Tea with the Authors at Mainstream Boutique

Thanks so much to Amy Skogstad and Mainstream Boutique for hosting a lovely Tea with the Authors. The store is lovely and it was so nice to meet so many new readers!

Calypso's Secrets and Eagle River will be on sale for 99 cents!

Both of these novels will be on sale on Amazon for 99 cents from March 23rd- April 1st!


  

In the Heat of the Tropics by Christina Elliott

As a native South Floridian who has since moved to a far colder climate, Christina Elliott’s In the Heat of the Tropics, took me back to the Florida of my teen years. One particular strength of the author’s writing is her ability to describe sensory experiences. The sultry city of Miami with her aromas and rhythms came alive. Ms. Elliott returned me to Calle Ocho, the cuisine, including the delicious empanadas, and then, later (spoiler) into the fecund darkness of the everglades. Elliott employs unexpected humor deftly. Ingrid, though beautiful, capable, and strong willed has a little bit of a younger Bridget Jones to her. I chuckled several times over lines like “Her move to the downtown Miami newsroom had suddenly imbued her with sex appeal.” Her counterpart, Rick, is impetuous, passionate and “Miami Vice” mysterious and compelling. The temperature and electricity between the protagonists reflect the sultry summer heat, the rising tension in the story, as well as the impending hurricane.

From the gripping opening sentence, “Miami in the summer was like swimming in blood,” to the thrilling, final pages, I could not put the novel down. It’s a sexy, hot, thriller with some clever, unexpected twists.

Available at Amazon.

Britt-Marie Was Here by Frederick Backman

Admittedly, I am a huge fan of Fredrik Backman. A Man Called Ove was probably the best book I've read this year. So, when a dear friend of mine and a fellow teacher recommended Britt-Marie, I was immediately hooked. Britt-Marie starts like Ove, somewhat tragically, though readers do not actually know what it was until they are into the story. Britt-Marie has separated from her unfaithful husband after devoting her life to serving him. 

Britt-Marie is fabulously engaging and entertaining character. She is, perhaps, on the Autism Spectrum and struggles with social cues. She is also obsessed with orders and rules, including those governing cutlery drawers. But she also has a great of gold and the ability to empathize with  criminally inclined young hoodlums, a drunk and disabled soccer coach, and even a rat. In fact, some of the most entertaining interactions in the novel are between Britt-Marie and the rat. 

The only problem with this clever story is the ending. It felt like a betrayal of all of Britt-Marie's character growth up to this point in the story. Britt-Marie has discovered all of that she has to share, and then she proceeds to hide her light with a metaphorical bucket.

Bottom line: a delightful read.

Review - The Second Empress: A Novel of Napoleon's Court by Michelle Moran

The Second Empress by Michelle Moran is the story of Marie-Louise of Austria, the eighteen-year-old princess who became Napoleon Bonaparte's second wife and the mother of the tragic King of Rome. The novel's cover immediately suggests some of the conflicts of the story. A lovely Marie-Louise is at the fore, and observing her or shadowing her is a dark-haired woman who is also wearing a crown. As I read the story, the mystery I pondered is this mysterious woman the Pauline, Napoleon's sister, or his first empress Josephine? My conclusion from the novel is that the specter haunting Marie-Louise must be Pauline. Pauline is deeply possessive, perhaps obsessive where her brother is concerned. She dreams of marriage between siblings in the style of the Egyptian pharaohs. With her selfish conniving she serves as a compelling antagonist to the self sacrificing Marie-Louise. I would have liked more involvement by Josephine, the woman who never stopped loving Napoleon, even though she was unfaithful to him and he cast her off.

This is no love story. Marie-Louise has been raised to loathe and fear the man to whom she has been given in marriage. While attractive, Marie-Louise is not fashionable and petite in the style of Josephine, whom Napoleon greatly admires. It seems that all her husband does admire about her is her fertility and her sense of duty. He trusts her so much that he names her regent during his ill fated Russian campaign. Then, there is the Count Von Neipperg, the man who becomes Marie-Louis's lover and the father of her other children. Moran gives readers the sense that these two had a great love affair that is thwarted when she is sent off to France to marry the emperor. She is willing to make this sacrifice of her great love and her family in order to preserve the safety of her homeland. Still, with von Neipperg, at least in this story, it seems like out of sight is out of mind. Marie-Louise seems more concerned about getting her dog than being with this man. Once Napoleon has been exiled, Marie-Louise finally takes the leap of faith and casts off the shackles of her unwanted marriage to be with the man she loves.

This is an interesting read, though Moran does seem to focus too much on the debauched Pauline. Maybe the title has multiple meanings and refers also to the destiny that Pauline actually desired, though I am not sure that this is historically accurate. Marie-Louise, herself, remains elusive. I was left to wonder how this young woman felt being more or less demanded to serve as a broodmare for the man whom she had been raised to most loathe and fear. In the end, this novel raised more questions in my mind than it answered.

New Melange Press Offerings

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Pre-Valentine's Sale

Friday, 2/10/17-2/12/17 All of my Kindle books will be for sale for .99 cents.

Ransom for a Viking will be free!