New Release 4/15/14

Some of the new titles hitting shelves this week are:

Under a Silent Moon by Elizabeth Haynes

Dead People by Ewart Hutton

All the Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld

Casebook by Mona Simpson

Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid

The Sea House by Elisabeth Gifford

Baudelaire's Revenge by Bob van Laerhoven

Until You're Mine by Samantha Hayes

Unwrapped Sky by Rjurik Davidson

Chop Chop by Simon Wroe

No Way Back by Matthew Klein

The Steady Running of the Hour by Justin Go

Ember Island by Kimberly Freeman

Blood Always Tells by Hilary Davidson

The Good Inn by Black Francis & Josh Frank

Aunt Dimity & the Wishing Well by Nancy Atherton

The Other Story by Tatiana de Rosnay

Transhuman by Ben Bova

The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa

Frozen by Erin Bowman

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

All the Boys I've Loved by Jenny Han

Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

New on DVD:
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Philomena

Pre Pub Book Buzz: The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joël Dicker

Morning, all. It's time to share my latest addition to the wish list!

The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair caught my attention just last month and has rocketed to the top of my must have list, in part thanks to some of the promo the author has been posting on Twitter. (Which so far has included fake newspaper articles as well as other fun teasers.) It doesn't hurt that Gaby Wood at Telegraph calls it the "smartest, creepiest book you'll read this year." Oh, and it's a doorstopper weighing in at 656 pages. With the weather warming up I could definitely use a really great, engaging and LONG read that's both smart and creepy! I'm already daydreaming about getting that fun version of the farmer's tan that results from a long afternoon in the sun reading (you know, cuts off at the forearms thanks to the shade from the book!).

So it's a French thriller, written by a Swiss author, due out in the UK May 1 (from Quercus's MacLehose imprint) and hitting shelves here in the States May 27 (Viking). Here's the description from Goodreads for you:

August 30, 1975: the day fifteen-year-old Nola Kellergan is glimpsed fleeing through the woods before she disappears; the day Somerset, New Hampshire, lost its innocence.

Thirty-three years later, Marcus Goldman, a successful young novelist, visits Somerset to see his mentor, Harry Quebert, one of America’s most respected writers, and to find a cure for his writer’s block as his publisher’s deadline looms. But Marcus’s plans are violently upended when Harry is suddenly and sensationally implicated in the cold-case murder of Nola Kellergan—whom, he admits, he had an affair with. As the national media convicts Harry, Marcus launches his own investigation, following a trail of clues through his mentor’s books, the backwoods and isolated beaches of New Hampshire, and the hidden history of Somerset’s citizens and the man they hold most dear. To save Harry, his writing career, and eventually even himself, Marcus must answer three questions, all of which are mysteriously connected: Who killed Nola Kellergan? What happened one misty morning in Somerset in the summer of 1975? And how do you write a successful and true novel?

Oh, I'm dying to read it! Dying I tell you!

The Collector of Dying Breaths by M.J. Rose - excerpt

Hello, everyone! I'm super excited to be offering up an excerpt from M.J. Rose's latest release, The Collector of Dying Breaths, which just hit shelves this week.

But first a bit about the book:

The Book of Lost Fragrances had Cleopatra. Seduction had iconic novelist Victor Hugo. Now, with The Collector of Dying Breaths, Rose showcases her most fascinating character yet: Catherine de Medici, who infamously spearheaded the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre during her son Henry III’s reign, slaughtering thousands of French rebel Protestants in one fell swoop.

In 1533, an Italian orphan with an uncanny knack for creating fragrance is plucked from poverty to become Catherine de Medici’s perfumer. To repay his debt, over the years René le Florentine is occasionally called upon for a darker purpose: the creation of deadly poisons used to dispatch the Queen’s rivals. But it’s René’s other passion—a desire to reanimate a human breath, to bring back the lives of the two people whose deaths have devastated him—that incites a dangerous treasure hunt five centuries later.

That’s when Jac L’Etoile—suffering in modern day France from a heartache of her own—becomes obsessed with the possibility of unlocking René’s secret to immortality. Soon Jac’s search reconnects her with Griffin North, a man she’s loved her entire life. Together they confront an eccentric heiress whose art collection rivals many museums and who is determined to keep her treasures close at hand, in both this life and the next.

If you've not yet read Rose, you really are missing out. Each new release is rich in historic detail, suspense, and romance. The books are linked via common characters, but each one can easily be read on its own.

