Review: ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’ by Seth Grahame-Smith

Indiana, 1818. Moonlight falls through the dense woods that surround a one-room cabin, where a nine-year-old Abraham Lincoln kneels at his suffering mother's bedside. She's been stricken with something the old-timers call "Milk Sickness."

"My baby boy..." she whispers before dying.

Only later will the grieving Abe learn that his mother's fatal affliction was actually the work of a vampire.

When the truth becomes known to young Lincoln, he writes in his journal, "henceforth my life shall be one of rigorous study and devotion. I shall become a master of mind and body. And this mastery shall have but one purpose..." Gifted with his legendary height, strength, and skill with an ax, Abe sets out on a path of vengeance that will lead him all the way to the White House.

 

On a recent trip to the theatre, I caught the new trailer for the Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter movie.  It looks amazing!  So knowing that the book is usually better than the movie, I thought I’d check it out. 

Readers of my reviews know I love vampires almost as much as I love history.  This was a mash-up made for me!  And I did like it...I just didn’t love it. 

I think what I liked best about AL:VH was the mixture of fact and fiction.  You could tell the author was passionate about his subject matter, because the research that had gone into this project alone was impressive.  Weaving the vampire stories into the slave trade was genius.  I also learned some things about President Lincoln that I didn’t know.  (Did you know Mary Todd Lincoln had mental problems?  I should read up on the First Ladies sometime.) 

The action was also really good.  Abe wielding his big axe and chopping the heads off of vamps is just too cool! 

My favorite character in the book was Henry Sturges, Abe’s vampire mentor.  In fact, I wish there had been more of Henry in the book.  He was a vampire who led the hunting of other vampires.  We learn why eventually, but the mystery of him was compelling.  I wish the author would write a sequel with him as the main character. 

So if I liked history and the action and Henry, why am I left lukewarm?  For me, books are about forming an emotional connection with the characters.  I love it when my heart races along with theirs--when I experience the terror/elation/heartbreak/love the character feels as if it is happening to me.  While I found this book incredibly interesting, I failed to connect emotionally with the characters.  It was like I was almost there--poised right on the brink--but never actually fell over the edge.  I’ve always thought the photos of President Lincoln make him look wooden.  The character of Abe in this books kind of came across the same way.  A couple of times, I almost put the book down, but the concept and the history ended up pulling me through. 

Overall, I give Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter...

Plot - 4 bookmarks

Character Development - 3 bookmarks

Historic Elements - 5 bookmarks

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) - Eric Bana (Abraham Lincoln), Henry Cavil (Henry Sturges)

Review: ‘The Adventure of English’ by Melvyn Bragg

Here is the riveting story of the English language, from its humble beginnings as a regional dialect to its current preeminence as the one global language, spoken by more than two billion people worldwide. In this groundbreaking book, Melvyn Bragg shows how English conquered the world. It is a magnificent adventure, full of jealousy, intrigue, and war—against a hoard of invaders, all armed with their own conquering languages, which bit by bit, the speakers of English absorbed and made their own.

Along the way, its colorful story takes in a host of remarkable people, places, and events: the Norman invasion of England in 1066; the arrival of The Canterbury Tales and a “coarse” playwright named William Shakespeare, who added 2,000 words to the language; the songs of slaves; the words of Davy Crockett; and the Lewis and Clark expedition, which led to hundreds of new words as the explorers discovered unknown flora and fauna. The Adventure of English is an enthralling story not only of power, religion, and trade, but also of a people and how they changed the world.

(Amazon product description)

I have been recommending this book to everyone I talk to.  I don’t read a lot of non-fiction, but this book was fascinating.  It tells the story of how our language evolved from ancient Sanskrit up through the centuries into what we speak today.  I know that sounds boring, but if you like history, you will love this book. 

One of the reasons I loved this book is because I actually listened to it on the audio version.  If you have never heard Old English spoken, it is both familiar and foreign at the same time.  Very strange.  Even the English of a few centuries ago would be hard for us to understand completely if we were to go back in time.  (Claire from Outlander would have never been able to understand Jamie...)  This is one that I think was better as an audio book.

