Literary Quote of the Month

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies," said Jojen. "The man who never reads lives only one." - George R.R. Martin, A Dance With Dragons

Friday, June 12, 2009

Books with Buzz...


Books with Buzz....
So Many Books..... So Little Time.... Here are a few books you should keep a lookout for! A Special Thanks to Ayelet Gruenspecht and Sarah Reidy of Pocket Books for sending the first two Books with Buzz my way! What a treat! Especially when I started reading thru the pages! Here we go...

First up we have The Devlin Diary by Christi Phillips. Christi is well known for her historical fiction and the Devlin Diary is her follow up book to The Rossetti Letter. The Devlin Diary is a "dazzling novel of intrigue, passion and royal secrets that shifts tantalizingly between Restoration-era London and present-day Cambridge."

"London, 1672. The past 12 years have brought momentous changes; the restoration of the monarchy, a devastating plague and fire. Yet the city remains a teeming, thriving metropolis... Although women enjoy greater freedom they are not allowed to practice medicine, a restriction that physician Hannah Devlin evades by treating patients that most other doctores shun: the city's poor. But Hannah has a special knowledge that Secretary of State Lord Arlington (and King Charles II) needs... when 2 influencial courtiers are found brutally murdered, their bodies inscribed with arcane symbols, Hannah is drawn into a dangerous investigation that may conceal a far-reaching conspiracy and may include Hannah's late father and the king himself.

Jump to 2008, Cambridge. Claire Donovan is "teaching history at Trinity College ,a dream come true - until one of her colleagues is found dead. The only key to the professor's unsolved murder is a 17th century diary kept by his last research subject, Hannah Devlin, physician to the king's mistress....." And so starts this wonderful tale! I started reading it and was drawn in immediately! The writing is wonderful! If you are a historical fiction lover pick this up! I will write a full review later in the month for this!!! Thank you again Sarah for sharing this with me!


Next we have Drawing in the Dust by Zoe Klein.
"Powerful and suspenseful, Zoe Klein's unforgettable debut novel is a richly evocative and boundless love story that reverberates from biblican times to the modern world."

"Brilliant archaelogist Page Brookstone is convinced bones speak, yet none of the ancient remnants she has unearthed during her 12 years of toiling at Israel's storied battlegrounds of Megiddo has delivered the life-altering message she so craves. Which is why the story of Ibrahim an Aisha Barakat, a young Arab couple who implore Page to excavate the grounds beneather their house in Anatot, instantly intrigues her... The Barakats claim the ghosts of two lovers haunt their home, overwhelming everyone who enters with love and desire...."

So starts this wonderful story. As I started reading thru the pages I was also drawn in by Zoe's wonderful writing and look forward to getting further into the story! Look for this review later in June! Thank you again to Ayelet for sharing this with me!


Finally, Horse Soldiers by Doug Stanton. "Horse Soldiers is the dramatic account of a small band of Special Forces soldiers who secretly entered Afghanistan following 9/11 and rode to war on horses against the Taliban. The bone-weary American soldiers were welcomed as liberators, and overjoyed Afghans thronged the streets. Then the action took a wholly unexpected turn...Until now the full story of the Horse Soldiers has never been told. Doug Stanton received unprecedented cooperation from the U.S. Army's Special Forces soldiers and Special Operations helicopter pilots, as well as access to voluminous after-battle reports."

This book has gotten rave reviews and even though it's not the 'norm' of what I usually read, I do enjoy true tales of adventure, and this should fit the bill. Have you thought about Father's Day?! This might be a good selection for your bookish men! I am looking forward to reading this too!


Hope I mentioned a few books here that you were unfamiliar with- always nice to be able to share something new with someone! Any books you think I would like to hear about!! Leave a comment and make some suggestions! Love to chat about books!

Happy Reading..... Suzanne

4 comments:

Darlene said...

The Devlin Diary sounds so good but I'd have to get the first one and read it before I tackled this one. I can't read things out of order.

Suzanne Yester said...

Hi Dar! I know what you mean! What you are missing from not reading The Rossetti Letter first is the background on how Claire got her present day job. Fortunately the story of The Devlin Diary just sweeps you up without the need to know this, but I will be reading The Rossetti Letter later on because even though you don't 'need' to know to enjoy the story, it's nice to know the background!

BurtonReview said...

I had heard the Buzz of the Devlin Diary but not that it was a sequel. Good to know.
But I have not heard of the other two yet they both sound like good reads. I am looking forward to your reviews!

Alyce said...

I just added Horse Soldiers to my list. It sounds like something that I would really like to read.

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