Book Review: The Oracle of Stamboul by Michael David Lukas

Tuesday 6 September, 2011 By 2 Comments

Title: The Oracle of Stamboul
Author: Michael David Lukas
Publisher: Harper Perennial; Reprint edition
Publication Date: August 30, 2011
Paperback: 320 pages
ISBN: 978-0062012104
Genre: Historical Fiction

From the Publisher:

Ushered into the world by a mysterious pair of Tartar midwives late in the summer of 1877 in the town of Constanta on the Black Sea, Eleonora Cohen proves herself an extraordinarily gifted child—a prodigy—at a very young age. When she is eight years old, she stows away aboard a ship, following her carpet merchant father, Yakob, to the teeming and colorful imperial capital of Stamboul where a new life awaits her.

In the narrow streets of this city at the crossroads of the world, intrigue and gossip are currency, and people are not always what they seem. But it is only when she charms the eccentric Sultan Abdulhamid II—beleaguered by friend and foe as his unwieldy realm crumbles—that Eleonora will change the course of an empire.

My Review:

Exotic, mystical, and engrossing, The Oracle of Stamboul by Michael David Lukas takes the reader back to the last days of the Ottoman Empire and deep into Sultan Abdulhamid’s court. Purple and white hoopoes usher in the birth of Eleonora Cohen whose birth and life was foretold. Raised by her father and Aunt, young Eleonora is quite precocious and instead of being without her father she travels to Stamboul as a stowaway to be with him. Eleonora’s gifts are soon recognized by the Sultan, who invites her to court, relies on her knowledge and soon becomes interested in far more than her political acumen. Lukas has created a beautifully exotic debut novel that will take the reader back in time to the seat of the Ottoman Empire. Through vivid imagery and detail the reader will have little doubt they are in Turkey. The sights, sounds, and smells are so richly described it made me yearn to travel. Lukas has created a marvelous ensemble of characters and Eleonora is absolutely endearing, delightful, and mysterious. The Oracle of Stamboul was utterly fascinating in its exotic nature and mystical premise, and stunningly lyrical prose. Lukas has created a stunning debut novel and definitely is an emerging author to be watched. I highly recommend The Oracle of Stamboul to both readers and book discussion groups.

To learn more about Michael David Lukas please visit his website: www.michaeldavidlukas.com

For more reviews of the book, please follow the book tour.

I received a complimentary copy of The Oracle of Stamboul by Michael David Lukas from TLC Book Tours to be a part of this tour and offer my honest review of the book. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned book.

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Book Review: Displaced Persons by Ghita Schwarz

Wednesday 31 August, 2011 By 10 Comments

Title: Displaced Persons
Author: Ghita Schwarz
Publisher: Harper Perennial; Reprint edition
Publication Date: August 23, 2011
Paperback: 368 pages
ISBN: 978-0061881770
Genre: Historical Fiction

From the Publisher:

In May 1945, Pavel Mandl, a Polish Jew recently liberated from a concentration camp, finds himself among similarly displaced persons gathered in the Allied occupation zones of a defeated Germany. Possessing little besides a map, a few tins of food, and a talent for black-market trading, he must scrape together a new life in a chaotic community of refugees, civilians, and soldiers. With fellow refugees Fela, a young widow, and Chaim, a resourceful teenager with impressive smuggling skills, Pavel establishes a makeshift family, as together they face an uncertain future. Eventually the trio immigrates to the United States, where they grapple with past traumas that arise again in the everyday moments of lives no longer dominated by the need to endure, fight, hide, or escape.

Ghita Schwarz’s Displaced Persons is an astonishing novel of grief, anger, and survival that examines the landscape of liberation and reveals the interior despairs and joys of immigrants shaped by war and trauma.

