Today's Read and Giveaway: Snow Angel Cove by RaeAnne Thayne

Imagine you're a single mother of a five-year-old and you've just pulled up roots and set your future on a job at a small-town inn. Now imagine that on the very day you arrive at your new home, just before Christmas, that inn goes up in flames. That's what happened to Eliza Hayward, who finds herself stranded in Haven Point, Idaho, jobless and homeless in the middle of a snowstorm.

Oh, this wasn't good. At all.

Eliza Hayward stood with sleet pelting her like hard little pebbles, gazing at the blackened charred bones of her future. Cold dread wormed its way beneath her coat like the wintry wind blowing off Lake Haven, just a few hundred yards away.

—Snow Angel Cove by RaeAnne Thayne (Harlequin, 2014, first paragraph)

Quick Facts

• Setting: Redemption Mountains, Idaho; modern times
• Circumstances: Eliza moves to Haven Point for a hotel management job; on her first day there, the hotel burns to the ground and she is hit by a car. Full of guilt and remorse, Aidan Caine, the handsome man who was driving the SUV that skidded on ice, must find a way to help the woman he injured.
• Characters: Eliza and her daughter, Maddie; Aidan, a well-know tech entrepreneur; Aidan's extended family; various townspeople and hospital personnel
• Genre: contemporary small-town romance
• Complications to the storyline: Aidan and Eliza's late-husband had a history--and it wasn't good. Little Maddie suffers from a serious heart condition.
• Reviews: Romance readers have nothing but good things to say about Snow Angel Cove, mentioning the well-developed characters and the realistic development of Eliza and Aidan's relationship. So far I'm enjoying this comforting Christmas read.
• Recommendations: Fans of contemporary romance; lovers of feel-good Christmas stories
• Miscellaneous: The first in a new spin-off series of Thayne's popular Hope's Crossing books

The Giveaway

If you like happily ever after and you like Christmas, then I have the giveaway for you. Thanks to the wonderful people at Harlequin, I'm hosting the romance holiday giveaway to end all giveaways! One of you with a U.S. or Canadian mailing address will win five paperbacks and one eBook, plus a package of ornament charms and a box of Harlequin-themed gift tags. What more could a romance lover want?

The prize pack includes the following books. The first five are mass-market paperbacks and the last one will be in the digital format of your choice:

• Christmas with the Billionaire by Carole Mortimer, Maisey Yates, and Joss Wood
• Maybe This Christmas by Sarah Morgan
• Snow Angel Cove by RaeAnne Thayne
• The Heart of Christmas by Brenda Novak
• The Lodge on Holly Road by Sheila Roberts
• Her Holiday Man by Shannon Stacey

All you have to do to be entered for a chance to win is to have a U.S. or Canadian mailing address and to fill out the form. I'll pick a winner on November 20, using a random number generator. Once the winner has been confirmed, I'll erase all personal data from my computer. Good luck!

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Spotlight and Giveaway: Madame Picasso by Anne Girard

The Book: You may not recognize the name Eva Gouel but you may be familiar with her image as rendered by Pablo Picasso during his early Cubist period (see the painting Woman in an Armchair).

Anne Girard's Madame Picasso tells the story of how Eva, a young costumer, met the newly famous painter and became his lover and muse in the Golden Age of Paris in the years before World War I. Many reviewers note that the people and places of turn-of-the-century France come alive in Girard's capable hands, from the back stage of the Moulin Rouge to the beauty of the countryside, from fellow artists and dancers to the likes of Gertrude Stein.

Madame Picasso is a love story not only of Eva and Picasso but also of the era, with its new technology and astonishing new art. Relying on firsthand accounts (mostly correspondence), Girard sheds light on the woman who won Picasso's heart just as his career began to take flight. Although their time together was tragically short, Picasso proclaimed his feelings for the younger woman by including the words I love Eva in a number of his works.

