Review: The Masterpiece by Fiona Davis

Release Date: August 7, 2018

Revolving around the Grand Central Terminal of New York City, we are told the story of two different women in two different time periods. Slow paced but beautifully written, we gradually learn about the growing success of illustrator and artist Clara Darden just before the Depression and a tragic accident ruins her life. Fast forward, Virginia Clay in the 1970s is still reeling from surviving breast cancer only for her husband to divorce her. When she stumbles upon an old art school that used to exist in the Grand Central Terminal, she suddenly finds meaning and purpose in discovering what happened to Clara Darden and who the mysterious artist who called himself 'Clyde' really was. That's not to say it's a mystery. This novel is very much about the journey and learning about the characters, who are well fleshed out.

I adored the detailed descriptions of artwork and fashion and although it was slow paced, it was never boring. I enjoyed reading about both women come into their own and rediscover themselves.

Advanced review copy from publisher via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

Review: The Bookworm by Mitch Silver

Release Date: February 6, 2018

There are two different plots in this book: one about a Russian historian who is given crucial new information about WWII, and another about a political oil scheme in Alaska. I thought for sure eventually, they'd somehow come together but by the end, I still felt like they really didn't have anything to do with one another. It just didn't make much sense and too much of the plot(s) and premise felt contrived.

The writing was okay, and the characters started off well, but wound up doing things which also didn't make much sense. Characters who don't even know what's going on somehow wind up involved but don't even question it, they just jump right in.

The ending was the worst of this - Lara gets back together with the husband that constantly cheats on her and tried to steal half her furniture and possessions? It felt like the author was just trying to make the ending unexpected, but instead it just felt like it didn't make sense.

Then there's the fact that the "bad guys" who got her to investigate the WWII recordings were supposedly doing it to get her to track down Hitler's Bible, which they apparently couldn't do on their own, even though it proved incredibly easy. Lara found it in a matter of hours with some simple internet searches. She didn't use any kind of special resources or skills, yet we're supposed to believe this makes her a master internet detective and the only one who could track down this bible. It's beyond ridiculous.

Needless to say, the premise felt flimsy, the plots disjointed, and the characters artificial.

Advanced review copy from publisher via Net Galley. My opinions are my own.

Review: The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

I thought this was a very interesting way to essentially tell the story of Louise de Bettignies, a French female spy for the British during WWI. It covers two time periods, one during WWI, and the other just after WWII. It was strange the way Europe was still recovering from WWII in the later time period, and yet in the "flashback" chapters, we're in the midst of WWI, not in the midst of what created the devastation we see in 1947. I had to remind myself sometimes that two different wars were at play in this story. It put into perspective the fact that the World Wars weren't that far apart, and that the effects of war are inevitably the same.

But it was also about so much more than just Louise de Bettignies. It tells her story, and does her justice, but it also tells the story of many fictional characters, and in spite of being fictional, their stories are very real. It deals heavily with issues of PTSD and the human side of war, but it's also about a young woman finding her way in life, and an older woman coming to terms with her past.

It was wonderfully well written with characters that fully come alive, and a compelling plot that literally made it impossible to put down at times. I can't say enough good things about it - just read it and see for yourself.

I only have one question - is that a morally questionable hat on the cover?

Review: The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier

Received ARC from publisher via NetGalley.
Release date: March 11, 2014

Philologist Diana Morgan has always had a fascination with the legend of the Amazons from the time her supposedly mentally ill grandmother claimed to be one and even gave her a notebook with a dictionary of a strange, unknown language. So when Diana is approached by a mysterious man with a photograph of an archaeological site covered in the very same language (which I suspect is supposed to be the language from the Phaistos Disc), she can’t resist the offer to investigate.

Running parallel to her story is that of Myrina, a young woman struggling to survive within classic tales from Greek mythology and Homer's Troy, who will stop at nothing to protect her younger sister. But Fortier's retelling is anything but traditional and manages to put realistic spins on The Iliad that link several elements from history and mythology. Though the premise of novels like this can sometimes be a little far-fetched, this was one of the more believable ones.

I love a good treasure hunt/archaeological mystery and the fact that it was based on Greek mythology intrigued me more. From the time I was 12, when I first learned about classical mythology, I've been fascinated by it so this was right up my alley. There's lots of action and adventure as Diana follows clues taking her in Myrina's footsteps across the Mediterranean but the character development isn't neglected either and the personal journeys that both the main characters go through make it difficult to put down. 608 pages may be longish for an action novel but they flew by. The feminism could be a little heavy handed at times but that's to be expected from a novel about a sisterhood and it's important to remember the brutal world the Amazons lived in and particularly how women were often treated.

While Diana's chapters are told in first person, Myrina's are told in third person, which is not normally something I'm fond of but it works well to distinguish the different time periods. Despite being split over thousands of years, the book flows between the two worlds effortlessly.