Review: Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly

Winner of the 2018 Newbery Medal

In one day, four lives weave together in unexpected ways.

Virgil Salinas is shy and kindhearted and feels out of place in his loud and boisterous family.

Valencia Somerset, who is deaf, is smart, brave, and secretly lonely, and loves everything about nature.

Kaori Tanaka is a self-proclaimed psychic, whose little sister Gen is always following her around.

And Chet Bullens wishes the weird kids would just act normal so that he can concentrate on basketball.

They aren’t friends -- at least not until Chet pulls a prank that traps Virgil and his pet guinea pig at the bottom of a well. This disaster leads Kaori, Gen, and Valencia on an epic quest to find the missing Virgil. Through luck, smarts, bravery, and a little help from the universe, a rescue is performed, a bully is put in his place, and friendship blooms.

 Hardcover, 320 pages

 Published March 14th 2017 

by Greenwillow Books

**** 1/2

"It's not being brave if you aren't scared."

Winner of the 2018 John Newbery Medal Hello, Universe was a fun read, it's also a book easily polished off in a day  - for an adult, maybe longer for a younger reader.  The story itself takes place over one afternoon.

The characters are quirky, each with social issues, some confident others not so much, one pretending to be.  Each has dreams and obstacles in the way. All of them very likable though Chet not so much.

I loved the writing, the witty one-liners, conversations that make no sense but that I totally got.  It was so easy to be walking along in the woods with this group of kids. Smile at their way of thinking and antics.

Hello, Universe is a story of friendship, bullying, standing up and searching.  It is part of my '2019 reading off my shelf' challenge.  As well as reading the Newbery Medal Winners.

Review: The Moon Sister by Lucinda Riley

Tiggy D’Aplièse spends her days experiencing the raw beauty of the Scottish Highlands doing a job she loves at a deer sanctuary. But when the sanctuary is forced to close, she is offered a job as a wildlife consultant on the vast and isolated estate of the elusive and troubled laird, Charlie Kinnaird. She has no idea that the move will not only irrevocably alter her future, but also bring her face-to-face with her past.

 At the estate, she meets Chilly, an elderly Romani man who fled from Spain seventy years before. He tells her that not only does she possess a sixth sense passed down from her ancestors, but it was foretold long ago that he would be the one to send her back home…

In 1912, in the poor Romani community outside the city walls of Granada, Lucía Amaya-Albaycin is born. Destined to be the greatest flamenco dancer of her generation—and named La Candela, due to the inner flame that burns through her when she dances— Lucía is whisked away by her ambitious and talented guitarist father at the tender age of ten to dance in the flamenco bars of Barcelona. Her mother is devastated by the loss of her daughter and as civil war threatens in Spain, tragedy strikes the rest of her family. Now in Madrid, Lucía and her troupe of dancers are forced to flee for their lives, their journey taking them far across the water to South America and eventually, to North America and New York—Lucía’s long-held dream. But to pursue it, she must choose between her passion for her career and the man she adores.

Featuring Lucinda Riley’s “addictive storytelling with a moving, emotional heart” (Dinah Jeffries), THE MOON SISTER follows these two women bound across time and distance on their journey to discover their true futures—but at the risk of potentially losing the men they had hoped to build futures with.

Kindle, 533 pages

 Published February 19th, 2019

by Atria Books

**** 1/2

The Seven Sisters series is a favorite and one I have kept up to date on. One of the things I have really enjoyed is the different locations of the past storylines. We’ve been to Brazil, Norway, England, Australia and with The Moon Sister, Spain.

The Moon Sister isn’t a small book, coming in at 533 pages and Riley tells a great story. As with the other books she shows her uniqueness in the plots (both past and present) with interesting characters and just enough hints to anticipate the next book.

The blurb does a great job of outlining the story, thankfully I rarely read the whole blurb as I find it sometimes it gives too much of the story away - like it does here. I went into this one blind because I knew I’d be in for a treat. The Moon Sister was a wonderful ride, the historical aspect in Spain with its gypsy/flamenco dancing community was captivating. The author has a knack for creating both likable and unlikable characters.

The Moon Sister (as are the other books) is a journey of self-discovery with some mystery and a touch of romance. While this book could work as a stand-alone I recommend reading the whole series.

Review: Brandon by Tony Riches

From the author of the international bestselling Tudor Trilogy comes a true story of adventure, courtly love, and chivalric loyalty. 

Handsome, charismatic and a champion jouster, Sir Charles Brandon is the epitome of a Tudor Knight. A favourite of King Henry VIII, Brandon has a secret. He has fallen in love with Henry’s sister, Mary Tudor, the beautiful widowed Queen of France, and risks everything to marry her without the King’s consent.

