a month and a book

mostly i want to talk about a book, but i'll talk a little about a month first.

november seemed to go by really, really fast. we did a lot of fun stuff. we visited family, played with cousins, had a first snow here in virginia, and i capped the month off with a trip to chicago.

i think i've traveled for business once in my life and that was to juneau, alaska. i barely survived landing at the airport that time forgot, so thankfully, my trip to midway (by way of atlanta) was smooth.

i know it's silly to feel all grown up at 36, but honestly, navigating a huge city by way of cabs, metros and train lines alone all while covering a high-tech radiology conference really makes you feel like a competent human being when you can accomplish it all without getting mugged, lost or fired.

yay, megan.

on to the book...

i read about sarah wildman's "paper love" on npr.org and knew it was something i'd be interested, hefty $12 price tag (for a darn ebook) be damned.

the gist of it? wildman's grandfather escaped the holocaust and set up a successful medical practice here in the states. he went on to have a wild, fun life full of family, adventure and comfort. after his death, wildman (a journalist) discover's a hidden trove of letters from a girl back in vienna named valy.

"his first true love," according to wildman's grandmother.

"paper love" tracks wildman's exhaustive search to find out what happened to valy (a fellow doctor) who didn't make it out of vienna ahead of the nazi invasion.

i'll stop here and say that i read a lot of holocaust literature. my favorite, so far, has been a fiction book called "blessings on the moon" but i've read elie wiesel's books a few times and have read corrie ten boom and managed to finish "auschwitz: a doctor's eyewitness account" by miklos nyiszli. that one was really tough to digest and walk away from at the same time.

the premise for "paper love" really grabbed me. a collection of found ephemera (remember my recent obsession with collections of long-forgotten recipe cards i run across?) leads a writer on a multi-year journey across the states, europe and the uk trying to find out whatever happened to this woman she's growing increasingly fond of as she researches the times valy lived in and valy herself through the letters to her grandfather. she interviews experts, family members and relatives of the players in the story.

wildman weaves the german invasion era well with modern day as she makes her way across europe in search of clues as to valy's fate. with wildman, we're all holding out hope that valy was an exception and not a norm for jews during the nazi occupation.

valy is brave and smart and manages to stay just outside deportation to forced labor camps time and time again. she refuses to leave europe without her mother when wildman's grandfather flees with his family in 1938. he promises to send for her...but it's a promise he can't keep for many, many heartbreaking reasons.

there's a point in the book and in valy's letters (after the anxiousness and the desperation) where she realizes her true love isn't going to come back for her. it's a hard section to read, to say the least.

we follow valy (and wildman's) movements through berlin as 1943 dawns. valy's married a much younger, courageous man from the jewish hospital where she works. he's trying to save valy as much as he's trying to save himself and you're pulling so hard for these two.

(SPOILERS ALERT. STOP READING IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS)

can i just say how hollow i've felt the past couple of days since reading the book?

Dr. Valy (Valerie) Scheftel

hans and valy make a plan to go underground in berlin ahead of the final gestapo roundup of jewish hospital workers. hans and his friend ernest go to their apartment to gather valy to make their escape, but their greeted by a gestapo officer lying in wait.

valy's already been rounded up hours earlier. they missed their chance to escape by one day...

the gestapo grab hans.

ernest makes an escape. he survives the war and spends decades looking for valy and frans, only to find they didn't make it to the following evening. they died upon arrival at the camp.

ernest (one of my favorite characters of the book) eventually buys a commemorative plaque for the couple and list their death dates as 29 january 1943. remarkable valy was 31, brave hans was 21.

i. was. so. broken.

valy was brilliant and brave and stayed behind to save her mother who was killed a few weeks later.

i know i rarely post book reviews here the past few years, but if this book made it's way to just one friend's hand, well, then mission accomplished.

it will rip you apart and slowly sew you back together again. it will break your heart but open your eyes to hope at the same time.

The Library Lion (A very good book)

Call it neo-nostalgic: This book feels like a children's classic of the '40s or '50s. A lion wanders into a library and is chided for his noisy roaring. He finds he loves story time, so he quickly learns the "Be quiet" rule. Soon he is the library's favorite visitor. But when a librarian is hurt in a fall and the lion must roar for help, he—and readers—learn that rules sometimes need to be broken.

Written by Michelle Knudsen, it's a book I randomly grabbed at Boy Wonder's book fair at school. We've read it a bazillion times already and we love it. She's got a neat Web site. You should check it out. And read the book. Do it.

Book Review: "Defending Angels"

How the hell did I manage to pick up and purchase a cozy mystery? A legal cozy mystery? A legal, paranormal cozy mystery? It was that damn front-end marketing stores do that nab you at the bookstore checkout. (I buy more useless magazines and plastic bookmarks there than I know what to do with.)

