The Red Queen – Philippa Gregory

I was so excited when I received a copy of the 2nd installment of the Cousins War by Philippa Gregory in the mail.

The previous and first book The White Queen which was published last year was about Elizabeth Woodville.

The Red Queen is about the other queen – Margaret Beaufort, who wanted to be martyr of sorts like Joan of Arc growing up, a nun in the house of God, but all of that was changed forever as her life took a surprising turn.

At the age of 13, she is married off to a man twice her age, widowed after conceiving an heir with him.  The son, who after a year old is raised to become royalty.  She schemes and plots almost effortlessly for her son to become the rightful heir and King of England.

Through the schemes and plotting against the White Queen, the rumours of black magic, wars, and being widowed a second time, Margaret  is still as ruthless as she always has been, but, even more so when she meets and marries Lord Stanley who also has plans of his own to also align with Margaret’s.

Gambling everything she has, even with her son’s life on the line as he lies in exile on this one opportunity, will it work?!?

Conspiracy, passion and the cold-hearted ambition of a woman whose dreams of being what she wanted were shattered, only to be even more determined for her sons dreams to be recognized given the pride that comes from them and the mistakes in the past that have nearly cost them the throne.

Simon and Schuster

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Philippa’s Website

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The Madonnas of Echo Park – Brando Skyhorse

Echo Park, Los Angeles, California.  A place where immigrants melt into the population who are legal and not so legal who stand on the street corners waiting for work, when it does appear it is usually – cooking, cleaning, serving, and construction.

Without losing their identity while at the same time trying to capture their piece of the American Dream.

This is the story of Aurora, Felicia, her mom, A Day labourer, a religious hypocrite, and a bus driver.

All of these people meet one another during their times of crisis, their lives in upheaval, or on their way to another chapter of their lives.  Revelations, times of debating moralityvs. illegal status, violence and cultural ego’s divide each other.

An interesting look at a populated area that is changing with the times.  People are moving away to different, more affluent areas, other cultures are moving into the neighbourhood and changing the landscape.  What was once a latino neighbourhood is now multi-cultural, and things change within the confines of the neighbourhood.

Aurora in the end will finally discover her own history by encountering many if not all of these people, like puzzle pieces.  Once all of the pieces are collected, she will discover

The land that belongs to us again.

Simon and Schuster

Browse Inside

Reading Group Guide

White Cat – Holly Black

From the Publisher’s Website:

Cassel comes from a family of curse workers — people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they’re all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn’t got the magic touch, so he’s an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail — he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.

Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He’s noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he’s part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.

My Thoughts: I read the book up until page 104-105 and decided that this wasn’t going to be a book for me.  It did sound good, but for me the whole premise of having so-called “workers” that had magical powers who in reality were just a bunch of “con artists” didn’t really make sense to me.  I felt the book was tiring, it wasn’t keeping me interested, but decided to give it that best chance I could.  In the end I gave it the good fight, I wanted to like it, but, I didn’t.  Maybe it will be different for you.

Simon and Schuster – McElderry Books

The Forgotten Garden – Kate Morton

It is 1913 where a 5-year-old girl is abandoned on a ship travelling from England to Australia.  Her small suitcase is the only piece of her past that she has left.  That, and a beautiful book of fairy tales.

The dock master takes her home with him thinking that she will be claimed.  As the years go by, she is taken in by the dock master and his family.  As time goes on, she is part of the family, not knowing that she has a past that no one even herself knows about.  Until she turns 21, her father tells her the story of how she was found, she is none the less shocked, having the feeling she doesn’t know who she is, or thought she was rebels against her family, friends, and fiancée to find who she is and most importantly where she came from.

Years later, her quest to find her real identity brings her to the Cornish coast of England.  A manor that holds many secrets, yields more questions than answers.  Determined to find out, she must return to Australia first.  But plans are dashed, her daughter leaves her grand-daughter with her as she goes on her own quest.  The questions still remain, the urge subsides, then it is too late to return to England – she is ill with cancer.

After Nell’s death, her granddaughter comes across a notebook which she reads and realizes that she must continue the search to find out who her grandmother really was.  She feels as thought she needs to do it, not only for herself, but her grandmother as well.