The history in the book was really interesting.  I think my favorite part was leaning just how big of a role French played in the formation of our language.  I’m descended from the Normans on both sides of my family.  During the Norman invasion of England, French very easily could have taken over completely, causing English to die out in the way Cornish and Gaelic did.  Instead, English persevered by taking on many French words and making them part of the total lexicon. 

Anyway, whether you are a word nerd or a history buff, The Adventure of English is definitely worth the read...or listen. 

Overall I give The Adventure of English...

Plot - 4 bookmarks (Normally, I wouldn’t think of a non-fic as having a plot, but this was interesting, fast paced and made you feel as if you were journeying through time.  I call that plot.)

History - 5 bookmarks (Along the way, the book explains how historic people and events shaped the language. Shakespeare, Chaucer, bible translators, Native Americans, etc.)

Research - 5 bookmarks (It amazed me some of the stuff the author came up with.)

Narrator - 5 bookmarks (I strongly recommend this as an audio book.)

Review: ‘The Winter Sea’ by Susanna Kearsley

History has all but forgotten...In the spring of 1708, an invading Jacobite fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeeded in landing the exiled James Stewart in Scotland to reclaim his crown.

Now, Carrie McClelland hopes to turn that story into her next bestselling novel. Settling herself in the shadow of Slains Castle, she creates a heroine named for one of her own ancestors and starts to write.

But when she discovers her novel is more fact than fiction, Carrie wonders if she might be dealing with ancestral memory, making her the only living person who knows the truth-the ultimate betrayal-that happened all those years ago, and that knowledge comes very close to destroying her...

(Amazon product description)

 

I really don’t like the Amazon description on this book.  I don’t get the whole reference to “...that knowledge comes very close to destroying her...”  I didn’t pick up on anything that dramatic in the book.  That being said, this book was well written and had a fascinating plot.  Many writers claim to hear the voices of their characters in their heads, but in Carrie’s case, her character is telling the truth, giving her a view into actual events from history.  I don’t know any writer who would not want that to happen to them.  She is skeptical at first, thinking she must have read these details somewhere before, but one coincidence after another finally leads her to understand what is happening to her...she is channeling the memories of her ancestor. 

My favorite part of this book was the history.  Part of me longs to live in a damp castle on top of a cliff in Scotland.  The author did a great job explaining the context of the Jacobite cause without making it sound like a giant info dump.  Even though the main characters in the historical part of the book are not major players in the Jacobite cause, you get to see how so many regular people worked behind the scenes in effort to bring King James Stuart back to the throne. 

The plot of the book goes back and forth between the past and the present, but still, the plot moves together in a linear motion. Not confusing at all.  In fact, each scene compliments the other, building the story. 

There are two love story plots in the book; Carrie and Graham in the present, and Sophia and John in the past.  Both were understated and grew naturally.  But of the two, I was more interested in the romance between Sofia and John, particularly since we know from the beginning that Sophia ended up marrying someone else only three years later.  I couldn’t figure out how Sophia could possibly get her happy ending, so the twist at the end was a pleasant surprise. 

Overall, I give The Winter Sea...

Plot - 4 bookmarks

Character development - 4 1/2 bookmarks

History - 4 bookmarks

Romance - 3 1/2 for Carrie & Graham & 4 1/2 for Sophia & John

Dream cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) - Amy Adams (Carrie), Ewan McGregor (Graham), Tom Hardy (John), April Pearson (Sophia)

Review: 'The Dovekeepers' by Alice Hoffmann

TheDovekeepers is Alice Hoffman’s most ambitious and mesmerizing novel, a tour de force of imagination and research, set in ancient Israel.

In 70 C.E., nine hundred Jews held out for months against armies of Romans on Masada, a mountain in the Judean desert. According to the ancient historian Josephus, two women and five children survived. Based on this tragic and iconic event, Hoffman’s novel is a spellbinding tale of four extraordinarily bold, resourceful, and sensuous women, each of whom has come to Masada by a different path. Yael’s mother died in childbirth, and her father, an expert assassin, never forgave her for that death. Revka, a village baker’s wife, watched the horrifically brutal murder of her daughter by Roman soldiers; she brings to Masada her young grandsons, rendered mute by what they have witnessed. Aziza is a warrior’s daughter, raised as a boy, a fearless rider and an expert marksman who finds passion with a fellow soldier. Shirah, born in Alexandria, is wise in the ways of ancient magic and medicine, a woman with uncanny insight and power.

