Isabella: Braveheart of France

About Isabella: Braveheart of France

Publication Date: September 3, 2013

Cool Gus Publishing

Paperback; 218p

ISBN-10: 1621250911

She was taught to obey. Now she has learned to rebel.

Isabella is just twelve years old when she marries Edward II of England. For the young princess it is love at first sight - but Edward has a terrible secret that threatens to tear their marriage - and England apart.

Who is Piers Gaveston - and why is his presence in the king’s court about to plunge England into civil war?

The young queen believes in the love songs of the troubadours and her own exalted destiny - but she finds reality very different. As she grows to a woman in the deadly maelstrom of Edward’s court, she must decide between her husband, her children, even her life - and one breath-taking gamble that will change the course of history.

Does she submit to a lifetime of solitude and a spiritual death - or seize her destiny and take the throne of England for herself?

This is the story of Isabella, the only woman ever to invade England - and win.

my thoughts

Fabulous!!!  Isabella is an amazing woman.  We see her grow from a young child to womanhood.  She becomes the wife of Edward to form an alliance between England and France.  The title says it all, remember the movie Braveheart?  Isabella was the young wife of Edward, daughter in law of Longshanks.   Historically, the movie took several liberties with history.  Young Edward was already king when he married 12 year old Isabella.  

We watch her grown as a young girl, wife, woman and mother.  The character development is fabulous.  Not just with her, but with many of the other characters in this book.  I literally could not put it down!  

Colin Falconer has done a stellar job creating characters that appeal to the readers senses.  We feel Edward's pain throughout this book.  He is a sympathetic character, just not a good king.

I've read stories about the intrigue surrounding his death.  This book does a great job of tackling that issue.

All in all, a great read.  If you enjoy history, specifically British or French history, trust me, you will enjoy this book.

5/5 stars

Link to Tour Schedule:  http://hfvirtualbooktours.com/isabellatour

Twitter Hashtag:  #IsabellaTour

Watch the Official Book Trailer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGBgmrsZLMA

Praise for Isabella: Braveheart of France

“What an intriguing story! … I'm enchanted indeed! Loved it!” - Montreal Times

“Author Colin Falconer has brought Isabelle's story to life … wonderful descriptive and succinct prose graces each page of this biographical novel.” - Great Historicals

“Isabella: Braveheart of France is a gripping read … this is phenomenal historical fiction that is highly recommended.” - Crystal Book Reviews 

About the Author

Born in London, Colin first trialed as a professional football player in England, and was eventually brought to Australia. He went to Sydney and worked in TV and radio and freelanced for many of Australia’s leading newspapers and magazines. He has published over twenty novels and his work has so far been translated into 23 languages. 

He travels regularly to research his novels and his quest for authenticity has led him to run with the bulls in Pamplona, pursue tornadoes across Oklahoma and black witches across Mexico, go cage shark diving in South Africa and get tear gassed in a riot in La Paz. 

His most recent novels are Silk Road, set in the 13th century, and Stigmata, set against the backdrop of the Albigensian Crusade in Southern France in 1209. He currently lives in Barcelona.

For more information please visit Colin Falconer's blog. You can also find him on Facebook or follow on Twitter.

An Untitled Lady

Publication Date: December 20, 2013

Musa Publishing

eBook

ISBN: 9781619375963

Shocking family news forces Madeline Wetherby to abandon her plans to marry an earl and settle for upstart Manchester merchant Nash Quinn. When she discovers that her birth father is one of the weavers her husband is putting out of work—and a radical leader—Maddie must decide which family she truly desires, the man of her heart or the people of her blood.

An earl’s second son, Nash chose a life of Trade over Society. When protest marches spread across Lancashire, the pressure on him grows. If he can’t make both workers and manufacturers see reason he stands to lose everything: his business, his town, and his marriage.

As Manchester simmers under the summer sun, the choices grow more stark for Maddie and Nash: Family or justice. Love or money. Life or death.

my thoughts

Not your average historical fiction book.

An interesting and unique novel. NIcky Penttila has done her homework. She has combined history, mainly the Peterloo Massacre, with the aristocracy, working class and poor class.  

I did not like many of the characters, but I think many of the characters were not supposed to be high on the readers favorite list.  Of course, as a reader, I was interested in Maddie and Nash (main characters), but that's about it...the rest of the bunch were less than stellar. I had a difficult time finishing this book. I had to keep putting it down and going back to it. 

The end of the book includes an author's note explaining the Peterloo Massacre.  I admit, I was unfamiliar with the event.  She gave enough info to satisfy a history lover's interest.

Nicky Penttila writes stories with adventure and love, and often with ideas and history as well. She enjoys coming up with stories that are set in faraway cities and countries, because then she *must* travel there, you know, for research. She lives in Maryland with her reading-mad husband and amazing rescue cat. She’s chattiest on Twitter, @NickyPenttila, and can also be found at nickypenttila.com and on Facebook.

Adapted Classics

Lucas and I were asked to read and review a new take on an old classic.

Dr. Heidegger's Experiment

by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Updated for a younger audience, specifically a middle grade audience.

remember the story?

Doctor Heidegger has invited four old friends to his study. He needs their help with an experiment. His friends presume the experiment will be nothing out of the ordinary. Perhaps they will inspect a cobweb under a microscope or witness the slow death of a mouse. But when Dr. Heidegger's guests gather around a small black table that holds a cut-glass vase, strange things begin to happen that will change their lives, or so it seems.

Enlivened and enriched by Marc Johnson-Pencook's amazing pen and ink illustrations, this adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic story will introduce middle readers to one of America's greatest authors.

All I can say is "well done" Jerome and Marc.  Having kids eager to read the classics is a challenge.  It certainly helps making the wording easier for the kids to understand.  When I received my copy of DR HEIDEGGER'S EXPERIMENT in the mail, I was curious as to how Hawthorne could be interesting to a younger audience.  Well, you've pulled it off.  Both my son and I read the book, enjoyed the story and laughed at the illustrations.  

One of my son's favorite pictures is the young woman looking into a mirror.  She see's a young woman, but we see the same old crone that entered the Dr's home.  My son's response to the illustration--Mirror's cannot lie.  Funny how the power of suggestion can make her think she's young again!

He's taken the book to school to show his English/Reading teacher!  

Jerome Tiller lives in Fridley, Minnesota.  He is co-owner of ArtWrite Productions, a publishing company bent on making education and reading more pleasurable for youth.  Adapted Classics, an imprint of ArtWrite Productions, uses fine-art illustrations to introduce classic stories to young readers. 

You can learn more about Adapted Classics at

http://artwriteproductions.com/adapted.html

Marc Johnson-Pencook is an illustrator, animator, and muralist.  He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  His illustrations appear in books, periodicals, gallery shows and private collections, and his murals adorn many walls and ceilings in public places and private spaces in the Twin Cities and beyond.  He also teaches illustration at the Atelier Studio Program of Fine Art in Minneapolis and the Art Academy in St. Paul.  In addition, Marc composes and performs rock music- he currently plays percussion for "The Dig-Its"- a retro-rock group based in Minneapolis.  Marc can be contacted at

http://illustratormarc.blogspot.com

BECOMING JOSEPHINE

About Becoming Josephine

Publication Date: December 31, 2013

Plume Books/Penguin

Paperback; 320p

ISBN-10: 0142180653

Rose Tascher sails from her Martinique plantation to Paris to trade her Creole black magic culture for love and adventure. She arrives exultant to follow her dreams of attending Court with Alexandre, her elegant aristocrat and soldier husband. But Alexandre dashes her hopes and abandons her amid the tumult of the French Revolution.

Through her savoir faire, Rose secures her footing in high society, reveling in handsome men and glitzy balls—until the heads of her friends begin to roll.

After narrowly escaping death in the blood-drenched cells of Les Carmes prison, she reinvents herself as Josephine, a socialite of status and power. Yet her youth is fading, and Josephine must choose between a precarious independence and the love of an awkward suitor. Little does she know, he would become the most powerful man of his century- Napoleon Bonaparte.

BECOMING JOSEPHINE is a novel of one woman’s journey to find eternal love and stability, and ultimately to find herself.

Link to Tour Schedule: http://hfvirtualbooktours.com/becomingjosephinetour

Twitter Hashtag: #BecomingJosephineTour

my thoughts:

Words cannot describe my feelings after reading this book! 

Josephine Bonaparte has always been an individual I have found to be fascinating. This story created a desire to know more!!! 

What a vivid, lively woman. The ordeals she faced and overcame.

Stunning portrait of a trying time in French history.

