The Making of a Duchess by Shana Galen

The Making of a Duchess is set during a fascinating period of history, the French Revolution, and the period shortly thereafter. I was captured by the start of this novel with thirteen-year old Julien Harcourt, duc de Valere, trying to escape with his life from a mob of peasants. The novel then flash forwards towards the future when an older Julien Harcourt is trying desperately to find his missing brothers in Napoleon ruled France.

Julien’s life is complicated when the lovely Serafina, another French aristocratic refuge arrives in England from Italy. Serafina is lovely, and a woman that Julien’s mother would love him to marry. Little does he know that Serafina is really Sarah Smith, a governess turned spy, who is trying to determine whether Julien is a French traitor.

I loved the two main characters and really enjoyed the setting. The adventure was very exciting and I couldn’t wait to see how it all ended. I read this book easily in a day. Overall, The Making of a Duchess was a highly enjoyable and exciting romance novel. I can’t wait to read the next two books in the series!

The book also allowed my husband and me to debate the French Revolution. We both decided it would be a good idea to read A Tale of Two Cities again one of these days.

Book Source: Advance Review Copy from Sourcebooks. Thank-you!

Sweet Savage Love by Rosemary Rogers

There is nothing I like more when I feel ill then to curl up to a romance novel. That’s why I found myself pulling Sweet Savage Love out of my pile of books back in April during the height of my morning sickness woes.

Sweet Savage Love is the story of the beautiful daughter of a U.S. Senator who was raised by her in-laws in France named Ginny Brandon. She journeys to America to be with her father and his new wife. Used to a fine style of living, Ginny soon finds herself on a wagon train west with her stepmother guarded by the ruggedly handsome Steve Morgan. Much adventure ensues.

Sweet Savage Love is a romance in the old school. In that there are scenes of violence towards women and the type of romance that repels me . . . if you’ve read romance in the past, you know the type I mean. Where the woman says “no!,” but the man forces her and see finds see likes it. After reading a scene of this, I checked the copyright and sure enough this book was written in 1974. I do not think this is “romantic” and I am glad more modern romances do not use this technique.

While I disliked the many of the more intimate romance scenes, I found myself unable to put the book down. Ginny and Steve had a very romantic chemistry that was great to read. I also really enjoyed the historical content of the book as much of it is set during a very interesting part of Mexico’s history that I knew nothing about.

Overall, it was a good book . . . but only if you could ignore the sexist old-school romance scenes.

Book Source: I bought this as a garage sale last summer.

A Cottage by the Sea by Ciji Ware

Blythe Barton Stowe has just endured a terrible Hollywood divorce, made more terrible by the fact that her famous director husband cheated on her with her sister Ellie while she tended to their dying grandmother back in Wyoming. Determined to put the past behind her, Blythe travels to Cornwall to find out if she is connected to the past of a Blythe-Trevelyans manor home, which is currently owned by Luke Teague. Once at the manor house, Blythe finds herself attracted to Luke and also experiencing strange flashes back into the past of her erstwhile ancestor, Blythe Barton.

I really enjoyed A Cottage by the Sea. The novel was a thoroughly modern story with a historical fiction twist. It was different from most books I’ve read and I loved the difference. I also loved the many references to one of my favorite authors, Daphne Du Maurier, and many of her classic works. The only one I haven’t read yet that was mentioned is Hungry Hill. It sitting sadly on my shelf, waiting to be lined up in my reading cue! Overall, I had a very hard time putting the book down and found myself staying up late into the night to see what would happen next in both the modern and historical stories. I loved this book and highly recommend it!

Book Source: Advance Review Copy from Sourcebooks. Thank-you!

Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner

Little Earthquakes was the April selection of the FLICKS Book and Movie Club. Sadly I was down and out with morning sickness and was unable to attend the meeting. Jennifer Weiner is one of my favorite contemporary authors. Her heroines are real people about my own age that have their flaws, but are also very funny.

I first read Little Earthquakes five years ago when I was suffering morning sickness while pregnant with my oldest son Kile. How did it measure up this time when I read it with morning sickness with my third unborn child? I feel I loved it even more and got so much more out of it being a mother of two now. It was great reading about other women’s struggles with raising their children and trying to find the right balance between work and family.

For a brief summary, Little Earthquakes is the story of four different mothers living in Philadelphia. Becky is an overweight chef that is married to a fantastic doctor, but has major problems with her mother-in-law. Ayinde is an NBA wife that soon finds herself embroiled in a scandal. Kelly is very perky and seems to have life perfectly planned out or does she? These three meet at a prenatal yoga class and soon become fast friends. The outside of the story is Lia, a woman with a tragic past that soon befriends them all.