The lives of these four complex and fiercely independent women intersect in the desperate days of the siege. All are dovekeepers, and all are also keeping secrets—about who they are, where they come from, who fathered them, and whom they love. The Dovekeepers is Alice Hoffman’s masterpiece.

(Amazon description)

I love reading books where I feel like I’ve learned something.  I knew next to nothing about the Masada prior to reading this book, but I love history, especially ancient history.  Alice Hoffman wraps her fictional story of dovekeepers with threads of true-life facts and mystical spiritualism.  The result was beautiful and fascinating novel. 

The plot revolves around four women.  All are very different, coming from unique backgrounds, all damaged in their own ways, but somehow, they each found themselves shoveling dove droppings to be used as fertilizer in the compound’s fields and orchards.  At first, King Herod’s former palace feels like a sanctuary, filled with abundant food, water and resources, the thick walls and rugged natural terrain providing formidable protections against the Romans.  But with a thousand people living inside the walls and a year of drought, the crops begin to die, the cisterns start to run dry and the people begin to starve.  These women are survivors though.  They band together in support for each other.   

This book is heavy on character development, allowing the reader to follow the women as they are shaped by their trials.  They are so real, and the writing style is so intimate, it was easy for get lost in their story forget it was fiction.  Adding to the realism are the vivid descriptions of the land and the medicinal properties of plants. 

In typical Hoffmann fashion, there is a healthy dose of the mystical laced throughout the story.  Dreams and symbols and magic herbs...it adds an element of beauty to the story that elevates it beyond a purely historical novel.  

Overall, I give The Dovekeepers...

Plot - 4 1/2 bookmarks

Character Development - 5 bookmarks

Historical Elements - 4 bookmarks

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) - Molly Quinn (Yael), Embeth Davidtz (Shirah), Hili Yalon (Aziza), Bonnie Bedelia (Revka)

Review: ‘The Plot Against America’ by Phillip Roth

In The Plot Against America, author Philip Roth explores the “what if” possibility of what would have happened if Nazi sympathizer, Charles Lindbergh, would have won the 1940 Presidential election over Franklin Roosevelt. Not only would the US not have joined World War II on the side of the Britain, France and Russia, but white supremacist ideas would have gained a measure of legitimacy. Told from the point of view of his fictional eight-year-old self, Roth explores the effects of Washington politics and anti-Semitism on a middle class Jewish family living in Newark. 

Writing an alternative history of the World War II time period is a really cool idea. Roth does a great job of incorporating facts into his fiction, so that as unbelievable as the plot is, it seems almost possible. Frightening, really. My problem with the book is that the pacing was incredibly slow, drawing out every detail and thought of this little boy’s life until the readers feels like they’ve been beat with a stick. Then, the cool plot-twist ending was written so poorly, the impact was completely underwhelming. After the twist, Roth tacked on several more chapters of nothing before cutting the end off abruptly. Basically, Roth had a great idea, but completely over-wrote and lost control of it. This might be a case where a movie version would be better than the book.

Overall, I give The Plot Against America…

Plot – 2 bookmarks (could have been higher if pacing was faster and the twist was handled better)

Character development – 4 bookmarks

Moral lessons – 3 ½ bookmarks (makes you think)

Dream cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) - Mason Cook (Phillip), Jesse Eisenburg (Cousin Alvin), Jennifer Grey (Phillip's aunt), Adrien Brody (Phillip's dad), Leonardo DiCaprio (President Lindenbergh)

Review: ‘The Plot Against America’ by Phillip Roth

In The Plot Against America, author Philip Roth explores the “what if” possibility of what would have happened if Nazi sympathizer, Charles Lindbergh, would have won the 1940 Presidential election over Franklin Roosevelt. Not only would the US not have joined World War II on the side of the Britain, France and Russia, but white supremacist ideas would have gained a measure of legitimacy. Told from the point of view of his fictional eight-year-old self, Roth explores the effects of Washington politics and anti-Semitism on a middle class Jewish family living in Newark.
 Writing an alternative history of the World War II time period is a really cool idea. Roth does a great job of incorporating facts into his fiction, so that as unbelievable as the plot is, it seems almost possible. Frightening, really. My problem with the book is that the pacing was incredibly slow, drawing out every detail and thought of this little boy’s life until the readers feels like they’ve been beat with a stick. Then, the cool plot-twist ending was written so poorly, the impact was completely underwhelming. After the twist, Roth tacked on several more chapters of nothing before cutting the end off abruptly. Basically, Roth had a great idea, but completely over-wrote and lost control of it. This might be a case where a movie version would be better than the book.


Overall, I give The Plot Against America…


Plot – 2 bookmarks (could have been higher if pacing was faster and the twist was handled better)

Character development – 4 bookmarks

Moral lessons – 3 ½ bookmarks (makes you think)

Dream cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) - Mason Cook (Phillip), Jesse Eisenburg (Cousin Alvin), Jennifer Grey (Phillip's aunt), Adrien Brody (Phillip's dad), Leonardo DiCaprio (President Lindenbergh)

Review: 'The Constant Princess' by Philippa Gregory

Philippa Gregory takes on Cathrine of Aragon in her historical fiction The Constant Princess.  Catalina was born the youngest daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain.  At a young age, she was betrothed to Prince Arthur of England, the son of King Henry VII.  Because of this, she felt destined to be Queen of England when she grew up. 

For me, the important word to remember here is "fiction."  History says that Catalina married Arthur but he died before the marriage was ever consummated  dubbing her the Virgin Widow.  Because of this, she was able to go on to marry Arthur's brother, Harry, who eventually became Henry VIII. 

Gregory's story turns history on it's head by turning the brief marriage between Catalina and Arthur into a great tragic love story, where Arthur forces his bride to swear an oath that she would lie and say they never had sex so that she could marry his brother and fulfill her destiny to be Queen.  Readers should be aware that no evidence of this romance ever existed and that everyone, including Catherine and Henry VIII himself swore in court that the King took her virginity on their wedding night. 

Historical inaccuracies asside, it was a pretty good book.  I found Catalina's childhood experiences, first on the battlefield and later living in the amazing Alhambra Palace, to be fascinating.  Her Moorish influence is also something I never thought of before.  To go from a palace with modern plumbing and frequent bathing to England where the people only bathed a couple of times a year must have been serious culture shock.  I love the conversations she has with a Moorish doctor about her fertility and pregnance issues. 

Overall, I give The Constant Princess...

Plot - 3 1/2 bookmarks

Character Development - 4 bookmarks

Love Story - 3 bookmarks

Historical Accuracy - 2 bookmarks

Dream Cast (otherwise known as how I pictured while reading) - Demi Lavato (Catalina), Logan Lerman (Henry VIII), Alexander Ludwig (Arthur), Jason Statham (Henry VII)

Review: 'Tangled Past' by Leah Braemel

Set in the old west, Tangled Past is a sensual love story with forbidden themes.  Jackson Kellar is a ranch hand and best friend of Texas landowner Nate Campbell.  What people don’t know is that the men are lovers as well…at least until Jackson is forced into marrying Sarah MacLeod.  Sarah is aware of her husband’s secret love for Nate, and rather than being disgusted by it, she is sad for having come between the two men.  As a half-breed, Sarah is also viewed as an outcast in their narrow-minded society.  As both men grow to love and admire Sarah, Nate presents a solution for all of them to have their happily-ever-after. 

I almost never read westerns, so I wasn’t sure I would like this one, but I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised.  What intrigued me was the unconventional love story in this uber-conventional setting.  Homosexuality and multiple-partner relationships are ‘forbidden’ barely accepted in modern society, so I wanted to see how the author handled them in a staunchly conservative time period.  In general, I thought the love story worked well.  I really felt badly for Jackson and Nate.  They knew from the start that one day, they would be expected to marry and their time together would end.  The fact that Sarah was forced on them so quickly, leaving them no time to prepare, was heart breaking.  I also found Sarah’s acceptance of their relationship believable.  I think most women would be horrified to learn that their husband was in love with another man, but because of her unique upbringing, she was more tolerant than most.  When the story eventually evolved into a threesome, it made sense for the characters and worked. 

This is an erotic novel, there were plenty of steamy sex scenes.  Overall, I found that they added to the story and didn’t feel gratuitous.  Lately, the “virgin woman with an experienced man” thing in romance novels has been getting on my nerves, but in this story it made sense for the characters and time period, so I can’t complain. 

