I am still reeling after finishing this novel called Accidents of Marriage. My heart is aching for the family torn and shredded. I read the book today. Yup – beginning to end. I couldn't seem to stop myself from reading it. The anguish and pain of the main characters as evidenced by their separate chapters describing differing scenes in the book resonated with me.

Ben, Maddy and their three children live in Boston. They are both professional people with jobs that show the worse of society. However it is clear that Ben's temper and lack of control is causing problems for his family. Problems he cannot see because he is the center of his world and it is all about him. Due to a number of things that happened there was an accident: one that would change their world.

The rage of Ben overwhelmed me and yet, I did not see it for the problem it was until later in the book, perhaps because Maddy did such a good job of moderating his temper. I guess I too was vacillating. The book highlights emotional abuse. It highlights how a family can slug its way through horrid situations to find a resolution. It highlights how words can cause more damage than can ever be repaired.

Oh, and I so didn't like Vanessa (Maddy's sister).

Safe With Me by Amy Hatvany is a novel that is going to be published in March. While this is my first time reading a novel by her, this is not her first book. This book touches on difficult issues: loss of a child, organ donation and spousal abuse. There is a poignancy to the grief and a sharpness to the fear. Amy Hatvany's novel delivers characters struggling with their burdens. Their emotions underline the passion of the novel. Even during the hardest times, there is an underlying positiveness to the novel, with your hope moving them forward.

Hannah has lost her daughter, Alice. A tragic accident has left her raw with grief as she slowly pushes everything and everyone away. Her daughter's organs are donated to children needing transplants. Meanwhile, in a parallel story line, Olivia is living with her husband of many years and their teenage daughter who desperately needs a liver. Maddie is growing weaker daily, while waiting for a match. The two stories begin their connection when Maddie receives Alice's liver. However, it is as the story line continues that the secrets of Olivia and Maddie's lives are revealed.

This is the first Amy Hatvany novel I have read. I have enjoyed this book and will be adding her name to the writers to watch for. I was able to read the book easily in a day and found myself engaged with the storyline and empathy with the characters.

I received this book through BookBrowse with the understanding of providing an honest evaluation of the book.

The Drowning Guard by Linda Lafferty is a fascinating book. I love how the characters are so complex and completely human. I love the story with all its ups and downs. It sucked you into the world of Constantinople.
I asked for the book, because of my curiosity over the title and the blurb. (Every night a guard drowned the lover of the Sultaness – the Sultan's sister.) I knew the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire were absolute tyrants with power over everyone, but I didn't expect it to be so overwhelming. The cruelty of life for many among the opulence of few is highlighted so clearly in the story.
However, that is not the whole story. A large part of the story is the power struggle between the Sultan (brother) and Sultaness (sister). The Sultaness is the beneficiary of her brother's (the Sultan) largess and his cruelty. The Sultan feels that his sister obstructs and defies him. The Sultaness is a strong woman who fights for the rights of woman and hides them in her harem from her brother.
However, that is not really the story. The story is much more complex. The story is about passion that of treachery, falseness, love, and hatred. The story is ripe with uncontrolled emotions of many of the characters, while balancing on the edge of treason. Ivan Postivich is the drowning guard. Esma is the Sultaness. Together they fall in love, both knowing that it is a death knell for Ivan.
This is a fascinating book. Lovers of history and/or romance will enjoy the story. Lovers of strong characters and intricate plots will enjoy the story. I look forward to reading more by Linda Lafferty.

Three Things You Need to Know About Rockets by Jessica Fox is a new book being published in July. It is a memoir about Jessica as she chooses a new path in her life. She left a job at NASA in California and moved all the way to Scotland to a used bookstore and found love. Sometimes you need to find a new path, especially when new visions surround you.

Memoirs are books that are written as a narrative containing personal observations. They are intended to be true and honest reflections while in many cases they are actually self-absorbing. Not in this case! While the book does chronicle Jessica's search for a new path, it does not grandstand or overwhelm the reader with all the things that she did, as many do. Jessica has managed to balance herself between an honest recount and a reflective narrative.

The story was quirky, heartwarming and romantic. There is a huge cultural divide between the west coast of Scotland and the west coast of California. Jessica manages to bridge the divide pretty well during her first visit. However, once she left she realized that she loved the owner of The Book Store and the town of Wigtown. Luckily, the love was reciprocated. But twists in the path for them, both personal and governmental do intercede in their relationship.

Jessica's story reads quickly. I found myself wishing for a positive conclusion, but not feeling secure in its existence. The language, feelings and descriptions make the book more interesting. Each chapter begins with a thoughtful quote that in some way enhances the chapter. Often Jessica is having a heart to heart with Melville, just to round out the importance of following one's heart.

Walk Me Home by Catherine Ryan Hyde is a novel that tugs at your heart strings and allows you to see the good in people. The main characters are two resilient girls; Jen (11 years old) and Carly (16 years old). They are sisters who live with their mom and whoever she happens to be living with at that time. Their mom works two jobs and seems to be less than "caring" according to Carly.

A series of incidents occur that leave Jen, Carly and their mom in an unsafe position with a volatile man in New Mexico. The man and the mother are killed in a car accident and the girls are left alone and vulnerable. They decide to hike back to where they have lived for a long time in California. Carly thinks that Ted (the last boyfriend) will take them in and care for them. Jen is less able to believe that he is a safe choice. Jen and Carly end up walking a long, long way keeping track of all the money they are going to owe people who they have borrowed or even stolen from.

It is a long journey for two young girls to Walk Me Home and a variety of people offer to help; some good, some bad. Jen is more able to accept help than Carly, which eventually causes a breech in their relationship.

The book is identified as a young adult's book grades nine and up. Catherine Ryan Hyde also wrote the book Pay it Forward. It is scheduled to be out on in a couple of weeks at the end of April.

The book allows the reader to see the good in a variety of people who offer to help, while allowing the main characters to struggle in their journey that is more than just miles on a road. The story line and the characterization of the book was good. It is an author I would choose to read again. It is a fast read that is difficult to put down as you become more entranced with the girls and how the story rolls out. Some journeys are more than just a move to a new place.

One Minus One by Ruth Doan MacDougall is a book that was originally published in 1971 and has recently been republished by Book Lust Rediscoveries. The main character, Emily Bean is recently divorced and out on her own. She has been hired as a teacher for the first time and is struggling to find her way. The conflict within the book is internal within Emily. The action is minimal and the pace slow and reflective. Her pathway to a new start is cluttered with memories and distress at moving on in her life. To me, she is so deeply mired within the past, that I am unsure if she will ever be free of it. The book is broken into three sections each descriptive of current events/relationships within her life and part of her first school year.

Ruth Doan MacDougall is from New Hampshire as clearly evidenced in this novel. Despite the changing of names, to me many places are clear as to their location. There is a particular pleasure in knowing the places in a work of fiction. Especially, when they are shown in a clear light. (personally I think I waitress at the Pizza Hut on the Miracle Mile, but not during the time of the novel.)

This book was a meandering journey through the internal and external life of Emily Bean. I felt mired down in the depressive nature of the characters with their constant drinking and their nature, like they were just taking up space and following a path set before them. I felt like they were all trying to fill an ideal, but they were unhappy with the ideal. While I completely read the book and did not feel the need to stop reading or become disgusted with the book, I did want the character to move on. I was not bored, but not fascinated either.

I won this book from Bookbrowse and am expected to publish a review. I was generous in my rating of the book. I would have given the novel a 2 . It was well written and did not bore, but neither did it go anywhere or resolve itself.

Murder at Rosamund Gate by Susanna Calkins is a debut novel. The setting of the book is in London during the seventeenth century. The lines of class, sex and religion were well drawn. A servant was always a servant. A woman was from weaker moral and intellectual levels. A Quaker was a derogatory name for the beginning of the Friend's religious convictions. In the middle of all this is Lucy, the main character. She is a chambermaid at a house of a local magistrate. She is caught in her station and treated with some disregard as a girl servant. Lucy's friend dies and her brother William is arrested for the murder. The story continues with twists and turns, including the plague, London burning and the search for the murderer.

The book felt authentic to me with the attitudes of the upper class. The courts were a different place than today. Hearsay, no collection of evidence and story telling often ruled the day with people being punished due to their station in life and lack of understanding of the law. I found the information about the "penny accounts" or broad sheets that were printed with the stories and ballads of the murders intriguing. The idea that justice was based on such "truths" surprised me.

I did find the book interesting and was pleasantly surprised by the ending. I enjoyed the story and the information presented. The characters were interesting and represented people from that time. I found the negativity with the lack of respect for girls who were servants difficult to accept. The negativity toward any religious differences also while appropriate to the time of the novel was also difficult to accept. (Although I guess it shouldn't be based on current events.)

All in all, it was a good book.

The Imposter Bride by Nancy Richler is story with a richness of emotions. The main character Ruth spends most of her life wondering about her mother, a woman who left within months of her birth. The tale begins with Ruth's mother's marriage to her father. Tied within that story is a story of the past with all the pain and anguish of being Jewish during WWIII in Europe.

The layers of the story that unfolded held the emotion that engages the reader. The characters with all their flaws were imminently vulnerable and endearing. The new life many Jews came for in Canada, specifically Toronto, after WWII is the setting of the story. With the story came the whispers of survival and ghosts of the lost.

The novel reads quite quickly and kept your attention. I did find it could be unrelenting at times with the heaviness of the story line, but not enough so to take away from the novel or readability. This was a quality book with a quality story. A four star book, albeit heavy with emotional turmoil.

Illuminations by Mary Sharratt is a novel about Hildegard von Bingen. I was worried it would be stuffy and overly religious, but it wasn’t at all. It was fascinating! Hildegard von Bingen was a famous nun/abbess/writer/composer from the eleventh century. She fought against the medieval views of women. It starts when as a child of eight she given to the church and was walled into three small rooms (an anchorage) as a handmaiden to woman who was extremely pious and in our world mentally ill. For thirty years, her only contact with the world was a priest who shared books and knowledge. It is from here that Hildegard found the strength to move forward. To me she was the first woman who tried to move the image of women. Most of all she was resilient and continued her vision forward, although not without problems.

The story of this remarkable woman cannot be told in these few words. There is so much more. The story is a well-written book that shares so much information about women during this time as well as the passion of Hildegard. If you enjoy historical fiction that is based on historical fact, this book is for you!

Laura Lippman's book, And When She Was Good is one of her best books. The main character, Helen (Hel or Heloise) is a woman who has gone through life trying to trust people. She has been systematically shown that people especially men can not be trusted. Helen becomes a Madam with her own escort services after being pushed around as an prostitute, then things start to crumble around her and she needs to make other choices. Luckily she is a resourceful person, but even her resourcefulness might not be enough.

The main character, Helen's chosen profession is in such opposition to her life as she has built it. Her understanding of the people's character although strong - after all the the life lessons - still can be considered naive. As Helen's story is unveiled, the reader is brought to each significant time and then becomes more sympathetic and understanding of Helen. The end has a twist, which is my favorite type of ending and leaves you suspended for a moment...

I have given And When She Was Good four stars out of five and found I really liked it. Certainly, it is a book that should hold people's interest and make some people think about the choices that are open for women without educations. For others, the plot gives you a ride bringing you on her journey with the ups and downs.

I love books that start with a well-known and accurate historical fact and then create a piece of fiction around that fact. B. A. Shapiro did just that in her book, The Art Forger. In 1990, various pieces of artwork were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Three of the missing pieces were drawings from Degas. From this we are drawn into a world of stolen art and forgeries.

The main character, Clair, is an artist, who has been maligned in the cutthroat art world. She is skilled at copying specific artists and wants to show her own paintings. Claire is asked to paint/forge a copy of one of the stolen works from the Gardner Museum in trade for a one-woman show of her work. This decision leads her to a search through history and time about the artist, Degas and Isabella Gardner. Is the painting After Bath by Degas an original or a forgery? The plot continues to unfold highlighting the controversial missing painting.

The main character, Claire, as an artist, was easily be led by her desire for exposure for her art, which can be universal in most people's desires. The unfolding of the plot does, at times, slow and then speeds up as in real life where nothing happens and then a waterfall of events occur almost simultaneously. The book does come to a head with a couple of surprises.

The book was an enjoyable read. There was a lot of information about painting styles and materials as well as historical information about paintings. The story did not rush to an ending and did seemingly meander at times going back and forth in time as the story unfolded.

15 Seconds by Andrew Gross is a thriller book from the first pages. Dr Henry Steadman on his way to a conference and a golf game witnesses a murder and then things get worst. The book races through two story lines and about half way through you are so caught up in the story that you begin to make connections and then the twists and turns keeps you reading! The book does have some resemblance to the movie The Fugitive. I think this story is more twisted in nature. The book will bring you on a roller coaster of a ride where you can't see what is coming up next. Andrew Gross has a killer book. Enjoy the ride!

Thank you BookBrowse for the chance to read The Queen's Lover, an arc novel.

The Queen's Lover is about Count Axel Von Fersen and his heart's desire Marie Antoinette. The book follows his life from the time he meets Marie until his death. It is told in journal entries, letters, repeated conversations and at times by his best friend, his sister Sophie. The book highlights the affair of these two very public people before and during the French Revolution. The time of the novel really follows the decades of unrest, when people were fighting for more rights for the common people. The horror of the mob and the frenzy of the masses will stay with me for sometime. Count Axel maintained a very public stance for the monarchy, which in the end may have been his undoing.

The novel is fiction, that reads like a nonfiction book. There are many sources cited and added within the story. To me, this added more realism to a story that I found at times horrific in regard to human life. I found the book a slower read than I usually like, but I was sufficiently invested in the story to complete the book.

Cloudland by Joseph Olshan is a murder mystery with strong psychological twists and turns. The setting of Vermont (with wee bits of New Hampshire) highlights the rural landscape. The story opens quickly as the main character, Catherine Winslow finds a body while walking up her road. For most people this would have been the end of the story, but not for Catherine. Her neighbor, a forensic psychiatrist as well as other characters in the rural area slowly ramp up her involvement. She begins to recognize too many coincidences as the story webs out and then tightens.



I found the book an easy read that slowly wound itself into my subconscious. I did wonder about who was guilty and who was the red herring. I had many questions and found myself reacting strongly to the violence that Catherine had been exposed to that intertwined with the story.



According to information from Goodreads, this book is based on a true crime story that was never solved - six women murdered by a serial killer in the Connecticut River Valley between Vermont and New Hampshire.

I asked for this book with high expectations and was really looking forward to reading it. I had finished The Dressmaker and the suggestion that this book was in a similar vein was quite intriguing .

The book while having a great story to be told and characters with all sorts of angst, did not live up to the potential it could have. The author used story elements such as flashbacks to tell the story of Rachel Lockyer and the events around her murder trial. The English history during this time of Cromwell and the difficulties was a great backdrop to tell a story. The characters seemed to be an honest reflection of the time. The problem was the prose was hard to read and the story, at times, was did not capture the imagination as it could have and should have. I finished the story but continued to be off put by the quality of the writing. I did not find the comparison between The Dressmaker and this story to be accurate.

A story about the Titanic with actual portions from the hearings held in the Senate does not sound at all interesting. Until you throw in real people who actually were on the ship. Until you throw in real people who faced huge challenges and dilemmas, head on. Until you realize how big business and having large amounts of money did indeed determine most of the outcomes. Until you meet Tess and Jim. They wanted honesty and truth in a world where money and influence are all-important. Good writing with young love, compromises, new chances and a girl trained to be a dressmaker all combined with the huge tragedy all lead to the book being interesting and very, very hard to put down!

Another fascinating book. The Borgia Betrayal/b by Sara Poole was riveting. Francesca, the poisoner was busy in the house of the Pope, Alexander VI. She was working to keep the Pope and his family safe from harm. Cesare, the Pope's oldest son was back as well, as Francesca's lover. There are threats all around the Pope with people wanting to kill him for a variety of reasons, mostly political gain. Conspiracies, treason, political maneuvering, a sociopath and family are all part of this book and this was all centered around a Roman landscape in the late 1400s.

I have just come back from the past - the seventeen hundreds to be more precise. Jamie and Claire have brought me hours of joy, horror, laughter, fear and love. The size of the book overwhelmed me at first, until I read the first couple of chapters by then I was so entranced by the characters and the setting that I forgot about the page count and all the household chores. I am looking forward to reading more of Diana Gabaldon's books in this series. This book is now easily one of my favorites of all times!

Outside Wonderland has given me a warm glow. I would give this book more stars if it were possible. Life happens and days pass. Everyone struggles with something/someone, but life is what we make of it and how we move forward. This book highlights this with the wonderfully warm characters of Eve, Griffin and Dinah. The brother and sisters lost their mother in an accident when they were very young and then their father when they were a little older. They seem to struggle with finding themselves and their paths in life. I enjoyed the scenes with the parents watching the children through the clouds of heaven. This book gives you hope without preaching, reality without despair.

"As always, humans beings are endlessly heartbreaking and inspiring, their lives threaded with strands of despair and brighter ones of hope. They are as predictable and changeable as the weather."

"Solomon’s Oak" by Jo Ann Mapson is book that touches the soul quietly, but lingers like a soft mist. The book is about loss and struggles. How much is too much? When does grieving leave? What is the cost of trust? Is anything really too much? Glory, Juniper and Joseph need healing. The tree, Solomon’s Oak is the setting for the three of them to find themselves and maybe each other. I liked it the realistic characters and the changes each wrought in each other. It is a book to savor and enjoy, not to rush through. It is a book that makes you think about what is important. And to count your blessings.

I think this would be good to read with a book club as it has many themes. It shows universal ideals and will appeal to many adult levels.