Gibbin House Blog Tour - Excerpt Post and Giveaway

Gibbin House by Carola Perla
Source: Author via Closed the Cover for an honest review
Format: eBook and Paperback
Publication Date: September 21, 2011
Publisher: Self-Published
ISBN: 1461074487
ISBN13: 9781461074489

Excerpt from Gibbon House by Carola Perla:

At long last, London. By this point in the late afternoon, coffee, cigarettes, and apprehension had burned an acid pit into my stomach. The stale air of the station, a massive but dimly-lit depot with iron ribs bracing its vast ceiling, streamed through the open window and gave me an additional chill. What a madhouse, I thought, peering out through the spotty glass at the throng of bobbing hats. My compartment in contrast was so soothingly empty - everyone in it had joined the other passengers in jamming the aisles ages ago. People on arriving trains couldn’t help themselves. For me, the novelty had worn off around Innsbruck on day two.

Remember, this is the last time.

I smoothed over the stray wisps of my chignon and rose reluctantly. But before going through the trouble of pulling my burgundy suitcase out from the overhead bin, I stared outside again to assure myself of the station’s name on the large information boards.

In reality, I knew where I was. The porter’s announcement that we were approaching Victoria Station had rung periodically in the aisle for the last twenty minutes. I’d thought of little else as we’d sluggishly advanced past this city’s sooty row houses, burned-out factories, and minutely partitioned backyards. But a week of traveling on trains has the curious effect of keeping one from taking reality at face value. Everything one hears collapses into echoes, and words become deceitfully amorphous shapes. One feels perpetually on the fringe of discovering that one is not oneself, and my disorientation was such that I felt at any moment sure to fall straight through the ground.

Oh, get yourself together, I implored. I grabbed my suitcase and crocheted handbag, and stumbled out onto the mob.

Now, I don’t know what I expected when I finally alighted the platform at my destination. Fanfare? A driver in uniform holding up a banner with my name on it? Did I really believe I would be the conquering heroine, an Ingrid Bergman being fetched in a fancy car? Needless to say, no fanfare greeted me, only the tumult of indifference. I hauled my things to the front of the train platform and planted myself as much as I could in plain sight. And then I waited.

Seek out a handsome light-haired gentleman in his seventies.

That was about the extent of my mother’s instructions before I left Vienna; the ‘handsome’ part was pure conjecture, of course. She hadn’t seen Professor Deisler in twenty years. She’d only figured he must be still good-looking, because he’d been a dedicated dandy in their youth: blond, impeccably manicured, with the most correct posture she claims to have ever seen on anyone. In other words, a real life “aesthete”, straight out of Schnitzler.

But that was twenty years ago. Would he look the same now, this professor? The Belle Epoch of my mother’s Vienna was a bygone era, and the feminine sort of vanity Austrian men had taken pride in, well, for obvious reasons it had gone quite out of fashion. On the other hand, I wasn’t sure how well to rely on his recognizing me. All he had, as far as I understood, was a confirmation card with a photograph of a pale and gauzy, insignificant girl, a starved wood nymph in looped braids. Physically I near looked the same, apart from my hair now upswept and a shade darker. But the girl in the photograph looked happy. He could not possibly connect the present person to that image. Thus I accepted that I had to do the recognizing.

But what an onerous task - soliciting the attentions of a stranger. The idea of having to examine every elderly man walking by and looking expectant and “available” made my skin crawl. I felt small and pathetic, and I resented my mother for forcing the whole thing on me.

What made it worse was that so many men responded to my stupid, doe-eyed look.

Was I Ms. Weatherton?
Ms. Havishaw?
Renata’s girl?
Gloria?
Ms. Prigg?
The Misses from the agency?
No?
Dreadfully sorry…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author Bio
Carola Perla was born in 1977 in Timisoara, Romania, to parents of Peruvian and
German-Romanian heritage. She spent her early childhood in Lima and Munich,
before moving with her family to the United States.
She holds degrees in German Literature and Art History from Florida State
University. Since 2001 she has been a resident of Miami Beach, where she
co-founded an international public relations firm and worked as a freelance
journalist. Her recent projects include the launch of the Atelier 1022 Art Gallery in
Wynwood. Gibbin House is her first novel.

The giveaway for Gibbin House by Carola Perla is incredible! There will be a total of
three winners; one grand prize winner and two additional winners.
The Grand Prize Winner will receive:
1. A signed copy of Gibbin House
2. 'Vienna Romance' stationary by ATELIER 1022 Company
3. Limited edition reproduction Stereocard of Trafalgar Square, London - this
Edwardian Era 3-D photograph, dated 1901, served as the novel's cover art
4. Viewing lorgnette
5. Collector's edition prologue 'letter'
Two additional winners will receive:
A signed copy of Gibbin House





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A Different Sun Blog Tour and Review

A Different Sun by Elaine Neil Orr
Publication date: April 2, 2013 by Berkley Books
Source: Publisher via TLC Book Tours for an honest review
Synopsis:

In 1853, newly married Emma Bowman arrives in Afrida and steps into a world of unsurpassed beauty — and peril.
A page-turning adventure with life and death stakes for the body and the soul…
Born into a life of privilege in rural Georgia, Emma yearns for important work.  An ardent passion burns in her soul, spurring her beyond the narrow confines of her family’s slave-holding plantation.  She meets and weds Henry Bowman, a tremendously attractive former Texas Ranger twice her age, who has turned from the rifle to the cross.  Together with their dreams of serving God they take ship for West Africa.  Emma leaves every known thing behind, save a writing box Henry has made for her. In it she carries a red journal and an odd carving made by an old African owned by her father.

The couple’s intimate life has hardly begun when they are beset by illness, treacherous travel, an early pregnancy, a death.  Emma opens her heart to Africa, yet at every turn her faith is challenged.  In deep night, she turns to the odd carving for comfort and in snatches of calm makes record in her diary.  She redoubles her energies, even as she begins to doubt her husband’s sanity.  Yet she loves him.

When they hire Jacob, a native assistant to guide their caravan, Emma is confronted with her greatest challenge.  Henry’s health begins to fail, and she is drawn deeper into the African world.

Something is revealing itself to her.  But is it a haunting mystery from her past or a new revelation coming toward her out of this mysterious continent?


A compelling story of temptation, courage, faith, and the redemptive quality of love, both human and divine, A Different Sun will transport you to a world where tragedy and triumph lie a heartbeat away.



My Take:

A Different Sun by Elaine Orr is a special treat to read. It is not like many of the books I have read lately. The author has a very different, contemplative narrative style that really made me slow down and absorb the novel instead of rushing headlong to finish it. I have a difficult time describing what I mean, but there is something about the way the book is told mostly from Emma's perspective and includes her associative thought patterns that made the story very real for me. I don't know if it is the narrative style or something else about it, but it reminded be of Things Fall Apart by Achebe. That may seem like a cheap and easy comparison, but that is really what I was thinking as I read the book.

Comparisons aside, I was drawn in to Emma's life as a young girl as she tried to figure out what it was about Uncle Eli's situation as a slave that bothered her so much. Emma's thoughts seemed to contemplate what she sees in front of her and then skirt away from the distressing reality. It was almost  like she couldn't bring herself to acknowledge her family's way of life was so wrong and contradicted her own ethical beliefs. This was the point that I was hooked.

Emma meets the handsome missionary at church and almost immediately decides that he is the man for her - partly for his good looks, but mostly for his missionary work. This idea of sharing her spiritual beliefs with the people of Africa has been growing in her and then everything falls into place.

The story then follows their preparations for marriage and their mission trip. The young married couple must face the challenges of adapting to their married life while they are travelling across the world to set up a new mission. It is quite a daunting prospect. Of course there will be many challenges - both large and small.

There is so much that I loved about this book, but I have a hard time actually describing exactly what I felt. I loved the way Emma chooses her word so carefully when she records her thought in her journal. Partially it is because she fears that Henry will read them and be angered or misinterpret them. Also, she is aware of the power of words and wants to give enough that she will know what happened, but no so much that just anyone could really understand.

I also very much enjoyed reading about Emma's personal growth. She begins her time in Africa weak and pretty helpless. But as time goes on she is forced to become strong and to speak for herself and then to even take charge. This was a wonderful progression. I also loved that Emma had to face her family's slave owner status and what that truly meant. There is a painful but beautiful scene between Emma and Jacob, the native assistant to Henry, that brings the issue front and center. I felt that Emma was able to grow so much with the help of Jacob, Sade, and several of the other people who lived in the area. I absolutely loved the dignity, beauty and wisdom that is evident in the people of the village.

The narrative style and pacing are different from a lot of the literary fiction that I have encountered lately, however,  A Different Sun is a book that deserves to be read with a bit of attention and intent. It made me stop and reread a sentence or a paragraph here and there just because of a certain turn of phrase or to really soak in the atmosphere of the story. This is one of those books that I will recommend to my friends who are thoughtful readers, who really appreciate that book that stands out and makes them stop and dwell on an idea, a sentence or paragraph.

About Elaine Orr

Elaine Neil Orr is a trans-Atlantic writer of fiction, memoir, and poetry.  Themes of home, country, and spiritual longing run through her writing.  A Different Sun: A Novel of Africa, her newest book (Berkley/Penguin, 2013), has been called by Lee Smith “as lyrical and passionate a novel as has ever been written.  [It] shines in the mind like a rare gem.”  Philip Deaver describes it as“[a] beautiful novel, exquisitely written, perfectly complex, true to the past, relevant today, unforgettable.”

Her memoir, Gods of Noonday (Virginia, 2003), was a Top-20 Book Sense selection and a nominee for the Old North State Award as well as a SIBA Book Award.  She is associate editor of a collection of essays on international childhoods, Writing Out of Limbo, and the author of two scholarly books.

Orr has published extensively in literary magazines including The Missouri Review, Blackbird, Shenandoah, and Image Journal.   Her short stories and short memoirs have won several Pushcart Prize nominations and competition prizes.  She has been awarded grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the North Carolina Arts Council, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.

She was born in Nigeria to medical missionary parents and spent her growing-up years in the savannahs and rain forests of that country.  Her family remained in Nigeria during its civil war.  Orr left West Africa at age sixteen and attended college in Kentucky.  She studied creative writing and literature at the University of Louisville before taking her Ph.D. in Literature and Theology at Emory University.  She is an award-winning Professor of English at North Carolina State University and serves on the faculty of the brief-residency MFA in Writing Program at Spalding University.  She reads and lectures widely at universities and conferences from Atlanta to Austin to San Francisco to Vancouver to New York to Washington D.C., and in Nigeria.

Orr lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, with her husband, Anderson Orr.

Visit Elaine at her website and connect with her on Facebook.

Elaine’s Tour Stops

Tuesday, January 14th: Respiring Thoughts
Thursday, January 16th: Unabridged Chick
Monday, January 20th: Little Lovely Books
Tuesday, January 21st:  What She Read
Wednesday, January 22nd: Book Dilettante
Thursday, January 23rd: A Book Geek
Monday, January 27th: Books and Movies
Tuesday, January 28th: Bookie Wookie
Wednesday, January 29th: Ageless Pages Reviews (Q&A)
Monday, February 3rd: Lit and Life
Wednesday, February 5th:  Cold Read

Friday, February 7th: The Most Happy Reader

Becoming Josephine Blog Tour and Review

Becoming Josephine by Heather Webb
Publication date: December 31, 2013 by Plume Books/Penguin
Source: Publisher via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours
Synopsis:
Rose Tascher sails from her Martinique plantation to Paris to trade her Creole black magic culture for love and adventure. She arrives exultant to follow her dreams of attending Court with Alexandre, her elegant aristocrat and soldier husband. But Alexandre dashes her hopes and abandons her amid the tumult of the French Revolution.
Through her savoir faire, Rose secures her footing in high society, reveling in handsome men and glitzy balls—until the heads of her friends begin to roll.
After narrowly escaping death in the blood-drenched cells of Les Carmes prison, she reinvents herself as Josephine, a socialite of status and power. Yet her youth is fading, and Josephine must choose between a precarious independence and the love of an awkward suitor. Little does she know, he would become the most powerful man of his century- Napoleon Bonaparte.

BECOMING JOSEPHINE is a novel of one woman’s journey to find eternal love and stability, and ultimately to find herself.


My Take:

I found Becoming Josephine by Heather Webb to be quite an eye opener for me. I had no idea the life that Josephine - or Rose, as she was called early in her life - led was so amazing. It is quite remarkable that she managed to make such an extraordinary life for herself.

The reader meets Rose in her home of Martinique when she is a young girl. She is seen as plain compared to her sister and is treated as the ugly sister by her family. Tragedy strikes and Rose soon finds herself being shipped off to marry the man that was originally intended for her sister. Things progress quickly, and Rose is soon married to a real cad. This is unfortunate for her, but she does learn what she is truly made of and how to look after herself.

Rose is a likable woman who has to learn the ins and outs of society and politics while still quite young and in a new marriage. She manages to survive the French Revolution - just barely - and proceeds to try to make her life better and be her own woman. I really enjoyed reading about her plans and how she goes about fulfilling her goals. The descriptions of the aristocracy, their lives, the political situations and the horrors of the Revolution are all quite compelling. I was captivated by the story from around the time when the political situation became precarious for those of a certain social standing.

Rose decides that she needs a man to help her financially. She used every method available to her to support herself and her children. She meets Bonaparte and is intrigued by the intensity of his personality and his obvious political potential. They both  seem to genuinely care for each other and their relationship was intense. I didn't really like Bonaparte all that much, but I really hated his family. The book does a good job of describing the hateful manner in which they treat Josephine. Josephine, however, endures everything. The marriage is rocky for a number of reasons besides Napoleon's temper.

I thought the book was pretty historically accurate and brings the people out of the shadows of history and makes their lives and the story feel real and relevant. I knew how the story would end - it is based on history after all - but I was still saddened for Josephine's loss of status -- but she retains her title and really, her life had to be calmer and less stressful away from the Bonapartes.

For anyone interested in Josephine or Napoleon Bonaparte, the French Revolution, French history, historical fiction in general, Becoming Josephine may be just the book you are looking for. The book is not overly long, the story flows quite easily, and it provides an engrossing look at a  fascinating woman and a volatile time in history. This is a book I will certainly be recommending.

About the Author

Heather Webb grew up a military brat and naturally became obsessed with travel, culture, and languages. She put her degrees to good use teaching high school French for nearly a decade before turning to full time novel writing and freelance editing.
When not writing, Heather flexes her foodie skills or looks for excuses to head to the other side of the world.

For more information please visit Heather’s website. You can also find her on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.

Virtual Book Tour Schedule

Wednesday, January 1
Review & Interview at HF Book Muse-News
Giveaway at Passages to the Past
Thursday, January 2
Review at Let Them Read Books
Review & Giveaway at WTF Are You Reading?
Friday, January 3
Interview & Giveaway at Let Them Read Books
Monday, January 6
Review & Giveaway at Confessions of an Avid Reader
Interview at Flashlight Commentary
Tuesday, January 7
Review & Giveaway at Scandalous Women
Wednesday, January 8
Review & Giveaway at Peeking Between the Pages
Thursday, January 9
Review & Giveaway at Luxury Reading
Friday, January 10
Review at Turning the Pages
Monday, January 13
Review & Giveaway at Broken Teepee
Tuesday, January 14
Review at Unabridged Chick
Review at CelticLady’s Reviews
Wednesday, January 15
Review at Book Lovers Paradise
Interview & Giveaway at Unabridged Chick
Thursday, January 16
Review & Giveaway at The Maiden’s Court
Friday, January 17
Review & Giveaway at So Many Precious Books, So Little Time
Monday, January 20
Review at A Bookish Affair
Tuesday, January 21
Review at Griperang’s Bookmarks
Interview & Giveaway at A Bookish Affair
Wednesday, January 22
Review at A Book Geek
Review at Oh, For the Hook of a Book!
Thursday, January 23
Review at Ageless Pages Reviews
Interview & Giveaway at Oh, For the Hook of a Book!
Friday, January 24
Review at Book-alicious Mama
Monday, January 27
Interview at Erika Mailman Blog
Tuesday, January 28
Review & Giveaway at The True Book Addict
Wednesday, January 29
Review at So Many Books, So Little Time
Thursday, January 30
Interview at HF Connection
Friday, January 31
Review at Books in the Burbs
Monday, February 3
Review at Sharon’s Garden of Book Reviews
Tuesday, February 4
Review at A Muse in the Fog
Wednesday, February 5
Review at A Bookish Libraria
Interview at A Muse in the Fog

Friday, February 7
Review at Silver’s Reviews

The Last Savanna - Giveaway

I am so excited to be able to host this survival/adventure giveaway associated with Mike Bond's book The Last Savanna.  I posted an excerpt from the book here. You can read more about the author Mike Bond and his other books on his website.

Here is a photo of all the cool stuff included in the giveaway. Everything is listed in detail below.

Items include:

·         The Last Savanna by Mike Bond www.mikebondbooks.com

·         Survival card multi tool (Kikkerland) www.kikkerland.com

·         Colorful Bandanna (Carolina Mfg) www.carolinamfg.com

·         Coghlan’s – 2 camping items (items may vary) www.coghlans.com

·         Aquatabs water purification tablets www.aquatabs.com

·         Clearon neutral pH bleach tablets – www.clearon.com

·         Nuun flavored electrolyte tablets – www.nuun.com

·         Element Bars nutritional energy bar – www.elementbars.com

·         Gear Aid - Seam Grip and Tenacious Tape repair patches www.mcnett.com/gearaid

·         Badger organic sunblock and lip balm – www.badgerbalm.com

·         Grabber Emergency Blanket – http://www.grabberworld.com/

·         HeatMax Hand Warmers - http://www.heatmax.com/blog/

·         Action Wipes
– www.actionwipes.com

·         Women’s Adventure Magazine –  www.womensadventuremagazine.com

·         Outdoor Sports Guide Magazine – www.sportsguidemag.com

·         Out There Monthly – www.outtheremonthly.com

 

The giveaway will run for five days..


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The Last Savanna Blog Tour - Excerpt

The Last Savanna by Mike Bond

Publication Date: January 15, 2014 by Mandevilla Press

Description from Goodreads:

With Africa's last elephants dying under the poachers' guns, Kenya rancher and former SAS officer Ian MacAdam leads a commando squad against them. Pursuing the poachers through jungled mountains and searing deserts he battles thirst, solitude, terror and lethal animals, only to find that the poachers have kidnapped a young archaeologist, Rebecca Hecht, whom he once loved and bitterly lost. 

McAdam embarks upon a desperate trek to save not only Rebecca but his own soul in an Africa torn apart by wars, overpopulation, and the slaughter of its last wildlife. Based on the author's experiences pursuing elephant poachers in the wilds of East Africa

*************************************************************

Excerpted from the book THE LAST SAVANNA by Mike Bond.  Copyright © 2013 by Mike Bond.  Reprinted with permission of Mandevilla Press.  All rights reserved

THE ELAND DESCENDED four steps down the grassy hillside and halted. He glanced all the way round the rolling golden hills, then closer, inspecting the long grass rippling in the wind, behind him, on both sides, and down to the sinuous green traverse of acacia, doum palms and strangler trees where the stream ran. The wind from the east over his shoulder carried the tang of drying murram grass and the scents of bitter pungent shrubs, of dusty, discarded feathers and glaucous lizard skins, of red earth and brown earth, of old scat and stones heating in the midafternoon sun. He switched at flies with his tail, twitched his ears, descended five more steps, and stopped again.

Thirst had dried his lips and eyes, tightened his throat, hardened his skin. Already the rain was drying out of the grass and soil pockets; here only the stream remained, purling between volcanic stones, rimmed by trees and tall, sharp weeds. He circled a thorn bush and moved closer several steps, his spiral gray horns glinting as he looked up and down the valley from north to west, then south, then up the slope behind him.

The shoulder-high thorn bushes grew thicker near the stream. The downslope breeze twirled their strong, dusty scents among their gnarled trunks; the sour smell of siafu, warrior ants, prickled his nose. He waited for the comforting twitter of sunbirds in the streamside acacias, the muffled snuffling of warthogs, or the swish of vervet monkeys in the branches, but there were none.

Licking his dry nose with a black tongue he raised his head and again sniffed round the wind, batting at flies with his ears, dropped his jaw and panted. There was truly no bad smell, no danger smell, but the wind was coming down the valley behind him and to get upwind he’d have to cross the stream and there was no way except through the thorn and commiphora scrub, which was where the greatest danger lay. He glanced back over his shoulder, gauging the climb necessary to regain the ridge and travel into the wind till he could descend the slope at a curve in the stream and keep the wind in his face. The sun glinting on the bleached grass, bright stones and red earth hurt his eyes; he sniffed once more, inhaled deeply, expanding the drum of thin flesh over his ribs, and shoved into the thorn scrub.

A widowbird exploded into flight from a branch on the far side of the stream and the eland jumped back, trembling. The sound of the stream pealing and chuckling coolly over its rocks made his throat ache. The heat seemed to buzz like cicadas, dimming his eyes. Shaking flies from his muzzle, he trotted through the scrub and bent his head to suck the water flashing and bubbling over the black stones.

The old lioness switched her tail, rose from her crouch and surveyed the eland’s back over the top of the thorn scrub. She had lain motionless watching his approach and now her body ached to move; the eland’s rutty smell made her stomach clench and legs quiver. She ducked her head below the scrub and padded silently to the stream, picked her way across its rocks without wetting her paws and, slower now, slipped a step at a time through the bush and crouched behind a fallen doum palm part way up the slope behind the eland, only her ears visible above it.

Far overhead a bearded vulture wavered in its flight, tipping on one wing, and turned in a wide circle. The eland raised his head, swallowing, glanced round; water dripping from his lips spattered into the stream. He shivered the flies from his back, bent to drink, raised his head, water rumbling in his belly. He turned and scanned the slope behind and above him; this was where he’d descended and now the wind was in his face and there was still no danger smell. His legs felt stronger; he licked his lower lip that already seemed less rough from the water filling his body. He trotted back through the thorn scrub past the fallen doum palm, bolting at the sudden yellow flash of terror that impaled him on its fierce claws, the lioness’ wide jaws crushing his neck as he screamed crashing through the bush. With one paw the lioness slapped him to the ground but he lurched up and she smashed him down again, her fangs ripping his throat, choking off the air as his hooves slashed wildly, and the horror of it he knew now and understood, dust clouding his eye, the other torn by thorns; the flailing of his feet slackened as the sky went red, the lioness’ hard body embracing him, the world and all he had ever known sliding into darkness.

The lioness sighed and dropped her head, the stony soil hurting her jaw. After a few moments she began to lick the blood seeping from the eland’s throat and mouth and the shoulder where her claws had torn it, then turned and licked her left rear leg where one of the eland’s hooves had made a deep gash. Settling herself more comfortably among the thorn bushes, she stripped back the skin along the eland’s shoulder, licking and gnawing at the blood and warm flesh beneath.

Crackling in the brush made her lay back her ears; she rumbled softly, deep in her throat. Heavy footsteps splashed through the stream and she growled louder, her rope tail switching. The male lion came up to the eland, lifted his lip and snarled.

Still growling she backed away slightly, lowering her head to grip the eland’s foreleg. The male sniffed the eland’s shoulder, crouched, ears back, and began to chew it. Then, gripping the shoulder in his jaw, he dragged the animal sideways, the lioness crawling after it, still holding the leg. Baring his teeth, the male leaned across the eland’s shoulder, bit down on the foreleg and pulled the eland over to get at its belly and flanks. Carefully the lioness edged round the carcass, reaching tentatively for a rear leg. With a roar the male flicked out a huge, flat paw that caught the side of her head. Her neck snapped loudly and the lioness tumbled back into the thorn brush, one rear paw trembling briefly.

The Samburu warrior rose from his hiding place among the rocks high up the slope, stretched his stiff legs and picked up his spear. From the shade he watched the lion’s thick black-maned head burrow into the eland’s belly. Since dawn, when the Samburu had begun watching the two lions, the young male and old female, they had mated nearly three times ten, but now he had killed her, giving the Samburu a possible solution to the problem that had been bothering him all day.

Playing St. Barbara Blog Tour

Playing St. Barbara by Marian Szczepanski
Publication date: August 1, 2013 by High Hill Press
Source: Author via TLC Book Tours for an honest review
Synopsis:
In the Depression-era coal patch known as The Hive, miner’s wife Clare Sweeney keeps secrets to survive. Stripped of her real name, she hides her friendship with a town pariah, haunting guilt around the deaths of her three infant sons, and determination never to bear another. She defies her abusive husband and the town’s rigid caste system to ensure a better future for her daughters, who harbor secrets of their own.
Deirdre conceals her attraction to a member of the despised Company police. Katie withholds her plans for a college education—and the convent—from her high school sweetheart.  And Norah suppresses the cause of her mother’s frequent miscarriages, the devastating memory of one brother’s death, and her love for a married man.

The four women’s intertwined lives eerily mirror the 7th century legend of St. Barbara, patroness of miners, reenacted annually in the town pageant. Each daughter is cast as St. Barbara, but scandal and tragedy intervene, allowing just one to play the coveted role. In turn, they depart from The Hive, leaving Clare to endure her difficult marriage—till a mine explosion rocks the town. Forced to confront the ghosts of her past, she faces a life-changing choice. Her decision will test her capacity to forgive and challenge her to begin a courageous journey to self-redemption.


My Take:

When I closed the book after I had finished reading Playing St. Barbara, I had so many thoughts swirling around in my head. I didn't know where to focus my review because there were so many possibilities.  The book takes place in a depression-era mining town called The Hive. The descriptions of the town, the company store, the tension between management families and the miners' families, the hard life lived by the miners are all described with just enough detail to evoke the images and feelings, but not so much as to overwhelm the reader.

Clare is married to Fin Sweeney, the best baseball player on the company team and the most notorious drunk as well. He talks with his fists and has some very firm ideas about how the women in his house should act. Clare and her daughters are complex characters with their own secrets and motivations. I really felt for Clare and her deeply buried resentment towards Fin for many reasons, not only the physical abuse.

Each women tells her story in turn and the reader is able to get to know the person each one truly is - not the role assigned to them by their father or husband, or the town, or society. Some take longer than others to find their voice and the truth of the person they want to be, but they each do so. They grow as people and as family.

Each of the women has her own reasons for wanting to leave, and each is interesting and I grew to like and hopefully understand each of them a little bit. But, for me, Clare was the one that really pulled at my heart. As I write this, I keep thinking of things about Deirdre, Katie and Norah that really stuck with me, but I will try to focus on Clare. I expected at least a little bit that the girls would find their voices and be able to make lives for themselves because of their youth. Clare, however, was another matter. She had given up a part of her identity when she married Fin because he insisted that she do so. He made her change her name and stop speaking her native language, which was German. He constantly denigrated her for her family's heritage even though she was born in the U.S. I found this cruelty and ignorance to be hard to comprehend. And it seemed that Clare really held a deep seated resentment about this.

After so many years of abuse, ridicule, shame for her husband's behavior, and the generally hard life of a miner, it seemed that Clare may not have it in her to fight for herself. However, despite all her own guilt over a tragic event and the abuse at the hands of her husband, she still manages to retain one tiny shred of control over her own life throughout all of this. This gave me hope for her.

I enjoyed reading how Clare takes back her life and her self so much. That whole section of the book was just a balm to this reader's soul. Despite all the heartache, poverty, social pressure, domestic pressure, Clare finally gets to discover who she really is.

The book touches on so many things while telling the stories of these amazing women. It reflects the historical period including many of the social issues of the era: unions, race and ethnic issues, women's issues -- so many of them, workers' rights, politics. There was so much going on in the country and the world and these things are seen through the eyes and experiences of these women.

I just loved this book so much. I will have to read it again soon. This is one of those books that I will be recommending to anyone and everyone.

About Marian Szczepanski

The granddaughter of immigrant coal miners, Marian Szczepanski grew up in southwestern Pennsylvania and lived as a young child in the Jamison Coal Company house where her mother and aunts were raised. She holds an MFA in fiction from the Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College and has won awards for short fiction and magazine feature writing.  Playing St. Barbara is her first novel. She lives in Houston, Texas.

Visit Marian at her website and connect with her on Facebook.

Marian’s Tour Stops

Monday, January 6th: Books Without Any Pictures
Tuesday, January 7th: Literally Jen
Wednesday, January 8th: A Book Geek
Thursday, January 9th: The House of the Seven Tails
Monday, January 13th: Time 2 Read
Tuesday, January 14th: Book Journey
Wednesday, January 15th: A Patchwork of Books
Thursday, January 16th: Patricia’s Wisdom
Monday, January 20th: Helen’s Book Blog
Tuesday, January 21st: Bluestalking
Wednesday, January 22nd: A Musing Reviews
Tuesday, January 28th: The Infinite Shelf
Wednesday, January 29th: Sharon’s Garden of Book Reviews
Thursday, January 30th: Peeking Between the Pages
Tuesday, February 4th: Giraffe Days

Friday, February 7th: Diary of a Stay a Home Mom

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2014

I read a lot of historical fiction last year, and plan to read a lot more this year, so I am again signing up for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. Hopefully this year I will do a better job of remembering to post links to my reviews on the challenge page. Regardless, it should be fun.

If you are interested in participating, you can sign up on the 2014 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge page.

I will update with the books I read and posted on the 2014 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge pages.
1. Playing St. Barbara
2.Becoming Josephine
3.A Different Sun
4.
5.

Starter House

Starter House by Sonja Condit
Publication date: December 31, 2013 by William Morrow Paperbacks
Source: Digital ARC from publisher via Edelweiss
Description from Goodreads:

In the vein of Heart-Shaped Box and The Thirteenth Tale, Starter House is a haunting and skillfully told debut novel about a newlywed couple and their first home-a home that seems to be haunted by a very malicious ghost

Lacey Miszlak grew up homeless; her crazy mother dragged her from one terrible living situation to the next. But now she thinks the pieces of her life have finally come together. She's pregnant with her first child and she and her husband Eric have moved into the home of their dreams. She knows soon its beautiful sunlit rooms will be filled with the joy of the new family she will build there.

But there's a strange darkness on the stairway and an odd little boy who won't leave Lacey alone and soon she's forced to realize that a danger she never suspected is lurking in the hallways of her beautiful new home. She's going to have to solve a decades-old mystery to save her family from an evil that has lingered in wait for them for years.

