Quick Review:The Henna Artist, by Alka Joshi

The Henna Artist, by Alka Joshi

Harlequin Audio - 2020
General Fiction/Historical Fiction
Audiobook

10 Hours, 56 Minutes
Narrated by Sneha Mathan

*Quick Reviews are slightly less formal reviews using the publishers summary

This book, steeped in the culture of 1950's India, is my choice to fulfill item #20 - One World - Read a book written by, and that has a main character that is someone of a different color, culture, sexual orientation, or religion than you, on my 20 for 2020 Reading Challenge. You can see the full list HERE

Publisher's Summary:

Escaping from an abusive marriage, seventeen-year-old Lakshmi makes her way alone to the vibrant 1950s pink city of Jaipur. There she becomes the most highly requested henna artist—and confidante—to the wealthy women of the upper class. But trusted with the secrets of the wealthy, she can never reveal her own…

Known for her original designs and sage advice, Lakshmi must tread carefully to avoid the jealous gossips who could ruin her reputation and her livelihood. As she pursues her dream of an independent life, she is startled one day when she is confronted by her husband, who has tracked her down these many years later with a high-spirited young girl in tow—a sister Lakshmi never knew she had. Suddenly the caution that she has carefully cultivated as protection is threatened. Still she perseveres, applying her talents and lifting up those that surround her as she does.

My thoughts:

Joshi is as much an artist as her character Lakshmi.  Her writing flows easily and the story was absolutely captivating. She easily sets the readers imagination to creating 1950's India in all its culturally rich and vibrant glory. Her characters are well defined and multi-faceted, with her protagonist Lakshmi being an especially striking character - smart, brave, incredibly compassionate, and a little ahead of her time. The reader easily becomes invested in Lakshmi's story and struggles

Narration for this audiobook was provided by Sneha Mathan, who not only performed well but was also well suited to the story. Listening to this wonderful tale being told by such a talented narrator made it easy to become immersed in Lakshmi's story.

Happy Reading,

Christine

The Glass Magician by Caroline Stevermer

The Glass Magician, by Caroline Stevermer

MacMillan-Tor/Forge - April 2020
Fantasy
E-book

Hrs:min /  Page count:
Awards and Honors if applic.
Thank source if applicable

* I received this digital ARC courtesy of MacMillan-Tor Forge, via NetGalley in exchange of an honest review. This does not influence the following opinions which are my own.

A fun cross-genre book combining elements of YA, historical fantasy, and murder-mystery. 

Set in the New York of the early 1900's, society is divided into Solitaires - non-magical people, and Sylvestri - magical people. Thalia - a solitaire, is a successful stage magician with a popular show. Her partner is the man who cared for her and raised her after she was orphaned.

One night the act goes wrong, and she nearly dies - a sudden manifestation of magical ability is all that saved her. It turns out that she is not a solitaire after all, but a trader - a sylvestri. The arrival of these new abilities puts her in danger from Manticores - beasts who feast on uncontrolled magic and those who have it.  Around this same time that Thalia discovers her magic, her fiercest rival is killed while performing an act that the two rivals had been competing for.  The man who is her business partner and who raised her, is now accused of murder. Her only hope for survival is to learn how to control her new magical abilities before the manticores catch her; and her partner's only hope lies with Thalia, as only she can clear his name while he is jailed. 

Overall this is a good story. The characters are likable, and the mystery helped propel the reader through the story. But while Stevermer does a fairly good job of blending multiple genres into one tale, in doing so she seems to have missed shining too brightly in any single one of them. 

Happy Reading,

Christine

Review: 'A brightness Long Ago, by Guy Gavriel Kay

A Brightness Long Ago, by Guy Gavriel Kay

Viking - 2019
Fiction - Historical, Fantasy
Print
448 Pages

Set in a land reminiscent of Italy centuries ago, a man - Danio Cerra, tells the stories of his past and the people and events the fates used to shape his life and the times. 

It starts when he is barely more than a boy, working at the court of  a count so sadistic, he is referred to as "the beast".  He sees Adria, a woman he knows to have ulterior motives enter the count's chambers. He knows she is there to kill. Adria makes a quick escape, but it is not the last either Danio or the reader see of of her. 

As the story continues, we also meet a young, but tremendously skilled healer, and two army commanders who are fierce adversaries. Each of these characters enters and exits through the story several times, and each of them are changing the world as they know it, and being changed by it. 

For me, the fantasy aspect of this story was a little more subtle than I would like. I fell in love with one of Kay's previous works - a trilogy called The Fionavar Tapestry, and it is to this day one of my favorite books/series of all time. A Brightness Long Ago was not like the the Fionavar Tapestry, woven thick with fantasy. This was a piece of historical fiction with subtle threads of the fantastical woven into it.   I am not a particularly great fan of Historical Fiction per se; but one cannot deny the quality of Kay's prose for this book. It is lyrical, and has great depth. It is a story examines what it is to be an individual forging one's way in the world, how the memories made one day shape our decisions the next, and in the end, mold us into who we are to become.

Happy Reading,

Christine

Review: The World That We Knew, by Alice Hoffman

The World That We Knew, by Alice Hoffman

Simon & Schuster - 2019
Fantasy - Historical
E-book
384 Pages

* I received this digital ARC courtesy of Simon & Schuster Canada, via NetGalley in exchange of an honest review. This does not influence the following opinions which are my own.

My Rating (out of 5)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

First off, you should know that "war stories" are NOT my thing. I really hemmed and hawed about whether I wanted to read this book. While the time and place of the story would normally have me giving it a hard pass, something about it spoke to me and was quite insistent that I do read it.  So when I gave it 5 stars, that is saying a lot. I am so glad that I read this book.

The story begins during the rise of the Nazi forces to power. As they gain power and momentum and their agenda becomes better known to the people, widow Hanni Kohn knows she cannot leave, but she also knows that to save her twelve year old daughter Lea, she must send her away. To ensure her safety, she plans to ask a Rabi to create a golem - a magical creature resembling a person but made with earth and clay, to travel with Lea and protect her. In the end, it is the rabi's daughter Ettie that creates the magical creature in order to use Hanni's payment to provide for her own and her sister's escape, for she too knows that to stay is almost certain death. Their creation - named Ava, is mother's love personified. 

Lea and her golem protector Ava, head off to France, as does Ettie and her sister. Over time, Lea falls in love and faces a moral and heart rending dilemma, Ava dances with a heron and discovers that she is more than what she was made to be - that she loves deeply though was never intended to, and Ettie becomes a fighter for the resistance. Their paths twist and cross each other as their greater story unfolds, all the while, the angel of death is near. 

Despite the horrors of the war, there is definitely a beauty to the story. Hoffman's prose, as always, is stunning. The story is filled with loss, love, sacrifice, determination and survival. The magic strongly based in folklore, the history real, and the characters both believable and likable. The story is heart rending but at the same time heart warming The contrast of immeasurable love against the evil and horrors of the war is powerful and moving. 

The World That We Knew is a stunning story that i won't soon forget.

Happy Reading,

Christine

Review: The Innocents, by Michael Crummey

The Innocents, by Michael Crummey

Doubleday Canada - 2019
Fiction - Literary/Historical
Print

304 Pages
Longlisted for The ScotiaBank Giller Prize 2019

* I received this ARC courtesy of Doubleday/Penguin Random House Canada in exchange of an honest review. This does not influence the following opinions which are my own.

My Rating (out of 5)

⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Innocents, by Michael Crummey is a study in contrasts. At once heartbreaking and heartwarming, instilling both a sense of hopelessness and hopefulness in the reader. It has both a richness and a starkness to it. 

Long ago, in a remote coastal area of Northern Newfoundland, far from any other people, a family struggles for survival. When first the mother, and then the father succumb to illness, their two young children Ava and Evared must fend for themselves in this unforgiving environment. 

Before passing, their parents passed on what little key information they had time to impart. With no knowledge of the greater world beyond, Ada and Evared struggle to survive in the tiny shack, facing unpredictable feast and famine, short summers, long winters, illness, and raging storms.

Twice a year they are able to trade with a supply ship, but other than that, they are each other's only companions, and their relationship is both simpler and more complicated due to their isolation. Both their relationship and their struggle to survive is further complicated by the changes they undergo both physically and emotionally as they approach adulthood.

Historical fiction is not one of my go-to genres, but there was something about the synopsis for this story that intrigued me - and I am glad it did. Crummey's prose is rich with depth beauty even while painting a stark and unforgiving picture. It is easy to see how he has become one of Canada's most respected writers. Crummey's previous works have been shortlisted for some of the most prestigious awards in Canadian literature, including the Scotiabank Giller Prize, The Rogers Writer's Trust Fiction Prize, The Commonwealth Writer's Prize, and the Governor General's Literary Award, as well as others.

The innocents was a deeply engaging and moving novel of survival in a time as hard as  rocky shores of Newfoundland where the story is set.

Happy Reading,

Christine

Review - What Blooms from Dust - by James Markert

What Blooms from Dust – by James Markert

Thomas Nelson Fiction – Available June 2018

Thank you to Thomas Nelson Fiction and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My Rating (out of 5)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

What Blooms from Dust is a hauntingly beautiful tale of forgiveness, hope, and healing, amidst life’s darkest times. Sprinkled with subtle symbolism and delicate nuances, it is a well-crafted story that will stay with you long after you have finished reading.

Jeremiah Goodbye – known as the Coin Flip Killer, was in the electric chair about to pay for four murders, when a tornado rips through the prison and sets him free.  But the jolt he received in the chair before that tornado came changed something deep within him.  

With his new found freedom, he starts walking, flipping a coin to make decisions on the way.  A flip of the coin sends him on his way to Nowhere Oklahoma - his hometown, to confront his brother who turned him in to the law. Along the way his adopts an unusual young boy.  Arriving in his home town, he finds the land and the people ravaged by the “dusters” - what the locals called the sometimes deadly dust storms.   Can he and the unusual boy he adopted along the way save the town?

Historical fiction is not one of my usual reading genres, but something about this book’s description called to me to read it.  I am so glad I did! Markert writes scenes and descriptions that create emotions.  I felt hopelessness and despair as the dusters blew through town again and again, and I felt a sense of hopefulness as the town found reason to hope.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

     I hope you read something to make you smile today,

         Teenie K