Tag: Books: Giveaway

Review: Becoming Josephine + Giveaway

Posted 6 January, 2014 by Lianne in Books / 7 Comments



Becoming Josephine
By: Heather Webb
Format/Source: Advanced Reading Copy courtesy of Plume/Penguin via NetGalley

Rose Tascher sails from her Martinique plantation to Paris to trade her Creole black magic culture for love and adventure. She arrives exultant to follow her dreams of attending Court with Alexandre, her elegant aristocrat and soldier husband. But Alexandre dashes her hopes and abandons her amid the tumult of the French Revolution.

Through her savoir faire, Rose secures her footing in high society, reveling in handsome men and glitzy balls—until the heads of her friends begin to roll.

After narrowly escaping death in the blood-drenched cells of Les Carmes prison, she reinvents herself as Josephine, a socialite of status and power. Yet her youth is fading, and Josephine must choose between a precarious independence and the love of an awkward suitor. Little does she know, he would become the most powerful man of his century- Napoleon Bonaparte.

Becoming Josephine is a novel of one woman’s journey to find eternal love and stability, and ultimately to find herself.

I’ve studied French history a few times during my studies–either through high school World History or in undergrad either tied in with my British history survey courses or European history–but I’ve never studied their history in great detail. Napoleon and Josephine’s relationship and rise to power has always been one of those highlight moments in history that people remember but once I started reading this novel, I realised that I don’t quite know the details of their relationship; I knew that they loved each other fiercely and there were many letters between the two of them but I didn’t know things like how they met or how well they complimented each other. I was especially interested about this novel because it focused much on Josephine, of whose life I knew scant details of.

Be sure to stick around after the review as I am also hosting a giveaway contest for a chance to win a copy of this title (open internationally!) 🙂

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Books: ‘Unravelled’ Giveaway Winner

Posted 18 November, 2013 by Lianne in Books / 0 Comments



Unravelled
By: M.K. Tod
Format/Source: Paperback courtesy of the author as part of the Unravelled Book Tour

Two wars, two affairs, one marriage.

In October 1935, Edward Jamieson’s memories of war and a passionate love affair resurface when an invitation to a WWI memorial ceremony arrives. Though reluctant to visit the scenes of horror he has spent years trying to forget, Edward succumbs to the unlikely possibility of discovering what happened to Helene Noisette, the woman he once pledged to marry. Travelling through the French countryside with his wife Ann, Edward sees nothing but reminders of war. After a chance encounter with Helene at the dedication ceremony, Edward’s past puts his present life in jeopardy.

When WWII erupts a few years later, Edward is quickly caught up in the world of training espionage agents, while Ann counsels grieving women and copes with the daily threats facing those she loves. And once again, secrets and war threaten the bonds of marriage.

With events unfolding in Canada, France and England, Unravelled is a compelling novel of love, duty and sacrifice set amongst the turmoil of two world wars.

My review of the novel

Merci beaucoup to everyone who entered the book giveaway contest courtesy of the author and France Book Tours! A winner has been chosen from the entries on the Rafflecopter–Congratulations to Shannon! I hope you enjoy Ms. Tod’s novel! =)

Have a wonderful week, everyone, and thanks again!

Review: Unravelled + Giveaway

Posted 8 November, 2013 by Lianne in Books / 9 Comments



Unravelled
By: M.K. Tod
Format/Source: Paperback courtesy of the author as part of the Unravelled Book Tour

Two wars, two affairs, one marriage.

In October 1935, Edward Jamieson’s memories of war and a passionate love affair resurface when an invitation to a WWI memorial ceremony arrives. Though reluctant to visit the scenes of horror he has spent years trying to forget, Edward succumbs to the unlikely possibility of discovering what happened to Helene Noisette, the woman he once pledged to marry. Travelling through the French countryside with his wife Ann, Edward sees nothing but reminders of war. After a chance encounter with Helene at the dedication ceremony, Edward’s past puts his present life in jeopardy.

When WWII erupts a few years later, Edward is quickly caught up in the world of training espionage agents, while Ann counsels grieving women and copes with the daily threats facing those she loves. And once again, secrets and war threaten the bonds of marriage.

With events unfolding in Canada, France and England, Unravelled is a compelling novel of love, duty and sacrifice set amongst the turmoil of two world wars.

When it comes to historical fiction, I’m always drawn towards novels seemingly set in and around the Second World War. That’s what caught my attention when I first read the premise of this novel. Thank you to France Book Tours for letting me take part in the book tour for this novel. I am also hosting a giveaway at the end of this review for a chance to win an eBook copy of this novel (open internationally!). Contains some spoilers ahead!

