The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

It is 1939, Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier and will become busier still.

Liesel Memminger and her younger brother are being taken by their mother to live with a foster family outside Munich. Liesel's father was taken away on the breath of a single unfamiliar world - Kommunist - and Liesel sees the fear of a similar fate in her mother's eyes. On the journey, Death visits the young boy, and notices Liesel. It will be the first of many near encounters. By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery.

So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife library, where ever there are books to be found.

But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jewish fist-fighter in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down.

The Book Thief is a story about the power of words to make worlds. In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

The Book Thief is one of those books that you see overwhelmingly positive reviews for around the place. There was therefore a sense of some anticipation, but also some trepidation on starting this book because if so many people like it, it must be good right? But what if I don't? I shouldn't have worried because this was a good book - a very good book!

Just the set up of the book is intriguing, let alone the content. The narrator of the book is Death, and the setting is inside Nazi Germany during WWII. We hear from Death throughout the book, as he injects his own thoughts on life and death throughout the book. He first meets the main character of the book, Liesel, when her younger brother is dying by the sides of the train tracks. Liesel and her brother were being taken to a new foster family who live on the outskirts of Munich. With their father having already been taken away for being a Kommunist, her mother lives in fear, and has decided that it will be safer for her children to be cared for by others...just in case.

Liesel ends up living with a couple by the name of Rosa and Hans Hubermann. They have older children, boys who are off fighting the fight. Rosa is a woman with a tough exterior, but as the book goes on we find that she really has a heart of gold, and Hans is the one who shows Liesel the tenderness that she needs, the one who sits up during the night teaching Liesel to read and comforting her when she can't sleep. Along with the Hubermann's, there are also the other families who live on the street like the next door neighbour who has been feuding with Rosa Hubermann for years and the Steiners, most especially Rudy who becomes Liesel's best friend and fellow adventurer.

There are many subjects that are dealt with in this book. Death is just a few minutes away, the time it takes a bomb to fall, there are food shortages, there is the need for ordinary Germans to join the Nazi party, and the consequences of not joining, young love, loss, and for Liesel there is the thirst to read, to own books, regardless of how she comes to possess them.

Whilst the subjects sounds somewhat depressing, the observations in the novel are sharp, and there are many funny and poignant moments through out the novel. Death (the character) provides many moments where he makes fun of himself, and his own job, but without making it a complete joke. We get to see his own torment as he collects the souls of many people through out the book.

I had not read any of this author's books before, but if all of his other books are of a similar quality to this one, I will definitely be reading more!

Rating 4.5/5

The Crystal Cave – Mary Stewart

The Dramatic First novel in the classic Merlin Trilogy
A thrilling Adventure through the mystical age of King Arthur

Fifth Century Britain is a country of chaos and division after Roman withdrawal. This is the world of young Merlin, the illegitimate child of a South Wales Princess who will not reveal to her son his father’s true Identity.

Yet Merlin is an extraordinary child, aware at the earliest age that he possesses a great natural gift – the Sight. Against a background of invasion and imprisonment, wars and conquest, Merlin emerges into manhood and accepts his dramatic role in the new Beginning – the coming of King Arthur.

This story follows a young Merlin who at the age of six meets his uncle for the first time. Little did know that his uncle would change his life forever in the most unexpected way. Merlin is a solitude child he doesn’t play with the other kid not only is he weaker but he is also a bastard child so of course the other children pick on him. When Merlin is out one day he discovers a cave, which will one day become his home. There he meets a very good friend and advisor in Galapas. He is an old man who has been waiting for Merlin to arrive so he can teach him all he knows. Once Merlin grandfather dies and his mother enters a convent he realise he is now danger and he runs away. This is where the story really takes off but I can’t say to much as it will give away the many twist and turns. Merlin is a very gifted and smart child but never comes across as cocky if anything Merlin is a very modest character and if I was to plan a fantasy dinner he would be on top of my list of people to invite.

Needless to say I really enjoyed this book and I really hope that anyone that reads it enjoys it as much as I did.

This book is part of a 4 book series with The Hollow Hills next in the series. I will be reading and reviewing that book shortly.

Upcoming Release: The Queen's Handmaiden by Jennifer Ashley

A novel of the early years of Elizabeth Tudor-as told by the spirited niece of her real-life governess.

Her name is Eloise Rousell

.Daughter of a well-bred lady and a strolling player, she lived her early years in peaceful obscurity. But then her father died-and her new stepfather wanted none of her. So she was sent to her aunt, Kat Ashley-governess to the young Elizabeth Tudor.

In the tumultuous household of the princess in exile, Eloise finds her destiny-best friend, confidante, lady-in-waiting, and favored seamstress of the fiery girl who would become the greatest monarch of all time.

Through a decade of plots and counter-plots, tragedies and triumphs, Eloise, like her aunt, is a constant in Elizabeth's life. Risking her heart- and her head-in service to the cause of seeing Elizabeth on the throne, Eloise is a bright, brave, sprightly witness to history. This is her story.

Jennifer Ashley is normally a name associated with romances (including some fantastic pirate romances!), but she also was one of the authors who was involved in the Six Wives of Henry VII series that was published under the author name Laurien Gardner last year, so this isn't her first foray into historical fiction. On her blog, Jennifer has said:

The book takes Elizabeth from the death of her father, Henry VIII, through the reigns of Edward and Mary, to the death of Elizabeth's governess, Kat Ashley, in 1565.

I wrote this with the idea that people who knew very little of Elizabeth's early life (which is usually not gone into in much depth) could come away with a portrait of Elizabeth as princess and her first challenges as queen.

Release date is October 2. I will certainly be keeping an eye out for this one!

The Boar Stone by Jules Watson

Roman England, 366 AD: Minna, a Roman serving girl, is flung out into the brutal world to fend for herself. Desperate to reach her soldier brother at the northern frontier, she falls in with acrobat Cian, a tribeless youth with no loyalty to anyone but himself. A terrible mistake sees them thrust into the wilds of barbarian Scotland, a land in chaos. The Romans have sent scouts north from their frontier, seeking to subdue Scotland by any means possible. The dark Picts retaliate, raiding and pillaging Roman farms.

