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Category: Literature & Fiction

Review: The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak

[ 9 ] February 1, 2012
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Rating: +2 (from 2 votes)

I’m posting The Winter Palace review earlier than planned due to popular demand! 

Reviewed by Lauren Cannavino

The Winter Palace is perfected historical fiction. The characters are lively, the plot thick and the details crisp and plentiful, yet not overdone. Eva Stachniak combines historical facts with brilliant, lyrical adaptation and creates characters that keep the reader turning the pages for more and more. The novel moves quickly even for someone not familiar with Russian history, and the life at court is expertly portrayed for the imaginative reader.

The Winter Palace tells the tale of Varvara, a young Polish girl without a family, who begins her life at the court of Empress Elizabeth as a nobody, then quickly becomes a spy for the royal ruler. Varvara is compassionate, smart, quick and most importantly, sneaky. She forms a relationship, almost against her will, with the slimy Chancellor at court, and begins her life as a palace “tongue”.

When Princess Sophie, who later becomes Catherine the Great, arrives at court, Varvara is assigned to watch the young, foreign princess and report back to the Empress. What no one expects is that Varvara develops a close friendship with Sophie and alliances begin to shift. The Empress, who is not left in the dark about Varvara’s actions or feelings, quickly marries her off to a dashing officer and removes her from court. The friendship, however, does not end and what develops over the years both at court and outside of it, is truly remarkable.

The Winter Palace is a fantastic novel that gets better as it goes on. The characters and the scenery are meticulously developed and made me feel as if I had my ear to the floorboard listening in on the action of the Russian court along with Varvara. This is an excellent read for historical fiction and adventure fans.

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Lauren Cannavino is a graduate student, freelance writer, wine lover, and avid reader. Random musings can be found over at www.goldiesays.com.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Bantam. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Home Front by Kristin Hannah

[ 8 ] February 1, 2012
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Rating: +2 (from 2 votes)

Reviewed by Amanda Schafer

Jolene and Michael Zarkades are a typical married couple raising two children. He’s a successful lawyer; she’s a helicopter pilot with the Guard. They have a great home and a seemingly normal life, but underneath it all Michael and Jo struggle in their relationship with each other. When Michael misses a track meet that spurs a fight between, he finally tells her that he doesn’t love her anymore. The next day, Jo finds out she’s being deployed to Iraq.

Michael cannot fathom taking care of the house, the children, and his job while Jo is away and is angry at her refusal to tell the Guard that she can’t go because of her family. On her end, Jo is angry that Michael just never seems to “get” why she does what she does. He never supports her, never goes to events with her fellow Guardsmen, and never even talks to her about her experiences. But while Jo tries to come to terms with leaving her family, she also has to deal with the idea that her marriage is over. She sets things up for Michael as best she can and leaves for Iraq.

In Iraq, Jo’s days blend together in a haze of missions and death. At home, Michael makes mistakes in parenting, but quickly realizes that he truly needs and loves Jo. He starts to see things from her perspective and begins to regret what he’s done and said. Unfortunately, he receives the dreaded news that Jo’s helicopter was shot down.

Injured beyond repair,  Jo is angry and depressed and in her mind, her life and her career are both over. She has experienced so much in Iraq that she can’t share with anyone because she doesn’t think anyone will understand. And while her wounds will heal, Jo has to learn how to deal with the emotional scars caused by the war and her broken marriage.

Home Front was my first encounter with Kristin Hannah; I was pulled in from the first chapter and couldn’t put this book down! The characters and the situations they found themselves in were so real, true-to-life and easy to relate to. Aside from her ability to connect the readers with the characters, Hannah has tackled an issue that is facing many of our service men and women and their families: what to do when the person comes home and isn’t the same person anymore. Hannah takes a hard look at the fact that the government doesn’t do what it should to help these brave people or their families and gives us a clear picture of what really happens. If you haven’t read a Kristin Hannah book before, Home Front would be a great place to start.

Rating: ★★★★★ 

More fun for Kristin Hannah fans (or future fans!):

Download Kristin Hannah’s short story, The Glass Case, to your eReader for free. Click here for details.

