The Spine View – Page 15 – My Life as a Bibliophile

The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff

The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff is the fictional tale of women who were recruited and trained to become spies in Europe during WWII. It is a tale of incredible courage and fortitude in the face of overwhelming odds. Though the tale is fictional it is based on the fact that there were women that were spies during WWII.

This story starts in the U.S. shortly after the war is over. Grace Healey, a war widow herself, finds a suitcase in Grand Central station in New York City. She can’t resist the urge to open it and look through its contents. She finds a group of pictures of young women and this intrigues her. On a whim she takes the pictures and returns the suitcase to its hiding spot under a bench.

She becomes obsessed with finding out who the suitcase belonged to and who the women are in the pictures. As she works to gather information, the reader is introduced to Eleanor Trigg. Eleanor runs the organization in England that recruits, trains and handles women spies in German occupied Europe. Eleanor recruits a young single mother Marie Roux who is later sent to France as a radio operator for the French resistance. As Grace slows finds all the puzzle pieces and fits them together we see what really happened to these women.

My favorite thing about this book is the strong, resourceful, women characters the author has presented us. We normally think of women during WWII as entering the work force for the first time and doing men’s jobs in factories that would normally have been considered male only job. We tend to forget that women did play vital roles during WWII.

The story is told from three POVs, Grace, Eleanor and Marie. The author made sure the plot was seamless despite the changing POVs throughout. There was not tons of character development but there was enough to fit the plot. At first I thought this might be a flaw, but I in retrospect I think the author did this so on purpose. She gave us enough to connect to the characters but not enough to overwhelm the reader and bog down the plot.

The pace of the plot was good and there was plenty of intrigue to keep the reader turning the pages. I was hooked early on in the story and I wanted to see what actually happened. I also liked how everything wrapped up at the end. I wish I could elaborate further; yet, I don’t want to spoil the story for others. Let me just say that how the government handled things was spot on to what happens in real life.

I know from other books that the life expediency of a spy during WWII was very short. Therefore, the only thing I disliked about the story was the decisions made by Marie. I felt she was overly reckless and even a little naïve. Who would go off and become a spy knowing the odds of dying are very high and thus leaving a young child without a mother.

I highly recommend this book for readers of both Historical Fiction and WWII stories. I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Interview with author John Anthony Miller

Mr. Miller’s latest book Honour The Dead was published 1-Nov-2018

ME: What was the inspiration for Honour the Dead?

Although Honour the Dead is a mystery, when I decided to write it I also wanted to portray the utter devastation that the First World War brought to civilization. I wanted to show how the war impacted survivors for the remainder of their lives, muted, perhaps, as the years passed, but never absent. And I also wanted the contrast of setting an insane asylum against the backdrop of a beautiful location – Lake Como, Italy.

ME: Where any of the characters inspired by real people or events?

No, the characters and events in the book are all fictional. However, for those interested, a wonderful source for personal WWI and WWII stories and letters is the BBC website. I sometimes go there for ideas about people or places.

ME: This is you first murder mystery. Did you find it more or less challenging to write? Why?

I found the murder mystery much more challenging than my prior four books – all historical thrillers set during the Second World War. I researched Agatha Christie’s techniques while writing this to learn how to introduce real clues and red herrings in the different threads of the plots and subplots to keep the reader engaged. In the end, I actually ended up fooling myself, since a different killer was featured in earlier drafts of the book.

ME: Do you find you have developed writing quirks?

Yes, I have an unusual approach to writing. Some authors are very disciplined and create a detailed outline from which they never stray while the book is written and revised. I am very sloppy and haphazard. I write a first draft of 125 – 150 pages, that for me, is a race to capture the plot, leaving notes for myself like DESCRIBE or DIALOGUE. I then do many revisions after, continually improving the characters and settings, with the book totaling 350 – 400 pages when finished. Throughout the revisions, I capture thoughts or ideas for improvements on index cards, which are neatly stacked on my desk.

ME: What are the best resources for researching a historical setting?

I like to use non-fiction books written specifically for the time period. I find that most internet information is very surface level and doesn’t provide the detail that most readers demand.

ME: What is special to you about historical fiction setting?

I love to write historical fiction because it’s like bringing back to life an age that’s long been forgotten. I try to provide enough detail and description so my readers can imagine being in a given location and time along with the characters in the book.

ME: Do you find it hard to make yourself sit down to write every day/week?