My Review:

Displaced Persons by Ghita Schwarz is a moving narrative of Jews displaced by the ravages of the Nazis and the decisions made by one family during the course of the decades following World War II.  Schwarz brings her characters to readers with very real and flawed personalities and in such a way that it is as if readers know these characters.  As we learn how Pavel, Fela, and Chaim all encountered their own individual struggles in the aftermath of the war where they were given the title “displaced person” or DP for short, Schwarz captures in vivid detail the life of these DPs in refugee camps where each had but a few possessions remaining after they lost almost everything to the Nazi occupations.  Displaced Persons is about sorrow, perseverance, endurance, and rebirth, and readers will feel nothing less than inspiration after witnessing the overcoming of suppressing and adverse conditions experienced by Jews who survived the Nazi occupations and the Holocaust.  This is not a simple or light read, but one that will give pause for reflection as readers are shown the dichotomy of emotions experienced, for example, where some were comforted by the liberation yet still had feelings of despair amidst the refugee camp conditions.  Told in three parts with the first exploring the immediate aftermath of the war, and the other parts looking out to the decades that followed where many of the refugees eventually emigrated to the United States, the long-lasting effects of the traumatic experiences of these people become evident as the characters search for meaning and release from the memories that no one should have to retain.  I strongly recommend Displaced Persons to readers looking for a deeper exploration of the long-term impacts of the Holocaust for this novel recognizes that the lasting injuries of survivors are not all physical.

To learn more about author Ghita Schwarz, please visit her website: www.ghitaschwarz.com

For more reviews of the book, please follow the TLC Book Tour.

I received a complimentary arc of Displaced Persons by Ghita Schwarz from TLC Book Tours to be a part of this tour and offer my honest review of the book. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned book.

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Book Review: Wherever You Go by Joan Leegant

Tuesday 30 August, 2011 By 11 Comments

Title: Wherever You Go
Author: Joan Leegant
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; Reprint edition
Publication Date: July 25, 2011
Paperback: 253 pages
ISBN: 978-0393339895
Genre: Historical Fiction

From the back of the book:

In this sweeping and beautifully written novel, Joan Leegant weaves together three lives caught in the grip of a volatile and uncompromising faith. Yona Stern has traveled to Jerusalem from New York to make amends with her sister, a stoic mother of five dedicated to the hard-line West Bank settlement cause. Mark Greenglass, a gifted Talmud teacher and a former drug dealer saved by religion, has lost his passion and wonders if he’s done with God. Enter Aaron Blinder, an unstable college dropout with a history of failure who finds a home on the radical fringe of Israeli society. Emotionally gripping, timely and prophetic, Wherever You Go tells the story of three Americans in Israel and the attractions-and dangers-of Jewish religious and political extremism.

My Review:

Wherever You Go by Joan Leegant is a beautifully uplifting debut novel about three Americans, living in Israel, who struggle for religious and political identity.  In times where religious and political extremism are becoming increasingly a concern for many, Leegant touches on this subject in a delicate, yet true to life manner that will give readers more than just a glimpse at the draw of extremist views.  As the three main characters, Yona, Aaron and Mark each has their individual motivations for coming to Israel, Leegant capitalizes on these unrelated characters to build her story into a message far greater than the sum of the characters’ reasons for their actions.  A book about spirituality in a rigid faith, Leegant portrays the challenges and obstacles faced by these characters as they are brought together through a tragic event.  Told with changing perspectives, Wherever You Go gives different points of view as the story unfolds, a writing style that I think really worked well for such a weighty and personal subject.  I strongly recommend Joan Leegant’s debut, Wherever You Go to all readers and I think book discussion groups will find Wherever You Go a fascinating book to examine.

To learn more about author Joan Leegant, please visit her website: www.joanleegant.com

For more reviews of the book, please follow the TLC Book Tour.

I received a complimentary arc of Wherever You Go by Joan Leegant from TLC Book Tours to be a part of this tour and offer my honest review of the book. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned book.

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Book Review: Flesh and Grass by Libby Cone

Saturday 27 August, 2011 By 2 Comments

Title: Flesh and Grass
Author: Libby Cone
Publisher: CreateSpace
Publication Date: June 10, 2011
Paperback: 174 pages
ISBN: 978-1451512885
Genre: Historical Fiction

From the back of the book:

Seventeenth-century Holland is a major power with a large, wealthy middle class built on spices and slavery. Dutch schemes to colonize the New World attracts few interested parties, but Pieter Cornelissoon Boom, an early Mennonite with a dream of communal living, brings a few families to Delaware Bay in 1663. Their “Little Common-wealth” is just getting started when the bloody economic rivalry between Holland and England unleashes violence on the coast of Delaware. The Nieuw Netherland colonies swing between Dutch and English ownership in a series of Anglo-Dutch wars. Cornelis, Boom’s blind son, tells the story of the community (based loosely on the ill-fated Delaware settlement of Pieter Plockhoy) in its various forms of existence, relying on his exquisite memory of scent.

My Review:

Flesh and Grass by Libby Cone is an extremely well-crafted work of historical fiction inspired by the true to life Plockhoy settlement in Delaware in the mid-1600’s.  Cone captures many details in her descriptions of the construction of the settlement, giving readers pause to reflect upon what tremendously hard work was necessary to build communities in colonial times.  The immense adversity faced by the Dutch colonists comes to life through Cone’s descriptions of the power struggle surrounding the new community through the experiences of Cornelis, the blind son of one of the Dutch settlers, Pieter Boom.  Cone uses Cornelis’s blindness in a unique approach to story telling wherein the sense of smell takes a more important role in the experiences and memories of Cornelis.  Though short in page length, good stories need not be long and Flesh and Grass proves that assertion.  Captivating and masterful describe Cone’s work, and for those looking for an excellent historical fiction novel about one of the most interesting times in history for North America, I recommend Libby Cone’s Flesh and Grass.

To learn more about author Libby Cone and her books, please visit her websites: www.fleshandgrass.com, www.waronthemargins.com, and on Twitter @LibbyCone.

I received a complimentary copy of Flesh and Grass by Libby Cone from the author. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Book Review: The Reservoir by John Milliken Thompson

Monday 15 August, 2011 By 7 Comments

Title: The Reservoir
Author: John Milliken Thompson
Publisher: Other Press
Publication Date: June 21, 2011
Paperback: 368 pages
ISBN: 978-1590514443
Genre: Historical Fiction

From the Publisher:

On an early spring morning in Richmond, Virginia, in the year 1885, a young pregnant woman is found floating in the city reservoir. It appears that she has committed suicide, but there are curious clues at the scene that suggest foul play. The case attracts local attention, and an eccentric group of men collaborate to solve the crime. Detective Jack Wren lurks in the shadows, weaseling his way into the investigation and intimidating witnesses. Policeman Daniel Cincinnatus Richardson, on the brink of retirement, catches the case and relentlessly pursues it to its sorrowful conclusion. As the identity of the girl, Lillie, is revealed, her dark family history comes to light, and the investigation focuses on her tumultuous affair with Tommie Cluverius.
Tommie, an ambitious young lawyer, is the pride and joy of his family and the polar opposite of his brother Willie, a quiet, humble farmer. Though both men loved Lillie, it’s Tommie’s reckless affair that thrusts his family into the spotlight. With Lillie dead, Willie must decide how far to trust Tommie, and whether he ever understood him at all. Told through accumulating revelations, Tommie’s story finally ends in a riveting courtroom
climax.
Based on a true story, The Reservoir centers on a guilty and passionate love triangle composed of two very different brothers and one young, naive girl hiding an unspeakable secret. A novel of lust, betrayal, justice, and revenge, The Reservoir ultimately probes the question of whether we can really know the hearts and minds of others, even of those closest to us.

My Review:

The Reservoir by John Milliken Thompson is an exceptionally well-written mystery about true events in the late 1800s Richmond, Virginia.  So compelling is Thompson’s storytelling that readers will be left asking how well we can truly know those in our families and others very near in our lives.  As readers are transported to Richmond, Virginia in 1885 by the well-painted canvas that Thompson creates through his prose, they witness the discovery of a dead woman floating in the Richmond reservoir, a woman who was pregnant and later identified to be Lillie Madison. While evidence seems to point directly at Tommie Cluverius, a young lawyer who is destined for brilliance in his career, Thompson has crafted the story with plenty of moments where readers will think everything has fallen into place and the next moment that intricately woven series of events and evidence trail all fall to pieces.  A story of desire, guilt, and vengeance, historical fiction fans will delight in Thompson’s careful attention to the time period through his meticulous research, his keen sense for compelling suspense, and his creativity in bringing this century-old mystery to life.  I highly recommend The Reservoir to historical fiction fans looking for an excellent mystery suspense book.

To learn more about author John Milliken or the book, please visit his website: johnmillikenthompson.com

I received a complimentary ARC of The Reservoir by John Milliken Thompson from Other Press. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Guest Post by John Thompson author of The Reservoir

Monday 15 August, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I recently completed a 15-town book tour to promote my new novel, The Reservoir. Here are a few highlights.
    Launching at Fountain Bookstore in Richmond’s historic Shockoe Slip, then going out for celebratory drinks and tapas at Secco with my publishing guru, my wife, and two dazzling “shop girls,” as they jokingly call themselves.
    Seeing familiar faces at Crozet’s charming Over the Moon Bookstore.
    Having pizza and drinks with friends on the Downtown Mall after the reading at Charlottesville’s New Dominion.
    Starting the North Carolina leg at ultra-cool Malaprop’s in Asheville.
    Presenting at McIntyre’s sumptuous, resort-style store in Fearrington Village, and having my cousins in the audience.
    The reading at Flyleaf in Chapel Hill, followed by drinks with brilliant young author Belle Boggs.
    Wandering around the quiet streets of Southern Pines, wondering if anybody would show at Country Bookshop, and then finding a crowd of 35 eager listeners; wine bar afterwards with lovely shopkeepers.
    Arriving at laidback Page & Palette in Fairhope, Alabama at the wrong hour (on the right side of wrong) and enjoying signing copies for a couple of hours before my evening appearance, a rollicking roundtable discussion.
    Driving past the bungalows of Uptown New Orleans thinking I had the wrong address, but stumbling upon Octavia Books and finding welcoming hosts and an enthusiastic group.
    Again thinking I was in the wrong neighborhood, off the interstate, then finding Lemuria in Jackson, Mississippi, as well as wonderful booksellers, a great crowd, and a delightful fellow writer and stage-sharer in Ann Napolitano. Then dinner with writer friend Steve Yates and his wife.
    Tromping around Faulkner sites in Oxford, reading during a terrific storm in Square Books, and having drinks and food with the famous Lisa Howorth and novelist Lee Durkee.
    Entering into the upstairs room in Fayetteville’s Nightbird Books and seeing the smiling faces of Food for Thought book club, all eleven of whom had read my book—dinner and talk set a high-spirited tone for the reading, followed by drinks with dear old friends from my MFA days.
    Perhaps the best, most appreciative audience of a dozen at Houston’s Murder by the Book.
    Having a flight canceled, then making a late connection in Boise when an airline attendant relowered the bridge, signaled to the pilot to reopen the airplane door (and told me it was a one-in-a-million and that if I’d tried to make such a connection in Denver, “You could’ve kissed your ass good-bye”), sheepishly explaining myself to fellow passengers (and giving one a signed copy of my book), taking a hectic cab ride from the San Francisco airport to M is for Mystery bookstore in San Mateo, and just making it.
    Meeting the good people of Seattle Mystery Bookshop and going out to Brooklyn restaurant for amazing local oysters with, yet again, my publishing guru, Paul Kozlowski.
    Getting home after sleeping 5 hours in the past 55 and falling into a comatic 17-hour sleep, waking only for food.
    Looking over this list, it’s clear that the tour was all about people—seeing old friends and making lots of new ones. And that’s what this business is ultimately about; whether we actually meet our readers in person or not, it’s all about telling stories and making connections.

-John Milliken Thompson

I would like to thank Other Press and John Milliken Thompson for making this guest review possible.  John Milliken Thompson has been on tour with his book The Resevoir.

Title: The Resevoir
Author: John Milliken Thompson
Publisher: Other Press
Publication Date: June 21, 2011
Paperback: 368 pages
ISBN: 978-1590514443
Genre: Historical Fiction

Further information about the book and the author may be obtained on the Publisher’s website.

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Book Review: Midnight on Julia Street by Ciji Ware

Friday 12 August, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Title: Midnight on Julia Street
Author: Ciji Ware
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: August 1, 2011
Paperback: 512 pages
ISBN: 978-1402222726
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance


From the Publisher:

Scandal transcends time in the Big Easy

Feisty reporter Corlis McCullough isn’t afraid to push boundaries in the name of journalistic integrity. When passion for the truth lands her in New Orleans in need of a job, an assignment at a TV station pits her against her old college nemesis, King Duvallon.

The sultry streets of the French Quarter, the glamorous Garden District, derelict riverfront cotton warehouses, and gritty back alleys come alive as the reporter’s story inexplicably slips between the nineteenth century and today. A long-forgotten drama of blackmail, swindles, and a love affair that is still changing lives leaves Corlis and King wondering if their burgeoning, unholy attraction will render them pawns in a matrix of mystery and deceit.

My Review:

Midnight on Julia Street by Ciji Ware is an exhilarating historical romance novel set in New Orleans and split between two eras with one dating to the 1830s where to the present day, an unsolved mystery has captured the attention of Corlis McCullough, a television reporter for WWEZ who seeks information on city buildings of historical significance that are being targeted for demolition.  Encountering King Duvallon, an adversary from her college years, brings Corlis into a part of New Orleans society with which she was unaware.  Readers will be entertained with Corlis’ investigations and intrigued by her ability to sense things from the past.  It is here where Ware brings full circle the swindling and corruption of the past with their manifestations of today in New Orleans.  Of course the romantic tensions are there between Corlis and King and while I did not fully buy into the supernatural aspect of Ware’s tale, I did find it exciting at times, and her characters as well as the fell for New Orleans are brought to life through her gift for descriptive prose.  I think historical romance fans will enjoy Midnight on Julia Street, but for me, the unrealistic aspects took away from the realism I most often enjoy in Ciji Ware’s historical fiction books.

To learn more about Ciji Ware and her books please visit her website at: cijiware.com

I received a complimentary ARC of Midnight on Julia Street by Ciji Ware from Sourcebooks. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Book Review: Whispers In the Sand by Barbara Erskine

Wednesday 27 July, 2011 By 6 Comments

Title: Whispers In the Sand
Author: Barbara Erskine
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: July 1, 2011
Paperback: 396 pages
ISBN: 978-1402261756
Genre: Historical Fiction

From the Publisher:

Recently divorced, Anna Fox decides to cheer herself up by retracing a journey that her great-grandmother, Louisa, made in the mid-nineteenth century from Luxor to the Valley of Kings on a Nile cruise. Anna carries with her two of Louisa’s possessions: an ancient Egyptian scent bottle and an illustrated diary of the original cruise that has laid unread for more than a hundred years. Meanwhile, two men from the tour party begin to develop an unfriendly rivalry for her attention and a disturbing interest in Louisa’s mementos. As she follows in Louisa’s footsteps, Anna discovers a wonderful love story from the Victorian past, along with chilling secrets and terrifying specters that haunted her great-grandmother—and will soon begin to pursue her, too.

My Review:

Whispers in the Sand by Barbara Erskine is an intriguing drama of one woman’s battle for personal growth amidst adverse conditions with elements of irony, mystery and redemption. With well-crafted, strong characters, Erskine has penned a tale with plenty of unexpected plot turns to keep the reader engaged.  Her gift for descriptive prose transports readers to Egypt where the main character, Anna Fox, is planning to take a cruise along the Nile, the same cruise her great-grandmother had followed several years earlier.  Erskine takes readers along this journey, meeting various characters along the way, many of whom, ironically remind Anna of her domineering ex-husband, the very person from whom her departure is being celebrated by this much deserved trip.  In an expertly crafted story, Erskine contrasts the past and present through Anna’s great-grandmother’s diary which contains secrets that turn out to be important to more than just Anna during the journey in Egypt.  For both readers and discussion groups, especially those looking for a topic relating to the empowering of women, I highly recommend Whispers in the Sand.

To learn more about author Barbara Erskine and her books, please visit her website: http://www.barbara-erskine.co.uk/novels

I received a complimentary arc of Whispers In the Sand by Barbara Erskine from Sourcebooks. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Book Review: Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Tuesday 26 July, 2011 By 8 Comments

Title: Rules of Civility
Author: Amor Towles
Publisher: Viking
Publication Date: July 26, 2011
Hardcover: 352 pages
ISBN: 978-0670022694
Genre: Historical Fiction

From the Publisher:

A sophisticated and entertaining debut novel about an irresistible young woman with an uncommon sense of purpose.

Set in New York City in 1938, Rules of Civility tells the story of a watershed year in the life of an uncompromising twenty-five-year- old named Katey Kontent. Armed with little more than a formidable intellect, a bracing wit, and her own brand of cool nerve, Katey embarks on a journey from a Wall Street secretarial pool through the upper echelons of New York society in search of a brighter future.

