I really enjoy this series and The Betrayal of the Blood Lily was no exception.  The series’s change of location, even if temporary, is totally refreshing and brings in a new political atmosphere.  I’ve read a few books set in India lately and this was a different time period, so I appreciated more history.  I also felt like, even though this one restores the sex scene to the romance, this is more historical fiction than romance.  The romance is certainly present, and very sweet, but there is also quite a bit of intrigue in the Indian court as well as Penelope’s painful relationship with her reluctant husband.  It takes a little bit to get used to the different setting, but it’s worth it.

As usual, the modern day storyline with Eloise and Colin is somewhat less interesting.  Not much happens, except that they’re still together.  It’s hard not to feel for Eloise because she’s a charming character, and I too can imagine very little better than having the ability to delve through historical letters and documents for a day.  She finds out some disturbing facts about Colin’s family but not much changes in her own personal or academic life.

I’m left wondering when this series is going to end, but as long as Willig keeps producing stories that are alternately fun and emotional, I’m going to keep reading them.

I am an Amazon Associate. I purchased this book.

Everything fits perfectly together in this book.  The language is beautiful, the plot is interesting and ends perfectly, and the characters are multi-faceted and interesting.  It highlights an obviously important period in history but from the slightly different viewpoint of the various ethnic groups in Czechoslovakia, living in a country constructed by a treaty and consistently struck with severe issues.  There’s a lot of fiction (and, obviously, non-fiction) about World War II and its aftermath out there and I think this book took another angle to distinguish itself, and it worked.

It was interesting that eventually, while their house is occupied by others, Viktor and Liesel lead the strange life of exiles from Nazi Germany and the countries they’ve taken over.  I can’t recall if I ever read a book about where the rich went when they fled, but it was interesting, especially when they tried to move again to a more permanent home and had to deal with other countries’ stupid prejudice.  As we know in the beginning, they make it through.  It isn’t all sunshine and roses for the characters, though, as those left behind endure the incredibly difficult experiences forced upon them by Nazi occupation and imprisonment in concentration camps.

I also really liked that the house itself was almost a character in the book.  It’s used for different purposes throughout, but everyone has their own relationship with it.  It makes them feel certain ways, reminds them of their lives – in certain ways, the house’s open spaces tempt them to do what they might not do otherwise.  It’s an interesting dynamic.

I can definitely see why The Glass Room was nominated for the Booker Prize.  It exposes the darkness and the light within people, while exploring an interesting and slightly different aspect of a war that impacted so much of our culture.  Very worth reading.

I am an Amazon Associate. I received this book for free from a publicist for review.

The Lieutenant is a short, quick read, but no less affecting for all that.  The book is written in third person and the beginning went very quickly, which made me feel somewhat detached and a bit frustrated, but as soon as Rooke is in the war, I was immensely wrapped up in his story.  His journey to Australia was outright fascinating.  More than anything, it showed the arrogance of the British soldiers, convinced that the natives would immediately like what they had to bring, want to hang around them, and be grateful for their company even after they were forcibly captured!  I was astonished.  I knew this sort of thing happened in the Americas but it still made me so angry.

Luckily, Rooke shared my feelings, and I loved the friendship he shared with the native girl and his diligent attempts to learn their language for the sake of speaking to them, not to become famous like one of the other crew members.  I really felt that he was trying to understand them and he treated them like the people that they were.  He was just a really admirable, clever man, and even though I couldn’t entirely get inside his head, I got enough of his intentions to really like him, and his actions were above reproach as long as he knew what he was doing.

I did think the beginning and the end were brief and sort of disappointing and detached, but in my opinion the entire book was worth it for that great middle section when Rooke tries to learn about another culture without imposing his own Britishness on it.  He’s clearly rebuked when he does.  I was happy to learn that it was based on a true story and a soldier did attempt to learn the language from a young native girl, although the author says clearly it’s fiction and should not be taken as history.  Even so, knowing that at least one man attempted to understand, rather than oppress and change, makes for a great story and reminds us that some people do buck the trend of history.

I am an Amazon Associate. I received this book for free from the publishers for review.

This book was totally and completely fascinating.  I didn’t really know what to expect from it except that I’d like to know more about how my brain works.  Lehrer seriously delivers on his promise.  His book is not too heavy on the science and I’m sure real brain function is a lot more complicated, but he distilled it down into a series of examples and explanations that I could understand and relate to what he was saying.  I kept exclaiming over how true various parts were and had to read them aloud to my husband so he could get them too.  I also made him read it right after I did because I just found it all so fascinating.

Let me take an example that relates directly to me.  In one of the chapters, Lehrer discusses how children are taught and how the education system has it somewhat backwards.  Kids are praised for their intelligence, not for their efforts.  He cites studies that show that children who are praised for working hard do consistently work hard and take on tougher challenges, while kids who are praised for being smart are so afraid of failing and proving that praise wrong that they choose to do easier tasks in order to maintain their projection of intelligence.  Lehrer says that this is wrong because our brain learns by making mistakes – screw up once or twice, and you’ve learned something.  If you don’t screw up, you don’t improve.  This is so true because all my life, I’d been praised for my intelligence, and once my intelligence didn’t cut it, I felt like a failure, just as he describes.  Working hard solved the problem, but I didn’t think that I had to – after all, I was smart.  Mistakes are important and that’s not something we learn.

He also explains why gambling is so addictive, why Deal or No Deal is actually a fascinating insight into how the brain works, why political pundits are often wrong (and how some of them manage to be correct), and even helps to explain the credit card debt problem, as apparently our brains have a smaller sense of loss when using plastic than when using cash, so the reward of buying something seems proportionally more important.  The endnotes provide plenty of references to the studies he cites, and he looks at real life examples of decision makers who rely on both instinct (their emotional brain) and conscious thought to make choices.  He examines when each are important and emphasizes the importance of taking time out to mull on important decisions, as your unconscious brain will be busily figuring out the problem for you.

Mostly, Lehrer encourages us to think, to question our beliefs, understand when we make mistakes, and try to consider everything from all angles.  Sometimes it’s best to rely on your feelings, like when you’re choosing jam or playing football, and sometimes it’s best to consider why you feel that way, like when you’re choosing a political party or faced with an out of control forest fire.  Overall, The Decisive Moment was compelling reading.  I learned so much and I can’t imagine anyone not gaining from this book.

This title is known as How We Decide in the USA. I am an Amazon Associate. I received this book for free for review from the publisher.

Historical Fiction

• The Dark Rose, Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
• The Betrayal of the Blood Lily, Lauren Willig
• The Island of the Swans, Ciji Ware

Fantasy

• The Fox, Sherwood Smith
• Crimson & Steam, Liz Maverick (also steampunk & romance)

Women’s Fiction

• Saffron Dreams, Shaila Abdullah
• Roses, Leila Meacham
• Crazy for You, Jennifer Crusie (with lots of romance)

Literary Fiction

• The House of the Mosque, Kader Abdolah
• A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
• The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Muriel Barbery
• The Lieutenant, Kate Grenville
• The Gourmet, Muriel Barbery
• Mister Pip, Lloyd Jones
• The Children’s Book, A.S. Byatt
• The Glass Room, Simon Mawer

YA

• Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson

Paranormal Romance

• Legend of the White Wolf, Terry Spear

Historical Romance

• Scoundrel’s Kiss, Carrie Lofty
• Compromised, Kate Noble
• Lily and the Leopard, Susan Wiggs
• Miss Wonderful, Loretta Chase
• Lessons in French, Laura Kinsale

Classics

• The Custom of the Country, Edith Wharton

Non-fiction

• Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (graphic memoir)
• 84, Charing Cross Road, Helene Hanff
• The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, Helene Hanff
• The Decisive Moment, Jonah Lehrer

I also reviewed The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England. That contest is still open if you want to head over and enter!

I have trouble choosing a favorite this month, but I think it will have to be The Children’s Book. It was just such a thorough, absorbing read.  Honorable mentions, of course, go to Persepolis, The House of the Mosque, and A Suitable Boy.  I also loved The Decisive Moment and I think everyone should read it; that review is coming up later this week!

As far as I’m concerned, I’m doing a fair job diversifying my reading.  I didn’t stick too much in any one genre, barring what I call “literary” fiction.  I don’t like that label, but not sure what to replace it with.  I didn’t do very well adding in more classics, but in March I’m going to fix that.  Tasha from Heidenkind’s Hideaway and I are going to have a classics-themed month and I aim to read at least four classics.

This month, though, I’m making a goal to read more authors of color.  I’ve taken a look at my TBR pile and the authors are there, it’s just a matter of prioritizing those.  I haven’t actually decided on which big book I want to tackle this month.  I think it’s East of Eden to join in on the group read, but it mostly depends on how many review books I can read before I head home on the 11th!

How was your reading month?

I really enjoyed Terry Spear’s last offering in this series, so I was really looking forward to this one.  I read very few romances set in the present, but the werewolf elements liven these books up.  I love Spear’s lupus garou universe, even though the characters were new to me in this one.  Both Faith and Cameron are bitten and their first transformations are really interesting.  Cameron for one doesn’t even realize he’s a werewolf at first; he thinks he’s just dreaming but is confused by the fact that everything is the same when he supposedly wakes up. I’m sure it would be difficult to realize that you’re a werewolf when you don’t even believe that they exist!

The romance was sweet, too.  I thought Cameron and Faith were a little too hasty when it came to jumping into bed, but they definitely bonded over their shared predicament.  I liked Cameron in particular; he was an extremely compelling character and I could believe in his feelings for Faith.  I felt for her, especially given her ex-boyfriend’s bad behavior, but he was just that much more appealing.  The secondary characters were not too detailed, but I was given enough that I wouldn’t mind reading their stories, too.

Legend of the White Wolf and all of Terry Spear’s books would be great choices for paranormal romance fans, especially those who are tired of always reading about vampires!

I am an Amazon Associate. I received this book for free from the publisher for review.

One thing is certain; this book will make you very, very hungry.  Unfortunately I don’t have it with me as I’m writing this review, but its descriptions of the food that Pierre has eaten are lush and amazing, and he eats everything from huge rustic meals to the most refined fare at restaurants.  I was wondering if food critics really examined their food in such detail, but then I figured they must.  I enjoy Barbery’s writing, assuming my translation is fluid, and so reading this book was very pleasant for me.

I didn’t think it was as good as The Elegance of the Hedgehog, though.  There were no insights that I felt applied to my own life outside the book, if that makes sense, aside from maybe showing love towards people that I love, which I think most normal people do anyway.  Pierre’s character just never rose above his neglect of family and friends in search of food, and it becomes clear that he’s deprived himself of all the love that he could have had, and deprived his children and wife of a proper husband and father.  He’s extremely self-absorbed and the only thing he really loves is food.  His realizations all came a little too late for me to appreciate them, and I found I enjoyed the other characters’ chapters more than his, even if I did enjoy reading about his culinary delights.  I could really feel for the other characters and it was fun to see a few from Hedgehog turn up to talk about Pierre, since he’s the one that dies early on in that book.

The Gourmet is so short, however, that it’s probably worth a read even if you don’t like Pierre.  I’d definitely recommend it for food lovers in particular, and for anyone who has already enjoyed Barbery’s work.

I am an Amazon Associate. I received this book for free for review from the publisher.

I first read Catcher in my junior year of high school, when I was a pretty good example of a teenager convinced that everyone in the world is a phony.  My best friend at the time was studying abroad in Germany for the year, my first boyfriend had got together with someone else, and in general I felt sort of emotionless, trapped in this world I didn’t really want.  I hated high school.  Holden Caulfield didn’t save me, that took college, but he brought a new perspective into my life, and as a result I loved the book.  I got a copy of my own, intending to reread it.

It took four years and a children’s lit class for me to read it again, and I was worried about my reaction.  I was older and I’d been through a lot.  In fact, my entire life changed in those four years, so much so that it was virtually unrecognizable.  My brother had died in the most horrific six month period of any of our lives, I had a steady boyfriend and spent summers in England, and I lived in a different state with different friends and different needs.  I wasn’t a teenager and certainly not one that wanted to rage against the world.  And it was from that perspective I read the book, and I still loved it even when almost everyone in the class couldn’t stand Holden and his complaining.  Why?  Because his brother died too.  His brother died, and it messed with him, and I could understand him in a totally different way.  I could see how it could change his life and make him a cynic and a whiner, because I could have slid that way myself.  I could see why he wanted so badly to protect his sister – and all children – more than ever.  I would bet that no one else in that class had ever lost a sibling and they couldn’t put themselves in the book as easily as I could then.  It astonished me that the class didn’t get it. Of course, every book is different for every reader, but no one picked up on what a difference that death made.  The book didn’t change, but I did, and the entire book became much, much more than it was.

I also wanted to say here that maybe I was wrong, but honestly, I still really believe that was the drive behind Holden’s behavior, and so I can’t bring myself to.

Has a book ever changed for you as your perspectives on life changed?  Have you ever felt radically different about a book than everyone else?

Undine Spragg manages to convince her parents to move from Apex to New York City, where she’s hoping to make a brilliant entrance into society with a rich husband.  Undine is a deadly combination of beautiful, selfish, and ignorant, capable of turning herself into what almost any man desires the most.  She is horribly spoiled and incapable of understanding the consequences of her actions, but they are all too clear to the reader as she storms through the lives of people who wish to believe better of her.

Undine is one nasty character.  I couldn’t believe how selfish she was.  And Wharton doesn’t pull her punches, she lets us feel the impact that Undine has by focusing on several other characters whose lives she irrevocably changes, damages, or destroys.  One of the most heartbreaking passages occurs at the end and I could really see how much damage she’d done, and how much more she wanted to do.

I thought it was interesting, though, that she can be seen as completely a product of her society.  Even though her father originally was poor and became rich when she was a child, she was never denied anything, and thus sees no reason to ever be denied anything.  Her first society husband is forced to work at a career he hates and is bad at to support her extravagances even though she also receives an allowance from her father, and she still complains that he isn’t getting enough.  But he never tells her about his hardships, just like her father never told her where the money came from, so she still doesn’t seem to understand.  At times, she reminded me of a beautiful, vapid child, incapable of truly understanding the world in which she lives.  She doesn’t seem to realize that she’s hurting people.  She focuses constantly on the injustice done to her and on the jealousy she feels towards other women who she sees as having more.  She has an education, but it seems to have taught her absolutely nothing.  I had to wonder if Wharton saw society women as children given that she chose to portray this woman so much like one.

And so Undine leaves male carnage in her wake as she moves on to the next husband and the next husband.  I despised her and felt bad for her husbands and child even as I was fascinated by what she’d do next.  As usual I loved the portrait of society through Undine, and all the people wasting their time with niceties and social frivolity and missing out on the big picture.  I especially felt for Undine’s first husband, Ralph, who sees her as something pure and different and malleable, only to realize that Undine wanted to mold herself after the people he found to be fakes.  He seemed to get to the core of the society in which he could not flourish because he recognized how superficial it all was.  He sees the cracks, and through him, Undine’s other husbands, and through despising Undine, I could see the cracks too.

While this isn’t toppling The Age of Innocence from its throne as my favorite Wharton (nor Ethan Frome from #2 slot and yes, I do have a hierarchy, is that odd?), I’m definitely glad I read it.  The Custom of the Country was such an interesting book and it made me think about relations between men and women, how they were, and how they’ve changed.

I loved this book.  I don’t think everyone will love it; it’s a long, dense book, more a portrait of family and art than anything with a plot.  Although, to be honest, I didn’t think the descriptions of pots were as boring as everyone says, and there weren’t as many as I’d expected, either.  I loved the intricate detail and the thought that went into this book.  I felt it was such a gorgeous picture of late Victorian England, and Edwardian England, and even, heartbreakingly, World War I era England.  It was a full picture of a society both different from our own and becoming our own.  Honestly, I could live in this book’s atmosphere, even if I wouldn’t particularly want to live in a time where options for women were so limited.

I adored the children in each of their various ways and was fascinated by their coming-of-ages.  There are so many different strands with each of them in the novel and their fates are all bound up together.  I was riveted by Dorothy’s determination to become a doctor, for example, and I completely admired her ambition and devotion to science.  I cheered on her success.  I longed for the happiness of Elsie and Philip, two children seriously disadvantaged by their upbringing.  I was torn by Tom’s story, and didn’t understand why his mother didn’t understand.  In short, each of the characters has their own plot arcs, and some are heartbreaking, while some are joyful.

Closing the book with the effects of World War I makes the entire rest of the book feel idyllic.  I felt as though I was feeling what the British must have felt as they sent their sons off to die, each with their own life story as these character possess, and I found the entire last section absolutely heartbreaking.  Here is a book that depicts the horrors of war, how each life is cut off abruptly with no preparation and no ending.  It’s easy to see how this changed England and this book brought it home to me.

I’m not sure I loved The Children’s Book as much as I loved Possession, but the more I think about it, the more I think that might be possible.  It has made this review hard to write because I can’t pin down exactly why.  But I’ve tried, and if you have the patience for this, I believe it will reward you immensely.

I am an Amazon Associate. I received this book from the Amazon Vine program for review.