Overall, I give Tangled Past…

Plot –3 bookmarks (A bit predictable, but that’s okay.)

Character development–  4 bookmarks

Love story – 4 ½ bookmarks

Sex scenes – 4 bookmarks

Dream cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Tinsel Korey (Sarah), Chaske Spencer (Jackson), Henry Cavil (Nate)

Review: 'The Red Queen' by Philippa Gregory

The Red Queen tells the story of the War of the Roses from the Lancaster point of view.  For those who are not schooled in British History, the Lancaster’s and the York’s were both descended royal Plantagenet line and cousins.  (The family symbol for the Lancaster’s was the red rose and for the York’s, the white rose.)  From 1455 to 1485, the two families fought a vicious civil war over the English throne.  Eventually, Henry Tudor (Henry VII) of the Lancaster line, overthrew Richard III of York.  In taking a York princess as his bride, he brought the civil war to a close. 

This novel is narrated by Lady Margaret Beauford of the House of Lancaster and Henry Tudor’s mother.  Lady Margaret has gone down in the history books as a smart, ambitious woman who understood the political significance of her son and worked to put him on the thrown.  She was only fourteen when she gave birth to Henry and her husband was killed in battle while she was pregnant.  Because of his claim to the throne, she left Henry to be raised by his uncle Jasper Tudor in Wales, to protect him from the political unrest in the country.  When things became too volatile, she sent her son into exile in Brittany.  Once most of the other heirs were killed, she helped Henry to launch a campaign to get rid of the York’s once and for all. 

At least that is what history says.  I found Philippa Gregory’s Lady Margaret to be unlikable and not as strong and smart as history claims.  In The Red Queen, Margaret is a deeply pious woman with a dream of being the English equivalent of Joan of Arc.  While the basic story mirrors history, this Margaret had little to do with the decisions to send her son into exile or in how he was raised.  She is helpless of even her own fate through much of this book.  As an important Lancaster princess, she was constantly married off to older men for political reasons and basically treated like a pawn.  Jasper Tudor really had more to do with Henry’s success than his mother did.  As a character, Margaret is bitter and cold.  I kept waiting for her to redeem herself, but it never happened.  In fact, Gregory went out of her way to make Margaret even less sympathetic.  For example, it is widely accepted that twelve-year-old King Edward V and his little brother were killed in the Tower of London by their uncle Richard III so he could be King.  However, in this book, Gregory claims it was Lady Margaret who issued the order to kill the two boys to put her son two heart beats closer to the throne.  I don’t know of any evidence to support this theory, and I question why Gregory would have turned her main character into a child killer. 

Overall, I give The Red Queen…

Plot –4 bookmarks

Character development–  1 ½ bookmarks (Main character completely unlikable.)

Historical accuracy –3 bookmarks (I don’t expect historical fiction to be 100% accurate, but I had a problem with Margaret killing the two boys.  I did thing she did a good job of explaining the intricacies of the War of the Roses and all of the players involved in a way that was easy for the reader to digest.)

Dream cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Tilda Swinton (Lady Margaret Beauford), Henry Cavil (Henry Tudor), Liev Schreiber (Richard III), Sean Bean (Jasper Tudor) 

‘Water for Elephants’ movie: A book lover’s perspective

People frequently complain, “The book was so much better than the movie!”  In fact, many beloved books never make the successful jump to the big screen.  There are several reasons for this.  Obviously, turning a several hundred page book into a two hour movie means that things are going to get cut or changed.  Another reason has to do with the readers themselves.  When a reader envisions the book in their mind, the story becomes intensely personal.  This means every variation between the book as they pictured it and the finished movie is a chance for the reader to feel a loss. 

The movie adaptation of Sara Gruen’s bestselling novel Water for Elephants hit the silver screen this past Friday.  My general opinion is that it is one of the better book/film adaptations that I’ve seen.  Director Francis Lawrence went to great lengths to create authenticity.  We saw both the magic of the circus, but also the gritty realities of circus life during the depression.  The story stuck closely to the book plot, with no obviously missing story lines. 

