Unflappable by Suzie Gilbert

"I have just demonstrated one of the many advantages of being a big woman," she said, loosening her grip. "Would you like me to let you up?"
"No thanks. I like it down here."
"You're lying in a pool of wine." 
"It's called marinating." 

~p. 113

When author Suzie Gilbert sent out a promo email about her first novel, I remembered her name and her nonfiction book about bird rehabilitation, Flyaway (link leads to my review), even though it's been literally a decade since I read it. I loved Flyaway that much. So, I was very excited to find out the author has written a novel with a character who is a wildlife rehabilitator. I wrote back to tell Suzie how much I still remember loving Flyaway and wish her luck on her new release. She asked if I'd like a copy of the new book, Unflappable, and I enthusiastically replied that I would. So, full disclosure, the author sent me my copy of Unflappable. I almost never accept books directly from authors because I'm honest about books, no matter where they come from, and in my nearly 14 years of blogging, a few feelings have been hurt (not my intent, of course). But, I'll make an occasional exception.

In Unflappable, Luna is a bird rehabilitator who decides to leave her billionaire husband, who is really not a very nice man nor a person whose businesses have been good for the environment. In order to try to lure her back, he has a bald eagle named Mars stolen. Mars was snatched from a nest and raised by an individual (illegally, I presume) so he can't be released into the wild. Luna is fond of the eagle and even wears a silver bead with one of his feathers around her neck. When she steals back the eagle her husband has had stolen, Luna knows he has the money and connections to track her down. So, she goes on a road trip using her network of wildlife rehab friends as an underground railroad of sorts. She plans to take the eagle where nobody can interfere with him.

A socially awkward guy named Ned has been told he needs to do community service by the IT company he works for and he coincidentally shows up when Luna is in desperate need of help stealing an eagle and escaping. In his classic car, they head out of Florida. But, Ned's car is a little too obvious. He'll need to pass Luna off to someone else and head home so they can't be tracked. In a comedy of errors, Luna and Ned find themselves having to constantly update their plans while a friend who rehabs cougars and keeps armadillos in his house has fun scaring Adam, the billionaire, soon-too-be-ex.

Meanwhile, it's not just Adam that Luna and Ned must evade. A Fish and Wildlife agent, the police, and Adam's henchmen are all trying to track down Luna. Most of these people don't really care about the eagle (although the story serves to delineate people who are driven by strict legal guidelines versus those who only have the needs of the animals in mind) so the concept of the road trip to get the bird safely to Canada and then reunited with its bonded partner is maybe a bit far-fetched but that doesn't matter. The ending is ultimately satisfying and the fun is in the chase, capture, escape, chase rollercoaster ride. There's plenty of action for those who love a plot-driven book.

Highly recommended - What a ridiculously fun read: part road trip, part escape thriller, part romance with a theme about the importance of caring for all life, even the individual animal that's been hit by a car or knocked itself out on a window. I loved the author's sense of humor and I particularly liked the character Warren. You have to read the book to appreciate him; he's a fun character. There was only one thing I disliked about Unflappable, and it was mostly down to an editing problem. Occasionally, there would be a flashback but it was not separated from normal text by italics or some other method to show the change of timeline, although the clue was usually a lack of quotation marks in remembered dialogue. No matter how many times that device was used it always, always threw me and I'd find myself rereading to try to figure out what was going on. It was annoying but not a big deal.

There was also a huge cast and you had to keep getting to know new characters but, again, that was a shift that happened now and then because of the lengthy road trip and, ultimately, I grew to enjoy meeting the various rehabbers as they were introduced. So, while it presented a challenge to the memory (as when a character at the beginning is suddenly brought back and you struggle to sort through all those characters to remember him or her) it was not a big deal. And, it certainly gives the reader an interesting peek into the variety of wildlife rehabilitating specialties.


Fiona Friday will be moved to Saturday because I thought it was important to review Unflappable, ASAP. I meant to get to it in May. My apologies to the author for the delay and many thanks for the review copy!

©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Sanditon by Jane Austen and Kate Riordan

The original Sanditon (not the one shown above) was an unfinished novel by Jane Austen. Only about 60 pages of text were written by Austen before she died and it has since been completed by at least one other author. This is a specific version that I'm reviewing, a tie-in with the mini-series starring the woman on the cover. The version of Sanditon completed by Kate Riordan is actually a novelization of that TV adaptation, which was originally aired on ITV and is currently showing on America's PBS.

