2015 Book #102 – The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction by rebeccabook17

Title: The Little Paris Bookshop
Author: Nina George
Date finished: 9/26/15
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Crown
Publication Date: June 23, 2015
Pages in book: 400
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: NetGalley NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

Monsieur Perdu calls himself a literary apothecary. From his floating bookstore in a barge on the Seine, he prescribes novels for the hardships of life. Using his intuitive feel for the exact book a reader needs, Perdu mends broken hearts and souls. The only person he can’t seem to heal through literature is himself; he’s still haunted by heartbreak after his great love disappeared. She left him with only a letter, which he has never opened.
After Perdu is finally tempted to read the letter, he hauls anchor and departs on a mission to the south of France, hoping to make peace with his loss and discover the end of the story. Joined by a bestselling but blocked author and a lovelorn Italian chef, Perdu travels along the country’s rivers, dispensing his wisdom and his books, showing that the literary world can take the human soul on a journey to heal itself.
Internationally bestselling and filled with warmth and adventure, The Little Paris Bookshop is a love letter to books, meant for anyone who believes in the power of stories to shape people’s lives.

My rating: 2.0 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. I’ve seen this book around a lot the past couple months, it was a very popular summer read and I have seen many positive reviews on it so I thought I should give it a try. To be honest I probably could have passed on by and been perfectly. While this book has been widely praised, I just could not get into the story myself. I found the book to be extremely wordy and the main character is a 50 year old man who has lived in self-induce purgatory for the past twenty years. I could not connect with him at all, I just found his character to be so martyr-ish. And the story line was hard to follow for me in some way. There were just a lot fo random things that happened that didn’t necessarily seem connected at all and in some cases didn’t even really make sense to me. There were some parts of the book that made me tear up, there were many emotions that came alive in the story and the reader can sense love in each page of the book, love between friends, that first love that is ever-consuming, and even love that lives only in one’s imagination. The books speaks eloquently of France along Jean Perdu’s journey south, of the food, the scenery, and the people. For anyone who would like to experience the beauty of France, this would be a great book to read!

The bottom line: I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to hear of the beauty of France. This book wasn’t a great one for me but is very popular with the general population.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

21Sep2015

2015 Book #100 – When The Moon Is Low by Nadia Hashimi

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction by rebeccabook17

Title: When The Moon Is Low
Author: Nadia Hashimi
Date finished: 9/20/15
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: William Morrow
Publication Date: July 21, 2015
Pages in book: 380
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: BookBrowse NOTE: I received this book for free from BookBrowse in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

Mahmoud’s passion for his wife Fereiba, a schoolteacher, is greater than any love she’s ever known. But their happy, middle-class world—a life of education, work, and comfort—implodes when their country is engulfed in war, and the Taliban rises to power.
Mahmoud, a civil engineer, becomes a target of the new fundamentalist regime and is murdered. Forced to flee Kabul with her three children, Fereiba has one hope to survive: she must find a way to cross Europe and reach her sister’s family in England. With forged papers and help from kind strangers they meet along the way, Fereiba make a dangerous crossing into Iran under cover of darkness. Exhausted and brokenhearted but undefeated, Fereiba manages to smuggle them as far as Greece. But in a busy market square, their fate takes a frightening turn when her teenage son, Saleem, becomes separated from the rest of the family.
Faced with an impossible choice, Fereiba pushes on with her daughter and baby, while Saleem falls into the shadowy underground network of undocumented Afghans who haunt the streets of Europe’s capitals. Across the continent Fereiba and Saleem struggle to reunite, and ultimately find a place where they can begin to reconstruct their lives.

