Birds of Passage - Joe Giordano

Title: Birds of Passage
Author: Joe Giordano
Pages: 260
Published: 2015
Challenges: E-book, Historical Fiction
Genre: Historical Fiction
Edition: Ebook
Source: ARC; I received this book for an honest review from Italy Book Reviews

Description: What turns the gentle mean and the mean brutal? The thirst for wealth? The demand for respect? Vying for a woman? Birds of Passage recalls the Italian immigration experience at the turn of the twentieth-century when New York’s streets were paved with violence and disappointment. 

Leonardo Robustelli leaves Naples in 1905 to seek his fortune. Carlo Mazzi committed murder and escaped. Azzura Medina is an American of Italian parents. She’s ambitious but strictly controlled by her mother. Leonardo and Carlo vie for her affection. 
Azzura, Leonardo, and Carlo confront con men, Tammany Hall politicians, the longshoreman’s union, Camorra clans, Black Hand extortion, and the Tombs prison.  (via Publisher)

Thoughts: The story took me a while to capture my attention due to a number of factors including I couldn't get easily into the main storyline.  I felt that the book was a bit disjointed and felt that it could have been a little more polished and the storyline a little more flowing.  It also felt that it was  a bit of an easy read for me and I was able to quickly read the book.  The book could have easily been about another 50 pages, with the story a little more fleshed out and have a little more meat on the bones.

What I did like was the setting of the story.  Having seen images of that era in New York, I think it was good to see a book set in what would be considered the rougher side of early 20th century New York.  I also felt partial to Leonard and would have liked to see his story a little more fleshed out.

Overall the book was an okay read and there really wasn't too much that was really bad about the book and would probably interest those interested in the experience of immigrants in the early 20th century in New York.  Recommended.

Author's Bio:

Joe Giordano was born in Brooklyn. His father and grandparents immigrated to New York from Naples. Joe and his wife, Jane have lived in Greece, Brazil, Belgium and the Netherlands. They now live in Texas with their shih tzu Sophia. Joe's stories have appeared in more than sixty magazines including Bartleby Snopes, The Newfound Journal, and The Summerset Review.

Connect with the author:   Website  ~   Twitter  ~   Facebook

eBook Promotion: 

The Kindle copy of Birds of Passage will be free to download  for five days starting the day after the end of this virtual tour (Saturday, November 7th through Wednesday, November 11th)

Tour Schedule:

Oct 19 - Working Mommy Journal - review / author interview / giveaway

Oct 20 - FLY HIGH! - book spotlight - guest post / giveaway

Oct 20 - Room With Books - book spotlight / author interview / giveaway

Oct 21 - Jayne's Books - review

Oct 21 - Notes from Verona - review

Oct 22 - Jaquo Lifestyle Magazine - review / guest post

Oct 23 - The Autistic Gamer - review

Oct 26 - Library of Clean Reads - review / giveaway

Oct 26 - Readers' Muse - review / guest post

Oct 27 - The World As I See It - review / giveaway

Oct 27 - Kimberly's Bookshelf - review / guest post / giveaway

Oct 28 - 3 Partners in Shopping - book spotlight / guest post / giveaway

Oct 28 -  A Bit Bookish - review / giveaway

Oct 29 - The Cubicle Escapee - review / giveaway

Oct 29 - Cassidy Salem Reads & Writes - review / giveaway

Oct 30 - Deal Sharing Aunt - book spotlight / author interview / giveaway

Oct 30 - Puddletown Reviews - book spotlight / author interview

Nov 2 - Life as Leels - review

Nov 2 - Worth Getting in Bed For - review

Nov 3 - Bound 4 Escape - review / giveaway

Nov 4 - Studentessa  Matta - review

Nov 4 - Writer With Wanderlust - review / giveaway

Nov 5 - Singing Librarian Books - review / author interview / giveaway

Nov 6 - Essentially Italian - review / author interview / giveaway

Nov 6 - #redhead.with.book - review

Port of No Return - Michelle Saftich #historicalfiction #Italy #WW2

Title: Port of No Return
Author: Michelle Saftich
Pages: 238
Published: 2015
Challenges: Historical Fiction
Genre: Historical Fiction
Edition: Paperback
Source:  ARC; I received this book for an honest review from Italy Book Reviews

Description: Contessa and Ettore Saforo awake to a normal day in war-stricken, occupied Italy.

