Average Reader

Dumbledore "outed" by Rowling

Recently J.K. Rowling let the world know that the much loved Dumbledore is gay.  Although this does make his relationship with Grindelwald make sense, it doesn't really affect the books for me.  Did she have to do it?  Well, no.  She was asked a question and she answered it is as simple as that. 
There are those who say there was an ulterior motive, well, she IS a business person, of course she weighs how things affect her and her  product.  Hey it worked, here we are again all discussing the book and people will be searching them now for hints to Dumbledore's life. 
Rock on Rowling.

Another sucess

We all know I am partial to Phillipa Gregory.  This doesn't mean I love everything she writes but I do enjoy most of them.  The latest book in the enjoy category is The Boleyn Inheritance.  Writing about the lives of three women woven together, playing off each other is difficult yet Gregory pulls it off with ease.  She makes writing look simple.
The characters are incredibly real.  Well of course they are real people from history, but Gregory actually manages to have them step out off the page and swim around in my head. 
USA Today said it best, she is "the queen of royal fiction."

Visit Gregory's website

An Exotic Journey

After a wild shopping spree through the bookstore where I grabbed books off a table with wild abandon I came home with The Russian Concubine by Kate Furnivall.  I have never heard of Kate Furnivall but, as always, I am willing to give every author a chance.  This is one instance when I was pleasantly surprised.
The Russian Concubine was engaging, and I really felt I got a vacation.  Of course there were areas I had to gloss over.  The book started a bit slow, but once it started it was worth the wait. 
I think Furnivall will only get better and better and I look forward to seeing more work from her.

Visit the author's site.

A little Mystery never hurt

Normally I steer clear of detective novels or any thing that resembles a detective novel.   I am not sure why but I have just never really enjoyed them.  That was true until I found the Maisie Dobbs novels by Jacqueline Winspear. 
Set in-between WWI and WWII in England they follow an independent female detective who has cast off the Victorian chains.
I have read two of the Maisie Dobbs books, the latest being Messenger of Truth and so far I have not been able to figure out "who dun it" without getting to the end.  That is quiet an achievement for a detective story in my book.  Winspear manages to slowly let details through without revealing so much that we all know the end so what's the point of reading.  Just enough to tease you along and keep you guessing. 
All in all Messenger of Truth is a great read for a lazy morning lounging on the couch with a trough of coffee.

Visit the author's site.

Buy it here.    

So close, but not enough

We all know I love historical fiction.  My obvious preference cannot be hidden.  I am a sucker for anything set any time but now and we all know I am a big sucker for Paris.  So when I read the teaser for Mademoiselle Victorine by Debra Finerman I had high hopes.
Sadly those hopes weren't quite realized.  Finerman is a good writer and you can tell she knows Paris.  She knows the history of Paris.  What I felt she didn't truly know was her character, Victorine Laurent. 
I never felt she actually knew how Victorine would react or what actions she would take.  This lack of closeness really kept me distant from Victorine and therefore, distant from the story. 
I couldn't figure out why a writer would write about a character they didn't not know until I read the Author's Note at the back of the book and I realized that Finerman had attempted something I consider a very difficult aspect of historical fiction, creating a fictional character based on real people and then weaving that character into the lives of real people. According to Finerman she borrowed aspects of Countess Virginia de Castiglione and Victorine Meurent to create Victorine Laurent.  She then wove Laurent back into Edouard Manet's life. 
I will, of course, keep trying to get close to Victorine Laurent so I can truly experience the story but I think this is one story that will always keep me removed and distant.
Try it out for yourself and if you unwrap the mystery of Mademoiselle Victorine, please share the secret key that will open up that world.

Visit the author's website to learn more.