The film is cast as a perfect vehicle for Robert Pattinson to show audiences the range of his acting abilities.  Flanked by Oscar winners Reese Witherspoon and Christoph Waltz, Pattinson’s Jacob shows courage and vulnerability that is utterly believable.  Waltz, playing the paranoid and cruel August, is so good even I was afraid of him.  Even when he was smiling, there was a hardness behind his eyes that made him seem unpredictable. 

My only disappointment has to do with Witherspoon.  She looks great in her 1930’s costumes and hair, but there is something about her that just didn’t sit right.   August took Marlena from the rough life of a foster child and thrust her into the harsh world of a traveling circus.  In the book, Marlena was glamorous and beautiful, but that was only a veneer for the broken woman that she was inside.  Witherspoon is all veneer.  We don’t get that depth.  However, she does handle the animals and stunts like a pro.  In fact, I think she had more on-screen chemistry with the elephant than with Pattinson.  In the love scenes, we can see him trying so hard, really embracing the character.  Witherspoon just didn’t seem as present.  Hello?  How hard can it be to pretend to be in lust with the hotness that is Robert Pattinson? 

Then, there is the real star of the movie--Tai, the elephant who plays Rosie.  Each time she appeared on screen, all eyes were on her…and not just because she is nine feet tall and 4,000 pounds.  She made me laugh as easily as she broke my heart.  Even having read the book, I found myself drawn into Rosie’s story all over again. 

Overall, I have to give this movie a five star rating, based mostly on their devotion to following the book.  My issues with Witherspoon didn’t distract me from the magic and Pattinson, Waltz and Tai were wonderful.  

Review: VAMPIRE VOSS by Colleen Gleason

Vampires in Regency England…what’s not to love? 

Like many women of the time, Angelica Woodmore’s sole responsibility is to find a suitable husband.  But she is far more interesting than the insipid and silly society girls.  Angelica lives with a dark knowledge. She has a psychic ability to see people’s deaths.  This ability is both a gift and a curse, for she has to live with the knowledge.  When her brother and guardian goes missing, she and her sisters are placed under the guardianship of her brother’s business associate, the mysterious Earl of Covindale.

Enter Voss Arden, Viscount Dewhurst.  Voss is a 148 year old vampire who is, in typical vamp fashion, only out for himself.   Learning of Chas Woodmore’s disappearance and of his sister’s rare talent, Voss seeks to employ her services.  Voss is a wonderfully brilliant character!  He is conceited, selfish and a prankster.  He aligns himself with no one and deals out information to the highest bidder, regardless of what side they are on.  He wants to use Angelica’s ability to learn information that he will be able to sell.  What he doesn’t count on is how lovely she is and how badly, he wants to possess her. 

Angelica soon learns that her brother Chas has run off with the sister of a nasty vampire, Cezar Moldovi.  When a group of his henchmen begin tearing up the town to find Angelica in order to punish her brother, Voss’s long buried protective instincts kick in.  He finds himself battling his urge to drain and bed her. 

This book has plenty of action and romance and fun characters.  The chemistry between Angelica and Voss is hot, but at the same time, it is not the typical “bad boy in need of the love of a good woman.”  Voss is a servant of Lucifer.  As such, he is completely self-absorbed, a literal slave to his desires.  His inner battle and it’s outcome are probably my favorite elements of the story. 

Angelica is also a wonderful character.  She’s a proper young woman of her time, but also incredibly tough.  She doesn’t allow Voss to push her around.  Her journey as a character revolves around discovering her inner strength.  There is a fabulous image of her barefoot and bleeding on the floor of a room destroyed by murderous vampires clutching a makeshift stake to her chest, ready to fight for her life.  My description can’t come close to how beautiful this image was. 

The reviews of it on Amazon are mixed, but I enjoyed it.  The sister Maia irritated me, but I think she was supposed to.  There are two more in this series coming out this spring, and I plan to read them. 

Overall, I give Vampire Voss…

Plot – 4 bookmarks

Character Development – 4 ½ bookmarks

Love Story – 4 bookmarks

Interpretation of Vampire Lore – 4 bookmarks

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Shannon Woodward (Angelica), Charlie Hunnam (Voss)

Review: JUST IMAGINE Susan Elizabeth Phillips

First off—I’ve read a couple of books this week that were just awful!  NOT THIS BOOK!  I’ll get to this one in a minute.  Anyway…these other couple of books were so bad that out of respect for the author, whom I happen to know personally, I can’t bring myself to review them.  Both of these books were contemporary romances and the female leads were terrible!  They were simpering, weak and stereotypical, yet the author kept telling us how strong they were.  Just because you keep saying something, does not make it true!  I’m tell you about this because I want you to understand where my head was at when I started this book.

