The Perfume Garden by Kate Lord Brown & Giveaway of Audio CD (International)

The Perfume Garden by Kate Lord Brown was a fantastic read and will top my favorites list this year.  This is a five hundred page book that literally flew by for me.  The storyline is captivating, the characters endearing, and the history an added bonus.  The Perfume Garden is a beautifully told and written novel of love, loss, the tragedies of war, and ultimately of the hope of new life.  Something I really liked about the book was the theme of fragrance which is something I’m always taken with; how it can make us think of a certain person or evoke a certain memory.  Throughout The Perfume Garden fragrance, memories, and family secrets are woven together to form a story that will touch your heart and I can promise you that you won’t soon forget it.

Emma is at a crossroads in her life.  She has lost her mother and her fiance to her best friend and on top of it all she is pregnant.  She needs a new start and although her mother is gone she has left Emma with a way to maybe achieve that for herself.  She left her a key to a home in Valencia, Spain and Emma feels that she needs to go there – to see why her mother left her this key.  She also left Emma a box full of letters on all kinds of topics covering things she wouldn’t be able to share with Emma anymore.  Against the advice of her grandmother Freya but with the encouragement of her Uncle Charles Emma travels to Valencia and there finds the ramshackle home that her mother left her.  This doesn’t discourage Emma though.  She’s actually excited to renovate it to its former glory and to get back to what she really wants to do with her life – make fragrances.

The story goes back and forth between Emma’s life and in the past to the Spanish Civil War in the 1930′s.  With war raging all around in Spain people are just trying to survive.  We meet Rosa, a woman forced into a marriage she doesn’t want and her friend Macu who will protect her with her own life if she has to.  It is also here that we see how Emma’s grandmother Freya risks her own life to nurse those injured and fallen in the war.  The history of this war is so vividly described that I could feel the fear and hopelessness of those involved.  In my head I could hear the never ending bombings and see the injured and dying young men – it left me feeling the terror that those who experienced it must have felt and respecting those that fought and worked to help who they could.

What’s fascinating about this story is how what happened back in the 1930′s/40′s impacts Emma’s life.  In the face of danger and the overwhelming need for survival people often make decisions that will affect generations to come.  As the years go by the secrets fall deeper and deeper into the past where they are sometimes best left.  For Emma though, making a life in Valencia, the past begins to creep into the present and with that an overwhelming urge to find out just how the house and people of Valencia somehow seem to relate back to Emma.

I loved this book.  It’s a story spanning generations which is something I always enjoy and the historical aspect is fascinating as well.  I had not known much about the Spanish Civil War before at all and I appreciated being able to learn something while reading such a good book.  This is one I highly recommend if, like me, you enjoy family sagas and stories of war.

The Perfume Garden by Kate Lord Brown is touring with Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours so be sure to check out the other tour stops.  Kate can be found on her website and blog as well as Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.  There is also a Facebook and Pinterest page for The Perfume Garden so take a look at that too.  Your own copy of The Perfume Garden can be purchased at Amazon, Amazon Canada, Amazon UK, and The Book Depository.  Kate has also written a short prequel (eBook) to The Perfume Garden called The Last Rose of Summer and that can be purchased at Amazon or Amazon UK.

 

GIVEAWAY DETAILS (Audio CD – open Internationally)

I have one Audio CD set of The Perfume Garden by Kate Lord Brown to share with my readers and I bet this would be a fantastic book to listen to!  To enter…

• For 1 entry leave me a comment entering the giveaway.
• Tweet, share on Facebook, or blog for 2 extra entries.

This giveaway is open Internationally!  I will draw for the winner on June 8/13.  Good luck!

 

Source:  Review copy provided by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours and the Publisher.  No compensation was received and all opinions are my own. 

