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The Midwife of Venice, tells the story of Hannah a midwife living in the Jewish ghettos in Venice 1575. Hannah is renowned for her ability to cajole babies from their mother’s womb, thinking she is exceptionally skilled and knowledgeable. What many d...more
The Midwife of Venice, tells the story of Hannah a midwife living in the Jewish ghettos in Venice 1575. Hannah is renowned for her ability to cajole babies from their mother’s womb, thinking she is exceptionally skilled and knowledgeable. What many don’t know is that she uses a special ‘birthing spoon’, which she had crafted (makeshift forceps) from her own design. If this knowledge was ever revealed, she can face charges for witchcraft. Late one night, a Christian man and his brother show up at her door in the Jewish ghettos seeking her assistance to deliver his first child. The Conte is in desperate need of an heir, and will do anything to ensure his son is born or his family inheritances will be stripped away. His wife has been bleeding to death trying to deliver their baby for two unsuccessful days. However, it is illegal for a Jew to deliver a Christian child and those who are guilty can be tortured or face a death sentence. Hannah reluctantly agrees to assist in return for enough money to free her husband Isaac, who is being held prisoner on Malta.
The book is written in third-person but the chapters alternate back and forth between Hannah in Venice and Isaac in Malta. I really like the way the book was formatted, readers get to see both side of the story as Hannah and Isaac do everything possible to return to one another. This was an extremely well written novel and you can tell how much research went into the book. Everything was so descriptive and realistic; it’s like a movie playing in your mind. I don’t usually read historical-fiction, but after reading the interesting synopsis, I’m glad I gave it a go. While readers get to enjoy a suspenseful novel, they will also be fascinated and somewhat disgusted to learn what it was like to be a midwife in the 16th century. The process of delivering a baby and the descriptions of complicated birth had me cringing a couple of times…kind of gruesome. Overall a great read, it had good-solid characters, and an attention-grabbing plot. This book is all about love, betrayal, faith, and the difficult choices we have to make. Highly recommended to readers of all genre.
Extra: At the beginning of the book there’s a map of 16th century Venice with important locations that take place in the book. At the end of the book, readers can also find a glossary and a reader’s group guide. I think it would have been more helpful having the glossary at the beginning, so readers know to use it while reading the book rather than after finishing.(less)
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van
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Where to begin? I think my last review for the first book in the series started something like this LOL. I won’t recap the story like I usually do, since the blurb does a splendid job already. The first book in the series, Kindling the Moon was one o...more
Where to begin? I think my last review for the first book in the series started something like this LOL. I won’t recap the story like I usually do, since the blurb does a splendid job already. The first book in the series, Kindling the Moon was one of my top books of 2011 and I was so excited to jump back on the wagon with Cady and company. While filled with excitement I couldn’t help but wonder, will this book be as good as its predecessor? The verdict, Mrs. Bennett delivers another outstanding novel that as wonderful as the first book, everything that readers love about the first book is brought into the sequel. The world building is as enchanting as ever, and is strong without needing so many paranormal creatures like other urban fantasy series out right now. There are only three type of people that occupy Cady’s (Arcadia) world; magicians, demons and humans. What make this series are the characters and secondary characters. Cady and Lon are still in the early stage of their relationship, I love that we see a realistic relationship, as it’s slowly builds (don’t worry there’s nothing boring about their relationship). Cady and Lon are still learning about one another, and when they have problems they talk and work it out. We also get to see more of Jupe, Lon’s son who is hilarious! He is so charming, outgoing, and super funny you can’t help but love him. He definitely shines whenever he’s in a scene. He’s so smart and wise for a 14-year-old and at the same time he can be a total teenager.
The plot this time around gave me chills and Goosebumps (the good kind!), the snatcher picking off Hellfire club member’s kids…around Halloween?! Just when I thought I figured out who the snatcher was in the book, Mrs. Bennett surprises me yet again with the different twists/turns. The book is nonstop action, part mystery –part humor and even has its tender moments. I don’t remember the last time a book was able to make me smile one minute, tear up and cry the next and then laughing out loud all within a couple of pages. Cady, Lon and Jupe will always have a little place in my heart, and even the secondary characters like Bob the sometime drunk earthbound and Hajo an earthbound junkie made quite an impression on me and I hope we get to see more of them in the future book. I look forward to the next Arcadia books to see where this little family goes and anything else Ms. Bennett writes. This is a brilliant urban fantasy series, if you haven’t started it you’re totally missing out. This book has a REAL couple and thank goodness no love triangles, intriguing world-building, a great plot line, and interesting secondary characters. Mrs. Bennett unique writing style will definitely evoke your emotions whether she tickling your funny bone or pulling at heart strings….which is something not many authors can do that.(less)
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Lily
by
Xavier Axelson (Goodreads Author)
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3.5 STARS
It’s Father’s Day and a year ago Pryor lost his daughter Lily when a wolf dragged her off into the woods. After the disappearance of his daughter, he closed himself off from the world. Pryor spent his days watching the woods, waiting for the...more
3.5 STARS
It’s Father’s Day and a year ago Pryor lost his daughter Lily when a wolf dragged her off into the woods. After the disappearance of his daughter, he closed himself off from the world. Pryor spent his days watching the woods, waiting for the day that his daughter will return to him. One day he hears Lily’s voice, vowing that she will return to him on the day she disappeared, Father’s day even if it was only for a day. Hoping that legends were true in respect to werewolves and silver, Pryor commissions a silver necklace to keep Lily from leaving again. It wasn’t until he met Ned (jeweler), that his world started to make sense again.
I am amazed at how much history and background the author was able to squeeze into 93 pages. This is a short novella, glimpsing into the life of Pryor. We see Pryor in his moment of grievance and how he slowly got out of it when he met Ned. There are a couple of flashback scenes of how Ned and Pryor first met, and how over time their relationship grew. Ned was a great character, he’s a tough ex-army guy but at the same time you can see his soft side, how much he cares and loves Ned. He’s Pryor rock, and support Pryor as he is still coping with his daughter disappearance/re-appearance. Overall this was a really good short story, Pryor and Ned relationship is really the main focus of the novel, and the author did a great job in creating a realistic and emotional bond. I only wish that there was a little more paranormal element to the story. I wanted to know more about what happened to Lily, and about her transformation.(less)
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van
is now following Hailey Edwards's reviews
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This book sucked me in from the very first page, the story started immediately after the death of Lourdes’s parents and it never lost steam as it continued that way till the very end. I love the world that Ms. Edwards created, each clan has something...more
This book sucked me in from the very first page, the story started immediately after the death of Lourdes’s parents and it never lost steam as it continued that way till the very end. I love the world that Ms. Edwards created, each clan has something different and unique and we get to see how they are through their interactions with Lourdes and Rhys. The two central character of the book Lourdes and Rhys are the types of hero and heroines that readers love to read about. Lourdes is a strong, independent woman and it definitely shows as she becomes the new maven and leader of her clan. Rhys is the typical alpha male (Love alphas btwJ) in this book; he is described as a big, muscled warrior who is a great fight and is very protective of Lourdes. There was automatic chemistry from the beginning between Lourdes and Rhys and as the book the progress the tension between the two builds. I also really enjoyed the secondary characters, such as Lourdes’s family and Rhys brother Vaughn. I really liked Vaughn, even though he seemed like a jerk sometimes, we later find out the reason why he treats Rhys the way he does but in the end he does love and care for his brother. It would be awesome if Vaughn got his own story, that’s something I want to see!
Overall an amazing start to a fantasy series, I look forward to reading more from Ms. Edwards and more books in the Araneae Nation series. A Hint of Frost is a romance novel set in the midst of a murder, full of deception, and betrayal. This book has a well developed and executed world, wonderful fleshed out primary and secondary characters and a nonstop action packed plot. I highly recommend this series to all romance, fantasy and even urban fantasy readers. I think they would really enjoy this book as much as I did. If you’re looking for something different to read then pick up A Hint of Frost, you won’t be disappointed!(less)
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Drusilla Jaco a.k.a. DJ is a 25 year-old Green congress wizard and junior sentinel of New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina is heading straight towards New Orleans, and with orders to evacuate from Gerald (Gerry) St. Simon, DJ’s mentor and father figure sin...more
Drusilla Jaco a.k.a. DJ is a 25 year-old Green congress wizard and junior sentinel of New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina is heading straight towards New Orleans, and with orders to evacuate from Gerald (Gerry) St. Simon, DJ’s mentor and father figure since the age of 7; DJ heads to take shelter at her Grandmother’s house. With the hurricane ravaging New Orleans, the barriers between our world and the beyond begins to slip making it easier for spirits/preternatural creatures to cross over. Just when things couldn’t get worst, Gerry goes missing, and the Elders of the Congress Wizards orders DJ home immediately to take over Gerry’s place and deal with all the supernatural hot spots that are opening into our world from the beyond. It is up to DJ and her new partner, Alex (an enforcer, preternatural terminator) to find Gerry, stop a serial killer that sacrificing the soldiers, and fix the barriers before all hell break loose.
I’ve been excited for this book ever since I first heard about it; I haven’t read many or any books that take a national disaster and use it as a back drop for their story. I also never read a book that had a wizard as a main character (for those wondering, no I have not read the HP series …I know!!) so this book was pretty much new territory for me. DJ isn’t like the typical urban fantasy heroines…she’s not really consider a kick-butt heroine but she definitely isn’t some sissy. She’s smart, independent, and super stubborn! There are scenes where she fights back, knows how to use her brain, but if she was in a situation that she knew she couldn’t beat…She’d run. I remember one of the phrases she said was that she may seem like a coward for running from a fight, but at least she’d be an ALIVE coward. LOL. Alex, Dj’s partner is everything that readers look for in the main character’s love interest. Alex is tall, dark and dangerous but underneath that hard exterior there’s a soft side. This book also had a love triangle involved. I’m usually not a big fan of love triangles, but both guys vying for DJ’s attention are both likable…I wouldn’t know who to pick either!
Overall this was a great start to an interesting series. Mrs. Johnson did an amazing job incorporating Hurricane Katrina, a real life event as part of an urban fantasy novel. The world building isn’t as strong as I like, but it’s understandable as it being the first book in a new series. This book will keep you entertained from start to finish. Luckily readers will only have to wait a couple months till River Road, the second book in the series which releases November 2012! If you’re looking for a fun-new book to read, definitely pick up Royal Street when it hits stores everywhere Tuesday, April 10th. This book has everything; action, suspense, romance, famous ghostlies, Voodoo God, a hot shifter…and everything in between from werewolves, vampires, to faeries and elves.(less)
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van
is now following Avery Williams's reviews
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