Dreaming Sophia - Melissa Muldoon

Title: Dreaming Sophia: Because dreaming is an art
Author: Melissa Muldoon
Pages: 234
Published: 2016
Genre: Romance
Edition: Paperback
Source: I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest revew
 

Description:  

Dreaming Sophia is a magical look into Italy, language, art, and culture. It is a story about turning dreams into reality and learning to walk the fine line between fact and fantasy. When tragedy strikes, Sophia finds herself alone in the world, without direction and fearful of loving again. With only her vivid imagination to guide her, she begins a journey that will take her from the vineyards in Sonoma, California to a grad school in Philadelphia and, eventually, to Italy: Florence, Lucca, Rome, Verona, Venice, and Val d’Orcia.

​Through dreamlike encounters, Sophia meets Italian personalities—princes, poets, duchesses, artists, and film stars— who give her advice to help put her life back together. Following a path that takes her from grief to joy, she discovers the source of her creativity and learns to love again, turning her dreams into reality.

Buy the Book:  

Amazon – print

Amazon / Kindle – ebook

Create Space

I-tunes – Apple Store-ebook

Barnes & Noble – ebook

Inktera-ebook

Author's Bio:

Melissa Muldoon is the Studentessa Matta-the crazy linguist! In Italian, "matta" means "crazy" or "impassioned". Melissa has a B.A. in fine arts, art history and European history from Knox College, a liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois, as well as a master's degree in art history from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. She has also studied painting and art history in Florence.

Melissa promotes the study of Italian language and culture through her dual-language blog, Studentessa Matta (studentessamatta.com). Melissa began the Matta blog to improve her command of the language and to connect with other language learners. It has since grown to include a podcast, "Tutti Matti per l'Italiano" and the Studentessa Matta YouTube channel. Melissa also created Matta Italian Language Immersion Tours, which she co-leads with Italian partners in Italy.

Dreaming Sophia is Melissa's first novel. It is a fanciful look at art history and Italian language and culture, but it is also the culmination of personal stories and insights resulting from her experiences living in Italy, as well as her involvement and familiarity with the Italian language, painting, and art history.

As a student, Melissa lived in Florence with an Italian family. She studied art history and painting and took beginner Italian classes. When she returned home, she threw away her Italian dictionary, assuming she'd never need it again but after launching a successful design career and starting a family, she realized something was missing in her life. That "thing" was the connection she had made with Italy and the friends who live there. Living in Florence was indeed a life-changing event! Wanting to reconnect with Italy, she decided to start learning the language again from scratch. As if indeed possessed by an Italian muse, she bought a new Italian dictionary and began her journey to fluency-a path that has led her back to Italy many times and enriched her life in countless ways.

Now, many dictionaries and grammar books later, she dedicates her time to promoting Italian language studies, further travels in Italy, and sharing her stories and insights about Italy with others. When Melissa is not traveling in Italy, she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is married and has three boys and two beagles.

Melissa designed and illustrated the cover art for Dreaming Sophia. She also designed the Dreaming Sophia website and created the character illustrations that can be found in the book and on the Dreaming Sophia websites.

Connect with the Author:  

​Website  ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Youtube ~ Pinterest

Book Trailer:

Thoughts:

Despite it taking me a little bit to get a rhythm going with the book, I really enjoyed the book. I quite enjoyed how Sophia was drawn and how her character went about her journey and how it wasn't as clear cut as I expected it to be.  What really captured me as a reader, is how Sophia was able to find her way without her parents by her side (I’m not really spoiling anything here, trust me) and how she had to rely not only on others around her, but on her inner strength and how that pushed her forward, despite setbacks along the way.

I also really liked the setting.  While I haven’t been to Italy myself, I do know people who have been to those cities that are mentioned in the book and I can honestly see myself there in those cities.  I also liked how the author integrated history, literature and art history into the book and it just brought the book alive for, being a lover of all three.

I also really liked that it was a fairly light read for me.  After slogging through some heavy books in terms of material, this was a nice Italian treat.

Bottom line:  I really enjoyed this read and would recommend it to those that need something light, but would like to learn something along the way.  Highly Recommended.