Sanditon is the story of Charlotte Heywood, a country girl whose family gets to know Tom and Mary Parker when Tom is injured while passing through their rural village and the Heywoods help him out. Charlotte comes from a very large family with loads of small children. I actually missed this part of the first episode of Sanditon, the mini series, but it can't have lasted long. I think I came in about 10 minutes late, certainly not much more. When the Parkers invite Charlotte to come stay with them in Sanditon, a beach village that Parker is building into a resort he hopes will become a thriving tourist destination, Charlotte's excited to go someplace new.

Charlotte is a bit naïve and outspoken so while she is heartily welcomed by the family, she almost immediately falls afoul of Tom Parker's brother Sidney's opinion. Sidney is hard to pin down. He's clearly involved in the building of Sanditon but not as directly as Tom. His job, as the story opens, is to bring some of his friends down from London in the hopes that they'll fall in love with Sanditon, talk about it, encourage more people to come, and make it successful with a little introductory word-of-mouth. Charlotte is fascinated by architecture and always enjoys whatever time she can fit in with Young Stringer, the foreman at the worksite but she spars with Sidney Parker. Occasionally, something will happen to soften Sidney's opinion of Charlotte but then she'll say or do something to offend him again and they'll bristle in each other's company.

There is an older woman, Lady Denham, who has invested money in the business and she has an entire storyline of her own. She is wealthy and has taken in a distant relative named Clara as her ward. She also has a niece and nephew, Esther and Edward Denham, who live in Sanditon. All three are devious creatures who only care about her money and she knows it. She acquired her wealth by marriage and is rude to all, generous to no one, but gleefully willing to get involved in finding wealthy spouses, at least for the niece and nephew, who are only related to each other by marriage and have a weird, possibly incestuous (but not, since they're not technically related) relationship.

There is also a young Jamaican heiress, Georgiana, whose story is interwoven with Charlotte's as they become friends. Lady Denham wants nephew Edward to try to marry Giorgiana because she's so fabulously wealthy. But, Georgiana already has a boyfriend and he is the reason her guardian, Sidney Parker, has removed her from London to Sanditon.

So, you have a sort-of, potential love triangle with Charlotte, Sidney, and Young Stringer. Then there's a mystery about what will happen between the young Georgiana and the boyfriend that Sidney is so determined for her to avoid that he's practically got her locked up with a hired woman. And, there are the three greedy relatives of Lady Denham who are constantly saying nasty things to each other while trying to weasel their way into Lady Denham's affections. Esther has a potential suitor who is a Lord. But, she only has eyes for her brother. Will Charlotte find love with wealthy Sidney or decide Young Stringer could make her a happy home? What will happen to Georgiana when Charlotte gets involved in her romance and Georgiana disappears? When Lady Denham falls ill, will she finally choose to pass on her inheritance to one of her relatives?

Recommended - There are lots of very entertaining scenes and I love the way things keep happening in Sanditon, especially what Charlotte inadvertently does to help bring in tourists. But I didn't like the sheer number of nasty people in the story or the ending of Sanditon because it felt very un-Jane-like to me; and, there were times I wrinkled my nose during certain scenes. Would Jane have a character say/do this? Well, it's not Jane's after the first 60 pages or so and I had to remind myself of that. But, I do think Kate Riordan's writing is excellent. I got totally swept up in the story and enjoyed it enough to give it 4/5, in spite of an ending I disliked. I'm glad I read it. The story is very different from most of what we know of Jane.

While watching the mini series and reading people's opinions, I've found I'm seeing the same words used repeatedly: "too modern". The modernness (compared to Austen's other works) didn't bother me a bit. It is definitely not as much about manners and social interaction as it is about commerce and money — Tom finding enough money to pay his workers so the resort can be finished and turn a profit, Lady Denham's fierce way of dangling her own money but refusing to share with anyone, a young black heiress whose money is so important that most people don't even act like they're aware she's black at all (but those who do are rip-roaring racists). It's about a new type of lifestyle and whether or not it will work. Romance, flirtation, social interaction, manners . . . they're all there but in a different way than Jane fans are accustomed to. The men are enterprising and not all apparently wealthy in the traditional landowner style. Times are changing and they have the ability to pursue money instead of having to accept their lot. It's really quite fascinating and I wish Jane had lived long enough to flesh this one out. But, I enjoyed the novelization by Kate Riordan enough that I'll be looking to see what else she's written.

