THE RAVEN'S HEAD by Karen Maitland

The Raven's Head is an atmospheric novel set in the Middle Ages. The story revolves around three very compelling main characters, flipping point of view back and forth between these characters from chapter to chapter.
It is done deftly, and the author manages to involve you emotionally with the plight of all three before eventually merging their tales in a dark and exciting climax.

I had never read anything by this author, but was intrigued by the storyline. After reading this, I would definitely like to read her other books, and would recommend this story especially to lovers of tales of the supernatural. That being said, certain aspects of this novel were a bit too dark for me.  There is a main storyline with children that I found very disturbing at times. It adds to the horror of the dark magic and I don't want to take anything away from the story, only that for me on a personal level, I found that I did not look forward to those particular chapters.

I received this as an ARC. The Raven's Head will be published in MARCH 2015!

The Girl at the Lion d'Or

From the back cover:
A beautifully controlled and powerful story of love and conscience, will and desire which begins when a mysterious young girl arrives to take up a post at the seedy Hotel du Lion d'Or in a small French town in the mid-1930s.

Sebastian Faulks is a master storyteller. What else can I say? The story was beautiful, and compelling.  The writing was perfect and lyrical. Reading his sentences was a pleasure.

Anne herself had little vanity about her body, though sometimes she felt a vague gratitude towards it for what it had taken her through. When she looked at her ankles and feet, so soft they seemed almost unused, or gazed in the mirror at her dark eyes, which were unlined and full of light, she wondered where she carried her experiences.  Perhaps they lay stored in microscopic cells in her blood, or perhaps they lay waiting to ambush her in her mind.  The body itself seemed full of health and latent energy; the physical contrasts of girl and woman, still not quite resolved, gave it charm.

I've read only one other novel by Sebastian Faulks.  Birdsong is also a beautifully written, and powerful story.  It is perhaps his most well known and appreciated novel, and though I loved it, I could quite possibly love this subtle story a bit more.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

Tana woke lying in a bathtub.  Her legs were drawn up, her cheek pressed against the cold metal of the faucet. A slow drip had soaked the fabric on her shoulder and wetted locks of her hair.  The rest of her, including her clothes, was still completely dry, which was kind of a relief.  Her neck felt stiff; her shoulders ached.  She looked up dazedly at the ceiling, at the blots of mold grown into Rorschach patterns. For a moment, she felt completely disoriented.  Then she scrambled up onto her knees, skin sliding on the enamel, and pushed aside the shower curtain.

This is how Holly Black's vampire novel begins. Her book is an original take on the whole YA vampire theme.  However, despite the interesting new world these vampires live in, one thing remains constant-when compared with other books in the vampire genre--there's an extremely attractive, powerful, vampire who falls in love with a girl. I thought I was really late in getting to this story but it turns out it was published just last September so I'm not that behind.

I happened on this one and had put it on my to-read list, and then promptly forgotten about it.  Until a new friend, upon discovering that we both read YA, loaned me her copy of Tithe by Holly Black.  I read that in a day, guiltily stealing any free time from my two small children, and then the follow up, Ironside.  These last two are about fairies not vampires, but same type of interesting alternate world, with a beautiful and brave Byronic hero who falls for a girl.  These things alone make for compulsive reads for me, but what sets Holly Black's writing apart and has made me love her books, is that her protagonists, at least in these 3 novels, are strong, fierce girls who are always the real hero in the story.  Not just because they do something to sacrifice themselves in some way, which they do, but they're smart. They are the ones that figure everything out and come up with the way to resolve whatever impossible predicament they find themselves in, and while it may seem predictable, I liked knowing that they were going to ultimately save themselves, not just by being brave but by being their smart, clever selves.

Recommended Reads: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, Tithe, and Ironside

Friday Book Beginnings

Friday Book Beginnings

Thanks to Rose City Reader who hosts this meme every Friday. Click here to go there: http://www.rosecityreader.com/

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
This is book 2 in the All Souls Trilogy

We arrived in an undignified heap of witch and vampire.

I just finished this book last night and haven't yet started something new. This was an enjoyable sequel to A Discovery of Witches, although there was a lot that didn't work for me and it seems I'm not the only one who had trouble with certain aspects of it. I read a whole lot of mixed reviews on Goodreads.  I will be putting up a review soon so I won't say too much more here.

Friday Book Beginnings

Thanks to Rose City Reader who hosts this meme every Friday. Click here to go there: http://www.rosecityreader.com/

Share the first sentence or sentences of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else.
Leave a link to your post. If you don't have a blog, but want to participate, please leave a comment with your Book Beginning.