Watch a video in which Kristin Hannah interviewed helicopter pilot and mother, Warrant Officer Teresa Burgess

Check out our review of Hannah’s last novel, Night Road

Amanda lives in Missouri with her engineering husband, two sons, and one daughter. In between homeschooling and keeping up with church activities she loves to read Christian Fiction, Women’s Fiction, and any Chick-Lit. She never goes anywhere without a book to read!

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by St. Martin’s Press. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Dreaming of Mr. Darcy by Victoria Connelly

[ 5 ] January 30, 2012
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Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)

Reviewed by Meg Massey

Kay is unlucky in love and bored at her job, until she inherits a property from a friend. Inspired by her favorite Austen novels, Kay buys a bed and breakfast in seaside Lyme Regis. Much to her surprise, her bed and breakfast is booked up by actors filming an adaptation of Persuasion in the area. Among them is handsome movie star Oli Wade Owen, and Kay finds herself falling for him almost instantly.

Unbeknownst to Kay, the movie’s screenwriter, Adam, with whom she’s formed a fast friendship, has fallen for her. But when she gets the bright idea of playing matchmaker for Adam and actress Gemma, she’s setting herself up for a romantic disaster right out of the pages of Emma. And when Oli doesn’t turn out to be the hero she’s imagined, her whole world is turned upside down.

A delightful ode to all things Austen, Dreaming of Mr. Darcy is the second book in Victoria Connelly’s Austen Addicts’ trilogy. Anyone who loves Austen’s novels will enjoy this read as it contains numerous references to her life and works. Much like Emma herself, Kay fails to see the true love right in front of her throughout most of the novel. When she does realize that Adam is in love with her, will it be too late?

If you pick up this novel, you’ll fall in love with Connelly’s characters, and her delicious prose. It’s a fantastic escape from the everyday, and a step into the romantic seaside of Lyme.

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Meg lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, Ryan. Library professional by day, freelance writer by night, Meg writes about life, entertainment and everything in between on her blog.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Sourcebooks Landmark. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Three Maids for a Crown by Ella March Chase

[ 3 ] January 27, 2012
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Rating: +1 (from 1 vote)

Reviewed by Shannon Hopkins

The Lady Jane Grey is quite possibly one of the most tragic figures in the English royal lineage: at fifteen, she was declared King Edward’s successor to the English throne in an attempt to keep Mary Tudor from succeeding to the throne and reinstituting Catholic rule. Jane’s nine days as heir apparent are recognized as the shortest reign by an English monarch, but there is far more to the story of the Greys than Jane’s fateful visit to the Tower of London.

In Three Maids for a Crown, Ella March Chase weaves a brilliant story of love, ambition and betrayal, about three sisters who became pawns in a game larger than they could begin to understand. Their tandem narration paints a moving picture of the ties that bind, and the desires that can tear worlds apart.

Jane is a quiet, pious girl who finds strength in her faith. She goes into her wedding day with a sense of dread and distaste for her new husband, as yet unaware that her parents have set her up to take a kingdom. When her father and father-in-law press the ring of state into her hands, she is swept into a whirlwind in which she is declared queen and then a traitor when her cousin Mary comes to claim the crown. Despite a promise that she will be safe from reprisal, danger nonetheless looms when the queen chooses Prince Philip of Spain as her husband.

Katherine is as unlike her sister as night and day. She is radiant on the morning of their double wedding, dizzy in love with her new husband and eager to start their life together. Like Jane, though, she has no idea that her marriage is part of a carefully coordinated plan between three of the most powerful families in England. When Mary takes the throne instead, Katherine loses her husband, her father, her sister, and her hope – and gains center stage in the intrigue still swirling about her family. She becomes a lady in waiting at her cousin’s court, and very nearly becomes Mary’s heir; however, when Elizabeth ascends the throne instead, Katherine becomes a threat to be eliminated.

Mary, the youngest Grey sister, bears witness to the treacherous paths her sisters are forced to follow. Stunted, deformed, and uncharacteristically blunt for a medieval lady, Mary is often dismissed to the fringes – where she finds that being invisible has its benefits. She observes and learns secrets of planned campaigns and attacks, but her best efforts cannot stop the chain of events that has been set in motion. Still, hope and love remain for Mary to find even when she has lost her sisters, her cousin and, it seems, everything else worth holding on to.