No, I normally race to the computer and rarely miss a day. But I do have characters or scenes that I dislike and, when I get to a certain passage that I know I’ll struggle with, I tend to delay it. I read the news online or email friends, wander through Facebook or Twitter. But eventually I get back to work.

ME: Do you design your own book covers? How important do you feel a cover design is?

No, my publisher designs the covers. Sometimes they do more than one, and submit them for my approval, or sometimes they ask if I have anything specific in mind before they start. But all the cover designers I’ve worked with have been very talented people. I do think the cover is extremely important because, in book stores, it’s what first attracts a reader’s attention.

ME: How do you come up with the names for your characters?

When I’m doing the initial research for the book, and I’ve determined in what time period it’ll take place, I search on the internet for the most popular baby names in the country and year that the book takes place. For example, Honour the Dead has six main characters – all British – and it takes place in 1921. So I research the most popular male names, female names and surnames in the U.K at that time. I fill the left-hand side of a notebook with girls names I like, the center with boys names, the right with surnames. Then I match them up.

ME: Do you prefer audiobooks, physical books, or e-books? Why?

I prefer physical books – I just love the feel and smell of the book, the ability to easily leaf through it, the title on the header. I do have an e-reader, but not too much is on it, and I do have a few audio books, but they get far less attention.

John Anthony Miller was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to a father of English ancestry and a second-generation Italian mother. Motivated by a life-long love of travel and history, his novels are normally set in exotic locations during eras of global conflict. Characters must cope and combat, overcoming their own weaknesses as well as the external influences spawned by tumultuous times. He’s the author of the historical thrillers, To Parts Unknown, In Satan’s Shadow, and When Darkness Comes. He lives in southern New Jersey with his family.

The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons

The Ruin of Kings is a debut fantasy novel by Jenn Lyons. It is the first in, what I understand is to be, a 5 books series titled A Chorus of Dragons. To date, I have only read the preview, so this review is based on that alone.

Since I have not read the book in it’s entirely, here is what the publisher has to say:

Kihrin is a bastard orphan who grew up on storybook tales of long-lost princes and grand quests. When he is claimed against his will as the long-lost son of a treasonous prince, Kihrin finds that being a long-lost prince isn’t what the storybooks promised.

Far from living the dream, Kihrin finds himself practically a prisoner, at the mercy of his new family’s power plays and ambitions. He also discovers that the storybooks have lied about a lot of other things things, too: dragons, demons, gods, prophecies, true love, and how the hero always wins.

Then again, maybe he’s not the hero, for Kihrin isn’t destined to save the empire.

He’s destined to destroy it . . .

What I liked most about the book is that I was drawn into the world immediately and became invested in the character right away. I felt sorry for Kihrin because he was in jail, even though I thought he brought some of his situation on himself, I wanted to know the whole story behind how he ended up in this situation.

The plot moved along nicely. Even though I only read the preview, I was able to get a sense of the world that allowed me to follow the story without any problems. I would think as the book progressed you would have more world building and character development. It worked for me and I actually prefer that authors don’t do a data dumb at the beginning.

The way the author told the story from the present looking back reminded me of The Name of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. However, unlike Rothfuss, the author had two characters tell the story and the book jumped between three time lines, the present, and two pasts told from different POVs. This I found a little confusing and a couple of times had to reread a few pages to stay on track with each timeline. I thought this could have been handled better and took away a little from the book.

Overall, despite the one negative, I liked the story and want to read the book in its entirety. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes epic fantasy.

I received my preview of The Ruin of Kings, via NetGalley, from the publisher.

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton is an ingenious murder mystery with shocking twists that cannot be foreseen. It reminds me of the movie Groundhog Day except here the MC is trying to solve a murder before it is committed so he will be released from the loop.

The story opens on the resetting of the loop after innumerous rounds without the murder being solved. When we are first introduced to Aiden, he does not even know his own name. He wakes up in a wooded area near a castle and he has no idea how he got there. He manages to make his way to the castle and learns that he has just 8 days and 8 different hosts to solve a murder that will be committed. No one will know it is a murder because it is disguised as a suicide. Once he has solved the murder he is to meet the Plague Doctor, an elusive person who appears to be in charge of the loop, at the lake with the answer. When the correct answer is given he will be released.

The Plague Doctor informs Aiden that others are trying to solve the murder and only one of them will be released. He further advises Aiden to use all his hosts wisely and that each host has been carefully chosen for him. What he does not know is that nothing is as it appears and someone wants all of his hosts dead. He will have to trust someone in order to solve the murder and free himself from the loop.

I am in awe of the author’s talent for making such a complex and tangled plot. I honestly do not know how he kept all of the details straight. It made for one of the best murder mysteries I have read in a long time. In my opinion, Mr. Turton is right up there with Agatha Christy.

The plot is paced quickly but I want to warn you not to rush through. There are too many little details that could easily be overlooked that become important as the story unfolds. In addition, I thought it brilliant how the author did not give the reader a lot to go on about the MC, Aiden Bishop. This deliberate lack of character development allowed Aiden to change as the plot required and Aiden needed to change and you will see why when you read the story.

If you love mysteries and complex plots this is the book for you. I highly recommend it to everyone. It is a suburb work of fiction and will have you in knots trying to fit the puzzle pieces together.

I won my copy of the novel in a Book Riot giveaway and this in no way impacts my review.

The Dictionary of Animal Languages by Heidi Sopinka

Pub. Date: 20-Feb-2018
My Rating: 4 Stars

The Dictionary of Animal Languages by Heidi Soponka is a captivating literary fiction novel that is also historical fiction. The prose is lovely and lyrical and connected me to the main character in an unexpected way.

The story tells the tragic tale of the life of famous artist Ivory Frame. At the beginning we meet Ivory at the end of her life as she is trying to finish her life’s work of studying animal languages that will be a dictionary of sorts. As she is working on completing the dictionary, she receives a message that she has a granddaughter; yet, she never had children. This message is the catalyst to a flood of memories. We see Ivory as a young girl who never fit into various schools she is sent to and later expelled from. Finally as a young woman, disowned by family, she arrives in Paris where she studies painting.

For Ivory this is where her life truly starts and in some ways ends. It is the time between the Great Wars and Paris is alive with creative people. Not only does she discover her place in the world among the artists and other creative people living in Paris at the time, she finds the love of her life in Lev. Lev is a Russian artist, and an enigma, and Ivory loves him passionately even though he is married. Then in a dreadful and tragic turn of events Ivory loses everything.

This is truly a heart breaking story told with such thoughtfulness and the beautiful prose just took me away. I did think the plot was rather slow; however, it fit the prose and the mood to perfection. If the story had been written any other way it would not have had the same effect on me.

The only negative thing I can say it that I felt the granddaughter connection did not fit as well into the story as it could have. To ultimately be so important, the revelation did not get the attention it should have.

This is a tricky book to recommend because not everyone is going to like the slow pace or appreciate the prose. Though I enjoyed reading it, I recognize that it is not what I would call a “commercial novel”. Yet, for those readers that can truly appreciate it as the art form it is, I think you will love it.

I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.

Out of Season by Antonio Manzini

Title: Out of Season
Author: Antonio Manzini
Pub. Date: 2-Oct-2018
Ratings: 4 Stars — Title: Out of Season
Author: Antonio Manzini
Pub. Date: 2-Oct-2018
My Rating: 4 Stars

Out of Season is the third book in the Rocco Schiavone mystery series by Antonio Manzini (originally published in Italian). The book reads well as a standalone. I am grateful for this since I have not read the first two books in the series. It is a fast paced and entertaining mystery/thriller set in a small town in the Italian Alps.

The story follows Deputy Chief Rocco as he tries to solve the mystery of a missing girl by the name of Chairia Berguet. She is the daughter of a local business man who owes a lot of money to the wrong people. The story opens when the kidnapper is killed in a freak car accident.

At first the reader does not know the accident and the disappearance of Chairia are connected. Then as the investigation moves along, the reader realizes that the only person who knows where she is being held is dead. When Rocco makes the connection he is desperate to find her. He will do anything to location her including bending and breaking the rules.

My favorite thing about this book is the MC, Deputy Chief Rocco. He is driven and relentless when on a case; yet, as a human being he fails miserable. He is moody, difficult, rude and arrogant and yet it worked with the story and I loved his character despite all the flaws. The author really did an outstanding job with him. I found the plot to a bit slow in the beginning but it was not enough to deter me form pushing forward. Then as the story unfolds, and the pace picks up, you are rushing to the end to see if he can find Chaira.

Even though this book is a mystery/thriller it is not heavy handed. In fact, it contained a lot of humor. Rocco is very good at handing out insults and one liners that will have you chuckling. So instead of a dark, heart pounding thriller, that are a dime a dozen these days, you get a weirdly funny thriller/mystery and I found it very refreshing.

If you are looking for a mystery/thriller that is on the lighter side, this is the one for you, make sure to put it on your TBR list! I thoroughly enjoyed and I look forward to reading more in this series. I am keeping my fingers crossed that more will be published in English.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

Title: A Memory Called Empire
Author: Arkady Martine
Pub. Date: 26-Mar-2018
Rating: 5 Stars

In this preview of the debut novel by Arkady Martine, A Memory Called Empire, I was treated to some in depth world building, an MC I loved and an exciting plot. I am totally hooked. This is going to be a great series, I can feel it.

Because I only read the preview, the suspense is killing me. I want to know what happens. That’s the thing about previews, while I love getting a taste of what is to come, the down side is the wait. I am hoping I will be able to get my hands on the complete ARC or galley copy before the publication date.

I know this is a rather abbreviated review, but remember, I did get only a preview. Here is the synopsis according to the publisher.

Ambassador Mahit Dzmare arrives in the center of the multi-system Teixcalaanli Empire only to discover that her predecessor, the previous ambassador from their small but fiercely independent mining Station, has died. But no one will admit that his death wasn’t an accident–or that Mahit might be next to die, during a time of political instability in the highest echelons of the imperial court.

Now, Mahit must discover who is behind the murder, rescue herself, and save her Station from Teixcalaan’s unceasing expansion–all while navigating an alien culture that is all too seductive, engaging in intrigues of her own, and hiding a deadly technological secret–one that might spell the end of her Station and her way of life–or rescue it from annihilation.

I received the preview for free from the publisher, via NetGalley. In addition, my rating is based on the preview alone. I reserve the right to change my rating once I have read the book in its entirety.

The Blue by Nancy Bilyeau

Title: The Blue
Author: Nancy Bilyeau
Pub. Date: 3-Dec-2018
Rating: 5 Stars

I always like to point out to readers those books that hit all the right notes for me. Especially when it is an indie-author or from a small/independent publisher which is the case with The Blue by Nancy Bilyeau. The alluring thing for me about this lovely historical fiction is all the factual tidbits of 18^th century life and the production of porcelain in that era. This is the perfect example of why Historical Fiction is among my favorite genres.

Genevieve Planche is a young British women who lives with her grandfather, a well-known artist, in London. Her family are Huguenots and refugees, having fled France for England in the wake of religious persecution. Since she was born in England she has no particular loyalty to the French crown and Louis XV. A good thing, since England is now at war with France.

Despite being at war, the English still crave some French goods, such as the famous porcelain pieces produced by Sevres the French manufacturer preferred by Madame de Pompadour chief mistress to Louis XV. Genevieve finds herself drawn into the world of porcelain when her family arranges for her to become a painter at the English porcelain factory of Derby. What she really craves is to study painting under one of the great masters of her time. This is not an option for her because painting is not considered proper for a young lady.

Genevieve chafes at the constraints that society has placed upon her. She even goes so far as to attend a party giving by an English artist, who her grandfather knows, in hopes of persuading him to become her teacher. Of course, she utterly fails. Though she does meet Sir Gabriel Courtenay who later calls on her as her grandfather’s home. He manages to enlist her help as a spy. He desperately needs the formula for the new blue color that Derby is reported to have developed. In exchange, he has promised her what she wants the most, to study under a painter. She agrees to spy and only has a few short weeks to find the formula. Yet, spying is a dangerous business and spies are hanged.

As I already stated, I love Historical Fiction because I always learn some little tidbits. In this instance, I learned a lot of tidbits. The author has out done herself with researching the period and the subject of porcelain. She actually peaked my interest and I had to do some further reading about porcelain, particularly Derby and Sevres.

I also loved the complexity of the main character Genevieve. She is intelligent, a gifted artist and somewhat self-centered person who struggles with her sense of duty to family and friends. Most importantly she is a strong young woman. Imagine going off to live and work were you do not know anyone and you are 4 days away, by carriage, from any family. She also has her flaws, she can be reckless and fails to see the consequences of her actions until it is far too late.

I thought the pace of the plot was good and there were some interesting things that happened that encouraged me to keep reading. The author did an excellent job of marrying fact and fiction. It gave the story a boost and complemented the prose.

In short, this was an excellently crafted story that any Historical Fiction fan will be sure to enjoy. Be sure to mark it as “Read Soon” on your TBR list.

I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Street Freaks by Terry Brooks

Title: Street Freaks
Author: Terry Brooks
Pub. Date: 2-Oct-2018
Rating: 4 Stars

Street Freaks is not your typical Terry Brooks novel. He is best known for his fantasy novels. I remember reading his Sword of Shannara series when I was younger and loved his story telling, characters and brilliant world building. I have never doubted his writing ability; however, I was surprised to realize this is a YA Sci-Fi book. Regardless, of the genre, Terry Brooks is a great writer and Street Freaks just goes to show how great his skills are.

The story is set in the future where technology has advanced to the point that machine and man can and have been seamlessly integrated to overcome debilitating illnesses and injuries. At the beginning we meet Ashton (Ash) Collins. He is your typical teenager who lives at home with his Dad and 3 robots until one day he gets an urgent call from his Father to run as fast as he can to the Red Zone and go to Street Freaks. Ash has lived a sheltered life thus far and he is not prepared for what he finds in the Red Zone or at Street Freaks.

Fortunately for Ash, the kids (actually young adults) at Street Freaks, a place where street cars are built and raced, take him in and make him part of their community of misunderstood rejects of experiments. That’s right, in this dystopian future, companies have experimented on kids and then disposed of them. They help him to discover what happened to his father. Together this band of unlikely allies sets out to take down the person and company who is responsible for Ash’s father’s disappearance and in the process hopefully expose the terrible things that have happened to kids.

Even though this was not the typical Terry Brooks story I am accustomed to, I liked it. Mr. Brooks has developed characters that you can empathize with and I was routing for them throughout the story. The future he has envisioned in this story was well thought-out and worked nicely with the plot. There is a lot of attention to detail and the story and characters are better for it.

The plot was paced nicely and I appreciated that Mr. Brooks did not just do a data dump to the reader in the beginning. All the facts and information important to the story were doled out only as needed. There were several twists in the story and a couple of real surprises that keep me interested and yet I did not get a feeling of the plot being overworked.

As I said, the story is well told and I think it will appeal to Sci-Fi and Fantasy readers alike. Though a note of caution, it is a YA book but some of the topics are not suited for the younger reader. Therefore, I recommend only for ages 16+.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

The Adults by Caroline Hulse

Title: The Adults
Author: Caroline Hulse
Pub. Date: 27-Nov-18
Rating: 4 Stars

Could you spend the holidays with your ex and new partner? In this funny, and sometimes harrowing story, of 4 adults trying to have a “Normal” Christmas for the sake of one child, the author explores the underlying problems that make this a very bad idea and a good story (provided you are not in the story). Of course, the adults are anything but adults and when jealously, insecurity and other normal human emotions enter into the mix it is a disaster in the making.

The story opens with a frantic call to the police by Alex, Matt’s partner, saying someone has been shot with an arrow. Then Alex hangs up. Now step backwards in time a few weeks, to when Matt finally has the courage to tell Alex that he has already committed them to plans for the holidays. They are spending the holidays with Claire, his ex, and Claire’s partner Patrick at the Happy Forest Holiday Park. They want Scarlett, Matt and Claire’s daughter, to have a normal family Christmas.

Everything is already planned he says. Just pack a bag and have fun he says. I don’t know on what planet he thought it would be fun; because we all know, even without the glimpse into the future we got at the start of the story, these “Adults” are asking for trouble. Boy, oh boy did they get it!

Usually I do not like to know what is going to happen in advance, but in this instance it really worked. Since we know how things are going to end it leaves the reader time to imagine all the possible things that could go wrong before they arrive there. While reading, I constantly had thoughts such as, surely this was an accident, who shot who, what about Scarlett, and so on. In short, the plot execution was spot on. The pace was great too. All the little incidents that happened, such as Posey not liking Alex because scientists experiment on rabbits, moved the plot along in a way that I kept wanting to read more.

Throw in the loveable and flawed characters and one invisible, talking rabbit and you have a winning combination. I especially liked how the author presented some very real problems that lots of families face and injected some humor to make a very likable story. The character of Scarlett was particularly well done and by giving her an invisible friend, Posey, which she communicated with we were able to understand her view point. Scarlett and Posey made the story!

In recap, this is a humorous story and I think it will appeal to readers who like humorous fiction as well as readers who like stories about family dynamics and dysfunctional families. I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.