TLC Book Tour: Review of The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach + Giveaway!

Publication Date: July 28th, 2015
Publisher : Mira
384 pages

Synopsis

Adelia Montforte begins the summer of 1941 aboard a crowded ship bound for America, utterly alone yet free of Fascist Italy. Whisked away to the seaside by her well-meaning aunt and uncle, she slowly begins to adapt to her new life. That summer, she basks in the noisy affection of the boisterous Irish-Catholic boys next door, and although she adores all four of the Connally brothers, it’s the eldest, Charlie, she pines for. But all hopes for a future together are throttled by the creep of war and a tragedy that hits much closer to home.

Needing to distance herself from grief, Addie flees – first to Washington and then London, where the bombs still scream by night – and finds a passion at a prestigious newspaper. More so, she finds a purpose. A voice. And perhaps even a chance to redeem lost time, lost family – and lost love. But the past, never far behind, nips at her heels, demanding to be reckoned with. And in a final, fateful choice, Addie discovers that the way home may be a path she never suspected.

What Did I Think About the Story?

I read Pam Jenoff's novel The Winter Guest last year and it was one of my favorite books of 2014. It was the kind of book that had me adding her backlog to my wish list, it was that good. She has a way of presenting complex, unusual stories set during WWII that somehow give you a new angle on a much discussed topic while also making what the characters go through seem relatable and entirely absorbing. I just couldn't put the novel down and I am happy to say The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach was just as captivating.

What I appreciate most about the characters in this novel is  how imperfect and therefore realistic they all are. These are fully formed beings that are trying to live and love, the best they can, in a time in history that made life anything but predictable. Addie and the Connally boys, especially Charlie and Liam, make many mistakes across the novel, running away from pain and grief, changing their minds about what they should do and where they should go as well as who they should love, and for me this makes them endearing even as I want to shake them around sometimes until they stop making their lives so complicated. People are not perfect so I love novels that don't try to make the characters appear that way.

For as much as occurs within the novel, it really doesn't eclipse that much time, just three short years. During that time we see our Addie go from feeling like an outsider in America to feeling like a part of a family with the Connally's, and then we see  her go full circle with those feelings once again. We see a few love triangles, some poor decisions and one tragic accident that will break any reader's heart. While the war is always in the background and some of our characters do experience it head-on, The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach really isn't about the war as much as, say, The Winter Guest was, and for me this made it a very different read. At times I felt like I just had to hold on and weather the myriad of emotions these characters go through - love, joy, loneliness, acceptance, anger, jealousy, blinding sadness, duty, acceptance - in order to reach the conclusion they all had to get to eventually: the past cannot be changed and should not be ignored, but should be accepted for what it is so you can move on to the future you are meant, and want, to have. Without the hardships and heartaches they each went through they wouldn't have become the people they  needed to be.

Clearly from my review you can see this was a character-driven novel for me, which isn't to say that the plot wasn't solid. I was completely immersed in the settings as they shifted from America to war-torn Europe and Ms. Jenoff did a great job, as I expected, of creating this well drawn world in which her story could unfold. There were a few parts that I didn't know quite why they were included, such as a portion dealing with Addie's need to rescue some orphaned children from France, but even those parts were enjoyable and didn't pull away from the central story being told.

I've said it before and I'll say it again now, Pam Jenoff's novels are top shelf historical fiction. If you love novels that incorporate history, especially WWII, and want something unlike the usual novel set during this time pick up her novels. The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach was a little heavier on the romance than I was expecting, but even those that aren't big on romantic themes will find much to love here. I'm a firm follower of Ms. Jenoff's and I look forward to reading much more from her.

What Did I Think About the Cover?

I love it! It has a classic, muted feel to the photograph which fits the time perfectly. The beach, of course, plays a huge part and the passion between the two people is spot on. I happen to love the color pink as well, so this soft version is beautiful. The only downside is that most of the men in the story (if I'm remembering correctly) were fair-haired, so the man on the cover doesn't really fit my image of anyone Addie would be kissing. Other than that it's perfect.


My Rating: 4.0/5.0

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for providing me with a free copy of The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach in exchange for an honest review! Be sure to continue below for information on the author, the blog tour and how you can grab your own copy!

 

 

 

Praise for The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach

 

 

 

“The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach is a beautiful story of love and redemption about a woman struggling to find her voice and her way amidst the turmoil of World War II.”—Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author


“The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach is a heartfelt, stirring love story set against the turbulent backdrop of war-torn Europe and the American home front.  Jenoff’s meticulous research, a feisty heroine, and a sweeping plot makes this book a real page-turner.   A lovely story with a delicious and unexpected ending, The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach is definitely one for my keeper shelf.”—Karen White, New York Times bestselling author


“Pam Jenoff’s unforgettable story of a life disrupted by the chaos of war held me captive from beginning to end. When it comes to bringing an era to life, this author has no peer. It’s a powerful, moving drama of love, loss and redemption—heartbreaking, authentic and ultimately uplifting.”—Susan Wiggs, #1 New York Times bestselling author


“I won’t soon forget Adelia Monteforte, the strong, loving and compassionate heroine in Pam Jenoff’s The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach. I was moved by Adelia’s courage as she navigates family, career and a tender, surprising romance, all in the shadow of World War II. A warm and heartfelt story of emotional survival.”—Diane Chamberlain, bestselling author

 

 

Book Club Guide

 

 

Perusing the internet I chanced upon a WONDERFUL book club kit for The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach at bookclubbish.com. It has guidelines for planning your book club party (with a music playlist, recipes and more), possible discussion questions and a conversation with the author that you can read to give the group a look inside Pam Jenoff's inspirations behind the novel. I'm not in a book club but, if I were, I would want something like this to help me plan the best possible meeting. You can find the kit HERE.

 

 

Buy the Book

 

 

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

 

 

 

About the Author

 

 

Pam Jenoff is the Quill-nominated internationally bestselling author of The Kommadant’s Girl. She holds a bachelor’s degree in international affairs from George Washington University and a master’s degree in history from Cambridge, and she received her Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania. Jenoff’s novels are based on her experiences working at the Pentagon and also as a diplomat for the State Department handling Holocaust issues in Poland. She lives with her husband and three children near Philadelphia where, in addition to writing, she teaches law school.

 

You can find out more about Pam Jenoff on her website and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.

 

 

 

Giveaway Time!!!

 

 

 

 

 

I am so excited to be able to offer a finished copy of The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach AND a Chelsea Beach limited edition beach bag to one lucky winner (US/Canada only)! All you have to do is enter your name and email address on the giveaway form HERE. Please be sure to leave both your name and your email on the form so I can contact you if you are my winner (no email address, no entry!). For extra entries  you can follow the blog in various ways (all links are on the right hand sidebar) and leave the name/email you follow with on the form. That's it!

 

 

I'll use a random number generator to pick a winner on August 27th, 2015 and will announce the winner here as well as email the winner for their mailing address. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email before I have to pick another winner. If you have already won this giveaway on another site please let me know so I can pick a new winner and give someone else a chance to win a copy of this great book.

 

 

Good Luck!!

 

 

 

The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach Blog Tour Schedule

 

 

Monday, July 27th: Peeking Between the Pages
Tuesday, July 28th: Raven Haired Girl – review and guest post
Tuesday, July 28th: The Lit Bitch
Wednesday, July 29th: Bewitched Bookworms – excerpt #1
Thursday, July 30th: Book Reviews and More by Kathy – excerpt #2
Saturday, August 1st: Romantic Historical Reviews – excerpt #3
Monday, August 3rd: Just One More Chapter
Monday, August 3rd: Books a la Mode – author guest post
Tuesday, August 4th: The Romance Dish
Wednesday, August 5th: Bibliotica
Thursday, August 6th: Mom in Love with Fiction
Monday, August 10th: Read Love Blog – author guest post
Tuesday, August 11th: West Metro Mommy Reads
Wednesday, August 12th: Let Them Read Books – Q&A
Friday, August 14th: Written Love Reviews
Monday, August 17th: A Chick Who Reads
Monday, August 17th: Luxury Reading – guest post
Tuesday, August 18th: A Novel Review
Wednesday, August 19th: Savvy Verse and Wit
Thursday, August 20th: A Literary Vacation
Friday, August 21st: Kritter’s Ramblings – Review and Q&A
Monday, August 24th: One Curvy Blogger
Tuesday, August 25th: The Reading Date
Wednesday, August 26th: Time 2 Read
Thursday, August 27th: Life is Story
Friday, August 28th: Bookshelf Fantasies
TBD: Lavish Bookshelf

 

 





Spotlight on A Song for Bellafortuna by Vincent "Chip" B. LoCoco

Publication Date: May 14, 2015
Publisher: Cefalutana Press
Formats: Ebook, Paperback, AudioBook
Pages: 284

Genre: Historical Fiction


SHORT LIST FINALIST IN THE WILLIAM FAULKNER-WILLIAM WISDOM WRITING COMPETITION.


A Song for Bellafortuna is an inspirational Italian Historical Fiction novel concerning a young man’s desire to free his Sicilian village from the domination of one family’s long reign. For years, the beautiful, yet secluded, hilltop village of Bellafortuna, Sicily, was a great producer of wine and olive oil. The entire village prospered. However, after the arrival of the Vasaio family, production dwindles and the villagers soon find themselves in crushing debt to the Vasaios. Only one family in the village remains outside the control of the Vasaios, but the reason haunts Antonio Sanguinetti every day of his life. Antonio is determined to erase this legacy by offering financial and emotional support to his fellow villagers. He introduces them to the choral song from Verdi’s opera, Nabucco, which becomes the rallying cry for the villagers and offers them hope for a better life.

When Antonio’s only son, Giuseppe, discovers his family’s past, he becomes determined to take on the Vasaios and remove them from power. Led by the young Giuseppe, a plan is hatched that could result in either complete freedom for the villagers, or if it fails, forever solidifying the Vasaios’ control.

Find out what happens in A Song for Bellafortuna, a sweeping epic historical fiction tale of love, drama, sacrifice, and redemption, set among the beautiful landscape of Sicily. Already listed by Amazon as a Top New Release in Historical Fiction and Italian Historical Fiction.

Buy the Book

 

 

 Amazon (Paperback)| Audible.com (Audio Book)

 

  

Praise

 

 

“Vincent B. LoCoco writes a heartwarming piece of historical fiction . . . He captured the essence of the Sicilian culture, especially regarding the value of ancestry and music . . . A Song For Bellafortuna is a beautiful tale of antiquity.” – Readers Favorite 5 Star Review

“The book was a joy to read. It is a wonderful story, told in a magical way.” -Cavaliere Ufficiale Aldo Mancusi, President of the Enrico Caruso Museum of America in New York

“An inspiring story of an Italian village threatened by commerce and saved by opera.” -John Biguenet, author of The Torturer’s Apprentice and Oyster

Book Trailer

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

 

Award winning and bestselling author, Vincent B. “Chip” LoCoco, lives in New Orleans. His first

novel, Tempesta’s Dream – A Story of Love, Friendship and Opera, became an Amazon bestselling novel and was awarded the 2014 Pinnacle Achievement Award in Historical Fiction. Amazon also has named his book as a Top Rated Novel in Italian Historical Fiction.

Visit him at www.vincentlococo.com, or follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

A Song for Bellafortuna Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, August 17

Review at Just One More Chapter

Tuesday, August 18

Spotlight & Giveaway at Unshelfish
Spotlight & Giveaway at Raven Haired Girl

Wednesday, August 19

Review at Book Nerd
Spotlight at A Literary Vacation
Spotlight & Giveaway at View From the Birdhouse

Thursday, August 20

Spotlight & Giveaway at Peeking Between the Pages

Friday, August 21

Spotlight at CelticLady’s Reviews

Monday, August 24

Review at Diana’s Book Reviews

Tuesday, August 25

Spotlight & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

Thursday, August 27

Interview at Books and Benches

Friday, August 28

Spotlight at The Never-Ending Book

Monday, August 31

Review at Svetlana’s Reads and Views

 

 

 

 



Guest Post by Eliza Redgold, Author of Naked: A Novel of Lady Godiva

 

I am so excited to have Eliza Redgold, author of Naked: A Novel of Lady Godiva, on the blog today with a wonderful guest post about the "real peeping Tom". Her book sounds fabulous and I cannot wait to get the time to read it! Be sure to continue after the guest post for more information about the book and a tour-wide giveaway. Enjoy!

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Did Tom Peep?

 

 

*This blog post comes to us from Eliza Redgold, author, academic and unashamed romantic. Her new novel Naked: A Novel of Lady Godiva was released by St Martin’s Press on July 14, 2015*

 

“To think of it my lady!” Walburgha cried.  “He tried to peep! That Tom! That peeping Tom! But he got what he deserved,” she added with relish.

“Peeping Tom? What happened?”

“It’s the strangest tale,” Leofric said. To my amazement I realized he’d been trying to hold back a smile during the telling of Walburgha's story. There was the slight crease in his cheek I’d noticed before, as though a dimple of laughter had once lived there. “This man, Tom Tanner, was the only one not to keep to the vow your people of Coventry made.”

“The shame of it!” Walburgha interjected.

“He too went into his house, like the other townsfolk, I understand.” Leofric continued. “But he didn’t look away as you passed. Instead, he tried to look on upon you.”

“Oh! When I passed Tom the Tanner’s house, I had the oddest feeling that there was someone looking.”

