Monthly Archives: December 2010

[Book Review and Giveaway] Chloe May: Daughter of The Dust Bowl

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About the Book:
Chloe May: Daughter of the Dust Bowl is based on the the true story of the author’s mother, Chloe May, and her family’s frequent moves in, around, and out of the Oklahoma Panhandle of the 20′s and 30′s. Laced with historical facts of the time, Chloe May: Daughter of the Dust Bowl will prove to be an entertaining and tender story for readers of all ages.

About the Author:
Grace Lundmark was born and raised in the scorching, but beautiful, deserts of the Southwest. Her father, a Texan/New Mexican, and her mother, an Okie/New Mexican filled her head and heart with their stories of growing up in West Texas and the mountains of New Mexico. Her first novel, “Chloe May: Daughter of the Dust Bowl” is a true-life novel written from the stories her mother told of her family’s struggle for survival on the high plains of Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. Now living in Texas, the wife, mother, and grandmother of eight, has finally found time to write about the people she has known and admired, in fiction form. She plans to continue writing about the people of the Southwest.

My Review:
Wow! Talk about a really GREAT book! A book that is written about the author’s mother, Chloe May, but is written in such a way that it is not confusing, nor boring, to me is a fantabulous book!  It’s based on facts, but is written with a fictionalized style to keep the reader hooked. 
Every aspect of this book had me hooked. The Historical era, the details of the depression and the dust storms were all fantastic! Things I never imagined before were brought to light with this book. I can’t imagine all the moving, the dust storms, the depression that Chloe May had to endure. It was so real to me. I felt, on many occasion through this book, that it was me there in the middle of the 20′s and 30′s, witnessing all the events as if they were my own. I LOVE a book that can do that! 
Please. If you are a history lover, or just love a really AWESOME book, then give Ms. Lundmark’s book a try. It is definitely worthy of 5 stars and beyond. I think that every library-public, home, or school- should have more than one copy of this book. Well done, Ms. Lundmark and I look forward to many more books like this! 
*This book was provided for review courtesy of the author*
THE GIVEAWAY
Thanks to the wonderful author of this amazing book, I have one copy of this book to giveaway. Giveaway is open to US and Canada residents. To enter, simply leave a comment below. If you would like an extra entry you must be or become a GFC follower, BUT you must leave it in a SEPARATE comment. All entries MUST include an email address to be valid. NO EMAIL=NO VALID ENTRY. Giveaway ends on January 13th at 1159pmEST. Good luck! 

[PocketBooks Blog Tour&Review] Brooklyn Story by Suzanne Corso

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About the Book:
It’s the summer of 1978, and Samantha Bonti is fifteen years old, half Jewish and half Italian, and hesitantly edging toward pure Brooklyn, even if her dreams of something more are bigger than the neighborhood girls’ teased hair. She lives in Bensonhurst with her mother, Joan, a woman abandoned and scarred in a ruinous marriage, poisoned with cynicism, and shackled by addictions; and with her Grandma Ruth, Samantha’s loudest and most opinionated source of encouragement. As flawed as they are, they are family.

Samantha’s best friend is Janice Caputo, a girl who understands, as well as Samantha does, this close-knit community of ancestors and traditions that stand like roadblocks, this insular overcrowded little world of controlling mobsters who mold their women like Jell-O; and of the wannabes, the charismatic young guys who are willing to engage in anything illegal to get a shot at playing with the big boys. Yet, Samantha has something Janice doesn’t—a desire to become a writer and to escape the destiny that is assumed for all of them in the outer reaches of Bensonhurst. And it’s to be had just across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Then comes Tony Kroon.

Older than Samantha, Tony is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, half-Sicilian, half-Dutch mobster wannabe. A Bensonhurst Adonis. Taken in by his adoring attention, and empathetic to Tony’s own struggles with identity, Samantha is falling in love, even when she’s warned never to ask imprudent questions of Tony’s life. Even when her family and friends warn her to stay away. Even when Samantha knows she’s too smart to fall this deep . . . but the last thing she wants is the first thing to happen. Unable to resist Tony’s seductive charms, Samantha soon finds herself swallowed up by dangerous circumstances that threaten to jeopardize more than her dreams. Grandma Ruth’s advice: Samantha had better write herself out this story and into a new one, fast.

Told from the adult perspective, this is a powerful, true-to-life novel of leaving the past to history and the future to fate—of restoring hope where there was none, and reaching for dreams in an inspiring promise of paradise called Manhattan.

About the Author:
Suzanne is the author of two feature film screenplays, which are based on her novels. Brooklyn Story, a young woman’s coming of age tale (Simon&Schuster Jan 2011) and RoughCuts; The Trilogy. A fast-paced, romantic suspense story set against the backdrop of the diamond business. She has also penned other screenplays, such as A Simple Road and Gary Granite. Suzanne has also produced for the New York and London stages the critically acclaimed Roman Nights, about screen legend Anna Magnani and playwright Tennessee Williams. Suzanne has produced two documentaries; Indonesia, A Personal Journey and HEAR THEM ROAR, shot entirely at the Endangered Animal Rescue Sanctuary in Citra, Florida. Narrated by Lorraine Bracco. This documentary was the foundation that inspired her children’s book Sammy & Sue™ Go Green Too!, (Beaufort Books Apr 2009) an eco-friendly, environmentally educational book of this mother/daughter explorer team, geared for 5 yrs and older.

Currently, she is working on the sequel to Brooklyn Story.

My Review:
Well, how do I start off this review? It’s not a bad book. Let’s start with that. It’s different. This is a book about a time of poverty, and of longing for an escape to a better life. A book about mobs and gangsters. Definitely not the style of book that I would normally pick. But, as always, I feel every book deserves a chance, and then an opinion formed.

This book is wonderfully researched. The depth of the story lies in the way the author created a real to life feel to the story. A time period during which a mobster has a woman and he controls her, even abuses her. VERY  emotional on that end. The characters are as deep and complex as the plot, created a gripping novel.

So, in conclusion, while not a terrible book, it is still not my favorite. There were some things about the book, like it’s not my style of plot and the abusive situations weren’t my favorite, but over all, it is one that I would suggest you try. It’s deserving of 4 stars for the complexity and the depth the author uses. I will be looking for other books by this author in the future to see what other talent she holds.

You can purchase your copy here.

*This book was provided for review by Simon&Schuster*

One More New Challenge: Historical Fiction Challenge 2011

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I decided to join this challenge because I read LOTS of Historical fiction books this past year (over 80 in Christian Historical fiction alone!). So I thought that this would be the PERFECT challenge for me this coming year, especially since my dear friend got me hooked on some of Historical fiction books! So here’s the details:

This challenge is hosted by Historical Tapestry. You can go here for the sign up page! Since I read so many Historical Fiction books this past year and plan to read that many or more this coming year, I am definitely going to go for the first level:

  1. Severe Bookaholism: 20 books
  2. Undoubtedly Obsessed: 15 books
  3. Struggling the Addiction: 10 books
  4. Daring & Curious: 5 books
  5. Out of My Comfort Zone: 2 books

I really hope that my blogging friends can join me in this challenge! If you sign up, good luck to all and I look forward to seeing what you all read!

My List:

  1. Unexpected Love by Andrea Boeshaar
  2. Finding Becky by Martha Rogers
  3. Caroline’s Choice by Martha Rogers
  4. Courting Miss Amsel
  5. Serendipity by Cathy Marie Hake
  6. The Confession of Catherine De Medici by C.W. Gortner
  7. Wounded Spirits by April Gardner
  8. McKenzie by Penny A. Zeller
  9. The Rhythm of Secrets by Patti Lacy
  10. The Tudor Secret by C.W. Gortner
  11. Kaydie by Penny Zeller
  12. Love Finds You in Last Chance, California by Miralee Ferrell
  13. Lady in the Mist by Laurie Alice Eakes
  14. Angel Sister by Ann H. Gabhart
  15. The Postmistress by Sara Blake
  16. Letters From Home by Kristina McMorris
  17. Only Mr. Darcy Will Do by Kara Louise
  18. 31 Bond Street by Ellen Horan
  19. Bathsheba by Jill Eileen Smith
  20. The Queen’s Lover by Vanora Bennett

[TLC Blog Tour&Review] The King’s Daughter by Christie Dickason

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About the Book:
The daughter of James I, the Princess Elizabeth would not be merely her father’s pawn in the royal marriage market.

The court of James I is a dangerous place, with factions led by warring cousins Robert Cecil and Francis Bacon. While Europe seethes with conflict between Protestants and Catholics, James sees himself as a grand peacemaker—and wants to make his mark by trading his children for political treaties.

Henry, Prince of Wales, and his sister, Elizabeth, find themselves far more popular than their distrusted father, a perilous position for a child of a jealous king. When Elizabeth is introduced to one suitor, Frederick, the Elector Palatine, she feels the unexpected possibility of happiness. But her fate is not her own to choose—and when her parents brutally withdraw their support for the union, Elizabeth must take command of her own future, with the help of an unexpected ally, the slave girl Tallie, who seeks her own, very different freedom.

About the Author:

Christie Dickason, Harvard-educated, is a former theater director and choreographer with the Royal Shakespeare Company. She is the author of The Firemaster’s Mistress and lives in London with her family.

Find out more about Christie and her other books at her website.

My Review:
Recently, I’ve become hooked on HF novels such as this one. There’s just something about opening a novel, sitting back, and being instantly transported back to the 17th century and thrust in to the Shakespearian Era. Feeling as if you are among the Kings and Queens, wearing the fancy gowns and jewels, during a time when you, if  you were a child of a King, were put on the marriage market, really left me in awe. I have had books transport me into history before, but Christie Dickason is outstanding and her work really does magic on my soul.

Reading Elizabeth’s story, as she’s forced to join with one suitor as a pawn given by her father only to find an unexpected happiness with that suitor thus resulting in the disapproval of her parents, was out of this world. I felt every question, every thought, every emotion that Elizabeth felt. It was absolutely breathtaking as my heart really went out to her. Elizabeth would go to most any length  to find her happiness away from her father, a jealous man who would do anything to keep peace-even pawning off his own children.

I loved everything about this novel. The beautiful cover, the fantastic plot, the perfectly complex characters. Christie Dickason’s attention to the rich 17th century detail was absolutely amazing and catching.

This is definitely a 5 star (and then some!) novel that should be read by EVERY HF lover. Rich in detail, captivating characters, and beautiful writing, Christie Dickason’s work will forever be on my book shelves to read again and again, and it should be on yours,
too! 

Click here to see other stops on the TLC blog tour! 
You can purchase your copy here. 
*This book was provided for review by TLC Book Tours*