Thursday, November 24, 2011

Giving Thanks for the Things I Treasure


Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

First off, I do have to apologize to those readers who are outside the US, as this holiday is decidedly US-centric. But I think the meaning of the holiday is something that everyone can relate to. Bear with me.

We all have things to be thankful for. Here's a short list of the things I am giving thanks for this year, in no particular order:

1. Books. I would literally be lost without them.

2. Authors. You serve as a daily inspiration for me, and for that I am extremely thankful.

3. My Family. You have supported me no matter what the cost. Words can't even express how much I am thankful for you.

4. My Blog Readers. You are the reason for this blog. Thank you so much for your continued support, and for caring so much about this project. I can't thank you enough.

For those of you celebrating Thanksgiving, I hope you have a wonderful day. Heck, I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

What are you thankful for?



Tuesday, November 22, 2011

The Scarlet Contessa by Jeanne Kalogridis

GENRE

Adult Historical Fiction (454 pgs.)


SYNOPSIS

Daughter of the Duke of Milan and wife of the conniving Count Girolamo Riario, Caterina Sforza was the bravest warrior Renaissance Italy ever knew. She ruled her own lands, fought her own battles, and openly took lovers when she pleased.

Her remarkable story is told by her lady-in-waiting, Dea, a woman knowledgeable in reading the "triumph cards," the predecessor of modern-day tarot cards. As Dea tries to unravel the truth about her husband's murder, Caterina single-handedly holds off invaders who would steal her title and lands. However, Dea's reading of the cards reveals that Caterina cannot withstand a third and final invader--none other than Cesare Borgia, son of the corrupt Pope Alexander VI, who has an old score to settle with Caterina. Trapped inside the fortress at Ravaldino as Borgia's cannons pound the walls, Dea reviews Caterina's scandalous past and struggles to understand their joint destiny, while Caterina valiantly tries to fight off Borgia's unconquerable army.


MY REVIEW

I am completely obsessed with the Borgias. It's definitely official. I went through my Tudor phase when the Showtime series was still on, and now I'm completely devoted to the Borgias. After reading Jeanne Kalogridis' last novel on the famous Italian family, I knew I had to pick this one up.

I think the thing that most impressed me about this book was its main character, Caterina Sforza. Pardon my language, but she was definitely the bad ass of Renaissance Italy. I thoroughly enjoyed how Jeanne Kalogridis portrayed her, both as a powerful ruler and as a broken human being. It really brought a nice depth to the story.

The historical setting was very well done. It most definitely accounted for all of the scandals and intrigue surrounding that time period in Italy. Not only that, but all of the politics that went along with it. Caterina, at some times in the novel, wasn't even sure if she could trust her own family. I think as a woman, I most definitely wouldn't have wanted to live in a world like that.

Something I wasn't too fond of was the pacing of this novel. The beginning and end were very well written, but the middle felt like I was reading a history book. Basically the middle of the novel consisted of the narrator, Dea, recounting what was going on, with a few genuine plot points happening in between. Sure, those historical events went on to affect Caterina, but I think it could have been written better. Like I said, it felt like all of a sudden someone had taken a few pages of a very well-written history book and stuck them in the middle.

The other thing I had a slight problem with was this whole neo-Christian mysticism that Jeanne Kalogridis added to the book. It was really only effective in the beginning and the end, and was very much forgotten about in the middle. And when it was effective, I didn't much care for it, but that's my personal taste. But to tell the truth, a lot was forgotten about in the middle. It was kind of like Purgatory for a bit there, just emptiness.

There were some plot decisions made that I didn't agree with as well. For example, when turmoil finds Caterina in her land of Forlí (I won't elaborate for the sake of spoilers), the narrator Dea's husband, the scribe Luca, decides to up and leave his love. Here's his quote:
'"I only know," he said, "that I am needed elsewhere. Just where, I do not yet know. But my heart leads me"' (364).

I thought that was a bit of a cop-out on his part. It was just little things like this that really took away from the story for me.

All in all, I think the negatives outweighed the positives in this book, but not by much. I definitely think that Jeanne Kalogridis' other novel, The Borgia Bride, was much better, and is a better read for those who are just getting into the Borgias.