My rating: 4.75 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This book is mostly about Fereiba and her family. The book starts out when she is born and tells the story of her life living in Kabul, Afghanistan. Her childhood is not what I would call happy but she had a roof over her head and plenty of food and necessities. She ends up marrying Mahmoud and together they have children. After Fereiba’s first child though, things begin to change in Kabul. Women are no longer along to go out unless escorted by men and there are many other restrictions placed on their lives, including that girls are no longer allowed to attend school. Fereiba had been a teacher before the new laws were imposed but she is no longer given the choice to have a job at all. Though she was unsure in the beginning of their marriage, Mahmoud and Fereiba do well together and end up falling in love. They keep their children grounded and try to give them as normal a life as possible amid all the bombings and war and terror. It isn’t until tragedy strikes though that Fereiba realizes she and her children need to escape Afghanistan. And so begins a journey to England, where Fereiba’s sister lives and has invited them to come stay until they can get on their own feet.
During this time in Afghanistan’s history, hundreds of thousands of refugees were seeking asylum in other countries due to the terror tactics that the Taliban has imposed on the Afghani people. Fereiba and her family have a long journey ahead of them, and it is far from easy. Each country along the way has camps of refugees living in squalor, hoping to be granted asylum so they won’t be sent back. Many who are captured however are sent back to the last country they had traveled through or to Afghanistan itself. Fereiba is also struggling with traveling with her infant child who is discovered along the route to have a heart condition that he will die from if it is not addressed. Fereiba is one of the lucky few refugees who finds kind souls along the way who help her and her family on their journey to a better life.
Overall I honestly loved this book. The subject matter itself is obviously moving and sad and (hopefully) fills the reader with compassion and empathy for these poor souls. The author though really just did such an amazing job with the story, it was beautifully written. It was poignant and touching and I got so involved in the characters and their lives. Fereiba’s journey was full of heart-breaks and tough choices but in that situation what can you do but try and give your children the best life possible? The ending was left slightly open but I can’t help but believe there was a happy ending. This is definitely a must read.

Favorite Quotes:

“Teachers are the yeast that makes the dough rise.”

“Love grows wildest in the gardens of hardship.”

“In the darkness, when you cannot see the ground under your feet and when your fingers touch nothing but night, you are not alone. I will stay with you as moonlight stays on water.”

The bottom line: I absolutely loved this book, the writing was poignant and beautiful. I didn’t want to put it down. I would highly recommend.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

17Sep2015

2015 Book #99 – The Virgin’s Daughter by Laura Andersen

Posted in Book reviews, Historical fiction by rebeccabook17

Title: The Virgin’s Daughter
Author: Laura Andersen
Date finished: 9/17/15 (It’s my BIRTHDAY!)
Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: May 26, 2015
Pages in book: 325
Stand alone or series: Tudor Legacy Trilogy #1
Where I got the book from: Terryville Public Library

Blurb from the cover:

Perfect for fans of Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir, The Virgin’s Daughter is the first book in a captivating new saga about the next generation of Tudor royals, which poses the thrilling question: What if Elizabeth I, the celebrated Virgin Queen, gave birth to a legitimate heir?
Since the death of her brother, William, Elizabeth I has ruled England. She’s made the necessary alliances, married Philip of Spain, and produced a successor: her only daughter, Anne Isabella, Princess of Wales. Elizabeth knows that her beloved Anabel will be a political pawn across Europe unless she can convince Philip to grant her a divorce, freeing him to remarry and give Spain its own heir. But the enemies of England have even greater plans for the princess, a plot that will put Anabel’s very life and the security of the nation in peril. Only those closest to Elizabeth—her longtime confidante Minuette, her advisor and friend Dominic, and the couple’s grown children—can be trusted to carry forth a most delicate and dangerous mission. Yet, all of the queen’s maneuverings may ultimately prove her undoing.

