Book Review: Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

Title: Shadow of Night

Author:  Deborah Harkness
Reading level: Adult

Genre:  Paranormal 

Size: 592 pages

Release Date: July 10th 2012

Publisher: Viking Adult/Penguin

Stand Alone/Series:  All Souls Trilogy #2

Source: NetGalley & Publisher at BEA








First Line: "We arrived in an undignified heap of witch and vampire."

Summary (from GoodReads):

"Together we lifted our feet and stepped into the unknown"—the thrilling sequel to the New York Times bestseller A Discovery of Witches

Deborah Harkness exploded onto the literary scene with her debut novel,A Discovery of Witches, Book One of the magical All Souls Trilogy and an international publishing phenomenon. The novel introduced Diana Bishop, Oxford scholar and reluctant witch, and the handsome geneticist and vampire Matthew Clairmont; together they found themselves at the center of a supernatural battle over an enchanted manuscript known as Ashmole 782.

Now, picking up from A Discovery of Witches’ cliffhanger ending,Shadow of Night plunges Diana and Matthew into Elizabethan London, a world of spies, subterfuge, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the mysterious School of Night that includes Christopher Marlowe and Walter Raleigh. Here, Diana must locate a witch to tutor her in magic, Matthew is forced to confront a past he thought he had put to rest, and the mystery of Ashmole 782 deepens.

Deborah Harkness has crafted a gripping journey through a world of alchemy, time travel, and magical discoveries, delivering one of the most hotly anticipated novels of the season.

Favorite Quotes:

   He stood, his eyes black and the vein in his temple throbbing.

   "Master Roydon?" Jack sidles closer to Matthew. His chin was trembling. Matthew's hand shot out and grabbed him by the collar, stoppinghim before he could get too close to me. Jack didn't flinch. "Are you having a nightmare?"
   Matthew's hand dropped, releasing the boy. "Yes, Jack. A terrible nightmare."
   Jack slid his hand into Matthew's. "I will wait by your side until it passes." My eyes pricked with tears. It was what Matthew said to him deep in the night, when Jack's terrors threatened to engulf him.
   Matthew's hand tightened on Jack's in silent acknowledgement. The two of them stood--one tall and broad and filled with preternatural health, the other slight and awkward and only now shedding the shadows of neglect. Matthew's rage began to ebb. ~~pgs 503-504


   "The goddess does not want us to imitate some ideal of perfection, but to be our true selves."~~pg 540

My Thoughts:


**Spoiler Warning: This review may contain spoilers for both this and the 1st in the series***

Shadow of Night begins right where we left off in A Discovery of Witches.  Diana and Matthew timewalk to Elizabethan England and the story takes off from there. With the help of quite a few new friends including practically every famous person of note from that period Diana works hard to blend into society while at the same time trying to find a witch or witches to help teach her to master her skills so that they can safely return to the present day.


We get to see England, France and even parts of the Holy Roman Empire as well as meet all sorts of historical figures whose various personalities as imbued by Harkness are a delight.  The world building is fantastic. There are tons of secondary and tertiary characters in this series and that is one of the reasons that I adore it.  They are all unique and well fleshed out and lend an epic yet realistic feel to the story.


The hunt for Ashmole 782 continues along with plenty of court intrigue, supernatural disasters, and relationship issues. As Harkness weaves all of these elements together, she excels not only at keeping the reader spellbound with her wonderful prose and historical snippets, but also with the tremendous amount of character development that occurs in this book.  Diana gets to know a whole different side of Matthew as they deal with royal personages, multiple family issues, and most surprisingly and heart warmingly..the young girl and orphan that they take into their home.


As Diana finally learns to better control her talents and even more importantly lets go of some of her fears and inhibitions and starts to accept them as being part of herself she also grows tremendously, opens up  and develops the strength to defend herself when needed. I don't want to say too much for I feel that I've already given too much away...


**End Spoiler Alert**


I doubt that I can express exactly how much I love this series.  This book has something for everyone-Witches, Daemons, Vampires, Romance, Mystery, Intrigue, History, and more-you won't be disappointed.  Shadow of Night was as good if not better than A Discovery of Witches and I recommend it to...well...everyone!

Was it worth my Time? 

Cover Reveal & Necklace Giveaway: The Watcher by Lisa Voisin

About The Watcher:

Millennia ago, he fell from heaven for her.

Can he face her without falling again?

