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Showing posts from November, 2017

Interview with Ron Vitale

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Anyone who has written a book knows that it can be a lot of pressure. Now, imagine the pressure of writing a sequel to a bona fide classic, Moby Dick! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Ron Vitale, who has done just that with the book Ahab's Daughter. I greatly enjoyed it, and I am anticipating the sequel. I want to thank Mr. Vitale for his time, and I hope you enjoy getting to know a bit more about what it took to write Ahab's Daughter.




What inspired you to write a sequel to Moby Dick?

My kids and I were playing in a swimming pool back in 2015, and as a joke, I started chasing them in the pool pretending that I was a werewhale. My daughter made a funny whale-sound and the idea stuck in my head. I originally toyed with the idea of having my "Werewhale" book be similar to Sharknado. But then I thought about it and wanted it to be more serious and aligned with books such as Pride and Prejudice and  Zombies. The idea evolved over time and decided to put my st…
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Blog Tour: Fanny Newcomb and the Irish Channel Ripper by Ana Brazil: A Book Review

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Fanny Newcomb and the Irish Channel Ripper by Ana BrazilPublication Date: November 1, 2017 Sand Hill Review Press Formats: Paperback & eBook Genre: Fiction/Historical/Mystery

Source: This book was given to me by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: Gilded Age New Orleans is overrun with prostitutes, pornographers, and a malicious Jack the Ripper copycat. As threatening letters to newspaper editors proclaim, no woman is safe from his blade.

     Desperate to know who murdered her favorite student, ambitious typewriting teacher Fanny Newcomb launches into a hunt for the self-proclaimed Irish Channel Ripper.

     Fanny quickly enlists her well-connected employers—Principal Sylvia Giddings and her sister Dr. Olive—to help, and the women forge through saloons, cemeteries, slums, and houses of prostitution in their pursuit.

     Fanny’s good intentions quickly infuriate her longtime beau Lawrence Decatur, while her reckless persistence confounds the…
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The Untold Story of Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mother by Lady Colin Campbell: A Book Review

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The Untold Story of Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mother
Author: Lady Colin Campbell
Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography
Publisher: Arcadia Books 
Release Date: 2016
Pages: 512
Source: Personal Collection
Synopsis: Packed with stunning revelations, this is the inside story of The Queen Mother from the New York Times bestselling author who first revealed the truth about Princess Diana

     Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother has been called the "most successful queen since Cleopatra." Her personality was so captivating that even her arch-enemy Wallis Simpson wrote about "her legendary charm." Portrayed as a selfless partner to the King in the Oscar-winning movie The King'sSpeech, The Queen Mother is most often remembered from her later years as the smiling granny with the pastel hats. When she died in 2002, just short of her 102nd birthday, she was praised for a long life well lived. 

     But there was another side to her story. For the first time, Lady Colin Campbell shows us …
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Ahab's Daughter (The Werewhale Saga Book 1) by Ron Vitale: A Book Review

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Ahab's Daughter (The Werewhale Saga Book 1)
Author: Ron Vitale
Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Adventure
Publisher: Amazon
Release Date: September 12, 2017
Pages: 219
Source: This book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: A sea of danger and magic. A family that can’t stay clear of the water…

     Morgan refuses to let her twin brother suffer the same fate as their whale-obsessed father Captain Ahab. Despite her efforts to keep Nathan on dry land, her brother can’t resist the siren song of the sea and rumors of untold treasures on the Island of Nightmares…

     Before Nathan can drop anchor and find his bounty, his crew encounters an ominous force. He’s convinced the creature is somehow connected to his father’s past and that one of his crew has been bitten. Could Nathan actually be on the run from a werewhale?

     As the dark island fast approaches, Nathan’s adventure could end in a watery grave. It’s up to Morgan and her father’s old crewmate Ishm…
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Book Blast: Sown in Tears and Where Do I Go by Beverly Magid

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Sown in Tears by Beverly MagidPublication Date: September 18, 2012 Paperback & eBook; 194 Pages ISBN-13: 978-1478104575 Genre: Fiction/Historical/Jewish

READ THE FIRST CHAPTER.
Synopsis: Russia, 1905: The Jews are restricted to the area called the Pale of the Settlement and the target of anti-semitism fomented by the government and exacerbated by the laws and the economy. After an attack on the village of Kortitz, Leah Peretz must find a way to survive and protect her young children. Her life is complicated by the unexpected attentions of the Russian officer, Captain Vaselik. Can she trust him? Should she join the burgeoning worker movement? Suddenly her path to self-discovery has become one of drama, revolution and courage.

     I read this story in ONE day. I could not put the book down!” – Impressions In Ink Book Blog

     “Sown in Tears will have you gripped from the first sentence. This exciting, fast-paced novel takes all the elements of romance, family love, friendship and loya…
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Keep on Believing - A Cinderella Story: Historical Cinderella Fairy Tale (Where Dreams Come True Book 4) by Marie Higgins: A Book Review

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Keep on Believing - A Cinderella Story: Historical Cinderella Fairy Tale (Where Dreams Come True Book 4)
Author: Marie Higgins
Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Romance
Publisher: Amazon
Release Date: 2016
Pages: 180
Source: This book was given to me by Audiobookworm Tours in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: Taking some of the family’s jewels, Ella Spencer and her brother left the kingdom in the dead of night, escaping the clutches of their evil stepmother. Ella realized they need a different life than one of a servant. Now living in a new kingdom, Ella believes this is where they can start over again. So far, it’s working…until her brother’s school teacher starts poking his nose into their business. She cannot tell him the truth, yet deep down inside, she feels that he might be her Prince Charming after all, and be the one who’ll save her from danger.

Christopher Morgan is hiding secrets that he never plans to divulge. The sister of one of his students intrigues him, and he can’t k…
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Daughter of the Sun: A Novel of The Toltec Empire by Barbara Wood: A Book Review

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Daughter of the Sun: A Novel of The Toltec Empire
Author: Barbara Wood
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Release Date: 2007
Pages: 453
Source: This book was given to me by Audiobookworm Tours in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Hoshi'tiwa had a simple life: The daughter of a humble corn grower, she planned to marry a storyteller's apprentice. But her world is turned upside down when she is captured by the powerful and violent ruler of an infamous city with legends of untold wealth and unspeakable acts of violence to its name. Hoshi'tiwa is suddenly thrown into the court of the Dark Lord, and as she struggles for power, she begins an illicit affair with the one man who has the ability to destroy her.

Bestselling author Barbara Wood has crafted a sweeping saga of one woman's struggle to survive within the dangerous and exotic world of the Toltec court. Set against the backdrop of Chaco Canyon and the mysterious Anasazi people, D…
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The Dragon Empress: Life and Times of Tz'u-Hsi, 1835-1908, Empress Dowager of China by Marina Warner: A Book Review

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The Dragon Empress: Life and Times of Tz'u-Hsi, 1835-1908, Empress Dowager of China
Author: Marina Warner
Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography
Publisher: George Weidenfeld & Nicholso
Release Date: 1972
Pages: 271
Source: My State Public Library
Synopsis: From 1861 to 1908 a woman - the Empress Dowager Tz'u-hsi, born the daughter of a minor mandarin - held the supreme power in China. Opportunist, ruthless, malicious, she ruled over 400 million people. This biography explores her complex personality - her extreme conventionalism, her hatred of foreigners, her passion for power and intrigue, her vanity and her delight in ritual, her extravagance and corruption, and her love of gardens, painting and the theatre. The book also portrays a China in rapid decline, as poverty, civil war and foreign exploitation and invasion brought about the fall of the Ch'ing dynasty. 

  My Review: Empress Dowager Cixi is one of history’s most controversial empresses. It was during Cixi’s rule that …
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The Wardrobe Mistress: A Novel of Marie Antoinette by Meghan Masterson: A Book Review

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The Wardrobe Mistress: A Novel of Marie Antoinette
Author: Meghan Masterson
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: August 15th 2017
Pages: 384
Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: THE WARDROBE MISTRESS is Meghan Masterson's fascinating and visceral debut, an inside look at Marie Antoinette's luxurious life in Versailles remarkably juxtaposed against life in third estate as the French Revolution gains strength. A propulsive exploration of love, loyalty, danger, and intrigue...not to be missed.

     It's Giselle Aubry's first time at court in Versailles. At sixteen, she is one of Marie Antoinette's newest undertirewomen, and in awe of the glamorous queen and her opulent palace life. A budding designer, it's a dream come true to work with the beautiful fabrics and jewels in the queen's wardrobe. But every few weeks she returns home to visit her family in Paris where rumors of revolution are growin…
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Blog Tour: The It Girls by Karen Harper: A Book Review

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About The It GirlsPaperback: 384 pages
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (October 24, 2017)
Source: This book was given to me by TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: From New York Times bestselling author Karen Harper comes a novel based on the lives of two amazing sisters . . .

     One sailed the Titanic and started a fashion empire . . .

     The other overtook Hollywood and scandalized the world . . .

     Together, they were unstoppable.

     They rose from genteel poverty, two beautiful sisters, ambitious, witty, seductive. Elinor and Lucy Sutherland are at once each other’s fiercest supporters and most vicious critics.

     Lucy transformed herself into Lucile, the daring fashion designer who revolutionized the industry with her flirtatious gowns and brazen self-promotion. And when she married Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon her life seemed to be a fairy tale. But success came at many costs—to her marriage and to her children . . . and then came the fateful night of Apri…
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