The Midwife of Hope River by Patricia Harman

In The Midwife of Hope River, Patience Murphy is a midwife in West Virginia during the Depression, just after the stock market crash in '29. She, like all of her patients, is struggling just to by, yet she helps anyone who's in need. However, she's very leery about getting to close to others fearing that her secret troubled past will one day catch up to her. After some time, she begins to soften a little to those around her and soon discovers that good things can come out of that.

Overall, I really liked this book. The story was interesting and dealt with many issues of the time including, extreme poverty, racial tension and the Ku Klux Klan. The first time I picked up the book, I wasn't sure I liked the writing. It felt clipped rather than flowing. I put the book down for a bit while I read another book. When I picked it up the second time, the writing didn't bother me as much and I really got into the book. I loved that the chapters were short. It meant that I could read a whole chapter when I got a few minutes.

I liked Patience and loved reading about her work and her varied past. However, her constant self-doubt, got a little old. I also grew a little tired of her looking over her shoulder so often. I supposed it was warranted, but even the littlest things got her wondering if her past was coming back to get her. I also really liked Bitsy and feisty attitude. I loved how quickly she picked up what Patience was teaching her about midwifery.

I learned quite a few things about midwifery and women in labour. Harman, the author and midwife, gave vivid descriptions of the birthing process. I was extremely fascinated by the details she brought into the story. I don't have any children, but I did attend the hospital birth of my niece, so I was a little familiar with the goings-on from that point of view. While I'm not at all squeamish about such things, I can see how some of the details might make others cringe a little.

I loved reading about the issues that Harman wrote about. It was interesting to see how people lived during the depression. I also enjoyed the birthing stories. Some were joyous, some were unremarkable (if there can be such a thing), while others were really sad. After awhile, I didn't really want to hear any more bad ones. It got to be a bit too much.

After reading about so much sadness in the book, I really wanted things to work out for Patience. I liked the ending of the book, but it was a little hokey and not that believable. I don't want to spoil the ending for anyone, so I won't say more than that.

The P.S. section at the back of the book features some information about the author, a Q&A with her, discussion questions for book clubs as well as some interesting information about midwives and childbirth. I always find these sections well-worth the read.

Recommended.

For more information about this book or to browse inside, please visit the HarperCollins website.

I'd like to thank those nice people at HarperCollins for this review copy.

The Midwife of Hope River by Patricia Harman, HarperCollins, ©2012. ISBN 9780062198891(Advance Reader's Edition), 381p.

Fonduing Fathers by Julie Hyzy

In Fonduing Fathers, Olivia (Ollie) Paras, the White House executive chef, learns some new information about deceased father. Her mother has been keeping it secret all these years, but now it's time to reveal the truth. As Ollie digs deeper into his death and past, she makes some shocking discoveries about his work and how he died. Apparently, he's not the stand-up guy she believed him to be. However, she doesn't believe the allegations and is determined to clear his name and prove his innocence.

I loved this book, the 6th installment of the White House Chef mysteries. It's always fun to drop in on Ollie and the others at the White House to see what they are up to. I think this is my favourite of Julie's so far. Like the previous book in the series, this one seems to be edgy, dark and dangerous. Of course, there are some lighter moments, but the situations that Ollie gets into threaten not only US national security, but also her life. I really like how this series is progressing. In this one, we learn more about Ollie's family and her relationship with Gav.

I love Ollie and really enjoyed reading about her cooking lessons with Josh, the President's son. His enthusiasm for cooking is contagious. I was a little taken aback by the President's attitude towards his son's interests, though. Isn't he a little young for his interests to be discounted and discouraged? He's got lots of time to figure what he wants to be.

Sensitivity Director Peter Everett Sargeant, Ollie's one-time nemesis, is as crusty as ever and I'm loving it. He's such a great character. I hope we see lots more of him in future. I also like reading about Gav, Ollie's boyfriend, and the other members of Ollie's team.

Again, Ollie is spending a lot of time doing other things than cooking at the White House. In my review of the last book, Affairs of Steak, I mentioned that I loved seeing her in the kitchen and would like to see more of that. However, this story was so compelling I didn't mind one bit when she was pulled away to do other things.

