Sunday Salon: The Trouble with Jane Austen

I’m currently reading Mansfield Park. It’s the fourth book of Jane Austen I’ve read. Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Emma preceded it. But with all of these books, I keep running into the same problem: it takes me ages to read them!

Don’t get me wrong, I like them. I rate them highly, I recommend them, I like the story. But while reading it… It feels a bit like walking through jelly, it’s slow going, I can’t seem to read more than a page or ten before having to stop and picking up something else. I always come back to the book, but I feel no great compulsion to keep reading, or even to pick it up again. Although, I always do pick it up in the end.

I’ve been reading Mansfield Park for four months now, and I’m not even halfway there. Yet I do want to read it, see where it ends. I do like the story. So why can’t I keep reading?

Does anybody else have this problem? What could be the cause? Should I just give up?

What's on Your Nightstand

There's definitely a lot on my nightstand. I hope that the next month will be just as productive as this month. I've finally gotten into the swing of things, reading wise, and I don't want to lose that momentum.

Definitely Reading:

I'm definitely going to read The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree, the first book in the newest series from Susan Wittig Albert. I'm very much looking forward to this book, as it's set in the Great Depression and I've never read any books set in that era before.

Also on the definite pile is The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran. I'm hoping it will just as good as Nefertiti. If it is, I'm sure to enjoy it.

Also on the definite pile is First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough. I've already started this, so it's just a matter of finishing it. That won't be hard, it's the kind of story that just sucks you in.

Hoping to Read:

I'm hoping to read Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox by Eion Colfer. It's been sitting on my shelf for quite a while.

Also hoping to read is The Siege by Helei Dunmore for Russia in my Book Around the World challenge.

May Read:

If I can find the time, I may read The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan. His new series is coming out in October and I'd like to have read his complete Percy Jackson series by then.

Bookreview: Bedeviled Angel

Author: Annette Blair
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Published: 2010
Personal rating: 4/5
Yearly count: 13

In a building collapse, Chance Godricson is meant to live and Queisha Saint-Denis to die, but he sent her up his escape tunnel before him, and it collapsed behind her ... and became her guardian angel. Now Queisha's about to face the most difficult challenge of her life and Chance wants to be there for her. Enter Angus, a fellow angel, who knocks Chance back to earth, and to Queisha, without permission. Will the archangels let Chance stay? For how long? And at what cost?

Was it a dragon that came to our Earth dimension last time, this new book in Annette Blair's Works Like Magick series deals with an angel getting knocked down to Earth.

Chance's side of the story was delightful. His fellow angel-turned-cherub Angus was great, Chance made my heart melt several times and the fact that Annette Blair made God a woman was icing on the cake!

Queisha's side of the equation wasn't as strong. She was still a good character and the chemistry between her and Chance was there, but I felt cheated out of the best parts, since every problem seemed to be so very easy to overcome.

Still, all in all it was a good book that I read with a smile on my face.

Sunday Salon: Theme Read: Nature/Living Close to the Land

The Reading Globally group on Librarything has a theme read each month. This month it was Nature/Living Close to the Land. As explained by Avaland, the host for this month:

The August theme read celebrates books in which the natural world or "the land" does not just offer a backdrop, but plays a significant role in the story. In the kind of stories we are talking about, which are not merely books with natural settings, but those in which the character or characters' interaction with the natural world is as important as their interactions with each other. Rivers, forests, jungles, mountains, plains, deserts, whole regions or one specific spot; it's the kind of the story that truly exists globally.



My pick for this month's theme read was a book that had been in my TBR pile for a while: Daughter of Kura by Debra Austin, which I reviewed here. It's a prehistoric setting, following a young Homo erectus female in Southeast Africa half a million years ago.

Her surroundings are mainly savanna and her environment is all-important for survival. Dangers, like predators, lurk everywhere, but it is also where they find the food needed to survive. This makes it so that at every one time the characters are so much more aware of their surroundings than any modern character can ever hope to be.

There are almost poetic descriptions of the environment in the books. For instance this quote, from chapter one:

"Greens, yellows, and purples seethed from the gray cloud anvil into the blue expanse before it."

