A Few More Pages

Review & Tour Stop: Baroness by Susan May Warren

2012-04-23T23:46:00.000-07:00

Baroness by Susan May Warren
(Daughters of Fortune #2)
Genre: Christian Historical Fiction
Pages: 320
Publication Date: March 2012
Publisher: Summerside Press
Source: I received a free review copy to participate in this LitFuse Blog Tour.
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Book Description (from the author's website):

Lilly and Rosie, daughters of an empire coming of age in the roaring twenties, can have anything they want…except freedom. Expected to marry well and to take the reins of the empire, they have their lives planned out for them. But, Lilly, Esme’s daughter longs to return home to Montana, to adventure outside the confines of New York City. And Jinx’s daughter Rosie dreams of the bright lights of the newly emerging silver screen. But following their dreams – from avant garde France, to Broadway, to the skies in the world of barnstormers and wing-walkers will take all their courage. And if they find love, will they choose freedom or happily ever after?

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Baroness is the second book in Susan May Warren's Daughters of Fortune series. The first book followed the loves and losses of sisters Esme and Jinx (click here for my review). This book similarly follows the coming of age of the sisters' daughters--Lilly and Rosie. From the beginning, these cousins seem to have very little in common beyond family ties, with very different dreams and desires for their lives. But the paths they take don't follow the plans that anyone, including themselves, predicted.

I really enjoyed the stories of the two main characters. I wasn't sure what to expect and I was hoping their stories would be unique and different from what their mothers had experienced. Warren has done a wonderful job of creating worlds for these women that are both interesting and believable. Lilly falls in love with flying (and a pilot), becoming a wing-walker and eventually learning to fly airplanes herself. Rosie's dreams of becoming a star of the stage and screen get derailed when she gets caught up in a relationship with a mobster. Her escape comes through the love of a professional baseball player, but the danger of her mobster ex-boyfriend lurks around every corner and leads to a frightening climax.

The first few chapters when the girls were living in Paris moved a bit slowly for me, but events picked up quickly enough that I soon became engaged and began to devour the pages. Life in the "Roaring Twenties" provides for wonderfully interesting backdrops and character development. These girls had opportunities open to them that their mothers couldn't have dreamed of at their age (like flying airplanes!). The historical detail throughout the book added a unique and distinct flavor to the girls' stories that I quite appreciated.

I definitely recommend this book to historical fiction fans. It works well within the series, but it can also be read alone without the reader becoming too lost in references to the previous book. I'm quite looking forward to seeing where the next book in the series takes us.

Related Linkage:

Connect with the author at her website, blog, on facebook, or on twitter.
Read an excerpt of this book.
Visit more stops on the LitFuse Blog Tour.
Read my review of Heiress, book 1 of the Daughters of Fortune series.
Purchase this book at The Book Depository or IndieBound (affiliate links)

Book Beginnings on Friday has a New Home!

2012-03-23T09:32:00.001-07:00

Thank you so much for joining me for the last year and a half of Book Beginnings! It has been a wonderful run, but I'm ready to pass this fun meme on to another book blogger to enjoy. Gilion at Rose City Reader has graciously agreed to host Book Beginnings on Friday! She was the original inspiration for this meme, so it seemed only fitting that she become the new host! Please go over to Rose City Reader to link up your Book Beginnings posts!

Book Beginnings on Friday, March 16, 2012

2012-03-16T07:51:00.000-07:00

I've been sick all week, and basically off the computer for most of it, so I haven't made a decision yet on the new home of Book Beginnings. I'm finally starting to feel better so I'm planning to do that ASAP. Sorry for drawing this out for so long. :(

How to participate: Share the first line (or two) of the book you are currently reading on your blog or in the comments. Include the title and the author so we know what you're reading. Then, if you would like, let us know what your first impressions were based on that first line, and let us know if you liked or did not like the sentence. The link-up will be at A Few More Pages every Friday and will be open for the entire week.

Thanks to Becky at Page Turners for starting this meme and to Rose City Reader for inspiring it!

I'm reading A Sudden, Fearful Death by Anne Perry right now. Here are the first lines:

When she first came into the room, Monk thought it would simply be another case of domestic petty theft, or investigating the character and prospects of some suitor. Not that he would have refused such a task; he could not afford to.

I adore Anne Perry's William Monk mysteries, and this one has been quite thought-provoking considering the current political climate! The story so far has involved a rape, a murder, and talk about birth control and abortion. I've been working my way through the series and have yet to be disappointed. This is book #4 in the series.

So how does your current read begin, and what are your thoughts so far? Please leave the link to your specific post, not just to the front page of your blog.

Book Beginnings on Friday: March 9, 2012

2012-03-09T08:59:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone who offered to take over Book Beginnings. I'm sorting through you all and I'll try to make a decision this weekend.

Influenced by my love for the BBC series Sherlock (airs on PBS in the US), I just started reading A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Here are the first lines:

In the year 1878 I took my degree of Doctor of Medicine of the University of London, and proceeded to Netley to go through the course prescribed for surgeons in the army. Having completed my studies there, I was duly attached to the Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers as assistant surgeon. The regiment was stationed in India at the time, and before I could join it the second Afghan war had broken out.