It was the cover of Mary Stanton’s 2008 novel Defending Angels that caught me. It’s a really cute illustration, tombstones and all. (Can tombstones and spooky trees really be "cute?" Yes. Yes, they can. In a place I like to call Megan-land. You should visit. It's fun.)

The set up: I got cocky. I really did. I’d been watching the Jane Austen BBC movies. I joined JASNA. I thought I was ready to traipse from the Regency romances written by modern authors into the Georgette Heyer arena. Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no…NO! I got lost in the Faulkner-esque sentences Heyer peppers her dialogue with. And they’re so proper. Nobody notices bosoms or man swells. Nobody really flirts inappropriately. People mostly behave as they should and somehow manage to fall in love somewhere in there (though I’m not sure I can ever find the turning point in her stories. I just turn the page and they’re quoting poetry. Bah.)

Anyhoo, I gave up mid-stride in Heyer’s “Faro’s Daughter.” Bad, me. Bad, bad, bad. I was bored. I wasn't reading it much when I had the time. I passed it on to my mother, who read Heyer back in the day and had fond memories of the writer. Good for her.

Randomly, I had looked up the definition of cozy mystery and was directed to Cozy Mystery List, a fantastic web resource for folks interested in that genre. After spending time at the site, I was one of those folks and when I happened upon this ghosty-looking cozy, I was in.

The official description: “With a long list of ethereal clients who need her help, Savannah lawyer Brianna Winston Beaufort's career choice is beginning to haunt her . . . An already dead businessman needs Bree's help to find his murderer and prove his innocence against the charge of greed, which comes from the mightiest hand of the law, the Celestial Court. And the verdict in this case could put Bree's life on the line-as well as her client's afterlife.”

The hook: Legalese. Afterlife. Graveyards. Savannah, Georgia. A lawyer new to town with a dead man as a client and a hunky PI entangling himself in her affairs. Renting an office on the bottom floor of a building constructed in the middle of an all-murderers' graveyard. I like it.

The verdict: Without giving away too much, this was one of those moments of serendipity where the stars aligned right and the right shade of yellow caught my eye at the checkout counter, causing me to look down and notice Ms. Stanton’s book. I’m glad I did.

Bree is a fantastic heroine. She’s smart. She’s got instincts. She rescues dogs from steel traps. She has annoying, overbearing parents. She sees ghosts. All the while staying believable. This story was honestly, incredibly interesting from start to finish. A celestial court? Nice.

There was the potential for romance, and it’s definitely a possibility for future volumes. Ms. Stanton leaves plenty unfinished (in a good way) and has begun what seems to be an incredibly promising series. Even for someone with no usual interest in legal dramas or cozies.

I can’t say enough good things about the book, but I’ll say one more. The next in Bree’s story is out. Angel’s Advocate was released on June 2, 2009 and I’m thrilled.

About the author:
From the author’s Web site: Mary Stanton has written two adult novels and eleven young adult novels. She has also written for television. Mary divides her time between a goat farm in upstate New York and a winter home in West Palm Beach. She also writes under the pen name Claudia Bishop. Visit Ms. Stanton’s Web site here.

Book Review: To Beguile a Beast

To Beguile a Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt

Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Forever (May 1, 2009)

Rating: 4 out of 5

My Take: Despite a couple minor nitpickings in this review, I was very happy I went on a hunch and got the book. I carried it with me everywhere for the past week, even sneaking in a couple pages during breaks at a training conference I had to endure. It was different and not the same run-of-the-mill ton tale that are so prevalent on store shelves lately. Now I am thinking I have to read backwards, as this is tale 3 from "Legend of the Four Soliders." (But that should say something to it's ability to stand on its own...I hadn't realized I was in the middle of a series until I visited Ms. Hoyt's Web site.)

The Draw:

There’s always a draw when I come across a romance novel. Mostly it’s a recommendation I read from a friend, sometimes it’s the cover (kinda rare these days, though.), once in a while it’s a continuation of the author’s series. But this time, I read about Elizabeth Hoyt’s love of fairy tales and how this book is loosely based on the Beauty and the Beast tale. As a fairy tale and mythology junkie, I couldn’t resist.

Characters:

Helen Fitzwilliam, a single mother with two children who has been the mistress of a Duke since she was 17. Helen, with her children, has recently fled from the Duke to hide out in a Scottish castle.

Sir Alistair Munroe is a scarred and withdrawn naturalist who lives in said filthy Scottish castle. He doesn’t like visitors, children, sunshine, laughter, joy…you get the picture. But he has his reasons for not liking them.

Abigail and Jamie, Helen’s 9-year old daughter and 5-year old son from Lister. Cute kids in the story. I’m not sure why, but they remind me of Nicole Kidman’s children in the movie “The Others.” (Though way less creepy, I promise!)

