The book of speculation - Erica Swyler

A sweeping and captivating debut novel about a young librarian who discovers that his family labours under a terrible curse - for generations, the women in his family have died on the same date in July. Simon must set out to unravel the mystery of this curse, before his beloved sister suffers the same fate. 

Simon Watson lives alone on the Long Island Sound in his family home, a house perched on the edge of a cliff that is slowly crumbling into the sea. His parents are long dead, his mother having drowned in the water his house overlooks. His younger sister, Enola, works for a travelling carnival and seldom calls.

On a day in late June, Simon receives a mysterious book from an antiquarian bookseller; it has been sent to him because it is inscribed with the name Verona Bonn, Simon's grandmother. The book tells the story of two doomed lovers who were part of a travelling circus more than two hundred years ago. The paper crackles with age as Simon turns the yellowed pages filled with notes and sketches. He is fascinated, yet as he reads Simon becomes increasingly unnerved. Why do so many women in his family drown on 24th July? And could Enola, who has suddenly turned up at home for the first time in years, risk the same terrible fate?

As 24th July draws ever closer, Simon must unlock the mysteries of the book, and decode his family history, before it's too late. 

My thoughts:

I do love magical realism, in all shapes and forms. Here at times I was convinced that magic was real, but then, maybe it all had a logical explanation after all. And hey that is what magical realism is all about.

It's story of Simon, who works at a library. Who lives in a house that is falling down a cliff. Who loves the water. Whose family life was not that happy since his mum drowned and his father never cared for anything else after that. I liked Simon and his need for knowing more. His relentlessness in finding the truth.

See the truth is that all women in his family drown, and on the same date. Why? Is there a curse? Something else? And he hunts for the truth when he gets a book where this becomes clear, and all to save his sister. It's July after all.

We also get to follow the first "mermaid" in the family 200 years back, their life at the circus, and why they know tarot cards. And there lies the magic. What happened? Magic my heart said, no there is something else to it said my brain. But I think I will leave it at magic. That one always win. And I love how it can be both and be believable. 

It is a wonderfully crafted tale, set in the past and present. Water is a powerful theme and flows through out the book. It is magical, sad and beautiful. 

Conclusion:

A great book, and a good mystery. Recommended.

Cover

nice and simple

Hardcover, 352 pages
Expected publication: February 4th 2016 by Corvus (first published June 23rd 2015)
Magical realism /fiction
For review

Extreme Honor - Piper J.Drake

David Cruz is good at two things: war and training dogs. The ex-soldier's toughest case is Atlas, a Belgian Malinois whose handler died in combat. Nobody at Hope's Crossing kennel can break through the animal's grief. That is, until dog whisperer Evelyn Jones walks into the facility . . . and into Atlas's heart. David hates to admit that the curvy blonde's mesmerizing effect isn't limited to canines. But when Lyn's work with Atlas puts her in danger, David will do anything to protect her.

Lyn realizes that David's own battle scars make him uniquely qualified for his job as a trainer. Tough as nails yet gentle when it counts, he's gotten closer to Atlas than anyone else-and he's willing to put his hard-wired suspicion aside to let her do the same. But someone desperate enough to kill doesn't want Lyn working with Atlas. Now only teamwork, trust, and courage can save two troubled hearts and the dog who loves them both . . .

My thoughts:

To be honest, I do not even like dogs. They are scary, they little ones always bark at me, trust me, I meet one in the street and it will bark at me and not the next person. The bigger ones do not but those are just scary on their own. Childhood being chased trauma.

Anyway, reading about dogs is another matter. I really liked Atlas, poor guy had PTSD after his handler had died in battle. And now David is trying to make Atlas feel like himself again. He was such good dog. I really liked the ending for him too.

And there is a romance too, but most important was Atlas' happiness. But fine let's talk romance too. Lynn comes to help David with Atlas. Sparks fly, but oh no! Someone seems to be after Lynn, why? It gets suspenseful and then everyone lives happily ever after.

I really should read more romantic suspense, it can be a nice change of pace. And books with animals are always special. I really felt for poor Atlas.

Conclusion:

Good one. 

Cover

ok

Kindle Edition, 336 pages
Published January 26th 2016 by Forever
True Heroes #1
Romantic suspense
NG

Author Post and giveaway: Sharon Sala

Today's post is by Sharon Sala as I asked her what makes the South so special.

There is also a giveaway at the end.

Post:
I think the South is special to the people who live there because it’s home. Anywhere or anything that represents where you were raised usually creates nostalgia.

