Book Review - Nemesis and the Swan by Lindsay K. Bandy

 

Photo Credit - Amazon

 

Helene d'Aubign is accused of being a spy and is thrown in jail in revolutionary Paris. The nineteen-year-old aristocrat recalls the events that led to her predicament. She must decide if she will follow the path of her parents or will she abandon the man she loves.

While Helene grew up in a world of privilege and surplus, her progressive governess has instilled radical ideas of a revolution in her early years. Her family tries to prevent her to follow the dangerous path of the revolution but, she has her own ideas. This includes falling in love with a young apprentice. Helene is determined to be with him even though the revolution threatens to tear their family apart.

When violence erupts in Paris, Helene is forced into hiding with her family. She discovers that her family is keeping a deadly secret from her. As Helene tries to find the truth behind the murder, she travels back to Paris to find her beloved. In Paris, she realizes that everything has changed and she can no longer trust anyone. Helene must choose between her family's past or betraying her heart.

I enjoyed reading the book even though it was very slow and predictable. I liked that Helene followed her heart and followed the path of forgiveness of her accuser. There were some parts of the story that wasn't resolved but, the ending was satisfying. Helene is portrayed as wanting the revolution to happen but, she doesn't really express any ideas about it or question her family's priviledge. Instead, she gets annoyed when the artist follows certain progranada of the revolution because the citizens are after her blood. I feel like at times she was pretending to be in favor of the revolution. Overall, I enjoyed the book and I look forward to reading other books by the author.

 **Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. This post may contain affiliate links which means I earn advertising and/or referral fees if you purchase an item through my link. Please note, there will be no extra charges to you. Thank you for your support.**

 

Nemesis and the Swan

by Lindsay K. Bandy
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Release Date: October 27th 2020

Genre: Young Adult, Historical, Fiction, France

 

Synopsis:

 

From her prison cell in revolutionary Paris, nineteen-year-old aristocrat Hélène d'Aubign recalls the events that led her to choose between following in her parents' unforgivable footsteps or abandoning the man she loves.

 

Despite her world of privilege, Hélène is inspired early on by the radical ideas of her progressive governess. Though her family tries to intervene, the seeds of revolution have already been planted in Hélène's heart, as are the seeds of love from an unlikely friendship with a young jeweler's apprentice. Hélène's determination to find true love is as revolutionary as her attempt to unravel the truth behind a chilling set of eye-shaped brooches and the concealed murder that tore her family apart.

 

As violence erupts in Paris, Hélène is forced into hiding with her estranged family, where the tangled secrets of their past become entwined with her own. When she finally returns to the blood-stained streets of Paris, she finds everything-and everyone-very much changed. In a city where alliances shift overnight, no one knows who to trust.

 

Faced with looming war, the mystery of her family's past, and the man she loves near death, Hélène will soon will find out if doing one wrong thing will make everything right, or if it will simply push her closer to the guillotine.

 

BOOK LINKS

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository | Kobo | Google Books

 

AUTHOR INFORMATION

Lindsay Bandy writes historical and contemporary young adult fiction as well as poetry. She lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with her husband, two daughters, and two cats, and currently serves as the co–regional advisor of the Eastern Pennsylvania region of Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

AUTHOR LINKS

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram

 

TOUR SCHEDULE

https://favouritepagesbookclub.blogspot.com/2020/09/tour-schedule-nemesis-and-swan-by.html

 

 

Book Review - The Alphabet's Alphabet by Chris Harris + Giveaway

 

 

The illustrated book is a cute take on how the letters in the alphabet look like each other. An A is really an H that is slouching and doesn't stand up straight. A B is a D who is wearing a belt on too tight. I found the cute children's book to be a fun read. It illustrates that we are more alike to each other than we may think. The book provided a new fun way at looking at the alphabet.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. This post may contain affiliate links which means I earn advertising and/or referral fees if you purchase an item through my link. Please note, there will be no extra charges to you. Thank you for your support.**

 

 

About The Book:

Title: THE ALPHABET'S ALPHABET

Author: Chris Harris & Dan Santat (Illustrator)

Pub. Date: September 29, 2020

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 48

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

 

For fans of P is for Pterodactyl comes this groundbreaking spin on the ABC's from an acclaimed, bestselling author and artist pairing!

Here's a totally twisted take on the alphabet that invites readers to look at it in a whole new way: An A is an H that just won't stand up right, a B is a D with its belt on too tight, and a Z is an L in a tug-of-war fight! Twenty-six letters, unique from each other -- and yet, every letter looks just like one another! Kind of like...one big family.

From two bestselling masters of wordplay and visual high jinks comes a mind-bending riddle of delightful doppelgängers and surprising disguises that reveal we're more alike than we may think. You'll never look at the alphabet the same way again!

 

About Chris:

Chris Harris is the New York Times bestselling author of I'm Just No Good at Rhyming: And Other Nonsense for Mischievous Kids and Immature Grown-Ups, illustrated by Lane Smith. He has been an executive producer for comedies including How I Met Your Mother, and a writer for The Late Show with David Letterman. His pieces have appeared in the New Yorker, Esquire, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and on NPR. He lives in Los Angeles.

 

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

 

 

 

About Dan:

Dan Santat is a #1 New York Times Best Selling Author author/illustrator of over one hundred titles which include “The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend” which won the prestigious Randolph Caldecott Medal in 2015. Other titles include, Are We There Yet? and After the Fall (How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again)  He is also the creator of the Disney animated hit, The Replacements. Dan lives in Southern California with his wife, two kids, and various pets.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

 

Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive a Finished Copy of THE ALPHABET'S ALPHABET, US Only.

Rafflecopter Link:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e2389ba21154/?

 

Tour Schedule

Week One:

9/21/2020	Little Red Reads	Spotlight
9/22/2020	Two Chicks on Books	Spotlight
9/23/2020	YA Book Nerd	Review
9/24/2020	Word Spelunking	Review
9/25/2020	Jazzy Book Reviews	Review

 

Week Two:

9/28/2020	Novel Novice	Review
9/29/2020	onemused	Review
9/30/2020	The Phantom Paragrapher	Review
10/1/2020	Bookroomreviews	Review
10/2/2020	YA Books Central	Spotlight

 

Week Three:

10/5/2020	Rajiv's Reviews	Review
10/6/2020	She Just Loves Books	Review
10/7/2020	Gimme The Scoop Reviews	Review
10/8/2020	Do You Dog-ear?	Review
10/9/2020	Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers	Review

 

Week Four:

10/12/2020	Reese's Reviews	Review
10/13/2020	The Pages In-Between	Review
10/14/2020	Fictitiouswonderland	Review
10/15/2020	Oh Hey! Books	Review
10/16/2020	Jotted by Jena	Review

 

Week Five:

10/19/2020	fictitious.fox	Review
10/20/2020	Jaime's World	Spotlight
10/21/2020	Twirling Book Princess	Spotlight
10/22/2020	Lifestyle of Me	Review
10/23/2020	BookHounds Ya	Review

 

Week Six:

10/26/2020

two points of interest

Review