 Brandon becomes Duke of Suffolk, but his loyalty is tested fighting Henry’s wars in France. Mary’s public support for Queen Catherine of Aragon brings Brandon into dangerous conflict with the ambitious Boleyn family and the king’s new right-hand man, Thomas Cromwell. 

Torn between duty to his family and loyalty to the king, Brandon faces an impossible decision: can he accept Anne Boleyn as his new queen?

Publication Date: December 3, 2018

Preseli Press

eBook; ASIN: B07L3YGBWJ

Genre: Historical/Tudor/Biographical

****

It’s such a refreshing treating reading a Tudor era book without good old Henry VIII playing center stage. That being said Charles Brandon is a close friend and confidante so his life revolves around the King but here Brandon’s life is vividly portrayed. 

This is my second book by Tony Riches, Jasper being my first, and again it’s evident that he knows his stuff. His attention to detail shows his research and passion for the time period. I knew very little about the life of Charles Brandon and was thoroughly entertained and educated, not only on Brandon's life but with Court, politics and jousting.

There is a big space of time that is cover in this book the pacing wasn’t rushed, I found it to be well written definitely an author I recommend and will continue to read more of.

Available on Amazon

About the Author

Tony Riches is a full-time writer and lives with his wife in Pembrokeshire, West Wales. After several successful non-fiction books, Tony turned to novel writing and wrote ‘Queen Sacrifice’, set in 10th century Wales, followed by ‘The Shell’, a thriller set in present-day Kenya.

A specialist in the history of the early Tudors, he is best known for his Tudor Trilogy. Tony’s other international bestsellers include ‘Warwick ~ The Man Behind the Wars of the Roses’ and ‘The Secret Diary of Eleanor Cobham’.

For more information please visit Tony’s website and his blog The Writing Desk.

He can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Review: At the Mountain's Edge by Genevieve Graham

From bestselling author, Genevieve Graham comes a sweeping new historical novel of love, tragedy, and redemption set during the height of the Klondike Gold Rush.

In 1897, the discovery of gold in the desolate reaches of the Yukon has the world abuzz with excitement, and thousands of prospectors swarm to the north seeking riches the likes of which have never been seen before.

For Liza Peterson and her family, the gold rush is a chance for them to make a fortune by moving their general store business from Vancouver to Dawson City, the only established town in the Yukon. For Constable Ben Turner, a recent recruit of the North-West Mounted Police, upholding the law in a place overrun with guns, liquor, prostitutes, and thieves is an opportunity to escape a dark past and become the man of integrity he has always wanted to be. But the long, difficult journey over icy mountain passes and whitewater rapids is much more treacherous than Liza or Ben imagined, and neither is completely prepared for the forbidding north.

As Liza’s family nears the mountain’s peak, a catastrophe strikes with fatal consequences, and not even the NWMP can help. Alone and desperate, Liza finally reaches Dawson City, only to find herself in a different kind of peril. Meanwhile, Ben, wracked with guilt over the accident on the trail, sees the chance to make things right. But just as love begins to grow, new dangers arise, threatening to separate the couple forever.

Inspired by history as rich as the Klondike’s gold, At the Mountain’s Edge is an epic tale of romance and adventure about two people who must let go of the past not only to be together but also to survive.

Paperback, 368 pages

Expected publication: April 2nd, 2019

by Simon & Schuster 

****

Genevieve Graham is one of my go-to authors for Canadian historical fiction. Her previous 3 books take place in the East coast of Canada, with At The Mountain's Edge she took me clear across the country to the Yukon during the Gold Rush.

Told from 2 different pov’s, which isn’t unusual for her books, I was treated to both sides of the law during the mad frenzy to strike it rich. I loved learning about the journey, in 1897, to reach the Klondike. It was harsh, cold and I can totally see the struggles they had to endure when in reality I’m sure they thought it would be an easy trek in the bush. Liza is taken on a journey she doesn't want but really isn't given a choice in the matter.  Ben wants to escape his past only to realize he can't run from it.

The early years of the North West Mounties, later to become the RCMP, was interesting to read about. The author notes always fascinate me, it’s where the author tells her inspiration, what’s real and the research used. Drawing on documentation from those years Graham has woven a tale of adventure, survival and discovering one's self. 

My thanks to Simon & Schuster for an ARC in exchange for honest review.

Audio Review: Becoming Mrs. Lewis: The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C. S. Lewis by Patti Callahan

In a most improbable friendship, she found love. In a world where women were silenced, she found her voice.

