Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour – FLASK OF THE DRUNKEN MASTER by Susan Spann

July 14, 2015July 8, 2015 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I’m happy today to take part in the historical fiction blog tour for Susan Spann’s FLASK OF THE DRUNKEN MASTER.

This is the first time that I’ve read a book in this cozy mystery series set in Japan in the 1500’s and I really enjoyed it!

Here’s what HFVBT has to say:

Publication Date: July 14, 2015
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Formats: eBook, Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9781250027061
Pages: 304

Series: Shinobi Mysteries (Volume 3)
Genre: Historical Mystery

August 1565: When a rival artisan turns up dead outside Ginjiro’s brewery, and all the evidence implicates the brewer, master ninja Hiro Hattori and Portuguese Jesuit Father Mateo must find the killer before the magistrate executes Ginjiro and seizes the brewery, leaving his wife and daughter destitute. A missing merchant, a vicious debt collector, and a female moneylender join Ginjiro and the victim’s spendthrift son on the suspect list. But with Kyoto on alert in the wake of the shogun’s recent death, a rival shinobi on the prowl, and samurai threatening Hiro and Father Mateo at every turn, Ginjiro’s life is not the only one in danger.

Will Hiro and Father Mateo unravel the clues in time to save Ginjiro’s life, or will the shadows gathering over Kyoto consume the detectives as well as the brewer?

Flask of the Drunken Master is the latest entry in Susan Spann’s thrilling 16th century Japanese mystery series, featuring ninja detective Hiro Hattori and Jesuit Father Mateo.

Praise for Claws of the Cat

“Spann matches period detail with a well-developed whodunit plot in her promising debut, the first in a new series set in 16th-century Japan.”

Shinobi Mystery Series Titles

Book One: Claws of the Cat (Library Journal Mystery Debut of the Month)
Book Two: Blade of the Samurai
Book Three: Flask of the Drunken Master

Flask of the Drunken Master Available at

Amazon
Barnes & Noble

About the Author

Susan Spann acquired her love of books and reading during her preschool days in Santa Monica, California. As a child she read everything from National Geographic to Agatha Christie. In high school, she once turned a short-story assignment into a full-length fantasy novel (which, fortunately, will never see the light of day).

A yearning to experience different cultures sent Susan to Tufts University in Boston, where she immersed herself in the history and culture of China and Japan. After earning an undergraduate degree in Asian Studies, Susan diverted to law school. She returned to California to practice law, where her continuing love of books has led her to specialize in intellectual property, business and publishing contracts.

Susan’s interest in Japanese history, martial arts, and mystery inspired her to write the Shinobi Mystery series featuring Hiro Hattori, a sixteenth-century ninja who brings murderers to justice with the help of Father Mateo, a Portuguese Jesuit priest. When not writing or representing clients, Susan enjoys traditional archery, martial arts, horseback riding, online gaming, and raising seahorses and rare corals in her highly distracting marine aquarium. Susan lives in Sacramento with her husband, son, three cats, one bird, and a multitude of assorted aquatic creatures.

For more information please visit Susan Spann’s website and blog. You can also find her onFacebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Here I am again! This was a quick an engaging read for me. I loved learning about the shogun era and the life of a real ninja. It was so interesting to read about the culture of Japan at that time. I think the interaction and friendship between Father Mateo, a Jesuit, and Hiro, the ninja, was really well-crafted and believable. The mystery was well-plotted, too, and I read through the story in just a few sittings. I would LOVE to see these books as a television series through the BBC!

I will look for more from this author and series. Thank you for my review e-copy and for making me part of the tour!

Litfuse Blog Tour for BEYOND THE ASHES by Karen Barnett and Giveaway!

July 11, 2015July 7, 2015 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I’m happy today to take part in the blog tour for Karen Barnett’s second story in her Golden Gate Chronicles series: BEYOND THE ASHES.

Here’s the synopsis from Litfuse:

About the book:
Beyond the Ashes (Abingdon Press, June 2015)Where better to rebuild and face one’s fears than in 1906 San Francisco, a city rising from the ashes?

Ruby Marshall, a young widow, is certain she’ll discover new purpose assisting her brother Robert with his cancer research, but she doesn’t anticipate finding new love.

