Blog Tour: Chasing the Wind by C. C. Humphreys: A Book Review

Chasing the Wind by C.C. Humphreys

Publication Date: June 5, 2018

Paperback & eBook; 320 Pages

Genre: Historical/Women's Fiction/Mystery

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

 Synopsis: Smuggler. Smoker. Aviatrix. Thief. The dynamic Roxy Loewen is all these things and more, in this riveting and gorgeous historical fiction novel for readers of Paula McLain, Roberta Rich, Kate Morton and Jacqueline Winspear.

     You should never fall in love with a flyer. You should only fall in love with flight.

     That’s what Roxy Loewen always thought, until she falls for fellow pilot Jocco Zomack as they run guns into Ethiopia. Jocco may be a godless commie, but his father is a leading art dealer and he’s found the original of Bruegel’s famous painting, the Fall of Icarus. The trouble is, it’s in Spain, a country slipping fast into civil war. The money’s better than good–if Roxy can just get the painting to Berlin and back out again before Reichsmarshall Hermann Göring and his Nazi pals get their hands on it . . .

     But this is 1936, and Hitler’s Olympics are in full swing. Not only that, but Göring has teamed up with Roxy’s greatest enemy: Sydney Munroe, an American billionaire responsible for the death of her beloved dad seven years before. When the Nazis steal the painting, Roxy and Jocco decide that they are just going to have to steal it back.

     What happens when Icarus flies too close to the sun? Roxy is going to find out. From African skies to a cellar in Madrid, from the shadow cast by the swastika to the world above the clouds on the Hindenburg’s last voyage, in the end Roxy will have just two choices left–but only one bullet.

     My Review: Roxie is an aviatrix who loves to fly. One day, she falls for Jocco Zomak, who gets her into all kinds of trouble. Under his orders, she embarks on dangerous smuggling missions. One of those missions involves Roxie flying to Madrid to recover a lost painting. Once she arrives, she discovers the painting has been stolen by the Germans. In order to get the painting back from the Germans, Roxie has to go to Berlin Olympics. Thus, Roxie goes on an adventure that leads her to get on the ill-fated Hindenburg.

   It took a long time for me to warm up to Roxie, but once I did I absolutely loved her. She is brash, sassy, and independent. She’s fearless and very determined! Roxie is also very human. She tends to be very trusting and sometimes she can also be clueless. She also has a grudging side and lets her thirst for vengeance override her common sense. However, we can’t help but feel sorry for Roxie and root for her to succeed in her mission!

  Overall, this book is full of action, adventure, suspense and danger! When you read Chasing the Wind, you know that you are in for a full ride! There are many twists and turns that will keep you reading! The characters are very complex and realistic! The writing is very straight-forward. There were a few times in which I winced at the language. Still, the story is very fast-paced and will thrill you from the moment you the read the first page until the last! I hope that there will be a sequel because I want to know what is next for our audacious heroine! I highly recommend this novel for fans of The Alice Network, A Chance to Kill, and A Flight of Dreams.


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars 

Readers Outside Canada: Amazon US

For Canadian readers: Amazon Canada | Chapters-Indigo | iBooks

Praise for Chasing the Wind

     “A barrel-rolling barn-burner of a book! Roxy’s got a tender heart with a steel jacket, and the skill and courage to bring her in on a wing and a prayer. A good thing, because this girl doesn’t pack a parachute.” —Diana Gabaldon

     “Chasing the Wind has everything a historical fiction reader could want. The suspense is wonderful; the writing is sure and confident; and the dialogue is witty and fast paced. I was completely engrossed from the very beginning.” —Roberta Rich, author of The Midwife of Venice

     “Flying on the wings of Humphreys’s vivid imagination, spunky aviatrix Roxy Loewen soars from Ethiopia to Madrid as the Spanish Civil War rages, and to Berlin and Hitler’s Olympics, where she contends against the Nazi elite in a struggle to retrieve a stolen sixteenth century painting. A hold-on-to-your-seats aerial display with the throttle open all the way.” —William Deverell, author of the Arthur Beauchamp series

About the Author

     Chris (C.C.) Humphreys was born in Toronto, lived till he was seven in Los Angeles, then grew up in the UK. All four grandparents were actors, and since his father was an actor as well, it was inevitable he would follow the bloodline.

     Chris has performed on stages from London’s West End to Hollywood in roles including Hamlet, Caleb the gladiator in NBC’s AD-Anno Domini’, Clive Parnell in ‘Coronation Street’, PC Richard Turnham in ‘The Bill’, the Immortal Graham Ashe in ‘Highlander’, Jack Absolute in ‘The Rivals’ (This performance led to him writing the Jack Absolute novels – and they say acting doesn’t pay!). Bizarrely, he was also the voice of Salem the cat in ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch’.

     A playwright, fight choreographer and novelist, he has written eleven adult novels including ‘The French Executioner’, runner up for the CWA Steel Dagger for Thrillers; ‘The Jack Absolute Trilogy’; ‘A Place Called Armageddon’; ‘Shakespeare’s Rebel’ and the international bestseller, ‘Vlad – The Last Confession’.

     He also writes for young adults, with a trilogy called The Runestone Saga and ‘The Hunt of the Unicorn’. The sequel, ‘The Hunt of the Dragon’, was published Fall 2016.

     His recent novel ‘Plague’ won Canada’s Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel in 2015. The sequel, ‘Fire’ is a thriller set during the Great Fire, published Summer 2016. Both novels spent five weeks in the top ten on 2016’s Globe and Mail and Toronto Star Bestseller lists.

     His new novel is ‘Chasing the Wind’ about 1930’s aviatrix – and thief! – Roxy Loewen, will be published in Canada and the USA in June 2018.

     Several of his novels are available as Audiobooks – read by himself! Find him here at Audible. 
He is translated into thirteen languages. In 2015 he earned his Masters in Fine Arts (Creative Writing) from the University of British Columbia.

     Chris now lives on Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada, with his wife, son and cat, Dickon (who keeps making it into his books!).

     For more information, please visit C.C. Humphrey's website. You can also find him on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Giveaway

     During the Blog Tour we will be giving away a copy of the short story, "The Birth of Jack Absolute" by C.C. Humphreys! To enter, please enter via the Gleam form below.

Giveaway Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on June 26th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

  Chasing the Wind