book review – Page 12 – Rosepoint Publishing

The K Team by David Rosenfelt – A #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

Book 1 in a new series spin-off from the best selling Andy Carpenter mysteries.

Book Blurb:

From bestselling mystery author David Rosenfelt comes a new series – a spinoff of the much beloved Andy Carpenter mysteries – about a dynamic new investigative team featuring a determined former cop and his loyal German Shepherd.

Corey Douglas and his K-9 partner, Simon Garfunkel, have recently retired from the police force. Not ready to give up the life yet, they come up with a proposal for fellow former cop, Laurie Carpenter, and her investigating partner, Marcus. Laurie and Marcus – who help out Laurie’s lawyer husband Andy on cases – have been chafing to jump back into investigating on their own, so they are in.

They call themselves the K Team, in honor of Simon. Their first job as private investigators comes to them from Judge Henry Henderson, who’s known as a very tough but fair judge, and they’ve all come up against him in court at one time or another. Though it’s hard to believe, Judge Henderson is being blackmailed and extorted, and he doesn’t want to involve the police–he needs the K Team to figure out why.

My Review:

To those of you spoiled by the Andy Carpenter legal thriller series, the good news is that there are most of the characters you’ve come to love. The author has even thrown in Andy Carpenter himself in a much lesser, support-type role, but I must admit, though skeptical at first, think I may come to love Corey Douglas almost as much. An ex-cop with his K-9 partner, GSD (German Shepherd Dog) Simon Garfunkel, Corey has teamed with Laurie, Andy’s wife, and Marcus (also of the Carpenter fame), along with occasional Super-Hacker Sam.

Corey retired but still can’t stop being a cop–it’s part of his psyche–and he’s happy, albeit reticent about partners Laurie and Marcus. Corey won’t have to go to the dark side, but it won’t be easy to separate himself from the sanctioned law he is used to wielding. There might now be a gray area where there was previously only black and white.

The team’s first client, a judge known quietly behind his back as “Hatchet” has them looking into a possible blackmail/extortion attempt until suddenly they are left without the client but still have a case. And the case quickly escalates. The well-plotted action becomes complex and while you don’t have to be a day-trader, it might help to possess some slight knowledge of the stock market. Even if you don’t, this becomes a good primer.

This man is not your average vision of a tough guy–and he has woman issues, although his latest, Dani, has yet to find and push those buttons that always spelled doom for the budding friendship/romance before, it hasn’t yet happened. He knows there’s bound to be a problem–he just hasn’t found it yet. Corey will be acting protagonist this series in first person. He is less sarcastic than Andy and we’ve yet to really see a full fleshing. And Dani? She’s a great support character and fits in beautifully with Laurie. Marcus–you don’t mess with Marcus. The Seal Team wouldn’t mess with Marcus.

Book 1 doesn’t include Simon so much, so we don’t get a super feel for him other than that he is a former well-trained, capable service K-9 and fiercely protective and loyal. He does, however, play well with Tara and Sebastian, Andy and Laurie’s two dogs. That is, when Sebastian deigns to play. Once again, Rosenfelt is a master at developing that fine working chemistry between his characters.

As the first book in a new series, there is going to be some time spent in “getting to know” the new guy and a bit of redux for Laurie and Marcus. There is name dropping of a few other support players from the Andy Carpenter series, so it’s a comfortable intro. Once we are past the preliminaries, the novel begins to gather speed and has the reader burning through the remaining chapters. You just have to get used to Corey being numero uno. While he doesn’t have the biting wit of Andy Carpenter (and really, how could he?), it still moves at a fast pace, keeping the characters involved, dodging red herrings, kicking ass and taking names. Okay, may the former part is more Marcus’ domain, while the taking names part is Corey’s.

“…investigations create their own paths to follow. One thing leads obviously to the next;…”

I was thrilled to receive this digital ARC from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for a review. This is a great start to the new series and I’m already looking forward to Book 2. Recommended for any who enjoy an action and crime thriller, animal fiction, mystery. Great characters, complex plots, well-written and entertaining.

Book Details:

Genre: Cozy Animal Mysteries, Animal Fiction
Publisher: Minotaur Books

ISBN-10:1250257190
ISBN-13:978-1250257192
ASIN: B07S7L676S

Print Length: 304 pages
Publication Date: March 24, 2020
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: The K Team

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five of Five Stars

The Author: [David Rosenfelt-Goodreads author page] I am a novelist with 27 dogs.

I have gotten to this dubious position with absolutely no planning, and at no stage in my life could I have predicted it. But here I am.

My childhood was relentlessly normal. The middle of three brothers, loving parents, a middle-class home in Paterson, New Jersey. We played sports, studied sporadically. laughed around the dinner table, and generally had a good time. By comparison, “Ozzie and Harriet’s” clan seemed bizarre.

I graduated NYU, then decided to go into the movie business. I was stunningly brilliant at a job interview with my uncle, who was President of United Artists, and was immediately hired. It set me off on a climb up the executive ladder, culminating in my becoming President of Marketing for Tri-Star Pictures. The movie landscape is filled with the movies I buried; for every “Rambo”, “The Natural” and “Rocky”, there are countless disasters.

I did manage to find the time to marry and have two children, both of whom are doing very well, and fortunately neither have inherited my eccentricities.

A number of years ago, I left the movie marketing business, to the sustained applause of hundreds of disgruntled producers and directors. I decided to try my hand at writing. I wrote and sold a bunch of feature films, none of which ever came close to being actually filmed, and then a bunch of TV movies, some of which actually made it to the small screen. It’s safe to say that their impact on the American cultural scene has been minimal.

About fourteen years ago, my wife and I started the Tara Foundation, named in honor of the greatest Golden Retriever the world has ever known. We rescued almost 4,000 dogs, many of them Goldens, and found them loving homes. Our own home quickly became a sanctuary for those dogs that we rescued that were too old or sickly to be wanted by others. They surround me as I write this. It’s total lunacy, but it works, and they are a happy, safe group.

Here Comes the Body (A Catering Hall Mystery) by Maria DiRico – a #BookReview – #Cozy

Book 1 of a Quirky New Series!

Book Blurb:

After her philandering husband’s boat went down, newly single Mia Carina went back to Astoria, the bustling Queens neighborhood of her youth. Living with her nonna and her oversized cat, Doorstop, she’s got a whole new life—including some amateur sleuthing . . .

Mia is starting work at Belle View, her father’s catering hall, a popular spot for weddings, office parties, and more—despite the planes that occasionally roar overhead on their way to LaGuardia and rattle the crystal chandelier. Soon she’s planning a bachelor party for a less-than-gentlemanly groom. But it goes awry when the gigantic cake is wheeled in and a deadly surprise is revealed . . .

Since some of her family’s associates are on the shady side, the NYPD wastes no time in casting suspicion on Mia’s father. Now, Mia’s going to have to use all her street smarts to keep him out of Rikers Island . . .

My Review:

I didn’t connect the author’s name right away with Ellen Byron who wrote one of my happy favs last year regarding the Cajun/Bayou mystery Fatal Cajun Festival, but I recognized the author photo. Now here is Book 1 of a new series with another magnetic setting and premise–her father, former mafioso, is trying to go legit with a catering business. She will function as his event planner/sales/manager. The Belle View Banquet Manor is in Astoria (Queens in NYC) near La Guardia Airport. Window-rattling planes coming in for a perfect landing and, thankfully, this building has good bones and in spite of the planes, the land a good location.

The protagonist Messina (Mia) Carina returned from Florida after her no-good husband disappeared in a boating accident leaving her a widow…maybe or maybe not (? She was eventually cleared of being a suspect in his disappearance). Now Mia is sharing a two-family structure in a Queens neighborhood with her grandmother. Nonna lives in one unit with Hero, her dog, while Mia shares her quarters upstairs with the Abyssinian cat she named Doorstop. DOORSTOP?! Knew I was going to love this one right there! A cat named Doorstop. Now that’s funny, y’all. And that is an indication of the subtle shades of humor sprinkled through this delightful romp into the catering business backed by a “GodFather.”

The support characters are wildly unique, full of personality, and utterly engaging. Genuinely Italian, the author develops Nonna beautifully, right down to “hi…are you hungry?” Being a daughter of a (ex?) mob boss has definitely given Mia a persona she’d been happy to discard, but now finding it necessary to reassess. She is close friends with the son of another in the “Family,” and is startled to realize she might have more than friendly feelings for him but then discovers Jamie apparently has a girlfriend. Her brother, Posi, is cooling his heels in the slammer.

While Mia is coordinating her first event, the body found in the cake that was supposed to have been a stripper at the bachelor party wasn’t the stripper but definitely wouldn’t be jumping out of anything anymore. Unfortunately, she’d seen this woman before and there is an apparent connection to her dad, who swears he’s out of the business. His reputation precedes him, however, and the police are quick to jump–in his direction.

Mia, for the most part, seems to have her head on straight. She’s intelligent and handles her clients with a “deal they can’t refuse.” She manages to satisfy even the most outrageous requests. I really liked the characters of Jamie, Nonna, and her dad and the inclusion of the Mafia connections–handled delicately and respectfully. The police in charge of the investigation is not the best and brightest of the force, an old device in cozies and one of my few complaints.

The well-plotted mystery sped up heading into the conclusion and included a rather hair-raising climax although I must admit the final reveal set my head spinning. Still, overall this is a most entertaining debut for this series and I’m keen to continue as I can see there are endless possibilities where these characters might go.

I was given this digital ARC download in exchange for an honest review and greatly appreciated the opportunity to read. This is going to be a fun, engaging series with a compelling setting that I’m looking forward to continuing. Recommended to those who enjoy a good cozy mystery and, by the way, do you know what Cookie Cup Shot Glasses are? There is an amazing recipe for this most unusual cookie/liquor/liqueur/milk dessert at the back of the book.

Book Details:

Genre: Amateur Sleuth Mysteries, Cozy Culinary Mysteries
Publisher: Kensington Books

ISBN-10:1496725344
ISBN-13:978-1496725349

ASIN: B07R8WYLSC
Print Length: 304 pages
Publication Date: To be released February 25, 2020
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: Here Comes the Body

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Point Five of Five Stars

The Author: Maria DiRico (the pen name of award-winning author Ellen Byron) was born in Queens, New York, and raised in Queens and Westchester County. She is first-generation Italian-American on her mother’s side. On her father’s side, her grandfather was a low-level Jewish mobster who disappeared in 1933 under mysterious circumstances.

While growing up in Queens, Maria/Ellen’s cousin’s uncles ran the Astoria Manor and Grand Bay Marina catering halls. MARDI GRAS MURDER, the fourth book in Ellen Byron’s bestselling Cajun Country Mystery series, won the 2018 Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Novel. The series has also won multiple Best Humorous Mystery Lefty awards from Left Coast Crime. Fun fact: she worked as cater-waiter for Martha Stewart, a credit she never tires of sharing. Maria/Ellen loves to translate what she learned from Martha into recipes for her books.

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek: A Novel by Kim Michele Richardson – A #BookReview #historicalfiction

A book club of the month selection. But do I agree with their assessment?

Book Blurb:

The New York Times and USA Today bestseller!

“…a hauntingly atmospheric love letter to the first mobile library in Kentucky and the fierce, brave packhorse librarians who wove their way from shack to shack dispensing literacy, hope, and — just as importantly — a compassionate human connection.”—Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants

The hardscrabble folks of Troublesome Creek have to scrap for everything—everything except books, that is. Thanks to Roosevelt’s Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project, Troublesome’s got its very own traveling librarian, Cussy Mary Carter.

Cussy’s not only a book woman, however, she’s also the last of her kind, her skin a shade of blue unlike most anyone else. Not everyone is keen on Cussy’s family or the Library Project, and a Blue is often blamed for any whiff of trouble. If Cussy wants to bring the joy of books to the hill folks, she’s going to have to confront prejudice as old as the Appalachias and suspicion as deep as the holler.

Inspired by the true blue-skinned people of Kentucky and the brave and dedicated Kentucky Pack Horse library service of the 1930s, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is a story of raw courage, fierce strength, and one woman’s belief that books can carry us anywhere—even back home.

My Review:

In an effort to find a local book club that I could actually attend (preferably during daylight hours), I went back to the one that sets out a book of the month that everyone would read and then hold a discussion. The February read was The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson, released May of last year. The popular book club has met for twenty years.

This was a doozy of a book for my introduction to a live book group. I love it when I learn new things, and this a story in my own country and a state I know little about, except for riding through a portion of it in 2004. Add to boot, a historical fiction–and you know I love those–about the WPA project endorsed by Roosevelt during the depression. The Pack Horse Library Project delivered books to families in the remote areas of the Appalachians between 1935 and 1943, mostly by women. It was isolating and dangerous.

Closed off, desperately poor, with little hope for better times, the families welcomed even the normally shunned blue-skinned Pack House Librarian receiving books, magazines, and old newspapers that had been donated and brought to a central location there to be redistributed among those on her routes, sometimes covering as much as twenty miles. Cussy lived with her father, a miner, with black lung disease. There were many times, failing a family member who could read, she stayed to read to them.

A strongly patriarchal society, her father didn’t like her working, but beginning to fail himself and both of them starving, grudgingly allowed her the job. The book in first person tells the story of herself as well as those on her routes, desperate for any news and help. Those who could, contributed recipes or patterns, items that were added to scrapbooks divided into areas of interest–gardening, maintenance, quilting, etc. Mountain, home-grown remedies. These were extremely remote areas and winter only added to the burden.

So many issues in this book besides prejudice, illiteracy, backwoods justice, starvation, abuse, folklore, and illness. It’s a different culture steeped in tradition. The vernacular puts you on the mule behind Cussy as she winds through narrow canyon trails and heavily wooded landscapes to visit her patrons. There are politics and societal issues and the author deals with many of these through the experience of her own harsh childhood. Her prose strikes more than one cord, “…wailing for Henry and all the Henrys in these dark hollows who’d never be a common grown-up. Stuck forever as Peter Pans.”

“You tell a horse and ask a donkey.”

The conclusion comes rather abruptly after suffering some heartbreaking and brutal scenes, failing to explain a few threads, things I didn’t understand and would have loved an explanation. Extremely well researched, there are scenes drawn in a raw and descriptive manner and I can heartily recommend this unique, compelling novel.

There appears to be an interesting schedule on tap at this location into July and I will be returning in March to share Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan. If you’ve read that, I’d love a heads up on your view. In the meantime, I found another group just starting this month in my area, also an afternoon meeting and I’m currently reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Bet you haven’t read that one either! What have I gotten myself into? I’ll be reviewing that book on Thursday, February 27.

Book Details:

Genre: Southern Fiction, Small Town and Rural Fiction, US Historical Fiction
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
ISBN: 1492671525
ASIN: B07LGD67ZZ
Print Length: 322 pages
Publication Date: May 7, 2019
Source: Third Monday Book Club, Crown Point IN
Title Link: The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

Book Club Rating-Rosepoint Rating

The Author: Kim Michele Richardson lives in Kentucky and resides part-time in Western North Carolina. She has volunteered for Habitat for Humanity, building houses, and is an advocate for the prevention of child abuse and domestic violence, partnering with the U.S. Navy globally to bring awareness and education to the prevention of domestic violence. She is the author of the bestselling memoir The Unbreakable Child, and a book critic for the New York Journal of Books. Her novels include, Liar’s Bench, GodPretty in the Tobacco Field and The Sisters of Glass Ferry. Kim Michele currently finished her fourth novel, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek about the fierce and brave Kentucky Packhorse librarians. Coming Spring, 2019.

You can visit her websites and learn more at: http://www.kimmichelerichardson.com

Photo attributions: Picture backgrounds and open book Canva.com
Book Trailer: YouTube

The Lost Boys of London – A Bianca Goddard Mystery (Book 5) by Mary Lawrence – a #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

Rosepoint Publishing: Five of Five Stars

Book Blurb:

In the twilight years of Henry VIII’s reign, alchemist’s daughter Bianca Goddard uses her skills to aid the living, and help seek justice for the dead . . .

While her husband fights the Scots on behalf of King Henry VIII, Bianca Goddard earns her coin by concocting medicines that offer relief to London’s sick. Some unfortunates, however, are beyond any remedies she can provide—like the young boy discovered hanging from a church dripstone. Examining the body, Bianca finds a rosary twisted around the child’s neck. A week later, another boy is found dead at a different church. When Fisk, the impish little son of Bianca’s acquaintance, goes missing, she fears he may become the third victim .

There are many villains who would prey on wayward, penniless boys. But Bianca suspects the killings are not brutal acts of impulse, but something far more calculated. In her room of Medicinals and Physickes she examines the sole piece of evidence: a sweet-smelling, dark-stained cloth. If Bianca can unravel its secret, reputations and lives will be saved. But the expected hour of the next murder is approaching, and a single misstep may mean another boy is lost forever . . .

My Review:

When I received a request to read Book 5 of the Bianca Goddard Mystery Series, The Lost Boys of London, I jumped at the offer. Last year when I read Book 4, The Alchemist of Lost Souls, I knew I had a new go-to author. And this one certainly retains that high standard of Renaissance fascination with the waning days of King Henry VIII and the upheaval in the deeply dividing controversy of church and state.

The book drips with atmospheric description, turning the nose at the smells of the dark alleyways and watering the eyes. The reader is there in the Dim Dragon Inn, sharing a pint amid the boisterous crowd, the cacophony of ale infused men bidding attention from the barmaids with their swishing skirts and jostling tankard-laden trays. The author has the Tudor language down to a gnat’s eyeball. AYE! I’m responding in kind as the dialogue is so immersive in the period!

Bianca is a strong protagonist, existing by her wits and finding ways to keep herself together and continue her work while often wondering about her beloved, thirsting for news–any news–of the men at the front while the reader is sent to the inhospitable winter-time borderlands of Scotland where John Grunt, her husband, is also fighting to stay alive.

But it’s the deaths of young boys that have caught her attention, somehow tied to the churches, and the disappearance of young Fisk. Bianca had planned to employ young Fisk to help search for the plants she uses for her Medicinals. She sells her Medicinals and Physickes through Meddybemps, a street seller. But worry for Fisk has her ramping up her efforts to solve the mystery of the young boys and she continues her deftly investigation.

While the reader follows Bianca’s investigation, John’s precarious plight takes form. Bianca follows her clues and instincts to flush the antagonist in a heart-pounding climax drawing the reader to a soul-satisfying conclusion.

I received this beautiful book from the author in expectation of a review. These are my honest and independent thoughts. If you have interest in historical fiction, this book and series are a must read. You’ll be as enthralled as I. Totally recommended.

Book Details:

Genre: Medieval Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Women Sleuths
Publisher: Kensington Books

ISBN-10:1496715330
ISBN-13:978-1496715333
ASIN: B07TV1FMM7

Print Length: 336 pages
Publication Date: To be released April 28, 2020
Source: Direct Author Request
Title Link: The Lost Boys of London

Book will be available at:

Amazon
Amazon UK
Barnes and Noble

The Author: Mary Lawrence is the author of the Bianca Goddard Mysteries. Set in Tudor London in the final years of Henry VIII’s reign, Book I, THE ALCHEMIST’S DAUGHTER, released in April, 2015 and was named by Suspense Magazine a “best historical mystery” in 2015. Book 2, DEATH of an ALCHEMIST released in 2016 and Book 3, DEATH AT ST. VEDAST released in January, 2017. THE ALCHEMIST OF LOST SOULS (May 2020), won a second “Best Of 2019” by Suspense Magazine. THE LOST BOYS OF LONDON releases May 2020 from Kensington Books.

Mary grew up in Indiana and moved to Maine after completing a degree in cytotechnology. She has worked in hospitals and labs and written indexes for several small publishers. Recently she started a berry farm in southern Maine with her husband. She is an avid reader of historical fiction and nonfiction and concentrates on Tudor/Elizabethan history. Her articles have appeared in several publications most notably, The Daily Beast.

(From Goodreads Author’s Profile) The Bianca Goddard mysteries are meant to entertain and to engage readers who might not pick up period historicals as a first choice. The Tudor era is an intriguing period, full of superstition, and the makings for interesting characters. Believe me, my books have a lot more personality than this author profile.

Check me out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/marylawrence…
Twitter @mel59lawrence
Visit her at http://www.marylawrencebooks.com

Author’s Photos from Amazon and Goodreads

The Angel’s Trumpet: Nineteenth Century Historical Legal Thriller and Mystery (Portia of the Pacific Book 4) by James Musgrave – A #BookReview

An Historical Legal Thriller review by the CE.

Book Blurb:

An 1887 Handmaid Gets Her Revenge in This Superb Historical Legal Thriller and Mystery

Author Margaret Atwood creates a dystopian future in The Handmaid’s Tale. James Musgrave’s sexist dystopia is based on fact.

Attorney Clara Foltz’s California legal team is chosen by President Grover Cleveland to defend a mulatto suffragette who has assassinated his Supreme Court nominee, Justice Marshal Owens. When her client is found dead in the jail cell, the hunt begins for the killer.

“James Musgrave’s The Angel’s Trumpet is one of those rare historical mysteries that is both entirely plausible and yet truly original. A richly researched adventure into the complex social web of Gilded Age Washington, featuring deeply-realized and re-imagined luminaries including actress Sarah Bernhardt and President and Mrs. Cleveland, the novel is also surprisingly modern in its sensibilities, a compelling romp into an earlier era’s struggle with addiction and vice and secrecy and race relations, and, most of all, hidden sources of power. You will read this book in one sitting–and you will be very glad that you did. A meticulously-plotted gem from a master of the genre.” Jacob M. Appel, author of the Dundee International Book Award winner, The Man Who Wouldn’t Stand Up.

His Review:

Explore late 19^th Century life in our nation’s capital in this intriguing mystery. Grover Cleveland and his young wife are intricately involved in the plot. When a young woman stabs to death a Supreme Court nominee and waits to watch him die, the intrigue expands.

Clara Shortridge Foltz is chosen to defend the killer who is caught red-handed with her hand on the knife. Immediately the question of why comes to mind: Clara is described as a three-time loser in defending clients. Should be an open and shut case then, right?

Add in other historical figures from this time period including the Divine Ms. Sarah Bernhardt and Susan B. Anthony and the narrative becomes a political basketball.

Enjoy a ride through the Suffragette movement, the kidnapping of a President’s wife and a sinister plot to destroy evidence and the defendants, and you have a real page-turner. Washington, DC during this time period was certainly not a place you would want to live!

The characters are well developed and exhibit independence of character clearly missing in many women of that time period. They are looked down upon by most of the males in this book. Washington DC is described as a place where a negro needed to go if they wanted to succeed. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is declaring some legislation unconstitutional to reverse desegregation legislation during the post-civil war era.

The end product is a microcosm of the problems facing the population during that time period. Many of those problems still linger today but it is a pleasure to revisit that era and reinspect the issues.

We received this digital download from the publisher through NetGalley in anticipation of an honest review and these are my independent opinions. 5/5 stars CE Williams

Book Details:

Genre: Legal Thrillers, African American Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense, Assassination Thriller
Publisher: EMRE Publishing

ISBN-10:1943457395
ISBN-13:978-1943457397
ASIN: B07XGDB4KX

Print Length: 202 pages
Publication Date: January 1, 2020
Source: Local (Audiobook Selections) Library
Title Link: The Angel’s Trumpet
Find the Angel’s Trumpet at:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
IndieBound.org

Rosepoint Publishing: Five of Five Stars

The Author: James Musgrave was born in Fall River, Massachusetts. He taught as a Professor of English and worked as a Supervisor, Management Development at Caltech, Pasadena and at various San Diego colleges. He is now the author and publisher at EMRE Publishing, LLC in San Diego. He has won many writing awards, and his mysteries are “featured selections” by the American Library Association. He was also a Finalist in the Bram Stoker Awards, First Place Award for Best Historical Mystery in the Chanticleer International Book Awards, and a Finalist in the Heekin Fellowship.

Please contact the author at: jamesmusgrave2122@att.net
Sign-up for the Author’s Newsletter at: emrepublishing.com

Anne and Louis: Rulers and Lovers by Rozsa Gaston – a #BookReview

A review of #Renaissance Lovers Anne and Louis by the CE. Happy Valentines Day!

Book Blurb:

Anne and Louis: Rulers and Lovers is the stand-alone sequel to Anne and Louis, General Fiction Winner of the Publishers Weekly 2018 BookLife Prize.

The year is 1501. Europe’s fate rests in the hands of two monarchs at loggerheads.

Anne of Brittany meticulously orchestrates the perfect match for her only child by Louis XII, King of France. Her daughter will become the most powerful woman in Europe by marrying the future Holy Roman Emperor.

But when Louis abandons her wishes in favor of having their daughter marry his successor, Anne soon finds herself locked in a political struggle with the fate of Europe hanging between them. Things only get worse when Louis hatches a plan to conquer southern Italy.

Anne orders him to stay away from Italy, but Louis is determined to gain a foothold there for France. Joining Ferdinand of Spain in a secret pact to divide southern Italy between them, he plans to secure glory for France and expand his empire. But with rivals on all sides and allies he can’t trust, Louis discovers, with devastating results, that the age of chivalry is over.

As lovers, Anne and Louis are alive with passion. As rulers, they’re at each other’s throats. The future of Europe rests in their hands. Who will prevail?

His Review:

History buffs will love this tale. Ms. Gaston has brought to life a period in history with great sympathy. Follow Anna as she tries to keep Brittany free from French rule while being married to Louis the king. What a spunky and smart ruler she was! This historical drama is rife with intrigue and castle politics.

Add in Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain and you get a particularly spicy and turbulent dynamic. Ferdinand does not keep his word or treaties whenever he thinks he can get away with it. Marriage intrigue is also a pivotal part of inter-royalty life.

Miscarriages plague Anne and the attempt to provide a male heir to the French throne is heartbreaking. Her daughter loves her step-father Louis but is betrothed at a very young age to a scoundrel. I was amazed at the way Anne tried to get her daughter to learn the fine art of manipulating men. Most men get no preparatory training in the art of manipulating the fairer sex!

Political intrigue throughout the kingdom is a never-ending struggle. It makes me wonder how anyone survived those turbulent times. Historically accurate fiction well written, easily envisioned, and engrossing. Book 3 of the series but can easily be read as an immersive standalone. My hat is off to Rozsa, she did an exemplary job on this book.

We received this digital download from the publisher through NetGalley and appreciated the opportunity to read and review. Totally recommended! 5/5 Stars CE Williams

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Italian Fiction, Historical French Fiction, Saga Fiction
Publisher: Renaissance Editions

ISBN-10:1732589941
ISBN-13:978-1732589940
ASIN: B07XQC3P33

Print Length: 336 pages
Publication Date: December 12, 2019
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: Anne and Louis: Rulers and Lovers (Anne of Brittany Series Book 3)

Rosepoint Publishing: Five of Five Stars

The Author: ROZSA GASTON writes playful books on serious matters, including the struggles women face to get what they want out of life.

She is the author of Anne and Charles (Book 1 of the Anne of Brittany Series), Anne and Louis (Book 2), Anne and Louis: Rulers and Lovers (Book 3), Sense of Touch, Paris Adieu, Black is Not a Color, Budapest Romance, Running from Love, and Dog Sitters.

Gaston studied European history at Yale and received her Master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia. She worked at Institutional Investor magazine, then as a columnist for The Westchester Guardian.

She is currently working on her fourth and final book in the Anne of Brittany Series. She lives in Bronxville, New York, with her family.

Gaston can be found online on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rozsagastonauthor, or at her website, http://www.rozsagaston.com. Her motto? Stay playful.

Bitter Alpine: An Emma Lord Mystery (Emma Lord Returns Book 2) by Mary Daheim #BlogTour #BookReview #Giveaway

Welcome to my book review stop on the blog tour for Bitter Alpine by Mary Daheim for the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour. Scroll down to enter your chance to win the Giveaway!

Bitter Alpine - A Emma Lord Returns Mystery by Mary Daheim

Book Details

Bitter Alpine: An Emma Lord Mystery (Emma Lord Returns)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Alibi (October 15, 2019)
~Approximately 300 Pages
ASIN: B01LZU2W7N

Book Blurb

After a relatively calm and cozy holiday season, neither Emma Lord, editor and publisher of The Alpine Advocate, nor her husband, Sheriff Milo Dodge, are surprised when their new year gets off to a rocky start. A woman’s body has been found in a squalid motel. Her driver’s license shows that Dawn Purvis was in her late thirties and lived in Weaverville, California—and the only connection between that town and Alpine is their gold-mining and logging origins. When they discover that Dawn’s room reservation was open-ended, Emma, Milo, and the ever-inquisitive Advocate receptionist, Alison Lindahl, are more than mildly curious. And never mind that the youthful Alison is a bit distracted by the new county extension agent’s virile good looks. She can still sleuth while she stalks her newest crush.

But that’s not all the news that’s unfit to print. There’s something strange about the older couple who have moved into the cabin down the road that was once owned by a murder victim. The elderly wife seems anti-social. There’s got to be a reason, which Emma, Milo, and Alison intend to find out—even if it puts them in deadly danger.’

My Review

Newlywed Emma and her local sheriff hubby, Milo Dodge are in their 50s, settling down to married life.

Emma has succumbed to the stereotypical housewife persona, albeit somewhat 1950s style, and seems to have become comfortable with their unusual lifestyle. As sheriff, he is often called out and spends long hours on the job; she as owner and editor of the local weekly Alpine Advocate operates on a thin budget with a few employees who handle different aspects of the news. Vida, a long time employee who handles the House and Home section along with the Scene notes she is ready for retirement, forcing a slight reshuffling of staff. Mitch handles reporting assignments.

Milo is called out to the apparent murder of a woman at the motel on the fringe of town and sets off the investigation leading to some red herrings which will definitely throw you off track in this cold, heavily snow-laden mountain community. As editor of the local newspaper, of course, it’s in her interest to get the news. Support characters and their lives provide ample distraction.

More character-driven than cozy, with the backstories presented in the novel, this one would still work well as a standalone. I received the digital download by the publisher through NetGalley for this book tour and appreciate the opportunity to read.

Giveaway

Sign up for your chance to win one of three (3) Digital Copy (Kindle or Nook) – Bitter Alpine: An Emma Lord Mystery (Emma Lord Returns) by Mary Daheim in this Rafflecopter giveaway

About The Author:

Mary Daheim is the author of the Alpine mystery series. A Seattle native with a degree in communication from the University of Washington, she realized at an early age that getting a book published might elude her for years, so she began her writing career working on daily newspapers. The mother of three daughters, she lives in a century-old house in her hometown.