Murder as a Fine Art by David Morrell

Murder as a Fine Art by David Morrell is a historical thriller that had me flipping pages faster than I thought possible.  This book was fantastic!  Not only is it rich in historical detail that I absolutely loved but it also has a great mystery to keep you guessing.  I love anything suspenseful and I’ll tell you this book had me on the edge of my seat a few times wondering what would happen next.  The setting, London 1854, only added to my love of the book and this author certainly brought it alive to where I could almost feel the fog of London closing in on me.

As the story opens we are introduced to the artist but not just any artist.  This artist specializes in the fine art of murder and has just committed a heinous crime.  London is in a state of panic and many are lashing out at just anybody thinking that they may be the killer. The London police of course are combing the crime scene for clues but you have to remember this is 1854 and forensics was not what it is now.  Then in a conversation with a sketch artist they learn that one Thomas De Quincey actually wrote an essay On Murder which told of  The Ratcliffe Highway murders that took place in 1811 and in very vivid detail.  His descriptions pretty much mimicked the murder they were currently involved in.  Needless to say Thomas De Quincey became their prime suspect very quickly.

Upon meeting the elderly, very little Thomas De Quincey, infamous for his Confessions of an Opium-Eater, Detective Ryan and Constable Becker have to wonder if he would even have the power to commit such a crime.  As they get to know him and his daughter Emily they have even more doubts especially as it seems that De Quincey may be a help in solving the murders.  Unfortunately though they are ordered to arrest De Quincey and that’s when things really spiral of out of control.

You don’t very often read a book where you really like all of the characters but this is one of them with the exception of the murderer of course.  For the bad reputation that De Quincey has he is very likeable in this book as is his daughter Emily.  She was great and unlike many of the young ladies of her time being very outspoken and wearing pants under her skirts instead of the common and very uncomfortable hoops.  She also took part in the investigation and didn’t swoon or anything like that – unless it suited her purpose.  Ryan and Becker were great as well and another thing I enjoyed was the banter between the characters as it was quite often amusing and that lightened the mood of what is otherwise a grim murder.  As I said before this novel is rich in historical detail and I very much enjoyed learning about the beginnings of forensics and the development of the police force.  It was all very fascinating!  Murder as a Fine Art was just an all around great read for me!

Murder as a Fine Art by David Morrell is touring with Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours so be sure to check out the other tour stops.  You can connect with David on his website as well as Facebook and Twitter.  Your own copy of Murder as a Fine Art can be purchased at Amazon and Amazon Canada.

 

Source:  Review copy provided by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours and the Publisher.  No compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

Finding Lily by Lisa D. Ellis

Finding Lily by Lisa D. Ellis is a very emotional story that is very likely to break your heart and yet ultimately offer hope.  Claire and her husband Jim had anxiously awaited the birth of their first child Lily and are devastated when they lose her shortly after she is born.  Everywhere Claire turns there are reminders of her baby girl and she outwardly grieves.  She cries and is unmotivated to do anything at all.  In contrast her husband Jim throws himself into his work and tries to move on.  Needless to say this infuriates Claire who feels if he can’t outwardly grieve their daughter, then he must not have loved her.  Not knowing what else to do Claire escapes to a live for a while in a lighthouse that she had visited and loved as a child.

When Claire arrives she revels in the solitude thinking it exactly what she needed.  There are no reminders of Lily here.  The time there will give her the space she needs to sort through her grief and her feelings on her marriage.  As the weeks go by Claire feels certain she can feel her daughter’s presence there with her and it comforts her.  When she discovers some old love letters of the woman who lives there year round they cause her to reflect on her own marital problems.  Yet she also remembers meeting her husband on this very island and falling in love with him.  Does the loss of their child also mean the loss of their marriage?  Claire just doesn’t know.

Finding Lily isn’t the easiest book to read at times.  I can’t imagine losing a child as I barely survived losing my dog.  I did relate to this book in a lot of ways because many, many years ago one of my best friends lost her first baby as he was stillborn.  I was there for his birth and later witnessed much of the same emotions that Claire experiences and it was heartbreaking.