The World of Sanditon by Sara Sheridan is a bonus book that Grand Central sent along with Sanditon. Nobody told me I was obligated to review it but I really enjoyed it and want to talk about it! Subtitled, "The secrets, romance and history behind Jane Austen's final story," it is not strictly a "making of" book but does relate the history of the Regency time period in which Sanditon is set directly to the story, sometimes quoting the script, sometimes examining some item (like bathing machines) that is used in the book and series, often relating the setting as a whole and the background of what was happening to how it played out in the story.

There are 2-page spreads with brief interviews of the actors, photos from the production, and loads of other photos of paintings and items from the time period. There are even some interesting stories that offer a taste of how and why people behaved the way they did. I loved the story of Lady Grange, a woman who threatened the man who impregnated her at gunpoint when he refused to marry her and then apparently had a decent marriage for 25 years . . . till she found out about his mistress. Then, things got ugly. It's a cautionary tale (this one from the Georgian period) that helps explain Sidney Parker's worry about his ward and her tempting money, which would become the property of whomever she married.

Such a fun book. I took my time reading The World of Sanditon because I didn't want to get to far into it and forget what it was about before my tour but it's worth returning to as a reference book, not just useful as a companion. So I'm sure I would have actually had equal fun zipping through it and then revisiting.

My thanks to Grand Central Publishing and Laurel Ann of Austenprose for the copies of Sanditon and The World of Sanditon!


©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

25 Days 'Til Christmas by Poppy Alexander

In 25 Days 'Til Christmas Kate (widowed 4 years ago) and her son Jack are having a challenging Christmas season but she's doing everything she can to make Christmas as magical as possible. She's come up with daily activities to keep Jack busy and try to keep him from realizing just how poor they have become. Kate works at a department store on a rolling contract. Every year, it's possible she could lose her job and this year the boss is being particularly threatening. At school, Jack is having difficulties and the faculty wants to send him to what we Americans would call a reform school, although the book is set in Bristol, England so it has a different name. At the same time, her mother-in-law is running out of pension money for use in the care home, where she is deteriorating rapidly from Alzheimer's, and the government is threatening to pull her supplementary funds.

Daniel lost his sister Zoe, last year, and it still stings. The one thing that he's looking forward to, this year, is seeing the woman he privately refers to as "Christmas Tree Girl". He hasn't ever formally met Kate, but he knows that she will be there selling Christmas trees in her little elf costume. He wonders if she'll remember him and wonder what became of Zoe. When Daniel's not working as a chartered surveyor, he answers a help line and listens to people's problems, talks them out of suicide, or sometimes is just there for the lonely.

Daniel and Kate have a little trouble getting together, at first, but eventually they meet and start seeing each other. The problem is that Kate is utterly overwhelmed with all her problems and unsure she can or should replace Jack's father, Tom. Is there a way to solve her financial issues beyond her home jewelry-making? How will she deal with the bullying and sexual innuendo by her boss? Can she get Jack into a school that will meet his needs and keep him happy, rather than one that's set up for those with bad behavior? What will she do about her mother-in-law's draining finances when she has so little of her own?

Recommended but I advise skimming some parts if you find them dull - There is a LOT going on in this book. There were times it was a bit too much for me and, at some point, I decided I'd be best off skimming certain bits. For example, Kate is put in charge of a fundraising effort for the department store and has to come up with costumes for her child and his best friend on top of everything else. I found the fundraising meetings as dull as they are in real life (been there), so eventually I decided to skim those and some other bits of meetings in which Daniel was trying to help the shopkeepers of a cluster of shops called Christmas Steps — which actually exists; you can look up photos online.

I think the author created a few too many threads in this story. And yet, like a Hallmark movie, it came together beautifully in the end, almost too perfectly (as a romance should). I closed the book happy and satisfied. When I went to rate the book, I noticed that someone had given it 1 star because she found it too sad, thanks to Kate's overwhelming financial issues. I actually enjoyed reading about the realistic struggle she was going through. I found at least one of the resolutions a little too easy and pat, so I knocked off a point for that and the occasional stretch (meetings, ugh) that I found dull, but overall I loved 25 Days 'Til Christmas. I liked Kate's creativity and determination to make things as cheery as possible for her son, and I adored Daniel for his kindness and generosity. They're a couple that you can root for and they deserve a lovely ending. A sweet Christmas story about hardship, grief, and finding happily-ever-after when it seems like nothing is ever going to be right, again.


