Book Review (LIX) Panama by C.S. Boyack

Ethan and Coop are sent to the construction zone along the Panama Canal. They have some experience with strange phenomenon, but nothing prepared them for this.

They are faced with civil war, Carlist pretenders to the thrones of France and Spain, an invading Spanish army, and another from Hell itself. They'll be lucky to survive, let alone take care of anything while they're down there.

This story is based upon the construction of the canal, Panamanian independence, international cooperation, and a few celebrity cameos. Even the magic takes on an international flavor.

Ghosts and Voodoo are one thing, but they have no idea what waits along the isthmus.

 My Review

Ethan Stafford - former Rough Rider now freighting out to the mines- can see and talk with ghosts. This information was enough to get my attention and  urge me to read on.

The story started with Ethan’s card game interrupted by the arrival of strangers. This will change the life course for him in an amazing way.

"Panama" demands your attention from the first paragraph and holds it through the many unexpected plot twists and turns.

 Quirky characters - Coop, Jinx, Bento - with their well developed personalities and the feisty, sometimes cantankerous, dialogue make this book an intriguing read.

One of the main reasons I loved the book so much was the author’s attention to detail, describing vividly all the locations the story takes place in. I felt the places and people come to life in front of my eyes , making me feel part of the story.

Political conspiracy during the construction of the Panama canal,  legends, ghosts, voodoo, wise humor, action make Panama a highly entertaining book. I laughed out loud reading that  “the French can't even take care of themselves. You can't get two Frenchmen to agree on anything."

                That’s all I reveal from the book. I won’t spoil the pleasure of reading it with more details.

All in all, a cracking read. I know it's a cliché to say it but I honestly couldn't put it down.  S.C.Boyack’s book, Panama, had me gripped. What are you waiting for? Get the book and be captivated!

 

Book Review (XLIX) The Long Way Home

 Blurb

The Long Way Home, Book 3 in The Southwark Saga by historical romance author, Jessica Cale is a magical, adult fairy tale that will keep you entertained from start to finish. Find out what happens when a paranoid king, a poison plot, and hideous shoes prove…it’s not easy being Cinderella!

After saving the life of the glamorous Marquise de Harfleur, painfully shy barmaid Alice Henshawe is employed as the lady’s companion and whisked away to Versailles. There, she catches King Louis’ eye and quickly becomes a court favorite as the muse for Charles Perrault’s Cinderella. The palace appears to be heaven itself, but there is danger hidden beneath the façade and Alice soon finds herself thrust into a world of intrigue, murder, and Satanism at the heart of the French court.

Having left his apprenticeship to serve King Charles as a spy, Jack Sharpe is given a mission that may just kill him. In the midst of the Franco-Dutch war, he is to investigate rumors of a poison plot by posing as a courtier, but he has a mission of his own. His childhood friend Alice Henshawe is missing and he will stop at nothing to see her safe. When he finds her in the company of the very people he is meant to be investigating, Jack begins to wonder if the sweet girl he grew up with has a dark side.

When a careless lie finds them accidentally married, Alice and Jack must rely on one another to survive the intrigues of the court. As old affection gives way to new passion, suspicion lingers. Can they trust each other, or is the real danger closer than they suspect?

 

My Review

In The Long Way Home, Jessica Cale does it again and delivers a gem. Exciting, romantic and written with great flair.

What an awesome way to learn History! One of the great things about The Long Way Home was the way it showed life and intrigue at the French court of King Louis, around 1677.

The author’s well researched endeavor added to her writing  that pulls its readers into the story as they, if the mood is right, begin to fantasize they’re in Alice’s shoes, due to the descriptions which are provided, especially that of court life. (I was so amused by the way people announced they want to enter a room. Not by knocking at the door!)

Reading this book was like watching a movie. All the historical details enhanced the intriguing plot, while the relationship between our hero and heroine kept the story moving at a fast pace. While the story is very detailed, it never detracts from the story line, but rather adds to it and makes it more real.

A few words about the main characters  - Alice  one of the Henshawe girls and Jack Sharpe, Mark Virtue’s apprentice, now a soldier.

How they see each other.

Alice, “Jack, on the other hand, looked like every wonderful dream she’d had since she was a little girl. Everything around them seemed to fall away as he walked up to her with love in his eyes and handed her a pale pink, late blooming rose. “

Jack, “ She turned those hazy eyes to him and her gaze warmed him to his toes. ”  

Go with them on their journey of discovering the love they share, in a place “where love lasts as long as it needs to, to further people’s  ambitions. It does not endure.” A court where as one of the characters says:  “No one has friends here. They have rivals.”

Alice becomes a Cinderella /“Cendrillon,” at the king’s court. But what starts as a joke, a farce soon takes another turn. Unexpected for many of the participants in this game of intrigue, betrayal, deceit and murder. 

Ysabeau Oullette-Martell, with her black magic interests and her unscrupulous behavior, is an interesting character, too.

The Long Way Home is a charming book, a very unique historical romance/adventure  which is very refreshing and hard to find these days. It is very much a love story as it is a historical mystery.  It had all the perfect elements in all the right places. With fantastic characters and intriguing drama, this is a story you don't want to miss. Read this is all I can say.

 I love Jessica Cale 's books. They have everything that draws me. Some humor, some darkness, and most of all , for me, complete involvement with the story and the characters.

Knowledge of the previous  two books of the series adds to the beauty of The Long Way Home, but it certainly is not necessary to have read them to completely enjoy this book. I love Cale 's attention to historical detail, you can tell her books are meticulously researched without ever descending into tedious recitation of facts.