And now for your reading pleasure, a piece from The Collector of Dying Breaths:

That night, Jac fell asleep easily, cosseted by the down pillows and comforter. Her dreams were full of the perfumer who had lived here so many centuries ago. In his secret laboratory, she saw him mixing up potions and recipes, stirring, shaking and sniffing. At one point he picked up his head and looked right at her, as if she were in the room with him, as if he could actually see her. And then he spoke to her. All this I do for you. To see you again. To be with you again. Please God, it will work. Because without you I am lost to the world. 

In her sleep Jac felt the power of his words like a perfumed wind, blowing around her, embracing her. The most profound sense of longing overwhelmed her. Jac tried to go to him. Tried to move toward him. Wanted him to take her in his arms. Want to bury her face in his chest and have him stroke her hair. Wanted to feel his rough lips bruising hers. Oh, how she wanted him. But she was a half a millennium away. And they were forever separated by time. 

She woke up suddenly. Soaked with sweat. The perfumer had seemed so familiar to her. Her feelings for him were the same as her feelings for Griffin. Was it possible that-No. She would not entertain the thought. But she couldn't escape it, could she? Jac could almost hear Malachai asking her how she could even question what the dream revealed: that in a previous incarnation Griffin had most likely lived a life as the perfumer. Time was coming full circle again.

M.J. Rose will be live at BookTrib on April 21 at 3pm ET and there are a ton more offerings this month all around the blogosphere so be sure to check them out.

Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth

I'd planned to read Veronica Roth's Divergent ages ago. I mean I bought the thing in early 2012 and then got Insurgent that same year and Allegiant this past Christmas, so it's not like I didn't have plenty of time! And yet the movie's release rolled around and the trilogy was still waiting in my TBR. So yeah, I saw the movie first. But that's ok. Apparently that was the motivation I needed to finally tackle the books, which I did in a binge this past weekend.

I'm not going to include synopses of the books so if you're a late comer like me you don't have to worry about spoilers. Plus I figure there are enough other reviews of the books out there by now that if you really want a synopsis and in-depth review of each one you can easily find them.

First I have to say that I did rather enjoy the movie. I had a few very minor complaints but overall I thought it was really well done and I was quite happy with the casting, especially after diving into the book. Surprisingly the film adaptation follows the book fairly closely. There were a few changes and most of them seemed logical for the sort of edits necessary in adapting for film (accounting for the length and pacing of a film as opposed to a book). All in all, it's definitely a great adaptation. 

One complaint that I've seen in reviews of both Divergent and Insurgent is the lack of world building. Why did the world get this way and how did the factions really come to be? There's a very small explanation and now that I've read all three I can assure you that there's a good reason for this. The story behind the factions is a big part of Allegiant so hang in there, you'll get your explanation.

Insurgent was an excellent sequel. There was no lag in story - it picks up immediately after the end of Divergent and maintains the great pacing and action I came to expect after Divergent. There's no second book slump that often happens in trilogies (when we kind of realize that the three books were always meant to be one and the second installment serves simply as a connecting piece between the introductory installment and the actual climax!). Nope, Insurgent moved the story along nicely, building further on Tris and Four's relationship and the conflicts between the factions. In other words it fit and it felt necessary on pretty much all points, rather than being filler.

And Allegiant, the buzz around this one is part of my recent delay in reading the books. Talk about eliciting some passionate responses from readers worldwide. Holy cow! Even halfway through this one I couldn't begin to imagine what Roth had coming that could have angered so many readers!

Then I got to the end.

I get it, I really do. I shed some tears but all in all I have to admit that I'm really not disappointed or angry. The end was the end. It worked.

I kind of zipped through these, it was a bit unavoidable. They just begged to be read in one go but it did kind of mean a bit of a book hangover at the end! It was super hard to transition away from the dystopian built paranoia and into a completely different read (which I did with the Titanic based The Girl Who Came Home). Now I really can't wait to see the other two movies!

Duke City Split by Max Austin + a Giveaway

Morning, readers! Today I'm a stop on the TLC book tour for Max Austin's Duke City Split. This one is new out from Random House's Alibi imprint and they've got a fantastic giveaway to go along with the tour so be sure to read through to the bottom to enter.

Bud and Mick are bank robbers. They've never been busted and it's likely because they stick to the rules. Rule number one: never hit a bank in your own backyard. But when Johnny Muller approaches Mick with a proposition that's almost too good to be true, the pair just can't pass it up. The Tewa Casino's haul is picked up every morning by an armored truck and while said truck varies its route, it always delivers to the same small bank. A small bank with little security and a vault that stays open all day long. They hit the bank on a Monday and come away with a cool three million, easy as pie. But now they've got the Feds, some Chicago heavies, and a ton of other lowlifes on their tail. What's more, someone recognized Johnny Muller! If they can hang onto the cash everything might end up ok, but that's a big if.

