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Four Reasons Why I Would Never Want to Live During the 1800s| Madame Presidentess by Nicole Evelina

Have you ever been asked the question, “If you could go back in time and live, which year/decade/century would you choose”? After reading Madame Presidentess by Nicole Evelina, I can, with certainty, tell you that I wouldn’t want to live in America during the 1850s and 1880s.

Madame Presidentess by Nicole Evelina

Released: July 2016
Publisher: Lawson Gartner Publishing
★★★★☆
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Purchase: Amazon|B&N

Forty-eight years before women were granted the right to vote, one woman dared to run for President of the United States, yet her name has been virtually written out of the history books.

Rising from the shame of an abusive childhood, Victoria Woodhull, the daughter of a con-man and a religious zealot, vows to follow her destiny, one the spirits say will lead her out of poverty to “become ruler of her people.”

But the road to glory is far from easy. A nightmarish marriage teaches Victoria that women are stronger and deserve far more credit than society gives. Eschewing the conventions of her day, she strikes out on her own to improve herself and the lot of American women.

Over the next several years, she sets into motion plans that shatter the old boys club of Wall Street and defile even the sanctity of the halls of Congress. But it’s not just her ambition that threatens men of wealth and privilege; when she announces her candidacy for President in the 1872 election, they realize she may well usurp the power they’ve so long fought to protect.

Those who support her laud “Notorious Victoria” as a gifted spiritualist medium and healer, a talented financial mind, a fresh voice in the suffrage movement, and the radical idealist needed to move the nation forward. But those who dislike her see a dangerous force who is too willing to speak out when women are expected to be quiet. Ultimately, “Mrs. Satan’s” radical views on women’s rights, equality of the sexes, free love and the role of politics in private affairs collide with her tumultuous personal life to endanger all she has built and change how she is viewed by future generations.

This is the story of one woman who was ahead of her time – a woman who would make waves even in the 21st century – but who dared to speak out and challenge the conventions of post-Civil War America, setting a precedent that is still followed by female politicians today.

First reason why I wouldn’t want to live during the second half of the 1800s (or the first half, really): everybody was dying during the war or from tuberculosis and dysentery (leading cause of death during all of my Oregon Trail efforts [RIP greenhorn]) and splinters and stuff. That being said, the atmosphere, grim though it may be, was perfect for spiritualism (you know, the Fox sisters? Ectoplasm? This post I wrote a few months ago?), and our dear Victoria Woodhull was a believer, nay! a practitioner of the art. Madame Presidentess explores Woodhull’s relationship with spiritualism throughout her life. Exploited by family, at a young age, Woodhull and her sister, Tennie, entertained clients by contacting the spirits from beyond. Then, during adolescence and early adulthood when she wanted to gain independence, Woodhull made a fortune as a traveling magnetic healer. (Later, she would earn another fortune after opening her own stock brokerage firm on freaking Wall Street. No bid deal.)

Second reason why I wouldn’t want to live during the second half of the 1800s: everybody seemed to be pretty awful to each other. Following the abolition of slavery, racial tensions soared (I mean, the KKK was founded). Luckily for business owners though, the Fair Labor Standards Act didn’t exist, so they were free to overwork and underpay their employees (who were frequently children). Women didn’t fare so well either. At times, Madame Presidentess was difficult to read because Woodhull was physically and sexually abused throughout her youth and young adulthood. Particularly devastating was the abuse by the hand of her first husband, Canning Woodhull, who was a womanizer with a penchant for alcohol and laudanum (damn Libertines!). “Penchant” is ~~probably~~ definitely an understatement here. Woodhull was a fierce young women though and divorced that sucker.

Third reason why I wouldn’t want to live during the second half of the 1800s: women didn’t have the right to vote. Which is why Victoria Woodhull is such an important figure. She fought to give women a voice. She launched her own newspaper, through which she published articles advocating women’s suffrage, sex education, and free love. She rubbed elbows with Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton and infiltrated the male dominated world of business and politics. Then, she ran for president and named abolitionist leader, Frederick Douglas, as her Veep! (She lost though. Obviously. Which maybe isn’t the worst thing since she also promoted eugenics).

Fourth reason why I wouldn’t want to live during the second half of the 1800s: internet, video games, Jets BBQ chicken pizza, sneakers, Harry Potter, and Adagio tea did not exist. But, I digress…

If I had to sum up Madame Presidentess in one word, I would definitely choose “fascinating”. What a life this woman lead! I’m not saying her stances and actions were always ethical, but Woodhull was certainly a powerhouse, who for some reason was written out of the history books. If you’re looking for an engaging and fast-paced historical fiction novel about subject not often explored in the genre, be sure to check out Madame Presidentess by Nicole Evelina.

This novel was provided for free from the publisher and TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.

November 14, 2016
And the Award for Best Characters Goes to…|The Survivor’s Guide to Family Happiness by Maddie Dawson

I may have over-committed myself this October. I had these grand plans to devour a collection of spooky novels and write all about them, but instead I found myself in a bit of a reading rut after abandoning three books back to back to back. I can’t decide if the books were particularly uninteresting to me or if I was just distracted. I did, after all, get married this month (more on that later though!). When I finally sat down to read The Survivor’s Guide to Family Happiness by Maddie Dawson, I was certain my reading rut would affect my ability to appreciate the story. Sometimes negativity begets negativity, you know? But, that’s not what happened. In truth, I actually kind of loved The Survivor’s Guide to Family Happiness.

