Mailbox Monday-June 14, 2010

As most of you know Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page. Thank you once again Marcia for hosting this weekly event. :)
Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.





Now before anyone looks at my mailbox and thinks, "Wow! What a week." I haven't posted a mailbox in a long time. I decided to get back in the swing of things this week after many weeks of not feeling well. So, this is a collection from the past two weeks. I'm not going to catch up with the ones I missed, but I have them recorded on my Google Doc.



Here is the list:
The Last Queen, C.W.Gortner
This Means War, Ellen Wittinger
Days of Grace, Catherine Hall
Lady of the Butterflies, Fiona Mountain
Proust's Overcoat, Lorenza Foschini
An Eagle Named Freedom, Jeff Guidry
Mr. Darcy's Obsession, Abigail Reynolds
Semper Cool, Barry Fixler
The Secrets of Newberry, Victor McGlothin
Alchemy and Meggy Swann, Karen Cushman
The Last Estate,Conor Bowman
How to Survive a Natural Disaster, Margaret Hawkins
Captivity, Deborah Noyes
For the Kings Favor, by Elizabeth Chadwick
Darcy's Voyage, by Kara Louise










Thanks to Anna and Serena from War Through the Generations for sending me an autographed copy of Semper Cool. I am anxious to read this one.

Ladies of the Butterflies and An Eagle Named Freedom are both books from Early Reviewer's on LT.

I'm excited to get to read Alchemy and Meggy Swann by Karen Cushman, one of my favorite YA authors. I started reading this one last night and true to her writing she has me hooked. Watch for my Tuesday Teaser from this book.

With summer vacation arriving in eight days, but who is counting, I am anxious to kick off my summer reading. I have a lot of books in the TBR pile to choose from. My next up is A Fierce Radiance by Lauren Belfer. What is your next read? What are you looking forward to reading this week. Hope your week is the best!

Review-The Confessions of Catherine De Medici, by C. W. Gortner

THE CONFESSIONS OF CATHERINE DE MEDICI
C.W.Gortner, Ballantine Books, 2010, $25.00, hb, 416pp, 978-0-345-50186-8

Catherine Medici came to the French court as a reluctant princess: young and naive, and yet somehow she knew her destiny was to guide France to glory. She was the last legitimate descendant of Lorenzo de Medici, she carried her pride well. It is written she had a gift, the second sight and with this and her consults with the infamous Nostradamus, Catherine was guided to act. After her husbands death, her mediocrity faded and she gained increasing power. She emerged an astute formidable and shrewdly confident regent, who maintained a tenacious hold on governing France during her time. Religious tolerance was her mantra and the survival of France was paramount.

To know Catherine, the reader must understand her culture, social life, and children. Romance eluded her with the exception of her often overlooked friendship with Coligny, the Protestant leader who she would later hunt down. The chasm between the followers of Calvin, the Huguenot heretics and the Catholic’s who were the dominant power is historically important to her life’s story. Gortner interweaves this pivotal complex issue into the story bringing with it clear understanding.

Gortner’s story provides a compelling and fascinating view of Catherine’s life and world, her world being France. The reader will empathize with Catherine, will ache for her and sometimes recoil in disgust when her actions become too extreme. The details and the chronology of historical events told as Catherine’s confessions in first person narrative are personal and emotionally realistic. When Hercule, her crippled son is drawing his last breath, the scene is woefully tragic, so beautifully penned, that the passage will beseech tears. You will devour this read desperate to satiate your curiosity. The writing is as illuminating and powerful as the character of this infamous legend known as Catherine de Medici. Highly recommended without a doubt!

As published in Historical Novels Review: May 2010-Editor's Choice
Disclosure: This book was sent to me by HNR for book review.

Wordless Wednesday

My Garden

Teaser Tuesdays- June 7, 2010

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read. Open to a random page.
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I'm not the biggest sports fan in the world so I was reluctant to read this story centered around baseball. Surprise on me! I enjoyed reading about Ruby Thomas and her boundless will and eternal hope for a better life.