Duke City Split was a fun and easy read. Sure it's a pretty basic heist caper and some of the twists are a little predictable but I think there's a lot to be said for a good page turner and Duke City Split is certainly that.

Max Austin is a pseudonym for Steve Brewer, an author I had the pleasure of meeting back in 2008 at Left Coast Crime. I hadn't realized that this was that same author when I signed on for the tour but I'm glad to have discovered his pseudonym. According to his blog, Duke City Split is the first in a new trilogy.

Rating: 3.5/5

To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here.

And now for the giveaway! To enter simply fill out the Rafflecopter below and do note that this is a tour wide giveaway. Good luck!

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The Girl Who Came Home: A Novel of the Titanic by Hazel Gaynor

Good morning, everyone! Today I'm a stop on the TLC book tour for Hazel Gaynor's debut, The Girl Who Came Home.

1912: Maggie Murphy and her aunt, along with twelve others from Ballysheen, Ireland, set off to America on the grandest ship ever to be built: RMS Titanic. Maggie is bereft at leaving behind both her home and her sweetheart, but America means a fresh start and new opportunities. Their trip is an adventure that soon turns tragic, but Maggie survives. Her family knows little about her experiences on Titanic but decades later she's finally ready to share her tale. 

1982: After her father's death, Grace gave up college and a wonderful writing opportunity to care for her mother. But now everyone, including Grace's mother and Grace's great-grandmother Maggie, has decided that it's time for her to move on. And to help her along, Maggie is willing to revisit Titanic. 

Gaynor's debut is of course based on the 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic, but the book is specifically inspired by the story of the Addergoole Fourteen, said to be "the largest proportional loss of life from one region." Eleven of the Fourteen died in the event. Gaynor's piece in the PS edition includes information on the girls her characters are derived from as well as additional information for those curious about the Addergool Fourteen.

What is it about this piece of history that still so fascinates us over a century later? Is it the fact that the ship epitomized opulence and grandeur? The way everyone behind it seemed to taunt fate by dubbing it unsinkable? Or is it the ultimately tragic end that keeps bringing us back for more? I think it's all of those things combined with the very personal stories of those who were on board.

I am certainly not immune to the lure of Titanic based tales and had been greatly anticipating Hazel Gaynor's debut. To read that her characters were indeed based on very real people who perished in the ship's sinking made the book that much more enthralling and heartbreaking.

I'm not going to lie, though, I did enter into the book with some trepidation. On the one hand, I'd just spent the weekend bingeing on Veronica Roth's Divergent trilogy so historical fiction was a pretty big change up genre wise. On the other hand, I worried that The Girl Who Came Home might be just a little too reminiscent of the James Cameron film. It's certainly not fair, but I can't deny that at least some part of my brain worried.

I am so completely happy to admit, however, that my fear was definitely not realized. It took less than one chapter to completely draw me in. I enjoyed the dual storyline - 1912 and 1982 - and the varying perspectives - Maggie and Grace but also Lucky Harry, Séamus, and the others we get to see throughout the book. Each section includes actual Marconigram messages sent from Titanic and Carpathia. And of course there are Maggie's journal entries that appear throughout the book. Each element melds perfectly to give a feeling of historical accuracy and illustrates the obvious care and attention Gaynor paid to her subject.

Rating: 4/5

To see more stops on the tour be sure to visit the official TLC tour page here.

For more on Hazel Gaynor and the book, you can visit her on the web here; Hazel blogs at www.whimsandtonic.com. You can also like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

The Venetian Bargain by Marina Fiorato - Excerpt + Giveaway

Today marks the release of Marina Fiorato's latest, The Venetian Bargain. Thanks to the publishers, I've got an excerpt to tease you with and I'm able to offer up one copy as a giveaway as well :)

Here's a bit about the book from the publisher first:

Venice, 1576. Five years after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Lepanto, a ship steals unnoticed into Venice bearing a deadly cargo. A man, more dead than alive, disembarks and staggers into Piazza San Marco. He brings a gift to Venice from Constantinople. Within days the city is infected with bubonic plague—and the Turkish Sultan has his revenge.

But the ship also holds a secret stowaway—Feyra, a young and beautiful harem doctor fleeing a future as the Sultan’s concubine. Only her wits and medical knowledge keep her alive as the plague ravages Venice.

In despair, the Doge commissions the architect Andrea Palladio to build the greatest church of his career—an offering to God so magnificent Venice will be saved. But Palladio’s life is in danger too, and it will require the skills of Annibale Cason, the city’s finest plague doctor, to keep him alive. What Annibale had not counted on was meeting Feyra, who is now under Palladio’s protection—an impossible woman who’s quite possibly his perfect match.