My rating: 4.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I decided to read this book since I was approved for a NetGalley of the second book in the series, The Virgin’s Spy. I don’t like to pick up a series in the middle if I can avoid it but some other times there are like 5 books ahead of the one I’m reading and I only have 2 weeks before the book is published so there isn’t really enough time. Luckily there was only one book I needed to read to catch up on the series so I was able to fit it in. This book is about a number of people though the main focus seems to be on Lucette Courtenay and Julien LeClerc. The Courtenay family has always been a close friend of Queen Elizabeth and her daughter, Anabel. When Elizabeth learns of a plot currently in the works to assassinate her, there isn’t anyone she trusts more than her close friends. Lucette is the oldest child in the Courtenay household, and Elizabeth has asked her to travel to France to try and get to the bottom of who is behind this nefarious scheme. Lucette agrees but the last thing she ever expects is to fall in love while she’s in France. A good spy though should always expect the unexpected.
Overall I really liked this book a lot. There were a lot of different view points, which was interesting and there was a combination of all the stress points I look for in a book: intrigue and romance. The characters were all interesting and I loved the dynamic between all the different royals in the story. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series and see what happens next, I wish I could just skip ahead to that book but I have some other book deadlines to get to before then. Definitely looking forward to reading the next book though, I really liked the characters and I expect that we haven’t heard the last from Mary, Queen of Scots.

The bottom line: I really liked this book a lot. It had just the right balance of romance, intrigue, and vengeance. Would definitely recommend! Can’t wait to read the next in the series!Link to author website
Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

15Sep2015

2015 Book #98 – The Mirror by John A. Heldt

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction by rebeccabook17

Title: The Mirror
Author: John A. Heldt
Date finished: 9/14/15
Genre: Fiction, Time travel
Publisher: John A. Heldt (Self-published)
Publication Date: March 1, 2014
Pages in book: 387
Stand alone or series: #5 in the Northwest Passage series
Where I got the book from: Author/publisher NOTE: I received this book for free from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

On September 11, 2020, Ginny and Katie Smith celebrate their nineteenth birthday at a country fair near Seattle. Ignoring the warnings of a fortune-teller, they enter a house of mirrors and exit in May 1964. Armed with the knowledge they need to return to their time, they try to make the most of what they believe will be a four-month vacation. But their sixties adventure becomes complicated when they meet a revered great-grandmother and fall in love with local boys. In THE MIRROR, the sequel to THE MINE and THE SHOW, the sisters find happiness and heartbreak as they confront unexpected challenges and gut-wrenching choices in the age of civil rights, the Beatles, and Vietnam.

My rating: 3.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This book tells the story of Ginny and Katie Smith, twin daughters of Joel and Grace Smith. Joel was the main character in the first book in this series, The Mine, and Grace was the main character of the third book in the series and The Mine’s sequel The Show. Katie and Ginny Smith have just turned 19 and they are celebrating their birthday at a local fair. They are looking forward to starting college within the next couple weeks and are excited about the upcoming changes in their lives. Unfortunately, fate has other ideas in store for the two pretty twin sisters and after looking at a Mirror exhibit at the fair they somehow end up in the year 1964.
They realize that their best bet of returning home to their family is to go the same Mirror exhibit at the fair in this new year they’ve been deposited into. Since the fair doesn’t open for a few months though, Ginny and Katie have to figure out what to do with themselves in the meantime. They obtain jobs and make friends and somehow meet up with ancestral family. And as much as they don’t want to interfere with the time stream, neither of them can seem to help falling in love.
Overall I liked this book a lot more than The Show but just a tiny bit less than The Mine. I just felt like there wasn’t as much wrap up with the story as there was with The Mine. I really enjoyed the plot line of this book though, especially Ginny and Katie’s characters, they were a hoot.

