Historical | Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™

THE SLEEPWALKER by Chris Bohjalian

January 9, 2017

Click to purchase

A prodigious amount of research has obviously gone into the writing of this novel by Chris Bohjalian, whose books cover a wide variety of subjects.

Many people sleepwalk; most fortunately without causing themselves severe harm. Others are not so fortunate and in their walks can do injury to themselves and even possibly kill themselves. Annalee Ahlberg has a history of sleepwalking and is enrolled in a medical project to try and help her. She is also taking medicines prescribed for sleepwalkers.

The novel is written from the viewpoint of Lianna, the oldest of her two daughters, and describes one instance where Lianna actually saved Annalee’s life when she pulled her back from the Gale River Bridge near their home in Vermont. Both Lianna and her younger sister Paige have had episodes of walking in their sleep although nothing apparently as severe as Annalee.

One evening Annalee disappears and just does not appear shortly afterward. After a massive search by neighbors, friends and authorities it becomes fairly apparent that she is dead, possibly drowned in the Gale River. Paige starts to swim the river fairly frequently looking for any clue or sign pointing to the whereabouts, dead or alive, of her mother. No trace is found.

Lianna has a meeting with the police to attempt to determine if they are still investigating her mother’s disappearance. In the course of attempting to get information she meets Gavin Rikert, a detective with the local police department. Lianna and Gavin develop an attraction for each other and it comes out that Gavin is a sleepwalker who is also being treated by the same doctor that worked with Annalee. Also discovered by Lianna is the fact that her mother and Gavin met for talks several times without her father being aware of it. Were they lovers?

Bohjalian has no problem keeping the reader glued to the book. He provides information about forms of sleepwalking, which among other things can include sleep sex on the part of one of the partners. A very intellectually rewarding novel as well as commanding the rapt attention of the reader, and certainly another well done book by Chris Bohjalian.

1/17 Paul Lane

THE SLEEPWALKER by Chris Bohjalian. Doubleday (January 10, 2017). ISBN 978-0385538916. 304p.

Kindle

Comments Off on THE SLEEPWALKER by Chris Bohjalian | Crime Fiction, Fiction | Tagged: Historical | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE OLD MAN by Thomas Perry

January 4, 2017

Click to purchase

The refrain from an old song is “The Old Man ain’t what he used to be.” But Dan Chase is the very viable exception to that supposed rule.

Thirty five years before the story begins, Dan was an extremely capable agent for U.S. Army Intelligence. He was sent to Libya to covertly assist a rebel army by presenting 20 million dollars to a man acting as the agent for the rebels. The deal went sour when Dan found that said agent had kept the funds. He acted based on his own assessment of the situation and absconded with the money. Now 35 years later he is living in Vermont, retired, a widower with a grown daughter on her own. He has two huge dogs to keep him company.

Unlike other retirees, Dan has amassed a cache of “survival” gear including weapons, cash, fake passports and licenses. And just when he believes himself safe after all the years that have passed since the action in Libya, he is attacked by mercenaries that want to kill him. His instincts propel him into action that finds him embroiled in fighting hired killers, stuck in a precarious car chase, and not knowing if those hunting him were hired by the man in Libya from whom he took the cash, or his previous employer, the US government.

In fleeing from his home in Vermont, he rents a room in an apartment owned by a divorcee who happens to be attractive and drawn to Dan. When he is forced to leave this apartment and flee his enemies the woman goes with him and apparently is in love with him.

Perry’s writing is fast, compelling, and draws in the reader. The only reservation I experienced was that the ending is sudden and too pat. This does not make the reading experience any less enjoyable, just not fitting the temper of the rest of the novel. But I certainly would look for a sequel and pick it up if Perry decides that he would like to go in that direction.

1/17 Paul Lane

THE OLD MAN by Thomas Perry. Mysterious Press (January 3, 2017). ISBN 978-0802125866. 352p.

