True Book Addict...Books, Cats, and More

Friday, August 26, 2016

Susan Spann's The Ninja's Daughter - Review & #Giveaway #SusanSpann #Mystery

My thoughts
Susan Spann brings 16th century Japan to life beautifully. Not only that, she weaves a damn good mystery. I was happy to revisit Hiro Hattori and Father Mateo once again. As in previous books in the series, the two men have an endearing rapport that makes me smile. It's a remarkable thing when two men from very different cultures, thrown together due to orders that Hiro protect Mateo, become good friends. It goes beyond duty and honor, and I think it's the core of this series. It certainly keeps me coming back.

All that being said, Spann's skill with spinning a mystery cannot be denied. Her stories always keep me guessing. Then, just like reading a good Agatha Christie, my heart starts pounding as the truth is revealed in the end. Only a true talent for mystery can do that to a reader. Well done.

If you have not had the opportunity to read any of the books from this series, I suggest that you do. You will not be disappointed. I still have to go back and read some of the earlier novels, and I look forward to the next installment.

The Ninja’s Daughter: A Hiro Hattori Novel by Susan Spann

Publication Date: August 2, 2016
Seventh Street Books
eBook & Paperback; 230 Pages

Series: Hiro Hattori Novels/Shinobi Mysteries
Genre: Historical Mystery

Autumn, 1565: When an actor’s daughter is murdered on the banks of Kyoto’s Kamo River, master ninja Hiro Hattori and Portuguese Jesuit Father Mateo are the victim’s only hope for justice.

As political tensions rise in the wake of the shogun’s recent death, and rival warlords threaten war, the Kyoto police forbid an investigation of the killing, to keep the peace–but Hiro has a personal connection to the girl, and must avenge her. The secret investigation leads Hiro and Father Mateo deep into the exclusive world of Kyoto’s theater guilds, where they quickly learn that nothing, and no one, is as it seems. With only a mysterious golden coin to guide them, the investigators uncover a forbidden love affair, a missing mask, and a dangerous link to corruption within the Kyoto police department that leaves Hiro and Father Mateo running for their lives.

“In The Ninja’s Daughter, Susan Spann’s poetic voice brilliantly captures the societal disparities, political intrigues, and martial conflicts of sixteenth-century Japan through the persevering efforts of ninja detective Hiro Hattori to solve a murder authorities consider of no consequence.” -JEFFREY SIGER, International Bestselling Author

About the Author

Susan Spann is the author of three previous novels in the Shinobi Mystery series: Claws of the Cat, Blade of the Samurai, and Flask of the Drunken Master. She has a degree in Asian Studies and a lifelong love of Japanese history and culture. . When not writing, she works as a transactional attorney focusing on publishing and business law, and raises seahorses and rare corals in her marine aquarium.

For more information please visit Susan Spann’s website. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

GIVEAWAY

One copy - print or eBook, winner's choice. Open to US/Canada only. Leave a comment below and include your email address so I can contact the winner (entries without an email address will not be considered).

Rules– Must be 18 or older to enter.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Cat Thursday - The girls

Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! (share your post in the Mr. Linky below)

Some recent shots of Alice and Arya. I took the one of Alice on Black Cat Appreciation day. Black cats can be so hard to photograph...and she will never keep her eyes open. Arya looks posed in a heart shape. Sweeties. =^o^=

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Sunday, August 21, 2016

Bout of Books 17 - Goals and Updates #Readathon #boutofbooks

Updates

Reading done on 8/22:

Not a stellar start...

5 pages - The Mountain Story
5 chapters, 27 pages - The Ninja's Daughter

Mini-Challenge - Book to Movie @ Writing My Own Fairy Tale

My favorite book to movie (I actually liked the movie better in this case. Shock!) =

My least favorite (they massacred my favorite book of all time!) =

Reading done on 8/23:

Bleh. Move along. Nothing good to report here. :(

Reading done on 8/24:

100 pages, The Ninja's Daughter
Reading is not going as planned...at all. :(

Reading done on 8/25, 8/26:

Didn't get a chance to update, but did finish The Ninja's Daughter on Friday.

Reading done on 8/27:

No update.

