Medici's Daughter - Sophie Perinot

Thomas Dunne Books, December 1, 2015.

Five Stars

I was completely captivated by this novel, and clichéd as it sounds, I could not put it down. It is a historical novel with a very contemporary feel, and that’s what made it so fresh and fun to read. Even though it is a somewhat formulaic story about the children of Catherine de Medici, Perinot managed to write something completely new and exciting about Princess Marguerite.

We sometimes forget that in the 16^th century, whole countries were ruled by a group of spoiled, demanding children. At the start of this book, King Charles is only fifteen, and his sister Margot (Marguerite) is twelve. Margot is brought to court bright eyed and naïve, but she soon learns the ways of political intrigue, while still managing to keep some of her innocent view of the world. This is ultimately a coming-of-age story with a dash of forbidden love – but it happens to be played out on the stage of the tumultuous French court.

The House of Valois, headed by King Charles but ruled by his mother Catherine, is ruthless and power hungry. It is also very complex, and Margot must learn quickly to survive, even within her own family. She is intelligent yet she refuses to sacrifice her humanity for power. She cannot compete directly with her mother or her brothers, but she makes up for it with her ethical beliefs and her strength of conviction. Her relationship with her family is tumultuous – although she does her best to please her mother, it is never enough. Her relationship with her brother Henri, the one sure thing in her life, is turned upside down in a political power struggle. Even her love interest, the Duc de Guise, cannot be trusted – after sacrificing everything, their love ends in an unexpected betrayal.

As time passes, Margot becomes an adult in the face of tragedy, during the War of Religion. She finds an unlikely moral compass in Henri de Navarre, her cousin and betrothed, who also happens to be a Protestant. During the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, Margot is forced to make difficult choices while witnessing her Catholic family’s religious persecution of the French people. The story is rich in historical detail, and the massacre was hard to read, but necessary.

Marguerite de Valois is considered insignificant by history, but in fact she paid an important role in the French court, mostly behind the scenes. She is shown in a positive light by the author, and even Catherine is multifaceted – her evil actions are shown in their complexity. Both mother and daughter were a product of their time and environment, where there was little chance to act as a strong woman and be seen in a positive role. Each of the women were doing what she thought best at the time.

Some reviews have criticized Perinot’s choice of narrator, describing Margot as an angry, self-indulgent teen, but I think it is her voice, from childhood to young adulthood, that makes the story relatable and modern in tone. Margot is a pawn, but using her voice to tell her story is the only power she has. As Margot matured, the book also developed and became more enjoyable, with increased depth and understanding. I would love to see a sequel with Margot as an adult, as there is so much more to her story, waiting to be told.

I received this novel from Thomas Dunne Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Edge of Lost - Kristina McMorris

Kensington Publishing, November 24, 2015.

Three Stars

The synopsis of The Edge of Lost states that this novel is about a guard’s daughter that has gone missing on Alcatraz, but that is a little misleading. The girl’s disappearance bookends the novel, but it is really about an Irish immigrant to America who attempts to stay true to his beliefs, regardless of the challenges he faces. Shan travels from Dublin, having never known his family, with the exception of an abusive uncle. Alone on Ellis Island, he is taken in by the Capello family, who lost their son Tommy on their journey home to Italy.

At first, Shan struggles to fit in with the Capellos, but when he gives up on the idea of finding his father, he realizes that taking on the role of Tommy Capello will give him a second chance at life. Initially, he uses deception for survival, but eventually he comes to love the Capellos, who in turn adore him as a true son and brother. McMorris is great at building strong characters, and you would have to be pretty cold-hearted to not care about Shan/Tommy and his new family.

Shan bonds especially with his adoptive brother Nick. As the boys get older, Nick pulls away from his family to make his own way, while Shan works with their father and prepares to take over the family business. It is an interesting example of nature vs. nurture, as the boys are raised in the same home, but grow into dramatically different men with opposite ethical values – eventually, Shan seems to fit in better with the Capellos than Nick does.

Regardless of the growing distance between the two young men, their bond remains strong. The novel moves from family drama to fast-paced mystery, in the underworld of clubs and gangsters during prohibition in New York. The scenes felt realistic, in the dark and gritty world of the mob. When Nick gets himself into trouble, Shan takes the fall and risks everything for his brother – and ends up on Alcatraz.

The Edge of Lost is a fun, heartwarming historical novel, as long as you can suspend disbelief. The ending is all too perfect, but kind of inevitable, too. It was a good, light read with plenty of entertainment and excitement. I just wished for more Alcatraz!

I received this novel from Kensington Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Whistling Women - Kelly Romo

Lake Union Publishing, November 17, 2015.

Three Stars

Set during the 1935 World’s Fair in San Diego, Whistling Women is the story of sisters, Addie and Wavey – two strong, independent women who were driven apart by a crime from their past. For the previous fifteen years, Addie has been hiding from her role in the crime, in the Happy Valley Nudist Colony. Now, the nudists are travelling to the World’s Fair as an exhibit, and Addie is forced to face her past.

While the nudist colony and World’s Fair were both historically interesting, it was really the relationship between the sisters that made this story meaningful. Addie is forced to reunite not only with Wavey, but also with Wavey’s daughters, Rumor and Mary. The parallels between the two sets of sisters are strong, and Rumor is much like her aunt Addie, although even more compelling as a character. While Wavey and Mary are content with the status quo, Rumor is bold and brave – and not afraid to expose the truth.

The nudists are exhibited in the “Garden of Eden”, a safe haven where they are protected from the crowds. It is representative of their supposed innocence, yet highly sexualized. Outside of the garden, Addie knows she is far from innocent – she committed an act in her past that changed the course of all of their lives, and she is still paying for it. Religion and redemption are explored in various ways throughout the novel – the girls attend a different church every Sunday, more concerned with their own spiritual beliefs than which kind of church they happen to be at. Meanwhile, Addie seeks forgiveness from Sister Aimee, who rejects her desire to serve the church. The various characters also question the nature of sin, and whether it is dependent on motive.

I enjoyed the writing style, and would read more from Kelly Romo. The setting was intriguing, and the details of the World’s Fair were fun to read. However, I did have problems with the uneven character development, as well as several issues with the plot. So many bad things happened to this one family, and in the end it was just too neatly tied together. It was all very convenient, except for some major loose ends that were just left hanging. There was just too much packed into the final pages, without bringing all the storylines together, and it probably could have been pared down to a simpler, cleaner story. Even so, it was a fun, enjoyable read.

I received this novel from Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Dry Season - Gabriela Babnik

Istros Books, November 2015.

Four Stars

Burkino Faso is an unusual setting for a writer from Central Europe, but the unexpectedness adds another layer to the story. Ana, a Slovenian woman in her 60s, travels to the small African nation and begins an affair with 27-year-old Ismael. They are united by loneliness and tragic pasts, filled with both emotional and physical abuse. Ana’s world is in the west, yet she has essentially rejected it – she prefers to embrace Ismael’s African culture.

At first it seems like colonial appropriation, but as Ana’s story unfolds, it reads more like a twist on intersectional feminism: Ana as a repressed woman forming a bond with another “other.” Her thoughts only begin to veer into racism as she idealizes the “innocence” of the African people and views Ismael as a naïve young boy – in fact, he has experienced much more in his short life than she has in her sixty-two years. She acts as though his innocence will rub off on her, and make her whole again after the losses she has suffered back in Europe.

The novel is written in alternating POVs, which made it hard to get into because it wasn’t always clear who was narrating. The voice switches with no headings – I’m not sure if that was a problem with the ARC, or whether it was meant to be disconcerting, adding unexpected confusion. On top of that, Ana is an unreliable narrator, and even she seems to be unclear about which events are real: “But that had been a happy time, so happy that, especially when I look back on it, maybe it never happened.” (Loc. 397)

Ana was adopted, and she is not at all grateful to her adoptive parents. She has no respect for them, and says it would have made no difference if they had left her on the orphanage floor. Ismael is an outsider too, and he can relate to the difficulties of family life. Ana leaves Slovenia because of issues with her adult son, then takes a lover that is younger than he is. Upon seeing Ismael naked, she is reminded of her son. Likewise, Ismael dreams frequently of his mother during his relationship with Ana – it is all very Freudian.

The method of storytelling is often postmodern, with hints of magic realism (and even a nod to One Hundred Years of Solitude when Ana refers to “Remedios the Beauty”), but it is old-fashioned at times too. It reads like a chronological memoir, but the narrators also speak directly to the reader. Eventually, Ana begins to mix up past and present, with memory overlapping reality. There are many metafictional references to writing and novels, and it becomes hard to tell whether either character is real or just a figment of the other’s imagination – are they each a creation of the others’ deepest hopes and fears?

The setting was filled with great details, and I wanted to hear much more about it. The plot was subtle and nostalgic, drifting through dreams and memory. Ana and Ismael, real or imagined, come together because they are lonely – but neither one can complete the other because they are not whole themselves. Dreamlike and often magical, this was a beautiful story about sadness and loss between two very different cultures.

I received this novel from Istros Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Welcome to the Madhouse - S.E. Sasaki

September 15, 2015.

 

3.5 Stars

 

This novel has been referred to as a “medical space opera,” which seems pretty accurate. I would say it’s a sci-fi thriller, with a good amount of goofy comedy thrown in. The story follows Dr. Grace Lord, beginning with her first day of her new job on the Nelson Mandela, a medical space station. Her coworkers are an eclectic mix of personalities, including a group of soldiers bred to be half-beast – they are part gorilla, wolf and many more. The human characters are just as unusual, with many psychological quirks. Most interesting is the android character, SAMM-E 777, colloquially known as “Bud.”

 

Bud quickly forms an attachment to Grace – he begins to evolve, feeling strange human emotions that he struggles to process. This relationship and many others are explored in the first half of the novel, which is focused on character development and world building. There is plenty of drama, with interactions between the doctors. Even the space station itself has a personality, with a humourous streak. I really appreciated the depth of character – as a non-sci-fi fan, the characters were what pulled me through the futuristic story.

 

In the second half of the novel, adventure begins! (There are also a lot of exclamation marks). A mysterious ship docks on the station – and the medical team realizes that a deadly virus has been let loose. The balance between comedy and drama continues, especially in the banter between the various characters. There are also many interesting ethical questions about the future of medical research – the author clearly has a passion for her subject, as she is a doctor herself. Personally, my rating hovered around two stars overall, as it is not my chosen genre – however, it is impressively well written and filled with exuberant language, so I am rating it closer to 3.5 for readers of sci-fi medical thrillers. It is also the first in a series, so this is a great place to start.

 

I received this novel from Goodreads First Reads and the author in exchange for an honest review.