Kindle

Comments Off on THE OLD MAN by Thomas Perry | Crime Fiction, Fiction | Tagged: Historical | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE SPARTAN DAGGER by Nicholas Guild

December 26, 2016

Click to purchase

A well told tale of a feud taking place in Greece during the Peloponnesian conflict period occurring about the 4th century BC. During that era, the city states of Athens and Sparta were jockeying for supremacy in the area.

Guild has published many novels with diverse subjects including books set in the ancient world. In these novels his research has led him into fiction in settings that existed during the periods discussed and allowed him to paint protagonists with the probable thoughts and reactions prevalent then.

The Spartan Dagger follows two men living in the times depicted, traveling throughout Greece for many reasons and reacting to the events occurring at the time. Sparta has a culture and system for developing almost superhuman warriors taking young boys away from their families and inculcating them with ideals of war and bravery. The phrase when men went out on war was “Come home with your shield or on it,”meaning victory or death but never surrender.

Shortly before the period of this novel, Sparta had held off a force of about 250,000 Persians with a mere 300 men at Thermopylae giving enough time for Athens to get their navy ready for war. In addition, time was saved for Sparta itself to rally their regular army.

Two Spartan brothers were ordered by their father to go out and prove themselves men by killing members of the tribe of Helots than living in subjugation to Sparta. They do so, coming upon a family who were eating dinner. They kill the father, mother and a daughter but a son escapes. His name is Protos, meaning destiny, and his starts that night. He chases after the brothers managing to kill one and takes his dagger. He spares the other brother but vows he will eventually kill him.

This event starts the many years of conflict between the two. The Spartan boy in manhood becomes a statesman and leads men into battle. Protos finds himself traveling throughout Greece and due to a natural ability as a warrior becomes a leader of forces opposed to Sparta. Each finds love in the book which plays an important role in their development.

Guild is again successful in taking the reader into another era and making events live. Very well done.

12/16 Paul Lane

THE SPARTAN DAGGER by Nicholas Guild. Forge Books (December 27, 2016). ISBN 978-0765376510. 384p.

Kindle

Comments Off on THE SPARTAN DAGGER by Nicholas Guild | Crime Fiction, Fiction | Tagged: Historical | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE VISCOUNT AND THE VIXEN by Lorraine Heath

December 13, 2016

Click to purchase

Hellions of Havisham Series, Book 3

It’s my week for Viscounts, I guess, which are pronounced Vie-count, no “s” at all – I double checked.

I actually read the first book in this series, but somehow missed the second so guess I’ll have to go dig that up. This was really good.

Lord Lockley is heir to the Viscount but his father, while still alive, is mad as a hatter. Lockley’s mother died in childbirth, and his father went mad with grief. The house has fallen into disrepair, but Lockley gets a shock when a beautiful young woman shows up at the front door.

Portia announces that she is there to marry the Viscount and Lockley gets his hackles up. His father apparently put an ad in the paper seeking a wife of child bearing age. Since his son hasn’t married, he wants to produce his own “spare”.

Portia is seeking financial security, and Lockley isn’t about to let a fortune hunter take advantage of his father. After reading the fine print of the contract, he realizes that he can protect his father if he marries the young widow himself, and he does so immediately. There is an incredible physical attraction between them, but both are also determined not to fall in love. Lockley fears madness and Portia fears heartbreak.

But what good is a romance if no one falls in love? Yes, there is a good deal of very erotic sex (that Heath is known for) but love – well, you’ll have to read it to find out.

An excellent addition to the series.

12/16 Stacy Alesi AKA the BookBitch™

THE VISCOUNT AND THE VIXEN by Lorraine Heath. Avon (November 29, 2016). ISBN: 978-0062391056. 400p.

