About the Book: 
The Grip of God is the first novel in an epic historical trilogy, The Tiger and the Dove. Set in the thirteenth century, its heroine, Sofia, is a young princess of Kievan Rus. She begins her story by recounting her capture in battle and life of slavery to a young army captain in the Mongol armies that are flooding Europe. Not only is her life shattered, it is threatened by the bitter rivalries in her new master's powerful family, and shadowed by the leader of the Mongol invasion, Batu Khan, Genghis Khan's grandson. How will she learn to survive in a world of total war, much less rediscover the love she once took for granted? Always seeking to escape and menaced by outer enemies and inner turmoil, where can she find safe haven even if she can break free? Clear eyed and intelligent, Sofia could be a character from The Game of Thrones, but she refuses to believe that life is solely about the strong dominating the weak or about taking endless revenge. Her story is based on actual historical events, which haunt her destiny. Like an intelligent Forrest Gump, she reflects her times. But as she matures, she learns to reflect on them as well, and to transcend their fetters. In doing so, she recreates a lost era for us, her readers.


Review: 
In thirteen century Kievan Rus, which is now made up of parts of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, Princess Sofia is being sent away to Constantinople in fear of the upcoming Mongol attacks on her city.  As her party travels away from the only home and family she has ever known, Sofia’s camp is attacked by the very people she was trying to avoid.  Sofia is captured as a Mongol slave by the warrior Argamon, who raped her and kept Sofia as his own as believing she is part of a prophecy that will bring him good fortune.  Sofia is crushed, but her spirit stays strong.  As she navigates her new life in the Mongol camps she comes to terms with her relationship with Argamon, her religion, and the customs of the many different people who now surround her.   As Sofia grows and begins to assimilate to life as a Mongol, she opens herself to friendship, love and acceptance of other people.

This was definitely one epic journey through a treacherous time period and setting.   I went into the story not really knowing much of anything about the Mongol invasions, so everything described was a learning experience for me.  Through Sofia’s point of view, the Mongal people, customs and her part within this very different society was masterfully detailed.  I was very interested to learn about their intake and treatment of people that they had captured, their leadership hierarchy, mix of belief systems and even their food and lack of bathing.  The beginning of the book when Sofia was leaving Kievan Rus actually felt a little slow to me and was difficult to get into, it was not until she was captured by Argamon that the pace livened for me.  Sofia was an intriguing character, she was very young when she was captured, but was fortunate enough to be educated and have a stubborn streak, both which proved useful with the Mongols.  Her and Argamon’s relationship was an absolute rollercoaster, and quite unexpected.  I would never think that Argamon would be a character that I could relate to or respect, but as Sofia grew up, became more knowledgeable and opened herself to understanding, her attitudes about Argamon changed.  Overall, an intense journey with unexpected outcomes.  I will be reading the second book of the trilogy to see what happens to Sofia next. 

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

About the Author: 
About the Author

Rebecca Hazell is a an award winning artist, author and educator. She has written, illustrated and published four non-fiction children’s books, created best selling educational filmstrips, designed educational craft kits for children and even created award winning needlepoint canvases. She is a senior teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage, and she holds an honours BA from the University of California at Santa Cruz in Russian and Chinese history.

Rebecca lived for many years in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1988 she and her family moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and in 2006 she and her husband moved to Vancouver Island. They live near their two adult children in the beautiful Cowichan Valley.

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About the Book: 
Jane Austen’s love stories have withstood an incredible test of time. They are widely read and loved two hundred years after they were written. We know that Jane Austen never married. Where did her expertise in love come from? There is some evidence that she developed a deep mutual attachment to a man she met during a seaside family holiday. But almost no details are known of this man. Only that her sister was later to say that he was a man who was truly worthy of Jane.

This is the story of that pivotal encounter. It is written in Jane’s own voice, as closely as it could be captured. Not the gentle wit of her novels, but the sharp, blunt tongue that she used so freely in her candid letters to her sister.

At the same time, we will watch how her writer's voice evolved; how she drew from the people and events in her life to create the masterpieces of Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility.


Buy the Book: 
http://www.amazon.com/Jane-Sea-Austens-Love-Story-ebook/dp/B011E62MN6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1437455898&sr=8-1&keywords=jane+by+the+sea

Review: 
Jane Austen’s love stories are timeless romances sprinkled with endless wit and intriguing characters.  Where did Jane find her inspiration for such romance and characters when she herself was never married?  Carolyn V. Murray takes inspiration from little known facts about Jane’s summer spent in the Seaside town of Sidmouth and imagines Jane’s intense love affair with Royal Navy Lieutenant Frederick Barnes.  Jane’s father is a clergyman who has fallen on hard times.  Jane is now a daughter with poor prospects, but high hopes in the romance department.  After a failed encounter due to her family’s status, Jane is apprehensive of another failed relationship and accepts her future spinster status.  However, after a chance encounter with the determined Lieutenant, Jane’s heart begins to soften at the chance for love.

This was an incredibly sweet story that also felt very authentic.  I think Murray did an excellent job capturing Austen’s voice, personality and interactions.  Jane was an amazing character, full of life, complex emotions and plenty of tenacity and cleverness.  It was very interesting to learn about her family, their circumstances and Jane’s relationships with them, especially as these relationships affected her fictional characters.  I loved Jane's ups and downs within her relationship with Frederick, it seemed like such a natural progression and they were so perfect together.  I really enjoyed seeing how her changing perspective on Frederick and love itself influenced the character of Darcy in her writing.  Overall, this was a highly entertaining, sweet and quick read for any fans of Jane Austen or historical romance.




This book was provided for free in return for an honest review. 

About the Author: 
Carolyn V. Murray spent her childhood with the proverbial nose inside a book; between Encyclopedia Brown, the Laura Ingalls Wilder saga, A Wrinkle in Time, etc…she could not start the next book soon enough. At the age of eleven, she approached a librarian and asked to see books on how to become a writer. The librarian was amused, and Carolyn was NOT happy to be the source of this amusement. It would be a couple more decades before she really believed that writing was her destiny.

Her "9-5" life included the good (teaching) the bad (working in casinos) and the ugly (catering in an electric clown suit.) Her writing path took a long detour into the pursuit of screenwriting, where she got selected as a Walt Disney Writing Fellow, had four original screenplays optioned, and wrote one freelance script that made it to the TV screen.

But these days, she's a lot more excited about creating the kinds of books that sustained her childhood. She is drawn to history, biography, love stories, and travel. Jane by the Sea is her first novel.

Read An Excerpt: 
I was engrossed in my playing and did not hear the door open behind me. But I certainly heard it close, and I whirled around to see an apologetic Lieutenant Barnes.

“I hoped there was better entertainment to be found in these back rooms. And so I was right. A very pretty tune, Miss Jane,” he praised.

“I do not play for the enjoyment of others. Only myself,” I replied, coolly.

“That is most ungenerous. Why should you not share your talents with the world?” the lieutenant scolded.

“First of all, the ladies who share their talents with the world do so with one object, and that is to attract a marriage proposal. Hardly a charitable motive. After that object is secured, she is free to abandon the pastime,” I explained.

The lieutenant was full of objections. He had known many gifted young ladies who evidenced a true love of music for its own worth, including his younger sister who had a wondrous gift with the pianoforte. And she was married. I wondered how many times he had seen her since she married.

Mollie Flynn was born on the streets of New York City in the 1800’s.  She grew up bouncing from charity houses to the streets where she found a friend in Annabelle Lee, who works the streets as a whore.  Mollie earns her living as a pickpocket.  Together, the two girls forge their way in the Bowery, making enough money to keep a roof over their heads in a small tenement and dealing with the many feuding gangs.   After Annabelle’s release from prison, Mollie believes things will turn around; the two girls want to fulfill their dream of leaving the city behind and going to Brooklyn with the completion of the Bridge.  However, Annabelle comes out of prison pregnant and now wants to better her life for her baby.  Annabelle and Mollie enroll in Emmeline DuPre’s Cherry Street Settlement House hoping to better themselves and find honest work. Escaping from life in the Bowery proves harder than either of the girls expected.

An honest look at what life was like for young women in poverty in one of the roughest parts of New York City in the early 19th century.  Both Mollie and Annabelle are dynamic and unique, hopeful but seemingly stuck in their situations, the have a conscious and dreams of a better future.  Mollie and Annebelle’s professions of pickpocket and whore are not overshadowed, neither are the consequences of these positions or the pay.  Mollie points out that one quick pickpocket victim could land her as much money as a 12-hour day in her typewriting position.  Life in their dismal tenement was also highlighted, a dead horse at the end of the street, walls plastered in book pages, children playing on a pile of trash all painted a historically accurate picture of the living situation at the time.  Overall, Bowery Girl is a story rich in hopes and dreams which displays a snapshot of life in this tumultuous place and time in New York City; a quick read perfect for those who want to dig into the history of 19th Century New York City or The Gangs of New York.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.