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france

reviews October 22, 2014

Until I Die by Amy Plum

Until-I-DieUntil I Die (Revenants 2) by Amy Plum

Kate has chosen to leave the comfort and safety of her human world in order to join Vincent in the dangerous supernatural world he inhabits. For his part, he has sworn to go against his very nature and resist the repeated deaths that are his fate as a revenant—even though it will bring him immeasurable suffering.

Desperate to help him, Kate’s search for answers takes her from the glamorous streets of Paris to the city’s squalid underbelly. But when she stumbles across a secret that could help to overthrow their enemies for ever, Kate unwittingly puts everyone she loves at risk.
And puts herself in the midst of an ancient and deadly war, not as a bystander…but as a target. (back cover)

It’s clearly been too long since I read book 1. I was having trouble to remember what had happened and who was who…
This was easy, quick read and I liked it. I like that it’s situated in Paris, France, which is a nice change.

There was less Vincent in this book, which was a shame. I would have liked to see his POV once in a while and to have two sides of the story and that’s my main issue with the book. I like Kate and it’s nice to see that she’s not head over heels even though she loves him. But I don’t see what the big issue is with Vincent dying because he’ll come back anyway. I think he’s suffering for nothing but maybe that’s just me.

There are hints about love triangle and I’m curious to see if he will act on it.

3,5/5

Published:Atom (2012)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 357
Source: my own

reviews May 15, 2014

The Collector of Dying Breaths by M.J. Rose

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.

reviews August 9, 2013

To Be Queen by Christy English

To Be Queen: A Novel of the Early Life of Eleanor of Aquitaine by Christy English

After her father’s sudden death, fifteen-year-old Eleanor is quickly crowned Duchess of Aquitaine and betrothed to King Louis VII. When her new husband cannot pronounce her given name, Alienor becomes Eleanor, Queen of France.

Although Louis is enamored of his bride, the newly crowned king is easily manipulated by the church and a God that Eleanor doesn’t believe in. Now, if she can find the strength to fight for what she wants, Eleanor may finally find the passion she has longed for, and the means to fulfill her legacy as Queen. (Goodreads)

When Eleanor of Aquitaine was young, she was raised to be her father’s heir to be Duchess of Aquitaine. Soon after her father’s death, Eleanor is wed to Dauphin Louis of France and the young pair has mutual affection for each other from the start. Louis was meant for the church but his elder brother’s death changed everything. He remained very pious his whole life, preferring church to his wife.
Eleanor tries to be a good wife but she soon learns that she may not compete with the church her husband is so devoted to. When her marriage starts to deterioate, she starts to think about divorce.
And when she meets Henry Plantagenet, Eleanor sees a new start for herself.

I liked that the book focused on Eleanor’s early life because it’s less often written about. Eleanor’s marriage to Louis is usually overshadowed by her marriage to Henry II of England and I was intrigued to read about them and I wish there was more books about them.

Eleanor was determined, fierce, no-nonsense person but there were just times I wanted to shake her and yell “Why did you do that?!”. And of course all the rumours of affairs had to be included. It would have been interesting to hear Louis side of the story too.

Book was ok; it was fairly quick and easy to read.

3/5
Published: NAL (2011)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 380
Source: my own

reviews August 9, 2013

The Second Empress by Michelle Moran

The Second Empress by Michelle Moran

After the bloody French Revolution, Emperor Napoleon’s power is absolute. When Marie-Louise, the eighteen year old daughter of the King of Austria, is told that the Emperor has demanded her hand in marriage, her father presents her with a terrible choice: marry the cruel, capricious Napoleon, leaving the man she loves and her home forever, or say no, and plunge her country into war.

Marie-Louise knows what she must do, and she travels to France, determined to be a good wife despite Napoleon’s reputation. But lavish parties greet her in Paris, and at the extravagant French court, she finds many rivals for her husband’s affection, including Napoleon’s first wife, Joséphine, and his sister Pauline, the only woman as ambitious as the emperor himself. Beloved by some and infamous to many, Pauline is fiercely loyal to her brother. She is also convinced that Napoleon is destined to become the modern Pharaoh of Egypt. Indeed, her greatest hope is to rule alongside him as his queen—a brother-sister marriage just as the ancient Egyptian royals practiced. Determined to see this dream come to pass, Pauline embarks on a campaign to undermine the new empress and convince Napoleon to divorce Marie-Louise.

As Pauline’s insightful Haitian servant, Paul, watches these two women clash, he is torn between his love for Pauline and his sympathy for Marie-Louise. But there are greater concerns than Pauline’s jealousy plaguing the court of France. While Napoleon becomes increasingly desperate for an heir, the empire’s peace looks increasingly unstable. When war once again sweeps the continent and bloodshed threatens Marie-Louise’s family in Austria, the second Empress is forced to make choices that will determine her place in history—and change the course of her life. (Goodreads)

Napoleon is desperate for an heir and is about to divorce his wife Josephine. For his second wife he chooses 18-year old Marie-Louise, daughter of the king of Austria and great-niece of Marie-Antoinette.
Marie-Louise is not happy to be married to a man she despises but she knows her duty which keeps her father from losing his crown and the country out of war. Agreeing to this she know she won’t be acting as her brother’s regent when the time comes, and must leave behind the man she loves.

In France she gets an enemy of Napoleon’s sister Pauline, Princess Borghese. Pauline believes Napoleon is set to be the next Pharaoh of Egypt and the would rule it together like the ancient Egyptians did. Pauline is very jealous of her brother and the women he marries.

Paul Moreau is Pauline’s servant who came with her from Haiti to France. He’s been in love with her for years from afar but also sees her faults and feels sympathy for the new empress.

I’m surprised how much I enjoyed this because I don’t know much about France and I’m not a fan of Napoleon. But this was fairly quick and easy read.

I liked Maria-Lucia, or Marie-Louise as she was known in France, and how she was portrayed. She had to mature fast to survive in France and she managed to act with dignity despite being humiliated by Napoleon on numerous occasions. I liked how she became friends with Josephine’s daughter Hortense and found some friendship there.

Napoleon isn’t portrayed here in good light but I didn’t have good image of him before either. Pauline went little to the crazy side but Napoleon was just an idiot.

Maria-Lucia was in love with Count Adam von Neipperg and in this book they were lovers before Maria-Lucia went to France. I know she and Adam got married later but it got me thinking how accurate this was. She was king’s daughter, and meant to be future regent, and was just having an affair that wasn’t even a huge secret? Her father just accepted it? This had me rolling my eyes but I liked Adam and he was way better than Napoleon so I’ll just live with that.

I would have wanted to read more about what Maria-Lucia thought about when she heard that Hortense was to be her lady-in-waiting and what she thought about Josephine.

This wasn’t her best book but then again I’m fan of Egypt anyway but I liked this. I’m curious about her next book because I haven’t read anything about India so that should be interesting.

3,5/5
Published: Quercus (2012)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 358
Source: library

reviews July 22, 2013

The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C.W. Gortner

The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C.W. Gortner

The truth is, none of us are innocent. We all have sins to confess.

So reveals Catherine de Medici in this brilliantly imagined novel about one of history’s most powerful and controversial women. To some she was the ruthless queen who led France into an era of savage violence. To others she was the passionate savior of the French monarchy. Acclaimed author C. W. Gortner brings Catherine to life in her own voice, allowing us to enter into the intimate world of a woman whose determination to protect her family’s throne and realm plunged her into a lethal struggle for power.

The last legitimate descendant of the illustrious Medici line, Catherine suffers the expulsion of her family from her native Florence and narrowly escapes death at the hands of an enraged mob. While still a teenager, she is betrothed to Henri, son of François I of France, and sent from Italy to an unfamiliar realm where she is overshadowed and humiliated by her husband’s lifelong mistress. Ever resilient, Catherine strives to create a role for herself through her patronage of the famous clairvoyant Nostradamus and her own innate gift as a seer. But in her fortieth year, Catherine is widowed, left alone with six young children as regent of a kingdom torn apart by religious discord and the ambitions of a treacherous nobility.

Relying on her tenacity, wit, and uncanny gift for compromise, Catherine seizes power, intent on securing the throne for her sons. She allies herself with the enigmatic Protestant leader Coligny, with whom she shares an intimate secret, and implacably carves a path toward peace, unaware that her own dark fate looms before her—a fate that, if she is to save France, will demand the sacrifice of her ideals, her reputation, and the passion of her embattled heart.

From the fairy-tale châteaux of the Loire Valley to the battlefields of the wars of religion to the mob-filled streets of Paris, The Confessions of Catherine de Medici is the extraordinary untold journey of one of the most maligned and misunderstood women ever to be queen. (Goodreads)

I absolutely loved The Last Queen when I read it and I’m glad I wasn’t disappointed with this either!

Catherine de Medici is leaving Italy to marry Henry, second son of French King François I. But Henri is on love with his older mistress Diane de Poitiers and doesn’t seem to care about Catherine at all. She feels lonely but she does befriend the king. Things gets better after years of waiting she delivers a boy. But it’s only after Henri’s death she becomes to her power.

She fights hard to secure the crown for her son(s) and keeping the dynasty alive. We see her growing from naive girl to powerful woman with capacity for compassion and understanding. And who also knows how to make people fear.

I loved how Gortner describes St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre and how Catherine is involved with it. And how the things got to that point.

I love how Gortner is able to humanize Catherine and to show there were reasons to what she did. She made mistakes but she tried to do her best. And it wasn’t easy juggling between Catholics and the Huguenots.

The only quibble I had was that I’d liked to have something on the author’s note about Catherine and Coligny. But that was the only thing.

I just loved this book and can’t wait to read more from him!

5/5
Published: Ballantine Books (2010)
Format: ARC
Pages: 397
Source: won at a giveaway