Day: October 20, 2010

Guest Review: The Secret of the Glass by Donna Russo Morin

Posted October 20, 2010 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 1 Comment

At the dawn of the 17th Century, the glassmakers of Murano are revered as master artisans, enjoying privileges far beyond their station, but they are forced to live in virtual imprisonment, contained by the greedy Venetian government who fears other countries will learn the intricacies of the craft…and reap the rewards.

Sophia Fiolario, the comely daughter of a glass making maestro, has no desire for marriage, finding her serenity in the love of her family and the beauty of the glass. She learns of its secrets at her father’s side, where a woman is forbidden to be. The life Sophia loves is threatened by the poor health of her father and the determined attentions of a nobleman who could and would never love her but seeks to possess her wealth and the privilege it affords. Thrust into the opulent world of the Venetian court, Sophia becomes embroiled in the scheming machinations of the courtiers’ lives. The beauty of Venice, the magnificence of the Doge’s Palace, are rivaled only by the intrigue and danger that festers behind their splendid facades. As she searches for an escape, she finds the arms of another, a man whose own desperate situation is yet another obstacle in their path.

Amidst political and religious intrigue, the scientific furor ignited by Galileo, and even murder, Sophia must do anything to protect herself, her family…and the secret of the glass.

This is a major, full-length historical novel, set in 17th century Venice, when the Italian Renaissance was in full bloom. It was the world of the painter, the sculptor, the fresco, the artisan of note. Italian glass was world-known and desired all over Europe and the farther reaches of civilzation, and while the glass artisans were often wealthy beyond belief, they were still thought of as the merchant class, not the highest escelon of Venetian society. The politics of Italy was robust, often dirty, and certainly mixed up heavily with the influence of the Papacy and the increasing struggle of “the masses” to obtain political voice. The ruling classes fought hard to retain power; the artisans fought hard to gain power, and the workers just simply wanted to be given some say in their futures. Social traditions and norms were iron-clad, and the place of women was largely decorative. Young women were still very much social chattal, given and received in loveless marriages in order to gain wealth or enhance a family’s social standing.

We now meet Sophia Fiolario, the main character in the story, daughter of a wealthy glass blower and now being betrothed to the oldest son of one of Venice’s oldest families. That the match was approved by the Doge (leader of the ruling council) and looked upon socially as a great coup for the Fiolario family, had little to do with Sophia’s response to this development in her life. Her fiance was older, didn’t want to marry but wanted her dad’s money. He fulfilled his social obligations in squiring her to important events and introducing her as his fiance. Beyond that he put her aside like a boring book. He had been very frank in telling her that following her dad’s death and their marriage, he was sending her to another town, forcing her to live alone for the rest of her life, and putting her mother and two sisters in a convent, thus relieving him of the obligation to find husbands for them or provide them with dowries. Nice guy. This would leave him free and financially able to pursue his political and scientific goals.

But Sophia’s heart is engaged by another of the council members, a man without many prospects and who had no way of bringing about the breaking of the betrothal contract. He wants her and she wants him, but their future together is almost non-existent and virtually impossible to imagine. He is her friend and companion in plotting her escape from Venice, not only for herself but for her mother and sisters. Perhaps there is hope . . .

 

Sophia has another problem: she is a glass blower. Having had no sons, her father had seen her love of the glass, been teaching her the craft for many years, and as she became more skilled, realized that she could pick up the “slack” as he was becoming ill and a skilled master glass blower was needed to fulfill the commissions that were the life blood of the family finances. Not only did she do the normal sorts of commissions, but her father’s glass works was given the task of creating Galileo’s first telescope–The Glass. Sophia knew what was needed and was a critical person in creating it.

This novel is alive with history. In fact, there were times when I got somewhat overwhelmed with the historical and political dialogue and felt it was just too much. Yet any student of history knows that Galileo, first applauded for his discoveries and his razor-sharp mind, was arrested because he dared to proclaim that the earth was not the center of the Universe. He was forced to retract many of his scientific proclamations, was eventually allowed to return to his villa outside Florence, and his work was acclaimed and affirmed in the 20th century. There are other important historical figures in this novel who swarm around the love story that is at its core: the love between Sophia and Teodoro. There are surprises and the ending is completely unexpected in many ways.

I love historical novels, and this would have been one that I would have assigned to my high school world history students in the past. They couldn’t have learned about this period in Italian history any better. (Historical fiction can often be the best way to learn history.) But I felt at times that the history and the politics overshadowed the love story almost to the point that it got lost for me. I learned a lot and I enjoyed discovering aspects of this historical era that were new for me. Even Sophia’s involvement with The Glass got lost at times. For some this will not be a negative. For me, as a lover of historical romance, I just felt there was not a good balance. That is not to detract from the excellent writing and research that went into the creation of this work. It is quite mind-boggling in many ways. But I grew a bit weary looking for the next phase in Sophia’s personal story as I waded through the meetings of the council and the political machinations of the various factions in Venetian government.

In the end, their is much to like here. It really depends on one’s personal likes and dislikes. This book is written so well. The love story and the social context in which it takes place is fascinating in so many ways. If you like history, and I really mean–like history–you will like and appreciate this book. It will be a bit heavy for some.

I give this book a rating of 3.25 out of 5.

You can read more from Judith at Dr. J’s Book Place.

This book is available from Kensington Books. You can buy it here or here in e-format.


Tagged: , , , , , , ,

A Special Online Event for Debbie Macomber!

Posted October 20, 2010 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

How awesome is this? We got this from Harlequin and thought it would be something worthwhile to share with all of our readers. Check it out:

To help celebrate the release of Call Me Mrs. Miracle and to celebrate Debbie Macomber’s birthday, Harlequin will be hosting a special online event this Friday, October 22, 2010 at 3pm EST.

All you need to do to participate is register over at: www.MeetDebbieMacomber.com and you’ll be good to go.

During this event, Debbie will be talking about her latest book and answering fan questions. Other highlights include book giveaways as well as links to the Cedar Cove website, the iPod application page and Debbie’s Facebook page.

This sounds like it’s going to be an amazing event so you’re not going to want to miss this! Go forth and register now!

This book is available from Mira. You can pre-order it here or here in e-format.


Tagged: , , , , ,

Book Watch: Sweet Valley Confidential 10 Years Later by Francine Pascal.

Posted October 20, 2010 by Rowena in Promotions | 5 Comments

People magazine unveiled the cover of one of my most anticipated books, Sweet Valley Confidential by Francine Pascal. Woo freaking hoo, something more for me to get excited about, yay!

Check it out:

Not too shabby, methinks!

If you want to check out the article People magazine did on the book, check it out here. Don’t forget this book will be available on March 29, 2011.

..and that’s your scoop!

Pre-order the book: B&N|Borders|Amazon|The Book Depository

Book cover credit: People Magazine


Tagged: , , ,

Guest Review: Ten Ways To Be Adored When Landing A Lord by Sarah MacLean

Posted October 20, 2010 by Tracy in Reviews | 10 Comments

Guest Review: Ten Ways To Be Adored When Landing A Lord by Sarah MacLeanReviewer: Tracy
Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord (Love By Numbers, #2) by Sarah MacLean
Series: Love By Numbers #2
Also in this series: Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord (Love By Numbers, #2), Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart (Love By Numbers, #3), Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart (Love By Numbers, #3), Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake (Love By Numbers, #1), Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart (Love By Numbers, #3)
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: October 26, 2010
Point-of-View: Third
Genres: Historical Romance
Pages: 384
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

“Lord Nicholas is a paragon of manhood. And his eyes, Dear Reader! So blue!” Pearls & Pelisses, June 1823

Since being named on of London’s “Lords to Land” by a popular ladies’ magazine, Nicholas St. John has been relentlessly pursued by every matrimony-minded female in the ton. So when an opportunity to escape fashionable society presents itself, he eagerly jumps—only to land in the path of the most determined, damnably delicious woman he’s ever met!

The daughter of a titled wastrel, Lady Isabel Townsend has too many secrets and too little money. Though used to taking care of herself quite handily, her father’s recent passing has left Isabel at sea and in need of outside help to protect her young brother’s birthright. The sinfully handsome, eminently eligible Lord Nicholas could be the very salvation she seeks.

But the lady must be wary and not do anything reckless… like falling madly, passionately in love.

When Nicholas St. John gets named as one of THE Lords to Land in a woman’s magazine he is not happy. The last thing he wants are simpering maidens who giggle behind their fans coming after him. And they seem to be getting mighty forward! When he is approached by an acquaintance who requests his assistance in finding his missing sister, he’s all for it. Anything to get him out of London. His tracking (which he learned in the Crimean war) finds him Yorkshire and he ends up finding her in a most unexpected way.

Lady Isabel is the daughter of an Earl but really, how happy are you to be that daughter when your father has been dubbed the Wastrearl? Not very. Her father not only left her and her dying mother alone and in financial straits, but also her brother, the heir to the Earldom. Now her father is dead and though she’s been taking care of herself for many years things have reached an extreme. You see, Isabel not only takes care of herself and her brother, but a house filled with women who are secretly staying there. They are runaways from abusive husbands or fathers, etc. and though they all work to keep the house in good working order they still rely, ultimately, on Isabel.

At a chance meeting in town, Isabel asks Nicholas to appraise some marble statues that are her only, yet extremely prized, possessions. She needs them priced and sold as soon as possible so that she can find new lodgings for her girls as well as have enough money for her brother to attend school. What she didn’t need was to have Nicholas taking up all of her thoughts and attention but that’s exactly what happens.

I have to say that I very much admired and liked Isabel in this book. She was strong and resourceful – even though she really was quite terrified on a regular basis that she wouldn’t be able to handle it all. Her parents were not ever kind, nor supportive people and she’d been holding her life as well as the many others in her house together for years. She was just a gutsy woman – especially for the time period.

Nicholas, as well as his friend Rock and Isabel’s cousin Lara were great characters as well. I have to say, and I’ll get bombed for this I just know it, but I truly didn’t care for the women who lived at the house that Isabel had saved (except for Georgiana, I really liked her). I admired their support of Isabel I just found them pushy and a bit controlling. IDK, they didn’t sit well with me.

Though I liked most of the characters in the book the story itself just came across as unremarkable to me. While parts of the romance were very sweet it was pretty slow in places and I found myself putting it down quite a few times. I just didn’t feel that the book had that je ne sais quoi that a truly wonderful romance novel has for me.

So while it was a good book it wasn’t great for me. I think I’m in the minority here in my feelings but some books have a better fit for some than others. I still absolutely plan on reading Juliana’s story as she’s got such an attitude and I just love the parts of Nine Rules and Ten Ways that she was in.

Rating: 3.25 out of 5.

Love By Numbers

three-stars


Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Guest Review: Hard to Hold by Julie Leto

Posted October 20, 2010 by Ames in Reviews | 1 Comment

Ames‘ review of Hard to Hold by Julie Leto.

New York lobbyist Michael Davoli feels like he’s been sucker punched when he meets Anne Miller at a Jeff Tweedy concert. And it doesn’t take long for him to realize that he’s fallen hard when they wind up living in the same Albany apartment building. After all, Anne’s hot, his dog likes her, and she can pick a lock faster than Sydney Bristow can disarm a nuke.

Always fiercely independent, Anne’s crackerjack reporting skills and keen intellect are no match for the chemical reaction she has to this man with electric blue eyes. But while he effortlessly holds her with his gaze, he withholds the embrace she longs for. Why is he so distant? Has Anne misread his signals? Yet there is no doubt that she’s under his skin and he’s in too deep when Mike confesses he has a neurological disorder that has shadowed him since childhood, and although he’s mastered the physical tics so others don’t notice, he may never be able to hold her in his arms at night for fear of the bruises he could inflict.

Anne isn’t about to let anything like Tourette’s syndrome keep her from the man of her dreams. But Mike has a second secret. Will this secret be the one that even a grand passion cannot survive?

I will be the first to admit it, I was uninterested in reading a romance novel based on a real romance. I was kind of adamant about it, in my mind anyway. And then…and then I saw the cover for this book (hot hot hot!) and it made me interested enough to read the blurb. And I caved just like that.

This book is one of three in the True Vows Series. Reality-based romance – kind of funny that I wasn’t interested and yet I love hearing from my friends how they met their significant other. I’m so contradictory.

But enough about me. I enjoyed Hard to Hold. The story of Michael and Anne was interesting. Michael is an education lobbyist and Anne is a crime reporter. Anne has high standards when it comes to guys (something I agree with) and Michael hasn’t seriously dated anyone since his last relationship. I thought how Anne and Michael met – over and over – was cute. Anne’s friend Shane introduces them at a concert and although Michael is interested in Anne, he can feel his medication wearing off and he leaves, making Anne wonder if she imagined the spark of chemistry between the two of them. Then a few weeks later, they run into each other when Michael is moving into Anne’s apartment building. Again, Michael doesn’t make a move and Anne realizes she needs to take matters into her own hands. Which she does – and Michael finally gets the hint. They start dating and both of them are struck by how good things are going. Michael is at first afraid but Anne doesn’t let him get away with brooding over his feelings and these two mature adults communicate. And that’s what made their story very refreshing – these are two adults who TALK to each other. So although they did have some obstacles, especially Anne’s job and boss, these two realize they have a solid foundation and work together to make things work.

Hard to Hold wasn’t perfect though. I enjoyed the story, but some aspects of the writing was a bit repetitive. I don’t really notice things like that in books, so you know it had to be a bit much for me to notice it. Also, some editing mistakes. And a common one – heal vs. heel. You tell a dog to heel, not heal. Dogs aren’t doctors.

Other than those editing issues, I enjoyed Hard to Hold. I’m definitely interested in reading the other two titles, Icing on the Cake (Alison Kent) and Meet Me in Manhattan (Judith Arnold).

A solid 4 out of 5.

This book is available from HCI. You can buy it here.


Tagged: , , , , ,