August Totals

Books Read:
1. To Conquer Mr. Darcy : 4/5
2. Fallout : 4/5
3. The Life You Imagined : 4/5
4. Dangerous Neighbors : 4/5
5. Holly's Inbox  4.5/5
6. Georgette Heyer's Regency World : 4/5
7. The Miracle of Prato : 4/5
8. The Lumby Lines : 4/5
9. An Echo in the Bone: 5/5

Total Pages: 4,106
Favorite Book(s): An Echo in the Bone

Mailbox Monday and It's Monday...What are you reading?

Mailbox Monday

is hosted by Chick Loves Lit (August Host)
We share what books that we found 

in our mailboxes last week.

 
Vanishing- TLC Tour Stop 9/15
The Heir- Sourcebooks Casablanca review book
A Darcy Christmas- Sourcebooks Landmark review book

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Hosted by Sheila
One Persons Journey Through a World of Books
Weekly meme where we discuss the books you've read
and those you plan to read in the coming week.

Read and reviewed last week:

Georgette Heyer's Regency World- fascinating information to Regency fans 4/5

Holly's Inbox: Scandal in the City- fun romp in London 4.5/5

The Miracle of Prato- fascinating historical fiction 4/5

Six Sentence Movie reviews:

Leap Year 3/5

The Time Traveler's Wife- 3/5

It's Complicated- 5/5

Tentative reviews for this week-

August Wrap-up- Tuesday

The Lumby Lines (FSB)- Wednesday

An Echo in the Bone- TLC review Thursday

The Marshall Project- Friday reviewed by Janel of Janel's Jumble

Same books from last week are still on my nightstand!

Six Sentence Saturdy Movie Reviews

Leap Year
Released Jan 2010
Source: Checked out from my library for .75 cents
My husband watched this one before me and thought there was no chemistry between the leading man and woman, so I was prepared to be disappointed. Well, amazingly enough I thought this was a cute movie. I have this thing for Ireland so I'm sure that played a huge role in my enjoyment. I have to admit that I ended up with a bit of a crush on the Irish barkeeper. The love story was o.k. but not that believable to me. I would totally recommend that you rent this DVD..not worth the $$ to own.
My Rating:

The Time Traveler's Wife

Released: 2009
Source: Checked out from my local library .75 cents
I have avoided watching this movie for a full year because I LOVED the book so much that I just did not want to be disappointed. Well, I was!!! The first part of the movie was incredibly slow and if you hadn't read the book, you would be wondering just what the heck was going on. I had to explain a few things to my husband as we watched this. The last 45 minutes were saved by the introduction of Alba....she made the movie for me. This movie didn't elicit very many emotions for me and that in my book makes it nothing to write home about!
My Rating:  Alba raised this from a 2 to a 3

It's Complicated
Released: 2009
Source: Checked out from my local library .75 cents
OMG.....I absolutely loved loved loved this movie!! Meryl Streep just gets better with age and for once I really enjoyed Alec Baldwin. I enjoyed watching how this story played out and thought there was real chemistry between all of the actors. I believed everyone. I cried right at the beginning of the movie where Meryl's character walks back into her empty house and wonders what she's going to do now that her children are grown and flying the coop. This is one movie that I would watch again!!!
My Rating:

'The Miracle of Prato' TLC Book Tour Stop

Author: Laurie Albanese and Laura Morowitz
Published: 2009, Harper Paperbacks
Pages: 372
Genre: Historical Fiction
Source: TLC Book Tours
Synopsis from TLC:
Italy, 1456. The Renaissance is in glorious bloom. A Carmelite monk, the great artist Fra Filippo Lippi acts as chaplain to the nuns of the Convent Santa Margherita. It is here that he encounters the greatest temptation of his life, beautiful Lucrezia Buti, who has been driven to holy orders more by poverty than piety. In Lucrezia’s flawless face Lippi sees the inspiration for countless Madonnas and he brings the young woman to his studio to serve as his model. But as painter and muse are united in an exhilarating whirl of artistic discovery, a passionate love develops, one that threatens to destroy them both even as it fuels some of Lippi’s greatest work.

My Thoughts:

Filippo Lippi- Virgin/child/2 angels

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres of all time and little did I know when I agreed to read this book for TLC that I would also become a fan of the Renaissance period too! This collaboration between Albanese and Morowitz worked beautifully.  They captured my attention and imagination from the very beginning line. I was absolutely enthralled with this story as I felt that the characters came to life before my very eyes. My heart always aches when I read stories where the women's lives are under the control of the men in their family. Lucrezia and her sister Spinetta became very real to me and so did their pain. I became very involved in artist Filippo Lippi's life. I understood why he was willing to beg, borrow, and steal in order to paint. The best part of this whole book is that the story is based upon actual people. I love it when authors take a period of time that I know next to nothing about, and  create a story that reels me in and leaves me wanting to learn more! This one is sure to be a hit with readers of historical fiction that feature famous artists!!


Rating: 4/5 

                                                  


Thank you to TLC for asking me to be a part of this book tour.
Check out the other tour stops HERE.

Check out the Discussion Guide for The Miracles of Prato.

