A Pledge of Better Times (Book Review)

Title: A Pledge of Better Times
Author: Margaret Porter
Publication: Gallica Press, 2015, paperback
Genre: Historical Fiction

Plot: A compelling historical novel set in the late 17th century about two interconnected families: the Stuarts and the de Veres, loyal servants to their monarch. Charles II, restored to his throne after years of exile, reigned merrily, yielding numerous attractive bastards but no legitimate child.

Indian Summers – Season 1, Episode 8 – Recap

In the last episode, the authorities decided that Ramu Sood killed Adam’s mother, Jaya. They don’t know that Ralph had a stronger motive: avoiding disgrace that exposure of his youthful liaison with Jaya would reveal. A small but growing group of people know that Ralph is Adam’s father but none of the authorities want to think anyone British is involved in something as sordid as murder. Much better to blame it on poor Mr. Sood!

Sooni Dalal, lawyer in training

A fancy British barrister comes to Simla to prosecute Mr. Sood’s trial (which takes place unrealistically soon) and at least there is a lawyer for the defense (and the lawyer has an assistant – Aafrin Dalal’s sister, Sooni, who wants to go to law school – she should talk to me first).

Indian Summers – Season 1, Episode 7 – Recap

The Indian children from the orphanage/school, out for an innocent swim, find the body of Adam’s mother, Jaya, floating in the lake. When Dougie is summoned to say a prayer over the corpse, he recognizes her. He tells the police he saw her talking to Ralph recently. However, when Ralph is asked to identify the body he tells the official he's not sure who she is; alone with the body he breaks down. Is it because he regrets the need to have killed her or did he really once care for her? Or perhaps both? Who really killed her? The coroner says there are two sets of wounds: stab wounds that caused her death and one from years before.

I thought Eugene had gone back to Chicago but he is acting with Cynthia in The Importance of Being Earnest, directed by Ronnie Keane, who has the kind of civil service job where he can disappear to direct a play and no one notices. Of course, even the Viceroy in the cast but I think Ralph does all his work anyway. Alice, Madeleine, and Sarah also have parts because Sarah insisted. Madeleine asks Alice why she doesn’t say no to Sarah. I am surprised that Alice doesn’t confide in Madeleine about the blackmail.

Indian Summers - Season 1, Episode 6 - recap

The episode begins with Adam’s crazy mother walking into Mr. Sood’s house while a servant snoozes, and stealing a wedding sari that belonged to his deceased wife. Later, Mr. Snood blames the poor woman Ian hired last week, going crazy on her and Ian. If your caste is that low, you apparently get blamed for every random theft.

Alice

Alice and Madeleine are out exploring some local temples with erotic sculptures with the generic Mr. Keane when they encounter a cobra. Everyone freezes with fear (including me) but a Captain Farquhar "just passing by" shoots it very impressively. He’s a sort of poor man’s Damian Lewis in terms of looks who is instantly smitten with Alice. Madeleine is unnerved by the dangerous encounter but rallies when the Captain gives her a drink from his flask.

Madeleine

The Great Christmas Knit-Off (Book Review)

Title: The Great Christmas Knit-Off
Author: Alexandra Brown

Publication: William Morrow, trade paperback, October 2015

Genre: Chick Lit

 

Plot: Stood up at the altar by her fiancee and in disgrace at work, Sybil and her dog impulsively jump on a train to visit her best friend Cher, now running a pub in the picturesque village of Tindledale, somewhere in England. Expecting a quick weekend visit, Sybs woefully underpacks and winds up staggering miserably through the snow without boots.  Luckily, despite her misery, she is warmhearted and makes friends easily with the quirky inhabitants who feed her, clothe her, and – in the case of the local doctor, whose name is [clue] Darcy - romance her. However, the fun part of the story is when Sybs, an obsessive knitter, helps the twittery owner of a yarn shop revitalize her store and pay off all her bills by enlisting all the villagers in a massive knit-off making hideous holiday sweaters in large numbers.    

Audience: Fans of light English romantic fiction; authors such as Katie Fforde, Sophie Kinsella, Carole Matthews.

Tag Line:  When life unravels, it's time to knit . . .

What I liked: I enjoy a novel with a Christmas setting (although it was chiefly the snow and ice that gave this book its December atmosphere), and this is definitely a feel good story with an appealing heroine and village setting, lots of engaging characters, enough gossipy back-story to help the reader keep everyone straight, and the obligatory happy ending.  Although not much of a knitter myself, it was fun to read the descriptions of Hettie’s House of Haberdashery, and I will look forward to another trip to Tindledale (at first I misread as Tinderdale which would likely have been a very different type of book).

Points for the charming map of the village, and I hope the grumpy bookstore owner gets his own story as the series continues!

What I disliked: I am still perplexed about the message Sybs found in her newspaper: “Give me a try.  X.”  It was later explained as a shopping recommendation which does not make much sense.

Source: I received a copy of this book from TLC Book Tours in return for an honest review. This review is the last stop on the tour but you can read other reviews of the book by clicking here. Recommended for those who enjoy a chick lit version of Cranford!

Knitting:  If you want to see some pretty knitting, visit my friend Leah's blog.

Indian Summers – Season 1, Episode 5 – Recap

The Viceroy is hosting a very elegant party at his residence to celebrate Ralph’s and Madeleine’s engagement – Alice says everyone has been invited, and this includes both blackmailing Sarah and the beautiful Indian teacher, Leena. “Prepare to eat cake!” is the theme of the party.

Ralph is negotiating with Dr. Kamble, an Untouchable (at the bottom of the caste system), to prevent the Untouchables from making a deal with the Indian Congress, which would go against British interests. Dr. Kamble is not impressed by his arguments and asks when Ralph’s family first came to India. Ralph is proud his family has been in the Indian Civil Service since 1824 but Dr. Kamble opines that his family had a hundred years to help his people, had they so chosen.

Weird little boy Adam and his equally strange mother have reunited. She tells him to wait for her and they’ll find his father (could it be Ralph?). Adam is scared of his mother but does not fit into the orphanage. The rest of the orphans are enjoying the story of Cinderella and want Leena to go to the ball, but she says she only has a hand me down dress. The orphans make her an outfit that looks beautiful but Leena wears the hand me down silver dress instead, which does nothing for her. Not that it matters; the missionary is still in love with her and with a wife like Sarah, who can blame him?