This book is part of the Books on France Reading Challenge 2013 that I am participating in.

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Books: ‘The Bones of Paris’ Giveaway Winners

Posted 17 September, 2013 by Lianne in Books / 2 Comments



The Bones of Paris
By: Laurie R. King
Format/Source: galley courtesy of Bantam Publishers via NetGalley & Advanced Reading Copy courtesy of the author as part of The Bones of Paris Book Tour
My review of the novel

Paris, France: September 1929. For Harris Stuyvesant, the assignment is a private investigator’s dream—he’s getting paid to troll the cafés and bars of Montparnasse, looking for a pretty young woman. The American agent has a healthy appreciation for la vie de bohème, despite having worked for years at the U.S. Bureau of Investigation. The missing person in question is Philippa Crosby, a twenty-two year old from Boston who has been living in Paris, modeling and acting. Her family became alarmed when she stopped all communications, and Stuyvesant agreed to track her down. He wholly expects to find her in the arms of some up-and-coming artist, perhaps experimenting with the decadent lifestyle that is suddenly available on every rue and boulevard.

As Stuyvesant follows Philippa’s trail through the expatriate community of artists and writers, he finds that she is known to many of its famous—and infamous—inhabitants, from Shakespeare and Company’s Sylvia Beach to Ernest Hemingway to the Surrealist photographer Man Ray. But when the evidence leads Stuyvesant to the Théâtre du Grand-Guignol in Montmartre, his investigation takes a sharp, disturbing turn. At the Grand-Guignol, murder, insanity, and sexual perversion are all staged to shocking, brutal effect: depravity as art, savage human nature on stage.

Soon it becomes clear that one missing girl is a drop in the bucket. Here, amid the glittering lights of the cabarets, hides a monster whose artistic coup de grâce is to be rendered in blood. And Stuyvesant will have to descend into the darkest depths of perversion to find a killer . . . sifting through The Bones of Paris.

Terribly apologise for the delayed response in posting up the results of The Bones of Paris giveaway I held the previous week. Merci beaucoup to everyone who entered the book giveaway contest courtesy of the author and France Book Tours!

Congratulations Beth, Laurie, Jorie, Will & Mer! I hope you all enjoy Ms. King’s latest novel =)

Have a wonderful week, everyone, and keep your eyes peeled to this blog as I will be participating in a few book blog tours in the coming months ^_~

Review: The Bones of Paris + Giveaway

Posted 3 September, 2013 by Lianne in Books / 20 Comments



The Bones of Paris
By: Laurie R. King
Format/Source: galley courtesy of Bantam Publishers via NetGalley & Advanced Reading Copy courtesy of the author as part of The Bones of Paris Book Tour

Paris, France: September 1929. For Harris Stuyvesant, the assignment is a private investigator’s dream—he’s getting paid to troll the cafés and bars of Montparnasse, looking for a pretty young woman. The American agent has a healthy appreciation for la vie de bohème, despite having worked for years at the U.S. Bureau of Investigation. The missing person in question is Philippa Crosby, a twenty-two year old from Boston who has been living in Paris, modeling and acting. Her family became alarmed when she stopped all communications, and Stuyvesant agreed to track her down. He wholly expects to find her in the arms of some up-and-coming artist, perhaps experimenting with the decadent lifestyle that is suddenly available on every rue and boulevard.

As Stuyvesant follows Philippa’s trail through the expatriate community of artists and writers, he finds that she is known to many of its famous—and infamous—inhabitants, from Shakespeare and Company’s Sylvia Beach to Ernest Hemingway to the Surrealist photographer Man Ray. But when the evidence leads Stuyvesant to the Théâtre du Grand-Guignol in Montmartre, his investigation takes a sharp, disturbing turn. At the Grand-Guignol, murder, insanity, and sexual perversion are all staged to shocking, brutal effect: depravity as art, savage human nature on stage.

Soon it becomes clear that one missing girl is a drop in the bucket. Here, amid the glittering lights of the cabarets, hides a monster whose artistic coup de grâce is to be rendered in blood. And Stuyvesant will have to descend into the darkest depths of perversion to find a killer . . . sifting through The Bones of Paris.

The premise of this novel sounds really interesting (a murder mystery set in the City of Lights? Haven’t read many mysteries set in the city) plus I’ve never read anything by this author but her bibliography is pretty extensive. I was fortunate to be approved of a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review as well as take part in a blog tour for this novel. This novel will be available on September 10th. Be sure to check out the end of this review for a chance to win a hardback copy of this novel! US only (sorry international followers!)

This book is part of the Books on France Reading Challenge 2013 that I am participating in.

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