I have a tendency to be nervous about classics sometimes--worried that they will be difficult to read, dry, and not as good as I hope they will be. So far, that has not been the case with this one. I've been pleasantly surprised that this has been a pleasure to read, and I'm disappointed in myself that I put it off for so long out of fear! I'm enjoying this introduction to Watson, and I'm already seeing wonderful connections between this story and its interpretation into the modern Sherlock series.

So how does your current read begin, and what are your thoughts so far? Please leave the link to your specific post, not just to the front page of your blog.

Review: Wonder by R.J. Palacio

2012-03-07T14:19:00.003-08:00

Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary Fiction
Pages: 320
Publication Date: February 2012
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Source: I read an e-galley through NetGalley.
Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Book Description (from the publisher):

I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.

August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances?

R. J. Palacio has written a spare, warm, uplifting story that will have readers laughing one minute and wiping away tears the next. With wonderfully realistic family interactions (flawed, but loving), lively school scenes, and short chapters, Wonder is accessible to readers of all levels.

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Although we encourage our kids to embrace their uniqueness and accept other peoples' differences, there is also a steady current in our society that celebrates conformity. But what if no matter what you did, you would always stand out as being very different from everyone else? What is it like to experience the staring, the prejudice, and the cruelty that others heap upon you as a child? This book is about a boy named Auggie who was born with a severe facial deformity. Through many surgeries and hospital stays Auggie was homeschooled. But when he reaches the age for middle school, he and his family decided to give public school a try.

It's a difficult experience for him. He is used to the stares and the comments that his facial deformity brings, but going into the school environment brings a whole new set of challenges. Auggie has to deal with bullying and try to make friends with kids who have a very hard time seeing past his face. Some of his experiences are so heartwrenching that I wanted to reach into the book and give the poor kid a hug. But through it all, he stays true to himself and wins people over by the goodness of his heart.

The book is told from several different points of view, in first person. You hear Auggie's story from his own POV, then you get to see how the people around him are affected by him being in their lives. I don't always like it when books are written in this way, but it worked really well for me here. I really liked it. It brought another dimension to the story--you find out what his high schooler sister is going through, what her boyfriend thinks, and what Auggie's friends go through in befriending the outcast kid. The story is complex and satisfying.

This was a fantastic book with an effective and moving message about the ways we treat each other and how the heart of one person can so utterly change us. I highly recommend it for young and old alike.

Related Linkage:

Connect with the author at her website, on twitter, on tumblr.
Read an excerpt from this book.
A few of my favorite passages from the book.
View the book trailer.
Purchase this book at The Book Depository or IndieBound (affiliate links)

Review and Tour Stop: Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear

2012-03-06T03:16:00.000-08:00

Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear
Genre: Historical Mystery
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 2005
Publisher: Penguin
Source: My personal library
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book Description (from the publisher):

Jacqueline Winspear’s marvelous and inspired debut, Maisie Dobbs, won her fans from coast to coast and raised her intuitive, intelligent, and resourceful heroine to the ranks of literature’s favorite sleuths. Birds of a Feather finds Maisie Dobbs on another dangerously intriguing adventure in London "between the wars." It is the spring of 1930, and Maisie has been hired to find a runaway heiress. But what seems a simple case at the outset soon becomes increasingly complicated when three of the heiress’s old friends are found dead. Is there a connection between the woman’s mysterious disappearance and the murders? Who would want to kill three seemingly respectable young women? As Maisie investigates, she discovers that the answers lie in the unforgettable agony of the Great War.

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Last March I discovered the wonderful world of Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs when I read and reviewed The Mapping of Love and Death (click here to read my review). I was enchanted by the intelligence and heart of the main character and vowed that I would be reading more books from the series. Over the summer I read (and loved) the first book in the series, Maisie Dobbs, which gave me a lot of the background that I was looking for and was hinted at in The Mapping of Love and Death. I picked up a copy of the second book, Birds of a Feather, at a local bookstore a few months ago and joined the "March is Maisie Month" blog tour just so I would have an excuse to finally read it.

Once again I was struck by the way that Maisie's adventures are not only full of mystery and suspense, but also place a lot of importance on characters' emotions as well. Maisie's history as a former maid and nurse in World War I give her depth and a particularly interesting point of view from which to approach her cases. Indeed, even though at the outset Maisie's investigation into the disappearance of a wealthy heiress doesn't seem related to WWI, it gradually becomes clear that there are unexpected connections to it. I find it interesting and logical that the upheaval of the Great War would have such lasting effects on people in 1930 (the year this book takes place). I also was intrigued by how the beginnings of the Great Depression were in evidence throughout the story.

As with my experience reading The Mapping of Love and Death, I was utterly surprised by who ended up being the murderer. Maisie keeps her cards close to the vest and while I knew she was starting to connect the dots I was still utterly in the dark about the murders and their connection to the runaway heiress. I love it when a mystery can keep me guessing right up to the final reveal. This was another great book in the Maisie Dobbs series and I plan to continue with the rest of the series.

On a related note, if you are a Downton Abbey fan, you should give Maisie Dobbs a try! I was particularly struck by the common threads between that show and these books after watching the second season of Downton Abbey, which takes place during World War I. Maisie Dobbs was a maid before World War I and she worked as a nurse during the war. She observes many changes that occur within society during the war and the years afterward that would be familiar to fans of Downton Abbey. So if you're looking for Downton-esque reads, put the Maisie Dobbs series on your list!