MY RATING

3.5***/*


Appropriateness Factors

There are a handful of bedroom scenes, some more explicitly described than others, so proceed with caution.




Saturday, November 19, 2011

Nefertiti by Michelle Moran

GENRE

Adult Historical Fiction (457 pgs.)


SYNOPSIS

Nefertiti and her younger sister, Mutnodjmet, have been raised in a powerful family that has provided wives to the rulers of Egypt for centuries. Ambitious, charismatic, and beautiful, Nefertiti is destined to marry Amunhotep, an unstable young pharaoh. It is hoped that her strong personality will temper the young ruler's heretical desire to forsake Egypt's ancient gods.

From the moment of her arrival in Thebes, Nefertiti is beloved by the people, but she fails to see that powerful forces are plotting against her husband's reign. The only person brave enough to warn the queen is her younger sister, yet remaining loyal to Nefertiti will force Mutnodjmet into a dangerous political game--one that could cost her everything she holds dear.


MY REVIEW

After reading Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran, and being thoroughly impressed, I couldn't resist this next read. Ancient Egypt has held my absolute adoration since I was a young child, so any historical fiction on the subject I am instantly drawn to.

With this second book of Michelle Moran's, she has rightfully earned a place in my favorite historical fiction author list. Her writing is absolutely fantastic. She is outstanding at balancing the emotion of a good fiction while keeping intricate historical research in play. Let me tell you, for the duration of this novel, I lived and breathed Ancient Egypt. It is so easy to slip into the history the way Michelle Moran writes it!

I will say that at first I was a bit put off by the fact that this novel is actually narrated by Nefertiti's sister, Mutnodjmet, rather than Nefertiti herself. But in the end, I thought this choice in narrator made the story all the more potent. It was really a testament to the kind of power Nefertiti held as Queen of Egypt, and how that power affected her family. Mutnodjmet was a completely reliable narrator, which I think Nefertiti wouldn't have been, just given her character.

Speaking of the characters, they were all very well written. Wow, was Nefertiti absolutely ruthless! I think sometimes it's very hard for authors not to take more of a modern stance on re-interpreting some of these historical figures. I don't know how Michelle Moran does it. She makes each character so touching to the reader, but still retains their historical characteristics.

The plot was gripping and never dull. Since many events in Ancient Egypt are really open to historical interpretation, I think some authors make their plot a little too grandiose and unbelievable. But Michelle Moran connected the dots, so to speak, in a way that is completely believable.

This was an excellent read. I really did have a hard time putting this one down. Every aspect was engrossing, from the characters to the plot. The world of Ancient Egypt Michelle Moran created was absolutely stunning. This, my friends, really is historical fiction at its best.


MY RATING

5*****





Friday, November 18, 2011

Follow Friday (22)


TGIF everyone! It's time for Follow Friday!




Letter to Santa: Tell Santa what books you want for Christmas!

Oh Christmas! I can't believe it's already Christmas time again! This is definitely one of my favorite times of the year.

I will say that Santa came a bit early for me. ;) Today, he dropped off a beautiful leather-bound, gold-edged edition of Grimm's Complete Fairytales by the Brother's Grimm! (Because someone got rid of her other beautiful hardbacked Grimm fairytales book because she was such a smart 12-year-old! Stupidest thing I ever did!)

The image really doesn't do it justice, it's absolutely stunning! I don't know if you can tell, but the embossed trees on the front cover have very scary faces! I have been pouring through this all day. Would you believe Santa found this for me at Costco? (For those of you who don't know what Costco is, it's a big warehouse where you can buy bulk items... if I ever buy books there, it's usually cheap, mass-market paperbacks!) For Christmas gifts, they had a bunch of these beautiful hardcover editions... I saw the complete works of Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Homer's Illiad & Oddysey. It was definitely a struggle for Santa not to take them all home!

-To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:
-(Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host { Parajunkee.com } and any one else you want to follow on the list
-(Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers - Lauren's Book Blog
-Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.
-Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
-Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"
-If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
-If you're new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

Happy Friday!