To learn more about author Anne Girard, be sure sure to visit her website, where you can see a photo of Eva and learn about the birth of the novel. For more information and news, like her Facebook page and follow her on Twitter. Harlequin, the publisher, talked with Girard about Madame Picasso, which you can listen to on YouTube.

The Giveaway: Thanks to Harlequin, I'm excited to be able to offer one of my readers with a U.S. mailing address a fabulous prize pack to celebrate the recent release of Anne Girard's Madame Picasso. One lucky reader will receive a copy of the novel plus three movies to help set the mood: Moulin Rouge, Midnight in Paris, and Gatsby.

All you have to do to enter for a chance to win is to fill out the form. I'll pick a winner on September 15 using a random number generator. Once the winner has been confirmed, I'll erase all personal information. Good luck!

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One Deck, One Book, One Perfect Summer Day (plus a Giveaway!)

On a recent beautiful Saturday, I was lucky enough to have what I consider pretty much the perfect summer day. Come join me on my deck and I'll let you share the day as I relax and read Heather Gudenkauf's Little Mercies, which is about a contemporary social worker in crisis and the children who need our help. The novel was published on June 24. (Click on the images to see them full size; use the back arrow to return to the post.)

I just love the sunlight on my deck in the morning, and I take my breakfast outside whenever the weather allows. Today, I'm eating yogurt and strawberries while I look over a stack of books I want to read.

So many great novels! They all look good, but Little Mercies by Heather Gudenkauf is really calling to me.

Now all I need now is a cute pair of reading glasses and another cup of coffee. Settle yourself in while I put my feet up, grab my book, and let the world around me fade into the background.

As the morning passes along in reading bliss, I start to get hungry. I don't, however, let my light lunch (nuts, fruit, veggies, and a tall glass of iced tea) get in the way of my reading time. Doesn't everyone read when they take a lunch break?

One thing I love about my deck is the pretty blue fountain my parents got for us. It's so soothing to listen to the water trickling down on the rocks.

As much as I'm loving Little Mercies, I have to pause for a bit to appreciate the colors of the summer flowers and the gorgeous nearly clear sky.

Am I wrong to think my deck is a little bit of heaven? I want to live out here.

By late afternoon, the deck starts to heat up, so I'm thankful for that umbrella! Regardless, I absolutely remember to reapply my sunblock. Yes, I use 50 SPF; I don't want to risk a sunburn while reading Little Mercies.

Despite how pretty the flowers are next to my post-lunch reading spot, I move over to the table and hide under that umbrella. Can you see the sun beating down?

Um, I think might put my book in my lap for just a second. The book's not heavy . . . I'm not getting sleepy, really. Ooops! I think I might have dozed.

Mr. BFR woke me up with a cold beer and some snacks. Just what I needed to cool down and resume reading while enjoying the sound of the fountain and the birds singing.

Although I've almost finished my book, I make myself take a break and head to the kitchen to get dinner going. I guess I can't escape real life completely.

As the sun goes down, though, I sneak in a little time for a glass of wine as I return to Little Mercies. What a perfect ending to a perfect summer day.

I don't have extravagant tastes. Give me my deck, an engrossing book, a few snacks, and warm weather and I'll be happy as can be. For my latest trip to heaven, I read Heather Gudenkauf's Little Mercies, which is a great pick for this summer's reading. Here's a snippet from the publisher's summary:

A powerful and emotionally charged tale about motherhood and justice, Little Mercies is a searing portrait of the tenuous grasp we have on the things we love the most, and of the ties that unexpectedly bring us together.

To learn more about Little Mercies, be sure to check out the book trailer. For more about Gudenkauf, see her website or Facebook page or follow her on Twitter or Pinterest. To keep up with the buzz, head on over to Goodreads.

Attention book club members: Don't forget to download the great book club kit, which contains an introduction from the publisher, thoughtful discussion questions, and an interview with Heather Gudenkauf.

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by Harlequin (publisher of Little Mercies) but all thoughts, photo collages, and content are my completely my own.

The Giveaway: Because I want everyone to have a similar perfect summer day and thanks to Harlequin, I'm happy to offer one of my readers a fantastic Heather Gudenkauf book bundle, which includes her latest novel, Little Mercies, plus her books The Weight of Silence and These Things Hidden. All you have to do to enter for a chance to win is have a U.S. mailing address and fill out the following form. I'll pick a winner via random number generator on July 4. Once the winner has been confirmed, I'll erase all personal information from my computer. Good luck and happy, relaxing summer reading.

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Today's Read & Giveaway: Three Little Words by Susan Mallery

What if you got the chance to see a childhood crush again, and right when you just happened be newly single? Isabel Carlisle is back home working at her parents' boutique when learns the still-handsome Ford Hendrix has returned to town. She's not sure if he'll even want to talk to her, but if she can get him to pretend to be her boyfriend, then her mother will stop pestering her about dating.

Dear Ford, I can't believe my sister was stupid enough to cheat on you with your best friend two weeks before your wedding. With you joining the Army so suddenly, I didn't get a chance to confess in person. I know I'm only 14, but I love you. I'll love you forever and write every day. Or at least once a week. I cried and cried when you left. . . . I wish you didn't have to leave. I really will love you forever, Ford. I promise.

—Three Little Words by Susan Mallery (Harlequin HQN, 2013, p. 1)

Quick Facts

• Setting: Fools Gold, California, a small town where everyone knows everyone
• Circumstances: Isabel, 28, wrote to Ford, 33, for years although he never wrote back; now that their paths have crossed again, can they be friends or perhaps something much more?
• Characters: Isabel, divorced, dreams of moving to New York and being part of the fashion scene; Ford, an ex-SEAL poses as a personal trainer, although he's really bodyguard; their parents, siblings, and friends in Fools Gold
• Genre: romance, light women's fiction
• Themes & plot lines: love, family, friendship, dreams, life in a small town; some humor
• Miscellaneous: this is the 12th book set in Fools Gold and the third book to feature a bodyguard; Mallery garners rave reviews from Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and Romantic Times
• Learn more: for more on the setting, visit the Fools Gold website; for more about the author, visit her website

The Giveaway

Thanks to Book Trib, I can offer one of my readers with a U.S. mailing address her very own Susan Mallery Foolproof Bridal Kit. Don't let that word bridal throw you off; this giveaway is open to any one who wants to be a little pampered for a special occasion or just for no reason at all. The gift bag includes the following and is valued at $40:

1. A wedding-themed bottle of OPI nail polish
2. Not Your Mother’s® Rise & Shine™ Silky Smooth Shine Mist
3. Manicure set (includes emery board, small and large nail clippers, tweezers, cuticle stick and nail polish remover pad)
4. Heart-shaped compact mirror
5. 12-piece E.L.F. eye shadow kit
6. Travel makeup brush set
7. Makeup remover wipes
8. Lip gloss
9. Travel sewing kit
10. Kleenex®
11. Secret® deodorant
12. Razor and Gillette® Shave Gel
13. Nivea Creme
14. Wisps toothbrushes
15. TRESemmé® hairspray

All you have to do to enter for a chance to win this awesome prize pack is fill out the following form. I'll pick a winner using a random number generator on August 29. Once the winner has been confirmed, I'll erase all personal information from my computer. Good luck and, here's to indulging in a little beauty session.



For book reviews, Q&As with Susan Mallery, and even more chances to win the bridal kit, visit the BookTrib website to see the other blogs in the Three Little Words tour.

ISBN-13: 9781410462060
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy).

