from www.amazon.com: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Kendra is a young girl who has a knack for spotting unusual trinkets and abandoned houses that hold treasures of their own. When she meets Adam, a fellow sleuth and collector, they decide to embark on their biggest adventure yet: the Whitson house. The house is a marvel, and its secrets are even juicier than Kendra had imagined. The third and final floor of the house holds something Kendra has been waiting a lifetime for. But she may have signed on for more than she bargained. There’s a darkness in the house that wasn’t there before, a pair of eyes in every corner, watching, waiting for her time to come. And Adam isn’t at all who he claimed to be.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: normal; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My Review:</span></span></h3>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This story was given to me to review by a fellow
writer in any way I see fit so I’ll begin with this one. Our main character, a
girl named Kendra, likes old houses and has a date with another young man to explore
one close to her neighborhood.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At first she finds no one there. She begins looking
around and finds an old family tree that fascinates her for a while but her
friend Adam wants her to move on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That’s when she finds the creepy dolls and the truth
about why she has been brought there. But is it too late?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I don’t usually
review short stories but I was approached by someone on Facebook and I agreed.
I am glad that I did because I thought it was really well-done. For those who
like supernatural stories that are not too scary, it is perfect.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<img alt="fpo" src="http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/2940046485257_p0_v1_s118x184.jpg" /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>Review of <i>Caledonii: Birth of a Celtic Nation </i>by Ian Hall</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com: </b></span><span style="font-family: PTSans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24.0799999237061px;">The year is 69 AD, and the Romans have been lords of the southern part of Britain for over twenty years, but their roads stretch forever northwards. Knowing their armies will one day march on these roads, the Brigante King Venutius decides to send two of his young sons further north to safety.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: PTSans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24.0799999237061px;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: PTSans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24.0799999237061px;">Sewell, a northern druid, is given the task. He must first locate the boys, then get them safe to his homeland in the Caledonii nation.</span><div>
<br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: PTSans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24.0799999237061px;" /><span style="font-family: PTSans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24.0799999237061px;">It is a dangerous journey into hostile lands</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: PTSans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24.0799999237061px;" /><span style="font-family: PTSans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24.0799999237061px;">He cannot fail.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: PTSans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24.0799999237061px;"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 24.0799999237061px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My Review:</span></span></h3>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The next story for review was slightly longer but I
think it was just designed as a teaser to get the reader into the series. And,
as I suspected, at the end of the story there was a blurb about reading more
books in this series.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But was it good enough for me to even consider that?
The answer is a resounding yes. I hope the author is reading though because I
am not sure if I can actually afford to buy future novels so if he would
consider sending me a review copy I’d greatly appreciate it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Our main character is a Druid named Sewell. The time
is 69 AD in the South East of what would one day become Scotland.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">His new assignment is to help a local king get his
wife and children out of the area before the nasty Romans come through
destroying everything in their path. And to top it off they also have to look
out for their fellow monarch Cartimanda who has joined the side of the terrible
Romans. She will no doubt be looking to curry favor with them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The story combines some elements of Fantasy and the
supernatural along with Historical Fiction. The writing is well-done and the
characters are interesting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Though I suppose it might not have interested me so
much if it were not for my love of history and the fact that I remembered a lot
of these characters (Cartimanda) from The British History Podcast.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There are some elements of sexuality but there was
nothing graphic as I recall. Of course there is also some violence. Still, I
found it engaging and well-done.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00944451615808381698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5361859955750831863.post-47076095783674647372015-07-11T06:31:00.001-07:002015-07-11T06:32:35.010-07:00New Book Preview: A Baron for Becky<div class="MsoNormal">
<img alt="fpo" src="http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/2940151956215_p0_v1_s118x184.jpg" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-NZ"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-NZ">Genre<br />
</span></b><span lang="EN-NZ">Regency romance, historical romance<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-NZ">Heat
rating<br />
</span></b><span lang="EN-NZ">R for implied sexual content, 2 out of 5 flames<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-NZ">Giveaway</span></b><span lang="EN-NZ"><br />
Free copy of A Baron for Becky to random commenter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Book Blurb</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><b><br /></b>
</span><span lang="EN-NZ">Becky is the envy of the courtesans of the demi-monde -
the indulged mistress of the wealthy and charismatic Marquis of Aldridge. But
she dreams of a normal life; one in which her daughter can have a future that
