Review: THE NIGHTINGALE by Kristin Hannah

January 31, 2015April 21, 2019 / drbethnolan / 1 Comment

Publishing on February 3 is a book that is destined to be one of my top picks for 2015. THE NIGHTINGALE is a story of two French sisters during WWII. Each sister does whatever she can to survive, and their story is both riveting and heart-breaking. I could not put this book down!

Without giving away the whole story line, this novel basically follows two sisters throughout the occupation of France in WWII. One sister, Viann, has a young daughter and her husband is sent to fight. She is determined to keep their family home going and to keep her daughter safe until her husband returns. The other sister, Isabelle, has always been the black sheep. She is young and impetuous, but she is also strong and courageous. She joins the Resistance and works to bring downed allied airmen over the Pyrenees into Spain. The sisters clash and fight and are so completely different, yet at the same time they love each other and want to help each other. Each faces the horrible reality of the war with her own way of coping.

I have to say that when I read this, I identified so strongly with Viann. When I was younger, I might have been more of an Isabelle, but Viann’s struggle to just get by and keep going and to protect her daughter at all costs — I could just imagine myself in her shoes. She was willing to suffer at great lengths as long as it meant that her daughter was safe. However, that doesn’t mean that she did nothing or just went along with the atrocities she was witnessing. One thing I loved about this book is that these characters were so multi-layered. There’s a whole back story involving their mother, which I won’t go in to, that had shaped them, as well as their relationship with their father in Paris. I truly loved these characters even though their story made me weep at times.

If you like WWII novels, and especially if you enjoy reading about ordinary people doing extraordinary things, pick up a copy of THE NIGHTINGALE. This was my first Kristin Hannah book, but it won’t be my last!

Thank you, Net Galley, for my ARC!

Saturday Snapshot: Blizzard of 2015!

January 31, 2015January 31, 2015 / drbethnolan / 11 Comments

You’ve probably heard by now of the blizzard earlier this week. We got a lot of snow – 36 inches! Here are a few pictures. Just for reference – the one of my husband shoveling our walk – he is 6’2!

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda at http://www.westmetromommy.blogspot.com. See her site for participation details!

Review: THE AFTER HOUSE by Michael Phillip Cash

January 29, 2015April 21, 2019 / drbethnolan / 1 Comment

I pulled this ghost story from Net Galley as I thought it looked intriguing. The main character is a young mother who is trying to rebuild her life after a terrible divorce from an abusive husband. She gets a place on Long Island not far from her parents, but the historic cottage comes with the ghost of a sea-captain. Remy is trying to start a new life, make new friends, work, be a mom, and she also starts up a romance with a local historian who has all sorts of information about the house and its past occupants. Then in the middle of all this, someone is trying to kill her.

This one is a bit tough for me to review as I really liked some parts of it and was confused by others. I liked the main premise: starting over, new life, “you can do it!” theme. I liked the chapters covering the past with the sea captain’s life. I had known of Nantucket and New Bedford as centers for whaling, but I didn’t realize that whalers went from Long Island, too. I would have enjoyed even more of the past with historical facts, etc.

Here’s what I struggled with: Remy’s parents, especially her father, were incredibly over-protective. They treated her like she was 15 not in her thirties. Perhaps there are parents like that out there, but it seemed odd to me that they were treating their adult daughter who has a daughter of her own like she was a teenager. They also kept saying terrible things about her ex-husband (e.g. “I never liked that guy” etc) which seemed juvenile and a little unrealistic to me. Then the ghost was a bit confusing — on one hand he was kind of scary, but then that didn’t work well so he turned nice. It almost seemed like the poor ghost was having an identity crisis. Added onto this were two additional ghosts or spirits or angels or something. To be honest, when they weren’t in the story (as observers) I’d forget they were even there, then a chapter would pop up with them discussing what they were looking at in terms of humans and sea-captain ghost. I’m not sure what their role was as it seemed like one was earning her wings, so to speak — maybe help get the sea captain to eternal rest after all these years? I don’t know.

Anyhow, I think this is one of those books that most will either like or not finish. I finished it but am mixed in how much I liked it.

Thanks, Net Galley, for my copy!

YA Review: THE WICKED AWAKENING OF ANNE MERCHANT by Joanna Wiebe

January 26, 2015April 21, 2019 / drbethnolan / 1 Comment

Last year at this time I read and reviewed THE UNSEEMLY EDUCATION OF ANNE MERCHANT (see review here: https://drbethnolan.wordpress.com/2014/01/19/ya-review-the-unseemly-education-of-anne-merchant-by-joanna-wiebe/).

I liked it, so when the folks at Ben Bella Books offered me the next book in the series, I said yes please!

This novel, book 2 in the trilogy, picks up whether the first one left off. Anne is still fighting for her life, so to speak, and trying to work out her relationship with Ben and save him, too. This installment spends a lot of time giving more background and fleshing out the story of Anne and her family, her powers, etc. To be honest, I didn’t care for this book as much as the first, largely because I felt there was a lot of dialogue. Whenever there was action, though, especially at the end, I could scarcely put it down. I also got confused about what characters were what, given that some used more than one name. And to be honest, this story had a lot more about the demons in it, and demons really aren’t my thing (though I have lots of friends who love paranormal type reading with demons, etc.). I’m more of a ghost or psychic powers person.

Anyway, just wanted to be honest! I still look forward to the next and final book in this series to see how intelligent and fiery Anne will solve her problems!

Thank you for my review copy (I love the cover)!

HFVB Tour of THE SCHOOL OF NIGHT by Colin Falconer

January 25, 2015April 21, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

So happy today to be part of THE SCHOOL OF NIGHT blog tour to review Colin Falconer’s first book in the “William Shakespeare Detective Agency” series.

William Shakespeare is not that William Shakespeare; he is his cousin from the countryside, come to London to visit cousin Will and find something worthwhile to do as he escapes drudgery as a glovemaker. William has a bit of penchant for attracting trouble and he is hardly in town long before he’s disgruntled his cousin (with whom he is staying) and been requested to find a lovely young woman’s missing husband. Peril exists at every corner and William must use his strengths (both physical and mental) to figure out the mystery and set things right.

I really enjoyed this book – the start of a series. William has a dry wit and makes little asides to the reader throughout that are quite humorous – I particularly like his takes on the people and conditions of London back in the day.

Mr. Falconer is a fairly prolific historical fiction author. Here’s some info on him from HFVB tours:

Born in London, Colin first trialed as a professional football player in England, and was eventually brought to Australia. He went to Sydney and worked in TV and radio and freelanced for many of Australia’s leading newspapers and magazines. He has published over twenty novels and his work has so far been translated into 23 languages.

He travels regularly to research his novels and his quest for authenticity has led him to run with the bulls in Pamplona, pursue tornadoes across Oklahoma and black witches across Mexico, go cage shark diving in South Africa and get tear gassed in a riot in La Paz.

He currently lives in Barcelona.

I look forward to reading the next installment in this series. Thank you for my review copy!

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: The Daring Ladies of Lowell by Kate Alcott

January 24, 2015January 24, 2015 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

Since I have a bit of commute for school pick-up, I’ve been listening to more audiobooks in the car these past few months. I get them from the local library. Recently I listened to “The Daring Ladies of Lowell” by Kate Alcott (author of The Dressmaker – which I also listened to on audio) which is read by Cassandra Campbell.

I live near the Lowell Mills and I have always found their history fascinating. In this novel, Alice Barrow moves to Lowell to work in the mills. She is a fairly typical “mill girl”, having left her family farm for work in the city and some independence. Alice lives in a boarding house (very typical of the time) with several other mill girls. Then one of them is found dead — suicide is suspected but it turns to murder. Alice becomes involved in the trial and in trying to bring her friend’s murderer to justice. Along the way, the girls are fighting for better working conditions and health protection, and Alice finds herself falling in love with the son of the mill owner.

The following contains SPOILERS!

I enjoyed listening to this book. I have to say I was a bit freaked out by the health issues some of the girls had that I was unaware of — coughing up “cotton balls” of lint from breathing it in during production, and eventually having their lungs ruined. That was quite disturbing. Lovey’s murder is also quite disturbing – she is pregnant and the number one suspect is an itinerant minister. Interestingly, this part of the novel was based on the real life murder of a mill girl, and Alcott even used the trial testimony and some real names. (In real life, though, the murder took place in Fall River – still in Massachusetts but not Lowell).

The only thing that didn’t “work” for me in this story was the romance. It seemed fairly improbable that the mill owner’s son would fall in love with a worker (and I don’t mean “lust after” but truly “fall in love”). The class divide was pretty great in those days and the working class was often “invisible” to the wealthy. It was fine; I just had to suspend my disbelief during those scenes!

Here’s a great article from the Globe about the real murder in Massachusetts that this is based on and how Ms. Alcott came to write about it:

http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2014/04/19/the-real-life-murder-behind-novel-about-lowell-mills/bvMBFwckjExNWEGkS87zvI/story.html

You can see this book on Indie Bound where I am an Affiliate:

Find it at an Indie!

DREAMING SPIES Giveaway!

January 22, 2015January 22, 2015 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

Laurie R. King has a series of books about Sherlock Holmes and his wife Mary Russell as they solve various mysteries. I read the latest one (review coming soon – closer to Pub Day in February) last week and just loved it! If you know me, you know I’m a HUGE Holmes fan, and I really liked the addition of a younger, intelligent wife to his story.

DREAMING SPIES is the title of the upcoming novel (a take, I believe, on “dreaming spires of Oxford” as the story takes place in part there). Random House is hosting a fabu giveaway of a mini iPad with ALL Laurie’s books loaded onto it, included this latest title. There are other prizes as well!

You can see the giveaway here:

http://atrandom.com/dreaming-spies/

Good luck — entering is just elementary! (okay – I had to say that!!)

Review: DOWN BY THE RIVER by Lin Stepp

January 21, 2015 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I received a copy of DOWN BY THE RIVER through Net Galley to review. It looked like a nice story line: widow starts over by taking on a bed and breakfast in the Smoky Mountains. Apparently this is the sixth book in the Smoky Mountain (Christian) series, though I haven’t read any of the others. It can be read on its own.

The story line is fairly straightforward: widowed Grace Conley feels ready to start over. Her children are grown and her former life no longer holds her since her businessman husband passed away. She sells her large house as she is no longer entertaining or helping with his family business, and takes on a beautiful little bed and breakfast in a small town. Grace is learning to rediscover herself and her emotions. There is an interesting cast of characters along the way.

The following contains SPOILERS – beware!

So here’s the thing — I didn’t dislike this book, however, I didn’t really love it. The setting and the characters of Grace and her daughter Margaret and the young twins: yes, I liked them a lot. I liked the underlying Christian themes and messages. Jack grew on me but I found him intolerable at the beginning. (Yes, he changes – predictably – over the course of the book). What I really did not like was the “crazy man” story line. It was odd and disturbing and then suddenly there’s a hasty wrap up of the situation near the end that involves rape, murder, and mental illness. Also the two characters who moved the plot along through their clairvoyance, or whatever you want to call it, bothered me, too. How handy to have a gift that you can know the future and know, according to this story, what God wants from you and what you should do. And there were two characters like this! I don’t know – didn’t work for me.

So – at the end of the day – if I don’t like a book, I don’t finish it and I don’t review it (hence the overwhelming positive “voice” of my blog). I liked it enough to finish it, just not enough to want to gush about it. I would read another one by Ms. Stepp, though, and I do like reading Christian books as they are “clean reads” with positive messages.

Find it at an indie bookstore near you — I am an indie bound affiliate:

Find it at an Indie!

Quick Review: Agatha Raisin – Something Borrowed, Someone Dead by M.C. Beaton

January 20, 2015January 18, 2015 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

Unbelievably,when I wasn’t watching, a new Agatha Raisin book published last year. I saw it out on the “new books” shelf at the library last week and was a bit startled. I pride myself on monitoring all the publishing actions of my fave authors! (by the way – there’s a new Hamish MacBeth book by Beaton due out soon. I was rejected (that hurts as I’m rarely rejected!!) through Net Galley for it, so I will need to wait a bit).

Anyway, I digress. If you read me, you know I love this cozy mystery series. I’ve lost count of how many there are but I’ve read them all. I also saw on Marion’s facebook page (MC Beaton’s name is Marion – I like to act “familiar”) that Sky TV in Great Britain is making an Agatha series. I can only hope I can get it through the internet somehow!

In this installment, Agatha is called in to investigate the poisoning murder of a woman who seemed to be the pillar of the community, but who was really a big pain in the neck — always borrowing things and then refusing to return them. There is no shortage of suspects and while this little hamlet seems like a cozy, sleepy place, Agatha is soon is peril. There are lots of subplots along the way with a new attraction for her and both Charles and James showing up to help out (along with Roy and Toni).

If you like Agatha, you’ll like the latest!

You can get it at the library where I got mine! Or at a bookstore near you. Or Amazon. You know the drill…

HFVB Tour Review: DEATH OF A DISHONORABLE GENTLEMAN by Tessa Arlen

January 19, 2015January 8, 2015 / drbethnolan / 6 Comments

I’m so happy to take part in the Historical Fiction Virtual Book tour of this fun Edwardian mystery: DEATH OF A DISHONORABLE GENTLEMAN by Tessa Arlen.

In this story, the lady of the manor, Lady Monfort, is having a summer ball and she’s enjoying all the planning that goes in to this yearly event. However, her husband’s nephew, Teddy, a slightly nefarious young man, is found dead, and the guests all become suspects. Unfortunately, Lady Monfort had heard her own beloved son arguing with Teddy shortly before his death. She is worried that suspicion will fall on him, so she joins forces with her housekeeper, Mrs. Jackson, to figure out who might be the killer.

I loved the fact that Lady Monfort didn’t do the sleuthing herself — as that would have been fairly impossible given the social conventions of her time. It was far more believable that her housekeeper was the one finding out facts. They always say that staff is “invisible” – though perhaps “inconspicuous” is a better term. I also loved that it was two women doing the work here, and not Lady Monfort relying on a relationship/friendship with the local constable, etc. to get the mystery solved (an oft-used device for mysteries). I also really enjoyed how Ms. Arlen included some of the social issues of the day in the plot: women’s suffrage, for instance, and the use and abuse of household staff.

I had been needing a “Downton” fix, and this book was a perfect read for me during December. That said, it is NOT a take on Downton Abbey in any way, but stands on its own merit. The second book in the series will be out next January (I’m available for the book blog tour – hint hint!).

Thank you for my review copy!

You can find this book at a local bookstore near you — I am an Indie Bound Affiliate:

Find it at an Indie!

Here is some info on Ms. Arlen from HFVBT:

TESSA ARLEN, the daughter of a British diplomat, had lived in or visited her parents in Singapore, Cairo, Berlin, the Persian Gulf, Beijing, Delhi and Warsaw by the time she was sixteen. She came to the U.S. in 1980 and worked as an H.R. recruiter for the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee for the 1984 Olympic Games, where she interviewed her future husband for a job. DEATH OF A DISHONORABLE GENTLEMAN is Tessa’s first novel. She lives in Bainbridge Island, Washington.