©2019 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Map of the Heart by Susan Wiggs

Camille used to be a photographer but she put away her camera and her fearless lifestyle after her husband's tragic death. And, her daughter Julie may as well be packed in bubble wrap. Now, she processes found rolls of film, teasing out images that could easily be ruined. When Julie has an accident, in her rush to get to the hospital Camille ruins an important roll of film preserved from the Vietnam War, throwing her in the path of Finn.

Finn wanted a family but instead he ended up divorced. Now, he lives and works in France, not far from where Camille's father grew up. When something goes wrong at Camille's father Henry's French estate and a mysterious crate is exposed, a set of photos and a camera are sent to Henry in the United States and they pique Camille's interest. As frightened as she is to leave the safety of home, Camille's curiosity about her paternal grandmother convinces her to accompany her father and daughter to France for the summer, where once again she'll meet up with Finn. But, will she let herself dare to open her heart again?

There's also an unfolding mystery set during WWII, which I really enjoyed, but I think the contemporary romance part of the book dominates Map of the Heart.

Recommended but not a favorite - I don't know what it was about Map of the Heart that made it drag, but I had a terrible time getting into it. Once I did, though, I enjoyed it. A sweet, fairly predictable story of WWII combined with a present-day romance. Good for summer reading but not brilliant. I found the fact that Henry's estate just happened to be near the place Finn was working in France a bit too convenient.

I received a copy of Map of the Heart from HarperCollins for review (many thanks!) It's my second book by Susan Wiggs. While I found this one so-so, I absolutely loved the first book I read by her, Between You and Me, and will definitely give her another try.

©2019 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center

Cassie Hanwell was traumatized twice over at the age of 16. Since then, she's both acted and become tough. A firefighter/paramedic, she has to be physically and mentally strong to handle life in a firehouse and all of the things a firefighter sees. And, she's happy with her place in life. But, then things start to go wrong. When one of the people who traumatized her sets her off, she is given a choice: apologize to him or be dismissed from her job. At the same time, her mother is facing a health challenge and needs Cassie's help. When she ends up moving to a new fire station in an entirely different region, Cassie knows she must be extra careful about how she behaves.

Cassie isn't the only new body at the fire station she moves to, but she's the only female. The rookie is new to firefighting, though, and Cassie is not. So, Cassie is thrown together with him frequently, tasked with sharing some of her hard-won experience. When Cassie and the rookie find themselves attracted to each other, Cassie is horrified. The last thing she needs is to endanger her job with a potential romance. Will finding love wreck her life as a firefighter for good or soften her and help her deal with the trauma of her past?

Highly recommended - I could not put Things You Save in a Fire down. Cassie was a wounded soul but not in a way that felt manufactured. In fact, part of the trauma is never spelled out, as I recall. But, you can read between the lines and her story felt entirely believable to me. I cared about her and wanted the best for her. I also absolutely loved reading about what it's like to be a firefighter — the camaraderie, the type of things they have to deal with (dangerous, weird, and yucky situations), the pranks they pull on each other and the things that are completely taboo. I've read some of this, in the past, because I have a fascination with both firefighters and paramedics but there was more detail than I'm accustomed to and I think you can take the accuracy to the bank because the author's husband is a volunteer firefighter.

I jumped the gun a little on this title because I put it on the wrong ARC pile (le sigh). Things You Save in a Fire is an August, 2019 release. And, of course, it's just June. I like to wait till a lot closer than 2 months ahead of release date to review. I received my ARC from St. Martin's Press (thank you!) and I loved it so much that with it just sitting here beside me, I keep looking at the book and thinking, I want to start it all over again. Definitely a new favorite and one I'll hang onto for a reread.

©2019 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Someone Else's Love Story by Joshilyn Jackson

I rated Someone Else's Love Story 4 stars at Goodreads, then cleared my rating and gave it 5 because I couldn't think of a single thing I disliked, although all the way through the book I kept visualizing Hemingway and Jackson in a fist-fight over the use of adverbs.  Jackson loves them as much as Hemingway hated them. It took me a while to get used to her style but by the end of the book I adored it.

