The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe

Title: The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane

Author: Katherine Howe

Publisher: Voice 2009

Genre: Historical fiction (well, sort of)

Pages: 384

Rating:   5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Historical Fiction; A to Z – P; Mount TBR; Semi Charmed Challenge – Place I’ve Always Wanted to Visit (Salem, Massachusetts)

How I Got It: I own it!

A spellbinding, beautifully written novel that moves between contemporary times and one of the most fascinating and disturbing periods in American history-the Salem witch trials.

Harvard graduate student Connie Goodwin needs to spend her summer doing research for her doctoral dissertation. But when her mother asks her to handle the sale of Connie’s grandmother’s abandoned home near Salem, she can’t refuse. As she is drawn deeper into the mysteries of the family house, Connie discovers an ancient key within a seventeenth-century Bible. The key contains a yellowing fragment of parchment with a name written upon it: Deliverance Dane. This discovery launches Connie on a quest–to find out who this woman was and to unearth a rare artifact of singular power: a physick book, its pages a secret repository for lost knowledge.

As the pieces of Deliverance’s harrowing story begin to fall into place, Connie is haunted by visions of the long-ago witch trials, and she begins to fear that she is more tied to Salem’s dark past then she could have ever imagined.

Written with astonishing conviction and grace, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane travels seamlessly between the witch trials of the 1690s and a modern woman’s story of mystery, intrigue, and revelation.

Beautifully written story across the years.  I love it when an author competently bridges decade gaps to create a cohesive storyline.  Some of my favorite parts were the interludes set in the 1690s and 1700s.  Howe manages to create believable worlds, characters, and grounded settings.  The detail that she put into the descriptions of the houses and clothing was very remarkable.

I loved the characters and connected immediately with Connie.  She may be a bit too serious and a bit too much a loner, but she feels like me in another life.  I loved how Connie took the logical steps in solving the mystery of the key.  I could see myself following in her footsteps, moving from clue to clue, realizations dawning.  The mystery wasn’t hard to guess, but the book was written in such a way that I kept reading, not caring that I knew the ending.

After speeding through the book, I read Howe’s notes at the back.  They made my love of the book make sense.  Howe is a historian specializing in New England and Colonial America.  She based Prudence Bartlett on Martha Ballard — famous midwife of the early American period.  I’ve read her journals.  Now I see why I felt those parts were familiar.  Howe based Deliverance’s grimoire on the Key of Solomon.  I never read it, but read of it.  I think How’s attention to detail and historical basis resonated in the historian and academic in me.  They made me love the novel even more.

 

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Title: The Shadow of the Wind

Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Publisher: Penguin 2005

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 487

Rating:   5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Historical Fiction; Mount TBR; My Years

How I Got It: I own it

“A secret’s worth depends on the people from whom it must be kept,” begins Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s astounding novel of postwar Barcelona. But more than four years after its initial paperback publication, the secret is out—the novel remains a favorite of booksellers and readers alike.

Gorgeous…  That’s the word that kept coming to mind as I was reading.  Gorgeous.  The writing is gorgeous.  The characters are gorgeous.  The setting and descriptions are gorgeous.  The storyline is gorgeous.  The reader is treated to a gorgeous novel that sucks you in within the first few pages.  I took days to read this novel because I kept wanting to reread beautiful written paragraphs.  I savored the language (translated from the original Spanish).  It has a lyrical quality.  I wanted to read the paragraphs out loud and often did to anyone within earshot. 

The story itself presents a fairly simple mystery that grows as the novel progresses.  We meet new characters.  We discover things about known characters.  We run the gamut of emotions with Daniel on his journey.  The Barcelona of the book is a wondrously dangerous place and I want to visit.  I want to join Daniel on his quest to find Julian Carax.  I want to listen Clara play piano badly.  I want to have  a meal with Fermin.  I want to help all escape Inspector Fumero’s grasp.  But above all, I want to visit the Cemetary of Forgotten Books.

 

Palace Circle by Rebecca Dean

Title: Palace Circle

Author: Rebecca Dean

Publisher:  Broadway 2009

Genre:  Historical Fiction

Pages: 425

Rating:  3  / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Historical Fiction; What’s in a Name — House; Mount TBR

How I Got It: I own it!

Delia Chandler, an eighteen-year-old Southern girl, marries Viscount Ivor Conisborough just before World War II, becoming part of the Windsor court. It’s every girl’s dream come true. But Delia is jolted from her pleasant life when she realizes, after the birth of her two daughters, that Ivor chose her only to bear an heir to his estate. Shortly thereafter, she begins an affair with her husband’s handsome, titled, and frequently scandalous best friend.

When Conisborough is appointed as an adviser to King Fuad of Egypt, Delia exchanges one palace circle for another, far different one. While she sees Egypt as a place of exile, her two daughters regard Egypt as their home. Only when war comes to Cairo—and Delia finally reveals the secret she has kept for so long—can she begin to heal the divisions separating her from those she loves.

Based off of the summary, this is Delia’s story.  But upon reading the book, it’s not just Delia’s story.  The book jumps narration partway through.  We get sections narrated by Delia’s daughter Petra, her daughter Davina, family friend Jack, and even a new aquaintance Darius.  These switches created a very disjointed feel to the book.  As soon as I got used to a voice, it switched.  I was a bit disconcerted.  My other issue with this book was that it seemed like a five book series smashed into one book.  I would have happily explored each part for  300-400 pages.  Instead we go from 1910s to 1940s.  Too much material in too short of pages.

All of this is not to say I hated the book.  I actually liked the characters.  I liked the mix of fiction and historical events.  I liked Dean’s style of writing.  I just really wanted more.  More pages, more depth, more focus on big events.  Just more.  I will read more of Dean…  Hopefully her other books won’t have the same problems.

 

An Affair without End by Candace Camp

Title: An Affair without End  (Willowmere #3)

Author: Candace Camp

Publisher: Pocket Star 2011

Genre: Historical Romance

Pages: 416

Rating:  4 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Romance; Mount TBR

When Oliver, Earl of Stewkesbury, asks the dashing Lady Vivian Carlyle to ensure that his American cousins meet the cream of London society, he doesn’t anticipate the danger she will pose to his own self-control. Thrown into intimate contact with the lovely lady, Oliver finds he cannot stop thinking of Vivian—of her wit, of her smile . . . of her lips. And when Vivian, who has sworn never to subject herself to the bonds of matrimony, boldly suggests that she and Oliver become lovers instead, her scandalous proposal is temptation indeed! But with an alarming series of jewel thefts rocking London, the ever-outrageous Vivian insists on trying to discover the perpetrator despite Oliver’s admonitions. And when a bold lady steps into danger, it is a gentleman’s duty to protect her at all costs. What neither Oliver nor Vivian can anticipate, however, is that the ultimate cost may be both their hearts. . .

Fluffiety fluff romances…. Oh how I love thee!!  You are a distraction from the drudgery of life.  You lift me up when I’m feeling blue. You give me an escape.  You cleanse  my palette in between deeper more complex books.  I love you.

The end of the Willowmere trilogy did not disappoint.  We finally get around to Vivian and Oliver’s story.  I knew it was coming (these books aren’t hard to predict).  I was glad when we finally got  a women who was feisty, independent, and definitely knew what she wanted.  It was great fun to see her shake up the stodgy Lord Stewkesbury.  Fun fun!  This author is going on my list of fun reads and the books are going into my upcoming birthday month giveaway (coming March 1st).

 

A Gentleman Always Remembers by Candace Camp

Title: A Gentleman Always Remembers (Willowmere #2)

Author: Candace Camp

Publisher: Pocket Star 2010

Genre: Historical Romance

Pages: 356

Rating:  4 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Romance; Read Your Name – G;  Mount TBR

New York Times bestselling author Candace Camp’s delectable Willowmere series continues with the story of the accomplished and pretty widow who takes on the American Bascombe sisters for their London debut—only to discover that, when it comes to love, she is the one who is unprepared.  Married young to a charming but improvident army officer, Eve Hawthorne was widowed with little left except for a few extravagant trifles. Desperate to avoid her domineering stepmother, she accepts employment as chaperone to the Earl of Stewkesbury’s American cousins. Who better than a levelheaded widow to remind these young girls that they no longer live on a frontier? But when she flirts with a handsome stranger who turns out to be the earl’s brother Fitz, Eve worries she’s given the wrong impression. Trying to prove herself responsible—with Fitz challenging her at every turn—is hard enough, but a blackmailer with an interest in Eve’s prior marriage proves far more troubling. With the earl away, Eve can turn only to Fitz for help. But dare she confide in him, when getting too close to this confirmed bachelor might risk her heart to his alluring ways?

 

Another wonderfully fluffy romance…  I am really coming to like these in between my heavier and gorier books.  Overall I liked this one better than the first in the series.  Eve was a much more likable character.  Plus we got some new characters (French ballonist!) and more of Camellia and Lily.  I didn’t quite speed through this one, but it definitely held my attention while reading.  I have the conclusion of the trilogy and I’m pretty sure I’ll be reading that next.

 

 

A Lady Never Tells by Candace Camp

Title: A Lady Never Tells (Willowmere #1)

Author: Candace Camp

Publisher: Pocket Star 2010

Genre: Historical Romance

Pages: 480

Rating: 5  / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Romance; A to Z – L; Mount TBR

When Mary Bascombe’s stepfather tries to sell her and her sisters to  the highest bidder after their mother’s death, she resolves to take  drastic action. Although their British mother was estranged from her family, Mary decides the four will flee to London and take their place in society as granddaughters of the Earl of Stewkesbury.  Dashing Sir Royce Winslow doubts the honesty of the young women’s claim—despite their charms, they seem to be hiding something. His attraction to feisty Mary, however, is no ruse, so when the sisters are shipped off to Willowmere, the earl’s country estate, to acquire some polish, Royce is quick to join them. When an unknown villain attempts a kidnapping, Royce and Mary are thrown together as they confront the danger . . . and Royce learns that while high society may sing the praises of proper behavior, it is a most improper American who is winning his heart.

Sometimes I just love light and fluffy romances…  and this is just the perfect one!  The characters are fun and interesting.  The mystery is enough of a mystery to make an adventure out of the plot.  The romance is romantic.  This book has everything I want in an in-between read.  You know, the book you read inbetween two very heavy or deep books.  This acts as a palate cleanser, an escape, before I dive into something deeper.  I love that little escape.  This was a great one day read.  I have the other two in the series, but I’m going to save them for another inbetween read.

 

2012 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

From Historical Tapestry:

After 3 years organizing the Historical Fiction Challenge, the girls of The Royal Reviewsgracefully passed over this exciting event to our team at Historical Tapestry last year and we are very excited that the challenge is going to be returning in 2012!  During 2011 there were hundreds of books read by the participants and we hope that we continue to create a wonderful place to share and discuss our favourite (and maybe not quite so favourite) historical fiction books for the next year.

Each month, a new post dedicated to the HF Challenge will be created. To participate, you only have to follow the rules:

• everyone can participate, even those who don’t have a blog (you can add your book title and thoughts in the comment section if you wish)

• add the link(s) of your review(s) including your name and book title to the Mister Linky we’ll be adding to our monthly post (please, do not add your blog link, but the correct address that will guide us directly to your review)

• any kind of historical fiction is accepted (HF fantasy, HF young adult,…)

• During these following 12 months you can choose one of the different reading levels:

1. Severe Bookaholism: 20 books
2. Undoubtedly Obsessed: 15 books
3. Struggling the Addiction: 10 books
4. Daring & Curious: 5 books
5. Out of My Comfort Zone: 2 books 

The challenge will run from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2012. 

I do like historical fiction books.  Guess I had to add another challenge. This year, I am going for the Struggling the Addiction level of 10 books.

1. The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott — Kelly O’Connor McNees (2010)
2. Palace Circle — Rebecca Dean (2009)
3. The Firemaster’s Mistress — Christie Dickason (2008)
4. The Birth of Venus — Sarah Dunant (2004)
5. Burning Bright — Tracy Chevalier (2007)
6. Remarkable Creatures — Tracy Chevalier (2010)
7. Lost in Austen — Emma Campbell Webster  (2007)
8. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane — Katherine Howe (2009)
9. Cotillion — Georgette Heyer
10. The Rossetti Letter — Christi Phillips (2008)

 

2012 Outlander Reading Challenge

From Literary Escapism:

I am a huge fan of Diana Gabaldon’s OUTLANDER series and I keep hearing how people want to read this series, but never do.  Sadly, I haven’t read any of the Outlander novels since A Breath of Snow and Ashes came out in 2005.  The seventh novel, An Echo in the Bone, has already been out for a year and the eighth novel, Written in My Heart’s Own Blood, will be coming out soon (although not soon enough).  So I’m thinking I really need to get reacquainted with Jamie, Claire and all the other wonderful characters in the Outlander novels by starting from the beginning. I’m also thinking this is the perfect time for all everyone who keeps saying they want to read it, to finally picking them up.  Plus, for those who have read Outlander, but haven’t picked up the Lord John novels – yea, I’m including those too.  *grin*

So for 2012, I’m hosting the Outlander Reading Challenge.  Here are the details:

1. The challenge will run from January 1st through December 31st.
2. The goal is to read all 7 Outlander novels as well as all 4 Lord John novels, listed below, or as many as you can or want to do.
3. Once a month, we’ll get together and chat about where and what we’ve read (more details about this to come).
4. After reading one of the novels, write your review and then come back to the main challenge page and add your link to Mr. Linky.  Make sure you include your name and which title you’ve read.

I tried to complete the Outlander series last year failed miserably.  I didn’t even read one.  So, I thought I would challenge myself yet again.  Hope this year goes better!  I’m only setting a goal of the first 5 novels.

1. Outlander (1991)
2. Dragonfly in Amber (1992)
3. Voyager (1994)
4. Drums of Autumn (1997)
5. The Fiery Cross (2001)

 

The Queen’s Dollmaker by Christine Trent

Title: The Queen’s Dollmaker

Author: Christine Trent

Publisher: Kensintong 2010

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 384

Rating:   3 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Historical Fiction; A to Z: Title Q

How I Got It: Library lend

On the brink of revolution, with a tide of hate turned against the decadent royal court, France is in turmoil – as is the life of one young woman forced to leave her beloved Paris. After a fire destroys her home and family, Claudette Laurent is struggling to survive in London. But one precious gift remains: her talent for creating exquisite dolls that Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France herself, cherishes. When the Queen requests a meeting, Claudette seizes the opportunity to promote her business, and to return home…Amid the violence and unrest, Claudette befriends the Queen, who bears no resemblance to the figurehead rapidly becoming the scapegoat of the Revolution. But when Claudette herself is lured into a web of deadly political intrigue, it becomes clear that friendship with France’s most despised woman has grim consequences. Now, overshadowed by the spectre of Madame Guillotine, the Queen’s dollmaker will face the ultimate test.

I started reading this book with high hopes.  I loved the premise, the characters were interesting, and I really like historical fiction.  Yet, most of this fell flat.  I loved the main character; Claudette was a real women with hopes, dreams, and insecurities.  Beatrice was tiresome, but her daughter was wonderful.  All the other side characters in Claudette’s life were interesting and intriguing.  I even liked the interactions between Claudette and Marie Antoinette.  The setting was unique.  I haven’t read a historical fiction novel set on the Eve of Revolution in France. I was really liking the story.  The part I disliked: the switches in point of view and voice to Marie Antoinette.  I felt like the author was trying to educate us mere mortals about the Revolution by following Marie Antoinette’s story also.  It felt very cluttered and unnecessary.  I don’t think the readers needed a history lesson that detailed.  So what?  We could have understood Claudette’s story and even how her story interacts with Marie Antoinette’s without the switches.  I kept having to reorient myself to various characters.  For that reason, I gave the book 3 stars.  I liked the main storyline and characters, just not the point of view changes.

 

The Russian Concubine by Kate Furnivall

Title: The Russian Concubine

Author: Kate Furnivall

Publisher: Berkley Trade 2007

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 517

Rating:   5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Historical Fiction; 2011 – Will Power? What Will Power?

How I Got It: I own it!

A sweeping novel set in war-torn 1928 China, with a star-crossed love story at its center.

In a city full of thieves and Communists, danger and death, spirited young Lydia Ivanova has lived a hard life. Always looking over her shoulder, the sixteen-year-old must steal to feed herself and her mother, Valentina, who numbered among the Russian elite until Bolsheviks murdered most of them, including her husband. As exiles, Lydia and Valentina have learned to survive in a foreign land.

Often, Lydia steals away to meet with the handsome young freedom fighter Chang An Lo. But they face danger: Chiang Kai Shek’s troops are headed toward Junchow to kill Reds like Chang, who has in his possession the jewels of a tsarina, meant as a gift for the despot’s wife. The young pair’s all-consuming love can only bring shame and peril upon them, from both sides. Those in power will do anything to quell it. But Lydia and Chang are powerless to end it.

To say that this is a love story is selling the book short.  It is so much more than a love story.  The story takes place in a  short amount of time but includes so many actions and events it seems so long.  Rereading that sentence, it seems like I felt the novel was long and drawn out, but it was just the opposite.  The action flew through the storyline.  I love the fierce nature of Lydia, the determination of Chang, and the mystery and intrigue surrounding the other characters.  The characters made the story.  I loved all the twists and turns.  A beautiful epic novel.  And it’s the first novel in a trilogy.  I am dying to read the second and third.  I want to find out what happens to Lydia, Alexei, Liev, and Chang.  I can’t wait!