Book Review: The Hidden Blade by Sherry Thomas (Heart of Blade Duology, #1)

Synopsis:

In the waning days of the last dynasty, in a quiet, beautiful corner of imperial Peking, a young girl's blissful ignorance is shattered when she learns that she is the illegitimate daughter of an English adventurer and a Chinese courtesan. What future is there for such a girl? But a mysterious figure steps forward and offers to instruct her in the highest forms of martial arts--a path to a life of strength and independence.

Half a world away in England, a young boy's idyllic summer on the Sussex downs implodes with the firing of a single bullet. Torn from his family, he becomes the hostage of a urbanely sadistic uncle. He dreams of escaping to find his beloved friend--but the friend is in China, ten thousand miles away.

The girl trains to be deadly. The boy flees across continents. They do not know it yet, but their lives are already inextricably bound together, and will collide one fateful night when they least expect it.

'Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon' meets 'Downton Abbey,' this remarkable tale of friendship, danger, and coming of age will stay with you long after you have finished the last page.

A prequel to MY BEAUTIFUL ENEMY.

Review:

I was recommended this book having read the author's Luckiest Lady in London (review to come at some point!) but also because the one recommending it to me knew I had a background in martial arts, to put it mildly.

Sherry Thomas has a writing style that I can only believe creates a sense of sheer wonder for readers, but partial envy for other authors who read her works. Truly, this is an author who can craft a story with such style and panache, that sometimes you have to take a step back from what one has read,

Although not a long book, I read and consumed The Hidden Blade over several days, and I'll admit the martial arts aspect of the tale was a huge draw for me. As part one of a duology, The Hidden Blade works wonderfully as a historical piece that is lighter on romance than one might expect from Miss Thomas. I do expect part two - My Beautiful Enemy to fulfil the wishes of any reader who wanted more romance in this book.

That is not to say the book lacks romance, far from it. Telling the story of young Chinese girl Ying-Ying who is taken under the considerable wing of her teacher Amah, there is a dual story running with a pace-perfect and a seamless narrative, as the story of upper class English gent Leighton goes through many jumps and hoops (not all of them pleasant).

For me, whilst the story of Ying-Ying and Leighton is engaging (but in the best tradition of tales like Brief Encounter, where there is an attraction but barely exploited....and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon..with Shu Lien and Li Mu Bai definitely attracted to each other but restrained by age old customs and beliefs) - the romance is hinted at here, but I expect it will be more craftily developed in the follow-up.

What makes The Hidden Blade an exceptional book....well, where to start. Ying-Ying is cool, and whilst I can understand the nod to wuxia films like CTHD, it is but one of many that were made in China, it just so happens that particular film was made with a Western audience in mind. The martial arts scenes are brilliantly depicted - I especially loved a scene between Ying-Ying and her master where her Chi (Qi) was being developed. 

Contrary to popular Western belief, it's really hard - nigh on impossible in fact, to find a martial arts master of repute in China. It took me seven years to find my current one. But for reasons that the story must move forward, Ying-Ying is introduced to her teacher early on in the story.

As Leighton makes his improbable but necessary journey to the East - no doubt to reckon with his destiny, I am wanting to know how the worlds of a Chinese girl and Western man will collide.

He seems bit down on his luck, unable to catch a break for large parts of the tale. You'll root for him, as I did. But you will also want Ying-Ying to outgrow her master one day, and in this regard, Amah teaches her student (brutally) well. It seems a mis-match to me, which makes it all the more intriguing.

I rarely have such high praise for a book, but it is so well done, if I could give it six stars, I would. Let''s see how the series wraps up with the intriguing title of My Beautiful Enemy.

Rating: Five Jade-coloured stars.

Buy on Amazon

Book Review: Newborn Nazi by Rhoda D'Ettore

There's a number of reviews here and as I scan through them, I am not sure what I can add.

What I can say for my own part is that Newborn Nazi starts with and continues for many of its pages at a blistering pace. This is a remarkable feat given the rather dry and unsettling nature of the SS.

It is a very dark tale, but told with great style and panache. The author, Rhoda D'Ettore, is an exceptional story teller.

The book has a little 'middle of the story' lag but maybe this is welcome.

After a particularly delicious build up between Hedwig and Johann, I still could not predict what was coming. After the event, I was unsure where the story would go.

But herein lies the author's talent. Through a myriad of excellent main and support characters, the author weaves a multi-layered and intelligent story.

At times, the dialogue is a little too much, but given the length of the story, blocks of heavy narration may have been off putting, so I congratulate the author for making a motley crew so engaging to read.

The ending is interesting, not what I expected, and very well done.

If you want a story that takes you away from a YA story filled with werewolves and mermaids, go for this very unique tale.

I loved it and think you will too!

Buy on Amazon

Book Review: Whitney, My Love by Judith McNaught

There is probably no more crowded genre than the romance genre, and yet it is a genre containing many fine stories. There's a general convention that men shouldn't read this genre, or that women who want a 'hot' romance won't find anything amongst these pages to suit them.