Alice tells Aafrin that she knows he stole the evidence linking the assassin to the Indian nationalists and accuses him of asking her to betray her own brother. Aafrin asks worriedly if she will tell but she’s not sure. This prevarication usually winds up with someone getting murdered but I think Alice is safe because she is the only character I like. Or does that mean she is more likely to be eliminated?

Sarah made one of her first blackmail demands of Alice – she wants to sit near the Viceroy at the engagement party dinner. However, the man in charge of protocol is immune to Alice’s coaxing and says as the wife of a missionary Sarah is stuck next to a man who works in sewage (at least, in an office job; not cleaning or shoveling it – that would indeed be insulting).

Ralph is regretting his engagement and asks Alice what she really thinks of Madeleine, complaining that Alice avoids her. Alice says Madeleine has been very kind to her and tries to explain she is just giving the couple privacy. “Oh, you’re jealous!” Ralph exclaims, because he finds that easier to understand, and from the way he is fawning over Alice we know he’d be very jealous of her spouse. Lucky spouse is far away, we think, albeit not dead.

“I don’t know if I’m in love or following orders!” Ralph complains. This could refer either to his engagement or the absurd costume he is wearing. I think the engagement is doomed. I hope for her sake Madeleine isn’t pregnant!

There is a first mention that Ralph may be spending more than he can afford although I guess it was implied when Alice commented on the gorgeous house in Episode 1. It would be nice if Madeleine really is an heiress but I suspect she and her brother are frauds.

When Sarah finds her name tag down at the uncool end of the dinner table she is furious and tells Alice it would be a pity if people found out her husband was alive (Alice was an idiot to say she was a widow). As a result, Alice switches their name tags, which doesn’t go over well with Protocol Guy, although Alice is perfectly happy sitting next to the Sarah’s morose husband, Dougie. When Alice notices that the servants are deliberately ignoring Dr. Kamble, she makes them serve him but the poor man is given something offensive – which must have been pig. Sarah does get to dance with the Viceroy which is more than she deserves. I doubt she will be grateful.

Madeleine and Ralph are dressed as Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI (hence the cake theme – bizarrely appropriate for the last days of the Raj although surely that wasn’t Madeleine’s intention) which is strange because it’s not a costume party and no one else is dressed up; plus it makes Ralph look extremely sinister, kind of like John Malkovich in Dangerous Liaisons. Cynthia is watching them dance and taking pleasure in the engagement because she helped engineer it until Eugene reveals there is no fortune! Cynthia is stunned by this news and can’t decide what to do. And if Eugene thinks Ralph is too much the gentleman to break the engagement, he is quite wrong.

However, Ralph doesn’t know the bad news yet and is in good spirits because the Maharajah at the party was gracious to Dr. Kamble, which Ralph and the Viceroy had not anticipated. It turns out that the Maharajah outlawed Untouchables in his admittedly small region. Aafrin has been put in charge of Dr. Kamble and tells him that Ralph is trustworthy (which is clearly not true) smoothing the way for Ralph to make another attempt to win Dr. Kamble over for his political purpose. Don’t Ralph and his cronies know the British will have to leave India? Are they just trying to feather their nests before they leave?

Then Ralph takes Madeleine for a turn in the garden just as Adam and his mother appear. They seem bent on accosting Ralph, so I guess he really is Adam’s father (we can tell from the mixed race children at the orphanage that half-Indian, half-English children are not unusual but they are kept out of sight so I suppose this might destroy Ralph’s career). Ralph seems to recognize Adam’s mother and tells one of the servants to get rid of her. Alice and Aafrin are watching, out of sight, and Alice impulsively kisses Aafrin passionately. He responds (I could tell he was getting tired of girlfriend Sita when she kept chattering to him earlier but maybe it was also because she never delivered the warning note. Although Aafrin doesn’t know it yet, the police found the forged document in his family’s home) but although this embrace was predictable, it is not very convincing. Aafrin is not a very appealing character (although intended to be) and was very petulant throughout this episode. Combined with the fact that he asked Alice to betray her brother by concealing his theft of the evidence relating to the assassin, she should steer clear of him. Does Alice not realize that if Ralph turns her out, she will have no choice but to go back to England to the dreadful husband?

Indian Summers – Season 1, Episode 4 – Recap

The Viceroy of all India has arrived in Simla to enjoy the cool breezes after a business trip to London, and everyone bows very low indeed as he passes by. When he reaches the office, he naturally asks for his private secretary. One of Ralph’s servants runs to the house to alert him and, catching sight of Madeleine in his bed, averts his eyes (I am sure all the servants have been speculating like mad on her exact status). When Ralph comes downstairs looking very debonair, Eugene (furious that his host and sister keep retiring to the bedroom) announces that he and Madeleine are returning to Chicago that very afternoon unless Ralph plans to propose. Ralph is very taken aback but does not plan to be pushed into marriage by an upstart American. Eugene complains about the carrying-on he has been forced to observe and asks what Ralph’s intentions are. Ralph hesitates but then Madeleine comes downstairs, all smiles, and is mortified when she realizes what is going on. Eugene insists they are leaving at 4:00 unless Ralph has something to say to Madeleine.

“I wish you a safe passage,” says Ralph, the coldest fish in the sea, because he has to rush off to see his boss. Although not sure I like Madeleine, I felt bad when her face fell and she realized how indifferent Ralph really is to her.

Indian Summers – Season 1, Episode 3 – Recap

Aafrin is back at work after being shot, despite appearing to be at death’s door at the hospital in last week’s episode. Ralph’s previous condescending attitude has changed now that Aafrin saved his life, and he asks if Aafrin is interested in a high level position in the Indian Civil Service (ICS), perhaps one day as magistrate. The ICS, which ran India, was called the 'heaven born service' during the Raj days.   Although by the late 19^th century a few Indians were admitted, it was expensive to travel to London to study for and take the necessary exams, which kept the numbers low.

