Time got away from me yesterday, and I completely forgot to announce we have a winner of the copy of Five Night Stand.
Congratulations to KARA S.
Happy Reading.
Category Archives: Book Talk
A Match for Marcus Cynster, by Stephanie Laurens #Excerpt Tour #Giveaway @TLCBookTours
I’m so excited to be part of the TLC Book Tours EXCERPT TOUR for the release of the latest book in Stephanie Laurens’ Cynster Series, A Match for Marcus Cynster!
About the book, A Match for Marcus Cynster 
- Series: Cynster (#23)
- Mass Market Paperback: 438 pages
- Publisher: Mira (May 26, 2015)
Duty compels her to turn her back on marriage. Fate drives him to protect her come what may. Then love takes a hand in this battle of yearning hearts, stubborn wills, and a match too powerful to deny. #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens returns to rugged Scotland with a dramatic tale of passionate desire and unwavering devotion.
Restless and impatient, Marcus Cynster waits for Fate to come calling. He knows his destiny lies in the lands surrounding his family home, but what will his future be and with whom will he share it?
Of one fact he feels certain: his fated bride will not be Niniver Carrick. His elusive neighbor attracts him mightily, yet he feels compelled to protect her—even from himself. Fickle Fate, he’s sure, would never be so kind as to decree that Niniver should be his. The best he can do for them both is to avoid her.
Niniver has vowed to return her clan to prosperity. The epitome of fragile femininity, her delicate and ethereal exterior cloaks a stubborn will and an unflinching devotion to the people in her care. She accepts that she cannot risk marrying and losing her grip on the clan’s reins to an inevitably controlling husband. Unfortunately, many local men see her as their opportunity.
Soon, she’s forced to seek help to get rid of her unwelcome suitors. Powerful and dangerous, Marcus Cynster is perfect for the task. Suppressing her wariness over tangling with a gentleman who so excites her passions, she appeals to him for assistance with her peculiar problem.
Although at first he resists, Marcus discovers that, contrary to his expectations, his fated role is to stand by Niniver’s side and, ultimately, to claim her hand. Yet in order to convince her to be his bride, they must plunge headlong into a journey full of challenges, unforeseen dangers, passion, and yearning, until Niniver grasps the essential truth—that she is indeed a match for Marcus Cynster.
~ Excerpt ~
They buried Nigel and Nolan three days later. The atmosphere was more that of a witnessing than an honoring. The ambiance was strikingly different from that which had prevailed at their father’s funeral—but then Manachan had been revered by the clan and respected throughout the community, while Nigel and Nolan had been tolerated purely on the basis of being Manachan’s sons. As for acquaintances within the wider community, theirs proved to be limited to young hellions of similar ilk to themselves—irresponsible males intent on enjoying a hedonistic life with nary a thought for anyone or anything else.
Several of the latter unexpectedly turned up, driving curricles and phaetons, and greeting each other raucously.
The clan ignored them.
Initially, Niniver had been surprised by how many of the clan had chosen to attend. Then she’d realized that, for them as for her, the somber service marked the end of two years of uncertainty and unrest—two years of confusion, of not knowing what was going on, and of lost faith in the clan’s leadership.
Nigel was buried next to their father and mother in the Carrick family plot.
Nolan was buried in a far corner of the graveyard—rejected and disowned by all.
It was she who cast the first sod on Nolan’s coffin. Stony-faced, the clan elders followed her lead.
And then it was done.
No one felt any need to linger; everyone was glad to turn their backs and walk away.
As the gathering dispersed and the clan returned to the carts and drays that had brought them there, several of Nigel and Nolan’s friends surrounded her and attempted to press their patently insincere condolences on her.
She avoided society—in part because of just such men—but she’d long ago perfected one social art, that of keeping her feelings concealed and maintaining a mask of unruffled calm. Yet to be invited to join several would-be dandies on a picnic and, when she politely declined, to have her words ignored…
Luckily, Thomas intervened, and with several cutting words and a black scowl, he sent the horde packing. Together with Ferguson, Thomas escorted her away; she allowed them to lead her to her carriage, help her in, and shut the door.
Sean set the horses trotting, and the carriage pulled into the road, and finally, it was over.
She rested her head against the squabs and closed her eyes, holding in the tears that, suddenly, threatened to overflow.
Her family was gone—all of them. Thomas was her nearest blood relative, and he had his own place, his own role as consort to the future Lady of the Vale.
She…was alone. Completely alone. She had no place, no role—no life.
She was the one left behind.
But she knew the clan wouldn’t throw her out; she would have a place, a role, within it, even if she didn’t yet know what that would be.