Plot Synopsis:

Helen is on the run from her former, married lover, the Duke of Lister. Lister is a powerful man who will take her children (his children) from her if she disobeys him. A friend helps her escape to Alistair’s castle, where her reception is less than pleasant. Helen must convince Alistair to let her and her children remain. At the same time, Lister and his men are on the hunt for them.

Review:

This is the first novel I’ve picked up by Ms. Hoyt and I enjoyed it. A lot. I had issues here and there with characterization and a couple concepts and phrases that didn’t really belong in 1765, but big deal. To me, I’m reading a historical romance for the romance part—the relationship developing between Ms. Heaving Bosom and Mr. Manly. I forgive words like “groceries” popping up. Big deal.

I thought the development of the relationship was well done and it kept me awake past my bedtime two nights in a row. I thought Ms. Hoyt did a fantastic job at developing Alistair and it was mostly his character that kept me devoted to the story when my eyes were burning and it was approaching 2 a.m.. Helen was certainly believable with plenty at stake, but she didn’t “shine” as much or “grow” as much as Alistair, though she seemed equally as damaged as he.

To be honest, when I first read about Helen, I was resistant to the fact that she was unmarried, in her 30s’, and a former mistress. Kinda like “Whoa! Too much reality for a Tuesday night!” but she grew on me as well. Often, heroines are cookie cutters and really could traipse from story to story without the reader missing them or noticing the replacement. While I think Helen could have grown a little more throughout the arc of the story, I thought she was one of the most original heroines I’ve come across in a long time.

The two leads had incredible chemistry. I loved reading the scenes of them together, stealing away a few moments. It was great. It absolutely made the book in my opinion.

[SPOILER ALERT: Skip this paragraph if you don't want too many clues about the ending!]

I felt a tad disappointed by the neat wrap up of the book in regards to Lister. He’d be bested, but would a man like that really just let them go back home and be happy? Would an ego-maniac with control issues just shrug his shoulders and let Helen win? I didn’t think so and it just seemed to end too quickly and easily for me, in regards to the external conflict. I expected more of an earned happy ending with these two, especially considering how damaged and bruised (emotionally and physically) they were when they met, and how high their stakes were.

It was worth the price of the book, to me, and I enjoyed it despite my very small misgivings. The bond between the characters was especially strong and well-earned. It didn't seem contrived to me, and I actually reread a few of the "warm and fuzzy" scenes. (Not to be confused with the "hot and sweaty" scenes, which didn't disappoint, either!) The rest, well, the rest is just details. If you’re a stickler for details and whether or not the word “grocery” existed in the 1700s, I’d suggest another book. But if you love fairy tales and strong ties between characters, To Beguile a Beast might just do the trick.

The Author:

(Taken from Ms. Hoyt's awesome Web site. Visit it here at Elizabethhoyt.com.)

Elizabeth Hoyt is a USA Today bestselling author of historical romance. She also writes deliciously fun contemporary romance under the name Julia Harper. Elizabeth lives in central Illinois with three untrained dogs, two angelic but bickering children, and one long-suffering husband.

Monster Planet

Finally finished "Monster Planet" today by David Wellington. It's the end of a trilogy that began with "Monster Island," a book that I really enjoyed a few years back.



I like Wellington's style, I really do. I like how he balances carnage (light carnage) with the ridiculous and the humorous. I'm just not completely sold on how the trilogy began as a somewhat standard gore fest with rotten zombies (Monster Island) and morphed over the years into a showdown with wizards, mummies, a ghost-child and a mushroom monster woman. I didn't care for the talking zombies, either, to tell the truth. But I am grateful to any author who offers up SOME variation of the zombie lit, that I give it a go and finish the book. (Or series as it may be.) I guess the more complex and far-fetched the story line got, the harder it was for me to keep up with the multitude of stories and characters he juggled. It was a bit of a fight sometimes.

It's funny. I'll buy 20 books a month sometimes (no lie.) And the topics/subjects are as random as I am. I love romance. I'll read a good mystery. I'll attempt a biography or self-help now and then. But I tend to never really finish a book from cover to cover. I'll get distracted in the middle somewhere and "fast forward" through chapters until I get where I need to go. But not with the horror genre.

My favorite zombie book so far? I'd have to go with one written by Brian Keene I stumbled across at a used book store a few years back. (Keene is IMPOSSIBLE to find at the local Barnes and Noble. Why is that?)

Dead Sea, by Brian Keene.

The story has stuck with me since then because, to me, it raised the ick factor a few notches by involving everybody's favorite sidekicks...animals. Zombie rats, zombie dogs, zombie pigeons, zombie cats...ick! Parts come back to me now and then during the most random times. Big fan.

Still searching for more, sadly. There's quite a fascination with vampires these days thanks to ol' Stephanie Meyer and her hunky Edward in Twilight. (She even sexed up werewolves. Seriously?) Mass murderers and psycho stalkers get plenty of love, too. But zombies? Good luck with that one...