The bottom line: I enjoyed this book a lot, almost as much as I enjoyed the first book, The Mirror. The plot line was interesting and I liked hearing more about the characters from first two books. Good series overall I think!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

15Sep2015

2015 Book #97 – The Show by John A. Heldt

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction by rebeccabook17

Title: The Show
Author: John A. Heldt
Date finished: 9/13/15
Genre: Fiction, Time travel
Publisher: John A. Heldt (Self-published)
Publication Date: February 17, 2013
Pages in book: 293
Stand alone or series: #3 in the Northwest Passage series
Where I got the book from: Author/publisher NOTE: I received this book for free from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

Seattle, 1941. Grace Vandenberg, 21, is having a bad day. Minutes after Pearl Harbor is attacked, she learns that her boyfriend is a time traveler from 2000 who has abandoned her for a future he insists they cannot share. Determined to save their love, she follows him into the new century. But just when happiness is within her grasp, she accidentally enters a second time portal and exits in 1918. Distraught and heartbroken, Grace starts a new life in the age of Woodrow Wilson, silent movies, and the Spanish flu. She meets her parents as young, single adults and befriends a handsome, wounded Army captain just back from the war. In THE SHOW, the sequel to THE MINE, Grace finds love and friendship in the ashes of tragedy as she endures the trial of her life.

My rating: 2.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This book tells the story of Grace Vandenberg. This book picks up a little before where The Mine left off since we here about Grace’s decision to travel to the year 2000 to be with Joel. After that everything goes smoothly for awhile, Grace and Joel marry and start a family. Unfortunately on their second wedding anniversary Grace is somehow transported from the year 2002 to 1918. Luckily she’s still in Seattle so she looks up her Uncle Alistair Green who takes her in but still Grace is lost in another time with no idea how to get back to her two young children and her husband.
Grace’s uncle takes her home to live with her and try to help her start over in this new world. Along the way Grace meets the Green’s neighbor John Walker, an injured war veteran who also has the look of loss about him. Grace finds herself drawn to John as she mourns the loss of her husband and her two daughters. And then when Grace’s mother Lucy comes to America as an 18-year old girl to begin her college education, Grace is presented with an opportunity that she never even thought to hope for.
**SPOILER ALERT** There were a few issues that I had with this book. Grace ends up bringing her mother and father back to the future with her at the end so that they don’t end up dying in 1939, but she brings them to the future before they’re ever married. So how does she even still exist? At the end of this book her parents never actually had her so how is it possible that she exists?! I mean I know there are some complications involved in time travel and its consequences but its just too confusing. And honestly my big issue with this book was Grace. I understand that at some point she would have to stop mourning the loss of her husband and move on but after 4 months she’s already engaged to someone else? That seems just a little too quick for me. I mean I understand that continuing to hope that she would make it back to her own time would probably make her miserable and being miserable is no way to live but I can’t imagine giving up that easily over seeing my daughters again. For those reasons I just had a lot of trouble connecting to the story and I could not enjoy the plot line much at all. The story was interesting as was the first book but I enjoyed the first book a lot more than I enjoyed this one.

The bottom line: I did not end up liking this book as much as I liked The Mine. I am hoping that I like the third book (The Mirror) better but this book just was not one that I could get into.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

15Sep2015

2015 Book #96 – The Mine by John A. Heldt

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction by rebeccabook17

Title: The Mine
Author: John A. Heldt
Date finished: 9/9/15
Genre: Fiction, Time travel
Publisher: John A. Heldt (Self-published)
Publication Date: February 13, 2012
Pages in book: 291
Stand alone or series: #1 in the Northwest Passage series
Where I got the book from: Author/publisher NOTE: I received this book for free from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

In May 2000, Joel Smith is a cocky, adventurous young man who sees the world as his playground. But when the college senior, days from graduation, enters an abandoned Montana mine, he discovers the price of reckless curiosity. He emerges in May 1941 with a cell phone he can’t use, money he can’t spend, and little but his wits to guide his way. Stuck in the age of swing dancing and a peacetime draft, Joel begins a new life as the nation drifts toward war. With the help of his 21-year-old trailblazing grandmother and her friends, he finds his place in a world he knew only from movies and books. But when an opportunity comes to return to the present, Joel must decide whether to leave his new love in the past or choose a course that will alter their lives forever. THE MINE is a love story that follows a humbled man through a critical time in history as he adjusts to new surroundings and wrestles with the knowledge of things to come.