She told herself to remain positive, or at least to keep her thoughts focused on what she yet had to do that day, on what lay immediately ahead.
The clan meeting to elect a new laird.
She sighed, opened her eyes, and glanced out of the window. “One way or another, I will find a way.”
Buy, read, and discuss A Match for Marcus Cynster
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Goodreads
About Stephanie Laurens 
New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens originally began writing as an escape from the dry world of professional science. Her hobby quickly became a career; she has been writing historical romance novels for more than 20 years. Currently living outside Melbourne, Australia with her husband and two cats, she spends most of her days writing new stories in her signature ‘Errol Flynn meets Jane Austen” style.
Connect with Stephanie
Giveaway 
Stephanie Laurens’ TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS: 
Monday, May 11th: From the TBR Pile
Tuesday, May 12th: Reading Reality
Wednesday, May 13th: Mom in Love with Fiction
Thursday, May 14th: In the Hammock
Friday, May 15th: Broken Teepee
Monday, May 18th: Let Them Read Books
Tuesday, May 19th: Bibliophilia, Please
Wednesday, May 20th: Bibliotica
Thursday, May 21st: Bell, Book & Candle
Friday, May 22nd: Urban Girl Reader
Monday, May 25th: Book Reviews and More by Kathy
Tuesday, May 26th: Bewitched Bookworms
Wednesday, May 27th: The Romance Dish
Wednesday, May 27th: Read Love Blog
Thursday, May 28th: A Chick Who Reads
Friday, May 29th: Written Love Reviews
The Predictions, by Bianca Zander (@biancazander) #review @TLCBookTours
About the book The Predictions 
• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (May 5, 2015)
Gaialands, a bucolic vegan commune in the New Zealand wilderness, is the only home fifteen-year-old Poppy has ever known. It’s the epitome of 1970s counterculture—a place of free love, hard work, and high ideals . . . at least in theory. But Gaialands’s strict principles are shaken when new arrival Shakti claims the commune’s energy needs to be healed and harnesses her divination powers in a ceremony called the Predictions. Poppy is predicted to find her true love overseas, so when her boyfriend, Lukas, leaves Gaialands to fulfill his dream of starting a punk rock band in London, she follows him. In London, Poppy falls into a life that looks very like the one her prediction promised, but is it the one she truly wants?
The Predictions is a mesmerizing, magical novel of fate, love, mistakes, and finding your place in the world.
Buy, read, and discuss The Predictions
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Goodreads
About the author, Bianca Zander 
Bianca Zander is British-born but has lived in New Zealand for the past two decades. Her first novel, The Girl Below, was a finalist for the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, and she is the recipient of the Creative New Zealand Louis Johnson New Writers’ Bursary and the Grimshaw Sargeson Fellowship, recognizing her as one of New Zealand’s eminent writers. She is a lecturer in creative writing at the Auckland University of Technology.
Connect with Bianca
My Thoughts
I was a bit trepidatious as I began reading Bianca Zander’s The Predictions, concerned that the entire novel would be pervaded by that “smells like Ren-Faire” feeling of too much patchouli and not enough common sense, as can so often happen when depicting life on a commune, but I needn’t have worried, because the main character, Poppy, leaped off the page, grabbed me by the hand, and took me with her on a journey that, ultimately wasn’t about the facts of growing up in an ‘alternative’ lifestyle, but the universal truth of finding our own definitions of ‘home’ and ‘family.’
For Poppy, both of those things are tied up in people – her younger brother Fred, who has a clubfoot, her mother Elisabeth who, like all adult members of the Gaialands commune, is referred to by her first name, and keeps her motherhood status ambiguous (though we all know Poppy is her daughter.) And then there’s Lukas, fellow commune kid turned rock musician, who is the catalyst for much of the change in Poppy’s life, as well as the anchor that keeps her entirely herself.
Mix in an earthy American hippie fortune teller (Shakti), a decent amount of globetrotting (New Zealand isn’t really a rock mecca) and a lot of growing up (we meet Poppy as an adolescent on the brink of adulthood) and you have The Predictions, an engaging, fast-paced story of love, loss, music, culture, home, family, and how we must all find our own versions of each.
Bonus points for author Zander’s use of language. All of the characters sound appropriate to the period (mid-70’s through 1989) and age-appropriate as well. Double bonus points for having Lukas utter one of my all-time favorite snarky phrases: “Perish the thought.”
I predict that you will find The Predictions interesting and engaging.
No patchouli required.
Goes well with: falafel made from organically grown chick peas, jicama sticks, and beet slaw.