Rating: 4.25/5

 

Loreena's Gift - Colleen M. Story

Title: Loreena's Gift
Author: Colleen M. Story
Pages: 350
Published: 2016
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy
Edition: PDF
Source: I recieved a free copy in exchange for a honest review.

Description: A BLIND GIRL'S TERRIFYING "GIFT" ALLOWS HER TO REGAIN HER EYESIGHT--BUT ONLY AS SHE FERRIES THE RECENTLY DECEASED INTO THE AFTERLIFE.

Loreena Picket thinks she knows herself. A blind young woman who lives with her uncle, a reverend at a small-town church, she's a dutiful niece and talented pianist for the congregation.

But they're both hiding a terrible secret. Loreena can kill people with the touch of her hand.

While her uncle sees her as an angel of mercy, helping usher the terminally ill members of his flock into the afterlife, Loreena has her doubts.

Torn between doing her uncle's bidding and the allure of the fleeting moments when her eyesight returns on the journey to the other side, Loreena cooperates with her uncle until her troubled older brother returns to town. When she reveals her power by saving him from a local drug dealer, she is drawn into a sinister and dangerous world that will test the true nature of her talent and force her to consider how far she is willing to go to survive.

An exciting debut that crosses fantasy and literary fiction, Loreena's Gift is a thought-provoking meditation on life and death and what ultimately lies beyond this world.

​

Buy the Book:  Amazon  ~  Barnes & Noble  ~  Book Depository  ~  Chapters Indigo

Thoughts:  I didn't know what to think of the book, but once I sat down and read the book, I thought it was a decent read.  I liked the early part of the book, but once I got into the middle of the book, I got a little confused as to what was going on. But despite the fact that I was little confused to what was going on in the book, I found it to be an engrossing read.

I liked how the author seamlessly made the transitions between Loreena being sighted and blind.  I also liked how Loreena took charge of a situation and didn't really feel sorry for herself and pushed on despite her blindness.  She seemed to take charge of situations rather than the situation take charge of her.  Despite the situation that she found herself in, she didn't really feel sorry for herself and tried to make best of the situation that she was in.

Bottom line: I quite enjoyed the quickness of the book and it really felt like you were by Loreena's side through out the book.  I would probably recommend the book for those that aren't quite into fantasy, but would like either a taste of fantasy or need something different in their reading.  Recommended.

Author's Bio:

Colleen M. Story writes imaginative fiction and is also a freelance writer, instructor, and motivational speaker specializing in creativity, productivity, and personal wellness. Her latest novel, "Loreena’s Gift," was released with Dzanc Books April 12 2016. Her fantasy novel, "Rise of the Sidenah," is a North American Book Awards winner, and New Apple Book Awards Official Selection (Young Adult). She is the founder of Writing and Wellness (writingandwellness.com) a motivational site for writers and other creatives.

​Connect with the author:  Website  ~ Twitter  

The Cadence of Gypsies - Barbara Casey

Title: The Cadence of Gypsies
Author: Barbara Casey
Pages: 266
Published: 2010
Genre: Fiction
Edition: Hardcover
Source: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Description: On her 18th birthday Carolina Lovel learned that she was adopted and was given a letter written by her birth mother in an unknown language. After years of research she travels to Italy on a mission to find the truth about her past. Carolina is accompanied by three extremely gifted but mischievous students the FIGs from Wood Rose Orphanage and Academy for Young Women. In an effort to help their favorite teacher, the FIGs will have to use their special abilities to decipher the Voynich Manuscript, the most mysterious document in the world, and the one thing that is strangely similar to what Carolina was given. Their search will take them into the mystical world of gypsy tradition and magic, more exciting and dangerous than any of them could have imagined.

Buy the Book:  Amazon  ~  Barnes & Noble

Thoughts: I really enjoyed the read.   I didn't know what to make of the book, but once I got into the book, I quite enjoyed the read.  I felt that the book was fairly realistic and could very easily envision each of the main characters in the book.  I suppose it didn't hurt that a good portion of the story took place in the Italian countryside, surrounded by good food and good wine.  I felt that the plot moved along quickly and held my attention and made me care about the characters.  