This book, Just Imagine, had one the best heroines I’ve ever read in a romance!  Kit Weston is a southern girl, but she is no belle.  The story starts just after the Civil War when Kit, dressed as a boy (not a costume, but her every day clothes), travels to New York to kill the Yankee Bastard who is stealing her family’s plantation, Risen Glory, out from under her.  She is skinny, dirty, swears like a sailor and detests all things girly.  Her goal single focus is to get Risen Glory back and restore it to its pre-war prosperity.

Major Baron Cain, a Union Army war hero, is shocked to learn that his estranged mother has died and left him a South Carolina plantation and appointed him guardian of her step-daughter Kathryn Weston.  He fully intends to shirk the responsibility for both the plantation and the girl onto someone else as soon as possible, but in a meeting where he discovers that his stable boy is actually the girl that he is in charge of, he finds himself intrigued by this filthy young woman.  While Kit flat out hates Baron, she knows that he is her best chance at getting her land back.  The two come to a reluctant truce.  If she goes to a finishing school and learns how to be a proper woman, he will remain her guardian and will consider selling Risen Glory back to her once she gets her trust fund. 

From here, the characters turn into Rhett & Scarlett with their love/hate relationship.  While this is somewhat predictable, I loved the strength and uniqueness of Kit, the woman who wears britches and rides her horse astride in one scene and is the belle of the ball in the next.  I loved her business sense and tenacity.  Is this the best book Phillips has ever written, no—but it was very refreshing after the crap I’d been reading earlier in the week.   

The things I didn’t care for…  I hate the title!!!!  Hey, titles are hard, I know, but what in the hell does this one have to do with the story?  My  problem here is that it is completely forgettable.  If I ever find myself wanting to recommend this book to someone, I’m never going to remember it.  NOT GOOD!

I also didn’t care for the ending.  I can see that Phillips tried to give it a plot twist, but rather than make the ending interesting, but just seemed unbelievable. 

According to the reviews of this book on Amazon, opinions of this book are all over the board.  Maybe it was my mood, but I found myself enjoying this book.  If you can put the similarities to Gone With The Wind out of your mind and just enjoy this book as it stands, it is quiet enjoyable.

Overall, I give Just Imagine…

Plot – 3 bookmarks

Character Development – 4 bookmarks (while somewhat stereotypical, I appreciate the guts of a heroine who spends the first several chapters refusing to take a bath. That took guts to write & could have backfired.)

Love Story – 3 ½ bookmarks (typical love/hate thing, but I dig that sort of thing)

Historical Accuracy – 2 ½ bookmarks

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Couldn’t help myself…Vivian Leigh (Kit), Michael Fassbender (Baron)

Review: THE HANDMAID AND THE CARPENTER by Elizabeth Berg

The Handmaid and the Carpenter tells the story of the relationship between Joseph and Mary of Nazareth.  While fictionalized, it is based on the Biblical account and historical records.  Of all of the things written around the circumstances of Jesus’ birth, not much is said about how Joseph handled the situation.  Think about it…the girl whom he is betrothed says she is pregnant by holy spirit.  He had to have wrestled with doubt over her story, yet, he married her anyway.  Imagine how his family must have felt, how the people in the town must have gossiped.  Remember also that Joseph and Mary were teenagers who lacked perspective and maturity. 

This was a beautifully written story which really delved into two enigmatic characters from history.  Regardless of religious beliefs, at its heart is a story about trust and whether you ever truly know the one you love. 

Overall, I give The Handmaid and the Carpenter…

Plot – 3 bookmarks

Character Development – 3 ½ bookmarks

Love Story – 3 bookmarks

Historical Accuracy – 4 bookmarks (to the extent which is it possible, the story is well researched.  The major error I found was Jesus’ birth date.  While Berg got the year correct, he wasn’t born on December 25^th but sometime in October.  She also had to fictionalize some of the characters for sake of the story.  Understandable and well done.)

