Category: Reading

Special Feature: Lilli de Jong by Janet Benton

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Lilli de Jong
by Janet Benton

Paperback Publication Date: July 10, 2018
Anchor Books
Paperback; 352 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

 

 

Philadelphia, 1883. Twenty-three-year-old Lilli de Jong is pregnant and alone—abandoned by her lover and banished from her Quaker home. She gives birth at a charity for wronged women, planning to give up the baby. But the power of their bond sets her on a completely unexpected path. Unwed mothers in 1883 face staggering prejudice, yet Lilli refuses to give up her baby girl. Instead, she braves moral condemnation and financial ruin in a quest to keep the two of them alive.

Lilli confides this story to her diary as it unfolds, taking readers from a charity for unwed mothers to a wealthy family’s home and onto the streets of a burgeoning American city. Her story offers a rare and harrowing view into a time when a mother’s milk is crucial for infant survival. Written with startling intimacy and compassion, this accomplished novel is both a rich historical depiction and a testament to the saving force of a woman’s love.

Awards

NPR Best Books of 2017
Library Journal Best Historical Fiction 2017
Bustle The 17 Best Debut Novels by Woman in 2017
An Amazon Best Book of May 2017
Semifinalist in historical fiction, Goodreads Choice Awards, 2017
Finalist, David J. Langum Prize in Historical Fiction, 2017 Continue reading “Special Feature: Lilli de Jong by Janet Benton” →

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Review: Tiffany Blues by M.J. Rose

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I’ve been a fan of M.J. Rose for quite some time. She always writes really rich and atmospheric novels of romance and historical fiction blended together. I love her Reincarnationist series is really fun but I got hooked on her books with her Daughters of La Lune books!

She has this great storytelling style that never seems to fail in any of her series’. She always has this velvety tone and it never fails to hook me.

So when this book came up for review, to say I was thrilled was a complete understatement. More like I was swooning at not only the fact that a new MJ Rose novel was coming out, but the summary sounded so exciting and I was eagerly awaiting the day that I could start this book! Continue reading “Review: Tiffany Blues by M.J. Rose” →

Review: An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena

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This was a book that I originally passed on but then changed my mind. I have been seeing this book all over my Instagram and I caved under the peer pressure!

When I passed on it, it was mostly because my review schedule was really tight for August, but I had also been reading a ton of thrillers and I was kind of ready for a break. But as I said, I have zero self control sometimes so I caved and decided to review this one and fit it in when I could.

As luck would have it, I finished one of my August books suer early so I was able to fit it in sooner than expected, and I was happy that I could because the more I saw it on Instagram the more I wanted to read it!  Continue reading “Review: An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena” →

Review: The Hawkweed Legacy (Hawkweed Prophecy #2) by Irena Brignull

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When I was pitched this book, I thought this was the first in the series. I loosely read the summary and just assumed that it was the first one.

So let’s get this out of the way first—read the first book in the series before you read this book. It’s hard for me to write a review for this one because it’s very clearly part of a series and was meant to be read by people who had read the first book.

With that in mind, I could have backed out and said I would rather wait and read the first one before writing a review, but I made a commitment and I decided to read on and focus on the writing and world building rather than the bigger story. Continue reading “Review: The Hawkweed Legacy (Hawkweed Prophecy #2) by Irena Brignull” →

Giveaway: THE WHALE: A LOVE STORY by Mark Beauregard

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I am thrilled to be offering this book up for giveaway this week! Can we talk about how beautiful that cover is?! It makes me think of the summer and beach reading!

A rich and captivating novel set amid the witty, high-spirited literary society of 1850s New England, offering a new window on Herman Melville’s emotionally charged relationship with Nathaniel Hawthorne and how it transformed his masterpiece, Moby-Dick

In the summer of 1850, Herman Melville finds himself hounded by creditors and afraid his writing career might be coming to an end—his last three novels have been commercial failures and the critics have turned against him. In despair, Melville takes his family for a vacation to his cousin’s farm in the Berkshires, where he meets Nathaniel Hawthorne at a picnic—and his life turns upside down.

The Whale chronicles the fervent love affair that grows out of that serendipitous afternoon. Already in debt, Melville recklessly borrows money to purchase a local farm in order to remain near Hawthorne, his newfound muse. The two develop a deep connection marked by tensions and estrangements, and feelings both shared and suppressed.

Melville dedicated Moby-Dick to Hawthorne, and Mark Beauregard’s novel fills in the story behind that dedication with historical accuracy and exquisite emotional precision, reflecting his nuanced reading of the real letters and journals of Melville, Hawthorne, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and others. An exuberant tale of longing and passion, The Whale captures not only a transformative relationship—long the subject of speculation—between two of our most enduring authors, but also their exhilarating moment in history, when a community of high-spirited and ambitious writers was creating truly American literature for the first time.

Giveaway runs 8/13/18-8/19/18

A winner will be announced 8/20/18

(how to enter)

On this blog you must leave a comment to be entered in the giveaway.  Your comment MUST include your email so I can contact you….if you do not enter an email in the comments your entry will be void. Winners will be notified by email the day after the giveaway closes and have five days to respond, it not another winner will be chosen. 

(GIVEAWAY OPEN TO US ONLY AND NO PO BOX)

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