Monday, November 14, 2011

Teaser Tuesdays (17)

Happy Tuesday everyone! This week's teasers come once again from Jeanne Kalogridis's The Scarlet Contessa, a historical drama set in the Borgias era of Italy.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


My Teasers:

"When she finally composed herself, she said darkly, 'I will do what I must. But he has nothing but contempt for me, and I only hatred for him. I will bear him children--for my purposes, not his." (154)

--The Scarlet Contessa by Jeanne Kalogridis



Friday, November 11, 2011

Follow Friday (21)

TGIF everyone! It's time for Follow Friday!



In light of 11.11.11 and Veteran's Day, tell us about your favorite soldier and how he or she is saving the world. Fictional or real life.

My favorite fictional soldier would have to be Lancelot, of the King Arthur legends. He is, after all, the greatest knight to ever walk the earth. But I have to pay respectful homage to my Grandpa, who served in the US Airforce in both Korea and Vietnam, and my uncle, who also served in the Airforce during Vietnam. They are the true heroes.

-To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:
-(Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host { Parajunkee.com } and any one else you want to follow on the list
-(Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers - Motherlode
-Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.
-Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
-Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"
-If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
-If you're new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

Happy Friday!



Tuesday, November 8, 2011

ARC Review: The Dig by Audrey Hart

GENRE

YA Fiction / Fantasy (208 pgs.)


SYNOPSIS

Zoe Calder has always been an outsider. Stashed away in boarding schools since her parents died, Zoe buries herself in the study of ancient worlds. Her greatest thrill is spending her summers with her archaeologist aunt and uncle on digs around the world. And one day, while investigating a newly unearthed temple in Crete, Zoe discovers a luminous artifact that transports her to ancient Greece.

As Zoe quickly learns, the Olympian Gods are real, living people—humans with mysterious powers… Powers that Zoe quickly realizes she has come to possess, as well. However, when the people of ancient Greece mistake Zoe for an Olympian, the Gods must restore the balance of the ancient world… No matter what.

Zoe is forced to play a confusing and dangerous game as Hera rallies the gods against her—all except for Zeus, the beautiful, winged young god who risks everything to save her.


MY REVIEW

This book was sent to me by the author, Audrey Hart, as an ARC ebook. After I read the synopsis, I knew this book was going to be right up my alley.

I've always held a fascination with Ancient Greece. I think it's the whole god-human interaction. The myths of Greece tell of many instances where the gods fall in love with mortals, which always intrigued me. It's almost like the gods had some unquenchable desire for humans, even though they were all-powerful and immortal.

Anywho, I absolutely loved this book! This was really the first book in a very long time to make me laugh out loud. Not just a little chuckle, but a big booming laugh that probably made my mother think that I was crazy. There's so much humor in this novel, it's really impossible not to crack a smile.

I have to say my favorite part of this novel was its heroine, Zoe. Really, she was one of the most well-written leading females I've read in quite a while! It was so incredibly easy for me to relate to her. I think a lot of younger readers out there will really connect with Zoe and her "outsider" status and awkwardness with boys. I certainly did! Zoe has such an amazing voice throughout the novel, it's really very hard not to connect with her.

I also really like the perspective Audrey Hart takes on the gods of Ancient Greece. When it comes down to it, the gods are really nothing more than immortal humans. Audrey reminds us that we are all human, especially when it comes to a thing like love. No one is really truly perfect, so why don't we all just embrace it?

Another thing I quite enjoyed was that when Zoe first travels back to Ancient Greece, she realizes that even though the people speak Greek, it's an archaic form of the language she can't understand. The history geek in me totally ate this up. It made her time travel all the more believable.

The story was really fast-paced and had me turning pages like a maniac. I really couldn't put it down! It was very well-written, without any over-complicated plot to confuse readers. It was a very easy read, but that doesn't mean it was any less exciting. There are many references to modern pop culture, which keep the book current and refreshing.

All in all, this was a really great book. Like I said before, I haven't had a book make me smile in a very long time! This was a really great read, with an exceptionally great heroine. Don't pass this up!

Oh, and I will definitely be reading the sequel, as the end of the book is a semi-cliff hanger!