 

About Laurie Albanese and Laura Morowitz

Laurie Albanese is the author of the novel Lynelle by the Sea and the memoir Blue Suburbia, which was named a Book Sense Best Book of the Year and was an Entertainment Weekly Editor’s Choice selection.
Laura Morowitz is a professor of art history and coauthor of Consuming the Past: The Medieval Revival in Fin-de-Siècle France. They both live in New Jersey with their families.
Read the co-author Q&A here.

'Holly's Inbox: Scandal in the City'- Holly Denham

Synopsis from back cover: Written entirely in emails, this follow-up to the UK smash hit "Holly's Inbox" will keep you glued to its pages as the scandal running rampant in the city threatens to ruin Holly's hard-earned and long-awaited happiness.

1. Words to describe the book: saucy, hilarious, fun, cheeky, page-turner

2. Location or characters you met:

• Holly: What is not to like about Holly? She's got it together, well mostly, except for the bad habit of putting her bills in the freezer and pretending they don't exist. But look past that to her big heart and how loyal she is to her friends. I love this character. She's someone I could easily call a friend.
• Jason : He's the best best-friend a girl could ask for. I like his personality and how he always wants to take care of Holly.
• London: This is a city that I must visit before I die! I love the descriptions in the book and the way English people talk. The slang is pure enjoyment for me!!
• Boyfriend and family-perfect mix of cute, quirky, zany, and realistic....great combination!

3. Things you liked/disliked:

• The email format is a hit with me. I really got into the whole communications scenario between the various characters.
• How the author was able to weave a story that felt complete using so little dialogue!!
• Cast of characters truly makes this book.
• I would like some definitions to the Brit slang used- just so I know how to incorporate correctly into my every day life!

4. Rating:  4.5/5 



Thank you to April  of Sourcebooks, Inc. for sending me a review copy. I was not compensated for my review.
My thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author or publicist.
They are my personal reflections based solely on MY experience while reading this novel.

Release date:  August, 2010

Publisher:  Sourcebooks Casablanca

Pages: 535

Genre:  Hilarious British Chick-Lit

ISBN: 978-1-4022-4114-7

Review Style patterned after Show Me 5

'Georgette Heyer's Regency World' by Jennifer Kloester

Author: Jennifer Kloester

Genre:  History, Non-Fiction

About: This is truly everything you ever wanted to know about Heyer's Regency world and beyond!

Descriptive Words: factual, fun, lists, great illustrations

Thoughts: I wanted to read this one because I've read a few of Heyer's Regency romance novels and thought it would be fun to try to understand the customs, rules, clothes, food, and the monarchy from that time period. This book does not disappoint at all. There are so many aspects from the Regency era that it can be a little mind-boggling at the beginning. I recommend that you read this book in chunks, because there is so much information that your head may explode....SERIOUSLY! I can tell you one thing...I would never be allowed into the upper crust because I wouldn't be able to remember all of the rules of etiquette!! My favorite chapters were:

• The Gentle Sex- everything a young lady needs to know and oh, so much more!
• Up and Down the Social Ladder- this was great information as to how the class system was dictated.
• On the Town-how to get in with the very best Patronesses so that you will marry well! Oh, and after you're married and have produced an heir, you may have as many affairs as you want as long as you don't flaunt them! O' la la!!
• Eat, Drink, and Be Merry- no wonder the rich were fat!!They ate all of the time!
• Who's Who in the Royal Family- I really enjoyed this one. I don't know the monarchy and this was a much needed chapter!!
• If you're a fan of information the appendix is awesome!!!

Source: Danielle of Sourcebooks, Inc.


Recommend? I would, especially to fans of Heyer, Austen, and the Regency time period. This has everything you would ever need to know and while I was reading it, I found myself filling in some questions that I had while reading their books.

Rating: 4/5

I was not compensated for my review. My thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author. They are my personal reflections based solely on MY experience while reading this novel.

Available August 2010
ISBN 9781402241369
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.

About the author: Jennifer Kloester is Georgette Heyer's official biographer, and had access to private papers and other confidential information, discovering a wealth of new material on the immensely private author.



Review style courtesy of Lynne's Book Reviews

Mailbox Monday and It's Monday....What Are You Reading?

Mailbox Monday

is hosted by Chick Loves Lit (August Host)
We share what books that we found 

in our mailboxes last week.

Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire- TLC Book Stop September 16th
Wild Night (Hunter Kiss Series #3)- publisher for review

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Hosted by Sheila
One Persons Journey Through a World of Books
Weekly meme where we discuss the books you've read
and those you plan to read in the coming week.

Read and reviewed last week:

The Life You Imagined- Michigan author and great read!! 4/5

Dangerous Neighbors- another awesome book by Beth Kephart 4.5/5

The Lovely Bones- movie review 2/5

Tentative Reviews for the week:

Georgette Heyer's Regency World- Tuesday

Holly's Inbox: Scandal in the City- Wednesday

The Marshall Project- Thursday reviewed by Janel of Janel's Jumble
Reapers Are the Angels- Friday (Reviewed by Marc)
Six Sentence Movie Reviews:
It's Complicated
Leap Year
The Time Traveler's Wife

Books on the nightstand: