This book grabbed my attention right from the start, and held on to it! I was sorry when I was finished. There was plenty of history, Istanbul in 1826, a time period when Jews and Muslims actually got along and "had each other's backs" when defending against the Christians!! The characters were drawn exceptionally well, scenes and places were vivid and there were enough interesting twists and turns to keep me completely engaged. I read almost 2/3 of the book in the first sitting and only stopped because I had to go to bed! Truly a wonderful trip in a literary time-machine to a place of great beauty yet much violence and deception. I would actually give this a rating of 7-8 if possible!

Unlike the last book I reviewed, this one definitely lived up to my expectations ... some good art history and some wonderful history into the time of the Inquisition in Spain and in the New World, all told from the perspective of nuns and common women. There is a "mystery" which starts the story, tracing back to the Inquisition. Even though the book "jumps" from 1550-1560's to modern day, it was easy to follow. The characters are exceptionally well-defined, their quiet strength and sense of right-and-wrong are evident and, in an odd sense, comforting in this day of mixed messages and misdirected morals. Helen Bryan's writing style is clear and concise but very descriptive. The ship voyages were wonderfully described, with all their drawbacks and limitations, and the convents were places of peace and quiet, even while the inhabitants were very colorful personalities. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, had trouble putting it down in fact; I read the first two-thirds of the book in one day!!

While I did enjoy this book, there were several aspects of disappointment. If you are looking for a book that delves into the world of forged paintings, intrigue and art history, this is not the book. If you are looking for a book that deals with the choices to be made in life, the potential outcomes of "prostituting" one's artistic soul for monetary gain, then this would be the book for you! The characters are well drawn and are interesting people, for all their flaws; some of the "minor" characters are downright intriguing and I would have liked to learn more about them. The writing style was relatively easy to follow. Each chapter/section dealt with one of the two major characters, but the transitions were quite easy to follow and didn't distract from the reading rhythm.

I'm having a bit of trouble finding words to review this book. I thoroughly enjoyed the vignettes, the tales of the people and places Ken Budd told. However, there was always an underlying bit of self-centeredness, brought on by the death of his father and his realization that he and his wife would never have children of their own, by choice. It seems to me that this important part of a couples' life should have been clearly settled and understood before marriage and the passage of many years. It was a constant subject, one that he couldn't seem to come to terms with; he chose to deal with it by leaving to go off volunteering around the world, leaving friends, family and wife at important times in their lives. Unfortunately, this colored my opinion of the book and the small goals he achieved by helping. Also, even though he mentioned that the topic of these short-term volunteers (two weeks seems to be average) and the possible negative effect it may have had on the people was discussed in depth, it was never resolved to my satisfaction. All that being said, this is a good introductory book for those who are interested in voluntouring; his descriptions of the housing, transportation, amenities, and the people were all well detailed and documented. Mr. Budd hinted that he and his wife had some lengthy discussions on the subject of her decision to not become a mother, but that was never brought up in the book, and I wonder if he is still feeling "sorry for himself."

A Good American by Alex George was a "good read." It grabbed and held my attention from the very beginning. I felt that the characters were very well drawn, the family story lines were very well developed and consistent; everything was entirely believable, starting with the reasons for leaving Europe, why Frederick and Jette settled where they settled, and how family fortunes evolved. This book would make an excellent mini-series, along the lines of Roots or the Lonesome Dove mini-series. All of the characters were "real people" complete with flaws, inabilities to communicate, misunderstandings. The few "bad seeds" were almost horrific when the story unfolded and all questions were answered. This book is easy to read, not requiring more than a basic background knowledge in American or world history. I throroughly enjoyed the book and highly recommend it.

There has always been a fascination and mystique surrounding the sinking of the Titanic. So many different elements: the "arrogance" of the shipping company in calling the ship Unsinkable, the class distinctions, the chivalry, especially in the first and second class gentlemen, yet the horror of knowing that steerage passengers were essentially "locked in." So many stories...one would wonder what more could be covered. In The Dressmaker, we are introduced to two strong women, Tess Collins who hires on as a maid to Lady Duff Gordon, both survivors of the sinking. Needless to say, one is quite admirable and the other turns out to be a "victim" of her class and acts accordingly during traumatic circumstances. What was especially interesting to me is the coverage of the investigations into the sinking of the Titanic that took place in New York, the accounts of the crew members, how true heroes were villified by those trying to save their own skins, and how the survivors suffered from guilt, and how the public reacted to the survivors once the initial shock had worn off. This is a view of this tragedy that isn't covered...what happened after the survivors reached the shore.
An interesting side note: currently at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas is the Titanic Exhibition, complete with a section of the ship (you can really get an idea of how huge the ship was) and many, many artifacts collected from the debris field. When you enter the exhibit, you are given a boarding pass for a person who sailed on the ship; at the end of the exhibit is a listing of all passengers and crew and you find your person and see if they survived or not. My husband received the card of a 3-year old boy who was traveling with his his brother and his father, who had kidnapped them from his estranged wife. They were traveling under the name of Hoffman, but their real name was Navratil; the boys survived, the father did not. In The Dressmaker, Tess is handed two small boys, by their father who begs her to save them. She takes them with her on the lifeboat...the Navratil boys!

Excellent book! The storyline was intriguing and it drew you in right away. Even though I had not read the first book in this series, Poison, there was enough background information given so this book stands alone easily. (I did buy a copy of Poison and am reading it now.) The characters are well-drawn and all very interesting, although not all are likeable. Sara Poole has done great research into the time period both historically, especially dealing with the way Jews were treated and looked upon at that time and in the way the Roman Catholic Church tried to discourage education among the masses, and in terms of the art and architecture of the time. While resolving most of the loose ends in this book, Ms. Poole has left the door wide open for the next book in the series, which I will be eager to read. I would highly recommend this to all fans of historical fiction/suspense.

A fast-paced look at Tudor England, after the death of Henry VIII. Very detailed in descriptions of the court, relationships, intrigue among people that are trying to hide the impending death of Edward VI. A good read for anyone interested in this period of English history, with a focus on Elizabeth as a young girl, whose place in the court is uncertain, while the powers behind Jane Grey put her on the throne and then Mary assumes her rightful place. And of course, the character of Brendan Prescott, whose familial line is not what everyone thinks!

A very exciting read, always fast-paced and moving. The protagonists are complicated people but very likable. What I particularly enjoy with these characters is that the friendships ring true, the personal commitments are honored and the sense of right vs. wrong is strong. The intrigue within the government is exciting and the good guy/bad guy lines are not always clearly drawn. A good, exciting read from beginning to end!

Essentially, for me - a hard-core suspense/thriller/espionage reader - this book leaned more towards a suspense-chick lit book. There was a bit too much focus on the sexual tension between the protagonists and not quite enough on the global espionage aspects, where there was a lot of potential which could have been developed to a much higher degree. It was a fairly good read, but I would put it more in the category of a summer beach read, fast-moving and high personal tension. The two main characters were fairly well-developed, but the "minor" characters, particularly the "bad guys" were somewhat lacking in depth and background.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! There were plenty of dark parts; a book about war and soldiers cannot help but have many dark and sad spots. But this was particularly interesting because it is written from the point of view of a former Soviet female sniper, a point of view unfamiliar to us Americans. The character of Tat'yana is very strong, honest and she firmly believes in the fight for her country. This makes her disillusionment all the more intense and sad, when she realizes that she is being put "on show" in America and is also expected to spy, for the Soviets, on Eleanor Roosevelt to obtain blackmail material. Her choices are hard and she is quite torn in making them. The book is hard to put down, the characters are well-defined, or hidden in the shadows if called for by their position in life.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in another side of World War II and the development of the USA vs. USSR Cold War in its early stages.

While I did enjoy reading The Book of Illumination, I was disappointed in two things: 1) there certainly was not the amount of ghostly interaction that I was anticipating; 2) I was hoping for more historical background concerning old books and book restoration. The latter was touched upon, but just enough to get my interest up and then it was over! I would have enjoyed knowing more about the ghosts, their lives, etc.

Although I found Anza's attachment to the father of her son to be a bit immature, I was very appreciative of the fact that everyone, including the stepmom, was pulling together to put the well-being of Declan first, which is unusual in today's world.

This book was an easy read and very enjoyable. But I hope that any future works contain more information and interaction with the ghosts, and more history of whatever historical subject is used.

The Secret Keeper was written by Paul Harris, who was, in fact, a correspondent in Africa for four years, and knows his subject well. While it contains many of the essentials necessary to a good spy/espionage genre, there is also a lot of factual background information. Since the political crisis in Sierra Leone is a subject virtually unknown to me, this information was pertinent to understanding the characters and events that took place.

Needless to say, there are many twists and turns, good guys turn out to be not so good, bad guys are sometimes bad by necessity, but the horrible truths behind what has happened in that area are hard to disguise.

It was an exciting, captivating read with strong characters that I found difficult to put down. I highly recommend this book.

Once again, Linda Fairstein has kept me completely immersed in her newest book, Killer Heat, featuring Alex Cooper and her “partners” Mike and Mercer. This time they are on the trail of a sadistic rapist/torturer/murderer who uses the islands of New York as his dumping ground.

For me, a “good” book has to be engaging, has to make me think, and will teach me something. This book is no exception. In addition to the wonderful ensemble cast, this book gives a history of the islands of New York: Bannerman Island with its Scottish-style castle and Bannerman’s catalogue of military equipment and supplies, Ruffle Bar Island which was once a resort with fifty homes and a luxury hotel, and Governor’s Island with its rich history of being used as a military port from the Revolutionary War, complete with homes, a church and a hospital built for the officers and their families, to its final use as a military induction center in World War II.

There is also a good deal of psychiatry/psychology involved in determining who the “bad guy” is and why he does what he does. There are some very tense moments when Alex confronts Troy and the hurricane-force winds are whipping about. This book is a great read, moving very quickly and very hard to put down. I highly recommend it!

I have just finished reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. At first, I was a bit put off by the format...everything was in very short sections, but as I continued, the sections lengthened and I was thoroughly caught up in the story line.

Having Death as the narrator provided a very interesting point of view. We don't tend to think of "Death" as being a "job," but "he" came across as an intelligent, thoughtful being who went about doing what was needed, commenting on humanity as "he" went on about his tasks. I have heard it said by many that they don't fear "Death" itself, but the actual process of dying. Zusak's personification of "Death" supports this concept.

While it is hard for me, as a Jew, to sometimes accept the fact that there were Good Germans during that time period, there were good and innocent people who were caught up in the events of WWII. And, as in all conflicts, the most unlikely people turn out to be heroes and persons of great compassion, understanding and love.

I would highly recommend this books. The characters are all intriguing and there is much more to them that what is immediately present.