Author Website – https://www.marydaheimauthor.com/

Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Kobo

Thank you for visiting my stop on the tour and please visit the other stops listed below!

Tour Participants:

February 3 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW

February 3 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT

February 4 – Diane Reviews Books – SPOTLIGHT

February 4 – Christa Reads and Writes – SPOTLIGHT

February 5 – The Power of Words – REVIEW

February 6 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT

February 6 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

February 7 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

February 7 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

February 8 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

February 9 – This Is My Truth Now – SPOTLIGHT

February 9 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

February 10 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – SPOTLIGHT

February 10 – Reading Authors Network – SPOTLIGHT

February 11 – Rosepoint Publishing – REVIEW

February 11 – Gimme The Scoop Reviews – REVIEW

February 12 – The Book Decoder – SPOTLIGHT

February 12 – Readeropolis – SPOTLIGHT

February 13 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW

February 13 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

February 14 – Cassidy’s Bookshelves – REVIEW

February 14 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

Thanks to Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this cozy mystery!

In the Shadow of the Hanging Tree by Michael McLellan – a #BookReview

A Review by the CE of this gripping and powerfully written historical novel.

Book Blurb:

Born into slavery, Henry’s young life is spent working in tobacco drying sheds on Missouri plantations. Freed at the onset of the Civil War, he’s alone, starving, and on the run from Confederate militiamen.

Five years later, Clara Hanfield, the daughter of a powerful New York shipping magnate, escapes her tyrannical father and travels west in pursuit of John Elliot, the man she loves. John, a U.S. Army lieutenant, was sent to the Dakota Territory where he discovers a government conspiracy to incite an all-out war with the Indians; a war meant to finally eliminate them as an obstacle to the westward expansion.

Henry finds himself caught in the middle.

Aided by Clara, John, and his native ally, Standing Elk, Henry must battle hatred, greed, and the ghosts of his past during this turbulent and troubling time in American history.

His Review:

Being awarded your freedom papers did not make you free! Marauders often caught young freed slaves, destroyed their papers and sold them back into slavery. The culprits were depraved and vicious in the treatment of the liberated.

Henry is born into slavery but given his freedom by his former master. He is not illiterate and some of his crimes include being able to read and write. His childhood sweetheart is attempting to escape with him but is caught and ultimately killed by the marauders. Heartbroken, Henry continues to head north in an attempt to escape their net.

The Native Americans of the Dakota territories are portrayed much more humane and sympathetic than the post Civil War population of middle America. Henry’s life is saved by these people and ultimately learns their language and ways of life. He becomes a scout for the US Army because of his ability to liaison and speak many languages.

Clara Hanfield and John Elliot, are a young couple in love trying to create a life together in the wild west. He has been shipped off, however, by Clara’s father from the military academy at West Point to Fort Laramie. Money and power have always separated lovers as well as the classes. Clara’s father is despotic and determined that his daughter not continue a relationship with John and seeks to destroy the relationship. Her father tries to send her to Pennsylvania. She convinces her escort instead to take her to out west to find John.

Eventually, all paths cross and John takes a sympathetic tack for the Indians he has comes to respect. Henry is intelligent and educated and is immensely empathetic. The storyline is immersive, capturing the emotions and ramping up the tension to the heartrending and poignant conclusion.

We received this beautiful book from the author with the expectation of a review and these are my own opinions. I would read another by this author and this one is highly recommended. 5/5 Stars CE Williams

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Fiction, African Historical Fiction, War and Military Action Historical Fiction

ISBN-10:1096423510
ISBN-13:978-1096423515
ASIN: B07RB7RHJW

Print Length: 269 pages
Publication Date: April 29, 2019
Source: Direct Author Request
Title Link: In the Shadow of the Hanging Tree

Rosepoint Publishing: Five of Five Stars

The Author: Michael‘s love of books began with Beverly Cleary’s The Mouse and the Motorcycle when he was seven-years-old. Later influenced by the works of John Steinbeck, Harper Lee, Stephen King, James Baldwin, and Cormac McCarthy, Michael developed his style of storytelling. A self-proclaimed blue-collar writer, he draws on his experiences and observations to bring relevant and compelling topics to life.

Michael lives in Northern California and when he’s not writing, he can usually be found wandering around the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges.

His body of work includes the 2014 novel After and Again, the 2015 novel American Flowers, and the 2017 novel, In the Shadow of the Hanging Tree, as well as various shorts and essays.