iRead Book Tours: Hello Agnieszka by E Journey

Hello Agnieszka by E Journey

Short Synopsis
A passion for music. Her oldest son’s suicide attempt forces Agnieszka to reveal a past she has kept from her children. A young Agnieszka discovers a passion for music upon hearing her grand-aunt Jola, a concert pianist in Poland, give a recital. Jola hones her talent and feeds her dreams of becoming a concert pianist.
Shattered dreams. But real-world problems, thorny relations with a mother tied to her roots and betrayal by lusty Aunt Jola a shatter her dreams.
A 70s love story. Young Agnieszka finds love that renews her hopes for happiness. Sadly, it ends, cut short by forces outside anyone's control. Sustained by music and memories of her first love, Agnieszka grows and gets a second chance at happiness. 

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Many layered writing, filled with emotions, makes for good writing. The characters come out alive on the pages and evoke strong emotions for the reader too. It moves back and forth between present and past effortlessly. Grips the reader with its plot and the pace is good.

Characters are very realistic. Agnieszka is a very strong woman and a mother who can go to any length for her children. The story is replete wit history oof her life and the consequences of that. Such a rich and deep novel.

I loved reading it. It opened my eyes at many levels...

iRead Book Tours

iRead Book Tours: Hello, My Love by E Journey

This book is a modern slant of a Jane Austen novel. Elise is a law student, bright, beautiful and very focused. She meets Greg in one of the dinner parties thrown by her parents. They keep meeting on and off. Initially Elise keeps her distance but slowly she likes Greg and looks forward to meet him. Greg is engaged but that does not stop him from hankering after Elise.

One year after after their meeting, just two days before his wedding, they end up spending a night together. Lori, his fiancee, is bent on revenge and that tears them apart. They are left questioning themselves, the way they behaved.

They meet again after a couple of years, Greg is as enamored with Elise as before but accident happens. Is it Lori again, who is hell bent on destroying them? 

This book has that suspense element, which keeps us hooked. I liked the way the romance developed, the characters developed. 

 I loved the romance with that right element of whodunit!!

iRead Book Tours

Tuesday Intro/Teaser Tuesday: How to Lose a Bride in One Night by Sophie Jordan

Every Tuesday Diane from Bibliophile By the Sea hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where participants share the first paragraph (or a few) of a book they are reading or thinking about reading soon.

It wasn’t every day a woman lost her virginity.

This was the only justification Annalise could give herself for the way her hands trembled. Ordinary wedding day nerves and nothing more.

Any bride would suffer it. 

Especially a bride like her. Plain. Crippled. Muddied lineage.

A little over a year ago she could barely afford a new pair of winter boots. By all accounts, a day such as this should never have occurred. And yet here she stood in a lavish gown of gold charmeuse trimmed in the finest Brussels lace, her hair swept up in emerald-studded combs. She had certainly never allowed herself the dream of a happily ever after such as this. Not before her father had found her, claimed her, and insisted she deserved only the finest things in life—namely her own knight in shining armor.

Title: How to Lose a Bride in One Night

Author: Sophie Jordan

ISBN: 978-0062033017
Publisher: Avon/2013
Pages: 384

Annalise is thrown overboard from a ship by her newly wedded husband. He is only interested in her vast dowry. She tries valiantly to save herself but loses conscious soon after. Owen Crawford, the reclusive Earl of McDowell, finds on the beach. He takes her to a Gypsy caravan and she gets better with their efforts. Soon after, he takes her to his home and promises to provide for her till she finds her family.

Meanwhile, she has feigned amnesia and does not wish to go to her family. But, once when she is out with the Earl to buy some clothes for her, her husband sees her and tries to kill her again. Owen saves her again. And when he finds out the truth, he is angry at Annalise. 

Annalise is not a frail and weak female despite having a crippled foot most of her life. The gypsies set her foot right. She has definite plans of finding work for herself and not be dependent on anyone. Owen is one of those brooding males but he cares for Annalise's well being. He is attracted to her but knows he cannot give in to that as long as she is in his care. He, in a way, restores Annalise's faith in humanity. 

Musing Mondays: Mini Reviews

Musing Mondays asks you to muse about something related to reading/books each week…...

Posting mini reviews of two romance novels. One historical, other contemporary...

 Her Husband's Harlot by Grace Callaway (Historical Romance)

Nicholas Morgan, an orphan,  discovers that he is the legitimate heir of the Marquess of Harteford. He sees and marries Lady Helena Harteford, who he thinks is sweet and innocent. So he can't give in to his raging desires. Their wedding night is a disaster. Lady Helena is desperate for his attention and follows him to a bawdy house. 

There in the darkness, Nicholas is driven by lust for her, thinking of his wife, although he does not recognise her. Helena acts like a harlot but can't tell him that. He has dark secrets from his past unable to share with her. 

Both had potential but the author did not give them much due. Helena is no waif and Nicholas is flawed. That should have made the novel readable. But it dwelled too much on sex, which did not work out for me. 

The Passionate Greek by Catherine Dane (Contemporary Romance)

Melanie poses as  nanny for her 9 month old daughter. She had given up all rights to her daughter when she went to prison. Nicos can't forgive Melanie for her betrayal. 

I liked the way they both cared for the welfare of the infant. Nicos might hate her but he could see her bonding with her daughter. The writing is good but this too did not work for me because of, what else, too much sex!! I skipped pages to get to the ending!!

The Hellion and The Heartbreaker by Jennifer McNare

Alec flinched as Scarlett’s teeth pierced his skin, causing him to jerk his hand back in stunned surprise.  He couldn’t believe it.  She’d bitten him.  He stared at his hand in disbelief.  The wretched little brat had actually drawn blood.

Two years later

Lost in thought, Alec Weston idly rubbed his left thumb across the pliant flesh between the thumb and index finger of his right hand, along the four, faint white scars that permanently marred the top of his hand.  They were barely visible, unnoticeable to anyone but himself really, but he had developed the unwitting habit of rubbing his thumb over the tiny ridges, most often when he was agitated. 

 The Hellion and The Heartbreaker by Jennifer McNare

Scarlett McPhearson has four doting brothers and has been spoiled by them. She is as fiery as her red curls. She has always known the Duke of Worthe and secretly vowed to have him since she was 13. Alex is attracted to her but he does not wish to dally with his best friend's sister. Scarlett sets out to seduce him and he makes her no promises. 

Set in the Regency period, the novel has good potential. Scarlett offers Alex her love but he is not ready for that. What I liked about the novel the way her brothers stood up for her. They did not berate her for falling in love. They supported her and were always with her.

Heiress Without a Cause by Sara Ramsey

After the second intermission, there should have been many empty seats as theatre goers went off to other amusements. But according to Madame Legrand, the lead actress was such a success that she kept everyone until the end. The best they could do was stools near the stage.

"Madame Guerrier already rivals the best actresses of our time," she said as she accepted their money. "You are just in time, too. She is about to kill Claudius."

"She is playing Hamlet himself? Not Ophelia?" Ferguson asked.

~~~Posted for The Friday 56, which is hosted by Freda's Voice

Heiress Without a Cause by Sara Ramsey

Madeleine,28,  is a spinster, believed to be firmly on the shelf. She always avoids the ball by feigning illness. She is not all resting as her aunt assumes! She is living in secret as an actress on the London stage and is one of the best. She knows her reputation would be in shreds if she is discovered. Ferguson sees her performing and wants her as his mistress unaware that it is Madeleine.  

Now William "Ferguson" Avenel has newly inherited the dukedom. He needs a  chaperon for his younger twin sisters for their first season. His first choice is Madeleine who he thinks is very proper. 

Ferguson is able to figure out about Madeleine's double life but he does not change his mind about her chaperoning his sisters. So he devises a plan...Everything seems to go well until an enemy from Ferguson's past come along and hellbent in destroying him and also Madeleine's reputation. 

I liked Ferguson's sisters. They are able to hold on their own. Ferguson seems be at loss as how to interact with them. His older sister Elise too is a person to reckon with. I liked this novel about strong characters females,  that too in a privileged English society when freedom was often denied to the females, even if they belonged to the royalty or the likes.

Hurrah's Nest by Arisa White

We alone together is me, one egg in the pigeon’s nest
between my rusting ten-speed and brick wall.
The wind blocked my body from her.

Night and day we were audience
to feathers tossed and shit about.
It’s hard to listen to courtship.

She tells me, 
With children you will never be lonely.

-from “Disposition for Shininess” from Hurrah's Nest by Arisa White

Hurrah's Nest: poems by Arisa White

This book of poem speaks of a family, their interactions, hardships and everything in between. There is identity crisis, scars of being a family. One might feel that there is no love between them but it is not so. Poems are built from moments, memories and just being there. Each poem is a story in itself yet we don't feel anything is disjointed. 

The family consists of a mother, six brothers and one sister. There is a sense of abandonment by the mother but that too is just a passing feeling. Closeness is the end result, no matter what experiences one might have gone through in ones's family.....

I can go on but poetry has to experienced by the reader, felt in his/her heart....

The Headmaster's Wager by Vincent Lam

1930, Shantou, China
On a winter night shortly after the New Year festivities, Chen Kai sat on the edge of the family kang, the brick bed. He settled the blanket around his son.
“Gwai jai,” he said. Well ­behaved boy. “Close your eyes.”
“Sit with me?” said Chen Pie Sou with a yawn. “You promised . . .”
“I will.” He would stay until the boy slept. A little more delay.


Title: The Headmaster's Wager
Author: Vincent Lam
ISBN: 9780385661454
Publisher: Fourth Estate/2012
Pages: 391

Percival Chen (Chen Pie Sou) is the headmaster of a English School in Saigon, Vietnam. He is also a gambler, womanizer and also into bribing the Govt officials to keep his school on the top. Mak, one of the teachers' in his school has links and gets everything done for him. Chen does not know the connections Mak has and does not wish to know either.

Chen's son Dai Jai gets into trouble and has to be sent out of Saigon to China, their home country. Chen meets a young woman Jacqueline, who is half Vietnamese and half French. In his loneliness, he falls for her and they have a son. Meanwhile, there are sweeping political changes in Vietnam and Chen cannot escape it. Then he discovers certain secrets which totally change his life. Dai Jai too is somehow lost to him. 

The Headmaster's Wager has characters which are flawed. Chen is not a lovable character yet we are with him through his journey. There is love, honour, betrayal and the ultimate sacrifice. For the loved one. This is not a fast paced novel but I could not put it down in the last half. I gained knowledge about China, Vietnam and most of all human faults and frailties. 

This is one of those novels which makes reading worthwhile and blogging a pleasure.....

The Hunger Angel by Herta Müller

All that I have I carry on me.
      Or: All that is mine I carry with me.
      I carried all I had, but it wasn't mine. Everything either came from someone else or wasn't what it was supposed to be. The gramophone box served as a pigskin suitcase. The light overcoat came from my father. The fancy coat with the velvet collar from my grandfather. The knickers from Uncle Edwin. The leather gaiters came from our neighbor Herr Carp, the green woolen gloves from Aunt Fini. Only the burgundy silk scarf and the toilet kit belonged to me, present from the previous Christmas.

I must mention here that Herta Müller is a German-Romanian novelist, poet, essayist and recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature. In 1987, she immigrated to Berlin after suffering repeated threats for refusing to cooperate with Ceaușescu's secret police.

MY REVIEW:

Title: The Hunger Angel
Author: Herta Müller
ISBN: 97808505093018
Publisher: Metropolita Books/2014
Pages: 285

The novel is narrated in the voice of Leo Auberg, a 17-year-old. He is discovering the "forbidding pleasure" of being a gay. He meets men in park pavilions and in the Neptune Baths. If discovered it would land him in prison or a penal colony. But he is sent to a labour camp because his name is in the list as he is of German origin. He is almost glad to be in the list. Before they come to take him away, Leo turns a gramophone case into a suitcase and fills it with after shave, socks, burgundy silk scarf, a poetry book and a book by Faust. What he gets from his grandmother are five words: "I know you'll come back."

Survival is not easy when all one can think about hunger, all the time. The equation is 1 shovel load=1 gram of bread. The anger, anguish and dejection takes over him. He dreams of escape but that is only an illusion. Even when he is free after five years, he is still trapped in the labour camp. One is with Leo yet cannot fathom the depth of despair.

Kati, another inmate of the labour camp is of feeble mind. She does not understand authority or punishment. She is happy in her own world because she does not understand this world. Her portrayal is so touching. Her presence in the camp shouldn't have happened but someone substituted her name for another.

Reading The Hunger Angel, I learnt much about forced-labour camps. I wasn't aware of the fact that Romanians with a German origin were deported to Soviet labour camps. Thousands died in those camps.  Herta Müller says in the afterword that “the deportations were a taboo subject because they recalled Romania’s fascist past.” But she refused to keep quiet about it. She spoke with former deportees and connected with the poet Oskar Pastior who had spent years in a Soviet forced-labour camp. He died but Müller continued with her work from the notes she had made and The Hunger Angel happened. A must read for those who want a slice of history and aren't into easy read.

Hush Little Baby by Suzanne Redfearn

Hush Little Baby by Suzanne Redfearn

We look like the perfect family, and I'm happy to pretend. 

Father Kimball looks down at his parish. “Welcome my brothers and sisters in Christ, beloved children of God…” 

Beside me, Drew squirms. Gordon’s firm squeeze of his knee stops the squiggling. I take Drew’s hand in mine to keep him still. No one in our small clan has an iron bladder. I slide my eyes in a sidelong glance at Gordon. His jaw is set tight. He won't be happy if Drew gets up in the middle of the sermon. Of course, he’ll be even less happy if Drew wets himself.

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After a very long time, I finished a novel at one go as I couldn't put it down. I read it in 4 hours straight finishing at 3 AM. It is a disturbing novel about domestic violence. Something which is as old as time itself. Domestic violence does not get reported much. People do not come out in the open. The victim feels it is always her fault. That she deserves the beatings and the insults. The children are the worst sufferers. 

Jillian Kane snaps out of it one day and finds herself locked out her home with her children out of bounds. Everyone, including her mom, thinks it is her fault as her husband can do no wrong. One day, she gets an opportunity to meet her children in the park. Taking them along, she runs for their life. With no money, no plan, she only has the determination to protect herself and her children. Along the way she finds some good people helping her. They do not know her but sense that she is in some kind of trouble. 

Finally Gordon catches up with her and takes away the kids. She is charged with kidnapping and cannot meet her children. Her lawyer friend, Connor advises her to fight back in the same dirty manner, as Gordon has done, to get custody of the children. By manipulation and sabotage. And she does. She can do anything to get back her kids. ANYTHING. Even kill.

I had mixed feelings about Jillian. Yes, she is a victim and loves her kids but there are some loose ends. At one point or the other, I did not like her. Gordon is a despicable character. He is manipulative. He hides his cruel facade with a nice demeanour. Yet for all his faults, he loves his children. That is the ONLY redeeming quality. But can a family survive in such an environment? 

I felt that the author was in a hurry to finish the novel. So the end chapter is pretty fast. It could have been elaborated a bit and could have hurried through the middle portion. 

But I highly recommend this novel. Read it for yourself, for your family and friends. AND reach out.....who knows, some one might be needing your help....

Himalayan Blunder by Brig. J.P.Dalvi (Guest reviewed by S. P. Tripathy)

The following is a guest review by my brother S P Tripathy. It is a very detailed one and I did not want to edit it as it conveys the sentiments exactly the way a non fiction ought to convey. I hope all of you will read it in its entirity

"The enemy was closing in but the ground was such that much of the direct artillery fire was not possible. We still fired about 20 rounds per gun towards black rock and beyond supply point. The melee of the battle was confusing; our personnel withdrawing, Chinese devastating shelling and small arms firing. My three LMGs were firing and we were using our personal weapons."

Title: Himalayan Blunder: The angry truth about India’s most crushing military disaster
Author: Brig. J.P.Dalvi
ISBN 978-81-8158-145-7

Publisher: Natraj Publishers/1969 (banned) Reprint in 1997, 2010.

Review by Shiv Prasad Tripathy (My brother)

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The wide gap between the political decision and the tactical readiness for war is best summed up where the author, Brig. J.P. Dalvi, says ‘A quarter-inch map of NEFA in Delhi does not convey the enormous logistic difficulties. We were short of everything.’ The author rewinds into history and sets a detailed context and the compulsions that finally resulted into the inevitable, the Himalayan Blunder. That is the real story of the book.

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War stories are always fascinating, as they bring out the brave elements in us while reading them within the confines of our four walls where one safely relates oneself to be one of the heroes of the story, and mentally pictures oneself as a crusader against all the injustice being meted out to the country. The stories bring out the passion, the adrenalin rushes, the patriotism, the invincibility, and the self-righteousness to the forefront, and the book is raced through till we have vanquished the enemy and rested for the laurels and celebrations, that happens on the last page.

Most of such stories are distilled truth, and well polished and packaged to sell since there is a stake for the author, the publisher, and sometimes, organizations extending onto countries. Patriotism sells well; and hard patriotism sells better.

“Himalayan Blunder, by Brig J.P. Dalvi” is quite a contrast, and is not for the wannabe heroes; it does not even seem to have been edited to make it a best seller. The narrative is free flow, raw, un-nerving, and is a clear recollection of a human mind that has had a lasting experience of a period that would fail to erase from his memory till nature decides otherwise. It is a reflection of a mind that has painstakingly spent time and efforts to analyze and did a post-mortem on one of the darkest chapters of India post independence. It is a deliberation that goes beyond the few weeks of action, and covers the actors and controllers who were far away from the scene of action, but were instrumental to the decisions; the actors and controllers who would devour all the praise for the victory (that was not to happen) but would shun all responsibility and ownership for the greatest debacle that they pushed the Indian army into. It is a report that gives an insight about individuals, who believed on invincibility, on decisions to maintain the high-image in the world-order, and blind to the stark-realities of the limitations at the execution level. Psychological warfare is different from a real one; you can create images and mirages in the mind, but a real war needs physical support – on personnel, ammunitions, logistics, and communications, control.

This book was banned when it was first published. Public memory was surely fresh and emotions had not subsided in that decade, the people at high levels of responsibility were still in public life, and its publication would only flame a fire which still had not died. Everyone was trying to forget the humiliation of 1962, with some trying harder to erase it from the public memory. After decades, that generation is all into oblivion, and the present one would relate to it only as a small extension to our independence story, that speaks highly of the multiple decades of peaceful struggle by the freedom fighters.

Regarding the book, let me mention that the hardbound copy is a pathetic justice to the 500+ pages on the military history. It is really sad to see that the hardcover fell off even before I could cover 200 odd pages. The book binding is as raw as the narrative itself. We are still no different from the 1960s in many ways.

“Himalayan Blunder” is an analysis of the Sino-Indian military disaster, a post-mortem of the humiliating defeat of India by China, a silent cry of a soldier whose wounds never healed, and an apology to the nation for the grand failure that shocked the entire nation.

The author has spent time on the initial chapters to give an understanding on the geo-political map of the Himalayan region – covering China, Tibet, Pakistan, the key entities that have had border issues along the Himalayas. The background onto the Sino-Tibetan relations in 20^th century, the Anglo-Tibetan Treaty of 1904, The Anglo-Chinese Treaty of 1906, The Tripartite Conference of Tibet, China and Britain in Simla in 1913-14, the boundary agreement between India and Tibet famously known as the McMahon Line, and the Anglo challenge to China on their suzerainty over Tibet , to the final annexation of Tibet by China in 1950 and the mute support from newly independent India – these were key to the border dynamics that was to reach a crescendo in the next decade, and remain unresolved till date. There is reference to the prophetic letter from Sardar Patel to Nehru, also reproduced in full in the appendix, which gives his critical analysis of the invisible Chinese policy towards India.

The subsequent chapters describe the Chinese build up in Tibet, the infrastructure development in Aksai Chin, upliftment of the local Tibetans from the lower strata, access roads from mainland China to Tibet, built up of highways north of McMahon line, while building friendly relations with young India that resulted in the Panch Sheel Agreement of 1954, and the voluntary withdrawal of India from Tibet by giving up the military, communications and postal rights. It may be noted that the strategic road across Aksai Chin was news to us only when it appeared in the published Chinese maps.

The chapters also talk of the Indian defense focus on the other border with Pakistan, the Kashmir War, and the military overheads created due to the cease-fire line with Pakistan, that trouble us till date. With China being cultivated as a friend, it was well suited to focus on only one border. It suited the government policy on peaceful coexistence, as well as helped  to work within the meager budget that was hardly sufficient to maintain, and equip an army to man the most hazardous and difficult Tibet border.

The author speaks of the slowly hardening stand of China, after the China-Tibet clash in Lhasa, followed by flee of Dalai Lama to India with political asylum. Border lines were questioned, and troubles were getting created by Chinese army across a few frontiers in 1959. These would have quiet withdrawals, after raising localized tensions, and this made the political brass more confident that these incidents were adventures of the local units, and not part of any grandiose plan.  The author laments on the lack of any National Policy on China, that prevented a strategic approach to handle the upcoming tensions and only transactional responses were made by the Indian government on a limited scale. The forward policy led to opening of forward posts in the subsequent years of 1961-62, were more to create deterrence to the Chinese, while the ground level reality was a very limited manpower to manage those posts, with no real capability to offer resistance to any confrontation. As Brig. Dalvi noted, any short coming on such capability was more than made up by political rhetoric, till the Chinese called this bluff in 1962.

The story talks of the differences between the political leadership and the Army, the inadequacy of the Air Force for air-drops, the breakdown of the command-and-control structure in the Army, seniors usurping roles of their subordinates and making them redundant, the shortage of war essentials for the soldier to survive on the mighty Himalayas, and the failed intelligence about the Chinese buildup for any impending strike. It talks of the diffused and unclear coordination and control spread across the multiple entities - Army, Assam Rifles, the BRO, and the ITBP, and the constraints from finance ministry to meet the genuine demands from the man at the border.

The author also highlights the multiple instances where Army expressed reservations on the suicidal forward policy, citing the gross inadequacy of staff, ammunition, guns, roads, clothing, porterage, and winter shelters. The narrative presents a highly critical view on the movements of troops, spreading them thin, and without them being part of a grand military plan. Brig. J. P. Dalvi gives examples and inferences that suggest that public pressure fueled on the decisions by the civil supremacy, that over-ruled the army leading to the predictable results.

 A good amount of text in the book is devoted to those critical weeks from September-November period of 1962, which highlight the extreme situations faced by our soldiers, the lapses at tactical level, the air-drop losses, and all other exposure to situations that were earlier sounded as warning signs by the Army needing urgent attention. This book is an eye opener to any reader, who is a civilian content with paying taxes, but always wary of the growing defense budget. It is not easy reading for a non military person, both in terms of the terminology and the pain she goes through while reading about soldiers who move in mountain snow, with hardly any gear to maintain the physical well being. .

The book is highly critical of the political governance, including some of the key players in the Army. It is partly a rebuttal and a strong counter-view to other published books and public responses made after the defeat, most of which were critical of the men at the front. To be fair to Brig. J. P. Dalvi, he has unabashedly taken his own share of the blame. The reader need not be in agreement with all the opinions, and inferences, and may want to look into additional literature to draw her own inference.

This book is recommended to be read by all who have an interest in military history, cross-border relations, or have a stake in national policies. It will be interest to those who have stake in work functions that has impact across multiple organizations, for the sheer purpose of understanding the complexity and dimension of different demands and expectations that each one has.

This book should not be read as a post-mortem report that educates us onto the names of key players in the 1962 war and their roles on the debacle, but as an eye-opener that forces us to think, to plan, to frame policies, and provides a framework to translate these into strategic and tactical plans for managing our borders.

While the calendar has moved more than 50 years since 1962, we are still tackling the same border questions, with the same neighbors.

Teaser Tuesdays: A Husband for Margaret by Ruth Ann Nordin

"Her eyes grew wide. Pa? She‟s over here? Whatever did that mean? Paul made it clear that he had no children. So who was this child and why did he pick her out?"

A Husband for Margaret by Ruth Ann Nordin

I read A Bride for Tom by Ruth Ann Nordin some days ago, Jessica's friend Margaret places an add to find a husband. Instead of Paul, his brother Joseph comes to see her along with his four sons. Paul had met with a fatal accident. Joseph's woife is dead and he needs a woman to care for his young sons. 

Margaret had expected a man without children but after much thought marries Joseph, becomes the mother of his children. The four boys are kind of lovable and they fiercely love Margaret, who also returns their love. She is protective towards them. All seems well until an acquaintance of Joseph turns up, who has wished to marry him. She tries to create trouble between Joseph and Margaret. Now with the help of the children, Margaret makes a plan to get rid of that woman! The point is, is that going to work?

A Husband for Margaret made a good, light read. Nothing heavy but was fun. I would call it any great shakes but it gives us a few laughs. What is more, it is available free. Check it out by clicking on the title or the cover.

The Heir by Grace Burrowes

Title: The Heir
Author: Grace Burrowes
ISBN: 9781402244346
Publisher:  Sourcebooks/2010
Pages: 448

In this historical romance, I liked some of the  secondary characters rather well.  With an independent minded heroine, the housekeeper Anna Seaton, there are some good dialogues between her and Gayle Windham, earl of Westhaven, son and heir to the duke of Moreland. He is trying to escape the machinations of his father to get him married. He chooses to live in his London house in the sweltering heat and is literally hit by Anna, who thinks he has designs for a housemaid. When she realizes her mistake, she tends to him, taking care of all his needs. Inevitably they are attracted to each other but Anna has her secrets and she refuses to marry him. Gayle Windham is determined to marry her..

As romances go, it is good. At places it does not seem very smooth but the storyline keeps our interest alive. His brothers are kind of weird but they do lighten it up. The duke too is lovable in his own way. And Morgan, the housemaid wins our heart. I liked Anna and of course, Gayle. Their chemistry is good. What more does one need from a romance? For all those romance lovers, who don't mind steamy scenes, it is a good read, for a cold winter day or night...

Friday Find: Hold Up the Sky by Patricia Sprinkle

Title: Hold Up the Sky
Author: Patricia Sprinkle
ISBN: 9780451229144
Publisher: Penguin/New American Library/2010
Pages: 407

Four independent women come to be under roof, due to different circumstances. Except for Mamie, no one else is too fond of each other, even though Billie and Margaret are sisters.

Mamie has a serious heart problem and knows that she has not much longer to live. Yet she has a large heart to help out others. Billie's husband has left her, and she has to take care of her cerebral palsy daughter, Michelle. Margaret seems to have everything going for her but suddenly she is left with nothing. Emerita is an illegal immigrant, trying to make a life for herself. All of them get connected to each other. Initially none of them is ready to share their secrets but slowly they realise that sharing can only make their life better.

Patricia has done well to get that point across. Women, all over the world know that bonding weith another female helps thm cope up with their problems. Independent to interdependence is the theme of the novel.

Heart's Blood by Juliet Marillier

‘You could come on with me.’ The man’s tone had changed. ‘I’ve got a roof, supper, a comfortable bed. For a pretty little thing like you, there’s other ways of paying.’

Title: Heart's Blood
Author: Juliet Marillier
ISBN: 9780230017917
Publisher: Pan MacMillan/2009
Pages: 56o

When Caitrin arrives at Whistling Tor, she is seeking a safe haven for herself. From her demons. Both in her mind and physically too. A deeply mysterious place, most people avoid the deep, haunted forest. There is this cursed castle and a chieftain who is considered a weakling. Anluan is a cripple and doesn't seem to have much stamina. He doesn't know how to redeem his people from that curse. A curse that no one understands. The presence of spirits known as host. They are everywhere and only Anluan is capable of controlling them. But for how long? Who are those unknown spirits? Were they people once?

Caitrin is a scribe and she is hired by Anluan to unravel the family secrets. As he can't write because he can't use his right hand much. Caitrin, while doing her work, discovers secrets which affect her too. She can understand Anluan's torment and knows that there has to be a way to find a solution. Although no one can say how.

In the midst of it, she is ordered out of Whistling Tor by Anluan and she leaves it to face her own demons. And succeeds too. However, she knows she has to go back to Anluan and his people. She has fallen in love with them. All of a sudden, she has a vision of who/what is responsible for the curse. Only she can break the curse with the help of Anluan.

It is a beautiful gothic love story, with the suspense intact until the end. It is also a story of the Beauty and the Beast. Those who like fantasy, romance, mystery, suspense, all told in a skillful way, will like this book very much. I enjoyed it immensely. One of my best reads of 2009.

Hoodoo Sea by Rolf Hitzer

Title: Hoodoo Sea
Author: Rolf Hitzer
ISBN: 978-1604520262
Publisher: BluewaterPress LLC/2009
Pages: 260

Product Description

The government of the United States of America is on the verge of startling the world. Billions of dollars had been invested in its space program . And now, the moment of truth had arrived… Scott Reed is the man for the historic mission. He is the Wing Commander chosen by the elite brass at NASA. The assignment to test flight the first speed of light craft, held top secret, was about to shock the world. The risk? Utter and complete failure. The reward? Being a part of the greatest human accomplishment ever known to mankind. Major James Harrow, second in command of the four person crew, despised his Wing Commander. Harrow was a proud and patriotic American. What was NASA thinking when they selected a Canadian to pilot the voyage? There was no comparison as to who was the better skilled aviator. This was his time, his moment. Major James Harrow was about to prove to everybody they were wrong to bypass him as Commander. The weather conditions were perfect and lift-off for the test flight was text book. The triumphant cheers from Mission Control in Houston were echoed all the way to Cape Canaveral. The silent fear of the first hurdle of the flight had been succumbed. All systems were go! That is, until the crew and SOLT-X1 entered the Bermuda Triangle…

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The Bermuda Triangle has many names: the Devil's Triangle, the Limbo of the Lost, the Twilight Zone. Or, Hoodoo Sea.

And here is where SOLT-X1 supposedly gets lost. Its crew members, which consist of Commander Scott Reed, Second-in Command James Harrow, Flight Engineer Captain Deedee Poulson and the flight doctor Captain John Heintz, first observe that their craft is surrounded by a dense fog, instruments go wonky, with flashes of bright light. And when they finally land, they find themselves in the midst of somewhat primitive people and giant-sized wolves with shiny eyes. Only then the adventure of their lives begins.

Each one of them has the same dream but they don't discuss it with each other. They know they have to find a wayout o of it but can't fathom how. They depend on NASA to find them but NASA has completely lost them. It is novel about survival, adventure and has flashes of paranormal elements. None of the characters are weak. Infact no one shows their fear although all are afraid to be stuck in nowhere land. The place they land is known as LAND.

Evil lurks and tries to take over each one of them. And who succumbs to it is to be seen. With a strong Canadian character Scott Reed and his rival Harrow, the arguments are interesting but never go out of hand. Deedee is one calming influence on all of them.

Anyone who wants to read something different, it has the right amount of scifi, adventure, paranormal and characterization. I also liked the natives of LAND, who have their own compulsions to save the place they live. Well, the ending felt a bit odd and abrupt but for a first novel, Hitzer did quite well.

Thanks to Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tours for my copy.

A House of Bottles by Robin Merrill

Title: A House of Bottles
Author: Robin Merrill
ISBN: 9781615394494
Publisher: Moon Pie Press/2009
Pages: 29

It is a very short poetry book. That doesn't lessen that impact of the poems. The poems take us into various journeys, some real, some inside the mind. Playful too and with a such a depth that can't be fathomed. Sometimes funny, others sad. She openly shows the wounds and healing process too. The beauty of the poems comes from the realist way of portrayal. The troubling life of the people all over the world. It might have been written for American way of life but has universal appeal.

The vulnerabilty of the poetry touches us. The creativity of the poet surprises us. A collage of life depicted in poetry. With a such a range of feelings.

Here I share a poem, Hangman's Tree (page 10):

Not in the middle of the field
like on a stage
but on the edge
like a half-kept secret

One man dead a tragedy
Two in the same tree is folly.
What is three?
The third man

half-drunk early morning
trembled as he flung the rope
over the second-lowest branch
He had no second thoughts.

His last words,
curse this town of Manistee.
His last prayer,
someone cut down the tree.

Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed by Marc Blatte

Title: Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed
Author: Marc Blatte
ISBN: 9780980139419
Publisher: Schaffner Press, Inc/2009
Pages: 283

Synopsis

On a manic ride from the mixing boards of hip-hop recording studios to mansions in the Hamptons and the projects of the urban ghetto, Detective Black Sallie Blue Eyes ventures behind-the-scenes of the record business in search of a street-side assassin. Casting a widely satirical net on all spectra and species of the Manhattan social scene—from tweaking downtown hipsters, wrestling fetishists, and rapper wannabes to real estate moguls and hip-hop impresarios—this satirical urban noir novel offers intrigue, insight, and an innovative brand of humor.

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Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed is set in the midst of the music industry- the hip-hop kind with a cop detective Salvatore Messina, who turns out to be very likeable. He is investigating murder of an Eastern European immigrant who had worked as a bouncer at a club mainly frequented by hip-hop musicians and fans. Our cop is known as Black Sallie Blue Eyes. Although he is not one of the brilliant detective, he is nonetheless one of those cops who doesn't give up. His persistence makes up for his lack of sharp intelligence. Our cop jumps into the midst of twisted people, complex plots which involves money, drugs, music, fighting and moving in higher social strata. Almost all the characters have interesting nick names, as is norm in the music industry and street culture.

With intriguing characters, funny settings, quirky dialogues, the novel has a lot of potential. However, it was a bit slow in the beginning but picked up somewhere in the middle. The prose is not prize winning, what with rough edges. It is mostly street language kind..it also jars at places although our cop keeps us hooked. In the beginning one feels that most of the characters do not connect. Halfway through, they start to make sense. I wouldn't call it a noir fiction but more like street literature. And I think it ought to target young males. The females readers will not really take to the street language, the usage of which might hurt their sensibilities. At some places, I felt that way. (What else can you expect from a poet?!)

Our cop Sal Messina manages to hold on his own and I suppose Blatte plans a sequel. Do watch for those if you can take to street literature. One can also relate to the hip hop stuff.

Thanks to the author, Marc Blatte and Lisa Roe for the book.

Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed blog tour
September 21-October 2

Heart of Courage by Kat Martin

Title: Heart of Courage
Author: Kat Martin
ISBN: 9780778326090
Publisher: Mira Books/2009
Pages: 407

Book Blurb:

Under the pert pen name "Lady Smart," opinionated Lindsey Graham crusades for social change among London's elite, writing for the ladies' gazette Heart to Heart. But Lindsey's greatest campaign begins when her brother Rudy, a notorious rake, is accused of murdering a string of prostitutes.

Her confidence in his innocence is bolstered when an anonymous letter arrives naming Viscount Merrick as the killer. Lindsey launches her own investigation into the gentleman's questionable pursuits, a risky venture that earns her an unwelcome bodyguard—Thor Draugr.

At first, Lindsey refuses the protection of her employer's brother-in-law. They are like oil and water, yet she can barely conceal her attraction to the rugged Norseman. But an attempt on her life reveals not only the lengths that someone will go to in order to prevent her interference in the viscount's sordid affairs, but that she can no longer deny that she desires the warrior by her side.…

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With a cover like that, it only means one thing. A steamy romance. Lindsay is a strong opiniated woman and Thor is the typical chauvinistic male. It is set in 1844. Both can't deny the strong attraction between them. Thor, to give him credit, resist but Lindsay comes out very strong o him. And he is only a mere male. Both know they can't marry but that doesn't stop them from having an affair.

And then there is that murderer, who has to be found, in order to save Lindsay's brother. Frankly I felt, the way her brother behaved, she ought not put her life in danger. It only gave Thor reasons to come to her aid. Not that he did it grudgingly.

With such strong characters, this novel could have been much better but somehow it felt one dimensional at times. The dialogue did nothing. I didn't see romance anywhere. The steamy scenes were mechanical. The love part comes too late and does nothing to redeem the book. With a premise like that, it could have been a better novel. The suspense part too somehow not up to the mark. I would have liked to know what propelled the murderer to kill all those women. The reasoning didn't gel with me.

The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran

Title: The Heretic Queen
Author: Michelle Moran
ISBN: 9780307381750
Publisher: Crown/2008
Pages: 370

Synopsis

In ancient Egypt, a forgotten princess must overcome her family’s past, and remake history.

The winds of change are blowing through Thebes. A devastating palace fire has killed the 18th dynasty’s royal family—all with the exception of Nefertari, niece of the reviled former queen Nefertiti. The girl’s deceased family has been branded as heretical, and no one in Egypt will speak their names. A relic of a previous reign, Nefertari is pushed aside, an unimportant princess left to run wild in the palace. But all of this changes when she is taken under the wing of pharaoh’s aunt, and brought to the Temple of Hathor where she is educated in a manner befitting a future queen.

Soon Nefertari catches the eye of the crown prince, and despite her family’s history, they fall in love and wish to marry. Yet all of Egypt opposes this union between the rising star of a new dynasty and the fading star of an old, heretical one. While political adversity sets the country on edge, Nefertari becomes the wife of Ramesses the Great. Destined to be the most powerful pharaoh in Egypt, he is also the man who must confront the most famous exodus in history.

I will review this book by answering questions by other bloggers.

Becky: Did you enjoy The Heretic Queen? Have you read Michelle Moran's other novel, Nefertiti? If you did, how do you think they compare? Do you have a favorite? What is it about this book that you love most? (Or if you didn't like it, what didn't you like about it!)

Gavin: I am curious about Michelle Moran. Did you enjoy The Heretic Queen?

Louise: Why do you read historical fiction? Or is this one of the few ones you've read?

I liked The Heretic Queen. Though the author says it is mostly fiction, it seems plausible. It might have happened that way. I liked the plotting and the love between Nefertari and the Pharaoh comes through very strongly. However, I liked the intelligent, far sighted, learned Nefertari much better. She is skilled in languages and knows the politics of her place. What she doesn't know, she makes it a point to learn. She is considered the daughter of a heretic queen and she has to prove herself at every step. She does it with poise. She knows that she can only do it by beind calmness and with sanity. Anger has no place in her life. She does not even hate Iset, the other wife of the Pharaoh. Filled with historical details, it unravels many intruing part of politics and works for peace for Egypt.

I read Historical novels once in a while and only of those peruiod which interest me. I don't go in for historical romances. I need the plot, the political era and how a country progresses.

It is my first novel by Moran and I do plan to read more. As and when I get them.