does not depend on beauty, sex, and the whims of a man.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ"><o:p></o:p></span><span lang="EN-NZ">Finding herself with child, she hesitates
to tell Aldridge. Will he cast her off, send her away, or keep her and condemn
another child to this uncertain shadow world?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ">The devil-may-care face Hugh shows to the
world hides a desperate sorrow; a sorrow he tries to drown with drink and
riotous living. His years at war haunt him, but even more, he doesn't want to
think about the illness that robbed him of the ability to father a son. When he
dies, his barony will die with him. His title will fall into abeyance, and his
estate will be scooped up by the Crown.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ">When Aldridge surprises them both with a
daring proposition, they do not expect love to be part of the bargain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Excerpt:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ">PG heat level<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ">Aldridge never did find out how he came to
be naked, alone, and sleeping in the small summerhouse in the garden of a
country cottage. His last memory of the night before, had him twenty miles
away, and—although not dressed—in a comfortable bed, and in company.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ">The first time he woke, he had no idea how
far he’d come, but the moonlight was bright enough to show him half-trellised
window openings, and an archway leading down a short flight of steps into a
garden. A house loomed a few hundred feet distant, a dark shape against the
star-bright sky. But getting up was too much trouble, particularly with a
headache that hung inches above him, threatening to split his head if he moved.
The cushioned bench on which he lay invited him to shut his eyes and go back to
sleep. Time enough to find out where he was in the morning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ">When he woke again, he was facing away from
the archway entrance, and there was someone behind him. Silence now, but in his
memory, the sound of light footsteps shifting the stones on the path outside,
followed by twin intakes of breath as the walkers saw him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ">One of them spoke; a woman’s voice, but
low—almost husky. “Sarah, go back to the first rosebush and watch the house.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ">“Yes, Mama.” A child’s voice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ">Aldridge waited until he heard the child
dance lightly down the steps and away along the path, then shifted his weight
slightly letting his body roll over till he was lying on his back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ">He waited for the exclamation of shock, but
none came. Carefully—he wanted to observe her before he let her know he was
awake, and anyway, any sudden movement might start up the hammers above his eye
sockets—he cracked open his lids, masking his eyes with his lashes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ">He could see more than he expected. The
woman was using a shuttered lantern to examine him, starting at his feet. She
paused for a long time when she reached his morning salute and it grew even
prouder. Then she swept her light up his torso so quickly, he barely had time
to slam his lids shut before the light reached and lingered over his face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ">She was just a vague shadow behind the
light. He held himself still while she completed her examination, which she did
with a snort of disgust. Not the reaction to which he was accustomed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<img alt="Image result for jude knight" src="data:image/jpeg;base64,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" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Author bio</span></b><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-NZ">Jude Knight writes strong determined heroines, heroes
who can appreciate a clever capable woman, villains you’ll love to loathe, and
all with a leavening of humour. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-NZ">Jude Knight is the pen name of Judy
Knighton. After a career in commercial writing, editing, and publishing, Jude
is returning to her first love, fiction. Her novella, Candle’s Christmas Chair,
was released in December 2014, and is in the top ten on several Amazon
bestseller lists in the US and UK. Her first novel Farewell to Kindness, was
released on 1 April. It is number one in a series: The Golden Redepennings. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00944451615808381698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5361859955750831863.post-78381611760685746312015-07-04T04:01:00.000-07:002015-07-04T04:01:55.913-07:00Desecration<img alt="fpo" src="http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781493622184_p0_v4_s118x184.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<b>Review of <i>Desecration </i>by J. F. Penn </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com: </b><span style="font-family: PTSans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.72;">Death isn't always the end.</span><br />
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: PTSans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.72;">
LONDON. When the body of a young heiress is found within the Royal College of Surgeons, Detective Sergeant Jamie Brooke is assigned to the case. An antique ivory figurine found beside the body is the only lead and she enlists Blake Daniel, a reluctant clairvoyant, to help her discover the message it holds.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: PTSans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.72;">
When personal tragedy strikes, Jamie finds her own life entwining with the morbid fascinations of the anatomists, and she must race against time to stop them claiming another victim.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: PTSans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.72;">
As Jamie and Blake delve into a macabre world of grave robbery, body modification, and the genetic engineering of monsters, they must fight to keep their sanity, and their lives.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: PTSans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.72;">
<br /></div>
<h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.72;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My Review:</span></h3>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I return to another book by J. F. Penn with the
novel, <i>Desecration</i>,<i> </i>which by the way is a very appropriate
title considering some of the things that happen in this book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Our main character is a young woman named Jamie who
is also a police officer. But we don’t begin with Jamie the police officer.
Instead we first glimpse the Jamie who is the mother of a dying child. This is
a side of her life that she keeps secret from most of her colleagues. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">She the children’s hospice for work, hoping to leave
the disturbing images of her daughter dying behind. When she gets her next case
though, all she gets is even more death, and we are not just talking about the
murder victim, Jenna.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Digging deeper into the murder victim’s
investigations she finds out about the underside of a morbid death worship type
culture. One suspect, the love interest of Jenna’s, makes a living by posing
dead bodies in provocative positions and then selling them to the highest
bidder.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Others, Jenna’s parents, use the dead bodies for the
advancement of science. At least that is what they claim but after seeing the
freakish specimen’s in jars at a local museum Jamie begins to wonder how any of
this can be legal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For me it seemed to be more of a cautionary tale
about how even art and science can go too far in their effort for pleasure and
the greater good. This is what could happen when someone makes art or even
science their god. The ends can justify the means in the eyes of such people
and even make them forget their own humanity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I will warn you. This story is macabre and downright
creepy but there are some scary possibilities. I hope I don’t live to see this
reality but it is something to think about, and possibly give you nightmares.
Also, like the last novel I reviewed by Penn, the language is sometimes a bit
strong.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is a good book to read if you like mystery and
thriller novels that make you think, and if you can stomach the dark aspects of
it. In fact, you might not want to read this when you are eating. It is up to
you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I am not really sure whether I want to recommend
this one or not. Just remember, you have been warned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00944451615808381698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5361859955750831863.post-50605462999067194382015-06-27T05:57:00.000-07:002015-06-27T05:57:08.521-07:00Into The Whirlwind<img alt="Into the Whirlwind" src="http://img1.imagesbn.com/p/9780764210242_p0_v3_s114x166.JPG" /><br />
<br />
<b>Review of <i>Into The Whirlwind </i>by Elizabeth Camden</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com: </b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">As owner of the 57th Illinois Watch Company, Mollie Knox's future looks bright until the night the legendary Great Chicago Fire destroys her beloved city. With her world crumbling around her, Mollie will do whatever it takes to rebuild in the aftermath of the devastating fire.</span><br />
<div id="yui_3_8_1_1_1435409604590_1015" style="border: 0px none; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 20.7999992370605px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding: 0px;">
Zack Kazmarek, an influential attorney for one of Chicago's finest department stores, is a force to be reckoned with among the city's most powerful citizens. Bold and shrewd, he's accustomed to getting exactly what he wants--until he meets Mollie Knox, the beguiling businesswoman just beyond his reach.</div>
<div id="yui_3_8_1_1_1435409604590_1002" style="border: 0px none; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 20.7999992370605px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding: 0px;">
In the tumult as the people of Chicago race to rebuild a bigger and better city, Mollie comes face-to-face with the full force of Zack's character and influence. Zack believes this may finally be his chance to win her, but can Mollie ever accept this man and his whirlwind effect on her life, especially with her treasured company on the line?</div>
<h3 style="border: 0px none; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 20.7999992370605px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My Review:</span></h3>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Elizabeth Camden’s novel brings “into the whirlwind”
in more ways than one. And it all begins with the Great Chicago Fire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Our main character, Mollie Knox, owns a watch making
company known as the 57<sup>th</sup> Illinois Watch Company. She inherited it
from her now deceased father who lived for his work and Mollie has inherited
his drive though her business skills are all her own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Before the fire, Mollie is a tough, no nonsense
business women who wears her hair in braids to keep it out of her way as she
works. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Zack Kazmarek is the lawyer for Hartman’s, a fancy
Chicago department store. He is equal parts ambition, control, and craziness.
Although he has known Mollie for three years in their business dealings (his store
sells Mollie’s watch) he had never seen this side of her before nor had he ever
had the guts to let his true feelings for her show. But the fire changed all
that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Realizing how easily he could have lost her, Zack
finally declares his real feelings for her. But winning her love will not be
easy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mollie dislikes the pressure that Zack has put her
under and on top of that her business burnt to ground during the fire. The
factory workers are counting on her to keep them employed, many of them dear
friends of her father’s during the Civil War, and she can’t let them down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The world she lives in has turned upside down
overnight, something we can all relate to I think. At least those of us who
remember the days after 9/11 and what a shock that was. As much as we might
think it is something that only we modern citizens have experienced, it is
nothing new.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I liked the character of Mollie Knox. In many ways
she is different from the type of woman that we usually think of when we
envision woman of the day and yet she is believable. She is tough but not so
tough that we don’t see her vulnerable side. And she is kind at the same time,
always taking time to care about her employees as well as fighting to keep the
company that her father loved afloat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I also liked how the message to trust in God’s love
was not too heavy-handed like you see in many works of Christian fiction. And I
liked how this book delved somewhat into the heart of Chicago’s Polish
Community. I am not sure if it exists as such these days but it is nice to
imagine how it might have been.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While it is not my favorite type of Historical
Fiction, I appreciated this Romance nonetheless. At least it didn’t insult my intelligence
and hopefully not yours. I suggest you give it a try.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00944451615808381698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5361859955750831863.post-70322803964513494592015-06-20T04:18:00.002-07:002015-06-20T04:18:53.633-07:00Game of Empires<img alt="Product Details" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/513q2urvWqL._AA160_.jpg" /><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Review of <i>Game of Empires</i> by Richard Blake</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>Overview from www.goodreads.com: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Constantinople, 617 AD.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span></div>
<br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Chained up in a condemned cell, Rodi thinks it’s the last day of his life. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">It becomes the first. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Though only fourteen, his brains and skill at forgery make him too valuable for the Roman Empire to waste on a public execution. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The Lord Treasurer Alaric recruits him into a top secret security agency – his job, once trained, is to turn the tables in the Empire’s war with the so far victorious Persians. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">This is a story that takes you from the glittering palaces and sordid streets and brothels of the Imperial City, to the barbarian-ravaged provinces, to high mountain tops fringed with pine. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Here, with no one to help but a naïve Christian missionary, Rodi must prove himself in a contest with the devotees of an obscene and bloody idol and a Persian spy. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Can young Rodi survive and come out on top in this ruthless and secret Game of Empires…? </span><br />
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">My Review:</span></span></h3>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The story for this week takes place in an era and
place that I have not seen a lot in Historical Fiction. The time is 617 AD. The
place is Constantinople. For those of you who don’t already know,
Constantinople is the old name for modern day Istanbul which is in Turkey.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Our main character, a young man named Rodi, is about
to be executed for forgery. At the last minute his life is spared by Lord
Alaric. In exchange, he must devote his life to his new master while working as
a spy for the Byzantine Empire i. e. the Eastern half of the Roman Empire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<s><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I don’t have such a great knowledge of
this Empire but I seem to recall that there was an Emperor named Alaric. I am
not sure if this is the same one in the history books but it probably is. <o:p></o:p></span></s></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<s><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></s></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Scratch that. I might have gotten my facts wrong. I
probably have. Sorry for the confusion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Anyway, as he continues on his quest to find out
what the Persians and their spy Ephraem have planned for the Empire. Already it
seems that it will lose yet another chunk of its territory—Egypt. Now they must
prevent the rest of the Empire from falling to the Persians.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The author tells this story well. It flows and
