Books Read In May

May was an excellent reading month!!

Every book was amazing.

Thank you to all authors.

Finding Mrs. Ford by Deborah Goodrich Royce

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Why would the FBI want to talk to her?

Susan is pretty sure she knows why and didn't want to think about.

We meet Susan Ford whose life was changed when she quit her job in a dress shop to work in a night club, Frankie’s Disco, and met Sammy Fakhouri.

Now it is coming back to haunt her, and she has questions of her own.

Does she know the answers, though?  She might need to make sure she does because others have questions as well.

Susan spent the summer of 1979 always worried about working at Frankie’s Disco and who was working there.  It actually was a dangerous place to be.

Frankie's Disco actually changed Susan's life and not in a good way until she met Jack Ford.

Jack saved her, but he didn’t know she hadn't finished college or where she worked the summer of 1979.

The year 2014 brings things crashing down as the FBI wants to interview her, Sammy is looking for her, and her stepson finds out things she has lied about to him and his father.

The beginning and middle chapters of the book give us background information on the life of Susan Ford in 1979 and currently in 2014.

There is a twist in the middle that will have your jaw dropping and have you staying up late to finish the book.

Ms. Royce’s novel had a unique way in terms of a time line.

ENJOY if you read FINDING MRS. FORD - I am quite sure you will.  5/5

This book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.

SPINE POEM

Thank you to eggs of Litsy:

#JAMMINJUNE

@eggs

Today’s Prompt:  SPINE POEM

Songs of Willow Frost

Belong To Me,

The Spinster Sisters,

AND The Butterfly Sister

Spotlight and Giveaway of Encounters Unforeseen by Andrew Rowen

Photo Source
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Chris Gorman of Books Forward is celebrating the release of:

ENCOUNTERS UNFORESEEN

With a USA Giveaway!!

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Information in this post is courtesy of Chris Gorman of Books Forward.

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PRAISE FOR ENCOUNTERS UNFORESEEN:

Kirkus Indie Review: “Rowen’s research—a combination of scholarly investigation and travel conducted over six years—is nothing less than breathtaking. The sensitivity and originality of his portrayals are equally impressive, avoiding the trap of simply retelling a familiar tale from an exclusively European perspective or casting the explorers as nothing more than rapacious colonialists.”

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ABOUT ENCOUNTERS UNFORESEEN:

Most literature relating the history of Columbus’ voyage and first encounters with Native Americans focuses principally — whether pro- or anti-Columbus — on Columbus and the European perspective. Rowen’s historical novel now dramatizes these events from a bicultural perspective. It fictionalizes the beliefs, thoughts, and actions of the Native Americans who met Columbus and places their viewpoints alongside those of the explorer himself and other Europeans, all based on a close reading of Columbus’ “Journal,” other primary sources, and modern anthropological studies.

“Encounters Unforeseen” gives insight into the mindsets and backgrounds of key Taíno and European protagonists, including Columbus, Spain’s Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand, three historic Taíno chieftains — Caonabó, Guacanagarí, and Guarionex — and a Taíno captive seized by Columbus. Rowen’s portrayals of the Taíno protagonists presents them as neither victims nor statistics, but as personalities and actors comparable to the Europeans. Their side of the story is forcefully told.

Rowen also explores stark social differences between Taínos and Europeans, including their religions, slavery, and notions of private property, and dramatizes the collision of Taíno spirits with Christ and the Virgin Mary. The novel carefully depicts conversations that primary sources indicate occurred, and Rowen weaves fascinating stories around documented incidents. “Encounters Unforeseen” presents a remarkably insightful and fresh look at one of the seminal events that reshaped the course of world history.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

 

Photo courtesy of:

Andrew Rowen

Andrew Rowen is a U.C. Berkeley and Harvard Law graduate who practiced law as a partner of a major New York City law firm for almost 30 years prior to retiring to write his first novel, “Encounters Unforeseen: 1492 Retold.” He devoted six years to research and traveled to nearly all the Caribbean, European and Atlantic locations where the book’s action takes place, including the archaeological sites where the Taíno chieftains lived in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. He has long been interested in the roots of religious intolerance.

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GIVEAWAY: 

ONE ENTRY PER PERSON PLEASE.

I am partnering with Chris Gorman of Books Forward for this giveaway:

USA ONLY
June 3 - June 10

Enter here

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Perfectly Famous by Emily Liebert

 

Bored?  Nothing else to do? 

What possessed Bree to go on an obsessive, dangerous hunt for her favorite author so she could write her life's story for her?

Bree is divorced and hasn't worked for years.  She wants to start back at her journalist job, but it turns into something much more.

Ward DeFleur is an author who writes crime fiction and has an actual nightmare happen to her.  Her daughter is brutally murdered on the night of a book signing.  Ward leaves the book signing with fans waiting in line when she hears about her daughter and doesn't fulfill her contractual obligation to the publisher because she disappears and hides from everyone.

Will Bree find Ward and at what expense?  As her search continued for the author, a text message warning her to stop what she is doing frightened her, but she kept on.  Who could have sent that text and what did it mean?

Meanwhile, Ward was still hiding but still not feeling comfortable especially when her old boyfriend made a comment about being at her book signing the night her daughter was murdered.

Many questions arise, and which characters are keeping secrets? 

Will Bree find Ward, and will they find Stevie's killer? 

There are multiple possible suspects, but I’m guessing you won't figure it out.

The ending twists were definitely a surprise. 4/5

This book was given to me by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Spotlight and Giveaway of Victoria's War by Catherine A Hamilton

Photo Source
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Kristen Ludwigsen of Mindbuck Media Book Publicity is celebrating the release of:

VICTORIA'S WAR

With an International E-book Giveaway!!

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Information in this post is courtesy of Kristen Ludwigsen of Mindbuck Media Book Publicity.

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PRAISE FOR VICTORIA'S WAR:

"A searing reminder of the many lesser-known World War II stories that still need to be told." — Kirkus Reviews

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ABOUT VICTORIA'S WAR:

In Victoria’s War, Hamilton gives voice to the courageous Polish women who were kidnapped into the real-life Nazi slave labor operation during WWII. Inspired by true stories, this lost chapter of history won’t soon be forgotten.

Poland, 1939: Nineteen-year-old Victoria Darski is eager to move away to college but her world is turned upside down when World War II breaks out. When Victoria decides to go to a resistance meeting with her best friend, Sylvia, they are captured by human traffickers. Sylvia is sent to work in a brothel, and Victoria is transported by cattle car to Berlin, where she is auctioned off as a slave.

Germany, 1941: Twenty-year-old Etta Tod is a hospital about to undergo involuntary sterilization because of the Fuhrer’s mandate to eliminate hereditary deafness. Etta, an artist, silently critiques the propaganda poster on the waiting room wall while her mother tries to convince her she should be glad to get rid of her monthlies. Etta is the daughter of the German bakers who buy Victoria at auction in Berlin. 

The stories of Victoria and Etta intertwine in the bakery’s attic where Victoria is held—the same place where Etta has hidden her anti-Nazi paintings. The two women form a quick and enduring bond. But when they’re caught stealing bread from the bakery and smuggling it to a nearby work camp, everything changes.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Photo Credit:  

Yuen Lui

Bio of the author: Catherine A. Hamilton is a freelance writer of Polish descent whose articles and poems have appeared in magazines and newspapers including the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, the Oregonian, the Catholic Sentinel, the Dziennik Związkowy (the oldest Polish newspaper in America), and the Polish American Journal.

She is the author of the chapter about Katherine Graczyk in Forgotten Survivors: Polish Christians Remember the Nazi Occupation, edited by Richard C. Lukas. Victoria’s War, her first novel, will be published in 2020 by Plain View Press.

She actively publishes and blogs at www.catherineahamilton.com. Hamilton lives in the Northwest with her husband.

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GIVEAWAY: 

ONE ENTRY PER PERSON PLEASE.

I am partnering with Kristen Ludwigsen of Mindbuck Media Book Publicity for this giveaway:

INTERNATIONAL/E-BOOK
June 1 - June 8

Enter here

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Mailbox Monday - 6/1/2020

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week.


Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles, and humongous wish lists!

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia @ A Girl and Her Books, has a permanent home now at Mailbox Monday.

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Here’s a shout out to the administrators:

Leslie @ Under My Apple Tree
Serena @ Savvy Verse And Wit
Martha @ Reviews By Martha's Bookshelf

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THANKS to everyone for keeping Mailbox Monday alive.

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I hope you had a good mailbox.
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On Friday, May 29, I received:

1.  THE MIDNIGHT TRAIN TO PRAGUE by Carol Windley, courtesy of Grove Atlantic - Atlantic Monthly Press and Netgalley.

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