Sarah scolds her husband's girlfriend

Aafrin says the ICS is exactly what he wanted but he couldn’t take the exams due to financial constraints.  “It’s all a matter of timing,” smiles Ralph, his new best friend, and offers him a position as Head Clerk which pays enough to subsidize his studies (amusingly, the people in my office who are clerks do not take it as a compliment but Aafrin is delighted).  Aafrin should be suspicious of this dramatic change in his fortune.  “I’ll be joining the ranks of the heaven-born!” he says to his delighted parents, while his sister is participating in nationalist rallies. Aafrin’s girlfriend is very happy too

Ian McLeod, the somewhat uncouth nephew of the drunken landowner, is discovering that his uncle is in debt to an Indian neighbor, Mr. Sood.  Not wanting to be caught in the middle, he suggests the man go discuss the matter with his uncle at the club, not realizing the Indian is banned from the club.  Mr. Sood comes to a fair organized by Cynthia to talk to the uncle, but when their argument becomes physical the uncle has a stroke or heart attack.  He is totally incapacitated.

Alice and Percy are playing with some other mothers and babies when Cynthia pops over to tell her there is going to be an inquest into the shooting and she will need to testify.  Alice doesn’t see why this is a problem and Cynthia tells her pointedly that she can’t possibly remember anything that happened.  Alice resents her interference and it is likely that Cynthia’s attempt to protect Ralph is likely to make Alice even more curious about what inspired the assassination attempt.

Dougie Raworth, the Old Testament-looking missionary and Leena his beautiful helper are in the middle of a passionate embrace when Alice stops by to volunteer at the orphanage.  Alice remembers Leena from the train (she was able to pronounce Persephone when Sarah could not) and is much friendlier than other English ladies would have been.  Leena is wary but eventually responds to Alice’s sincere desire to help.

In the meantime, Aafrin’s sister was arrested at the Nationalist protest.  Aafrin has been invited to the Whelans’ for drinks and, reluctantly, asks for Ralph’s help getting Sooni out of prison.  Ralph promises to do what he can.

It’s clear that Ralph wants to be sure Alice’s and Aafrin’s descriptions of the assassination attempt are the same as his.  “All I recall is his shouting, ‘You British devil!’” Ralph says pleasantly.   Aafrin says he remembers very little.  But when Ralph brings Aafrin to sketch Madeleine (who reveals her American background by shaking hands with him; I suspect an Englishwoman would not do so until he has risen much higher in the social strata), Alice leaves the room.   She confronts Ralph, and tells him she will not perjure herself.

I thought Dougie was going to tell Sarah he was in love with Leena, but Sarah, guessing what is wrong, starts sobbing, and Dougie merely says he will behave more like a Christian in the future.  I guess that included giving his son Matthew’s shoes to Adam, the boy who was hit by the train!  When Ralph sees Adam at the fair, he recognizes something about him, and the mysterious music that starts playing shows that Adam is linked to Ralph’s secret past.  Sarah takes the opportunity to tell Leena that her claim on Dougie is over and to stay away.

Madeleine’s brother is angry that Ralph is sleeping with Madeleine but has not proposed.  He suggests she play a little harder to get (I expected him to trot out that old adage about Ralph not buying the cow if he can get the milk for free).

When Alice and Aafrin are deposed, separately, they are asked if the assassin said anything.  Both hesitate, then respond as Ralph suggested, “You British devil.”  This way it will seem that the attack was part of the Nationalist movement, not anything personal towards Ralph, which might uncover whatever is in his past.  However, the Englishmen conducting the deposition leave for some fresh air and Aafrin takes a look at the assassin’s file.  As his sister had warned him, the English falsified identity papers to show the assassin was a political protestor.  When Aafrin sees this proof, he realizes he is being used.  Sooni is equally upset when she is released from prison due to Ralph’s influence.  Her prison-mate advises her to fight from the outside.

A somewhat disappointing episode!  I hope the plot begins to pick up.

Image copyright to PBS

Indian Summers - Season 1, Episode 2 - Recap

If Alice was expecting a relaxing summer visiting her highly-placed-in-the-British-hierarchy brother, she had a rude awakening within hours of arriving in Simla.   First, a scheming brother and sister seem to have moved into her brother Ralph’s house, and then there is an attempted assassination on Ralph while she is inches away. Not much happens to advance the plot in Episode 2. Although Ralph had seemed very hot and heavy with his American guest, Madeleine’s brother Eugene tells Cynthia (aka Mrs. Weasley) that Ralph is losing interest. Madeleine is very pretty and allegedly rich: why did she have to come to India to look for a husband? What is her secret? Does she really like Ralph?

Aafrin, pre-assassination attempt

Ralph, who is private secretary to the Viceroy, and the other British civil servants don’t seem to do much at work except talk about discouraging Gandhi and other attempts at nationalism. Back at the house, ladies of leisure Alice and Madeleine are thinking about going to a gymkhana (which makes me think of the Pullein-Thompson sisters) when Suspicious (and doubtless friendless) Sarah drops by, hoping to ingratiate herself with her betters. She continues to ask nosy questions about Alice’s husband – Alice mendaciously told her the man is dead but we know he is alive back in England. Whatever he did (is it worse than just cheating on her?) was sufficiently painful that whenever he is mentioned, Alice has to rush outside for fresh air.

Aafrin is still in the hospital, and his female relatives are concerned that his recovery is slow. Ralph is more concerned about negative publicity when an Indian newspaper reporter from the Delhi Herald comes asking questions. He doesn’t even want to pay Aafrin’s hospital bill! The assumption is that the attempted assassination was politically motivated but the would-be assassin won’t speak. “But he’s wearing a Gandhi hat!” says one of the Brits triumphantly, i.e., it must be political. Mr. Khan, the polite Indian reporter, points out it is merely a hat everyone wears to keep off the sun! However, the Indian servant listening to this conversation finds an identity card hidden in the lining of the hat that I think shows the man is a nationalist.

Ralph visits the assassin and says they’re in a bit of a hole. Well, it was pretty obvious they had some relationship! Startlingly, the man first strokes Ralph’s face (this surprised me because I couldn’t believe they were secret lovers) and then begins beating him viciously. The man does some damage before someone pulls him off; then Ralph visits Cynthia to be cleaned up and cuddled, in a semi-motherly way. This seems odd although we know both Alice and Ralph lost their mother early, and he has known Cynthia for years. Ralph seems to cherish sentimental memories of his childhood that aren’t identical to Alice’s recollections; for example, he bought Alice a piano because he remembers her accompanying her singing as a child but Alice says she doesn’t play. Ralph also seems to cherish a drawing (done by him?) of Alice as a child. If he is so obsessed with her, why didn’t he ever go back to England to visit her? He doesn’t seem to be hurting for money but perhaps was too busy pursuing a career. Alice says she didn’t come to India just to practice the piano but she doesn’t explain why she did come. I think it is obvious that she was escaping from the husband and visiting Ralph was expedient. No sign of the baby in this episode but that’s why you have an ayah.

Mr. Khan says if there wasn’t a political motive for what everyone politely calls “the incident,” there must be another reason. He does some digging and finds out that Ralph was an Assistant Magistrate at some point in the past; he wonders if there is a connection. When Khan goes to visit the man in prison; he is too late, the man has killed himself. Mr. Khan won’t stop pursuing the matter, so Ralph distracts him by bringing him to visit Aafrin. Ralph tells the reporter that Aafrin saved the life of this “very grateful Englishman.” Ralph even charmingly poses for a picture with Aafrin, more proof he is hiding something, as he does not like Aafrin and does not seem grateful.

Last week I ignored a character named Ian, a young man who was on the train with Alice and Sarah, coming to live in India with his uncle. He is beginning to find out that the uncle is in debt and very disreputable, but he continues to be forgettable (except that I think he had a flingt with Sarah on the way home from the Club in Episode 1).

Alice covers her bright hair to venture discreetly to visit Aafrin’s family to inquire about his recovery. It turns out his family kept the news of his injury from the father who has a weak heart (and did he say they are living in a cow byre or did I misunderstand?), so everyone is annoyed with Alice for coming, plus they hate that she saw their humble home.  Aafrin’s elder sister Sooni meets up with his Hindu girlfriend, who tries to give her a letter for Aafrin. Sooni opens and reads the letter and seems unlikely to pass it on.

Adam, the child who nearly was killed on the train tracks, runs away from the orphanage, and lovely Leena, the assistant teacher, wanders around until she finds him. She sent for Dougie, the missionary/orphanage director, to help her search, but jealously Sarah insisted he stay with her.

Ralph and some other guy competed at the gymkhana, which looks quite jolly, especially when everyone heads off for drinks, but then they leave Sarah behind, and you know what a woman scorned is likely to do…

Madeleine accosts Ralph while he is taking a bath (American hussy). She wants to talk about their relationship. As my Latin teacher used to say, “Nihil novi sub sole – there is nothing new under the sun.” Like all men, he has no interest in the Serious Talk but it’s boring taking a bath by oneself, so he beckons her to join him in the bathtub and she does not realize she should play hard to get.

Sarah, still smarting about being ignored at the gymkhana, writes to a friend in England to do some sleuthing about what Alice is hiding. Wouldn’t you think the mail back and forth to India would be unreliable? Yet I am sure Sarah’s correspondent will write back by return of post with all the dirt about Alice’s husband, which we are eager to hear!

Tonight the Streets Are Ours (Book Review)

Title: Tonight the Streets Are Ours
Author: Leila Sales
Publication: Farrar Straus Giroux
Genre: YA Fiction

Plot: Arden is that rarest of things – a selfless teenager – but it is stressful to be surrounded by a host of selfish people: her parents (including her mother who just walked out on the family), her boyfriend, and her best friend Lindsey. Wearied by the people in her life who take and offer nothing back, Arden finds escape by reading the blog of a young New Yorker. Naturally, his life seems more interesting and more perfect than her own, so when everything seems to go wrong in her small town of Cumberland, Arden impulsively heads to New York to find the blogger, with her friend Lindsey in tow. As in all quests, not everything one finds turns out to be exactly what one sought...

Audience: Fans of YA authors such as Sarah Dessen, Susane Colasanti, and Sara Zarr

Leila's Booksigning

What I liked: Each of Sales’ four books is very different but friendship and loyalty play an important role in each. This Song Will Save Your Life, her third book, is a unique blend of darkness and irrepressible humor. I have recommended it to people who don’t usually read YA but were captivated. This book is just as readable but much lighter, although Arden’s family situation is as complicated as Elise’s in This Song. Arden’s mother decided she was being taken for granted and simply left her family. Arden could cope without a mother but her little brother seems lost, and their workaholic father is clueless. Arden’s teachers and principal (and father!) don’t know her well enough to realize she does not use drugs, and her boyfriend is narcissistic and thoughtless. I also enjoyed the description of Just Like Me Dolls, which chose little girl Arden to be the face of one of its dolls and matching books:

Out of all the thousands of girls between the ages of eight and twelve who sent in their essays, Just Like Me Dolls had chosen Arden as their winner.

Because Arden was Girl of the Year, she got free copies of her books, with titles like Arden in Charge and Arden’s New Friend. She got a free doll, designed with peach-colored skin and light brown hair and hazel eyes, just like her. She got every single one of the Arden Doll’s accessories for free, too: a doll-size tire swing and doll-size metal detector, a doll-size cat and doll-size dog to mimic her own pets.

Arden’s impulsive decision to drive to New York to find the boy who writes the blog she has become obsessed with and her interaction with him is the best part of the book, as she matures before our eyes in one night. It’s also great that Arden realizes her happiness does not depend on a teenage (or older) boy.

Alice and Leila

What I disliked: A minor quibble, but I thought the beginning, which jumps into the middle of a pivotal 24 hours for Arden, then goes back two months in time, was both abrupt and unnecessary. Sales could just have begun with the day Arden gets called to the principal’s office. The author told us that some readers complained the plot was improbable: I found it reasonably convincing although would not have been brave enough to drive a car to NYC at 17! I don’t really enjoy it even now.

With the author

Source: I bought this book at Leila Sales’ recent booksigning at the Brookline Booksmith. By attending with my friend Alice, who is the librarian at the school both Leila and my nieces attended, I got to meet Leila (pronounced Lye-la) and her delightful parents as well. I recommend all Leila's books, especially This Song Will Save Your Life.

Indian Summers - Season 1, Episode 1 - Recap

Episode 1 – March, 1932 – set in India during the last years of the Raj, this is a series about intersecting English and Indian characters, with a few interloping Americans for good measure.

The British ruling class has escaped to the hills for the summer, but they cannot completely escape the growing unrest in the country as Gandhi and others seek independence. On the other hand, we viewers haven’t seen scenery this beautiful since The Jewel in the Crown, although Outlander provided some pretty stunning scenes of Scotland. Indian Summers was apparently filmed in Malaysia, not India, but it is beyond sumptuous and well worth watching. It begins with a lovely but pensive young woman who is traveling by train with a baby, while opposite her is a grumbling woman in a pink dress, with her son. Both women observe a parade of Indians out in the fields, carrying what appear to be luxury items, including what looks like a rocking horse. A poor Indian boy in the fields also observes these men.

The Storms of War (Book Review)

Title: The Storms of War
Author: Kate Williams
Publication: Pegasus Books, Hardcover, 2015
Genre: Historical Fiction

 

Plot: What seems to be a carefree English family on the brink of World War I possesses a not very well kept secret – the affable father, Rudolf de Witt, a prosperous canned meat manufacturer, is German born, although he came to England many years ago and married a well-born Englishwoman. He has four children: Arthur, who spends most of the book in Paris; Michael, who is too sensitive to participate in a war; Emmeline, a spoiled beauty; and the youngest, Celia, who is the main character. When war breaks out, the de Witt family is shunned for its German roots, from Emmeline’s arrogant (and not in a charming way) fiancé and the village children spurning a summer fête to the government treating Rudolf as an enemy of the state. Celia is the most interesting character. Like my favorite Vera Brittain, she can’t bear to be left behind when her brother and closest friend are serving in France, so signs up to drive ambulances despite never having driven a car.  This volume follows the de Witt family from 1914 to 1918

Audience: Fans of historical fiction and those who share my interest in women and war work. I have also added this book to my Downton Abbey Recommended Reading List.

What I liked: Author Williams is a historian, known for books about Queen Victoria, Emma Hamilton, and Josephine Bonaparte, and her writing is strong and historically accurate. I never had that moment, too frequent lately in poorly edited books, where one come across an anachronism that completely jolts the reader out of the book. The quality of the writing greatly contributed to my enjoyment of The Storms of War.

I have read dozens of books set during this time frame and, as I mentioned to a friend last night, I am very familiar with all the usual plot variations: heroine in love with family retainer, heroine wants to go to university, heroine misunderstood by family, heroine wants to serve in France like brother, male character can’t handle pressure of battle, shell-shocked soldiers, and many more. However, I felt that Williams handled these well-worn plot elements in a way that made them seem fresh, entertaining, and appealing. I particularly appreciated the vivid descriptions of Celia nerve-rackingly driving an ambulance in the dark in France!

What I disliked: I did not find Emmeline’s behavior convincing, and I became less fond of Celia as the book progressed. She became obsessed with her own concerns, and I found it annoying when she ignored her responsibility to her distraught mother or lied to Captain Russell, the dour but surprisingly understanding officer she drives in London. I guess I like my heroines unflawed, which isn’t really fair!

Source: I read about this book when it was published in England (in fact, I suggested to several editor friends that they acquire it quickly but I guess Pegasus beat them to the punch) and requested it from the Brookline Library. Looking forward to the next book in the trilogy!

(photo above of a woman ambulance driver is copyright to http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/firstworldwar/ww-brit-women-prop.htm)

Celia's House (Book Review)

Title: Celia’s House
Author: D. E. Stevenson
Publication: 1943, original hardcover; Sourcebooks paperback, 2015
Genre: Light romantic fiction

Plot: In 1905, elderly Celia Dunne decides to leave Dunnian, her lovely home in Scotland, to her great-nephew Humphrey, with the understanding that his family can live there while he is away with the Navy. She assures him that his as-yet unborn daughter Celia will one day inherit Dunnian, and she dies soon afterwards.

Her Sister's Shoes (Book Review and Giveaway)

Title: Her Sister’s Shoes
Author: Ashley Farley
Publication: Trade Paperback and eBook, Leisure Time Books, 2015
Genre: Fiction

 

Plot: Three very different sisters, Jackie, Samantha, and Faith face the challenges of juggling career and family in a small South Carolina coastal town. Jackie, an interior decorator worried about turning 50, is still trying to impress the affluent women who “run” the town (mean girls who have not changed since high school), and has neglected her doctor husband and twin sons in the process. Samantha, the middle sister, has taken on the challenge of running the family seafood market, while dealing with the fallout of a car accident in which her son wound up in a wheelchair. Faith is married to an abusive, crude guy who treats her and her daughter badly but she is too ashamed to ask her family for help. Their mother, Lovie, cares deeply about her daughters’ and grandchildren's happiness but her memory issues prevent her from providing concrete assistance. This story shows the power of coming together as a family.

Audience: Readers of contemporary women’s fiction, and maybe you! Leave a comment if you are interested in reading this book, and I will pick a winner at the end of August. U.S. only, I regret.

What I liked:  As the eldest of three sisters (and one brother), I found this an entertaining, fast-paced summer read, perfect for the beach. I liked the small town of Prospect, South Carolina, and the way the author evokes a caring small town that supports the Sweeney family and their fish business, not to mention some quirky minor characters. Farley does a good job of creating the three Sweeney sisters with distinct personalities, even if they are a bit too clichéd: one is too selfish, one is too much of a doormat, and one drinks too much.  And should the title be Her Sisters' Shoes?  Jackie learns to think about and understand both sisters, not just obsess about herself.

However: I did feel there were way too many crises going on in one family – paralyzed son who was driving in the car accident that killed his best friend, family business threatened, abusive husband, mother experiencing dementia, evil brother-in-law hitting on his wife’s sister, embezzlement, philandering husband, concussed son in hospital, mean girls, attacks, stymied police, alcoholism issues and more.  Overkill?  How can one family be so unlucky simultaneously? Also, for three sisters who seem relatively close, how could they not have an inkling of the troubles the others are dealing with? And how do two of these sisters find eligible single men so easily?  Maybe we should all move to Prospect!  Lots of family drama that all ties up very neatly, if implausibly, at the end but, despite these good natured quibbles, a fun read.

Purchase Links:  Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Source: I received this book from TLC Book Tours but all thoughts and opinions are my own. I have one copy from the publisher to give away - please leave a comment to enter. You can visit other stops on the tour by clicking on the links below.  Thanks for stopping by!

Ashley’s Tour Stops

Tuesday, August 4th: A Bookish Way of Life
Wednesday, August 5th: Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
Thursday, August 6th: Wall-to-Wall Books
Monday, August 10th: Books and Bindings
Tuesday, August 11th: Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile
Wednesday, August 12th: Queen of All She Reads
Thursday, August 13th: The Book Bag
Monday, August 17th: Good Girl Gone Redneck
Tuesday, August 18th: My So-Called Book Reviews
Thursday, August 20th: Buried Under Books
Monday, August 24th: Thoughts on This ‘n That
Thursday, August 27th: Ask a Bookworm

The Coincidence of Coconut Cake (Book Review)

Title: The Coincidence of Coconut Cake
Author: Amy E. Reichert
Publication: Gallery Books, July 2015
Genre: Light romantic fiction

There’s a place named Milwaukee, Milwaukee!

Plot: Lou is the talented chef of a small and struggling French restaurant in Milwaukee that she opened with two close friends. One of Lou’s biggest challenges is juggling the needs of her business with the demands of her condescending fiancé Devlin, who does not take her foodie dreams seriously. As a surprise, she makes his favorite coconut cake for his birthday but her delivery reveals Devlin in a compromising position with another woman!

Upset and humiliated, Lou falls apart at the restaurant that night, just as the sarcastic new restaurant critic comes to sample the menu at Louella’s. Al is British and hates Wisconsin; when everything goes wrong with his meal, his vicious review writes itself, appearing under a pseudonym.

Depressed, Lou ends up in a bar later that night where she meets and befriends Al, without knowing who he is. They exchange names but pledge not to discuss work. Friendly Lou decides to show Al the lesser known aspects of Milwaukee that make her love her hometown, and bit by bit they fall in love. While Lou’s restaurant heads into bankruptcy Al’s reviews take off. However, it is just a matter of time until Lou finds out it was Al who destroyed her restaurant...

Audience: Fans of chick lit; fans of the movie, You’ve Got Mail

What I liked: This was a charming story, although beyond improbable and very predictable. If you can get past those aspects, Lou is a delightful heroine, if a bit too good to be true, and her determined efforts to reveal the charming side of Milwaukee are very endearing and made me wish she had been my guide on my long ago trip when I had only a copy of Betsy in Spite of Herself and the Gen Con attendees to keep me company.* I enjoyed the descriptions of hectic, behind-the-scenes restaurant life and liked her secondary characters, particularly Lou’s friends, Sue and Harley. Lou and Al are destined to be together, despite her inevitable feeling of betrayal when she learns he wrote the review that sent her restaurant to its doom. I doubt I could be so forgiving! However, it is a fun read and I am sure you will enjoy it.

 

Source: I received an electronic copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

* Elaine Koster, one of my worst bosses ever, insisted that she and I had to attend Gen Con although it was my birthday weekend and it was years before I had any friends in Wisconsin. Naturally, she canceled after I bought my plane ticket and I was stuck there, for the most part by myself, although I did have a nice dinner with then Waldenbooks SF/Fantasy buyer Jay Hyde at a lovely restaurant on the water that I think was called Eagan’s.

Newport by Jill Morrow (Book Review)

Please join Jill Morrow, author of Newport, as she tours the blogosphere with TLC Book Tours:

Publication: Trade Paperback, William Morrow, July 2015
Genre: Historical Fiction
Setting: 1920s Newport, Rhode Island

Plot: When Adrian de la Noye, a prestigious Boston attorney, is summoned to Newport to draft a new will for a wealthy client he is surprised to learn the elderly but very affluent Bennett Chapman is engaged to a lovely woman half his age, considered a fortune hunter by his adult children.

Olivay (Book Review and Giveaway)

Title: Olivay
Author: Deborah Reed
Publication: Lake Union Publishing, July 2015, available in trade paper and eBook
Genre: Fiction

Plot: Olivay has not recovered from the tragic death of her husband a year ago, but one night she picks up a stranger and brings him home. Unfortunately, in the morning, her new acquaintance Henry doesn’t want to leave. Olivay is regretting the impulse that led her to spend the night with him when there is an explosion outside. Suddenly, all of Los Angeles is in chaos and Olivay herself is covered with broken glass. Henry, the mysterious stranger, cares for her tenderly, but bit by bit reveals information about himself, including that he has been stalking Olivay for some time. Confused and injured, Olivay retains enough of her wits to catch Henry in lie upon lie, and she begins to wonder exactly who is this man?

Audience: Fans of literary suspense

What I liked: This is an unusual but extremely readable book. The author does a good job of conveying Olivay’s misery at the loss of her husband – particularly, the fact that he was killed at a time when they had been quarreling. Henry is transformed from a slightly overeager one night stand to someone who begins to seem very dangerous indeed. I am afraid it is hard not to be slightly critical of someone who brings a total stranger into her home, but although I had certain suspicions I wasn’t totally sure what was going to happen, and I appreciated the element of suspense.

What I disliked: I had a hard time deciding if I liked or disliked this book. In some ways, it left me cold because both Olivay and Henry were so peculiar and unappealing but in others I really admired the creativity of the author.

Source: I received this book in return for an honest review.  Please join Deborah Reed as she tours the blogosphere with TLC Book Tours. 

• Monday, July 6th: Peeking Between the Pages
• Tuesday, July 7th: For the Love of Fictional Worlds
• Wednesday, July 8th: 5 Minutes for Books
• Thursday, July 9th: Kahakai Kitchen
• Friday, July 10th: One Curvy Blogger
• Monday, July 13th: A Reader’s Oasis
• Tuesday, July 14th: Kritter’s Ramblings
• Tuesday, July 14th: Sara’s Organized Chaos
• Thursday, July 16th: Kari J. Wolfe
• Friday, July 17th: Many Hats
• Monday, July 20th: Kissin’ Blue Karen
• Tuesday, July 21st: FictionZeal
• Wednesday, July 22nd: From the TBR Pile
• Thursday, July 23rd: Patricia’s Wisdom
• Friday, July 24th: Bell, Book & Candle
• Monday, July 27th: The Bookish Universe
• Tuesday, July 28th: Palmer’s Page Turners
• Wednesday, July 29th: Book Lovin’ Hippo

The publisher has provided a copy of Olivay as a giveaway – please leave a comment and I will pick a winner at the end of the tour.

