The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymullina

When Aarti from BookLust announced the More Diverse Universe reading tour, I knew straight away that I wanted to read an indigenous Australian author. I really didn't even consider any other options as possibilities. Then I started to think about possible reads and couldn't come up with any options of books to read that were written by indigenous authors that fitted into the spec fic genre classification. I ended up putting the call out on Twitter for suggestions but in the end there were only a couple which kind of proved the point that Aarti was making in starting this project.

One was Carpentaria by Alexis Wright which I tried to read a few years ago and DNF'ed (and considered to be Literature with a capital L).  The other was this book, The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymullina, which was only published in Australia a couple of months ago and I do not recall having heard of before. I promptly bought the book, and I am pleased to say it is a really good read. I am also pleased to announce that the author is going to be guest posting on Sunday as part of this event!

Anyway, enough intro! Let's talk about the book.

There will come a day when a thousand illegals descend on your detention centres. Boomers will breach the walls. Skychangers will send lightning to strike you all down from above, and Rumblers will open the earth to swallow you up from below.... And when that day comes, Justin Connor, think of me.

Ashala Wolf has been captured by Chief Administrator Neville Rose. A man who is intent on destroying Ashala's Tribe - the runaway illegals hiding in the Firstwood. Injured and vulnerable and with her Sleepwalker ability blocked, Ashala is forced to succumb to the machine that will pull secrets from her mind.

And right beside her is Justin Connor, her betrayer, watching her every move.

Will the Tribe survive the interrogation of Ashala Wolf?

Set three hundred years in the future, Ashala Wolf's world is one that is very different from now. There had been an environmental catastrophe that caused the world's geography as we know it to be transformed. The population of the world has in effect scaled back from the reliance on technology all in the hope of maintaining the all important Balance in the world. For the powers that be Balance is quite easy to define. Anyone who is 'normal' is part of the Balance. Anyone who shows any sign of having a special ability is deemed to be an illegal and must be locked away in detention camps and have their powers neutralised. The world is highly regulated, mostly through a series of accords which dictate rules on everything from population, to the use of technology, the use of natural resources and more.

The powers that some people might have are many and varied. They may be sleepwalkers like Ashala, or Rumblers, Skychangers, Runners and so many more other types of power. Some, but not all, are dangerous but all are feared by large portions of the general population thanks to a pretty effective propaganda machine. If a family suspects that their child may have powers then they need to be assessed and the whole family unit could well be destroyed - traumatic for everyone concerned.

Ashala is the leader of a group called The Tribe who live in the forest of tuart trees known as Firstwood. She has gathered together a group of people who all are Illegals because they all have special talents and together they are trying to build a community that respects the forest and the animals around them. As well as each having their own abilities, they may also have a special affinity with an animal. For Ashala, this is a wolf, but for others in the group it might be spiders, or the fierce saurs that also roam the area. Her friends are well developed and incorporated into the story and I am really looking forward to find out more about Ember and Georgie. I especially enjoyed the storyline that features Jaz, an exuberant young man whose journey is very surprising throughout the book.

Things are a little unsettled within the group because recently a detention centre has been build near Firstwood, and that centre is being led by Neville Rose, a man with a reputation for thoroughness when it comes to the investigation of Illegals that are in his care. When Ashala is captured after being betrayed by an outsider who has infiltrated the Tribe, she is taken to be interrogated by the machine but only after her sleepwalking ability has been neutralised. Ashala can perform amazing feats of power and strength as long as she dreams them and so steps must be taken so that she cannot escape from the detention centre. The aim for Neville Rose is to be able to access all of the secrets that Ashala holds dear, about her past and especially about the Tribe. The person who managed to infiltrate the Tribe and to ultimately betray Ashala is Justin Connor and now he is her jailer, her shadow, a perfect example of the kind of people that Ashala has come to hate in her short life.

There are several really clever things in this book. One of this is the incorporation of Dreamtime motifs into the new world. Another thing was the way that the plot unravels throughout the course of the book. There were so many plot twists that completely changed the way that the reader might be understanding the book and yet those twists all seemed to make sense. Ashala believes that she knows exactly what is going on, but with each twist the truth changes. The biggest question are will Ashala find the truth or will she reveal all of her secrets to the machine and how will the Tribe cope without her to lead them.

This book is an intriguing mix of dystopian society and fantasy with a Dreamtime twist. Sounds complicated, and it is, especially with the way that the plot twists and turns it way to the conclusion. It is ultimately a fascinating and enjoyable read, both complex and nuanced.

I was also glad to see that the cover very clearly shows a young Aboriginal girl and clearly reflects the tone of the novel.

I am glad that by participating in this event, I was introduced to the writing of Ambelin Kwaymullina. I very much look forward to reading the next book in this series.

Rating 4/5



Read the book for the following challenges:

 

Sunday Salon: Blood Song by Rhiannon Hart

Blood Song is the debut novel from Australian author Rhiannon Hart. I was interested in reading it when it first came out, but I hadn't quite gotten around to it yet. A couple of weeks ago I received the second book in this series for review, but I can't knowingly do the whole reading out of order thing so I borrowed this book from the library.

Shortly afterwards, the author offered me the chance to participated in a blog tour for the two books. Given that I read so much better to a deadline, I agreed to review this first book, so here it is!

Our main characters, Zeraphina, is a princess from the House of Amentia,  a noble but poor land where even just the daily struggle to survive is getting harder and harder for the people. Luckily there is every likelihood that life is going to improve even just a little thanks to the fact that Zeraphina's older sister, Lilith, is betrothed to a handsome prince which should lead to trade agreements and so much more. However, life can change in a heartbeat and when suddenly Lilith is once again single thanks to the death of her fiance the Queen, Renata, knows that she much move fast to find another husband for Lilith.

Where Lilith is golden haired with fair skin, Zeraphina is almost her complete opposite - her hair is only a couple of shades away from blackest black and her skin is pale. It is however not only her external appearance that makes our heroine as being different to everyone else. There is also the small matter of the thirst for blood that comes up on her, the odd pets that she owns (Leap the cat and Griffin the eagle who just about steal the limelight every time they appear on the page) and an almost unnatural talent with the bow and arrow. What Zeraphina doesn't know is why she is different. Her mother insists that she is the natural daughter of the deceased king, and that she changed as a result of a childhood illness, but why is she so different to everyone else, and why does she feel a strong pull towards the northern lands.

It doesn't take Renata long to set her sights on Prince Amis of Pergamia as a potential husband for her eldest daughter and so the family travels north. Zeraphina hopes that she will be able to find out more about her own strange yearnings and also about the land of Lharmel. She just knows that this place is important and given that nearly every reference to the land has been moved from the texts of her homeland this is her chance to learn.

One of the first people she is introduced to on arrival is Rodden Lothskorn. He is advisor to the royal family of Pergamia and he and Zeraphina instantly dislike each other.

Then I remembered what Renata had said about protocol. Maybe it was written in stone that arrogant jerks had to lead the younger sisters of future queens of the nation through to dinner.

It was rather hard on younger sisters, I thought.

It soon becomes clear that Rodden has secrets of his own, and if he would only share some of his knowledge he may well help Zeraphina learn more about who and what she is.

As I was reading this book I was trying to figure out which author I was reminded of, and in the end I decided that it was the Study series by Maria V Snyder. Some of the reasons why I think that is the that the kind of faux-medieval world that is not all that much different from our own world albeit with pretty modern language, an interesting female lead character plus a touch of romance. I guess the phrase that I am grasping for is fantasy-lite.

I liked the world that the author created. The Lharmellian's are suitably horrible creatures, and the journey that Zeraphina and Rodden undertake is epic in scope, with danger and drama on every page. As individual characters, both Zeraphina and Rodden are interesting. Whilst Zeraphina does occasionally make decisions that have the reader shaking your head in disbelief, she does recognise that  in herself and is suitably self-chastised. The other good thing is that once they start to work together, the two of them are clearly partners and it is not a case that Zeraphina needs to be saved by a hero.

At 290 pages, this book is an easy, quick read which is great if you just want a fast, entertaining read. I found myself wanting a little more depth in the interactions between the various characters and a little more world building. Thankfully, the book doesn't end on a major cliffhanger, and I am intrigued enough to want to keep reading the next book in the series.

Rating 3.5/5

To visit other people on the tour and to find out more about the author and her books, check out the following links

Tour Schedule
Rhiannon Hart's Facebook page
Rhiannon Hart on Twitter
Rhiannon Hart's blog
You can read the first chapter of the second book, Blood Storm, at the following link:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/93879529/Blood%20Storm_extract.pdf

Thanks to Rhiannon Hart for inviting me to participate in the blog tour.

Synopsis

I wanted to turn but I was held captive by the song on the wind. I’m coming, I told the voices. Please, wait for me.

When her sister becomes betrothed to a prince in a northern nation, Zeraphina’s only consolations are that her loyal animal companions are by her side – and that her burning hunger to travel north is finally being sated.

Already her black hair and pale eyes mark her out as different, but now Zeraphina must be even more careful to keep her secret safe. Craving blood is not considered normal behaviour for anyone, let alone a princess. So when the king’s advisor, Rodden, seems to know more about her condition than she does, Zeraphina is determined to find out more.

Zeraphina must be willing to sacrifice everything if she’s to uncover the truth – but what if the truth is beyond her worst nightmares

This book counts for the following challenges:

Here's to Weekend Cooking!

A few weeks ago I was overflowing with ideas for Weekend Cooking posts. This week though, I didn't have anything specific planned.  I have numerous books that will qualify as Weekend Cooking posts in future but you need to read them to post about them, so I am a few weeks away from then.

As I was contemplating what I would post about this week, I noticed something momentous. This week's post will be my 100th Weekend Cooking post - or the 100th time I have used the Weekend Cooking post label at least!

My first Weekend Cooking post was in August 2010 (which means I haven't missed too many weekends since I started). That first post was a recipe for Anzac biscuits. Since then I have shared quotes, recipes, book reviews, movie reviews, stories about my son's adventures in cooking, foodie experiences, songs and so much more.

Now as I read books I find myself wondering if the few paragraphs I have read about food might be a potential post. As I read through book recommendations if there is the slightest suggestion that it might be slightly applicable it gets added to my TBR list so that I can post about it. Another thing that has changed for me as a result of participating is that I now take lots of photos of my food when I go out, just in case I decide that it might be something that I post about. My friends are used to it now, but it took them a while!

Weekend Cooking is one of my favourite categories to revisit on my own blog and on other peoples. I can't tell you how many times I have read through my previous posts and enjoyed them all over again! I also thoroughly enjoy visiting other people's weekend cooking posts and have learnt lots by doing so. There are all these ingredients that I have either never heard of but start to notice after reading posts about them (like quinoa) or those ingredients that I have still never seen in our shops, as well as those pesky ingredients (not to mention measurements) that have different names here in Australia than they do in other countries around the world!

So in honour of my 100th Weekend Cooking post, I really want to say thanks to everyone who reads and comments, who write up their own posts each weekend and provide us all with entertainment and inspiration!

I especially want to thank the ever fabulous Ms Bethfishreads, illustrious host of Weekend Cooking! Thank you for your gracious hosting, for providing a home for all these fabulous posts and for being an all round fabulous person!

And now, I can start thinking about what I might post about for post number 101!

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. For more information, see the welcome post.  

The Gilded Lily by Deborah Swift

As readers we first met Ella Appleby in the pages of The Lady's Slipper. In that story Ella was portrayed as a somewhat conniving young lady who would let nothing and no-one step in the way of what she wants. And what Ella wants more than anything is to be a fine lady, sleeping in expensive linen, dressed in gorgeous clothes.

Initially, Ella is convinced that the best way to achieve that goal is to become mistress to Thomas Ibbetson, but that plan goes awry when Thomas falls seriously ill and dies. Ella knows that she has to leave the small village that she has always lived in and quickly but she can't possibly leave her sister, Sadie, behind. The two girls take everything of value in the house and flee to the relative anonymity of London but the dead man's twin brother is hot on their trail and it isn't long before there are wanted posters scattered throughout London.

When they get to London the two girls quickly find work in a perruquier (which is our obscure word of the week at work thanks to reading it in this book), also known as a wig maker. Sadie fits into the group of girls, being quiet, patient and talented with her hands when it comes to needlework. Ella is not such a good fit. She tends to be a bit mouthy, too impatient to perform the precise work required to make a good quality wig for the gentry and too desperate to get out to be something better.

After a couple of close brushes with their pursuers, Ella's luck changes when she literally catches the eye of Jay Whitgift, man about town. After failing at her task to make him a wig that fits, Jay offers Ella a chance at the kind of life she always wanted. She is to become the face of The Gilded Lily, a female alternative to the coffee houses that the men of Restoration flock to. Her job will be to convince the quality ladies of the ton to purchase creams and potions to enhance their beauty. Before long, The Gilded Lily is the place to be seen and Ella is the talk of the town.

What Ella doesn't initially know is that the Lily is a front for a much more lucrative, and dangerous, business. Jay's father was originally a pawnshop owner and he has trained his son with the intention that he will take over the thriving business. Whilst that business is now technically illegal, the demand for such services is high. Where Mr Whitgift senior is honest to a fault, Jay is, well, Jay is not. For just like Ella, Jay wants something more from life, and he is prepared to do anything to get it. He is a magpie, collecting all manner of expensive trinkets from the people he does business with usually acquiring them through backhanded means. As Ella gets more involved with Jay's world, she sets her sights high, but this world is not only one of glamour, it is also dangerous, especially for two young girls. This is even more true given that they are wanted by the law and that there are several parties who are trying to track them down, all vying for the generous reward that will be paid on their capture.

The biggest issue for the two girls is that Sadie has a port-wine birthmark on one side of her face which makes her pretty much instantly recognisable and so Ella decides that she must remain hidden at all costs, especially seeing as Sadie refuses to wear the paint that Ella brings home from The Gilded Lily. As a modern reader, it is a bit sickening to know what the effect of using such lead based cosmetics would have had, but at the time it was the height of fashion to use such cosmetics, and Ella wants nothing more than to be fashionable.

Fortunately Sadie has been able to make several friends who are concerned enough about her for if she had to rely only on the increasingly selfish Ella she would have been left to languish in a lonely room without enough food and heating in one of the coldest winter's in history. The author uses the Thames river freezing over to great effect during the novel, particularly in setting at least some of the action during the frost fares that took place.

Where the author excels is in making the reader care for the two girls. I was drawn, as I suspect the reader is meant to be, to the fate of the unfortunate Sadie who has escaped from one hell-hole to what turns out to be anything but a better life. It is difficult to say that I liked Ella, but she was certainly an engaging character to read about, especially as the plot speeds up towards the resolution.

As I got closer to the end of the book, I did find myself thinking that there were 50 pages left and I still had no idea how the author was going to get the two girls safely to the end. I am not entirely convinced about the method of that resolution, but I am not sure where else the story could have gone.

It should be noted that The Gilded Lily picks up towards the end of the story that is told in The Lady's Slipper (Deborah Swift's debut novel). It is being marketed as a companion novel. Whilst the novel does standalone fairly well, it is undoubtedly enhanced by knowing exactly what it is that the two girls are running from, and why, as well as some of the implications of their actions.

I have enjoyed both books over the last couple of days. I do think that you can see a degree of confidence that the author has gained in her writing from one book to the next. Once again, it was a pleasure to read a book that concentrated more on the life away from the court of Charles II, although there were a couple of mentions of high ranking members of society in the pages, although not in the most flattering ways.

I thoroughly enjoyed this tale that explored the darker side of Restoration London. I am really looking forward to seeing whose story Deborah Swift tells next.

Rating 4.5/5

Thanks to the publisher and Historical Ficton Virtual Book Tours for sending me a copy of this book to review.

This book was read as part of the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.

Winter 1661

In her short life, Sadie Appleby has never left rural Westmorland. But one night she is rudely awoken by her older and bolder sister, Ella. She has robbed her recently deceased employer and is on the run. Together the girls flee their hoe and head for London, hoping to lose themselves in the teeming city. But the dead man's relatives are in pursuit, and soon a game of cat and mouse ensues amongst the freezing warren that is London in winter.

Ella is soon seduced by the glitter and glamour of city life and sets her sights on the flamboyant man-about-town, Jay Whitgift. But nothing in the capital is what it seems, least of all Jay Whitgift. Soon a rift has formed between Ella and Sadie and the stisters are threatened by a menace mroe sinister than even the law.

Set in brilliantly realized Restoration London, The Gilded Lily is a novel about beauty and desire, about the stories we tell ourselves, and about how sisterhood can be both a burden and a saving grace.

A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty discussion

Earlier this week, I shared a Q and A with author Jaclyn Moriarty. Today, I am pleased to be sharing a conversation that I had about A Corner of White, the first book in the Colours of Madeleine trilogy.
This is the second part of the conversation between myself and Shelleyrae from Book'd Out. You can read the first part of the conversation over at Shelleyrae's blog and she also has a chance for Australian readers to win a copy of the book.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Most of what we learn about Cello comes from the Princess’s letters during their tour of the Kingdom, what did you think of these missives?

Marg: At first I wasn’t that sure about the role that they were going to play in the story. Were they there to inject some humour, especially in the early parts of the book where the Kingdom of Cello seemed like a kind of dour place? Was there a purpose to including them, and if so what was it? It was fun to see the two princesses fairly fanciful descriptions of the people and places they met and the somewhat patient corrections from the editor.

The Sheriff of Bonfire was really keen to get the princesses to visit the town, mainly to show the rest of the Kingdom of Cello that there was more to the Farms than just deftball (the very popular sport in which Bonfire was about to play in the finals), which I must admit sounded like it could be fun. I wasn’t quite sure how a pyramid of pumpkins was going to achieve that initially!

Without giving too much away, I loved the way that this particular aspect of the story came together at the end! The ending really saved this book for me, but I am sure we will get back to that in due course.

For me the crux of the book really came in the letters between Elliot and Madeleine though. I loved the imaginative way that Moriarty was able to develop the connection between the two worlds and between the two main characters. One of the things that became clear is that while noone in Madeleine’s world knew anything about the Kingdom of Cello, the reverse was not true.

Why do you think the people in the Kingdom of Cello knew about our world, but not the other way around, and why was the punishment for being in contact with our world so drastic?

Shelleyrae: I also loved the idea of a letter being passed between a parking meter and a sculpture. Elliot writes of it being more than 300 years since a crack has appeared that is large enough for a person to slip through and that any cracks are quickly repaired, though of course we later learn that may not be entirely true.

I can only guess that the separation between the Kingdom of Cello and the World came about as magic was crowded out of industrialised society, which is a common fantasy trope, and with that theory, I assume the barrier between worlds is a magical, rather than natural, construct which the Kingdom of Cello maintains. Therefore while the World has forgotten Cello, the Kingdom is forever reminded about the World.

I would assume that travel between the Kingdom of Cello and the World would be problematic for both societies for any number of reasons, I can’t imagine what a Cambridge scholar would make of being attacked by a vicious swathe of lemon yellow for example. Allowing movement from Cello into the World would especially endanger the Kingdom, hence the harsh punishment.

However with no real clues it is all speculation on my part and Moriarty may well later reveal a completely different reason for the division.

Was there any particular aspect that we haven’t touched on yet that you really liked?

Marg; One of the things that I did enjoy about the story was the fact that Moriarty had Madeleine and her friends learning about historical figures like Lord Byron and Isaac Newton and then incorporated that learning into the story.

Shelleyrae: I thought that was a fun aspect of the story as well, particularly when that information is put to good use by Elliot in Cello. I also liked the storyline involving the Twickleham’s as I was surprised by the way in which it played out.

What did you think of the way in which A Corner of White ended, do you have any expectations for what will happen next?

Marg: To be honest, the ending saved this book for me. As we have touched on before the concepts in the book were at time difficult to follow. I was liking the story lines. I found the two worlds interesting, I loved the way that the two worlds were interconnecting but it took a lot longer for me to read than I would normally have expected for a book this size.

Then we got to the last couple of chapters where there was a big reveal (obviously not going to spoil) and I was left thinking but I want the next book now! I want to know what happens next with the royal family, and with Elliot. I want to know if he and Madeleine will get to meet and what happens if they do! I wanted more!

How did you find the ending?

Shelleyrae: Like you I was left wanting more by the promise of some exciting adventures that perhaps Madeleine and Elliot will be able to share. I’m eager to explore more of Cello and it’s quirky environment too and I’m hoping for a few answers to the ambiguities in A Corner of White.

In one sentence provide a jacket quote for A Corner of White.

Shelleyrae: "Imaginative, original and Colourful, A Corner of White is a magical story that leaves "a trail of light" for the reader to follow.."

Marg: Oh no! An in 25 words or less question!

How about “In a world of colour, A Corner of White invites the reader on a fun, imaginative and intriguing journey”

Synopsis

She knew this.
That philematology is the science of kissing.
That Samuel Langhorne Clemens is better
known as Mark Twain.
That, originally, gold comes from the stars.

Madeleine Tully lives in Cambridge, England, the World – a city of spires, Isaac Newton and Auntie's Tea Shop.

Elliot Baranski lives in Bonfire, the Farms, the Kingdom of Cello – where seasons roam, the Butterfly Child sleeps in a glass jar, and bells warn of attacks from dangerous Colours.

They are worlds apart – until a crack opens up between them; a corner of white – the slim seam
of a letter.

Elliot begins to write to Madeleine, the Girl-in-the-World – a most dangerous thing to do for suspected cracks must be reported and closed. But Elliot's father has disappeared and Madeleine's mother is sick.

Can a stranger from another world help to unravel the mysteries in your own? Can Madeleine and Elliot find the missing pieces of themselves before it is too late?

A mesmerising story of two worlds; the cracks between them, the science that binds them and the colours that infuse them.

This book was read for the following challenges:

Library Loot: September 19 to 25

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

Only 2 books for me this week and I think it will be a small haul next week too! (at this stage anyway).

Fables 5: The Mean Season by Bill Willingham - The next Fables book!

Superb and Sexy by Jill Shalvis - the third and final book in the Sky High Air trilogy


What loot did you get this week? Add your link to Mr Linky below:

The Ugly Duchess by Eloisa James (includes international giveaway)

Theodora Saxby is a wealthy young woman and so you would have thought that she would have been in demand on the marriage market. She is, though, considered to be quite unattractive and so even with her wealth the pickings on the possible marriage market are slim.

What Theo doesn't know is that her odious guardian has not only managed to run his own estate into the ground, he has also 'borrowed' some of her own money. His handsome and accomplished son James is mortified when he discovers that his father is expecting him to marry Theo, or Daisy as he likes to call her, in order to keep his indiscretions undiscovered. It's not that James is reluctant to marry Theo because of her looks, but rather because she is his closest friends having shared the school room with him. He is also sure that when she finds out that James had to marry him, Theo will be extremely hurt which in due course is exactly what happens. I wasn't quite convinced on the need to hide the truth, or at least why it couldn't be explained to Theo couched in more acceptable terms.

Once they start to think of each other as possible marriage partners, the attraction grows. After being caught in a compromising position, James and Theo are married post haste and initially at least they are both very happy. The newspapers however were having a field day, quickly dubbing Theo the 'Ugly Duchess', however this is nothing compared to the scandal that is caused when Theo throws James and his father out of her life when she finds out the truth about her marriage. The fact that James and Theo were quickly realising that their feelings for each other were much stronger than they initially thought is not enough to save the marriage.

Here the two characters go there separate ways for an extended period of time, perhaps too long in my opinion, but still. Whilst Theo retreats to the country and starts working towards rehabilitating the duchy's financial situation, James takes the one asset that Theo said he could keep, a boat, and withdraws to the sea. Years pass and Theo emerges from her country life now comfortably wealthy and heads to Paris for an extended period and returns to becomes something of a trendsetter - she will never be considered beautiful but she has learned not to dress as per the frills and flounces that her mother chose to dress her in as a debutante and into stylish clothing that is designed to suit her figure and features. The word striking, handsome and spirited would probably be applied

James however has disappeared. When he took the boat, he became a pirate privateer with his cousin, but of course, like most romance hero pirates he is a good pirate privateer. He only kills men who truly deserve it, only has a couple of women in the years he spends apart from his wife, and gets rich from only stealing from other, badder pirates. Along the way he changes his name to a much better pirate privateer name and gains a tattoo and some scars.

Without giving too much away, a series of events finally sends James back to England and back to his wife. Whilst it's not quite an instant romantic reunion it really isn't all that long before we get to the inevitable ending.

I really enjoyed lots of things about this book - I liked Theo, I liked that for once the author made the heroine someone who you could imagine wouldn't be considered beautiful now but wasn't in the past because our definition of beauty has changed. I liked that she was good at business and was able to singlehandedly save the duchy. She possibly took a bit long to get to the point of moving on but this would have been a very different book if she had of moved on sooner.

I liked James both before the whole pirate privateer thing, and even as a pirate but I was kind of shocked that he expected to walk back into his old life with very few repercussions. I was also kind of disappointed that Theo accepted James back as quickly as she did. I think I needed him to grovel more because that man had years of absence to explain!

If I read back through the reviews I have written about Eloisa James books, there is a common theme. I mostly like them... but. Most of the time the but was because I felt as though the author was far cleverer than me and her books reflected back. I have to say though, I have felt that less the further her current Happy Ever After series has gone on, the more I am able to get lost in the book and not worry so much about that.

Now if, like me, the fact that I just said that this book is part of a series - it is in fact the fourth book - makes you instantly think I can't read this book until I have read the previous ones, don't fret. The four books in the series are not linked through the characters or even the story. They are all standalone. What they do have in common is that they are historical romance retelling of fairy tales.


Tour Details

Tour Schedule
Eloisa James' Website
Eloisa James on Facebook
Eloisa James on Twitter

Eloisa James on Pinterest

Rating 4/5

Synopsis

How can she dare to imagine he loves her…when all London calls her The Ugly Duchess?

Theodora Saxby is the last woman anyone expects the gorgeous James Ryburn, heir to the Duchy of Ashbrook, to marry. But after a romantic proposal before the prince himself, even practical Theo finds herself convinced of her soon-to-be duke's passion.

Still, the tabloids give the marriage six months.

Theo would have given it a lifetime…until she discovers that James desired not her heart, and certainly not her countenance, but her dowry. Society was shocked by their wedding; it's scandalized by their separation.

Now James faces the battle of his lifetime, convincing Theo that he loved the duckling who blossomed into the swan.

And Theo will quickly find that for a man with the soul of a pirate, All's Fair in Love—or War.

If this book sounds like something you might like to try, then enter the international giveaway that I am hosting! To enter leave a comment including your email address answering this question:

What is your favourite romance fairy tale retelling, or what would be your favourite fairy tale to be retold?

The giveaway closes on 30 September 2012

The Lady's Slipper by Deborah Swift

There's nothing like an aversion to reading connected books out of order and an impending blog tour date for the second book to get you reading a book that you have had sitting on your shelf for a couple of years! Sometimes that may be a bit detrimental if you have the pressure of getting something read, and you aren't really enjoying the book, but in this case, I was pretty happy to get lost in this unusual book from Deborah Swift.

There are several reasons why this book is unusual. The first is the setting in Restoration England. This is one of the few books I can remember reading that is set in that time frame where the antics of King Charles II and his Merry old court are not front and centre in the narrative. Instead we have a young woman with an affinity for plants, a Quaker and small town prejudices and intrigues - the first two of which are quite different as well.

The story opens with Alice Ibbetson creeping out of her home in her silk slippers, past the sleeping form of her husband, and into the fields belonging to her neighbour Richard Wheeler. This is no secret assignation, but rather Alice has a single minded purpose to her night time wanderings. Recently, the extremely rare Lady Slipper Orchid has been found flowering in the field and she is determined to steal the flower to try and breed it, and also to paint it. Alice finds solace in her garden and in the act of painting flowers and plants - something she is very talented at. This solace is something that Alice is desperately in need of as she is in mourning following the death of her younger sister whilst she was in Alice's care as a result of the early demise of both of their parents.

When Richard Wheeler finds that the rare bloom has been stolen, he does have a fair idea of where the blame lies, but it isn't gentlemanly to outright accuse a lady of lying when Alice denies it. He is, however, determined to find the culprit and bring them to justice. Richard was a gentleman of some means and influence before he sold everything and became a Quaker in direct reaction to the things that he saw, and did, during the Civil War.

Ladyslipper image from Wikipedia

Another party who is interested in the flower is Sir Geoffrey Fisk who is Alice's patron and the local gentry. He is also sworn enemy to Richard Wheeler, despite his new found Quaker faith and the fact that they used to be friends as children. Sir Geoffrey covets the orchid because he believes that it has medicinal properties that can help with the painful skin condition that has plagued him from childhood.

The final key players in the plot are Ella Appleby, somewhat slatternly maid to Alice, a young girl who has ambitions for a life of luxury, no matter who gets in her way, or what the consequences of her actions are and Margaret Poulter, local wise woman.

When Alice steals the flower, there is no way known that she could have predicted the impact that decision has on her life. She is bought into the centre of a web of deceit that culminates in murder, and leads to her own life being ruined but also preserved and blossoming into a very different life than she expected.

There were lots of things to enjoy about this book. The author was adept in showing how the old divisions in society between those who fought on the Parliamentarian side and those who fought on the Royalists side still impacted on everyday life in the years immediately after Charles II returned to the throne. The details about the flower were interesting, especially when you consider how the author was inspired to write the novel after coming across one of the orchids while on a walk near her home.

Really though, the most interesting aspect of the book for me related to the Quaker aspects including why a man like Richard Wheeler would choose such a path, the persecution that people who chose that faith experienced, the incarcerations, and yet their faith stayed strong. The author chose to base many aspects of the story on the real central hub of Quaker England and it is fascinating stuff.

If there were any criticisms, it really would be on the development of the relationship between Richard and Alice which took an unexpected turn later in the book, and that some of the 'bad' characters were a bit two dimensional, especially Ella. I am, however, not sure that I have not been a bit influenced by the fact that I jumped straight from this book into Swift's next book, which features both Ella and her younger sister Sadie.

Overall this was a really good debut. Having now read her follow up book, Deborah Swift is an author that I will be looking out for in future!

Rating 4/5

I read this book for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.

1660. King Charles II has returned from exile, but memories of the English Civil War still rankle. There are old scores to settle, and religious differences threaten to overturn a fragile peace.

When Alice Ibbetson discovers a rare orchid, the Lady’s Slipper, growing in a wood belonging to Richard Wheeler, she is captivated by its beauty— though Wheeler, a Quaker, is determined to keep the flower where God intended it to grow. Knowing that the orchid is the last of its kind, she steals the flower, little dreaming that her seemingly simple act will set off a chain of events that will lead to murder and exile, and change her life forever…

Sunday Salon: Q and A with Jaclyn Moriarty

I am very excited to welcome Aussie author Jaclyn Moriarty to my blog today! Her latest book, A Corner of White, is due to be released here on 1 October! Later in the week I will be posting my discussion about the book with Shelleyrae from Book'd Out.

Welcome Jaclyn!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Can you tell us a little bit about how the Colours of Madeleine trilogy, and how the world that you have built in the Kingdom of Cello came into being?

The trilogy is about a girl named Madeleine who lives in Cambridge, England, and a boy called Elliot who lives in the Kingdom of Cello. They begin writing letters to each other through a crack between worlds that appears in a parking meter.

The Kingdom of Cello came to me when I was living in Montreal, Canada. One snowy winter day, I went to a café to work. A friend had just given me a notebook bound in soft red suede, and I took it along to write notes. But when I opened it, I found a row of small coloured pencils, each in its own separate pocket. Instead of working on the plot I was supposed to be planning, I started drawing pictures of a Kingdom. I called it Cello (just because I like the word). I think I was inspired by the strange beauty of a northern winter in combination with a new and surprising notebook.

There were several famous historical figures, including Isaac Newton, who were important to the characters of your book. What made you choose these particular people and what was the most interesting thing you found out about them?

In the Kingdom of Cello, colours have taken on material form. A Colour’s shade determines its form and effect: Greys can tear you to pieces, and Lemon Yellows can blind you. So I read a lot about colours when I was planning the trilogy, and I found the story of Isaac Newton buying a glass prism in a marketplace near Cambridge and using it to discover that white light is composed of colours. I read more about his life and realised that he'd studied at Trinity College, Cambridge. This was a strange coincidence because I’d already decided that Madeleine lived in Cambridge, and did lessons at Trinity College. So I decided I'd better introduce Isaac Newton into the book.

Then I started reading about other famous people who’d been at the same college, including the poet Lord Byron, and the mathematician, Charles Babbage. 

One of my favourite facts about Isaac Newton was that he once walked his horse home from the marketplace and was so lost in thought that he didn’t realise that the horse had escaped and he was carrying an empty halter. 

I liked the fact that when Byron lived in Italy he would stay up talking with friends until dawn, then sleep half the day. (I love conversations that last late into the night, and I'm very fond of sleeping in.)
Babbage filled his house with machines that were almost computers. Each time he filled up a room, he’d move on to the next and start again. I liked this fact because I like people who don’t quit, and whose houses are probably even messier than mine.

I loved the twist in the tail of this book. Without giving too much away, can you tell us a little bit about where the story is going to take Madeleine and Elliot next?

In the first book, Madeleine and Elliot are just starting to believe in each other. In the second, they are working together to solve a crisis in the Kingdom, while at the same time trying to figure out how to get through the crack between their worlds. They try science, history, imagination, poetry and all kinds of other tricks, all the time getting closer and closer to each other.

Food seemed to play a prominent part in this novel. There was lots of consuming of baked goods and more, and it all sounded delicious. What is your favourite food and has it ever found it's way into the pages of one of your books? 

Chocolate. And I think it is always there just around the corner of every page.

This was my first Jaclyn Moriarty novel (but not my last)! How do you think this book compares to your previous books? 

Thank you! All of my other books have been set in the real world, in the north-west of Sydney, and have been about letters written between two schools. This one is set partly in Cambridge, England, and partly in an imaginary Kingdom called Cello so they are very different. Maybe the only connection with my other books is the fact that the two main characters are teenagers, and that they communicate by writing letters to each other: I seem to have a strange obsession with letters. They keep turning up in all my books.

You have lived in a number of different places around the world. What were some of your favourite places and why, and how do these experiences colour your writing.

I've lived in New Haven, Connecticut, in Cambridge, England, and in Montreal, Canada, and I loved them all for different reasons. For one thing, I fell in love with northern winters—waking up to snow, skating on frozen ponds— and with the intense friendships you form when you’re away from home. I think the magic of new landscapes and the yearning for home might have coloured my writing.

In addition to your success as an author, two of your sisters are also published authors. What do you attribute this to? 

Both of our parents are enthusiastic story tellers. We are always saying to Mum, ‘Give us the short version’, and Dad is always advising, ‘Never spoil a good story with the facts’. We had shelves full of books to read when we were kids. Also, instead of giving us pocket money, Dad would commission us to write stories. So I guess we grew up thinking it was the only way to make money.


Thank you again Jaclyn for taking time to answer my questions!

Here's the synopsis for the book:

She knew this.
That philematology is the science of kissing.
That Samuel Langhorne Clemens is better
known as Mark Twain.
That, originally, gold comes from the stars.

Madeleine Tully lives in Cambridge, England, the World – a city of spires, Isaac Newton and Auntie's Tea Shop.

Elliot Baranski lives in Bonfire, the Farms, the Kingdom of Cello – where seasons roam, the Butterfly Child sleeps in a glass jar, and bells warn of attacks from dangerous Colours.

They are worlds apart – until a crack opens up between them; a corner of white – the slim seam of a letter.

Elliot begins to write to Madeleine, the Girl-in-the-World – a most dangerous thing to do for suspected cracks must be reported and closed. But Elliot's father has disappeared and Madeleine's mother is sick.

Can a stranger from another world help to unravel the mysteries in your own? Can Madeleine and Elliot find the missing pieces of themselves before it is too late?

A mesmerising story of two worlds; the cracks between them, the science that binds them and the colours that infuse them.

Weekend Cooking: Bung-in Chocolate Cake

A few months ago I posted about Kate Bracks' book The Sweet Life in a Weekend Cooking post and included a recipe for Lemon Syrup Cakes which were totally delicious! Kate Bracks won the Australian version of Masterchef and when we met her at a local book signing event she was incredibly generous with her time.

When I posted about this book I mentioned that there were quite a few different recipes that I wanted to try and one of those recipes was Bung-In Chocolate Cake. Now, to explain a colloquialism before we get too further much further on, to "bung in" means basically to throw it in, so you might bung a cake in the oven or in this case you bung in all the ingredients in a bowl together.

We have now made this cake several times, and it is just so easy, and it tastes soooo good! There is no melting of chocolate or anything complicated and it comes out with a beautiful dark chocolatey colour and flavour.

It's so easy to make that the little chef (who suddenly is much taller than I am...how did that happen?) has made this all by himself. There were a couple of small mishaps. The first was that he iced it while the cake was still hot and still in the tine which made it a bit awkward to get out of the tin when I got home. When I was cleaning up the mess all the mess, I took a look at my sieve  and was wondering what the stuff stuck to the bottom of it was. Turns out that he added the vanilla essence to the icing sugar while he was sifting it which I must confess made me laugh, but even despite those mishaps the cake still turned out pretty well!

We are at home on a Saturday night tonight, and I think that we are going to try her Choc-Chunk cookie recipe next.

If you happen to be looking for a really easy, really tasty basic chocolate cake recipe, then look no further as this one fits the bill!

Cake
300g (2 cups) self-raising flour
350g (1 1/2 cups) caster sugar
35g (1/3 cup) cocoa powder
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp vanilla extract
350ml (1 1/3 cups) milk
150g butter, melted (preferably not unsalted butter)

Icing
200g (1 1/4 cups) icing sugar mixture
2 tbsp cocoa powder
30g butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius. Grease a 23cm (base measurement) square tin and line the base with baking paper.

2. Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl, and stir to combine. Make a well in the centre and add the wet ingredients. Whisk gently, gradually taking in the dry ingredients from the side of the bowl. Keep whisking until the mixture is smooth.

3. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes and then run a knife around the edge to separate the cake from the tin. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

4. To make the icing, sift the icing sugar and cocoa powder into a bowl. Add the melted butter and vanilla extract, and enough milk to get it to a paste consistency, stirring vigorously until smooth. You may not need all the milk. If it is too thick, add more milk. If it is too runny, add more icing mixture.

5. Once the cake has cooled, smother the top with chocolate icing.

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. For more information, see the welcome post.  

BBAW Day 4: Romance by the Sea

Today's BBAW prompt:

One of the best parts about book blogging is the exposure to books and authors you might never have heard of before. Pimp the book you think needs more recognition on this day. Get creative! Maybe share snippets from other bloggers who have reviewed it or make some fun art to get your message across.

I am, however, going to be a bit naughty creative and instead of spotlighting a book, I am going to spotlight a group of authors! 

Last weekend I attended an event called Romance by the Sea. It was held in Queenscliff which is a town about an hour and a half away from me, and it was a fund raiser for a charity called A Cottage by the Sea which is a not for profit organisation which provides disadvantaged kids with opportunities they might otherwise might not have had.

The event was held at the gorgeous Queenscliff Hotel - amazing inside and out!

There were approximately 40 people all up at the event and it lasted all day, including lunch (amazing, amazing food at the lunch!) and a dinner if you wanted to stay, which means that there was lots of opportunities to get to chat to the authors who are around.

Among the authors in attendance there were bestselling authors like Stephanie Laurens and Keri Arthur, favourite authors like Sarah Mayberry, authors who I have read and enjoyed and wanted to read more of like Anne Gracie, Marion Lennox, Fiona Lowe and Jennifer Kloester plus some other authors who I either own books which I need to read still or who I need to discover like MJ Scott, Lilian Darcy and Carol Marinelli.

For me, one of the definite thrills was getting to have a chat with Sarah Mayberry, who writes fantastic contemporary category romance. As soon as there is a new book out by her, I grab it and inhale it and then have to wait for the next one!

The program was really interesting with Stephanie Laurens kicking off talking about the Books We Love to Read and why we should read the book we love to read - basically a discussion of literary fiction vs general fiction vs genre fiction and why it is okay to love reading genre fiction!

Other topics include Anne Gracie talking about the universal romance hero, Jennifer Kloester talking about the ongoing appeal of Georgette Heyer and more. There were panels talking about how Mills and Boon is anything but the same old story and formula written to order, asking the question what makes a great romance.

We were given a short time to wander around the town when there were readings that were held in the local bookstore which is in a converted church and the local art gallery, where there was some amazing art, and back at the hotel

Anne Gracie about to read

Inside the Barwon Bookseller store which has been converted from an old church.

Stephanie Laurens

Keri Arthur having just finished her reading

M J Scott reading

Sarah Mayberry - I managed not to squee too much when I chatted to her!

Fiona Lowe and Marion Lennox

The final sessions were asking the eternal question - where do you get your ideas from and then closing with what makes a good sex scene. I did take notes for all the sessions, but this post would be humongous if I actually included all of those as well!

Over all, this was such a fabulous day and special kudos should go to the organisers. I will definitely be buying a ticket if they have this event again next year, especially seeing as we were able to raise quite a large sum for this good cause.

So you may wonder how I am going to link this to the post topic today? Me too.. actually, no, I do know how.

All of these fabulous authors devoted their time and energy to a fantastic day at a gorgeous venue. So if you happen to be thinking about reading any one of their books, or if you fancy taking a chance on some fabulous Australian romance authors, then please do take some time to choose and enjoy one or more of their books! No matter whether you love contemporary romance, paranormal romance or historical romance there is an author here for you!

BBAW Day 3: What does book blogging mean to me (with a special guest)

Today as I was thinking about what to write for this post, I came up with a few different words, all very worthy, that I was going to expand upon. Words like friendship, validation, encouragement, entertainment, and so many more.

Instead though, I want to give an example of the kind of thing that makes blogging so much fun.

Several years ago now, Kristie J from Rambling on Romance started a crusade to get as many people as possible to watch the BBC adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South starring the scrumptious Richard Armitage. Now I was prepared to like the mini-series and I did. What I didn't expect was to get completely hooked, and to still be completely gaga over Richard, mainly because I don't tend to get obsessed with specific actors normally.

Since then, I had the DVD player that revolted when I tried to put anything other than a Richard Armitage disc in, I have watched the lovely RA read bedtime stories, The Vicar of Dibley, Captain America, Robin Hood and more, and I can't wait for The Hobbit. More than 4 years later watching North and South and The Vicar of Dibley still bring me joy on a regular basis.

Whenever I happen to see someone discovering the mini-series, I still get excited and it invariably leads me to rewatching more clips. I can pretty much do the final scene of North and South word for word.

Just tonight I happened on a conversation about Richard Armitage on Twitter, which had me thinking about the various famous scenes and then suddenly I found myself watching the final scene of North and South again (sigh) and then all of The Vicar of Dibley wedding specials. And here's the thing. I actually really needed a laugh. As in really needed a laugh because I was in danger of becoming a bit morose tonight. And this moment is something that I can directly attribute back to the influence of bloggers and blogging not only back when my obsession started but also now, just in having a conversation with friends tonight.

Whilst using this as my example does mean that I can insert gratuitous Richard Armitage pictures here, the fact is that I could have talked about the discovery of some of my favourite authors, some of my favourite books, some great friends and so much more to illustrate my point.

If I have to summarise really briefly though, it would be this.

Blogging makes me happy!

And let's face it, you can't ask for more than that for something that you have stuck with for as long as I have, and that I can't see stopping anytime soon!