The only negative I had was that most of these ladies were very well off financially. It would be really great to read a book about ladies that are more middle of the road financially and more like myself and my friends . . . maybe I need to write such a book! I also wasn’t keen on the Lia story line and would have rather had the book focus on the other trio of friends. Overall though, I really enjoyed this book!

I’m still slowly, but surely catching up with old book reviews while also trying to keep up with my new book reviews. Please bear with me!

Book Source: The Kewaunee Public Library

Giveaway and Review: Jane Eyre’s Daughter by Elizabeth Newark

Jane Eyre’s Daughter is a sequel to one of my favorite novels of all time, Jane Eyre. The heroine of this book is the second child of Rochester and Jane, Janet Rochester. While Janet idolizes her father, she shares a cool relationship with her mother Jane. When she is sixteen years old, Rochester, Jane, and Oliver (Janet’s older brother) set off on a trip around the world, leaving Janet at a boarding school in London. Janet is also in the care of Rochester’s old friend Colonel Dent. While staying with him at his manor Highcrest, Janet uncovers many mysteries that seem to parallel her mother’s stay at Thornfield. One of the secrets is who exactly is Colonel Dent’s secretary, Roderick Landless? Landless looks like a younger version of Janet’s father and his past is a mystery. Janet finds herself torn between her feelings for Roderick and for Sir Hugo Calendar, the new tenant of Thornfield.

I enjoyed the gothic mysteries of the novel, and really liked Janet Rochester as the heroine. The romance between Roderick and Janet is intriguing. I found myself unable to put the book down as I really wanted to solve the mysteries and see the romance through!

The only part of the novel that I didn’t like was the depiction of Jane Eyre and Janet’s love for her father. I am all for a girl being a daddy’s girl, but was disturbed by the passages where Janet seems to harbor an unhealthy love for her father. Jane Eyre being so cold to her daughter seemed unlike the Jane Eyre from the original novel. She does have a redemptive arc in the novel, but I can’t imagine Jane Eyre treating her daughter in that way.

This is my fifth item for the All About the Brontes Challenge.

Book Source: Review Copy from Sourcebooks. Thank-you!

Giveaway Details
Danielle of Sourcebooks has been kind enough to offer one copy of Jane Eyre's Daughter by Elizabeth Newark for this giveaway.

If you would like to enter this contest do any of the following (and make sure to mention each item that you are doing in your comment for me to use to determine your number of entries):

1. Leave a comment on this post. You must include an email address. If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner. (1 entry)

2. Blog about this giveaway or post about it on your sidebar. (1 entry)

3. Become a follower or leave a comment that you already are a follower of this blog. (1 entry)

4. Leave a comment if you are a part of the All About the Brontes Challenge. (1 entry)

There are four ways to enter, but you can put all four entries as one comment.

I will be using random.org to pick the winners from the comments.

This contest is only open to US and Canadian residents (Sorry!).

No P.O. Boxes.

The deadline for entry is midnight, Wednesday June 30th.

Good luck!

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (Audiobook)

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is one of my favorite novels of all time. It is a novel that I have read many times throughout my life; each time different sections of the novel speak clearer to me. Each time I have read it, I have loved it. Jane Eyre is an independent heroine who knows what she wants out of life, and does not submit to temptation to accept anything less.

I decided for the All About the Brontes challenge to listen to Jane Eyre for the first time on audiobook. The version I listened to was read by Wanda McCaddon (she also narrated a couple Jane Austen novels I listened to last year). Unfortunately I finished listening to this audiobook back in March during the crux of my morning sickness and didn’t write the review right away. Therefore, I do not have as detailed a review as I would have had otherwise. Overall, I enjoyed experiencing Jane Eyre in a different way, through listening to the novel rather than reading it. Although I think I prefer reading it the old fashioned way. It didn’t seem to beg to be read aloud as the Jane Austen novels did that I listened to last year.

Audiobook Source: The Kewaunee Public Library

The Classics Challenge – 2010

I really enjoyed being a part of The Classics Challenge last year and so I am signing up again for it this year. I’m running a couple of months late for sign-up due to Baby Gerold Number 3 causing much morning sickness distress. As I am running behind, I am going to sign up for a “Classics Snack,” which is four classic novels by October 31st. The novels I plan to read as a “snack” are as follows:

1. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
2. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
3. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
4. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

I do like to change my mind, and a couple of alternatives are:

1. Foundation by Isaac Asimov
2. Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence

Trish also has an intriguing question on The Classic Challenge, what book do I think might be a classic one day? I have many books that I think meet this criteria including, but not limited to:

1. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
2. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
3. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
4. Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
5. The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini
6. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
7. Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
8. Snowflower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
9. Atonement by Ian McEwan
10. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Anne Barrows
11. Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
12. The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee
13. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
14. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

I can only suggest one of these on The Classics Challenge. After looking at what has already been nominated, I will suggest The Help by Kathryn Stockett. For my bonus read, I will choose The Life of Pi by Martel. I have been meaning to read The Life of Pi for quite awhile, and I’m tired of waiting for one of my book clubs to pick it!

The Classics Challenge also asks for a suggestion on a good “starter” classics novel. Most of my suggestions have already been listed. . . so I will go with A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway.

I am looking forward to this challenge!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I’ve heard a lot of hype about this book so I decided it was time to check it out for myself! While it was kind of slow at the beginning, by the end, I could not put the book down.

The Hunger Games is set in a post-apocalypse North America. The country has been split into 13 Districts, with the 13th District being destroyed for rebellion at some point in the past. The Districts are ruled over by a heartless Capital that keeps them hungry and demands a sacrifice of one girl and one boy chosen by lottery each year for a televised event, The Hunger Games. The premium reality show, the Hunger Games ends when only one of the 12-18 year olds is left alive.

Katniss Everdeen is a sixteen year old girl who lives in District 12 with her mother and young sister, Prim. Her father was killed in a mining accident when she was 12 and she has had to fight to survive by honing her hunting, gathering, and bartering skills. Katniss is horrified to watch as Prim is chosen for the Hunger Games. Katniss volunteers in her place and is then surprised when Peeta Mellark, is chosen as her male colleague from District 12. Peeta had showed her unexpected kindness in the past and Katniss does not relish having him now as a competitor and enemy.

Determined to win at all costs and return to her mother, Prim, and friend Gale, Katniss must learn how to navigate the Hunger Games while winning approval from the public that is ever watching.

I loved this young adult sci-fi novel. With shades of “The Lottery” and “The Lady or the Tiger,” The Hunger Games shows us just how far people could go to keep in power and to provide ruthless entertainment. Katniss is a great heroine and I loved her witty battle to survive the elements and her competitors. I also loved the unexpected love triangle between her, Peeta, and Gale and I can’t wait to see if this is further developed in the next two novels. I know I’ll be reading Catching Fire as soon as I can get it from the library.

I highly recommend The Hunger Games. It is a great adventure story as well as being a commentary on modern society.

Book Source: The Kewaunee Public Library

Summer House by Nancy Thayer

Summer House by Nancy Thayer was the June FLICKS Book and Movie Club pick. Summer House is the tale of three generations of women who are all vacationing together with their families on their Nantucket retreat. Nona is the 90-year old matriarch of the family and remembers back to the days when she first met, feel in love with, had to separate with her husband during WWII. Her daughter-in-law Helen is facing current troubles with her husband Worth and their three children. Helen’s daughter Charlotte has started her own organic garden business on the island and is running from her past while also trying to start a romance with her good-looking next door neighbor, Bill Cooper.

While I found the book enjoyable, I felt that all of the storylines were not given enough time to really develop. The stories were tidally finished at the end, but I felt like there was so much more which could have been explored. Forgiveness for past wrongs seemed to come too soon without a good reason. I also didn’t care about the main love story as I should have because the male characters were not developed enough. I also wanted to know more about Nona’s daughter’s (Grace) issues, but she was portrayed as a one-dimensional harpy and we never learned what caused her problems.

Overall the book was an okay beach read, but had unsatisfactory character development.

Book Source: The Kewaunee Public Library

Spoken from the Heart by Laura Bush

While I may not have ever voted for Laura Bush’s husband, I was very interested to read her autobiography. Unlike other political memoirs I have tried to read (Hello Clintons!), Bush’s autography covered enough material to be interesting, but did not delve into boring and self-seeking detail. Of course, of even more interest to me was Laura Bush’s love of reading.

Laura Bush as first lady is every book lovers dream. Bush was able to hold literary symposiums about her favorite authors and meet many current favorite authors. She mentioned one of my favorite novels, Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather more than once. Indeed, Bush’s love of books is apparent throughout the book and her favorite authors seem to match up with mine. I really loved that one of her favorite things that she did as first lady was to visit Laura Ingalls Wilder’s home in Missouri.

Laura Bush writes the story of her life starting from the very beginning and through the move back to Texas after the end of George Bush’s presidency. I found her entire story intriguing, and was a great modern history. The book seemed to show me what I had always thought; Laura Bush is the kind of person I would like to sit down with for dinner and chat with. She is a normal person who just happened to be first lady (although her talk about the ranch being small at 4,000 sq. ft. did give me a chuckle).

I must say the book did give me a new way of thinking about some of George Bush’s policies, although some of Laura Bush’s defense of certain items was weak at best. For example, the defense against the invasion of Iraq was maybe we should have bombed Afghanistan in 2000 so 9/11 wouldn’t have happened . . . that is not the way the world works.

Overall the strength in the book was the interesting American life that Laura Bush has led and her great love of books. I really enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it to all of my friends, be they Republican, Democrat, or other.

Book Source: The Kewaunee Public Library