Blog tour : The Paris Affair by Susanne Dunlap

I am very pleased to welcome author Susanne Dunlap to my blog today with a guest post as part of the blog tour for her new book The Paris Affair, which is the third book in the Theresa Schurmann series.

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Hooray! It’s a Series!

This may not seem so exciting to many people, but I grew up reading Nancy Drew, the all-time-most-popular middle-grade mystery series. I think ever since then I’ve wanted to write a series of my own. But the world had other plans for me for a while.

When I was being published by the big 5 publishers back when the publishing world was a different place (2005–2012), it seemed my editors only wanted stand-alone historical novels. Even though I’d written the sequel to The Musician’s Daughter as my option book for Bloomsbury Children’s, my editor asked for something different. That’s when I wrote Anastasia’s Secret.

Don’t get me wrong—I’m extremely grateful for the six contracts I had for my adult and young-adult historical novels. But I’d written that first YA mystery with the intention of continuing a series, and readers asked me about it all the time.

A year ago, in a much-changed publishing landscape, I decided it was time to relaunch Theresa properly into the world. I dusted off, revised, and edited the manuscript of The Mozart Conspiracy and self-published it. All I wanted was for her to have a chance at being out there for readers.

I’d forgotten how much fun it was to be in feisty Theresa’s head. I poured my young musician self into her and relived the experiences of practicing and performing—piano, not violin. And I didn’t want to let her go. I wanted to stay in that world, and I hoped readers would too.

That led me to the idea for the next mystery in the series, and The Paris Affair came into being. OK, so it didn’t just appear like magic: I spent months writing and editing and crafting this book.

The result: I can now claim to have a series! That makes me ridiculously happy. I have no intention of leaving Theresa now. I already have an idea for her next adventure. The only difficulty is that she’s really almost an adult now, so I may have to hope my audience is willing to follow her into that new phase of life. I’m gratified that The Paris Affair has already had some wonderful reviews. I’m looking forward to hearing more from readers—and getting stuck in to writing the next book in the series!

ABOUT THE BOOK

THE PARIS AFFAIR
BY SUSANNE DUNLAP

Publication Date: September 30, 2020
Paperback & eBook; 244 pages

Series: Theresa Schurmann Mystery, Book 3
Genre: YA/Historical Fiction




Apparently, false rumors about Marie Antoinette are all the fashion in 1783.

Marie Antoinette is facing hostility from the populace, inflamed by rumors circulated in pamphlets throughout Paris. The rumors claim that she has dozens of lovers, drinks the blood of poor people, holds satanic masses at Versailles, and more, when nothing could be further from the truth. On the advice of the handsome, enigmatic Captain von Bauer, Joseph II–emperor of Austria and Marie Antoinette’s brother–decides that mystery-solving violinist Theresa Schurman is the ideal candidate for a spy to discover the source of these vile slanders.

Theresa is only too glad to get away from Vienna for a while, unwilling to commit herself yet to marrying Zoltan–a Hungarian baron she met when she was fifteen–and running out of reasons to postpone her decision. She is eager, too, to explore a new musical scene and broaden her artistic education. But when the captain confounds her expectations and places her as a bookkeeper in the establishment of Rose Bertin, milliner to the queen, she begins to lose hope that she will ever achieve her musical aims–or the emperor’s goal of exposing the pamphleteers.

A chance encounter with the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, an extraordinary black violinist and expert swordsman, sets Theresa on the path to unraveling the mystery. But will the chevalier’s patron, the powerful duc de Chartres, confound her efforts and put her–and the captain’s–lives in danger?

Be prepared for music, mystery, love, and murder in this riveting tale of pre-revolutionary Paris.

“The settings and situations are enchanting and varied; Dunlap is adept at on-the-fly description and at lacing intrigue with romance…Dunlap proves an arresting tour guide through this rich milieu, summoning up the past without slowing down the storytelling. Author and protagonist alike boast an epigrammatic wit. The touch is light, but the scenery and chatter are sumptuous…Theresa stands as a fascinating protagonist, a woman whose nimble navigation of society’s expectations and several burgeoning romances are exciting and inspiring, even more so than the sleuthing that drives the novel’s plot. The people she encounters are likewise memorable, complex, and surprising, especially the chevalier…This sparkling historical mystery conjures up the salons, fashion, and gossip of Marie Antoinette’s Paris, with a winning emphasis on the power of music and the roles that society allowed women.” – The BookLife Prize

AMAZON | BARNES AND NOBLE | INDIEBOUND

About the Author

Susanne Dunlap is the author of nine works of historical fiction. A graduate of Smith College with a PhD in Music History from Yale University, Susanne grew up in Buffalo, New York and has lived in London, Brooklyn and Northampton, MA. She now lives in Northampton with her long-time partner, Charles, has two grown daughters, three granddaughters, a grandson, a stepson and a stepdaughter, five step-grandsons and one step-granddaughter—that’s a total of four children and eleven grandchildren!

In her spare time she cycles in the beautiful Pioneer Valley.

For more information, please visit Susanne Dunlap’s website. You can follow author Susanne Dunlap on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram, Pinterest, and BookBub.

Blog Tour Schedule

Wednesday, September 30
Excerpt at Coffee and Ink
Review at Little But Fierce Book Diary

Thursday, October 1
Review at Pursuing Stacie

Friday, October 2
Feature at I’m Into Books
Review at Gwendalyn’s Books

Monday, October 5
Review at Chicks, Rogues, and Scandals

Tuesday, October 6
Review at YA, It’s Lit

Wednesday, October 7
Review at Books and Zebras

Thursday, October 8
Excerpt at Turn The Page

Friday, October 9
Review & Excerpt at Bookworlder

Sunday, October 11
Review at Bitch Bookshelf

Monday, October 12
Review at Nursebookie

Tuesday, October 13
Review at Rajiv’s Reviews

Wednesday, October 14
Review at Book Bustle

Thursday, October 15
Guest Post at Novels Alive

Friday, October 16
Review at Passages to the Past
Guest post at The Intrepid Reader

Saturday, October 17
Review at Reading is My Remedy

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour, one lucky reader will win signed copies of all 3 books in the Theresa Schurmann Mystery series! To enter, please use the Gleam form below.

The giveaway is open to US residents only and ends on October 17th. You must be 18 or older to enter.

The Paris Affair

Direct Link: https://gleam.io/competitions/ezV8f-the-paris-affair

You Were Made For Me by Jenna Guilaume

Do you remember when you were a teenager? When you were absolutely convinced that the cool guy is never going to be into you? Not least of all because he has a beautiful, popular girlfriend who happens to be your nemesis, but also because you know you're not in his league?

I remember feeling similar things to this, and to be honest, not only as a teenager. As an adult I spent many years as a single parent and there were times I believed it wouldn't be possible for me to meet the perfect guy. Luckily, I ended up meeting my pretty much perfect guy but it did take a long time.