My rating: 3.5 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This book tells the story of Joel Smith, a young man who is interested in geology and can’t pass up a chance to look at an abandoned mine. When he walks out of the mine though he finds himself not in the year 2000 as it was when he walked into the mine but instead it is suddenly the year 1941. And with no cash in his wallet and only credit cards that don’t work yet, he’s stranded in the year 1941 with no way to even buy food for himself. Joel decides to head back to Seattle as that is where he had been going to school in 2000. It is there that he begins to build a new life for himself. Six months later though he realizes that he has a chance to go back to his own time, and he has to make the agonizing decision to leave behind all the people he’s grown to care for in 1941.
Overall I really ended up liking this book. The plot line was just so interesting and I can’t remember reading anything like it before. I thought it was a little sad that Joel built this whole new life that he really enjoyed and then had to decide to leave it behind but I can understand he wanted to get back to his family. The dialogue between the characters was decent and the tension between Joel and Grace was basically palpable. It ended pretty much how I wanted it to, though I felt like there could’ve been a little more closure. There were a lot of questions I still had at the end of the book that I didn’t really think were addressed (How did Grace find Katie in 2000? Why didn’t she meet up with Joel in 2000 sooner?) but I know that Book #3 in the Northwest Passage series is about Grace’s story so I’m hoping that book will answer a few of my questions. I’m also hoping this next book (The Show) will tell us a little more about Grace once she gets to the future, does she assimilate ok? I hope they talk about that in the book. Also I can’t believe that Joel’s grandmother was able to keep this secret from everyone for all these years. I feel like she would’ve spilled the beans at some point during Joel’s first 17 years. Good book though, and I’m looking forward to reading the next one.

The bottom line: I ended up really liking this book a lot. The main character wasn’t an easy one to get tapped into but I loved the plot! Would recommend to those who like time travel books!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

7Sep2015

2015 Book #95 – Queen Song by Victoria Aveyard

Posted in Book reviews, Young Adult by rebeccabook17

Title: Queen Song
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Date finished: 9/5/15
Genre: Young adult
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: September 1, 2015
Pages in book: 45
Stand alone or series: Part of the Red Queen series, prequel to first book in series
Where I got the book from: Amazon purchase

Blurb from the cover:

In this 55-page prequel novella set in the Red Queen world, Queen Coriane, first wife of King Tiberias, keeps a secret diary—how else can she ensure that no one at the palace will use her thoughts against her? Coriane recounts her heady courtship with the crown prince, the birth of a new prince, Cal, and the potentially deadly challenges that lay ahead for her in royal life.

My rating: 3.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This novella is actually a prequel to the very popular Young Adult book Red Queen. This novella tells the story of Cal’s Mom (Cal is one of the main people in Red Queen and the prince of the kingdom) Coriane Jacos. Coriane doesn’t think she’s anyone of consequence- her family is very poor and doesn’t really have any influence in court. Then the Prince (Tibe, Cal’s father) starts taking an interest in her. Coriane is convinced they are merely friends, for what prince could be interested in an unimportant noble such as herself?
Overall I thought this was a good novella. With only 45 pages it is hard to have anything that is really going to “wow” you but I liked hearing Coriane’s story from her point of view after getting most of the basics from the Red Queen novel. There is also another novella being released in January, Steel Scars.

The bottom line: I like hearing Queen Coriane’s story from her point of view. I would definitely recommend this for fans of Red Queen.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

7Sep2015

2015 Book #94 – The Space Between Heartbeats by Melissa Pearl

Posted in Book reviews, Young Adult by rebeccabook17

Title: The Space Between Heartbeats
Author: Melissa Pearl
Date finished: 9/5/15
Genre: Young adult
Publisher: Alloy Entertainment
Publication Date: September 15, 2015 (originally published November 1, 2012
Pages in book: 286
Stand alone or series: Betwixt series?
Where I got the book from: NetGalley NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

Nicole Tepper has it all—beauty, popularity, and the perfect boyfriend. But after a party she can’t remember, she wakes up in a ghostly state, trapped between life and death. Nicole’s injured body is lying in a wooded area, but she has no idea where—or how long she has left to live.
Only one person can hear her now: Dale Finnegan, a loner classmate that Nicole has relentlessly bullied. Dale’s the last person in school who would want to help her, but he sets their tangled history aside to try to save her life. As they dig into what happened at the party, they discover her boyfriend isn’t as perfect as he seems—and neither are her friends. With the clock ticking down and her life slipping away, Nicole must face a hard truth: Was what happened to her a terrible accident? Or does someone want her dead?

My rating: 4.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This book tells the story of Nicole Tepper. After her sister died a couple years ago, her family pretty much fell apart and she worked hard to fill her life with people she could keep at a distance. She liked her boyfriend Trent because he doesn’t see past her bad girl attitude and accepts her at face value. She has her group of friends for the same reason. After a wild party one night she wakes up and no one will talk to her or even respond to her questions. It isn’t until her hand slides right through another person that she realizes something horrible, she’s a ghost. Later on her spirit ends up drifting back into her body and Nicole discovers she isn’t dead as she thought but just in and out of consciousness from the injuries she sustained and she is in unbelievable pain.
As she wanders through her daily routine, trying to make sure of everything and her presence in the spiritual world, she discovers one of her classmates can hear her even though she’s a ghost. Dale is someone she’s always made fun of to assert her popularity. But it turns out he’s the only one who can help her now. She doesn’t have any idea where her body is but she knows she doesn’t have much longer to live. And so Nicole and Dale race to figure out what happened that night and where her boy now lays before its too late.
Overall I very much liked this book. The characters were well developed and the plot line was honestly just riveting. I couldn’t put this book down once I started it, it was so good! I would definitely recommend.

The bottom line: I thought this was a great book! Would definitely recommend.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

1Sep2015

2015 Book # 92 – Sisters of Versailles by Sally Christie

Posted in 2015, ARC August, Book reviews, Historical fiction, Reading Challenges by rebeccabook17

Title: Sisters of Versailles
Author: Sally Christie
Date finished: 8/31/15
Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: September 1, 2015
Pages in book: 432
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: NetGalley NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

A sumptuous and sensual tale of power, romance, family, and betrayal centered around four sisters and one King. Carefully researched and ornately detailed, The Sisters of Versailles is the first book in an exciting new historical fiction trilogy about King Louis XV, France’s most “well-beloved” monarch, and the women who shared his heart and his bed.
Goodness, but sisters are a thing to fear.
Set against the lavish backdrop of the French Court in the early years of the 18th century, The Sisters of Versailles is the extraordinary tale of the five Nesle sisters—Louise, Pauline, Diane, Hortense, and Marie-Anne—four of whom became mistresses to King Louis XV. Their scandalous story is stranger than fiction but true in every shocking, amusing, and heartbreaking detail.
Court intriguers are beginning to sense that young King Louis XV, after seven years of marriage, is tiring of his Polish wife. The race is on to find a mistress for the royal bed as various factions put their best foot—and women—forward. The King’s scheming ministers push Louise, the eldest of the aristocratic Nesle sisters, into the arms of the King. Over the following decade, the four sisters—sweet, naïve Louise; ambitious Pauline; complacent Diane, and cunning Marie Anne—will conspire, betray, suffer, and triumph in a desperate fight for both love and power.
In the tradition of The Other Boleyn Girl, The Sisters of Versailles is a clever, intelligent, and absorbing novel that historical fiction fans will devour. Based on meticulous research on a group of women never before written about in English, Sally Christie’s stunning debut is a complex exploration of power and sisterhood—of the admiration, competition, and even hatred that can coexist within a family when the stakes are high enough.

My rating: 4.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will be counting towards my goal for ARC August reading challenge, it wasn’t included on my sign up post but it will be my last book for the challenge. I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This book is about the five Mailly Nesle sisters, four of whom were mistresses of King Louis XV, the fifth deciding to stay loyal to her husband, which appears to be rare for this time period. Louise is the eldest sister and a couple years after she marries she inherits a position in the Queen’s court. It is there that she meets the King and becomes his mistress. The next two eldest girls, Pauline and Diane, are sent to a convent after the death of their mother. The two youngest, Hortense and Marie-Anne go to live with their aunt after their mother’s death.
I loved this book. I thought it was extremely interesting, it was hard for me to put down. And I think that it is even cooler that it is based on actual events from the 1700’s. Since this is fiction not everything from the story is factual but there were actually 4 sisters who all slept with the same King apparently. I don’t want to give away too much from the story line so I won’t say much about the actual plot but there is enough romance, intrigue, love, revenge, death, and power to make all kinds of readers happy. I thought this was a great book and I can’t wait to see more from this author!

The bottom line: I very much enjoyed this book, it was full of power, intrigue, revenge, and love. I would definitely recommend!!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

22Aug2015

2015 Book #89 – We Never Asked For Wings by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Posted in 2015, ARC August, Book reviews, Fiction, Reading Challenges by rebeccabook17

Title: We Never Asked For Wings
Author: Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Date finished: 8/22/15
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: August 18, 2015
Pages in book: 320
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: NetGalley NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

From the beloved New York Times bestselling author of The Language of Flowers comes her much-anticipated new novel about young love, hard choices, and hope against all odds.
For fourteen years, Letty Espinosa has worked three jobs around San Francisco to make ends meet while her mother raised her children—Alex, now fifteen, and Luna, six—in their tiny apartment on a forgotten spit of wetlands near the bay. But now Letty’s parents are returning to Mexico, and Letty must step up and become a mother for the first time in her life.
Navigating this new terrain is challenging for Letty, especially as Luna desperately misses her grandparents and Alex, who is falling in love with a classmate, is unwilling to give his mother a chance. Letty comes up with a plan to help the family escape the dangerous neighborhood and heartbreaking injustice that have marked their lives, but one wrong move could jeopardize everything she’s worked for and her family’s fragile hopes for the future.
Vanessa Diffenbaugh blends gorgeous prose with compelling themes of motherhood, undocumented immigration, and the American Dream in a powerful and prescient story about family.

My rating: 3.0 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will be counting towards my goal for ARC August reading challenge, it is #10 on list from my sign up post. I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. I have seen this book a lot in the last month or two as a must read book for summer so when I saw it was available on NetGalley I thought I would try reading it. This is the story of Letty Espinosa and her two children, Alex and Luna. Letty’s mother has raised Alex and Luna since they were babies while Letty works three jobs. But when Letty’s parents suddenly move back to Mexico, Letty is forced to face motherhood in a way that she has never had to before.
I liked this book. It had an interesting story line and was different from anything I’ve read before. There are some political commentary undercurrents about immigration towards the end but mostly I think this book is about Letty’s character growing and discovering what it means to be a mother. I didn’t end up loving this book because I had trouble forming a deep connection with the characters. It was great to see the characters evolve through the story, especially Letty, but at the same time I couldn’t form a personal connection with the story. When Letty got Alex drunk I honestly couldn’t read the book anymore that day I was so disturbed. I loved how supportive Rick’s character was though, he was like a constant pillar of strength. And Luna is just a little cutie. I couldn’t understand how Letty’s parents could leave them so suddenly but its probably better that they did, it forced Letty to stand on her own two feet. While there were pieces of this story I didn’t love, I liked the book overall.

The bottom line: I thought this story had a sweet ending even if I did get a bit freaked out along the way. It was interesting to see the characters grow through the story. I would recommend!

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