My Take:

I wanted to read Starter House because I love ghost stories and the premise sounded interesting with lots of potential. I enjoyed the book quite a lot. I read it in a day and it was very much one of those books that I just had to finish as quickly as possible.

There are so many clues that Lacy shouldn't buy the house that catches her eye - but she ignores all of them, of course. Lacy is a visual person and she can see the beauty in the house even before it has been fixed up. The shapes are right and she can see all the things she wants to do to make it into her perfect idea of a home.

This idea of a perfect home is important to Lacy because of how she grew up - a pretty nomadic life that she didn't really understand or like, at all. Lacy believes this lifestyle was chosen by her mother for a specific reason - and it was, just not the reason Lacey thinks. Here is one of the big themes in the book - the idea that even when we think we understand a person's motivations, we really don't. This comes up several times in the book and Lacey eventually seems to learn from her experiences.  She tends to come to her own conclusions without even asking the other person - usually not the best way.

The ghost story is interesting and pretty suspenseful throughout the book. But I did think Lacey was pretty slow to pick up on things. However, I will give her the benefit of the doubt because she is pregnant through most of the book and that can cause foggy thinking.

Actually, the book seems to be about a lot of things - for me, anyway. There are young marriage issues to work through, family issues, personal insecurities, and new parenthood to deal with. All of this while trying to deny that the beautiful house you bought is haunted by a very angry and dangerous being.

The ghost story is quite interesting and there are so many characters involved with the story line. It is all very mysterious and spooky. The book was great fun to read. I will be suggesting it to my reader friends.

Woman of Ill Fame Blog Tour and Review

Woman of Ill Fame by Erika Mailman
eBook Publication date: November 11, 2013 ( ASIN: B00GM1VHV2)
Source: eBook provided by author via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for an honest review
Synopsis:
Looking for a better life, Nora Simms sails from the East Coast to gold rush San Francisco with a plan for success: to strike it rich by trading on her good looks. But when a string of murders claims several of her fellow “women of ill fame,” Nora grows uneasy with how closely linked all of the victims are to her. Even her rise to the top of her profession and a move to the fashionable part of town don’t shelter her from the danger, and she must distinguish friend from foe in a race to discover the identity of the killer.



My Take:

I didn't really know what to expect when I started reading Woman of Ill Fame. I'm not usually that crazy about reading books about prostitutes, but the premise on this one sounded promising. I started reading it to get an idea of what was in store for me, and I ended up reading for hours. I found Nora to be just so funny and straightforward about her chosen profession. She had her reasons for her choice and she lived with it.

This book is much more than just a tale of the prostitute with a heart of gold. The mystery of who is brutally killing the prostitutes in San Francisco is interesting and creepy and I really enjoyed reading about how Nora gets involved and how she goes about gathering her information to try to find the killer. I found it a little funny how Nora puts certain events together and despite all her efforts, the volunteer police force just doesn't figure anything out.

I enjoyed the development of friendship between Nora and her landlady, Mehitabel Ashe (what a name!). Mehitabel is an upright woman who manages her home as a boarding house and takes in sewing and such to make ends meet. Nora is certain that she would not approve of her choice in profession.  Mehitabel absolutely does not approve, but she turns out to be much more understanding than Nora thought she would be. Mehitabel ends up being a real friend and a good person. She is a great example of some of  the character development in the book. She has her own story to tell and she doesn't give up on Nora.

Nora does want out of the life she is living, but she has a certain idea of what type of man would sweep in and take her away from the life. Her preconceived ideas are a disadvantage and almost bring her to harm. Fortunately for her, a man not from her dreams decides to be a real friend. Abe is different, a bit slow, and the brunt of much teasing from the other men in town. He becomes a favorite of Nora's and his character development and story arc are highlights of the book. There seems to be a theme about assuming things about people and being proven wrong throughout the book.

In the end though, it is the character of Nora that carries the whole book. She is just so funny and smart. I really enjoyed her and her constant striving to better her life. Despite her goals and her attempts to pull herself out of the life no matter the cost, she always does what her heart tells her - despite what her brain is telling her. Nora is just a great character. I would love to read more about what happens to her. I highly recommend this book. It is a great read.

About the Author

Erika Mailman is the author of The Witch’s Trinity, a Bram Stoker finalist and a San Francisco Chronicle Notable Book, and Woman of Ill Fame, a Pushcart Press Editor’s Book Award nominee. While writing The Witch’s Trinity, she learned she was the descendant of a woman accused twice of witchcraft in the decades predating Salem.
For more information please visit Erika Mailman’s website and blog.

Virtual Book Tour Schedule

Monday, December 9
Giveaway at Passages to the Past
Tuesday, December 10
Guest Post & Giveaway at HF Connection
Wednesday, December 11
Review at Flashlight Commentary
Thursday, December 12
Interview & Giveaway at Flashlight Commentary
Friday, December 13
Review at Historical Fiction Obsession
Monday, December 16
Review at A Book Geek
Review at Unabridged Chick
Tuesday, December 17
Review at Book of Secrets
Interview & Giveaway at Unabridged Chick
Wednesday, December 18
Review & Giveaway at Peeking Between the Pages
Thursday, December 19
Review at A Bookish Libraria

Friday, December 20
Review at CelticLady’s Reviews
Review at Confessions of an Avid Reader

The Sureme Macaroni Company Blog Tour

The Supreme Macaroni Company by Adriana Trigiani
Publication date: November 26, 2013 by Harper Collins
Source: Publisher via TLC Book Tours for an honest review
Synopsis:
For over a hundred years, the Angelini Shoe Company in Greenwich Village has relied on the leather produced by Vechiarelli & Son in Tuscany. This historic business partnership provides the twist of fate for Valentine Roncalli, the school teacher turned shoemaker, to fall in love with Gianluca Vechiarelli, a tanner with a complex past . . . and a secret.
A piece of surprising news is revealed at The Feast of the Seven Fishes when Valentine and Gianluca join her extended family on a fateful Christmas Eve. Now faced with life altering choices, Valentine remembers the wise words that inspired her in the early days of her beloved Angelini Shoe Company: “A person who can build a pair of shoes can do just about anything.” The proud, passionate Valentine is going to fight for everything she wants and savor all she deserves—the bitter and the sweetness of life itself.

The Supreme Macaroni Company is Trigiani at her comedic and dramatic best, the inside story of a family business, and the shoemaker who carries on the tradition while juggling a new marriage and family. The pull between old world Italian ways and American ambition tear at Valentine, as a secret is revealed that changes the course of her life. The story takes the reader from the cobblestone streets of Greenwich Village, to lush New Orleans, and home to Italy, in Tuscany and on the Amalfi coast, with a surprise twist that takes the action to America’s rust belt, Youngstown, Ohio.


My Take:

The Supreme Macaroni Company is the first book that I have read by Adriana Trigiani, so I really didn't know what to expect. I also wasn't aware that there were other books before this one about Valentine. I went into this expecting nothing and not knowing what I'd find.

I absolutely loved Valentine's family. I actually laughed out loud at some of the descriptions and their conversations/arguments. There are lots of laughter and arguments in this family. I really enjoyed reading about their interactions and the way they stick together through all the various chaotic happenings.

I kind of wish I had read the previous book because I didn't feel that I truly understood the dynamics of the relationship between Valentine and Gianluca as well as I would have liked. Fortunately, there is enough back story filled in as the reader progresses through the book. I did find Valentine's expectations about marriage to be a bit naive. But, I also was right there with her in not wanting to give up her career or independence.

I enjoyed the progression the company took and all the work and sacrifice that was necessary. I liked that everything didn't just fall into place - well, it did, but with much work and some secret effort. This was a moving and interesting part of the story. A bit of irony, a bit of heartbreak, a lot of love.

I definitely think that readers of Adriana Trigiani will enjoy The Supreme Macaroni Company, but I would suggest that readers new to her read at least one of the previous books just to get a good background. But, once again, I really enjoyed this book even though I hadn't read any of the other books. I think the thing I loved the most was the family relationship. It was just so fun and entertaining. I love a good family story. I am adding the previous books to my TBR list so I can read more about Valentine and her hilarious family.

About Adriana Trigiani

Adriana Trigiani is an award-winning playwright, television writer, and documentary filmmaker. Her books include the New York Times best seller The Shoemaker’s Wife; the Big Stone Gap series; Very Valentine; Brava, Valentine; Lucia, Lucia; and the best-selling memoir Don’t Sing at the Table, as well as the young adult novels Viola in Reel Life and Viola in the Spotlight. She has written the screenplay for Big Stone Gap. which she will also direct. She lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.

Find out more about Adriana at her website, connect with her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.

Adriana’s Tour Stops

Monday, November 11th: Bloggin’ ‘Bout Books
Tuesday, November 12th: Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile
Wednesday, November 13th: Becca’s Byline
Thursday, November 14th: Kritters Ramblings
Friday, November 15th: Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
Monday, November 18th: Svetlana’s Reads and Views
Tuesday, November 19th: Peeking Between the Pages
Thursday, November 21st: Always With a Book
Monday, November 25th: Broken Teepee
Tuesday, November 26th: bookchickdi
Wednesday, November 27th: Bibliophilia, Please
Friday, November 29th: Lesa’s Book Critiques
Monday, December 2nd: Book Addict Katie
Tuesday, December 3rd: Alison’s Book Marks
Wednesday, December 4th: Ageless Pages Reviews
Thursday, December 5th: Seaside Book Corner
Friday, December 6th: Lavish Bookshelf
Monday, December 9th: Joyfully Retired
Tuesday, December 10th: A Book Geek
Wednesday, December 11th: Love at First Book
Thursday, December 12th: A Chick Who Reads
Friday, December 13th: Books and Movies
Tuesday, December 17th: Lisa’s Yarns
Wednesday, December 18th: Col Reads
Thursday, December 19th: Good Girl Gone Redneck
Friday, December 20th: Drey’s Library
Monday, December 30th: red headed book child
Wednesday, January 1st: The Lost Entwife
Wednesday, January 1st: Tiffany’s Bookshelf
Tuesday, January 2nd: Book-alicious Mama
Monday, January 6th: Reflections of a Bookaholic
Tuesday, January 7th: A Bookish Way of Life
Wednesday, January 8th: Time 2 Read
Wednesday, January 8th: Stephany Writes
Thursday, January 9th: Walking With Nora

TBD: Booktalk & More