What I didn't ever do though is accidentally create my own perfect guy (I had to rely on book boyfriends to fulfil that role) but that's exactly what happens for Katie. She's never been kissed and the boy that she really likes is oblivious to her existence. One night, after a rough day at school Katie and her friend Libby conjure up the perfect boy. When she goes to bed she has an anatomically correct clay figurine and when she wakes up there is 6 foot of Hemsworth-like boy in her room. What else are you going to do but freak out? And then you give them a completely imaginative name like, um, Guy?

Fortunately Libby and Katie's next door neighbour Theo are on hand to help with issues like where Guy can sleep because Libby's parents would freak if he stayed at her place. Theo has been Katie's friend for years. They have been there for each other through tragedy and triumph. But will their friendship survive Guy?

But here's the thing about creating someone so perfect. Guy has no life experience of his own. He has just popped into existence. Every time he eats something, it is the best thing he ever tasted. He has never been to school, and so just waits around for Katie to come home from work or school. He has to learn about working and money. The one thing he knows is Katie. But how do you know what they see in you when you made them to love just you?

I am not the target demographic for this book at all. I am more like the parent of the target demographic, but that doesn't mean to say that I couldn't enjoy the book. I enjoyed the back and forth on the page between Libby and Katie, and, obviously suspending disbelief, I enjoyed the premise of the book. It has that same kind of feel as movies like Freaky Friday and Big. And I definitely could relate to some of the issues around self worth as I did in this author's debut novel which I read last year. I think that there are certain feelings that you have as a teenager that you don't have to dig very hard to be able to find within yourself as an adult.

There is no doubt that this book is on the lighter end of the scale, but if you are looking for a fun read with a very Australian feel that still manages to cover off serious subjects such as grief, sexuality and finding your own identity, this was a pleasure to read.

Rating 4/5

Thanks to Netgalley for this book.

Goodreads summary

The day I created a boy started out like any other.
Katie didn't mean to create a boy. A boy like a long-lost Hemsworth brother: six-foot tall with floppy hair and eyes like the sky on a clear summer's day; whose lips taste like cookie-dough and whose skin smells like springtime.
A boy who is completely devoted to Katie.
He was meant to be perfect.
But he was never meant to exist.

Six Degrees of Separation: The Road to The One Hundred Foot Journey

Welcome to this month's edition of Six Degrees of Separation, which is a monthly meme hosted by Kate from Books Are My Favourite and Best.  The idea is to start with a specific book and make a series of links from one book to the next using whatever link you can find and see where you end up after six links. 

Normally when I participate in this my links are somewhat random. It could be locations, author names, titles, etc but this month I am going with a specific theme - mostly types of roads. Whenever I do these posts I try and keep it to books that I have actually read but there is one exception this month. It is actually an exception for two reasons but more about that later.

The starting point this month is The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I read this book when it was an Oprah's Book Club selection many years ago (my review) I did think about going down the post apocalyptic route from here but in the end I decided to head in a different direction.

So the most obvious type of road other than a road is a street so I have chosen Street of Five Moons by Elizabeth Peters. This author is known more for her Amelia Peabody series which is set in Victorian Egypt. This series features a Vicky Bliss and a gentleman thief known as John Smythe. They are both fun series. My review is here.

I've realised that I didn't do a road book yet, so for that one I am choosing On the Jellicoe Road by Australian author Melina Marchetta. She is one of my favourites, whether it is her YA books which have incredible depth and emotion or her books for adults. Here is my gushy review

One of Melina Marchetta's recent books is The Place on Dalhousie. This book features characters that we met originally in Saving Francesca which is a YA novel when the characters were in late high school. We met these same characters when they are in their early twenties in The Piper's Son, which is a book I have listened to so many times. In The Place in Dalhousie they are a little older again and it was such a joy to reconnect with these characters.

Ocean at the end of the Lane by Neil Gaiman is my next stop. I read this a few years ago now, and enjoyed it. I was lucky enough to hear Neil Gaiman speak earlier this year, which was such a treat!

Now is about where I started to struggle with this idea. I mean there are plenty of books that have the word path, and there must be books with words like boulevard, parade, circuit but my restriction of having read the book made it difficult.

So I am cheating a bit and choosing as my next choice Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt. I read this book 15 years ago and I do remember how much it moved me at the time.

In the end I broke my own rules and chose as my final book one that I haven't read, although I have seen the movie a couple of times because I love it. I do however have the book on my shelf. My final choice for this month is  One Hundred Foot Journey by Richard Morais. Yes, I know that there is no type of road in the title of this one, but I think the word journey encompasses all the roads.

Next month's starting book is Normal People by Sally Rooney.

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

Since my return to blogging, I have also been trying to get back into the habit of reading and commenting on other blogs in addition to having my own content here. Let's face it, they both take time and effort.

Not all that long ago, I read a review for this book over at All the Books I Can Read and I knew that I had to read it! And a bonus was I knew that my library system has it because we both use the same library system.

With the Fire on High is a young adult novel that deals with some really big issues. Emoni Santiago is a young girl just starting her final year of high school, with all that means. She needs to make choices about what colleges, if any,  to apply for, what her future looks like. For Emoni, that all focuses around two people....her two year old daughter Emma and her Abuela (grandmother) who raised her because her mother died at birth and her father lives in Puerto Rico, visiting once a year, meaning they have a complicated relations. Abuela has stood by her and supported her with Emma. Emoni is therefore concerned with how she can support both herself and Emma and relieve some of the burden from her grandmother, which may well mean foregoing her dreams.

Emma's father is somewhat present in their lives, but at times his presence is a challenge, especially when he thinks that he can have a say in how Emoni lives her life.

Emoni's passion in life is cooking and she has a natural talent for it, and has done from a very young age, something that I wish I had more of.

If  you ask her to tell it, 'Buela starts with the same story.
I was a little older than Babygirl is now and always following 'Buela into the kitchen. I would sit at the kitchen table eating bootleg Cheerios or rice or something I could pick up with my fingers and shove into my mouth while she played El Gran Combo or Celia Cruz or La Lupe loud on her old-school radio, shimmying her hips while stirring a pot. She can't remember what made that day different - if my pops, Julio, had been late in arriving on one of his yearly visits from San Juan, or if it'd been a time she'd gotten reprimanded at work for taking too long on someone's measurements - but this particular day she didn't turn the radio on and she wasn't her usual self at the stove. At one point, she must have  forgotten I was there because she threw the kitchen rag down on the floor an left. She just walked straight out of the kitchen, crossed the living room, opened the front door, and was gone.
We can't agree on what it was that she'd started cooking. She says it was a stew and nothing that would burn quick, but although my own memory is childhood-fuzzy, I remember it being a pot of moro - the rice and beans definitely something that would soak up water. 'Buela says she just stepped out onto the stoop to clear her head, and when she came back  ten minutes later I had pulled the step stool to the stove, had a bunch of spices on the counter, and had my small arm halfway into the pot, stirring.