The Survivor’s Guide to Family Happiness by Maddie Dawson

Released: October 25, 2016
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
★★★★☆
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Purchase: Amazon|BAM!|B&N

Newly orphaned, recently divorced, and semiadrift, Nina Popkin is on a search for her birth mother. She’s spent her life looking into strangers’ faces, fantasizing they’re related to her, and now, at thirty-five, she’s ready for answers.

Meanwhile, the last thing Lindy McIntyre wants is someone like Nina bursting into her life, announcing that they’re sisters and campaigning to track down their mother. She’s too busy with her successful salon, three children, beautiful home, and…oh yes, some pesky little anxiety attacks.

But Nina is determined to reassemble her birth family. Her search turns up Phoebe Mullen, a guarded, hard-talking woman convinced she has nothing to offer. Gradually sharing stories and secrets, the three women make for a messy, unpredictable family that looks nothing like Nina pictured…but may be exactly what she needs. Nina’s moving, ridiculous, tragic, and transcendent journey becomes a love story proving that real family has nothing to do with DNA.

It is entirely possible that Maddie Dawson’s cast of characters are my favorite for the year of 2016. They’re so…believably flawed. Nina Popkin is impulsive and a bit flaky as she mourns over the death of her adoptive mother, navigates a new relationship following a recent divorce that she’s not quite over, and tries her hand at parenting even though she’s convinced she is not capable of such a feat considering her biological mother abandoned her when she was an infant. Then, there is Lindy, Nina’s sister, who has a perfect life, or at least tries to portray she has a perfect life; she may have a successful business, great hair, and a coach purse, but she’s never felt more disconnected from her husband, and she has a disorder that compels her to count things, like the tiles between her chair and the door, and dear god, please let there be an odd number of tiles because odd numbers are lucky. The relationship between Nina and Lindy is strained at first because after 30+ years of existence, they just found out they are biological siblings, and while impulsive Nina wants everything to do with her biological family, prim and proper Lindy doesn’t appreciate the black mark on her birth record. However, through the course of the novel, Nina and Lindy grow from strangers to sisters, and it’s really kind of heart-warming.

Of course I can’t forget to mention Carter, Nina’s dreamy new boyfriend, who is about 20 years older than she is and kind of a distracted parent. His wife left him, and then she followed her dream of becoming a kale farmer (do people really dream of becoming kale farmers?). She left behind her daughter Kayla, who is a 15 year-old with blue hair and is hella angsty. But, Kayla’s got a heart of gold, she’s compassionate, and when it comes to animal rights, she is proud to take a stand (even if her methods leads to madness). She also left behind a son, who is graduating the top of his class but has zero interest in attending college even though he was accepted into freaking Vanderbilt.

And by the way, Lindy and Nina’s biological mom is now a chain-smoking vegan, who used to be a 1980’s pop icon. But…attaining dreams of stardom is not why she put her babies up for adoption. The true story is much more twisted and devastating.

The Survivor’s Guide to Family Happiness was just the book to pull me out of a reading rut. Dawson writes a character-driven story that is both dramatic and heart-warming, and her characters are well-crafted with impeccable chemistry. It’s hard not to root for them, to hope everything turns out better than alright.

This novel was provided for free from the publisher and TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.

October 27, 2016
I Had Hoped for a Boarding School Novel but was Taken on a Wild Ride Instead | Deliver Her by Patricia Perry Donovan

I may have hyper-focused on the portion of the synopsis that mentions that Alex Carmody is shipped off to the Birches, a boarding school in New Hampshire. That coupled with a beautiful cover of a young woman standing in what I perceived to be the campus of a boarding school in the middle of Autumn in New England– I didn’t stand a chance. But, if you’re looking for a novel that takes place at a boarding school– one where the main character navigates cliques in the cafeteria at lunchtime, enrolls in fascinating classes that exists only in our imaginations, or discovers a group of exceptional friends– look somewhere else. If you’re looking for a novel full of suspense and deceit and a journey both metaphorical and literal, look no further than Deliver Her by Patricia Perry Donovan.

Deliver Her by Patricia Perry Donovan

Released: May 2016
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
★★★☆☆
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Purchase: Amazon|BAM!|B&N

On the night of Alex Carmody’s sixteenth birthday, she and her best friend, Cass, are victims of a terrible car accident. Alex survives; Cass doesn’t. Consumed by grief, Alex starts cutting school and partying, growing increasingly detached. The future she’d planned with her friend is now meaningless to her.

Meg Carmody is heartbroken for her daughter, even as she’s desperate to get Alex’s life back on track. The Birches, a boarding school in New Hampshire, promises to do just that, yet Alex refuses to go. But when Meg finds a bag of pills hidden in the house, she makes a fateful call to a transporter whose company specializes in shuttling troubled teens to places like The Birches, under strict supervision. Meg knows Alex will feel betrayed—as will her estranged husband, who knows nothing of Meg’s plans for their daughter.

When the transport goes wrong—and Alex goes missing—Meg must face the consequences of her decision and her deception. But the hunt for Alex reveals that Meg is not the only one keeping secrets.

This novel is both predictable and suspenseful

I knew fairly early on how this novel would end, and yet I still found myself compelled to read on. Because it’s the ride the author takes the reader on that makes Deliver Her so worth while. Donovan slowly reveals the tragic past of a broken family, and at the same time, she propels the reader forward across icy roads blocked by moose and car rides from creepy strangers to reach a place of healing that is both literal and metaphorical.

This novel has crossover appeal

Deliver Her is told from multiple POVs. First, there is Meg Caromdy, who is a mother who seems to have reached the end of the road in her relationship not just with her husband but also with her daughter. Then, there is Alex Carmody, who is battered by the guilt that she may have been the cause of her best friend’s death. And finally, there is Carl, a recovering addict, whose role is to transport Alex to the Birches safe and sound. Deliver Her isn’t explicitly a young adult novel or an adult novel, so the reader spends half of the novel caught up in the psyche of a teenage girl and the other half in the mind of a mother at her wit’s end. Further, Donovan manages to strike a gentle balance of writing from the teenage perspective without bogging the narration down with angst that I think make this novel appeal not just to a young adult audience but to readers who may be reluctant to pick something up that is labeled “YA”.

I’m strangely okay that this novel doesn’t take place at a boarding school

It’s hard to feel disappointed that Deliver Her isn’t a novel that takes place at boarding school because Donovan paints such convincing and heartbreaking picture of a dysfunctional family. One where family members are so caught up in their lives, regardless of how mundane they may be, that they don’t even see how disconnected from one another they really are until it’s too late. One where family member’s harbor secrets to protect others or tell lies to one another just to make it through the day peacefully, without confrontation.

Every single character, from Jack, Alex’s naive little brother, to Carl, a recovering addict, who transports the troubled youth to rehab centers, garners sympathy and yet, most of the time I kept thinking, gosh I hope my marriage doesn’t turn out this way, or I hope my child doesn’t end up like this.

This novel was provided for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

October 10, 2016
When Expectations Do Not Meet Reality | The Readahoics and the Gothic Gala by Laura DiSilverio

It’s not uncommon that I start a cozy mystery novel somewhere near the middle of the series. I can only think of three series where I started with book one (Lending a Paw by Laurie Cass, Crepes of Wrath by Sarah Fox, and the Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum by Kirsten Weiss). And honestly, I’ve never had a problem starting in the middle of a cozy mystery series; the books tend stand up by themselves, although if a book is particularly intriguing, I tend to read other books in the series, like the Ghost Hunter Mystery series by Victoria Laurie. But I’ve gotta tell ya…I really struggled with the Readaholics and the Gothic Gala by Laura DiSilverio.

The Readaholics and the Gothic Gala by Laura DiSilverio

Released: August 2016
Publisher: NAL
Add to Goodreads
★★☆☆☆

Reading the gothic classic Rebecca already has the Readaholics spooked, and the chills only get worse when someone in town actually gives up the ghost….

Amy-Faye Johnson has her hands full coordinating the Celebration of Gothic Novels in Heaven, Colorado. The festivities start off smoothly, but the weekend is soon cursed with large egos, old resentments, and uninvited guests. Matters become truly grave when a dead body is found at the gothic-themed costume party.

The out-of-town authors claim not to know the victim, but Amy-Faye has doubts. With skeletons turning up in all of the suspects’ closets, Amy-Faye and the Readaholics must tap into their knowledge of gothic literature to find a killer who lurks in the shadows…

Expectations did not meet reality

The summary put a lot of emphasis on not only the Gothic Gala but also on the book club that main character, Amy-Faye, participated in, yet the Gothic Gala concluded by the third chapter (roughly), and Amy-Faye only met with her reading group twice in 300+ pages. I…was kind of disappointed. I mean, part of me understands that a crime could not take place and be solved during the course of a charity event, but a girl can dream, right?

There were a lot of characters

And I mean A LOT. Considering I usually start mid-series with cozies, I still do not struggle with keeping all of the characters in line. But, that was not the case with the Readaholics and the Gothic Gala. Not only does it appear that the usual cast of characters is pretty large (the reading group + Amy-Fayes employees + the entire town of Heaven, Colorado), but all of the additional, out-of-town characters at the partie(s) are quite large too, so it was hard to keep track of everyone.

The ending really caught me by surprise

But not in a good way. Mostly because I couldn’t remember which character was which, so when the murderer was revealed, I found myself flipping to the beginning of the book for reminders. Also, I don’t think enough clues were revealed throughout the course of the novel about the victim’s identity. The motivation really caught me by surprise, but again…not in a good way.

Overall, I’m kind of let down, and when I try to think of how to sum up my feelings about this story, all I can conjure up is a shoulder shrug. The storytelling in this particular novel was not up to par, and honestly it discourages me from exploring other books in this series. That being said, I can tell Laura DiSilverio is a wonderful writer, and I am curious about her other series.

September 27, 2016
The World Needs a New Period Drama, and it Needs to be The Girl Who Fought Napoleon by Linda Lafferty

The world seems to be enamored with period dramas that take place in the U.K., like Downton Abbey, the Tudors, and the White Queen. There is actually an entire website dedicated to Regency, Victorian, and Edwardian period dramas called Willow and Thatch. Truly, with the exception of the Borgias, I cannot think of a period drama that doesn’t take place in the U.K. Isn’t that sad? So, when I sat down to read the Girl Who Fought Napoleon by Linda Lafferty, all I could think about was how badly I wanted this to be optioned for a TV mini-series. Lafferty brings Russia during the Napoleonic Wars to life both in the warm and seemingly safe Winter Palace as well as the bloody battlefields. Further, this 430 page novel seems to fly right by; the plot is paced perfectly and is filled with action, suspense, treason and betrayal.

The Girl Who Fought Napoleon by Linda Lafferty

Released: September 20, 2016
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
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★★★★☆

In a sweeping story straight out of Russian history, Tsar Alexander I and a courageous girl named Nadezhda Durova join forces against Napoleon.

It’s 1803, and an adolescent Nadya is determined not to follow in her overbearing Ukrainian mother’s footsteps. She’s a horsewoman, not a housewife. When Tsar Paul is assassinated in St. Petersburg and a reluctant and naive Alexander is crowned emperor, Nadya runs away from home and joins the Russian cavalry in the war against Napoleon. Disguised as a boy and riding her spirited stallion, Alcides, Nadya rises in the ranks, even as her father begs the tsar to find his daughter and send her home.

Both Nadya and Alexander defy expectations—she as a heroic fighter and he as a spiritual seeker—while the battles of Austerlitz, Friedland, Borodino, and Smolensk rage on.

In a captivating tale that brings Durova’s memoirs to life, from bloody battlefields to glittering palaces, two rebels dare to break free of their expected roles and discover themselves in the process.

This story is also told in alternating perspectives.

But, it’s not what you would expect. Typically, that would imply first person perspectives from two main characters, but that is not the case with the Girl Who Fought Napoleon. Lafferty makes an interesting choice to write the narrative from both first person perspective as well as third person subjective. I’ve never read a novel that alternates between first person and third person, so that did take a few chapters to get used to. However, it’s a storytelling method that I appreciated, especially for this particular story. The Girl Who Fought Napoleon is based on the memoirs of Nadezhda Durova (the Calvary Maiden), so the obvious choice would be to tell the story in first person. This story is hers, after all. But, that would offer the reader such a limited view of what was happening in Russia during this point in history. Switching to a third person point of view allows readers to peek inside the Winter Palace– to get to know the paranoid Tsar Paul and the reluctant soon-to-be Tsar Alexander, to witness assassination plots and royal affairs, to understand the political turmoil rumbling across Europe as the tides of the Napoleonic Wars lap at Russia’s borders.

The biggest challenge in understanding the alternate POV had less to do with the actual point of view and more to do with the timeline

The timeline tends to bounce back and forth. For example, the story starts in 1783, which is when Nadezhda Durova is born. The next chapter jumps six years to Christmas 1789, when young Alexander and his family are opening presents. Then the next chapter jumps back to 1785 to reveal more about Nadezhda’s life. Then to 1790…and 1799…and back to 1789. Trying to remember when certain events happened was futile; I eventually stopped reading the date headers because it was distracting me from the story.

By the way, can we talk about how amazing Nadezhda Durova is?

First, the story seems a little cliché– young woman dresses up as a man so she may live life with more freedom. In Nadezdha Durova’s case, it was to escape restrictions and tedium of “women’s work” and to help save her homeland. Second, it seems kind of far-fetched that during the early 1800s, a young woman would trick her way into the military and dupe everyone for nearly a decade, save a bunch of lives with very little military training, receive recognition from the Tsar himself, help lead victories over the Grand Armee, and live to retire and then write a memoir about it. BUT IT’S TRUE. IT’S TOTALLY FREAKING TRUE! That is reason enough to read this novel– you need to know Nadezdha Durova!

Overall, I really enjoyed the Girl Who Fought Napoleon. It’s one of those books that looks long but somehow you manage to breeze through 100 pages before you even finish eating your box of bon bons (and it’s not even a particularly large box of bon bons either). I just found myself not only fascinated by Nadezhda, but also with Russia during the early 1800s. I think the only reason why I managed to not consult wikipedia during my readthrough is because the novel was such a page-turner. Should you read this one? Definitely!

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

September 23, 2016
Tea Talk with Author Kristin Bartley Lenz
Kristin Bartley Lenz, super awesome tea drinker and author of The Art of Holding On and Letting Go

Yesterday, I wrote a rave review for The Art of Holding On and Letting Go by Kristin Bartley Lenz. It’s a wonderful debut novel about loss, the meaning of “home”, and the healing force of nature, rock climbing, and friendship. In the beginning of the novel, there is a scene where the main character, Cara Jenkins, sips on peppermint tea to soothe her nerves before a rock climbing competition. It was such a small detail, but it was one that helped me connect with the character almost instantly. I’m a sucker for peppermint tea too! Although, while I do appreciate that it can have a calming affect, I actually tend to drink peppermint tea whenever I’m working on projects that require creativity (it gets those creative juices flowing!).

As it turns out, Kristin Bartley Lenz is a tea drinker too, and to celebrate the release of her book, The Art of Holding On and Letting Go (WHICH IS OUT TODAY, SO GO GET IT NOW!), Books & Tea happily presents you a guest post by Kristin Bartley Lenz, which is about her discovery of loose leaf tea, some of her favorite types of tea, as well as a visit to a tea plantation… in China (so lucky!).

I have always preferred tea over coffee. Sleepy Time and Good Earth were my first favorites, but I’m not sure I even knew loose leaf tea existed until I entered Far Leaves tea shop in Berkeley, CA in my late twenties. The shop was new, only a few blocks from my house, and I wandered in out of curiosity soon after they opened. The owner was preparing tea gaiwan style and offering tastes in tiny round cups. Green, white, and oolongs from China and Taiwan – I discovered a whole new world of tea beyond the little bags and boxes I had known.

Here are my current 5 favorite teas:
1. One of my everyday favorites is Wenshan Baozhong, an oolong that’s almost green from Taiwan. It’s a great tea for beginners because it doesn’t become terribly bitter if you oversteep it, and it lasts for multiple infusions in one day. It’s often described as light and sweet with hints of melon, elderflower, and grass.
2. A few years ago, a doctor recommended I drink white tea because of its high antioxidant levels, and White Peony became a new everyday favorite, especially during the warmer spring and summer months. This Chinese tea is also known as Bai Mu Dan or Pai Mu Tan. There are no actual peony flowers in this tea, but it does have a slightly floral aroma. The Fragrant Leaf is one of my favorite online teashops and they have an inexpensive organic White Peony.
3. My most recent favorite tea is Dragonwell or Longjing, a pan-fired green tea with distinctive flat leaves, and I was actually able to see these tea plants on a trip to China last year! My good friends, Monique and John, are on a two-year assignment for work in China, and their first stop was Hangzhou, a region known for Longjing tea. The tea wasn’t being harvested on the day I visited, but the tea fields were beautiful.
4. I don’t drink as much Pearl Jasmine green tea as I used to, but it’s still a favorite to share with friends, especially if they’re just learning to like green tea. The fragrance is intoxicating, and it’s fun to watch the leaves unfurl from the tight pearls as it steeps.
5. My favorite winter tea is this rooibos-based Herbal Chai. It brews to a gorgeous red hue and has a slight peppery kick, depending on how long you steep it. This is the only tea I drink with honey and milk, especially coconut milk – yum! Guaranteed to warm you up on a gloomy, frigid day.
I know, I said five, but I can’t stop – one more! Silver Needle is a white tea that can be kind of meh, but I stumbled upon a wonderfully fragrant, rich version at an organic, biodynamic tea farm in Traverse City, Michigan. Yes, Michigan! I didn’t know it was possible to grow tea here. Their story is on their website, and their tea is expensive, but it’s truly a very special treat.

Enjoy!

Kristin Lenz

Thank you so much to Kristin Bartley Lenz for writing this guest post (and for putting Light of Day in Traverse City, MI on my map!). I also have to say, the rooibos-based Herbal Chai sounds absolutely divine (and a must-have to get me through the impending winter months here in Michigan).

The Art of Holding On and Letting Go by Kristin Bartley Lenz is available September 12, 2016 — today! Snag your copy here:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BAM | IndieBound

Connect with Kristin Bartley Lenz:

Website | Goodread | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
September 12, 2016
#OHTHEFEELS | The Art of Holding On and Letting Go by Kristin Bartley Lenz

I used to devour YA Contemporary novels, but the older I become, the harder I am to impress by this once beloved genre. I’ve really struggled over the course of my five years of book blogging to read and enjoy YA Contemporary novels, and at one point, I would have been more than happy to avoid the genre entirely. But, I have to admit, this has been a redeeming year; I’ve read a handful of excellent Contemporaries, and I read another novel that just might be making it into my top ten books this year– the Art of Holding On and Letting Go by Kristin Bartley Lenz. Beautifully written and atmospheric, The Art of Holding On and Letting Go is an equally intense and introspective novel about love and loss and finding one’s home in this world. (P.S. There are some spoilers below this line, so read at your own risk).

The Art of Holding on and Letting Go by Kristin Bartley Lenz

Released: September 12, 2016
Publisher: Elephant Rock Books
Add to Goodreads
★★★★☆

Competitive climber Cara Jenkins feels most at home high off the ground, clinging to a rock wall by her fingertips. She’s enjoyed a roaming life with her mountaineering parents, making the natural world her jungle gym, the writings of Annie Dillard and Henry David Thoreau her textbooks. But when tragedy strikes on an Ecuadoran mountaintop, Cara’s nomadic lifestyle comes to an abrupt halt.

Starting over at her grandparents’ home in suburban Detroit, Cara embarks on a year of discovery, uncovering unknown strengths, friendships, and first love. Cara’s journey illustrates the transformative power of nature, love and loss, and discovering that home can be far from where you started.

I was hooked right away

The novel opens a world away from my own– not just because main character, Cara Jenkins, is in Ecuador, where Lenz captures the sights and sounds and smells so well– but also because the story opens amid a junior rock climbing competition. I had no idea such events even existed.

The tension is palpable as Cara mentally prepares for her climb. She’s trying to block out the fact that her famous, mountaineering family is ascending one of the most treacherous peeks in South America instead of supporting her at the competition. She’s also trying not to feel overwhelmed next to friends (who are also her competitors), who are using the event as a publicity stunt to gain fame and sponsors. She just wants to escape for a moment with her thermos of hot tea to think about rock wall she is about to climb.

Then, once Cara’s world was knocked off-kilter during the competition, there was no going back for me.

#OHTHEFEELS

This book dealt with some pretty complex ideas, which I didn’t expect. I mean, it’s been several weeks since I finished reading The Art of Holding On and Letting Go, and I still do not know how I feel about Cara’s parents shipping her to the suburbs of Detroit, while they remain abroad to grieve the loss of Uncle Max. My immediate reaction was that Cara’s parents were selfish! Selfish that they would force Cara away from home for the sake of normalcy. Selfish for making Cara deal with the grief and loss all on her own. Selfish for making her worry about their safety as they cope in the only way they know how– by climbing even more dangerous mountains. I couldn’t help but think, “How could they just abandon her like that?!”

But I know…I know it is not that simple. Everyone copes with loss in their own ways, and Lenz explores that idea throughout The Art of Holding On and Letting Go.

I found myself invested in all of the characters

Lenz writes a rich cast of characters, and I found myself rooting for all of them. Like goth girl, Kaitlyn, who was one of the first to welcome Cara to school (even though goth girls are supposed to be mean and intimidating [or at least that’s what everyone thought of me back in the day] and even though she has a deformed hand that tends to make ignorant people uncomfortable). Or, like punk kid, Nick, who is a really sensitive young man and is determined to see Cara climb again and sweep Kaitlyn off her feet. Then there is Jake, an eighth-grader from the sketchy parts of Pontiac, who found refuge in rock climbing and basketball; it’s so unsuspecting, but this youngster plays a pivotal role in challenging Cara to climb again. Even Cara’s grandmother wiggled her way into my heart once I realized her curmudgeonly and critical personality was one rooted in fear and anxiety regarding the people she loved.

Readers have the opportunity to follow the transformation of each character–primary and secondary– which I think is a rare treat. Portraying so much character growth in just a couple hundred pages could have easily become cumbersome. But, Lenz knows her characters so well that she makes writing well-rounded characters seem like a breeze.

The Art of Holding on and Letting Go is a novel you need in your life. It’s an excellent debut filled with beautiful prose and compelling characters. But what impressed me the most was Cara’s passion for rock climbing. First, I’ve never read a novel about rock climbing before, so I found it to be especially fascinating. It became this obstacle that was both literal and metaphoric, which was kind of perfect, really. Second, reading about rock climbing is invigorating! After finishing the novel, I probably spent an hour searching for hiking trails around the mid-Michigan area because I wanted to reconnect with nature like Cara did. (Mind you, I haven’t actually thrust myself back into nature yet, but it’s also been unnaturally hot this summer. My preference has been not to move very much because I can’t handle this kind of weather.)

(P.S. You can totally tell Kristin Bartley Lenz is from Michigan. She wrote that the 45 degree Springtime weather was “balmy”, which is exactly how I describe the weather when the snow starts to melt.)

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for free in exchange for an honest review.

September 11, 2016
This is Not a Cozy. I repeat! This is Not a Cozy | A Grave Prediction by Victoria Laurie

I’ve written about the Ghost Hunter Mystery series by Victoria Laurie a few times on Books & Tea. It’s a cozy mystery series with a supernatural flair, and I’ve loved what I’ve read so far. Then, during my last library visit, I realized Laurie had another book series called the Psychic Eye Mysteries. I knew very little about the series except than the main character was a psychic, and it took place in Royal Oak, Michigan; so, between setting and the fact that Victoria Laurie was the author, I knew I had to test out the new series.

A Grave Prediction (Psychic Eye Mystery #14) by Victoria Laurie

Released: July 2016
Publisher: NAL
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★★★☆☆

Professional psychics learn to deal with skeptics, but Abby has to prepare herself for one steep uphill battle when she’s sent to San Diego to help train FBI officers to use their intuition. Her first challenge: a series of bank robberies in which the thieves made off with loads of cash but left no clues.

Abby’s sixth sense leads her team to a tract of land recently cleared for development. But instead of finding clues to the cash, Abby gets a vision of four buried bodies. A site search turns up some bones and pottery from an American Indian tribe, but that’s still enough to delay construction for years.

With a furious developer and dubious FBI agents on her back, Abby is losing credibility fast. But unlike the best laid plans, Abby’s talent rarely leads her astray. And if the bodies aren’t there yet, that means that four deaths can still be stopped. She’ll just have to dig a little deeper . . .

This is not a cozy. I repeat! This is not a cozy.

You may remember, a few weeks ago I participated in the Save My Cozies Readathon— during which, I started reading A Grave Prediction by Victoria Laurie. I quickly realized after the first F-bomb that A Grave Prediction was not a cozy mystery. Cuss words don’t phase me; I admit, my own language is quite colorful. But, it still caught me off guard because I thought I was jumping into a cozy mystery.

This book felt long…sometimes

A Grave Prediction is only about 300 pages, which isn’t very long. But, sometimes it felt life a long novel. I’m sure there is an element of tedium to detective work, and unfortunately, Laurie managed to capture that in a few scenes (ie. every time Abby needed to freshen up with a shower after a workout or every time Abby walked downstairs to grab a banana or a bag of chips while her friend napped…who cares?)Now that we have that out of the way…

#friendshipgoals

Abby is a psychic-turned-consultant to the FBI, Candice is a private investigator, and together, they make an unstoppable team. They are compliments to each other’s talents; Abby my have a psychic vision, and Candice uses her PI skills to find concrete evidence to support Abby’s intuition. Beyond their partnership, they’re best friends. They console and support one another when skeptics are critical of their abilities. They encourage one another to step outside their comfort zone. And of course, they engage in some classic, witty banter. These two gals had me rolling in laughter!

A compelling almost-murder mystery

What starts out as a mystery revolving around a series of flawlessly choreographed bank heists turns into a race against the clock to prevent the deaths of four girls. Abby’s intuition tells her these crimes are linked, but she can’t figure out how or why, and this time, Abby and Candice must solve the case without the resources of the FBI. Their sleuthing leads them to the seedier neighborhoods in southern California to the quiet, manicured homes of suburbia, where they break protocol by assuming fake identities and engage in the occasional breaking and entering in the effort to save lives.

Abby Cooper is one of Victoria Laurie’s finest characters

I can’t help but compare Laurie’s two series here. I love the Ghost Hunter Mystery series because Laurie’s writing is spooky and thrilling, but the voice of her protagonist, M.J. Holliday, doesn’t stand out to me. I actually think MJ’s friend, Gilley, steals the show most of the time. Then, there is Abby Cooper, the protagonist of the Psychic Eye Mystery series. She’s confident about her abilities but also defensive when approached by skeptics. She’s quick-witted and snarky, especially when engaging in banter with her BFF. She loves pizza and hates exercise and mentally hexes her BFF every time the kettlebell is forced upon her. Abby Cooper felt like the character that Laurie had been mulling over for years. She felt like the character Laurie was meant to write. Abby Cooper just felt…real.

Overall, I was impressed by A Grave Prediction. Not only did Laurie write a compelling mystery, but she has created one heck of a character. And, as usual, I jumped into the middle of this series. Actually, I jumped to book number 14! And just like the Ghost Hunter Mystery series, I know I need more Psychic Eye mystery series in my life. I am apparently a sucker for mysteries that are tinged with supernatural elements (ie. zombie crime thrillers or ghost hunter mysteries). I really, really want to read the earlier novels though because they take place in my home state– Michigan.

Have you read any mystery novels that feature a supernatural element? Tell me about it in the comments! I’d love to check it out!

August 27, 2016
A Series Starter that Breaks the Cozy Formula | Crepes of Wrath by Sarah Fox

The Crepes of Wrath by Sarah Fox is an ambitious, first novel in a cozy mystery series. The author tries so hard to take popular, cozy characteristics that have been written about to death and put a unique spin on them, but the execution is not always successful.

The Crepes of Wrath (Pancake House Mystery #1) by Sarah Fox

Released: August 2016
Publisher: Alibi
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★★★☆☆

When Marley McKinney’s aging cousin, Jimmy, is hospitalized with pneumonia, she agrees to help run his pancake house while he recovers. With its rustic interior and syrupy scent, the Flip Side Pancake House is just as she pictured it—and the surly chef is a wizard with crêpes. Marley expects to spend a leisurely week or two in Wildwood Cove, the quaint, coastal community where she used to spend her summers, but then Cousin Jimmy is found murdered, sprawled on the rocks beneath a nearby cliff.

After she stumbles across evidence of stolen goods in Jimmy’s workshop, Marley is determined to find out what’s really going on in the not-so-quiet town of Wildwood Cove. With help from her childhood crush and her adopted cat, Flapjack, Marley sinks her teeth into the investigation. But if she’s not careful, she’s going to get burned by a killer who’s only interested in serving up trouble.

Cozy mystery murder victims tend to be morally ambiguous characters

At some point in their life, the murder victim probably screwed over other characters in the story. Maybe they manipulated business deals to gain a large sum of money while leaving their business partner in financial ruin. Maybe they planned to demolish a beloved park to build a gas station. Or, maybe they were just a social pariah. Whatever the reason, it’s not like anyone is particularly sad that the person died, and it allows for several compelling motives.

In the Crepes of Wrath, the murder victim is a beloved member of the Wildwood Cove community and our main character, Marley’s, Uncle Jimmy. I was intrigued by this gutsy move at first, but then my interest waned as the story progressed. Uncle Jimmy’s death was meant to be emotional, and Marley spent the first half of the book morose and weepy. But, I was unmoved because I didn’t really get to know him. I didn’t get to see his involvement with the community or his relationship with Marley, so I didn’t get the opportunity to care about this character.

This novel doesn’t have a fresh start

In the cozy mystery novels I’ve read so far, the main character is getting a chance at a fresh start. Usually they’re moving to a new city after a failed relationship or failed career. They’re discovering new friends, new favorite hangout spots, and new facets of themselves. Marley isn’t running away from a failed anything thouhg. She actually has a very stable job back in Seattle working as a legal assistant at a law firm; she just happens to be stepping in at her uncle’s restaurant while he’s in the hospital recovering from Pneumonia. I felt like this was another thing that made it hard to relate to Marley because nobody’s boss is that cool– most people can’t just take a month-long sabbatical to go work for your sick uncle. Aside from that, I just really missed reading about a character healing or trying to carve out a niche in their new hometown.

This novel is missing a slow burning romance

The slow burning romance tends to be a key element of cozy mystery series. Not that it’s ever R-rated like a Harlequin romance. Heck, I’m not sure I wouldn’t even consider it PG-13. Regardless, the main character tends to fall for one of their male companions (usually a cop or fellow sleuth) over the course of the series. Marley jumps right in to a romance with someone she had a crush on a decade earlier. It felt rushed. It felt forced.

Marley lacked a clear voice

I could have accepted the deviations from cozy mystery tropes, but Marley did not have a strong enough voice. Her personality did not shine through the narrative, so I had a hard time relating to her or sympathizing for her. She felt kind of generic.