"I first saw the house in the summer of my fifth birthday".

Title: Mariana
Author: Susanna Kearsley

From the back cover:

Julia Beckett believes in destiny.  Settling into her rustic new home, Julia encounters haunting remnants of a beautiful young woman who lived and loved there centuries ago. 
It seems Mariana has been waiting for Julia.

I literally just turned the final page of this book about 20 minutes ago.  And it has left me with quite a few questions.  I loved this book up until the very end.  I don't want to give anything away so I will be vague.  I wanted so much to believe the ending but the entire story just didn't convince me of it. It's a romantic story, dappled with some interesting bits of English history post Cromwell.  I recommend this book to anyone who finds the premise interesting:
A young London illustrator moves to the English countryside, and buys an old house that she has been drawn to all her life.  The past seems to be coming for her as she soon starts to have visions, travelling back in time as the reincarnation of Mariana.

I did truly enjoy this book and will go on reading other books by this author as I enjoy her style and find I can not put them down.  But I was just completely thrown by this ending, although I have to say, early on I wondered if it could be but then all of the action in the book convinced me that it could not be...I guess that is why the ending just didn't work for me.
Spoiler alert: Please don't read further if you haven't read this book and intend to.

I went back to re-read the scenes with Ian, and nothing, apart from his willingness to help her with her garden, convinced me that he was trying to mask something deeper.  He helps everyone with their gardens and seems to simply enjoy being outdoors.  The book of poems he borrows from Tom? His softening of his expression every time he speaks with Vivien could be just friendship but it seems the author was deliberately misleading us by throwing those details in.  And why does Julia feel nothing for him aside from a calmness in his presence.  Surely, something more could have hinted at the truth. And why did Geoffrey de Mornay have to be his exact likeness?  If anyone else has read this, I would love to hear your thoughts. 
 

Friday Book Beginnings

Friday Book Beginnings is a meme hosted by Rose City Reader. Go here to add your link and see what others are reading. http://www.rosecityreader.com/search/label/Book%20Beginnings

Title: The Winter Sea
Author: Susanna Kearsley

It wasn't chance.  There wasn't any part of it that happened just by chance.

I just finished reading this book a few days ago. It had been on my TBR list for at least a couple of years.  It drew my attention initially due to the historical setting which is Scotland right before the failed Jacobite uprising of 1708, which is apparently, according to the author, an often overlooked part of Jacobite history as it's eclipsed by the much more tragic Battle of Culloden in 1746.
I really enjoyed it and I have just ordered Mariana, which is another book by the same author.

Friday Book Beginnings

Friday Book Beginnings is a meme hosted by Rose City Reader. Go here to add your link and see what others are reading.  http://www.rosecityreader.com/search/label/Book%20Beginnings


Pride and Prejudice, again

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

The first line of my all-time favorite book.  I read it in my teens, and I loved it.  I have just re-read The Annotated Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen annotated and edited by David M. Shapard.  The annotations were extremely interesting and informative and though much of the explanations of certain customs and word usage of the period were no longer new to me as I've since read many novels that take place in the early 19th century, I still enjoyed reading them and did not skip over any of the annotations.

I didn't think it was possible to enjoy this book more the second time, but I actually did.  It is the only novel that I have ever read twice.  I have always thought that with all of the books out there to be read, I couldn't possibly find the time to read the same one twice.  But I am so happy that I did. I will probably go on to read it many more times now that I've realized that it gets even better.  I didn't realize how much humour was in the book the first time around because I was so busy deciphering the meaning of certain phrases.  But when the language is no longer unfamiliar, or seemingly awkward, this story flows like nothing else I've ever read.  I could go on and on lauding this book, but I won't.  I know this is a favorite of many so my adoration is nothing new.

Friday Book Beginnings

This Meme is hosted by A Few More Pages and will be up all week.
Post the first line or first few lines of your current read.

Title: Dragonfly in Amber
Author: Diana Gabaldon

"Roger Wakefield stood in the center of the room, feeling surrounded."


Oh, don't worry. He's not in danger. He's only surrounded by books.
So far, I'm enjoying Dragonfly in Amber, admittedly not as much as the first book in this series, Outlander, but nevertheless, it's very good.
Any fans of Outlander out there?

Reading Update

I have been completely negligent since January. My excuse is that I have an ancient laptop and despite a very, potentially fast Internet connection, getting online is similar to the olden days of dial-up, watching the little AOL man dashing in stages while you waited for that last bing-bing sound and lo! You were ONLINE! Only it's slower. Much slower. So I avoid turning the computer on, and I loathe to write here on my iPhone.
But it's my only option until I bite the bullet and get a new computer.
For the record, I don't know how to put titles in italics with this phone, so be forewarned: book titles will not be italicized.