The Tide Watchers (Book Review)

Title: The Tide Watchers
Author: Lisa Chaplin
Publication: William Morrow, trade paperback, June 2015
Genre: Historical Fiction

Plot: Winter 1803: one woman allegedly stands between Napoleon and the fall of Great Britain. Daughter of an English baronet who just happens to be a spymaster, Lisbeth eloped with a young Frenchmen who seemed charming until they were married. When her husband abandons her, she takes a menial job in a tavern as a barmaid, determined to somehow reclaim the infant son he has taken from her.

A seasoned spy known as Tidewatcher, Duncan apprenticed under Lisbeth's father and pledged to keep his mentor's pretty daughter safe—a promise complicated by Napoleon Bonaparte. The British believe he is planning an attack, and Duncan is sent to search for signs of invasion on the French coast—where he draws dangerously close to adventurous and unpredictable Lisbeth.

A sensational new invention may shift the tide of a French victory. A brilliant and eccentric American inventor named Robert Fulton has devised a deadly weapon that can decimate an enemy's fleet. To protect English ships, Tidewatcher must gain control of Fulton's invention and cross enemy lines . . . but he cannot do it alone. Left with no other options, Duncan enlists Lisbeth's help in outwitting the American inventor and uncovering Bonaparte's secret plans – in return, he will help her take her son back to England.

Going undercover for the handsome and duty-bound spy, Lisbeth risks her freedom and her life as she navigates double agents and submarine warfare to outwit the greatest military tactician in history. The only question is . . . . who can she trust?

Purchase Links

Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble

Audience: Fans of historical fiction, readers who enjoy books by Lauren Willig and Tasha Alexander

What I liked: This is a fast paced adventure combining several elements I enjoy: espionage, complicated family relationships, and women contributing to war efforts. Lisbeth is quick-witted (albeit far too passive) and willing to help defeat Bonaparte although her priority always remains reclaiming her child. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, so I found this novel and its unusual setting entertaining. By far the most interesting aspect of the book, however, was finding Robert Fulton in the middle of the Napoleonic Wars – how had I never known that, despite being born in Pennsylvania, by 1797 he was in Paris, an 18th century scientific center, where he began to design torpedoes and submarines.

What I disliked: I did not find the plot very convincing: I didn’t understand why Lisbeth’s husband courted her in the first place and why he lost interest so quickly; why her father and brothers allowed her to suffer with a known villain, far from home. Duncan’s complicated heritage was confusing, and it seemed unlikely someone would marry his chambermaid mother without any blood connection, just to secure an heir to torment. There seemed to be far too many plot elements floating around without proper setup or resolution, although I suppose the author is already planning other books in the series.  A skilled editor would have helped the author with the anachronisms and her lack of familiarity with this century and Revolutionary France.

Please join Lisa Chaplin as she tours the blogosphere with TLC Book Tours. I received this book in return for an honest review.

Books to Bring to the Beach: Recommendations from Boston

Just in time for a three-day weekend, here are ten books to bring to the beach: eight I just read, one I began tonight, and an old favorite:

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics / Daniel Brown – this is more than a dramatic sports story about the rowing team from the University of Washington and its quest to win Olympic gold. It is about a group of young men, and one in particular, Joe Rantz, who struggle during the Depression yet make it to college where they become part of a team that brings excitement and pride to the whole community, and eventually the nation.

Second Life (Book Review)

Title: Second Life
Author: S. J. Watson
Publication: Harper Collins hardcover, June 2015
Genre: Suspense
Setting: London and Paris

Plot: From the New York Times bestselling author of Before I Go to Sleep, a new psychological thriller about a woman with a secret identity that threatens to destroy her.  How well can you really know another person? How far would you go to find the truth about someone you love?

When Julia learns that her sister has been violently murdered, she must uncover why. But Julia's quest quickly evolves into an alluring exploration of own darkest sensual desires. Becoming involved with a dangerous stranger online, she's losing herself . . . losing control . . . perhaps losing everything. Her search for answers will jeopardize her marriage, her family, and her life.

This is a tense and unrelenting novel that explores the hidden lives led by people with secrets; and the dark places in which they can find themselves. Second Life is a nerve-racking work of suspense that is uncomfortable to read.

Audience: Fans of dark suspense. 

My thoughts: This was a fast but very disturbing read. I didn’t exactly enjoy Before I Go to Sleep but thought it was fairly well done amnesia story. This book is very different. First of all, it is unbelievably melodramatic and written in the present tense, which I find pretentious (I eventually forgave Hilary Mantel). The plot was not convincing (in fact, it was completely ridiculous) and I became quite tired of reading about heroine Julia’s self-destructive behavior which begins when she decides to investigate her sister’s murder (or at least that is how she justifies her obsessive behavior to herself – it is soon apparent she is bored with her life and yearns for the artsy life she led in Berlin with her first serious boyfriend, Marcus). However, from this point, the book just provided one cliché after another: illicit and violent sex, drugs, alcohol, mysterious muggings, online romance, and secrets from the only people who love her.  

Julia does nothing to comfort her son (actually her nephew but she and her husband adopted him) for the loss of his biological mother except cause him more stress. In terms of characters, I did not like any of them (this doesn’t always prevent me from enjoying a book but it was an obstacle here). I did guess wrong about who had fathered Connor but most of the plot developments were extremely predictable. And yet ... it was genuinely chilling at times. There were several moments when I shivered and was glad I wouldn’t meet any of these characters in a dark alley.

Source: I received this book from TLC Book Tours but all thoughts and opinions are my own.  To read other reviews, click here.

Ruthless (Book Review and Giveaway)

Title: Ruthless
Author: John Rector
Publication: Thomas and Mercer, Trade Paperback, June 2015
Genre: Suspense

Plot: Nick White is down on his luck, and at the end of a failed marriage. He is drowning his sorrows in a local bar when an attractive woman mistakes him for someone else. “You’re early,” she says, and he plays along as a joke. Before she leaves, she hands Nick an envelope, which turns out to be full of cash and a picture of young woman she wants him to dispose of. Realizing too late that her mistake might not be funny, Nick hurries after her but it is too late: she is gone. And then he sees a ruthless stranger who looks like the paid assassin Nick was mistaken for and this guy looks as if he’s guessed Nick got his money and assignment. As my law professor used to say, “Who’s not happy about that?”

Nick is faced with a tough decision: to go to the police, who might not believe him but would almost certainly confiscate the money, or do nothing which might result in another assassin being hired. He chooses another option – he goes to warn the proposed victim, Abigail Pierce. After her initial shock, Abigail turns to Nick for help, and he is drawn into a conspiracy surrounding her birth that becomes more dangerous. His only hope for survival is to get out of town unless he can figure out the truth behind the attempts on his and Abigail’s lives.

Audience: Fans of noir suspense

What I liked: Rector has a definite gift for storytelling. There were numerous twists and turns that I could not predict, and while Nick was not the kind of hero with whom one identifies he engendered a certain amount of sympathy for his good intentions.  I had not come across Rector before but he has written several other books: The Grove, The Cold Kiss, Already Gone, and Out of the Black.   Ruthless reminded me a lot of one I reviewed several months ago, The Girl with a Clock for a Heart.  I think it's an entertaining read and I have a copy to give away - leave a message if you are interested, and I will pick a winner.

What I disliked: This type of suspense does not include enough character development for me but that didn’t prevent me from reading it at one sitting.

Source: I received this book from TLC Book Tours but all thoughts and opinions are my own.  Here are the other stops on the tour:

Monday, June 1st: From the TBR Pile
Tuesday, June 2nd: She Treads Softly
Wednesday, June 3rd: 5 Minutes for Books
Friday, June 5th: Vic’s Media Room
Monday, June 8th: You Can Read Me Anything
Tuesday, June 9th: The Bookish Universe
Wednesday, June 10th: Built By Story
Thursday, June 11th: A Chick Who Reads
Friday, June 12th: Books a la Mode – guest post
Monday, June 15th: Bell, Book & Candle
Wednesday, June 17th: Life is Story
Monday, June 22nd: Mockingbird Hill Cottage
Tuesday, June 23rd: Reading Reality
Wednesday, June 24th: Fictionophile
Thursday, June 25th: Mom in Love with Fiction
TBD: The Bookish Universe
TBD: Books a la Mode

The Mapmaker's Children (Book Review and Giveaway)

Title: The Mapmaker’s Children
Author: Sarah McCoy
Publication: Crown Publishers, hardcover, May 2015
Genre: Historical Fiction
Setting: 19th century and 21st century United States
Purchase Links: Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble

 

Plot: When Sarah Brown, daughter of abolitionist John Brown, realizes that her artistic talents may be able to help save the lives of slaves fleeing north, she becomes one of the Underground Railroad’s leading mapmakers, taking her cues from the slave code quilts and hiding her maps within her paintings. She boldly embraces this calling after being told the shocking news that she can’t bear children, but as the country steers toward bloody civil war, Sarah faces difficult sacrifices that could put all she loves in peril.

Eden, a modern woman desperate to conceive a child with her husband, moves to an old house in the suburbs and discovers a porcelain head hidden in the root cellar—the remains of an Underground Railroad doll with an extraordinary past of secret messages, danger and deliverance.

Ingeniously plotted to a riveting end, Sarah and Eden’s woven lives connect the past to the present, forcing each of them to define courage, family, love, and legacy in a new way.

Audience: Fans of historical fiction; those interested in the Civil War and/or strong heroines

What I liked: The Mapmaker’s Children was one of my favorite books of 2015 and should be included on your summer reading or future book group list. I was fascinated by the description when I first read about it, months before it came out, and I immediately asked if I could participate on the blog tour. I particularly enjoy books that move from the present to the past, especially when written by a skillful author such as this one, and which feature a strong heroine. McCoy moves effortlessly from prevent day West Virginia where Eden, a troubled woman, is trying to make a new start in a quirky and appealing community, to one of the most troubled times imaginable, and a heroine who moves from New York to West Virginia to Massachusetts to California in a time where most women stayed within a few miles of where they were born. Her description of John Brown’s surviving family and how they coped with the notoriety that was his legacy to them kept me reading late into the night. I loved the character of his daughter, Sarah – her ingenuity and courage and dedication to her father’s dream. I almost resented whenever we left her story for Eden’s modern-day problems and unreasonable quarrels. Those interested in the Underground Railroad will also be interested in Sarah’s clever way of disguising maps to freedom.

Author Information: I was delighted to see that Sarah McCoy was going to be in Massachusetts on her tour for The Mapmaker’s Children and caught up with her at the Brookline Booksmith in May when she appeared with Jenna Blum (a writer whose work I look forward to exploring). It was so much fun to hear how her upbringing in the South has informed her love of history and her ability to convincingly evoke a Civil War setting and heroine. In common with other readers, I loved the characters of the Hill family, especially Freddy Hill, who is a perfect combination of handsome hero and loyal friend. As little is actually known about Sarah Brown, McCoy walks a careful line between factual information (such as her artistic talent and the time spent being educated with the Alcotts in Concord) and the fictional information necessary to craft a novel. I yearned for a happy ending that would not have been supported by what is known about Sarah.  For more information on author Sarah, please visit her website.

Because I am usually more interested in the English Civil War than the American Civil War, I did not know much about John Brown (except the doleful song) and surprised Sarah by asking how he became so associated with the Harper’s Ferry plot when he was from New York (I am still astonished that he would bring his family down from NY for the proposed raid, putting them in grave danger, but I suppose it is not so different from those who picnicked while watching the battle at Bull Run). Hearing about her research was fascinating. In turn, she was pleased to hear that I and others in the audience immediately started reading more about John Brown after we finished reading, and she told us that is a great compliment to the author to know she has inspired that much interest in the period.

Giveaway: Thanks to the generosity of TLC Book Tours and the publisher, I have a copy to give away.  US and Canada only, please.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Source: I received this book from TLC Book Tours but all thoughts and opinions are my own.  You can visit other stops on the tour by clicking here.  I bought an earlier book, The Baker's Daughter, at the event and look forward to reporting on that soon.