Category: book review

The Snail’s Castle by Mark Gordon follows the story of Jake who will do whatever it takes to win a prestigious scholarship to study at Oxford.

The Snail’s Castle by Mark Gordon

Jake Milson wants one thing and one thing only, to win the coveted and prestigious
Hollingshead Scholarship to do postgraduate work at Oxford. He intends to travel to England
with his girlfriend, Rebecca. But a problem arises. Professor Gregory Percival keeps getting in
his way. During Jake’s struggle with Percival, the lives of Jake, Rebecca, Percival and Percival’s
wife, Margaret, intertwine. The novel, with its unexpected twists, draws you into the inner lives
of its many captivating characters. It is a story of ambition, love, lust and revenge set against the
backdrop of romantic Montreal in the early 1960’s.

My Thoughts

The Snail’s Castle is an interesting, suspenseful book that I had to give my full attention to. Mark Gordon creates an interesting world of characters whose lives intersect with what started as a goal to achieve a scholarship but led to lust and revenge.

Jake is consumed by the thought of achieving the Hollingshead scholarship. So much so that he puts it above friendship, love, creativity and integrity. His goal is put above all else and it can be even frustrating to watch him put this selfish need in front of emotional needs, friendship and family. It is almost as though he lives in his own world of greed and this is the only thing that matters in the end.

The novel took an interesting twist when Jake is given a book from Percival, a book that he just can’t wrap his mind around. I found when this book is introduced I had to pay closer attention as we are given excerpts of this book and I did not want to miss anything. The Snail’s Castle is an intriguing tale of what ambition, lust and revenge can do to a person.

You can purchase a copy of the book on Amazon.

Rating: 4/5

About the Author:

Mark Gordon is a novelist and poet, born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
His published novels are The Snail’s Castle, The Kanner Aliyah and Head of the Harbour. He is
presently living in Toronto, Ontario, and teaches English to newcomers to Canada. He updates
his information regularly at www.markgordonauthor.com

His poetry has been published in numerous literary journals in the United States and Canada,
including Quiddity, Illuminations, Poet Lore, RiverSedge, The Fiddlehead, White Wall Review,
Roanoke Review, and in the anthologies Arrivals: Canadian Poetry In The Eighties, The
Northern Red Oak, and Bright Stars 5, an Organic Tanka Anthology. Online, his poetry has
appeared in Linden Avenue Literary Journal and Versewrights.

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September 21 – Little Dutch Bookshop
September 22 – Working Mommy Journal
September 23 – The Life of K
September 24 – Kristian Wilson, Writing
September 25 – A Read-aholic
September 28 – The Overflowing Shelf
September 29 – Seraphina’s world
September 30 – TBA
October 1 – Cupcakes and Vodka Book Blog
October 2 – All Things Character It Is

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

A Song for Bellafortuna follows a young man and his desire to free his Sicillian village from the domination of one family’s long reign.

About A Song for Bellafortuna

For years, the beautiful and secluded hilltop village of Bellafortuna, Sicily, was a great producer of wine and olive oil and the entire village prospered. After the arrival of the Vasaio family, production dwindles and the villagers soon find themselves in crushing debt to the Vasaios. Only one family in the village remains outside the control of the Vasaios, but the reason haunts Antonio Sanguinetti every day of his life. Antonio is determined to erase this legacy by offering financial and emotional support to his fellow villagers. He introduces them to the choral song from Verdi’s opera, Nabucco, which becomes the rallying cry for the villagers and offers them hope for a better life.

When Antonio’s only son, Giuseppe, discovers his family’s past, he becomes determined to take on the Vasaios and remove them from power. Led by the young Giuseppe, a plan is hatched that could result in either complete freedom for the villagers or will forever solidify the Vasaios’ control.

My Thoughts

A struggle for power, fairness, equality and overcoming poverty. The beautiful village of Bellafortuna was destroyed by one family who wanted to control it all. They used their power to ‘protect’ the people from a bigger threat (the Mafia) but in turn crushed the people in debt. While the villagers were angry and knew this was wrong, they were powerless to stop it. So instead, this vicious circle continued from generation to the next.

It is one young man, Giuseppe, who is willing to lay his heart and everything on the line to protect his people. He can no longer see them suffering as it causes heartache for him to think that his family may have played a role in this.

A Song for Bellafortuna is a beautiful and touching story of hope, grace, forgiveness and strength. I love that the story centres around music because it is music that gives us hope, lifts our spirits and gives our heart freedom. A wonderful story with a truly nail biting ending. You will love it from start to finish.

You can purchase a copy of the book on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Award winning and bestselling author, Vincent B. “Chip” LoCoco, lives in New Orleans. His first novel, Tempesta’s Dream – A Story of Love, Friendship and Opera, became an Amazon bestselling novel and was awarded the 2014 Pinnacle Achievement Award in Historical Fiction. Amazon also has named his book as a Top Rated Novel in Italian Historical Fiction.

His most recent novel, A Song for Bellafortuna, was shortlisted in the William Faulkner – William Wisdom Competition. He is an estate planning attorney in New Orleans, where he lives with his wife and two children.

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

Sometimes fate has its own plan for us. In Finding Gabriel, Gabriel learns this lesson first hand.

About Finding Gabriel

After a decade of bloodshed fighting in Napoleon’s army, Gabriel returns to Paris a shattered and tortured soul. He is plagued by his inner demons and decides to end his suffering with a pistol. But fate intervenes.

Ariah Larochelle is a survivor; orphaned at twelve and the victim of a terrible crime. Ariah has learned to trust no one and to keep her back to the walls. When she finds a gravely injured soldier on the shores of the River Seine, she is moved by compassion. She rescues him and brings him into her home.

Now scarred on the inside and outside, Gabriel discovers a kindred spirit in Ariah. The feelings he thought he had lost forever are re-awakened in the face of adversity. But when Ariah’s secret past is revealed, the ghosts of her past threaten their new love. Can they find hope or will the pattern of their history repeat itself.

My Thoughts

An extremely exciting novel from start to finish! Not only was it sexy, romantic and exciting but it was full of adventure and raw emotion. Ariah and Gabriel are not your typical main characters. They are battered, broken and as far from perfect as you can imagine but their story is so compelling and real.

I love how Ariah pulls Gabriel out of his belief he is broken. He is lost, hurting on the inside and feels so much pain that he wants it all to end. Like so many of us who are suffering with our past and depression, he is suffering so much on the inside and can’t find a way out of it. It is Ariah and her imperfect past who shows him that we must look past our suffering and learn to live with it. That they are not badges of dishonour or that people look at us with hate but that they are marks of our strength and courage to keep moving forward. Ariah shows him a compassion and love that he has never known. Not even when he reveals the worst parts of him, is she swayed from her belief that he is a good person at heart.

A fantastic, raw and powerful novel from start to finish. I finished this novel in one sitting as I did not want to put it away. I was so engrossed in Ariah and Gabriel’s story, and how they overcame their pain to move forward not happy and blissfully but at peace with all around them and their own personal demons. While it has some sexy and romantic scenes, I love how the focus is on the characters and their personal scars from their past that they must deal with.

The novel is available August 27th, 2015 and you can purchase a copy on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Rating: 5/5

Book Trailer

About the Author

Rachel L. Demeter lives in the beautiful hills of Anaheim, California with Teddy, her goofy lowland sheepdog, and her high school sweetheart of eleven years. She enjoys writing dark, poignant romances that challenge the reader’s emotions and explore the redeeming power of love.

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

Learning about the world around us is important for so many reasons. It expands our children’s horizons, allows them to see the world through fresh eyes and understand how the world works and how far we have come. Geography captures your imagination and takes you around the world. The DK Canada Smithsonian Geography uses images to draw you into the encyclopedia, sparking a curiosity of the world around you.

Geography, a visual encyclopedia was created in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution. The book is broken down into the following sections: Planet Earth, Rocks and Minerals, Water, Climate and Weather, Life on Earth, The Human World, Mapping the World and Country Factfile. There is literally something for everyone on your list and you can start anywhere in the book. Just pick it up and let the book take you on an exciting journey. If you turn the book on its side, you will notice each section is colour coded so if you prefer to jump to a specific section you can easily do so.

Each page contains many colourful photographs that help to bring the story to life. For example, in Crystal Cave, the photo covers both pages of the book and brings home how huge the crystals are in comparison to the miners working there. I found myself at times reaching out to just touch the page, not because I thought it may have a texture but because the photographs were so powerful and touching. It makes you want to travel the world.

My personal favourite section of the book was under Life on Earth where it examined the Moorland and heath. My kids loved learning about volcanoes, tornadoes and hurricanes. This book was not only perfect for my kids to enjoy together but I also learned so much about the world around me. Geography, a visual encyclopedia fits in perfectly with our home library.

Make sure to check out more titles at the DK Canada Back to School Boutique for more top titles from DK Canada.

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