The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

336 p.
Publisher: Del Ray
Published: 1/10/17
Source: NetGalley and Publisher for review

At the edge of the Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn’t mind—she spends the winter nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings, listening to her nurse’s fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid night to claim unwary souls. Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes from evil. 

After Vasilisa’s mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa’s new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows. 

And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa’s stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent. 

As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse’s most frightening tales.

My thoughts:
 
I knew I wanted to read this as soon as I understood it was a retelling of mythology, especially one that I'm not familiar. And while I've seen people equate Frost with Jack Frost in nature (and I totally see why), he felt more like a Russian version of Hades and his twin brother reminded me of Ares and Phobos combined. We also get some house spirits that reminded me of the mythology of Brownies but friendlier. Yes, you can safely say I enjoyed this book.

You follow Vasya who comes from an unusual lineage and has a wild and forthright attitude and is a strong woman. Of course during this time period, that causes problems, but he family still supports her being who she really is inside (with the exception of the step-monster... uh... mother). She has magic in her blood which also causes problems when an enigmatic priest comes to spread the word of God. This does deal with religion, but really isn't religious. The world this story inhabits is when pagan mythos clashed with Christian mythos. It reminds me of many of the stories you get when the fae diminish because of the one God religion. All is very familiar so it helps with those of us who don't know much about Russian mythology.

In the end Vasya makes difficult choices and also isn't the one to make the big sacrifice. I liked that she didn't fight as a man and didn't know how but had her own strengths she wielded with courage and wisdom. To me, this made her strong as she did not emulate man but was her own woman. There is also very little romance to the story and this book may become part of a series. I hope so because there is hint of something at the end and I need to know more. It isn't a cliffie, but I need that story I am hoping to get.

I give this book 4 stars. It is highly recommended to those that love mythology stories and a strong woman character who defies what she "should" become and has the courage to find herself.

Congress of Secrets by Stephanie Burgis

Standalone
340 p.
Publisher: Pyr
Published: 11/1/16
Source: From publisher for review

In 1814, the Congress of Vienna has just begun. Diplomats battle over a new map of Europe, actors vie for a chance at glory, and aristocrats and royals from across the continent come together to celebrate the downfall of Napoleon…among them Lady Caroline Wyndham, a wealthy English widow. But Caroline has a secret: she was born Karolina Vogl, daughter of a radical Viennese printer. When her father was arrested by the secret police, Caroline’s childhood was stolen from her by dark alchemy. 

Under a new name and nationality, she returns to Vienna determined to save her father even if she has to resort to the same alchemy that nearly broke her before. But she isn’t expecting to meet her father’s old apprentice, Michael Steinhüller, now a charming con man in the middle of his riskiest scheme ever. 

The sinister forces that shattered Caroline’s childhood still rule Vienna behind a glittering façade of balls and salons, Michael’s plan is fraught with danger, and both of their disguises are more fragile than they realize. What price will they pay to the darkness if either of them is to survive?

My thoughts:

I really enjoyed Stephanie Burgis's last historical novel, Masks and Shadows (review linked) so I was thrilled that this one came in the mail for review. This is based on some historical events (Congress of Vienna) and people ( for example Pergren, a villain in the book, was a real villain in life). The author even suggests books at the end of the story if you would like to further your education on the time or people of the book.

Of course not everything is based on truth and usually that is the part that I enjoy. I would have thought the alchemy would have drawn me in... well, it did, but what really captivated me was the mystery. Caroline was the mystery. Her past, present, and what she wanted all intermingled with the political intrigue of the time period.  How those puzzle pieces came together is what really what had me turning the pages of this book.

There are other POVs within the book which enhances the political mystery as well as brings to light other aspects that Caroline did not and could not have known or expected. One of them is the viewpoint of Michael who was an old trusted friend whom she felt abandoned her. You also get a viewpoints of Emperor Francis and Peter who is part of an actors group caught up in the intrigue. These viewpoints are well placed and so it wasn't confusing to the reader.

Without revealing what happens I have to say I really enjoyed the ending. I did not want to put it down and it was quite satisfying, especially with our main character, Caroline. This is a solid mystery with some paranormal happenings to enhance the threat. I give this book 4 stars.