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Hili Yalon (Mary), Bar Paly (Naomi), Eyal Podell (Joseph)

Review: THE DAUGHTERS OF THE WITCHING HILL by Mary Sharratt

The Daughters of Witching Hill is a fictionalized telling based on true events which occurred in the early 1600’s in the Pendle region of Lancashire, England.  The story revolves around a poor group of women, one step above beggars, who had the gift to perform cunning craft (healing), as well as bewitching magic.  Their magic was rooted in the old religion—a conflation of Roman Catholicism and pagan folk lore, which was the popular belief in the area prior to the English Reformation.  For years, Bess Southerns was sought after as a cunning woman to heal both people and livestock.  She would use a mixture of Latin prayers and power given to her by her familiar, Tibb.  The Magistrate was unable to convict her for witchcraft, since no one forged a formal complaint about her.  Instead, she was revered. 

During the time of the staunchly pious King James, a strong fear of witches washed over the land.  Nobles looking to get on the King’s good-side sought to make names for themselves as witch hunters.  When Alizon, Bess’s granddaughter, accidentally bewitches a man so that he has a stroke, she is arrested, setting off a full-scale investigation, pitting neighbors and family-members against each other. 

One thing that I liked about this novel is that Sharratt made no attempt to cover up the magical acts of these women, rather she glorified it, made it beautiful.  Whether you believed in Bess’s powers of healing or not, none could deny the effect she had on people.  Even if the healing came about through the power of positive thinking, it still happened.  Sharratt also did not gloss over those people who performed dark magic with their abilities.  When a woman is attacked by her landlord, a couple of the women fashion clay figures of the man and then destroy them—bringing about the man’s death. 

Like the Crucible, this story ends with accusations flying, most falsely.  While we may not hang people for witchcraft anymore, there are powerful lessons to be learned about the power of gossip and lies, about vilifying things we don’t understand. 

Overall I give The Daughters of Witching Hill…

Plot – 3 ½ bookmarks

Character Development – 4 bookmarks

Moral Lessons – 5 bookmarks

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Vanessa Redgrave (Bess), Mia Wasikowska (Alizon), Emily DeRavin (Nancy Holden), Helen Miren (Alice Nutter)

Review: LAIRD OF THE MIST by Paula Quinn

They say you should not judge a book by its cover.  The cover of this book has the obligatory hunk in a kilt ripping open the bodice of a gorgeous model.  I have no problem with a cliché book cover--What made me laugh is that the story takes place in the 17^th century and the woman had her ears double pierced.  Um… I don’t think they did that back then.  Nor did they have spray tans, silicone boobs and chest waxing.  (Sigh.)  If I’m going to read trashy novels, I have to stop being so picky. 

Enough with the cover, let’s talk about the story.  The Campbells and the MacGregors have been involved in a feud for over a century.  The result is that the MacGregor name has been outlawed and all members of the clan are legally able to be persecuted and killed.  (As crazy as this sounds, this is an historical fact.  The MacGregors were almost wiped out.  Can you imagine a world where Ewan MacGregor didn’t exist?  Tragedy!)  When outlaw laird, Callum MacGregor captures Kate Campbell, his plan is to hold her for ransom until her uncle, the Earl of Argyle comes for her and Callum can kill him.  In typical Romeo & Juliet fashion, the two become intensely sexually attracted to each other and eventually fall in love.  (Not really a spoiler, since you can see it coming a mile away.) 

Kate hates Callum in the beginning because she was raised to believe that he had murdered both her grandfather and her dad.  By the third chapter, it is pretty easy to figure out that the rat-bastard uncle is really the one who took out his own family members in an attempt to inherit the family title, wealth and power. 

Well, that’s the book in a nut shell.  An entertaining way to spend a Sunday afternoon, but too predictable. 

Overall, I give Laird of the Mist…

Plot – 1 bookmark

Character Development – 1 ½ bookmarks

Love Story – 2 bookmarks

Historical References – 3 ½ bookmarks (Most interesting thing about the book in my opinion.)

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Sean Patrick Flanery (Callum MacGregor), a younger Catherine Zeta Jones (Kate), Chris Sarandon (Uncle Duncan – Earl of Argyle)