I think one of the biggest things to note is not everyone deals with grief the same way in a marriage and this novel portrays that perfectly.  While Claire wears her emotions on her sleeve, Jim does not and neither way is wrong but it’s easy to see how it can cause conflict in a marriage.  The person literally falling apart simply cannot understand how their partner can go on and live each day as they did before.  I’m one of those falling apart people so again I identified with Claire.  Ultimately I think Finding Lily is a novel of hope and healing.  It’s weird to say I enjoyed a book that broke my heart but I did.  I would say that this would make a fantastic book club pick as there is a lot to discuss from losing a child to the effects it has on a marriage.  Finding Lily is well worth reading but have a box of tissues nearby.

 

 

Finding Lily by Lisa D. Ellis is on tour with Premier Virtual Author Book Tours so be sure to check out the other tour stops for more thoughts on the book.  You can connect with Lisa on her website, Facebook, and Twitter.  Your own copy of Finding Lily can be purchased at Amazon, Amazon Canada, B&N, and SoulMate Publishing.

 

Source:  Review copy provided by Virtual Author Book Tours and the Publisher.  No compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

The Gods of Heavenly Punishment by Jennifer Cody Epstein & Giveaway (US/Canada)

The Gods of Heavenly Punishment by Jennifer Cody Epstein is a novel that tells of the 1945 firebombing on Tokyo and takes us on a journey into the lives of those who experienced both the ‘before’ and ‘after’ of this devastating act of war.  While the tale she tells is fictional, the basis for it is not and this story will haunt you long after you turn the final page.

When we first meet Yoshi Kobayashi she is a little girl who still believes that life has only the best to offer.  At a dinner party her parents are at she meets Billy although at her young age she has no idea what an impact he will later have on her life.  When the bombings occur Yoshi’s innocence is forever lost.  Billy wants only to take pictures.  With his first camera he discovered a love of photography that would remain with him throughout his life.  However in the time during WWII young men didn’t have the chance to follow their dreams; they had to go to war instead.  Around them are their parents dealing with marriage, infidelities, and the effects of war.  We also meet Cam and Lacy, a young couple in love but both are deeply affected by the war when Cam leaves to fight in it as a bomber pilot.

The intriguing part of this novel is how all these people’s lives intersect in some way even though it seems unlikely that they should.  I wouldn’t say I so much connected with the characters in this book but I felt for them and in that there was a connection.  The tragedies of war and the lives lost is devastating and the author truly brings this horror to life for the reader.  While I have read of the bombing of Tokyo I’ve never experienced the harsh realities of it quite as much as I did with this novel.  The author takes you through the streets and you can almost smell the charred remains of buildings and see the injured and dying people.

The Gods of Heavenly Punishment is a powerful novel.  While it is a story of war and its effects on people it is also a story of hope and resilience.  This novel was meticulously researched and it shows.  I also really liked the photos she included at the beginning of each chapter that were of real people during the war.  I read Jennifer Cody Epstein’s first novel The Painter of Shanghai years ago and she impressed me then and did once again with The Gods of Heavenly Punishment.  I will once again be anxiously awaiting her next book!

The Gods of Heavenly Punishment by Jennifer Cody Epstein is touring with TLC Book Tours so be sure to check out the other tour stops.  You can find Jennifer on her website as well as liking her Facebook page.  You can pick up your own copy of The Gods of Heavenly Punishment at Amazon, Amazon Canada, B&N, and IndieBound.

 

GIVEAWAY DETAILS (US/Canada)

I have one copy of The Gods of Heavenly Punishment by Jennifer Cody Epstein to share with my readers.  To enter…

• For 1 entry leave me a comment entering the giveaway.
• For 2 entries follow my blog.  If you already do let me know and I’ll pass the extra entry on to you as well.
• Tweet, Share on Facebook, or Blog for 3 entries.

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents (no PO boxes) and I will draw for the winner on May 29/13.  Good luck!