Final Update:

5 pages - The Mountain Story, Lori Lansens
The Ninja's Daughter, Susan Spann (247 pages)
Hexagram, Duncan P. Bradshaw (324 pages)

Thanks to Amanda and Kelly for the read-a-thon!

Do I dare? I really have a TON of reading to get done before the end of the month so I'm really hoping to knuckle down with this read-a-thon.

Here's Bout of Books:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 22nd and runs through Sunday, August 28th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 17 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Here's what I'll be reading:

The Mountain Story, Lori Lansens - Finish

A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley

13 Ways of Looking at the Novel, Jane Smiley

The Ninja's Daughter, Susan Spann

Hexagram, Duncan P. Bradshaw

Wish me luck!

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Cat Thursday - Olympics! #cats #catthursday

I've been really enjoying watching the Olympics. How about you? Do you watch? My favorites are gymnastics, diving, and swimming...I hope I haven't missed synchronized swimming. I love it! What is/are your favorite events?

And now for some Olympic kitty fun!

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

The Secret Language of Stones by M.J. Rose - Review #TSLOSBlogTour #Historical

My thoughts
I love reading books by M.J. Rose. She writes with such atmosphere, and not only is there connection with the characters, there is also connection with the material world. It's like being immersed in a lovely cocoon as you read her books. Even more so with this series, The Daughters of La Lune.

The psychic phenomena experienced by Opaline, the book's main character, is portrayed as a gift and a curse at the same time. Opaline is having difficulty coming to terms with her powers, and until she encounters someone she feels a deep connection with through her powers, she is almost ready to shut the door on them forever. This says much about the character of Opaline. She is so much of an individual that she wants to break free from the legacy of her mother, and her ancestor, La Lune...to be that individual. Yet, she recognizes the importance of this connection she has made. Opaline has depth and I love her (plus, my birthstone is opal...I loved learning about the ancient beliefs about the power of the opal). That's the true beauty of an M.J. Rose novel. You will fall in love with the characters.

Another aspect of this book I enjoyed was the incorporation of history. The horrors of WWI were heartbreakingly described by those who were experiencing it on the homefront in France. We're shone that war is tragic for all involved...those fighting and those keeping things together at home. Also, the inclusion of the subject of the assassination of the Romanov family was an interesting element, as that is a story that endlessly fascinates me.

I'm always excited when a M.J. Rose releases as new book. Truthfully, The Witch of Painted Sorrows (book one of the La Lune series), and this book can very easily be read as stand alone novels. However, to me it is so much the better for us readers that we can continue to experience these stories via the series. I can't recommend this book enough. You need to read it!

About the book
The Secret Language of Stones by M.J. Rose
Publication Date: July 19, 2016
Atria Books
Hardcover & eBook; 320 Pages

Series: The Daughters of La Lune, Book Two
Genre: Historical Fiction/Fantasy

As World War I rages and the Romanov dynasty reaches its sudden, brutal end, a young jewelry maker discovers love, passion, and her own healing powers in this rich and romantic ghost story, the perfect follow-up to M.J. Rose’s “brilliantly crafted” (Providence Journal) novel The Witch of Painted Sorrows.

Nestled within Paris’s historic Palais Royal is a jewelry store unlike any other. La Fantasie Russie is owned by Pavel Orloff, protégé to the famous Faberge, and is known by the city’s fashion elite as the place to find the rarest of gemstones and the most unique designs. But war has transformed Paris from a city of style and romance to a place of fear and mourning. In the summer of 1918, places where lovers used to walk, widows now wander alone.

So it is from La Fantasie Russie’s workshop that young, ambitious Opaline Duplessi now spends her time making trench watches for soldiers at the front, as well as mourning jewelry for the mothers, wives, and lovers of those who have fallen. People say that Opaline’s creations are magical. But magic is a word Opaline would rather not use. The concept is too closely associated with her mother Sandrine, who practices the dark arts passed down from their ancestor La Lune, one of sixteenth century Paris’s most famous courtesans.

But Opaline does have a rare gift even she can’t deny, a form of lithomancy that allows her to translate the energy emanating from stones. Certain gemstones, combined with a personal item, such as a lock of hair, enable her to receive messages from beyond the grave. In her mind, she is no mystic, but merely a messenger, giving voice to soldiers who died before they were able to properly express themselves to loved ones. Until one day, one of these fallen soldiers communicates a message—directly to her.

So begins a dangerous journey that will take Opaline into the darkest corners of wartime Paris and across the English Channel, where the exiled Romanov dowager empress is waiting to discover the fate of her family. Full of romance, seduction, and a love so powerful it reaches beyond the grave, The Secret Language of Stones is yet another “spellbindingly haunting” (Suspense magazine), “entrancing read that will long be savored” (Library Journal, starred review).

“A spellbinding ghost story that communicates the power of love and redemption through Rose's extraordinary, magical lens.” (Alyson Richman, internationally bestselling author of The Lost Wife)

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | IndieBound

About the Author

M.J. Rose grew up in New York City mostly in the labyrinthine galleries of the Metropolitan Museum, the dark tunnels and lush gardens of Central Park and reading her mother’s favorite books before she was allowed.

She is the author of more than a dozen novels, the co-president and founding board member of International Thriller Writers and the founder of the first marketing company for authors: AuthorBuzz.com. She lives in Greenwich, Connecticut. Visit her online at MJRose.com.

Connect with M.J. Rose on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Goodreads.

Sign up for M.J. Rose’s newsletter and get information about new releases, free book downloads, contests, excerpts and more.

Friday, August 12, 2016

Spotlight on Peter Curtis' The Dragontail Buttonhole

Publication Date: March 16, 2016
Sordelet Ink
eBook & Paperback; 316 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

Prague, 1939. Willy and Sophie Kohut own a prosperous business specializing in selling British fabrics for tailoring suits. When the Nazis occupy Czechoslovakia, Willy is arrested and accused of spying for Britain. After Sophie engineers his release, they decide to flee the country for the sake of their toddler, Pavel. Paying a small-time smuggler and using counterfeit Hungarian passports, they journey through Hungary and Germany itself, on an exodus full of unexpected twists that test their courage, and their love.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Praise

“The Dragontail Buttonhole is a realistic, artful story of a family’s flight to safety. Courageously precise in its psychological analysis of friend and foe, the novel restores the reader’s confidence in an ordinary family’s fortitude, compassion and humanity.” – Peter Demetz, Author of Prague in Black and Gold and Prague in Danger.

“The Dragontail Buttonhole is a fascinating, well-written read. The Kohut family takes life for granted….until the day the Nazis occupy Prague and Willy Kohut and his family become the target of the Gestapo. The book is an adventure story and a family story that will make you bite your nails and cry, and sometimes smile.” – Helen M. Szablya, Honorary Consul General of Hungary. Author of My Only Choice; 1942-1956 Hungary, The Fall of the Red Star; Hungary Remembered.

“The Dragontail Buttonhole is at once a moving portrait of a marriage, a brilliant evocation of a frightening period of history and a spell-binding tale of survival.” – David Laskin, author of The Long Way Home, The Children’s Blizzard, Partisans and the 2014 Washington State Memoir Award: Family: A Journey into the Heart of the 20th Century

About the Author

Peter Curtis was born in Kosiče in Eastern Slovakia. Later, as a child in England, he was enthralled by books like ‘Treasure Island’, ‘King Solomon’s Mines’, and ‘The 39 Steps’. He dreamed of writing tales of adventure.

As a young man, he trained at Guy’s Hospital, London, specializing in joint and back problems. But when he found that people’s lives were more interesting than inflammation, he turned to family doctoring in the English countryside and began writing about dramatic or amusing incidents in his practice. Some of his short stories were published. The years passed and he moved with his family to the University of North Carolina.

As his family elders and parents passed on, he inherited their photographs and documents and started piecing together the family’s Slovak history. They had been the enthusiastic citizens of a dynamic democratic country, Czechoslovakia, until it was swallowed by Germany during the great and tragic dislocation of WWII. What they went through moved Peter to finally write an adventure story close to his heart.

You can connect with Peter Curtis on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Cat Thursday - Authors and Cats (56)

The second Cat Thursday of each month is Authors and Cats Thursday. Each time I will feature an author with their cat(s), or pictured with a cat(s).

Diana Wynne Jones would have celebrated her birthday on August 16 were she still alive.

In a career spanning four decades, award-winning author Diana Wynne Jones wrote more than forty books of fantasy for young readers. Characterized by magic, multiple universes, witches and wizards—and a charismatic nine-lived enchanter—her books were filled with unlimited imagination, dazzling plots, and an effervescent sense of humor that earned her legendary status in the world of fantasy. From the very beginning, Diana Wynne Jones’s books garnered literary accolades: her novel Dogsbody was a runner-up for the 1975 Carnegie Medal, and Charmed Life won the esteemed Guardian children’s fiction prize in 1977. Since then, in addition to being translated into more than twenty languages, her books have earned a wide array of honors—including two Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honors—and appeared on countless best-of-the-year lists. Her work also found commercial success: in 1992 the BBC adapted her novel Archer’s Goon into a six-part miniseries, and her best-selling Howl’s Moving Castle was made into an animated film by Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki in 2004. The film was nominated for an Academy Award in 2006, and became one of the most financially successful Japanese films in history. The author herself has also been honored with many prestigious awards for the body of her work. She was given the British Fantasy Society’s Karl Edward Wagner Award in 1999 for having made a significant impact on fantasy, received a D.Lit from Bristol University in 2006, and won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Fantasy Convention in 2007.

Born just outside London in 1934, Diana Wynne Jones had a childhood that was “very vivid and often very distressing”—one that became the fertile ground where her tremendous imagination took root. When the raids of World War II reached London in 1939, the five-year-old girl and her two younger sisters were torn from their suburban life and sent to Wales to live with their grandparents. This was to be the first of many migrations, one of which brought her family to Lane Head, a large manor in the author-populated Lake District and former residence of John Ruskin’s secretary, W.G. Collingwood. This time marked an important moment in Diana Wynne Jones’s life, where her writing ambitions were magnified by, in her own words, “early marginal contacts with the Great.” She confesses to having “offending Arthur Ransome by making a noise on the shore beside his houseboat,” erasing a stack of drawings by the late Ruskin himself in order to reuse the paper, and causing Beatrix Potter (who also lived nearby) to complain about her and her sister’s behavior. “It struck me,” Jones said, “that the Great were remarkably touchy and unpleasant, and I thought I would like to be the same, without the unpleasantness.” Prompted by her penny-pinching father’s refusal to buy the children any books, Diana Wynne Jones wrote her first novel at age twelve and entertained her sisters with readings of her stories. Those early stories—and much of her future work—were inspired by a limited but crucial foundation of classics: Malory’s Morte D’Arthur, The Arabian Nights, and Epics and Romances of the Middle Ages. Fantasy was Jones’s passion from the start, despite receiving little support from her often neglectful parents. This passion was fueled further during her tenure at St. Anne’s College in Oxford, where lectures by J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis increased her fascination with myth and legend. She married Medievalist John Burrow in 1956; the couple have three sons and six grandchildren.

After a decade of rejections, Diana Wynne Jones’s first novel, Changeover, was published in 1970. In 1973, she joined forces with her lifelong literary agent, Laura Cecil, and in the four decades to follow, Diana Wynne Jones wrote prodigiously, sometimes completing three titles in a single year. Along the way she gained a fiercely loyal following; many of her admirers became successful authors themselves, including Newbery Award winners Robin McKinley and Neil Gaiman, and Newbery Honor Book author Megan Whalen Turner. A conference dedicated solely to her work was held at the University of West England, Bristol, in 2009. Diana Wynne Jones continued to write during her battle with lung cancer, which ultimately took her life in March 2011. Her last book, Earwig and the Witch, will be published by Greenwillow Books in 2012.

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Which literary heroine are you?

You are Josephine March from "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott. Opinionated and outspoken, your bold nature can sometimes get you into trouble. You must constantly make a conscious decision to seem gentler to people when you first meet them -- those who do not know you well can sometimes find your passion abrasive or overly aggressive. The happiness of others is your greatest source for happiness of your own -- you want nothing more than to provide for your family and friends, to make them happy.