Even though it's part of a series, I think it can be read as a standalone book. However, because I've read a few of the others, I might be a little biased. I don't remember very many references to past events so it should be easy for newcomers to the series to jump right in.

Hyzy included a number of delicious-looking recipes at the back of the book. I especially want to try the "Goat Cheese and Mushroom Bruschetta". A number of the others (Pumpkin Cheesecake, Panna Cotta, and Cheese fondue) are also on my list of ones to try. Yum!!

Julie Hyzy also writes another series, Manor House Mystery series, which is just as fun and wonderful as this one. For all of my reviews of Julie's books, please see the Review By Author page on this blog. You can't go wrong with any of her books.

Highly recommended. I'm anxiously awaiting the next one.

For more information about this book, please visit Penguin's website.

For more information about the author and her other books, please visit Julie Hyzy's website.

Thanks to Dana Kaye from Kaye Publicity for this review copy.

Fonduing Fathers by Julie Hyzy, The Berkley Publishing Group (Penguin), ©2012. ISBN 9780425251812(Mass Market), 293p, including recipes.

My Favourite Historical Novels

As part of The Painted Girls blog tour, today I'm featuring my favourite historical fiction books.

It was really, really hard to narrow it down to just 5. As you are about to see, I cheated...just a little. (Note: All of the links below will take you to my reviews of these books.)

Until a few years ago, I didn't read any historical fiction. Because I hated (I mean seriously hated) history in high school all those many years ago, I thought I wouldn't like reading about it. However, reading historical fiction isn't at all like learning history is school. You don't to remember all those dates or "old guys". Now, I really enjoy reading about lots of different time periods and count historical fiction as one of my favourite genres to read.

One of the first historical fiction novels I read was The Soul Catcher by Michael White. It's set just before the American Civil War and is about slaves, who escaped, and the soul catchers, who are hired to apprehend them. I was so surprised how much I enjoyed it. To this day I still recommend it because it broadened my reading horizons and introduced me to historical fiction.

So, here, in no particular order, are the other historical fiction books I'd recommend:

The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Buchanan (Her current book, The Painted Girls also belongs in this list. However, since I just wrote about it yesterday, I figured I'd feature some other historical fiction books that I really enjoyed.)

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton (Kate has written many good books. If you go to this page on my blog and scroll down to Morton, you can see all of my reviews for her books that I've read.)

The Birth House by Ami Mckay (She also wrote The Virgin Cure, which is just as wonderful)

The Book of Unholy Mischief by Elle Newmark (I'd also recommend Elle's other book, The Sandalwood Tree.)

The Legacy by Katherine Webb (She's also written The Unseen, which is also terrific. )

So that's my list. I could go on and on there's so much really good historical fiction out there.

Oh, wait! Here are a few more authors to check out:
Lawrence Hill (The Book of Negroes and Any Known Blood)
Philippa Gregory (The Red Queen)
Roma Tearne (Mosquito and Bone China)
Anna Godbersen (The Luxe series)
Beth Powning (The Sea Captain's Wife)
Robin Oliveira (My Name is Mary Sutter)

Ok. I know I've missed a few, but I think I'll stop there...for real this time.  Enjoy!  

The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan

The Painted Girls is the fictional account of the real-life van Goethem sisters, Marie and Antoinette, who lived in Paris in the late 19th century. With their father recently deceased and their laundress mother drowning her sorrows in absinthe, the girls need to contribute to the household's measly income. Marie trains to become a ballet dance with the Paris Opera, while Antoinette seeks out small parts as an extra. It's through the ballet that Marie meets Edgar Degas and ends up modelling for him. Eventually both are exposed to the grittier side of Paris and all of its temptations.

There's been tons of buzz about this book and it's easy to see why. It's so good. I loved it! The story of the relationship between Marie and Antoinette as well as the glimpse into 19th century Paris was spectacular. Even though it's fiction, I loved that it was about real people. I was especially pleased that Buchanan included newspaper clippings from Le Figaro to introduce or fill in parts of the story. It makes it all seem more real and believable.

The story is presented from two different viewpoints, Marie's and Antoinette's. The alternating chapters were a perfect vehicle to get the story across. Their voices came across so well, I could almost hear them talking. So well in fact, that a few times I caught myself reading with a French accent. In my head, of course, not out loud.