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BEA Book Group Speed Dating Sesson: Part 1

My favorite panel at BEA each year is the one geared to book clubs. For the second year, the Reading Groups Guides panel has been set up in a speed-dating format. Attendees sit at round tables, and the publicity and marketing people from various publishing houses move from table to table to tell us about their hottest titles that will prompt the best discussions. Here is Part 1 of my recap of that event, covering four of the eight publishers that stopped by my table. (Come back on tomorrow for BEA Book Group Speed Dating Session: Part 2.)

Here are the books I learned about at the session, plus my top pick from each publisher. Titles in boldface are books that made it to my wish list.

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

• Man Alive! by Mary Kay Zueavleff: a contemporary novel of family and values
• Someone by Alice McDermott: a woman scorned in the 1930s; we are all fools for something
• Tinderbox by Lisa Gornick: contemporary novel about how a nanny disrupts a family's dynamics
• Hild by Nicola Griffith: historical novel; a seer in 7th-century Britain, just as Christianity is taking hold in the kingdom

All it takes is a quarter to change pediatric psychiatrist Dr. Owen Lerner’s life. When the coin he’s feeding into a parking meter is struck by lightning, Lerner survives, except that now all he wants to do is barbecue. What will happen to his patients, who rely on him to make sense of their world? More important, what will happen to his family?

The bolt of lightning that lifts Lerner into the air sends the entire Lerner clan into free fall. Mary Kay Zuravleff depicts family-on-family pain with generosity and devastating humor as she explores how much we are each allowed to change within a family—and without. Man Alive! captures Owen and Toni Lerner and their nearly grown children so vividly you’ll be looking over your shoulder to make sure the author hasn’t been watching your own family in action.

What will book clubs talk about? Family, the importance of money, ambition, the true meaning of success, marriage and expectations, adapting to change. On sale September 3; ISBN 13: 9780374202316

Grove / Atlantic

• Just What Kind of Mother Are You? by Paula Daly: contemporary novel about a woman whose friend's child disappears while she is in charge
• Wash by Margaret Wrinkle: historical novel; effects of slave breeding in early 1800s Tennessee
• It's Not Love, It's Just Paris by Patricia Engel: focuses on the inhabitants of a woman's rooming house in Paris

In this luminous debut, Margaret Wrinkle takes us on an unforgettable journey across continents and through time, from the burgeoning American South to West Africa and deep into the ancestral stories that reside in the soul. Wash introduces a remarkable new voice in American literature.

In early 1800s Tennessee, two men find themselves locked in an intimate power struggle. Richardson, a troubled Revolutionary War veteran, has spent his life fighting not only for his country but also for wealth and status. When the pressures of westward expansion and debt threaten to destroy everything he’s built, he sets Washington, a young man he owns, to work as his breeding sire. Wash, the first member of his family to be born into slavery, struggles to hold onto his only solace: the spirituality inherited from his shamanic mother. As he navigates the treacherous currents of his position, despair and disease lead him to a potent healer named Pallas. Their tender love unfolds against this turbulent backdrop while she inspires him to forge a new understanding of his heritage and his place in it. Once Richardson and Wash find themselves at a crossroads, all three lives are pushed to the brink.

What will book clubs talk about? Slavery, breeding programs, spirituality, cultural differences. On sale November 9; ISBN 13: 9780802122032

Harlequin Mira

• The Sweetest Hallelujah by Elaine Hussey: described as The Help meets Beaches; 1950s Mississippi
• The Returned by Jason Mott: contemporary novel; what if your loved ones could return from the dead?
• Teatime for the Firefly by Shona Patel: early 1940s India; unlikely love story at the brink of great social change; the author grew up on a tea plantation in India
• The Tulip Eaters by Antionette Van Heugten: contemporary and historical (World War II); thriller in which the crime has roots in the Dutch resistance

Harold and Lucille Hargrave's lives have been both joyful and sorrowful in the decades since their only son, Jacob, died tragically at his eighth birthday party in 1966. In their old age they've settled comfortably into life without him, their wounds tempered through the grace of time. . . . Until one day Jacob mysteriously appears on their doorstep—flesh and blood, their sweet, precocious child, still eight years old.