I recently read Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I came across it by chance and loved it and went on to discover it has legions of fans. People are completely devoted to the main characters. Just google "James Fraser" or "Jaime and Claire". Lots of people speculating when a movie will come out and who will play the part of their favorite kilt-wearing, highland warrior James Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser and his beautiful, fiery, intelligent love, Claire.
I loved this time travelling story. And I couldn't wait to get my hands on the sequel, Dragonfly in Amber, but my local bookshop didn't have a copy so I ordered from the library and it came in a few days. I'm slowly making my way through it. It's very good but has not completely captured me and that could have something to do with 1 or 3 things. The first being that I have an idea of what's to come at tè end of the story and I'm loathe to see it happen, and also because I purchased The Wolf Gift, the new Ann Rice novel, and I couldn't have it in the house with me and not read it. I really truly enjoyed it but unfortunately it did not have the same mysterious effect on me as that of Interview with a Vampire and The Witching Hour. I read these books so very long ago that, possibly, this one is just as good, but that I have changed. Don't get me wrong, it's a great story and I recommend it highly. I loved so many things about it. But one particular important character was lacking for me and that's the wolf's love interest. I hesitate to write anything more because I really don't want my disappointment with this aspect of the novel to sway anyone else's take on it.
Despite that disappointment, I eagerly await a sequel. There's got to be one! It's Anne Rice after all.

In the midst of my reading Dragonfly in Amber, I overheard an interview on NPR with the Scottish author, Margot Livesey, who has written a new novel, The Flight of Gemma Hardy, that is a re-telling of sorts of Jane Eyre. The premise of the story, it's nod to Jane Eyre, and the connection to the author's own past, made this a 'must read immediately' for me. So, I ordered a copy at my local book shop. In the meantime, I read Eva Moves the Furniture, a book by the very same author, which I read in one day, and cried my eyes out at the end. A beautiful story it surely is but beware Faint of Heart! (or especially new mothers of very young children-or scratch that--mothers in general).

So, here I am having just finished The Wolf Gift, knowing I should get back to Jaime and Claire in Dragonfly in Amber, but with the story of Gemma Hardy calling to me from it's new spot on the shelf.

Udolfo, the Abbey, and the Affair

I can't believe it has been a month since I last posted.  I feel very neglectful.  It's not that I was posting everyday before, but at least once a week.  The good thing is that I have been doing a lot of reading.  I've read the last two Sookie Stackhouse southern vampire books and am eagerly anticipating the next one that is due out in May of 2012.  I've read two more in the Pink Carnation series, The Mischief of the Mistletoe, and The Orchid Affair.  In addition to these, I find myself still plugging along with The Mysteries of Udolpho. I am a fairly fast reader, but this one is taking me awhile.  That's not to say that I'm not enjoying it. 

The interesting thing about The Mysteries of Udolpho is that by chance, it is popping up everywhere in the other books that I'm reading.  I should mention that I have also started Northanger Abbey, in which Austen parodies Radcliffe's gothic novel.  This was completely unkown to me when I checked Northanger Abbey out of the library.  In addition to this, in the book I've just finished, The Orchid Affair, one of the novel's characters is reading Romance of the Forest, yet another gothic novel by Radcliffe.
As if these conincidences were not serendipitous enough, I did a quick check on the word serendipitous, only to find that it was first used by Horace Walpole, himself the author of what is considered the first gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto, which novel has been much on my mind of late due to the appearance of a character named Fouche' in The Orchid Affair, who was inspired by the real life Joseph Fouche', Duke of Otranto.  So very, very many connections.

An interesting fact regarding Ann Radcliffe: Despite extensive, and I mean extensive, descriptions of the French and Italian landscape in Udolpho, she had not yet travelled to the European continent. In fact, she never saw Italy in her lifetime. Her descriptive details of the landscape are, at times, overwhelming, but all the more impressive when considering they were inspired solely through her imagination and the artwork of Claude Lorrain and Salvator Rosa.

The Betrayal of the Blood Lily

The Betrayal of the Blood Lily is another fun installment in The Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig. Initially I found the books in this series a little silly and a bit predictable, but nevertheless, enjoyed reading them. However, over the course of the series, the books just keep getting better and I really look forward to each new installment.

Before beginning this one, I was not looking as forward to reading it mostly because I had read that it took place in India and I was reluctant for them to leave England.
But as it turns out, I loved the setting. It was romantic and exotic and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm inspired to find other novels set in early 19th century India. I think I'll give M.M Kaye a try as the main character mentions her name throughout the book.
Has anyone out there read any M.M Kaye novels? I would love to hear from you.

