Making Waves by Tawna Fenske

Sep 012011

Making Waves by Tawna Fenske
Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks

They were married within five minutes of meeting. Or, at least, they pretended to be married, in order to win a newlywed game and split the prize money. Alex and Juli are on St. Johns for two very different reasons: Juli to scatter her uncle’s ashes, Alex to play pirate and raid his ex-boss’s ship with a gang of fellow former employees. Although their paths really shouldn’t keep crossing, they do, to sexy and hilarious results.

I am not a habitual reader of romance, so I’m a bit hard-pressed (I’m sure Fenske would find this phrase hilarious) to give Making Waves the review it deserves. There were some things that absolutely made me roll my eyes, like Juli’s ultra-convenient shocking secret, but I have no idea how accepted this sort of thing is in the realm of romance, particularly Fenske’s subgenre of humorous romance. After giving it some thought, I decided that this was meant to be a fun, somewhat escapist read, and so I wouldn’t let those sorts of coincidences bother me, whatever the genre conventions.

And really, fun and escapist describes Making Waves perfectly. After following Fenke for the last year on The Debutante Ball and occasionally on her personal blog Don’t Pet Me, I’m Writing, I was pretty confident that Making Waves would be hilarious and a little bit dirty, and it lived up to my expectations 100%. This is an enjoyable frolic with a fun, flirty romance, great for reliving your memories of the warm summer sun this fall.

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Vlad: The Last Confession by C.C. Humphreys – Book Review

Jun 032011

Vlad: The Last Confession by C.C. Humphreys
Published by Sourcebooks Landmark, an imprint of Sourcebooks

Five years after the death of Vlad Dracula, the Turks are encroaching more and more on Christian lands. If only the Order of the Dragon had not been discredited when Vlad was, it could still serve as a tool of Crusade for Christendom. In an effort to rehabilitate both Vlad and the Order of the Dragon, the three people who best knew him have been brought to one of his former castles to make confession on his behalf, telling Vlad’s story from his captivity with the Turks through the height of his power and cruelty, on to the time of his discrediting.

Vlad: The Last Confessions is the certainly the story of the ‘real’ Dracula, but more than that, it is a story of how history is written and warped to fit the needs of the victors:

The listeners had been fashioning their own Vlad, according to their needs. For Petru it was simple. he wanted the man who built the castle he commanded to be a hero; more, a Wallachian hero. He had heard of a time of justice, order, strength in his land. Of the smiting of Christ’s foes. He wanted that time again.-p. 69

At one time it was expedient for both the Turks and Hungarians to paint Vlad as a monster, but Vlad: The Last Confession posits a time when it may have been necessary for other European Christians to try to clear his name. The truth will never exonerate Vlad entirely, he was by no means a benevolent ruler, but it does shed a light on his motivations, which may have been more complex than cruelty for cruelty’s sake.

So laughed, the sound harsh. “So I have become a tale to amuse fat burghers over their suppers, and to hush their children with terror when they will not sleep,” He lifted his goblet, drank, set it down. “All I did, all the measures I took for Wallachia, against thieves and traitors and Infidels, come to this.” He jabbed a finger at the pamphlet. “Me, reduced to a blood-sucking monster.” -p. 327

The device of telling Vlad’s story through those who knew him best worked very well. In practice it meant that most of Vlad’s story could be told as a seamless narrative. The impression is that all three confidants are telling the story in an integrated fashion, picking up where another left off, coming back to the scene in the castle only when exposition is needed. Some of the scenes of war and violence got a bit old after awhile, but it would have been difficult to avoid them, as they were a very significant part of Vlad’s life.

Overall, Vlad: The Last Confession was an interesting and engaging look at the life of Vlad Dracula and how history is shaped by political needs. Recommended.

For a more in-depth discussion of the book and Humphreys’s inspiration for it, please check out my interview with him on my podcast, What’s Old is New.

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Source: Publisher, for an episode of What’s Old is New.
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Sins of the House of Borgia by Sarah Bower – Book Review

Mar 182011

Sins of the House of Borgia by Sarah Bower
Published by Sourcebooks Landmark, an imprint of Sourcebooks

1492 was not a good time to be Jewish in Spain. Esther’s father and brothers left ahead of Esther and her mother in order to set up a life for them in Rome, but eventually King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella formally expelled all Jews from Spain, and Esther and her mother were force to flee to Rome as well. It was a hard journey, and Esther’s mother died along the way, leaving Esther’s voyage in the hands of friends and neighbors. If all of that weren’t bad enough, after Esther’s arrival, her father decides that she will convert to Christianity and become a lady in waiting to Lucrezia Borgia, in order to further ingratiate Esther’s father the moneylender to Pope Alexander VI, nee Rodrigo Borgia. For one or another, Esther becomes very close to Lucrezia – and in some ways even closer to Lecrezia’s infamous brother Cesare, who bestows upon Esther the nickname Violante.

It is a pretty common historical narrative that the Borgia’s brought back the decadence of ancient Rome and added a health dose of poison, that their bed and spouse hopping made the Henry VIII’s marital history look puritanical by comparison. Even so, some of Esther’s early experiences with the Borgias seem to be almost tawdry for tawdry’s sake. Perhaps this is an accurate description of his parties, but it seemed to me that a bit more could have been left to the imagination. Partly because of the graphic nature of some of the early Borgia scenes, Sins of the House of Borgia got off to a slow and rocky start for me. While it eventually engaged me and the pace picked up, I never stopped having an issues with Esther’s intense fascination with and lust for Cesare Borgia. At their very first meeting he embarrassed and degraded her, and never showed any particular preference for her, other than writing her letters seemingly designed to lead her on. Esther was generally a very smart young woman, I found it difficult to believe that she was so incredibly stupid about a man so famously inconstant and syphilitic.

I’m still very interested in books about the Borgias, particularly some set in the years before Rodrigo’s ascension or in the early years of his Papacy, instead of nearing the end of their power as Sins of the House of Borgia was. Someone please write or recommend me a book with a good scene about the battle between Cesare and Catherina Sforza! Sins of the House of Boriga may interest those who like historical fiction that adheres to the tropes of the romance genre better than I do.

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Source: Publisher.
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The Queen of Last Hopes by Susan Higginbotham – Book Review

Jan 122011

The Queen of Last Hopes by Susan Higginbotham
Published by Sourcebooks

Along with another French-born woman, Isabella the She-Wolf of France, Margaret of Anjou is probably one of the most hated queens of English history. Frequently referred to as the ‘French bitch’ in practically every War of the Roses book I have ever read, she is finally getting the chance to tell her own side of the story in Susan Higginbotham’s “The Queen of Last Hopes.” Quite a story it is, too, having to defend her mad husband’s throne and her son’s birthright against usurping royal cousins.

Higginbotham has certainly matured in her prose since her first book, “The Traitor’s Wife.” I think that her plotting has improved as well, “The Queen of Last Hopes” kept a good pace over the entire 320 odd pages. I will also say for Higginbotham, that she does a fabulous job presenting her subject in a realistic and sympathetic manner. I have always hated Margaret of Anjou as she appears in works of historical fiction, but Higginbotham made me examine the circumstances surrounding her infamy, which were really very sympathetic. Most of the War of the Roses fiction lately has a decidedly Yorkist slant to it and starts with or after the deaths on the battlefield of Edward IV’s father and older brother, which tends to elicit sympathy for Edward’s cause, but going back farther to examine the events leading up to the war has given me some pause in my own Yorkist leanings. Although, if you’re interested, I’m still not really pro-Lancaster because their reign started with the murder of another anointed ruler. I am not a scholar, though, these are just my personal thoughts.

Of course, any book that makes someone reexamine considered beliefs is, in some senses at least, a good one, but that doesn’t mean it is necessarily unequivocally good. The greatest strength of “The Queen of Last Hopes” was the fully fleshed out character of Margaret, which is why it was so disappointing to see Higginbotham weakening the book by letting other characters narrate from time to time. Over the course of the book, four different men, including Henry VI and their son, Edward, were given chapters to narrate. Some of them received but one, some of them narrated multiple chapters. Unfortunately, this was not done with any particularly great style. Perhaps if their chapters had been at more regular intervals and of more regular lengths, and if the transitions from man to man had been done in a way to add to instead of detract from the book’s structure, it could have worked. As it was, however, I found the men’s chapters to be at best a distraction from Margaret, who was truly at the heart of the book. At worst, they were lazy storytelling, taking chapters where it was simply most convenient to impart events which Margaret did not witness firsthand.