Kindle

Comments Off on THE VISCOUNT AND THE VIXEN by Lorraine Heath | Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance | Tagged: Historical | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE VIRGIN AND THE VISCOUNT by Charis Michaels

December 12, 2016

Click to purchase

Bachelor Lords of London Series, Book 2

So I’ve fallen back on my bad habits and I started this series with this book, the second in the series. I had a digital review copy that I had requested because it sounded interesting, but then I realized it was from the Avon Impulse imprint, which I had sworn off because I read a few in a row that I didn’t care for. But I had it on my iPad, needed something to read at a doctor’s office, and forgot why I hadn’t read it before. And I was happily surprised – it was really good.

Charis Michaels is a new romance writer from what I can tell, it looks like this was her second book and a third has come out since. She is definitely someone to watch.

Lady Elisabeth Hamilton-Baythes is the virgin in the title. Her parents were killed by highway men when she was a young teen, and she was kidnapped and sold to a brothel where she’s branded and left in a room while the owners tried to get the best price for a night with her.

But before she can be deflowered, a young lord Bryson shows up in her room. His father has decided it is time for him to lose his virginity, and the humiliation is just an added bonus. He and Elisabeth climb out the window and he helps her escape to an aunt’s house in London.

Fast forward several years and Elisabeth’s aunt is hosting a party for Bryson Courtland, Viscount Rainsleigh, a rich and powerful man. The same man Elisabeth has mooned over since he saved her. But while he doesn’t recognize her, he is attracted to her and in need of a wife.

You can figure out what happens but let me say that there is a lot of drama, some hot sex and some heartbreak along the way. Looking forward to more from this author.

12/16 Stacy Alesi AKA the BookBitch™

THE VIRGIN AND THE VISCOUNT by Charis Michaels. Avon Impulse (August 23, 2016). ISBN: 978-0062412959. 416p.

Kindle

2 Comments | Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance | Tagged: Historical | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

WHILE THE DUKE WAS SLEEPING by Sophie Jordan

November 14, 2016

Click to purchase

The Rogue Files, Book 1

One my favorite Christmas movies is “While You Were Sleeping“, Sandra Bullock’s first starring role and if you, too, like that movie, you will like this book. The film:

Lonely transit worker Lucy Eleanor Moderatz (Sandra Bullock) pulls her longtime crush, Peter (Peter Gallagher), from the path of an oncoming train. At the hospital, doctors report that he’s in a coma, and a misplaced comment from Lucy causes Peter’s family to assume that she is his fiancée. When Lucy doesn’t correct them, they take her into their home and confidence. Things get even more complicated when she finds herself falling for Peter’s sheepish brother, Jack.

This book is the same story, only set a couple of hundred years earlier.

Poppy Fairchurch is a salesgirl in a flower shop where the Duke of Autenberry shops nearly every day. He is handsome, kind and generous, and Poppy fancies herself in love with him. He, of course, doesn’t even know she’s alive.

One day after shopping, Poppy sees the Duke throw a punch at another man. The Duke ends up in the road and a horse drawn cart is racing down upon him. Poppy flings herself on the Duke, pushing him to safety. A moment later, the other man in the fight pushes Poppy to safety.

Turns out the men are half brothers and don’t get along. Poppy’s boss insists she accompany the unconscious Duke home, where due to a mis-overhead conversation, the housekeeper thinks they are engaged. The Duke is in a coma, but family is delighted with Poppy somehow, despite the difference in their classes.

Meanwhile Struan, the half-brother, who was raised in Scotland, is intrigued with the shopgirl and can’t quite believe she is engaged to the Duke. The Duke’s best friend knows it isn’t true, but he peruades Poppy to allow the family to think they are engaged.

Poppy and Struan are both fighting an intense physical attraction but none too successfully, and there are a few steamy scenes there.

The happy ending is eventually reached, and Poppy and Struan realize they fell in love while the Duke was sleeping.

11/16 Stacy Alesi AKA the BookBitch™

WHILE THE DUKE WAS SLEEPING by Sophie Jordan. Avon (October 25, 2016). ISBN: 978-0062222541. 384p.

Kindle

Comments Off on WHILE THE DUKE WAS SLEEPING by Sophie Jordan | Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance | Tagged: Historical | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

MY FAIR PRINCESS by Vanessa Kelly

October 27, 2016

Click to purchase

The Improper Princesses, Book 1

I am quite proud of myself, I actually am reading the first book of a series first. A rare treat. Although, oddly, it did feel a bit like there may have been stories that came before. So maybe this series was spun off from another series? Ah, the mysteries of historical romances – eventually I will figure it out, I suppose.

This is a terrific romance between a very proper Duke and a complete “hoyden”. Gillian is the by blow (bastard) of royalty and has grown up a completely wild child in Sicily. When her beloved stepfather is killed, she tracks down and kills his murderers, a most unusual trait in a princess, I can assure you. But in doing so, Gillian has made herself the target of bandits wishing to avenge their compadres deaths.

Gillian, her mother and grandmother flee to England, where the Perfect Penroy, Duke of Leverton, agrees to sponsor Gillian into society, in hopes she will find a husband. But at her first ball, she punches out a man who insults her, fueling the gossip to a new extreme. Then when the Duke’s ex-fiancee ups the gossip ante with vicious lies, he takes the women to his country home until things die down a bit with the ton.

On the way, they are robbed and Gillian is distraught that the necklace from her stepfather has been taken. Bandits are working on Leverton land and the Gillian and the Duke cannot agree on how to handle it.

Eventually Gillian realizes that she is in love with the Duke, but is despondent that he could ever love someone like her. The Duke is a little slower to realize it but they do get their happy ending – but not until lots of danger, trading secrets about their pasts and some lovemaking occur.

This is an enjoyable read – quick, lusty and fun. I’m looking forward to Three Weeks with a Princess, Book 2 in the series, but have to wait until next year for it.

10/16 Stacy Alesi AKA the BookBitch™

MY FAIR PRINCESS by Vanessa Kelly. Zebra (August 30, 2016). ISBN: 978-1420141092. 352p.

Kindle ($.99!)

1 Comment | Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance | Tagged: Historical | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

DUKE OF SIN by Elizabeth Hoyt

October 2, 2016

Click to purchase

A Maiden Lane Novel, Book 10

I’ve been enjoying this series so when I saw this book on Booklist’s “Top 10 Romance: 2016,” I realized I missed one. Luckily, I found it on the shelf in my library and took it home.

This series is set in the early 1800’s and is pretty dark. A common thread throughout the series (at least the ones I’ve read) is this group called the Lords of Chaos, titled men who have identifying dolphin tattoos and participate in savage orgies. These orgies feature young children of both sexes, ferocious dogs chasing said children, and murder is not uncommon. In fact, killing is part of the initiation.

Valentine Napier, the Duke of Montgomery, has inherited the leadership of the Lords of Chaos, but he hasn’t had his initiation yet, he’s too busy blackmailing several of his peers. Bridget Crumb is the daughter of Lady Cair and an unnamed footman, and her mother had sent her to a foster family who raised her to be a housekeeper. Lady Cair is one of the Duke’s blackmail victims, so Mrs. Crumb gains employment in his home in hopes of finding the incriminating evidence and protecting her mother.

This is an action packed romance, a bit darker than I usually care for in this type of genre. The Duke has had a truly appalling childhood, and one can’t help but wonder if the damage done is permanent. Luckily, he becomes enamored of Bridget, and she has a strong sense of right and wrong which she tries to teach him. Eventually they fall in love but not until there has been a duel, a kidnapping, a murder attempt, hot sex and more.

The first chapter of the next book in the series, The Duke of Pleasure, is included in the paperback and if that is any indication of what is to follow, it should be as action packed as this one – and something to look forward to.

10/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

DUKE OF SIN by Elizabeth Hoyt. Grand Central Publishing (May 31, 2016). ISBN: 978-1455539093. 368p.

