Today I’m dishing about a new historical fiction novel taking place during the American Revolution: America’s Daughter by Celeste de Blasis. This was a quick read for me and it’s part of a trilogy. I liked the characters, especially Addie, and felt that it added a lot of explanation about the guiding historical events during that time, so you could learn while reading. While it’s written for adults, I think it would be a good choice for older teens (there is some “wedding night sex” in it – FYI).
I look forward to the rest of the series! Thank you for making me part of the tour.
Book Description: With Washington’s army, she joined America’s fight for independence…
1773. The night that Addie Valencourt sneaks out to witness the Boston Tea Party, she knows that her world is about to change forever. Soon, the love and security of her tight-knit family is torn apart by the fight for American independence.
When the British lay siege to Boston, Addie’s English-born father welcomes them into his home, while her childhood sweetheart Silas leaves to join General Washington. Addie is determined to follow him when she meets Scottish Highlander John Traverne. The frowning, dark-haired soldier is unlike anyone she has ever known, and he interests her more than he should. But any future with a man on the opposite side of this fight is impossible…
As the bitter war continues, Addie’s life becomes increasingly bound with the fate of America. When Silas is captured by the British, she risks all to search for him, but venturing into enemy territory brings her face to face with her Highlander again. Now Addie must make an impossible choice between what her heart is telling her, and protecting the secrets—and even the very lives—of the Patriots on the dangerous front line…
The first part of an epic, emotional and heartbreaking trilogy about a woman caught in the struggle for a new America. Readers who love My Dear Hamilton and Flight of the Sparrow will be swept away by America’s Daughter.
Author Bio:
Millions of readers have fallen under the spell of the lush, enthralling and bestselling novels by Celeste De Blasis. Tales of adventure and romance set against the sweep of history—all are storytelling at its finest. After graduating from Pomona College, Celeste devoted her life to impeccable research and spellbinding writing. A native Californian, Celeste grew up on the historic Kemper Campbell Ranch in the Mojave Desert, where she lived until her death in 2001.
A few months back I received the offer of an audiobook of this intriguing story: The Mystery of Martha. This was a really interesting and engaging story, following two Martha’s (one Biblical). I loved it and I especially loved the author’s narration. I just wanted to close my eyes as she had to most wonderful voice (but I didn’t because I was driving!). The story was a unique take on the Biblical Jesus and his impact on those around him and those who follow him centuries later.
Definitely a little different from my usual fare of WWII, cozy mysteries, and light romances, I highly recommend it!
Martha of Bethany has Yeshua (Jesus) as friend and guide. With her sister Magdala and brother L’azar, she witnesses the last three years of Yeshua’s life and sees him embody the mystery and power of Love. This leads her on a journey to Avalon in the Sacred Isles, where she finds her own pathway to awakening.
Martha of Borrowdale’s story begins in 2000 AD as she faces personal challenges and betrayal. With her new partner Ben, she discovers the original Aramaic teachings of Yeshua that reveal timeless truths, which enable her to transmute her fears into love.
These two redemptive stories weave alongside each other until finally they converge. This revelatory tale of mystery and transformation sheds new light on events that happened two thousand years ago. It is also the story of the eternal search for truth, love, and freedom.
Eliza Harrison drew on her life and work to create The Mystery of Martha. She lives in Cumbria in the English Lake District, an area that she often writes about and photographs. A lifelong meditation practitioner, she currently runs Sacred Meditation with her husband David. Her journey from idea to finished novel took her to southern France, Spain, and Jerusalem.
I’m here today to tell you about a great WWII read: Beyond this Broken Sky by Siobhan Curham. I loved this one! I always like stories that are the present and then the past, with modern day people discovering the past lives of now elderly people and their heroic actions during WWII. This story takes place in London, a lot of it during the Blitz. It’s part historical fiction, part romance, part mystery. I just loved the character of Ruby!
I will look for more from the author, Siobhan Curham, as she is new to me!
Thank you for my review galley and for making me part of the tour! And mea culpa! I am so very sorry – I had my date wrong, so my post is late!! I had put it into my blog calendar as later this week.
Book Description:
1940, London: An unforgettable novel about the strength of the human spirit in the face of war and the remarkable women who put themselves in danger on the front lines during the Battle of Britain.
As a volunteer for the ambulance service, Ruby has the dangerous task of driving along pitch-dark roads during the blackout. With each survivor she pulls from the rubble, she is helping to fight back against the enemy bombers, who leave nothing but destruction in their wake.
Assigned to her crew is Joseph, who is unable to fight but will stop at nothing to save innocent lives. Because he is not in uniform, people treat him with suspicion and Ruby becomes determined to protect this brave, compassionate man who has rescued so many, and captured her heart. Even if it means making an unthinkable choice between saving her own life and risking everything for his…
2019: Recently divorced Edi feels lost and alone when she moves to London to start a new life. Until she makes a discovery, hidden beneath a loose floorboard in her attic, that reveals a secret about the people who lived there in the 1940s. As she gradually uncovers a wartime love story full of danger and betrayal, Edi becomes inspired by the heroism of one incredible woman and the legacy that can be left behind by a single act of courage…
A sweeping tale of bravery and self-sacrifice that shows that even in the midst of war, hope and love can bloom. Perfect for fans of The Alice Network, The Secret Messenger and The Lost Girls of Paris.
Author Bio:
Siobhan Curham is an award-winning author, ghost writer, editor and writing coach. She has also written for many newspapers, magazines and websites, including The Guardian, Breathe magazine, Cosmopolitan, Writers’ Forum, DatingAdvice.com, and Spirit & Destiny. Siobhan has been a guest on various radio and TV shows, including Woman’s Hour, BBC News, GMTV and BBC Breakfast. And she has spoken at businesses, schools, universities and literary festivals around the world, including the BBC, Hay Festival, Cheltenham Festival, Bath Festival, Ilkley Festival, London Book Fair and Sharjah Reading Festival.
I am thrilled today to be dishing about Carole Bumpus’ new travel novel: A September to Remember: Searching for Culinary Pleasures at the Italian Table, about her and her husband’s month spent in Italy. I loved reading about Carole and Winston’s adventures and the food they experienced in Italy. The story was very readable and captured the good, the bad, and the ugly of travel! I laughed out loud at some parts! Carole includes recipes for some of the wonderful traditional dishes she and her husband enjoyed while there.
This is a stand alone title within a series of books about travel and culinary pleasures.
Highly recommended! Thanks for making me part of the tour!
Here's the overview:
This culinary travel memoir is an invitation to join in on a month-long trek through Italy, all in the search of the true Italian experience. Sprinkled with unforgettable characters, you will sup on sumptuous traditional foods, sip regional wines, and enjoy vast panoramas of extraordinary beauty. You may find yourself dancing at harvest festivals, climbing through Etruscan tombs, traipsing among Roman ruins, or bathing in ancient Roman termes (hot springs).
You may also enjoy climbing to the heights of wonder in Capri or to the top of St. Peter’s Basilica. Or delight in soaking up the ancient and cultural history in Milan, Firenze (Florence), Amalfi, Pompeii, Lecce and Rome. You can bask in the sun and rugged beauty of the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Adriatic Sea, or the gorgeous Amalfi Coast. Or you can chat for hours over family meals while collecting a compendium of regional and traditional recipes (cucina povera), while you capture a rare glimpse inside the secrets to the Mediterranean psyche. It is truly a trip of a lifetime.
About the Author:
Multi award winning author, Carole Bumpus is a retired family therapist, who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. She began writing about food and travel when she stumbled upon the amazing stories of women and war in France. Her historical novel, A Cup of Redemption, was published in October 2014, and her unique companion cookbook, Recipes for Redemption: A Companion Cookbook to A Cup of Redemption, was released in August 2015.
Books One and Two of her Savoring the Olde Ways series, Searching for Family and Traditions at the French Table, were published in August 2019 and 2020; her third book in the series, A September to Remember: Searching for Culinary Pleasures at the Italian Table is due out April 27, 2021. All five books have been published by She Writes Press which is part of SparkPoint Studio, LLC.
But wait! There’s more!
There is a giveaway for 3 copies of ‘A September to Remember‘, (one copy per winner).
This giveaway is open to Canada and the U.S. only and ends on June 1, 2021.
I like Sunny and Al’s easy-to-read travelogues and they tend to enjoy traveling to places that I enjoy, so I was more than happy to accept Sunny’s offer of a kindle copy of their book: Cruising from Boston to Montreal. What a treat! Sunny and Al start off in Boston (my city!) and enjoy a Red Sox game, then board a Holland America cruise ship north. If you know me, you know our family loves to cruise. We love having everything just steps away from where we are and we love exploring new ports of call. Sunny and Al are the same and they take you along on their adventures. During this COVID year, when we couldn’t travel at all, it was fun to read a book about going places! I’ve been to Quebec City but not to Montreal or PEI so I found Sunny’s descriptions and Al’s pictures interesting. This book would be fun to read even if you didn’t want to travel yourself. Sunny and Al are two retirees that seem to be open to adventure, fun, finding yummy food, and relaxing with a good book. It would be fun if our paths crossed on our travels in the future!
I love Susan Meissner’s writing, so I was excited to see this one come up on Net Galley. It tells the story of Sophie Whelan, who answers an ad to be the wife of a widower in San Francisco and stepmother to his young daughter. Sophie is an Irish immigrant who can’t wait to get free of NYC and she loves her new life in San Francisco with a lovely home, plenty of money, and most of all, her daughter whom she bonds with right away. But everything is not as it seems, especially with her quiet and secretive husband, and Sophie stands to lose all that she holds dear. In the midst of this, the 1906 earthquake occurs and Sophie and little Kat struggle to survive.
I couldn’t put this one down! I loved this story – I often love to read about California in the past. I loved the character of Sophie and how she was so resilient.
Highly recommended if you like historical fiction!
Thank you for my review copy!
Description
April 18, 1906: A massive earthquake rocks San Francisco just before daybreak, igniting a devouring inferno. Lives are lost, lives are shattered, but some rise from the ashes forever changed.
Sophie Whalen is a young Irish immigrant so desperate to get out of a New York tenement that she answers a mail-order bride ad and agrees to marry a man she knows nothing about. San Francisco widower Martin Hocking proves to be as aloof as he is mesmerizingly handsome. Sophie quickly develops deep affection for Kat, Martin’s silent five-year-old daughter, but Martin’s odd behavior leaves her with the uneasy feeling that something about her newfound situation isn’t right.
Then one early-spring evening, a stranger at the door sets in motion a transforming chain of events. Sophie discovers hidden ties to two other women. The first, pretty and pregnant, is standing on her doorstep. The second is hundreds of miles away in the American Southwest, grieving the loss of everything she once loved.
The fates of these three women intertwine on the eve of the devastating earthquake, thrusting them onto a perilous journey that will test their resiliency and resolve and, ultimately, their belief that love can overcome fear.
From the acclaimed author of The Last Year of the War and As Bright as Heaven comes a gripping novel about the bonds of friendship and mother love, and the power of female solidarity.
Today I’m part of the Winter Reads Blog Tour from Harlequin for Women’s Fiction, dishing about The Bookstore on the Beach by Brenda Novak. This is a novel that has several subplots, but primarily focuses on three generations of women: Mary, a bookstore owner with a past she’s kept hidden; Autumn, her daughter whose husband went on a business trip and never returned; and Taylor, Autumn’s daughter, who is trying to understand her sexuality and also dealing with a life changing event. The story is told in three voices. There is some romance, some mystery, some “family issues”. This is my first Brenda Novak title and I enjoyed it!
Here’s the overview:
About the Book: For fans of Elin Hilderbrand and Mary Kay Andrews, comes New York Times bestselling author Brenda Novak’s newest standalone work of women’s fiction, a big, sweeping novel about family and the ties that bind and challenge us. In this novel, three generations of women from the same family share a house and work together at a bookstore in Colonial Beach over the course of a summer.
How do you start a new chapter when you haven’t closed the book on the last one?
Eighteen months ago, Autumn Divac’s husband went missing. Her desperate search has yielded no answers—she still has no idea where he went or why. After being happily married for twenty years, she can’t imagine moving forward without him, but for the sake of their two teenage children, she has to try.
Autumn takes her kids home for the summer to the charming beachside town where she was raised. She seeks comfort by working alongside her mother and aunt at their quaint bookshop, only to learn that her daughter is facing a life change neither of them saw coming and her mother has been hiding a terrible secret for years. And when she runs into Quinn Vanderbilt—the boy who stole her heart in high school—old feelings start to bubble up again. Is she free to love him, or should she hold out hope for her husband’s return? She can only trust her heart…and hope it won’t lead her astray.
I kept thinking that this would make a great bookclub discussion. So many times in this book I asked myself: what would I do??
Thanks for my copy and making me part of the tour!
About the Author:
Brenda Novak, a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, has penned over sixty novels. She is a five-time nominee for the RITA Award and has won the National Reader’s Choice, the Bookseller’s Best, the Bookbuyer’s Best, and many other awards. She also runs Brenda Novak for the Cure, a charity to raise money for diabetes research (her youngest son has this disease). To date, she’s raised $2.5 million. For more about Brenda, please visit http://www.brendanovak.com.
A while back, Jenny R., a publicist at Pegasus Books, offered me a copy of Windhall by Ava Barry. It sounded great! But I didn’t really have time to read and review it due to various other commitments.
Here’s the scoop on it:
Hollywood in the 1940’s was an era of decadence – and director Theodore Langley was its king, paired with Eleanor Hayes as his lead actress. That ended when Eleanor’s mangled body was discovered in Theo’s rose garden and he was charged with her murder. The case was thrown out before it even went to trial and Theo fled L.A., leaving his crawling estate, Windhall, to deteriorate.
Decades later, investigative journalist Max Hailey – raised by his grandmother on stories of old Hollywood – is sure that if he could meet Theo he could prove once and for all that the famed director killed his leading lady. Then, when a copycat murder takes place near Windhall, the long-reclusive Theo returns to L.A. and Hailey finally has his chance…
As Hailey discovers that the implications of Theo and Eleanor’s controversial final film, The Last Train to Avalon, reach far beyond Eleanor’s murder, the journalist must race to piece together both recent and decades-old crimes before it’s too late.
About Ava Barry: Ava Barry was a script reader for Bold Films and Intrigue Entertainment, and an editorial assistant for Zoetrope: All-Story, Francis Ford Coppola’s literary magazine. This is her first novel. She lives in Australia. You can read her fascinating interview with Wendy Werris in Publishers Weekly here!
I offered to do a Q&A because I wanted to hear more! So here is my Q&A with the very generous Ms. Barry. Thank you for your time! And if you are a writer yourself, gentle reader, then you are NOT going to want to miss this!
Q. I’m a huge fan of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Are you as well? How were you drawn to write about this era?
Oh man, I could write fiction about the Golden Age of Hollywood for the rest of my life and never get bored of it. I’m obsessed. I fell completely in love with it in 2009, which is when I saw Sunset Boulevard for the first time. I had always thought black and white movies were dull…boy, was I wrong. That week I went to the campus library and checked out a stack of books on film history, particularly the early days of Hollywood. I haven’t looked back.
Q. I know a lot of people ask this, but readers want to know — what type of research did you do to write your novel? How long did it take?
As soon as I started reading about Old Hollywood, I knew that I wanted to write a book about it, but I had no idea how to frame it. I loved absolutely every element of that old world, from the screenwriters and producers who coddled their leading stars, to the studio enforcers and people who covered up crimes, down to the people who made props and created those beautiful worlds. I read absolutely everything I could get my hands on: lots of memoirs and essays, as well as old screenplays. The book that gave me the most information was “The Penguin Book of Hollywood,” edited by Christopher Silvester. Since a lot of this old world has disappeared, most of my information came from books, although I did visit a lot of filming locations, as well as sites of famous murders.
I lived in Los Angeles for three years after college, and on my days off, I spent a lot of time exploring the city. I looked up filming locations for old movies like Chinatown (and Sunset Boulevard, of course), and went to visit those spots. I went to the central branch of the Los Angeles Public Library and hid in their basement, reading these old out-of-print books about Hollywood.
The crazy thing about this old world is that up until recently, a lot of those old stars were still alive. For a long time I wanted to meet Baby Peggy, who was the first “child star” (born in 1918 as Diana Serra Cary) – she was still alive until last year! I also held out hopes (very, very distant hopes) of meeting Olivia de Havilland and even Shirley Temple, who was still alive when I moved to Los Angeles.
Q. Many novelists say that the characters come into their own and live in their heads and drive the story. Is this your writing experience? Or did you know where the story was going when you started?
It’s very rare for me to know where a story is going when I start writing it. This is why it took me so long to find the story that I settled on in WINDHALL: I knew that I wanted to write about Old Hollywood, but I had no idea which angle to take. I finally decided to write about my own experience, which was living in Los Angeles and being obsessed about a world that has nearly died away. I knew that the distant spectatorship was probably the most compelling angle, because Old Hollywood isn’t exactly accessible; you can only obsess from a distance. Soon that world will only exist in memories and books, sadly.
Q. I see this is your debut – wow! It’s always so impressive when a debut novel hits it out of the ballpark. What tips could you share for (struggling) writers who are hopeful of getting published?
This is a misconception that I’m always happy to correct, because I feel like it sets up so many authors to feel badly about themselves if they don’t succeed in a huge way with their first published work. This is my fourth book – nobody wanted the first three! I have been writing seriously for twelve years, and that’s how long it took for me to get published: twelve years.
I’m always happy to share these figures because it might encourage other authors to keep putting their stuff out there: I queried about two hundred agents before I found mine. Not only with WINDHALL, but with my other books, too – and was roundly rejected by everyone! Annie Bomke (my agent) and I started working together at the beginning of 2017, and Annie started sending WINDHALL out that fall. I didn’t keep a tally of publishers who rejected us, but I think it was between 40 – 50. It took two and a half years for Windhall to land with Pegasus. That’s a very long time to become an instant success!
The stories of people who “succeed instantly” are the ones that make headlines, and I find that so disheartening to read. It makes you think that you either have what it takes or you don’t, and if you don’t, you should give up now. Don’t give up! I definitely did not have what it took at first, and I had to keep learning, growing and improving.
Here are some tips that I can share:
Learn as much as you can about the publishing industry. If you don’t know what goes on behind the scenes, getting published seems like a daunting, ethereal dream. It’s a business, like anything else. I read “The Idiot’s Guide to Getting Published” – it sounds so cheesy, but I learned everything I know about getting an agent, writing a query letter, a synopsis, etc from that excellent book.
Keep track of your “failures.” This might sound counterintuitive, but it works, and I’ll tell you why: writing without getting published can feel like throwing pieces of paper down a mineshaft. If you never see any results or positive feedback, you can feel tempted to give up. Don’t! Keeping a reminder of all the people you queried (and all the people who responded, whether negative or positive) reminds you that you have been doing a TON of work.
READ. Oh my god, I can’t tell you how many would-be authors I meet who “don’t have time to read books.” Honey, please. Attempting to write a book without reading is like attempting to run a marathon without exercising. I have read some of these literary efforts, and it shows. I also speak from personal experience: 2011 was an incredibly stressful year for me, and I read about five books. Anything I tried to write that year was complete gibberish. I finally got my life back on track and read copiously in 2013, which is when I started writing seriously again – and it was so much easier to write after reading.
Q. Can you tell us what you are working on currently?
I’m working on another mystery set in Los Angeles. This one is also set in Los Angeles, and it’s about a female private investigator. The P.I. takes the case of a young woman who was the lone survivor of a violent attack that took the lives of her very wealthy family…and now it looks like the killer has come back to claim the young woman’s life, too.
I am happy to be taking part in the Harlequin Trade Publishing Winter Blog Tour for Mysteries and Thrillers, featuring JUST MY LUCK by Adele Parks. I loved this book so much! The story centers on three families of best friends and what happens when one of them wins the lottery. A huge issue is that they normally – for years – have shared a ticket weekly. This time they supposedly didn’t. However what I loved about this book was that it showed how complicated money can be. People often think that all their problems will be solved if they are rich; this book shows that it can be quite the opposite. I loved the main character so much. One of my favorite parts was when they won and everyone made a list of what they would buy first. In among the expensive cars, designer clothes, and high end travel, was her item: a new couch. 🙂
Here’s the overview:
Adele Parks has brought her #1 Sunday Times sensation, JUST MY LUCK (MIRA Trade Paperback; April 6, 2021; $17.99) to the US!
Be careful what you wish for…
After spending happy hours, parenting classes and barbeques together for the last 15 years, Lexi and Jake Greenwood have celebrated and shared almost everything with the Pearsons and the Heathcotes, including their lottery numbers. Then one night, the unthinkable happens. Someone has been telling lies – lies dark enough to burn bridges and tear the tight group of friends apart. When the Greenwoods win a stunning $23 million in the lottery with their group’s numbers shortly after their dramatic falling out, the Heathcotes and Pearsons believe they’re entitled to part of the prize… and the three couples will do anything to claim what is theirs.
Reader beware: the last chapter will change everything.
A compulsively readable portrait of the fragility of friendship, the corrosiveness of sudden wealth, and the dark side of good luck, Adele Parks’ latest domestic thriller will make you think twice about trying your hand at the lottery.
This would be a GREAT choice for book clubs. What would you do with millions of dollars? And what do you think about that ending….?
Thank you for making me part of the tour and for my review copy!
Author Bio:
Adele Parks is the #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of twenty novels, including Lies Lies Lies and Just My Luck, as well as I Invited Her In. Just My Luck is currently in development to be made into a movie. Her novels have sold 4 million copies in the UK alone, and her work has also been translated into thirty-one languages.
I absolutely loved Kate Quinn’s The Alice Network so I was thrilled to get her new book The Rose Code through Net Galley this month! This had all the makings of a great story: Bletchley Park, WWII, smart/strong women, friendships, love, and a spy in their midst. I could NOT stop listening. I laughed. I cried (not while driving). I sat in suspense.
Saskia Maarleveld is the narrator and she does a fantastic job with the different voices and accents — truly top notch!
I loved these characters so much – but my heart went out to Beth, the intelligent young woman who was basically kept at home by her parents and manipulated by them until she broke free and started working at BP. I also loved the mix of fictional and real characters. And from now on, I must refer to Buckingham Palace as “Buck Place” — too funny!
Highly recommended!!
Here’s the overview:
The hidden history of Bletchley Park has been waiting for a master storyteller like Kate Quinn to bring it to life. The Rose Code effortlessly evokes the frantic, nervy, exuberant world of the Enigma codebreakers through the eyes of three extraordinary women who work in tireless secrecy to defeat the Nazis. Quinn’s meticulous research and impeccable characterization shine through this gripping and beautifully executed novel.” (Beatriz Williams, New York Times best-selling author of Her Last Flight)
The New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of The Huntress and The Alice Network returns with another heart-stopping World War II story of three female code breakers at Bletchley Park and the spy they must root out after the war is over.
The year 1940. As England prepares to fight the Nazis, three very different women answer the call to mysterious country estate Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes. Vivacious debutante Osla is the girl who has everything – beauty, wealth, and the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses – but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl and puts her fluent German to use as a translator of decoded enemy secrets. Imperious self-made Mab, product of East End London poverty, works the legendary codebreaking machines as she conceals old wounds and looks for a socially advantageous husband. Both Osla and Mab are quick to see the potential in local village spinster Beth, whose shyness conceals a brilliant facility with puzzles, and soon Beth spreads her wings as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts. But war, loss, and the impossible pressure of secrecy will tear the three apart.
The year 1947. As the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip whips post-war Britain into a fever, three friends-turned-enemies are reunited by a mysterious encrypted letter – the key to which lies buried in the long-ago betrayal that destroyed their friendship and left one of them confined to an asylum. A mysterious traitor has emerged from the shadows of their Bletchley Park past, and now Osla, Mab, and Beth must resurrect their old alliance and crack one last code together. But each petal they remove from the rose code brings danger – and their true enemy – closer….
Beth's Book-Nook Blog 