Fascinated with ancient civilizations, seventeen-year-old Mia Crawford dreams of becoming an archaeologist. She also dreams of wings—soft and silent like snow—and somebody trying to steal them.

When a horrible creature appears out of thin air and attacks her, she knows Michael Fontaine is involved, though he claims to know nothing about it. Secretive and aloof, Michael evokes feelings in Mia that she doesn’t understand. Images of another time and place haunt her. She recognizes them—but not from any textbook.

In search of the truth, Mia discovers a past life of forbidden love, jealousy and revenge that tore an angel from Heaven and sent her to an early grave. Now that her soul has returned, does she have a chance at loving that angel again? Or will an age-old nemesis destroy them both?

Ancient history is only the beginning. buried.


Find The Watcher:  Goodreads

The Cover:

The Giveaway!

Lisa has a lovely Angel Wings Necklace as a giveaway for this event! (International)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Added to the Bookshelf - 7/1/12

Sharing the books & bookish goodies that I've bought, borrowed, won, or been gifted and have added to my bookshelves over the past week!
(Inspired by Mailbox Monday, IMM, and the like)

Piper wanted to help out with the post today:)

Paperback of Quilt or Innocence

by Elizabeth Craig

As the newest member of the Village Quilters Guild, Beatrice has a lot of gossip to catch up on—especially with the Patchwork Cottage quilt shop about to close. It seems that Judith, the landlord everyone loves to hate, wants to raise the rent, despite being a quilter herself… But when Judith is found dead, the harmless gossip becomes an intricate patchwork of mischievous motives. And it’s up to Beatrice’s expert eye to decipher the pattern and catch the killer, before her life gets sewn up for good.

Personalized Paperback of  Dark Frost (Mythos Academy #3)

by Jennifer Estep

Plus some awesome signed bookmarks for the series!

Thanks Jennifer!!

I’ve seen so many freaky things since I started attending Mythos Academy last fall. I know I’m supposed to be a fearless warrior, but most of the time, I feel like I’m just waiting for the next Bad, Bad Thing to happen. Like someone trying to kill me—again.

Everyone at Mythos Academy knows me as Gwen Frost, the Gypsy girl who uses her psychometry magic to find lost objects—and who just may be dating Logan Quinn, the hottest guy in school. But I’m also the girl the Reapers of Chaos want dead in the worst way. The Reapers are the baddest of the bad, the people who murdered my mom. So why do they have it in for me?

It turns out my mom hid a powerful artifact called the Helheim Dagger before she died. Now, the Reapers will do anything to get it back. They think I know where the dagger is hidden, but this is one thing I can’t use my magic to find. All I do know is that the Reapers are coming for me—and I’m in for the fight of my life.

Signed Paperback of  Coming Up for Air

by Patti Callahan Henry 

Along with an awesome gardening pot, wildflower seedsand a seeded bookmark!

Thank you Patti:)

Ellie Calvin is caught in a dying marriage, and she knows this. With her beloved daughter away at college and a growing gap between her and her husband, she doesn’t quite seem to fit into her own life. But everything changes when her controlling mother, Lillian, passes away. Ellie sees her ex-boyfriend, Hutch, at the funeral, and learns that he is in charge of a documentary that involved Lillian before her death – and he wants answers to questions that Ellie’s not sure she can face.

As Ellie and Hutch start digging into Lillian’s history, and speaking for the first time in years, Ellie’s closed heart slowly begins to open. Using both a hidden diary that Ellie found in her mother’s things, and a trip to the Summer House, a mysterious and seductive bayside home, they gamble that they can work together and not fall in love again. But in piecing together a decades-old unrequited-love story, they just might uncover the secrets in their own hearts… 

Paperback of Lonely Souls (The Witch Avenue Series #1)

by Karice Bolton

Along with a cool Lonely Souls Tote, Postcards, Bookmarks,  two awesome decorated mini soaps, & a thank you note for agreeing to review her book! I book blog because I love it...but it does feel great to know that an author really appreciates we do! Thank You Karice!!

It’s two weeks before Triss turns 18, and her world is about to change into the most magical one imaginable as she readies herself to enter The Witch Avenue Order... that is until her mother’s disappearance. Instead of celebrating her transformation, she finds herself spreading rose petals into her mother’s empty grave.

When Logan, her best friend from junior high, moves back to town for college, he vows to help her find the answers she so desperately seeks surrounding her mother’s disappearance. As they begin uncovering clues, it becomes apparent that the life of white magic they both grew up loving is not what the majority practices, and their lives are in danger.

With a haunting feeling that her mother may still be alive, she begins to hear a call to the wilderness. Triss realizes that in order to find the answers she needs, she must learn the ways of her ancestors and become the hunter, not the hunted before it’s too late, and she becomes part of the lonely souls.

I also bought a few new Magnetic Bookmarks!  I love these things!!

That's all for me for the past week!

What new goodies have arrived on your doorstep?

Leave me a link in the comments and I'll come check out your post!

(I'm linking up to: Mailbox Monday, The Sunday Post, Showcase Sunday, & Stacking the Shelves)

Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge JULY Review Link Up

Thanks to everyone who's joined in on the fun and signed up for the 2012 Witches and Witchcraft Reading Challenge!!!  And if you haven't signed up yet---What are you waiting for???  Go to the sign up post here!  The sign up post has all the details about the challenge as well as some great reading suggestions!

TO LINK OTHER MONTHS REVIEWS - CLICK HERE

This is the official post where we can share info about what we've been reading for JULY.  Please link up your reviews, leave any additional comments below, and we can visit each other's posts and see what great Witchy books are out there!!!  Remember...you can link to a blog post or to a Goodreads/Amazon/Librarything/BN/Smashwords review, etc.

(And remember...every review that you link up counts as an entry for the prize at the end of the year!)

Link Up Your JULY Witchy Reviews Here! 

Where it asks for Your Name: Please list Title, Author, & Your Name (& Blog)

Link Up Your JULY Witchy Reviews Here!

Where it asks for Your Name: Please list Title, Author, & Your Name (& Blog)

"My Writing Process" with Shannon Duffy, Author of Spectral

My writing process:

Writing a novel for me, all starts with an idea. For Spectral, I wanted to write a book about witches—that was all I knew at first. And then after that an idea came to me one night when I had trouble sleeping. Then I talk about it and think about it for days letting it grow in my mind with the characters and further ideas.

Then I like to write a synopsis of the story. To me, it’s sorta like going on a road trip. You plan your trip all the way to the destination. But…sometimes, if you see something along the way that interests you, you can veer off your original plan. That’s how I do it with writing. I have my synopsis as a guide, but I don’t like to be so anal that I can’t have fun with it and decide on some new elements. Because as I write, new ideas come to me, so I give myself the freedom to go for it.

Along the way, my critique partners and I exchange chapters. This helps to motivate us to keep going and pick up on any problems before getting to the end and having to potentially change a lot. Also, doing it this way, the novel will be edited when you reach the end. I love doing it this way.

After I’ve re-read it again several times, making notes as I go…looking for strings left unanswered, any plot holes etc, I then send it off to my fabulous agent for her to read. She may send notes and I’ll have to make some revisions based on her thoughts.

And then…after that, it heads out into the land of the publishers. This is where you hope and dream and wait oh so (not) patiently, that someone will fall in love with all of your hard work and send you a beautiful contract.

Good luck to all of you writers who are on the journey to publication. And thanks for inviting me to your blog today.

~~Shannon

The Book:

Convinced she’s a part of the witness protection program, sixteen-year-old Jewel Rose is shuffled around the globe with her family like a pack of traveling gypsies. After arriving at lucky home twenty-seven, she stumbles upon a mysterious boy with magical powers claiming to be her guardian . . . and warning of imminent danger. Despite the obvious sparks between them, Jewel discovers a relationship is forbidden, and the more she learns about dark, brooding Roman, she begins to question who she can even believe — the family who raised her, or the supposed sworn protector who claims they’ve been lying to her all along.

As she struggles to uncover who her family has really been running from, she is forced to hide her birthmark that reveals who she is. With new realities surfacing, unexplained powers appearing, and two tempting boys vying for her heart, Jewel battles to learn who she can trust in an ever growing sea of lies, hoping she’ll make it through her seventeenth birthday alive.

Find the Book: Goodreads | Amazon | BN

The Trailer:

The Author:

Shannon Duffy writes young adult and middle grade fiction. She grew up on the beautiful east coast of Canada and now lives in Ontario, Canada. She is the mom of one boy, Gabriel, her angel. She loves writing, reading, working out, soccer, and the sport of champions-shopping. She is the author of the young adult paranormal romance, SPECTRAL. Her upcoming middle grade fantasy novel, GABRIEL STONE AND THE DIVINITY OF VALTA is scheduled for a January 2013 release.