I really enjoyed learning a little about Degas. I didn't know very much about him, other than he did paintings of ballerinas. This book has inspired me to learn more about him and his work. I was also interested in reading more about the sisters themselves and looked them up as well. There was one other part of the book that had me intrigued. That's the idea that facial features and the criminal mind could be linked. Fascinating stuff.

Favourite quotes:

He touched me on the shoulder lightly, and in the touch I felt sadness that girls grow into women; that men crumple, hobbling over walking sticks; that flowers wither; that trees drop their leaves. The graceful childish back Monsieur Lefebvre, more than a year ago, felt driven to touch was gone and with it Monsieur Degas's interest in me modeling for him. He wanted only the heart and body of a little dancer, aged fourteen. (page 252)

The book contained a number of new-to-me words. Of course, there were lots of ballet terms, some of them familiar to me; others were more obscure. I looked a few of those up, but mostly concentrated on the others. I hope someone will correct me if these are incorrect, especially with the translations. Here's a sampling:
sou (page 5): small French coin
postiche (page 14): a small hairpiece
abonné (page 18): season ticket holder/subscriber
coryphée (page 26): leading ballet dancer
faubourgs (page 28): suburbs
sylphs (page 41): slim, graceful girl
lunette (page 217): crescent-shaped object
claque (page 226): paid audience
porringer (page 261): soup bowl

In the author's note, Buchanan explains more about the real-life characters, It's well worth the read. The acknowledgement section is also enlightening. It's where the author explains some of the research she undertook to tell this story.

I also read Buchanan's other book, The Day the Falls Stood Still (my review). It remains one of my favourite all-time books.

Highly recommended. I can't wait to see what Cathy has in store for us next.

For more information about this book or to browse inside, please visit the HarperCollins Canada website.

For more information about the author and her other book, please visit Cathy Buchanan's website.

I'd like to thank those nice people at HarperCollins Canada for this review copy and for inviting me to participate in this blog tour.

The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan, HarperCollins, ©2013. ISBN 9781443412346(Uncorrected proof), 353p.

Grow Plants in Pots by DK Publishing

Grow Plants in Pots offers tips and advice on how to grow a variety of plants in containers. It covers houseplants, outdoor plants as well as fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

  This is a very cool book. It's well-designed with lots of beautiful photographs and is filled with tons of tips and great advice to achieving your ideal garden in pots. I should state that I haven't actually tried any of this tips yet, so I can't vouch for their veracity. However, the book has provided me with tons of inspiration and lots of things to try once the weather warms up.

For each plants featured, the book provides some standard information: plant name, height and spread, exposure, temperature needs (but not the gardening zones I'm used to), suitable size and material for the container, and planting media. As for planting media, the book suggests a specific type and specific brand, John Innes, which I'm not familiar with. I googled it and it appears to be something available in the UK. I would have been nice if it was explained further in the book.

I love the look of containers in gardens, but have never managed to get "the look" I want. The design part of the book is going to help with that. It features a the variety of containers in different applications so that I can achieve my "look". I especially love the sleek modern containers. They probably wouldn't go with the style of my current house, but I'd love to have those someday.

The other problem I have with container gardening is that I tend to pick the wrong plant or care for it improperly so that halfway through the season, it's not looking it's best and I'm frustrated at my attempt. The reminder of the book addresses that issue. There's a section on foliage and flowers, fruits and vegetables as well as a planting guide for general care and disease/pest issues. Next year we plan on putting in a vegetable garden. Thanks to this book, I plan on putting a few of them in containers.

I also appreciated the houseplant information. Many of my houseplants have been inherited, so I know very little about them. This book was a great help in identifying them and giving me information on their care.

Unfortunately, the book doesn't cover winter care or overwintering tips for extreme winter temperatures (-30C). There are some that are applicable, but not that many. Most of the suggestions would probably work for climates a lot warmer than the Canadian prairies.

The table of contents has the 4 major sections listed as well as the major items (with page numbers) within each section. It also features an A-Z list of plants featured in the book. This last part is unique and awesome! As for the index, it's quite extensive and should help with finding items in the book.

