Book #43 week #34, Red Leaves by Paullina Simons

One of my favorite love stories of all time is The Bronze Horseman series by Paullina Simons. Seriously I recommend it to everyone. So I figure it is about time I give some of her other works a shot. Luckily I found a copy of Red Leaves I was a bit surprised to have found it though the library system since it is from 1996 I believe. Once again I dove right in without even reading the synopsis and boy was I shocked! This is no love story, well sort of.

It is 1994 and Kristina Kim is a senior at Dartmoth College. She has a longtime boyfriend, Jim Shaw, and their best friends Conni Tobias and Albert Maplethorpe are also a couple. Right away you know something is wrong between Kristina and Jim, and Kristina and Conni but what? Kristina is very secretive. No one seems to know much about her past except that her father died after disowning her and she is estranged from her mother who is sick. Also Kristina is meeting a man named Howard for lunch, turns out she is seeking a divorce!

Later that same day Kristina meets Spencer. He is a detective and is instantly smitten with Kristina and she seems to be excited by him too. Little do we know that Kristina is also sleeping with someone who is not Jim. Between her boyfriend, soon-to-be exhusband, lover and the new guy Spencer something is bound to go wrong. Very wrong in fact, Kristina turns up dead. In uncovering the layers of Kristina's mysterious life we hope to unveil the killer and it is quite the journey!

All in all I liked Red Leaves. I usually like to be able to identify with the female lead in a book or see myself in her shoes and well murder really kills that for me (no pun intended!) but it is okay to stray from the usual once in awhile right? So in hoping for another The Bronze Horseman I did not get what I was looking for but like with other books by other authors it does make me curious of what Paullina Simon's other books are about so I might just have to check them out!

Book #42 week #33, The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama

While waiting for a copy of Gail Tsukiyama's new book A Hundred Flowers to become available at the library I decided to have a copy of the original book of hers that was recommended to me; The Samurai's Garden. I couldn't find it at that time so I read The Street of a Thousand Blossoms instead, which I loved but it was very, very sad.

The Samurai's Garden takes place in the same time period the 1930's. However instead of being solely about Japan, our main character is actually from China. Twenty-year-old Stephen is sick with tuberculosis and the hot, humid air of Hong Kong is proving to be unhelpful for his condition. His father is a successful business man who spends most of his time in Japan. With heavy hearts Stephen's family decides to sent him to the family summer home in a quaint coastal Japanese village. This would not have been such a big deal if Japan was not currently invading China. 

While in Japan Stephen is cared for by Matsu, the long time caretaker of the summer home. Matsu is an older man who spends his days working in his beautiful garden and visiting his long time friend in a nearby mountaintop village, a woman affected by leprosy. During his year long stay not only does Stephen begin to feel better but he also gets close to and learns the secrets of the mysterious people around him. Suddenly Stephen finds himself filling a void he didn't know even existed and he is heart brokenly torn between the two worlds that he has grown to love. 

Although not as sad as The Street of a Thousand Blossoms, this book has its share of tragedy and heartache. The characters are amazing; full of surprises, depth, beauty and love. Where others might have given up these characters look for the beauty and purpose in all situations. I honesty did not want this book to end. I think Gail Tsukiyama has made a lifelong fan out of me and here is to hoping the next book is as great as the ones I have read so far.

Quote:
“It is not an act of bravery to try to save your own village. It is an instinct to protect what you possess. Bravery is when you step in to help when you have nothing to lose.”

Book #41 week #33, The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman

This week's book was another selection I picked up from the Barnes & Nobles sale. I decided to take a chance on The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman since I enjoyed The Red Garden and it was less than $3.00 for a hardcover so that was a pretty good deal!

This novel is a story of four fictional women based off an event in history, The Battle of Masada. Quick history lesson in case anyone has forgotten or doesn't know of The Battle of Masada. The Battle took place from 73 to 74 A.D in a hilltop fortress occupied by Jewish rebels (also known as Sicarri) who have fled from Jerusalem after the Roman invasion. Eventually the Romans catch up with the Sicarri and plan on how to reach the mountain top and invade. The Sicarri fought until the bitter end but with only 960 Jews to thousands of Romans there was little chance. When the leader of the Sicarri knew all hope was lost instead of surrender or fight til the death he convinced his people to lie down their lives and die with dignity. He appointed one man to kill every member of the Sicarri and then commit suicide. All perished that day except for two women and five children and that leads to the story Alice Hoffman presents to us.

The Dovekeepers is written diary style in four sections plus an aftermath of the survivors. The four sections are for the four main women of the story.