Bottom line: If you enjoy books set in a country that has good food and good wine, you will enjoy this book.  Recommended.

Rating: 3.75/5

Author's Bio:

Barbara Casey is the author of several award-winning novels for both adults and young adults, and numerous articles, poems, and short stories. In addition to her own writing, she is an editorial consultant and president of the Barbara Casey Agency, established in 1995, representing authors throughout the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Japan.

In 2014 Barbara became a partner in Strategic Media Books Publishing, an independent publishing house that specializes in true crime and other cutting-edge adult nonfiction.

​Barbara lives on a mountain in Georgia with her husband and three dogs who adopted her: Benton, a hound-mix, Fitz, a miniature dachshund, and Gert, a Jack Russel terrier of sorts.

​Connect with the author:  Website

A Pattern of Lies - Charles Todd #tlcbooktours #APatternOfLies

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (April 12, 2016)

A horrific explosion at a gunpowder mill sends Bess Crawford to war-torn France to keep a deadly pattern of lies from leading to more deaths, in this compelling and atmospheric mystery from the New York Timesbestselling author of A Question of Honor and An Unwilling Accomplice.

An explosion and fire at the Ashton Gunpowder Mill in Kent has killed over a hundred men. It’s called an appalling tragedy—until suspicion and rumor raise the specter of murder. While visiting the Ashton family, Bess Crawford finds herself caught up in a venomous show of hostility that doesn’t stop with Philip Ashton’s arrest. Indeed, someone is out for blood, and the household is all but under siege.

The only known witness to the tragedy is now at the Front in France. Bess is asked to find him. When she does, he refuses to tell her anything that will help the Ashtons. Realizing that he believes the tissue of lies that has nearly destroyed a family, Bess must convince him to tell her what really happened that terrible Sunday morning. But now someone else is also searching for this man.

To end the vicious persecution of the Ashtons, Bess must risk her own life to protect her reluctant witness from a clever killer intent on preventing either of them from ever reaching England.

My thoughts: I had mixed feelings as to what to expect from the book, as I had never read a Bess Crawford book.   And in the end, I thought it was an okay book.  I felt that the middle of the book seemed to drag a little bit too much, but the beginning and the end were strong.   I quite liked Bess and thought she was a fairly spunky character, albeit confined within the constraints of working within the military.

Bottom line: If you have read the previous books in the series, you will enjoy this book, but if you haven't read any of the other books, I would suggest going back and reading the previous 6 books in the series.  Recommended.

Rating: 3.5/5

I received this book in exchange for unbiased review of the book.

Purchase Links

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About Charles Todd

Charles Todd is the author of the Inspector Ian Rutledge mysteries, the Bess Crawford mysteries, and two stand-alone novels. A mother and son writing team, they live in Delaware and North Carolina.

Visit their website at Charlestodd.com and like CharlesToddNovels on Facebook.

Back to the Classics Challenge 2016

I have attempted this one a couple of times, but I am going to see where this one goes this coming year.

Here are the categories:

1.  A 19th Century Classic - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
2.  A 20th Century Classic - The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
3.  A classic by a woman author. - 
4.  A classic in translation.  - Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
5.  A classic by a non-white author. - Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
6.  An adventure classic - Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
7.  A fantasy, science fiction, or dystopian classic. - Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
8.  A classic detective novel.  - The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
9.  A classic which includes the name of a place in the title. - Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
10. A classic which has been banned or censored. - The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
11. Re-read a classic you read in school (high school or college).  - Petersburg by Andrei Bely
12. A volume of classic short stories. - Lady with the Little Dog and other stories by Anton Chekov

First Book of the Year 2016

When I fist discovered this last year, I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I quite enjoyed it and am going to participate again this year.

Here are the books I am planning to read on January 1st:

This is an ebook

 

So it looks like I will have a busy day of reading, but these should be fairly easy reads. 

Reading England 2016

I am going to try this reading challenge and see how well I do it this year.  I will probably do Level One, which is 1-3 counties.

If you want more information on the challenge, you can visit Behold the Stars and there is more information.