intrigues. The characters are also intriguing and in no way stereotyped. Also,
it is not as long as many Historical novels are which makes it easier to get through.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But I have to mention that I did stop reading it for
a day or so and debated with myself whether or not I should continue reading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There was some language that I didn’t like. Also
certain elements of the story bothered me. I tried to ignore it and continue
reading though because I liked the writing and rarely have the chance to read
something from this time period.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I did like the historical background at the beginning of the story, even if it was a bit different. My memories of studying the Byzantine Empire were a little sketchy so even though I at first wondered what was going on, later into the story I appreciated it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It was a good story though, so if you are not put off
by the things I mentioned, you might give it a try. Though I am glad I finished
it, I am not sure if I would read another one or not. We’ll see.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00944451615808381698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5361859955750831863.post-86745971719887180442015-06-13T04:18:00.000-07:002015-06-13T04:18:18.289-07:00If I Had Lunch With C. S. Lewis<img alt="If I Had Lunch with C. S. Lewis: Exploring the Ideas of C. S. Lewis on the Meaning of Life" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/p/9781414383781_p0_v1_s114x166.JPG" /><br />
<br />
<b>Review of <i>If I Had Lunch With C. S. Lewis </i>by Alister McGrath</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com: </b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">What if you could ask C. S. Lewis his thoughts on some of the most difficult questions of life? If you could, the result would be Dr. Alister McGrath’s provocative and perceptive book, </span><i style="border: 0px none; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 20.7999992370605px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">If I Had Lunch with C. S. Lewis.</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"> Best-selling author, prominent academic, and sought-after speaker, Dr. McGrath sees C. S. Lewis as the perfect conversation companion for the persistent meaning-of-life questions everyone asks.</span><br />
<div id="yui_3_8_1_1_1434193277343_1286" style="border: 0px none; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 20.7999992370605px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding: 0px;">
What makes Lewis a good dialogue partner is that his mind traveled through a wide and varied terrain: from atheism of his early life to his conversion later in life; from his rational skepticism to his appreciation of value of human desires and imagination; from his role as a Christian apologist during World War II to his growth as a celebrated author of classic children’s literature. The questions Lewis pondered persist today: Does life have meaning? Does God exist? Can reason and imagination be reconciled? Why does God allow suffering?</div>
<h3 style="border: 0px none; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 20.7999992370605px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My Review:</span></h3>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I must be changing the way I think since this is the
second time in 30 day period that I have chosen to review nonfiction. This book
centers on one of my favorite writers, C. S. Lewis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The author presented the reader with a hypothetical
situation. What would we talk about if we were to have lunch with C. S. Lewis?
What would he say about the subjects that matter most to us?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">McGrath reminds us that besides his famous series
“The Chronicles of Narnia,” Lewis is known first and foremost for his work as a
Christian apologist. What would he say about these subjects that he hasn’t
already said in his books or better yet how can it be worded so that we could
understand him better?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I don’t think that I am stupid. In fact, some would
say the opposite. But I have often times struggled to understand exactly what
he means in some of his books. I think Mr. McGrath cleared a lot of that
confusion up for me. I understand much better than before and it makes more
sense to me. This, for me, was the best part of the book. I gained a better
understanding of Lewis’ main points as an apologist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is not to say that there wasn’t discussion of
the Narnia series. I actually understood better how the events in Narnia helped
illustrate Lewis’ main points about God even if they fit neatly into his
theology—he did have a point.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Of course I have always liked how Lewis chose the
name of the lands of Narnia based on an old map of a place dear to my
heart—Narni, Italy. But I also like the stories themselves as well. In Narnia,
there are giants of both size and strength like Aslan, as well as giants of
courage in small packages like the mouse Reepicheep.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I couldn’t really see much of a down side to this
book at all. I think it could helpful to people who might have read Lewis’
works and/or McGrath’s biography of Lewis and just didn’t get it all. If that
is you, give it a try. After all, it is less than 200 pages.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00944451615808381698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5361859955750831863.post-86496188451596812832015-06-06T05:05:00.000-07:002015-06-06T05:05:22.469-07:00Squatter's Rights<h3>
<img alt="Squatter's Rights" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/p/2940033171033_p0_v2_s114x166.JPG" /></h3>
<br />
<b>Review of <i>Squatter's Rights </i>by Hollis Rentchler</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com: </b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">Earth's colonization ship arrives at what is supposed to be an uninhabited planet and confirms you never know what to expect with a First Contact.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">My Review:</span></span></h3>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This week we sashay into Science Fiction with our
latest main character, Dr. Oxana Kharmadi. A scientist of the Terran peoples,
we find her apparently inspecting another planet only to encounter a new alien
race. And these aliens apparently have horns.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Although she is at first understandable wary, not
knowing whether they are enemies or friends, she soon finds them to be
friendly. Others on her team are not so sure at first. They don’t even know
whether or not to trust her alone with the creatures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">She persists and soon a conversation begins despite
the fact that their translator seems to have trouble understanding the new
language. However Oxana suggests that they let their children play with the
alien children. In the meantime they have come up with a new name for this
race. They are Rcyyt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I am not a typical Sci Fi fan so it is a good thing
that this book is not your typical Sci Fi story, well, except for the presence
of aliens. The story is about the humans, or Terrans, and how they relate to
each other as well as the Rcyyt. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Everyone rushes around, hoping to make that first
connection with Rcyyt while ignoring their connection with one another. And
there is a lot of anger towards Oxana, first for her faux pas of accidentally
kidnapping one their own. (You’ll have to read the book to find out how she
manages to do that.) Then later for the fact that despite her mistakes, the
Rcyyt seem to prefer her advice above all the other Terrans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I liked the oddity of the story and the characters.
Oxana and Iol are probably my favorites.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I can only think of one fault in the story. It is
too short. And that's saying something since I usually don't like alien stories.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00944451615808381698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5361859955750831863.post-92098427692917470742015-05-30T04:10:00.000-07:002015-05-30T04:10:56.034-07:00Blind Justice<img alt="Blind Justice" src="http://img1.imagesbn.com/p/9780910355094_p0_v1_s114x166.JPG" /><br />
<br />
<b>Review of <i>Blind Justice</i> by James Scott Bell</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com: </b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">His wife has left him. He's drinking again. And his five-year-old daughter is in the middle of it all. When a judge calls him "a disgrace to the legal profession," Jake starts thinking things might be better for everyone if he wasn't around anymore.</span><br />
<div id="yui_3_8_1_1_1432983513208_1000" style="border: 0px none; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 20.7999992370605px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding: 0px;">
Then a childhood friend's mother phones him. Her son, Howie, has been accused of murdering his wife. Jake takes the seemingly hopeless case in a last-ditch effort to save his client and his fading career.</div>
<div id="yui_3_8_1_1_1432983513208_1040" style="border: 0px none; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 20.7999992370605px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding: 0px;">
Meanwhile, Howie's little sister, Lindsay, has grown into a beautiful woman. Though Jake is drawn to her, there's something about her he doesn't understand, even though it may be the very thing he needs to reclaim his humanity.</div>
<div id="yui_3_8_1_1_1432983513208_1041" style="border: 0px none; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 20.7999992370605px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding: 0px;">
With the evidence mounting against his client, and a web of corruption closing around them both, Jake Denney faces the fight of his life--not only in the courtroom, but in the depths of his own soul.</div>
<h3 style="border: 0px none; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 20.7999992370605px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My Review:</span></h3>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The way this book starts out is just a little bit
sneaky. We begin with Howie. I presumed that he would be the main character.
But I knew that our author wrote Legal Thrillers and Howie doesn’t sound at all
like a lawyer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Looks can be deceiving but as the opening continues
on it becomes apparent that Howie is probably a murder suspect. No lawyer in
the first scene.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Enter Jake. Ah, here is our lawyer, or rather a sad
excuse for one. He apparently hasn’t had any paying clients in a long time
since his rent is and has been due to his office land lord for quite some time.
His friend/landlord has just gotten to insisting that Jake give it to him which
Jack knows isn’t easy for him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Then the last straw. His ex-wife threatens to take
his daughter away from him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Meanwhile Howie becomes a murder suspect after being
stabbed himself. His parents remember Howie’s old friend Jake and ask him to
represent him in court.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Things go from bad to worse though when Howie
confesses to the murder from his hospital room just as a police officer walks
into the room.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Jake still hopes that he is innocent. After all,
Howie admits that he doesn’t remember stabbing his wife and he remembers the
presence of another person in the room. Unfortunately for Jake, Howie is
convinced that the other person is the devil. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Certain that the devil was nowhere near the crime
scene, Jake thinks that maybe he can somehow prove that Howie might be crazy.
Maybe he did see someone else in the room but not the devil. Maybe it was just someone
who looked like him. Or just a defense mechanism. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As the trial continues, Jake must also confront his
own personal demons. His alcohol problems, his inability to relate to his
father or anyone who reminds him or his father, his attempts to relate to his
daughter, and his growing attraction to
Howie’s sister are just a few of the problems he faces in addition to trying to
when Howie’s case.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I dare not say too much more about what happens next
but I will say that I highly recommend this one. I had high expectations going
into it too after reading Mr. Scott Bell’s writing books (which I really
liked). “Let’s see what he’s got,” was the attitude I had in reading it. “Let’s
see if he writes as well as he tells his students to.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I can honestly say that he delivers. I wasn’t
disappointed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00944451615808381698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5361859955750831863.post-76504090700899100162015-05-23T04:01:00.000-07:002015-05-23T04:01:31.580-07:00Women Heroes of World War I<img alt="Women Heroes of World War I: 16 Remarkable Resisters, Soldiers, Spies, and Medics" src="http://img1.imagesbn.com/p/9781613746868_p0_v1_s114x166.JPG" /><br />
<br />
<b>Review of <i>Women Heroes of World War I </i>by Katheryn J. Atwood</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com: </b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">In time for the 2014 centennial of the start of the Great War, this book brings to life the brave and often surprising exploits of 16 fascinating women from around the world who served their countries at a time when most of them didn’t even have the right to vote. Readers meet 17-year-old Frenchwoman Emilienne Moreau, who assisted the Allies as a guide and set up a first-aid post in her home to attend to the wounded; Russian peasant Maria Bochkareva, who joined the Imperial Russian Army by securing the personal permission of Tsar Nicholas II, was twice wounded in battle and decorated for bravery, and created and led the all-women combat unit the “Women’s Battalion of Death” on the eastern front; and American journalist Madeleine Zabriskie Doty, who risked her life to travel twice to Germany during the war in order to report back the truth, whatever the cost. These and other suspense-filled stories of brave girls and women are told through the use of engaging narrative, dialogue, direct quotes, and document and diary excerpts to lend authenticity and immediacy. Introductory material opens each section to provide solid historical context, and each profile includes informative sidebars and “Learn More” lists of relevant books and websites, making this a fabulous resource for students, teachers, parents, libraries, and homeschoolers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My Review:</span></span></h3>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This week I am stepping away from fiction entirely
and towards the world of nonfiction. Kathryn contacted me through Twitter
offering me a copy of this book to review. I thought it might be fun for a
change of pace.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Also I love History and I hope you do also. And this
is a part of History that I knew nothing about. Could there really be that many
heroic women involved in the First World War? Apparently so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This was not a short book either. There were more
names than I ever could have imagined. These heroes came from all walks of
life: spies, nurses, soldiers and journalists. But the soldiers were by far the
most surprising. I had no idea than any woman had ever served as a soldier
during this war.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And the book was not written in an academic tone
either. I think it was a young adult book yet the details seemed well-researched and pertinent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">These women had done some incredible things and were
motivated by incredible ideas. Many of them did fight or work due to their own
patriotism but just as many seemed to also fight for the love of a man, either
a brother, father, husband, son, or even a lover.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At the same time there were the sad stories of some
of the Russian women who fought. I think at least one of them was only fighting
because the war had killed her whole family and she had nowhere else to go. It
seemed sad but her contribution to the war effort was not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The other thing that amazed me was the photos that
the author managed to scrounge up along with the lists for further reading. And
many of the women had written their own stories down which Atwood also
lists. I am not sure if all of them were in English though so who knows if you