Kindle

Comments Off on DUKE OF SIN by Elizabeth Hoyt | Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance | Tagged: Historical | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE PERKS OF LOVING A SCOUNDREL by Jennifer McQuiston

September 26, 2016

Click to purchase

Seduction Diaries, Book 3

This has become one of my favorite series. The heroines are all smart, nerdy girls who don’t particularly want to get married and have no use for society, and this one is no different.

Mary Channing’s sister was the heroine of the first book in the series, but these do not need to be read in order, they all stand alone just fine.

Mary is a bookworm, a girl after my own heart. Losing her brother and father to violence has made her into a bit of a recluse, staying in her room or her garden and reading, and refusing a “season” in London. But when her sister’s husband has to leave on business for a while, Mary agrees to stay with Clare during the last trimester of her confinement. Don’t you just love that word? In this case it’s apropos, it’s a difficult pregnancy and the doctor is expecting the baby to come early.

Her first morning there, Mary goes out early to check out the garden, only to be shocked to find a man urinating on the rose bushes. That man is Geoffrey Westmore, future Viscount, neighbor, and our scoundrel.

Clare forces Mary to attend a fundraising event at her doctor’s hospital, and Mary reluctantly agrees as Charles Dickens will be there. But she is overwhelmed by the crowd and seeks refuge in the hospital library. Westmore sees her leave and follows, sure she looks familiar, but he can’t place her. He ends up compromising her and ruining her reputation, but while they are in the library, they overhear an assassination plot, which Mary is much more concerned about.

I love that Mary is extremely knowledgeable about so many different things, all from her reading. She is also a real romantic, basing all understanding of men and women and relationships on novels. She eventually finds out that life is not quite the same as it appears in books, but nonetheless gets her happy ending.

I loved it.

9/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THE PERKS OF LOVING A SCOUNDREL by Jennifer McQuiston. Avon (September 27, 2016). ISBN 978-0062335142. 400p.

Kindle

Audible

2 Comments | Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance | Tagged: Historical | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE ONE MAN by Andrew Gross

August 24, 2016

Click to purchase

Andrew Gross has written probably the most moving novel that I have read.

To say that it is an emotional roller coaster is the truth, but does not do it the justice it deserves. The book involves a lengthy look at the real horrors of a Nazi concentration camp and the daily struggle of the people trapped there just to somehow survive.

I am a fan of Mr. Gross, and in my opinion this novel is far and away the best work among many good works that he has given us.

In 1944, Alfred Mendl is taken away from his family in Poland, and along with many others is sent to a men’s concentration camp. His notes and papers on his work are taken from him and destroyed. The Nazis have no idea that they confiscated work that only one other person in the world has, and which when combined with work done by other scientists could start a war – or win one.

Nathan Blum, a Polish Jew who has successfully escaped from Poland but was forced to leave his family behind to be slaughtered, has certain requisite qualities that make him the ideal man for a scheme to rescue Mendl from the camp. He is Semitic in appearance, speaks both Polish and German. He is assigned to desk work for the U.S. army in Washington but desperately wants to do something more important for the war effort. The plan to rescue Mendl involves actually breaking into the camp he is at, and bringing him out to be sent to the United States to work with the scientists currently at work attempting to build a nuclear weapon. To be successful there must be an almost impossible combination of events that occur.

There is not one single way to put down the book without finishing it, and the reader arrives at a surprising end literally drained of emotion. Vivid descriptions of the horrors prevalent in the camp cannot fail to stir any reader who has only experienced the Holocaust through reading history. Andrew Gross brings us there and creates an ambience that will stay for quite a while.

8/16 Paul Lane

THE ONE MAN by Andrew Gross. Minotaur Books (August 23, 2016). ISBN 978-1250079503. 432p.

Kindle

Audible

Comments Off on THE ONE MAN by Andrew Gross | Book Reviews, Crime Fiction, Fiction | Tagged: Historical, Holocaust | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi