Memorial Day 2013

Both my father and father-in-law proudly served our our country and are laid to rest in a beautiful National Cemetery.
Please take a moment and remember what today is really about.

Seduction by M. J. Rose Review~

About Seduction... "From the author of The Book of Lost Fragrances comes a haunting novel about a grieving woman who discovers the lost journal of novelist Victor Hugo, awakening a mystery that spans centuries.
In 1843, novelist Victor Hugo’s beloved nineteen-year-old daughter drowned. Ten years later, Hugo began participating in hundreds of séances to reestablish contact with her. In the process, he claimed to have communed with the likes of Plato, Galileo, Shakespeare, Dante, Jesus—and even the Devil himself. Hugo’s transcriptions of these conversations have all been published. Or so it was believed.
Recovering from her own losses, mythologist Jac L’Etoile arrives on the Isle of Jersey—where Hugo conducted the séances—hoping to uncover a secret about the island’s Celtic roots. But the man who’s invited her there, a troubled soul named Theo Gaspard, has hopes she’ll help him discover something quite different—Hugo’s lost conversations with someone called the Shadow of the Sepulcher.
What follows is an intricately plotted and atmospheric tale of suspense with a spellbinding ghost story at its heart, by one of America’s most gifted and imaginative novelists."

About M.J. Rose... M.J. Rose is the international best selling author of eleven novels and two non-fiction books on marketing. Her fiction and non-fiction has appeared in many magazines and reviews including Oprah Magazine. She has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, USA Today and on the Today Show, and NPR radio. 

  Rose graduated from Syracuse University, spent the '80s i 

n advertising, has a commercial in the Mus 

eum of Modern Art in NYC and since 2005 has run the first marketing company for authors - Authorbuzz.com.  The television series PAST LIFE, was based on Rose's novels in the Renincarnationist series. She is one of the founding board members 

of Internation 

al Thriller Writers and runs the blog- Buzz, Balls & Hype.  She is also the co-founder ofPeroozal.com and BookTrib.com.

Rose lives in CT with her husband the musician and composer, Doug Scofield, and their very spoiled and often photographed dog, Winka.
For more information on M.J. Rose and her novels, please visit her WEBSITE. You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Let's talk about the obvious first... the absolutely STUNNING cover! That is what initially drew me to this book... yes, I judge books by their cover! It is just so perfect for this book. It encompasses exactly how I felt reading this novel. 

I will just say, to the dismay of English teachers everywhere, that I have not read much Victor Hugo. I did, however, read The Hunchback of Notre Dame in French in high school. But, beyond that... I have never really been a fan. That said, I don't feel that it was a detriment in reading and enjoying Seduction. 

At its essence, it is about the relationship between a parent and a child and that's what "got" me. Yes, I enjoyed learning about Hugo but this novel, in my opinion, eclipses that. 

M.J. Rose is a lyrical author... not only does she write a story that twists around to an amazing conclusion but the prose is beautiful. She is, truly, a storyteller. And, in this age where there is a glut of "authors", a true storyteller makes reading such a joy!

As I read this novel, I was struck by the intricate plotting. There are so many branches to the story and Ms. Rose connects them into a novel that I think is my favorite M.J. Rose creation!

~~Thanks to Amy at Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours and M.J. Rose for providing a copy of Seduction in exchange for my review~~

Seduction by M.J. Rose

I am so excited to share this novel, "Seduction" by M.J. Rose. I will post my review tomorrow but wanted to whet your appetite for this rich and textured novel which would be a perfect way to kick off your summer reading. 

“Let us say in passing, to be blind and to be loved, is in fact--on this earth where nothing is complete--one of the most strangely exquisite forms of happiness. To have continually at your side a woman, a girl, a sister, a charming being, who is there because you need her, and because she cannot do without you, to know you are indispensable to someone necessary to you, to be able at all times to measure her affection by the degree of the presence that she gives you, and to say to yourself: She dedicates all her time to me, because I possess her whole love; to see the thought if not the face; to be sure of the fidelity of one being in a total eclipse of the world; to imagine the rustling of her dress as the rustling of wings; to hear her moving to and fro, going out, coming in, talking, singing, to think that you are the cause of those steps, those words, that song; to show your personal attraction at every moment; to feel even more powerful as your infirmity increases; to become in darkness, and by reason of darkness, the star around which this angel gravitates; few joys can equal that. The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves--say rather, loved in spite of ourselves; the conviction the blind have. In their calamity, to be served is to be caressed. Are they deprived of anything? No. Light is not lost where love enters. And what a love! A love wholly founded in purity. There is no blindness where there is certainty.” 

― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

Excerpt from SEDUCTION - From Chapter 1

            My love for my daughter is at the heart of this story. My delightful daughter. My sunshine. I know every father says this, but she truly was special. Even in this world she was visibly living a higher life. I had seen her soul. It had touched me. In this world of misery, suffering and horrible injustice, Didine was my own wonder, my own happiness. And in Jersey, she became my own madness.

            After someone you love so dearly dies, you are absent from the world for a time, living only loss. The pain of existing without the other is too hard to bear. Only slowly do you return to life. To being hungry, not just eating for sustenance. To pouring a glass of good wine, not just drinking to quench a thirst. To hearing the words of those around you and answering. To being stirred into having indignation at the statesmen, at the clergy, at the government. One returns slowly. And then one dawn as you watch the sun rise, you realize your daughter is dead but you are still alive.

            What I didn’t know then was that an ache, as steadfast as my love, would remain. My grief for Didine is a living thing. My longing to see her again has never abated, never lessened. I never stopped yearning to hear her speak, to watch her eyes fill with laughter, to feel her lean over my shoulder to read what I am writing. Oh, if only I could just once more engage in conversation with my daughter about my ideas—my ideas that were hers also.

To hear what other readers think about Seduction, here is the tour schedule.

Remember to come back to Bags, Books & Bon Jovi tomorrow to read my review.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!

It's a gorgeous day here and we're headed to brunch at one of our favorite restaurants. They make the best Huevos Rancheros which we will enjoy on their patio by the creek... LOVE it!

I hope you are spending today with your loved ones, as well!

Roots of Betrayal by James Forrester

From the author's website... "May 1564: Catholic herald William Harley, Clarenceux King of Arms, is the custodian of a highly dangerous document. When it is stolen, Clarenceux immediately suspects a group of Catholic sympathisers, the self-styled Knights of the Round Table.
Francis Walsingham, the ruthless protege of the Queen's Principal Secretary, Sir William Cecil, intercepts a coded message from the Knights to a Countess known to have Catholic leanings. He is convinced that Clarenceux is trying to use the document to advance the cause of the Catholic Queen.Very soon Clarenceux enters a nightmare of suspicion, deception and conspiracy. He finds himself on the run, alongside charismatic outlaw and pirate Raw Carew. United in rooting out the truth, they are divided by their character and methods: one is a man of faith, the other is quick to draw his knife. As England teeters on the brink of bloody conflict, Clarenceux knows the fate of his country and countless lives will be determined by their actions."

If you have yet to read this series, you have a treat in store. 

Roots of Betrayal by James Forrester is the second in The Clarenceux Triology... and as with most trilogies... the story just gets better... YAY!!! 

I love historical fiction... historical mysteries, in particular. I get lost in both the mystery and the world that the author has immersed it in. Mr. Forrester continues not only the intricate and exciting mystery but shows that when a story is well-written, it will be devoured... LOL! Yes, I read this book very quickly. Now, comes the difficult part... waiting for the third installment.

The characters in this books are rounded and real. There was not a time when I didn't believe that they lived in this tale... their speech, their ideas and behaviors "fit" how I believe (from a lot of period reading) they should. I truly appreciate that from any author I read.

 Because that belief was there, I was more focused on the mystery. It did not disappoint! I was hooked from the first page and found that the mystery was all-encompassing. The author never varied from his story to include extraneous details or red herrings. The story was focused and the ending was perfect! It concluded this story but also left the door open for the conclusion to the trilogy. 

~~Thanks to Nicole at SourceBooks and the author, James Forrester for this book in exchange for my review.~~