strange and random happenstance

The Golden Hour by Beatriz Williams
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: July 9th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Beatriz Williams, the New York Times bestselling author of The Summer Wives, is back with another hot summer read; a dazzling epic of World War II in which a beautiful young “society reporter” is sent to the Bahamas, a haven of spies, traitors, and the infamous Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

The Bahamas, 1941. Newly-widowed Leonora “Lulu” Randolph arrives in the Bahamas to investigate the Governor and his wife for a New York society magazine. After all, American readers have an insatiable appetite for news of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, that glamorous couple whose love affair nearly brought the British monarchy to its knees five years earlier. What more intriguing backdrop for their romance than a wartime Caribbean paradise, a colonial playground for kingpins of ill-gotten empires?

Or so Lulu imagines. But as she infiltrates the Duke and Duchess’s social circle, and the powerful cabal that controls the islands’ political and financial affairs, she uncovers evidence that beneath the glister of Wallis and Edward’s marriage lies an ugly—and even treasonous—reality. In fact, Windsor-era Nassau seethes with spies, financial swindles, and racial tension, and in the middle of it all stands Benedict Thorpe: a scientist of tremendous charm and murky national loyalties. Inevitably, the willful and wounded Lulu falls in love.

Then Nassau’s wealthiest man is murdered in one of the most notorious cases of the century, and the resulting coverup reeks of royal privilege. Benedict Thorpe disappears without a trace, and Lulu embarks on a journey to London and beyond to unpick Thorpe’s complicated family history: a fateful love affair, a wartime tragedy, and a mother from whom all joy is stolen.

The stories of two unforgettable women thread together in this extraordinary epic of espionage, sacrifice, human love, and human courage, set against a shocking true crime...and the rise and fall of a legendary royal couple."

Spies and the infamous Windsors? Yes please! 

The Strawberry Thief by Joanne Harris
Published by: Orion
Publication Date: July 9th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Return to the world of the multi-million-copy bestselling Chocolat....

Vianne Rocher has settled down. Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, the place that once rejected her, has finally become her home. With Rosette, her 'special' child, she runs her chocolate shop in the square, talks to her friends on the river, is part of the community. Even Reynaud, the priest, has become a friend.

But when old Narcisse, the florist, dies, leaving a parcel of land to Rosette and a written confession to Reynaud, the life of the sleepy village is once more thrown into disarray.

The arrival of Narcisse's relatives, the departure of an old friend and the opening of a mysterious new shop in the place of the florist's across the square - one that mirrors the chocolaterie, and has a strange appeal of its own - all seem to herald some kind of change: a confrontation, a turbulence - even, perhaps, a murder..."

Because no one can have enough Chocolat...

Bethlehem by Karen Kelly
Published by: WSt. Martin's Press
Publication Date: July 9th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"With the writing chops of Ian McEwan and the story-craft of Lisa Wingate, Karen Kelly weaves a shattering debut about two intertwined families and the secrets that they buried during the gilded, glory days of Bethlehem, PA.

A young woman arrives at the grand ancestral home of her husband’s family, hoping to fortify her cracking marriage. But what she finds is not what she expected: tragedy haunts the hallways, whispering of heartache and a past she never knew existed.

Inspired by the true titans of the steel-boom era, Bethlehem is a story of temptation and regret, a story of secrets and the cost of keeping them, a story of forgiveness. It is the story of two complex women - thrown together in the name of family - who, in coming to understand each other, come finally to understand themselves."

An ancestral home with past tragedy and heartache? Sign me up.

Death in a Desert Land by Andrew Wilson
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: July 9th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Queen of Crime Agatha Christie returns to star in another stylish mystery, as she travels to the excavation of the ancient city of Ur where she must solve a crime with motives that may be as old as civilization itself.

Fresh from solving the gruesome murder of a British agent in the Canary Islands, mystery writer Agatha Christie receives a letter from a family who believe their late daughter met with foul play. Before Gertrude Bell overdosed on sleeping medication, she was a prominent archaeologist, recovering ancient treasures in the Middle East. Found near her body was a letter claiming that Bell was being followed. To complicate things further, Bell was competing with another archeologist, Mrs. Woolley, for the rights to artifacts of immense value.

Christie travels to far-off Persia, where she meets the enigmatic Mrs. Woolley as she is working on a big and potentially valuable discovery. Temperamental but brilliant, Mrs. Woolley quickly charms Christie but when she does not hide her disdain for the recently deceased Miss Bell, Christie doesn’t know whether to trust her—or if Bell’s killer is just clever enough to hide in plain sight.

With Wilson’s signature “strong characters, shrewd plotting and a skillful blending of fact and fiction” (Shelf Awareness, starred review on A Talent for Murder), this is a thrilling adventure based on real events in Christie's life and set amidst the cursed ruins of an ancient land."

Because you will reach a point in your life when you're read all of Agatha Christie and hunger for more. While I can't abide anyone else writing her characters, writing about her as an entirely different proposition. Long life the Queen of Crime!

The Room of the Dead by M.R.C. Kasasian
Published by: Head of Zeus
Publication Date: July 9th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"December, 1939.

Having solved the case of the Suffolk Vampire, Inspector Betty Church and her colleagues at Sackwater Police Station have settled back down to business. There's the elderly Mr Fern who keeps losing his slippers, Sylvia Satin's thirteenth birthday party to attend and the scintillating case of the missing bookmark to solve.

Though peace and quiet are all well and good, Betty soon finds herself longing for some cold-blooded murder.

When a bomb is dropped on a residential street, both peace and quiet are broken and it seems the war has finally reached Sackwater. But Betty cannot stop the Hun, however hard she tries. So when the body of one of the bomb victims is found stretched out like an angel on Sackwater's beach, Betty concentrates on finding the enemy much closer to home..."

Being hailed as the new M.C. Beaton be sure to check out M.R.C. Kasasian! 

In the Full Light of the Sun by Clare Clark
Published by: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication Date: July 9th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Based on a true story, this gorgeous new novel follows the fortunes of three Berliners caught up in an art scandal - involving newly discovered van Goghs - that rocks Germany amidst the Nazis’ rise to power.

Hedonistic and politically turbulent, Berlin in the 1920s is a city of seedy night clubs and sumptuous art galleries. It is home to millionaires and mobs storming bakeries for rationed bread. These disparate Berlins collide when Emmeline, a young art student; Julius, an art expert; and a mysterious dealer named Rachmann all find themselves caught up in the astonishing discovery of thirty-two previously unknown paintings by Vincent van Gogh.

In the Full Light of the Sun explores the trio’s complex relationships and motivations, their hopes, their vanities, and their self-delusions - for the paintings are fakes and they are in their own ways complicit. Theirs is a cautionary tale about of the aspirations of the new Germany and a generation determined to put the humiliations of the past behind them.

With her signature impeccable and evocative historical detail, Clare Clark has written a gripping novel about beauty and justice, and the truth that may be found when our most treasured beliefs are revealed as illusions."

Because no one can have enough Vincent van Gogh in their lives.

Salvation Day by Kali Wallace
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: July 9th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A lethal virus is awoken on an abandoned spaceship in this incredibly fast-paced, claustrophobic thriller.

They thought the ship would be their salvation.

Zahra knew every detail of the plan. House of Wisdom, a massive exploration vessel, had been abandoned by the government of Earth a decade earlier, when a deadly virus broke out and killed everyone on board in a matter of hours. But now it could belong to her people if they were bold enough to take it. All they needed to do was kidnap Jaswinder Bhattacharya - the sole survivor of the tragedy, and the last person whose genetic signature would allow entry to the spaceship.

But what Zahra and her crew could not know was what waited for them on the ship - a terrifying secret buried by the government. A threat to all of humanity that lay sleeping alongside the orbiting dead.

And then they woke it up."

Spaceships and catastrophic thrillers are the perfect summer read. 

The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson
Published by: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: July 9th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Eragon meets And I Darken in this thrilling new fantasy debut that follows a fallen princess as she ignites a rebellion to bring back the magical elemental crows that were taken from her people.

In the tropical kingdom of Rhodaire, magical, elemental Crows are part of every aspect of life...until the Illucian empire invades, destroying everything.

That terrible night has thrown Princess Anthia into a deep depression. Her sister Caliza is busy running the kingdom after their mother's death, but all Thia can do is think of all she has lost.

But when Caliza is forced to agree to a marriage between Thia and the crown prince of Illucia, Thia is finally spurred into action. And after stumbling upon a hidden Crow egg in the rubble of a rookery, she and her sister devise a dangerous plan to hatch the egg in secret and get back what was taken from them."

I was sold at word number one, Eragon.

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim
Published by: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: July 9th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Project Runway meets Mulan in this sweeping YA fantasy about a young girl who poses as a boy to compete for the role of imperial tailor and embarks on an impossible journey to sew three magic dresses, from the sun, the moon, and the stars.

Maia Tamarin dreams of becoming the greatest tailor in the land, but as a girl, the best she can hope for is to marry well. When a royal messenger summons her ailing father, once a tailor of renown, to court, Maia poses as a boy and takes his place. She knows her life is forfeit if her secret is discovered, but she'll take that risk to achieve her dream and save her family from ruin. There's just one catch: Maia is one of twelve tailors vying for the job.

Backstabbing and lies run rampant as the tailors compete in challenges to prove their artistry and skill. Maia's task is further complicated when she draws the attention of the court enchanter, Edan, whose piercing eyes seem to see straight through her disguise.

And nothing could have prepared her for the final challenge: to sew three magic gowns for the emperor's reluctant bride-to-be, from the laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon, and the blood of stars. With this impossible task before her, she embarks on a journey to the far reaches of the kingdom, seeking the sun, the moon, and the stars, and finding more than she ever could have imagined.

Steeped in Chinese culture, sizzling with forbidden romance, and shimmering with magic, this young adult fantasy is pitch-perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas or Renée Ahdieh."

I'm a sucker for a good tailor tale... 

Wilder Girls by Rory Power
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: July 9th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A feminist Lord of the Flies about three best friends living in quarantine at their island boarding school, and the lengths they go to uncover the truth of their confinement when one disappears. This fresh, new debut is a mind-bending novel unlike anything you've read before.

It's been eighteen months since the Raxter School for Girls was put under quarantine. Since the Tox hit and pulled Hetty's life out from under her.

It started slow. First the teachers died one by one. Then it began to infect the students, turning their bodies strange and foreign. Now, cut off from the rest of the world and left to fend for themselves on their island home, the girls don't dare wander outside the school's fence, where the Tox has made the woods wild and dangerous. They wait for the cure they were promised as the Tox seeps into everything.

But when Byatt goes missing, Hetty will do anything to find her, even if it means breaking quarantine and braving the horrors that lie beyond the fence. And when she does, Hetty learns that there's more to their story, to their life at Raxter, than she could have ever thought true."

As an artist I am in awe of this cover.

The Saturday Night Ghost Club by Craig Davidson
Published by: Penguin Books
Publication Date: July 9th, 2019
Format: Paperback, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A short, irresistible, and bittersweet coming-of-age story in the vein of Stranger Things and Stand by Me about a group of misfit kids who spend an unforgettable summer investigating local ghost stories and urban legends.

Growing up in 1980s Niagara Falls - a seedy but magical, slightly haunted place - Jake Baker spends most of his time with his uncle Calvin, a kind but eccentric enthusiast of occult artifacts and conspiracy theories. The summer Jake turns twelve, he befriends a pair of siblings new to town, and so Calvin decides to initiate them all into the "Saturday Night Ghost Club." But as the summer goes on, what begins as a seemingly light-hearted project may ultimately uncover more than any of its members had imagined. With the alternating warmth and sadness of the best coming-of-age stories, The Saturday Night Ghost Club is a note-perfect novel that poignantly examines the haunting mutability of memory and storytelling, as well as the experiences that form the people we become, and establishes Craig Davidson as a remarkable literary talent."

Because right about now you've finished binging the new season of Stranger Things and need something to fill the void... 

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Season of the Witch by Sarah Rees Brennan
Published by: Scholastic Inc.
Publication Date: July 9th, 2019
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the creator of Riverdale comes the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, a new Netflix eries based on the classic Archie comic series. This prequel YA novel tells an all-new, original story.

It's the summer before her sixteenth birthday, and Sabrina Spellman knows her world is about to change. She's always studied magic and spells with her aunts, Hilda and Zelda. But she's also lived a normal mortal life - attending Baxter High, hanging out with her friends Susie and Roz, and going to the movies with her boyfriend, Harvey Kinkle.

Now time is running out on her everyday, normal world, and leaving behind Roz and Susie and Harvey is a lot harder than she thought it would be. Especially because Sabrina isn't sure how Harvey feels about her. Her cousin Ambrose suggests performing a spell to discover Harvey's true feelings. But when a mysterious wood spirit interferes, the spell backfires...in a big way.

Sabrina has always been attracted to the power of being a witch. But now she can't help wondering if that power is leading her down the wrong path. Will she choose to forsake the path of light and follow the path of night?

This exclusive prequel novel will reveal a side of Sabrina not seen on the new Netflix show. What choice will Sabrina make...and will it be the right one?"

At first, I was like, eh, prequel trying to cash in on the franchise, but then I saw Sarah Reese Brennan wrote it, so now I'm on board! 

Cheshire Crossing by Andy Weir and Sarah Andersen
Published by: Ten Speed Press
Publication Date: July 9th, 2019
Format: Paperback, 128 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"#1 New York Times bestselling author Andy Weir and acclaimed illustrator Sarah Andersen tackle what transpires after "happily ever after." What happens to Alice when she comes back from Wonderland? Wendy from Neverland? Dorothy from Oz?

The three meet here, at Cheshire Crossing - a boarding school where girls like them learn how to cope with their supernatural experiences and harness their magical world-crossing powers.

But the trio - now teenagers, who’ve had their fill of meddling authority figures - aren’t content to sit still in a classroom. Soon they’re dashing from one universe to the next, leaving havoc in their wake - and, inadvertently, bringing the Wicked Witch and Hook together in a deadly supervillain love match.

To stop them, the girls will have to draw on all of their powers...and marshal a team of unlikely allies from across the magical multiverse.

Written by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Martian, Andy Weir, and illustrated by beloved Sarah’s Scribbles creator, Sarah Andersen, Cheshire Crossing is a funny, breakneck, boundlessly inventive journey through classic worlds as you’ve never seen them before."

One of my friends awhile back told me about this web comic series with literally two of the favorite creators out there, Andy Weir and Sarah Anderson, but I didn't get around to reading it... which means yeah me because now it's available in a handy book!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Agatha Christie, Andy Weir, Beatriz Williams, Chocolat, Clare Clark, Craig Davidson, Elizabeth Lim, Kali Wallace, Karen Kelly, Kayln Josephson, M.R.C. Kasasian, Rory Powers, Sabrina, Sarah Andersen

Murder on Black Swan Lane by Andrea Penrose
Published by: Kensington
Publication Date: June 27th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In Regency London, an unconventional scientist and a fearless female artist form an unlikely alliance to expose unspeakable evil...

The Earl of Wrexford possesses a brilliant scientific mind, but boredom and pride lead him to reckless behavior. He does not suffer fools gladly. So when pompous, pious Reverend Josiah Holworthy publicly condemns him for debauchery, Wrexford unsheathes his rapier-sharp wit and strikes back. As their war of words escalates, London’s most popular satirical cartoonist, A.J. Quill, skewers them both. But then the clergyman is found slain in a church—his face burned by chemicals, his throat slashed ear to ear—and Wrexford finds himself the chief suspect.

An artist in her own right, Charlotte Sloane has secretly slipped into the persona of her late husband, using his nom de plume A.J. Quill. When Wrexford discovers her true identity, she fears it will be her undoing. But he has a proposal—use her sources to unveil the clergyman’s clandestine involvement in questionable scientific practices, and unmask the real murderer. Soon Lord Wrexford and the mysterious Mrs. Sloane plunge into a dangerous shadow world hidden among London’s intellectual enclaves to trap a cunning adversary—before they fall victim to the next experiment in villainy..."

Even if the blurb didn't make me go YAS, as does the author, Lauren Willig's recommendation makes this a must read.

The Witchwood Crown by Tad Williams
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: June 27th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 736 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Dragonbone Chair, the first volume of Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, was published in hardcover in October, 1988, launching the series that was to become one of the seminal works of modern epic fantasy. Many of today’s top-selling fantasy authors, from Patrick Rothfuss to George R. R. Martin to Christopher Paolini credit Tad with being the inspiration for their own series.

Now, twenty-four years after the conclusion of Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Tad returns to his beloved universe and characters with The Witchwood Crown, the first novel in the long-awaited sequel trilogy, The Last King of Osten Ard.

More than thirty years have passed since the events of the earlier novels, and the world has reached a critical turning point once again. The realm is threatened by divisive forces, even as old allies are lost, and others are lured down darker paths. Perhaps most terrifying of all, the Norns—the long-vanquished elvish foe—are stirring once again, preparing to reclaim the mortal-ruled lands that once were theirs..."

A new starting off point or a return to a favorite land, depending on your point of view. 

Midnight Jewel by Richelle Mead
Published by: Razorbill
Publication Date: June 27th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Mira is not like the other Glittering Court girls. She is a war refugee, cast out of her home country and thrust into another, where she has learned to fight against the many injustices around her. For some, the Glittering Court offers a chance at a life they’ve only ever dreamed of, one of luxury, glamour, and leisure. But for Mira, it’s simply a means to an end. In the new world, she plans to earn off her marriage contract price, and finally be free.

Mira pitches herself as an asset to one of the passengers on board the ship: the sardonic and aloof Grant Elliot, whom she’s discovered is a spy for the prestigious McGraw Agency—and her ticket to buying her freedom. His cover blown, Grant has little choice but to take her on. Mira applies herself by day, learning the etiquette and customs that will help to earn her anonymity. By night, she dons a mask and slips into the city, fighting injustice and corruption on her own terms—and impressing Grant with her extraordinary abilities and insights into a brewing rebellion. But the rebellion isn’t all they’re fighting...

Neither of them can ignore the attraction burning between them—an attraction so powerful, it threatens to unravel everything Mira’s worked so hard for. With freedom finally within her grasp, can Mira risk it all for love?"

Yeah, I didn't love the first book to warrant me reading this one. So could someone read it and tell me what happens? 

Seven Stones to Stand or Fall by Diana Gabaldon
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: June 27th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 544 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A magnificent collection of Outlander short fiction—including two never-before-published novellas—featuring Jamie Fraser, Lord John Grey, Master Raymond, and many more, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Diana Gabaldon.

“The Custom of the Army” begins with Lord John Grey being shocked by an electric eel and ends at the Battle of Quebec. Then comes “The Space Between,” where it is revealed that the Comte St. Germain is not dead, Master Raymond appears, and a widowed young wine dealer escorts a would-be novice to a convent in Paris. In “A Plague of Zombies,” Lord John unexpectedly becomes military governor of Jamaica when the original governor is gnawed by what probably wasn’t a giant rat. “A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows” is the moving story of Roger MacKenzie’s parents during World War II. In “Virgins,” Jamie Fraser, aged nineteen, and Ian Murray, aged twenty, become mercenaries in France, no matter that neither has yet bedded a lass or killed a man. But they’re trying. . . . “A Fugitive Green” is the story of Lord John’s elder brother, Hal, and a seventeen-year-old rare book dealer with a sideline in theft, forgery, and blackmail. And finally, in “Besieged,” Lord John learns that his mother is in Havana—and that the British Navy is on their way to lay siege to the city.

Filling in mesmerizing chapters in the lives of characters readers have followed over the course of thousands of pages, Gabaldon’s genius is on full display throughout this must-have collection."

Your temporary cure for the Droughtlander.

The Furthest Station by Ben Aaronovitch
Published by: Subterranean Press
Publication Date: June 27th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 144 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"There have been ghosts on the London Underground, sad, harmless spectres whose presence does little more than give a frisson to travelling and boost tourism. But now there's a rash of sightings on the Metropolitan Line and these ghosts are frightening, aggressive and seem to be looking for something.

Enter PC Peter Grant junior member of the Metropolitan Police's Special Assessment unit a.k.a. The Folly a.k.a. the only police officers whose official duties include ghost hunting. Together with Jaget Kumar, his counterpart at the British Transport Police, he must brave the terrifying the crush of London's rush hour to find the source of the ghosts."

Thank the Powers That Be that Subterranean Press used artwork that matches the rest of the series and not something horrid, like usual.

Cocoa Beach by Beatriz Williams
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: June 27th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The New York Times bestselling author of A Certain Age transports readers to sunny Florida in this lush and enthralling historical novel—an enchanting blend of love, suspense, betrayal, and redemption set among the rumrunners and scoundrels of Prohibition-era Cocoa Beach.

Burdened by a dark family secret, Virginia Fortescue flees her oppressive home in New York City for the battlefields of World War I France. While an ambulance driver for the Red Cross, she meets a charismatic British army surgeon whose persistent charm opens her heart to the possibility of love. As the war rages, Virginia falls into a passionate affair with the dashing Captain Simon Fitzwilliam, only to discover that his past has its own dark secrets—secrets that will damage their eventual marriage and propel her back across the Atlantic to the sister and father she left behind.

Five years later, in the early days of Prohibition, the newly widowed Virginia Fitzwilliam arrives in the tropical boomtown of Cocoa Beach, Florida, to settle her husband’s estate. Despite the evidence, Virginia does not believe Simon perished in the fire that destroyed the seaside home he built for her and their young daughter. Separated from her husband since the early days of their marriage, the headstrong Virginia plans to uncover the truth, for the sake of the daughter Simon never met.

Simon’s brother and sister welcome her with open arms and introduce her to a dazzling new world of citrus groves, white beaches, bootleggers, and Prohibition agents. But Virginia senses a predatory presence lurking beneath the irresistible, hedonistic surface of this coastal oasis. The more she learns about Simon and his mysterious business interests, the more she fears that the dangers that surrounded Simon now threaten her and their daughter’s life as well."

Anyone else come to the conclusion that Beatriz Williams has to be about five people to write this many books? Oh wait, maybe she's like a female Stephen King!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Andrea Penrose, Beatriz Williams, Ben Aaronovitch, Diana Gabaldon, Murder on Black Swan Lane, Richelle Mead, Stephen King, Tad Williams, The Furthest Station, The Glittering Court, The Witchwood Crown

The Wicked City by Beatriz Williams
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: January 17th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Bestselling author Beatriz Williams brings together two generations of women inside a Greenwich Village apartment—a flapper hiding an extraordinary past, and a modern-day Manhattanite forced to start her life anew.

When she discovers her banker husband has been harboring a secret life, Ella Gilbert escapes their sleek SoHo loft for a studio in a quaint building in Greenwich Village. But her new refuge isn't quite what it seems. Her charismatic musician neighbor, Hector, warns her to stay out of the basement after midnight, when a symphony of mysterious noise strikes up—laughter, clinking glasses, jazz piano, the occasional bloodcurdling scream—even though it's stood empty for decades. Back in the Roaring Twenties, the building hosted one of the city’s most notorious speakeasies.

In 1924, Geneva "Gin" Kelly, a quick-witted flapper from the hills of western Maryland, is a regular at this Village hideaway known as the Christopher Club. Caught up in a raid, Gin lands in the office of Prohibition enforcement agent Oliver Anson, who persuades her to help him catch her stepfather, Duke Kelly, one of Appalachia’s most notorious bootleggers.

Sired by a wealthy New York scion who abandoned her showgirl mother, Gin is nobody’s fool. She strikes a risky bargain with the taciturn, straight-arrow Revenue agent, even though her on-again, off-again Princeton beau, Billy Marshall, wants to make an honest woman of her and heal the legacy of her hardscrabble childhood. Gin's alliance with Anson rattles Manhattan society, exposing sins that shock even this free-spirited redhead—sins that echo from the canyons of Wall Street to the mountain hollers of her hometown.