could actually read them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The best thing about the book was the way it gave
you some background into why and how this war started. I knew about the assassination
of the Archduke Ferdinand but I never really understand how this ever
translated into a large scale war like this one. That is until I read the
author’s background into the war. Without it, I think it would be hard for
readers to really appreciate who these women were and what they did.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I recommend this to all but especially to those who
want to know more about this war and why any woman would want to get involved
in it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00944451615808381698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5361859955750831863.post-57432963894641698812015-05-16T04:34:00.001-07:002015-05-16T04:34:46.788-07:00Gatsby Girls<img alt="Gatsby Girls" src="http://img1.imagesbn.com/p/9780989020046_p0_v1_s114x166.JPG" /><br />
<br />
<b>Review of <i>Gatsby Girls </i>by F. Scott Fitzgerald</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com: </b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">She was an impulsive, fashionable and carefree 1920s woman who embodied the essence of the Gatsby Girl -- F. Scott Fitzgerald’s wife, Zelda. As Fitzgerald said, "I married the heroine of my stories." All of the eight short stories contained in this collection were inspired by Zelda.</span><br />
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Fitzgerald, one of the foremost writers of American fiction, found early success as a short story writer for the most widely read magazine of the early 20th century -- the Saturday Evening Post. Fitzgerald's stories, first published by the Post between 1920 and 1922, brought the Jazz Age and the "flapper" to life and confirmed that America was changing faster than ever before. Women were bobbing their hair, drinking and flirting shamelessly, and Fitzgerald brought these exciting Gatsby Girls to life in the pages of the Post.</div>
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A foreword by Jeff Nilsson, archivist for the Post, adds historical context to this wonderful, new collection, which is highlighted by an introduction written by Fitzgerald himself. Each story is accompanied by the original illustrations and the beautiful cover images from the Post. Read the stories that made F. Scott Fitzgerald one of the most beloved writers in America -- and around the world -- still today.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My Review:</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Going off into a new direction this week, I am
reviewing a collection of short stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald called <i>Gatsby Girls</i>. This book contains some of
the stories that Fitzgerald wrote for “The Saturday Evening Post,” many of
which Norman Rockwell illustrated. Sometimes the cover would even feature a
Rockwell illustration based on his stories.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Why is that important? I don’t know. But to me it
was interesting since I enjoy a Norman Rockwell painting as much as the next
person.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Anyway, back to the stories. I was thrown off at
first because the first writing by Fitzgerald was not a story at all but an
essay. In it, he mainly wrote about his journey as a writer and in particular
his experience with short stories. It was a very insightful little gem though I
did start to wonder if I’d read the book description right. It distinctly
mentioned that this was the book with Fitzgerald short stories.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Not to worry though because the next item was a
short story. There was a short blurb about it with some background information
including when it was published. And then the story followed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I did begin to see something that surprised me in these
stories. Over and over again, they were about relationships between men and
women. The women were usually rich Southern belles who were either looking for
something different than the life that had grown up in or were just thrown into
something different.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I also began to see how the introduction to the book
was right. The person who wrote that introduction explained how Fitzgerald
created all or nearly all of his heroines based on one person—his wife Zelda.
She was that spoiled Southern belle but she had spunk. Maybe these stories were
his attempt to figure her out. Who knows?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My favorites were “Myra Meets his Family” and “The
Off Shore Pirate.” These seemed to be the most original of the lot. And I did
enjoy the Rockwell illustrations even if in some spots they seemed a little
strange. It might have been mostly because I am not used to illustrations in a
story for adults. They did add though in helping me visual the time period and
atmosphere in the stories.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The other odd thing was the placement of the
illustrations. I don’t remember which story it was in particular but one of the
stories had an illustration of the last scene in the story. I thought if I had
been scanning through this issue and not really read that story, that photo would
have given the ending away. It seemed to be a strange thing to do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">All of the stories are also divided into sections
with Roman numerals telling the reader which one it was. This was helpful as
most of the stories were a bit long.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Overall though, I liked reading them. I think I
learned something about Fitzgerald’s process as well as the time period. If you
enjoy his writing, I think you would probably enjoy this collection as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Contains:
</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">some
sensuality<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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