- From Naked: A Novel of Lady Godiva

 

Lady Godiva’s naked ride, covered only by her long, flowing hair, is a well-known legend. So the story goes, Godiva begged her husband Leofric to lift a high tax on her people, who would starve if they were forced to pay. He demanded a forfeit: that Godiva ride naked on horseback through the town of Coventry. All the townsfolk closed their doors and refused to look upon their liege lady – except for Peeping Tom.


Peeping Tom is of the most famous characters in Godiva’s tale. Yet Tom is a relatively recent invention, as thousand-year-old stories go. Tom first peeped in sixteenth century versions of the story. He was the only one of the townsfolk who couldn't resist a glance at Godiva and for doing so was struck blind. His name has become synonymous with curiosity having a cost.


Fascinating theories about Tom and his prurient gaze go even further back into ancient history. In early Celtic, Greek and Roman times there were prohibitions against men witnessing sacred female processions. In myth, no man was allowed to witness the Teutonic goddess Hertha’s procession back through the woods after her ritual bath, while in Greek legend it was at a man’s peril to witness the woodland bathing of the goddess of the hunt, Diana. Godiva’s ride may well have descended from one of these tales.


Peeping Tom plays a pivotal role in NAKED: A Novel of Lady Godiva. As to what he saw – you’ll have to see for yourself!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

 





Publication Date: July 14, 2015
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Formats: Ebook, Paperback
Pages: 320

 

Genre: Historical Fiction

We know her name. We know of her naked ride. We don’t know her true story.


We all know the legend of Lady Godiva, who famously rode naked through the streets of Coventry, covered only by her long, flowing hair. So the story goes, she begged her husband Lord Leofric of Mercia to lift a high tax on her people, who would starve if forced to pay. Lord Leofric demanded a forfeit: that Godiva ride naked on horseback through the town. There are various endings to Godiva’s ride, that all the people of Coventry closed their doors and refused to look upon their liege lady (except for ‘peeping Tom’) and that her husband, in remorse, lifted the tax.

Naked is an original version of Godiva’s tale with a twist that may be closer to the truth: by the end of his life Leofric had fallen deeply in love with Lady Godiva. A tale of legendary courage and extraordinary passion, Naked brings an epic story new voice.

Praise

 

 

“Redgold’s variation on this enticing legend is often lyrical and offers a satisfying blend of history, lore, and romance.” (Booklist)

“Breathes new life into the story of the woman who would stop at nothing to protect her land and people.” (Romantic Times)

“NAKED delivers far more than the famous ride of Lady Godiva. It’s a beautifully woven story of love, loyalty, and the determination of a young woman trying to protect her people and their way of life, no matter the price. Godiva is a wonderfully strong woman in an age of dangerous men, and in NAKED, she certainly meets her match!” (Amalia Carosella, author of HELEN OF SPARTA)

“A wonderful, romantic retelling of the Lady Godiva legend. There is the colorful Anglo-Saxon backdrop, warriors, battles, peacemaking, desire, revenge and love – everything a fan of medieval romance could desire – plus a strong-willed heroin. Written with a lyrical lilt to her prose, Redgold adds realism to the myth and love to the lusty tale, allowing readers a glimpse into what might have been.” (RT Book Reviews)

Buy the Book

 

 

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOKS-A-MILLION | ITUNES | INDIEBOUND | KOBO

 

 

About the Author

 

 

 

ELIZA REDGOLD is based upon the old, Gaelic meaning of her name, Dr Elizabeth Reid Boyd.
English folklore has it that if you help a fairy, you will be rewarded with red gold. She has presented academic papers on women and romance and is a contributor to the forthcoming Encyclopedia of Romance Fiction. As a non-fiction author she is co-author of Body Talk: a Power Guide for Girls and Stay-at-Home Mothers: Dialogues and Debates. She was born in Irvine, Scotland on Marymass Day and currently lives in Australia.


For more information visit Eliza Redgold’s website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, and Google+.





 

Giveaway Time!!!



To enter to win a copy of Naked: A Novel of Lady Godiva or a $50 Amazon Gift Card, please enter via the GLEAM form HERE. Three winners will be chosen.

 

Rules

 

Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on August 28th. You must be 18 or older to enter.

 

Giveaway is open to US residents only.

 

Only one entry per household.

 

All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion

 

Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

 

 

Good Luck!!

 

 

Naked: A Novel of Lady Godiva Blog Tour Schedule

 

 



Monday, August 10

Review at Bibliophilia, Please

Tuesday, August 11

Spotlight at Passages to the Past

Wednesday, August 12

Guest Post at The Maiden’s Court
Spotlight at A Book Geek

Thursday, August 13

Spotlight at Just One More Chapter

Friday, August 14

Review at 100 Pages a Day

Saturday, August 15

Guest Post at Mina’s Bookshelf

Monday, August 17

Review at A Bookish Affair

Tuesday, August 18

Review at Book Nerd
Guest Post at A Literary Vacation

Wednesday, August 19

Review at Unshelfish
Review at Svetlana’s Reads and Views

Thursday, August 20

Spotlight at Historical Fiction Connection
Guest Post at A Bookish Affair

Friday, August 21

Review at History From a Woman’s Perspective
Review at Let Them Read Books

Monday, August 24

Review at I’m Shelf-ish
Review at Please Pass the Books
Guest Post at Bibliotica

Tuesday, August 25

Review at A Fold in the Spine
Review & Interview at History Undressed
Guest Post at Curling Up By the Fire

Wednesday, August 26

Review at Bookish
Spotlight at The True Book Addict

Thursday, August 27

Review at With Her Nose Stuck in a Book
Review & Guest Post at Romantic Historical Reviews
Guest Post at The Lit Bitch

Friday, August 28

Review at A Book Drunkard
Review at Book Lovers Paradise

 

 



 

 

Book Blast: The Forgotten Flapper by Laini Giles

The Forgotten Flapper: A Novel of Olive Thomas (Forgotten Actress Series, Volume 1)

Publication Date: August 1, 2015
Publisher: Sepia Stories Publishing
Formats: eBook & Trade Paperback
Pages: 411

Genre: Historical Fiction/Biographical


A presence lurks in New York City’s New Amsterdam Theatre when the lights go down and the audience goes home. They say she’s the ghost of Olive Thomas, one of the loveliest girls who ever lit up the Ziegfeld Follies and the silent screen. From her longtime home at the theater, Ollie’s ghost tells her story from her early life in Pittsburgh to her tragic death at twenty-five.

After winning a contest for “The Most Beautiful Girl in New York,” shopgirl Ollie modeled for the most famous artists in New York, and then went on to become the toast of Broadway. When Hollywood beckoned, Ollie signed first with Triangle Pictures, and then with Myron Selznick’s new production company, becoming most well known for her work as a “baby vamp,” the precursor to the flappers of the 1920s.

After a stormy courtship, she married playboy Jack Pickford, Mary Pickford’s wastrel brother. Together they developed a reputation for drinking, club-going, wrecking cars, and fighting, along with giving each other expensive make-up gifts. Ollie’s mysterious death in Paris’ Ritz Hotel in 1920 was one of Hollywood’s first scandals, ensuring that her legend lived on.

Buy the Book

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE

 

 

About the Author

 

 

A native of Austin, Texas, Laini Giles grew up the daughter of bookworms, and became a Nancy Drew devotee early on. When she realized there might be no escape from hairy tarantulas and bad guys with guns, she put her detective dreams on hold and wrote about them instead, finishing her first mystery novel with custom illustrations when she was eight. It was this love of mystery combined with a love of old MGM musicals and The Marx Brothers that led her to check Kenneth Anger’s Hollywood Babylon out of the library during her formative years. Ideas began to simmer.

A graduate of the University of North Texas, she put the writing on hold for a while when real life
got in the way (i.e.—she met and married her Canadian husband and headed north for maple-flavored goodies and real beer). She highly recommends moving to another country and not being able to work for a year for finishing any novels you may have laying around.

Laini and her husband live in Edmonton, Alberta with their three gray girl cats, nicknamed The Supremes.

For more information visit Laini Giles’ website and blog. You can also find her on Twitter and Goodreads.

The Forgotten Flapper Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, August 3

Kick Off & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

Tuesday, August 4

Interview at The Maiden’s Court

Wednesday, August 5

Book Blast/Spotlight at History From a Woman’s Perspective

Thursday, August 6

Review at Book Nerd

Friday, August 7

Book Blast/Spotlight at What Is That Book About

Monday, August 10

Review at Book Babe

Tuesday, August 11

Book Blast/Spotlight at Room With Books

Wednesday, August 12

Character Interview at Boom Baby Reviews
Spotlight & Giveaway at Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More

Thursday, August 13

Review at Beth’s Book Nook Blog

Friday, August 14

Spotlight & Giveaway at To Read, or Not to Read

Saturday, August 15

Book Blast/Spotlight at Please Pass the Books

Monday, August 17

Book Blast/Spotlight at A Literary Vacation

Tuesday, August 18

Book Blast/Spotlight at Let Them Read Books

Wednesday, August 19

Review at A Book Drunkard

Thursday, August 20

Spotlight & Giveaway at View From the Birdhouse

Friday, August 21

Book Blast/Spotlight at CelticLady’s Reviews

Monday, August 24

Review at A Chick Who Reads

Wednesday, August 26

Review & Giveaway at Raven Haired Girl

Thursday, August 27

Book Blast/Spotlight at Svetlana’s Reads and Views

 

 

 

 



Review: A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd

Publisher: William Morrow
Publication Date: August 25th, 2009 (eBook) / September 2nd, 2009 (Audible Audio)
486 pages / 9 hours and 49 minutes 

Synopsis

A Duty to the Dead introduces readers to an unforgettable new protagonist Bess Crawford, courageous World War I nurse and determined investigator. Once again the New York Times bestselling author brilliantly evokes post-Great War Europe, casting an indomitable heroine into a simmering cauldron of village secrets, family intrigues, and murder. A Duty to the Dead is another superb demonstration of the exceptional abilities of a master whose novel A Test of Wills was named one of the 100 Favorite Mysteries of the 20th century by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.


England, 1916. Independent-minded Bess Crawford's upbringing is far different from that of the usual upper-middle-class British gentlewoman. Growing up in India, she learned the importance of responsibility, honor, and duty from her officer father. At the outbreak of World War I, she followed in his footsteps and volunteered for the nursing corps, serving from the battlefields of France to the doomed hospital ship Britannic.

On one voyage, Bess grows fond of the young, gravely wounded Lieutenant Arthur Graham. Something rests heavily on his conscience, and to give him a little peace as he dies, she promises to deliver a message to his brother. It is some months before she can carry out this duty, and when she's next in England, she herself is recovering from a wound.

When Bess arrives at the Graham house in Kent, Jonathan Graham listens to his brother's last wishes with surprising indifference. Neither his mother nor his brother Timothy seems to think it has any significance. Unsettled by this, Bess is about to take her leave when sudden tragedy envelops her. She quickly discovers that fulfilling this duty to the dead has thrust her into a maelstrom of intrigue and murder that will endanger her own life and test her courage as not even war has.

What Did I Think About the Story?

With all the advanced praise I read about the son and mother duo comprising Charles Todd, I went into the reading and listening (I switched back and forth between the Kindle eBook and Audible audiobook versions) of A Duty to the Dead with high expectations and very high hopes. I am a sucker for a history-drenched mystery and I absolutely love when I am truly shocked by the various surprises that pop up during these sorts of novels. While Duty to the Dead did introduce me to a plucky and resourceful new heroine in Bess Crawford, I can't say that my highest of expectations were met when I was through.

I specifically wanted to start with A Duty to the Dead as this is the first of the Bess Crawford Series now due to have its seventh installment come out next week (August 18th, 2015). Within the first few pages I was completely confused as to whether I had in fact picked the correct book as the first in the series. I actually had to go online and make sure I was correct with this assumption as the book seems to pick up in the middle of Bess's story. She is already a trained nurse, working on board a medical ship during WWI, and when the book opens she is in the middle of writing a letter when the ship she is on has an explosion. We don't get much background on Bess other than short snippets of information that feel more like they are meant to be synopsis of what we should already know than new information and the main driving force of the novel - Bess's deathbed promise to Lieutenant Graham that she would pass on his message to his brother Jonathan - has already occurred! The reader never gets to know Arthur Graham except in Bess's memories and, for me, this made her mission and her rather intense feelings for the young officer fall flat. Without getting to experience their interactions first hand it felt more like Bess just telling her story than me actually being a witness to what has happened to bring her to the emotions and actions that propel the story. As I love feeling like part of the action, this was a big disappointment for me.

Once Bess actually delivers her message to Jonathan Graham and is roped into staying a little longer at their manor, therefore becoming entangled in the many secrets the family is hiding, the story became much more enjoyable. Bess is quite the determined amateur detective and I enjoyed watching her uncover the lies the various members of the Graham family, including Arthur, had hidden, which included a serial killer within their midst. I will admit that I had a pretty good idea who the killer was relatively early on, but I still enjoyed watching the story unfold to see exactly how we would get to the final conclusion.

All in all, A Duty to the Dead wasn't a bad story, I just didn't feel it lived up to the great hype I kept reading surrounding this series. I'm torn on whether I want to continue to read any more, since I really did enjoy Bess's character even when the plot and character development fell somewhat short.  I might have felt less this way if the beginning didn't feel like I was thrown into the middle of a story I should already know the background to. If I continue with the series I will definitely lower my expectations and be hopefully optimistic that more time will be spent in familiarizing readers with the characters and their actions.

 

What Did I Think About the Cover?   

It's okay. Like the story I like it well enough, but it doesn't really do anything to grab me.


My Rating: 2.5/5.0

Has anyone else read this series, or the authors' Ian Rutledge series? If so, did you have a better experience? Any recommendations of better books in the series to hopefully excite me again about reading it?

 

 



Review: Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Publication Date: July 7th, 2015
Publisher: Washington Square Press
352 pages

Synopsis

A People Magazine Pick * US Weekly “Must” Pick

Named “Best Book of the Summer” by Glamour * Good Housekeeping * USA TODAY * Cosmopolitan * PopSugar * Working Mother * Bustle * Goodreads


From the acclaimed author of Forever, Interrupted and After I Do comes a breathtaking new novel about a young woman whose fate hinges on the choice she makes after bumping into an old flame; in alternating chapters, we see two possible scenarios unfold—with stunningly different results.

At the age of twenty-nine, Hannah Martin still has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She has lived in six different cities and held countless meaningless jobs since graduating college. On the heels of leaving yet another city, Hannah moves back to her hometown of Los Angeles and takes up residence in her best friend Gabby’s guestroom. Shortly after getting back to town, Hannah goes out to a bar one night with Gabby and meets up with her high school boyfriend, Ethan.

Just after midnight, Gabby asks Hannah if she’s ready to go. A moment later, Ethan offers to give her a ride later if she wants to stay. Hannah hesitates. What happens if she leaves with Gabby? What happens if she leaves with Ethan?

In concurrent storylines, Hannah lives out the effects of each decision. Quickly, these parallel universes develop into radically different stories with large-scale consequences for Hannah, as well as the people around her. As the two alternate realities run their course, Maybe in Another Life raises questions about fate and true love: Is anything meant to be? How much in our life is determined by chance? And perhaps, most compellingly: Is there such a thing as a soul mate?

Hannah believes there is. And, in both worlds, she believes she’s found him.

What Did I Think About the Story?

Taylor Jenkins Reid is one of those authors that, when I see a new book of hers ready for pre-order, I instantly hit the button and then wait anxiously for it to arrive at my door. Her books are just that good! She has this way of making you really feel for her characters, she makes you internalize their pain and joy until you are just breathless watching their lives unfold on the page. For me, she also makes me look at relationships and their issues and successes in a different way than I necessarily did before. She  mixes humor with heavy elements so that the stories are neither fluffy nor overly depressing and I always feel completely satisfied when I turn the last page. In other words, I'm a fan!

In Maybe in Another Life, our main character Hannah has kind of drifted through life, never really putting down roots or committing to anything in particular. The more you get to know her you discover that her parents moved to London when she was a teenager while she stayed in L.A. and lived with her best friend's family and, since then, she has been trying to discover where and what "home" is for her. While I can't say I've experienced this same feeling or agree with all the choices she made by the time we meet her, she is charming and caring and a completely sympathetic character. She's the kind of girl I would want in my corner if I really needed someone to be there for me, good or bad, and tell me the truth when no one else would.

The story really takes flight when Hannah and her friends go out to celebrate her return to L.A. and we begin to see how one tiny decision - whether to go home with her best friend Gabby or her ex-boyfriend Ethan - can spiral into two very different, yet in some respects very similar, life paths. I'm not about to give away how either story progresses because that would spoil too many surprises for anyone who wants to read it, but I will say that neither life is a smooth path and both are filled with the many ups and downs of any life. This seemingly small choice will have far-reaching consequences for not only Hannah but many other characters, and it was fascinating to see how the various characters experienced many of the same elements - infidelity, pregnancy, feeling alone, finding love - in both storylines even while they were presented or experienced in different ways. This brings up the whole fate versus choice debate and my mind was spinning back and forth as I tried to see which way the cards would fall for each of them.

The end of the book presents a concept that I am completely in love with now and it is this: each choice we make fractures our life into alternative universes, and each of those alternate universes is another existence or life that we are living parallel to the one we are in now. With all the choices we make each and every day this gives us infinite, varied lives that we are living. There might be some similarities that remain across the universes but it would be impossible for them to be the same. I keep thinking about how, if I hadn't agreed to tag along with a friend one night in college, I might never have met my husband and might then never have had my son. However, it could be that we would have still met, just at a different time and under a different circumstance. Or, I could have met someone else and be living a whole different life. Who knows! I start getting emotional when I think about this too much as I don't really want to imagine my life any other way and I'm just glad I am living in this universe. What I end up coming away with each time is that, regardless of whether fate will have its way or not, we have to make the choices we think are right for us and let the world unravel the way it will.

Taylor Jenkins Reid's novels are smart women's fiction, novels that make you really think about your life and how much you can relate to her character's experiences and feelings. I've read all three she's written so far  (click on the name to see my review of Forever, Interrupted and After I Do) and I've loved each one more than the last. I can't recommend her enough for those looking for an emotional, thought-provoking book that tests what you think about love and relationships and leaves you longing for more.  

What Did I Think About the Cover?

 

While I do enjoy the composition and the woman who I take to be Hannah looking at the two similar yet different pictures, I really wish the cover matched the covers for the previous two novels! They are both similar in style and with complementary colors, and this one won't look quite as pretty next to them on my shelf.


My Rating: 5.0/5.0

Has anyone else read any of Taylor Jenkins Reid's novels? If so, what did you think? What do you guys think about the fate versus choice debate? Is there one life and love for each of us, or are their lots of options?

 

 



Spotlight on Incurable by E.C. Moore

Publication Date: July 6, 2015
BookTrope Publishing
eBook; 360 Pages

Genre: Historical Suspense/Literary



Her menacing past was loose and in close pursuit. The fear of the thing lived in her eyes, and trepidation sounded with each step her heels made as she fled…


Los Angeles 1956—Marilyn Palmer is a beauty with a deep dark secret. After a threatening note from a blackmailer arrives she hires a private eye to help keep her unsavory past under wraps.

Incurable is a story wrought with impetuous and regrettable decisions made by a desperate young woman. Barely eighteen years old, and a gifted seamstress, she makes the ill-fated decision to run away from her Detroit home with a wily friend. Bound for Hollywood, and seeking stardom, the girls set out on an incredible journey.

This splendidly imagined debut explores the tumultuous life and times of a woman who suffered the ultimate betrayal as a child during the Great Depression. A story of survival set against the backdrop of early Hollywood, misery on Hotel Street in Honolulu before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and heartbreak in Los Angeles during WWII, Incurable delivers an emotional intensity rarely found.

Buy the Book

AMAZON US | AMAZON UK | AMAZON CAN | AMAZON AUS

 

 

Praise

 

 

“Incurable will have you flipping through its word-painted images, and thinking about its characters long after you’ve read the last line.” – Anita Kovacevic

 

 

Excerpt

 

 

#1 Her eyes were green and definitely her best feature. He had to admit those gorgeous emerald pools held a huge claim to fame, because they were in competition with flawless skin, a perfect nose, and full lips, all framed with long silky auburn hair begging to be touched. Never had he laid eyes on such a lovely head so up close and personal. Reg did his best not to let his hungry eyes travel south. He recognized what was happening. He felt like a breathing cliché, a private eye in a seedy office facing a beautiful dame in need of his know-how.

 

 

#2 She would be back. Marilyn Palmer’s menacing past was on the loose and in close pursuit. The fear of the thing lived in her eyes, and trepidation sounded with each step her heels made as she fled out the door, through the dark hallway, down the steps, and out the building. It seemed to Reg as if she thought that placing enough real estate between her shapely body and the Western Detective Agency would cause the reality of what was surfacing to elude her for a brief spell.

 

 

#3 When Marilyn pulled out of her driveway and into the cul-de-sac, she spotted a mysterious blue car parked across the street. The very same car had been parked up the way the day before, and she wondered if it meant anything. On her way to meet Lillian at Flynn’s Fish-n-Steak, Marilyn thought she spotted the blue car in her rearview mirror, but when she turned around she realized it was a different vehicle altogether. Her mind must be playing tricks; she had jumped to an absurd conclusion. So what if a strange car showed up two days in a row? Her normally reclusive neighbors must have company—that’s all.

 

 

 About the Author

 

 

When E.C. Moore’s not writing feverishly, you will find her out walking or sightseeing. She’s wild about coffee, books, cooking, good wine, cairn terriers, miniature ponies, historical houses, and witty people.

She resides in a fifties bungalow in Southern California, with her creative-director husband, a yappy
blonde dog, and one feisty Chihuahua.

For more information visit E.C. Moore’s website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Amazon, Google+, and Goodreads.

Incurable Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, August 10

Review at Book Nerd

Tuesday, August 11

Review at A Fold in the Spine
Spotlight & Excerpt at Curling Up By the Fire

Wednesday, August 12

Guest Post & Giveaway at Unshelfish

Thursday, August 13

Review at With Her Nose Stuck in a Book
Spotlight & Excerpt at A Literary Vacation
Spotlight & Excerpt at What Is That Book About

Sunday, August 16

Review at History From a Woman’s Perspective
Spotlight & Excerpt at Please Pass the Books

Monday, August 17

Guest Post at Passages to the Past

Thursday, August 20

Review at Bookramblings
Spotlight & Giveaway at Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More

Friday, August 21

Tour Wrap-Up & Giveaway at Passages to the Past