Caught in the middle is Cahir, King of the Dalriadans in Scotland. Year by year he has watched his people fall under the Roman yoke, and wounded by shame, his power dwindles.

At Cahir's fort, Cian and Minna must struggle to survive. Cian retreats into the pain of his hidden past, while Minna has an entirely unexpected path open before her. What are these visions and dreams of Scotland that plague her, full of battles and bloodshed? Minna's visions reveal a destiny that she shares with the wounded king Cahir, as seer and lover. Yet her journey to heal them both has far-reaching consequences, even she cannot see.

When I first read the description of this book after I had finished the first two books in the trilogy, I wasn't sure that I could see how the three books were going to feel like a complete trilogy. The first two books were set in AD79 and AD81, but this one is set nearly 300 years later! And yet the author has done a great job of melding the stories of the three books together, merging the stories of the beginning of the resistance to the attempted Roman occupation of Alba to the stories of the beginning of the end of the Roman occupation of northern England.

Our main character is Minna, a young Roman girl who has a tribal background. She is working as a tutor to a Roman family, when her beloved grandmother dies, leaving her alone, and about to be married off to a man that she can't stand. Determined to avoid that fate, she travels north, heading for Hadrian's Wall where her soldier brother is stationed. Along the way she meets up with Cian, a young acrobat who agrees to help her make her way, but instead they are captured and sold off to be slaves to the Dalriadans in Alba. Minna is employed by the Queen of the Dalriadans to become the tutor to her own children, to teach them the way of the Romans. However, the more time that she spends in Alba, the more she feels the pull of the ancient lands, and the call of the spiritual realm of the land. She begins to learn more of the healing arts, supplementing the knowledge that she had already been given by her grandmother, but in time it turns out that she is a seer, destined to provide the prophecies of the future of the King, Cahir. Cahir in turn is destined to be a major figure in the fight against the Romans which gained renewed impetus in the late 300s, eventually leading to the Romans withdrawing completely from Hadrian's Wall, and all of Britain in the late 300s and early 400s.

When I read the second book in the trilogy I noted that there seemed to be more focus on the mystical elements, and that is still true of this book, but I do think that in this one it is better balanced with the rest of the story, perhaps because it is all new to Minna, and therefore we are learning along with her.

One of the most interesting dynamics was the tenuous partnerships that are built between tribes to help fight against the hated Romans, that won't necessarily stand the tests of time, friendship and trust.

Cian is an interesting character, although, in some ways he was too convenient, drifting in and out of the narrative, at very convenient moments. The glimpses into his past were very interesting, and I would have like to have seen that explored a little more.

At the end of the day though, this was a more than satisfactory conclusion to a well-written and entertaining trilogy.

It appears as though this book is going to be released in the US in January with the title Song of the North. I was also interested to note that Jules Watson is working on a new book which will be a retelling of an Irish myth this time, and that she has a new agent, the same one who already represents authors like Diana Gabaldon and Juliet Marillier, which has to be a huge boost to her confidence as a writer. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for her next book!

Rating 4.5/5

The books in this trilogy in order are:

The White Mare
The Dawn Stag
The Boar Stone

Cover Story: Temeraire Series by Naomi Novik

The fourth book in Naomi Novik's Termeraire series hits stores officially on September 25th! After the little peek found in the end of Black Powder War, I am sure everyone is very excited to find out what happens next! For those of you that have not read the series yet, go out and get a copy of His Majesty's Dragon. It is a book about dragons and the Napoleonic Wars!

Now, which covers do you like?

These are the U.S. covers:

These are the UK paperbacks:

And, then there are these, the UK mass-market paperbacks:


And then there is this one, which is UK hardcover:

Peony in Love by Lisa See

“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”

For young Peony, betrothed to a suitor she has never met, these lyrics from The Peony Pavilion mirror her own longings. In the garden of the Chen Family Villa, amid the scent of ginger, green tea, and jasmine, a small theatrical troupe is performing scenes from this epic opera, a live spectacle few females have ever seen. Like the heroine in the drama, Peony is the cloistered daughter of a wealthy family, trapped like a good-luck cricket in a bamboo-and-lacquer cage. Though raised to be obedient, Peony has dreams of her own.

Peony’s mother is against her daughter’s attending the production:
“Unmarried girls should not be seen in public.” But Peony’s father assures his wife that proprieties will be maintained, and that the women will watch the opera from behind a screen. Yet through its cracks, Peony catches sight of an elegant, handsome man with hair as black as a cave–and is immediately overcome with emotion.

So begins Peony’s unforgettable journey of love and destiny, desire and sorrow–as Lisa See’s haunting new novel, based on actual historical events, takes readers back to seventeenth-century China, after the Manchus seize power and the Ming dynasty is crushed.

Steeped in traditions and ritual, this story brings to life another time and place–even the intricate realm of the afterworld, with its protocols, pathways, and stages of existence, a vividly imagined place where one’s soul is divided into three, ancestors offer guidance, misdeeds are punished, and hungry ghosts wander the earth. Immersed in the richness and magic of the Chinese vision of the afterlife, transcending even death, Peony in Love explores, beautifully, the many manifestations of love. Ultimately, Lisa See’s new novel addresses universal themes: the bonds of friendship, the power of words, and the age-old desire of women to be heard.

I am going to have to be honest, when I started this book I was not sure if I was going to like it. I even put it down for a few days, but I picked it back up today and did not put it back down again (willingly) until I finished it. In many ways it is hard to compare this book to Lisa See's Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. They take place in different time periods, but at the core they are stories of women facing adverse circumstances in society. A common theme in both books is writing, and expressing themselves in words. In Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, the girls express themselves through the writings on a fan. Peony in Love is predominately about a piece of writing and how it inspires women to write.

The aspect of the book that I was not sure about at first is that the main character of the novel dies and then continues to narrate the story as a ghost. I was not sure if that was not going to get a bit corny, but Lisa See carried it off very well. She has written a very lyrical novel that easily expresses the connection that the Chinese had with the afterworld. This novel is very much about love, like the title tells us, but that is not all that is happening here. In China at this time, many women were never taught to write. People did not like the fact that Peony could write because it was not a 'womanly' thing to do. Some men were revolutionary, though, and believed that their wives should able to be educated.

