ARC Review The Fortune Hunter Daisy Goodwin

The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I have given this novel 5 stars, not because it is destined to be a classic or because it is a masterpiece of writing but rather because it possesses everything a good novel needs to completely draw its reader in. Likable, sympathetic characters, action, romance and a really great original story. I read this book while vacationing, I couldn't put it down, leaving my husband to hike on his own while I holed up by a warm fire and immersed myself in this fantastic story.
The characters and many of the events in this novel are factual, however, there time line has been adjusted to fit the novel. Elizabeth, Empress of Austria (Sisi) did have hair to her ankles, was known to be very vain and concerned about aging, packing raw veal on her face to prevent wrinkles and avoiding photographs. Often compared to Princess Diana, Sisi had reluctantly married into royalty and hated the trappings of being a royal figure. She was know to have several extramarital affairs, have periods of depression and to be one of the best horse women in Europe.
Captain Bay Middleton was also one of the best horseman, having won several prestigious steeplechases including the Grand National, and was selected by Earl Spencer to pilot SIsi when she came in England to hunt in 1875. He too had a reputation for seeing married women and he did eventually marry Charlotte Baird.
This novel is primarily focused on Charlotte and her relationships with Middleton, her family, and SIsi's effect on her relationship with Middleton. Charlotte is a very likable, unique characters, avoiding all things women in her position should have embraced, instead becoming an accomplished photographer (a fictional hobby) while navigating life with her future sister-in-law and her complicated relationship with Middleton. The sole heir of the Lennox fortune, Charlotte must be careful to avoid fortune hunters, looking to marry only for her money. Captain Middleton's reputation and rumored relationship with Sisi have everyone concerned about his intentions with Charlotte, but despite his past and caddish behavior he is very charming and despite everything that happens you find yourself pulling for Charlotte and him.
I recommend this book for anyone looking for a great summer vacation read, lovers of English history and anyone looking for a great story. This is a highly entertaining novel.




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Review of: The Wind is Not a River Brian Payton

The Wind Is Not a River by Brian Payton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I was interested in this book because of my lack of knowledge regarding the World War II battles on the Aleutian Islands, the only battle to be fought on American soil. The book disappointed though, I didn't learn as much as I hoped, the characters were not compelling and the love story fell flat.
It took me a while to get into this book, I struggled to connect with the story, to figure out exactly what was going on. I am glad I stuck it out and finished, the book was enjoyable and it has inspired me to learn more about the Aleutian Islands during World War II.

John Easley is a journalist covering the Japanese take over of the Aleutian Islands until all journalists are kicked out. After the death of his brother he feels compelled to return, leaving his wife with little information about where he is going. Helen Easley, a young wife, is desperate to find her husband, leaving her ill father to join a USO traveling troop and travel to Alaska to try and get any information possible about her husband.

The best part of this novel was Easley's and Karl's struggle for survival on an Aleutian island occupied by the Japanese. Their relationship, team work and self discoveries were this novels finest parts. It was thrilling as the pair, and later Easley alone, snuck around the Japanese, even moving through the enemy camp.

Helen's story was less compelling and to0 convenient. Her ability to join a USO traveling entertainment troop and get to Alaska and to find all the right connections to her husband was a little unbelievable. I didn't feel her stress of being abandoned by her husband for three months with out word of his location and didn't feel like the two were really in love.

The ending and the resolution of John and Helen's journeys was also too convenient and again didn't reflect the love between them or what they had endured. This book was enjoyable and had some great moments, I would recommend for any one looking for a novel about the lesser known aspects of World War II.

I received a free copy of this novel from Goodreads first reads in exchange for a fair review.



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ARC Review The Widow's Guide to Sex and Dating Carole Radziwell

The Widow's Guide to Sex and Dating: A Novel by Carole Radziwill
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I enjoy watching the Real Housewives of where ever after a long stressful day of work, its the perfect mindless entertainment, for an hour I don't have to think and can relax.  Carole Radziwell, author of The Widow's Guide to Sex and Dating, is a cast member of The Real Housewives of New York and one of the more intelligent and least irritating. A former ABC news correspondent and previous New York Times best selling author, I had somewhat high expectations for this novel.  However, it was much like an episode of The Real Housewives, mindless entertainment, just not as good.

Claire Bryne, a thirty something, is a widow.  Her husband, suddenly killed, by a sculpture falling from the sky.  Charlie Bryne, is a well know sexologist and author, best know for his philosophy that love and sex cannot coexist.  We know sex didn't exist in his marriage to Claire, but it never feels like love existed either.  Claire bumbles through her first year of widowhood, anxiously awaiting loosing her widow virginal cherry, going on many bad dates and seeing numerous therapist types.  Nothing really ever happens though and thats the problem with this book.