Dr. Gerald Larkspur dreams of filling his empty home with family, but he’d always hoped it would be a wife and children. In the aftermath of the great earthquake, the rooms are overflowing with extended family and friends left homeless by the disaster. When Robert’s widowed sister arrives, the close quarters seem close indeed.

Ruby and Gerald’s fledgling romance is put at risk when Gerald develops symptoms of the very disease they’re striving to cure. Together they must ask—is it worth a second chance at love when time might be short?

Purchase a copy: http://bit.ly/1IGu1bg

About the author:

Karen Barnett is the author of Beyond the Ashes, Out of the Ruins, and Mistaken. Named the 2013 Writer of Promise by Oregon Christian Writers, Karen lives in Albany, Oregon, with her husband and two kids. When she’s not writing novels, she loves speaking at women’s events, libraries, and book clubs.

Find Karen online: website, Twitter, Facebook

If you read me, you know I love historical fiction. Plus I grew up in the Bay Area, so stories taking place in San Francisco are always a draw for me! This story had a lot of background in it about conditions after the big quake and medical issues at the time. I found the whole subplot about cancer and cancer treatment – just a hundred years ago – quite fascinating, too.

There were a lot of characters in this book, with the main ones being Ruby, her brother Robert, and his friend and fellow doctor Gerald. I did find the first half of the book a tad slow. There was a lot of build up to Ruby and Gerald’s feelings for each other. Then it seemed like the second half of the book flew! There were a few other subplots (such as one about the abuse of young Asian girls), along with Ruby and Gerald’s relationship, the upcoming wedding of Robert, Gerald’s illness, and an ill-timed diphtheria outbreak! The Christian element in this book is what I call a “light touch”. Ruby and Gerald – and another key character who was a minster – are people of faith and they let that faith guide them.

Recommended to those who enjoy historical fiction!

Here’s a chance to win a copy of your own: Giveaway!

Thank you for making me part of the tour and for my review e-copy!

You, too, can follow the tour:

Blog Tour Schedule:

Review: WEAVERS by Aric Davis

July 7, 2015April 20, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I received WEAVERS several weeks ago from Thomas & Mercer and Net Galley. The concept sounded really interesting: a young girl has the ability to see strings or yarns coming from people’s heads. Their color portrays the person’s emotional state. With some energy expended, she learns she can “weave” the strings to control the person’s emotions and even their actions.

The novel starts with nine-year-old Cynthia, who one day starts seeing these strings coming from people’s heads. She also starts having premonitions and “knows” things. This is pretty scary for a little girl, but a kindly neighbor, who also has this ability, takes her under her wing to teach her and guide her in being a “weaver”. Meanwhile, not everyone who has this ability is using it for good. Some rather nefarious characters are using weaving for their own gain, and leaving a wake of violence and destruction. And the government decides that it will find and control all these “telekinetics” – using them for their own objectives.

This was a fast read for me. I really liked the concept behind the story — the “weavers”. It’s original! I also liked the character of Cynthia. The time frame does move around (WWII, present), as does the point of view (bad guys, Cynthia, government). This didn’t bother me, but I know some people don’t like novels that switch POV and time. The ending suggested that a sequel is in the works — ? We will have to see!

Thank you for my review copy.

Review: THE NAZI OFFICER’S WIFE by Edith Hahn Beer with Susan Dworkin

July 6, 2015July 6, 2015 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

While at BEA, I met Susan Dworkin and got a signed copy of her book. The subtitle to this novel is “How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust”. This was a fascinating story about how Edith, a young Jewish woman in Vienna, survived WWII through an incredible series of circumstances, including, at one point, being married to a German officer and being a “hausfrau”.

