This volume picks up where Volume 1 left off. Thea and her husband are living in Scotland, raising a second family, while their eldest son 18-year-old Vix (short for Vercingetorix) joins the […]
As is usual with second volumes in a series, this one did not quite match up to Kate Quinn’s first, her MISTRESS OF ROME. What drove the first novel was the high-stakes […]
The clock hand crawled to eleven o’clock, then carriage wheels groaned up the hill and rolled to a stop. Maria flew out of her seat, disappearing into the foyer while I followed […]
Before I talk about this stunning debut novel, I would like to give a shout-out to the narrator, Elizabeth Wiley. Our pleasure in the audiobook experience is so dependent on the narrator. […]
THE LION & THE ROSE really made this duology. I already loved THE SERPENT & THE PEARL, where Carmelina is making her crostata, marzipan & tortes, Giulia is running downstairs gossiping & […]
Kate Quinn is such a talented writer. THE SERPENT & THE PEARL (the first in a duology about the Borgia Pope Alexander VI in 1490s Rome) begins with a sniff. Carmelina is […]
“Your father is busy,” she replied after a clipped silence. “You may blame his absence on the Emperor Napoleon.” There was a short pause. “You know who he is, don’t you child?” […]
This volume is very similar to CHILDREN OF EARTH AND SKY, but whereas CHILDREN takes place in around 1478, i.e. around 25 years AFTER the fall of Constantinople (Sarantium), BRIGHTNESS takes place […]
It is 1478. The great city of Sarantium (Byzantium/Constantinople) was sacked 25 years ago by the Ashurites (Muslims) and is now called Ashuria (Istanbul). The Council of Twelve of the Republic of […]
Hmmm. The trouble with trying to write a review about Guy Gavriel Kay is that he is a talented author who has written some wonderful novels – TIGANA, YSABEL, UNDER HEAVEN & […]
Mr. Clayton nodded briefly, but his blue eyes hardened as he stared at his wife.Suddenly, he caught sight of me. There was something about his smile I did not care for. Nevertheless, […]
How I loved THE HUNTRESS, Kate Quinn’s study in evil! We are in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the spring of 1946. The Second World War has just ended, when Jordan McBride is […]
Kate Quinn’s THE ALICE NETWORK is superb. Like many historical novels today, this one has a braided narrative, alternating between 1915 and 1947. Nineteen-year-old Charlotte “Charlie” Sinclair is looking for her much-loved […]
In this re-telling of RAPUNZEL, we are in modern-day USA. It is summer and we are in a vacation spot in New England. Raphaela and her mother have an unusual tower of […]
“Ten thousand pounds, Clayton. That’s my price.” “I haven’t got the money.” “Come now! I hear you’re to marry an heiress with thirty thousand.” “Why should I pay? Your daughter is a […]
This is the second volume, that follows on from author Anthony Horowitz’s wildly successful MAGPIE MURDERS. Like that novel, we have a novel within a novel, as the protagonist is an editor. […]
I love it when I experience a really clever piece of writing. That is why I am such a fan of Georgette Heyer’s THE MASQUERADERS, John Grisham’s THE RUNAWAY JURY and Agatha […]
“This intriguing tale explores the hopes, plans, and struggles of Angelina, the stubborn youngest daughter of a troubled Italian-American family, and her two daughters. A widow, Angelina became a “fallen woman,” acting as a mistress over the years in an attempt to earn her own money, and the story opens just as her life begins to change.
The author has clearly done a great deal of historical research into the time, filling the story with details about the clothes, buildings, and passersby, to where readers can enjoy an immersive experience. The dialogue similarly seems to fit, with some lines in Italian and then translated into English to give the feel of the characters and the way they’ve kept their heritage alive.”
“Farewell My Life is a period drama in the form of a book, but the early 1920s form so much more than just a set piece to watch the lives of characters unfold. Every person in the book is masterfully shaped by the era, showing both prejudices, which would be overcome by living in the modern-day and inner strength and drive to claim what one wants that has existed throughout time. By not shying away from either, the author has made a masterpiece, one readers can easily lose themselves in. As the book sweeps on, Grace is brought from Georgetown to post-war Berlin, where she pursues her own passions to become a violinist, before being thrown into the middle of family strife she had no notion existed even the day before she became the center of it. It is an intimate epic, an image of the minutiae of lives spelled out against the vastness of family history.”
“I loved the elaborate descriptions of all the places in this book. This is the kind of book that shows instead of just telling.
I also loved the historical setting and how the everyday situations were described. The novel is set in Berlin, in the middle of the two wars, so the Nazis are obviously an important factor in the story.
The characters are very well-developed and interesting to read about. Angelina is a fascinating character, as is Grace. Along the duration of the book, Grace learns a lot about herself. I was amazed by her quiet yet vibrant personality, and her brilliant talent.”