MY RATING

4.5****/*


(This book is available on Amazon.com)



Teaser Tuesdays (16)

Happy Tuesday everyone! This week's teasers come from Jeanne Kalogridis's The Scarlet Contessa, a historical drama set in the Borgias era of Italy.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


My Teasers:

"Caterina nodded; a cascade of diamonds and rubies sparkled at her ears. She was truly magnificent to behold that day, a porcelain beauty with gleaming golden hair, dressed in shimmering white, the dark red trim serving to accentuate her pale glory." (82)

--The Scarlet Contessa by Jeanne Kalogridis



Sunday, November 6, 2011

Guinevere by Sharan Newman

SYNOPSIS

Sharan Newman tells the story of the golden child whose dearest friend is a saint who hears spirits singing; of the gentle-hearted woman who begins to dream of love, glory, and the fierce, proud king who will become her husband; of the passionate beauty whose name will be remembered and hated for centuries.


MY REVIEW

Of course this was an instant read for me, being the Arthurian legend junkie I am. There are really more series on Guinevere than I realize, and this is just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.

I can't say I liked this book. But I can't say I absolutely cursed it to damnation either. I don't know, maybe it's that Arthurian legend junkie inside of me keeping me from being too harsh.

Let's start with this book's namesake, Guinevere. Sharan Newman's aim, I think, is to have Guinevere come across to the reader as "otherworldly" and "different," somehow like the "chosen one." But really, she came across to me as spoiled and just kind of "out there." And not in a good way. It was like she was always in some other world that everyone else, and it was a bit annoying.

I was really quite mad at Guinevere towards the end of the novel, when she first meets Arthur. Arthur goes completely gaga over her, of course, but Guinevere remains completely ignorant. I mean, Arthur is willing to go so far as to change the person he is for her, and Guinevere acts surprised when Arthur tells her he loves her? I mean, come on. Like I said, it's like Guinevere's existing in some other dimension throughout the novel.

I also didn't like the fantasy aspect of this novel. Guinevere talks to a unicorn. Really. And she sees invisible spirits. It was just too weird for me, and in my opinion, it really didn't add anything substantial to the book.

I will say I did like Sharan Newman's interpretations of all of the other Arthurian characters. But it seems kind of silly to me that I came away from this book liking everyone else except Guinevere. Kind of defeats the point I guess.

The writing was pretty well done, although it really took me a while to get through it. I definitely didn't get that magical feeling I get when I read Arthurian legend. (Except at the end when Sharan Newman introduces Lancelot ;D).

All in all, if you're super duper into Arthurian legend like I am, I'd say why not, give it a try. But if you are just getting into the magic that is King Arthur, pick another series. I might read the rest of the series just to see what she does with Lancelot + Gwen, but we'll see.


MY RATING

2.5**/*




Friday, November 4, 2011

NaNoWriMo!

Hello everyone! It's officially November, which means it's time for the National Novel Writing Month!

I decided to join in the fun. Since I have already completed my first novel, I decided that instead of trying to squish in a full novel in 30 days, I am going to use NaNoWriMo to work on all of the other projects I have in mind. I swear, I have at least 5 other story ideas saved on my computer. So, instead of letting them collect dust, I decided they all need a bit of work.

I encourage you to join me on this endeavor! It's completely up to you whether you want to write a whole novel in 30 days, or be like me and work on a variety of projects. In other words, this November, let your creativity run wild!

Check out my NaNoWriMo profile here. It's pretty bare bones right now, but oh well.

Enjoy November, and happy writing!



Follow Friday (20)

TGIF everyone! It's time for Follow Friday!



Today's question is something new, an activity. We want to see what you look like! Take a pic with you and your current read!Too shy? Boo! Just post a fun pic you want to share.


Here I am! Sorry for the poor quality, it's all my webcam can do! I thought this was the most Egyptian-like pose I could muster at 1am. xD

-To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:
-(Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host { Parajunkee.com } and any one else you want to follow on the list
-(Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers - Sky Ink Book Reviews
-Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.
-Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
-Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"
-If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
-If you're new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

Happy Friday!



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