Someone Else's Love Story is about a young lady with a 3-year-old son and a poetry-spouting male best friend. Shandi is telling herself a big, fat lie.  Her best friend, Walcott, has been there for her through thick and thin and he knows the truth but he'll let her come to it in her own time.  When Shandi and her son are held hostage during a gas-station robbery, she falls for the tough but temporarily suicidal geneticist who saves the day. But, what Shandi doesn't realize is that she's telling herself stories about the hero, William, as well.

I'm not going to spoil the story by going into any detail but there are really 3 different love stories interwoven throughout Someone Else's Love Story. It's serious and funny and sweet.  I've seen the words "darkly comic" used to describe Someone Else's Love Story.  Excellent word choice; wish I'd thought of it, myself.  In spite of the fact that some very, very bad things have happened to some of the main characters, there is humor throughout and I adored the relationships between Shandi and her son Natty, Natty and Walcott, Natty and William (the guy who saves the day in the convenience store) . . . actually, I could go on.  Joshilyn Jackson doesn't just make you fall in love with her characters as individuals; she makes you love the relationships.  I laughed, I cried.  I hugged the book to my chest when I finished it.  Marvelous story.

Highly recommended - Although I'd call Someone Else's Love Story a character-driven story and I tend to shy away from them, there's plenty of action and the characters and relationships are so wonderful that I think even the plot lovers like myself will find it enjoyable.  Well, I did, anyway. Someone Else's Love Story is actually the first Joshilyn Jackson book I've read.  I want to read them all, now.

©2014 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson

Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson is the story of Lady Elizabeth Neville-Ashford, aka "Lily" and it is historical fiction but the main storyline is a romance (fair warning for those who dislike romantic themes). I don't mind a bit of romance in a storyline, provided the story is well written. Fortunately, Somewhere in France is very good.  Set just before and during WWI, Lily's story begins at a dance where her mother is trying to steer her toward marriage with an acceptable man from her class. The only man who has ever really sparked her interest, though, is a Scottish doctor with a downscale background, Robert Fraser or "Robbie". Robbie works at a London hospital and he's friends with Lily's brother.

When WWI begins, Robbie immediately signs up to work on the front lines. Lily writes to him but she wants to be a part of the war effort and not by merely rolling bandages while remaining in luxury. She wants to become a nurse.  Her parents, however, are staunchly against her involvement in something so disgusting as nursing.  At this point, I was naturally thinking of Downton Abbey's Sybil. But, the way the author chose to portray Lily's struggle is, in fact, far more realistic than Downton's.  She is not able to get into nursing school and has to take one surprising job followed by another in order to get by.  

I won't tell you any more about the storyline for fear of spoilers but I will tell you that I was surprised by Somewhere in France in many ways. First of all, Lily's experience has the ring of truth. When she's cut off by her family, nobody else comes along to sweep her back into comfort.  She has to work hard to get by.  Second, it takes her years to reach her goal and when she does the reality is dirty and stinky, dangerous and horrifying. But, like the real women of WWI who bucked up and got on with it, Lily refuses to back down. She's made a decision to do something very specific and she is not going to be dissuaded from it, regardless of the consequences.

Highly recommended - I was not surprised to find that the author has spent some time in France, when I got to the end of Somewhere in France as the settings were so very, very believable.  A gritty, realistic story with romance at its core, a heroine worth rooting for and exceptionally described settings. I found Somewhere in France highly compelling once I got into it. Near the beginning, I was hesitant because the main storyline was clearly a romantic one and the occasional years-long leap startled me but the book was so much more real than many I've read that it eventually yanked me in and held me hard.

Since I've been asked . . . another Christmas photo, this time Izzy in a cocktail dress (she was completely paralyzed by the horror - she just has a sweet face),:

©2014 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Thinking of You by Jill Mansell

Thinking of You by Jill Mansell

Copyright 2013 (orig. published by Headline in 2007)

Sourcebooks Landmark - Chick lit

424 pp.

Source:  ARC from Sourcebooks, a May 2013 release

What it's about:

I'm not sure how to describe what Thinking of You is about, because Jill Mansell's books always have so many strands but Ginny Holland is the main character.  She has just become an empty nester and is missing her daughter Jem's company so much that she decides to take on a renter.  She falls for a charming user (don't want to give too much away, here, so I won't go into detail about who she falls for) and so does her best friend, Carla. And, Ginny's renter is turns out to be a bit of a pain.  To get out of the house and away from her depressed renter, Ginny gets a job. Her new boss, Finn, just happens to be a man with whom she's had a bit of a nasty encounter, so she must win him over to keep her job.  Finn has recently had his heart broken and . . . I think he looks like George Clooney?  Or, maybe I just pictured him that way.  There's friendship and betrayal, misunderstanding that leads to a few slapstick scenes, romance and heartbreak and happily-ever-after for anyone deserving.

What I loved about Thinking of You:

Oh, sigh.  I just love Jill Mansell's books.  I started reading Thinking of You because the Boston bombing followed by the Texas explosion and idiocy in Congress started getting me down.  Jill Mansell's books are always uppers, so I knew reading one of her books would be the perfect remedy for a crappy week.  Thinking of You is no exception, although I found myself wanting to shout at Ginny and Gem and Carla, a few times.  Sometimes those plot twists and heartbreaks can be a little angst-inducing, but I closed the book with a smile on my face.  Ginny is a great heroine and I love the depth of the friendships in Thinking of You.  It's admirable the way they forgive and forget wounds inflicted upon each other and I love the reliability of those happily-ever-after endings.

Also, she used the word "malarkey" in there, somewhere.  You know how I love that word. 

What I disliked about Thinking of You:

The characters who are deceitful in Thinking of You are a little too obvious -- enough so that you want to reach in and shake the characters whom you know to be cruising toward disaster, but since everything turns out well in the end there is nothing at all worth complaining about.  

Recommendation:

Highly recommended, especially for escapist, beachy-type romantic reading.  I've been reading Jill Mansell's books since the 90's and they are reliably complex but light-hearted tales.  Her heroines tend to be very much alike in personality -- perky, witty, fun, sometimes clumsy or eccentric, always likable.  It never fails to surprise me how many twists Mansell throws into her books and how utterly she snookers me.  I had an idea who Ginny would end up with, but Jill Mansell is such a pro.  She always makes me doubt myself enough that I'm still pleasantly surprised at the end.  

Favorite photo of the day:

Sometimes you feel like a nut.

©2013 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The India Fan by Victoria Holt

The India Fan by Victoria Holt
Copyright 2013 (orig. published in 1988)
Sourcebooks Casablanca - Historical Fiction
394 pp.

Drusilla Delany has never thought too highly of the wealthy Framling family.  A rector's daughter, Drusilla lives in the rambling rectory with an absent-minded but kind father who is happy with the simple things in life and completely besotted with the Greek classics.  He pays little attention to Drusilla, who is closer to her nurse, Polly, than her father.  

When Drusilla is invited to the Framling estate to play with Lavinia Framling, she is curious about the house more than the child.  Lavinia is a beautiful, spoiled brat who treats Drusilla with contempt.  She is the closest little girl in proximity to the estate, though, and Lady Harriet finds the studious, intelligent Drusilla a suitable companion for her daughter.  Since the rector is in Lady Harriet's employ, Drusilla can't really refuse.  Thus begins a strange, long-time friendship in which Drusilla is compelled to accompany Lavinia from one school to another and eventually becomes Lavinia's hired help. 

During one of her early visits, Lavinia's brother Fabian insists that they pretend to be his slaves and sends them to fetch forbidden objects.  Drusilla returns with a peacock fan from India.  But, she is quickly chastised and told of the fan's curse.   From England to France to India and back, danger follows Drusilla.  Will the curse follow her throughout her lifetime?  Or, is the peacock fan's curse just the silly whim of a sad, old woman?

What I loved about The India Fan:

Technically, I suppose The India Fan is historical romance, but there are three men Drusilla may or may not end up with and they are all woven in and out of the story. In truth, you always know who Drusilla is going to end up with and the romance ends up feeling secondary to the story of Drusilla's friendship with and employment by Lavinia, as well as her deep friendship with Polly -- who is pretty much a surrogate mother.  I liked the fact that it wasn't all gushy romance, instead focusing on friendship and setting.

The changing settings are one of the best things about the book.  Because Drusilla accompanies Lavinia, she travels pretty extensively.  It took me a while to figure out the time period and I found that a tiny bit annoying, at first, but eventually looked at figuring out the time period as a bit of a challenge and searching for clues to figure out when the story was taking place became rather fun.

What I disliked about The India Fan:

I'm afraid the book did ramble on a bit and Drusilla can be a bit severe.  But, even though Drusilla is just a wee bit stuffy, she has a big heart.  So, I cared about Drusilla and wanted to know what would happen.  I especially wanted to see her through to eventually finding love and her place in the world.  She's a typically stubborn historical-fiction heroine who will not simply settle down and marry merely because everyone else thinks she should.

Lavinia is a nasty character and her unchanging personality does grate a bit.  And, the mystery is not really all that mysterious.

The bottom line:

Recommended - I didn't love The India Fan because it's a bit overlong, but Victoria Holt's writing is captivating enough that I was never tempted to set the book aside.  An engrossing, escapist read with exceptional characterization, an solid storyline, and rather unique and fascinating historical settings (which led to further reading online). Victoria Holt is a pro, of course. I can't complain about her writing style.  Apart from being a bit detail-heavy -- which some people love, but I do not -- it's pretty close to flawless.

©2013 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Firefly Island by Lisa Wingate (DNF)

Firefly Island by Lisa Wingate
Copyright 2013
Bethany House - Contemporary Fiction
379 pp.  

The first time I opened up Firefly Island, it was late at night and I awakened in the morning without any memory whatsoever of what I'd read.  I figured that was just because I started reading when I was sleepy.  But, then it happened again.  I do most of my reading at bedtime and I had waited a few days before my second attempt.  In the morning . . . nothing.  I flipped back a few pages and couldn't remember who Daniel was.  Daniel is a key character.

At this point, I went to Amazon and Goodreads to see if it was just me.  Was I missing something or was this a book that was seriously not memorable?  Judging from the ratings at the time, it was just me. There were 62 five-star reviews at Amazon, 12 four-stars and 2 three-stars, nothing lower.  So, you must know up front that a lot of people really love this story.  It was because of the glowing reviews that I opted to go back to the beginning a third time.

The third time went better.  I sat on the deck and read during the daylight hours.  I got to know Daniel, Mallory and little Nick.  There is a whirlwind romance in which a career woman falls for a scientist, he's offered a job in a remote part of Texas by a man of questionable background, they quickly marry and drive to Texas.  On the way to their new home they nearly hit a deer, arrive to a house with no electricity and awaken to find the place needs a bit of work but little Nick is happy.  

As Mallory begins cleaning the house, she opens closets to find that critters are living in them; they scatter when she opens a door.  That, I'm afraid, was it for me.  Mallory was lamenting the things in the closet when I closed the book at page 83.  I tried very hard to keep going because I typically love Lisa Wingate's books, but it was too everyday for me.  Nothing of interest was happening.  There are hints of a mystery surrounding Daniel's employer, Jack West, whose wife and child disappeared and were never found many years ago, but that was not enough to intrigue me.  In fact, when Mallory nearly hit a deer on the way through Texas, I found myself wishing she had hit the deer so something would start happening.

Since I gave up, I've looked again at Goodreads and Amazon.  A few more 3-star reviews have popped up.  I have a feeling I would have given the book 3 stars if I'd held out.  I like Lisa Wingate's writing. 

Here's a favorite sentence:

He looked at me, the expression in his eyes almost pleading with me to breathe gently on the dream, cause it to spark rather than blow out.

I love that.  "Breathe gently on the dream."  That echoed in my head for a while.  There are more moments like that one, beautiful wording, wise reflections.  There just wasn't enough meat to the story in Firefly Island to hold me.

I'd recommend Firefly Island to people who like a relationship story better than a story that's plot-heavy. Firefly Island is a Bethany House book, so the heroine is Christian.  She saves herself for marriage (although she doesn't have to wait long) and occasionally ponders God or prays. There wasn't anything preachy in the book, in my opinion, by the point that I gave up.  But, talking to God in your head is no big deal to me.

I also must admit that I had a little trouble with the science aspect of this book.  Daniel was going to work for a man who wanted to produce "super crops" -- genetically modified, in other words.  GMOs have been implicated in the sudden die-offs of bees and in most of Europe people can avoid genetically modified products by looking on the labels of their foods. They're not labeled in the U.S. and they're not studied for their potential dangers here, either.  My husband has visited a lab where that kind of work is done in Europe.  So, I admit there was a bit of bias on my part. I thought the science was dubious.