It started out strong, Radziwell is a good writer, she is able to craft beautiful passages about nothing, it's to bad she cannot craft a plot with the same beauty.  The novel starts strong and I enjoy her talking about how it was a beautiful day when Charlie died, bright blue skies, wonderful weather.  Tragedies always happen when the sky is blue - and that statement feels true.  The way that Radziwell discusses what each person who was attached to Charlie or the sculpture was doing around the time of his death and how all these events came together to ultimately culminate in Charlie's death was fascinating.  Charlie, despite his ego and fame, was one small part of a bigger story of the world continuing to move on.  Once Charlie is dead and all we have left is his one dimensional unlikeable wife and her crew of unlikeable friends and dates the novel nosedives quickly.

Claire Brynes has no depth, she never seems like a grieving widow, only a very shallow socialite who is more concerned with maintaining a social status and landing a new wealthy husband so she can continue to basically do and be nothing.  Her friends are just like her, nobody feels like a real person, the situations they are in are not relatable and the dialogue feels very forced.

I will continue to indulge in Real Housewives episodes but perhaps this will be the last book I read by a Real Housewife.

I received a free copy of this book from First Reads in exchange for a fair review



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ARC Review After I Am Gone Laura Lippman

After I'm Gone: A Novel by Laura Lippman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I received a copy of this book from First Reads in exchange for a fair review

On July 4th 1976, Felix Brewer disappeared, leaving behind his wife, Bambi, three daughters and his girlfriend. 10 years later, his girlfriend, Julie Saxony disappears and is found dead over a decade later. Sandy Sanchez is a retired police office who works cold cases on contract, after a photo of Julie Saxony draws him in, Sandy sets out to solve her murder. According to Sandy, the name is always in the file.

The novel examines the evolution of the Brewer families lives before and after Felix. Beginning with Felix and Bambi meeting for the first time 1959 through 2012. Bambi and Julie always believed Felix was still alive, Bambi keeping up appearances and awaiting his return, Julie waiting his call to come and join him. The Brewer daughters, Linda, Rachel and Michelle all have unique perspectives on their father, his life and his disappearance that shape their lives for better and worse and each of their experiences effects the out come of this novel.

Initially, I found this book hard to follow, the way each chapter skipped from decade to decade, but once I figured out the authors flow and got to know the characters better, the leaps in time didn't bother me. However, I did find myself referring to the beginning of chapters occasionally in order to orient myself time wise.

I found the characters to be well developed, complex and believable and enjoyed their perspectives and insight into their situations. The chapters featuring Sandy were some of my favorite and his process of solving Julie Saxony's murder was fascinating, I loved the glimpses back into Felix's life and his friends and acquaintances. And ultimately solving Felix's disappearance.

My only beef with this novel was the conclusion, while it fit and made sense, I found it to be a bit rushed, like the author needed an ending and quickly came up with a killer to throw us off.

This is the second novel I have read by Laura Lippman, I have previously read What the Dead Know and enjoyed that novel as well. I will definitely read more of her work in the future.




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Cover of Snow Jenny Milchman

Cover of Snow by Jenny Milchman

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I received a copy of this book from First Reads in exchange for a fair review

Nora Hamilton awakes one morning to discover that her husband, a respected police officer, has committed suicide. Brendan Hamilton left no note and gave no indication that any thing was wrong leading up to his death and shortly after his funeral Nora sets out to discover why her husband killed himself.

This story line has the potential to be a great thriller or mystery, but falls flat at every effort. Nothing about this story makes sense, I kept waiting to find out why people in this small town had their bizarre secrets, but we never find out why we just keep finding out that people are "hiding" the truth about some really trivial stuff, that ultimately leads to arson and murder.

Nora is an unsympathetic widow and her constant bumbling around becomes frustrating quickly, she never really makes any big discoveries instead runs into the right people to give her what she needs. Constantly reminding us of how hungry she is or what sort of renovations she would do to various houses makes her even more unlikable.

I was really bothered by the story line of Melanie Cooper and her husband, which had nothing to do with the mystery of Nora's husband, however, it did illustrate that the Wedeskyull police department was truly messed up. Dugger was also an odd character, and it was amazing that he was always around at the right time with his recorder recording just the right incriminating evidence and no one ever noticed him, completely unbelievable.

This book kept me reasonably entertained as I waited to see how everything would come together, but in the end nothing came together and the book was just ok.




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Ashenden Elizabeth Wilhide

Ashenden: A Novel by Elizabeth Wilhide

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I received a copy of this book from First Reads in exchange for a fair review.

I enjoyed Ashenden and found the concept of the novel interesting. Ashenden is really a series of short stories that follow the history, told through its occupants and these connected to the home, of a grand English country home from the time building begins in 1775 through 2010.

