Review: The House of Hawthorne by Erika Robuck

Sophia is a talented artist and writer. Her well known Salem family has discouraged her from pursuing traditional women’s roles such as marriage, in favor of pursuing her creative and educational talents. Plagued by debilitating headaches, Sophia spends a lot of time in bed and her parents even send her to Cuban in hopes of curing her headaches.

While she is in Cuba, she begins writing about some of the slavery she has witnessed in her journal, when she returns to Salem, Massachusetts she catches the eye of upcoming writer Nathaniel Hawthorne.  From their first meeting, Nathaniel and Sophia begin an intense romantic relationship that despite many setbacks leads to their marriage.

Together, they will cross continents, raise children, and experience all the beauty and tragedy of an exceptional partnership. Sophia’s vivid journals and her masterful paintings kindle a fire in Nathaniel, inspiring his writing. But their children’s needs and the death of loved ones steal Sophia’s energy and time for her art, fueling in her a perennial tug-of-war between fulfilling her domestic duties and pursuing her own desires.

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Announcement: Winner AllSoulsCon Ticket Giveaway

And the winner of the giveaway for the AllSoulsCon free ticket giveaway is…..

Darlene C (commented on post)

The winner will be notified via email.

Thank you to everyone who entered and a huge thank you to the publisher and the people at AllSoulsCon for making this giveaway possible!

Special Feature/Giveaway: TICKETS TO AllSoulsCon (an ALL SOULS TRILOGY exclusive event)

AllSoulsCon is coming! What is AlSoulsCon you ask? Well it’s a fan-run one-day convention celebrating THE ALL SOULS TRILOGY, taking place September 12th in Los Angeles but available to fans all over the world via livestream. Deborah is attending, as is audiobook reader Jennifer Ikeda, and it’s going to be an outstanding opportunity to meet them and fellow fans, enjoy AST-inspired food, wine, contests, and a lot more! You can see the schedule here, but highlights include:

  • Q&A sessions with Deborah Harkness and Jennifer Ikeda
  • A Renaissance Music Workshop, with performances by University of Southern California musicians and featuring original compositions by Isaias Garcia
  • A fan panel (details to come)
  • There are a lot more events happening so be sure to check out their website for more exciting details!

Thanks to the All Souls publisher, Penguin/Viking and the people at AllSoulsCon, I am able to offer a virtual ticket for giveaway—the winner will be able to attend the Con from anywhere by computer.

So with that bit of exciting news, here is how to enter the giveaway!

Giveaway runs 8/26/15 to 9/1/15

Winners will be announced 9/2/15.

(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)

Make sure you note if you have done the following for more chances to win: Tweet about the giveaway (+1), share on Facebook (+1), like The Lit Bitch on Facebook (+1), follow The Lit Bitch on Twitter (+1), subscribe to The Lit Bitch’s blog (+1). Tweet/RT about the giveaway (+1). Share about the giveaway (+1).

Review: At the Water’s Edge by Sara Gruen

Maddie has not idea that New Years Eve 1942 is going to be a day where everything in her life changes The belle os the ball and Philadelphia society is married to Ellis and lives a life of shelter and privilege. While there is a war raging across the pond, Maddie and her husband Ellis aren’t really that in touch with it.

Ellis and his best friend Hank should be enlisting in the war like all the other men their age but they both have medical conditions and aren’t allowed to join. Ellis’s father is beyond ashamed of his son’s inability to enlist and reminds Ellis of it on a regular basis.

After an embarrassing episode at the New Years Eve party, Ellis and Maddie are cut off from Ellis’s family and decide to board a supply boat to Scotland where they will search for the infamous Loch Ness monster.

Hank decides to join Ellis and Maddie in hopes that all of them will gain fame, fortune, and above all that Ellis will get back on his father’s good graces.

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Book Blast: THE ENCHANTRESS OF PARIS by Marci Jefferson

02_Enchantress of ParisEnchantress of Paris: A Novel of the Sun King’s Court
by Marci Jefferson

Publication Date: August 4, 2015
Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press
Hardcover & eBook; 336 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

READ AN EXCERPT.

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Fraught with conspiracy and passion, the Sun King’s opulent court is brought to vivid life in this captivating tale about a woman whose love was more powerful than magic.

The alignment of the stars at Marie Mancini’s birth warned that although she would be gifted at divination, she was destined to disgrace her family. Ignoring the dark warnings of his sister and astrologers, Cardinal Mazarin brings his niece to the French court, where the forbidden occult arts thrive in secret. In France, Marie learns her uncle has become the power behind the throne by using her sister Olympia to hold the Sun King, Louis XIV, in thrall.

Desperate to avoid her mother’s dying wish that she spend her life in a convent, Marie burns her grimoire, trading Italian superstitions for polite sophistication. But as her star rises, King Louis becomes enchanted by Marie’s charm. Sensing a chance to grasp even greater glory, Cardinal Mazarin pits the sisters against each other, showering Marie with diamonds and silks in exchange for bending King Louis to his will.

Disgusted by Mazarin’s ruthlessness, Marie rebels. She sacrifices everything, but exposing Mazarin’s deepest secret threatens to tear France apart. When even King Louis’s love fails to protect Marie, she must summon her forbidden powers of divination to shield her family, protect France, and help the Sun King fulfill his destiny.

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