This is not only a journey of self, one of mystery, one of long-lost secrets, intriguing secrets that once would ruin a families reputation, and of stance in the community.  A cabin by the sea, a mysterious garden that will hold more than just secrets…

I found that this was the perfect book for those who used to read fairy tales as a young child.   it is one of those books if you liked fairy tales as a youngster, this one has many twists and turns.   The mysteriousness of the plot, what is hidden, what is revealed.  I loved the intrigue behind the story, the characters ( I really despised one of them, you will see what I mean in the book if you read it) what will come of the secrets when revealed, will it change how people feel, will it change them forever?

Simon and Shuster – Atria

Reading Group Guide

Kate’s Website

Eternal On The Water – Joseph Monninger

What a breathtaking novel.

Have you ever just went on with what you were doing concentrating on that one task when all of a sudden you look around and focus in on one person of the opposite sex that you cannot take you eyes off of, like it will be the last thing that depends on the rest of your life?

Cobb was doing exactly that, minding his own business traveling to a river when he noticed Mary.  Not just any girl, as he found out later.  He found the love of his life.

Cobb is taking a short sabbatical from his teaching job at a prestigious private school to do two things.  Kayak the river, and follow the same route that Thoreau once did.  He is writing a paper on him.  He doesn’t expect anything that will change his life forever like it does this trip.

The novel starts as Cobb is being questioned by police after a kayak is found and his wife’s body is found not far from it.  The story starts as just about as ugly as it could get, being questioned by police about the accident that your wife was found dead from.  But this is far from the story.

His wife has a debilitating disease….

As Cobb talks about his whirlwind romance to one of the Rangers that is assisting in the investigation, you are lead as he leads the ranger into a deep and breadth of this love that not many experience in their lifetimes.  A love that was instantaneous, deep, powerful, demanding, happening so fast, that the planets with all of their separate actions were all in alignment at that one moment where sparks flew, where these two people were destined to meet at the beginning of a river trip separately, and at the end of it starting a new life together at the end of it.

The book ask some important questions, in between the universe all in alignment. If by some chance, you had found the love of your life, would it matter if they knew or if you knew that they were to become afflicted with a life threatening disease?  Would you cut your losses then, or would you stand by that person no matter what it took – money, faith, determination, no matter what the consequence? Would you want to know that they may have or not have this life threatening disease such as Huntington’s or ALS that will slowly take away everything that you can do today within a matter of years to leave you not even being able to think or do much for yourself?

Heartbreaking, emotional, full of that perfect life, even if it means giving something up that was aligned by the planets and the stars, by destiny if you will, will have you crying for them but also have you thinking about your own life.  Full of the emotional breadth and ripples as the river moves with its current.

Just Brilliant.

Simon and Schuster

Joseph’s Website

Reading Group Guide

Falling Apart In One Piece: An Optimist’s Journey Through The Hell of Divorce – Stacey Morrison

I do not usually read and review these kind of book I try to shy away from them since I have experienced this as well; or ones that tell of painful, hurtful life events such as divorce.  But, this is one I received, I prejudged it, thinking oh here we go when I shouldn’t have.

I was very pleasantly surprised.

Stacey has been together with her husband for the last 13 years.

All of a sudden one day, he says it is over like that.  Can you say huh? What just hit me in the back of the head?!?!  Shock and awe isn’t the only thing I thought, or you would think.

This is Stacey’s personal story through the hell of separation, divorce, and then some…

As she tells you the story of who she is (Editor in Chief) of Redbook; with one amazing resume.  Not only did she conquer her professional dreams, she’s conquered the grief, the heartbreak, among other incredible odds ( A house that will not stop filling up with water) and raising her son just about on her own from when he was just a few months old.

Now, you would think that all of this would have made her say uncle, (she did so much want to give in, but she felt it and think it) but what she shows us is that if you have the determination, the zeal, and the wherewithal, even in the craziness that happens; you can get through it and begin to live again.

We have all heard or maybe experienced the same emotions and experiences (separation / divorce), I know I did.  She gives really great advice for anyone that is going through their own hell of divorce.

At times, laugh out loud funny to gut wrenching, laying on the floor, bringing tears to your eyes.  Stacey had to make sense of what went wrong, what she was responsible for, begin her life again as a divorced, single mom of a son.

Just totally written from the heart, with smarts, don’t give up, but I really want to give up attitude that blossomed into a confident person once again.

Simon and Schuster

Almost Home – Pam Jenoff

Jordan works for the Department of Justice when all of a sudden she wants to move back to London, England.  Everyone who works with her wonders why all of a sudden this change of decision, since she has declined other transfers in the past and most recently last week.

As she steps off the plane, drops off her bag, and meets with her boss who she has had in the past, she is off to one of her old friends who she moved for.  Her friend has MS.

Later on that night at the US Ambassadors residence, she catches a glimpse of someone from her past.  The unmistakable blonde hair.  Her heart skips a beat, she runs from the residence trying to see him, but he is gone.  And so is the conversation she was starting to have with the Ambassador and his wife.

The blonde hair brings back memories of her past 10 years ago when she was here attending Cambridge University.  The memories flood her mind as well as her heart.  The love of her life tragically killed, the good times, the rowing on the Thames – all of it in one moment.  She thought she had buried them a long time ago.

But why was Chris trying to contact her, how did he know she was coming?

With Jordan’s current high importance assignment at work and the mysterious case of drowning of her boyfriend all of those years ago wasn’t as it seemed.  Chris has found evidence that he was killed – no water in his lungs to be found.  With the two cases pulling at her at once, her friend she came for.  She is in for a lot of work.

As she is running around town, with clues, and people either disappearing or coming up dead.  There is more to both cases.  Something nagging her about both.  Could they be connected? How could they be?

With the political intrigue, the personal feelings that affect both, the mysteries that are coming up, not to mention bombings, deaths that happen all to soon, give this book the feel of a fast paced international thriller that will appeal to both men and women.

The premise and background are done impeccably that would you swearing that this could be happening anywhere in the world in the present time is concise and accurate right down to the streets of London and beyond.

With the many twists and turns, twisting and turning at every minute, you will be unable to put it down for any length of time, until you are satisfied who was caught, how they are connected.

A definite page turner !

I will be posting a Q and A I recently had with Pam about the book tomorrow, so stay tuned !

Simon and Schuster / Washington Square Press

The Kitchen House – Kathleen Grissom

19th Century America, where slavery is still as big as ever.  A small irish girl recently orphaned comes off a boat destined to live as a slave on a tobacco plantation.

Taken in by a well to do family, the small irish girl lives with the black people who serve the owners.  She lives between 2 worlds – the big house where she works, the owner often away and his wife addicted to laudanum, who spends her days in her room despondent.

As the days turn into months and years; Lavinia grows to love her adopted family – working together, eating and sharing their lives.  With Belle teaching her the ropes, she knows there are secrets, things that aren’t talked about openly, but may know the past, and the actions of the owner; but say nothing.

As time goes on, the family changes – the owner dies, the mistress is not herself, even with frequent doses of opium.  Set off for Williamsburg, Lavinia begins her new adventure, she only wants to be back at Tall Oakes, be with her family, the ones that she loves and who love her back.

She ends up marrying the Colonel’s son Marshall.  As he takes over the plantation, he beings to drink, things start to fall apart, changing for the worse.

As Lavinia finds herself with child, she senses a changes in Marshall for the worse.  Drinking and raping women servants.

Outraged, but not being able to do or say anything about it, she herself takes to opium as a way to be able to deal with all that is going on around her.  Not realizing that by doing this, she becomes addicted, and is just as out of it as her mother in law is.

With all the situations that come to play in the novel, The Kitchen House is one of those stories you need to read, even though the situations may have very well happened in that time, it talks about the struggles on both sides whether you were white or black.  The sacrifices that were made, the amount of love these people had for one another, tells the true tale of the human heart no matter the colour of your skin.

The terrifying situations that happened, show us how determined that they were, of the human spirit, how much we can endure, if we only set our mind to it.

Simon and Schuster / Touchstone

Kathleen’s Website

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Reading Group Guide

The Lute Player – Norah Lofts

I had received this book before Christmas, and recently had just gotten around to reading it.  I just couldn’t for the life of me get into it.  I read about 100 pages in and decided to give up after contemplating for a day or two if I should give it up or not.  But I did give it up.

So, here is the publishers description of the book.  Possibly you will enjoy it more than I did.

One of the most renowned figures in medieval history, Richard the Lionhearted, inspired by a vision of the Holy Land, led his knights onto the battlefields of the Third Crusade. During the years of fighting and intrigue, Richard’s life was intertwined with the lives of two strong, vibrant, and drastically different women who loved him — Berengaria, princess of Navarre, and his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine. While his marriage to Berengaria was ill-fated, Eleanor loved her son with a frantic, possessive pride. But it is Blondel, the king’s lute player, who here steps forward from the shadows to tell this tale of romance, war, and betrayal.

In her trademark style, Norah Lofts paints a complex and human portrait of a legendary king.

Surprisingly enough, Norah first published this back in 1951.

Simon and Schuster – Touchstone

Gone – Lisa McMann

To tell the truth, I had to borrow the first book in the trilogy to be able to do this review.  So, this will be a refresher of the first 2 books and then my last thoughts.

Janine has been dreaming other peoples dreams since she was 8 years old.  Unknown to her, she is a dream catcher.  At first Janine was so afraid of what was happening to her, she thought she was crazy, but then noticed that when her classmates slept or was near a person who was dreaming she would dream the same dreams they would be having.

As time passes, she gets to know a boy who lives near her Caleb.  He was once the boy who was always in scraggly clothes, never seemed to fit in with anyone, and kept to himself.  One day, where Janine hears rumours about a new boy in the school.  It isn’t who anyone imagined – Caleb.

Once Janine and Caleb become friends there is a connection.  In fact, there was always one that has now frown into something else – quirky, personally, and professionally.  She begins to work with Caleb doing undercover work to bring down criminals in the town they live in.

Now, In Gone, Janine and Caleb are still together as a couple, working cases.  There is one thing different, remember the green notebook that she was uneasy with reading?  Well, she finally reads it she is shocked with what she finds.  Not only unexpected, but quite shocking.

Janine also finds out something else that is even more shocking.  Her mother is found outside of the house yelling, crying, something about someone in the hospital from her past…

Will Janine make the decisions that are right for her, or for all the people involved?

In my honest opinion, I had troubles with the first book Wake.  Since these books are intended for 14 yr old girls, I found a fair amount of sexual references that was quite shocking to me.  I did not feel good about it at all.  The 2nd book Fade was a bit better, with more of the issues at the fore front.  Still a bit on the heavy side for this age group.

In Gone, it was a strong book that stands up better than the first two in the trilogy.  There were some strong, dark situations that she had to make decisions for the rest of her life.

All in all I would have to say that I would pass on all three.

Lisa’s Website

Simon and Schuster / Simon Pulse

Women Are Crazy, Men Are Stupid: The Simple Truth To A Complicated Relationship – Howard J. Morris and Jenny Lee

Yes, we all said or thought it before right?  Our significant others can drive us crazy at times, the other times they can be just a tad stupid right?

How many times have you said I have had enough when attempting to get our points across to them when talking and it is just not getting through without yelling, screaming or even throwing that may or may not hit them or the wall, smashing into a million pieces or injuring them?

In this book from Howard and Jenny, who also live together in a committed relationship talk about.  De mystifying those stupid and crazy moments that we all have from time to time into something you both understand while instilling humour and personal reflections from their own relationship with each other.

I think in all fairness they tried to de mystify relationships with using their own relationship as examples was a poor choice.  Although, this book is laugh out loud funny, since they are both writers for television, but as they stated at the beginning of the book – that it will either spilt us up or bring us closer together.

Simon and Schuster / Simon Spotlight Entertainment

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The 13th Hour – Richard Doetsch

Nick Quinn and his wife Julia have been soul mates since high school.  In love from the day they met, their love grows stronger by the day, until the unspeakable happens – Julia is murdered in the garage where they live.

As Nick is brought down to the police station for questioning, he then learns that he is the primary suspect when something strange happens – a gentleman who is thought to be his attorney enters the room, hands him a watch that he is instructed to never lose, as well as a letter explaining what will happen.  What Nick doesn’t know is that the watch enables him to go back into time to change the events that surround his wife’s death, and whatever he does do, will change the time lines of many if not hundreds in the next 13 hours.

The twist of the whole thing is that he is going back in time, changing events as he knows it already happened. which, may have it own repercussions – changing the future, the events that happen, their lives forever.

I was so engrossed in this plot.  The idea of taking back and changing what has already happened is quite the novel idea.  I couldn’t put it down for a moment – even as my eyes closed while I laid in bed reading ( I have to admit, I had to go back in the  book to see what happened the next day to see what I skimmed over).

An original thinking on the premise of how a crime/thriller/adventure novel is written at least in my mind, he pulls it off with flair, intelligence, the plot twists and turns, the double crosses, as well as the cliff hangers, ultimately the cliffhanger of all cliffhanger that come to the end of the novel for the first time.

I really loved it and the concept he used.

Simon and Schuster

Richard’s Website

Leviathan – Scott Westerfield

First off, I just have to say this is a gorgeous cover with all of the texture and colour this is one of my favorites.

Just at the beginning of WWI, some nations have taken to steam-powered machines and some have taken to more animatistic made machines that they use for battles.

Aleksander Ferdinand has been kidnapped after his parents were killed by their own people.  There are only a few who are still faithful to Aleksander and his beliefs, and have taken precautions to keep him safe.

Deryn, a girl who is clambering at the bit to be able to become a pilot has disguised herself to try and join the British Air Service.  With her taking chances the way she is one thought came to me – will she be discovered? what will happen if she is?

With war starting, will both sides be able to reclaim or overcome the other side to get what they want?

I have to say, this is a great book for kids who in my case with my son is a reluctant reader, and when this book arrived he was actually interested in what it was all about.  It is also great for those exploring what genre’s of books they will ultimately want to read in adulthood to help them decide.

My son is reading this at school and at home, it is really holding his attention, and he is actually talking about what he thinks may happen in the chapters he hasn’t read.  Will Deryn be discovered, will the war change things that were once quiet and calm? What will really happen when the machines take over Europe, or when the Animals take over? The humour is great as well I find it is quite agreeable for kids.  I did hear my son chuckling at a few passages while he read quietly and then asked what part he was at, and once he told me I chuckled as well.

Like I mentioned before, the texturization of the dust cover as well as the full colour diagrams and illustrations in the novel make it quite unique and would be a keepsake just for that alone.

Scott’s Website

Simon and Schuster

206 Bones – Kathy Reichs

Forensic Anthropologists take what they see and what is around them in a crime scene as well as other places and interpret what happened when or who they came into contact with after the person has died.

Anything can be taken into account – things such as childhood illnesses and interpret the data to see if it is relevant to the case or not and into their deaths.

Temperance Brennan wakes in a dark, cold, musty smelling place.  Although it is the middle of winter in Montreal she is oblivious to where she is and how she had gotten there.  As her mind focuses on how she came to be there, there are cases that she has been working on that may or may not have relevance to the predicament she is in now.

As you may know Dr. Brennan from her television show, this is a different side to her you may not know about.

I love these sorts of books that keep you guessing throughout the story.  How interesting the characters they weave into the storyline to not only keep you guessing, but how intricate and complicated they can become.  From the front pages of national newspapers, to the headlines on the evening news, they keep you gripped to the book or reader wanting to know who did it and how they did it.

Kathy Reich’s is also behind the series “Bones” as a producer on television, whom they also use Brennan as well as the main character.

Temperance on T.V. and in her books have 2 different sides to them – I see her more flawed in the books as she is on the T.V. show, the detectives she is paired with are somewhat similar but in the same breath different as well where one wants to tell her his feelings for her and the other has had a relationship with her and wants to continue to do so.

Wonderful plot, writing, sequencing and definitely gives her presences to be a force to be reckoned with – not only in the book form but on the television screen as well.

Simon and Schuster

 

Hush Hush – Becca Fitzpatrick

I have to say, I keep getting more and more impressed with some of these vampire based books lately that I have had the privilege of being able to read.  I haven’t fully committed to being on the train yet that is leaving the station anytime soon, but, there is some really great writing out there.

Nora is one of those people who really don’t take chances.  She’s more of the type that plays it safe, responsible and smart to boot.

But things certainly changed when she met Patch…

She is paired with Patch in Biology class after her bff gets nailed for talking in sex Ed class, so after the football teacher changes the seating arrangement Nora has Patch sitting next to her while he’s more the back of the room type, being inconspicuous.

Every time she tries to stay away from him, she is around him – the restaurant, school, about town; she realizes there is something about him that is trouble and knows to stay away, but she can’t exactly stay away from him if he is around the same places she is right?

Weird things start to happen.  She feels as though there is someone in her house when she is all alone watching her, invading her thoughts, feeling of being followed in the mall.  Not only is she feeling uneasy of not only Patch but also of a new transfer from a private school that is interested in her – a bit too much.

Her thoughts are always on Patch.  Are her feelings real, or just a harmless teenage crush? And how far is she ready to go or how far is she ready to fall?

Here in Canada, Simon and Schuster had a sidewalk chalk artist depict the front cover of the book on the streets of Toronto during the launch

Amazing artistry isn’t it ! I was awed when I watched and viewed it come to life.

Becca’s Website

Hush Hush Book Website

Simon and Schuster

If you want to see pictures as well during the transformation of the block of sidewalk, then go to the Simon Says blog and check them out !