This kind of role that nature plays is visible in all prehistoric books I've read. Jean Auel's Clan of the Cavebear and subsequent novels come to mind, as does The Inheritors by William Golding.

But there's also another kind of booko where I see this kind of role for nature, although there it's more living close to the land than wild nature. In books about small, rural communities nature plays a big part, mostly because the land plays a big part in the lives of the people. I've seen it in some of the books I've read about the Amish people by Beverly Lewis and also in an unpublished original story about a group of ranchers.

The land is so integral to their daily lives and they depend on it for their livelyhood, so it's not surprising to find nature playing a large part in books like that.

So, what kind of books have you read that have nature or living close to the land as a main theme?

Bookreview: Daughter of Kura

Author: Debra Austin
Genre: Historical fiction
Published: 2009
Personal rating: 5/5
Yearly count: 12

On the parched African earth more than half a million years ago sits the village of Kura, a matriarchal society of Homo erectus. Snap -- a young, passionate woman of Kura -- is destined to lead her people, and this year she must select a mate for the first time. Will she choose someone different each year, or will she find one mate she wants to pick over and over again, like her mother, Whistle, the next leader of Kura? As the Bonding ceremony approaches, Snap's future remains unknown. But Whistle, when her mate doesn't return, chooses a stranger with ideas far more dangerous than the lions that kill with a single slash.

When Snap challenges the stranger's growing power one too many times, she is brutally cast out to survive or perish. Abandoned and alone, she risks her life -- and the future of her people -- to stand up against an unthinkable evil. Unknown to her, the same danger threatens other villages as well. Soon, Snap and a new band of outcasts will face a force more terrifying -- and deadly -- than any of Africa's natural threats.

This novel reminded me of Jean Auel’s Clan of the Cavebear series. But where Auel needs a thick book to tell her slowly evolving story, Debra Austin packs quite a punch and does just as good a job in a book half the size.

Tension leaped off the page from the moment Bapoto walks into Snap’s life and I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the inevitable to happen. But when it did happen, I was surprised! There were several such surprises waiting for me throughout this book, where I was expecting something and a sudden twist turned everything around. The book was brilliant, quite powerful and made me think about religion without lecturing me about it, which is quite a feat. I highly recommend it!

Bookreview: Death at Gallows Green

Author: Robin Paige
Genre: Historical mystery
Published: 1995
Personal rating: 4.5/5
Yearly count: 11

Kathryn Ardleigh is everything the Victorian Englis gentlewoman is not – outspoken, free-thinking, American … and a writer of the frowned upon “penny-dreadfuls.” She shocked her ancestral home at Bishop’s Keep – and captured the interest of detective Sir Charles Sheridan as they solved their first case together.

Now the brutal demise of a local constable and the mysterious disappearance of a child have the sleuthing couple on the trail of deadly greed and criminal mischief once again. And with the help of a shy young woman who calls herself Beatrix Potter, Kate intends to uncover the sinister secrets of Gallows Green…

For those that have read Susan Wittig Albert’s series The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter, prepare to be shocked! This Beatrix Potter is quite different, which is understandable, as in this book Beatrix has not published her stories yet, let alone broken away from her parents like she’s done in The Cottage Tales. Still, it was quite an adjustment at first.

The mystery in this book was just as good as always. Twists and turns, wonderful characters, and little clues dropped everywhere for the reader makes for a very well thought out plot. The surprise ending had me floored, but it all made so much sense! Really, the ending was probably the best part of the whole book.

The only reason I did not give the book full points was the fact that throughout most of the book I wanted to grab Charles and Kathryn and bang their heads together. Especially Charles! He was the epitome of a stupid man in this book, a fact which Beatrix Potter also thought. The ending left me hopeful, however, so I guess I’ll just have to pick up the next book to see if he’s truly stopped being stupid. Not that it will be a hardship, as I am thoroughly enjoying this series.

