A Girl Walks Into a Bookstore...

Digging out a review I posted on Amazon.com in early 2005... A bodice-ripper with a young, innocent girl as its heroine, The Innocent follows the story of Anne, a peasant girl. The prologue of the book narrates the bizarre circumstances of her birth; the reader isn't told who wants her young mother killed, or why straight off. Anne lives in the forest with her foster mother Deborah, learning the art of herbal medicine. There's a bit of religion involved- not only traditional Christianity, but pagan rituals as well. At the age of 15 she goes to the manor house of Sir Matthew Cuttifer to become a body servant to his wife. A series of unfortunate circumstances leads to the death of a servant girl who works with Anne. Hearing of the wonders she performs, the Queen has Anne come to court, where she catches the eye of King Edward IV. The book is all about lust, and how Anne tries to suppress her lust for the king. And, like a harlequin romance novel, the female characters in this bo...

In the editorial reviews of this book at Amazon.com, the Washington Post says, "this little book isn't for everyone." I believe that maybe I'm one of those people this book wasn't meant for. But because I enjoy New York City history, I thought I'd give it a try. I enjoyed the idea for the book: Doctor Olaf Van Schuler arrives in New Amsterdam in the late 17th century, hounded from the old country after his less-than-salubrious activities become public knowledge. The rest of the book follows the Van Schuler/Steenwyck family through the generations in New York City, some of them doctors (and of these, many are quacks with some crazy ideas). Everything from hypnotism to lobotomy is practiced by the doctors in this short story collection, and I enjoyed watching the family's adventures as the generations progressed. However, I thought that it was really hard for me to get involved with any of the characters, especially since this book is essentially a series of...

The Observations , by Jane Harris. Another one of thos "Vic Lit" novels I've been reading recently, about a girl who goes to be a maid at a wealthy house in Scotland and uncovers secrets about the girl who held the post before her. A Matter of Justice , by Charles Todd. Historical mystery set in 1920s England. ARC that's coming in the mail to me from somewhere. Mistress Shakespeare , by Karen Harper. Historical fiction about the woman who was supposed to wed Shakespeare, before Anne Hathaway. To be published in February.

Lucy Carelton belongs to one of the oldest and most prominent families in 1880s New York City, and her husband is a stockbroker, of “new” money, who clearly married her for the connections she brings him. Lucy’s a fairly typical example of a woman of her upbringing, except for the fact that she suffers from her nerves, and no doctor so far has been able to help her. Enter Dr. Victor Seth, who practices the up-and-coming trend of hypnosis to treat patients. The result is an exploration of the subconscious and Lucy’s sexual awakening that is quite startling in the questions it raises. A short while ago I read and reviewed another one of Megan Chance’s novels, The Spiritualist . There are some superficial similarities between the two books, but I enjoyed An Inconvenient Wife more. There’s a lot more depth to Lucy’s character, and Chance is adept at getting into her mindset, which I think might be hard for any author to do. Yes, there is a feminist overtone to this novel, but the author d...

Another challenge to join! It's being hosted by J. Kaye's Book Blog , and the rules are: 1. Anyone can join. You don't need to have a blog to participate. 2. Read 12 books by authors that you have only read once. It doesn't have to be a series. 3. You can join anytime between now and December 31, 2009. Don't start reading until January. 4. You may list your chosen books any time during the year. Change the list if needed. Here's my list: 1. The Heretic Queen , by Michelle Moran 2. The Principessa , by Christie Dickason 3. The Slaves of Solitude , by Patrick Hamilton 4. The Scarlet Lion , by Elizabeth Chadwick 5. The Devil's Queen , by Jeanne Kalogridis 6. The Owl Killers , by Karen Maitland 7. Stone's Fall, by Iain Pears 8. A Dangerous Affair , by Caro Peacock 9. The Book of Love , by Sarah Bower 10. The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte , by Syrie James 11. The Lady Chapel , by Candace Robb 12. The Angels Game , by Carlos Ruiz Zafon 13. Madonna of th...

The Eight started out promisingly enough: it's been compared to Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose , but in actuality The Eight comes nowhere near that fabulous book. As I read, I hoped that Katherine Neville was writing a parody of an action-thriller, but I guess not. Where to begin? Overly contrived plot with more holes than Swiss cheese; really, really bad writing style with an over-use of adjectives and past participles; too much historical inaccuracy; too much historical name-dropping, so much so that this novel read like an issue of US magazine (Catherine the Great, Napoleon, Robespierre, Voltaire, and many, many other historical figures are thrown in, sometimes gratuitously); too much foreshadowing, is in, “little did I know…”. The characters were extremely one-dimensional, and I absolutely loathed the heroine, Cat Velis. The book started off well enough, but I found myself rolling my eyes the further I read. I’m all for reading historical thrillers, if the plot is enough ...

Here's another example of recycled cover art: the first image is an old cover of Posie Graeme-Evans's The Innocent , and the second is of Karen Harper's upcoming (in February) Mistress Shakespeare .