Chase’s beautiful prose brings both hope and tragedy to life in a story that is well-known but little understood. Each of the sisters tells her part of the story in a back-and-forth that flows smoothly even over the roughness of tragedy and heartbreak, and reminds the reader of the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Shannon lives in Cleveland, Ohio with her fiancé and a room full of books that she peruses when she isn’t trolling Apartment Therapy for new decorating ideas. In her free time she enjoys maintaining her blog, The Writer’s Closet, planning her wedding, and baking tasty gluten-free treats.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Broadway. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: The Secret of Lies by Barbara Forte Abate

[ 5 ] January 27, 2012
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Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)

Reviewed by Lauren Cannavino

The Secret of Lies is a dark and introspective novel about one woman’s struggle to separate her past from her present. Stevie Burke is married and has a seemingly normal life in a sleepy little town. One day, she decides that she needs to break free. The reasoning is not exactly clear as she stows away in the night, but it all comes spilling out as the novel progresses.

Stevie, short for Stephanie, and her sister Eleanor spend the summers of their youth with their aunt and uncle in a beautiful house on the Atlantic Ocean. As the girls grow older and a bit different, the carefree summers begin to change. One particular summer, Eleanor, who is blossoming into a beautiful young woman, captures the attention and interest of the girls’ uncle. The two begin spending a lot of time together, much of it in secret, and the conditions at the house begin to change drastically.

When Stevie discovers the two engaged in sexual relations, she is mortified and this discovery ultimately sets the stage for a horrible tragedy. The secrets of that summer and the unfinished pieces of the story never leave Stevie and follow her into adulthood.

The Secret of Lies skips from present to past, and back to present, and author Barbara Forte Abate does a nice job of keeping the time periods easily identifiable, and the characters are all developed very well. Stevie is likeable and interesting, which helps the novel move quickly. However, I did feel that the ending of the novel was a bit lackluster and that while Stevie did receive answers to her troubling questions, there never was an exact moment that clarified that she was ready to come to terms with her past.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Lauren Cannavino is a graduate student, freelance writer, wine lover, and avid reader. Random musings can be found over at www.goldiesays.com.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Barbara Forte Abate. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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SheKnows Book Club Pick: Sarah’s Key by Tatiana De Rosnay

[ 7 ] January 26, 2012
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Rating: +1 (from 1 vote)

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana De Rosnay is the January pick for the SheKnows Book Club!

Reviewed by Vera Pereskokova (Luxury Reading)

I’ve heard great things about Sarah’s Key by Tatiana De Rosnay ever since it was published in 2008 but never got around to reading it. I was thrilled to see it picked as the SheKnows Book Club selection for January and to finally experience this amazing yet heartbreaking story.

Sarah’s Key is a book of dueling stories – one of Sarah, a 10-year-old girl growing up in 1940’s Paris and another of Julia Jarmond, an American living in modern-day Paris – that come together in an unforgettable and haunting way.

Sarah Starzynski was born in France to Jewish parents. On the fateful day in July 1942, the family was rounded up by the French police along with thousands of other Jews and hoarded into Vel d’Hiv, an indoor sports stadium. Unaware of the permanence of the situation, Sarah locked her little brother in a hidden cupboard in their apartment and pocketed the key, promising to return for him as soon as possible.

Sixty years later, journalist Julia Jarmond is researching the Vel d’Hiv round up for an article commemorating the anniversary of the tragic event. Many of the people she speaks to know very little about Vel d’Hiv; others are embarrassed about the French involvement in the deportation of thousands of innocent Jewish families. What Julia does not expect is the strange reaction of her husband’s family to her questions and their mysterious connection to the Starzynski family.

I’ve read many books about the Holocaust but knew nothing about the fate of French Jews. Although Sarah’s Key is a work of fiction, De Rosnay based the book on the actual Vel d’Hiv round up that occurred on July 16 and 17, 1942. Sarah’s fictional trials could have easily been the reality for many children who were woken up from their beds, forced into inhumane conditions and eventually sent to their deaths. De Rosnay’s fluid writing style brings life to those terrible days in a story that will stay with you long after the final page.

Movie note: I rushed to see the movie after reading Sarah’s Key and was sad to see that it did not do justice to the book. Then again, do any movies ever do? The film version felt rushed and jumbled, and I was constantly filling in the missing pieces for my friends who have not read the book.

Rating: ★★★★★ 

This book was provided free of any obligation by St. Martin’s Press. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Guinevere, The Legend in Autumn by Persia Woolley

[ 4 ] January 23, 2012
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Rating: +2 (from 2 votes)

Reviewed by Jessa Larsen

Even as the powers of Camelot continue to grow, peace in Britain remains uncertain. With the quest for the Holy Grail, tensions have increased and the restless champions of the Round Table have begun to fade away. As a more volatile generation of new warriors begins to emerge, Guinevere quickly realizes that the greatest dangers to the crown lie not beyond the walls of Camelot but among those she loves the most.

When an undeniable spark ignites between Guinevere and Lancelot, their secret passion may prove to be Arthur’s undoing. With an unrelenting destiny bearing down upon her country and her king, Guinevere must draw upon her strong, fiery spirit for the courage to bring triumph out of tragedy.

Guinevere, The Legend in Autumn is the third and last in the Guinevere trilogy by Persia Woolley. We have seen Guinevere grow from a child into a young woman, and from a young woman into a fine queen. But even the queen is human and thus must deal with the ups and downs of life just like the rest of us. In this third installment we watch the unfolding of a relationship between Guinevere and Lancelot, Mordrid’s years in Arthur’s kingdom and the final show down between father and son. All the while, Guinevere must stand strong as a wife to her husband and a queen to her king and country.

I have always loved the mythology and legend of King Arthur and his men, but Persia Woolley’s portrayal of these people made me love them even more. Every character was so much more humanly relatable that I couldn’t help but love them, faults and all. I really felt for Guinevere as she was thrust into marriage and monarchy. All three books are must reads and will keep fans up long into the night.

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Check out our review of the other two books in the trilogy, Child of the Northern Spring and Queen of the Summer Stars

Jessa lives in Utah with her husband, 2 sons, 2 cats, and 2 dogs. She goes to school full time as an English major with a focus in creative writing. She likes anime and reads books and plays video games in her moments of spare time.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Sourcebooks Landmark. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Pharmacology by Christopher Herz

[ 6 ] January 20, 2012
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Rating: +3 (from 3 votes)

Reviewed by Jessi Buchmann

In early 90’s San Francisco, Sarah Striker is entering the liberal scene. Her main objective is to send money home to her sick ‘Pops’ for treating the cancer he acquired while taking depression medication. Sarah’s days are full of interesting stories about her thieving junkie roommates and her night adventures publishing an underground ‘zine’.

Her ‘zine’ begins to take on a new purpose when she gets a job with a pharmaceutical company and begins to exploit them to create diseases to treat with pre-manufactured drugs. Sarah’s story takes a turn when she begins to realize that she is close to becoming the victim and becomes more engrossed in this corporate world.

Pharmacology by Christopher Herz has elements of surprise and drama. There are points where the supporting characters are intriguing and yet, it lacks development; I didn’t have any strong feelings about or connections to the characters. While Herz touches on counter-cultural and interpersonal relationships, he could and should have written the main character as a man. I didn’t find any feminine qualities in Sarah nor was she all that interesting. She was more of a ‘normal’ person with crazy happenings around her.

The thoughts and flow of the story are at times random. There are several references to quotes from rap lyrics that do not flow with the main ideas. Likewise, Herz could benefit by listening to Word’s grammar advice regarding fragments as the writing was clipped and at times awkward. At a short 214 pages, the book could stand more character development and further research.

Pharmacology is not a read for everyone; its focus is a narrow group of readers. The novel takes you for an interesting ride but leaves out the soul of Herz’s purpose. The real surprise comes at the end of the novel and then lies flat. While I give Herz credit for attempting to write a female character, I would say this novel is unmemorable.

Rating: ★★½☆☆ 

Jessi Buchmann lives in Beaverton, Oregon and works as a Project Manager. When she is not reading she can be found: writing, painting or wreaking havoc on her house doing home repairs.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Balzer + Bray. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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