Reviews

Review and Give Away of Fortune’s Son by Emery Lee

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011 | Emery Lee, Give Away, Reviews | 14 Comments

When I was given the opportunity to read an early copy of Emery Lee’s FORTUNE’S SON, I jumped at the chance. I read and loved her first novel, THE HIGHEST STAKES, and I wanted to return to the world she had created, specifically to hear the love story of Philip and Susannah. These two played supporting roles in her first novel, and they both fascinated me. When I was given the chance to read about them again, it was like meeting old friends. I give this novel 5 out of 5 stars.

Emery Lee tells an engaging story of the roguish Philip Drake and his beloved, Susannah. Set in Georgian spelendor, FORTUNE’S SON is a novel of love and lust, wealth and penury, a tale of true love lost, and of true loved redeemed. FORTUNE’S SON wonderful trip into the world of Georgian England.

Emery Lee has generously offered a copy to of her latest novel to give away here on my blog. Please leave a comment on this post to enter for a chance to win a copy of  FORTUNE’S SON.  US and Canada only.

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My Thoughts on EROMENOS by Melanie McDonald

Friday, July 29th, 2011 | Melanie McDonald, Reviews, The Writing Life | 1 Comment

Amy of Passages to the Past and Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours sent me a copy of EROMENOS because she knows how much I adore Mary Renault. And she was right to do it…I found as I read Melanie McDonald’s debut novel that I was swept into Antinous’ world as I had once been swept up in the world of Bagoas, Alexander the Great’s lover in THE PERSIAN BOY.

Told in the clear, often sardonic voice of Antinous of Bithynia, Emperor Hadrian’s lover, EROMENOS opens a window into the Roman world. This novel is a well-researched and vivid portrayal of the Imperial court of Rome in in early second century AD. With sharp insight and a razor wit, Melanie McDonald show us the mind of Hadrian’s Eromenos,  the beloved who is the embodiment of a fleeting beauty that, like all things, will pass away.  Through Antinous’ eyes, we see first hand what it means to be chosen by an emperor at the age of 12, and groomed to be his lover. A novel of power, control, regret and loss, EROMENOS is finally a story about courage, and of one man’s choice to take his fate into his own hands.

Two of my favorite quotes from this novel:

“…I made a vow to myself, never to betray any weakness of my own to an enemy if it lay at all in my power to conceal it.” pg 20 (Shades of a young Eleanor of Aquitaine in that line…)

“The object of his affection. His beloved. Does anyone question whether the beloved loves in return? Does the beloved have any choice?” pg 117

EROMENOS asks more questions than it answers, a good thing in any novel. It left me wondering about who Antinous was, about his choices, such as they were,  and about what it means to be the favorite of an emperor. Melanie McDonald gives the silent dead a voice.

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Helen Hollick’s SEA WITCH Give Away

Wednesday, July 13th, 2011 | Give Away, Helen Hollick, Reviews | 34 Comments

Today, as I continue Helen Hollick Week here on A Writer’s Life: Working with the Muse, I have the pleasure of offering a personalized copy of the first novel in the Sea Witch voyages…the first voyage of the indomitable Jesamiah Acorne. The give away runs through July 26, with the winner announced on Wednesday, July 27th. To enter, just leave a comment on this post.

My thoughts on SEA WITCH.

To me, the only good pirate has ever been a dead pirate, but Helen Hollick has changed my mind. Jesamiah Acorne is cast off his father’s plantation at a young age, forced to make his way in the world. He takes to the sea, coming to win a ship of his own, the SEA WITCH. Beloved of the white witch Tiola and the sea goddess Tethys, Jesamiah sails into danger with every tide. With romance and swash-buckling joy, Helen Hollick leads us into a world where the oceans are full of magic and where the stars always lead us home. From Cape Town to Port Royal, to the wilds of the pirate port on Madagascar, Helen Hollick takes us on a journey of the senses, a romantic adventure of true love that on the last page leaves us hungering for more. It’s a good thing for me that the SEA WITCH is only the first in this series, and that more installments are already written.

Tune in on Friday for a guest post by the marvelous Helen Hollick.

NOAH’S WIFE

Friday, July 1st, 2011 | Reviews, The Writing Life | No Comments

I was given a copy of NOAH’S WIFE as was everyone else who came to the Historical Novel Society Conference in June. It was the first book I read from the generous collection of books that I received, and I am glad I began with this one.

With lyrical prose, TK Thorne takes us beyond the realm of our own world into the distant past. She tells the vivid story of Na’amah, Noah’s wife, both before the Flood, and after. NOAH’S WIFE is an epic story of love and redemption, beautifully told. I could not put this novel down.

So the HNS Conference brings yet another blessing: a wonderful author to add to my collection on my shelf.

HNS Conference: Where the Dead Live Again

Monday, June 20th, 2011 | Reviews, The Writing Life, To Be Queen | 5 Comments

I found myself sitting alone and quiet on Sunday afternoon. The HNS 2011 Conference is done, and I have a smile on my face. I met so many incredible people, some I knew as part of our online community and some I met for the first time. We all were drawn together by our love for the written word, our love for the past, and for the dead.

The dead live again during weekends like this one, as we all share our fascination with and devotion to our loved ones on the page. Some of those people once lived, like Eleanor of Aquitaine. Others come to life only in our minds, on the pages of the books we have written, and the books that we have yet to write.

As we share our love and joy in them, our dead live again. This weekend, we got to share our stories and our characters with each other. What a marvelous gift.

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