From New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan comes an exquisite novel of Joy Davidman, the woman C. S. Lewis called “my whole world.” When poet and writer Joy Davidman began writing letters to C. S. Lewis—known as Jack—she was looking for spiritual answers, not love. Love, after all, wasn’t holding together her crumbling marriage. Everything about New Yorker Joy seemed ill-matched for an Oxford don and the beloved writer of Narnia, yet their minds bonded over their letters. Embarking on the adventure of her life, Joy traveled from America to England and back again, facing heartbreak and poverty, discovering friendship and faith, and against all odds, finding a love that even the threat of death couldn’t destroy.

In this masterful exploration of one of the greatest love stories of modern times, we meet a brilliant writer, a fiercely independent mother, and a passionate woman who changed the life of this respected author and inspired books that still enchant us and change us. Joy lived at a time when women weren’t meant to have a voice—and yet her love for Jack gave them both voices they didn’t know they had.

At once a fascinating historical novel and a glimpse into a writer’s life, Becoming Mrs. Lewis is above all a love story—a love of literature and ideas and a love between a husband and wife that, in the end, was not impossible at all.

Kindle Edition, 432 pages

Published October 2nd 2018

by Thomas Nelson

****

Becoming Mrs. Lewis was released last October, I’ve heard nothing but good things about it but waited until the initial hype was over and grabbed the audiobook (via Scribd).

I know very little about the life of CS Lewis and less than that about his wife Joy. Told from Joy’s point of view, which I love in audio format, I was quickly immersed in her story.

There are many layers here, Becoming Mrs. Lewis isn’t just about her relationship with Jack (though it does play center stage) but it’s Joy’s journey of self-discovery, coming to terms with a marriage that wasn’t working, her writing career and spiritual matters.

This is my first time reading a Patti Callahan book, I appreciated the amount of research that was undertaken, the time period was vivid, the characters were flawed and a few times unlikable but authentic. Definitely an author I will be reading more of.

Audio Review: Claiming My Place By Planaria Price with Helen Reichmann West

A Junior Library Guild selection 

Claiming My Place is the true story of a young Jewish woman who survived the Holocaust by escaping to Nazi Germany and hiding in plain sight. 

Meet Gucia Gomolinska: smart, determined, independent, and steadfast in the face of injustice. A Jew growing up in predominantly Catholic Poland during the 1920s and ’30s, Gucia studies hard, makes friends, falls in love, and dreams of a bright future. Her world is turned upside down when Nazis invade Poland and establish the first Jewish ghetto of World War II in her town of Piotrkow Trybunalski. As the war escalates, Gucia and her family, friends, and neighbors suffer starvation, disease, and worse. She knows her blond hair and fair skin give her an advantage, and eventually she faces a harrowing choice: risk either the uncertain horrors of deportation to a concentration camp, or certain death if she is caught resisting. She decides to hide her identity as a Jew and adopts the gentile name Danuta Barbara Tanska. Barbara, nicknamed Basia, leaves behind everything and everyone she has ever known in order to claim a new life for herself. 

Writing in the first person, author Planaria Price brings the immediacy of Barbara’s voice to this true account of a young woman whose unlikely survival hinges upon the same determination and defiant spirit already evident in the six-year-old girl we meet as this story begins. The final portion of this narrative, written by Barbara’s daughter, Helen Reichmann West, completes Barbara’s journey from her immigration to America until her natural, timely death. Includes maps and photographs.

Publication Date: March 13, 2018

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Hardcover, eBook, AudioBook

Genre: YA/NF/History/Holocaust/WWII

Gucia grows up during the 1920-30s in Poland and this YA memoir tells her story as Hitler and his party rise to power. We know the horrible things that happen to Jews and her circle is not immune.

 I went the audio route and am glad I did. It was an enjoyable story (though that does sound kinda horrible to say), but told in the first person it was like she was telling me her story. What a story it was, she does not hold back when describing the years as Hilter rises in power and its impact on her family and friends. Hiding in plain sight is what saved her, all that she went through made this for a gripping story.

 

With attention to detail Claiming My Place was an addictive read, I highly recommend the audio version - available both via Audible and Scribd.

Amazon | Barnes and Noble

After graduating from Berkeley and earning a Master's Degree in English Literature from UCLA, Planaria Price began her career teaching English to adult immigrants in Los Angeles. She has written several textbooks for University of Michigan Press and has lectured at over 75 conferences. In addition to her passion for teaching and writing, Planaria has worked with her husband to save and restore over 30 Victorian and Craftsman homes in her historic Los Angeles neighborhood. Claiming My Place is her first book for young adults. For more information, please visit Planaria's website at www.planariaprice.com.