All over the world people's loved ones are returning from beyond. No one knows how or why this is happening, whether it's a miracle or a sign of the end. Not even Harold and Lucille can agree on whether the boy is real or a wondrous imitation, but one thing they know for sure: he's their son. As chaos erupts around the globe, the newly reunited Hargrave family finds itself at the center of a community on the brink of collapse, forced to navigate a mysterious new reality and a conflict that threatens to unravel the very meaning of what it is to be human.

With spare, elegant prose and searing emotional depth, award-winning poet Jason Mott explores timeless questions of faith and morality, love and responsibility. A spellbinding and stunning debut, The Returned is an unforgettable story that marks the arrival of an important new voice in contemporary fiction.

What will book clubs talk about? Death, spirituality, religion, love, hope, what happens when wishes come true. Extra: this has been picked up as a television series, which will be called Resurection. On sale August 27; ISBN 13: 9780778315339

Penguin USA

• Margot by Jillian Cantor: contemporary novel with flashbacks to World War II; what if Anne Frank's sister escaped to the United States and now must relive past horrors when her sister becomes posthumously famous
• Me before You by Jojo Moyes: contemporary novel; UK setting; love story
• A Working Theory of Love by Scott Hutchins: what happens when a man tries to build the first sentient computer using his late-father's journals
• The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles by Katherine Pancol: translated from French; two sisters try to help each other out with unexpected results

When her chronically unemployed husband runs off to start a crocodile farm in Kenya with his mistress, Joséphine Cortès is left in an unhappy state of affairs. The mother of two—confident, beautiful teenage Hortense and shy, babyish Zoé—is forced to maintain a stable family life while making ends meet on her meager salary as a medieval history scholar. Meanwhile, Joséphine’s charismatic sister Iris seems to have it all—a wealthy husband, gorgeous looks, and a très chic Paris address—but she dreams of bringing meaning back into her life. When Iris charms a famous publisher into offering her a lucrative deal for a twelfth-century romance, she offers her sister a deal of her own: Joséphine will write the novel and pocket all the proceeds, but the book will be published under Iris’s name. All is well—that is, until the book becomes the literary sensation of the season.

What will book clubs talk about? Marriage, sisters, motherhood, get-rich-quick schemes, honesty, jealousy. On sale December 31; ISBN 13: 9780143121558

Don't forget that discussion guides will be available for all these titles. Check ReadingGroupGuides.com and the publishers' websites for more information about book club resources, the books, and the authors.

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Today's Read & Giveaway: A Spear of Summer Grass by Deanna Raybourn

What would you do if your semi-scandolous life caught up with you and you had to leave Europe before things got out of hand? It's the early 1920s, and fun-loving Delilah Drummond has no intention of going to America, where she couldn't get a legal drink. Instead, she agrees to Kenya—to her ex-stepfather's lakeside property—just until things blow over, of course.

Don't believe the stories you have heard about me. I have never killed anyone, and I have never stolen another woman's husband. Oh, if I find one lying around unattended, I might climb on, but I never took one that didn't want taking. And I never meant to go to Africa. I blame it on the weather. It was a wretched day in Paris, grey and gloomy and spitting with rain, when I was summoned to my mother's suite at the Hotel de Crillon. I had dressed carefully for the occasion, not because Mossy would care—my mother is curiously unfussy about such things. But I knew wearing something chic would make me feel a little better about the ordeal to come. So I put on a divine little Molyneux dress in scarlet silk with a matching cloche, topped it with a clever chinchilla stole and left my suite, boarded the lift and rode up two floors to her room.

—A Spear of Summer Grass by Deanna Raybourn (Harlequin / Mira, 2013, first paragraph)

Quick Facts

• Setting: Kenya, at Fairlight outside of Nairobi, 1923
• Circumstances: there are questions about Delilah's inheritance after the death of her most recent husband; to avoid scandal and lawsuits she relocates to Africa
• Characters: Delilah; her cousin Dora; safari guide J. Ryder White; various ex-pats
• Genre: historical fiction with a love story
• Themes: love; staying true to oneself; conservation; prejudice; colonization
• Personal: I love this time period in Africa; a hundred pages in, the characters and setting fit with what I know of the place of the time; I'm sure I already know the ending but I'm hooked anyway

The Author

A sixth-generation native Texan, New York Times bestselling author Deanna Raybourn grew up in San Antonio, where she met her college sweetheart. She married him on her graduation day and went on to teach high school English and history. During summer vacation at the age of twenty-three, she wrote her first novel. After three years as a teacher, Deanna left education to have a baby and pursue writing full-time. Fourteen years and many, many rejections after her first novel, she signed two three-book deals with MIRA Books.

Deanna’s novel Silent in the Grave won the 2008 RITA® Award for Novel with Strong Romantic Elements and the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best First Mystery. The Lady Julia Grey series has been nominated for several other awards, including an Agatha, three Daphne du Mauriers, a Last Laugh, four additional RITAs, and two Dilys Winns. Dark Road to Darjeeling was also a finalist for the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Historical Mystery as well as a Romantic Reviews’ finalist for Best Book of 2010.

Be sure to visit Deanna Raybourn's website and follow her on Twitter.

The Giveaway

Thanks to Big Honcho Media and Harlequin, I am pleased to offer two of my readers a copy of Deanna Raybourn's A Spear of Summer Grass. The only restriction is that you must have a U.S. or Canada mailing address. Fill out the form, and I'll use a random number generator to pick a winner on May 15. Once the winners have been confirmed, I'll delete all personal information. Good luck!



Buy A Spear of Summer Grass at an indie or at a bookstore near you. (Link leads to an affiliate program.)
ISBN-13: 9780778314394
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy).

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Today's Read Plus Guest Post: Evidence of Life by Barbara Taylor Sissel

Wouldn't you love to have a weekend to yourself? Imagine that your husband and daughter go camping and your son is at college. Like Abby Bennett, wouldn't you be dreaming of all that wonderful alone time? Now suppose your husband and daughter are lost in the aftermath of a flash flood. Would you ever stop looking for them?

The following scene happens once rescue operations have begun:

It was one of those perfect spring days: a breeze fiddled along under a blue umbrella sky while the sun rose, a butter-yellow balloon above the sudden earth. It was the picture of innocence, a child's crayon drawing. Not one vestige remained of the horrible rain Abby had driven through to get here, and it disconcerted her and infuriated here . . . this weather that lay on her like a blessing, that wouldn't hurt a fly, that would take nothing from anyone. She felt mocked by it.

—Evidence of Life by Barbara Taylor Sissel (Harlequin / Mira, 2013, p. 36)

Quick Facts

• Setting: American Southwest; Texas hill country
• Circumstances: a father and daughter who may or may not have been killed in a flash flood; as Abby searches for them, she realizes she never really knew her husband
• Characters: Abby and Nick Bennett and their children, Lindsey and Jake; Kate, Abby's friend; Dennis, the sheriff
• Genre: mystery; psychological thriller
• Themes: marriage, trust, deceit, parenting, grief, holding on to hope, moving on

Guest Post

In celebration of the release of Evidence of Life, author Barbara Taylor Sissel stops by today to tell us about the origins of the story. Thanks to Meryl L. Moss Media for organizing this guest post for me.

Question: Can you give us some background on Evidence of Life and how you came up with the idea?

Answer from Barbara Taylor Sissel: As a mother, I’ve always been a worrywart. I know it’s pointless and unnecessary and that it gets me nothing except stressed out and sleepless. Still I do it, even now that both my boys are grown. I’d like to think it’s at least partly an act of the author in me that causes me to dream up a worst-case scenario and then imagine its consequences. But whatever it is, the scaffolding for Evidence of Life was built around this tendency to worry.

