This is a little different from the other Kearsley novels that I have read in that the main characters are firmly rooted in the present. We are, however, treated to two fascinating stories of the past in Chinon, France, both involving women named Isabelle, one a queen (circa 1205) and the other a chambermaid (circa WWII).
Emily Braden agrees to take a holiday and meet her historian cousin Harry at Chinon, where he plans to research Queen Isabelle. When Harry, not uncharacteristically, fails to arrive as scheduled at the Hotel de France, Emily joins brothers Paul and Simon Lazarus and violinist Neil Grantham, who are also staying at the hotel, for some sightseeing. She discovers a rare King John coin, her cousin's most prized possession, in a donation bowl at a beautiful deserted chapel and begins to wonder what, exactly, has happened to Harry.
Kearsley's novel begins as a pleasant, if a little bit dated, story that transforms into an intriguing and romantic mystery, weaving together the near and distant past with the present day. I didn't love it as much as The Rose Garden or Mariana, but I definitely liked it a lot! I would recommend it. It might be a bit difficult to find, though!
BIBLIOPHILY
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
ARTISTIC LICENSE (Katie Fforde)
As usual, Katie Fforde provides an enjoyable romantic adventure with characters that leave you wishing you could keep hanging out with them even after the last page has been turned. This is an older novel (2005), Fforde's second. Thea Orville has left her career as a globetrotting photojournalist after being betrayed personally and professionally by the man in her life. With the help of a convenient inheritance, she has left London, invested in a large house in Cheltenham, and started taking in student lodgers, providing housing and an occasional meal for a group of messy, irresponsible university students. When friend Molly invites her on an unexpected trip to France she decides to accept and get away from it all. During the trip she meets Rory, a breathtakingly attractive Irish artist who has been hired to lecture to the group on Cezanne, and after arriving home to chaos and destruction in her house she decides to take Rory up on his invitation to visit him in Ireland, leaving Cheltenham behind and the mess behind.
Her unplanned visit to the Emerald Isle leaves Thea not with a new romance, as you might have presumed, but a new career as an art gallery owner, plus an Irish wolfhound and several puppies. With the help of Molly and Molly's handsome cousin Ben, Thea decides to find a property and exhibits Rory's beautiful landscapes. Neither the course of true love nor the launching of a new enterprise ever run smoothly and Ffforde treats her readers to nonstop action, including potentially romantic remodeling accidents, a possible kidnapping, a vicious ex-spouse, lots of puppy antics, and some very bad weather. This is fun!
Her unplanned visit to the Emerald Isle leaves Thea not with a new romance, as you might have presumed, but a new career as an art gallery owner, plus an Irish wolfhound and several puppies. With the help of Molly and Molly's handsome cousin Ben, Thea decides to find a property and exhibits Rory's beautiful landscapes. Neither the course of true love nor the launching of a new enterprise ever run smoothly and Ffforde treats her readers to nonstop action, including potentially romantic remodeling accidents, a possible kidnapping, a vicious ex-spouse, lots of puppy antics, and some very bad weather. This is fun!
Thursday, October 18, 2012
150 POUNDS: A NOVEL OF WAISTS AND MEASURES (Kate Rockland)
Shoshana Weiner and Alexis Allbright are successful 20-something bloggers focused on that eternal female obsession, weight. Shoshana, at 215 pounds, writes Fat & Fabulous, a blog for overweight women that focuses on self acceptance. Alexis, on the other hand, weighs 100 pounds writes a blog called Skinny Chick, which extolls diet, extreme exercise, and weight control for good health.
If the truth were to be told (and it is), chubby Shoshana actually leads a healthier lifestyle than Alexis. She enjoys a reasonably healthy, balanced diet (albeit too much food), gets some regular exercise, and accepts herself. She even enjoys finding wardrobe pieces that flatter her zaftig body. As part of an overweight family she grew up in Hoboken surrounded by love and acceptance, but her father's early death from a heart attack a few years before has left her with a nagging sense of worry about the future. Alexis, on the other hand, became estranged from her perfectionist parents after the tragic death of her teenage brother. A disappointment to her lawyer father (Alexis is a law school drop-out) and alcoholic mother, Alexis lives in New York City with her gay best friend Billy, barely making ends meet. She is meticulous about recording every morsel of food she eats, works out religiously, and tries to control every aspect of her life.
Shoshanna and Alexis meet (and do NOT bond) as guests on the Oprah Winfrey Show, invited to talk with Oprah about weight and body image. As fate would have it, circumstances beyond their control eventually conspire to change their thinking, their lifestyles, and their priorities, and a year later they end up together on Oprah's show again, this time each weighing 150 pounds. I'm not going to give you any more details about how this happens, but I will tell you that 150 Pounds is much more than your average chick lit. It's a novel about 2 women who, in the process of advising others about how to live, find their true selves and their own happiness. I enjoyed being invited along for their year of discovery!
If the truth were to be told (and it is), chubby Shoshana actually leads a healthier lifestyle than Alexis. She enjoys a reasonably healthy, balanced diet (albeit too much food), gets some regular exercise, and accepts herself. She even enjoys finding wardrobe pieces that flatter her zaftig body. As part of an overweight family she grew up in Hoboken surrounded by love and acceptance, but her father's early death from a heart attack a few years before has left her with a nagging sense of worry about the future. Alexis, on the other hand, became estranged from her perfectionist parents after the tragic death of her teenage brother. A disappointment to her lawyer father (Alexis is a law school drop-out) and alcoholic mother, Alexis lives in New York City with her gay best friend Billy, barely making ends meet. She is meticulous about recording every morsel of food she eats, works out religiously, and tries to control every aspect of her life.
Shoshanna and Alexis meet (and do NOT bond) as guests on the Oprah Winfrey Show, invited to talk with Oprah about weight and body image. As fate would have it, circumstances beyond their control eventually conspire to change their thinking, their lifestyles, and their priorities, and a year later they end up together on Oprah's show again, this time each weighing 150 pounds. I'm not going to give you any more details about how this happens, but I will tell you that 150 Pounds is much more than your average chick lit. It's a novel about 2 women who, in the process of advising others about how to live, find their true selves and their own happiness. I enjoyed being invited along for their year of discovery!
Saturday, October 6, 2012
THE BEACH HOUSE (Georgia Bockoven)
When Julia's husband Ken, a successful and well-loved businessman, dies of a heart attack at age 39, she feels that her life is over. All that is left is to grieve and to do her best to honor her husband's legacy by running his successful company and continuing his traditions. She decides to sell their beloved summer home in Santa Cruz, but only after allowing their regular tenants to enjoy one more summer at the beach.
I was a little disconcerted at first when I realized that different tenants would be the featured characters of the novel during June, July, and August. Would there be connections and an interweaving of the stories, things that I treasure in good novels? As it turns out, Bockoven does a credible job of creating enough of a connection to provide the reader with a feelin g of continuity, largely through the presence of Eric, a doctor who is renting the cottage next door. The tenants include a mother with a teenage son who is falling in love for the first time, an elderly couple coping with the end of life after 60 years of marriage, and a recently separated woman who discovers that sometimes true love is where you least expect to find it. This is more like a series of connected short stories than a novel. but it is a good light summer read.
I was a little disconcerted at first when I realized that different tenants would be the featured characters of the novel during June, July, and August. Would there be connections and an interweaving of the stories, things that I treasure in good novels? As it turns out, Bockoven does a credible job of creating enough of a connection to provide the reader with a feelin g of continuity, largely through the presence of Eric, a doctor who is renting the cottage next door. The tenants include a mother with a teenage son who is falling in love for the first time, an elderly couple coping with the end of life after 60 years of marriage, and a recently separated woman who discovers that sometimes true love is where you least expect to find it. This is more like a series of connected short stories than a novel. but it is a good light summer read.
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