Diamond Ruby by Joseph Wallace

From the cover:
"Seventeen-year-0ld Ruby Thomas, newly responsible for her two young nieces after a devastating tragedy, is determined to keep her family safe in the vast, swirling world of 1920's New York City. She's got street smarts, boundless determination, and one unusual skill: the ability to throw a ball as hard as the greatest pitchers in a baseball-mad-city."


"She tried to picture what it would be like to wear such things as a rule. To lie on luxurious pillows on Sunday morning, with nothing to do but pick at breakfast off fine plates while music played and the sun streamed in through unstreaked windows." (Page 79)

This book is an ARC sent by Historical Novels Review for review.

A Cottage by the Sea, by Ciji Ware

A COTTAGE BY THE SEA
by Ciji Ware
Sourcebooks Landmark
9781402222702
June 2010
$15.99US/$18.99CAN
544 pages



Blythe Barton, desperate and mortified following her highly publicized Hollywood divorce from the flamboyant director Christopher Stowe, flees to England, the land of her ancestors for solitude and rest. Even the millions that become hers in the settlement will not assuage the humiliation she suffered when she discovered the steamy affair between her husband and sister. To add salt to the festering wound, upon leaving court she learns with added embarrassment that the two have wed.

Arriving at Barton Hall in Cornwall, she meets the owner, her landlord Lucas Teague. He informs her that her attorney Lisa, has extended her lease by three months. When she calls Lisa she is told that the media is in a frenzy after the announcement that her sister is pregnant and it would be best for her to stay put.

Resigned to her fate she begins to build a new life, with hope of erasing her past. She settles into Painter’s Cottage by the sea surrounded by lush plantings and incredible views of the sea. Lucas, she admits When she meets her landlord and the owner of Barton Hall she notes how attractive and British he is and her curiosity rises, but with reserved caution she maintains her distance. Lucas shares his recent financial troubles with Blythe and she uses her skills as a production designer to generate a business plan that she hopes will make Barton Hall solvent.

She falls in love with Lucas, but his inability to share his life with his son disturbs her. Through some anomaly in the Barton genealogy chart, she discovers the linkage between her present and ancestral past life. She has vivid visions that uncover the buried history of her namesake leaving her confused with many unanswered questions. Then an unwelcome surprise visit by her ex-husband infuriates her as she is forced to deal with her psychologically unbalanced sister and a life changing plea from her remorseful ex.

With a mystical allure, the story slowly teases the reader as the present, past and future are plaited together. Through the lives of Blythe Barton and her forbears who lived in the 18th century, the history of Barton Hall emerges with a surprising twist. Blythe and Lucas are sensually hot, passionate lovers who were destined for each other. Each character is so compellingly real and touchable the story breathes believability. Once again, Ciji Ware has written an absorbing romance of historical fiction. Cottage by the Sea is a scintillating summer read offering pure enchantment.

This book was sent by Sourcebooks, Inc in exchange for a review.

Sunday Salon, It's Been a While

Yes, it has been a while since I have posted and I am hoping to continue at least partially until I am able to contribute to my blog more regularly. I have had quite a time with the Lyme Disease and as you now the puppers have been sick. Exhaustion and pain are two words to describe the worst symptoms I endured as a result of this insidious parasite that invaded my body without even knowing it. Unfortunately, mine was undiagnosed and had really hunkered into my body. After recently finishing a long term treatment of antibiotics I am hopeful that I have turned the corner to recovery. So, as I am feeling better I apologize for my absence, lack of posts and inability to read my friends wonderful blogs. Most distressing was my inability to read and comprehend anything I read, so I just couldn't read. I feel very out of touch and eager to catch up on my blog roll.