My thanks to Litfuse Publicity for the review copy and to Christen Krumm for the extension when I wasn't able to finish reading Firefly Island in time for my tour date.


©2013 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Jasmine Nights by Julia Gregson

Jasmine Nights by Julia Gregson

Copyright 2012

Touchstone Books - Historical Fiction/WWII/Romance

416 pp.

Saba Tarcan has been singing since she was a small girl. Now 23, Saba has decided to do her part in the war effort. While singing at a hospital, she meets a handsome fighter pilot, Dom Benson. Both are immediately smitten with each other, but Saba is determined leave Wales; her Turkish father objects to Saba singing in public. She joins Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) and is sent to join a troupe of entertainers in North Africa, just as she's getting to know Dom.

Recovered from burns received when his plane was shot down, Dom returns to flying and gets a friend to pull strings so that he can serve in the same area as Saba. Communication is complicated by war, yet Saba continues to invade Dom's thoughts. When they finally manage to meet up, Saba and Dom are determined to get together. But Saba has been recruited to do work for the British Secret Service and can't always explain her absences, sparking jealousy and bitter feelings of rejection in Dom.

Meanwhile, North Africa is heating up; soon, the Nazis are expected to invade Alexandria. Will the secrets they must keep from each other tear them apart or can Saba and Dom stay alive long enough to solidify their relationship?

What I loved about Jasmine Nights:

I'm a sucker for books that are set during WWII, so I particularly enjoyed the glimpses into the time period, learning about ENSA and finding that entertainers were, in fact, used as spies during WWII. I don't think I've ever read any other WWII stories told from the viewpoint of an entertainer.

The details of the sights, sounds, smells and the hardships of living in the desert were what I found most engaging about Jasmine Nights.

What I disliked about Jasmine Nights:

The f-word was dropped at least half a dozen times in Jasmine Nights. I felt like the book lost a bit of authenticity in that regard. Sure, soldiers swore. The acronyms FUBAR and SNAFU both originated during WWII. But, that particular vulgarity was not flung about so casually at the time. Saba's use of the word (and, I think in one case, Dom used the word in her presence) really threw me. Women were less likely to swear, back then, and men tended to water down their speech in the presence of women and children.

Otherwise, the only thing I really disliked about Jasmine Nights was that it leaned toward romance and I thought the hero was a bit of a sap. I can't say I ever really felt much for the heroine, either. Oh, and occasionally I had trouble figuring out what was happening. But, only a few scenes confused me.

Wait, I thought of something else! But, part of it is spoilery. The unspoilery bit: LOTS of sex and no mention of protection but no pregnancy (although the sex is not overly graphic). That's a big no-no in my book. There either needs to be some mention of protection or consequences . . . sex amongst the young and fertile isn't realistic otherwise, is it? The spoilery bit will be thrown in at the bottom of this post, after the asterisks. See below***

The bottom line:

Recommended particularly to those who like a slightly longer, more detailed and character-driven/romantic book. There's not a great deal of action. I expected a bit more danger/close calls with the spying. Jasmine Nights was slower-paced and more romance-focused than anticipated. I gave Jasmine Nights an above-average rating of 3.5/5 at Goodreads. I liked it but didn't love it and I'm not entirely certain I would have finished the book if it didn't happen to be a book I was sent for review. The author definitely needs to work on tightening up her writing, in my humble opinion.

Pic of the day (taken in Oxford, MS), a sunflower to match the yellow edging on the cover of Jasmine Nights:

I keep forgetting to add my cover thoughts . . . again:

I don't know why writing cover thoughts keeps slipping my mind, but I love the cover of Jasmine Nights. The only thing that looks a little off to me is the length of Saba's hair. The model's coloring is right and I love the blend of her colorful dress (although I can't say whether or not it's right for the decade) and the gorgeous city background. Definitely an eye-catching cover.

***SPOILER WARNING!***

There was a scene I found particularly confusing because it appears that Saba was raped -- but I wasn't entirely certain, possibly because the character was trying to convince herself that it didn't happen. Again, no consequences, but worse than the consensual sex because there didn't seem to be any big emotional ramifications. I know several women who have been raped. Two of them attempted suicide; one succeeded. The other has channeled her anger in a very positive way, thank goodness. Rape should never, ever be glossed over. It has heavy emotional repercussions.

©2012 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.