First there is Yael, the Assassin's Daughter. She is young, maybe sixteen, with flame red hair and freckles. She is a beautiful oddity in Jerusalem. Yael is forsaken by her father. He blames her for the death of her mother who died during childbirth. After the attack on their city, Yael and her father find themselves trekking over the harsh desert lead by another assassin with his wife and children. Their goal is to meet up with Yael's brother (also an assassin) in Masada. Along the way Yael finds herself falling in love with their married leader.

Second is Revka, the Baker's Wife. A grandmother to two sweet young boys. Her city is attacked and her quiet, sweet husband is murdered. Revka flees the city with her daughter, son-in-law and the two boys. Her son-in-law is a scholar, a man of education, not violence and blood shed. All of that changes one day on their voyage to Masada. The son-in-law leaves the women and children while he goes off to pray. While he is gone his wife is raped and murdered. The children whom Revka sent to hide under a waterfall before the men reached their camp have suddenly lost their voices. None of them will ever be the same.

Third is Aziza, the Warrior's Beloved. Probably my favorite part of the book. Aziza's tale is not written in an autobiographical style but rather as if she is writing to her sister, Nahara. Aziza assisted her mother in the birth of Nahara. The baby would have died without her help and because of this Aziza always felt Nahara belonged to her. She is very much upset now that her thirteen-year-old sister has fallen in love and chosen to leave her family and join the Essene people (an ultra-religious group whom do not believe in fighting and that the End of Days is here). Aziza grew up close to her sister's father and trained in the ways of his people (nomads from the hills of Moab) like a warrior. Now as an adult she is not happy living a typical woman's life.

Last there is Shirah, the Witch of the Moab. Shirah was trained by her mother, a revered woman, in the art of witchcraft. However by the time Shirah was twelve the practice was outlawed and those once revered were seen as sinners and put to shame. Shirah is sent alone by her mother to Jerusalem for her own safety. Once there she falls in love and soon she finds herself with a newborn and put on trail for adultery. She is cast out of the city as punishment. Left to die Shirah and her daughter, Aziza, are picked up by a nomad. Soon they are married and go on to have two children; Nahara and a boy named Adri. But feeling the call of her destiny, and her true love, Shirah takes her children and in the cover of night leaves the nomad people for the fortress of Masada.

Once in Masada the four women are joined together in the task of taking care of the doves for the village. Although at times I felt the book was a little slow or boring, the stories were quite interesting. Once again I have to say Alice Hoffman has a knack for storytelling. She really makes the scene come alive in a very beautiful way. The characters are well thought out and have a lot of dept. If you like stories that have a historic feel or setting then this might be a good book for you.

Quotes:

“We had been found and brought to this place so near to the sky we could hear the voice of the King of Creation. The Lord had saved us and delivered us, as the Torah vowed he would. I would have been willing to do anything for the glory of God as I walked through the gate, except forgive him for what I had lost.” 

“The voice that arises out of the silence is something no one can imagine until it is heard. It roars when it speaks, it lies to you and convinces you, it steals from you and leaves you without a single word of comfort.” 

“Being human means losing everything we love best in the world," she murmured as she released me. "But would you ask to be anything else?” 

Book #40 week #32, Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices #2) by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare is the second book in The Infernal Devices series (Prequel to The Mortal Instrument series). **Warning if you have not read book #1 Clockwork Angel this post may contain spoilers**

Book one left off with a surprise attack on the Institute from the Magister who turns out to be a mundane named Mortmain (former boss of Nate and Tessa's father). Two of the Institutes servants, Agatha and Thomas, were killed in a surprise attack on the  How sad! Especially since Thomas was in love with Sophie. Nate is still working for Mortmain with dreams of grandeur. He betrays Tessa who he no longer considers his sister and has confessed to killing their aunt. Mortmain almost captures Tessa but she shape shifts while pretending to kill herself. Will thinking that she is dead, scoops her in his arms in a tender moment. However later Will pushes Tessa away in a rather cruel manor. He is falling for her and is afraid of this. In the end Tessa is comforted by Jem while Will is seeking out the help of Magnus Bane for an unknown reason.

In Clockwork Prince Tessa is now living at the Institute. She feels safe there until someone in the Clave suggests that Charlotte and Henry are not fit to run the Institute. Charlotte is then given two weeks to find Mortmain. The Clave also insists that Sophie, Tessa and the reluctant Shadowhunter Jessamine be given training lessons by the Lightwood brothers; Gabriel and Gideon. Not surprisingly Jessamine always finds a way out of her training, all she wants is to be a proper lady married to a mundane gentleman. 

The team dives headfirst into finding out everything they can about Mortmain. They learn that Mortmain holds a personal vendetta against the Clave for sentencing his adoptive parents (a pair of warlocks) to death. However every step they make in the right direction is met with roadblocks set in place by Mortmain. But how does he know where the team will head next? 

In their hunt Tessa is able to learn bits and pieces of who or what she really is. Also Will is making progress with Magnus to remove a curse that has been following him for years.

Loved it! Clockwork Prince is full of twists and turns and a whole lot of surprises. I cannot wait until March 2013 for the next installment Clockwork Princess.

Quotes:
“Will has always been the brighter burning star, the one to catch attention — but Jem is a steady flame, unwavering and honest. He could make you happy.” 

and

“And therefor," said Magnus "We must go."
Will blinked at him. "Go where?"
"Don't worry about that right now, my love."
Will blinked again. "Pardon?”

Book #39 week #31, Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

One of my early books in this project was The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger which I had a very mixed reaction to. Recently I was browsing Barnes & Nobles clearance section and came across Her Fearful Symmetry for only $1.99 so I figured why not? Let's see what this book is like.

Here we follow the tale of Elspeth Noblin and her twin sister Edie. Elspeth has died and left everything she has to Edie's twenty-year-old twin daughters Julia and Valentina on the condition that the girls leave Chicago and spend one year in Elspeth's London flat before they decide what to do with it. Also the girl's parents are not to set foot in the flat as Elspeth and Edie had a falling out and have not spoken in twenty years. This worries Edie as she is afraid the twins will find something in the flat that will tell them what had transpired between their mother and her sister so long ago.

So Julia and Valentina head off to London. All of Elspeth's diaries have been cleared out by Robert (Elspeth's younger boyfriend). Robert lives in the flat below the twins and Martin, a man with sever OCD lives in the flat above. Here the year long journey begins. Julia befriends the oddball Martin, and Robert who has not been handling Elspeth's death very well suddenly starts feeling better after meeting Valentina. The girls start living their own life's finally but it is not easy. Julia feels content always being attached to her sister and looking after her (Valentina is sickly) but Valentina feels controlled and smothered.

At first I thought this was going to be a normal book about love, loss and moving on but in walks Elspeth's ghost..... ah shucks! 

You know this did add to the story though. Elspeth figures out how to communicate, Valentina comes up with a drastic plan to separate herself from Julia, the big secret is finally revealed (and I will admit I was shocked) but in the end I just wasn't happy. I can't say I hated Her Fearful Symmetry but I didn't love it. The writing was good and the characters were interesting and engaging but I wasn't thrilled with the turn of events. I know Audrey Niffenegger has other books out and this makes me want to read them and see if I can finally love one of her books but I just don't know if I can do it!

Quote:
“Listen, sometimes when you finally find out, you realize that you were much better off not knowing.”

Book #38 week #31, Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices #1) by Cassandra Clare

While I wait a year and a half for the next book in The Mortal Instruments series I thought I'd give a shot to the prequel The Infernal Devices series.

This series takes place in the late 1800's starting with book #1 Clockwork Angel. In this book we meet Tessa, a seemly ordinary sixteen-year-old girl from New York. She has just arrived in London to be with her brother Nate after the death of their aunt. Aunt Harriet was the siblings last surviving family member.

Unfortunately upon her arrival she is swooped away by the mysterious Dark Sisters who at first tell Tessa that her brother Nate sent them. Later after being imprisoned by them, they tell her Nate will suffer if she does not do as they say. Through the Sister's prodding, or coaching if you will, Tessa learns she has the ability to shape shift into another person. The Sister's are working on behalf of the Magister (leader of The Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of Downworlders) who plans to marry Tessa and use her ability for some unknown purpose.

Luckily Tessa is saved by the Shadowhunters from the London Institute. They agree to take her in, keep her safe, help find her beloved brother and hopefully help her find out what she is. While there she is befriended by the wild and reckless Will and his best friend, and complete opposite, the loving and respectful James (aka Jem).

I LOVED this book! All the characters are great in their own ways. Due to the time period most of the characters are very polite and proper which is rather charming. But like The Mortal Instruments there is quite a bit of humor and naughtiness included as well.

Quotes:

“Jessamine recoiled from the paper as if it were a snake. "A lady does not read the newspaper. The society pages, perhaps, or the theater news. Not this filth."
"But you are not a lady, Jessamine---," Charlotte began.
"Dear me," said Will. "Such harsh truths so early in the morning cannot be good for the digestion.” 

and

“It's all right to love someone who doesn't love you back, as long as they're worth you loving them. As long as they deserve it.”