Author: cvegnad

July 14, 2015

Alchemy’s Daughter by Mary A. Osborne

In medieval Italy, daughters are expected to marry and raise children. In Alchemy’s Daughter, this whole concept is challenged.

About Alchemy’s Daughter

In San Gimignano, Italy, daughters of merchants are expected to marry. But Santina Pietra cares only for her Calandrino, a brilliant young scholar who is preoccupied with his ancient alchemical texts. He challenges her in her studies and teaches her to aim further then just a wife.

Soon Santina meets Trotula, the village midwife, who might or might not be a “strega,” a witch. Trotula challenges her to forget Calandrino and become the woman she is meant to be. Some say she is a victim of the midwife’s spell, but Santina is determined to follow in Trotula’s footsteps even as calamities strike.

My Thoughts

I love a novel with a strong, female character and Alchemy’s Daughter provides this and more. In a period of history where women were expected to marry and provide heirs, Santina is a strong, confident young woman who goes against convention to follow her dreams of being a midwife. While many people rely on the midwife to provide care and deliver their children, the role of the midwife was cast as a witch in medieval times. Which we now know, that being labelled as a witch had deathly consequences in this time period.

I love how the novel was full of surprises. Like the choice Santina made to learn midwifery, the novel didn’t follow the plot I assumed it would. This made it an even better read than I could have expected! I finished this whole novel in one sitting because I became so attached to Santina’s character and wanted to follow her journey. While in the beginning you may assume it may become a romance, the focus is not on the romance but instead on Santina’s journey of finding herself in a time period where this was frowned on.

Alchemy’s Daughter is the perfect read for all historical fiction genres buffs but also for all young women who want a strong female lead.

You can purchase a copy of the book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Book Depository.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Mary A. Osborne is the multiple award-winning author of Alchemy’s Daughter and Nonna’s Book of Mysteries. She is a graduate of Rush University and Knox College, where she was mentored in the Creative Writing Program. Mary is a registered nurse and holds degrees in chemistry and nursing. Her freelance work has appeared in publications such as Hektoen International, Newcity, and the Examiner.com. Mary currently lives in Chicago. You can connect with her online, Twitter and Facebook.

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Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

July 13, 2015

Beyond the Ashes by Karen Barnett

Where better to rebuild and face one’s fears than in 1906 San Francisco, a city rising from the ashes?

About Beyond the Ashes

Ruby Marshall, a young widow, is certain she’ll discover new purpose assisting her brother Robert with his cancer research, but she doesn’t anticipate finding new love.

Dr. Gerald Larkspur dreams of filling his empty home with family, but he’d always hoped it would be a wife and children. In the aftermath of the great earthquake, the rooms are overflowing with extended family and friends left homeless by the disaster. When Robert’s widowed sister arrives, the close quarters seem close indeed.

Ruby and Gerald’s fledgling romance is put at risk when Gerald develops symptoms of the very disease they’re striving to cure. Together they must ask–is it worth a second chance at love when time might be short?

My Thoughts

When I first started reading this novel, I didn’t realize that it was continuing where Out of the Ruins left off. So you can imagine how excited I was when I realized this, as I loved Out of the Ruins!

Ruby has faced many ordeals in a society that is constantly pressuring and signalling her out for her widow status. She wants to escape and be allowed to find out who she is and what she can do. The only place she feels she can escape to is to her brothers, who happens to live in San Francisco, a city that is still recovering from a devastating earth quake.

Gerald is a doctor who has not only struggled with the passing of a family member but is having a hard time dealing with death itself in his journey to find a cure for cancer. When he begins to find symptoms of disease on himself, he ignores them as he struggles to come to grips with this.

Karen is a wonderful writer who draws you into the story she is telling. Her characters are well-developed and while she does include a little bit of romance it is not overwhelming so you can truly enjoy the story she spins. Beyond the Ashes is a great read that you can enjoy by the pool or over a weekend. It is a novel of hope and inspiration, that you can fall in love with over and over again.

You can find more reviews on the Litfuse blog tour page. You can purchase a copy of the book here.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Karen Barnett is the author of Beyond the Ashes, Out of the Ruins, and Mistaken. Named the 2013 Writer of Promise by Oregon Christian Writers, Karen lives in Albany, Oregon, with her husband and two kids. When she’s not writing novels, she loves speaking at women’s events, libraries, and book clubs.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

July 8, 2015

Letters from My Father’s Murderer: A Journey of Forgiveness

Letters from My Father’s Murderer is a tale of forgiveness and peace, a story of redemption and how far it can reach.

About Letters from My Father’s Murderer

When her father was murdered, Laurie Coombs sought justice and found it.

His murderer now serves two life sentences with no possibility of parole. Yet, despite the swift punishment of the killer, Laurie found herself increasingly full of pain, bitterness, and anger she couldn’t control. After coming to faith, she realized she was being called to seek something infinitely more difficult than justice: forgiveness.

This is an extraordinary true story of grace, mercy, and the redemptive power of God to change lives. The reader is swept along with Laurie as she undergoes the life-changing transformation of becoming a Christian. As she studies Scripture, seeing God redeeming losses and healing deep wounds time and time again, she starts to understand that her own healing would require her to love her enemy in a real, practical way.

Using her incredible correspondence with the man who killed her father, Laurie reveals a compelling journey of transformation, not only in her life, but in the lives of those whom many would call irredeemable.