Related Linkage:

Connect with the author at her website, her blog, and on facebook.
Read an excerpt of this book.
Purchase this book at The Book Depository or IndieBound (affiliate links)
March is Maisie Month at TLC Book Tours!
Read my review of The Mapping of Love and Death

Book Beginnings on Friday: March 2, 2012

2012-03-02T08:14:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone! I'm looking for someone to take over Book Beginnings. My zest for blogging has kind of tapered off, and this blog has become pretty quiet over the last few weeks. So if you're interested in becoming the new host for Book Beginnings on Friday, please send an email to afewmorepages[at]gmail[dot]com (include the URL of your blog). Thanks!

How to participate: Share the first line (or two) of the book you are currently reading on your blog or in the comments. Include the title and the author so we know what you're reading. Then, if you would like, let us know what your first impressions were based on that first line, and let us know if you liked or did not like the sentence. The link-up will be at A Few More Pages every Friday and will be open for the entire week.

Thanks to Becky at Page Turners for starting this meme and to Rose City Reader for inspiring it!

This week I'm reading Wonder by R.J. Palacio. Here are the first lines:

I know I'm not an ordinary ten-year-old kid. I mean, sure, I do ordinary things. I eat ice cream. I ride my bike. I play ball. I have an XBox. Stuff like that makes me ordinary. I guess. And I feel ordinary. Inside. But I know ordinary kids don't make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds.

This is certainly an intriguing beginning. Just from the blurb I know this book is about a boy with a facial deformity, and finding out that it starts out being told from his perspective definitely makes me want to read more.

So how does your current read begin, and what are your thoughts so far? Please leave the link to your specific post, not just to the front page of your blog.

Book Beginnings on Friday: February 24, 2012

2012-02-24T09:35:00.001-08:00

This week I'm reading Mariana by Susanna Kearsley. Here are the first lines:

I first saw the house in the summer of my fifth birthday. It was all the fault of a poet, and the fact that our weekend visit with a favorite elderly aunt in Exeter had put my father in a vaguely poetic mood. Faced with an unexpected fork in the road on our drive home to Oxford, he deliberately chose the left turning instead of the right. 'The road less traveled by,' he told us, in a benign and dreamy voice.

I like this beginning's whimsy. It also tells me that a house plays a significant part in the story, and I'm finding that I seem to enjoy novels in which a specific place plays an important part (especially old houses).

So how does your current read begin, and what are your thoughts so far? Please leave the link to your specific post, not just to the front page of your blog.

Book Beginnings on Friday: February 17, 2012

2012-02-17T09:29:00.000-08:00

This week I'm reading The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey. Here are the first lines:

We did not go for a walk on the first day of the year. The Christmas snow had melted and rain had been falling since dawn, darkening the shrubbery and muddying the grass, but that would not have stopped my aunt from dispatching us. She believed in the benefits of fresh air for children in all weather. Later, I understood, she also enjoyed the peace and quiet of our absence.

I had to chuckle at these first lines. Being a mother, I know well the peace and quiet that comes when my children go outside to play for a bit. The first line made me wonder if perhaps a walk on the first of the year is a tradition, though the lines following make it sound like outings are familiar in that family at any time of year.

So how does your current read begin, and what are your thoughts so far? Please leave the link to your specific post, not just to the front page of your blog.

Review: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

2012-02-16T11:13:00.000-08:00

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Genre: Classic Fiction
Pages: 353
Publication Date: Originally published in 1847
Source: Free Nook Book at Barnes and Noble
Rating: 2 of 5 stars

Book Description (from Barnes & Noble):

Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics: All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.

Emily Brontë’s only novel, Wuthering Heights remains one of literature’s most disturbing explorations into the dark side of romantic passion. Heathcliff and Cathy believe they’re destined to love each other forever, but when cruelty and snobbery separate them, their untamed emotions literally consume them.

Set amid the wild and stormy Yorkshire moors, Wuthering Heights, an unpolished and devastating epic of childhood playmates who grow into soul mates, is widely regarded as the most original tale of thwarted desire and heartbreak in the English language.

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I feel like I'm about to stand before a firing squad with this review. Wuthering Heights is a classic novel, beloved by many and well-known. I had heard of Cathy and Heathcliff even before I picked up this book, and it's probably gotten some revived interest stemming from the fact that it is "Bella and Edward's Favorite Book" (which I could care less about, but there you go). Perhaps because this is a story that has stood the test of time, I had unreasonable expectations. What I found when I started turning the pages was nothing that I had expected.

I really, really disliked this book. I didn't feel that way at first. The early chapters, where we get a glimpse of the characters' childhoods, were interesting. Even though I had a tendency to get lost with the multiple narrators and narrators within narrators, I was intrigued. But then the story developed, and as the characters became adults and started doing the most selfish, violent, and horrible things to each other, I started to wonder why I was continuing to read the story. I generally don't connect well with books when I hate all of the characters.

I found Wuthering Heights to be so depressing that I almost didn't finish it (and it took me f-o-r-e-v-e-r to actually finish). I came to absolutely hate Heathcliff. I had sympathy for him in his younger days--he was treated horribly for no reason and deserved better. But then he grew up into a violent and abusive person, deciding to ruin people's lives in retaliation for the wrongs he had experienced in life. He had no compassion for anyone (not even his own son), no mercy for anyone, and his actions were almost entirely undertaken in pure selfishness.

The physical and emotional abuse that occurred throughout this book to basically all of the characters is what left me the most uncomfortable. It was that aspect of the story that made me want to put it aside the most. But I just couldn't bring myself to give up--I kept hoping that something good would happen that would help redeem the rest of the book. I was glad that at the end Heathcliff had backed off a bit from making everyone's lives miserable, but he was still not very admirable and I didn't care in the slightest about him even in the end. Maybe it's because I don't have any appreciation or sympathy for Heathcliff's love for Cathy. I would never want anyone to put me on a pedestal like that--and Cathy was not worthy of that pedestal anyway if you ask me.

Cathy was another horrid, selfish character, though she didn't go to the extremes that Heathcliff did to ruin everyone's lives. She was focused entirely on her own happiness, and acted out to get her way. Mr. Lockwood, who is the narrator of the story (except when Nelly is narrating to him) seems like a totally unnecessary character and several times I wondered whether he was even necessary. Nelly, who was the main story-teller and had her bright moments, could be a shrew at times and antagonized people even though she knew better. And the vast majority of the time I could not understand a word that Joseph said. His dialect was too much for me, and I got to the point that started skipping his dialog because he was so loathsome when I did sort-of understand him.

It's been a long time since I've had such a negative feeling towards a book. I know a lot of people really like this book, but apparently I missed whatever it is that people like about it. If you are one of those fans, I hope you can forgive my rant here and we can just agree to disagree on this one.

Related Linkage:

Learn more about Emily Brontë.
My favorite review of Wuthering Heights, which pretty much sums up my feelings of the characters (at Dear Author)
Awesomesauce cartoons of Wuthering Heights by Kate Beaton at Hark! A Vagrant: Part I, Part II, Part III
Wuthering Heights at Project Gutenberg.
Purchase this book at The Book Depository or IndieBound (affiliate links)

Book Beginnings on Friday: February 10, 2012

2012-02-10T07:44:00.000-08:00

How to participate: Share the first line (or two) of the book you are currently reading on your blog or in the comments. Include the title and the author so we know what you're reading. Then, if you would like, let us know what your first impressions were based on that first line, and let us know if you liked or did not like the sentence. The link-up will be at A Few More Pages every Friday and will be open for the entire week.

Thanks to Becky at Page Turners for starting this meme and to Rose City Reader for inspiring it!

I just started reading Candlewax by C. Bailey Sims. Here are the first lines from the preface of the uncorrected galley:

The farrier cat's whiskers tingled. This never failed to annoy him, for it meant his concentration had faltered. He looked again at his large paws, using his inner consciousness to see what humans might see. He sighed in relief. There was nothing but a shimmering, momentary flicker in the crisp fall air.

This is an interesting beginning because when I read the synopsis I was curious about what exactly a farrier cat is. You are introduced right away to this cat, and quickly begin to realize that he is special. This has been a fantastic read so far--I didn't want to put it down last night to go to sleep!

So how does your current read begin, and what are your thoughts so far? Please leave the link to your specific post, not just to the front page of your blog.

Review: Gone to Ground by Brandilyn Collins

2012-02-08T16:11:00.000-08:00

Gone to Ground by Brandilyn Collins
Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Pages: 352
Publication Date: March 1, 2012
Publisher: B&H Fiction
Source: I received an ARC from Tolly at PR by the Book. Thanks Tolly!
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book Description (from the publisher):

Amaryllis, Mississippi is a scrappy little town of strong backbone and southern hospitality. A brick-paved Main Street, a park, and a legendary ghost in the local cemetery are all part of its heritage. Everybody knows everybody in Amaryllis, and gossip wafts on the breeze. Its people are friendly, its families tight. On the surface Amaryllis seems much like the flower for which it’s named—bright and fragrant. But the Amaryllis flower is poison.

In the past three years five unsolved murders have occurred within the town. All the victims were women, and all were killed in similar fashion in their own homes. And just two nights ago—a sixth murder.

Clearly a killer lives among the good citizens of Amaryllis. And now three terrified women are sure they know who he is—someone they love. None is aware of the others’ suspicions. And each must make the heartrending choice to bring the killer down. But each woman suspects a different man.

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I've heard such great things about Brandilyn Collins that I was excited to have a chance to read and review her newest novel, Gone to Ground, which comes out on March 1. A small southern town grapples with the knowledge that there is a serial killer in their midst. A masterful work of suspense, Gone to Ground keeps the reader guessing as three different women investigate their suspicions of three different murder suspects connected to the latest murder. The women join forces to try to connect the dots and ensure that the right people are charged for their crimes.

The novel is told from multiple first-person points of view. The chapters alternate among the three main characters: Cherrie Mae--beloved maid to the Mayor, Tully--young expectant mother in an abusive marriage, and Deena--hairdresser and friend to Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Trent Williams. Each of them have close connections to the people they suspect, and while they would love to learn that their suspicions are wrong, they also want to stop the Closet Killer even if their hunches are correct.