Bookreview: To Tame a Dangerous Lord

Author: Nicole Jordan
Genre: Historical romance
Published: 2010
Personal rating: 3/5
Yearly count: 10

Dangerously sexy nobleman and former spymaster Rayne Kenyon, Earl of Haviland, has no interest in love. He merely desires an heir to carry on his title and therefore must have a wife. Rayne makes a surprising choice of brides by settling on the plain spinster daughter of a fellow spy who once saved his life. Yet spirited, witty Madeline Ellis proves much more than he bargained for.

Dazed by Rayne's smoldering kisses, Madeline knows that she's at last found love – with a man determined to avoid it. Once wedded, she decides to take fate into her own hands. Maybe, just maybe, she can kindle the fires in Rayne's heart by turning her plain, ordinary self into a dazzling temptress. With a little help from the Loring sisters, the earl's artless new wife becomes a beautiful, bold seductress in their marriage bed. But who could imagine that a simple marriage of convenience can suddenly be flooded with danger, desire, and unexpected love?

I had a very hard time getting truly engaged in this story. It failed to truly engage me until the last quarter of the book. The writing was just as good as the previous books from the Courtship Wars series, that wasn’t the problem. Perhaps it was the fact that the woman played the seductress in this? Perhaps it was that Rayne was so aloof for most of the book? Or maybe it was because there were no sparks between Rayne and Madeline, in either anger or passion?

Whatever the reason, this book definitely ranks the lowest of the series so far. That being said, the writing was solid, the characters well developed and interesting and the story enticing enough for me to finish this book. A reasonable read, all in all. Hopefully the next book, the last in the series, will be better.


Picture and description of book taken from Nicole Jordan's website.

Bookreview: Witch Fire

Author: Anya Bast
Genre: Romance
Published: 2007
Personal rating: 4.5/5
Yearly count: 9

Mira Hoskins doesn’t know she’s a natural born witch who possesses the rare—and powerful—element of air. She also never expected to find herself tied to a mahogany bed frame, captive to a man who aches to fulfill her every desire and let loose the magick that dwells inside her…

Heat emanates from elemental fire witch Jack McAllister. The Coven, a governing authority of witches, has sent him to protect Mira from a band of warlocks who drain witches of power… and life. Long ago, he saw Mira’s parents murdered by this same dark magick. He’d like to quell his guilt and offer her everything she deserves. But she’s the long-lost cousin of his boss—making seduction off-limits.

With Jack’s strong guidance, Mira is luring forth her inner magick. But his sense of duty is quickly swelling into insatiable hunger. They warned him about the natural attraction between air and fire. Now he risks being consumed by the woman he shouldn’t want—but can’t stay away from …

This first book in the Elemental Witch Series is a smoldering paranormal romance, teeming with the thrill of danger. Jack's a guy any girl could (and probably would) fall for. The chemistry between Mira an Jack is great, as is the tension of Jack's past colliding with the present.

The only negative thing I can say about the book is that Mira is sometimes a little too good to be true, with the rate she is learning about her magic. It feels like the author is trying to off-set this 'perfect' characteristic by giving Mira a deep-seated insecurity about her looks. That, to me, made Mira a bit of a 'dime-a-dozen' character, which is the reason I didn't give the book full points. Still, a recommended read!

Author Page: Julia Quinn

I was introduced to Julia Quinn's writing by the book The Duke and I, which I loved. The rest of the Bridgerton series soon followed. I'm now intending to read everything else she has written. That's how much I love her writing.

Agents for the Crown

To Catch an Heiress
How to Marry a Marquis


Bevelstoke

The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever
What Happens in London
Ten Things I Love About You


Bridgerton

The Duke and I review
The Viscount Who Loved Me review
An Offer from a Gentleman review
Romancing Mr. Bridgerton review
To Sir Phillip, Wwith Love review
When He Was Wicked review
It's in His Kiss review
On the Way to the Wedding review

The Viscount Who Loved Me Second Epilogue
Romancing Mr. Bridgerton Second Epilogue
When He Was Wicked Second Epilogue
It's in His Kiss Second Epilogue
An Offer from A Gentleman Second Epilogue
To Sir Philip, With Love Second Epilogue


