Sunday Salon: Books for All Seasons

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Wanted to do some of my own writing and excursions into poetry but my never ending To Be Read booklist keeps me distracted. Some good books to read are even better than writing one of your own! Ahem!

Here's what I have:

Strings Attached by Judy Blundell



The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady by Elizabeth Stuckey-French

A Lonely Death: An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery (Ian Rutledge Mysteries) by Charles Todd

The Bone Yard: A Body Farm Novel

The Summoner (The Dominic Grey Novels)


Bullet Work by Steve O'Brien

Born Under a Lucky Moon: A Novel by Dana Precious

One Was a Soldier: A Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mystery (Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries) by Julie Spencer-Fleming.


What have you been reading or planning to read? Have you reviewed or read any of these?

Dark Prince by Christine Feehan: Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays asks you to choose two sentences at random from your current read. Identify the author and title for readers.

How does one control one's nature, little one?
He saw her smile even as it filled his emptiness, as it registered in his heart and lungs and sent his blood soaring. (p. 9)

Title: Dark Prince: Author's Cut Special Edition
Author: Christine Feehan
Hardcover: 496 pages
Publisher: William Morrow; Special edition (March 8, 2011)
Genre: Fantasy, romance
Source: Publisher

Product description:
"Mikhail Dubrinsky is the prince of the Carpathians, the powerful leader of a wise and secret ancient race that thrives in the night. Engulfed by despair, fearful of never finding the mate who can save him from the encroaching darkness, his soul cries out in loneliness—until the day that a beautiful voice full of light and love responds, softly soothing his pain and yearning.

A telepathic hunter of serial killers, Raven Whitney helps to catch some of the most depraved criminals. But her work keeps her from getting close to others, and has drained her body and spirit. In need of rest and rejuvenation, she embarks for a vacation far from home.

From the moment they meet, Raven and Mikhail are helpless to resist the desire that sparks between them. But just as fate unexpectedly brings these life mates together, malevolent forces threaten to destroy them and their fragile love. Yet even if they survive, how can these two lovers—Carpathian and human—build a future together? And how can Mikhail bring Raven into his dark world without extinguishing her beautiful goodness and light?"

Comments: One of  several fantasy books that I have enjoyed. The fantasy and adventure combined with a love story, the sympathetic character of the despairing Mikhail, and the writing grabbed my attention immediately. I'm looking forward to more books in this and in her other series.

Author: Chrisine Feehan is a New York Times bestselling author with more than 40 published novels, including four series that have hit number one on the NYT bestselling list. More information: http://www.christinefeehan.com/

Sunday Salon: March 20

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In spite of a tense week watching the unfolding nuclear reactor events in Japan, where I have relatives, I managed to get a few books read and two posted.

Reviewed the historical romance The Sandalwood Tree for a book tour and posted a travel memoir, The Year I Fell in Love and Went to Join the War, for the Teaser Tuesday meme.


Books read:

Buttons and Bones (Needlecraft Mystery) by Monica Ferris, the newest cozy mystery in the series.

 Hagakure: The Code of the Samurai (The Manga Edition) by
Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Sean Michael Wilson, William Scott Wilson. A graphic portrayal of the classic book on Bushido, the 18th century warrior code of the Samurai.




American Born Chinese, a graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang. A Chinese-American boy learns to accept and live his true identity with the help of the Monkey King, a mythological character from the Chinese Classics.



The 4th Man, an award winning thriller with interesting twists and turns, by Norwegian writer K.O. Dahl.

I won the paperback edition from Nancy Oakes. Thanks, Nancy! A great read!


Current reads include two new books by Sandra Balzo, who writes a coffeeshop mystery series, Running on Empty (Main Street Mysteries) and A Cup of Jo. Sandra Balzo (Maggy Thorsen), both of which come out in April 2011.

Also, The Shepherd by Ethan Cross, a thriller for a book tour on April 8.


I also have on my list, Mourning Gloria (China Bayles Mystery) by Susan Wittig Albert , a hardcover with an April 5, 2011 publication date.

Guess I have a lot of reading on my plate. How about your week? What have you read/reviewed?

Book Review: The Sandalwood Tree by Elle Newmark

The Sandalwood Tree: A Novel by Elle Newmark
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Atria (April 5, 2011)
Source: ARC provided by Pump Up Your Book Promotions
Genre:  historical romance, women's fiction 

"I unfolded the last sheets of parchment and my breath caught. The innermost letter was intact. Several pages had been saved from the worst of the damp, every word preserved by the absorbent layers around it. "  (ch. 2)

Comments: Enticing idea for an historical novel set in India in the late 1940s, when Evie Mitchell, traveling to India with her husband, discovers a hidden cache of letters written in the mid-1800s. The story of Evie's marriage and the story revealed in the letters entwine to make this a captivating novel of love, passion, and an exotic location. For armchair travelers, history buffs, and those who enjoy good romantic fiction.

Publisher's description: "A sweeping novel that brings to life two love stories, ninety years apart, set against the rich backdrop of war-torn India.

In 1947, American historian and veteran of WWII, Martin Mitchell, wins a Fulbright Fellowship to document the end of British rule in India. His wife, Evie, convinces him to take her and their young son along, hoping a shared adventure will mend their marriage, which has been strained by war.

But other places, other wars. Martin and Evie find themselves stranded in a colonial bungalow in the Himalayas due to violence surrounding the partition of India between Hindus and Muslims. In that house, hidden behind a brick wall, Evie discovers a packet of old letters, which tell a strange and compelling story of love and war involving two young Englishwomen who lived in the same house in 1857.

Drawn to their story, Evie embarks on a mission to piece together her Victorian mystery. Her search leads her through the bazaars and temples of India as well as the dying society of the British Raj. Along the way, Martin’s dark secret is exposed, unleashing a new wedge between Evie and him. As India struggles toward Independence, Evie struggles to save her marriage, pursuing her Victorian ghosts for answers.

Bursting with lavish detail and vivid imagery of Calcutta and beyond, The Sandalwood Tree is a powerful story about betrayal, forgiveness, fate, and love."

Author: Elle Newmark is an award-winning writer and author of The Book of Unholy Mischief. Her books are inspired by her travels. She lives north of San Diego.

Thanks to Tracee L. Gleichner at http://pumpupyourbook.com/ for making this book tour possible. Click on the link for more information on the book tour.

The Year I Fell in Love and ....:by Deb Olin Unferth

Teaser Tuesdays asks you to choose two sentences at random from your current read. Identify the author and title for readers.


"What are you doing in El Salvador?"
"Turismo," I said. (I'd been told that if a soldier points a gun at you, you should always say "turismo.")  p. 20


Revolution: The Year I Fell in Love and Went to Join the War
 by Deb Olin Unferth
Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (February 1, 2011)
Genre: travel, memoir

Goodreads book description: "Deb Olin Unferth offers a new twist on the coming-of-age memoir in this utterly unique and captivating story of the year she ran away from college with her Christian boyfriend and followed him to Nicaragua to join the Sandinistas.

Despite their earnest commitment to a myriad of revolutionary causes and to each other, the couple find themselves unwanted, unhelpful, and unprepared as they bop around Central America, looking for "revolution jobs." The year is 1987, a turning point in the Cold War. The East-West balance has begun to tip, although the world doesn't know it yet, especially not Unferth and her fiancé (he proposes on a roadside in El Salvador). The months wear on and cracks begin to form in their relationship: they get fired, they get sick, they run out of money, they grow disillusioned with the revolution and each other. But years later the trip remains fixed in her mind and she finally goes back to Nicaragua to try to make sense of it all. Unferth's heartbreaking and hilarious memoir perfectly captures the youthful search for meaning, and is an absorbing rumination on what happens to a country and its people after the revolution is over."

The Sunday Salon: March 13

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After spending a harrowing last two days making sure people I know in Japan are safe and sound and out of harm's way, I am breathing a sigh of relief but also feeling sadness for the people affected by the earthquake and tsunami. Unbelievable, horrific pictures on the news channels. Hope that more rescues come very soon.

Since last week, I reviewed Beaglemania, a mystery by Linda O. Johnston and posted short reviews of four more mystery novels: Murder in Passy, Death of a Chimney Sweep, the Headhunter's Daughter, and Scones and Bones.  It's been a good mystery reading week.

And the snow's finally melting with no more scheduled for now.... What have you been doing and reading?