My Review:

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles is his fiction debut that touches on the theme of chance encounters and their role in shaping lives.  Towles has crafted very original characters in this witty tale of 1938 New York and the social layers that shape the people.  Painted against the backdrop of 1930s New York, Towles writes of aspirations, of love and of loss with such fluidity that readers will not be able to easily and knowingly set this novel down.  In Rules of Civility, Katey Kontent celebrates New Year’s Eve with her roommate in a lowbrow jazz bar when Tinker Grey, a well-to-do banker is seated nearby.  The chance meeting of Katey and Tinker at that bar leads to a long and oftentimes lonely journey for Katey as she is rapidly brought several rungs up the social ladder.  Through richly descriptive prose with vivid imagery, Towles crafts a compelling story that will have readers rooting for Katey as she rises in social circles and then feeling the losses Katey experiences.  In many ways, Towles will touch readers with very relatable characters and with emotions that bring to life Katey’s experiences; experiences that leave us all with questions about how we got where we are today.  For book discussion groups, I think Rules of Civility would make an excellent choice.

About the Author:

Amor Towles was born and raised just outside Boston, Massachusetts.  He graduated from Yale University and received an MA in English from Stanford University, where he was a Scowcroft Fellow.  He is a Principal at an investment firm in Manhattan, where he lives with his wife and two children.

To learn more about author Amor Towels, please visit his website.

I received a copy of Rules of Civility by Amor Towles from Viking Books to offer my honest review of the book. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned book.

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Book Review: Reign of Madness by Lynn Cullen

Tuesday 26 July, 2011 By 8 Comments

Title: Reign of Madness
Author: Lynn Cullen
Publisher: Putnam Adult
Publication Date: August 4, 2011, 2011
Hardcover: 448 pages
ISBN: 978-0399157097
Genre: Historical Fiction

From the Publisher:

From the author of The Creation of Eve comes a tale of love and madness, royal intrigue and marital betrayal, set during the Golden Age of Spain.

Juana of Castile, third child of the Spanish monarchs Isabel and Fernando, grows up with no hope of inheriting her parents’ crowns, but as a princess knows her duty: to further her family’s ambitions through marriage. Yet stories of courtly love, and of her parents’ own legendary romance, surround her. When she weds the Duke of Burgundy, a young man so beautiful that he is known as Philippe the Handsome, she dares to hope that she might have both love and crowns. He is caring, charming, and attracted to her-seemingly a perfect husband.

But what begins like a fairy tale ends quite differently.

When Queen Isabel dies, the crowns of Spain unexpectedly pass down to Juana, leaving her husband and her father hungering for the throne. Rumors fly that the young Queen has gone mad, driven insane by possessiveness. Who is to be believed? The King, beloved by his subjects? Or the Queen, unseen and unknown by her people?

One of the greatest cautionary tales in Spanish history comes to life as Lynn Cullen explores the controversial reign of Juana of Castile-also known as Juana the Mad. Sweeping, page-turning, and wholly entertaining, Reign of Madness is historical fiction at its richly satisfying best.

My Review:

Reign of Madness by Lynn Cullen is a fast paced work of historical fiction from 15th and 16th Century Europe and chronicles the rise of Juana of Castile to Queen Juana of Spain. Cullen has masterfully crafted, down to the most intricate of details, the story of Juana of Castile, daughter to Fernando and Isabel, her arranged marriage to Philippe and her rise to power as Queen. This is an intriguing tale of romance, lust and greed and readers will learn just how adept Cullen is at writing descriptive prose that easily transports readers to the various locales of the book and immerses the reader within the culture. Cullen has done extensive research to capture the period but at the same time gives readers a glimpse of Juana that invokes feelings of pity for this most unfortunate of Queens. For fans of stories of turmoil in the court or historical fiction in general, I highly recommend Reign of Madness by Lynn Cullen.

About the Author:

Lynn Cullen is the author of the young adult novel The Creation of Eve, as many acclaimed books for children. She lives with her husband in Atlanta, where she is at work on her next novel.

To learn more about author Lynn Cullen, please visit her website.

For more reviews of the book, please follow the TLC Book Tour.

I received an arc copy of Reign of Madness by Lynn Cullen from TLC Book Tours to be a part of this tour and offer my honest review of the book. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned book.

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