You're probably thinking that it's a little weird to be reviewing a gardening book in the dead of winter. However, I think winter is the perfect time to plan next year's garden. I like to take my time and come up with different plans before choosing the best one. Also, I find that reading or perusing gardening books when I have the winter blues is a wonderful pick-me-up. It really gives me something to look forward to when it's freezing outside and my garden is under 3 feet of snow.

Highly recommended for those wanting to add containers to their indoor and outdoor spaces.  It would be most helpful for those in climates warmer than the Canadian prairies.    

For more information about this book or to browse inside, please visit DK's website.

I'd like to thank those nice people at DK Canada for this review copy.

Grow Plants in Pots by DK Publishing, Dorling Kindersley, ©2011. ISBN 9780756682507(Soft cover), 256p.

Daisy's Best of 2012

I love looking back at the books I've read in a particular year in order to make my "Best of" list. Sometimes I forget about the books I read earlier in the year. It's a nice surprise when I come across the review and remember how much I enjoyed it. This year was no exception.
 
I didn't make any categories this year and basically lumped them all together. Please note that these are books I read in 2012 and not necessarily published that year.

In no particular order, here's Daisy's Best of 2012:
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand
The Complete Classical Music Guide by DK Publishing
The Unseen by Katherine Webb
Let the Devil Sleep by John Verdon
Crime Scene Detective by Carey Scott
Love Anthony by Lisa Genova
The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay (technically I read this in 2011, but since I didn't get around to writing my review until 2012 it got missed on the "Best of" list for 2011. )
The Legacy by Katherine Webb
Bad Moon by Todd Ritter
Optical Illusions by DK Publishing
The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose
The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes by Marcus Sakey
Curry Cuisine published by DK Publishing

I read a few books over the holidays that I haven't written reviews for yet. The Devil Will Come by Glenn Cooper and Trust Your Eyes by Linwood Barclay both belong on this list.

That's it. Did you read any of these? Did any of them make your "best of" list? Do you disagree with any of my selections? Do you have recommendations? Let me know in the comments.

Needlework Tuesday - Knitting Updates

Happy New Year! I hope this new year brings you much joy, peace and prosperity.

Since it's Tuesday, I figured I'd give you a quick update on some of my knitting projects.

A couple of weeks ago I told you about my afghan project that was going to use up the scraps of yarn I had accumulated. Well, I knitted like a madwoman before Christmas and finished it! I only have a little of the burgundy left so it's mission accomplished. It's not full size, but it's enough to throw over my shoulders or cover my lower half when watching TV.
 

I've also been working on my sky scarf. It's about 60% done. I still have 4 more months of sky watching and knitting to do before I can call this one complete. I'm definitely going to be using the additional white yarn I purchased and possibly a little of the darker blue. Since I'm using more yarn than the "pattern" called for, I'm wondering now if I made the scarf too wide. The instructions didn't specify the number of stitches, so I went by the photo they supplied. It looked to me like it was around 50 stitches. Also, it's a little stiff and probably won't drape that well. Oh, well, I'm not going to start again.

So far, the yarn has totalled $100 (plus tax), but I'll probably have some leftover, especially the greys and light blue. I'm not sure it's going to be enough to make anything, though. Anyway, I think that's a tad expensive for a scarf. I was hoping to make another one next year, but I'm rethinking that idea.  In the photo below, May 1, 2012 is at the top, December 31, 2012 is at the bottom.  

I also started another ruffled scarf. I had to start this one three times. At first, the fine strands of yarn were catching on my dry hands. It was really annoying. So I decided to leave it until after a few applications of hand lotion. My next attempt was going ok until I put it down to get a cup of tea. When I picked up again all of the stitches slipped off the needle, fell to the floor and came complete apart. There was no salvaging it. I may have said a few choice words that I won't repeat here. Anyway, this time it's going much better. I'm being much more careful about how I put it down and pick it up each time. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I don't lose the stitches again.
 

I haven't made any plans yet as to this year's projects.  I had a few in mind, but haven't done anything to make them happen.  I'll have to give it more thought and get off my butt. 

That's it. Have a great day!

Needlework Tuesday is hosted by Heather over at Books and Quilts.