The reader will love her, cry with her and feel her pain and distress. You will also hate her detractors. (I hated the Bonaparte's- even Napoleon)

A book definitely worth reading, even if you are not a fan of French history. Read it for the strength and fortitude of an amazing woman.

Praise for Becoming Josephine

“Heather Webb’s epic novel captivates from its opening in a turbulent plantation society in the Caribbean, to the dramatic rise of one of France’s most fascinating women: Josephine Bonaparte. Perfectly balancing history and story, character and setting, detail and pathos, Becoming Josephine marks a debut as bewitching as its protagonist.” –Erika Robuck, author of Hemingway’s Girl

“With vivid characters and rich historical detail, Heather Webb has portrayed in Josephine a true heroine of great heart, admirable strength, and inspiring courage whose quest is that of women everywhere: to find, and claim, oneself.” –Sherry Jones, bestselling author of The Jewel of the Medina

“A fast-paced, riveting journey, Becoming Josephine captures the volatile mood of one of the most intense periods of history—libertine France, Caribbean slave revolts, the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars—from the point of a view of one of its key witnesses, Josephine Bonaparte.” –Dana Gynther, author of Crossing on the Paris

“Vivid and passionate, Becoming Josephine captures the fiery spirit of the woman who stole Napoleon’s heart and enchanted an empire. –Susan Spann, author of The Shinobi Mysteries

“Spellbinding . . . Heather Webb’s novel takes us behind the mask of the Josephine we thought we knew.” –Christy English, author of How to Tame a Willful Wife and To Be Queen

“Enchanting prose takes the reader on an unforgettable journey . . . Captivating young Rose springs from the lush beauty of her family’s sugar plantation in Martinique to shine in the eighteenth century elegance of Parisian salon society. When France is torn by revolution, not even the blood-bathed terror of imprisonment can break her spirit.” –Marci Jefferson, author of Girl on the Gold Coin (Thomas Dunne Books, 2014)

About the Author

Heather Webb grew up a military brat and naturally became obsessed with travel, culture, and languages. She put her degrees to good use teaching high school French for nearly a decade before turning to full time novel writing and freelance editing.

When not writing, Heather flexes her foodie skills or looks for excuses to head to the other side of the world.

For more information please visit Heather’s website. You can also find her on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.

Where can I get BECOMING JOSEPHINE?

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Indiebound

HOUSE OF BATHORY

In the early 1600s, Elizabeth Báthory, the infamous Blood Countess, ruled Čachtice Castle in the hinterlands of Slovakia. During bizarre nightly rites, she tortured and killed the young women she had taken on as servants. A devil, a demon, the terror of Royal Hungary—she bathed in their blood to preserve her own youth.
400 years later, echoes of the Countess’s legendary brutality reach Aspen, Colorado. Betsy Path, a psychoanalyst of uncommon intuition, has a breakthrough with sullen teenager Daisy Hart. Together, they are haunted by the past, as they struggle to understand its imprint upon the present. Betsy and her troubled but perceptive patient learn the truth: the curse of the House of Bathory lives still and has the power to do evil even now.

The story, brimming with palace intrigue, memorable characters intimately realized, and a wealth of evocative detail, travels back and forth between the familiar, modern world and a seventeenth-century Eastern Europe brought startlingly to life.

Inspired by the actual crimes of Elizabeth Báthory, The House of Bathory is another thrilling historical fiction from Linda Lafferty (The Bloodletter’s Daughter and The Drowning Guard). The novel carries readers along with suspense and the sweep of historical events both repellent and fascinating

                             
                                   my thoughts

Horrifying and fascinating at the same time. It's like passing an accident and staring. You can't help yourself. This book is very similar. It jumps between the past and the present. 

Countess Bathory, 17th century, villain. I felt nothing except disgust for this woman. She is mean, hateful and cruel. She bathes in the blood of young girls to keep her youth. The people who surround her are loyal out of fear and need. They need the few pennies she pays for their families. They fear her reaction and response if they betray her in any way.

Modern day, we have a psychologist named Betsy, treating a trauma plagued 'goth girl'. 
Modern day Count Bathory, as crazy as his ancestor and several other players.

The story goes back and forth between past and present. We follow the story and eventually it does merge. Remember, truth is stranger than fiction. Countess Bathory was a real person, her crimes of cruelty and murder were real. 

Very well written story. I was never bored or distracted while reading.