Friday Book Beginnings

From A Few More Pages:
How to participate: There's nothing quite like the anticipation that comes from cracking open a book for the first time! Share the first line (or two) of the book you are currently reading on your blog or in the comments. Include the title and the author so we know what you're reading. Then, if you would like, let us know what your first impressions were based on that first line, and let us know if you liked or did not like the sentence. The link-up will be at A Few More Pages every Friday and will be open for the entire week.

Title: The Betryal of the Blood Lily
Author: Lauren Willig

The food of love isn't music, it's grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches.

This is the sixth bok in the Pink Carnation Series.

From A Few More Pages:
How to participate: There's nothing quite like the anticipation that comes from cracking open a book for the first time! Share the first line (or two) of the book you are currently reading on your blog or in the comments. Include the title and the author so we know what you're reading. Then, if you would like, let us know what your first impressions were based on that first line, and let us know if you liked or did not like the sentence. The link-up will be at A Few More Pages every Friday and will be open for the entire week.

Title: The Mysteries of Udolpho
Author: Ann Radcliffe

"On the pleasant banks of the Garonne, in the province of Gascony, stood, in the year 1584, the chateau of Monsieur St.Aubert".

So far I am really enjoying this book. As you can maybe tell from the first line, the novel has fairly lengthy descriptions of scenery and setting which are setting up the atmosphere of the novel well, but I am in a hurry to get to the juicy parts of this gothic tale! I keep reminding myself to enjoy it all but I have been too eager to read this one. At 25 pages in, I'm getting glimpses of what's to come and I think I'm really going to enjoy it!

Friday Book Beginnings

From A Few More Pages:
How to participate: There's nothing quite like the anticipation that comes from cracking open a book for the first time! Share the first line (or two) of the book you are currently reading on your blog or in the comments. Include the title and the author so we know what you're reading. Then, if you would like, let us know what your first impressions were based on that first line, and let us know if you liked or did not like the sentence. The link-up will be at A Few More Pages every Friday and will be open for the entire week.

Title: The Keep
Author: Jennifer Egan

"The castle was falling apart, but at 2am under a useless moon, Danny couldn't see this."

I think it's a good start. I'm intrigued by old castles so right away I'm interested in hearing more about it.

The Seduction of the Crimson Rose by Lauren Willig

The fourth installment in the Pink Carnation series, The Seduction of the Crimson Rose, is by far my favorite. This one picks up the story of two characters which have previously played minor roles in the series, and the little we do know of them makes them, for the most part, un-likeable.

Mary Alsdale is beautiful, and beguiling. She's the sister that in the previous book, The Deception of the Emerald Ring, devised an advantageous elopement for herself, only to be thwarted by her younger sister (who mistakenly ends up in the elopement carriage and then has the fortunate accident of being seen there with Mary's fiancée, Geoffrey, Lord Pinchingdale, who does the honorable thing and marries the little sister) thus humiliating Mary in front of society.

Sebastian, Lord Vaughn, is first introduced to us in the second book as an English nobleman and a mysterious widower, recently back from the continent.  Whether he is the cruel and dangerous French spy, The Black Tulip, is the question everybody is asking. The Pink Carnation enlists Vaughn's help in recruiting Mary to unmask the Black Tulip, as the Tulip seems to have a penchant for dark haired, pale skinned beauties.

For the most part what ensues is hardly surprising, except for the twist at the end, but it's the story of these two, previously less-than-sympathetic characters which I enjoyed most. From reading the reviews it seems they are mixed. Some people really did not want a story about Lord Vaughn and Mary but for me they are by far the most interesting characters in the series and I would love to see more of them, particularly Lord Vaugh, in future books, although that doesn't seem likely as while each book takes up the thread of the adventures of the Pink Carnation, they each involve new characters which assist the Carnation.

The books in this series are pure fun, and I really look forward to the next one.

Everything Beautiful Began After by Simon Van Booy

Everything Beautiful Began After is an enthralling story of three young expats who meet while living in Athens, Greece.
George, an American from Kentucky, grew up in New England boarding schools virtually parentless. He's a lover of ancient languages and Bach.
Rebecca is an artist who was abandoned by her mother at a very young age, and never knew her father. She has come to Athens in order to escape her small, French town and discover herself and her talent.
Henry is an archaelogist from Wales who lives with immense sadness and guilt due to a horrible accident in his past.
This story deals with these 3 strangers and their journey together after meeting in this ancient city, and how their love and friendship deeply affect them and carry them through some very difficult times.
I thought this was a beautifully written tale of life and love and loss-- and love again. It came highly, highly recommended by the host of Bookfoolery and Babble.