One of the things that means a lot to me is family. Sometimes in the South a family becomes so tied together generationally that we think of them as a clan – a large group of people with similar beliefs and lifestyles who share blood and revere the aged and elderly among them as important, even necessary to how they live their lives.

My daddy’s mother, my paternal grandmother, came from the mountains above Sparta, Tennessee. Her mother was a healer. Some in the family used to say she was part Cree. My Daddy’s father, my grandfather, was from Indian Territory in Oklahoma before statehood. His mother, my great-grandmother was ¾ Cherokee.

My Grandma, my daddy’s mother, was a healer like her mother. I was always nervous about getting sick at her house because her theory was, if it didn’t kill a horse, it wouldn’t hurt a child. I’ve had herb teas that tasted like swamp water, been rubbed with balms that she made, and had a wart witched off my hand with a dishrag and a chant beneath a full moon. There are a thousand stories in any Southern family about the people who came before them, but there is a telling and continuing thread. They are the Don’t Quit people. The kind of people who would rather go hungry and miss a meal than leave the land that sustains them.

I am grateful for the Don’t Quit blood that runs in my veins.

About Sharon

Sharon Sala, who has also written under the name Dinah McCall, has 85-plus books in print, published in four different genres—Romance, Young Adult, Western, and Women’s Fiction, and her Young Adult books have been optioned for film. She has been named a RITA finalist seven times by Romance Writers of America, and in 2011 they named her the recipient of the Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award. Her books are New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly bestsellers and published in many different languages. She lives in Oklahoma, the state where she was born.

About You and Only You

Welcome to Book One in the Blessings, Georgia series of Southern contemporary romance from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Sharon Sala. With the support of her handsome, unassuming friend Mike Dalton, LilyAnne Bronte is finally ready to put the past in the past.

It’s never too late

Mike Dalton has secretly loved LilyAnn Bronte since they were all children together in the small town of Blessings, Georgia. But one fateful day T.J. Lachlan roars into town and starts showering LilyAnn with his charm, and Mike feels his dream of them being more than friends slipping away.

To find the love you missed

LilyAnn, as anyone in Blessings will tell you, let herself go after her fiancée was killed in Iraq. The attention of the handsome new guy shocks her into a revelation: she’s ready to live again, and maybe the best is yet to come. The thing is, everybody in Blessings is sure it’s Mike and LilyAnn who belong together—and they’re willing to do whatever it takes to make LilyAnn realize the love of her life has been by her side all along.

(Originally published as The Curl Up and Dye.)

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Author Interview: Grace Burrowes

Today I have an interview with Grace Burrowes :)

Welcome!

1. Tell us something fun that happened last year in 2015? 

I took an intensive Gaelic course at Sabhal Mor Ostaig, a Gaelic University on the Isle of Skye. Part of the curriculum was an all-school singing, dancing party, at which each class had to perform something in Gaelic. If only college had been more like this! 

2. Tell us about your new book? 

I’ve described Will’s True Wish as the Regency dog whispers meets the Regency “101 Dalmatians,” except that the heroine who’s critical to solving the dog-napping scheme doesn’t really like dogs, however much she might like the hero. 

3. Since this is a book about dogs, do you have one of your own?

I have two. Sarge looks like a pitt bull/blood hound mix; and Murphy is a golden retriever. They’re big, friendly, and endlessly lovable…. Also fond of cheese.   

4. How about a  bit about our hero and heroine? 

Willow Dorning is an earl’s spare, and has spent his life being useful and unassuming. Early in life he turned to the companionship of dogs, and resigned himself to managing five younger brothers so the heir could focus on managing the earldom. Will’s lot of thankless, and yet, when dogs begin to go missing from aristocratic households, his brothers convince him he’s in the best position to solve the mystery. 

Lady Susanna Haddonfield has chosen the company of books to that of most women her age, having been subjected to ballroom bullying on the occasion of her come out. She recalls Will fondly, but where dogs are concerned… she’s not fond of them at all. Will turns to her to assist in finding the missing dogs, and Susannah instead loses her heart to Will.  

5. And last, what are you working on now?

 I’m much occupied with putting the finishing touches on a trip to Scotland I’m planning for a small group of avid readers and aspiring authors. We’ll spend the first ten days of September seeing the sights and talking books, books, and books, but a successful tour requires an enormous amount of planning, planning, and planning! 

And of course, I’m working on more stories, too! 

Author Bio & Buy Links

Bio: Grace Burrowes began writing romance as an antidote to empty nest, and soon found that writing is an antidote to most of what ails us. She’s the sixth out of seven children, has been reading romance for decades, and practices child welfare law in western Maryland. 

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