My favorite character was Cherrie Mae! She cleaned people's houses but she also was very well-read in the classics and quoted characters like Sherlock Holmes and authors like Charles Dickens! Her reading habits are a lot like mine, too (though I have a Nook instead of a Kindle):

On the nearby table sat my Kindle e-reader, the fancy present my children gave me last Christmas. I couldn't understand why I'd want such a thing until Donelle tol me I could get lots a classic books for free. Wouldn't need to run to the Bay Springs library so much. Right now in my Kindle I was re-readin Alfred Lord Tennyson's Idylls of the King. I kept a little black notebook and a pen next to the Kindle so I could write down quotes I wanted to remember. (47)

What book-lover wouldn't fall in love with Ms. Cherrie Mae? A woman who reads mountains of books and saves her favorite lines for later is a woman I can definitely identify with. She also had the strongest faith of all of the characters, and that, combined with being the oldest of the three women, made her into the inspirational leader of the three amateur investigators.

I really enjoyed the suspense of seeing the evidence through each woman's eyes and how that suspense increased as the police investigation seemed to be going down the wrong road. Although I had started to put the evidence together and had a strong hunch about the murderer, there was a great big twist near the end that was totally unexpected. It was a very exciting and fulfilling read--definitely living up to Ms. Collins's "Seatbelt Suspense" label. If you are a fan of mystery and suspense, I highly recommend this title!

Related Linkage:

Connect with the author at her website, on twitter, and on facebook.
Read an excerpt from this book.
View the book trailer.
Purchase this book at The Book Depository or IndieBound (affiliate links)
PR by the Book

ARC Giveaway: Road from the West by Rosanne E. Lortz

2012-02-07T00:01:00.000-08:00

This week I've got an ARC for you--historical fiction set during the First Crusade. Click here to read my review.

Book Description (from the publisher):

You’ve heard of the Knights Templar, you’ve heard of Richard the Lionheart—now learn the story that started it all with the adventures of the First Crusade.

Haunted by guilt from the past and nightmares of the future, a young Norman named Tancred takes the cross and vows to be the first to free Jerusalem from the infidels. As he journeys to the Holy Land, he braves vast deserts, mortal famine, and the ever-present ambushes of the enemy Turks—but the greatest danger of all is deciding which of the Crusader lords to trust. A mysterious seer prophesies that Tancred will find great love and great sorrow on his journey, but the second seems intent on claiming him before he can find the first. Intrigues and passions grow as every battle brings the Crusaders one step closer to Jerusalem. Not all are destined to survive the perilous road from the West.

To enter, just fill in the blanks on the Rafflecopter form below.

International entries are welcome - I am willing to send this book wherever the winner lives. Last day to enter is February 14, 2012. You must be 18 years or older to enter. I will be sending via USPS, and am not responsible for lost or damaged mail. Winners will be contacted via email.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Beginnings on Friday: February 3, 2012

2012-02-03T00:41:00.000-08:00

How to participate: Share the first line (or two) of the book you are currently reading on your blog or in the comments. Include the title and the author so we know what you're reading. Then, if you would like, let us know what your first impressions were based on that first line, and let us know if you liked or did not like the sentence. The link-up will be at A Few More Pages every Friday and will be open for the entire week.

Thanks to Becky at Page Turners for starting this meme and to Rose City Reader for inspiring it!

This week I'm sharing the beginning of Fablehaven by Brandon Mull. I picked it up at the used bookstore when my Nook ran out of batteries and I had to hang about in town for a few more hours.

Kendra stared out the side window of the SUV, watching foliage blur past. When the flurry of motion became too much, she looked up ahead and fixed her gaze on a particular tree, following it as it slowly approached, streaked past, and then gradually receded behind her.

Was life like that? You could look ahead to the future or back at the past, but the present moved too quickly to absorb.

This is a surprisingly introspective beginning for a middle grade fantasy novel. Since I've finished the book already, I've got to say that I don't think the rest of the book quite lives up to this beginning. But it was a pretty exciting story!

So how does your current read begin, and what are your thoughts so far? Please leave the link to your specific post, not just to the front page of your blog.

Book Beginnings on Friday: January 27, 2012

2012-01-27T08:39:00.000-08:00

I've got this book up for a giveaway right now (click here to enter!). Here are the first lines of The Temple Mount Code by Charles Brokaw:

"You've had quite a night, haven't you, Professor Lourds?"
Buckled into the passenger seat of the Bell helicopter, Thomas Lourds smiled. He was pleasantly tipsy and looking forward to his tent, and the cot within it even more.

The setting is what really draws my attention in this beginning. He's on a helicopter, he's drunk, and he's on his way to a tent where he will sleep in a cot. Definitely not your typical setting.

So how does your current read begin, and what are your thoughts so far? Please leave the link to your specific post, not just to the front page of your blog.

Giveaway: The Temple Mount Code by Charles Brokaw

2012-01-26T00:01:00.000-08:00

Today (courtesy of the publisher) I've got a hardcover copy of Charles Brokaw's The Temple Mount Code up for grabs. Here is the synopsis from the publisher's website:

An old friend summons dashing linguistics professor Thomas Lourds to Jerusalem to examine an ancient text. But Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also wants the same document. Khamenei and many others believe that the book contains a secret that will allow its owner to rule all of Islam and wage a Global Jihad the likes of which has never been seen before.

Arriving in Jerusalem, Lourds discovers that his friend has been murdered and his apartment ransacked. With the help of Miriam Abata, a beautiful Iranian-American Jewish graduate student, he races against the clock to seek the dangerous document: Lourds seeks to save civilization while his enemies hope to destroy it.

Continuing the New York Times bestselling series that includes The Atlantis Code and The Lucifer Code, The Temple Mount Code will appeal to readers interested in history and treasure hunting in the Holy Land and is perfect for fans of Dan Brown, Brad Meltzer, James Rollins, and Steve Berry.

I read the previous book in the series, The Lucifer Code, in 2010 (click here to read the review). The book really reminded me of Dan Brown, so if you like that kind of thriller, you'll probably like this as well.

To enter, just fill in the blanks on the Rafflecopter form below. It's open internationally, and please be sure to read the rules and conditions. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Trailer Tuesday: Hidden by Victoria Lustbader

2012-01-24T05:01:00.000-08:00

I just stumbled across this nice video on a random website and was inspired to put this book on my wishlist as a result.

Hidden by Victoria Lustbader
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publication Date: October 2007 (paperback)
Book Description (from The Book Depository):

A captivating debut novel, Hidden marvelously re-creates New York City in the 1920s, from the hustle and bustle of the Lower East Side to the hushed hallways of the homes of the rich and powerful. In graceful, eloquent prose, Victoria Lustbader presents a fierce, compelling story of loyalty, forbidden desire, and the end of innocence. The battlefield traumas of The Great War cement an improbable friendship between Jed Gates, scion of the wealthy Gates family, and David Warshinsky, first-generation American from New York's poverty-ridden lower East Side. David sacrifices his family and his Jewish heritage in pursuit of his untamable ambition, while, in eerie parallel, Jed sacrifices his private desires to assume the burdens of familial expectations. David's young sister Sarah suffers the torments of a sweatshop and hardens her heart to the brother she once adored. Jed's rebellious sister Lucy becomes a nurse in Margaret Sanger's revolutionary birth control clinic. Sarah finds a tender love in sensitive Reuben Winokur, an immigrant tailor destined to prosper in his new country, but Lucy falls hard for David, who belongs to another. Brilliantly evoking time, place, and person, Hidden draws readers deep into the past to illuminate the present. For nothing is more eternal than human feeling, and nothing more important to the human heart.

So, what do you think?
Have you seen any other good book trailers lately?

Review and Tour Stop: The Shadow of Your Smile by Susan May Warren

2012-01-21T01:59:00.000-08:00

The Shadow of Your Smile by Susan May Warren
A Deep Haven Novel
Genre: Contemporary Christian Fiction
Pages: 384
Publication Date: January 2012
Publisher: Tyndale
Source: I was provided with an e-galley to participate in a Litfuse Blog Tour.
Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Book Description (from the publisher):

A beautiful blanket of snow may cover the quaint town of Deep Haven each winter, but it can’t quite hide the wreckage of Noelle and Eli Hueston’s marriage. After twenty-five years, they’re contemplating divorce . . . just as soon as their youngest son graduates from high school. But then an accident erases part of Noelle's memory. Though her other injuries are minor, she doesn’t remember Eli, their children, or the tragedy that has ripped their family apart. What’s more, Noelle is shocked that her life has turned out nothing like she dreamed it would. As she tries to regain her memory and slowly steps into her role as a wife and mother, Eli helps her readjust to daily life with sometimes-hilarious, sometimes-heartwarming results. But can she fall in love again with a man she can’t remember? Will their secrets destroy them . . . or has erasing the past given them a chance for a future?

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Early last summer I read My Foolish Heart, a wonderful book from Susan May Warren's Deep Haven series that I really enjoyed. So when I saw there was another book coming out in the same series, I decided to jump on board with the blog tour organized by LitFuse. I was expecting the setting to be familiar, but was surprised that the Deep Haven of this book felt so different from the Deep Haven of the last book.

Part of the difference was in the setting. Deep Haven in winter is very different from the Deep Haven I got to know in My Foolish Heart. Plus Noelle and Eli basically live on the outskirts of town, so the story feels different in that sense. The other difference is that the couple at the center of the story, Noelle and Eli, face different circumstances. They are a married couple, with sons in their teens and twenties. Their marriage is falling apart and on the brink of divorce when Noelle loses her memory in a fall. She wakes up in the hospital thinking she is still in college, unable to remember her husband, children, or the life they had together. She has to get to know them all over again and try to reconcile herself with a life that she doesn't recognize and that her college-age self hadn't even anticipated.

There are fewer light-hearted moments in this story than in My Foolish Heart. There is a lot of pain here, and not just with a marriage on the rocks and the struggle of a family to cope and heal after Noelle's accident and resulting amnesia. Eli struggles with whether he should tell Noelle about the daughter they lost when she was killed at her job in a convenience store. Part of the reason their marriage was falling apart was because Noelle and Eli were devastated by their loss, and mourned for their daughter in different, incompatible ways. They didn't know how to comfort each other. There were also a lot of secrets going on in their marriage, as Eli developed what I would consider an emotional affair with Lee, one of Noelle's best friends, and Noelle had secrets of her own (which were difficult to work out with amnesia).

There is a good amount of suspense in this novel, with danger lurking on the edges of the story related to Noelle's accident. I wanted to know if she would regain her memory and what revelations would follow. I was also kept on pins and needles wondering what would happen between Eli and Lee, and whether they would do the right thing or not. There was also a nice side-story involving Noelle and Eli's oldest son, Kyle, and their daughter Kelsey's best friend Emma (Lee's daughter), as they get to know each other as adults and figure out what they want out of life (and love).

I really liked that the characters in this book were complicated and their relationships messy. Although I felt at times that there were too many coincidences lining up just right in the storyline, the characters and their relationships helped ground the story and made it feel more realistic. I felt frustrated with every one of the characters at different points in time, but at least it wasn't because they were too perfect--they definitely had human flaws and weaknesses. I found that I could identify with Noelle's struggle to recognize herself as she realized that the life she had led over the past 25 years was so different than what she had planned as a young adult. We kind of lose sight of those idealistic hopes and dreams for the future as we focus on present demands, worries, and decisions. It is true that my younger self would probably have a hard time recognizing the present me. It was quite thought-provoking to consider this question as I read.

So far it appears that the novels in the Deep Haven series don't really need to be read in order and stand alone quite admirably. Susan May Warren has impressed me again with the depth of her characters and the relevant issues raised within the pages of The Shadow of Your Smile. If you like Christian Fiction that makes you think and that you can sink your teeth into, I would definitely recommend it. I'm liking what I've read so far in the series, and I am looking forward to reading more.

Related Linkage:

Connect with the author at her website, blog, on facebook, or on twitter.
Read an excerpt of this book.
Discussion guide
View the book trailer.
Read my review of My Foolish Heart.
Purchase this book at The Book Depository or IndieBound (affiliate links)
Check out more stops on this LitFuse blog tour!

Book Beginnings on Friday: January 20, 2012

2012-01-19T23:29:00.000-08:00

This week I read First Date by Krista McGee. Here are the first lines:

'You're going to be on television, Addy,' Mr. Lawrence said, as if it were a good thing. As if all seventeen-year-old girls dreamed of being told that and Addy should jump up from her seat, squeal, and thank him for the opportunity.

Clearly Addy is not excited about the prospect of being on television. I can relate. I wouldn't want to deal with the pressure of being on television.

So how does your current read begin, and what are your thoughts so far? Please leave the link to your specific post, not just to the front page of your blog.

Review: The House at Tyneford by Natasha Solomons

2012-01-19T11:00:00.000-08:00

The House at Tyneford by Natasha Solomons
Genre: Historical fiction
Pages: 368
Publication Date: December 27, 2011
Publisher: Plume
Source: NetGalley
Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Book Description (from the publisher):

With the advent of World War II fast approaching in Europe, Elise Landau and her family realize that it is no longer safe for Jews in Austria. Elise’s father, Julian, and her mother Anna, a novelist and a singer respectively, urge her to advertise herself as a domestic servant in England and trade the loving, bourgeois lifestyle to which she was born for an interim life of servitude away from the Nazi threat. Traveling with only her clothes, a few smuggled keepsakes, and Julian’s secret unpublished manuscript hidden in an old viola, Elise embarks with great trepidation for her new life at the estate of Tyneford, owned by Christopher Rivers.

Between worrying about her still endangered parents and struggling to adjust to her new life, Elise learns very quickly how much she has left behind. But when Mr. Rivers’ fun–loving son, Kit, returns home, a romance erupts between him and Elise that challenges the aristocratic orthodoxy. Despite his devotion, Kit gets pulled into the war, in a test of their love and the fading of a bygone era.

The House at Tyneford is a story of the possibility of transcending social and class boundaries, as well as a novel about tradition, change, loss, and enduring love.

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This was one of my favorite reads in 2011. The House at Tyneford is a novel full of suspense, mystery, love, and loss that quickly pulled me in and had me madly turning the pages until the end. From the first lines I was reminded of Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca because of the importance placed on a house in both stories, and because both stories are told by a narrator reminiscing about events in her past. Further, at a certain point the main character seems to be haunted by the ghosts of the house's past, but not in the same way that the main character of Rebecca was haunted. This isn't a re-hash of Rebecca, but a story that brought Rebecca to my mind.

Set during the years leading up to and during World War II, the story follows the experiences of Elise Landau, who relocates to England before the war breaks out to escape increasing violence and repression of Jews in Austria. She plans to shortly meet up with her family in the United States but things don't go as planned when her parents are unable to escape Austria as the war begins. So Elise finds herself in a situation where she must learn to be a domestic servant--quite a feat for a girl whose family was affluent enough to have their own domestic servants back home. As the war rages on, Elise struggles to keep up hope for her parents' safety and to find happiness in her new life.

The historical setting of this book was one of the main things that drew me to this book. It explores how Jewish families were affected in their attempts to escape Hitler's expanding influence in Europe. In Elise's case, she is separated from the rest of her family and forced to grow up quickly in learning to take care of herself and keep her employment. The novel also shows how the British homefront was affected and how soldiers' families were so deeply devastated when their sons and lovers didn't return home. The war had a profound effect on everything and everyone in the story--including the town, the houses, and the lives of the inhabitants.

This book was published as The Novel in the Viola in the UK, which works well with the story as Elise's father sent an unpublished novel with her to England inside of the family's viola. The novel has a prominent place in Elise's heart, even though she has no idea what it is about and is hesitant to break open the viola to find out. When she does finally get into the viola, the novel holds surprises she didn't expect.

I highly recommend this book. It was a bit predictable at times, but I still found it to be a moving, well-written, and introspective story about love and loss, sadness and hope, and second chances in life and love.

Related Linkage:

Connect with the author at her website, blog, on twitter, and on facebook.
Read an excerpt from this book.
View the book trailer.
Read my favorite lines from The House at Tyneford.
Purchase this book at The Book Depository or IndieBound (affiliate links)

Challenges: Historical Fiction

Trailer Tuesday: Gone to Ground by Brandilyn Collins

2012-01-17T04:01:00.000-08:00

I'm currently reading this, and I came across the trailer at the author's website the other day. It is really good--I think it brings out the suspense of the book really well:

Gone to Ground by Brandilyn Collins
Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Publication Date: March 1, 2012
Book Description (from the author's website):

Amaryllis, Mississippi is a scrappy little town of strong backbone and southern hospitality. A brick-paved Main Street, a park, and the legendary ghost in its ancient cemetery are all part of its heritage. Everybody knows everybody in Amaryllis, and gossip wafts on the breeze. Its denizens are friendly, its families tight. On the surface Amaryllis seems much like the flower for which it's named—bright and fragrant.

But the Amaryllis flower is poisonous.

In the past three years five unsolved murders have occurred within the town. All the victims were women. All were killed in similar fashion in their own homes. And just two nights ago—a sixth victim.

Clearly a killer lives and breathes among the good citizens of Amaryllis. And now three terrified women are sure they know who he is—someone close to them. None is aware of the others' suspicions. Independently, each woman must make the heartrending choice to bring the killer down.

But each suspects a different man.

So, what do you think?
Have you seen any other good book trailers lately?

Enter to win digital copies of Dan DeWitt's novels, Orpheus and Odinsons!

2012-01-16T07:00:00.000-08:00

Title: Orpheus
Author: Dan DeWitt
Genre: Horror (Zombies)

Synopsis: Cameron Holt is fortunate enough to survive the initial outbreak that turns his New England island community into a hive of the undead. So is his son, Ethan. Now, the only thing keeping Holt going is the determination to rescue his son from the undead...or remove him permanently from their ranks. Unfortunately, zombies aren't the only thing getting in his way.

Reviews

Orpheus received two five-star reviews from The Masquerade Crew.

Also up for grabs in this giveaway are digital copies of Odinsons, another of Dan's novels. Click here to learn more about it.

An Interview With The Author—Dan DeWitt

What's your writing background?

Nothing too exciting. I have a Bachelor's degree in English, which means next to nothing when it comes to writing fiction. Still, I took a bunch of creative writing classes and really enjoyed them. Before that, I dabbled in short stories here and there, but wasn't ready to try and make a career out of it. I wrote one screenplay in 2001 that advanced to the second round at Austin (and I'm about ¼ of the way into its novelization). I've always been a voracious reader, and I got really serious after participating in NaNoWriMo in 2006. Since then, I've published a couple of short stories in e-zines and one non-fiction profile in a local magazine. But I'm really just a guy who loves to read fiction and tell a story from time to time.

To read more of this interview, click here.

Connect with the author:

Enter to Win!

Book Beginnings on Friday: January 13, 2012

2012-01-13T08:48:00.000-08:00

I just started reading Gone to Ground by Brandilyn Collins. Here are the first few lines:

Cherrie Mae
You can tell an awful lot bout people from cleanin their houses. Like the time I drug a hot pink thong out from under ol Ed McAllister's bed--a lacy little piece a cloth that wouldn't a fit round his wife's hiney in her best days.

I don't generally like it when a character's words are misspelled to convey an accent or dialect. But I'm trying really hard to look past that here because Cherrie Mae is so spunky and these first lines made me giggle. I haven't quite finished the first chapter, but I believe this story is told from alternating character viewpoints. It is keeping my interest so far.

So how does your current read begin, and what are your thoughts so far? Please leave the link to your specific post, not just to the front page of your blog.

Book Beginnings on Friday: January 6, 2012

2012-01-05T21:29:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! One of my New Year's Resolutions is to read more classics. So I just started reading Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. Here is the beginning:

1801.--I have just returned from a visit to my landlord--the solitary neighbour that I shall be troubled with. This is certainly a beautiful country! In all England, I do not believe that I could have fixed on a situation so completely removed from the stir of society. A perfect misanthropist's heaven: and Mr. Heathcliff and I are such a suitable pair to divide the desolation between us.

This is my first time reading this classic. I haven't really gone much further than the first page yet, but this beginning certainly sets the scene, doesn't it? You definitely get a feeling of isolation out of this beginning.

So how does your current read begin, and what are your thoughts so far? Please leave the link to your specific post, not just to the front page of your blog.

Book Beginnings on Friday: December 30, 2011

2011-12-29T18:00:00.000-08:00

This week I'm reading eye of the god by Ariel Allison on my Nook. Here are the first lines from the Prologue:

Golconda, India, 1653

Jean-Baptiste Tavernier winced as the soldier chopped off the man's hand. The thief shrieked and dropped to the ground, clutching the bloodied stump to his chest.

Quite an eventful (and violent) start to a book! This is a novel about an attempted heist of the Hope Diamond, set in the modern-day. I'm really enjoying it so far! There's a nice mix of historical background on the diamond mixed in with the contemporary storyline. This history geek approves!

What is/are the first line(s) of your current read, and what are your thoughts so far? Please leave the link to your specific post, not just to the front page of your blog.