As Ella unravels the strange history of the building—and the family thread that connects her to Geneva Kelly—she senses the Jazz Age spirit of her incandescent predecessor invading her own shy nature, in ways that will transform her life in the wicked city..."

Obviously I'm buying this because it's Beatriz Williams, but does anyone else think there's something odd going on with that red umbrella and that lady's head?

Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth
Published by: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: January 17th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Fans of Star Wars and Divergent will revel in internationally bestselling author Veronica Roth’s stunning new science-fiction fantasy series.

On a planet where violence and vengeance rule, in a galaxy where some are favored by fate, everyone develops a currentgift, a unique power meant to shape the future. While most benefit from their currentgifts, Akos and Cyra do not—their gifts make them vulnerable to others’ control. Can they reclaim their gifts, their fates, and their lives, and reset the balance of power in this world?

Cyra is the sister of the brutal tyrant who rules the Shotet people. Cyra’s currentgift gives her pain and power—something her brother exploits, using her to torture his enemies. But Cyra is much more than just a blade in her brother’s hand: she is resilient, quick on her feet, and smarter than he knows.

Akos is from the peace-loving nation of Thuvhe, and his loyalty to his family is limitless. Though protected by his unusual currentgift, once Akos and his brother are captured by enemy Shotet soldiers, Akos is desperate to get his brother out alive—no matter what the cost. When Akos is thrust into Cyra’s world, the enmity between their countries and families seems insurmountable. They must decide to help each other to survive—or to destroy one another."

Seriously, this is the number one most buzzed about book for about the last six months people.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Adult Coloring Book
Published by: Dark Horse Books
Publication Date: January 17th, 2017
Format: Paperback, 96 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Enter the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the chosen one who wields the skill to fight vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness. Created by the multi-talented Joss Whedon and beloved the world over, your favorite characters and moments from the Buffy television series are all represented in this engrossing adult coloring book. Containing forty-five intricately-detailed original illustrations ready for you can add your own colors to Buffy and the good guys as well as all the big bad guys!

All artwork is original and created explicitly for this official Buffy adult coloring book.

Includes art from such Buffy regulars as Karl Moline, Rebekah Isaacs, Georges Jeanty, Yishan Li, Steve Morris, Newsha Ghasemi, and others!"

I'm not spending too much time coloring Giles, you're spending too much time judging my Giles obsession. 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Beatriz Williams, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Carve the Mark, Coloring Book, Joss Whedon, Rupert Giles, Stock Photos, The Wicked City, Tuesday Tomorrow, Veronica Roth

Glitter by Aprilynne Pike
Published by: Random House Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 25th, 2016
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From #1 New York Times bestselling author Aprilynne Pike comes a truly original new novel—Breaking Bad meets Marie Antoinette in a near-future world where the residents of Versailles live like it’s the eighteenth century and an almost-queen turns to drug dealing to save her own life.

Outside the palace of Versailles, it’s modern day. Inside, the people dress, eat, and act like it’s the eighteenth century—with the added bonus of technology to make court life lavish, privileged, and frivolous. The palace has every indulgence, but for one pretty young thing, it’s about to become a very beautiful prison.

When Danica witnesses an act of murder by the young king, her mother makes a cruel power play . . . blackmailing the king into making Dani his queen. When she turns eighteen, Dani will marry the most ruthless and dangerous man of the court. She has six months to escape her terrifying destiny. Six months to raise enough money to disappear into the real world beyond the palace gates.

Her ticket out? Glitter. A drug so powerful that a tiny pinch mixed into a pot of rouge or lip gloss can make the wearer hopelessly addicted. Addicted to a drug Dani can sell for more money than she ever dreamed. But in Versailles, secrets are impossible to keep. And the most dangerous secret—falling for a drug dealer outside the palace walls—is one risk she has to take."

See, this actually DOES sound original, and hence I'm in!

Hell Bay by Will Thomas
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: October 25th, 2016
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"At the request of Her Majesty’s government, private enquiry agent Cyrus Barker agrees to take on his least favorite kind of assignment―he’s to provide security for a secret conference with the French government. The conference is to take place on the private estate of Lord Hargrave on a remote island off the coast of Cornwall. The goal of the conference is the negotiation of a new treaty with France. The cover story for the gathering is a house party―an attempt to introduce Lord Hargrave’s two unmarried sons to potential mates.

But shortly after the parties land at the island, Lord Hargrave is killed by a sniper shot, and the French ambassador’s head of security is found stabbed to death. The only means of egress from the island―a boat―has been sent away, and the means of signaling for help has been destroyed. Trapped in a manor house with no way of escape, Cyrus Barker and his assistant, Thomas Llewelyn, must uncover which among them is the killer before the next victim falls."

Cornwall! Yes, that's the thing that caught my attention!

The Forgotten Room by Karen White, Beatriz Williams, and Lauren Willig
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: October 25th, 2016
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"New York Times bestselling authors Karen White, Beatriz Williams, and Lauren Willig present a masterful collaboration—a rich, multigenerational novel of love and loss that spans half a century....

1945: When critically wounded Captain Cooper Ravenel is brought to a private hospital on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, young Dr. Kate Schuyler is drawn into a complex mystery that connects three generations of women in her family to a single extraordinary room in a Gilded Age mansion.

Who is the woman in Captain Ravenel’s miniature portrait who looks so much like Kate? And why is she wearing the ruby pendant handed down to Kate by her mother? In their pursuit of answers, they find themselves drawn into the turbulent stories of Olive Van Alan, driven in the Gilded Age from riches to rags, who hired out as a servant in the very house her father designed, and Lucy Young, who in the Jazz Age came from Brooklyn to Manhattan seeking the father she had never known. But are Kate and Cooper ready for the secrets that will be revealed in the Forgotten Room?"

If for some reason you were crazy and didn't buy this book when it came out in January, now's your chance! 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Aprilynne Pike, Beatriz Williams, Breaking Bad, Cornwall, Glitter, Hell Bay, Karen White, Lauren Willig, The Forgotten Room, Tuesday Tomorrow, Versailles, Will Thomas

All the Little Liars by Charlaine Harris
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: October 4th, 2016
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Aurora Teagarden is basking in the news of her pregnancy when disaster strikes her small Georgia town: four kids vanish from the school soccer field in an afternoon. Aurora’s 15-year-old brother Phillip is one of them. Also gone are two of his friends, and an 11-year-old girl who was just hoping to get a ride home from soccer practice. And then there’s an even worse discovery―at the kids’ last known destination, a dead body.

While the local police and sheriff’s department comb the county for the missing kids and interview everyone even remotely involved, Aurora and her new husband, true crime writer Robin Crusoe, begin their own investigation. Could the death and kidnappings have anything to do with a group of bullies at the middle school? Is Phillip’s disappearance related to Aurora’s father’s gambling debts? Or is Phillip himself, new to town and an unknown quantity, responsible for taking the other children? But regardless of the reason, as the days go by, the most important questions remain. Are the kids still alive? Who could be concealing them? Where could they be?

With Christmas approaching, Aurora is determined to find her brother…if he’s still alive.

After more than a decade, #1 New York Times bestseller Charlaine Harris finally returns to her fan-favorite Aurora Teagarden series with All the Little Liars, a fabulously fun new mystery."

Well, I'll obviously buy and read anything by Charlaine Harris, but I'm VERY excited that she's going to be at the Wisconsin Book Festival this year. So therefore by extension I'm VERY excited about this book!

Teetotaled by Maia Chance
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: October 4th, 2016
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"After her philandering husband died and left her penniless in Prohibition-era New York, Lola Woodby escaped with her Swedish cook to the only place she could―her deceased husband’s secret love nest in the middle of Manhattan. Her only comforts were chocolate cake, dime store detective novels, and the occasional highball (okay, maybe not so occasional). But rent came due and Lola and Berta were forced to accept the first job that came their way, leading them to set up shop as private detectives operating out of Alfie’s cramped love nest.

Now Lola and Berta are in danger of losing the business they’ve barely gotten off the ground―work is sparse and money is running out. So when a society matron offers them a job, they take it―even if it means sneaking into a slimming and exercise facility and consuming only water and health food until they can steal a diary from Grace Whiddle, a resident at the “health farm.” But barely a day in, Grace and her diary escape from the facility―and Grace’s future mother-in-law is found murdered on the premises. Lola and Berta are promptly fired. But before they can climb into Lola’s brown and white Duesenberg Model A and whiz off the health farm property, they find themselves with a new client and a new charge: to solve the murder of Grace’s future mother-in-law.

Teetotaled, Maia Chance's sparkling new mystery will delight readers with its clever plotting, larger-than-life characters, and rich 1920s atmosphere."

I stumbled on the first book in this series at Frugal Muse recently and it looks like such a delightful new period cozy series!

The Hammett Hex by Victoria Abbot
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: October 4th, 2016
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The national bestselling author of The Marsh Madness takes rare book collector Jordan Bingham on a trip to San Francisco—home to Dashiell Hammett’s hard-boiled heroes—where nothing is as it seems.

On a getaway to the City by the Bay, book collector Jordan Bingham becomes entangled in a mystery with more twists than Lombard Street...

Jordan has been able to swing a romantic trip to San Francisco with Officer Tyler “Smiley” Dekker on one condition—she must return with a rare copy of Dashiell Hammett’s Red Harvest for her irascible employer, Vera Van Alst. For his own part, Smiley is full of surprises. He’s a Dashiell devotee himself—excited to be in the city of Hammett’s hard-boiled heroes like Sam Spade and the Continental Op—and also announces he plans to visit his previously unmentioned estranged grandmother, who lives in an old Victorian in Pacific Heights.

But the trip goes downhill fast when Jordan is pushed from a cable car and barely escapes death. And when a dark sedan tries to run the couple down, it’s clear someone’s after them—but who? Just like in Hammett’s world, nothing is quite what is seems..."

Yes, a book several books into a series is not usually likely to catch my eye, but it's San Francisco and Dashiell Hammett people! Though it would be angle of street not speed of cable car that could possibly kill you...

A Most Extraordinary Pursuit by Juliana Gray
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: October 4th, 2016
Format: Paperback, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Known for her original plots, deft characterization, and lyrical voice, Juliana Gray presents an extraordinary novel of an uncommon pursuit…

February, 1906. As the personal secretary of the recently departed Duke of Olympia—and a woman of scrupulous character—Miss Emmeline Rose Truelove never expected her duties to involve steaming through the Mediterranean on a private yacht, under the prodigal eye of one Lord Silverton, the most charmingly corrupt bachelor in London. But here they are, improperly bound on a quest to find the duke’s enigmatic heir, current whereabouts unknown.

An expert on anachronisms, Maximilian Haywood was last seen at an archaeological dig on the island of Crete. And from the moment Truelove and Silverton disembark, they are met with incidents of a suspicious nature: a ransacked flat, a murdered government employee, an assassination attempt. As they travel from port to port on Max’s trail, piecing together the strange events of the days before his disappearance, Truelove will discover the folly of her misconceptions—about the whims of the heart, the motives of men, and the nature of time itself…"

A new Beatriz Williams book! Yep, Juliana Gray is she!

Crosstalk by Connie Willis
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: October 4th, 2016
Format: Hardcover, 512 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Science fiction icon Connie Willis brilliantly mixes a speculative plot, the wit of Nora Ephron, and the comedic flair of P. G. Wodehouse in Crosstalk—a genre-bending novel that pushes social media, smartphone technology, and twenty-four-hour availability to hilarious and chilling extremes as one young woman abruptly finds herself with way more connectivity than she ever desired.

In the not-too-distant future, a simple outpatient procedure to increase empathy between romantic partners has become all the rage. And Briddey Flannigan is delighted when her boyfriend, Trent, suggests undergoing the operation prior to a marriage proposal—to enjoy better emotional connection and a perfect relationship with complete communication and understanding. But things don’t quite work out as planned, and Briddey finds herself connected to someone else entirely—in a way far beyond what she signed up for.

It is almost more than she can handle—especially when the stress of managing her all-too-eager-to-communicate-at-all-times family is already burdening her brain. But that’s only the beginning. As things go from bad to worse, she begins to see the dark side of too much information, and to realize that love—and communication—are far more complicated than she ever imagined."

Huh. This sounds rather interesting from an author who is very savvy when it comes to past and present... also, Wodehouse!

Skunked! Calpurnia Tate, Girl Vet by Jacqueline Kelly
Published by: Henry Holt and Co.
Publication Date: October 4th, 2016
Format: Hardcover, 112 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From Newbery honor author Jacqueline Kelly comes a new illustrated chapter book series for younger readers featuring the beloved characters from The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. In Calpurnia Tate, Animal Doctor in Training, Callie Vee, Travis, and Dr. Pritzker help animals big and small.

When soft-hearted Travis discovers an abandoned baby skunk, he can't help but bring him home and take care of him. Stinky, as Travis names him, settles in pretty well. But when Travis discovers Stinky's litter-mate, Winky, who is in need of some help, things get complicated around the Tate house. One skunk is a piece of cake; two is just asking for trouble. Will Travis and Callie be able to keep the critters away from Mother's careful eyes―and nose?"

Um... so seriously, what's with this new direction the Calpurnia Tate books are going in?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Aurora Teagarden, Beatriz Williams, Calpurnia Tate, Charlaine Harris, Connie Willis, Cozy, Crosstalk, Dashiell Hammett, Jacqueline Kelly, Juliana Gray, Maia Chance, San Francisco, The Hammett Hex, Victoria Abbot

Fall of Poppies by Jessica Brockmole, Hazel Gaynor, Evangeline Holland, Kate Kerrigan, Jennifer Robson, Marci Jefferson, Heather Webb, Beatriz Williams, and Lauren Willig
Published by: William Morrow Paperbacks
Publication Date: March 1st, 2016
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy

The cat stands, stretches, and meows to be let out. Simple, ordinary things that punctuate the hour, the day, a year, a life. - Hazel Gaynor, "Hush"

Life changed the day war was declared, but it changed again on November 11th, 1918, when the war stopped. The problem was in four years of fighting, of death, of destruction, the world could never go back to the way it was. Atrocities were perpetrated with lasting ramifications. Bodies forever disfigured from the brutality of battle. The earth and it's people, forever scarred. To survive women and men did things they want to leave in the shadows, in the dark garrets of Paris, and in the blood soaked trenches of France. With war over for the first time in a long time hope is once again possible. A future can be contemplated, planned, dreamed of. Children will have a future. Love will have a chance to take root. From a hospital in Belgium to an artists studio in Paris, from the coffee fields of Kenya to the riotous streets of Dublin, the war hasn't just changed the world, but forever shaped the course of these peoples stories told by these different authors. The armistice has come and their voices will now be heard.

I have many short story collections and anthologies just laying about neglected. I feel really bad about this because years ago when I read Nick Hornby's selection of monologues, Speaking with the Angel, I found some amazing new voices in fiction whose books I then read and loved. But since then I've been very bad. I keep buying these books because there's one author I love and just have to read their story, so I get the book, I read the story, and then the book is relegated to my neglected, deprived, and languishing shelf. And yes, I do have such a shelf, peopled by many short story anthologies that feature Charlaine Harris and a lot of Dickens. What compounds the problem is that if I've waited too long all the author's stories spread throughout all these books get republished in their own book, like Charlaine Harris's A Touch of Dead of Patricia Briggs's Shifting Shadows, which ironically is also on this shelf. Therefore I kind of felt it my duty that while I picked this book up for Lauren Willig, I knew the other authors names and felt that it was time to read something they'd written and actually finish a book by multiple authors.

While I feel somewhat biased saying Lauren's story, "The Record Set Right," was my favorite, I have a feeling this was more to do with the fact I'd read it out of context as a kindle release prior to reading it amongst the rest of the tales. Therefore it felt like I was revisiting an old friend. But there are quite a few authors I feel will be new friends, and a few I might be reluctant to read, but none I will outright avoid. In fact I think many of these stories will work better taken out of context, because read all together the sameness of some of the writing techniques used makes them blend together into a confusing jumble. Fall of Poppies is definitely a book I'd encourage to read leisurely, a story every few days, to not only get the full impact of the narrative, but to clear your palate of the previous story. Because otherwise the structure of how so many of the first person narratives are weighted to the front of the book combined with all the HEAs and female narrators, it makes them all blend together into a jumpling mass where they all feel like they're telling the same story with the same trite ending.

Now I'm not a hater of first person narration like some people I know, in fact some dear friends I know, but it's hard to get first person right. The key is a very strong voice for the character. "The Daughter of Belgium" had a very timid narrator, followed directly by Lauren's strong narrator, there was a weird disconnect. You've been living in one characters head and you've suddenly switched to another's and it's jarring. It's like you're seeing first hand what it would be like to live in someone's head who has a multiple personality disorder, and in this instance Lauren's character Camilla is the dominate personality, while Marci Jefferson's unnamed narrator, in the vein of Du Maurier's Rebecca, is the submissive personality. In fact, so submissive she has no name! While as the book progresses there is only one more story written in first person, Jessica Brockmole's "Something Worth Landing For." So why did this book feel the need to have two of these stories back-to-back? The book starts out on such a wrong footing that it takes awhile to recover and actually become enjoyable.

Then there's the gimmicky nature of every story having Armistice Day as it's focal point. Yes, the description of the book should have tipped me off with it's themes of "renewal" and "hope." But you can build your story before or after this event, yet SO MANY chose to have Armistice Day as THE DAY the story was set. It made any story with a little time before the bells pealing away at 11AM on the eleventh novel and far more interesting. Yes, to an extent it's interesting to see how nine different authors tackle the inclusion of Armistice Day in their story, but please, think outside the box. Make it a jumping off point. Not EVERYTHING has to happen on that day. True love doesn't have to magically be found in the last minutes of the war. As for love at first sight? Every time it happened I kept thinking, what happens when they get home? What happens when the scales fall from their eyes and they really get to know this person they picked at random for their HEA? Some of the stories seriously need that something more.

Which is why those with this "otherness" really stand out. Those that are set apart just jump off the page. When a male narrator shows up it's like manna from heaven! But the ones that stood out most where those that looked at the diversity of people fighting in the war and where they were fighting. The story that stood out head and shoulders above the rest for me was "The Photograph" by Kate Kerrigan. I mean, I can seriously see this as an independent Irish film starring Saoirse Ronan and Harry Lloyd. See, I've already cast it, just make it now! What makes this story so unique is that it's set in Ireland. What's more it's about soldiers who were sent to quell the Irish Rebellion and their fight for freedom. With the greater Great War, there was a clear villain with Germany, here it's Britain against Ireland and the justifications for fighting are murkier. The Irish deserve and eventually win their independence, but those English soilders fighting them are just doing their job. It's just dumb luck they weren't sent to France, like many Irish soldiers were. Also, when Armistace happens, it's not an end to the hostilities in Ireland, it's just the beginning. This one story brings all the rest into context. It's "otherness" shows all the stories in a clearer more brillant light and elevates the whole book. So when am I getting my movie adaptation?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A Fall of Poppies, Anthology, Beatriz Williams, Charlaine Harris, Daphne Du Maurier, Fall of Poppies, Hazel Gaynor, HEA, Kate Kerrigan, Kenya, Lauren Willig, Patricia Briggs, Rebecca, Short Story, WWI

A Certain Age by Beatriz Williams
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: June 28th, 2016
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The bestselling author of A Hundred Summers brings the Roaring Twenties brilliantly to life in this enchanting and compulsively readable tale of intrigue, romance, and scandal in New York Society, brimming with lush atmosphere, striking characters, and irresistible charm.

As the freedom of the Jazz Age transforms New York City, the iridescent Mrs. Theresa Marshall of Fifth Avenue and Southampton, Long Island, has done the unthinkable: she’s fallen in love with her young paramour, Captain Octavian Rofrano, a handsome aviator and hero of the Great War. An intense and deeply honorable man, Octavian is devoted to the beautiful socialite of a certain age and wants to marry her. While times are changing and she does adore the Boy, divorce for a woman of Theresa’s wealth and social standing is out of the question, and there is no need; she has an understanding with Sylvo, her generous and well-respected philanderer husband.

But their relationship subtly shifts when her bachelor brother, Ox, decides to tie the knot with the sweet younger daughter of a newly wealthy inventor. Engaging a longstanding family tradition, Theresa enlists the Boy to act as her brother’s cavalier, presenting the family’s diamond rose ring to Ox’s intended, Miss Sophie Fortescue—and to check into the background of the little-known Fortescue family. When Octavian meets Sophie, he falls under the spell of the pretty ingénue, even as he uncovers a shocking family secret. As the love triangle of Theresa, Octavian, and Sophie progresses, it transforms into a saga of divided loyalties, dangerous revelations, and surprising twists that will lead to a shocking transgression . . . and eventually force Theresa to make a bittersweet choice.

Full of the glamour, wit and delicious twists that are the hallmarks of Beatriz Williams’ fiction and alternating between Sophie’s spirited voice and Theresa’s vibrant timbre, A Certain Age is a beguiling reinterpretation of Richard Strauss’s comic opera Der Rosenkavalier, set against the sweeping decadence of Gatsby’s New York."

The only thing I've read my Beatriz Williams is The Forgotten Room... perhaps seeing as how much I love the 20s this will be bumped up the tbr pile?

Every Frenchman Has One by Olivia de Havilland
Published by: Crown Archetype
Publication Date: June 28th, 2016
Format: Hardcover, 144 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Back in print for the first time in decades—and featuring a new interview with the author, in celebration of her forthcoming centennial birthday—the delectable escapades of Hollywood legend Olivia de Havilland, who fell in love with a Frenchman, and then became a Parisian

In 1953, Olivia de Havilland—already an Academy Award-winning actress for her roles in To Each His Own and The Heiress—became the heroine of her own real-life love affair. She married a Frenchman, moved to Paris, and planted her standard on the Left Bank of the River Seine. It has been fluttering on both Left and Right Banks with considerable joy and gaiety from that moment on.

Still, her transition from Hollywood celebrity to parisienne was anything but easy. And in Every Frenchman Has One, her skirmishes with French customs, French maids, French salesladies, French holidays, French law, French doctors, and above all, the French language, are here set forth in a delightful and amusing memoir of her early years in the “City of Light.”

Paraphrasing Caesar, Ms. de Havilland says, “I came. I saw. I was conquered.”"

This book seriously sounds kind of fun and raunchy, like Mitford sister goes Hollywood... with a vintage cover to die for.

Grace Sees Red by Julie Hyzy
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: June 28th, 2016
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The New York Times bestselling author of the Manor House Mysteries and the White House Chef Mysteries is back with another nail-biting murder mystery for curator Grace Wheaton.

Grace Wheaton, curator and manager of Marshfield Manor, and her benefactor, Bennett Marshfield, are discussing how to help her roommates Bruce and Scott with their wine shop troubles when Grace’s trusted—if testy—assistant, Frances, calls, saying she needs some assistance of her own. Arriving at the address Frances has given them, they find a coroner’s van and police cars parked outside an upscale assisted-living facility called Indwell.

One of the elderly residents has been found dead under suspicious circumstances, and Frances, seen arguing with the man earlier that day, is now a person of interest. It’s up to Grace to clear her assistant’s name and find the real killer—before another Indwell resident checks out early..."

No, I didn't add this book JUST because of the tuxedo cat on the cover... though that is VERY important. I actually added for my mom. Not the cat. Well, not all the cat.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A Certain Age, A Hundred Summers, Beatriz Williams, Every Frenchman Has One, Grace See Red, Julie Hyzy, Mitfords, Olivia de Havilland, The Forgotten Room, Tuesday Tomorrow, Tuxedo Cat

The Passenger by Lisa Lutz
Published by: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: March 1st, 2016
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the author of the New York Times bestselling Spellman Files series, Lisa Lutz’s latest blistering thriller is about a woman who creates and sheds new identities as she crisscrosses the country to escape her past: you’ll want to buckle up for the ride!

In case you were wondering, I didn’t do it. I didn’t have anything to do with Frank’s death. I don’t have an alibi, so you’ll have to take my word for it...

Forty-eight hours after leaving her husband’s body at the base of the stairs, Tanya Dubois cashes in her credit cards, dyes her hair brown, demands a new name from a shadowy voice over the phone, and flees town. It’s not the first time.

She meets Blue, a female bartender who recognizes the hunted look in a fugitive’s eyes and offers her a place to stay. With dwindling choices, Tanya-now-Amelia accepts. An uneasy―and dangerous―alliance is born.

It’s almost impossible to live off the grid today, but Amelia-now-Debra and Blue have the courage, the ingenuity, and the desperation, to try. Hopscotching from city to city, Debra especially is chased by a very dark secret…can she outrun her past?

With heart-stopping escapes and devious deceptions, The Passenger is an amazing psychological thriller about defining yourself while you pursue your path to survival. One thing is certain: the ride will leave you breathless."

New Lisa Lutz book, aka one of the must reads of the year! So go read it. Now. 

Hanging Mary by Susan Higginbotham
Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: March 1st, 2016
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The untold story of Lincoln's Assassination.

1864, Washington City. One has to be careful with talk of secession, of Confederate whispers falling on Northern ears. Better to speak only when in the company of the trustworthy. Like Mrs. Surratt.

A widow who runs a small boardinghouse on H Street, Mary Surratt isn't half as committed to the cause as her son, Johnny. If he's not delivering messages or escorting veiled spies, he's invited home men like John Wilkes Booth, the actor who is even more charming in person than he is on the stage.

But when President Lincoln is killed, the question of what Mary knew becomes more important than anything else. Was she a cold-blooded accomplice? Just how far would she go to help her son?

Based on the true case of Mary Surratt, Hanging Mary reveals the untold story of those on the other side of the assassin's gun."

A fascinating new look at a defining moment in American history.

Fall of Poppers by Lauren Willig et al
Published by: William Morrow Paperbacks
Publication Date: March 1st, 2016
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Top voices in historical fiction deliver an unforgettable collection of short stories set in the aftermath of World War I—featuring bestselling authors such as Hazel Gaynor, Jennifer Robson, Beatriz Williams, and Lauren Willig and edited by Heather Webb.

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month...

November 11, 1918. After four long, dark years of fighting, the Great War ends at last, and the world is forever changed. For soldiers, loved ones, and survivors the years ahead stretch with new promise, even as their hearts are marked by all those who have been lost.

As families come back together, lovers reunite, and strangers take solace in each other, everyone has a story to tell.

In this moving anthology, nine authors share stories of love, strength, and renewal as hope takes root in a fall of poppies."

Speaking of history... yes, the main reason to read it is Lauren Willig, but it might also have given me a theme month this year...

M is for Monocle by Greg Paprocki
Published by: Gibbs Smith
Publication Date: March 1st, 2016
Format: Hardcover, 32 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the creators of BabyLit®: M Is for Monocle: A Victorian Alphabet is part of a unique new series that opens a window on history while teaching toddlers the ABCs. Different eras of history―including the nineteenth-century American West, medieval Europe, and Victorian England―are brought to life by Greg Paprocki’s fun and enticing illustrations in this new series of board books for brilliant babies.

Greg Paprocki works full-time as an illustrator and book designer. He’s illustrated several Curious George books, as well as The Big Book of Superheroes for Gibbs Smith. He began his career as an advertising art director after studying fine art and graphic design at the University of Nebraska. He currently lives in Lincoln, Nebraska."

While I have loved all the books in this series, seriously, they are adorable, this one is a MUST. It looks so vintage and cute and reminds me of The Wrong Box. Sigh.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Beatriz Williams, Fall of Poppies, Hanging Mary, Lauren Willig, Lisa Lutz, M is for Monocle, Susan Higginbotham, The Passenger, The Spellmans, The Wrong Box, Tuesday Tomorrow, Victorian, WWI

The Forgotten Room by Karen White, Beatriz Williams, and Lauren Willig
ARC Provided by the Publisher
Published by: NAL
Publication Date: January 19th, 2016
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy

Olive is a maid in the opulent Pratt Mansion on the upper east side. She wasn't raised to be a maid, far from it, her father was a famous architect and had ambitions of grandeur for his family. Ambitions that ended when the Pratt's refused to pay for his work on the mansion and he ended his life. Olive has infiltrated the household to clear her father's name, little thinking that she might find something other then vengeance inside those four walls her father built. Almost thirty years later Olive's daughter Lucy hears her mother's deathbed utterance of the name Harry and has become convinced, in part due to her overbearing grandmother, that the Harry her mother spoke of was Harry Pratt. Could she be related to that once great family? She takes a job in the city working for the firm that handles the Pratt estate and gets a room at Stornaway House, a respectable boarding house for young women that was once the Pratt Mansion.

Though Lucy isn't the only one looking into the Pratts. John Ravenel, the son of the famous painter Augustus Ravenel, is trying to find a connection between the Pratts and his father. Lucy's life is caught up in the secrets of the past and present but can her heart endure the discoveries? More then twenty years have passed and World War II is raging, Stornaway House is now a hospital and they have a very competent female doctor on staff, Kate Schuyler, the daughter of Lucy. On a stormy night they receive a new patient, Captain Ravenel. The only room available is a disused and forgotten room at the top of the once great mansion that Kate has been sleeping in. Up in this secret aerie will Kate and her Captain connect the dots and reconcile the past and the present to make a future for themselves?

Books with multiple authors that aren't anthologies or short story collections are an interesting breed apart. You often get husbands and wives writing together, sometimes under a combined pseudonym, A.A. Aguirre is Anne Aguirre and her husband Andres, Ilona Andrews is Ilona Gordon and Andrew Gordon, something I didn't know until I met them. Even two good friends writing together happens, look at Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia. The key to these writing partnerships is that they have a bond that goes beyond the writing to an understanding of each other so they can form a cohesive narrative. There are even ways to work around cohesion, this being a more epistolary approach where each author takes a character and is their voice, much as Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer did with their Sorcery and Cecelia series. But to have more then two authors is a rarity.

To have three authors each tackling a different time period but working together to mesh their writing styles so that it feels like a cohesive whole seems in the abstract like an insurmountable task. Even when marketing this book Lauren commented on how the PR department had a hard time conveying that that they "were three authors writing a single novel... rather than an anthology." Yet when you start to read the book all your doubts leave. Aside from the minor exception that Kate's section is written in the first person the book feels like a cohesive whole, not like loosely strung together stories. I haven't read any other books by Karen White or Beatriz Williams, I signed on initially just for Lauren, but seeing how they worked together I'm excited to see what they all do next.

Even though the three writers created this cohesive story I still found myself liking certain characters more than others. I mean, it's nearly impossible not to pick favorite characters in a book, but when all those characters are in a certain section and you have to read two other sections to get back to them, it's hard not to be occasionally frustrated. What was must frustrating to me though is how the narrative is constructed so that only one of the three women gets the happily ever after. Seeing my favorite character NOT get her HEA, that got on my nerves, even if I figured it was inevitable. But seeing my least favorite character, Kate, get the HEA? Oh, yeah. I'm not a happy woman. So much of the love stories seemed to hinge on the star-crossed lovers motif that when the women used common sense and logic to settle down I was frustrated.

Olive and Lucy both seem resigned to their fates that they couldn't be with the ones they loved. Seriously, all I could think of was the 30 Rock episodes with Michael Sheen where he meets Tina Fey's character and he thinks that she is his settling soulmate. That the "universe wants us to settle for one another... fate is telling us this is the best we're ever going to get. We're each other's settling soulmates." Not the one true love, the one that you settle for. This is so depressing to me. There's this connection between the women of this family and the Ravenel men that passes down the line, they are inevitability drawn to each other like magnets yet it takes them three generations to get it right? Disgruntled sigh. But who I feel the worst for is the poor schmoes that Olive and Lucy marry. These two men ADORE these women, they are the loves of their lives and the women know this and settle and become bitter. Those men deserved women who loved them as much as they loved!

As for all these women searching out the truth and connecting with these Ravenel men, it makes you realize the importance of asking questions before it's too late. Family secrets build and fester and this shows what happens when you wait too long; you don't get the truth. Or you don't get the whole truth. The fact of the matter is we never think to ask questions of our parents or our grandparents when there's time. Why does the ancestry bug bite people in their 50s and 60s? If we could jump start this a little earlier than perhaps we could learn more, get the answers, even get answers to questions we never thought to ask! This is how we lose our ancestral identity, through laxity. Yes this book takes place in a different time, in fact several different times, when openness wasn't the order of the day. But still, there is silence because people were willing to accept it as the status quo. We need to be willing to ask the hard questions of our parents before it's too late, learn of their life and loves, and even their frustrations and sins. A few too many deathbed utterances could easily be replaced with truth. But then, from a fictional standpoint, where's the mystery?

Another product of the times is the pervasive sexual harassment within this story. In fact at times it's so prevalent you feel drawn out of the story. Yes, I know it's not historically inaccurate, it's a sad truth, but making it such a theme takes something away from the book. It leaves an uncomfortable aftertaste in your mouth. If it was important to the narrative I would understand it's presence, but it just seems to be used as a signifier of the times. The worst is Kate's fellow Doctor, Dr. Greeley. He is a worm. A slimy, slippery, creep. I just don't understand why with him. Not the why he behaves the way he does, but why Kate lets him. Yes, she's a female in a male dominated profession. Yes, he could make life uncomfortable for her. But no, that doesn't mean she should acquiesce to dinner dates and gropings in cupboards. In fact her unwillingness to stick up to this creep is probably the number one reason I like her least of the female trio. She has the ability to stand up to him, she just won't. And that's the problem with sexual harassment. Too many women not willing to raise their voices up. Kate is a woman ahead of her times, not a product of her times, and she accepts something that is unacceptable. Ugh. No.

But among all the characters there's one character that I just couldn't connect with, and that's the Pratt mansion. Because the mansion is just as much a character as any of those of flesh and bone. I just didn't buy the building as an actual location. It doesn't work. There seems to be no real handle on the building. The structure seems to shift and morph. In fact this would be the only time where the three authors I think are most obvious, because it seems they all have slightly different interpretations of this one place and they don't quite jive. I think they needed a real life counterpart to actually walk around in to get the architecture right. For the longest time I thought Lucy was actually rooming in "the forgotten room" only to be shocked in her last section to find out she was living in the servants quarters the floor below. In fact "the forgotten room" seems to be able to be accessed several different ways, at one point the stairs go all the way there, later there's only the secret stairs in a hidden cupboard. Also, was this room even really forgotten? It's seems to have fairly regular usage, and therefore the moniker of "forgotten" seems to be just desperate to add mystique. The reason I'm harping on about this is because a story needs to be grounded. This house was to be that. Instead it's like building your story on shifting sand. It works for awhile, but sometimes something is lost to the sea.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 1890s, 1920s, 30 Rock, Ancestry, Architecture, ARCs, Beatriz Williams, Gilded Age, HEA, Karen White, Lauren Willig, Multiple Authors, Secrets, Settling Soulmate, Sexual Harassment, The Forgotten Room, WWII

The Forgotten Room by Karen White, Beatriz Williams, and Lauren Willig
Published by: NAL
Publication Date: January 19th, 2016
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"New York Times bestselling authors Karen White, Beatriz Williams, and Lauren Willig present a masterful collaboration—a rich, multigenerational novel of love and loss that spans half a century....

1945: When the critically wounded Captain Cooper Ravenal is brought to a private hospital on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, young Dr. Kate Schuyler is drawn into a complex mystery that connects three generations of women in her family to a single extraordinary room in a Gilded Age mansion.

Who is the woman in Captain Ravenel's portrait miniature who looks so much like Kate? And why is she wearing the ruby pendant handed down to Kate by her mother? In their pursuit of answers, they find themselves drawn into the turbulent stories of Gilded Age Olive Van Alen, driven from riches to rags, who hired out as a servant in the very house her father designed, and Jazz Age Lucy Young, who came from Brooklyn to Manhattan in pursuit of the father she had never known. But are Kate and Cooper ready for the secrets that will be revealed in the Forgotten Room?

The Forgotten Room, set in alternating time periods, is a sumptuous feast of a novel brought to vivid life by three brilliant storytellers."

The Lauren Willig fix I KNOW you've been needing in your life.

Midnight in St. Petersburg by Vanora Bennett
Published by: Thomas Dunne Books
Publication Date: January 19th, 2016
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Faberge jewels, the mysterious Rasputin, and a priceless violin: Each play a part in one young woman’s fight for survival, and for love, in revolutionary Russia.

St. Petersburg, 1911: Inna Feldman has fled the pogroms of the south to take refuge with distant relatives in Russia’s capital. Welcomed by the flamboyant Leman family, she is apprenticed into their violin-making workshop. She feels instantly at home in their bohemian circle, but revolution is in the air, and as society begins to fracture, she is forced to choose between her heart and her head.

She loves her brooding cousin, Yasha, but he is wild, destructive, and devoted to revolution; Horace Wallick, an Englishman who makes precious Faberge creations, is older and promises security and respectability. And, like many others, she is drawn to the mysterious, charismatic figure beginning to make a name for himself in the city: Rasputin.

As the rebellion descends into anarchy and bloodshed, a commission to repair a priceless Stradivarius violin offers Inna a means of escape. But which man will she choose to take with her? And is it already too late? A magical and passionate story steeped in history and intrigue, Vanora Bennett's Midnight in St. Petersburg is an extraordinary novel of music, politics, and the toll that revolution exacts on the human heart."

Seriously, this sounds so awesome.

Yuki Chan in Bronte Country by Mick Jackson
Published by: Faber and Faber
Publication Date: January 19th, 2016
Format: Kindle, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"'They both stop and stare for a moment. Yuki feels she's spent about half her adult life thinking about snow, but when it starts, even now, it always arresting, bewildering. Each snowflake skating along some invisible plane. Always circuitous, as if looking for the best place to land...'

Yukiko tragically lost her mother ten years ago. After visiting her sister in London, she goes on the run, and heads for Haworth, West Yorkshire, the last place her mother visited before her death.

Against a cold, winter, Yorkshire landscape, Yuki has to tackle the mystery of her mother's death, her burgeoning friendship with a local girl, the allure of the Brontes and her own sister's wrath.

Both a pilgrimage and an investigation into family secrets, Yuki's journey is the one she always knew she'd have to make, and one of the most charming and haunting in recent fiction."

Brontes. That is all.

The Cat Who Came in Off the Roof by Annie M.G. Schmidt
Published by: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: January 19th, 2016
Format: Hardcover, 160 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the tradition of The Cricket in Times Square comes this charming tale of courage, friendship, and what it really means to be human. This classic, which originated in Holland and has withstood the test of time worldwide, will appeal to readers young and old—and dog and cat lovers alike!

An act of kindness brings shy reporter Mr. Tibble into contact with the unusual Miss Minou. Tibble is close to losing his job because he only writes stories about cats. Fortunately, Minou provides him with real news. She gets the juicy inside information from her local feline friends, who are the eyes and ears of the neighborhood. Tibble is appreciative, but he wonders how she does it. He has noticed that Minou is terrified of dogs and can climb trees and rooftops with elegance and ease. . . . It’s almost as if she’s a cat herself. But how can that be?"

If it captures just a tiny bit of the magic in The Cricket in Times Square it will be worth it. 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Beatriz Williams, Bronte, Karen White, Lauren Willig, Midnight in St. Petersburg, The Cat Who Came in Off the Roof, The Cricket in Times Square, The Forgotten Room, Vanora Bennett, Yuki Chan in Bronte Country