This isn't always the case, and I have always been open to read any kind of genre so long as the story is good. After all, a classic is a classic, regardless of how old it is.

Whitney, My Love by Judith McNaught is a classic of the genre, but having been lent the actual paperback copy by a friend and fellow blogger, I can honestly say the book was hugely enjoyable over the course of its 700 pages.

Whitney is the kind of heroine I like. She's feisty, headstrong and knows what she wants at a time when women's thoughts were often shunted by the men around them. With Whitney in love with Paul, she is determined to marry him one day. What father wouldn't want his daughter to be happy? And yet, Whitney's want for Paul is met with incredulity at first by her father, and soon after, extreme anger.

A story that started so light and enjoyable suddenly took a turn for the extremely dark, and now the question was why her father was so insistent Whitney marry someone else?

Money. Ah, the age old crippler of those who do not have it. Marrying Whitney into money seems to be the only way to resolve the financial situation her father is in.

Poor Whitney! The father who wants his daughter to marry into money isn't a new theme, but bear in mind I have read this book after reading many others in the genre - often newer tales. I'm not saying Judith McNaught was the originator of this style of storytelling, but the facts are that she is so highly regarded in the genre, she may have come up with special story arcs and plot devices in the way that JRR Tolkien did for everyone who wrote high fantasy after he released Lord of the Rings.

At this point in the story, I wasn't sure if I had warmed enough to Whitney to care. But this book is so well written, so well plotted, that I just kept going back for more. 

The drama of the story picks up apace a third of the way in, and never lets up. 

Clayton is introduced to Whitney by her father. Aside from Paul, the bad guys are all men in this story, and she has no care for Clayton. In fact, I found myself wishing he would meet with a horse riding accident, or even better, have the piano fall on him. No such luck.

Is he that bad? Well, no, but once Whitney's rather overbearing father introduces the two together, he goes misses from the story, and we are unsure what Whitney thinks of that. After all, her father is supposed to be a template to show her what kind of man she might wed one day. If Clayton was not in his exhalted position, would they be even having this conversation? It's likely Whitney would have been fine with marrying Paul, hopefully with her father's blessing.

There's a particular scene that I can't give away here, but it certainly puts this book on a different level - no longer a light romance with a heart, it was a brutal and shocking scene that I had to read twice and check the cover - really? Could something like this happen - yes. Should it be in a romance? Not sure.

But it is the author's right to create the story as she deems fit.

I've had some time to distance myself from the book, and make sense of certain scenes. I think that particular scene fits the story, but I may be in the minority I expect!

Of course the story can be read on its own but I suspect it is better read as part of the series (Westmoreland) of which it is an integral part. I don't think it is fair to criticise it having not read the whole series.

On GoodReads and Amazon, I'm leaning towards five stars, but a fairer rating would be about 4.5. I'm typically harder on established authors, and friends have been saying to me for ages that 'You need to read Judith McNaught'. Having done so, I can say that this particular work is a standout in the genre, but not in the way you might think.

Not everyone will like the ending. Not everyone will like Whitney's sometimes bratty behaviour. I'll admit that the Duke came across as one dimensional sometimes. He seemed to view Whitney and women in general as property, which may fit with the  period, but that doesn't mean it is right.

Overall, I loved this book and when I have caught up with other books in this genre and other genres, I'll be back into Judith's world. 

Special Author Promotion - Rhoda' D'Ettore - Check out her amazing books

No One Is Safe While...

ZODIAC LIVES

A Novel by Rhoda D'Ettore

After surviving a car accident that killed her father, three-year-old Jennifer begins having nightmares. It's soon obvious she suffers from something more dreadful than the accident when she provides clues to a murder committed 3,000 miles away—and two decades before she was born.

Jennifer's nightmares set off a chain reaction that prompts the infamous Zodiac Killer to emerge from dormancy and terrorize San Francisco for a second time.

Buy Rhoda D'Ettore books on Amazon

Visit Rhoda D'Ettore's Website

Goin’ Postal & The Creek

Rhoda D'Ettore began her writing career by publishing humorous tales about working at the United States Postal Service. Fifteen years of dealing with bombs, anthrax, and human body parts in the mail made for an interesting read. Her co-workers laughed so hard at the nostalgia, they encouraged her to publish the writings. Since then, D'Ettore has fascinated readers with plot twists mixed with sarcastic humor.

D’Ettore knew postal workers would buy her story, yet she also wanted to show them she could write interesting, serious work with shocking twists. In Goin’ Postal & The Creek, the reader gets two very different stories in one book. The first containing the hysterical tales of postal worker life. The second story is a historical fiction that spans 200 years with a slightly supernatural twist. Topics include war, love, romance, death, Prohibition, the Great Depression, and how families survive such events.

Newborn Nazi

Newborn Nazi tackles the issues of right and wrong as well as self sacrifice when fourteen-year-old Edmund is forced into the Hitler Youth in 1935. His older siblings vow to destroy Nazi Germany, and the family gets swept up in espionage and the Underground Movement. When Edmund becomes an adult and joins the feared SS, his sister's secret endeavors to save Jews in her home endangers lives---including her own. This suspense thriller is sure to keep you guessing.

Newborn Nazi is based on Rhoda D’Ettore true family history. There was an Edmund who was forced into the Hitler Youth, and his sister did help Jews escape. D’Ettore found the story so riveting, she took the plot of the story and added murder and espionage to create this intense thriller.

Tower of Tears: The McClusky Series 1

In Tower of Tears: The McClusky Series, we find Jane traveling to America from Ireland with her three-year-old son. Expecting to find a better way of life, Jane finds nothing but intimidation, betrayal, violence, and heartache. This family saga includes blackmail, murder, mystery, and a touch of romance.

While writing Tower of Tears, D’Ettore gave her mother one chapter at a time for feedback. D’Ettore was undecided who the murderer in the book would eventually be, so she wrote the story with five characters hating and threatening the murder victim. Halfway through the book, D’Ettore’s mother shouted, “I know who killed him…. it was ####”. D’Ettore then finished the book with a different character as the murderer. When her mother read the final draft of the book, she replied, “That’s not who the murder is. I told you who is was.” D’Ettore then said, “I wrote the book, so I know who the murderer should be. Thanks.”

10 Shades of Blush: The Softer Side of Kink

10 Shades of Blush: The Softer Side of Kink is a collection of naughty fantasies of ordinary women. Teachers, mothers, and professionals submitted their wants and desires for kinky fun. All the tales are told as if the women are speaking directly to their partners. The audiobook of this has been called "Two hours of phone sex for $7".

Rhoda D'Ettore works are available as ebook, paperback, and audiobooks

Follow Rhoda D'Ettore on Facebook

Follow Rhoda D'Ettore on Twitter

Win a MacX Video Converter: Courtesy of Book Wormie Spot

If you ever wanted to win a MacX Video Converter, the blurb is here on my blogger friend Joss's Book Wormie Spot:-

http://www.bookwormiespot.com/2015/07/macx-video-converter-pro.html

Here's the giveaway link for the converter:-

http://www.bookwormiespot.com/2015/06/macx-video-converter-pro-giveaway.html

And a You Tube video too!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_1ZlZaFbTw

Get to it, and I hope you win!

Book Review: An Arranged Valentine by Kadee McDonald

An Arranged Valentine is a thoroughly entertaining regency romance. The principle characters are well drawn and engaging, with Penelope an intriguing heroine. Like most women of the age, she has to find her betrothed before she passes what would be the dreaded marrying age. Her father thus engineers an arrangement which may be (but possibly won't be) altogether to her liking.

 Fortunately, as the story develops, the reader can discern a real warmth developing between the H/h and it's the little details...the notes, the valentines, the references to Robert Burns that truly made this light romance punch well above its weight.

 Lines I liked, and this was typical of the well placed humour throughout the book:- "Penelope....you do understand we have just been found in a compromising situation?"

 Of course, the over riding situation is one where it suits both parties to be arranged. The key to this story, and how it grabs the reader, is in the sense of how it brings the two together. My concerns were 'does he really love her' and 'could she really see out a lifetime with him.' To find out, you should really give this excellent Jane Austen inspired story a chance!

Buy on Amazon

Book Review: The Legend of Zyrah (The Legend of Zyrah Series Book One) by Joseph Machney

There's a been a recent trend for fantasy epics to become as over-the-top with its depictions of violence, profanity and sex. But what's a good fantasy writer to do? Where can the genre go, only darker? If they didn't, we would be stuck with the old good versus evil story with various plot devices that don't raise the story above the mediocre. Having read a number of fantasies of late that were average to extremely good, I wondered what author Joseph Machney could do with his epic. After all, The Legend of Zyrah is the first in his epic series.

I had to read books of other genres so that I could look at this one with fair eyes. And I have to say - I enjoyed it.

The MacGuffin in the story centres around a wizard who has become dictator in all but name. He has control of two magical devices that help him keep a grip on power, often ruling with an iron fist while he does so.

Fortunately, not everyone accepts his take on things, and our hero soon pops up to secure the remaining artefacts, thus stopping the despot from becoming even more of a tyrant than he is already.

Around this central theme are an array of characters that develop beautifully as the story progresses. In fantasy, the genre has been done to death so to bring something new, you're going to have to do a 'Tolkien' or make your characters engaging. It's here where I think the author has done a stellar job.

Kion is obviously set up to be the best character, but as I read others, I really warmed to Akin, Teagan and Jade. The whole quest, therefore, is to see exactly how balance can be restored to the realm of Zyrah, not essentially to remove the evil ruler from power. Is there a commentary on the current world's status being formed by the author? That's one of the things I pondered as I reached this first book's conclusion. Ultimately, you will have to read the book to understand why the quest / mission / task has to happen, but I promise you that you will enjoy the ride.

The Legend of Zyrah is a strong first book in the series. The second book is out now. So if you want to immerse yourself in a well drawn fantasy world but with especially well drawn characters, give this book a try!

Buy on Amazon