Faithful by Alice Hoffman

Standalone
272 p.
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: Nov. 1, 16
Source: From publisher and NetGalley for review

Growing up on Long Island, Shelby Richmond is an ordinary girl until one night an extraordinary tragedy changes her fate. Her best friend’s future is destroyed in an accident, while Shelby walks away with the burden of guilt. 

What happens when a life is turned inside out? When love is something so distant it may as well be a star in the sky? Faithful is the story of a survivor, filled with emotion—from dark suffering to true happiness—a moving portrait of a young woman finding her way in the modern world. A fan of Chinese food, dogs, bookstores, and men she should stay away from, Shelby has to fight her way back to her own future. In New York City she finds a circle of lost and found souls—including an angel who’s been watching over her ever since that fateful icy night. 

Here is a character you will fall in love with, so believable and real and endearing, that she captures both the ache of loneliness and the joy of finding yourself at last. For anyone who’s ever been a hurt teenager, for every mother of a daughter who has lost her way, Faithful is a roadmap.

First... Happy Halloween! Not a part of the review, but wanted everyone to have a fun and safe time. :)

My thoughts:

I wasn't sure if this was going to have an element of magical realism in it or not and in the beginning of the book I was certain it would be more magical. It, in fact, is not and is more about Shelby and how one moment in time can devastate a person and how we harm ourselves more than what anyone else can do to you. As dark as this is, it is also the story to the road back to oneself and figuring out how to value oneself. It isn't a sappy story at all, but one where a woman finds pieces of her self and slowly puts them together.

All characters in the story have a purpose. Even the mysterious ones who you aren't at first sure aren't magical. However, the magic fades but that is a good thing as real life takes over and Shelby find that it isn't others who save her but she who saves herself even though others had a big part to play in it. I think the secondary characters were mostly there so she wouldn't slip further into the dark but to hold her head up until she could do it herself.

If you are an animal lover and love stories where animals get saved, than this book is for you. One of the things that helps Shelby is taking care of a motley crew of mutts she has saved throughout the tale. In saving them she is saving herself and eventually finds a calling though it all.

My biggest problem with the book would be the romance at the end. I think there is so much more to tell there and we get the barest mentions about this relationship. I would have loved that part to be much longer and it really needed to be longer. There were aspects of the boyfriend which mirrored her own and I think it would have enhanced the story further.

Now I will give this book 4 stars but toyed with the idea of knocking off a star for every time this book made me cry. I hate to cry and I had 3 times toward the end where I was crying and needing a tissue. This both makes me love it and hate the book for it. Okay, so I loved the compassion and love through those scenes so I'll be good and leave the rest of the stars up there for the book. *sigh* I do recommend it to those that love a journey story where a character hits close to bottom but finds away to her own redemption. It is also a story filled with rescue animals and humans as well as a bit of art around the edges. I did enjoy my time in the book despite the tissues I needed to get through it.

Mata Hari's Last Dance by Michelle Moran

Standalone
288 p.
Publisher: Touchstone
Published: 7/19/16
Source: NetGalley and publisher for review

From the international bestselling author of Rebel Queen and Nefertiti comes a captivating novel about the infamous Mata Hari, exotic dancer, adored courtesan, and, possibly, relentless spy. 

Paris, 1917. The notorious dancer Mata Hari sits in a cold cell awaiting freedom…or death. Alone and despondent, Mata Hari is as confused as the rest of the world about the charges she’s been arrested on: treason leading to the deaths of thousands of French soldiers. 

As Mata Hari waits for her fate to be decided, she relays the story of her life to a reporter who is allowed to visit her in prison. Beginning with her carefree childhood, Mata Hari recounts her father’s cruel abandonment of her family as well her calamitous marriage to a military officer. Taken to the island of Java, Mata Hari refuses to be ruled by her abusive husband and instead learns to dance, paving the way to her stardom as Europe’s most infamous dancer. 

From exotic Indian temples and glamorous Parisian theatres to stark German barracks in war-torn Europe, international bestselling author Michelle Moran who “expertly balances fact and fiction” (Associated Press) brings to vibrant life the famed world of Mata Hari: dancer, courtesan, and possibly, spy.

My thoughts:

History has remembered Mata Hari as a double agent who was irresistible, known for her beauty and grace. However, evidence or lack of it has come to light about how she might have been framed by both Germany and France and this is the version of history given in this book.

It is a short book and in some ways I think it moves things along and in other ways I think it didn't allow me to really connect with Mata Hari as a person. I saw how vulnerable she was in her early years, but most of that was a flashback and I did not grow up with her. You saw her naïveté which is what lead to her execution. The theory ends up being quite plausible and is also the more popular theory to date. You felt sorry for her and I felt more for her daughter who only gets an epilogue in the end. I'm curious to know if perhaps it was told through her daughter's eyes how different the story would have been told?

I give this book 3 stars. It is a very interesting take on a very enigmatic personality that has drawn curiosity since she first became famous. I like this version, but I did wish for more connection to the character. She is still sympathetic and interesting. I recommend the book to those curious about her and the theory on how she was framed. It also makes you curious about her and I did google her while reading it. :D

Masks and Shadows by Stephanie Burgis

Standalone
300 p.
Publisher: Pyr
Published: 4/12/16
Source: From publisher for review

The year is 1779, and Carlo Morelli, the most renowned castrato singer in Europe, has been invited as an honored guest to Eszterháza Palace. With Carlo in Prince Nikolaus Esterházy's carriage, ride a Prussian spy and one of the most notorious alchemists in the Habsburg Empire. Already at Eszterháza is Charlotte von Steinbeck, the very proper sister of Prince Nikolaus's mistress. Charlotte has retreated to the countryside to mourn her husband's death. Now, she must overcome the ingrained rules of her society in order to uncover the dangerous secrets lurking within the palace's golden walls. Music, magic, and blackmail mingle in a plot to assassinate the Habsburg Emperor and Empress--a plot that can only be stopped if Carlo and Charlotte can see through the masks worn by everyone they meet.

My thoughts:

Oh the cover intrigued me and so did the blurb and yet I really didn't know what to expect in this book. I just knew it was about a historical setting, opera, and lots of music... and a bit of the paranormal thrown in. Yea, I knew this one would be for me.

The book goes through several POVs but what was confusing at first was just remembering who was who and that would have been a problem for me if it was only one POV. Quickly, it did settle in my head enough that the book took off and then shortly after that I had all the players securely in my head.

A mystery flows through the book and we know that the Prince is a big part of it. However, what is being planned and how much damage will be wrought? There is an undercurrent of secret society with a demon at it's center but those things tended to stay at the periphery until the end. The end culminates with the mystery surrounding the story, music and a whole lot of explosive magic. It was a complete ending.

I enjoyed that aspect of the story but what really captured me was the romance between Carlo a castrato and Charlotte who was newly widowed. Both have let society dictate their lives and both have suffered for it. They also need to learn to trust and it is hard trusting one another. However, I really was impressed with Charlotte shunning the drama for truth and that helped the romance move forward. I didn't quite see why Carlo loved Charlotte as much as I was able to see the reverse, but it didn't matter as I was still swept up in their romance. This part of the story really moved the rest of the mystery along more than the other POVs in the story.

I give this book 4 stars. I really enjoyed the historical setting, the feel of Hyden's music, and the mystery behind it all. I recommend it to those that love historical mystery fiction with a bit of paranormal at the fringes.

Blog Tour: Migratory Animals by Mary Helen Specht

Standalone
320 p.
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Published: 1/20/15
Source: TLC Book Tours for review
Book Links: Goodreads, Amazon, IndieBound, and Barnes & Noble

A powerful debut novel about a group of 30-somethings struggling for connection and belonging, Migratory Animals centers on a protagonist who finds herself torn between love and duty. 

When Flannery, a young scientist, is forced to return to Austin from five years of research in Nigeria, she becomes torn between her two homes. Having left behind her loving fiancé without knowing when she can return, Flan learns that her sister, Molly, has begun to show signs of the crippling genetic disease that slowly killed their mother.

As their close-knit circle of friends struggles with Molly’s diagnosis, Flannery must grapple with what her future will hold: an ambitious life of love and the pursuit of scientific discovery in West Africa, or the pull of a life surrounded by old friends, the comfort of an old flame, family obligations, and the home she’s always known. But she is not the only one wrestling with uncertainty. Since their college days, each of her friends has faced unexpected challenges that make them reevaluate the lives they’d always planned for themselves. 

A mesmerizing debut from an exciting young writer, Migratory Animals is a moving, thought-provoking novel, told from shifting viewpoints, about the meaning of home and what we owe each other—and ourselves.

My thoughts:

 This sounded like a character driven book and I was not disappointed. This is an exploration of a group of friends and how you cannot run away from your past, you can only deal with it. It's about life that will recycle old problems in new ways until you finally deal with what is in front of you. It deals with death, suicide, hard decisions, love, laughter and friendship. What I also loved about this novel is that the characters are a variety of those in the human race and not all are on the US continent. I really enjoyed characters with mixed heritage.

As you travel through this time period with the friends you only hope that good things come to them in the end. While that happens for some, it does not happen for all. However, it isn't a depressing book and all seem to be where they need to be for the next step in life. My only complaint is that we don't know what happens to Flannery (the person we both start and stop with in this book) in her love life but while I hate that, the ending did feel complete.

I give this book 4 stars. If you want something in character exploration with a cast that are as individual as the people you know, I recommend this book.

About the author:
Born and raised in Abilene, Texas, Mary Helen Specht has a B.A. in English from Rice University and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Emerson College, where she won the department’s fiction award. Her writing has been nominated for multiple Pushcart Prizes and has appeared in numerous publications, including: The New York Times; The Colorado Review; Prairie Schooner; Michigan Quarterly Review; The Southwest Review; Florida Review; Southwestern American Literature; World Literature Today; Blue Mesa; Hunger Mountain; Bookslut; The Texas Observer; and Night Train, where she won the Richard Yates Short Story Award.

A past Fulbright Scholar to Nigeria and Dobie-Paisano Writing Fellow, Specht teaches creative writing at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas.

Author Mary Helen Specht's website, and Twitter.

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The Figures of Beauty by David MacFarlane

Standalone
384 p.
Publisher: Harper
Published: 10/7/14
Source: From publisher for review

Moving from Paris to Italy to North America, a sensuous, heartbreaking novel about art, beauty, star-crossed lovers, and the choices that define our lives, from the award winning author of Summer Gone 

A young man arrives in Paris in 1968, where a series of unlikely events lead him to a tiny village in Italy—and to the great love of his life. A marble merchant meets a couple on their honeymoon, introducing them to the sensual beauty of Carrara. An Italian woman travels to Canada on an odyssey to find the father she never knew. A terrible accident in a marble quarry changes the course of a young boy’s life and, ultimately, sets in motion each of these stories, which David Macfarlane masterfully chisels into a magnificent whole.

Oliver Hughson falls in love with wild, bohemian Anna over the course of one glorious summer in Italy. Bound by a sense of responsibility to his adoptive parents, he leaves her and returns home—an act he will regret for the rest of his life. Through luck or fate, Oliver had found the woman with whom he was meant to be. And now he must try to find his way back to her. 

Narrated by the daughter Oliver never knew he had, The Figures of Beauty is a love story of mythic proportions that reminds us of the powerful bond that can connect two people indelibly across oceans and time.

My thoughts:
The book is centered around sculpture, particularly marble sculpture. You travel through different time periods all which interconnect in some way through marble. The lush language puts you in Italy where most of the book takes place. In any time period, you can really travel with this author's words.

The story mostly follows Oliver, his doomed love story and his daughter. There are also references to artists, in particular Michelangelo as well as Anna (Oliver's lover and his daughter's mother) a present day non-figurative sculpture artist. The ventures back in time especially the ones in the 40s were intriguing but the time shifts just didn't come together for me. Yes, I did see a connection, but as an observer it didn't connect to me personally. It may be due to shifting constantly through time or that I never developed a connection to Oliver and his daughter. I think that if a book was made more about the past and it was constant, I think I would have enjoyed this book much more.

I give this book 2 1/2 stars. It is beautiful in the descriptions of the places, it has some interesting secondary characters, but I just didn't quite connect to much in this book. I would pick up a book by this author because of the beautiful writing, but this one didn't quite come together for me in the end.

The Collector of Dying Breaths (Reincarationist #6) by M.J. Rose

Reincarnationist Series #6
384p.
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: April 8, 14
Source: From Netgalley and the publisher for review

A lush and imaginative novel that crisscrosses time as a perfumer and a mythologist search for the fine line between potion and poison, poison and passion…and past and present. 

Florence, Italy—1533: An orphan named René le Florentin is plucked from poverty to become Catherine de Medici’s perfumer. Traveling with the young duchessina from Italy to France, René brings with him a cache of secret documents from the monastery where he was trained: recipes for exotic fragrances and potent medicines—and a formula for an alchemic process said to have the potential to reanimate the dead. In France, René becomes not only the greatest perfumer in the country but the most dangerous, creating deadly poisons for his Queen to use against her rivals. But while mixing herbs and essences under the light of flickering candles, Rene doesn’t begin to imagine the tragic and personal consequences for which his lethal potions will be responsible. 

Paris, France—The Present: A renowned mythologist, Jac L’Etoile, is trying to recover from personal heartache by throwing herself into her work, learns of the 16th century perfumer who may have been working on an elixir that would unlock the secret to immortality. She becomes obsessed with René le Florentin’s work—particularly when she discovers the dying breathes he had collected during his lifetime. Jac’s efforts put her in the path of her estranged lover, Griffin North, a linguist who has already begun translating René le Florentin’s mysterious formula. Together they confront an eccentric heiress in possession of a world-class art collection. A woman who has her own dark purpose for the elixir… a purpose for which she believes the ends will justify her deadly means. This mesmerizing gothic tale of passion and obsession crisscrosses time, zigzagging from the violent days of Catherine de Medici’s court to twenty-first century France. Fiery and lush, set against deep, wild forests and dimly lit chateaus, The Collector of Dying Breaths illuminates the true path to immortality: the legacies we leave behind.

My thoughts:
I picked this one up since I have been curious about this series and understand that these can be read as standalones. That was correct. The theme or reincarnation is what holds the collection together and the stories are separate.

In this book we follow alternating POVs of René, Catherine de Medici's perfumer, and Jac the daughter and sister of 2 great perfumers and one in her own right (she does not do it professionally). With René's story we follow what happened to him and what he did right before and during his time in the service of Catherine. We follow his long time obsession with collecting dying breaths in hopes of reanimating that soul into a newborn babe. He finds a formula where the ingredients are hard to find. He thinks he may have stumbled on the elixir to immortal life.

We also follow Jac. Her brother had been poisoned and she is not sure if she is the next target. She starts the arduous task of collecting her brother's things and she stumbles on his last project. The project determined to bring back René's greatest work of reanimating dying breaths. She becomes intrigued and then obsessed when she learns that her brother had his last breath collected. Through twists and turns that also ends up as a murder mystery, she finds the most shocking truth of it all and how everything connects. And that truth is... Yea, right... not going to reveal that. ;)

I give this book 4 stars. I recommend it to those that enjoy a good twisty mystery and a large amount of historical fiction. I really enjoyed the author's writing and I do intend to pick up the other 5 because now I'm very curious. Even with the shifting POVs, it is very readable.

The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo: A Novel by F. G. Haghenbeck

When several notebooks were recently discovered among Frida Kahlo’s belongings at her home in Coyoacán, Mexico City, acclaimed Mexican novelist F. G. Haghenbeck was inspired to write this beautifully wrought fictional account of her life. Haghenbeck imagines that, after Frida nearly died when a streetcar’s iron handrail pierced her abdomen during a traffic accident, she received one of the notebooks as a gift from her lover Tina Modotti. Frida called the notebook “The Hierba Santa Book” (The Sacred Herbs Book) and filled it with memories, ideas, and recipes. Haghenbeck takes readers on a magical ride through Frida’s passionate life: her long and tumultuous relationship with Diego Rivera, the development of her art, her complex personality, her hunger for experience, and her ardent feminism. This stunning narrative also details her remarkable relationships with Georgia O’Keeffe, Leon Trotsky, Nelson Rockefeller, Ernest Hemingway, John Dos Passos, Henry Miller, and Salvador Dalí. Combining rich, luscious prose with recipes from “The Hierba Santa Book,” Haghenbeck tells the extraordinary story of a woman whose life was as stunning a creation as her art.

I became interested in Frida Kahlo when I was first introduced to Diego Rivera in an Art History class. I admit, I did not care for Diego's murals as much as I did Frida's honesty. I didn't understand why we didn't go more into Frida as we did Diego. To this day I still do not. I think she was actually the better painter of the two. Her work which has a surreal quality to it, often shows her pain in which she was plagued all of her life.

This book did remind me about the movie made of her life, Frida. So, you know that it kept close to her biography. What it also contained is some recipes. All delicious and tied to the chapter. You not only get authentic Mexican food, but a couple of Italian dishes as well. I can say, I would love to try some of these dishes... now I just need to find someone to cook! Trust me, Frida would throw me out of the kitchen and laugh at my feeble attempts at food. :)

I have to admit, I was hoping for a bit more of her philosophy. She was a woman of contradiction and I was wanting to see this within her head as we traveled with Frida in life. Although we do get a bit of philosophy, we do not go very deep. It skims on the surface of someone who dealt with death, pain, and betrayal on a constant basis and yet still found a zest for life. Still, I found the imagery within interesting and taken from her paintings.

I give this book 3 stars. If you are curious about her this is an interesting work of fiction about her life. I also think that it is worth the recipes within. I showed it to my mom and she just kept saying that everything looked so good. Just don't read it on an empty stomach. :)

  I received this ARC from Atria and no compensation for my review was given.

Kat Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis

From Goodreads:

Twelve-year-old Kat Stephenson may be the despair of her social-climbing Step-Mama, but she was born to be a magical Guardian and protector of Society--if she can ever find true acceptance in the secret Order that expelled her own mother. She’s ready to turn the hidebound Order of the Guardians inside-out, whether the older members like it or not. And in a society where magic is the greatest scandal of all, Kat is determined to use all her powers to help her three older siblings--saintly Elissa, practicing-witch Angeline, and hopelessly foolish Charles--find their own true loves, even if she has to turn highwayman, battle wild magic, and confront real ghosts along the way!

Any Jane Austen fans out there? Looking to the next generation and wanting them to be interested in those wonderful books but still feel they are a bit too old for them? Oh, do I have the perfect solution. Let me introduce you to Kat Stephenson a girl who will never be on the best behaved list. Kat is the main character and the one who is the most adventurous of the 3 girls. Charles, their older brother has kept the family in financial ruins which prompts the oldest sister, and the most dramatic of them all, Elissa to marry into money. Stepmama found the perfect catch. However the catch is, is that he lost his last wife to some very unusual and suspicious circumstances. Trying to do what is right and also trying to find out what magics Angeline, the middle sister, has been preforming, Kat stumbles onto a magic mirror who claims her as her own.

Hm... as to what happens next. I cannot say. Angeline put a lip lock (finger lock?) spell on me to prevent it. I will say, however, that if you love fun adventure, strong willed smart women, and a MG/YA tribute to Jane Austen then you will enjoy this book. The story does start out a bit slow but quickens the pace as soon as the first adventure of magic appears (which happens quickly). I give this book 4 1/2 stars. Oh and this is book 1 in the series. You UK people should be happy that you'll be getting those stories before us Yanks in the colonies. ;)

Books in the Series:

1. Most Improper Magick (UK);  Kat Incorrigible (US)
2. A Tangle of Magicks (UK) (TBP: Aug. 2011);  Kat Incorrigible: Renegade Magic (US) (TBP: April 2012)
3. Reckless Magick (working title) (UK);  untitled (US)

I received this book from the publisher, Simon and Schuster, and no compensation for my review was given.

Finding Emilie by Laurel Corona

From Goodreads:

Woman is born free, and everywhere she is in corsets. . . . 

Lili du Châtelet yearns to know more about her mother, the brilliant French mathematician Emilie. But the shrouded details of Emilie’s unconventional life—and her sudden death—are elusive. Caught between the confines of a convent upbringing and the intrigues of the Versailles court, Lili blossoms under the care of a Parisian salonnière as she absorbs the excitement of the Enlightenment, even as the scandalous shadow of her mother’s past haunts her and puts her on her own path of self-discovery. 

Laurel Corona’s breathtaking new novel, set on the eve of the French Revolution, vividly illuminates the tensions of the times, and the dangerous dance between the need to conform and the desire to chart one’s own destiny and journey of the heart.

The first quote in the blurb is a version fictionally written by Lili du Châtelet of the more well known version of Jean-Jacques Rosseau quote: Men are born free and everywhere in chains. This sets the ideals of the child's mother and for Lili's life as well. Emilie du Châtelet (portrait to the right) was a real person in history who not only studied science and rewrote Neuton's laws so everyone could understand his theories as well as other treatises in physics; but she also lived and encouraged others to live a life true to yourself. Much of this book is based in well researched history. Emilie died shortly after the birth of Lili, the main character of the book, who then died a few days later. The author takes the birth of Lili and changes her outcome. Instead of dying, she lives and does not suffer the fate most likely a child would of that circumstance. Instead of going to a convent, she is adopted of sorts by a close friend to be raised with her child. This book is Lili's fictional story.

I admit when I first started this book the blurb made me think this was a book where the child, Lili, learns of her mother and is besotted by her philosophies. Thinking them through and coming to epiphanies of her own. That is not quite what happened but it came close. We follow Lili through her life. Starting with her childhood and her problems at the convent where she was tutored for her schooling. It was not pleasant for a child full of questions about the world. Luckily being raised by her foster mother who encourages her quick mind she is not beaten down by piety. Instead she is invited to attend the Solon that meets frequently at her house to discuss politics while trying to learn to be a lady worthy of marriage. A line precariously drawn since women of that time were supposed to be vapid and arm candy; nothing more.

To me this book is what the author wished Emilie's life could have been. It was the ideal life situation at that time and age. However, I don't think it would have made her the woman she was nor Lili either. Greatness does not come in a vacuum. And while Lili's life was not totally perfect nor totally in a vacuous state, it did come close. She really only touched upon the problems and prejudices she would have to endure if she was to pursue the path she wanted to undertake in science and writing. I've always felt that sometimes we need the oppressive state to encourage greatness as the brightest light always shines the best in darkness. However, who am I to criticize as sometimes people can see the world in their back yard and some keep their blinders they were born to even when they travel the world. Regardless, I still would have preferred epiphanies rather than what seemed like small revelations within Lili's life and in her life's philosophy.

So, how do I rate this book? I did enjoy it, but I admit it did drag a bit a times. However, those seemed to be small because the book quickly interested me after a small lull. The book also starts with 2 quotes to set the stage for Lili's philosophical life. One by Voltaire: Common sense is not so common. as well as a wonderful quote by Emilie herself:

"Judge me for my own merits, or lack of them, but do not look upon me as a mere appendage to this great general or that great scholar, this star that shines at the court of France or that famed author. I am in my own right a whole person, responsible to myself alone for all that I am, all that I say, all that I do. it may be that there are metaphysicians and philosophers whose learning is greater than mine, although I have not met them. Yet, they are but frail humans, too, and have their faults; so, when I add the sum total of my graces, I confess I am inferior to no one."

These quotes actually made me more interested in Emilie herself more than her daughter. With her improved life story wise, I don't know if I was as interested. I will say that Lili's philosophy about the social situations in this book could also be used in today's situations. For example:

...in the dreary half a year she had lived with the Baronne Lomont, she had never heard laughter, never heard anyone  express a thought except to disparage someone else's, never glimpsed joy in being alive.

I know people like this, don't you? Those that would rather be right or righteous than happy? I guess the old idiom is true. The more things change the more things stay the same.

Oh, and yes, I am aware I did not answer the above question. I will rate it 3 1/2 stars. I recommend the book to people who love historical fiction written with a small slice of social commentary. I would have rated it higher but I just don't think that our ideal lives will produce the greatness we always hope it will. 

I received this book from the publisher, Gallery and no compensation for my review was given.

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

From Goodreads:

Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions. 

Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously—and at great risk—documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives.Between Shades of Gray is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart.

If this book doesn't become banned, I'll be sorely disappointed in the self-appointed safety-bubble police. This is a perfect book to burst that bubble and I'm proud to have read it. This book deserves to be on the shelf of every school in the world. It is an important story that is largely unknown.

I will not give anything away in this story as it is important to follow Lina in her heroic and harrowing tale. Her fight for life, just living and breathing is heroic within the conditions that presented itself. The story is often paralleled by her memories of a better time which also contrast to the horror the family, Lina, Jona her brother, and her mother Elena, are experiencing. The horror is made much darker by that comparison. It also provided Lina something else to concentrate on other than hunger and toil. The darkness wasn't surprising to me as I also realized what I was getting into by the first chapter.

   "Twenty minutes," the officer barked. He threw his burning cigarette onto our clean living room floor and ground it into the wood with his boot.

   We were about to become cigarettes.

There is one thing I will warn you. You will need some tissues by the end of this book. *shakes fist* Oh, I hate crying and I hate it even more so when I'm trying to keep my sinuses from closing up on me and looking like I was punched in the face. So, don't say I didn't warn you when you start blubbering like a baby. At least you weren't the only one to do that. *sniff*

I recommend this book to everyone. It is YA, but written simply and well. Younger YA audiences could easily read this, but for concerned parents know there is violence and rape by coercion. It is a book describing atrocities that occurred, but isn't any worse than is presented in the media today. I would suggest to those with young kids to read it first and then decide. It is a book I think parents should read anyway.


If you still aren't convinced to read the book, do watch the author talk about her book. It is about 10 minutes, but totally worth the time.

Ruta Sepetys discusses  her upcoming novel, Between Shades of Gray from Penguin Young Readers Group on Vimeo.

Chapter one
Official website for the book
I was given this ARC by the publisher and no compensation for my review was given.

Butterfly's Child by Angela Davis-Gardner

From Goodreads:

When three-year-old Benji is plucked from the security of his home in Nagasaki to live with his American father, Lt. Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton, and stepmother, Kate, on their farm in Illinois, the family conceals Benji’s true identity as a child born from a liaison between an officer and a geisha, and instead tells everyone that he is an orphan. 

Frank struggles to keep the farm going while coping with his guilt and longing for the deceased Butterfly. Deeply devout Kate is torn between her Christian principles and her resentment of raising another woman’s child. And Benji’s life as an outcast—neither fully American nor fully Japanese—forces him to forge an identity far from the life he has known. 

When the truth about Benji surfaces, it will splinter this family’s fragile dynamic, sending repercussions spiraling through their close-knit rural community and sending Benji on the journey of a lifetime from Illinois to the Japanese settlements in Denver and San Francisco, then across the ocean to Nagasaki, where he will uncover the truth about his mother’s tragic death.

A sweeping portrait of a changing American landscape at the end of the nineteenth century, and of a Japanese culture irrevocably altered by foreign influence, Butterfly’s Child explores people in transition—from old worlds to new customs, heart’s desires to vivid realities—in an epic tale that plays out as both a conclusion to and an inspiration for one of the most famous love stories ever told.

I thought it was interesting and a bit eerie that this book came in the mail the same day that the earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan. Although I was already curious about the book since it is the continuation of Madame Butterfly (which I admit, I've never seen), I think the timing made it more interesting. Especially since it would be at a time when there was not so much earthly destruction. Therefore, I admit the recent events may have colored my reading of this story.

You do not have to have read or seen Madame Butterfly to read this book. The author supplies a brief synopsis of the opera so you are completely caught up in Benji's story from the beginning. And although it is mostly Benji's story, there is a change of POV in the book where you also get an insight into Mr. and Mrs. Pinkerton as well as some of the other minor players in this story. I should say that the changing POV is not smooth, but I feel it was necessary. That way the Pinkertons did not become one-dimensional villains in the story.

Benji is a sweet little boy. Witnessing his mother's suicide and then taken to a strange land with people he never met before. He knows that Mr. Pinkerton is his papa, but the man and the woman refuses to acknowledge this fact. While growing up, Benji is stripped of his Japanese heritage. As he grows he becomes more obsessed with keeping what little he remembers about Japan in an effort to cling to something of his mother. His parents, the Pinkertons, were not totally sympathetic to Benji's plight yet they are not totally ignorant of it either. However, they seem more interested in their selves and what others would think. This is what fosters their victim mentality. The author does not make the Pinkertons total monsters; within their POV, you see people who are doing the best that they know how and do honestly care for Benji's well being. They just can't seem to get past wanting to be the victim in this little play. This interferes with Benji's upbringing as well as their own satisfaction with life.

Benji's life is not completely horrid, he does find several people willing to go out of their way to help him. In fact, he is quite lucky in this respect. He finds a bit of hardship on his road back to Japan, but really, it was very minor for someone of mixed race, especially in the late 1800s/ early 1900s. By the end Benji has made a new life for himself and there is a huge twist even I did not see coming (now you know I'm not going to tell what that was... *evil laugh).

I give this story 4 stars. My biggest criticism is that the cultural corrections to the opera by the author were made at the end of the book all at once and I would have loved to see it more interspersed within the story much earlier. Perhaps in the "second act" when Benji was learning about the Japanese culture. That way the ending wouldn't have seemed as rushed as it appeared to me. However, I did enjoy this unique tale and found it to be an interesting journey.

I received this book from Goodreads first reads program and the publisher; no compensation for my review was given.

Since Japan is on our minds... I thought I'd include a list of places you can donate if you wish. These are organizations that go where there is the most need.

• American Red Cross
• Doctors Without Borders
• Humane Society