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour, we will be giving away a signed copy of CLAIMING MY PLACE! To enter, please use the Gleam form below. Giveaway Rules – Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on March 13th. You must be 18 or older to enter. – Giveaway is open to the US only. – Only one entry per household. – All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspicion of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion. – The winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

Claiming My Place Tour

Trailer Reveal: The Lost History of Dreams by Kris Walherr

The Lost History of Dreams by Kris Waldherr

Publication Date: April 9, 2019

Atria Books

Hardcover & eBook; 320 Pages

Genre: Historical/Gothic/Mystery

A post-mortem photographer unearths dark secrets of the past that may hold the key to his future, in this captivating debut novel in the gothic tradition of Wuthering Heights and The Thirteenth Tale.

 All love stories are ghost stories in disguise.

When famed Byronesque poet Hugh de Bonne is discovered dead of a heart attack in his bath one morning, his cousin Robert Highstead, a historian turned post-mortem photographer, is charged with a simple task: transport Hugh’s remains for burial in a chapel. This chapel, a stained glass folly set on the moors of Shropshire, was built by de Bonne sixteen years earlier to house the remains of his beloved wife and muse, Ada. Since then, the chapel has been locked and abandoned, a pilgrimage site for the rabid fans of de Bonne’s last book, The Lost History of Dreams.

However, Ada’s grief-stricken niece refuses to open the glass chapel for Robert unless he agrees to her bargain: before he can lay Hugh to rest, Robert must record Isabelle’s story of Ada and Hugh’s ill-fated marriage over the course of five nights. As the mystery of Ada and Hugh’s relationship unfolds, so does the secret behind Robert’s own marriage—including that of his fragile wife, Sida, who has not been the same since the tragic accident three years ago, and the origins of his own morbid profession that has him seeing things he shouldn’t—things from beyond the grave.

Kris Waldherr effortlessly spins a sweeping and atmospheric gothic mystery about love and loss that blurs the line between the past and the present, truth and fiction, and ultimately, life and death.

Here is the exclusive Book Trailer...

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Books-a-Million | IndieBound

About the Author

Kris Waldherr is an award-winning author, illustrator, and designer. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society, and her fiction has been awarded with fellowships by the Virginia Center of the Creative Arts and a reading grant by Poets & Writers. Kris Waldherr works and lives in Brooklyn in a Victorian-era house with her husband, the anthropologist-curator Thomas Ross Miller, and their young daughter.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | BookBub

Giveaway

Kris is hosting a The Lost History of Dreams giveaway worth $220! The gift package includes a Campo Marzio pen gift box with calligraphy nibs and ink, a handcrafted Lover's Eye pendant, bookmark and bookplate, and a signed copy of The Lost History of Dreams.

Learn more at http://www.losthistorybook.com/sweepstake.html.

Review: American Princess: A Novel of First Daughter Alice Roosevelt by Stephanie Marie Thornton

A sweeping novel from renowned author Stephanie Marie Thornton...

Alice may be the president's daughter, but she's nobody's darling. As bold as her signature color Alice Blue, the gum-chewing, cigarette-smoking, poker-playing First Daughter discovers that the only way for a woman to stand out in Washington is to make waves--oceans of them. With the canny sophistication of the savviest politician on the Hill, Alice uses her celebrity to her advantage, testing the limits of her power and the seductive thrill of political entanglements.

But Washington, DC is rife with heartaches and betrayals, and when Alice falls hard for a smooth-talking congressman it will take everything this rebel has to emerge triumphant and claim her place as an American icon. As Alice soldiers through the devastation of two world wars and brazens out a cutting feud with her famous Roosevelt cousins, it's no wonder everyone in the capital refers to her as the Other Washington Monument--and Alice intends to outlast them all.

Kindle, 448 pages

 Expected publication: March 12th 2019

by Berkley Books

****

Stephanie Thornton is another go to author for me. Her books are rich in detail showing her passion for the story and the enormous amount of research involved.

I knew nothing about Alice Roosevelt and this book showed her to be a woman ahead of her time. Spanning her life she was a force to be reckoned with, she did things her way whether they made sense or not. I loved her spunky attitude, fierce loyalty and determination with no qualms about taking a stand. But if you got on her bad side, she didn’t keep that a secret either.

Alice is only 17 when introduced here with the author drawing from historical events and actual documention. American Princess is a fascinating story of the life of Alice Roosevelt, her crazy escapades both at home and abroad made for an entertaining read. Definitely a book and author I highly recommend.

Audio Review: In Another Time by Jillian Cantor

A sweeping historical novel that spans Germany, England, and the United States and follows a young couple torn apart by circumstance leading up to World War II—and the family secret that may prove to be the means for survival.

 Love brought them together. But only time can save them… 

1931, Germany. Bookshop owner Max Beissinger meets Hanna Ginsberg, a budding concert violinist, and immediately he feels a powerful chemistry between them. It isn’t long before they fall in love and begin making plans for the future. As their love affair unfolds over the next five years, the climate drastically changes in Germany as Hitler comes to power. Their love is tested with the new landscape and the realities of war, not the least of which is that Hanna is Jewish and Max is not. But unbeknownst to Hanna is the fact that Max has a secret, which causes him to leave for months at a time—a secret that Max is convinced will help him save Hanna if Germany becomes too dangerous for her because of her religion.

In 1946, Hanna Ginsberg awakens in a field outside of Berlin. Disoriented and afraid, she has no memory of the past ten years and no idea what has happened to Max. With no information as to Max’s whereabouts—or if he is even still alive—she decides to move to London to live with her sister while she gets her bearings. Even without an orchestra to play in, she throws herself completely into her music to keep alive her lifelong dream of becoming a concert violinist. But the music also serves as a balm to heal her deeply wounded heart and she eventually gets the opening she long hoped for. Even so, as the days, months, and years pass, taking her from London to Paris to Vienna to America, she continues to be haunted by her forgotten past, and the fate of the only man she has ever loved and cannot forget.

Told in alternating viewpoints—Max in the years leading up to WWII, and Hanna in the ten years after—In Another Time is a beautiful novel about love and survival, passion and music, across time and continents.

Audiobook, 8 hours 47 minutes

Published March 5th, 2019

by Harper Perennial

****

Romance novels are not my thing but a good love story packed full of history, with a unique plot is right up my alley. In Another Time is that kind of story.

This book was an audio read for me. The story alternated between Max and Hanna and I loved the use of two distinct voices, one male and one female - a female trying to imitate a male voice can be awkward and distracting. The story also alternated between time periods giving me a glimpse of both pre and post war eras. I’ve read my fair share of WW2 books but rarely have I read any that actually takes place in Germany itself.

German is changing so much during the 1930s, I was drawn in and captivated by this story. In Another Time is a mysterious story of survival, love, and music spanning across time. Jillian Cantor is a new author for me and definitely one I will read more of.

Cover Reveal: Shakespeare's Witch by Samantha Grosser

Shakespeare's Witch by Samantha Grosser

Publication Date: March 20, 2019

Sam Grosser Books

Genre: Historical Fiction

Love, Witchcraft, Sorcery, Madness. A fortune told …

When Sarah Stone foresees Will Shakespeare’s latest play has opened doors to evil, she begs the playwright to abandon it. But Will refuses, aware the play is one of his best. And so rehearsals for Macbeth begin.

Forbidden desires …

After her vision, Sarah fears for her life – she has never known the shewstone to lie, and she turns to her brother Tom for comfort. A strange darkness seems to haunt the playhouse, and when Tom sets out to seduce John Upton, the boy actor who plays Lady Macbeth, the boy sees the hand of witchcraft in his own forbidden desires for men. Then Sarah weaves a spell to win the love of the new lead actor, and John, terrified for the safety of his soul, begins to make his accusations.

The Spirits have spoken … As rehearsals continue, Sarah and Tom must struggle to convince John he is mistaken and that his sins are his own – their lives and the fortune of the play are at stake. But the Spirits have spoken – will the fate that Sarah foresaw come to pass or is their destiny their own to decide?

Set against the first production of Macbeth in 1606, Shakespeare’s Witch is a seductive tale of the origins of the curse of the Scottish Play.

Available for Pre-Order on Amazon US and Amazon UK

About the Author

Historical fiction author Samantha Grosser originally hails from England, but now lives on the sunny Northern Beaches of Sydney with her husband, son and a very small dog called Livvy. Combining a lifelong love of history with a compulsion to write that dates from childhood, Samantha is now bringing her passion for telling compelling stories to the world. Samantha has an Honours Degree in English Literature and taught English for many years in Asia and Australia. She is the author of wartime dramas Another Time and Place and The Officer’s Affair, and The King James Men, set during the turbulent early years of 17th Century.

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Cover Reveal Schedule

Monday, March 4 Passages to the Past CelticLady's Reviews Tuesday, March 5 Amy's Booket List Donna's Book Blog For the Sake of Good Taste Wednesday, March 6 A Book Geek Coffee and Ink Clarissa Reads it All Thursday, March 7 Hisdoryan Chicks, Rogues, and Scandals So Many Books, So Little Time Friday, March 8 Pursuing Stacie Just One More Chapter To Read, Or Not to Read