Edith was born in Vienna in 1914 into a well-to-do and educated Jewish family. She always wanted to study law and was doing so when she was denied her final exams and degree because she was Jewish. She and her family were sent to the ghetto and then she was sent to a labor camp, working first on a farm and then in a paper factory. She survived harsh conditions for months, then escaped as she was being sent “home” (she realized it was to a concentration camp). Edith hid for a while, then borrowed a brave friend’s identity papers and went to Germany, getting a job at the Red Cross and passing herself off as Christian. There she met Werner Vetter, a Nazi officer. He wanted to marry her, but Edith felt she must reveal her true self to him first. Vetter and she married and she lived as a housewife until the war was over. While this is much more a summary than I usually give, believe me, it’s only the tip of the iceberg in this book. The amount of scary circumstances, the coincidences, the heartfelt yearning she had for her mother, her life of living a lie – plus all the events post WWII, well it made for fascinating and inspiring reading.

The story reads as a memoir, with Edith’s voice strongly standing out. You can picture her telling her story to Ms. Dworkin as you read. It was published about 15 years ago, though I had never come across it. A documentary was also made on Edith’s life, but it looks like it only aired in the UK. Edith Hahn Beer died in 2009.

You can find this book at an Indie near you — I am an Indie Bound Affiliate. Read it and be inspired.

Shop Indie Bookstores

Audiobook Review: SOMEWHERE SAFE WITH SOMEBODY GOOD by Jan Karon

July 6, 2015April 20, 2019 / drbethnolan / 1 Comment

I love the Mitford books.

I’ve read the whole series and I find them so comforting. I love the characters, but I also really appreciate how time passes in these books – people die, babies are born, people move away. It is truly like a slice of life. And of course I just love the characters of Father Tim and Cynthia.

This time I picked up this novel as an audiobook via my local library. It was read by John McDonough, who has read some of the other Mitford books for audio. My family and I enjoyed his “grandfatherly” tone and expressiveness.

In this installment, Father Tim and Cynthia have returned to Mitford after being away in Ireland. Several of the characters are struggling with issues. Dooley and Lace are deciding whether they should get engaged. Dooley’s brother is struggling with some of his own inner demons. The woman who owns the Happy Endings bookstore is worried about her unborn baby’s development. And the local newspaper poses the question that has the whole town talking: “Does Mitford still take care of its own?”

There are lots of other little subplots and stories throughout, with Father Tim at the hub of it all. As I said before, I love these stories, and it looks like a brand new one will be coming in the fall!

These 14 CD’s made my car travels go quickly!

Review: ABSOLUTELY TRUE LIES by Rachel Stuhler

July 1, 2015April 20, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

The fine folks at Touchstone (Simon and Schuster) kindly sent me a review copy of ABSOLUTELY TRUE LIES several weeks ago. I love, love, love stories about Hollywood and celebrities (I find them fun). This one centers on a young woman who is hired (rather haphazardly) to be the ghostwriter of a famous teen star’s autobiography.

Holly Gracin is out of luck and out of a job when she gets a phone call from a friend of her uncle about a writing project. The next thing she knows, she is the ghost writer for a famous teen pop star and part of the inner circle of the entertainer’s daily life. But nothing is easy for poor Holly, and she finds herself chasing after Daisy and her entourage and often in the spotlight herself (not in a flattering way either!). Holly has to figure out a few things about her own life’s direction, too.

I just loved this book, which was laugh-out-loud funny. Holly’s “voice” and her humor come through strongly, yet you can tell that she is a good person at heart – and not incredibly mature herself either. Poor Daisy is a bit of a puppet, held by those who make money off of her. Stuhler used her own experiences as a Hollywood ghost writer as inspiration for the novel. I found it to be a quick read – I enjoyed it so much I didn’t want to put it down. This is Stuhler’s first novel, and I’m sure there will be more.

It looks like this may be just the first of number of Holly Gracin stories. I look forward to the next!

One more from BEA – Young Adult Buzz Titles

June 27, 2015April 20, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I almost forgot! Along with the Middle Grade Buzz session, there is a Young Adult Buzz session at BEA. I did not attend this year as I was in line to meet Alice Hoffman (yeah!!). However, the program has the list of titles/authors.

According to the industry, these are the ones to watch for in YA this fall:

Dream Things True: A Novel by Marie Marquardt (9/1 release)

downloadDREAM2

Synopsis from Amazon:

Evan and Alma have spent fifteen years living in the same town, connected in a dozen different ways but also living worlds apart — until the day he jumps into her dad’s truck and slams on the brakes.
The nephew of a senator, Evan seems to have it all – except a functional family. Alma has lived in Georgia since she was two, surrounded by a large (sometimes smothering) Mexican family. They both want out of this town. His one-way ticket is soccer; hers is academic success.