The hounds are 50/50. Having four greyhounds is a lot of fun and they are a gentle loving breed. Mystery is doing sooooo much better thanks to longterm medication. However, my sweet old boy Webster has taken a turn for the worse requiring heavy duty drugs to allow him to function pain free. He has a stenosis in his spine which affects his ability to walk and climb stairs. He's a trooper though and hates to be left behind, so he is carrying on. Yeah Webster. Webster is the black greyhound in the pic.



Now for the reading rundown. I have read within the last week or so as my symptoms waned. The Postmistress by Sarah Blake was a phenomenal read that was set during WWII on Cape Cod and London. This was the first book I was able to focus on as I recovered. Thanks to Sarah Blake for writing with such poetically imaginative prose that I had to read again and again, not because I didn't understand it, but because her imagery was so beautifully written. I will write a formal review soon, but read this one if you haven't. I received this book as an ARC from the publisher.

A Cottage by the Sea, by Ciji Ware was given to me by Sourcebooks for review. I was eager to read this one as I had recently read Island of the Swans by the same author and I love her writing style. Here is my review.

Teaser Tuesdays, May 11, 2010

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read. Open to a random page.
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!



PAGE 25...
"There was heaven, there were the shelters underground, and then here on the street-between the gunners and the gunned-was Middle Earth. In Middle Earth at night, everything was turned upside down in a brilliant kaleidoscope of dizzy bright death set against the black silhouette of London.

Review: The Map of True Places, by Brunonia Barry

The Map of True Places
Brunonia Barry
978-0-06-162478-0
William Morrow
$25.99, 416 pages
May 4, 2010

Highly Recommended!

Zee Finch never knew her real middle name, although as the book opens Zee has a penchant for stealing boats for fun, taking them for a joy ride and then returning them always to a different dock. So she accepted that the T in her name stood for Trouble.
Years later, Zee begins training with the famous psychiatrist. Dr. Mattei with stellar credentials; a published journal article, best seller, and avid public speaker. As her practice expands and Zee shows promise, Dr. Mattei is impressed and confident in Zees ability and therefore assigns patients of her own to counsel. One day concern mounts when her patient Lilly Braedon misses her scheduled appointment, later learning Lilly has committed suicide by jumping off a bridge.

She relives the suicide that ended her own mother Maureen’s life. Coupled with self-doubt and a lack of confidence this presents an overwhelming state of confusion. After deciding to take some time off from work, goes home to visit her father and Melville in Salem, Massachusetts. Finch and Melville, years a couple, together raised Zee after her mother died. Upon her arrival she discovers that her father has advanced Parkinson’s, and that the two have conspired to hide his current failing condition from Zee.

Her fiance Michael keeps pressuring her for decisions. Her mind is a fog lacking any ability to focus, especially on her wedding plans. Not surprisingly, the frustrated Michael leaves her. Their marital future is on hold, or quite possibly kaput. In her eyes, he just doesn’t understand the extent of her father’s illness, or her devotion to his care.

This is the story of how Zee must remap her life. The author intricately weaves a seafaring story of legend as the complicated course of Zee’s intended life leads her astray. The parallels are mysterious as the story rocks back and forth between the past and present. The drama unfolds in serial like fashion until the map of her future shows its destiny. Engaging storytelling, characters who breath as if they were family. Barry has written a beautiful transcendental tale worth high praise.

Disclosure: This ARC release was sent to me by the publisher.

Please help the greyhounds!!!

Sunday Salon-Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms today. My mom lives vividly in my memories and I think about her every day. Here is a poem that we found in her wallet after she died. It was so like her to be concerned about others, even those she ultimately left behind.

I have been fighting advanced Lyme Disease although I didn't know it. Unfortunately, the symptoms are so varied and tend to mimic other illnesses. Finally, it all makes sense, but it hasn't been easy. As many of you know, Mystery has been sick. The good news is she is doing really well now. Yeah, Mystery!! However, Webster is now having his troubles. His birthday was yesterday, and he is now 11. After two weeks, he seems to be doing much better.

I have missed the blogging and sharing and hope I'll be able to get back all of you soon.

Happy Mother's Day!!!