Fox succeeds at writing suspense and piecing together a mystery

Between midnight break-ins at the pancake house and scary car chases, Fox succeeds in making my heart race. Writing suspense instead of sob stories seems to be her expertise. She also manages to piece together a compelling mystery surrounding the murder of a well-loved member of the community. Where other authors may struggle to create believable motives for murdering an otherwise benign person, Fox does so with ease. She even adds in some very clever red herrings to really throw readers for a loop.

Overall, I thought Crepes of Wrath by Sarah Fox was okay. I can appreciate Fox’s series starter for trying to be different. Cozy mysteries are absolutely formulaic, and it’s nice to read something experimental for a change. But because Marley lacked a unique and compelling voice, I struggled to really immerse myself in the story.

August 20, 2016
This Story Features a Master Ninja Ronin Detective, Which is Pretty Awesome| the Ninja’s Daughter by Susan Spann

When I was offered the opportunity to read the Ninja’s Daughter by Susan Spann, I jumped on it. From what I could tell, the novel featured two subjects that I was ~~interested~~ obsessed with: mysteries and Japanese history. Yet, the longer this novel sat on the corner of my dining room table, the more reluctant I became to read it. I hyper-focused on the idea of the main character, Hiro Hattori, being a master ninja detective and couldn’t help but wonder if I was launching myself into to weird, campy martial arts story reminiscent of those poorly dubbed kung-fu movies of the 1970s. (Yes, yes, I know those 1970s kung fu movies came from China, not Japan). Instead, I discovered the Ninja’s Daughter to be a compelling mystery set in the complex world of feudal Japan right at the end of the Muromachi period.

The Ninja’s Daughter (Shinobi Mystery #4) by Susan Spann

Released: August 2016
Publisher: Seventh Street Books
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★★★☆☆

Autumn, 1565: When an actor’s daughter is murdered on the banks of Kyoto’s Kamo River, master ninja Hiro Hattori and Portuguese Jesuit Father Mateo are the victim’s only hope for justice.

As political tensions rise in the wake of the shogun’s recent death, and rival warlords threaten war, the Kyoto police forbid an investigation of the killing, to keep the peace–but Hiro has a personal connection to the girl, and must avenge her. The secret investigation leads Hiro and Father Mateo deep into the exclusive world of Kyoto’s theater guilds, where they quickly learn that nothing, and no one, is as it seems. With only a mysterious golden coin to guide them, the investigators uncover a forbidden love affair, a missing mask, and a dangerous link to corruption within the Kyoto police department that leaves Hiro and Father Mateo running for their lives.

The mystery is compelling even though the characters involved are kind of terrible

Hiro and Father Mateo must discover the link between a golden coin, a missing mask, and the death of a young woman associated from one of Kyoto’s theater guilds. All of the suspects harbor secrets that threaten reputations, so there is a constant veil of deceit that only Hiro seems to pick up on because of his master ninja skills (also his familiarity of Japanese nuances compared to his Portuguese sleuthing companion). Despite their weeping eyes, it’s hard to feel sympathy for any of the suspects because their reluctance to cooperate comes off as selfish instead of simply defensive. I suppose that sounds like an unpleasant read, but I actually kind of liked it. I suppose I’ve been in the mood for unlikable characters lately. But I digress! I even had a hard time feeling sympathy for the victim– not because she may or may not have become a lady of the night to purchase her freedom (freedom in a metaphorical sense, not literal) but because of the ways she exploited her family.

That being said, the scene where the perpetrator is revealed is kind of a let down. All of the suspects are sitting in a room, and Hiro starts explaining to them why he has determined a certain person could not have committed the crime, until he finally reveals who the real killer is. I can’t help but think of the endings of Scooby Doo mysteries (but with kimonos and the fear of bringing shame to the family).

Really, it was the historical aspect that sucked me in

Spann chose a rather complex time in Japanese history to use as a setting for a mystery series. By 1565, Japan had been steeped in a civil war lasting at least 100 years, and now it is trying to recover after the death of the shogun. To add to the tension, the first waves of European missionaries are making contact on Japanese soil (which would inevitably lead to Japan isolating itself in the following period). It’s a time of samurai and ninjas but also art forms such as flower arrangement, the tea ceremony, and Noh theater. This isn’t merely a backdrop for a mystery. The historical aspect plays a vital role in the series as a whole; the political and military turmoil start to burden the Portuguese missionary and Hiro (a ninja ronin detective!) And Spann writes about this without making the story feel cumbersome. I’m not saying the historical aspect of these books are flawless (I’m not sure how someone just “slips into” their kimono), but they are well researched nonetheless (which, I would expect considering Spann has turned an undergraduate degree in Asian Studies into a lifelong passion for learning about Japan, which she writes about frequently on her blog).

Clearly, I owe the Ninja’s Daughter by Susan Spann a thousand apologies for ever thinking it was going to be campy. It was engaging and surprisingly complex compared to the usual mystery I devour. On top of that, I’m pretty sure it will be the book that launches me into an obsession with historical fiction novels taking place in Japan. Heian Period, here I come!

I also want to pick up the previous books in the series. Yet again, I started reading a mystery series from the middle, but I really want to know how the death of the shogun affected Hiro, and I really want to know how and why Hiro ended up guarding Father Mateo.

August 16, 2016