Lady Whistledown

The Further Observations of Lady Whistledown
Lady Whistledown Strikes Back


Lyndon Sisters

Everything and the Moon
Brighter Than the Sun


The Splendid Arc

Splendid review
Dancing at Midnight review
Minx
A Tale of Two Sisters (Where's My Hero? Anthology)


Two Dukes of Wyndham

The Lost Duke of Wyndham
Mr. Cavendish, I Presume

Bookreview: The Sea of Monsters

Author: Rick Riordan
Genre: Young adult
Published: 2006
Personal rating: 5/5
Yearly count: 8

The second book in the Percy Jackson series is just as great as the first one. From the masterful, humorous chapter titles to the adventure that keeps you reading page after page, this book is great!

Percy Jackson is thrust into adventure again, finds a lost relative and the plot that began in the first book thickens. The story is once again packed full of Greek mythology, masterfully woven into the modernday world.

Highly recommended book, but do read the first book before starting this one!

Author Page: Michelle Moran

I got to know Michelle Moran's writing through the blogs I read. When her book Nefertiti came out there was such a hype, I couldn't help but notice her. I only recently read it, but I am well and truly hooked on this fantasic historic fiction author!

Novels

Egyptian

Nefertiti review
The Heretic Queen review

Egyptian/Roman

Cleopatra's Daughter review

France

Madam Tussaud
The Second Empress (2012)

Bookreview: The Scot, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Author: Annette Blair
Genre: Romance
Published: 2006
Personal rating: 3.5/5
Yearly count: 7

Talk about meeting the man of your dreams ... A Highland Scot with a hidden agenda and a hereditary Pictish Witch in denial discover shared dreams and a century-old spell that could change them forever

Salem, Massachusetts

Like her female ancestors before her, Victoria Cartwright inherits the key to the bewitched contents of her family's mysterious attic wardrobe ... except that no one has ever succeeded in opening it. Only the daughter who inherits her ancestor's magic will be able to turn the key ... meet her destiny ... and complete her ancestor's spell.

Caperglen, Scotland

A pariah in his own village, like his ancestors before him, Rory MacKenzie is searching for the carousel unicorn that his many-great grandfather carved and was bewitched into giving away. Bringing the family treasure back to Scotland and reuniting it with the other eleven zodiac figures will satisfy the locals who were raised with the daft notion that the unicorn will restore village prosperity. It died the day the unicorn was shipped to America a century before. But all Rory wants is to restore the MacKenzie name to dignity.

When a carousel unicorn with the sign of Aquarius beneath its forelock shows up on the Antiques Roadshow, Rory heads to Salem, Massachusetts to see if Miss Victoria Cartwright's unicorn has the hidden compartment that his ancestor carved beneath the saddle.

After they meet, their shared dreams escalate and become more explicit, more erotic. Something witchy or downright magical is happening in Salem.

The last book in the Accidental Witch Trilogy and sadly also the least.

While Rory is a great character, torn between what his heart wants and what his mind tells him is his duty, Victoria is a little bit too insecure for me. Also, the sudden appearance of three characters at the end rubbed me the wrong way. I fear these characters were inserted into this book to make a connection to the next series by Annetter, which is about these three women, so as to attrack readers. I felt they detracted from this book.

That being said, the story about the carousel and the unfolding story of Rory and Victoria's ancestors makes this book a good, solid read. The above mentioned elements make it so it's not a great book, but all in all it's a nice read.

Author Page: Nicole Jordan

How exactly I came to read Nicole Jordan, I am not sure. I was probably referred to her books when I expressed my liking of Julia Quinn's writing. Either way, her Courtship Wars series has me hooked and I am quite willing to read the rest of her books as well. She has some fabulous series.

