A Spear of Summer Grass by Deanna Raybourn

I received a galley of this novel from NetGalley for review. This in no way affected my opinions.

A delightful story set in 1920s Africa starring a scandalous flapper.

Even from reading the summary beforehand, I still didn't know what to expect when I started reading this. It was a fast read, although I'm not sure if the reason for that was the writing style or the fact that the story just moved quickly. Regardless, I never really felt a lull in the story. While it took a little while for the story to get going, once it did, there was no stopping it.

I admit to not reading a whole lot of historical fiction set in Africa, but that was because the books always looked so stuffy. A Spear of Summer Grass managed to evoke the beauty of a country without gagging me with it.

The characters were fantastic, although I admit to not being able to keep some of them straight. The main character Delilah started out as a frivolous, flighty flapper, but her character growth made for great reading.

A fantastic read set in a rarely visited time and location.

Lighthouse Bay by Kimberley Freeman

I received a galley of this novel from EdelWeiss for review. This in no way affected my opinions.

I really loved Kimberley Freeman's Wildflower Hill, so I could not wait to get my hands on Lighthouse Bay when I heard about it. Like Wildflower Hill, Lighthouse Bay is told is dual time lines in two different time periods about two different women. The stories are connected, of course.

There is the story of the present, which is about a woman named Libby who returns home to Lighthouse bay after living in Paris for twenty years. Then, there is the story of the past, which takes place in 1901 and is about a woman named Isabella Winterbourne. Isabella is the lone survivor of a shipwreck and has in her possession a very expensive item.

Both Libby and Isabella are flawed women who have just experienced something that has changed their lives forever. They both battle feelings of the past, and look to make for themselves a brighter future.

Both story lines wrapped up nicely at the end. I admit to speedily reading Isabella's story because it got real tense there at the end.

Highly recommended for Kate Morton fans. Freeman's style is about the same. And if you like this one, then definitely read Wildflower Hill, for I can't say enough positive things about that book.

The Last Telegram by Liz Trenow

I received a galley of this novel from NetGalley for review. This in no way affected my opinions.

At first look, this looked like another historical fiction tale set during World War II. In some ways, it was, but it had a different settings: a silk factory.

The factory eventually starts making parachutes for the war. This was an interesting perspective: a factory and its workers during wartime.

This book dealt bad choices, regrets, immense love, and bravery.

The point of view we're seeing through is Lily Verner, a young woman who starts working at the family's silk factory. There she finds friendship, love, and learns new and unexpected things about herself.

I'm just giving you the bare bones here, because this book was basically a story about ordinary people during extraordinary times. It will pull on your heartstrings, and like any good book, will make you think about what you might have done in the same situations.

The Deadly Sisterhood by Leonie Frieda

I received a galley of this novel from EdelWeiss for review. This in no way affected my opinions.

There is nothing I like better than reading about empowered women who fought against the restrictions of their time. So, when I heard about The Deadly Sisterhood more than a year ago, I immediately put it on my wish list. And I was thrilled when I was able to read an advance copy.

The Deadly Sisterhood is mainly about eight women from the Italian Renaissance. And while the focus is on these eight women, we do hear about others.

The main point of this book was to see the lasting legacies the women of this time left: whether it was from their own extreme or lesser actions, or through their descendants.

The boldness of these women showed. When the last of the eight women featured here died - Isabella d'Este -  with her died an end of an era. An era where women where able to take control, and even manipulate to gain power and status. After the death of Isabella, the world in which she lived changed, and became a place she and her contemporary women would have felt stifled in.

One of the women featured in this book is Caterina Sforza. I had read a fantastic biography about her last year, but was still thrilled that she was included here. I actually learned a bit more about her, not surprisingly considering the depths of this woman’s amazingness could not all be included in one book.

The Deadly Sisterhood is highly recommended to those interested in the Italian Renaissance and women's history. How appropriate that I finish it during Women's History Month.

HerStory by Various Authors

I was provided a copy of this book for my honest opinion.


A great collection of shorts stories featuring all kinds of different heroines. With stories ranging from Ancient Rome to the 1970s, and even a story set in the future, we were met with realistic heroines, flaws and all.

Some stories had characters that were entirely fictional, others were based on women who actually existed, famous or not. Some stories were even based on the author's own family member. Whether the heroine made strides in world affairs, or just strides in her own home, she was admirable.

Also noticeable was the fact that were met heroines who were from all walks of life: different classes, races, etc. This was a refreshing change.

There's something here for everyone. Every woman should be able to connect with the women written about here

Eighty Days by Matthew Goodman

I received a galley of this novel from NetGalley for review. This in no way affected my opinions.

Eighty Days was a fascinating account of two women's race around the world, that of Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland.

The race was not intended to be a race at all. The idea was to outdo the fictional character Phileas Fogg's eighty day journey around the world, an idea that Bly had been pressing to the World, the paper in which she worked. She was finally given the ok, and preparations had been set. However, The Cosmopolitan caught wind of this and decided to send one of their own, Elisabeth Bisland, to race Bly. Bly set out east, and Bisland set out west.

There's no doubt that Bly's quest was the most reported on. I honestly did not know about Bisland until I came across this book. I knew all about Bly's trip around the world, but was flabbergasted that there was another woman doing the very same thing at the very same time.

The book chronicles both women's trips around the world, the ups and downs, and the unexpected road blocks. It also gives insights to the places and people both women encountered.

Both women completed their journeys, with Bly beating Bisland by a few days. Bly had become a celebrity, while Bisland gained only a little fanfare.

However, one thing they both accomplished was what they did for other women, especially in the field of journalism. More women were hired in the aftermath of the race, and the 'new American woman' was established.

One thing that bogged the book down was the endless detail. The text would sometime veer off into pages and pages about the city either women was visiting. It was nice and all, but it felt like way too much. I skipped much of this, honestly. It seemed as though there was not enough to write about either woman's trip to make a whole book, hence all the unnecessary detail.

Still, this was an informative book, and like me, you can always skip the stuff I did.

Mailbox Monday 02.25.13

Hosted this month by Suko's Notebook.

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

A gripping adventure, a seaborne romance, and a twist on the tale of Scheherazade—with the best food ever served aboard a pirate’s ship

The year is 1819, and the renowned chef Owen Wedgwood has been kidnapped by the ruthless pirate Mad Hannah Mabbot. He will be spared, she tells him, as long as he puts exquisite food in front of her every Sunday without fail.

To appease the red-haired captain, Wedgwood gets cracking with the meager supplies on board. His first triumph at sea is actual bread, made from a sourdough starter that he leavens in a tin under his shirt throughout a roaring battle, as men are cutlassed all around him. Soon he’s making tea-smoked eel and brewing pineapple-banana cider.

But Mabbot—who exerts a curious draw on the chef—is under siege. Hunted by a deadly privateer and plagued by a saboteur hidden on her ship, she pushes her crew past exhaustion in her search for the notorious Brass Fox. As Wedgwood begins to sense a method to Mabbot’s madness, he must rely on the bizarre crewmembers he once feared: Mr. Apples, the fearsome giant who loves to knit; Feng and Bai, martial arts masters sworn to defend their captain; and Joshua, the deaf cabin boy who becomes the son Wedgwood never had.

Cinnamon and Gunpowder is a swashbuckling epicure’s adventure simmered over a surprisingly touching love story—with a dash of the strangest, most delightful cookbook never written. Eli Brown has crafted a uniquely entertaining novel full of adventure: the Scheherazade story turned on its head, at sea, with food.

From Farrar, Straus and Giroux via NetGalley. Release date: June 4th.