Overall I mostly enjoyed the book and would recommend it to those looking to experience this familiar story from a Lancastrian point of view, but I am disappointed that it was not as strong as it could have been.

Buy this book from:
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Amazon.*

Source: Publisher.
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The Passionate Brood by Margaret Campbell Barnes – Book Review

Nov 052010

The Passionate Brood: A Novel of Richard the Lionheart and the Man Who Became Robin Hood by Margaret Campbell Barnes
Published by Sourcebooks

After Henry VIII, Richard I, otherwise known as Richard Coeur de Lion or Richard the Lionheart, is probably one of England’s best known kings. Perhaps this notoriety derives from his snappy nickname and his association with the Crusades, but I would argue that a large part as well comes from his reign being the background of the legend of Robin Hood. In “The Passionate Brood,” Campbell Barnes combines historical fiction of Richard’s life – from before the death of his older brother and father until his own death – with the the Robin Hood legend. In this version, Robin is the son of Hodierna, the Plantagenet nursemaid, and Richard’s own best friend and foster brother until he regretfully declines to join Richard on his crusade and is outlawed by the passionate king.

“You got legend in my historical fiction!”
“You got historical fiction in my legend!”
Two great genres, better together!

Sorry, that’s out of my system now.

Anyway, I really enjoyed how Barnes worked the legend of Robin Hood realistically into Richard’s reign. It all made sense and flowed completely naturally from both Richard and Robin’s characters. I think the historical legend/fantasy is always that which is well-integrated into solid history.

That being said, i was slightly disappointed to find that Robin was really just a supporting character to Richard’s story in “The Passionate Brood.” Considering that the second half of the subtitle is “…and the Man Who Became Robin Hood” I really expected to see more of Robin’s story once the two men part ways, perhaps cut between Richard on his crusade and Robin adjusting to life as an outlaw. Instead, “The Passionate Brood” dealt more with how the memory of Robin’s character and the guilt over the mens’ estrangement worked on Richard psyche, which was still very interesting, just different than I expected.

Well written an interesting, I can definitely recommend Margaret Campbell Barnes’ “The Passionate Brood.”

Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

This review was done with a book received from the publisher.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

The Princeling by Cynthia Harrod Eagles – Book Review

Sep 272010

The Princeling by Cynthia Harrod Eagles
Published by Sourcebooks

Third in the Morland Dynasty series, I have previously reviewed the first two books. This review contains no major spoilers for the previous two books.

Set against the backdrop of Elizabeth I’s reign, this could alternately be titled: The one in which I lose interest in the Morland Dynasty series.

Don’t get me wrong, “The Princeling” is no mid-series slump (and, frankly, it is not even mid-series, there are at least 30 of the Morland Dynasty books). Harrod Eagles still does a fabulous job walking the line of getting across what is happening in England at the time these particular Morlands are living and not making it seem that she has forced them into every single event in English history. The events in which they do take part happen naturally and absolutely work as a consistent story. Even what I know she glosses over works for me, because it is simply not what was concerning the Morlands at that time.

Additionally, it is nothing short of amazing how many characters Harrod Eagles can help the reader keep track of, without sounding condescending about it. I very rarely had to stop and ask myself, “now who was that?” A major feat indeed, with so many generations passed since the events of “The Founding” and Eleanor’s descendants so spread out. Clearly she is a very skilled storyteller and does epic history very well indeed.

However, I find that the farther removed I get from Eleanor, the less I personally care about any of her progeny. In “The Dark Rose,” I attached myself to Nannette as my main character of interest but, although she reappears in this book, she is seen a great deal less. It seems as if the story is more fractured in general, paying more attention to more different characters with less of a single, sympathetic protagonist to give anchor to the book. On one hand, this technique broadens the amount of England’s story at this given time that can be told by this one family, but on the other it left me without much of a connection to the book, although that was a purely personal response and may not be shared by others reading this series.

I was also quite put off by the suggestion that one of the boys and his mother had a (never acted upon) love that went beyond that of mother and child. Here is a passage regarding the two of them from page 18, when he would have been a young boy:

“It is John,” Elizabeth exclaimed, and got up and went to the window. She looked down and her face coloured as she waved to the person below, smiling with a tenderness that would not have looked strange on the face of a lover.

This, along with a Morland girl deeply in love with the husband who made her his with rape and whom she great fears, coming so close on the heels of the creepily passionate uncle to half-niece love from “The Dark Rose” really just turned me off. Yes, they are relatively minor parts of the book, but they really stuck with and bothered me. Enough that, in addition to my relatively lack of interest in the characters has probably decreed that this is my last Morland Dynasty book.

Even though I wasn’t completely enamored of this iteration, I would still absolutely recommend that fans of British historical fiction check out this series. Since it is simply the story of a family, you can really start or stop from anywhere, although there is some continuity of the story from book to book, but you aren’t emotionally manipulated by cliffhangers to continue if you do happen to lose interest as I did.

Buy this book from:
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A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

What Alice Knew by Paula Marantz Cohen – Book Review

Sep 062010

What Alice Knew by Paula Marantz Cohen
Published by Sourcebooks

The year is 1888 and London is being terrorized by Jack the Ripper. For now only prostitutes are being targeted, but the citizenry is worried that the fiend may branch out. Scotland Yard is at a loss, so they decide to call in William James, the American professor of philosophy and the emerging field of psychology. It is James’ understanding of psychology that they hope will help them find the culprit. William just happens to be the older brother of novelist Henry James who, together with their younger invalid sister Alice, join in the hunt with William. William is the expert in psychology and works with the police, Henry does reconnaissance in Society, and Alice is the driving force between the siblings’ investigation.

This would be a fun book to pick up around Halloween, an interesting look at some of history’s most gruesome unsolved murders. I enjoy the interplay between academic and literary figures and the history that takes place around them, even if they were not involved with it – as long as it seems reasonable. Cohen definitely made the James siblings’ interest in and investigation of the Jack the Ripper murders seem at least plausible. I also appreciated how masterfully Cohen gave each of the siblings a strong and individual voice.

Well written, interesting historical fiction, especially if you enjoy whodunit theories of historical memory, as I do.

Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

The Dark Rose by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles – Book Review

Jul 122010

The Dark Rose by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

“The Dark Rose” is the second in Cynthia Harrod-Eagles’ ‘Morland Dynasty’ series. I have previously reviewed the first book, “The Founding.” Because the books deal with successive generations of the same family, they largely stand on their own and do not really contain any significant spoilers for one another.

In “The Dark Rose,” Paul Morland – founder Eleanor’s great-grandson – has become the head of the Morland dynasty. England has had a bit of a change of leadership as well; the house of York, with whom the Morlands were long allied, has fallen and it is the Tudors who now rule. Just as the Tudors are now dealing with contenders to the throne, Paul is dealing with different factions competing for his affection and a place as a member of his family. Between his wife and children and his mistress and illegitimate son, as well as his half-siblings who he believes to be illegitimate, things are quite messy in the Morland household.

Okay, so “The Dark Rose” isn’t actually as melodramatic as I made it sound, but Paul does act a bit brooding in much of the first half of the book. In fact, he was so brooding as to be somewhat obnoxious, and gave me a bit of difficulty in getting into the book initially. As Paul grew up a bit more and started to act it, though, I slipped into the book more easily. Things got even easier when Nanette, Paul’s niece, became a major character. She was much easier to identify with, and her life was also a bit more interesting, as for some time she was living at court with Anne Boleyn during Anne’s meteoric rise and fall. Harrod-Eagles changed a few pieces of history for no reason that I could discern, however, and that drew me out of the story a few times. For instance, she had Elizabeth Boleyn, mother of Anne and Mary, dying when the girls were young. That is not true, and it seemed to serve no purpose other than annoy me any time it was mentioned. Then there was the whole thing with the uncle and niece falling in love. I’ve more or less made my peace with the creepiness of the cousins constantly marrying one another (and in EVERY generation…), but the uncle to half-niece was just ick. They seemed like true love and all, but my brain just kept going ‘ick, ick, ick, ick, ick.”

Overall, I did very much enjoy “The Dark Rose,” although perhaps not quite as much as “The Founding.” I liked it enough that I’m excited for “The Princeling,” the next book in the Morland dynasty series.

Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

This review was done with a book received from Danielle at Sourcebooks.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

The Founding by Cynthia Harrod Eagles – Book Review

Apr 212010

The Founding by Cynthia Harrod Eagles

Eleanor is an orphan, but she’s a gentlewoman, the ward of Lord Beaufort and companion to his wife. With no dowry, she doesn’t really expect to ever marry. Edward Morland, however, sees an advantage in Eleanor. Morland is no more than a wealthy sheep farmer, but his son Richard is somewhat educated and he wants to bring social cache into their family to mix with their riches and create a powerful family dynasty. Although Eleanor was chosen for her connections and the fact that her lack of dowry makes her attainable for a sheep farmer, but Edward could not have chosen a better bride for his son. Not only is Eleanor very fertile, bringing numerous healthy children into the family, but she is also incredibly strong-willed and savvy. It is her influence, more than anything else, that continues to catapult the family’s fortunes during the tumult of England during the War of the Roses.

The Morland Dynasty series is one I’ve been hearing about for years now, so I was quite excited about reading “The Founding,” which is the first book in the series. I was also a bit hesitant, however. What is my expectations were too high? At 500+ pages that would be a lot of disappointment. Luckily, “The Founding” absolutely lived up to the hype for me. From what I know about this series, it is set against hundreds of years of English history. I enjoy these sorts of books, but sometimes it seems that they simply try too hard to insinuate the main characters into every monumental event covered. I did not find that to be the case with “The Founding,” the events seemed to occur naturally, although when the characters did not experience the events first hand they occasionally had to engage in some slightly unnatural expositions.

I’m really not sure whether or not to be happy about discovering the Morland Dynasty series. On one hand, great new way to experience English history; on the other hand, huge series of big fat novels when I already have more I want to read than I could ever get to.

The Morland Dynasty series could be very hazardous to your TBR piles, but if you’re up to the challenge and a fan of English historical fiction then I would certainly recommend this series, I will definitely be reading more.

Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

Within The Hollow Crown by Margaret Campbell Barnes – Book Review

Apr 162010

Within The Hollow Crown by Margaret Campbell Barnes

Richard II was the son of the great warrior Edward, The Black Prince and the grandson of King Edward III. When The Black Prince, heir to the throne of England, predeceased the King, his young son was suddenly the heir apparent. Historically, child kings have always caused a measure of unrest, and this held true when Richard ascended to the throne at the tender age of 10 years old. One might think that having four strong uncles would help hold the throne for Richard in his youth, but when the uncles see a boy-king as a chance to consolidate their own power and perhaps even take the crown for themselves one day, they can be exceedingly dangerous. Indeed, there is open animosity between Richard and his youngest uncle, Gloucester. For instance, when Richard successfully put down the Peasant’s revolt at the age of 14, his uncle Gloucester reversed the good he had down by ordering executions where Richard had promised amnesty.

I really enjoy Margaret Campbell Barnes’ take on the history of England in general. However, I didn’t find “Within The Hollow Crown” to be quite as good as some of her other work. One thing in particular that really bothered me were her transitions, which were occasionally jarring from one chapter to another, things simply didn’t seem to flow, and I felt that at the beginning of each chapter I really had to pay extra attention to figure out how much time had elapsed since the end of the previous chapter. I was so excited to read about Richard II, since I have never encountered any fiction about him, but I just didn’t find myself terribly invested in him.

I definitely recommend the historical fiction of Margaret Campbell Barnes and am really pleased that Sourcebooks is reissuing them so they can be more easily found in the U.S., but I don’t think I would recommend you start with “Within The Hollow Crown,” I think she has better books – although certainly one of Margaret Campbell Barnes’ lesser books is still better written than much historical fiction.

Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

This review was done with a book received from Danielle at Sourcebooks.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

Devourer of Books

Making Waves by Tawna Fenske

Vlad: The Last Confession by C.C. Humphreys – Book Review

Sins of the House of Borgia by Sarah Bower – Book Review

The Queen of Last Hopes by Susan Higginbotham – Book Review

The Passionate Brood by Margaret Campbell Barnes – Book Review

The Princeling by Cynthia Harrod Eagles – Book Review

What Alice Knew by Paula Marantz Cohen – Book Review

The Dark Rose by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles – Book Review

The Founding by Cynthia Harrod Eagles – Book Review

Within The Hollow Crown by Margaret Campbell Barnes – Book Review

This review was done with a book received from Danielle at Sourcebooks.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

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