Courtship Wars

To Pleasure a Lady review
To Bed a Beauty review
To Seduce a Bride review
To Romance a Charming Rogue review
To Tame a Dangerous Lord review
To Desire a Wicked Duke review


Logendary Lovers

Princess Charming (yet to come)


Notorious Series

The Seduction
The Passion
Desire
Ecstasy
The Prince of Pleasure


Novels

Velvet Embrace
Desire and Deception
Moonwitch
Tender Feud
Lord of Desire
Wildstar
Touch Me With Fire
The Savage
The Warrior
The Lover


Rocky Mountain Trilogy

The Outlaw
The Heart Breaker


Paradise Series

Master of Temptation
Lord of Seduction
Wicked Fantasy
Fever Dreams
(Hawk's story will be told in Legendary Lovers Book #3)

Bookreview: My Favorite Witch

Author: Annette Blair
Genre: Romance
Published: 2006
Personal rating: 5/5
Yearly count: 6


After catching her jock-fiancee in bed with her sister, Kira Fitzgerald has opted for a new start, working for charity at The Pickering Foundation. Imagine her delight when she discovers that her new boss is also a jock. Imagine the jock's delight when he discovers that his new coordinator is an honest to goddess witch, of the spell-casting, penis-withering variety.

Because the jock's grandmother is their boss, and a matchmaker, not only do they have to work together, they have no choice but to share living quarters as well. Thank the Goddess Kira knows a few magic curses to keep the sexy-as-hell jock from rattling her nerves.

Jason Pickering Goddard has uttered a few curses himself, without the magic, at his bum leg, the result of a car accident that ended his hockey career--temporarily, he hopes--and at his grandmother who's roped him into helping save The Pickering Foundation's school for boys. Jason knows the doctors are wrong, and it's just a matter of time before he's back on the ice. But the only ice he sees coming for the moment is from Kira Fitzgerald, his new Coordinator of Special Events.

The second book in the Accidental Witch Trilogy.

I absolutely loved this book. Kira and Jason have such good chemistry, there is a lot of humor in this story and the surrounding story is very good as well. Annette even throws in a little bit of mystery!

Highly recommended. The best book in this trilogy!

Author Page: Rick Riordan

The first book I read from Rick Riordan was The Lightning Thief. I fell in love with the blend of modern world and Greek mythology. Not to mention the humor! And when I heard he was writing a series that used Egyptian mythology I was over the moon, as that was my very first love, when talking about history. And now, the Percy Jackson series gets a sequel, of sorts, with his new series The Heroes of Olympus!


The Heroes of Olympus

The Lost Heroes review
The Son of Neptune
Book Mark of Athena (fall 2012)
Book #4 (fall 2013)
Book #5 (fall 2014)


The Kane Chronicles

The Red Pyramid review
The Throne of Fire
The Serpent's Shadow (spring 2012)


Percy Jackson and the Olympians

The Lightning Thief review
The Sea of Monsters review
The Titan's Curse review
The Battle of the Labyrinth review
The Sword of Hades (short story) review
The Last Olympian review

The Demigod Diaries (short story anthology) (August 14, 2012)

Author Page: Annette Blair

My introduction to Annette Blair came with the book Kitchen Witch. As is often the case with me, the title caught my attention. The superb writing did the rest. After reading the Accidental Witch Trilogy, I am now focussing on Triplet Witch Trilogy, a logical next series as it stems from the Accidental Witch Trilogy. I'm also devouring her lastest series Works Like Magic, and I have to find the time to read her Vintage Magic Mystery. After that, perhaps I'll tackle the rest of her books.

Accidental Witch Trilogy

Kitchen Witch review
My Favorite Witch review
The Scot, the Witch & the Wardrobe review


Novels

Lady Faith
Lady Patience
Thee I Love
The Butterfly Garden
Scoundrel in Disguise


Rogue's Club

An Undeniable Rogue
An Unforgettable Rogue
An Unmistakable Rogue
A Christmas Baby


Triplet Witch Trilogy

Sex and the Psychic Witch
Gone with the Witch
Never Been Witched


Vintage Magic Mysteries

A Veiled Deception
Larcency and Lace
Death By Diamonds
Skirting the Grave (July 2011)


Works Like Magic

Naked Dragon review
Bedevilled Angel review
Vampire Dragon review

Author Page: Susan Wittig Albert

I first encountered Susan Wittig Albert's books in my library, when I was perusing the shelves. A book with the title Lavender Lies caught my attention because of the herb in the title. Upon perusing the back, I discovered it was part of a series. I looked up the first book in the series, and so my journey into the world of China Bayles began.