Connect with Shannon:  Website  | Twitter | Facebook | Blog

Book Review: Redwood Bend by Robyn Carr

Title: Redwood Bend

Author:  Robyn Carr
Reading level:  Adult

Genre:  Contemporary Romance 

Size: 337 pages

Release Date: February 28th 2012

Publisher: Mira/Harlequin

Stand Alone or Series:  Virgin River #18 

Source: Publisher via NetGalley






First Line: Katie Malone quit her job and packed up her little Vermont House.

Summary (from GoodReads):

Katie Malone and her twin boys' trip along the beautiful mountain roads to Virgin River is stopped short by a tire as flat as her failed romance. To make matters worse, the rain has set in, the boys are hungry and Katie is having trouble putting on a spare. As she stands at the side of the road pondering her next move, she hears a distinct rumble. The sight of the sexy, leather-clad bikers who pull up beside her puts her imagination into overdrive.Dylan Childress and his buddies are on the motorcycle trip of a lifetime. But the sight of a woman in distress stops them in their tracks. And while the guys are checking out her car, she and Dylan are checking out one another.In one brief moment, the world tilts on its axis and any previous plans Katie and Dylan might have had for their futures are left at the side of the road.

My Thoughts:

I'll preface my thoughts by saying that this is the first in the series that I have read...I am not sure if jumping in at book 18 was a detriment...but I honestly didn't feel like I missed out on anything or was lost by not knowing the back stories of the other characters.


In this novel we meet the widowed Katie and her two twin boys as they move to the small town where her brother Conner lives.  She then not only has to worry about settling in and making a new life for herself and her boys but also deal with the attentions of "bad Boy" Dylan.


This book was well written and flowed very nicely. I also loved the rural setting and could easily imagine myself living there.  All of the characters and supporting characters were lovely although not very strong presences.


The romance and subsequent "obstacles" to be overcome were a bit annoying...but I find this typical with a lot of romance books where the only real obstacle is thick-headedness.  I tend to prefer books where there is more of a pressing or dangerous obstacle rather than one that could be solved by a simple conversation or self examination.


All in all this was a very pleasant and enjoyable read.  I can see why this series is so popular...this book was an easy comfortable read...perfect for summer.

Was it worth my Time? 

Cat Thursday - Rolling in the Sun

Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s) and then link up at the host's site: The True Book Addict. It's all for the love of cats! 
Piper sleeping in the sun and then leisurely having a roll...

  

Taking the Next Step with L.M. Pruitt

Taking the Next Step

Continuing the Series
~~LM Pruitt

No matter how many series I write, I’ll always have a special place in my heart for the Jude Magdalyn series. Jude and the gang were my foray into career writing and I’m so happy other people have read and enjoyed their story so far. It’s not over by a long shot—the latest book in the series, Shades of Blood, will be released later this week. Once again, I’ve done my best to bring local New Orleans vampire lore to the forefront while still delving into the crazy, kooky characters of the Crossroads.

I’m sharing a sample of Shades of Blood with you today to get you in the mood for the upcoming release. I hope everybody enjoys reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

 “You ever go on the Vampire Tour here? Probably not.” Duprees pulled at his tie, rolled his shoulders a little. “One of the stories they tell is about the Carter Brothers. And from that story comes another, a story about one of their last victims, a man named Felipe.”

“I’m not liking where this is going.” Theo rested a hand on the small of my back and I bit my lip to keep from hissing at the almost scorching heat. He noticed anyway and almost instantly, it went down to a more manageable temp. “Stop beating around the bush; finish it.”

“Felipe killed over twenty people. Drank their blood. Dissolved the bodies in acid.” Duprees delivered the facts in a cold, clipped voice. A cop’s voice. “His actions were discovered when his parents filed a missing person report and police investigated his address. He’d left his diary behind, the last entry detailing his plans to leave the city after throwing his latest victim into the Mississippi.”

“So he left. That’s good. He’d be pretty up there in age at this point.” My palms were starting to sweat and it had nothing to do with Theo. Even a blind man could see where this was going. I wasn’t blind.

But I really had wanted a peaceful holiday season.

“Jude.” Theo ran his hand up and down my spine. Normally it helped soothe. Right now, it just agitated me even more. “Time for us to face facts.”

“I don’t like this anymore than you do.” Duprees placed the photo of the note on top of the stack of papers, tapping them once. “But when I add two and two and get five, I have to start looking for the crazy missing element somewhere.”