My Thoughts

Death is very difficult to deal with. Their is anger, frustration, regret and so many more emotions pooled together. I can’t even begin to imagine how Laurie Coombs felt knowing that not only had her Father died but that he was also murdered.

This book is not a story about murder, nor about the crime that was committed against her Father and family. Instead it is a journey – a journey of acceptance, forgiveness and how this can truly free a person. Without knowing it, Laurie held onto her anger for years until it began to eat away inside at her. She had to find a way to move forward with her life and forgive the man who caused her so much pain (God says we should love even those who hurt us). But how should she do accomplish this?

I felt Laurie’s pain as she discovered her own way of forgiving and learning to love the man who hurt her so much. It was not an easy road for her and she had many questions and doubts along the way. Your heart bleeds for her but I was also amazed with her strength and her courage. It takes a strong person to forgive and to love someone who has hurt us. It is also the most important thing you can do to move forward in your own live.

This is an incredible journey into the life of a young woman, who chose to forgive and to love the man who hurt her. There are many lessons that we can learn from her journey and put into practice in our daily lives.

You can find more reviews on the Litfuse Blog Tour page. You can purchase a copy of the book here.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Laurie A. Coombs is a passionate writer and speaker on the issues of forgiveness, redemption, and the hope that is found in Jesus. Her story was featured in Billy Graham’s new film, Heaven. She is a featured writer and blogger for iBelieve and Crosswalk. Laurie and her husband, Travis, make their home in Nevada along with their two daughters.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

July 2, 2015

Spice Up Your Summer Style with New Exotic Scents from Lampe Berger Canada

Spice up your summer fragrances with Lampe Berger Canada

We all like to refresh our home decor (both inside and outside) with the change in seasons, so why not also do the same for your indoor home fragrances?

Lampe Berger Canada has two new exotic scents that indulge your senses with the spicy and fruity flavours.

The first new scent is Daring Pepper which is spicy and adventurous. It has spicy head notes of black pepper, saffron and jasmine. Delicious heart notes of raspberry, plum liquer and violet. Sensual end notes of vanilla, vetiver and Cordovan leather finish of this scent. This was the perfect spicy scent for night time with the vanilla and violets. It was sexy, romantic and yet inviting and warm at the same time. I liked this scent in the bathroom the most.

The second scent, Exotic Cocktail, is sweet and flirtatious. Exotic Cocktail contains head notes of pineapple, mandarin and orange. Followed by sweet heart notes of coffee, coconut and rum. Finish it off with patchouli, vanilla and musk. This is actually our personal favourite, when you close your eyes you feel like you have been taken away on a tropical vacation. It’s sweet and fragrant with just a hind of spice. This scent was perfect for the kitchen and living room spaces.

All of these tantalizing scents are available as of June 1st, 2015!

Which of these two scents would you select to spice up your home? Do you change your in home fragrance scents for the summer?

Disclosure: I received the above mentioned products free of charge in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

July 2, 2015

Miss Emily by Nuala O’Connor

Dive into the world of Emily Dickinson in Miss Emily by Nuala O’Connor.

About Miss Emily

In Miss Emily, Nuala reimagines the private life of Emily Dickinson, one of America’s most beloved poets, through not only her own voice but also through the eyes of her family’s Irish maid.

Eighteen-year-old Ada Concannon has just been hired by the respected but eccentric Dickinson family of Amherst, Massachusetts. Despite their differences in age and the upstairs-downstairs divide, Ada strikes up a close friendship with Miss Emily, the gifted elder daughter living a spinster’s life at home. But Emily’s passion for words begins to dominate her life. She will wear only white and avoids the world outside the Dickinson homestead. When Ada’s safety and reputation are threatened, however, Emily must face down her own demons in order to help her friend, with shocking consequences.

My Thoughts

Although I am familiar with her work, this was my first time really looking at her life. In many ways, I can directly relate to her. I prefer my art and writing to conversations. There are times when I also could just hide in my room and the safety of my art, as this is my protection and safety. I think her label as eccentric would have been more common today and seen as normal.

Emily’s character is well-developed in this novel and we see not only the strong side of her but the open, honest and weak sides. Emily, while preferring the comfort of words and her bedroom, loves deeply and passionately and would do anything for her family and friends. This can be seen in her friendship with her maid, Ada. She would do absolutely anything for Ada, even when this sometimes pushes her past her comfort zone.

Miss Emily is a wonderful book and portrayal of a strong, talented woman. It gave great insights into her life and character, while telling a fantastic story. Miss Emily draws you right in to the story, leaving you craving for more. I could not put Miss Emily down!

Rating: 5/5

About Nuala O’Connor

Nuala O’Connor (AKA Nuala Ní Chonchúir) was born in Dublin. She currently lives in East Galway. She has published four short story collections, the most recent Mother America appeared from New Island in 2012. Nuala’s critically acclaimed second novel, The Closet of Savage Mementos appeared in 2014, also from New Island. It was shortlisted for the Kerry Irish Novel of the Year Award 2015. Under the name Nuala O’Connor, Penguin USA, Penguin Canada and Sandstone (UK) will publish Nuala’s third novel, Miss Emily, about the poet Emily Dickinson and her Irish maid, in the summer of 2015. You can connect with her online.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.