After the China Bayles Herbal Mysteries came the Robin Paige Victorian Mysteries, which is a co-written series with Susan's husband Bill Albert under the name Robin Paige. The next logical step was the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter series. And last, but certainly not least, the eagerly awaited new series The Darling Dahlias.


China Bayles Herbal Mysteries

Thyme of Death
Witches' Bane
Hangman's Root
Rosemary Remembered
Rueful Death review
Love Lies Bleeding review
Chile Death review
Lavender Lies review
Mistletoe Man review
Bloodroot review
An Unthymely Death and Other Garden Mysteries review
Indigo Dying review
A Dilly of a Death review
Dead Man's Bones
Murder Most Crafty (anthology, one China Bayles short story)
Bleeding Hearts
Spanish Dagger
Nightshade
Wormwood
Holly Blues
Mourning Gloria (April 2011)

Loosely connected to the series: China Bayles' Book of Days


The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter

The Tale of Hill Top Farm review
The Tale of Holly How review
The Tale of Cuckoo Brow Wood
The Tale of Hawthorn House
The Tale of Briar Bank
The Tale of Appleback Orchard
The Tale of Oat Cake Crag
The Tale of Castle Cottage (September 2011)


The Darling Dahlias

The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree review
The Darling Dahlias and the Naked Ladies (July 2011)


The Robin Paige Victorian-Edwardian Mysteries

Death at Bishop's Keep review
Death at Gallows Green review
Death at Daisy's Folly review
Death at Devil's Bridge
Death at Rottingdean
Death at Whitechapel
Death at Espom Downs
Death at Dartmoor
Death at Glamis Castle
Death in Hyde Park
Death at Blenheim Palace
Death on the Lizard

Authors I Read (Almost) Everything From

There are always authors that grab you with the first book you read of them. When I come across an author like that, I like to check out their other books. Sometimes, those books don't grab me in quite the way the first book did. But there are times when almost everything an author has written is just as wonderful. For those authors I read everything I can my hands on.

For my own, and your, convenience, I have listed those authors here below with a link to their own page. They appear in alphabetical order, sorted by last name.

Susan Wittig Albert (also Robin Paige)

Annette Blair

Ken Follett

Juan Gomez-Jurado

Nicole Jordan

Michelle Moran

Rick Riordan

Julia Quinn

Bookreview: The Red Pyramid

Author: Rick Riordan
Genre: Young Adult
Published: 2010
Personal rating: 5/5
Yearly count: 5

Since their mother’s death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane.

One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a "research experiment" at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives.

Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them--Set--has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe--a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family, and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.

This is the first book in Rick Riordan's new series The Kane Chronicles. It's once again a great book that blends ancient myths with the modern world. This time it's Ancient Egypt, one of my favorite periods of history. The details in the book are astounding, accented by the pictures that make you literally see the symbols that play such an important part of the story.

As always, Rick Riordan's book is filled with humor, funny little things woven into the action. You're on the edge of your seat and laughing out loud, often at the same moment. The cast of secondary characters is also brilliant and in my opinion even better than in his Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.

All in all, a highly recommended book and I am eagerly awaiting the next book in this series.


Description and picture of the book taken from Rick Riordan's website

Bookreview: Rahab's Story

A book I read last year, but failed to review is Rahab's Story by Ann Burton. It's the second book in her Woman of the Bible series.

Accused of witchery, Rahab is banished to certain death in Jericho. Now the girl once known as Beautiful Rahab must join the ranks of the city's prostitutes. She keeps her faith in God, but when Jewish spies appear, begging her to hide them, she must decide: stay safe and deny them-or help her fellow believers and transform herself from harlot to heroine.

This is a compelling story, perhaps even more compelling than Abigail's Story. I loved all the details, loved Rahab's faith and thought her feelings and practicality were very realistic.

A great book, 5 stars, very recommended.

Back from being away...

As you all have probably seen, I haven't been updating this blog. Not because I haven't been interested in doing so, but because I have been so busy I haven't been reading much.

Real life is much better now, so I have been starting with my reading again. Expect some updates soon!