The authors note at the end of the book explains how this is historical fiction and how Lisa See came up with the idea. The story is based on a real opera, The Peony Pavilion which was written by Tang Xianzu and set during the Song dynasty, but apparently that was not the period he was talking about. To learn more about the history of the opera and how it became important to See, you will have to read the book and author's note.

I think I liked this book because it touched on issues that are even still present in society. It is a novel about women rising up against the men in society and doing something for themselves. I think I could almost call it inspiring. And, I liked the afterworld idea after a while. I think it was interesting that the ancestors of those still living became characters in the book. You could even overlook the way that Peony died by the end because Lisa See made it look right. I think this book will touch the romantic in people. I am very happy that I read it. Many others like her other book better, but I think this just became my favourite.

The Scarlet Lion - Book Trailer

Elizabeth Chadwick just uploaded a book trailer of The Scarlet Lion on You Tube and I thought you might find it interesting:

North & South Mini series

I really enjoy the BBC Tv series based on famous novels. I was recently introduced to a new one (to me) and spent quite a few enjoyable hours curled up on the couch watching this series that A. sent me! It was very good!

The story it's about the contrast between the living in the south and the north of England, the south is more about landed gentry and the north about the industrialization. The clash between the two occurs when Margaret Hale moves to Milton, in the North, and discovers a way of life and priorities very different from the ones she is used to. She is shocked when she visits a cotton mill and finds the owner, Mr Thornton, beating one of his employees who had been caught smocking in the weaving room and also later when she tries to befriend a mill worker and his daughter. This friendship will make her aware of the workers's difficulties and will lead her to a strained relationship with Thornton, Margaret's feelings will only change after he has proposed and she has refused him and as she slowly gets to know him better. It was a beautiful series, a wonderful BBC adaptation with some very good actors, I can't resist mentioning Sinead Cusack. And of course now I have a new author to discover - Elizabeth Gaskell who wrote the book the series was based upon.

So for all of the above I highly recommend it! Not to mention the eye candy that is Richard Armitage! I totally agree that all that intensity makes him a worthy rival of Colin Firth's Mr Darcy!

The Dawn Stag by Jules Watson

This is the second book in the Dalriada trilogy that started with The White Mare. This was posted on my personal blog but I have posted it here in anticipation of finishing my review of the third book in the trilogy.

AD 81. Agricola, the ruthless governor of Roman Britain is intent on capturing the last unconquered territory in Britain - Alba, Scotland.

Rhiann is an Alban priestess and princess who submitted to a political marriage to Eremon, an exiled Irish prince. Out of duty, grew love - a powerful and desperate love that will bind them together through conflict and betrayal. Now in them lies the hope of a nation. For Agricola's army is formidable - brilliantly armed and heavily supported. To the people of Alba it is a wall of steel and fire advancing across their homeland, bringing with it desolation.

The predestined day draws near: the armies of Alba and Rome will meet in an epic battle to decide the fate of a country. Rhiann searches for guidance in the spirit world, little realizing how big a part she will play in this endgame. Eremon knows only that he must risk - and sacrifice - many lives, perhaps even his own.

I read The Dawn Stag a couple of months ago and was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Whilst I like the idea of reading about Rome, I haven't actually read that many! But combine Scotland (or Alba as it is known in this book) and Rome and I am definitely interested.

This book takes up where The Dawn Stag left off and covers a period of approximately three years. In the summer months there are battles to be fought against the increasingly frustrated Romans, and in the winter time to recover and to be together, focussing on what it is that they are fighting for - a free Alba.

Whilst the story of Rhiann and Eremon is definitely interesting, and one that I wanted to follow, the author does not forget about the secondary characters. There is love and there is loss, happiness and heartache. The other interesting character was Agricola, the leader of the Romans. He is facing a huge loss of prestige and reputation if he cannot defeat these uncivilized warriors and soon, yet he gets drawn into losing battle after losing battle, and becomes increasingly frustrated.

I have to say that to me it felt like there was a greater focus on the mystical in this novel. Rheann is Ban Cre - not only the carrier of Royal blood, and possibly mother to one of the next leaders of her people, but also their spiritual leader. It is Rheann who must reconcile herself with the events of her past and find her way back to the Goddess, who must draw the other tribes together to fight in unison with the forces led by her husband to give them any chance to defeat the enemy, who must fight to save lives, including some of those that she loves.

The relationships are well written, and the events, about which is really known, feel real and compelling. The only thing about this book that concerned me was really the ending. There is a third book out in this trilogy in May next year called The Boar Stone, but it really felt as though the story was all wrapped up in this book. Having read the synopsis I guess I have an idea of how the third book will tie in with the first two books, but I suspect that for the most part we have seen the last of Rhiann and Eremon, and the other's that we have come to know and love from Dunadd. If not for the ending, this book probably would have ended up with the same rating as the first book, which was 4.5 out 5.

Instead, I am giving it a rating of 4/5


The books in this trilogy in order are:

The White Mare
The Dawn Stag
The Boar Stone

Baptism of Fire by Nathan M. Greenfield

The Second Battle of Ypres and the Forging of Canada,
April 1915

Nathan M. Greenfield's talent for combining rich (and often overlooked) historical data with first-person accounts made his book The Battle of the St. Lawrence both a critical and popular success. Now he turns his formidable storytelling skill to one of the defining battles of the First World War and a seminal event in the building of our country.

The Second Battle of Ypres pitted the highly trained German soldiers - armed with the first weapon of mass destruction, chlorine gas - against the 1st Canadian Division, which had been in the trenches for just over a week. Yet it was the Canadians who ultimately triumphed, stopping the German advance that followed history's first poison-gas attacks.

In Baptism of Fire, Greenfield revisits the battlefields and war rooms of history, deconstructing military motives and unearthing scores of unpublished interviews, giving voice to the men who faced what one officer called a "filthy, loathsome pestilence" that turned copper buttons green and seared the Canadians' lungs. He describes how surprise turned to terror as the infantry saw the first clouds of chlorine gas rolling towards them; how, at first, the German soldiers had joked that their mysterious silver cylinders, spied across the enemy line, were a new kind of German beer keg. Recreating how the Canadians immediately filled the 12-kilometre-long hole in the Allied lines after the initial gas attack, Greenfield takes readers into the unimaginable horror of shell fire that turned men into "pink mist" and obliterated trenches, leaving the survivors to defend a position of death. And he explains how the untried Canadians, with their defective Ross rifles, breathing through urine-soaked handkerchiefs, successfully made one of the most important stands of the war - perhaps even staving off an ultimate German victory.

With alacrity and a great respect for the men in the trenches, Greenfield adds a new dimension to, and explodes a few myths behind, the Battle of Ypres. Within his pages are the words of the Canadian - and German - soldiers themselves, many of whom have never been heard before. Their accounts make this a gripping read for anyone seeking to understand our historical or military past.

This book will be out on October 5, 2007. I had an advanced reading copy to enjoy! Well, not really enjoy, it is about a book about death and destruction, but you know what I mean!

Baptism of Fire is about the Battle of Ypres, or as many Canadians know it, the Battle at Flanders Fields. This is the second time a battle was fought there during the First World War, and it was really the first time that Canadians had been involved in a major battle. Canada became separate from Britain in 1867, but when Britain declared war, Canada was still under responsibility to follow the Mother Country. It may not have been their war, but they were part of Britain for so many years, it was a necessary thing. The Second World War they were allowed to make their own decisions, so they only entered because they decided to help the war effort.

I learned a lot reading this book. I am sad to say that I know more about World War Two than World War One, simply because it was WWII that my grandfather and other family members played a part in. What I knew before opening this book was a poem written by a doctor, John McCrae. It is one of the most famous poems in Canadian history, and it is spoken aloud at Remembrance Day ceremonies across the country. I have heard it so many times, I know it by heart.

In Flanders Fields
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

I copied it here, and it really is 'blow' not 'grow'. When the poem was recorded on the Canadian Ten-Dollar bill, many people thought it was an error. It is not. So, that is what I knew about the Second Battle of Ypres. The Battle for Vimy Ridge is talked about more, but Vimy owes many things to this battle. When people began recording this battle after it was completed, Canadians had identities. Instead of being listed as part of the British Troops in some manner, Canadians received a lot of attention and names were named. Greenfield continues this tradition, when I finished this book there were names that I had seen enough time to remember. Many people said that this makes it look like it was on the Canadians were there, which is not true, but since its founding Canada had switched back and forth between the English and the French. This was Canada's first major battle as its own country, and it deserves way more attention than it receives.

I learned a lot reading this book. This was the first battle where poisonious gases were released on the Allies. This is a battle where communication was almost non-existant, and many mistakes were made because no one knew what was going on. Soldiers fought for several days without any food, water, or sleep, so it was a very trying affair. The Allies held their own, though, despite extreme abuse to their bodies, they fought on. Could this battle have been handled differently? Probably, but they did the best they could considering this was 1915. One of the things that really bothered me about this battle was the guns. It was made clear several times that the guns the Canadians had to work with were horrible because they kept seizing on them. Just functioning guns would probably have made a big difference.

Baptism of Fire was a very interesting book. I learned a lot from it about just one battle because the battle revealed so much more about what it was like to be a Canadian soldier during the First World War. They are the dead, and we owe it to them to never forget the sacrifices they made to insure freedom for Canada. They were not alone, there were other people there, but this book is about Canada's contribution.

Be sure and pick up your own copy when it is released in October!

(Received from Harper Collins in 2007)

Mademoiselle Victorine by Debra Finerman

When Victorine Laurent joins the chorus of the grand Paris Opera ballet, she expects to become the mistress of a wealthy man; this is how young women without family survive in the decadent City of Light. Yet when the artist Degas introduces her to Edouard Manet, her life changes dramatically. She agrees to pose for him, and the result is a painting that shocks Paris. Overnight, Victorine becomes the city’s most sought after courtesan.

When she becomes the favorite of the Duke de Lyon, the power behind the shaky government of Emperor Louis-Napoléon, her continued attraction to Manet becomes dangerous for them both. And when an astonishing secret from Victorine’s past comes to light, her carefully constructed world may come crashing down around her.

Mademoiselle Victorine transports readers back to nineteenth-century Paris, a time when art, love, and commerce blended seamlessly together.

You know, I really wanted to read this book and I really wanted to love it, but frankly, this book disappointed me. It has a very interesting premise, but I just found the book dragged! It is only short, so you would think the action would fly by, but really it did not. It was interesting to see touches of 19th-century Paris, and to see what it was like to be a courtesan in that society. Once your looks go, you have nothing left, but Victorine posed for paintings that will keep her in the memories eye for quite some time.

I stuck the book out because I kept hoping it would get better, but for me, it did not work. I have heard good things about it, so some people like it, but I have not heard a lot of people love it. I just found it boring, and Victorine was resourceful but I often find her whinny. I know that Finerman was trying to portray what it was like in society at that time, but it just ended up flat for me. So, not a book I would recommend, personally.

(Received from Random House in 2007.)

The White Mare by Jules Watson

I have just finished reading the third book in this trilogy now, so thought I would post my reviews that were originally posted on my blog of the first two books in the trilogy.

AD 79. Agricola, the ruthless governor of Roman Britain has just subdued the Welsh. Now he has turned to the last unconquered territory in Britain - Alba, Scotland.

For Rhiann, an Alban priestess and princess, the thread of invasion changes her life irrevocably. The king, her uncle, has no heir, and it is her duty to submit to a political marriage. But she is emotionally scarred from a terrible trauma, and can imagine nothing worse than matrimony. Desperately, she looks for a way out, but sees only the Romans closing in.

Into this volatile situation sails an Irish prince, Eremon, exiled from his home by familial treachery. His aim is to win renown and regain his throne, but first he has to deal with an unexpected alliance, prove himself a military leader, and unite the feuding tribes of his adopted country.

Against this backdrop of looming war Rhiann finds herself embarking on an unexpected journey of love and loss that will the true purpose of her life.

The White Mare is the first novel in the Dalriada Trilogy and marks the arrival of an exciting new talent in historical fiction. In the grand tradition of the saga, it is a tale of heroic deeds, of kinship and kingship, and the struggle for power, honour, freedom, and love.