The first Chapter of the book, the Cuckoo's: 2010, was a great introduction to the story and I was excited to continue to read about those who had lived and worked in the home and to discover what Charlie and his sister would ultimately decide to do with the home. However, the next two chapters, Stonework: 1775 and A Book of Ceilings: 1796 were a struggle to get though and I seriously considered abandoning the novel. My patience was rewarded in the next chapter, The Portrait: 1837 and several other standout chapters. Butterflies: 1844, The Janus Cup: 1889, The Photograph: 1916 and Hut C: 1946 were the novels finest, with the most fully developed characters, the strongest connections to history and the most emotion and depth.

The author, Elizabeth Wilhide, has written many books about interior design and architecture and her attention to the details of the house are evident, many times through out this novel I found myself busting out my dictionary to look up what things meant and finding examples on line. At times I found this distracting from the story itself, however I really appreciated the authors research into the home. I was also distracted at times when the author used british terms for things, but that made the book more authentic and once I grew use to them I hardly noticed.

i enjoyed this book and would recommend it to those interested in English country living, architecture, and English history.



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ARC Review The Tilted World by Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly

The Tilted World: A Novel by Tom Franklin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book through first-reads in exchange for a fair review.
Sadly, I am not familiar with the flood of 1927. Very sad when you consider I have a masters degree in American History - I cannot recall ever discussing one of the largest natural disasters even in American history and one that had a profound impact on the migration of African-Americans to northern cities. My lack of knowledge of this pivotal event made me very interested in in this novel and I was not disappointed.

Dixie Clay is the wife of a bootlegger, lonely, mourning the loss of her only child and doing what it takes to keep her husband happy. Jessie, her husband is a charming, violent, philanderer who is suspected of killing two federal revenue agents. Ted Ingersoll, a revenue agent, and his partner Ham Johnson are sent by Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover to investigate the disappearance of the two agents while posing as engineers monitoring the levee in Hobnob, Mississippi. On their way to Hobnob the two agents come across a burglary gone wrong, in which a baby is orphaned. Ingersoll, an orphan himself, is charged with taking the baby to a local orphanage but instead he finds Dixie Clay and she cannot resist the chance to be a mother again. The levees at Hobnob are about to burst and word comes from Hoover that saboteurs have stolen dynamite and plan to blow the levees in an attempt to save New Orleans. As the levees breach there banks secrets are revealed and everybody's lives are on the brink of great change.

This is a beautifully written book that has all the components of great fiction, action, mystery, romance, moral dilemmas, rich characters and a great plot. Written by a husband and wife team, a fiction writer and poet, respectively, this novel flows beautifully and contains descriptions that make you feel as though you are there witnessing the stills, flood and relationship development between characters.

This is a novel that is hard to put down and once you finish leaves you wanting more. I recommend that anyone with an interest in natural disasters, prohibition, and 1920s history check this novel out, well really everyone should check this novel out - its a great entertaining read.


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TBR Tuesday - The Wedding Gift by Marlen Suyapa Bodden

I won, I won I won I won! I won a Goodreads first reads give away today - I tend to get overly excited about these! So today's TBR Tuesday will highlight The Wedding Gift by Marlen Suyapa Bodden - a Goodreads first reads giveaway! I will read this right after receiving it so watch for a review soon!

When prestigious plantation owner Cornelius Allen gives his daughter Clarissa’s hand in marriage, she takes with her a gift: Sarah—her slave and her half-sister. Raised by an educated mother, Clarissa is not a proper southern belle she appears to be with ambitions of loving who she chooses and Sarah equally hides behind the façade of being a docile house slave as she plots to escape. Both women bring these tumultuous secrets and desires with them to their new home, igniting events that spiral into a tale beyond what you ever imagined possible and it will leave you enraptured until the very end. Told through alternating viewpoints of Sarah and Theodora Allen, Cornelius’ wife, Marlen Suyapa Bodden's The Wedding Gift is an intimate portrait that will leave readers breathless. (taken from Goodreads)

The After Wife Gigi Levangie Grazer

The After Wife by Gigi Levangie Grazer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hannah Bernal is a forty-something producer, mother and recent widow - a title no one is Santa Monica, California knows how to deal with. Luckily, Hannah has her grief team, her gay best friend and producing partner Jay, Chloe, the organic dog toting neighbor and Amiee, an over the hill actress still waiting for her big break.
This novel is light romp through the first year of widowhood, don't expect a tear jerker, do expect lots of quirky characters and lots of pop culture references. The writing was solid, it kept my interest and it had a few unexpected moments that added to its appeal. If you are looking for a fun, light read check out this novel.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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