Bianca’s Tour Stops
Tuesday, May 5th: No More Grumpy Bookseller
Wednesday, May 6th: Stephany Writes
Thursday, May 7th: From the TBR Pile
Thursday, May 14th: Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile
Monday, May 18th: In Bed with Books
Monday, May 18th: Bibliotica
Tuesday, May 19th: Living in the Kitchen with Puppies
Wednesday, May 20th: Book Loving Hippo
Thursday, May 21st: Good Girl Gone Redneck
Monday, May 25th: Every Free Chance Book Reviews
Five Night Stand, by Richard J. Alley (@richardalley) #review #giveaway @TLCBookTours
About the book, Five Night Stand
- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (May 12, 2015)
Legendary jazz pianist Oliver Pleasant finds himself alone at the end of his career, playing his last five shows, hoping the music will draw his estranged family back… Frank Severs, a middle-aged, out-of-work journalist, is at a crossroads as his longtime dreams and marriage grind to a standstill… And piano prodigy Agnes Cassady is desperately grasping for fulfillment before a debilitating disease wrenches control from her trembling fingers… When Frank and Agnes come to New York to witness Oliver’s final five-night stand, the timeless force of Oliver’s music pulls the trio together. Over the course of five nights, the three reflect on their triumphs and their sorrows: families forsaken, ideals left along the wayside, secrets kept. Their shared search for meaning and direction in a fractured world creates an unexpected kinship that just might help them make sense of the past, find peace in the present, and muster the courage to face the future.
Buy, read, and discuss Five Night Stand
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Goodreads
About the author, Richard J. Alley 
Richard J. Alley is an award-winning reporter, columnist, and editor from Memphis, Tennessee, where he lives with his wife and four children.
Connect with Richard
My Thoughts
I’ve loved music for as long as I can remember – I even think in music most of the time. My first instrument is cello, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate jazz, and, in fact, one of my early teachers was starting to teach me slap cello (yes, it’s a thing) before we moved away.
It should be no surprise, then, that I responded to Five Night Stand very favorably.
The plot, while simple, was captivating – three people brought together by music – all for different reason. The individual stories, especially those of Oliver and Agnes were poignant, bordering on sad in some places, but all three characters seemed to sing, their perfectly captured voices projecting far beyond the margins of the printed page. By the end of the novel, I felt like I knew these people.
The structure of the novel also worked: five nights, a finite space of time, but so much character development, so many nuances, filled those five nights. I felt like, more than writing a story, Richard Alley was conducting a symphony. A jazz symphony, with surprises of syncopation and deviations of meter that worked together to enhance the whole. Even the dissonant moments only added to the whole competition.
The language, though, is what hooked me. At first, like some of the other reviewers on this tour, it felt poetic to me, and then I realized, no, it’s not poetry, it’s a riff. It’s this wonderful booze-y, blues-y use of language that combines the sharp notes of New York with the softer ones of the South, where jazz and blues were really born.
Usually, when I finish reading a novel that I acquired solely for the purpose of reviewing, I delete the file from my over-packed Kindle to save space. Five Night Stand, however, has been moved to my ‘favorites’ collection, where, much like a much loved album, I can revisit it at my leisure and see what new things I find upon rereading it.
Goes well with: bbq ribs for an early dinner, followed by a glass of Scotch during the show.
Giveaway
If you live in the U.S.A. or Canada and want to experience Five Night Stand for yourself, leave a comment here on the blog telling me about your favorite musicians. Make sure you provide a valid email address (only I will see it) because winners will be contacted by email. Alternatively, find my twitter post about this review, and re-tweet it, tagging me: @Melysse.
Richard J. Alley’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:
Monday, May 11th: The Avid Reader
Tuesday, May 12th: Books a la Mode – author guest post
Tuesday, May 12th: Bell, Book & Candle
Wednesday, May 13th: Ageless Pages Reviews
Thursday, May 14th: Bibliotica – That’s ME!
Monday, May 18th: BookNAround
Monday, May 18th: Palmer’s Page Turners
Tuesday, May 19th: Mom’s Small Victories
Thursday, May 21st: Colloquium
Friday, May 22nd: Tina Says…
Tuesday, May 26th: My Book Retreat
Wednesday, May 27th: Unshelfish
Thursday, May 28th: A Lovely Bookshelf on the Wall
Monday, June 1st: Priscilla and her Books
Tuesday, June 2nd: Patricia’s Wisdom
Wednesday, June 3rd: Fictionophile
Friday, June 5th: The Well-Read Redhead
Giveaway Results
The giveaways for Lindsay McKenna’s TAKING FIRE and Sarah McCoy’s THE MAPMAKER’S CHILDREN have been concluded.
Sort of.
Pauline F., please check your email – your name was chosen for TAKING FIRE.
Daria, please check your email – your name was chosen for THE MAPMAKER’S CHILDREN.
The Summer’s End, by Mary Alice Monroe #quickreview
About the book, The Summer’s End 
- Series: Lowcountry Summer (Book 3)
- Paperback: 432 pages
- Publisher: Gallery Books (May 19, 2015)
In the powerful and heartwarming conclusion to her bestselling Lowcountry Summer trilogy, New York Times author Mary Alice Monroe brings her readers back to the charm and sultry beauty of Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina, to reveal how the pull of family bonds and true love is as strong and steady as the tides.
It is summer’s end and Sea Breeze, the family’s beloved estate on Sullivan’s Island, must be sold. It is an emotional time of transition as Mamaw and the three sisters each must face loss and find a new place in the world.
Harper, the youngest sister, arrived at Sea Breeze intending to stay only a weekend, but a rift with her wealthy, influential mother left her without direction or a home. During this remarkable summer, free from her mother’s tyranny and with the help of her half sisters, Harper discovered her talents and independent spirit.
But summer is ending, and the fate of Sea Breeze hinges on Harper’s courage to decide the course of her own life. To do so she must release her insecurities and recognize her newfound strengths. She must accept love fully into her life—the love of Mamaw, Carson, and Dora, the love of Sea Breeze and the lowcountry, and most of all, the love of a Wounded Warrior who has claimed her heart.
The third book in Mary Alice Monroe’s trilogy that brims with “stories that touch the mind and heart of her readers” (Huffington Post), The Summer’s End follows three half sisters bound by love for their grandmother and the timeless beauty and traditions of the lowcountry.
My Thoughts:
I’ve loved Mary Alice Monroe’s work, and especially her Lowcountry stories, for years, so it was with some sadness that I cracked open my Kindle to read this novel.
That sadness was misplaced, because this was the perfect conclusion to the story – the family has to deal with communal loss in the form of their Sullivan’s Island house being sold, and personal loss in their own lives, but ultimately they learn that the house, while full of memories, is only a structure, a framework within which the family existed for a time. The love and connection they have is not dependent on the house at all.
As always, Monroe’s characters are given dimensional personalities, distinct voices, and individual arcs of growth and understanding. She writes the sisters, especially, in a way that makes their relationship obvious, but their separate identities equally so.
If you, like me, are addicted to stories that take place on Sullivan’s Island, or beach books in general, you will treasure this novel.
Yes, I’m a little sad about the end of the series, but Monroe gave us a satisfying conclusion, and ultimately, a message of hope.
Goes well with grilled chicken, tomato salad, and cold chardonnay, eaten on the deck.
The Case of the Invisible Dog, by Diane Stingley #review #Giveaway @TLCBookTours
About the book, The Case of the Invisible Dog: A Shirley Homes Mystery 
- Published by : Alibi (May 19, 2015)
- Pages: 385
In the start of a charmingly imaginative cozy series sure to delight fans of Carolyn Hart and Diane Mott Davidson, Diane Stingley introduces a blundering detective who believes herself to be the great-great-granddaughter of the legendary Sherlock Holmes.
After failing to launch her career as a Hollywood actress, Tammy Norman returns home to North Carolina, desperate for a regular paycheck and a new lease on life. So she accepts a position assisting Shirley Homes, an exceptionally odd personage who styles herself after her celebrated “ancestor”–right down to the ridiculous hat. Tammy isn’t sure how long she can go on indulging the delusional Shirley (who honestly believes Sherlock Holmes was a real person!), but with the prospect of unemployment looming, she decides to give it a shot.
Tammy’s impression of her eccentric boss does not improve when their first case involves midnight romps through strangers’ yards in pursuit of a phantom dog—that only their client can hear. But when the case takes a sudden and sinister turn, Tammy has to admit that Shirley Homes might actually be on to something. . . .
Buy, read, and discuss The Case of the Invisible Dog
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Goodreads
About the author, Diane Stingley
Diane Stingley is the author of Dress You Up in My Love and I’m With Cupid. She was also a columnist for The Charlotte Observer and received e-mails from around the country in response to her columns. She currently resides in North Carolina and is hard at work on the next Shirley Homes mystery.
My Thoughts
I’ve been a Sherlock Holmes fan almost as long as I’ve been able to read, and unlike some purists, I’m happy to discover new takes on the character. I’ve read – for review as well as just for pleasure – the works of Laurie R. King and Stephanie Osborn, for example, and loved them to bits, even though each woman writes a radically different version of Holmes. I also love the BBC series Sherlock, but, I confess, I’ve never been able to get into Elementary.
The practical upshot of all this is that when I was invited to review The Case of the Invisible Dog, I was really excited to do so. Diane Stingley also has a fresh perspective on Holmes – her detective, Shirley Homes (no-l), likes waffles with extra butter syrup on the side, and is a little more of a psychopath than even Benedict Cumberbatch’s Holmes at his most…idiosyncratic. She also uses the name of her famous ‘ancestor’ (because in this universe he’s a real person – or at least Shirley believes he is), to help build her business.
Her Watson, who is our point of view character, is Tammy, failed actress, successful purveyor of bon mots. She’s maybe not as book-smart as previous Watsons we have known, but she’s street smart and snarky – two things I always enjoy in a character. It’s her voice that narrates this story, and everything we see is filtered through her eyes and perceptions.
Author Diane Stingley has done a great job of creating a slightly kooky, absolutely cozy version of the Great Detective, or rather, the Great Detective’s Descendant, and I found this novel to be engaging and interesting, especially once things got a little bit twistier and darker near the end.
If you’re looking for a female detective who is basically Sherlock Holmes in drag and a contemporary setting, this novel is NOT for you, but if you want something fun, fresh, a little bit fluffy (but in a good way), give The Case of the Invisible Dog a shot. Worst case: you’ll crave a trip to your local diner, at the end.
Goes well with Waffles with extra butter and syrup (warm, organic, maple), a side of crispy bacon, and coffee with cream.
Giveaway
Diane Stingley’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:
Monday, May 11th: Kahakai Kitchen
Monday, May 11th: A Chick Who Reads
Tuesday, May 12th: Bibliotica – That’s ME
Wednesday, May 13th: From the TBR Pile
Thursday, May 14th: Mama Vicky Says
Monday, May 18th: Priscilla and Her Books
Monday, May 18th: Bell, Book & Candle
Tuesday, May 19th: Book Babe
Wednesday, May 20th: Reading Reality
Monday, May 25th: Patricia’s Wisdom
Tuesday, May 26th: Open Book Society
Wednesday, May 27th: Mom in Love with Fiction
Thursday, May 28th: For the Love of Fictional Worlds
Monday, June 1st: A Book Geek
Wednesday, June 3rd: Dwell in Possibility
Monday, June 8th: Staircase Wit
Thursday, June 11th: Joyfully Retired
To Ride a White Horse by Pamela Ford (@pamfordauthor) #review @TLCBookTours
About the book, To Ride a White Horse 
- Paperback: 374 pages
- Publisher: Aine Press (January 3, 2015)
“A sweeping historical love story that hits all the marks.” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Ireland 1846. The potato crop has failed for the second year in a row and Ireland is in famine. When Kathleen Deacey’s fiancé doesn’t return from a summer working in the Newfoundland fisheries, she faces a devastating choice—leave Ireland to find work or risk dying there. Despising the English for refusing to help Ireland, she crosses the Atlantic, determined to save her family and find her fiancé.
But her journey doesn’t go as planned and she ends up in America, forced to accept the help of an English whaling captain, Jack Montgomery, to survive. As Jack helps her search for her fiancé and fight to save her family and country, she must confront her own prejudices and make another devastating choice—remain loyal to her country or follow her heart.
A love story inspired by actual events, To Ride a White Horse is a historical saga of hope, loyalty, the strength of the human spirit, and the power of love.
To Ride a White Horse
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
About the author, Pamela Ford 
Pamela Ford is the award-winning author of contemporary and historical romance. She grew up watching old movies, blissfully sighing over the romance; and reading sci-fi and adventure novels, vicariously living the action. The combination probably explains why the books she writes are romantic, happily-ever-afters with plenty of fast-paced plot.
After graduating from college with a degree in Advertising, Pam merrily set off to earn a living, searching for that perfect career as she became a graphic designer, print buyer, waitress, pantyhose sales rep, public relations specialist, copywriter, freelance writer – and finally author. Pam has won numerous awards including the Booksellers Best and the Laurel Wreath, and is a two-time Golden Heart Finalist. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband and children.
Connect with Pamela
My Thoughts
I read a lot of historical novels but I’m always kind of iffy on historicals (I think my brain is wired for the future rather than the past.) To Ride a White Horse originally caught my attention, not because of the romance or the historical background of Ireland’s potato famine and the huge influx of Irish immigrants into North America, but because one of the characters (Jack) was the captain of a ship – and I will read almost anything that involves sea captains and adventure on or near the ocean.
When the story opened with our introduction to Kathleen, pining for her fiance, I was hooked on her story, as well, because she wasn’t a girl to sit and simper and moan, but a strong young woman who made an action plan and carried it out. Going on a ship across the ocean is a daunting task even today, when we can do so in hours (by air) or days (by sea) rather than the weeks or months it took back then. Going on a ship to a new country where you cannot be certain of your reception or your survival? That takes a special kind of courage, one that all immigrants have, as well as a firm faith in the promise of a better life.
Jack, the whaling captain who really isn’t in love with his job (whaling was a dangerous, dangerous profession then, even before Greenpeace would come and shoot at you), and Kathleen, the young woman looking for her love and her future, have stories that meet, separate, and meet again, but watching the relationship shift and turn between them is like watching your two best friends, whom you know are meant to be together, continue to make low-percentage choices and false starts until they finally get it right.
Author Pamela Ford writes the romance, the history, and the politics of the period (English vs. Irish, Native vs. Immigrant, Whaling vs. Shipping, etc.) with nuance and an excellent ear for dialogue. Kathleen never sounds like a caricature, but her Irish lilt is ever-present. English Jack never sounds too stilted, but you can read in his words the crisper accent he would have.
Romances can often be more fluff than flavor but To Ride a White Horse balances all the elements: adventure, romance, history, politics and gives us a meaty story that keeps the reader’s attention from the first page to the last.
Goes well with A hearty Irish stew, brown bread, and a glass of stout.
Pamela’s Tour Stops
Monday, May 11th: Bibliotica – That’s ME!
Tuesday, May 12th: 2 Kids and Tired Book Reviews
Wednesday, May 13th: Gspotsylvania: Musings from a Spotsylvania Dog and Bird Mom
Thursday, May 14th: Novel Escapes
Friday, May 15th: Mom in Love With Fiction
Tuesday, May 19th: Ms. Nose in a Book
Monday, May 25th: Queen of All She Reads
Wednesday, May 27th: Broken Teepee
Thursday, May 28th: Doing Dewey
Friday, May 29th: Bell, Book and Candle
Monday, June 1st: Books and Bindings
Tuesday, June 2nd: Jorie Loves a Story
Wednesday, June 3rd: Every Free Chance Book Reviews
Wednesday, June 3rd: Rockin’ Book Reviews
Thursday, June 4th: Little Lovely Books
Monday, June 8th: Books Like Breathing
The Mapmaker’s Children, by Sarah McCoy (@SarahMMcCoy) #review @TLCBookTours #Giveaway
About the book, The Mapmaker’s Children 
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Crown (May 5, 2015)
When Sarah Brown, daughter of abolitionist John Brown, realizes that her artistic talents may be able to help save the lives of slaves fleeing north, she becomes one of the Underground Railroad’s leading mapmakers, taking her cues from the slave code quilts and hiding her maps within her paintings. She boldly embraces this calling after being told the shocking news that she can’t bear children, but as the country steers toward bloody civil war, Sarah faces difficult sacrifices that could put all she loves in peril.
Eden, a modern woman desperate to conceive a child with her husband, moves to an old house in the suburbs and discovers a porcelain head hidden in the root cellar—the remains of an Underground Railroad doll with an extraordinary past of secret messages, danger and deliverance.
Ingeniously plotted to a riveting end, Sarah and Eden’s woven lives connect the past to the present, forcing each of them to define courage, family, love, and legacy in a new way.
Buy, read, and discuss The Mapmaker’s Children
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Goodreads
About the author, Sarah McCoy 
SARAH McCOY is the New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author of The Baker’s Daughter, a 2012 Goodreads Choice Award Best Historical Fiction nominee; the novella “The Branch of Hazel” in Grand Central; The Time It Snowed in Puerto Rico; and The Mapmaker’s Children (Crown, May 5, 2015).
Her work has been featured in Real Simple, The Millions, Your Health Monthly, Huffington Post and other publications. She has taught English writing at Old Dominion University and at the University of Texas at El Paso. She calls Virginia home but presently lives with her husband, an Army physician, and their dog, Gilly, in El Paso, Texas.
Connect with Sarah
My Thoughts
There are novels that you pick up thinking, “Hmm, this might be interesting,” and then you forget you have them until weeks later, when they resurface and you find yourself gripped – completely gripped – by the story, and kicking yourself for not reading it the second you got home. The Mapmaker’s Children was almost like that for me, because the original galley provider ignored my request for it more than once, and then when I finally got it, I was convinced it wasn’t going to be my cup of tea at all.
I was wrong.
I was so very wrong.
First, the historical part of this story – a fictional possibility of what the life of Sarah Brown, daughter of famed abolitionist James Brown (and, yes, you will have the song rolling through the back of your mind as you read this) may have been like, suggesting that she might have followed in her father’s footsteps, and put her artistic talent to use making maps for use on the Underground Railroad, is amazing. Yes, it’s fiction, but it’s fiction that feels completely plausible, especially since the author worked in real world touches. I especially liked the fact that Louisa May Alcott’s book of fairy stories was an important element of the story, and that so many real historical figures (including Louisa and her father Bronson) were rubbing elbows with the fictional, and quasi-fictional characters.
Then, there’s the contemporary part of the story. As a woman in her 40s who has had two miscarriages, Eden’s desperation to have a child resonated with me (though in my case, dogs are totally a substitute for children; I have five.) in a way that I wasn’t expecting. Her story was one where at times I wanted to hug her, at times I wanted to throttle her, and most of the time, I wanted to bake her some scones, brew some really good coffee and sit down for a cathartic venting session.
Author Sarah McCoy wove both stories, one based on history, one based on so many contemporary stories, into one lovely, gorgeous, satisfying tapestry of a novel. It made me want to go upstairs, pull out a quilting book and FINALLY learn to do something beyond hemming pants with my sewing machine. It also made me want to bake organic meatloaf suitable for all members of my family, whether they have two feet or four.
The Mapmaker’s Children is a well-crafted, brilliantly written novel, and I highly recommend it, especially to animal lovers, childless adults, and history buffs.
Goes well with Roasted free-range chicken with buttered carrots, and a spring green salad. Homemade cornbread on the side.
Giveaway
One lucky reader in the USA or Canada will win a copy of this book. How? Leave a comment on this post (include a valid email address in the comment form – only I will see the email address) telling me what historical figure you’d most like to hang out and have coffee with. Alternatively, find my post about this book in my twitter feed (I’m @melysse) and retweet it.
The winner will be announced next Thursday.
Sarah’s Tour Schedule:
Tuesday, April 21st: Savvy Verse & Wit
Wednesday, April 22nd: My Book Retreat
Thursday, April 23rd: BookNAround
Monday, April 27th: Man of La Book
Tuesday, April 28th: 100 Pages a Day…Stephanie’s Book Reviews
Wednesday, April 29th: Always With a Book
Thursday, April 30th: Booksie’s Blog
Monday, May 4th: The Book Binder’s Daughter
Tuesday, May 5th: Books on the Table
Wednesday, May 6th: West Metro Mommy
Thursday, May 7th: Bibliotica
Friday, May 8th: Peeking Between the Pages
Monday, May 11th: Patricia’s Wisdom
Tuesday, May 12th: A Bookish Way of Life
Wednesday, May 13th: A Chick Who Reads
Thursday, May 14th: FictionZeal
Friday, May 15th: Bookshelf Fantasies
Monday, May 18th: Kritters Ramblings
Tuesday, May 19th: Svetlana’s Reads and Views
Wednesday, May 20th: Kahakai Kitchen
Thursday, May 21st: Diary of an Eccentric
Friday, May 22nd: 2 Kids and Tired Book Reviews
Monday, May 25th: Readers’ Oasis
Tuesday, May 26th: Walking With Nora
Wednesday, May 27th: Raven Haired Girl
Thursday, May 28th: Reading Reality
Friday, May 29th: Thoughts On This ‘n That
Monday, June 1st: Doing Dewey
Tuesday, June 2nd: Ms. Nose in a Book
Wednesday, June 3rd: Books in the Burbs
Thursday, June 4th: Drey’s Library
Tuesday, June 9th: The Book Bag
Wednesday, June 10th: Bibliophiliac
Thursday, June 11th: Literary Feline
Friday, June 12th: Broken Teepee
Monday, June 15th: Staircase Wit
Running Fire, by Lindsay McKenna (@lindsaymckenna) #review @TLCBookTours #Giveaway
About the book, Running Fire 
- Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: HQN Books (April 28, 2015)
He was a haven in the midst of Hell…
Temporarily assigned to the Shadow Squadron in a troubled region of Afghanistan, Chief Warrant Officer and pilot Leah Mackenzie is no stranger to conflict—even if most of her physical and emotional scars are courtesy of her vicious ex. Still, she’s got a bad feeling about picking up a team of stranded SEALs. A feeling that’s all too justified once enemy fire hits their helicopter and all hell breaks loose…
SEAL Kell Ballard’s goal was to get the injured pilot out of harm’s way and find shelter deep in the labyrinth of caves. It’s a place of dark intimacy, where Leah finds unexpected safety in a man’s arms. Where prohibited attraction burns brightly. And where they’ll hide until the time comes to face the enemy outside…and the enemy within their ranks.
Buy, read, and discuss Running Fire
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Goodreads
About the author, Lindsay McKenna 
A U.S. Navy veteran, she was a meteorologist while serving her country. She pioneered the military romance in 1993 with Captive of Fate, Silhouette Special edition. Her heart and focus is on honoring and showing our military men and women. Creator of the Wyoming Series and Shadow Warriors series for HQN, she writes emotionally and romantically intense suspense stories.
Connect with Lindsay
My Thoughts
I don’t read a lot of Harlequin novels. Oh, I’m not judging – they’re great novels when you want to escape into something fun and frothy for a couple of hours, and the contemporary incarnation of the imprint tends to favor strong female characters who have lived a little bit, rather than doe-eyed, barely post-pubescent innocents. I don’t typically read them simply because it doesn’t occur to me.
That said, when I was offered the chance to read Lindsay McKenna’s Running Fire I said, “Please, sign me up,” because I’m do enjoy a good romance from time to time, and because the military aspect appealed to me. I am, after all, the granddaughter of a career Army officer, and a member of Soldiers’ Angels. As well, I lost a really good friend a couple of years ago, a friend who was one of my oldest ‘blog buddies’ and whose last email to me included pictures of an afternoon in Kabul. (He survived two tours in that region, only to die of cancer at far too young an age, but that’s another story.)
In any case, I began reading Ms. McKenna’s novel and found myself devouring it over the space of just a few hours. Her depiction of the male lead, Kell, matches my own experience with the SEALs I’ve met: off the job, they tend to be incredibly intelligent, kind, people, but once they’re in work mode their focus is laser-sharp. Likewise, I enjoyed seeing military life from the point of view of a woman who as also an officer. McKenna did a really good job of letting Leah be vulnerable, without diminishing the fact of her own training. Even when she was injured, she was never entirely helpless, and I thought the whole Leah/Kell relationship was treated as one of equals who had differing strengths.
To be honest, I was a little surprised at how much I enjoyed this novel. I think I always start any military story being wary of the politics that might crop up. (Mine are decidedly liberal – I’m very much of the ‘love the soldier, hate the war’ school of thought). I needn’t have been concerned. In this story, there’s almost no mention of politics. Instead everything is very much in the present for each character: what do I have to do to survive this day, and improve my connection to this other person?
As a novel that does take place ‘in theater,’ as well as one that deals with (I’m trying hard not to spoil plot) past sexual abuse, there are a couple of bits of violence that may be off-putting for some readers, but it wasn’t gratuitous violence, and it wasn’t described in the kind of visceral detail that is likely to cause nightmares or anything.
As I said, I rarely read Harlequin novels, but when I do, I’m happy to share what I’ve read. I found McKenna’s work so engaging that I’m curious to read other novels in this series.
Goes well with Any variety of MRE…no, just kidding. Cheeseburgers, crinkle-cut fries, and Coca-cola.
Giveaway
If you want to experience Lindsay McKenna’s military romances for yourself, I have the opportunity for ONE reader from the USA or Canada to receive a copy of an earlier title in this collection: Taking Fire.
To win: leave a comment here (make sure you leave a valid email address when filling out the comment form) or tweet about this review, and tag me in your tweet (@Melysse). I’ll announce the winner next Wednesday.
Lindsay McKenna’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:
Monday, April 13th: Book Mama Blog – author guest post
Monday, April 20th: Feminist Reflections
Tuesday, April 21st: Palmer’s Page Turners
Wednesday, April 22nd: The World As I See It
Thursday, April 23rd: Romance Novels for the Beach
Friday, April 24th: Sara’s Organized Chaos
Monday, April 27th: The Romance Dish – author guest post
Monday, April 27th: Hot Guys in Books
Monday, April 27th: Booked on a Feeling
Tuesday, April 28th: My Life. One Story At a Time.
Wednesday, April 29th: Sharon’s Garden of Book Reviews
Thursday, April 30th: Mignon Mykel Reviews
Friday, May 1st: Books a la Mode – author guest post
Monday, May 4th: Books and Spoons
Tuesday, May 5th: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom
Wednesday, May 6th: Bibliotica – That’s ME.
Thursday, May 7th: The Pen and Muse
Friday, May 8th: From the TBR Pile
Friday, May 8th: Written Love Reviews
Monday, May 11th: Life is Story
Wednesday, May 13th: Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
Thursday, May 14th: Read Love Blog