Friday Book Beginnings

This Meme is hosted by A Few More Pages and will be up all week.
Post the first line or first few lines of your current read.

Sebastian, Lord Vaughn stood beside a rusting suit of armor, a dusty glass of claret in hand, wondering for the tenth time what evildemon had posessed him to accept an invitation to the house party Sibley Court.

Title: The Seduction of the Crimson Rose
Author: LaurenWillig

This is the fourth installment in the Pink Carnation series.  Judging from the first sentence, this one is going to be much the same as the previous three, which means it will be an entertaining, period mystery, with a good deal of misunderstandings and romance thrown in for fun.  And it is just what I need after the book I just finished this morning, Everything Beautiful Began After.  It seems I am, without planning it, alternating between the beautiful and heart-wrenching (The Invisible Bridge, Everything Beautiful Began After) and the mysteries/romance (The Deception of the Emerald Ring, and The Secret of the Crimson Rose), which is working out perfectly since the former 2 are beautiful, but I'm somewhat drained emotionally!

The Deception of the Emerald Ring by Lauren Willig

The Deception of the Emerald Ring is the third installment in the Pink Carnation series.  This is a fun series that follows Eloise Kelly, Harvard doctoral student, as she follows the elusive Pink Carnation through the 19th century. In the spirit of the Scarlet Pimpernel, the Carnation foils the French during their bloody revolution and, most recently, quashes an Irish rebellion.

This book is my favorite so far in the series.  I'm not sure if it's because the author is simply getting better, or if it's because I just particularly enjoyed the story of Lord Pinchingdale and Letty, or if it's because there was significantly less of the "his pants suddenly felt too tight" scenarios in this one, (in the past two books, these kinds of scenes were far too frequent).  Although this book is not entirely without them.  In fact, in a couple of scenes where the protagonists find themselves in fairly dire situations, the above mentioned Lord can't help finding himself getting aroused.  This seems silly and not to mention unlikely, BUT all the same, I obviously enjoy the series or I would not be on the third book and eagerly anticipating getting around to the fourth.  Fortunately for me, my library seems to have every book in the series.

This book was just what I needed after the beautiful, tear-jerker which was The Invisible Bridge.

The Invisible Bridge

The Invisible Bridge is so much more than a love story, so much more than a story of World War II. It is a beautiful, epic novel that seduces the reader early on with the introduction of two brothers, who share a deep bond, the good fortune of a scholarship to a Parisian university, Paris itself, the theatre, young love and then completely immerses the reader in this man's life. His hopes and dreams and desires became my own. When war broke out across Europe and he and his family suffer, I suffered with them and feared for their lives as though they were my family and friends, too.
This novel was always beautifully written even when it was recounting the experience of this man and his family as they struggle to survive one of the absolute darkest and most horrible times in the world's history. A very, very human portrait of love, loss, and survival in very inhumane times.

This is Julia Orringer's first novel.  I am in awe, and not a little bit envious, of her talent and her ability to conjure so well this time in the past, and to make these people absolutely come to life on the page.

Review: The Commoner by John Burnham Scwhartz

The Commoner is the story of a young woman, who is of no aristocratic blood, that marries the Crown Prince of Japan in 1959. This may seem mundane today.  After all, just within the last few years, we've watched the Prince of Spain marry a woman who had alreay been married once before, and most recently Prince William of England married Kate Middleton, and Prince Albert of Monaco, too, married what we refer to as a 'commoner'.  But in 1959 Japan, this was unprecedented.  It had never before occurred in their recorded history.
 
We meet Haruko, who is the well-educated, only child of a succesful sake brewing, businessman father, and mother. We come to know her as a young woman, we are with her when she first meets the Crown Prince during a tennis match they play against one another, we are with her when she becmes a newlywed, and eventually when she becomes Empress of Japan. Through it all she opens up her heart to the reader.

When the prince first meets Haruko, he is at once drawn to her and a kind of courtship ensues.  But when the prince sends his most trusted advisor to the home of her parents to ask for her hand, her beloved parents respectfully decline the great honor.  They realize only too well what their beloved daughter would be up against if she were to marry into the Imperial family and they fear for her and do not want to lose her, as they surely would.  For once married, she would not be allowed to visit her family. Their fears were, unfotunately, well-founded.  Once married she must navigate the treacherous depths of the Imperial Sea, which holds fast to tradition and does not welcome newcomers, let alone a common one. This book sweeps you into Haruko's life. It is beautifully written. I highly recommend it.

I'm rating this: The Result of a Master Storyteller