And then a couple of paragraphs later.

In fact, when 'Buela tasted it (whatever "it" was) she says it was the best thing she'd ever eaten. How it made her whole day better, sweeter. Says a memory of Puerto Rico she  hadn't thought about in years reached out like an island hammock and cradled her close. When she tells the story, it's always a different simile, but sweet like that. All I know is she cried into her plate that night.. And so at the age of four, I learned someone could cry from a happy memory.

Her food evokes emotions and memories in those who are lucky enough to eat it, and for me, as a reader it evoked a big desire to eat the dishes depicted.

Emoni struggles a bit at school, and so she has pretty much talked herself into thinking that college isn't an option for her. She knows that in this last year at school she has to work hard, do her hours in her part time job at Burger Joint, and do her best to look after "Babygirl". She doesn't really have capacity to pick up another class and she really doesn't want to be distracted by the new boy in school.

When her teacher tells her that there is a new culinary arts elective, Emoni really wants to do it but given it includes an overseas trip to Spain it is another thing that might be just out of reach. Emoni really has a great support team around her, from her advisory teacher to her friends and grandmother, and they encourage her to join up. In the class though, she clashes with the teacher, because he needs her to learn that instinct is great but to work in food she also needs to be able to show technique, follow instructions, and food presentation. And then, how on earth is she going to be able to make the overseas trip happen?

From the first page I was drawn in by the writing and by the story and addresses issues such as young love, young parenthood, coming of age, friendship and more. I enjoyed all the food references, as well as the story. Emoni was a young woman who was prepared to work hard to achieve her goals, no matter how challenging the consequences both past and present. I admired her a lot.

I really enjoyed this book!

The author has a new book coming out in May that I really like the sound of too!

Rating 4.5/5

I am connecting this post up to Foodies Read hosted at Based on a True Story

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. For more information, see the welcome post.

Sunday Salon: Joint review of Just One Year by Gayle Forman

Bree from All the Books I Can Read and I often find ourselves emailing back and forward about what we are reading or thinking about reading. Recently we realised that we were both about to read Just One Year by Gayle Forman and so it seemed to be a good time for a discussion style review.

Bree has the first part of the discussion here, and I have the second part. My thoughts are in black and Bree's are in purple. Turns out that I enjoyed this book more than she did so it was an interesting discussion.

Enjoy

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M: Did you find the similarities of Willem’s experience with those mirroring aspects of Willem’s parent’s story interesting with his own story or too convenient?

B: I would totally agree with you recommending If I Stay and Where She Went as books to start with. I think they better showcase Forman’s true emotional range as a writer. To be honest, I would’ve liked to see a little more emotional growth from Willem in this novel as a gradual thing. I feel like a lot of it was crammed right in to the end of the book and it didn’t seem to evolve as naturally as it could have. Willem seems to rely on other people to do things for him, or for things to fall into his lap - rarely does he display much effort in going out and getting something and making it his so I did applaud him when he played the acting role in the play to his own ability and didn’t take the direction that was given to him. I think that the end of the book shows his best side - he’s ready to move on with his life now, from the wanderlust that took him away from the unhappy circumstances his family found themselves in. He’s also, as you say, probably at that place where he’s able to deal with Allyson reappearing in his life.

I think that there were too many coincidences in the end, between Willem’s parents’ story and Willem’s and actually, I’d liked to have known more about his parents. There’s a few details sprinkled throughout but it sounded quite interesting. It actually took me a long time to even remember who Yael and Bram even were, given he refers to them by their given names. I was all prepared not to like Yael much but once Willem finally went to India and she began to get a voice, I was surprised by how much I found her voice compelling. There was definitely more there that I’d like to know, but it wasn’t their story which is kind of unfortunate!

Ultimately do you think the two books work together? Do you think there was even a need for Willem’s story? Would anything be different if there was only Just One Day?

M: Hmm, good question, one I am not sure that I know the answer for. I think you could probably have put more of Willem’s story into Just One Day and then come back together again, but I think that perhaps that would have diluted some of the more important parts of Allyson’s story. For example, one of the key issues in Just One Day was depression and how it impacts on a young girls life, and it would have been quite difficult to contrast that depression with some of the ways that Willem’s story played out and end up with a well balanced story.

What would your answer to those questions be?

B: Short answer? No and no. Honestly, I know I’m being pretty negative here but this book really didn’t add much to the overall arch of Willem and Allyson. We got maybe two seconds more of story after Just One Day left off and I didn’t get the explanations and reconnection that I really wanted to see. Allyson’s story definitely delves deeper into that depression and struggle to find yourself and balance that with expectations of parents, etc which I’m sure many young people go through when they move out of home and into a college dorm. Some people really struggle with that pressure, especially when they don’t want to know what they want to do with their lives or think that it won’t be approved of. In contrast, Willem kept wandering around the world, never wondering why his money didn’t run out...how did that not cross his mind? If I was backpacking I’d be making sure I always had enough money to pay for my next meal, next bed, next flight or whatever out of there. I wanted this book to give me so much more of the bigger picture and honestly, if I hadn’t read it, I don’t think I’d be missing out on anything. I definitely can’t say that about If I Stay and Where She Went. I know, I know, I keep coming back to those two books. They’re different, I shouldn’t be comparing them. But when I think of them, they’re a story. Together, they make two parts of the same story. There’s a beginning, there’s a middle and then there’s an end, both of them get a satisfactory story and ending. This doesn’t feel the same way.

I’m overthinking it probably!

M: Actually, I think that If I Stay has a beginning, a middle and a not ending in a way. Anyway, that’s an aside!

I went looking to see what Gayle Forman is publishing next and I couldn’t see anything. On the basis of how much you loved If I Stayed and Where She Went and how much you ... didn’t love this one, will you be excited about what comes next?

B: I found a book on Goodreads scheduled for 2015 which is apparently about a girl exploring her best friend’s suicide. Look, I know that I haven’t given this one a glowing review but it’s not a terrible book. It’s just not the book I wanted to read. Gayle Forman has written two of my favourite YA books read in recent times so I’m still going to be pretty keen for anything she has coming out. I kind of hope it’s a stand alone though!

M: Yes, I would hope for standalone too, but I would be surprised if it is because series are such a cash cow in genre fiction that I think that publishers look for series rather than stand alone and she has been successful with these kind of connected books.

Whilst these two books didn’t stand up against the excellent If I Stay and Where She Went I do think that Forman is a very talented author who has the ability to write some amazing books. She has such a way with words. and there are time when I just have to stop and reread a phrase or a sentence, as in the example below from page 250.

The breath that comes out of me isn't a sigh or a sob or a shudder. It's something alive, like a bird, wings beating, taking flight. And then it's gone, off into the quiet afternoon.

I’ll take a quiet afternoon to read whatever she comes up with next!

B: Definitely! I think that she has many amazing stories still to come.



Rating 4/5


Synopsis

Twenty four hours can change your life....

Allyson and Willem share on magical day together in Paris, before chance rips them apart.

The romantic, emotional companion to Just One Day, this is a story of the choices we make and the accidents life throws at us.

But is one day enough to find your fate?

Currently Reading

A Feast for Crows by George R R Martin and listening to The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith.

Next up

Bellagrand by Paullina Simons and Duke of Midnight by Elizabeth Hoyt

Blog Tour: The Tribe series by Ambelin Kwaymullina

Today I am super excited to welcome Ambelina Kwaymullina back to my blog as part of the blog our to celebrate the release of The Disappearance of Ember Crow, the second book in The Tribe series. Last time she was here, Ambelin wrote an awesome guest post on diversity. This time, I got the opportunity to ask her a few questions!

I originally found the first book in The Tribe series when I was specifically looking for a spec fic book by an Aboriginal woman writer. My search was was much harder than I expected it to be as I could find very few books that fit into those criteria. How difficult was it to sell this series to a publisher?

Not difficult at all – but I went to the right publisher. I knew some of the people at Walker Books, and because of that I knew that they would understand and embrace the story.

Stereotypes of Aboriginal stories, and people, are an issue, both in writing and in everyday life. I know I’m far from the only Aboriginal person to have encountered an odd phenomenon whereby random non-Aboriginal people – often people I’ve just met – feel they have the right to aggressively interrogate my identity, as if they are the self-appointed administrators of some kind of Aboriginality test. It’s distressing – and it’s ridiculous. I know many people from many different cultures and countries, and I can’t say it’s ever occurred to me to criticise my Scottish friends for failing to wear kilts, or to expect anyone who comes from Sweden to be able to direct me to the nearest Ikea store. Yet a surprising number of people seem to have somehow gotten the idea that they are entitled to tell me who I am and who my people are, generally within five minutes of first meeting me.

A couple of my Aboriginal friends have asked me if I was worried about how the book would be received, precisely because it doesn’t fit the mould of what some people might expect an Aboriginal story to be. I never had any concerns about my teenage readers; I did wonder a bit about the grown ups. I needn’t have. The story has been wonderfully well received and for that I feel I must chiefly thank the bloggers. Aussie bloggers have universally assessed the story on its own terms and not by reference to any preconceived stereotypes; and to have the chance to discuss the cultural aspects of the story with some of them has been a privilege and a joy.

So to all the bloggers: a heartfelt thanks from me.

What came first for you - the characters of Ashala Wolf and her friends or the plot?

I heard Ashala’s voice, and I followed it, and her – through the cold hallways of the detention centre, and amongst the trees of the Firstwood. I walked at her side, feeling what she felt and seeing what she saw; she and I experienced the story together.

I love the way that the plot twists and turns in your books? There are definitely "I didn't see that coming" moments for me as a reader but those moments all still make complete sense in terms of the plot and the characters. Does that happen to you as you are writing and how do you keep track of all the twists?

There’s a couple of moments, especially in The Disappearance of Ember Crow, when even as I was writing them I was freaking out a bit in my head. Because I wrote the books in the order that you read them, I am often discovering something when the reader does – there where lots of occasions when I knew something had to be in the book but I didn’t know the reason why until much, much later. For example, I knew, from the very first chapter of The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf, that Ash never calls Justin Connor ‘Justin’; he is always Connor, to her. And I knew that he never, ever shortened her name; she is always Ashala, to him. But I didn’t know why, and in many ways the reason for that – which doesn’t come out until much later in the book - defines their entire relationship.

You have written a lot of childrens books and picture books before this series. How hard was it to make the transition into dystopian YA?

I think the picture books really helped me, because picture books are a hard lesson in telling a story in not a lot of words; and that ability to convey meaning in fewer words is marvellously helpful when it comes to keeping up the pace in a longer story. I guess I didn’t find the transition that difficult because I’ve been working on various novels for a long time; I have an entire box full of half finished books in my wardrobe (they’re all rubbish. Trust me). So in my head I was always writing longer books – even when I didn’t have anything finished to show for it!

In your dystopian world some of the characters have special skills. What would your special skill be? And what would you miss most about your current life if you had to live in the Firstwood?

If I was living in the Firstwood … I would miss books, I think. It’s a hard place to have a library, although I would have Ember to tell me stories. As to a special skill – I’m Ashala, when I write, so I have to be a Sleepwalker, like she is. I guess that means I have the power the change the world in my dreams; to remake it into what I wish it could be. Perhaps my books are my dreams, and in them, I imagine an unjust world transformed by an alliance of good-hearted people. Ashala speaks of fight at the end of The Disappearance of Ember Crow that is more important than any that has gone before, only it is not a battle between the Citizens and Illegals of her world. It is a battle between those who want to stop hating, and those who do not.

We have that fight in this reality too. I know which side I’m on.

I am so excited to see that books 3 and 4 in the series have titles. Can you give us a bit of a clue of what comes next for Ashala, Ember and their friends.

Yeah, you don’t really want me to tell you that. Then where would the surprises be? But we are heading to the end now; the stakes are higher for all concerned, in the books that are to come. All of our existing friends are back, and there will be new ones as well. Things become more complex, more intense, and more dangerous. And Ash, in the third and fourth books, is going to face a test harder than any that has gone before. Her concept of leadership at this point is to stand between her Tribe and her forest whatever danger threatens. She is going to find it far more difficult to accept that others will choose to stand between her and danger – and pay the price for it.

And what comes next for Ambelin Kwaymullina?

After The Tribe? I have an idea for a trilogy set in the same world but with different characters, and once that’s done, a new, six book series set in an entirely new reality.

I’m not short on stories. Just time.

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer these questions Ambelin.


Be sure to check out the next stop in the tour which is at Lauren's Loquacious Literature or start from the beginning of the tour and follow it through.

Sunday Salon: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

This week it was the American Library Association's Banned Book week. I don't think I ever fully understand when people decide that they want to ban a book completely unless there are very good, and very serious, reasons. Of course, seriousness may be in the eye of the beholder but often I look at books that are on the banned book list and shake my head in bewilderment. I respect the right of a parent to say I don't want my child to read a specific book but I don't actually see why they should be able to say that no child should be allowed to read this book. Of course, I am happy if I ever see my son reading any book! It doesn't happen often.

There are several on the banned book list that I have read, both when I was young (back in the day) and as an adult and I struggle to see what reasons there are for them being banned.  I find myself wondering about the people who raise the challenges on books. For example, I see that one of the books that has been challenged that I read earlier this year was Looking for Alaska by John Green which has been challenged because of the language and sexual nature of a couple of scenes.

As a parent of a 15 year old boy, I get how those scenes could be shocking, mainly because I am in denial of the fact that my child could be old enough to be doing that kind of thing. Having said that, I also remember that I was once 15, 16, 17 years old and I know what I was doing. Is it fair for me to say to him, you can't do X and you certainly can't read about Y? Probably not. What I can do is hope that I have taught him to to be safe, to be respectful and to wait until the time is right. Of course, I would prefer him not to be sexually active yet, and I don't think he is, and I am certainly not going to facilitate those kinds of activities, but I am also not so naive as to not remember what teenagers and people in their early twenties get up to. 

Even in terms of language, he is still young enough to pretend to be shocked when I swear in front of him, but I hear him when he is talking to his buddies on Xbox so I hear what is being said and not said, and have been known to pull him up if I hear something being said that I don't like. That is usually more along the lines of insults to his friends rather than bad language though. In front of me, and more importantly, in front of others adults he doesn't curse and mostly talks respectfully when he talks at all.

Part of the reason I find this whole challenging and banning of books a little confronting is that it doesn't seem to be a part of our culture in the same way as it seems to be in America. That doesn't mean that there aren't any books that are banned (click here for a list of books banned in Australia) but when they are they tend to be about big issues like euthanasia and illicit drugs. It also doesn't mean that there aren't times when there isn't an outcry about books being included or excluded on school lists. It just doesn't seem to be quite so prevalent or vicious when it happens.

What prompted me to write this post though was the news that Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell was recently challenged and a visit by the author cancelled as a result. I read this book not too long ago and absolutely loved it but never had gotten around to reviewing it, so I thought that today I would try and express what it is that I loved about this book and why I think it is important that it be accessible to its target audience.  For more posts about this issue click on the following links at Toast, Monkey See and Bookriot

Put very simplistically Eleanor and Park is the story of two teenagers who find themselves forming a relationship over a period of time based on a shared love of comics, mix tapes and more. It is set in 1986 and so the setting was a huge part of the charm of this book for me as the music, fashion and pop culture references were extremely familiar to me and many of them had some meaning to me as I was in the later years of high school myself at that time. 

While that sense of 80's nostalgia would have been enough to make this a totally enjoyable read, it was the depth and characterisation which meant that this book was a 5/5 read for me.

Park is a mixed race Korean/American boy in the predominantly white Omaha community that he has grown up in. Whilst he has not been overtly bullied, he is very much conscious of the fact that he is different, an outsider. This is true not only at school, but also at home. Whilst he knows that both of his parents love him, he feels that he is something of a disappointment to his all American dad because, unlike his brother, he is not sporty at all and he is quite nerdy. The portrayal of mixed race characters is something that I often like to read simply because I am the mother of a half African kid, and it is something that I am a little sensitive to I guess. As far as I know he has had very few issues when it comes to racism and the like, but I am conscious that it is possible that it could start at anytime. The fact that he has an African name and is clearly mixed when you look at him belies the fact that he pretty much has had a very Aussie upbringing.

When Eleanor first catches the school bus, it is impossible for Park not to notice her. Not only is she new but she is large, wearing strange clothes and has vibrant red hair. Everyone has their set place on the school bus and as she walks down the aisle she is shunned by the other kids, until Park moves over to allow her to sit next to him. 

Park is aware of his own perceived place as an outsider so he is not going to emphasise that by being friends with someone who is even more outside than he is, and so they travel in awkward silence until he realises that she is reading his comics over his shoulder.

For Eleanor riding the bus with Park and reading the comics gives her access to a world that is far away from her own existence. She is the product of a broken home. Her father has married again and has a new life which doesn't really include his children from previous relationships and Eleanor's mother has also remarried. Her stepfather is a horrible man who kicked Eleanor out after she answered him back. She has only just returned home after a year of living with friends and she is determined to not be separated from her siblings again so she tries to be as invisible as she can be to him. There is never any money, mainly because the stepfather drinks it all away. Eleanor's once beautiful mother is a shadow of herself and Eleanor has to make do with thrift shop clothes which she decorates however she can to cover the holes and stains.

From the tentative start of the relationship which begins with talking about comics, Eleanor and Park go on to talk about music and eventually become friends which slowly builds into an unlikely attraction. As most teenage relationships are, the attraction is all consuming, to the point that just holding hands has the two of them almost in flames, and the intensity is almost palpable to the reader.

Park knows that Eleanor is unhappy at home, and has his own demons to deal with, but his sensitivity to her is a beautiful thing to read. In fact, by the end of this book I was wishing that I could find a Park of my own, who could look beyond the larger body that I currently have and see that underneath there is a fundamentally decent person who just wants to be loved as much as the next person. I always feel a bit awkward crushing on 17 year old boys even if it is just in a book (hello Etienne St Clair!) so I was very excited when I realised that it was perfectly reasonable in this case, because hey, we would totally be the same age right now!

The reasons why this book have been challenged include language and for being too sexually explicit. In relation to the first reason, most of the derogatory language in the book is actually directed at the two main characters, specifically in the form of the bullying that Eleanor receives at school and also from her stepfather. I could relate to the home aspects more than the school. At school I don't think I would classify myself as having been bullied, because to be honest, people would have to have noticed me in order to do that, but I certainly never fit in anywhere, whether it be because my clothes were never right or my hair was wrong or whatever. My stepfather was not abusive in the same way as Eleanor's was but he was in a different way, and it leaves scars even now.

One of the reasons why I do think that this is an important book is that over the years I have spoken to many people, including those I would consider to have been popular and yet the vast majority of them talk about feeling like outsiders at some point or the other. There are very few people I know who talk about having a happy childhood, and then teenage years and then onto adulthood. How then, if so many people feel ostracised at some point or another, does reading about perfect kids in perfect environments help people know that they are not alone in their own issues? Do the people who challenge on these grounds really live perfect lives? I must confess that when I think about who these people might be I see them as being beautiful, thin people who live very comfortable middle to upper class lives and have perfect families - at least superficially. Of course, that is me putting my own judgements on them.

In terms of the sexuality, I loved the way that Rowell portrayed the gradual build up of the attraction between these two very different characters. As I mentioned before, the tension between the two of them was intense even when they were just holding hands. Without spoiling, there is sexual exploration but it is not 'okay, let's jump into bed straight away and go for it and then do it again, and again" but rather the gradual exploration of their growing sexual awareness and for a book that is being challenged for the sexual nature it might be a bit of a surprise that there is no actual intercourse. It is not rampant promiscuousness and it is not distasteful and it is totally right for the two characters and the development of their relationship in this book.

Obviously I am a little biased when it comes to this book because I did love it a lot, but it explores important issues in a sensitive and balanced way. It had me reminiscing about my own awkward teenage years and lamenting my own loneliness, both then and now. I laughed, I cried and I would be more than happy to revisit these characters and their stories.

Oh, if anyone has a spare Park lying around somewhere, let me know!

Rating 5/5

Synopsis

Eleanor is the new girl in town, and with her chaotic family life, her mismatched clothes and unruly red hair, she couldn't stick out more if she tried.

Park is the boy at the back of the bus. Black T-shirts, headphones, head in a book - he thinks he's made himself invisible. But not to Eleanor... never to Eleanor.

Slowly, steadily, through late-night conversations and an ever-growing stack of mix tapes, Eleanor and Park fall for each other. They fall in love the way you do the first time, when you're young, and you feel as if you have nothing and everything to lose

Current Read

Songs of Willow and Frost by Jamie Ford, The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova and listening to A Clash of Kings by George RR Martin

Up Next

No Place Like Home by Caroline Overington

On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Is it possible to become a total fangirl for an author based only on one book? If you are me, and the author is Melina Marchetta, then apparently it is!

I loved this book so much that I ended up listening to the audio version of it twice in as many weeks. It isn't out of the question that I will listen to it again or read it in book form. Given how rarely I reread, and certainly never finish a book and just start it again straight away, this is high praise indeed! I love it when a book compels you to behave in a way that you don't normally do so.

I should mention that I have been being told for years that I should read Melina Marchetta. To those people (Kat, Bree and Belle amongst others) I say, yes, you were right.

So what is it about this book that makes it so good?

Taylor Markham is a senior at Jellicoe School. She has just been made the leader of the boarders. This means that her most important responsibility is to lead the school in the annual territory wars between the school, the townies from nearby Jellicoe and the cadets from the city who come and camp for six weeks nearby. These territory wars have been going on for 20 years or so, and it is a very serious business. There are rules of engagement, maps, and there will be consequences if anyone steps into enemy territory. Whilst Taylor has been elected as leader, her grip on the leadership is a little tenuous, so she must do everything in her power to ensure that the schoolies don't lose any territory, and if possible to negotiate additional rights and ground with the enemy. She has only one other house leader on her side, and he must stay by her side otherwise the other house leaders have the power to usurp her position. She also has her friend Raffaela who sticks by her despite Taylor's best efforts to push her away, and perennial pest, Jessa McKenzie, that Taylor can't rid herself of no matter how hard she tries.

Dealing with the enemy is going to be that much more difficult for Taylor because the leader of the cadets is a boy named Jonah Griggs. Three years earlier, Jonah and Taylor had run away together, heading towards Sydney to try and find her mother. They got to within two hours of Sydney before they were found by The Brigadier and returned to Jellicoe. Taylor has never, ever forgiven Jonah for the betrayal of ringing someone to come and get them. The leader of the townies is Chas Santangelo, whose father is the local cop, who seems to have some kind of history with Raffie, and who seems to have a predilection for leading the townies into punchups with the cadets at the slightest provocation.

I was warned going into this book that the first part was a bit difficult to follow, and it was. The territory wars are taken seriously by all involved. Very seriously. I found myself wondering how on earth this story was going to progress to the amazing story that I had been lead to believe I would experience. I also couldn't figure out how it was going to link in with the other story that was also being told in glimpses through the story. In this other story, we meet Webb and his sister Narnie, Tate, Jude and Fitz, a group of kids bought together through tragedy who form a bond that is so strong that it will last a lifetime, if it doesn't destroy them all first.

Taylor first learns of the group by reading the manuscript that is being written by Hannah, another person that Taylor has a difficult relationship with. Taylor first came to Jellicoe 6 years before. She was just 11 years old when her mother drove her to the 711 convenience store in Jellicoe and just left her there. Hannah came along and picked her up, brought her to the school and has since provided the only stability that Taylor has really ever known, but has always kept her at arms length. Now Hannah has disappeared without leaving any indication of where she has gone or when she will be back, and reading the manuscript is one of the few ways Taylor can still feel close to her. As Taylor reads through the manuscript she longs to know more about 'the five'. Who they were, why they were so close, why does she feel so connected to them and what, if anything, is the connection to the boy in the tree who visits her dreams every night?

There was a point in the book though where everything just clicked into place - the territory wars, the story of the give, everything - and suddenly I went from enjoying the story but being a little perplexed to OMG what a book.

From what I can tell, Melina Marchetta loves to torture her characters. Both groups of kids have tragic pasts and some of them even have a tragic present too. Given that, it would have been very easy for this book to tip into the overly angsty and melodramatic but the author manages to balance the drama with moments of joy, of fun and of poignancy. In short, she does an amazing job of engaging the reader and making you feel all the emotions! All of them! When I was listening to the book the first time I was getting towards the end of the book and I was crying my eyes out as I drove along, until I realised that I really needed to stop for petrol. I guess given how emotionally wrung out I was that it was no surprise when the petrol station attendant asked me if I was okay or not. I am pretty sure that I am never going to be able to hear either Flame Trees by Cold Chisel or The Coward of the County by Kenny Rogers without thinking of the characters from this book!

I think my favourite thing about this book is the way that Marchetta writes the development of the friendship between the characters. Slowly Chas and Griggs go from having to spend time together as punishment to begrudgingly spending time together as a result of shared friendships to genuine friends. Similarly, Griggs and Taylor begin to build on their relationship which really began three years before on a train platform. I loved the way that Marchetta slowly allowed both Taylor and the reader to find out exactly what Griggs feels and why he has done what he has done both in the past and in the present. All the emotions.......sob! At one point, one of the characters says to the others "we are going to know him for the rest of our lives" and I felt like cheering, between sobs, and it made me think of the friends that I have that I have known since my teenage years and who I will know for the rest of my life. I also really loved the echoes from the earlier story into the later one. We are not reading the same story repeated again more than a decade later though. It is more nuanced than that, more delicately done and very, very poignant.

If I had been reading the book I would have been bookmarking quotes all the way through. There were just so many beautiful moments. A fair few of them would have featured the amazing Jonah Griggs - one of the best teenage boy characters I have read in a long time. Yes, my son is only a couple of years younger than Jonah was in the book, and yes, that means that I am more than old enough to be Jonah's mother, but yes, I have a crush on him big time, and I don't care who knows it! Slightly more age appropriately, I also have a bit of a crush on Jude, one of the original five.

On the Jellicoe Road is being made into a movie, and I will be very interested to see who is cast and how the movie takes shape because it is a bit difficult to see how the story will come to life if it sticks exactly to it's current structure. There are so many flashbacks and dream sequences, not to mention the internalisation of emotions and thoughts by the characters. I will be just a little scared before seeing it, hoping that it will be an amazing movie. Melina Marchetta has worked on the screenplay so hopefully it still will be something special.

I was very glad to be able to go back and relisten to the book pretty much straight away. As I went through the second time I realised exactly how clever Marchetta's writing is. On the first read through, some of the plot twists seem to be pretty sudden but on the reread, you could definitely see that all the clues were all put in place, ready for the reader to make their discoveries later on in the book. I am sure if I was to physically read the book again I would find even more. I think this is a book that lends itself to being read over and over again!

I should mention that the narrator of the audiobook did an amazing job! It was such a pleasure to get in the car and listen to Rebecca Macauley tell me the story of these kids. I also really appreciated the way that the the production had small musical interludes whenever the narrative changed from one time to the other. Often if you are listening to an audiobook that does feature dual timelines there is just a gap and suddenly you find yourself in the other time and place and it can be a little disconcerting as you try to figure out what just happened. None of that confusion here. I am now listening to Saving Francesca, also narrated by Rebecca Macauley and I am once again enjoying it very much.

When I finished this book the first time through I gave it a rating of 4.5/5 but I think that given how much I am still thinking about the characters, the lasting impact I expect it to have on my psyche, and yes, Jonah Griggs, I think I have to change it to 5/5.

Synopsis

Taylor Markham is now a senior at the Jellicoe School, and has been made leader of the boarders. She is responsible for keeping the upper hand in the territory wars with the townies, and the cadets who camp on the edge of the school's property over summer. She has to keep her students safe and the territories enforced and to deal with Jonah Griggs - the leader of the cadets and someone she'd rather forget. But what she needs to do, more than anything, is unravel the mystery of her past and find her mother - who abandoned her on the Jellicoe Road six years before. The only connection to her past, Hannah, the woman who found her, has now disappeared, too, and the only clue Taylor has about Hannah and her mother's past is a partially written manuscript about a group of five kids from the Jellicoe School, twenty years ago.

I thought I would share just a couple of the songs from the book. There were lots more, but these will be the ones that will always remind me of the characters and the story of this book. I was never even that big a fan of the Waterboys song before now!

A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty discussion

Earlier this week, I shared a Q and A with author Jaclyn Moriarty. Today, I am pleased to be sharing a conversation that I had about A Corner of White, the first book in the Colours of Madeleine trilogy.
This is the second part of the conversation between myself and Shelleyrae from Book'd Out. You can read the first part of the conversation over at Shelleyrae's blog and she also has a chance for Australian readers to win a copy of the book.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Most of what we learn about Cello comes from the Princess’s letters during their tour of the Kingdom, what did you think of these missives?

Marg: At first I wasn’t that sure about the role that they were going to play in the story. Were they there to inject some humour, especially in the early parts of the book where the Kingdom of Cello seemed like a kind of dour place? Was there a purpose to including them, and if so what was it? It was fun to see the two princesses fairly fanciful descriptions of the people and places they met and the somewhat patient corrections from the editor.

The Sheriff of Bonfire was really keen to get the princesses to visit the town, mainly to show the rest of the Kingdom of Cello that there was more to the Farms than just deftball (the very popular sport in which Bonfire was about to play in the finals), which I must admit sounded like it could be fun. I wasn’t quite sure how a pyramid of pumpkins was going to achieve that initially!

Without giving too much away, I loved the way that this particular aspect of the story came together at the end! The ending really saved this book for me, but I am sure we will get back to that in due course.

For me the crux of the book really came in the letters between Elliot and Madeleine though. I loved the imaginative way that Moriarty was able to develop the connection between the two worlds and between the two main characters. One of the things that became clear is that while noone in Madeleine’s world knew anything about the Kingdom of Cello, the reverse was not true.

Why do you think the people in the Kingdom of Cello knew about our world, but not the other way around, and why was the punishment for being in contact with our world so drastic?

Shelleyrae: I also loved the idea of a letter being passed between a parking meter and a sculpture. Elliot writes of it being more than 300 years since a crack has appeared that is large enough for a person to slip through and that any cracks are quickly repaired, though of course we later learn that may not be entirely true.

I can only guess that the separation between the Kingdom of Cello and the World came about as magic was crowded out of industrialised society, which is a common fantasy trope, and with that theory, I assume the barrier between worlds is a magical, rather than natural, construct which the Kingdom of Cello maintains. Therefore while the World has forgotten Cello, the Kingdom is forever reminded about the World.

I would assume that travel between the Kingdom of Cello and the World would be problematic for both societies for any number of reasons, I can’t imagine what a Cambridge scholar would make of being attacked by a vicious swathe of lemon yellow for example. Allowing movement from Cello into the World would especially endanger the Kingdom, hence the harsh punishment.

However with no real clues it is all speculation on my part and Moriarty may well later reveal a completely different reason for the division.

Was there any particular aspect that we haven’t touched on yet that you really liked?

Marg; One of the things that I did enjoy about the story was the fact that Moriarty had Madeleine and her friends learning about historical figures like Lord Byron and Isaac Newton and then incorporated that learning into the story.

Shelleyrae: I thought that was a fun aspect of the story as well, particularly when that information is put to good use by Elliot in Cello. I also liked the storyline involving the Twickleham’s as I was surprised by the way in which it played out.

What did you think of the way in which A Corner of White ended, do you have any expectations for what will happen next?

Marg: To be honest, the ending saved this book for me. As we have touched on before the concepts in the book were at time difficult to follow. I was liking the story lines. I found the two worlds interesting, I loved the way that the two worlds were interconnecting but it took a lot longer for me to read than I would normally have expected for a book this size.

Then we got to the last couple of chapters where there was a big reveal (obviously not going to spoil) and I was left thinking but I want the next book now! I want to know what happens next with the royal family, and with Elliot. I want to know if he and Madeleine will get to meet and what happens if they do! I wanted more!

How did you find the ending?

Shelleyrae: Like you I was left wanting more by the promise of some exciting adventures that perhaps Madeleine and Elliot will be able to share. I’m eager to explore more of Cello and it’s quirky environment too and I’m hoping for a few answers to the ambiguities in A Corner of White.

In one sentence provide a jacket quote for A Corner of White.

Shelleyrae: "Imaginative, original and Colourful, A Corner of White is a magical story that leaves "a trail of light" for the reader to follow.."

Marg: Oh no! An in 25 words or less question!

How about “In a world of colour, A Corner of White invites the reader on a fun, imaginative and intriguing journey”

Synopsis

She knew this.
That philematology is the science of kissing.
That Samuel Langhorne Clemens is better
known as Mark Twain.
That, originally, gold comes from the stars.

Madeleine Tully lives in Cambridge, England, the World – a city of spires, Isaac Newton and Auntie's Tea Shop.

Elliot Baranski lives in Bonfire, the Farms, the Kingdom of Cello – where seasons roam, the Butterfly Child sleeps in a glass jar, and bells warn of attacks from dangerous Colours.

They are worlds apart – until a crack opens up between them; a corner of white – the slim seam
of a letter.

Elliot begins to write to Madeleine, the Girl-in-the-World – a most dangerous thing to do for suspected cracks must be reported and closed. But Elliot's father has disappeared and Madeleine's mother is sick.

Can a stranger from another world help to unravel the mysteries in your own? Can Madeleine and Elliot find the missing pieces of themselves before it is too late?

A mesmerising story of two worlds; the cracks between them, the science that binds them and the colours that infuse them.

This book was read for the following challenges:

A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper

I first remember hearing about the Montmaray books over at Danielle's blog. There's a certain irony when you find out about books by Australian authors at an American blog, but these things happen! It sounded like my kind of read and so when I was given the opportunity to read it (because it has recently been rereleased here as a Vintage Children's Classic) this seemed like a good time to read the book for myself.

