Book Review - The Maid of Ballymacool by Jennifer Deibel

 

The Maid of Ballymacool by Jennifer Deibel is about two people from different walks of life solving a decades old mystery that could change the trajectory of their lives. Brianna Kelly has spent her entire life at Ballymacool House and Boarding School. The headmistress Magee found Brianna on her doorstep when Brianna was an infant. The person who left Brianna on the school’s doorstep left no clues to indicate her lineage or her parents.

Brianna feels that since she spent her entire life as a servant at the school, she fears that she will most likely die in the same role. Although she feels that she is meant for something more, she lacks the power and money to alter her situation and circumstances. When Brianna isn’t working, she spends her time exploring the area surrounding Ballymacool. She looks for hidden treasures to add to her secret stash  that she has hidden underneath the floorboards of her room.

Michael Wray is a member of the Ascendancy class and the son of a local gentry. His presence was requested at Ballymacool when his unruly cousin, Adeline,  started having behavioral problems and the staff was unable to deal with her. As Michael tries to get his cousin’s behavior under control, he finds himself in the company of Brianna often. After spending a few brief moments with Brianna, Michael feels himself drawn to her.

 

As the pair spends more time together, Micheal feels that there is something familiar about Brianna. When Brianna finds a piece of silver in the woods, she enlist Michael to help her find the origin of the platter. As they dig deeper, they find out a secret behind the platter that might change their lives.

 

I thought the book was an okay read. The novel moved very slowly with no story progression. The author spent more than ¾ of the book in the beginning to talk about Michael dealing with his cousin’s unruly behavior. And towards the end, when the story starts to pick up, Adeline just disappears. We don’t know if her behavior improves or is Adeline still a thorn in everyone’s sides.

 

I liked that the author weaved Irish phrases into the narration. It made me feel more immersed in the story. The book had a section in the back of the book that translated the phrases and gave readers a glimpse into the history of Ballymacool along with the author’s inspiration. I thought this was a delightful inclusion, but I would have preferred if the words were translated in story. I found it a bit annoying to move back and forth constantly to figure out what a specific word or phrase meant.

 

The ending did wrap up the story in a neat bow but I had a few questions that I don’t think were addressed. I felt that the author drew out the story and then didn’t fully address all the different storylines, such as: how did Brianna’s mother know Magee? Did Magee know about Brianna’s existence prior to finding Brianna? If you enjoy clean romance novels with a cozy mystery twist, then you will enjoy this novel.

**Disclosure - I received a free  copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion**

Book Review - Promises of Gold by José Olivarez

 

The book is a collection of poems from Mexican poet, Jose Olivarez. It contains a mixture of poems dedicated to people and experiences from his life. The book had two versions of each poem, one in Spanish and one in English. There was a translator note explaining the different nuances for translating a poem from English to Spanish as it can take away some of the author's meaning. I thought the poems were an interesting but, some I felt that I didn't quite understand the references. If you are a fan of poetry and a familiar with Mexican culture, I believe you will thoroughly enjoy these poems.

Book Review - Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

 

Before astronauts went into space or before Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, there were a group of dedicated women mathematicians who made it possible. The women were known as "computers" who manually calculated the numbers that would launch planes, rockets and astronauts.

I saw the movie before reading the book. I thought the book was going to read like a fiction novel but, it read more like a textbook. I had a hard time keeping track of the different women. However, I thought it was an interesting read and well researched book.

Book Review - The Kingdoms of Savannah by George Dawes Green

 

The story begins on a quiet balmy Southern night near Bo Peep's. It's the local's favorite watering hole. A man is murdered and his companion goes missing. Morgana Musgrove is a well known elite of Savannah society and is called on to solve the mystery behind these crimes. Morgana is known for being manipulative, cunning, and demanding that even her four grown kids are weary of her presence. She tries to rope them into her investigation and they soon discover dark secrets that will crumble everything they held true.