One of the things I love about reading is the way that you can travel to other places and/or times, without actually leaving modern comforts behind!! This book transported me to Scotland (Alba) in AD 79. The Roman forces are massing in the south of Alba waiting for the order to be given to conquer the wild tribes of the north once and for all, given Rome control over the whole of the mainland Britain.

With the prospect of war looming, Eremon arrives. He is fleeing from a usurper that has taken his rightful place as King from one of the tribes of Ireland, and is looking for a place to spend time regrouping until he can go and take back what is rightfully his. His plan is to make a name for himself, and one way that can happen is if he becomes war leader of the tribes. However, that will take some doing, because the tribes of Alba are notorious for their ongoing feuds and battles. Eremon sees that the only way to defeat the Romans will be to be fighting as one cohesive unit, and works his way towards that girl.

Rhiann is a princess and also a priestess, and she has one pressing duty - to provide a royal heir. Quite interestingly, author chooses to have the crown pass through the females of the family, so that if Rhiann has a son, then he will become King, instead of the more traditional way of passing the crown from father to son. Rhiann is a leader of her people and a very strong woman, in all ways except one. She is traumatised from events that happened several years ago where her foster family was all killed, and she herself suffered terribly. These events have left her with a terrible distrust of men, and warriors in particular.

When it is agreed that a political match be made between Rhiann and Eremon, she is terrified of what is to come, and for a long time after the wedding she maintains a completely distant persona. Gradually though, Eremon and Rhiann begin to work together for the good of the people of Alba, although it is fair to say that there are setbacks along the way. They also work together towards healing of both their relationship and their minds.

The author doesn't back away from the faults of the characters, moving the story forward through the mistakes and errors in judgement that occur.

With a strong emphasis on the role of fate and on the role of religion during those times, there is almost a mystical feel to this book. It has to be said that I haven't read a lot about Roman times, or the tribes of the time, so I have no idea how feasible some of the ideas are that are presented in the book, but they seemed reasonable enough to me as I read it. What I look for in a book is readability, and for a story that hooks me in and makes me want to keep reading. Using these two as measurements, this sprawling sage is a winner!

I enjoyed it immensely and I will definitely be reading the sequel, The Dawn Stag, and the final book in the Dalriada trilogy, which is due out early next year.

Rating 4.5/5


The books in this trilogy in order are:

The White Mare
The Dawn Stag
The Boar Stone

Philippa Gregory News

Reminder....this is tomorrow! I don't think it is too late to sign up.

I definitely won't be getting up for it, but I would love to hear what people think of it if they do participate.

By the way, Philippa's website has just had a really big makeover so go take a look.

Originally posted 12 July 2007

From Philippa Gregory's home page:

Live web event

Join bestselling author Philippa Gregory for a live web event on Sunday, September 16 at 7pm (UK) or 2pm (US - EDT). Philippa will discuss her research methods, writing process, the latest novel The Boleyn Inheritance, the upcoming movie based on The Other Boleyn Girl, the next novel The Other Queen about Mary, Queen of Scots, and much more. As an online attendee, you'll view a simulcast of Philippa speaking to an audience in London, be able to ask Philippa your own questions and interact with other book clubs and fans. Register now and you'll receive emails with reminders and special content throughout the summer.

Visit www.philippagregorylive.com to register to become part of the audience.

For me, this means getting up at 4am, so I think I will be giving it a miss, but other people might find it interesting!

Callander Square - Anne Perry

Callander Square is book 2 in Anne Perry's Thomas & Charlotte Pitt series. Once again it brings us to Victorian London, it's rich neighbourhoods full of secrets and where everyone seems to have something to hide.

Murders just didn't take place in fashionable Callander Square, so Inspector Pitt's well-bred wife Charlotte couldn't resist finding out why one had. Suddenly there she was, rattling the closets of the very rich, listening to backstair gossip, and unearthing truths that could push even the most proper aristocrat to murder....

The plot revolves around the discovery of 2 babies buried in the square of a high society neighbourhood. Inspector Pitt is in charge of the case and soon his wife Charlotte decides to do a bit of investigating too. She reveals her plans to her sister who moves freely in high society and they both manage to have the inside facts and gossip of the residents of the square while Pitt has to stick to interrogating servants and ocasionaly the masters.

I really liked this book. It's more about victorian society, how they lived both the servants and the masters, than about solving the mystery. That's part of it yes but we primarily meet the female society with it's social rules of calling and leaving cards, of what's considered important to women and not to men. Actually it's like they have two separate areas of action, the women in the house and the men outside. It's about how men occupied their time and the relationships with the lower classes. The hypocrisy and the double standard that existed. All that is mentioned in the book and sometimes actively explained by the characters. There is a group of very strong female characters who analyse their situations and proceed accordingly - Charlotte, Emily, Lady Augusta and even Adelina Southeron. The men involved seem to be weaker, with the exception of Pitt and Coronel Balantyne, they all seemed to have something to hide. As an exceptional portrait of victorian society I think it's even better than the previous book in this series - the Cater Street Hangman.

Regarding the mystery itself we have little clues to whom might be guilty and in fact had we not been told it wouldn't be easy to guess and especially the reasons for it. After I found out I could only think: How victorian! Charlotte and Pitt are very likeable people and Emily, Charlotte's sister who didn't seem all that nice in the previous books reveals herself a practical and level headed woman in her opinions about society in general.

Highly recommended!



The books in this series in order are:

The Cater Street Hangman
Callander Square
Paragon Walk
Resurrection Row
Rutland Place
Bluegate Fields
Death in the Devil's Acre
Cardingtonn Crescent
Silence in Hanover Square
Bethlehem Road
Highgate Rise
Belgrave Square
Farriers' Lane
The Hyde Park Headsman
Traitor's Gate
Pentecost Alley
Ashworth Hall
Brunswick Gardens
Bedford Square
Half Moon Street
The Whitechapel Conspiracy
Southampton Row
Seven Dials
Long Spoon Lane

Dreaming the Bull by Manda Scott

Among the tribes, none would believe that their most hated enemy, the bloodthirsty cavalry commander astride a pied war-horse - could be one of their own....or that he might hold their fate in his hands. But as the fires of the war between the tribes and the occupying armies of Rome rage on, dozens of lives will be drawn in to the conflict....Caradoc, the Eceni warrior who will come face-to-face with the emperor himself...Cunomar, son of a warrior queen, who will learn about war - and sacrifice - at his parents' side...Agrippina, the mesmerizing empress whose guile equals that of her husband...Claudius, the omnipotent yet terrified ruler mired in a war he must win at all costs. And then there is Valerius. Caught between worlds, he has the hardest task of all - coming to terms with this heritage and on a perilous journey back to a fateful confrontation with the most feared woman in Brittania...Boudica.

A novel that travels from the wilderness of the British Isles to the teeming streets of ancient Rome, from the remote barracks of frontier legions to the shores of Gaul, Dreaming the Bull is a historical sage of extraordinary power, rich with passion and courage and heroism pitched against overwhelming odds. Written with uncompromising mastery, this is fiction that captures the heart, challenges the mind, and offers us and utterly enthralling experience of history in the flesh and blood of its making.

This is the second book in the Boudica series by Manda Scott, following on from Dreaming the Eagle. In some ways it seems a bit strange that this series of four books is called the Boudica series, because the focus of this book really did seem to be Julius Valerius and Caradoc, with Boudica being more of a cameo player, but then again I suspect that a book labelled as being about Boudica will bring a ready made audience!

This book opens a number of years after the end of Dreaming the Bull. The Romans are still in Britain, and Boudica and her warrior husband Caradoc still maintain their almost guerilla like warfare against the Romans. Whilst the warriors are generally confident there is one Roman soldier they fear - Julius Valerius - a man who seems to be something more than a man, a man who seems to be without fears of his own. What they can't know, is that Julius Valerius is struggling to come to terms with his own identity, both his current one, and the one from his past that he has carefully locked away. As with many secrets from the past, they are not as locked away as they need to be, and as Julius continues with his warfare the ghosts begin to visit him, and to bring back memories of his true identity.

When Caradoc and some of his family are captured and taken to Rome, the narrative leaves Scotland and Boudica behind, and instead we are taken to the world of Imperial Rome. Caradoc and his people must firstly survive the punishment that the Emperor wants to give them for being the biggest problem that he had in the whole empire, and then survive living in the built up world of Rome where they are free to live in the city, but if they make any attempt to leave they will be killed. It is only after several years, and with the help of an old enemy that there may be any hope at all of getting home, but that will be an exhilarating adventure in and of itself.

Whilst this is not the kind of book that you are instantly drawn into and captivated by, to the point of exclusion of all else, ultimately it is a rewarding read, and the ending is definitely interesting enough to make you want to read the next book in the series sooner rather than later!

Rating 4/5

The books in this series in order are:

Dreaming the Eagle
Dreaming the Bull
Dreaming the Hound
Dreaming the Serpent Spear

Mists of Avalon Mini-Series

Sometimes you love a book so much you could read it all the time, but life gets in the way and you are looking for a quicker way to get through the pages. For Mists of Avalon, I suggest the TNT mini-series. Starring Angelica Huston, Julianna Margulies, Joan Allen, Samantha Mathis, Edward Atterton, and Michael Vartan, this is a very good representation of Marion Zimmer Bradley's novel. From the back of the case:

Long live the new king. But who will it be? The answer will come through the mystical and powerful manipulations of fate emanating from Avalon.

The Mists of Avalon, from Marion Zimmer Bradley's bestseller, retells the Arthurian legend from the perspective of the women who shaped events with spiritual powers. Anjelica Huston plays high priestess Viviane, the Lady of the Lake determined to perpetuate the ways of Avalon. Julianna Margulies is Morgaine, her chosen successor. Joan Allen portrays Morgause, fiercely driven to shape the royal lineage to her own end. Out of the lives of these three and others - and out of the mists - will come a nation's destiny.

I really do not think a movie would have done this book justice, but a mini-series did a fantastic job. Some things are not there, others are changed or taken out, but overall this is a very enjoyable look at the women of Bradley's fantastic fantasy novel. I have never been sure if Julianna Margulies was the best choice for Morgaine, that is my only problem with this mini-series. She is not bad, but she is far from my first choice. Anjelica Huston is wonderful! Michael Vartan plays Lancelot. The actors that played Arthur and Gwenwyfar are Edward Atterton and Samantha Mathis. Caroline Goodall plays Morgaine's mother, Igraine. We also see Freddie Highmore as young Arthur.

A very good adaption, I recommend it.

Lucrezia Borgia - John Faunce

I'm always very interested in books about the Borgias and I couldn't resist to pick this one up. The book is written in the first person by Lucrezia telling about the adventures her family gets involved in and the circumstances of her life.

She comes across more like a pawn in her father and brother's hands than like the bad person some historians have led us to believe. A lot of the book is dedicated to her three marriages which were negotiated to make political alliances and give more power to the Borgia family. None of what is told is really new and although I wasn't expecting new I think I needed a bit more depth. Maybe more contextualization and less of Lucrezia's marriages.

Besides that, I had a big problem with this book, the tone is very modern. It didn't feel like we were in the Renaissance at all. While it may be of interest to readers new to the Borgia's story or interested in that particular theme I think it will be a bit of a disappointed if you're looking for a nice story with a true feel of the period.

Spotlight On: Amin Maalouf

Amin Maalouf is a lebanese author although he has lived in France for the last 30 years and writes in french. He writes some very interesting stories among which are several historical romances like Samarkand, The Crusades Through Arabs Eyes or Leo Africanus...

He uses historical settings as the background to his character's story, some are new perspectives of known events - The Crusades... - while others are an account of someone's life - Leo Africanus - either way all his characters are preocupied with sociological and philosophical problems oft dealing with the time's political intrigues.

In Samarkand he mentions the events behing Omar Khayyam's Rubbayat, in The Crusades Through Arabs Eyes he depicts the crusades based on arab accounts of the period, in Leo Africanus he tells the life of Leo who wrote a description of Africa's geography...


He has also written a futuristic tale called The First Century After Beatrice in which he deals with several problems affecting the world today. He has written more books, all with historical settings and some of which mixing fantasy with real events. I hope to read them soon!

Here's the list of his books:

LES CROISADES VUES PAR LES ARABES, 1983 - The Crusades Through Arab Eyes
LÉON L’AFRICAIN, 1986 - Leo the African (trans. by Peter Sluglett)
SAMARCANDE, 1988 - Samarkand (trans. by Russell Harris)
LES JARDINS DE LUMIÈRE, 1991 - The Gardens of Light (trans. by Dorothy S. Blair)
LE PREMIER SIÈCLE APRÈS BÉATRICE, 1992 - The First Century After Beatrice (trans. by Dorothy S. Blair)
LE ROCHER DE TANIOS, 1993 - The Rock of Tanios (trans. by Dorothy S. Blair)
LES ECHELLES DU LEVANT, 1996 - Ports of Call (trans. by Alberto Manguel)
LES IDENTITÉS MEURTRIÈRES, 1998 - In the Name of Identity (trans. by Barbara Bray)
L'AMOUR DE LOIN, 2000 (opera libretto)
LE PÉRIPLE DE BALDASSARE, 2000 - Balthasar's Odyssey (trans. by Barbara Bray)
ADRIANA MATER, 2004 (opera libretto)

Cover Story: The Blood of Flowers

This is definitely a case of a debut author writing a book that really catches the attention, especially when the cover gods have been smiling on her! So I thought I would see what covers I could find from other countries.

Here is the US cover:



and this is the UK version:



and from Germany:



and The Netherlands:



Do you remember watching Sesame Street and the game they played which had a song that went "One of these things is not like the other ones, one of these things just doesn't belong"? Well....that's what I thought when I looked at the four covers! I mean, three of them are beautiful, and the fourth is just, well, not! I'll leave you to decide which ones are which! LOL!

Dreaming the Eagle by Manda Scott

I am about to write up my review for the second book in this series, so I thought I would repost this review which was originally put up on my blog earlier this year!

With a novelist's grace and a historian's power, critically acclaimed author Manda Scott brings her immense storytelling gifts to an epic work of historical fiction. Dreaming the Eagle breathes life into history, creating a vibrant portrait of the early years of the Celtic queen, Boudica. With haunting images and unforgettable characters, Scott draws us into a completely different world...a world of myth and heroism, beauty and brutality...where a young woman journeys to greatness at the crossroads of history...

She is Breaca nic Graine, born to the Eceni, a tribe of dreamers and hunters, storytellers and artisans. While fierce in battle, they are a peaceful people, men and women of pride and mystery, in whose lives the real and the fantastical exist side by side. But theirs is not a peaceful world; it is a world of bloody conflict, where neighboring tribes war among themselves while a greater enemy gathers strength across the ocean.. Against this seething backdrop, Breaca will come of age and prove her brilliance in battle, catapulting her to the forefront of her tribesmen, who will rename the copper-haired warrior: Boudica:"She Who Brings Victory."

Many will share in Breaca's extraordinary destiny... Eburovic, the beloved father who always knew that his impetuous firstborn was destined for greatness... Caradoc, the legendary warrior whose love for Breaca is rivaled only by his hatred of Rome... Corvus, the Roman soldier who will become a powerful - and unlikely - ally. Soon as violence and treachery threaten a fragile peace, as an emperor named Caligula rises to power in a distant land, Breaca will once again be called to battle. And this time, the future of a people will rest in her hands as she faces a near-impossible task: to rally the splintered Celtic tribes against the encroaching might of Rome.

Filled with breathtaking sights and sounds - from the beauty of an ancient tribal ritual to the blood lust of a gladiator's arena, from the deafening roar of battle to the quiet passion of lovers - and brimming with raw adventure and vivid historical detail, this magnificent novel has it all: mystery, passion, hatred, lust, war, romance, miracles. It is a work of masterful storytelling by one of the most exciting and original new voices in historical fiction.

Wow...that is an extensive inside cover flap copy, and to be honest I am not going to regurgitate any of the story because this covers it mostly adequately.

The book is broken into four parts. I found the first part quite slow going, where the author was setting up all the meaning of the dreaming, the way that the tribes interacted with each other, and with their animals, and the basis of the warrior training that Breaca received. Once the story moved into the 2nd part and beyond, the story picked up pace and it was easier to get sucked into the story.

There are a couple of things that I think that were misleading in the blurb above. The first is from the final paragraph, where it talks about the "quiet passion of lovers". If you go into this book expecting to read a balance between the history, and the romantic attachments of the main characters then you will be disappointed. The romantic outcome is telegraphed from very early in the book. By the time I was getting towards the end of the book I was actually expecting that this part of the story would be carried into the next book, instead of the inevitable happening in this book.

It is also interesting that there is no direct mention of Breaca's brother Ban in the blurb either, because in many ways his story is the counter balance to Breaca's own. He is a major character, and there were significant chunks of the narrative where the focus was on Ban, and not on Breaca.

There were many, many characters, and at times I really had to struggle to keep track of some of them, and to be honest I think the author did too. There was one fairly major protagonist who was dealt with, but there was absolutely no reaction whatsoever from any of the other characters, which given his role in things was very, very surprising at least to me.

This is no light and fluffy account of what have may have happened - it is in turns gruesome and harsh, mystical and reverent and very believable.

For me there is an inevitable comparison to be made to the Jules Watson books I have read, The White Mare and The Dawn Stag. The settings are not identical but I would think it is fair to say that the tone and intentions of the books are very similar, even though there are several distinctions between them. I think that Jules Watson's books are better able to sustain an emotional involvement on the part of the reader, but there is less reliance of the fantasy elements in this book. It is not that the fantastical, mythical parts of the story aren't there, but I do think there is less reliance on them to move the plot forward.

The hook at the end of the story for the next book is definitely well and truly there, and I for one have been caught on it! The next book has already been picked up from the library!


The books in this series in order are:

Dreaming the Eagle
Dreaming the Bull
Dreaming the Hound
Dreaming the Serpent Spear

The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani

Once there was a girl who could make glorious carpets from wool tinted with the essence of orange safflowers and pomegranates

In Persia, in the seventeenth century, a young woman is forced to leave behind the life she knows and move to a new city. Her father's unexpected death has upended everything - her expectation of marriage, her plans for the future - and cast her and her mother upon the mercy of relatives in the fabled city of Isfahan.

Her uncle is a wealthy designer of carpets for the Shah's court, and the young woman is instantly drawn to his workshop. She takes in everything - the dyes, the yarns, the meanings of the thousand ancient patters - and quickly begins designing carpets herself. This is men's work, but her uncle recognizes both her passion and her talent and allows her secretly to cross that line.

But then a single disastrous, headstrong act threatens her very existence and casts her and her mother into an even more desperate situation. She is forced into an untenable form of marriage, a marriage contract renewable monthly, for a fee, to a wealthy businessman. Caught between forces she can barely comprehend, she knows only that she must act on her own, risking everything, or face a life lived at the whim of others.

The world of medieval Persia comes alive in this luminous novel, from its dazzling architecture to its bustling markets with their baskets of spices and breathtaking turquoise-and-gold rugs. With spellbinding Persian tales and prose as radiant as the city of Isfahan, The Blood of Flowers is the remarkable adventure of one woman choosing a life - against all odds - on the strength of her own hands, mind and will.

Marg says:

Sometimes it is a real breath of fresh air to read about an unusual time and place, especially when the story is also well written and interesting! The setting for this book in 17th century Persia, during the time of Shah Abbas, and features a young girl who is trying to make her way into the male dominated world of carpet making.

The author was very skilled at weaving together both the story of the girl, but also details about the techniques used in the designing of carpets, in the selection of the colours to make the carpets, and the precision required by the carpet knotters. There are also several old Persian tales that have been interwoven into the narrative, used to illustrate and to guide our young heroine.

When one of the town elders brings back the almanac for the year, the small country town is interested to see what is destined for their lives - for marriages, births, the harvest etc. For one young girl in particular she is interested to hear what is going to come as she is now of a marriageable age. This year is an unusual one though. There has been a comet in the night sky, and everyone knows that that means bad luck. For the small but happy family, that ominous sign comes to eventuality when her father dies, leaving her and her mother to fend for themselves. After running out of resources, including those that were meant to be her dowry, the two head to the big city to request assistance from the brother of the husband and father.

Once in the city, the pair become basically house servants, but the young girl gets to visit the great carpet market making workshop owned by the Shah, which is run by her uncle, and gradually her uncle begins to teach her many of the secrets of the process, including design, colour selection and knotting with the most luxurious of threads.

After being caught acting rashly more than once, the young girl is contracted with a sigheh - a renewable marriage contract, that everyone involved in has agreed to keep this secret. The end result of this is given that there is now no dowry left, the girl is being forced to give away the only thing she has left of any value - her virginity. It takes a long time for our heroine to get used to the ways of her husband and to learn the secret of wifely enjoyment, and there are several times throughout the story that her mother is worried that the sigheh will not be renewed, which means that the contracted price won't be paid. It is quite an interesting contrast. By day the girl is a servant, subject to her aunt's somewhat nasty treatment, using every spare minute she has to learn to make carpets. By night, she is a wife, albeit subject to her husband's whims.

Life then offers a choice - to continue as things are, or to take a chance at having a different and more independent life. There are many lessons to be learned, and many of them are painful. There are times when things get much worse before they get better, but our girl's spirit is strong, and she is willing to learn the lessons that life is teaching her!

This book took 9 years to write, and you can tell that for the author this was a labour of love! It took me a couple of days to read it, and it was a joy to read! Filled with the colour and allure of different cultures and times, this is a really good read. I definitely hope to read more by this author!

Rating 4.5/5


Kailana Says:

Reason for Reading: Michelle Moran, author of Nefertiti, recommended it, saying that it was her favourite historical fiction novel and I am always looking for a good recommendation.

I read a fair amount of historical fiction, and I have to say, this is one of the more original historical fiction novels I have ever read. Most of the historical fiction that I have read takes place in Canada, the United States, Egypt, or the United Kingdom. This is the first time I have read a historical fiction novel, that I remember, set in 17th-century Persia.

During the 17th-century in this region, it was a male-dominated society. It is still this way in many Middle Eastern countries. In this novel, a young girl watches a comet shoots across the sky, and when it has passed life begins to change for her very drastically. She should have been finding her husband and moving on with her life, but her father dies unexpectedly and suddenly her and her mother have nothing. She has no dowry to find a husband, and they have no one to farm for them, so they are just barely getting by. A kind man comes to the village and asks them if there is anything he can do for them, and the mother implores him to track down her deceased husbands half-brother in the hopes that he will take them in and help them get back on their feet.

When they move from their village to the rather large Isfahan, life changes drastically for her and her mother. Suddenly they are not in control of their own household, and have to take orders from the wife of their father's brother. She is not very sympathetic, and looks upon them as new slaves for her household. She does not really know anything about domestic work, but she does have ideas about how it should be done. They live in riches, but she is always afraid that there will not be enough, so she is always looking for opportunities to gather more wealth for her husband.

Her niece opens up what she hopes will be a great business venture when a wealthy man asks to marry her. It is not a regular wedding, though, the marriage would only last for three months, and then he can request more time with her every three months after that. It could turn into a regular marriage, but in the process she will lose her virginity and this can jeopardize future relationships. It is a chance that her mother is willing to take because it will give her money. Her aunt wants it to happen because it could meet more business for her rug-making husband.

This book is about a girl in a very strict culture wishing for something more. She wants to be a rug-maker like her uncle, but that is not an opportunity that is allowed to women. Her uncle helps her, though, teaching her the tricks of his trade and allowing her to help him. When things get complicated with her marriage arrangement, she must decide on a safe course of action or one where her safety net could disappear. She has to decide whether her own future is more important than the safety the marriage is currently providing her with. This is a book about a girl that dares to break the rules of her society to better herself and live out her dreams.

Parting Thoughts: I loved this book! It was by far one of my favourite reads this year, as I stated in my Thursday Thirteen of favourite reads so far this year. It is a different sort of read for me, and a very worthwhile one at that. Especially considering it is her first novel, I think she did a wonderful job. I look forward to reading more from her and I strongly recommend this book.