By the end of the day, their house is in ruins and they must seek shelter and protection wherever they can. But the turbulent politics of 1944 refuses to let them be. 

As Tito and his Yugoslav Army threaten their German-held town of Fiume, Ettore finds himself on a list for execution and running for his life. His wife and children must also flee. 

Ettore and Contessa’s battle to find each other, and the struggle of their family and friends to rebuild their lives, provide a rich and varied account of displaced people in war-torn Europe.

What can you do when you have nowhere left to call home? Port of No Return considers this question and more in a novel that is full of action, pain and laughter -- a journey you will want to see through to the very end. (via Publisher)

Thoughts: This book has been sort of simmering for  me since I completed the book over the weekend and as I have thought about the book, I could see my maternal father's parents going through a similar experience as the Saforo's go through.  I liked how the characters felt real and hence  I feel an affinity to the main characters.  I can't imagine what my great-grandparents went through when fleeing Stalinist Russia in 1926 to a country they barely knew anybody and a language they didn't know how to speak.  Like my maternal great-grandparents, I can't imagine the agonizing decision that the Saforo's had to go through.

I quite enjoyed the book and by allowing it to filter a bit, I was able to empathize with the decision that the parents had to make and would recommend this book to those that enjoy historical fiction and those that would like to have something that isn't typical of the Italian immigrant experience.  Recommended.

Author's Bio:

Michelle Saftich is a first-time author who resides in Brisbane, Australia.  She holds a Bachelor of Business/Communications Degree, majoring in journalism, from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT).

For the past 20 years, she has worked in communications, including print journalism, sub-editing, communications management and media relations. She is married with two children.

Connect with the author:   Website    Facebook    Twitter

Giveaway:

I am also doing a giveaway and it is open internationally.

Prizes: ​

Win 1 of 5 copies of Port of No Return & 1 $30 Amazon gift card

(open internationally)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

After the War is Over - Jennifer Robson

Title: After the War is Over
Author: Jennifer Robson
Pages: 384
Published: 2014
Challenges: Historical Fiction, Canadian, I Love Libraries, Readers to the Rescue, Snagged @ the Library
Genre: Historical Fiction
Edition: Paperback
Source:

Description: England, 1919 In the months following the Armistice, Charlotte Brown leaves behind her wartime work as a nurse and returns to her life as a social worker in Liverpool. There she sets about helping her fellow citizens better themselves, though the world is still reeling from the devastation and loss of the Great War. In her journey she is guided by friends old and new, among them the other women at her boarding house, her colleagues at work, and a radical young newspaper editor who may have romantic designs on her. But even as she tries to look ahead, one man continues to pull her back into her past: Edward, now the Earl of Cumberland, the brother of Charlotte's dearest friend. She hasn't seen him in years and is shocked to discover him utterly changed. Once charming and infuriatingly arrogant, he is now broken by all he has seen. Still Charlotte sees the specter of the captivating man she knew, and knows he could offer her a world far different from the one she's worked so hard to build for herself. As the country seethes with unrest, and post-war euphoria flattens into bitter disappointment, Charlotte fears that the only way to keep her independent life of purpose may be to turn her back on the only man she has ever loved. (from Goodreads

Thoughts: When I saw this book on a blog somewhere, I knew I wanted to read this book, especially since I had read Jennifer's previous book, Somewhere In France, and had enjoyed the read.

I found the book to be a nice follow-up to Somewhere in France, using a number of the same characters while shifting the focus to new characters or to characters that weren't used as much in the previous book.  It was also a nice break from reading the heavier books that I was reading at the time and to have something quick to read.

Bottom line: It was an okay read, as it didn't exactly blow me away, but it wasn't bad either and like I said earlier, it was a nice follow-up to Somewhere in France, but it can also stand alone on its own without reading Somewhere in France, as there is little reference to that book.  Recommended.