Then, of course, the news is filled with stories about natural disasters, heavy flooding for instance, where family members become separated from one another. I combined this idea with an unlikely setting: the Hill Country of Texas. It’s an area I love, that is known to be dry, exceptionally dry, except when it’s not. Floods there are rare but devastating events when they occur. The deluge can come on so quickly, dumping endless inches of rain in a matter of hours, creating flash floods, catching unsuspecting people off guard.

Suppose someone you loved, your husband and daughter, say, were to vanish in such a storm without a trace? What would you do? Sit home and wait? Or try and find them? How long would you keep looking? How would you sustain hope and for how long? As a mom, I wondered about these questions. Abby came into my brain, and I wanted to tell her story. I wanted to find her answers.

I have the same questions! I am looking forward to finishing the novel and discovering whether Abby ever learns the fate of Nick and Lindsey.

Buy Evidence of Life at an indie or at a bookstore near you. (Link leads to an affiliate program.)
ISBN-13: 9780778315162
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy).

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Review: Between Me and the River by Carrie Host

Carrie Host was just shy of 40 years old when she got the news that many of us fear most. She had cancer—and not just any cancer but carcinoid tumors, which are resistant to both chemotherapy and radiation. Surgery was the only answer, but Host's body was riddled with many small cancerous growths throughout her abdomen and even on her lungs.

Between Me and the River is an almost daily look at Host's 3.5-year journey from pain and misdiagnosis to multiple surgeries and hospitalizations to the news that she was likely cancer free. As we follow her to Mayo Clinic, acupuncturists, nutritionists, and support groups, we learn how cancer, while never welcome, can still provide life lessons.

The river as a metaphor for a cancer-focused life works well and helps us form a clear picture of the steps along the way: being swept up in the current, drowning, going over the falls, and even hitting calm spots when floating comfortably seems possible. Most of the chapters end with a paragraph describing personal insights, finding hope, or coping emotionally. The book concludes with a short list of resources.

It is evident in her memoir that Host was luckier than many cancer patients: She had siblings and parents who could leave their own homes to help with her baby and older children, she had the money and resources to visit multiple doctors in multiple states, and she had the means to hire someone to help out at home. I am not implying that Host's story is not honest, difficult, and inspirational but that she had a head start over many families who must deal with cancer with far less support, adequate healthcare insurance, and money.

Host has a clear and easy style, even when writing about the most emotional and difficult parts of her life. The book, however, could have used a tighter copyedit, I noticed punctuation and grammar errors scattered throughout; fortunately, these did not take away from my overall connection with Host's story.

Between Me and the River at an Indie

Between Me and the River at Powell's
Between Me and the River at Amazon

Published by Harlequin, 2009
ISBN-13: 9780373892143
Challenges: 999, 100+
YTD: 70
Rating: B−

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Review: Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder

This is the final book in Snyder's Study trilogy. I read Poison Study before I blogged, but I reviewed the second book, Magic Study, here on Beth Fish Reads. Note: This review of Fire Study assumes you've read the first two books. If you haven't, you might want to skip the first five paragraphs.

After surviving her ordeal as the royal food taster in Ixia and learning how to control her magic powers in Sitia, Yelena is hoping to settle in her rooms in the Citadel and learn more about how to control and use her power. Unfortunately, peace eludes her.

As political tension between the countries of Ixia and Sitia grow, Yelena is called on to act as a liaison, negotiating with the commander in the north and the magician's council in the south. Temporarily separated from her lover, Valek, Yelena travels to Ixia with her brother and two companions. Because she is known as a Soulfinder, one of the most feared and hated types of magicians, many in Sitia are happy to see her leave. But Ixia is no haven either; it was there that Yelena was held captive for most of her childhood.

Meanwhile, her family, friends, and cohorts count on her to find a way to prevent war and to conquer the evil Fire Warper, who has been called from the underworld to help an outlaw band in their desire for domination. But how can Yelena prevail when even she is afraid of her abilities?

Yelena has never felt at home anywhere and barely trusts her core group of comrades. Although she is battling her personal demons, she knows that she must also destroy the true demons who prey on her countrymen. It is at the junction of these two paths that Yelena hopes to find her destiny.

Fire Study is a stronger novel than Magic Study. The characters here are easier to grasp, and the multiple levels of political and magical intrigue add more depth and action to the plot. Of particular interest is the glass-making skills of Opal Cowan. The scenes involving her, her family's glass factory, and her glass animals were absorbing.

Unfortunately, some plot lines were a bit thin. For example, I would have liked to know more about the conflict among the master magicians in Sitia. Yelena tells her story in the first person, so we know only what she knows. This adds to the mystery of some of the characters and events, but it also means we're left in the dark about other places and the fate of other characters.

The resolution of Yelena's personal and political dilemmas occurred in a manner that I found to be somewhat hokey and drawn out. A tighter edit at that point could have helped the ending.

Of the three books, Poison Study is by far the best. The trilogy is worth picking up if you are a fantasy fan looking for something a bit different. Snyder has recently published the first book in a new spin-off series that concentrates on Opal, the glass maker, and the second in that series will come out in the fall.

I listened to the trilogy, read by Gabra Zackman. Zackman's narration is clear, and she creates different accents for the different clans of people. Her range of voices is a bit limited, but I liked hearing the correct pronunciation of the personal and place names.

Maria V. Snyder has a website where you can explore all her books and see a map of Yelena's world.

Fire Study at an Indie

Fire Study at Powell's
Fire Study at Amazon

Published by Mira, 2008
ISBN-13: 9780778325345
Challenges: Support Your Library, 100+, 999
YTD: 43
Rating: B-

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Review: Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder

Note: Magic Study is the second in a trilogy. This review assumes you've read the first book, Poison Study. For my recommendation, skip to after the asterisks.

Yelena is on her way home to Sitia to meet her family after a fourteen-year separation. Because she was kidnapped at the age of six, she has no memory of her early childhood. The trip is bittersweet: Although she will soon know what it is like to have a family and a clan, Yelena has left her lover, Valeck, and friends Ari and Janco behind. And once she's seen her homeland, she will leave it to enroll in the magic school at the Citadel to study with her mentor, Irys.

Life in the south is not good for Yelena. While she is learning to hone her magic skills and is discovering some of her talents, she is met with hostility--even from her older brother, Lief--and is accused of being a spy for Ixia. Her classmates and teachers are jealous of her skills, a group of rebels are threatening to invade the north, young girls are being raped and murdered, and Yelena is being stalked by at least one enemy. She barely has a peaceful moment, and her burdens are heavy.

* * * * *

Magic Study focuses on a transition in Yelena's life, from enslaved child to independent woman. The exploration of her personality, magical abilities, and relationships with others is strong. Unfortunately, many of the characters introduced in this book seem to lack depth. I was disappointed that her family was not more fully developed. I'm not sure I understand Yelena's mother and her odd behavior, and Lief's motives were weak. Teachers at the Citadel seem to be either good or bad, and we don't learn much about them.

On the other hand, I like the spirited, strong Yelena and will definitely finish off the trilogy (with Fire Study). This is not a complex fantasy world filled with numerous creatures and cultures. Instead the books tell the story of one young woman and her struggles to overcome adversity and find her place in the world.

Magic Study could have used a stronger editor; the abundance of similes is sometimes annoying. In this Harlequin publication, romance is neither in the forefront nor excessive.

I've listened to the first two entries in the trilogy via audiobooks, read by Gabra Zackman. The narration is clear and nicely done.

Published by Harlequin, 2007
ISBN-13: 9780778323921
Challenge: 25 Books
Rating C

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