Reading
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Cover Reveal: The Gilded Cage by Judy Alter
The Gilded Cage by Judy Alter Publication: April 2016 eBook & Paperback Genre: Historical Fiction Born to a society and a life of privilege, Bertha Honoré married Potter Palmer, a wealthy entrepreneur who called her Cissy. Neither dreamed the direction the other’s life would take. He built the Palmer House Hotel, still famed today, and become one of the major robber barons of the city, giving generously to causes of which he approved. She put philanthropy into deeds, going into shanty neighborhoods, inviting factory girls to her home, working at Jane Addams’ settlement Hull House, supporting women’s causes. It was a time of tremendous change and conflict in Chicago as…
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Review: The Madwoman Upstairs by Catherine Lowell
This year seems to be the year of Jane Eyre re-imaginings! And I am not complaining in the least because I love the Brontes so I am gladly reading many of the re-imaginings that are coming out! Needless to say, that’s what caught my eye about this latest novel, The Madwoman Upstairs! The only remaining descendant of the Bronte family embarks on a modern-day literary scavenger hunt to find the family’s long-rumored secret estate, using clues her eccentric father left behind. Samantha Whipple is used to stirring up speculation wherever she goes. As the last remaining descendant of the Bronte family, she’s rumored to have inherited a vital, mysterious portion…
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Giveaway: LAST DAYS OF MAGIC by Mark Tompkins
An epic novel of magic and mysticism, Celts and faeries, mad kings and druids, and the goddess struggling to reign over magic’s last outpost on the Earth The Last Days of Magic introduces us to unforgettable characters who grapple with quests for power, human frailty, and the longing for knowledge that has been made taboo. Mark Tompkins has crafted a remarkable tale—a feat of world-building that poses astonishing and resonant answers to epic questions. Thanks to the publisher I am thrilled to be able to offer a giveaway copy of LAST DAYS OF MAGIC plus a custom made pack of tarot cards! Check out the cards and book image here. Be sure to…
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Review: The Song of Hartgrove Hall by Natasha Solomons
Over the last few years, I have seen Natasha Solomons’ books come up on my recommended reading lists quite a bit. Her signature style seems to be books about great houses and family scandals set in war time or post war England……sort of reminiscent of Downton Abbey. The books opens on New Year’s Eve, 1946. Candles flicker, a gramophone scratches out a tune as guests dance and sip champagne— for one night Hartgrove Hall relives better days. Harry Fox-Talbot and his brothers have returned from the war determined to save their once grand home from ruin. But the arrival of beautiful wartime singer Edie Rose tangles the threads of love…
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Review: The Vatican Princess: A Novel of Lucrezia Borgia by C.W. Gortner
C.W. Gortner is one of my favorite historical fiction writers! He always picks really unique women in history to write about and he always captures the essence of their story in a unique way. Being a male author writing about women in history isn’t an easy deal especially……I know when I pick up the first book I read by him, I was skeptical because how can a man understand what a women is going through? But I was completely blown away with how well Gortner connected to the historic figures and created a beautiful fictional story mixed with historic facts about that person. In this latest book, I was again…
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Spotlight Feature: WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT by Kim Barker
WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT, the upcoming movie starring Tina Fey, Margot Robbie, Martin Freeman, Billy Bob Thornton and Alfred Molina, is based on Kim Barker’s memoir of her time reporting in Afghanistan and Pakistan (book originally published as The Taliban Shuffle). To check out the trailer for this hot upcoming new film, click here. Kim uses her sharp wit and humor to describe her dangerous and exciting time in these troubled countries in her book, WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT (Anchor; February 23, 2016). Kim first arrived in Kabul in 2002, with nothing more than a passport and a dire need for a translator. Despite the dangers and the shaky circumstances, Kim’s love for…
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Special Feature: Interactive Quiz–A Guide to Literary Britain!
2016 is going to be a big year for book to movie adaptations! And with the amount of big screen adaptions taking place this year, we were wondering if you can tell your Brontë from your Blyton, your Amis from your Austen? Travelzoo have cherry-picked 11 of the finest, most evocative entries in the canon of British literature for their interactive quiz – Guide to Literary Britain – featuring authors such as Winston Graham, Muriel Spark, Dylan Thomas, C.S. Lewis, Thomas Hardy and many more! All you’ve got to do is match the tale to the right city or region. For more information on each of the locations including what to…
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Review: Platinum Doll by Anne Girard
The 1920’s were often considered the ‘golden age’ of the film industry. With the new moving picture technology and the almost instant fame that came with it, young women flooded to Hollywood to become the next ‘it girl’ and seventeen year old Harlean Carpenter McGrew was no different. Harlean is chasing a dream—to escape her small, Midwestern life and see her name in lights….and that name would become the legendary Jean Harlow. She has everything a girl could want—a rich husband, glamorous parties, socialite friends—except an outlet for her talent. But everything changes when a dare pushes her to embrace her true ambition—to be an actress on the silver screen. With her…
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Guest Post and Book Blast: In the Land of Armadillos by Helen Maryles Shankman
In the Land of Armadillos: Stories by Helen Maryles Shankman Publication Date: February 2, 2016 Scribner/Simon & Schuster eBook & Hardcover; 304 Pages Genre: Historical Fiction/WWII/Short Stories/Literary A Spring 2016 Discover Great New Writers selection at Barnes & Noble. A radiant debut collection of linked stories from a two-time Pushcart Prize nominee, set in a German-occupied town in Poland, where tales of myth and folklore meet the real-life monsters of the Nazi invasion. 1942. With the Nazi Party at the height of its power, the occupying army empties Poland’s towns and cities of their Jewish populations. As neighbor turns on neighbor and survival often demands unthinkable choices, Poland…
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Review: In Another Life by Julie Christine Johnson
Historian Lia Carrer has finally returned to southern France, determined to rebuild her life after the death of her husband. But instead of finding solace in the region’s quiet hills and medieval ruins, she falls in love with Raoul, a man whose very existence challenges everything she knows about life–and about her husband’s death. As Raoul reveals the story of his past to Lia, she becomes entangled in the echoes of an ancient murder, resulting in a haunting and suspenseful journey that reminds Lia that the dead may not be as far from us as we think. Steeped in the rich history and romantic landscape of rural France, In Another…