The book is told in diary format with the author of the diary being a young girl name Sophie, or more correctly Princess Sophie of Montmaray and covers the months towards the end of 1936. Once Montmaray was a small but flourishing island nation but the Great War and the subsequent Spanish flu has decimated the population. Now there are only a few villagers who live on the isolated island, struggling to make a living. Of the royal family, Sophie and her sister Henrietta live in the 'castle' along with their cousin Veronica and their uncle King John who is a shadowy character on the edge of their lives who seems to be dealing with some form of madness. The heir to the throne, Sophie's brother Toby, is living in England, going to school and mixing with the best in society. He is accompanied by the housekeeper's son, Simon, who also has suddenly become the focus of Sophie's daydreams.

For quite a while, the diary entries reflect day to day events of what essentially is life in a crumbling castle on a big rock in the middle of the ocean. The people of the island rely on passing boats to communicate with the outside world. If they need a doctor they have to hoist a specific flag to the top of the flagpole and wait for one of the passing boats to stop and offer up assistance. Sophie's younger sister Henry is a tomboy who refuses to sit down and be educated. The castle is falling apart so there are leaking roofs, dwindling supplies and more. All of those worries become somewhat less important when two German soldiers land at the island, looking for a specific artifact that may or may not be connected to the island nation. In the space of just a couple of days, absolutely everything changes for the people who call Montmaray home. The final third of the book morphs into a bit of an adventure story as there is danger and intrigue and just a touch of romance that it is very subtly implied.

Whilst this book covers a lot of ground historically, it is not straight historical fiction. The island nation of Montmaray is fictional and so therefore are the majority of the characters and the role that Montmaray plays in European history. Having said that, Cooper covers a lot of historical ground with mentions including Henry VIII,  Napoleon and the rise to power of the Nazis in Germany along with lots of other historical figures and events. The mix between real events and made up is really well handled and in this new edition there are notes to help young readers know what is real and what isn't.

When a book is well written using the diary format, it is a thing of joy. All too often a diary format can feel restrictive in terms of view point and narrative. In this case, the diary format works primarily thanks to the voice of Sophie which is engaging and charming from beginning to end.

I was trying to fit this book in around other reads and so was intending to read a chapter a day. There were plenty of days though when I ended up reading more than one chapter as this book was more engaging than the other book I was reading!

I was charmed by the characters, setting and historical context, so I will be very much looking forward to renewing my acquaintance with the royal family of Montmaray sooner rather than later!

Rating 4/5

Thanks to the author who supplied a copy of the book for review. She also guest posted for us at Historical Tapestry, telling us why she loves to read and write about 1930's England.

Synopsis

'This is what happened tonight, every single terrible thing that I can remember . . .'

Sophie FitzOsborne lives in a crumbling castle in the tiny island kingdom of Montmaray, along with her tomboy younger sister Henry, her beautiful, intellectual cousin Veronica, and Veronica's father, the completely mad King John.When Sophie receives a leather journal for her sixteenth birthday, she decides to write about her life on the island. But it is 1936 and bigger events are on the horizon. Is everything Sophie knows and loves about the change?

This book counted for the following challenges

Until I Die by Amy Plum

Somewhere up high in the book heavens, the cover gods see that Amy Plum has a new book coming out and decides that once again it is time to bless her! The cover on this book is gorgeous, especially in real life. It doesn't hurt that purple is my favourite colour, or that the buildings are meant to represent Paris!

What about inside the book though? I mean, after all, a gorgeous cover is great to catch the eye but it is really what is inside the cover that matter.

The book is good without being excellent, and in some ways felt very much like the middle book in a trilogy, which is what it is.  We had the set up of the world in the last book, and in this book a lot of time is spent arming the characters for the big finale in the next book.

In the last book we met Kate and Vincent. She is a young American girl who has come to Paris to live with her sister and her grandparents after the death of her parents. Vincent is a revenant - a paranormal creature who dies over and over again saving human lives. Each death regenerates him enabling him to basically stay a young man forever.

Whilst it is not unheard of for a human and a revenant to fall in love, it is a difficult road to travel, particularly because one person ages and the other doesn't. For Kate, it is also difficult to contemplate watching her love die over and over and again. She therefore starts to try to find other stories of those who were like them by reading some of the mythology about revenants and seeing if she can follow some of the clues hidden within those texts.

Due to the events in the last book, the head of the revenants also feels the need to find out more about their history to be better prepared to face the revenants enemy, the Numa, who are currently quiet, but are generally believed to be preparing themselves to once again do battle on the streets of Paris. We therefore get to meet two new members of the family, Violette and Arthur, and once again Kate has to justify her place within the inner sanctum to people who question her right to be there.

Whilst Kate tries to find answers, Vincent is also trying to find another way, by basically denying himself the renewal that he needs. He is growing tired, battered and bruised and is gradually looking worse and worse. Of course, in true novel fashion, neither is completely honest with the other about what they were up to and this, of course, leads to misunderstandings and more importantly danger.

Whilst the idea of the revenant is a welcome change from the more normal vampire paranormal story, the other thing that really makes this story stand out for me is the Paris setting. The author takes us to both familiar scenes from Paris and those more unfamiliar to those of us who do not spend a lot of time in the city.

In other ways, you do some standard tropes - the idea of a lonely girl becoming a kick ass heroine, an older but still teenage hero, and oh yes, the cliff hanger ending which had me gritting my teeth saying you can't possibly be ending the story there!

I, for one, am looking forward to the next book so that we can see how Kate and Vincent deal with the responsibilities and challenges that face them both!

Rating 4/5

I thought that in addition to the review, I thought I would mention a couple of other things related to the book.

One of the places that the author took us to in the pages of the book was a wedding that was held in La Sainte-Chappelle, and she has shared a video where we get to visit this church with her, and it is totally gorgeous! I want to go there. When I was finding the link to this video again, there are quite a few videos where Amy Plum introduces different places in Paris that are used as locations in the books!

The trailer for the book also takes advantage of the awesome setting.



Synopsis

My life had always been blissfully, wonderfully normal. But it only took one moment to change everything.

Kate has chose to leave the comfort and safety of her human life in order to join Vincent in the dangerous supernatural world he inhabits. For his part, he has sworn to go against his very nature and resist the repeated deaths that are his fate as a revenant - even though it will bring him immeasurable suffering.

Desperate to help him, Kate's search for answers takes her from the glamorous streets of Paris to the city's squalid underbelly. But when she stumbles across a secret that could help to overthrown their enemies for ever, Kate unwittingly puts everyone she loves at risk. And puts herself in the midst of an ancient and deadly war, not as a bystander ..... but as a target.

P.S After I had finished this post, I went back to read my review for the first book and noticed that I started that review with a glowing reference to the cover too! Oh well. Just have to hope that the third book in the series gets given a gorgeous cover too!