I was very excited to read the book because the cover looked so interesting. However, the writing style wasn't for me. I had a hard time following along and keeping track of things. I also felt that the story moved along so slowly that I lost interest in the novel. I didn't like that there were so many characters being introduced at once and the POVs switched so often that it was hard to keep track of. Unfortunately, I realized this book required more effort than I was willing to give it and I stopped reading about half way in.

Book Review - Waking Isabella: Because Beauty Can't Sleep Forever by Melissa Muldoon + Giveaway

Photo Source - Amazon

Nora is an assistant research who feels like her life hit the wall. She is going through a divorce and feels like her life is missing something. After coming across a photo of a friend who was surrounded by two men in the vineyard, Nora realizes she is jealous of her friend and hopes that her life changes for the better. However, instead of sitting around and moping, Nora decides to create a documentary about the rebellious Medici princess, Isabella. While working on her documentary, Nora explores the history of two strong independent in the past and hopes that she can use them as a guiding source for her own life. Will Nora be able to have the life she always wanted? Will she be able to use Isabella as a source of empowerment?

The novel starts off with the murder of Isabella by her estrange husband and then switches to modern day with Nora. At first, I loved the concept of meshing the past with the present with a common thread uniting the two. However, when it started doing that for multiple characters and sometimes the novel would switch time without much of a warning and it became hard to keep track of.  While, I am not a dual language speaker, I do enjoy reading novels that have some dual lingo as it helps readers feel immersed in the culture. I would have found it helpful in the author included a dictionary of the Italian terms because I feel like I missed out part of the story when I couldn't understand all of the Italian bits and it was a bit overwhelming to constantly use Google Translate. If you are an Italophile, and/or enjoy art and history, this would be a treat to read.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion**

Book Details:
Book Title:  Waking Isabella: Because beauty can't sleep forever by Melissa Muldoon Category:  Adult Fiction,  250  pages Genre: General Fiction Publisher:  Matta Press Release date:  December 2017 Format available for review: print & ebook (mobi, ePub, PDF)
Will send print books out: internationally Tour dates: Feb 19 to March 23, 2018 Content Rating: PG-13 + M (The story begins with violent rape and murder scene, touches on themes of miscarriage, murder, Nazi violence during war, adultery) ​  

Book Description:
Waking Isabella is a story about uncovering hidden beauty that, over time, has been lost, erased, or suppressed. It also weaves together several love stories as well as a few mysteries. Nora, an assistant researcher, is a catalyst for resolving the puzzle of a painting that has been missing for decades. Set in Arezzo, a small Tuscan town, the plot unfolds against the backdrop of the city’s antique trade and the fanfare and pageantry of its medieval jousting festival. While filming a documentary about Isabella de’ Medici—the Renaissance princess who was murdered by her husband—Nora begins to connect with the lives of two remarkable women from the past. Unraveling the stories of Isabella, the daughter of a fifteenth-century Tuscan duke, and Margherita, a young girl trying to survive the war in Nazi-occupied Italy, Nora begins to question the choices that have shaped her own life up to this point. As she does, hidden beauty is awakened deep inside of her, and she discovers the keys to her creativity and happiness. It is a story of love and deceit, forgeries and masterpieces—all held together by the allure and intrigue of a beautiful Tuscan ghost.

 

Meet the Author:

Melissa Muldoon is the Studentessa Matta—the crazy linguist! In Italian, “matta” means “crazy” or “impassioned.” Melissa has a B.A. in fine arts, art history and European history from Knox College, a liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois, as well as a master’s degree in art history from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. She has also studied painting and art history in Florence.

Melissa promotes the study of Italian language and culture through her dual-language blog, Studentessa Matta (studentessamatta.com). Melissa began the Matta blog to improve her command of the language and to connect with other language learners. It has since grown to include a podcast, “Tutti Matti per l’Italiano,” and the Studentessa Matta YouTube channel. Melissa also created Matta Italian Language Immersion Tours, which she co-leads with Italian partners in Italy.

Waking Isabella is Melissa’s second novel and follows Dreaming Sophia, published in 2016. In this new novel about Italy, the reader is taken on another art history adventure, inspired by Melissa’s experiences living and traveling in Italy, specifically Arezzo, as well as her familiarity with the language and art. For more information about Waking Isabella and links to Melissa’s blogs and social media sites, visit www.MelissaMuldoon.com.

As a student, Melissa lived in Florence with an Italian family. She studied art history and painting and took beginner Italian classes. When she returned home, she threw away her Italian dictionary, assuming she’d never need it again, but after launching a successful design career and starting a family, she realized something was missing in her life. That “thing” was the connection she had made with Italy and the friends who live there. Living in Florence was indeed a life-changing event. Wanting to reconnect with Italy, she decided to start learning the language again from scratch. As if indeed possessed by an Italian muse, she bought a new Italian dictionary and began her journey to fluency—a path that has led her back to Italy many times and enriched her life in countless ways. Now, many dictionaries and grammar books later, she dedicates her time to promoting Italian language studies, further travels in Italy, and sharing her stories and insights about Italy with others. When Melissa is not traveling in Italy, she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Melissa designed and illustrated the cover art for Waking Isabella and Dreaming Sophia. She also curates the Dreaming Sophia blog and Pinterest site: The Art of Loving Italy. Please visit the Pinterest page for pictures of Arezzo, the Giostra del Saracino, and all the places we go in Italy in both books. Visit MelissaMuldoon.com for more information about immersion trips to learn the language with Melissa in Italy, as well as the Studentessa Matta blog for practice and tips to learn the Italian language.

Connect with Melissa:Website ~ Twitter ~  Facebook ~ Pinterest ~ Instagram ~ Youtube 

Book Review - A Certain Age by Beatriz Williams

Photo Credit - Amazon

In the Jazz Age of glitz and glamorous desires, Mrs. Theresa Marshall of Fifth Avenue has taken up with a young lover, Captain Octavian Rofrano. Octavian was her first affair and most certainly her last as she falls in love with him. While, the two are deeply enthralled with each other, Octavian wants more. He wants to marry her while Theresa has incredible wealth, social standing and influence meaning having a divorce from her husband is out of the question.

Her beloved brother, Ox comes to her for a favor; requesting her to find him a cavalier to propose to his intended, Sophie Fortescue. Theresa asks Octavian to be the cavalier for her brother and to investigate Sophie. However,  Octavian is smitten with Sophie even though he uncovers a dark and deadly secret. When, the two forces collide and Octavian is forced to make a choice. Who will he choose? Who will have to make the greatest sacrifice for love?

The opulent tale reminds me of "A Fine Imitation" and "The Great Gatsby" with elements from "June". It was an interesting tale woven with elements of love, betrayal and sacrificing the welfare oneself for another with an ending one never sees coming. A great read for the beach or a rainy day. I am definitely looking forward to reading other novels from the author.

**Disclosure - I received an uncorrected advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion**

Book Review - A History of Violence: Living and Dying in Central America by Óscar Martínez

Photo Credit - Amazon

Central America is one of the deadliest places on Earth. Both El Salvador and Honduras have the highest homicide rate for the past decade with Guatemala following. Everyday more than 1,000 people are displaced from their home as they try to flee for their safety. Oscar Martinez goes to Central America and interviews people to get their first hand account of the brutality and crime in Central America. 

Oscar treks to small towns, jungle villages even Mexican brothels to get talk to the people and report about their living conditions. He also talks with those who work in drug trader, policemen, government officials,  hit men and gang informants.  The novel reads like one big article and at times confusing to keep traffic of all the people and names. Each chapter, Oscar focus on another topic or person but there are sometimes overlapping key elements. A good book to enlighten readers of the trouble brewing among our borders but it wasn't for me.

**Disclosure - I received an uncorrected eBook PDF file in exchange for my honest opinion**