When they fall in love, they fall hard, trying to ignore their differences. Then Immigration and Customs Enforcement begins raids in their town, and Alma knows that she needs to share her secret. But how will she tell her country-club boyfriend that she and almost everyone she’s close to are undocumented immigrants?

What follows is a beautiful, nuanced exploration of the complications of immigration, young love, defying one’s family, and facing a tangled bureaucracy that threatens to completely upend two young lives. This page-turning debut asks tough questions, reminding us that love is more powerful than fear.

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon (9/1 release)

downloadEVERYTHING

Synopsis from Amazon:

This innovative, heartfelt debut novel tells the story of a girl who’s literally allergic to the outside world. When a new family moves in next door, she begins a complicated romance that challenges everything she’s ever known. The narrative unfolds via vignettes, diary entries, texts, charts, lists, illustrations, and more.

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

Nightfall by Jake Halpern and Peter Kujawinski (9/22 release)

downloadNIGHTFALL

Synopsis from Amazon:

A story where edge-of-your-seat horror meets post-apocalyptic thriller, perfect for fans of Lois Lowry and The Mazerunner

On Marin’s island, sunrise doesn’t come every twenty-four hours—it comes every twenty-eight years. Now the sun is just a sliver of light on the horizon. The weather is turning cold and the shadows are growing long.

Because sunset triggers the tide to roll out hundreds of miles, the islanders are frantically preparing to sail south, where they will wait out the long Night.

Marin and her twin brother, Kana, help their anxious parents ready the house for departure. Locks must be taken off doors. Furniture must be arranged. Tables must be set. The rituals are puzzling—bizarre, even—but none of the adults in town will discuss why it has to be done this way.

Just as the ships are about to sail, a teenage boy goes missing—the twins’ friend Line. Marin and Kana are the only ones who know the truth about where Line’s gone, and the only way to rescue him is by doing it themselves. But Night is falling. Their island is changing.

And it may already be too late.

The Life and Death of Zebulon Finch by Daniel Kraus (10/27 release)

downloadZEBULON

Synopsis from Amazon:

A murdered teen is resurrected to walk the earth for centuries in this sweeping historical epic in the spirit of The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, from the author of Rotters and Scowler.

Twenty minutes after his murder on the shores of Lake Michigan in 1896, seventeen-year-old Zebulon Finch awakens, resurrected to suffer an eternity upon the planet. But of all people…why him?

Is it because he was a violent Chicago gangster and this is his chance at redemption?

Is it because he is a modern-day Job whose suffering is beyond human comprehension?

Over the next century—or two—he will try to find out. With a sly aristocratic voice and a healthy appetite for women and anarchy, Zebulon Finch spins a tale of his travels across a young America, watching the country grow and mature, knowing that his mind and body will never do the same.

Yes, he is witty. He is also vain. Absolutely brilliant, too. And he is always entertaining. But have no doubt—Zebulon Finch has a heart as vulnerable as anyone’s. Too bad he doesn’t learn to use it till after it has stopped beating…

This Raging Light by Estelle Laure (releasing 12/22)

downloadLIGHT

Synopsis from Amazon:

Can the best thing happen at the worst time?

Her dad went crazy. Her mom left town. She has bills to pay and a little sister to look after. Now is not the time for level-headed seventeen-year-old Lucille to fall in love. But love—messy, inconvenient love—is what she’s about to experience when she falls for Digby Jones, her best friend’s brother. With blazing longing that builds to a fever pitch, Estelle Laure’s soulful debut will keep readers hooked and hoping until the very last page.

Review: FOLLOW YOU HOME by Mark Edwards

June 27, 2015April 20, 2019 / drbethnolan / 1 Comment

Through Net Galley, I received a review e-copy of FOLLOW YOU HOME. I like a good thriller and this one looked engaging.

Daniel and Laura are a young British couple having a fun trip around Europe. They have planned and saved for this, and figure when they return they will settle down to work, get married, and start a family. They are carefree and happy until one night when things go awry. Boarding a train in Romania, they sneak off to sleep in an empty sleeper compartment. When they awake, their belongings are stolen and they are being thrown off the train. A young woman they had met earlier is thrown off, too, when she tries to help them. Daniel and Laura trudge along through the creepy woods with their new friend, but when she steps away to go to the bathroom, things go horribly wrong (No! Don’t go in to that house in the woods! Run away!!).

Through flashback we find out what exactly happened that night – events that completely changed Daniel and Laura’s relationship and their personalities. But then strange things start occurring at their homes in England. Could the evil they witnessed in the woods have followed them back to England?

This was a great read — a heart-stopping thriller at some points, with totally believable characters dealing with every day “stuff” like their jobs and relationships. I have never read Edwards before, but he writes psychological thrillers, and he is quite skilled at eeking out the details so that you have to keep reading!

Great plot wrap-up and ending — I’ll be looking for more from him.

Thank you, Thomas & Mercer, for my review copy! This book publishes on this Tuesday, 6/30.

Retro Review – THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

June 24, 2015 / drbethnolan / 2 Comments

Several of my friends have noted how everything I review is so new, it can be hard to come by, so I’ve added a feature to my blog of a “retro review” – rerunning an old review of a book I loved.

For today I’ve picked The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society as I not only loved it, but I’m currently reading Annie Barrows’ new novel which will release soon (The Truth According to Us). My trolling suggests that a movie of the novel is in the works but has had some production delays. Reading this review reminded me of “Border’s Bucks” — I forgot all about those!

(pic from google images)

Review: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

BY DRBETHNOLAN ON JANUARY 8, 2009

A short while back, I had some “Border’s Bucks” to use, so I treated myself to a new book. I chose “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows as I had heard good things about it.

Then it sat next to my bed for two weeks.

For some strange reason, I just couldn’t start this book. And then I realized: trite as it may seem, the title was turning me off. What was the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society? And for that matter, what was potato peel pie? It sounded awful. However, I could see the book was a series of letters and written communication, so I wrapped my mind around that, and dug in.

In this story, our main character, Juliet, is a writer living in London at the end of WWII. She receives correspondence from a gentleman who lives in Guernsey in the Channel Islands, learns of his “book group” there and their exploits during the German occupation, and is pulled into their lives. Just as Juliet is drawn in, so was I. Once I started this book and got through the first 30 or 40 pages I was hooked. I loved these characters and I loved this story – so much so, that I didn’t want it to end. If I could pick one word to describe this book, it would be “charming”.

Now, gentle reader, I must confess that I do love historical fiction, so this book was typical of the things I enjoy reading. However, I think this story does great credit to once again remind us of the fortitude and strength of the generation who survived WWII with all its indecencies. This is a story about ordinary people, who seem extraordinary by their virtue.

This is Mary Ann Shaffer’s first novel, and sadly it will be her only one as she has passed away. Anne Barrows, her niece, helped with co-authoring the book after Mary Ann had sold the manuscript but became ill.

I gave this book my coveted “5 Stars” – “I loved it so much, I need to own it!”

Review: THE SNIPER AND THE WOLF by Scott McEwen with Thomas Koloniar

June 20, 2015April 20, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

My contacts at Touchstone (Simon and Schuster) sent me a copy of THE SNIPER AND THE WOLF to read several weeks ago. Scott Mc Ewen also co-authored AMERICAN SNIPER. It’s been a while since I’ve read an action-packed military adventure, so I looked forward to reading this one – even though it is number three in the series, it can stand alone.

This was 400 pages of non-stop action and excitement! In this installment, SEAL Team sniper Gil Shannon is outed by a higher up, and he must try to protect his identity and survive a whole host of events throughout Europe as various people try to take him out. He joins up, in part, with some sketchy Chechens, and they discover a terrorist network whose sights are set on the US government. Will Gil be able to take them down or will this be his last assignment?

Well – you get the idea! As I was reading I could totally see this book as a movie – and my publicity letter said that this is in the works – a movie based on all three of the books (I hope it’s three movies because I got tired just reading this one as it’s non-stop action!).

Here’s an interesting You Tube video of Scott McEwen speaking about his books: