Vienna Nocturne

Vienna Nocturne is a novel by Vivien Shotwell. This is the story of Anna Storace who begins as a child prodigy in England and has to fight her way to be recognized as a singer throughout Italy as most Italians believed that only they could truly capture the art form.

Anna shows them all that with the looks of an angel and a heart full of passion who can accomplish all of your dreams as she ends up singing on all the biggest stages and even for the emperor himself. Though she loses herself several times her passion always helps her return until she gives it all to one man who is her equal. They can never be together for he is married but his fingers on the piano are the perfect match for her voice on stage.

For me the best part of this novel was the portrayal of Mozart. You can practically see the authors love and devotion to him through the way she wrote. He was brilliant and frantic and funny, egotistical and yet self effacing. I just loved the way she wrote him. You can definitely see how much the author loves and understands music, her descriptions were beautiful and detailed.

I have to admit I didn't super love the book. It was good but not great. I did like the fact sometimes with the most powerful of men you don't seduce them with your body but with you mind. I think that part was quite well done. If you are looking for some thing to read and this is handy then it's worth picking up.

The Lost Sisterhood

The Lost Sisterhood is an interesting read about the amazons and how they are represented in the myths throughout the ages and what if they were still real and with us. You can tell that a lot of time and effort went into the research of the topic even though the story is compelling and draws you in.

Diana, the main character, is a woman who has always tried to understand the world around her. As a child she was kept in the dark about her grandmother's disease and now as an adult she wants to learn everything. Working as a professor at Oxford her focus is on the Amazons. She is haunted by some of the stories that her grandmother told her as a child. She is drawn to these stories and yet she, herself has always played it safe. Her love affairs are short and she keeps her heart in reserve for the boy who has always been just out of reach.

Her safe life is turned on it's head as a gentleman approaches her on a rainy night and tells her to meet him the next day at the airport to go to Amsterdam. At her refusal he shows her a photo of an ancient language that part of her mind seems to recognize but her logical brain just can't seem to place.

Intrigued she heads off to finish her fencing match and then to dinner with friends. Her friends all scoff it off and tell her not to go, that the man has horrid intentions. Diana is still intrigued though and just can't seem to get that language etched out in blue ink out of her mind. That night she calls her friend since childhood and talks to her about it. At the same time "It was grandmother's book". The ancient writing on the wall was the same language her grandmother had filled a notebook with. With that Diana races home to find the notebook that she was never supposed to know about.

She finds it and inside "To Diana". Thus begins her adventure as she heads to the airport, could this really be an ancient Amazonian language. She feels she has to find out. Diana begins the adventure of her life as she risks death and her heart to discover what she has always felt was the truth inside of her.

I loved this book! So good! The author captures all the actual facts that know of the amazons and twists in all these little extras to make it run smooth and capture not just one story but two. I loved all the different takes on ancient history and battles that we only have the stories of old men to go on. It was brilliantly plotted and filled with action and romance and verve.

It doesn't come out until March but I suggest that as soon as it does you grab it! The author is  Anne Fortier and she is brilliant! I will checking out her other novel Juliet as soon as I have a chance because this author just makes a great story!

Lesser Creatures

So I enjoy me some zombie time, however sometimes I get a little tired of the genre because honestly The Walking Dead does it so fabulously that a lot of others can't compete. If you can think of books that can besides World War Z (which I keep meaning to read and just haven't grabbed it yet) then please tell me and I will happily check them out too!

However, Lesser Creatures takes the genre and flips it around. It's just such a great twist on a genre that we have been seeing get more and more popular lately. Imagine as a teenager having the ability to make a wish come true when you really love someone. What if that person is kind of deranged and you don't see it? Welcome to the world of Lesser Creatures and the Church of Grace.

Zombies don't go around eating brains, they don't chase us and try to kill humans. They really just want their liquor and Burger King. I mean honestly, who doesn't? The government controls them and keeps them safe. They don't speak and those who are slain are avenged by an ungodly power that corrupts and kills. They call it the curse and it keeps even those who live in fear and hatred from going on a good old fashioned zombie hunt.

An ad man who is slowly being driven crazy by his fear and hatred of the zombies is suddenly asked to work with one. And not just any zombie, but his ex girlfriend who may or may not have tried to kill him. That's where it starts to get interesting.

This book was great, it had a refreshingly new idea about zombies which I loved. The plot was fastpaced, the conversation was real. The embarrassment I could relate to (his mom pops by and finds last night's "friends" panties laying on the floor). Such a great read and the author really captures both the female voice and the male voices really well.

You can find it on Amazon for like $5 for the ebook!

Definitely worth the money!

Chip Crockett's Christmas Carol

I was contacted by the publishing house and asked to check out this book and I happily said yes because let't face it I spend two hours a day on the bus and I really like to read. I also liked the idea that the book was a special re-release as the author had been friends with the teacher Anne Marie Murphy who lost her life. Because of that woman's passion for children with autism the author has decided that all proceeds from the ebook will go directly to Autism Speaks.

I signed on thinking it was a great thing to be a part of and then I got a wonderful shock, Chip Crockett's Christmas Carol is a great read. A dad struggling to make sense of his life as a recovering alcoholic and a parent to an autistic child. The past haunts him as he remembers the love his wife and he once shared and now they are divorced and barely holding on to their friendship for their sons sake. The memory of his happy baby who used to love being held and cuddled torments him as he tries to connect with the boy who is his son.

His cousin has the life he always wanted with the great marriage, big house, prosperous job and happy children. He is filled with envy as the season creeps closer and closer to Christmas. When his best friend needs a bit of help and a place to crash he still gives him a place to stay. Brendan gets fed up though when his friend becomes obsessed with Chip Crockett and beloved children's TV show host that they all loved as kids. Rumours begin to circulate that a surprise showing will air on Christmas eve.

Brendan gets closer and closer to the brink as his friends and loved ones get filled with holiday cheer and all he can think of is the horror that his life has turned into. Until that midnight showing and a Christmas miracle happens.

I don't want to give everything away but seriously what a great read and so uplifting. Sometimes it's nice to think that if we just keep trying things will get better and that even those people who can't show us they really do love us most of all!

I would recommend this book at any time but right especially, the ebook is under 5 dollars and all the proceeds go to Autism Speaks which is such a great charity for those in need of a little bit of extra help!