Audiobook Review: The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

Publisher: Random House Audio
Pub. Date: August 5th, 2008
Length: 19 hours , 15 minutes

Genre: Fiction / Fantasy / Historical Fiction / Contemporary Fiction / Romance / Dual Timeline

Synopsis

An extraordinary debut novel of love that survives the fires of hell and transcends the boundaries of time


The narrator of The Gargoyle is a very contemporary cynic, physically beautiful and sexually adept, who dwells in the moral vacuum that is modern life. As the book opens, he is driving along a dark road when he is distracted by what seems to be a flight of arrows. He crashes into a ravine and suffers horrible burns over much of his body. As he recovers in a burn ward, undergoing the tortures of the damned, he awaits the day when he can leave the hospital and commit carefully planned suicide—for he is now a monster in appearance as well as in soul.

A beautiful and compelling, but clearly unhinged, sculptress of gargoyles by the name of Marianne Engel appears at the foot of his bed and insists that they were once lovers in medieval Germany. In her telling, he was a badly injured mercenary and she was a nun and scribe in the famed monastery of Engelthal who nursed him back to health. As she spins their tale in Scheherazade fashion and relates equally mesmerizing stories of deathless love in Japan, Iceland, Italy, and England, he finds himself drawn back to life—and, finally, in love. He is released into Marianne's care and takes up residence in her huge stone house. But all is not well. For one thing, the pull of his past sins becomes ever more powerful as the morphine he is prescribed becomes ever more addictive. For another, Marianne receives word from God that she has only twenty-seven sculptures left to complete—and her time on earth will be finished.


Already an international literary sensation, the Gargoyle is an Inferno for our time. It will have you believing in the impossible.

What Did I Think About the Story? 

I have to admit that I probably wouldn't have picked this book up to read/listen to if it wasn't for my boss talking it up and loaning me her audiobook copy. I hadn't heard of the book before and, honestly, it seemed from the synopsis like it would have a heavier fantasy element than I typically read. But, CDs in hand, I started listening to it on my commute and found myself completely immersed in this remarkably unique and encompassing listening experience.

Per the synopsis, much of the beginning of the story is spent within the mind of an incredibly narcissistic narrator. He fully admits to being a snarky, self-centered drug-abuser who loves purposefully morphing into different people in order to trick as many women as he can into sleeping with him. He's just the worst sort of human and it's hard to find anything to like about him. Then he has this horrific accident that results in months of recovery in a hospital. This might sound strange, but I found the vivid details given to his injuries and the (often tortuous) remedies employed to help him absolutely fascinating. I never really thought about what it takes to try and heal a burn victim nor how painful that process is for the patient. It's a terrible and grueling thing to have to go through and, with the intricate details given my the author,  you get an incredible sense of just how bad it would be for the person going through it.

During this arduous process we meet Marianne Engel, a possibly crazy artist who changes our narrator from the moment she walks into his hospital room. Marianne is such a fascinating character and through her the reader is sent through time to see various tragic love stories throughout history, including, supposedly, a long ago love story between the narrator and Marianne herself. She weaves such a magical spell over all that the narrator doesn't even know that she is effectively bringing him back to life and shaping him into a much better person than he ever was before. But his love for Marianne doesn't necessarily save her from believing her fate is determined by God and it was both mesmerizing and heartbreaking to watch him try everything to change her as she had changed him.

The narrator of The Gargoyle, Lincoln Hoppe, was perfect for this story as he easily maneuvered between the jaded, snarky character we first meet and the calmer, more settled and much kinder character we are left with. It helps that the story is so wonderfully vivid throughout and I was amazed at how much detail - from realistic history to the healing process for burn victims to the obsessive madness of someone with mental illness to so much more - the author was able to present. There is one part of the book in particular where, while being weaned off drugs, the narrator goes straight into Dante's inferno and the reader is brought along on a terrifying adventure like no other. This part alone could have been it's own story yet is only one of many incredible components of this novel.

Part of being such a wonderful novelist, however, is making your readers love the characters and the world you've created and it was this point in particular that made me really disappointed in the ending. I felt like I had invested so much in this story and been taken along on such a magical and all-consuming ride that the way the author choose to end it just made me feel sort of cheated. I can see why the author made the choices he did, however I felt like everything had been leading somewhere else and I really, really didn't think it had to end as it did. I don't want to say anything else to spoil the story, but I will leave it with the fact that the ending is the only thing keeping this from being a 5 star book for me.    

The Gargoyle is a fascinating look at pain, growth, love, art, mental illness, and faith unlike anything I've read before. It's worth a read for anyone as it's got so much to appreciate, as long as the reader isn't squeamish about graphic language or details. I definitely recommend it as an audiobook as well as you are sure to spend hours enraptured by the authors words.

What Did I Think About the Cover?

I think it's okay. I like that it represents Marianne Engel as well as the fiery heart that is symbolic of some things that happen in the story, but other than that it's somewhat plain given how complex and intricate the story is. There are just so many possibilities of what the cover could showcase!


My Rating: 4.0/5.0

I borrowed the audiobook CDs of The Gargoyle from a coworker and all opinions are mine alone. To find more information about the stories, including other reviews and links to where you can purchase your own copy, see Goodreads HERE.

 

 

Cover Crush: The Lake House by Kate Morton

Hello, my name is Colleen and I am a cover slut. I know, I know....you aren't supposed to judge a book by it's cover. I just can't help myself! A beautiful cover draws my eye every single time and I can't help but pick up the book it's dressing and see if the inside seems as intriguing as the outside. Sometimes it does, and sometimes a pretty cover is just a pretty cover. Either way, I love getting an eyeful!

One of my favorite bloggers, Erin at Flashlight Commentary, created a weekly blog post called Cover Crush and she and some other blogger friends are sharing their favorite covers each Thursday. You'll find my Cover Crush selection below and I'll link to everyone else's at the end of the post.

So, without further ado, my Cover Crush this week is.....

 

 

 

 

Full disclosure...I've already read this book and own a hardcover copy. However I kind of wish I could read it for the first time again with this cover! It has such a secret garden feel to it and I LOVE the dress on the woman making her way through the foliage. The bright, saturated color is gorgeous and I just want to stare at this one for hours (but I won't...okay maybe I will.).

 

Read on for the synopsis....

An abandoned house...

June 1933, and sixteen-year-old Alice Edevane is preparing for her family's Midsummer Eve party at their country home, Loeanneth. But by the time midnight strikes and fireworks light up the night skies, the Edevane family will have suffered a loss so great that they leave Loeanneth forever.

A missing child...

Seventy years later, after a particularly troubling case, Detective Sadie Sparrow retreats to her beloved grandfather's cottage in Cornwall. Once there, she stumbles upon an abandoned house, and learns the story of a baby boy who disappeared without a trace.

An unsolved mystery...

Meanwhile, in her elegant Hampstead home, the formidable Alice Edevane, now an old lady, leads a life as neatly plotted as the bestselling detective novels she writes. Until a young police detective starts asking questions about her family's past, seeking to resurrect the complex tangle of secrets Alice has spent her life trying to escape...

 

 

Don't forget to check out what covers my blogger buddies are drooling over this week (updated as they become available):


Magdalena at A Bookaholic Swede
Erin at Flashlight Commentary
Heather at The Maiden's Court
Stephanie at Layered Pages
Holly at 2 Kids and Tired



Created by Magdalena of A Bookaholic Swede

 

 

Cover Crush (Holiday Edition): Christmas Bells by Jennifer Chiaverini

Hello, my name is Colleen and I am a cover slut. I know, I know....you aren't supposed to judge a book by it's cover. I just can't help myself! A beautiful cover draws my eye every single time and I can't help but pick up the book it's dressing and see if the inside seems as intriguing as the outside. Sometimes it does, and sometimes a pretty cover is just a pretty cover. Either way, I love getting an eyeful!

One of my favorite bloggers, Erin at Flashlight Commentary, created a weekly blog post called Cover Crush and she and some other blogger friends are sharing their favorite covers each Thursday. I've decided to join in this year and will link to their posts down below.

 

Now that it's December all I can think about are the upcoming holidays and hot cocoa and snow, even thought I live in Florida and it very rarely has that "holiday feel" outside. To help me get in the mood, I've decided to highlight holiday-themed covers all month long!

So, without further ado, my Cover Crush this week is.....

 

 

 

 

Come on, can you think of a cover that screams "old-fashioned Christmas" more than this cover?! I mean, you've got a beautiful Christmas-red border of bells and holly and a snow-covered winter wonderland scene in the middle. There's even a horse-drawn sleigh! Can't you just hear the carols being sung?! I also love the sense of dimension given by the border and top corners of the center imaged being tucked into it. All together it's just a really beautiful cover!

 

What's the story about, you ask? Let's read the synopsis and see.....

 

 

New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini celebrates Christmas, past and present, with a wondrous novel inspired by the classic poem “Christmas Bells,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

I heard the bells on Christmas Day / Their old familiar carols play / And wild and sweet / The words repeat / Of peace on earth, good-will to men!


In 1860, the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow family celebrated Christmas at Craigie House, their home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The publication of Longfellow’s classic Revolutionary War poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride,” was less than a month hence, and the country’s grave political unrest weighed heavily on his mind. Yet with his beloved wife, Fanny, and their five adored children at his side, the delights of the season prevailed.

In present-day Boston, a dedicated teacher in the Watertown public school system is stunned by somber holiday tidings. Sophia’s music program has been sacrificed to budget cuts, and she worries not only about her impending unemployment but also about the consequences to her underprivileged students. At the church where she volunteers as music director, Sophia tries to forget her cares as she leads the children’s choir in rehearsal for a Christmas Eve concert. Inspired to honor a local artist, Sophia has chosen a carol set to a poem by Longfellow, moved by the glorious words he penned one Christmas Day long ago, even as he suffered great loss.

Christmas Bells chronicles the events of 1863, when the peace and contentment of Longfellow’s family circle was suddenly, tragically broken, cutting even deeper than the privations of wartime. Through the pain of profound loss and hardship, Longfellow’s patriotism never failed, nor did the power of his language. “Christmas Bells,” the poem he wrote that holiday, lives on, spoken as verse and sung as a hymn.

Jennifer Chiaverini’s resonant and heartfelt novel for the season reminds us why we must continue to hear glad tidings, even as we are tested by strife. Reading Christmas Bells evokes the resplendent joy of a chorus of voices raised in reverent song.  

 

Don't forget to check out what covers my blogger buddies are drooling over this week (updated as they become available):


Magdalena at A Bookaholic Swede
Meghan at Of Quills & Vellum
Erin at Flashlight Commentary
Heather at The Maiden's Court
Stephanie at Layered Pages
Holly at 2 Kids and Tired



Created by Magdalena of A Bookaholic Swede

 

 

Audiobook Review: Abandon by Blake Crouch

Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Pub. Date: July 7th, 2009
Length: 11 hours, 23 minutes

Genres: Fiction / Dual Timeline / Mystery / Suspense

Synopsis

On Christmas Day in 1893, every man, woman and child in a remote gold mining town disappeared, belongings forsaken, meals left to freeze in vacant cabins; and not a single bone was ever found. One hundred thirteen years later, two backcountry guides are hired by a history professor and his journalist daughter to lead them into the abandoned mining town so that they can learn what happened. With them is a psychic, and a paranormal photographer—as the town is rumored to be haunted. A party that tried to explore the town years ago was never heard from again. What this crew is about to discover is that twenty miles from civilization, with a blizzard bearing down, they are not alone, and the past is very much alive.

What Did I Think About the Story?

Okay, so this synopsis hooked me right away, and the idea of a totally abandoned ghost town and a search for what really happened made me need to buy this audiobook when I saw it was on sale. Add to that the fact that I really enjoyed the show based on the author's book series, Wayward Pines, and I just knew I was in for a treat. While I will say that the audiobook was good, it was definitely nothing like I was expecting.

The story goes back and forth in time, between the Christmas of 1893, when Abandon was a struggling little town still occupied by its townspeople, and 2009, when a small group of people (the ones described in the synopsis) set off to explore Abandon and to try and figure out what really happened in 1893. The history professor is an expert on the town and it has been his life's mission to not only discover what happened but to see if he can find a cache of gold bars rumored to have been in Abandon when everyone left. This back and forth style was excellent as the author often left off on a cliffhanger of sorts between switching timelines, keeping you drawn into the action and drama, while also advancing both stories at an interesting pace. Sounds good, right? Well, it was. It just wasn't what I wanted it to be.

I think my biggest "disappointment" (that word is a bit strong but is the best I can do) is that there were hardly any ghostly element involved. There is one point where the psychic starts having a breakdown of sorts, saying that there are too many voices calling out to her, but that's about it. Both storylines are more about intense greed and the horrific consequences that can result from that greed. Some of the characters are unbelievably depraved and do some horrifyingly cruel things, all led by their lust for riches, and I appreciated how vivid the author painted some of the terrifying and sad scenes (I felt like I could really see the people struggling in the snow storms and feel the claustrophobia of those trapped within caves). I also thought that, while the narrator did an excellent job voicing the characters, his narration was somewhat monotone and lacked the tension that the actions being described should have had (at least until the end...his voice grew in angst somewhat as the story neared its finality).

Abandon was a good audiobook, don't get me wrong.  It just wasn't a great one. Some of this feeling might stem from my disappointment in the fact that this wasn't the ghostly story I wanted and was expecting based on the synopsis. The past wasn't very much alive, other than in the 1893 storyline, which our modern characters obviously don't get to witness. It felt very grounded in reality and the here-and-now and, for our modern characters, the past ended up really being more of a side note to a robbery gone horribly wrong than the main driving force. I will also say that I thought the ending - of both storylines really - was surprising and quite sad. Overall, given the author's ability to transport the reader and vividly showcases the worlds he's creating, I will definitely read more by Blake Crouch. I think I just need to keep a very open mind about what the stories might actually be about.

What Did I Think About the Cover?

When I first saw the cover, I didn't notice the person peeking out between the wooden slats, so thought it was pretty plain. Once I saw those peering eyes I thought it was quite eerie! There's a lot of trapping and attempts at escape going on in this story, so it does fit it well.


My Rating: 3.0/5.0

I purchased a copy of Abandon for my own library. All opinions are my own. You can find more information about the book, including other reviews and links to where you can purchase a copy, on Goodreads HERE.

 

 



Cover Crush: Orphans of the Carnival by Carol Birch

Hello, my name is Colleen and I am a cover slut. I know, I know....you aren't supposed to judge a book by it's cover. I just can't help myself! A beautiful cover draws my eye every single time and I can't help but pick up the book it's dressing and see if the inside seems as intriguing as the outside. Sometimes it does, and sometimes a pretty cover is just a pretty cover. Either way, I love getting an eyeful!

One of my favorite bloggers, Erin at Flashlight Commentary, created a weekly blog post called Cover Crush and she and some other blogger friends are sharing their favorite covers each Thursday. I've decided to join in this year and will link to their posts down below.



So, without further ado, my Cover Crush this week is.....

 

 

 

 

The first thing that catches my eye with this cover is the color contrasts. The black background with the golden swirls and train and the red circling action in the center makes each section pop and draws my attention to each part in term. I also really like the composition of the cover, with what appears to be the ringleader in the center of...wait for it...a ring, which makes you look first and foremost at the title of the story snug within. I love the train at the bottom and the words floating above it like smoke, as well as the author's name written in a style that reminds me of an old-timey carnival poster.  It all makes for such a striking look, with so much to see, and I just love it! This is the second cover of Carol Birch's that I've highlighted for a Cover Crush post, so whoever is in charge for the covers of her novels is a gem! 

 

Now let's read the synopsis to see if the story is as spectacular as the cover....

 

 

The dazzling new novel, evoking the strange and thrilling world of the Victorian carnival, from the Man Booker-shortlisted author of Jamrach's Menagerie.

A life in the spotlight will keep anyone hidden

Julia Pastrana is the singing and dancing marvel from Mexico, heralded on tours across nineteenth-century Europe as much for her talent as for her rather unusual appearance. Yet few can see past the thick hair that covers her: she is both the fascinating toast of a Governor's ball and the shunned, revolting, unnatural beast, to be hidden from children and pregnant women.

But what is her wonderful and terrible link to Rose, collector of lost treasures in an attic room in modern-day south London? In this haunting tale of identity, love and independence, these two lives will connect in unforgettable ways.

 

 

Don't forget to check out what covers my blogger buddies are drooling over this week (updated as they become available):


Magdalena at A Bookaholic Swede
Meghan at Of Quills & Vellum
Erin at Flashlight Commentary
Heather at The Maiden's Court
Stephanie at Layered Pages
Holly at 2 Kids and Tired



Created by Magdalena of A Bookaholic Swede

 

 

 

Interview with Erin Marie Bernardo, author of Scent of the Past

Please join me in welcoming Erin Marie Bernardo, author of the historical fiction novel Scent of the Past, to A Literary Vacation!

Hello, Erin, and welcome! Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts with us. To start us off, have you always been a writer?

I suppose so. I remember writing from an early age. I always kept a journal, wrote poetry, and more often than not found myself writing short stories when I was bored, or on long road trips. I can even recount a few scripted puppet shows for the neighbors. It was a means to pass the time, but ultimately I wrote because I enjoyed it. However I never intentionally set out to become an author. It never crossed my mind as an option. It just happened.

 

 

That's amazing. When do you get time to write?

After midnight when my household is asleep.

 

 

Wow, that's dedication! Can you tell us what your writing process looks like?

 

 

I have had many authors tell me to write every day, even if it is for 30 minutes. Unfortunately my brain is not wired that way. I need to immerse myself in the story every time I sit down—think about my characters, reread a few chapters, research a few things—to open the creative pathway. Once I get going I like to write continuously without interruption for two to three hours.

 

 

I know most writers are also big readers. Who are some of your favorite authors?

I had the pleasure once of planning an event for Jodi Picoult, and she was absolutely lovely. She is a huge influence in the world of fiction and cannot go unrecognized. I am also a huge fan of the Australian author Kate Morton.

 

 

Picoult and Morton are two of my favorites as well. What books have influenced your life the most?

 

Most of the books that I would consider influential I read as a child. These all made an impact on me in some shape or form, and I would consider them my foundation.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Watership Down by Richard Adams
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

 

What do you enjoy doing when you're not writing?

 

 

My family and I live on a small hobby farm. I have chickens, goats and even a milk cow. When I am not working, or writing, or being a mom, I enjoy spending time around our property. Collecting eggs with the kids, riding 4-wheelers through the pasture or working in my [usually overgrown] vegetable garden. I am very committed to sustainable farming and an organic way of life, so if I can find time to can my own produce or source healthier food options you’ll find a happy mama in me as well.

 

What is your next novel about? Can you share?

Blackbird’s Bounty is another historical fiction novel that crosses planes between the past and the present. It is not a time-travel book like Scent of the Past, but rather connects present day with events that happened in the mid-1800s. The story—about a ghost— is set a few years before the start of the Civil War on a prestigious sugarcane plantation in Louisiana. If you enjoyed Scent of the Past, you will undoubtedly love Blackbird’s Bounty.”

 

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts with us, Erin! Everyone, please continue below for more information about Erin and her novel, Scent of the Past!

 

  

Publisher: Scent of the Past

Pub. Date: March 31st, 2016

Pages: 314

 

Genres: Historical Fiction/Dual Timeline/Time Travel

 

A secret diary. A forgotten past. Another time.


When people think of time travel, they think of the clichéd manufactured kind. Of giant electronic machines with flashing lights and buttons calibrated to shoot you into the past with one press. But it doesn’t work that way. You need a reason, a connection, and—most important—a link. But you can’t choose when and why you go. That would be too easy, and we’d all be snapping our fingers in hopes of seeing lost treasures of yesteryear. It must choose you.

Close cousins Addison and Elissa live in present day New York City and lead somewhat ordinary lives. When uncertain circumstances surrounding a set of antique perfume bottles sends them back to eighteenth-century France, they must uncover the truth behind their travel.

Disaster strikes when Addison finds herself in a nearly identical situation to a mishap she experienced in the present—the witnessing of a murder and release of a secret. Only this time the truth could destroy the entire French monarchy. With Addison’s head on the line, the young women search for answers before Addison suffers her unlucky fate twice. It is only when they discover the haunting connections to life in the present, that they understand why they both were sent, and why a repeating past...may not always be such a bad thing.

 

 

Buy the Book

 

Amazon

 

 

About the Author

 

 

Photo Credit: MyHoney Photography

Erin Marie Bernardo is an American writer of historical fiction. She has a degree in Communication Studies from the University of Minnesota, and is the author of the time-travel novel, Scent of the Past. A lover of historic places and days forgotten, Erin's novels connect the past with the present.

Erin is currently at work on her second novel, Blackbird's Bounty, set in the bayou of Louisiana – and is actively seeking a home for her children’s collection, Beautiful and Extraordinary Barnyard Stories, based on true events from on her farm.

Erin lives in Tennessee, but has roots in both Minnesota and Washington State. She is married with two young children.

 

Find out more about Erin on her website, and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

 

 







TLC Book Review: The Cottingley Secret by Hazel Gaynor

Publisher: William Morrow
Pub. Date: August 1, 2017
Pages: 416

Genre: Historical Fiction / Brit Lit / Magical Realism

Synopsis

One of BookBub's Most-Anticipated Books of Summer 2017!


The New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Came Home turns the clock back one hundred years to a time when two young girls from Cottingley, Yorkshire, convinced the world that they had done the impossible and photographed fairies in their garden. Now, in her newest novel, international bestseller Hazel Gaynor reimagines their story.


1917… It was inexplicable, impossible, but it had to be true—didn’t it? When two young cousins, Frances Griffiths and Elsie Wright from Cottingley, England, claim to have photographed fairies at the bottom of the garden, their parents are astonished. But when one of the great novelists of the time, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, becomes convinced of the photographs’ authenticity, the girls become a national sensation, their discovery offering hope to those longing for something to believe in amid a world ravaged by war. Frances and Elsie will hide their secret for many decades. But Frances longs for the truth to be told.

One hundred years later… When Olivia Kavanagh finds an old manuscript in her late grandfather’s bookshop she becomes fascinated by the story it tells of two young girls who mystified the world. But it is the discovery of an old photograph that leads her to realize how the fairy girls’ lives intertwine with hers, connecting past to present, and blurring her understanding of what is real and what is imagined. As she begins to understand why a nation once believed in fairies, can Olivia find a way to believe in herself?

What Did I Think About the Story?

Even though I've always been a pretty logic-based person, I will admit that I've got a soft spot for stories about fairies or, at the very least, for the idea of these magical and mischievous creatures.  A year or so after graduating from high school I went to visit family in Scotland and, while the whole country is simply enchanting, nothing was more so than the Isle of Skye. On Skye is a place called the Fairy Glen and, let me just tell you, it exudes such as otherworldly feeling that it's not hard to imagine that fairies, gnomes, and the like might possibly be peaking at you, just out of sight. It's been years since I've been there but I've never forgotten about it and can't wait to someday go back!

With this being said, imagine my excitement when I first caught sight of the cover for The Cottingley Secret and, after being totally drawn in by that cover, read on to discover it was about the possible discovery of fairies! I will admit that, as much as I love history, especially British History, I had never heard of the Cottingley fairies or the controversy that surrounded them. Were they real? Were the two girls who claimed to photograph them actually passing off a huge hoax? Once I read the synopsis I was hooked and new I needed to dig into this story to discover as much as I could about these Cottingley fairies and to see how that story would relate to the one told in the present time period.

While I own a number of novels by Hazel Gaynor this was, in fact, my first reading of her work. Now that I'm done with the story I want to kick myself for waiting so long. Gaynor's writing was absolutely beautiful and her descriptions of both the gardens and woodlands in Cottingley and the seaside town in Ireland where Olivia's story mostly takes place are absolutely breathtaking. I was fully transported to these bewitching locales and I admit I didn't really want to leave. Especially when it came to Olivia's setting: what booklover wouldn't give an arm and a leg to own a seaside cottage bookstore in Ireland, one that sells rare and old books no less?! Can't you just smell the delicious scents of old leather and vanilla? When I was immersed within The Cottingley Secret I sure could!

I'm not going to ruin anything by saying here whether Frances and Elise really saw fairies or whether their photographs were authentic or not, but what I will say is that I absolutely love how Gaynor presented this bewitching dilemma. The fact that the photos came into being at a time when so many hoped and wished that they could be true - if for no other reason than that meant that there was the possibility of other dimensions where their loved ones, lost in the war or by some other event, might exist - made the truth something of a moot point. Still, how exciting would it be if they were real? What would you do, if you were the person who discovered them, to prove you were telling the truth? All of this and more is contemplated within these pages and I, for one, absolutely loved going along for the journey.

Something else I really enjoyed was discovering how these two storylines were connected. I will admit that I had an idea of how some of the characters were connected, however there were still quite a few I didn't see and that made my overall appreciation of the story that much stronger. I found it all quite touching, especially Olivia's situation and her journey towards finding herself again and becoming happy, and I can't really think of any better way everything could have come together.

The Cottingley Secret has it all: excellent, well developed characters, stunning locations, memorable and touching stories. There's even a wonderful P.S. section at the back that includes author's notes, a note written by Frances's daughter, and the photos that started so much controversy. I absolutely love this story and plan on making time to read lots more by Hazel Gaynor. Highly recommended!

What Did I Think About the Cover?

This might be my favorite cover of the year! When I began posting Cover Crushes every Thursday earlier this year this was actually my very first choice...how could it not be?! With that storybook cottage, dense and twisty plants, and overall haziness I can see why someone would look at this view and think fairies do exist. Absolutely breathtaking cover!


My Rating: 5.0/5.0

 Thank you to HarperCollins Publishing and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a free copy of The Cottingley Secret in exchange for an honest review. Continue on below for more information about the book, the author, and the tour!

 

 

Advance Praise for The Cottingley Secret

 

 

“Beautifully written and expertly researched, Gaynor’s latest is a look at one of history’s most intriguing mysteries and an important reminder of the power of belief.”—Booklist *Starred* Review

“[Gaynor] creates a lovely meditation on the power of belief and hope.”—Kirkus

“The characters are charming and enigmatic…Gaynor does a terrific job intermixing fact with fiction in The Cottingley Secret.”—RT Book Reviews

“The Cottingley Secret tells the tale of two girls who somehow convince the world that magic exists. An artful weaving of old legends with new realities, this tale invites the reader to wonder: could it be true?”—Kate Alcott, New York Times bestselling author of The Dressmaker

“There is real magic in these pages. And beauty. And heart.”—Nicole Mary Kelby, author of The Pink Suit

“I adored The Cottingley Secret, which shifts between a bookstore in present-day Ireland and an actual account from the World War I era of two girls who claimed to have seen fairies—and Captured them on film. Gaynor has penned in majestic prose an enchanting and enthralling tale of childhood magic, forgotten dreams, and finding the parts of ourselves we thought were lost forever.”—Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan’s Tale

“Richly imagined and terrifically enchanting, Hazel Gaynor’s The Cottingley Secret is an enthralling tale where memories serve as lifelines for the living, and the unseen is made real. Reading this novel is akin to finding hidden treasure—each character, a friend; each chapter, a revelation.”—Ami McKay, author of The Witches of New York

 

 

Buy the Book

 

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

 

 

About the Author

 

 

Photo by Deasy Photographic

HAZEL GAYNOR is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of A Memory of Violets and The Girl Who Came Home, for which she received the 2015 RNA Historical Novel of the Year award. Her third novel The Girl from the Savoy was an Irish Times and Globe & Mail Canada bestseller, and was shortlisted for the BGE Irish Book Awards Popular Fiction Book of the Year. The Cottingley Secret and Last Christmas in Paris will be published in 2017.

Hazel was selected by US Library Journal as one of ‘Ten Big Breakout Authors’ for 2015 and her work has been translated into several languages.

Originally from Yorkshire, England, Hazel now lives in Ireland.

Find out more about Hazel at her website, and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.

 

 

The Cottingley Secret Blog Tour Schedule

Tuesday, August 1st: View from the Birdhouse
Wednesday, August 2nd: 100 Pages a Day…Stephanie’s Book Reviews
Wednesday, August 2nd: A Bookish Affair
Thursday, August 3rd: Reading is My Super Power
Thursday, August 3rd: Book by Book
Friday, August 4th: A Splendidly Messy Life
Monday, August 7th: No More Grumpy Bookseller
Monday, August 7th: A Literary Vacation
Tuesday, August 8th: Tina Says…
Wednesday, August 9th: Just Commonly
Thursday, August 10th: Ms. Nose in a Book
Friday, August 11th: Dwell in Possibility
Monday, August 14th: Let Them Read Books
Tuesday, August 15th: A Chick Who Reads
Wednesday, August 16th: I Wish I Lived in a Library

 

Review: The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Pub. Date: June 6th, 2017
Pages: 528

Genre: Historical Fiction / Dual Timelines

Synopsis

In an enthralling new historical novel from national bestselling author Kate Quinn, two women—a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during World War I and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947—are brought together in a mesmerizing story of courage and redemption.


1947. In the chaotic aftermath of World War II, American college girl Charlie St. Clair is pregnant, unmarried, and on the verge of being thrown out of her very proper family. She's also nursing a desperate hope that her beloved cousin Rose, who disappeared in Nazi-occupied France during the war, might still be alive. So when Charlie's parents banish her to Europe to have her "little problem" taken care of, Charlie breaks free and heads to London, determined to find out what happened to the cousin she loves like a sister.

1915. A year into the Great War, Eve Gardiner burns to join the fight against the Germans and unexpectedly gets her chance when she's recruited to work as a spy. Sent into enemy-occupied France, she's trained by the mesmerizing Lili, the "Queen of Spies", who manages a vast network of secret agents right under the enemy's nose.

Thirty years later, haunted by the betrayal that ultimately tore apart the Alice Network, Eve spends her days drunk and secluded in her crumbling London house. Until a young American barges in uttering a name Eve hasn't heard in decades, and launches them both on a mission to find the truth...no matter where it leads.

What Did I Think About the Story?

Full disclosure: I am a super fan of Kate Quinn. She is the gold standard when it comes to historical fiction and I've never been disappointed with anything she's written. I'm continuously amazed at how she makes me love her witty and emotive characters and how hard it is to pull myself out of the all-consuming worlds she builds and allows me to inhabit for the duration of her stories. It is pure magic - which is saying something given the realistic and often quite horrific situations she sets her characters within - and I get a little shiver whenever I'm about to start a new book of hers. It's probably unnecessary to say, but I adored her newest novel, The Alice Network, and feel somewhat bereft now that I've left Eve, Charlie, and Finn behind.

One of the great wonders of Quinn's writing is her ability to wholly and convincingly build these beautiful, realistic, and often devastating settings while also creating these complex, combative yet loving (most of the time) characters to populate those settings. So often authors seem better at one component or the other, but Quinn has mastered both elements and it makes for the ultimate experience, especially given she writes  historical fiction. Not being able to physically go back in time and witness these awe-inspiring and sometimes dangerous time periods, her novels are the next best thing.

The chapters of The Alice Network alternate between Eve's POV in 1915 and Charlie's in 1947. This not only helps build the character development (especially Eve as she's quite broken - emotionally and physically - when we see her in 1947 and going back to 1915 slowly shows us what happened) but builds the plot momentum and anxiety as huge and horrific things begin happening in these women's lives and right when one shoes drops we switch to the other timeline and have to wait to find out what happens next! This bait and switch model is delicious and begs the reader to read just one more chapter until you find you've been reading for much longer then intended.  

I was amazed at how much Charlie and Eve have in common given their very different experiences and upbringing. Both women are exceptionally smart, determined, and fiery tempered and both push against the constraints placed on women during the time periods they inhabit. On top of that, neither give a damn about what anyone thinks of them or their choices and both seem drawn to calm yet passionate Scotsman. Both women go through some devastating experiences and losses that would make even the stoniest heart ache for them. They are both also on their own mission to find someone who has been lost to them - one a much loved person and the other the ultimate enemy - and all I'll tell you is only one is found alive. Now don't you want to pick up the book and find out what I'm talking about?!

Something else I love about The Alice Network in particular is the extensive and thoughtful Author's Notes at the back of the book. Quinn goes into great detail about the truth behind the story and the characters as well as where she condensed or altered information for the purpose of story flow. There's also a P.S. section with real letters and trial records related to the story, reading group questions, and further reading. These sorts of sections are so important when it comes to historical fiction, at least for me, and I delighted in seeing just how much of the story was factual....you can't make some of this stuff up!

The Alice Network is heartbreaking and heartwarming historical fiction that is sure to delight any reader. While I would recommend all of the novels of Kate Quinn in general, this novel in particular is a great place to start if you've never read her novels before. Pick it up, love it, and place it on your "favorites" shelf as I've done with all of Kate's books!   

What Do I Think About the Cover?

It's gorgeous! You can't tell from the photo, but the cover is slightly textured and is thick with folded end pieces (sort of like the dust jacket of a hardback). This, combined, with the deckled page edges, makes the book seem substantial and somehow aged (if that makes sense!). The cover art itself is beautiful as well and fits the story perfectly. Love, love, love!


My Rating: 5.0/5.0

 

Thank you to author Kate Quinn and HarperCollins for providing me with a free copy of The Alice Network in exchange for an honest review! Find more information about the book below.

 

 

My Reviews of Kate Quinn's Other Stories

 

 

Empress of the Seven Hills

The Three Fates

Lady of the Eternal City

The Serpent and the Pearl

The Lion and the Rose

A Year of Ravens

 

 

Praise for The Alice  Network

 

 

“Told through the lens of two very different women, the eras unfold separately and then collide with shocking results. Lovingly crafted and brimming with details, readers are sure to be held in Quinn’s grip watching as the characters evolve. Powerful reading you can’t put down!”—RT Book Reviews, 4.5 star, “Top Pick”


“Both funny and heartbreaking, this epic journey of two courageous women is an unforgettable tale of little-known wartime glory and sacrifice. Quinn knocks it out of the park with this spectacular book!”—Stephanie Dray, New York Times bestselling author of America's First Daughter


“The Alice Network... perfectly balances a propulsive plot, faultlessly observed period detail, and a cast of characters so vividly drawn that I half expected to blink and see them standing in front of me. This is historical fiction at its best--thrilling, affecting, revelatory.”—Jennifer Robson, international bestselling author of Moonlight Over Paris


“Kate Quinn delivers an enthralling tale filled with breath-taking narrative that will make the reader feel as if they’re in the back of the roadster, riding along with the raucous Eve and courageous Charlie on their clandestine adventures. Suspenseful and engrossing, THE ALICE NETWORK is a must-read!”—Heather Webb, author of Rodin's Lover


“A ring of daring female spies known as the Alice Network left a legacy of blood and betrayal. Two women suffering the losses of two different wars must join forces, one to find her voice and her redemption, the other to face her fears and her oldest enemy. Kate Quinn strums the chords of every human emotion with two storylines that race over continents and through decades to converge in one explosive ending.”—Marci Jefferson, author of Enchantress of Paris


"A powerful story filled with daring and intrigue, The Alice Network will hook readers from the first page and take them on an unforgettable journey."—Chanel Cleeton, author of Next Year in Havana

 

 

Buy the Book

Amazon | Audible | Barnes and Noble | IndieBound | Books-A-Million

 

 

Check Out the Book Trailer!!

 

 



 

You can also watch the amazing interview between Kate Quinn and Reese Witherspoon (yes, you read that correctly!) for the RW Book Club online HERE.

 

 

About the Author

 

 

KATE QUINN is a native of southern California. She attended Boston University, where she earned a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Classical Voice. A lifelong history buff, she has written four novels in the Empress of Rome Saga, and two books in the Italian Renaissance detailing the early years of the infamous Borgia clan. All have been translated into multiple languages. She and her husband now live in Maryland with two black dogs named Caesar and Calpurnia.

To learn more about Kate check out her website, and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

 

Cover Crush: The River of Kings by Taylor Brown

Hello, my name is Colleen and I am a cover slut. I know, I know....you aren't supposed to judge a book by it's cover. I just can't help myself!  A beautiful cover draws my eye every single time and I can't help but pick up the book it's dressing and see if the inside seems as intriguing as the outside. Sometimes it does, and sometimes a pretty cover is just a pretty cover. Either way, I love getting an eyeful! 

One of my favorite bloggers, Erin at Flashlight Commentary, created a weekly blog post called Cover Crush and she and some other blogger friends are sharing their favorite covers each Thursday. I've decided to join in this year and will link to their posts down below.

So, without further ado, my Cover Crush this week is.....

 

 

 

 It's hard to even know where to begin to describe what I love about this cover...but I'll try! The colors are so vibrant and deep and when I first glanced at the cover I thought it was just a man on a river at the perfect time of day for that glorious light. Then, as I glanced deeper, I saw the alligators in the dark blue-green water and what look like workers or possibly Indians fighting them off. I absolutely love this as it gives the feeling of another time, one possibly hidden from the man above water in the sunlight. It really is just stunning!

Let's have a peek at what the story has in store for us....


Two brothers travel a storied river’s past and present in search of the truth about their father’s death in the second novel by the acclaimed author of Fallen Land.

The Altamaha River, Georgia’s “Little Amazon,” has been named one of the 75 “Last Great Places in the World.” Crossed by roads only five times in its 137-mile length, the blackwater river is home to thousand-year-old virgin cypress, descendants of 18th-century Highland warriors, and a motley cast of rare and endangered species. The Altamaha has even been rumored to harbor its own river monster, as well as traces of the most ancient European fort in North America.

Brothers Hunter and Lawton Loggins set off to kayak the river, bearing their father’s ashes toward the sea. Hunter is a college student, Lawton a Navy SEAL on leave; both young men were raised by an angry, enigmatic shrimper who loved the river, and whose death remains a mystery that his sons hope to resolve. As the brothers proceed downriver, their story is interwoven with that of Jacques Le Moyne, an artist who accompanied the 1564 expedition to found a French settlement at the river’s mouth, which began as a search for riches and ended in a bloody confrontation with Spanish conquistadors and native tribes, leaving the fort in ruins and a few survivors fleeing for their lives.

In The River of Kings, SIBA-bestselling author Taylor Brown artfully weaves three narrative strands—the brothers’ journey, their father’s past, and the dramatic history of the river’s earliest people—to evoke a legendary place and its powerful hold on the human imagination.

 

 

Don't forget to check out what covers my blogger buddies are drooling over this week:


Magdalena at A Bookaholic Swede
Meghan at Of Quills & Vellum
Erin at Flashlight Commentary
Heather at The Maiden's Court
Stephanie at Layered Pages
Holly at 2 Kids and Tired

 

 

Created by Magdalena of A Bookaholic Swede


 

Review: A Bridge Across the Ocean by Susan Meissner

Publisher: Berkley Books
Pub. Date: March 14th, 2017
Pages: 384

Synopsis

Wartime intrigue spans the lives of three women past and present in the latest novel from the acclaimed author of Secrets of a Charmed Life .


February, 1946. World War Two is over, but the recovery from the most intimate of its horrors has only just begun for Annaliese Lange, a German ballerina desperate to escape her past, and Simone Deveraux, the wronged daughter of a French Resistance spy.

Now the two women are joining hundreds of other European war brides aboard the renowned RMS Queen Mary to cross the Atlantic and be reunited with their American husbands. Their new lives in the United States brightly beckon until their tightly-held secrets are laid bare in their shared stateroom. When the voyage ends at New York Harbor, only one of them will disembark...

Present day. Facing a crossroads in her own life, Brette Caslake visits the famously haunted Queen Mary at the request of an old friend. What she finds will set her on a course to solve a seventy-year-old tragedy that will draw her into the heartaches and triumphs of the courageous war brides and will ultimately lead her to reconsider what she has to sacrifice to achieve her own deepest longings.

What Did I Think About the Story?

I fully admit that when I see a new Susan Meissner book is coming out I get a little squeaky with joy. This is true to the point that, after having joined a "street team" to read, review, and promote her previous two books - Secrets of a Charmed Life and Stars Over Sunset Boulevard - I reached out to her this year to see if I could join the team again. While she wasn't going to do the same sort of thing this time around she did generously offer to send me a copy (and she even signed, it, which made it extra special!). It was a bit of a waiting game for me to be able to fit it into my review schedule but once I did I sat back and prepared to enjoy this newest ride back and forth through history.

In A Bridge Across the Ocean we get to experience both present day California and WWII Europe, America, and the great open ocean aboard the RMS Queen Mary. Susan Meissner's ability to fully carve out both a present and past storyline within one overarching story, tying everything together in some way by the end, has always fascinated me and continued to do so with this story. So often when I read a dual timeline book I favor one over the other (usually the historical storyline) but with Ms.  Meissner's writing I tend to really enjoy both equally, with lessons and heartache and hope found in all corners of the story no matter where or when it takes place.

For this particular novel I found Brette's journey in present day California quite unique. She's able to communicate with those she calls "Drifters" - basically people who have passed away but not moved on to their final destination and, instead, drift around as ghosts searching for some sort of assistance - but has grown up trying to stifle this ability and pretend it doesn't exist. However, when she goes aboard the RMS Queen Mary, now docked at Long Beach, she is forced to face a Drifter that desperately needs her help and whom she feels, for the first time, that she actually wants to help. This journey leads her not only into the depths of our other storyline but to the discovery that, by always letting fear and uncertainty cloud her ability to let go and experience the life she's been given to the fullest, she will never be truly happy. Beyond these lessons I absolutely love ghost stories and the descriptions of Brett's interactions with these Drifters were delicious and eerie and I only wish there had been more of them!

During the portions of the book where we travel back to WWII and directly after, the tone of the story shifts markedly. There is so much pain and loss for not only Simone and Annaliese, our two main protagonists, but for all the secondary characters we meet as well, and seeing them move past that heartache for the hope of a brighter future was inspirational. The backstories for both Simone and Annaliese were quite sad and I so enjoyed watching their interactions and trying to discover how they would arrive at the point that one of them wouldn't make it off the Queen Mary when it arrived in New York. I will mention that we learn pretty early on which woman doesn't make it off the ship in New York, which was slightly disappointing as I was hoping for more of a mystery, but learning the how's and why's of that discovery was still enjoyable.

Probably my favorite part of the novel was the time spent on the RMS Queen Mary (in both timelines). The boat sounds so beautiful and has so much history behind it that I would have enjoyed even more time spent digging into the depth of it's history. I loved learning about the daily life of a war bride traveling on the boat and really wish more time was spent getting to know those other women and their stories, especially Simone and Annaliese's roommate, Phoebe, who I felt was a little overlooked as another potential important and interesting piece to the story. And, as I said before, I loved the ghosts that Brette discovered as she moved through the labyrinthine world of the boat and tried to put together the pieces of what happened onboard so many years before.       

The only thing I didn't really enjoy about the story (other than wanting more from some of the secondary characters and more mystery regarding what happened on the boat in 1946) was the final realization as to who the Drifter was that led Brette to Simone's and Annaleise's story. For me it came off as somewhat of an odd letdown, but this in no way detracted from my overall enjoyment of the story. I will also add that I wish there was an author's note at the end of the story that gave more facts regarding war brides and their journey to America, but I have an advanced reader's copy so that might be included in the final printing.

A Bridge Across the Ocean continued my appreciation of Susan Meissner's writing and once again brought new parts of history, as well as interesting contemporary perspectives, to my attention. While I can't say that this was my favorite of her novels I can say that it was a wonderful and entertaining read and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys dual timeline novels and interesting and complicated characters. 

What Did I Think About the Cover?

I love it! The last few books she's written have had similar covers, which I love, with a lovely woman front and center on the cover (if without a whole head) and some nod to the story within below her. For this book I think it's fitting to have the RMS Queen Mary and the Statue of Liberty below her and I can't think of anything else I would have preferred on the cover.


My Rating: 4.0/5.0

My Reviews of Susan Meissner's Other Books

Lady in Waiting
A Sound Among the Trees
Secrets of a Charmed Life
Stars Over Sunset Boulevard
A Fall of Marigolds

I received a copy of A Bridge Across the Ocean from the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. You can find more information about the book, including other reviews and links to where you can purchase a copy, on Goodreads.

 

 



Audiobook Review: A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner

Publisher: Christian Audio
Pub. Date: March 11th, 2015
Length: 9 hours, 48 minutes

Synopsis

A beautiful scarf, passed down through the generations, connects two women who learn that the weight of the world is made bearable by the love we give away....


September 1911. On Ellis Island in New York Harbor, nurse Clara Wood cannot face returning to Manhattan, where the man she loved fell to his death in the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. Then, while caring for a fevered immigrant whose own loss mirrors hers, she becomes intrigued by a name embroidered onto the scarf he carries…and finds herself caught in a dilemma that compels her to confront the truth about the assumptions she’s made. Will what she learns devastate her or free her?

September 2011. On Manhattan’s Upper West Side, widow Taryn Michaels has convinced herself that she is living fully, working in a charming specialty fabric store and raising her daughter alone. Then a long-lost photograph appears in a national magazine, and she is forced to relive the terrible day her husband died in the collapse of the World Trade Towers…the same day a stranger reached out and saved her. Will a chance reconnection and a century-old scarf open Taryn’s eyes to the larger forces at work in her life?

What Did I Think About the Story?

I absolutely LOVE Susan Meissner's writing and A Fall of Marigolds is no exception. I continue to marvel at her ability to present two seemingly unrelated narratives, in different times and, often, different places, that always somehow weave together with even the tiniest bit of connection. Being the huge historical fiction fan that I am I also love that she often picks unique perspectives and situations that I haven't read about before. In this particular novel she also presented a perspective on a more recent national tragedy - the collapse of the Twin Towers - causing me to be just as enamored by this storyline as the historical one (which rarely happens for me!).

As the synopsis says, in the past storyline Nurse Clara Wood is somewhat hiding out on Ellis Island in an attempt to put her life on pause and not really deal with the tragedy she witnessed when the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire blazed right in front of her eyes and took the life of the man she had just started having feelings for. The vast amount of the novel takes place in this storyline and the reader (or listener in my case) gets a great sense of the lasting trauma and heartache Clara experienced after this event, especially given the guilt she carries that her sweetheart's death was her fault. While I can't say that I exactly understood her continued love for the man who died (they hadn't even gone on a date) I did feel quite sad for the way she felt after the experience. The very idea of leaving the island causes her physical distress and I really enjoyed the fact that a chance encounter with a sick immigrant during her work on Ellis Island, combined with the support of a no-nonsense yet caring doctor, formed the catalyst to have her finally deal with what she experienced and to work to get past the terror and move on with her life.  It was also fascinating to get to see Ellis Island through her eyes when it was still in operation and to get a feel for the vast amount of humanity that came through its doors.

While the present storyline dealing with Taryn Michaels was much shorter and therefore less developed than Clara's, it was actually my favorite of the two storylines as I felt like I could almost viscerally understand and experience what she went through. Having actually been alive when the Twin Towers went down (I was in college and distinctly remember the school dismissing classes and walking into my apartment to see the second tower fall) I felt a palpable dread listening to Taryn's recollections of that day and was amazed at the author's ability to place me down on that horrified and gritty street as the world fell apart around Taryn and the others near ground zero. Listening to this, especially when Taryn relays her guilt (like Clara's) that her husband's death was somehow her fault, brought me to literal tears and made for an interesting driving experience as I fought to control my emotions. The way the author wrapped up Taryn's story, and how she incorporated the scarf so important to both stories into that conclusion, was wonderful and left me with such a hopeful, satisfied feeling about the story overall and the future these characters would have.

I can't forget to mention the skill of the narrator (Tavia Gilbert) as I've learned a narrator can make or break a story's overall enjoyment. I was amazed at the emotion Tavia was able to put into both storylines and I completely blame her for my tearful reaction to Taryn's recollections of 9/11. She nearly broke my heart with it, but then was able to bring the hope back into the story and leave me feeling quite satisfied. She was also surprisingly good at altering her voice for both main characters as well as the secondary ones, the women and men both, and each one truly had their own voice and personality.

A Fall of Marigolds further affirmed my love for Susan Meissner's books, which is great as I will be beginning her newest novel, A Bridge Across the Ocean, very soon and have really been looking forward to it. With this particular story I was amazed at how similar Clara and Taryn's experiences and emotions were even though they were generations apart and lived wholly different lives. I listened to this audiobook on a long trip home for the weekend and stayed completely glued to it until it ended. If you haven't read Susan Meissner's novels before I highly recommend them and think A Fall of Marigolds is a great place to start! 

 

What Did I Think About the Cover?

I think it's very pretty, although I find it somewhat plain compared to some of her other novels. I do like that she get to see the titular Marigolds as well as get a hazy peak at some buildings that I think might be Ellis Island. Overall a nice cover.


My Rating: 5.0/5.0

My Reviews of Susan Meissner's Other Books

Lady in Waiting
A Sound Among the Trees
Secrets of a Charmed Life
Stars Over Sunset Boulevard

I purchased a copy of A Fall of Marigolds for my own library. All opinions are my own. You can find more information on the book, including other reviews and links to where you can purchase a copy, on Goodreads.