Rating: 3.25/5

Fall on Your Knees - Ann-Marie MacDonald

Title: Fall on Your Knees
Author: Ann-Marie MacDonald
Pages: 512
Published: 2002 (first published 1996)
Challenges: Canadian, Chunkster, Historical Fiction, I Love Libraries, Readers to the Rescue, Snagged @ the Library
Genre: Historical Fiction
Edition: Paperback
Source: Library

Description: They are the Pipers of Cape Breton Island -- a family steeped in lies and unspoken truths that reach out from the past, forever mindful of the tragic secret that could shatter the family to its foundations. 

Chronicling five generations of this eccentric clan, Fall On Your Knees follows four remarkable sisters whose lives are filled with driving ambition, inescapable family bonds, and forbidden love. Their experiences will take them from their stormswept homeland, across the battlefields of World War I, to the freedom and independence of Jazz-era New York City.  (from Goodreads)

Thoughts: This had been a book that had been on my TBR for at least 15 years, if not longer, due to talk I had heard about this book.  Mainly due to the content of the book, but I can't recall exactly what I heard and I think it was in the late 1990's when I heard the chatter, but it could have been a few years later when it came to the attention of Oprah and her book club.

I really liked how MacDonald created a sense of place from the outset; I really felt as though I was living the life of the Piper family during the first 30 years of the 20th century.  I could imagine seeing the Piper house and felt like I was trailing them as they moved from room to room and as they went and did things out in the community.  But on the other hand, I did feel as though the writing was choppy and like I was forcing myself at times to finish up the book.  I can see why people like this book and that it at some point could become a Canadian classic.

Bottom line: While I liked how the author crafted a sense of place and characters that you could picture, there were times I could not find a reading rhythm with the book, unlike what I found with Madame Picasso. Recommended.

Rating: 2.75/5

Madame Picasso - Anne Girard

Title: Madame Picasso
Author: 432
Published: 2014
Challenges: Historical Fiction, I Love Libraries, Readers to the Rescue, Snagged @ the Library
Genre: Historical Fiction
Edition: Paperback
Source: Library

Description: When Eva Gouel moves to Paris from the countryside, she is full of ambition and dreams of stardom. Though young and inexperienced, she manages to find work as a costumer at the famous Moulin Rouge, and it is here that she first catches the attention of Pablo Picasso, a rising star in the art world.

A brilliant but eccentric artist, Picasso sets his sights on Eva, and Eva can't help but be drawn into his web. But what starts as a torrid affair soon evolves into what will become the first great love of Picasso's life.  (from Goodreads)

Thoughts: I really didn't know what to make of book, even though I had seen fairly positive reviews of the book on a number of blogs that I read on a regular basis, when I received a copy from the library.  But once I delved into the book, I found myself intrigued not only by the relationship between Pablo and Eva, but with Eva herself and found myself looking for information on her, only to find that there wasn't much available on her.

This was a book I literally had to tear myself away from as I was completing the book.  I was not wanting the book to end, as not only were the characters memorable, but how the author used her words allowed me to be easily drawn into Pablo and Eva's world.

Bottom line: I quite enjoyed this read and was definitely a favourite read, not only among the historical fiction that I have read so far this year, but also among my general fictional reads as well.  I found it to be one of those books that will take you by surprise, in a good way.  Highly recommended.

Rating: 4.5/5

Alchemy's Daughter - Mary A. Osborne #AlchemysDaughter #historicalfiction #hsreadathon

Title: Alchemy's Daughter
Author: Mary A. Osborne
Pages: 288
Published: 2015
Challenges: Historical Fiction
Genre: Historical Fiction, Young Adult
Edition: Paperback
Source: Publisher via Italy Book Tours

Book Description: In medieval San Gimignano, Italy, daughters of merchants are expected to marry. But Santina Pietra cares only for Calandrino, a brilliant young scholar who is preoccupied with his ancient alchemical texts. 

Soon Santina meets Trotula, the village midwife, who might or might not be a "strega," a witch. Trotula challenges her to forget Calandrino and become the woman she is meant to be. Some say she is a victim of the midwife’s spell, but Santina is determined to follow in Trotula’s footsteps even as calamities strike. 

Thoughts: While it took me awhile to actually sit down and read the book, once I started the book, I felt engaged with Santina and the other characters in the book.  My favourite character was Trotula, as she took no nonsense from Santina and expected her to eventually figure things out on her own.

I really liked the setting, as it wasn't a typical Italian setting and didn't really take place in a typical period for fiction set in Italy, which is usually the Renaissance or during the Roman Empire, but set in an era that little is known about.   The plot flows well and seems to flow seamlessly, all the while keeping the reading engaged with the characters and the author made me feel as though I should care for Santina and really rooted for her and also empathized with her.

If there was one thing that I didn't really like it was that I felt that the language was a little simplistic for me as a reader and felt that it was more geared to readers coming out of middle grade fiction and looking for something a little more difficult, but not too difficult, even though the main characters are in their late teens/early twenties.  I really liked the inclusion of the three maps at the beginning of the book, allowing the reader to know where the story takes place.

Bottom line: Overall, it was a good book and nice break from the densely packed adult fiction that I read on a regular basis and would be a really good read for those readers that are transitioning out of middle grade books into young adult book.  Or for those of us adults who enjoy a break from the denser fiction or who just want a nice, easy historical fiction.  And for parents that are worried about the content, the book is clean and has no language or sexual issues that could find myself.  Highly recommended. 

Rating: 4.25/5

Author's Bio:

Mary A. Osborne is the multiple award-winning author of Alchemy's Daughter and Nonna’s Book of Mysteries. A graduate of Rush University and Knox College, where she was mentored in the Creative Writing Program, Ms. Osborne is a registered nurse and holds degrees in chemistry and nursing. Her freelance work has appeared in publications such as Hektoen International, Newcity, and the Examiner.com. Ms. Osborne lives in Chicago.

Connect with Mary: Website  ~  Facebook  ~  Twitter

Where to buy the book:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Book Depository

2015 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

This year,  the Historical Fiction Challenge is being hosted at Passages to the Past.

Here are the Reading Challenge details:

Each month, a new post dedicated to the HF Challenge will be created. To participate, you only have to follow the rules:

• Everyone can participate, even those who don't have a blog (you can add your book title and thoughts in the comment section if you wish)

• Add the link(s) of your review(s) including your name and book title to the Mister Linky we’ll be adding to our monthly post (please, do not add your blog link, but the correct address that will guide us directly to your review)

• Any sub-genre of historical fiction is accepted (Historical Romance, Historical Mystery, Historical Fantasy, Young Adult, etc.)

During the following 12 months you can choose one of the different reading levels: 

20th century Reader - 2 books
Victorian Reader - 5 books
Renaissance Reader - 10 books
Medieval - 15 books
Ancient History - 25 books
Prehistoric - 50+ books

I am going to aim for Ancient History.  If you wish to join up, you can sign up at Passages to the Past.

1. 

Burial Rites - Hannah Kent

Title: Burial Rites
Author: Hannah Kent
Pages: 388
Published: 2014 (first published 2013)
Challenges: Historical Fiction
Genre: Historical Fiction
Edition: Paperback
Source: Personal

Description:  Set against Iceland's stark landscape, Hannah Kent brings to vivid life the story of Agnes, who, charged with the brutal murder of her former master, is sent to an isolated farm to await execution.

Horrified at the prospect of housing a convicted murderer, the family at first avoids Agnes. Only Tóti, a priest Agnes has mysteriously chosen to be her spiritual guardian, seeks to understand her. But as Agnes's death looms, the farmer's wife and their daughters learn there is another side to the sensational story they've heard.

Riveting and rich with lyricism, BURIAL RITES evokes a dramatic existence in a distant time and place, and asks the question, how can one woman hope to endure when her life depends upon the stories told by others? (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: I really enjoyed the book; it definitely will be on my top ten books that I read in 2014.  It was much like reading The Children Act this past fall, in that the language left me mesmerized by creating an atmosphere that was as stark as the environment of northern Iceland during the winter months.

The pace of the book reflected the starkness of the environment that surrounded the characters and didn't reveal too much of Agnes' story at once, but instead revealed her story slowly, piece-by-piece, with most of it in chronological order, but sometimes with a quick flashback to something that happened several years prior.

I also liked that reader got a sense of Agnes' thoughts and feelings as her execution date approaches.  I particularly liked how the attitudes towards Agnes changed amongst the family over the course of the book and how Agnes becomes more sympathetic as the book wore on.

The characters came off as being a bit matter-of-fact and maybe a bit stark at times, reflecting the landscape.  There were times that the book was tedious at times, but felt like there was just enough to keep one interested in the story.

I am looking forward to seeing how the book translates into a film, as a good portion of the book focuses on Agnes' thoughts and feelings.

Bottom line: If like books that draw you in through language and has a strong narrative, you will probably enjoy this read.  Highly recommended.

Rating: 4.5/5

Pages for 2014: 26,751

Bridge to Haven - Francine Rivers

Title: Bridge to Haven
Author: Francine Rivers
Pages: 500
Published: 2014
Challenges: Chunkster, Historical Fiction, I Love Libraries
Genre: Christian Fiction
Edition: Trade Paperback
Source: Library

Description: To those who matter in 1950s Hollywood, Lena Scott is the hottest rising star to hit the silver screen since Marilyn Monroe. Few know her real name is Abra. Even fewer know the price she s paid to finally feel like she s somebody. To Pastor Ezekiel Freeman, Abra will always be the little girl who stole his heart the night he found her, a wailing newborn abandoned under a bridge on the outskirts of Haven. Zeke and his son, Joshua Abra s closest friend watch her grow into an exotic beauty. But Zeke knows the circumstances surrounding her birth etched scars deep in her heart, scars that leave her vulnerable to a fast-talking bad boy who proclaims his love and lures her to Tinseltown. Hollywood feels like a million miles from Haven, and naive Abra quickly learns what s expected of an ambitious girl with stars in her eyes. But fame comes at an awful price. She has burned every bridge to get exactly what she thought she wanted. Now, all she wants is a way back home. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: While I am Christian, I find that the vast majority of Christian that is on the market is very formulaic and while this book does probably a certain element of that formulaic model, the book had a quality to the writing that drew me into the story.  I felt that the characters were believable and real, as though they really could have existed and I also liked how Josh and Abra were able to build the foundation of their relationship through establishing a friendship before starting a romantic relationship.

Bottom line: While for the most part I really enjoyed the book, I did feel that the book started out a little slower than I expected.  Overall, it was a pretty decent story that will please most fans of Christian fiction.  Highly Recommended.

Rating: 4.25/5

Pages for 2014: 24,672

All the Light We Cannot See - Anthony Doerr

Title: All the Light We Cannot See
Author: Anthony Doerr
Pages: 531
Published: 2014
Challenges: Chunkster, Historical Fiction, I Love Libraries
Genre: Historical Fiction
Edition: Hardcover
Source: Library

Description: Marie Laure lives with her father in Paris within walking distance of the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of the locks (there are thousands of locks in the museum). When she is six, she goes blind, and her father builds her a model of their neighborhood, every house, every manhole, so she can memorize it with her fingers and navigate the real streets with her feet and cane. When the Germans occupy Paris, father and daughter flee to Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where Marie-Laure's agoraphobic great uncle lives in a tall, narrow house by the sea wall.

In another world in Germany, an orphan boy, Werner, grows up with his younger sister, Jutta, both enchanted by a crude radio Werner finds. He becomes a master at building and fixing radios, a talent that wins him a place at an elite and brutal military academy and, ultimately, makes him a highly specialized tracker of the Resistance. Werner travels through the heart of Hitler Youth to the far-flung outskirts of Russia, and finally into Saint-Malo, where his path converges with Marie-Laure. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: I really liked this book, particularly how the author played off the two main character, Werner and Maire Laure.  I came to care about each of them and saw them as individuals who only wanted to survive and I also liked how the author used time shifts within the book: pre-war, during the war, post-war and present day.

Bottom line: Even though it is a long book, it reads like a novel that is a hundred pages less because the short parts within the book and also it allows the reader to become involved with the characters.  Highly recommended.

Rating: 4.25/5

Pages for 2014: 23,535

The Invention of Wings - Sue Monk Kidd

Title: The Invention of Wings
Author: Sue Monk Kidd
Pages (File Size): 383 (1.1 MB)
Published: 2014
Challenges: E-book, Historical Fiction
Genre: Historical Fiction
Edition: E-book
Source: Personal

Description: Hetty "Handful” Grimke, an urban slave in early nineteenth century Charleston, yearns for life beyond the suffocating walls that enclose her within the wealthy Grimke household. The Grimke’s daughter, Sarah, has known from an early age she is meant to do something large in the world, but she is hemmed in by the limits imposed on women.

Kidd’s sweeping novel is set in motion on Sarah’s eleventh birthday, when she is given ownership of ten year old Handful, who is to be her handmaid.We follow their remarkable journeys over the next thirty five years, as both strive for a life of their own, dramatically shaping each other’s destinies and forming a complex relationship marked by guilt, defiance, estrangement and the uneasy ways of love.
As the stories build to a riveting climax, Handful will endure loss and sorrow, finding courage and a sense of self in the process. Sarah will experience crushed hopes, betrayal, unrequited love, and ostracism before leaving Charleston to find her place alongside her fearless younger sister, Angelina, as one of the early pioneers in the abolition and women’s rights movements. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: Prior to reading, I had heard of Sarah Grimke through a documentary series that aired on PBS last fall about the story the African-American experience and when a group that I follow on Goodreads decided to read the book, I thought that it would be a good time to read the book.  I knew that the story had been fictionalized and did appreciate that the author addressed the fact that there were things that had been changed to suit the story better.

I tended to enjoy Sarah's story more than that of Handful's, even though there were times that I was able to get engrossed with Handful's story at times.  I also felt that the first third of the book was easier to get through than the last 2/3 of the book, which sometimes felt like a bit of a slog at times.

Bottom line: While I found the book to be a bit of a struggle to get through, I did find the story to be interesting and it peaked my interest a little more in Sarah Grimke and would recommend the book to those that have an interest in literature about the abolishment movement and those involved with the movement.  Recommended.

Rating: 3/5

Pages for 2014: 21,978

Under the Wide and Starry Sky - Nancy Horan

Title: Under the Wide and Starry Sky
Author: Nancy Horan
Pages (File Size): 496 (3.15 KB)
Published: 2014 (first published 2013)
Challenges: Blogger Summer Reading, E-Book, Historical Fiction, Chunkster, I Love Libraries
Genre: Historical Fiction
Edition: E-book
Source: Library

Description: At the age of thirty-five, Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne has left her philandering husband in San Francisco to set sail for Belgium—with her three children and nanny in tow—to study art. It is a chance for this adventurous woman to start over, to make a better life for all of them, and to pursue her own desires.  Not long after her arrival, however, tragedy strikes, and Fanny and her children repair to a quiet artists’ colony in France where she can recuperate. Emerging from a deep sorrow, she meets a lively Scot, Robert Louis Stevenson, ten years her junior, who falls instantly in love with the earthy, independent, and opinionated “belle Americaine.”
            
Fanny does not immediately take to the slender young lawyer who longs to devote his life to writing—and who would eventually pen such classics as Treasure Islandand The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In time, though, she succumbs to Stevenson’s charms, and the two begin a fierce love affair—marked by intense joy and harrowing darkness—that spans the decades and the globe. The shared life of these two strong-willed individuals unfolds into an adventure as impassioned and unpredictable as any of Stevenson’s own unforgettable tales. (via ChaptersIndigo)

Thoughts: I really liked the concept and the title of the book.  As well, I had also heard a lot about this book from fellow bloggers that I thought I would give the book a try.  I can honestly say that prior to the reading the book that I had never had heard of Fanny and never knew that Robert Louis Stevenson (referred to as RLS after this) was married prior to this; all I knew was of RLS wrote several well-known book, along with a book of children's verse.

While the subject matter was fascinating, I felt that the book at times was drawn out and that the author got bogged down in some of the details of the story and didn't allow the story to grow a little more organically; it just seemed to drag on too much for my tastes.

Bottom line: If you enjoy fictionalized books about the lives of famous people and/or their family members, you probably will enjoy this one.  Recommended.

Rating: 3.25/5

Pages for 2014: 20,229