Hag-Seed (Hogarth Shakespeare) by Margaret Atwood

I was fascinated by the idea of taking Shakespeare's works and converting them into a modern day retelling. Hag-Seed (Hogarth Shakespeare) is actually the first book I have read from the series. I found it to be beautifully written (what else do you expect from Margaret Atwood?) and impossible to put down.
In Margaret Atwood's version of The Tempest, we are quickly brought into the tragic and sad world of Felix, who in minutes goes from being the successful Artistic Director of the Makeshiweg Festival to absolutely nothing due to betrayal. Accompanied by the ghost of his dead daughter, Miranda, Felix eventually finds his way to a humble abode and plans his revenge. He basically goes underground and creates an alternate persona which helps him to find a job teaching theatre in a prison to inmates who perform his creations. It is in that setting that Felix plots his revenge.
There are so many brilliant elements to this novel. The story line is enthralling and I enjoyed how Atwood managed to bring in the concept of prison and if/how it should try to rehabilitate inmates. I really adored this book. There was so much humor and also very touching moments. It is a novel that not only pays wonderful homage to The Tempest but also very witty and makes you think about our prison system. Definitely very highly recommended!
Thank you so much to Crown Publishing and Netgalley for allowing me to read this amazing novel. I received a copy for free in exchange for an honest review.

Five out of Five Stars!

The Silver Baron's Wife by Donna Baier Stein

"The Silver Baron's Wife" by Donna Baier Stein is an account of the life of a very strong-willed and interesting woman named Elizabeth McCourt Doe Tabor better known as Baby Doe Tabor (Lizzie). 
Her rags to riches to rags story is very compelling, inspiring, and ultimately sad. It is written as a fictional novel but don't be mistaken in thinking it is only fiction. It is based on a very real woman who lived during the late 1800's. The author chose to write the novel as fiction using much research including personal notes from Baby Doe Tabor herself and other sources. I found this style actually brought Baby Doe Tabor to life better than if it had been written as nonfiction. I could appreciate her strength of character, stubbornness, her triumphs, dreams, and disappointments. Baby Doe Tabor is a part of history and a woman we should not forget. She refused to conform to society and did what she had to do to survive. She should not be forgotten and Donna Baier Stein has made sure of that.
I received a copy of this book from Serving House Books for free in exchange for an honest review. 

Four out of Five Stars


“Donna Baier Stein is a discovery. Her deceptively mild story-telling veers swiftly into the savage but often unacknowledged discontent of suburban life – wives struggling with marital disappointment and missed opportunities, celebrating and often betrayed by unexpected friendships – all explored with language that engages and surprises.” —C. Michael Curtis, Fiction Editor, The Atlantic (for Sympathetic People) 

 Enticing Rags-to-Riches-to-Rags Historical Novel Showcases Colorado Woman’s Independence in the Face of Adversity  Award-winning author Donna Baier Stein releasing The Silver Baron’s Wife on September 15, 2016  

A three-time Pushcart nominee and Iowa Fiction Award finalist, Donna Baier Stein masterfully resurrects the rags-to-riches-torags life story of Colorado’s Lizzie Tabor (“Baby Doe”) in her captivating historical novel set to release this September, The Silver Baron’s Wife (Serving House Books, September 15, 2016, Paperback $14.95, Ebook $4.99). An early, unpublished version of the novel won the PEN/New England Discovery Award in Fiction, which isn’t surprising given Stein’s virtuoso ability to shed new light on the complex, scandalous, and unusual true story of one of America’s wealthiest women. 

As a young woman in the 1870s, Lizzie Tabor notoriously defied convention: When her first husband failed as a provider, she descended into the silver mines herself to earn their living. When she caught her husband in a brothel with a young girl, she divorced him. And when she captured the attention of Horace Tabor, a silver baron 30 years her senior, she married him after he left his wife and son amid huge scandal—officially branding Lizzie one of the wealthiest women in America, and a social outcast in Denver society. Lizzie and Horace sent out wedding invitations bordered in solid silver, raised two daughters in a villa where 100 peacocks roamed the lawns, entertained Sarah Bernhardt when the actress performed at Tabor’s Opera House— and lost everything with the repeal of the Sherman Silver Act.  

After her second husband’s death, Lizzie moved to a one-room shack at the Matchless Mine where she lived the last 35 years of her life, writing down thousands of her dreams and noting visitations of spirits on her calendar. Hers is the tale of a fiercely independent woman who bucked all social and gender expectations by working in defiance of 19th century convention, becoming the key figure in the West’s most scandalous love triangle, and, after the Tabor’s vast fortune was destroyed, living in eccentric isolation in her final years.  

DONNA BAIER STEIN is the author of Sympathetic People (Iowa Fiction Award Finalist and 2015 IndieBook Awards Finalist) and Sometimes You Sense the Difference (poetry chapbook), and the recipient of a Bread Loaf Scholarship, Johns Hopkins University MFA Fellowship, Allen E. Ginsberg Poetry Prize, grants from the New Jersey Council on the Arts and Poetry Society of Virginia, and a Scholarship from the Summer Literary Seminars. Her stories and poems have been featured in Virginia Quarterly Review, New York Quarterly, Washingtonian, New Ohio Review, Ascent, and many other journals. Her work has also appeared in the anthologies I’ve Always Meant to Tell You (Pocket Books), To Fathers: What I’ve Never Said (featured in O Magazine), Men and Women: Together and Alone from Spirit That Moves Us Press. www.donnabaierstein.com 



THE SILVER BARON’S WIFE by Donna Baier Stein Published by Serving House Books, September 15, 2016 ISBN: 978-0-9971010-6-5  $14.95 (paperback), $4.99 (EBook) 

The Ill-Kept Oath (The Druineach Legacy) by C.C. Aune

I was entranced by this book from the very beginning. I have always been fascinated by the Regency era and am a huge Jane Austen fan. I have to say that C.C. Aune definitely nailed this time period very accurately. 
Prudence Fairfeather and Lady Josephine Weston are cousins who have "come of age". Prudence receives her late mother's ring and is sent off to London for her season debut to hopefully find a husband while Josephine stays at home in the country.
This seems like a typical Jane Austen style novel until the regiment and the trolls show up. Yes, trolls. Apparently, all is not what it seems in Regency England. 
I had so much fun and enjoyment reading this and am very intrigued by the magical world that the author has created. I am really hoping for a book two.
I received a copy of this book from W.I. Creative Publishing for free in exchange for an honest review.

Four out of Five Stars

Adrift by Micki Browning

I had assumed (wrongly as it turned out) that this would be a scientist is forced to acknowledge the reality of the paranormal type of mystery. I was very glad to see that this mystery is much more than that and has so much depth.
The main character, Mer Cavallo, is a marine biologist working as a diving instructor in the Florida Keys while she waits for her dream job. When the leader of an underwater paranormal group disappears while she supervises as their safety diver, Mer is thrown into a mystery that could prove to be her last.
I loved Mer's character and how she was so intellectual that she was sometimes bemused by social behavior and interactions.
I think this is a great beginning to a new series and I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
I received a copy of this book from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Four out of Five Stars

Sealed Up: The Course of Fate--Book One by Steve Dunn Hanson

I love archaeology and mystery so the idea of this book intrigued me very much. 
A renowned anthropologist is lured back to a Mesoamerica cliff where he found tragedy because of the lure of a possible ancient manuscript that has the potential to change the world.
I found the lead up to the main action a bit slow and I intensely disliked the character of Brother Luke (no one in their right mind would like him) who funds the expedition. I did enjoy the other characters very much and found the research to be well done and very accurate. 
All in all, I enjoyed the book and am curious about book two.
I received a copy of this book from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Three out of Five Stars

Five Little Ducklings Go To School by Carol Roth, Sean Julian

Five little ducklings are taking their first big adventure by going to school for the first time. Most of them are very excited but one little duckling is not quite sure about leaving mama duck and going to school.
I read this myself and found it adorable, and then read it to my now 6-year-old son who is now in Grade 1 but starting a new school. He loved the vibrant pictures, the way it was written, and most importantly the story itself. I think he could relate to it as he is ok leaving me but was not sure about starting a new school.
I really think this is a wonderful book for parents to read to/with their children as they start going to school whether it is elementary school or preschool. The story is very uplifting and positive.
Highly recommended.
My only regret is that I had been trying to read the book through Netgalley and for some reason the format was incorrect so I had to wait until I could find a copy to read. I am so glad that I did find it as it is a book that every parent should read to their child.

Five out of Five Stars

The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti

Hawthorn Creely has never fit in or that is the way that she feels. When Lizzie Lovett disappears while camping with her boyfriend, Hawthorn jumps at the opportunity to solve the mystery. From bizarre theories to taking over Lizzie's job and becoming involved with Lizzie's grieving boyfriend, Hawthorn is forced to face life and her own place in it.
Honestly, this was a very hard book for me to read. There was nothing wrong with the book but Chelsea Sedoti is so very good at describing those awkward and lonely teenage years. She did such a good job that I could relate to Hawthorn on so many levels and wished I could go into the book to let her know that she was ok and everything would be ok. This is a beautifully written coming of age story and it is one that I will be recommending and talking about for some time to come.
I received a copy of this book from the publishers for free in exchange for an honest review.

Five out of Five Stars