Bookramblings

reviews July 24, 2014

The Bone Church by Victoria Dougherty

02_The Bone Church

The Bone Church by Victoria Dougherty

In the surreal and paranoid underworld of wartime Prague, fugitive lovers Felix Andel and Magdalena Ruza make some dubious alliances – with a mysterious Roman Catholic cardinal, a reckless sculptor intent on making a big political statement, and a gypsy with a risky sex life. As one by one their chances for fleeing the country collapse, the two join a plot to assassinate Hitler’s nefarious Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, Josef Goebbels.

But the assassination attempt goes wildly wrong, propelling the lovers in separate directions.

Felix’s destiny is sealed at the Bone Church, a mystical pilgrimage site on the outskirts of Prague, while Magdalena is thrust even deeper into the bowels of a city that betrayed her and a homeland soon to be swallowed by the Soviets. As they emerge from the shadowy fog of World War II, and stagger into the foul haze of the Cold War, Felix and Magdalena must confront the past, and a dangerous, uncertain future.

The book follows two timelines where Felix tries to rescue Magdalena from Czechoslovakia, first during WWII in 1943-1944 and then in 1956. Felix is a hockey player star who played for the national team and during the war he gets involved with an attempt to assassinate Joseph Goebbels and years after he goes back to Czechoslovakia looking for Magdalena and her son who were partially Jewish.

I really enjoyed reading this book and there was never a dull moment. There’s assassination attempts, gunshots and lot of other stuff going on. We get to see in what conditions people lived and hide during the war and under the Soviets.

Chapters jump between the years and at times it was really confusing and some of the religion stuff went over my head. The whole The Infant of Prague and some of the more religious things went over my head but good thing that there wasn’t that much about that. Also I hate when books end like this! It hints what happens to the characters but doesn’t really tell anything. I want to know how it will end!

But this was really enjoyable read that read very fast wanting to know what happens next.

4/5

Published: Pier’s Court Press (2014)
Format: ebook
Source: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

You can check the tour schedule here.

About the author

Victoria Dougherty writes fiction, drama, and essays that often revolve around spies, killers, curses and destinies. Her work has been published or profiled in The New York Times, USA Today, International Herald Tribune and elsewhere. Earlier in her career, while living in Prague, she co-founded Black Box Theater, translating, producing and acting in several Czech plays. She lives with her husband and children in Charlottesville, Virginia.

For more information, please visit Victoria Dougherty’s website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and Pinterest.

meme June 30, 2014

Mailbox Monday (30.6)

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia and is now hosted on its own blog.

I haven’t done mailbox monday for some time so these are books that I’ve got past month or so.

The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B by Sandra Gulland
The Chalice by Nancy Bilyeau
Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence
The Knight Who Saved England: William Marshal and the French Invasion, 1217 by Richard Brooks
My Lady Viper by E. Knight
Disa Hannuntytär by Kristiina Vuori
Näkijän tytär by Kristiina Vuori
Sunneva by Kaari Utrio
A Brief History Of The Vikings by Jonathan Clements
Swords of Good Men by Snorri Kristjansson
Prince of Fools by Mark Lawrence

reviews June 12, 2014

Fire & Sword by Louise Turner

02_Fire & Sword

Fire & Sword by Louise Turner

On the 11th June in 1488, two armies meet in battle at Sauchieburn, near Stirling. One fights for King James the Third of Scotland, the other is loyal to his eldest son, Prince James, Duke of Rothesay.

Soon, James the Third is dead, murdered as he flees the field. His army is routed. Among the dead is Sir Thomas Sempill of Ellestoun, Sheriff of Renfrew, whose son and heir, John, escapes with his life.

Once John’s career as knight and courtier seemed assured. But with the death of his king, his situation is fragile. He’s the only surviving son of the Sempill line and he’s unmarried. If he hopes to survive, John must try and win favour with the new king.

And deal with the ruthless and powerful Lord Montgomerie…

Young John Sempill is pulled into a war by his father. But when his father is slain in battle, John’s troubles are just beginning trying to secure his inheritance. John finds a wife but soon learns that it can be difficult being married to someone who’s family was on the other side during the war.

I was looking forward reading this book because I haven’t read many books set in Scotland and not in this era. This was not fast-paced book but it was still very interesting through the book.

John is very likeable character. As a boy he didn’t live up to his harsh father’s expectations but he grew up to be a strong, dependable leader who looked after his people. When we first meet John’s wife Margaret I don’t think we’re supposed to even like her. She’s like a whiny brat with even more idiotic friends. She’s decided to hate John long before she even mets him, so it’s no wonder they have rocky start. At least Margaret grew somewhat during the book…

There was also some very interesting minor characters like Hugh, Lord Montgomerie and his wife Helen. Hugh was someone who did things his way, he could be both good and bad which made him very interesting getting to know.

This was great debut novel and I’m looking forward reading author’s next books.

4/5

Published: Hadley Rille Books (2013)
Format: ebook
Source: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

You can check the tour schedule here.

About the author

Born in Glasgow, Louise Turner spent her early years in the west of Scotland where she attended the University of Glasgow. After graduating with an MA in Archaeology, she went on to complete a PhD on the Bronze Age metalwork hoards of Essex and Kent. She has since enjoyed a varied career in archaeology and cultural resource management. Writing has always been a major aspect of her life and in 1988, she won the Glasgow Herald/Albacon New Writing in SF competition with her short story Busman’s Holiday. Louise lives with her husband in west Renfrewshire.

reviews May 15, 2014

The Collector of Dying Breaths by M.J. Rose

From one of America’s most imaginative storytellers comes a passionate tale of love and treachery, spanning the days of Catherine de Medici’s court to the twenty-first century and starring a woman drawn back, time and again, to the past.

In 1533, an Italian orphan with an uncanny knack for creating fragrance is plucked from poverty to become Catherine de Medici’s perfumer. To repay his debt, over the years René le Florentine is occasionally called upon to put his vast knowledge to a darker purpose: the creation of deadly poisons used to dispatch the Queen’s rivals.

But it’s René’s other passion—a desire to reanimate a human breath, to bring back the lives of the two people whose deaths have devastated him—that incites a dangerous treasure hunt five centuries later. That’s when Jac L’Etoile—suffering from a heartache of her own—becomes obsessed with the possibility of unlocking Rene’s secret to immortality.

Soon Jac’s search reconnects her with Griffin North, a man she’s loved her entire life. Together they confront an eccentric heiress whose art collection rivals many museums and who is determined to keep her treasures close at hand, not just in this life but in her next.

Set in the forest of Fontainebleau, crisscrossing the lines between the past and the present, M.J. Rose has written a mesmerizing tale of passion and obsession. This is a gothic tale perfect for fans of Anne Rice, Deborah Harkness, and Diana Galbadon.

In 1500’s France, René le Florentine becomes perfumer to Catherine de Medici after she saves him after he’s been accused of murder. But being a royal perfumer isn’t his sole passion, it’s trying to capture person’s dying breath to make an elixir that will bring person back to life.
At present-day France Jac promises her dying brother to continue his work trying to figure out the dying breath mystery that he was doing for a wealthy couple. Even as Jac starts to have suspicions about the couple, she can’t leave the project that her brother was working on.

I haven’t read the previous books in the series, or any of author’s books, but this could be read as stand alone just fine.

I found the perfume making world much more interesting than I thought I would. There was lots of telling how it was made and some of it just flew over my head, but it was really interesting.

I loved René’s story and loved seeing how he grew and how he ended up doing some things he didn’t wan’t to do. He stayed loyal to the queen through everything and I was so sad to see where it led him and what it cost him.

It took more growing into Jac and I’m not sure why but I just didn’t feel that kind of connection with her that I felt with René. I don’t know if it would have been different if I had read the previous books and known her better. Her issues with Griffin was starting to annoy me but I felt like there’s something I don’t know about them.
I loved seeing how Jac’s and Rene’s lives were connected as well as their love lives.
I really liked this book and I’m sure to read the other books in the series too!

4/5

Published: Atria Books (2014)
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 384
Source: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

You can check the tour schedule here .

About the author

M.J. Rose is the international best selling author of fourteen novels and two non-fiction books on marketing. Her fiction and non-fiction has appeared in many magazines and reviews including Oprah Magazine. She has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, USA Today and on the Today Show, and NPR radio. Rose graduated from Syracuse University, spent the ’80s in advertising, has a commercial in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and since 2005 has run the first marketing company for authors – Authorbuzz.com. The television series PAST LIFE, was based on Rose’s novels in the Renincarnationist series. She is one of the founding board members of International Thriller Writers and runs the blog- Buzz, Balls & Hype. She is also the co-founder of Peroozal.com and BookTrib.com.

Rose lives in CT with her husband the musician and composer, Doug Scofield, and their very spoiled and often photographed dog, Winka.

For more information on M.J. Rose and her novels, please visit her website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.