About the author:
MARINA FIORATO is half-Venetian and a history graduate of Oxford University and the University of Venice, where she specialized in the study of Shakespeare’s plays as an historical source. After University she studied art and has since worked as an illustrator, actress, and film reviewer. She also designed tour visuals for rock bands including U2 and the Rolling Stones. She lives in London with her husband, son, and daughter.

PROLOGUE
Venice
Christian Year 1576

Sebastiano Venier, Doge of Venice, gazed from the stone quatrefoil window, with eyes that were as troubled as the ocean.

His weather-eye, sharpened by many years at sea, had seen the storm approaching for three days, clotting and clouding on the horizon and rolling in across the sickly amethyst waves. Now the maelstrom was here, and it had brought with it something more malign than ill weather.

With his flowing white beard and noble countenance, the Doge had been immortalized by Tintoretto and been compared to Neptune who also ruled a seabound kingdom. He had even, in hushed tones, been compared to the Almighty. A profoundly devout man, the Doge would have been deeply troubled, for different reasons, by each comparison; but today he would have given anything to have the omnipotence to save Venice from her darkest hour.

He watched as six figures, huddled together against the elements, hurried along a dock already glazed with water at every flow of the tide, the ebb tugging at the hems of their black robes. The cloaks and cowls gave them a monastic look, but these six men were men of science, not religion. They dealt in life and death. They were doctors.

As they drew closer he could see their masks clearly; bone-white beaks curving in a predatory hook from the dark cowls. The masks were frightening enough, but the reason for them even more ominous.

They were his Medico delle Peste. Plague doctors.

They were six scholars, men of letters from good families, all schooled at the best medical academies, one for each of the six sestieri of Venice. To see the Doctors together was an ill omen. Doge Sebastiano Venier doubted that they had ever even met together before; and they seemed to him to swoop like a murder of crows at a graveside. Perhaps his own. His shoulders dropped for an instant; he felt very old.

He watched the doctors wade along the peerless Riva degli Schiavoni, one of the most wondrous streets in the world, and knew that any minute now they would enter his great white palace. The Doge’s skin chilled as if sea-spray had doused him. He leaned his head against the cool quarrels of glass, and shut his eyes for one blessed instant. If he hadn’t done so, he might have seen a Venetian galleass sailing swiftly away on the dark and swelling waters; but he did close his eyes for a couple of heartbeats, just to be still and breathe in the salt ether.

The smell of Venice.

Sebastiano Venier straightened up, reminding himself who he was, where he was. He looked at the delicate stonework of his windows, the fi nest Venetian glazing keeping the thunder of the sea from his ears. He looked up, tilting his noble head to the ceiling and the peerless frescoes of red and gold painted over hundreds of years by the fi nest Venetian artists, covering the cavernous, glorious space above. And yet, all the riches and the glory could not keep the Pestilence from his door.

The Doge settled in his great chair and waited for the doctors to be announced. They fi led in, dripping, and semicircled him like vultures, the red crystal eyepieces set into their masks glittering hungrily, as if ready to peck the very flesh of him. But the moment they began to speak, the Doge ceased to be afraid of them.

‘We had expected it, my lord,’ said one. ‘In the botanical gardens of the Jesuiti, there have been of late unusual numbers of butterflies – hundreds upon thousands of them.’

The Doge raised a single, winter-white brow. ‘Butterflies?’

The doctor, failing to register the steel in the Doge’s tone, prattled on. ‘Why, Doge, butterflies are well known to be harbingers of pestilence.’

‘It is true,’ chimed in another. ‘There have been other signs too. There is a bakery in the Arsenale, and when you tear the loaves in twain, the bread itself begins to bleed.’

The Doge rapped his fingertips on the arm of his chair. ‘The fact that the pestilence has arrived in Venice is not a matter for debate. The question is, how to best treat the Plague.’

It was no use. One physician wanted to combat the pestilence by advising his patients to wear a dead toad around the neck. The next advised backing a live pigeon into the patients’ swollen buboes in the groin and armpit, so that the tail feathers could draw out the poison. They began to talk over one another, their beaks almost clashing, the masks now ridiculous; the doctors’ learned, mellow voices raised in pitch until they were quacking like so many ducks.

The Doge, irritated, found his attention wandering. These physicians were charlatans, buffoons, each one more self-important than the next. His eyes drifted to the shadow of an arras, where a man, an old man like himself, stood listening; waiting for the moment when the Doge would call him forth, and tell him why he had been summoned.

And now for the giveaway! To enter simply fill out the Rafflecopter below before Monday, April 21. Open US only and no PO boxes please. Good luck!

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