I sat back heavily, raising my eyes to the ceiling. I closed them when I heard the front door slam open and shut in a way that could only mean Danie was back. The sounds of Celia and Mickeal arguing filtered down from the floor above. If I had to guess, Elizabeth had closed herself off in the kitchen, household accounts spread over the table. Rian would be nearby, but far enough away to not annoy.

I sighed, tilted my face down as I opened my eyes. “Well, I guess you could call a blood-thirsty, more than likely hell-bent on revenge vampire, a crazy element.”

The Books:

Shades of Desire 

By L.M. Pruitt 

Book 2 Jude Magdalyn Series

All I wanted was a little peace and quiet.

Instead, I've got dead Covenant members and a steady stream of letters from the new guy in town. His beverage of choice? A 2002 Merlot, with a shot or two of powerful virgin blood.

On top of that, I'm breaking in a new police liaison, failing at playing matchmaker, and fighting nausea like it's a full time job. All I wanted was a little peace and quiet.

Instead, I've got dead Covenant members and a steady stream of letters from the new guy in town. His beverage of choice? A 2002 Merlot, with a shot or two of powerful virgin blood.

On top of that, I'm breaking in a new police liaison, failing at playing matchmaker, and fighting nausea like it's a full time job.

Did I forget to mention that I've also got enough girls living at the Crossroads to start my own boarding school?

Peace and quiet? Out the window.

Shades of Gray

By L.M. Pruitt

Book 1 Jude Magdalyn Series

Jude Magdalyn Henries lives what many would call an unconventional life. 

Orphaned at birth, raised by nuns, a teenage runaway living on the streets... she now earns a living at odd jobs, including one as a fake tarot card reader. Very little about Jude's life appears normal, by any scale. 

When she accepts a gig to do a private reading, unconventional takes on an entirely new meaning. Life as she knows it ends when she's thrust into a world she never knew existed-one filled with magic, vampires, and her beloved New Orleans on the verge of an underground war. 

To make matters worse, she's got two men in her life vying for attention, Williams and Theo. Both call to a different part of her, but one scares her just a little bit. 

Can she step up to the challenges set before her and make the right choices for the greater good?

Find the Books: Goodreads | Amazon

Excerpt Shades of Desire

“If someone doesn’t get me a lemon in the next five minutes, everyone will suffer. A lot.”

“Jude, I love you. Which is why I can say you’re being just a little overdramatic.” One look at my face and Theo changed his tune. “But then again, you could say pregnancy is dramatic and you’re just getting into the groove.”

“Nice save.” I tried to sit up again. Halfway through the upward movement greasy waves of nausea rolled over me and I eased back down onto the pillow. Strands of black hair clung to my sweaty face and I closed my eyes, exhaling slowly. “Not as nice as that lemon would be right now, but nice.”

“Elizabeth will be here in a moment. No doubt she’ll have a lemon. And tea. And toast.” Theo turned over to face me, laying one hand over my still mostly flat stomach. If you looked close, you could see the smallest of bumps.

I know, because I checked. Every other day or so.

If anybody told me three months ago, that the week before Halloween, I’d be lying in bed with a man who absolutely adored me—even the crazy parts—I’d have asked them what the hell they were smoking. If they’d thrown in being pregnant, I would have punched them in their jaw. Then gone to the store and bought a dozen pregnancy tests and prayed for them all to be negative.

But that was before the Covenant.

In two weeks, I’d gone from being an orphan raised by nuns, to the latest in a long line of only daughters. Women charged with the protection and well-being of hundreds of people with unique powers. Some made flame burn for hours, while others called the wind to knock you flat on your ass. They were a group of people who came together over two-hundred years ago, bound by a prophecy. One with no past, lost in the present, will bring in the future, through gifts of both this world and the next.

And lucky me, I’d passed the job interview.

I’d sent Hart to a muddy, watery grave-literally. Unless something went crazy wrong, he’d stay under the Mississippi until the Final Judgment. Williams ruled the vampires of the city now and kept his distance as much as possible.

And I, Jude Magdalyn Henries, led the Covenant. Maybe I wasn’t terrific at it. But Gillian would be proud.

All things considered, I think I came out with a pretty good deal.

The Author:

L.M. Pruitt has been reading and writing for as long as she can remember. A native of Florida with a love of New Orleans, she has the uncanny ability to find humor in most things and would probably kill a plastic plant. She is the author of the Jude Magdalyn Series as well as New Moon Rising, featuring Cari Gravier, and Taken, featuring Frankie Post. She is currently at work on the next book in the Moon Rising series, Harvest Moon Rising, due out April 2012. Ms. Pruitt makes her home in Florida with two cats--one smart, the other not so much.

Connect with Cate:  Website  | Twitter | Facebook

Teaser Tuesdays - Lonely Souls by Karice Bolton

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Summary From Goodreads:

It's two weeks before Triss turns 18, and her world is about to change into the most magical one imaginable as she readies herself to enter The Witch Avenue Order... that is until her mother's disappearance. Determined to find out what happened to her mother, Triss uncovers cryptic messages that lead her to the dark side of magic that she never wanted to believe existed. Forced on a journey that may not give her the answers she was hoping for, it's up to Triss not to fall victim to the realm of Lonely Souls.

My Teaser:


"The entity hovered momentarily before it began its hunt once more, stopping only long enough for me to see a cloak wrapped around its shell.  I'd heard of this type of magic, but I didn't believe it truly existed."

Book Review: The Traitor's Wife by Kathleen Kent & Giveaway!

Title: The Traitor's Wife
Author:  Kathleen Kent
Reading level: Adult            
Genre:  Historical Fiction
Size: 296 pages            
Release Date:  September 26th 2011
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone (but is the prequel to The Heretic's Daughter)    
Source: My Personal Library








First Line:  "The young woman stepped from the wagon and turned to face the driver still holding the slackened reins."

Summary (from GoodReads):

I'll not ask you to be mine ... I will never seek to blunt the fury in you, never, and will honour your will as my own. What say you? Can you be a soldier's wife? 

New England, 1673. Martha Allen, a young woman reviled by her family because of her refusal to marry, is packed off to be a servant in her cousin's home. She takes charge of the neglected household and annoys everyone around her - including a mysterious Welshman who works for the family, a man whose forceful nature matches her own. As they both gradually let their guard down, a fragile, uneasy friendship grows between the pair. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, a band of assassins, driven by the will of Charles II, charter a ship to the New World. They have a single aim: to capture Thomas Morgan, the killer of Charles I, and bring him back to London where he will face an excruciating death. The Royalists want to see his head on a spike outside the Tower of London. 

As Martha begins to fall for the tall Welshman, he reveals a little of his past. It soon becomes clear that his life is in grave danger. As the threat of the assassins grows closer, can Martha find it in herself to be a traitor's wife?

My Thoughts:

I read this book because it is the prequel to The Heretic's Daughter which I read and reviewed last year.  (Read my Review of The Heretic's Daughter.)  I was initially intrigued with the story because I love the Colonial American period and anything to do with the Salem Witch Trials.  This book tells the tale  of Martha and how she met, fell in love and married Thomas Carrier.


I absolutely loved the character development in this story even more than in Kent's previous work.  I really felt like I came to know Martha and Thomas and I adored their independent natures and the way that they lived completely on their own terms  It also helped me to better understand the decisions that they made later in like in The Heretic's Daughter.  


The historical pieces of the tale were also well researched and imbued with enough mystery to keep me reading and wondering. And the constant sense of danger as Thomas's previous life begins to catch up with him had me unable to put this one down.


With beautiful prose and a great story of love and independence set on the turbulent backdrop of America in it's early days...this book is one I would definitely recommend to those who love historical fiction and strong characters.

Was it worth my Time? 

Giveaway:


I have a brand new paperback copy of this to give away to one lucky reader! (US Only) Use the rafflecopter below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Added to the Bookshelf - 6/24/12

Sharing the books & bookish goodies that I've bought, borrowed, won, or been gifted and have added to my bookshelves over the past week!
(Inspired by Mailbox Monday, IMM, and the like)

Paperback of Ten Beach Road
by Wendy Wax

Madeline, Avery, and Nikki are strangers to each other, but they have one thing in common. They each wake up one morning to discover their life savings have vanished, along with their trusted financial manager- leaving them with nothing but co-ownership of a ramshackle beachfront house.

Throwing their lots in together, they take on the challenge of restoring the historic property. But just as they begin to reinvent themselves and discover the power of friendship, secrets threaten to tear down their trust-and destroy their lives a second time.

Hardcover of Terminal Point (Strykers Syndicate #2)
by K.M. Ruiz

Blade Runner meets X-Men in this follow-up to Mind Storm where humanity faces extinction and it’s up to a group of rogue psions to save society
 

Fans of Charles Stross and Hannu Rajaniemi will lose themselves in this adventure as Threnody Corwin and her team of rogue Strykers contend with the aftermath of the events in Mind Storm and the unlocking of a new kind of psion power. They’re on the run with Lucas Serca, who is closer than ever to destroying the World Court and his father’s grip on the planet. Targeting the hidden cache of the planet’s food supply meant to transform Mars into a paradise for the chosen few, Lucas triggers an escalating fight with the ruling government as worldwide chaos ensues. It’s up to Threnody to save society before it destroys itself, but the cost is high and in the end, there is no such thing as compromise. 
 
There is only survival.

In Threnody Corwin, K. M. Ruiz has created the coolest and most bad-ass sci-fi heroine since Signourney Weaver portrayed Ripley in the Alien films and Terminal Point takes her to the next level.

ARC of Thy Neighbor
by Norah Vincent

At thirty-four, Nick Walsh is a broken, deeply cynical man. Since the violent deaths of his parents thirteen years earlier, he has been living alone in his childhood home in the suburban Midwest, drinking, drugging, and debauching himself into oblivion. A measure of solace is provided by his newly found relationship with Monica, a mysterious woman who seems to harbor as many secrets as he does.

Obsessed with understanding the circumstances surrounding his parents' deaths and deranged by his relentless sorrow, Nick begins a campaign of spying on his neighbors via hidden cameras and microphones he has covertly installed in their houses. As he observes with amusement and disbelief all the strange, sad, and terrifying things that his neighbors do to themselves and to one another, and as he, in turn, learns that he is being stalked, he begins to slowly unravel the shocking truth about how and why his parents died.

At once unsettling and moving, humorous and horrifying, Thy Neighbor explores the nature of grief, the potential isolation of suburban life, and who we really are when we think no one is watching. What readers and critics have admired in Norah Vincent's nonfiction is completely unleashed in this vivid and provocative novel.

Audiobook of The Grapes of Wrath
by John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression follows the western movement of one family and a nation in search of work and human dignity. Perhaps the most American of American classics.

The novel focuses on the Joads, a poor family of sharecroppers driven from their Oklahoma home by drought, economic hardship, and changes in financial and agricultural industries. Due to their nearly hopeless situation, and in part because they were trapped in the Dust Bowl, the Joads set out for California. Along with thousands of other "Okies", they sought jobs, land, dignity and a future. When preparing to write the novel, Steinbeck wrote: "I want to put a tag of shame on the greedy bastards who are responsible for this [the Great Depression and its effects]." The book won Steinbeck a large following among the working class, perhaps due to the book's sympathy to the workers' movement and its accessible prose style.

The Grapes of Wrath is frequently read in American high school and college literature classes. A celebrated Hollywood film version, starring Henry Fonda and directed by John Ford, was made in 1940.

Audiobook of Irises
by Francisco X Stork

Two sisters discover what's truly worth living for in the new novel by the author of MARCELO IN THE REAL WORLD.

TWO SISTERS: Kate is bound for Stanford and an M.D. -- if her family will let her go. Mary wants only to stay home and paint. When their loving but repressive father dies, they must figure out how to support themselves and their mother, who is in a permanent vegetative state, and how to get along in all their uneasy sisterhood.

THREE YOUNG MEN: Then three men sway their lives: Kate's boyfriend Simon offers to marry her, providing much-needed stability. Mary is drawn to Marcos, though she fears his violent past. And Andy tempts Kate with more than romance, recognizing her ambition because it matches his own. 

ONE AGONIZING CHOICE: Kate and Mary each find new possibilities and darknesses in their sudden freedom. But it's Mama's life that might divide them for good -- the question of *if* she lives, and what's worth living for.

IRISES is Francisco X. Stork's most provocative and courageous novel yet.

Audiobook of Sense and Sensibility
by Jane Austen


'The more I know of the world, the more am I convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love. I require so much!'

Marianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister Elinor's warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from those closest to her. Through their parallel experience of love—and its threatened loss—the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and money govern the rules of love.

That's all for me for the past week!

What new goodies have arrived on your doorstep?

Leave me a link in the comments!

(I'm linking up to: Mailbox Monday, The Sunday Post, Showcase Sunday, & Stacking the Shelves)