It would make a captivating cloak and dagger movie, trust me. Thank You Jessica Cale for enjoyable books to read!

Book Reviews (XIV)

Book review: The Cost of Revenge by Dorothy A. Bell

I'd like to congratulate  the talented author Dorothy A. Bell for her upcoming release: "The Cost of Revenge!"

Book Blurb:

Quinn O’Bannon knows it’s time he settled down. He has two likely candidates, both sensible, attractive, young women. However, his fantasies keep straying to Tru McAdam, that thieving, sloe-eyed vixen with the grudge against the whole darn O’Bannon family.

Tru McAdam wants to believe the O’Bannons, all of them are rotten, heartless cheats. God help her, most of all she wants to believe the handsome, arrogant flirt Quinn O’Bannon is the worst of the lot.

When destiny shuffles the cards, strange pairs show up in the hand. Who can fight destiny, not the handsome, flirtatious Quinn O’Bannon, not the thieving, sloe-eyed vixen, Tru McAdam.

MY REVIEW:

Dorothy Bell has done it again! I loved this author's story and characters in The Reprobate and was happy to have the opportunity to read The Cost of Revenge that takes the story further. It can be read without problem, as a standalone book. But you'll miss a god story and the insight. The first chapter of The Cost of Revenge helps you recall, through Quinn's thoughts, the essence of what happened with the main characters.

You meet Royce again - now happily married to his beautiful goddess, Cleantha. Doing well, making a go of hauling quarried rock and railroad ties for the O.R. and N.

And you meet Quinn - dealing with customers and managing the mercantile, considered by the young unmarried ladies as one of the handsomest bachelors here, in Laura Creek.

Will he win the hand of Miss Rosemary Gilliam or of her friend, Miss Dora Lee Price? Will he fall prey to the wild, untamed sloe-eyed vixen Tru McAdam, an Indian girl, a half-breed who considers that a no good son-of-a-bitch by the name of Stanley O’Bannon cheated her father out of his farm and is responsible of her family's tragedy?

Even kindhearted Wren considers Tru a young woman full of pride and misdirected wrath. She’s stubborn, and angry, and pigheaded.

Both Stanley and Tru look for revenge. Whose vendetta will be successful? Will other people become collateral victims in their confrontation?

Ms. Dorothy Bell wrote this book in a very precise manner. Giving details when it's needed but never giving the whole plot in one go.

With fabulous development of the characters and setting, this is one read that is sure to pull you in and keep you turning the pages until the very end. It will hold you captive from page one until the last page. I commend the author, Dorothy Bell, for writing a wonderful, compelling story. I commend her for her storytelling skills. She balances drama and action deftly, and leaves you wondering "what next"?

I loved all her characters, with their good parts and their faults and all. I am happy I found Dorothy Bell and all her writing grandeur. It's hard to turn the last page of her books without a satisfied smile on your face. I highly recommend it.

Disclosure. I received an ARC of the book in exchange for an honest opinion.

My rating: Five  Shining Stars. 

 

Book Reviews (VIII)

Book Review: THE REPROBATE by Dorothy A. Bell

BLURB

 An Oregon Historical Romance
Fiddle playing, hard drinking Royce O’Bannon believes he’s worthless like his old man, no woman should have anything to do with him.

Music teacher Cleantha Arnaud, her virtue long spent, believes her life is over; crippled and barren, no man would want her.

When the two outcasts become lovers, hopes and dreams blossom within their parched souls.

Royce’s vengeful daddy begins a campaign of retaliation against his traitorous sons and the town that gave them a second chance. Now Royce, feeling the weight of responsibility thrust upon him, follows his daddy into the dark tunnels beneath Pendleton’s streets to stop his old man from his path of destruction. With a swift crack on the head, all of Royce’s newly found hopes and dreams could be shattered like candied glass.

MY REVIEW

Laura Creek, a relatively peaceful small Oregon town, is troubled by the attempt to kidnap the sheriff's future bride Wren. With their minds clouded by the booze they ceaselessly binge, the wrongdoers fail. The O'Bannons, whose logo is, 'the O'Bannon men had to live hard and play hard,' are arrested and face trial for their deed.

Kind hearted, the victim, none other than their own cousin, Wren Longtree, offers them a meal and, to Royce and Quinn, an alternative. Hard years in prison or work for her and give up their life of thugs.

The Reprobate is the story of Royce, a self-proclaimed reprobate, a good for nothing young man and a lost cause. And it is the story of Cleantha Arnaud, a wounded bird, beautiful and, fragile. I enjoyed the depiction of Royce's character, his evolution. I won't tell too much as I hate spoilers. But he's human in everything - his bad as well as his good parts.

I also liked how the author, Dorothy Bell, builds up the relationship, the emotional link, between Royce and Cleantha, his goddess - slowly and beautifully - from friends to lovers. Two characters different and yet similar in many ways.

All kind of obstacles are thrown in their path, starting with her father's disapproval of Royce, “What I am trying to say is that Royce O’Bannon is not worth your time. You deserve better...far better. He’s a lone wolf. Don’t be fooled into thinking all he needs is a good woman to change him. A wolf is a wolf."

You can relate to the characters and story in many ways and I think this is an important element in a good story.

The author masterfully combines action, adventure, conflict and sentimentalism. If you are fans of western stories, spiced with the right amount of romance and history, then you will like The Reprobate. I absolutely enjoyed the atmosphere of the rough old West. As I read the description of the town, 'a bank, a mercantile, a telegraphic office and a sheriff's office', images from every Western movies I’ve seen came to life in my mind.

A story worth Five Stars.