Madame Fourcade's Secret War

Madame Fourcade's Secret War: The Daring Young Woman Who Led France's Largest Spy Network Against Hitler- Lynne Olson
Random House 
Release Date: March 5, 2019

Rating:
📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: In 1941 a thirty-one-year-old Frenchwoman, a young mother born to privilege and known for her beauty and glamour, became the leader of a vast intelligence organization—the only woman to serve as a chef de résistance during the war. Strong-willed, independent, and a lifelong rebel against her country’s conservative, patriarchal society, Marie-Madeleine Fourcade was temperamentally made for the job. Her group’s name was Alliance, but the Gestapo dubbed it Noah’s Ark because its agents used the names of animals as their aliases. The name Marie-Madeleine chose for herself was Hedgehog: a tough little animal, unthreatening in appearance, that, as a colleague of hers put it, “even a lion would hesitate to bite.”

No other French spy network lasted as long or supplied as much crucial intelligence—including providing American and British military commanders with a 55-foot-long map of the beaches and roads on which the Allies would land on D-Day—as Alliance. The Gestapo pursued them relentlessly, capturing, torturing, and executing hundreds of its three thousand agents, including Fourcade’s own lover and many of her key spies. Although Fourcade, the mother of two young children, moved her headquarters every few weeks, constantly changing her hair color, clothing, and identity, she was captured twice by the Nazis. Both times she managed to escape—once by slipping naked through the bars of her jail cell—and continued to hold her network together even as it repeatedly threatened to crumble around her.

Now, in this dramatic account of the war that split France in two and forced its people to live side by side with their hated German occupiers, Lynne Olson tells the fascinating story of a woman who stood up for her nation, her fellow citizens, and herself

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Author Lynne Olson (Last Hope Island) specializes in bringing to life little known aspects of some of history's most powerful moments and Madame Fourcade's Secret War is a stellar addition.  Marie-Madeleine Fourcade is a young woman who rebelled against not only the Nazis but also the generally accepted role of women as second class citizens to become a major part of French resistance movement during World War II.  Fourcade's resistance network, Alliance, was the largest and most successful operation during German occupation of France and worked closely with MI6 during the entire war, attempting to stay out of politics and focus on freeing France at a time when so many other groups (both British and French) fought as hard against each other as they did against the Germans.

Fourcade recruited men and women from all parts of France and all walks of life into Alliance, which the Gestapo called Noah's Ark because all the members used the codenames of animals.  Olson is able to recreate the very human elements of this time- from the early days of occupied Paris to the heartbreaking final months of the war.  The reader feels Fourcade's triumphs, stresses, joys and sorrows as the spymaster known as "Hedgehog" tried to keep her people safely out of German hands.  We learn the little known stories of agents who risked their lives to deliver detailed maps and crucial information to MI6- including much of the information that made the Allies D-Day landing on Normandy possible.

Marie-Madeleine Fourcade might have been tailor made for the starring role in a new Hollywood spy movie or best-selling novel.  But Lynne Olson has once again proven that history can be just as fascinating as fiction.  Her clean, vibrant writing style adds no frills to a story that needs no embellishment.  Her research and attention to detail mean that events speak for themselves and the reader can't help but be swept along on Fourcade;s fight for freedom.

A must-read for history lovers!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Beast's Heart

The Beast's Heart-Leife Shallcross
Ace
Release Date: February 12, 2019

Rating:
📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: I am neither monster nor man—yet I am both.

I am the Beast.

He is a broken, wild thing, his heart’s nature exposed by his beastly form. Long ago cursed with a wretched existence, the Beast prowls the dusty hallways of his ruined château with only magical, unseen servants to keep him company—until a weary traveler disturbs his isolation.

Bewitched by the man’s dreams of his beautiful daughter, the Beast devises a plan to lure her to the château. There, Isabeau courageously exchanges her father’s life for her own and agrees to remain with the Beast for a year. But even as their time together weaves its own spell, the Beast finds winning Isabeau’s love is only the first impossible step in breaking free from the curse . . .

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Beauty and the Beast is one of my all time favorite fairy tales.  I love reading new variations on the tale as old as time- whether it is in 14th century France, Regency England, or a science fiction adventure far in the future- and watching the heart of the story remain.  Because the heart of the story is one we seem to need to be constantly reminded of: no matter what you look like on the outside, no matter the cold or selfish person you once were, it is always possible to discover the good person inside yourself and change.  It is always possible that someone can see who you are and love you for it, no matter what.

The Beast's Heart, the first published novel by Leife Shallcross, returns to the original fairy tale and gives us the Beast's version of it.  He wanders the forests for over a century as more animal than man before being drawn back to his (once grand) chateau.  As he begins to try and become a man again, magic returns the chateau to its former spender and invisible servants assist the Beast.  But he is lonely and when a lost traveler stumbles onto the chateau, the Beast sees an opportunity.  We all know (or do we?) what happens next: the man's youngest daughter trades a year of her life for her father's freedom, the Beast falls in love with her, and if Isabeau will fall in love and agree to marry him the curse will be broken.  

I enjoyed seeing through the eyes of the Beast and watching him come to understand not only why he was cursed in the first place, but what true love is.  Weaving in the stories of Isabeau's two sisters as they find their places in small village life and discover love of their own kept the pace strong and was an excellent way to bring in new characters, conflicts, and plot twists. 

 But one of the things that I loved the most, and stood out so strongly to me, was the writing.  The writing and language in The Beast's Heart was wonderfully well done and made me feel like I was entering a truly magical fairy tale each time I picked the book up. Shades of Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters mix with original, classic fairy tales to create something both highly original and completely classic at the same time.

This is a must-read for fairy tale lovers, those who love new versions of fairy tales, romance readers, and will become a classic go-to read for adults and children alike.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Black Leopard Red Wolf

Black Leopard, Red Wolf- Marlon James
Riverhead Books/Penguin Group
Release Date: February 5, 2019

Rating:
📚📚

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

Synopsis: Tracker is known far and wide for his skills as a hunter: "He has a nose," people say. Engaged to track down a mysterious boy who disappeared three years earlier, Tracker breaks his own rule of always working alone when he finds himself part of a group that comes together to search for the boy. The band is a hodgepodge, full of unusual characters with secrets of their own, including a shape-shifting man-animal known as Leopard.

As Tracker follows the boy's scent--from one ancient city to another; into dense forests and across deep rivers--he and the band are set upon by creatures intent on destroying them. As he struggles to survive, Tracker starts to wonder: Who, really, is this boy? Why has he been missing for so long? Why do so many people want to keep Tracker from finding him? And perhaps the most important questions of all: Who is telling the truth, and who is lying?

Drawing from African history and mythology and his own rich imagination, Marlon James has written a novel unlike anything that's come before it: a saga of breathtaking adventure that's also an ambitious, involving read. Defying categorization and full of unforgettable characters, Black Leopard, Red Wolf is both surprising and profound as it explores the fundamentals of truth, the limits of power, and our need to understand them both.

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I love fantasy and was excited to try this book- it had all the makings of a classic fantasy epic.  A group of misfits, each with their own special skill, trying to work together to find a kidnapped child who seems to be important to warring groups of royals.  African history and mythology coming to life as our group crosses the land and fights demons, vampires, magic, and each other. 

It took me about one hundred pages to start getting into Black Leopard, Red Wolf.  The writing style took a lot of getting used to, not just because it is told as if the narrator is telling stories, but because he jumps around.  There's no chronological order, we don't really meet characters as much as they just appear, and things are rarely explained or described.  When Tracker finally gets to telling us the story of him getting paid to join up with a group searching for a child who was kidnapped three years ago, the pace picks up and the story gets (mostly) easier to follow.  We still don't really know who any of the characters are, or why they are doing anything.  We get a lot of stories to explain why things happen and who people are but it's also understood pretty much up front that at least half of what anyone says will be a lie.  The end result being I didn't have much of an emotional connection to any of the characters and liked them even less- including Tracker, who despite being our narrator isn't likable but instead is mostly an arrogant, misogynistic jerk even to the few characters who try to get along with him.

Pages of descriptions still left me with no image in my head of what I was supposed to be seeing during the traveling, many of the magical beings met along the way got no description because Tracker assumes we know what he's talking about.  But let it come to killing something/one, rape, torture, or any other horrible thing and don't worry- those episodes get described in such minute detail you can smell the blood and guts.  

There were times when I enjoyed the story-telling narrative, when it reminded me of The Odyssey as Homer describes travels and magics and wonders.  But more often the technical aspects of the book were distracting and what I ended up focusing on more than the story.  If it had been a more 'conventional' narrative, would I have liked the book better?  No, I don't think so. Basically it comes down the fact that this was a raw, gritty, dark fantasy and I am not a fan of dark fantasy.  I can handle violence is small doses but Red Wolf gives us huge overdoses.  Friends become enemies, enemies fight as allies, and it is jarring each time because we only get the story of 'why' afterwards.  Far before we get to the end we find ourselves asking what the point of all of it was.  Maybe that is the point, maybe the book is meant to be a philosophical questioning of who we are and what is truth and why do people do anything.  But when I end a book asking myself "This is how it ended? What was the point of this?" it's pretty certain I'm not going to read the rest of the series to find out out.

Black Leopard, Red Wolf is 600 pages of raw violence, betrayal, rape, gang rape, torture, and killing surrounding a quest you're never sure the point of.  The technicalities of the writing probably mean some people will love it and others will hate it.  Those who enjoy dark fantasy may like the story, but readers hoping for something lighter, uplifting, or positive should probably steer clear of this one.   I rather wish I had. 

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

What Doesn't Kill Her

What Doesn't Kill Her (Cape Charade Book 2)- Christina Dodd
HQN Books
Release Date: January 29, 2019

Rating:
📚📚📚📚

Warning: Possible Spoilers Ahead!

Synopsis: Kellen Adams suffers from a yearlong gap in her memory. A bullet to the brain will cause that. But she's discovering the truth, and what she learns changes her life, her confidence, her very self. She finds herself in the wilderness, on the run, unprepared, her enemies unknown--and she is carrying a priceless burden she must protect at all costs. The consequences of failure would break her. And Kellen Adams does not break.

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When Captain Kellen Adams learned in the end of Dead Girl Running that she had a seven-year-old daughter she didn't know about, she knew that her life was going to change.  In the beginning of What Doesn't Kill Her , Kellen is trying to learn how to have a civilian life with a man she isn't sure still loves her, that man's mother (who really doesn't love her) and a daughter.  It isn't working well and Kellen is feeling lost. So when she gets offered a simple security job to help drive a potentially priceless artifact from the airport to a reclusive authenticator, she jumps on it.  Warning bells go off (and then explosions go off) and Kellen finds herself in the wilderness with an artifact, a stowaway daughter, and a bunch of bad guys trying to kill her.  While most people would call that impossible, to Kellen Adams "impossible" just means "harder to do".

Kellen is a great heroine.  She has overcome the trauma and torture of her past to become a fast-acting, fast-thinking Army veteran on par with J.D. Robb's Eve Dallas.  But, like Eve, while Kellen is confident the Army has trained her for handling life-and-death situations, she has no idea how to handle a seven-year-old daughter and all the complications that come with a new civilian family life. She doesn't instantly fall in love with daughter Rae and while Rae's father Max doesn't understand that, the reader certainly can.  Rae may be a happy and intelligent child, but insta-bonding with a strange kid is not realistic- in fiction or reality.  Having to keep Rae alive through a mountain journey teaches both mother and daughter important lessons, and the ties that develop during the trip make a much better foundation for a relationship than Max had hoped for.  As Kellen and Max begin to think that at least some of the trouble had less to do with a priceless artifact and more to do with someone wanting Kellen dead, the two of them do some much needed bonding of their own.  By the end of the book, I was convinced that the little family had a great start to a long and happy, trouble free life.  Except of course, Kellen never does anything the easy way. Be ready for a bit of a cliffhanger ending that Dodd will have to solve in the next book!

The double plot of people after the artifact and people after Kellen blended well- Dodd is a master of her craft and knows how to keep readers engaged with drama and suspense.  People who have read Dead Girl Running will be happy to see some cameos from those characters and be proud of Kellen as she continues to battle the past and the present.  People new to the series will get good backgrounds and explanations and not feel lost dropping in to the second book in a series.  And all of us will probably secretly (or not so secretly) wish we were bad-ass enough to take Kellen's life motto as our own:

What doesn't kill her . . . had better start running!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Securing Caite

Securing Caite (SEAL of Protection: Legacy Book 1)- Susan Stoker
Amazon Digital Services
Release Date: January 15, 2019

Rating:
📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Caite McCallan is a Department of Defense admin working in Bahrain when a glitchy elevator, of all things, leads to an unexpected invitation to dinner by a gorgeous Navy SEAL. When he later stands her up, Caite’s understandably upset…until she overhears a plot that confirms Rocco didn’t blow her off. Instead, he and two fellow SEALs are in danger—and Caite is forced to put her career and her life on the line to save them. 

Blake “Rocco” Wise never expected his routine mission to go sideways, but he was even more surprised to find himself and his teammates rescued by the adorably shy woman he met in a stalled elevator. Caite’s selfless act saved his life, but when attempts on her own make it clear someone wants her gone, it’s Rocco’s turn to protect the brave, sweet, sexy woman. The longer he knows her, the more he wants her…but keeping Caite close could bring her nearer to the enemy than ever before.

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Securing Caite introduces readers to a new SEAL team and a delightful new heroine in Caite McCallan.  An administrative assistant used to being overlooked and invisible, Caite is stunned when getting stuck in an elevator leads to a date with a hot SEAL.  When he doesn't show for the date she's disappointed- and then she overhears a group of men plotting to kill three injured soldiers. With no one to turn to Caite risks her life to save the men herself. Caite might not think of herself as brave  or beautiful, but SEAL leader Blake "Rocco" Wise does- even before she saves him and his teammates from certain death.  When it turns out she overheard more than just a murder plot, it's up to Rocco and his team to protect Caite from an assassin who has everything to lose and blames Caite for it all.

Caite may be my new favorite heroine.  She is completely relatable as an average person: average job, average looks, average life, and the below-average self esteem that comes with all of that.  She has a jerk for a boss who keeps trying to either get her to quit or find a reason to fire her so his friend can have her job. She's smart enough not to go wandering around alone in Bahrain (overseas contract jobs pay better when you're trying to pay off student loans for a French major you loved but have no idea what to do with). She doesn't make waves and tries hard to get along with everyone enough to keep work from being unpleasant.  When she is the only person with information on danger to three soldiers however, she is extraordinary: risking everything to save the men despite being smart enough to be terrified every step of the way.  In short, Caite is who most female readers probably see themselves as, and who we hope we'd be in similar situations.  

Rocco is a sweet guy and it looks like we'll be enjoying some delightful new heroes with his friends.  The plot isn't really a mystery since we see things from the main bad guy's point of view as well, but that allows the suspense to amp up to the exciting finale.  How Stoker (Defending Chloe) is able to get out multiple books in multiple series each year while still maintaining a pretty high standard of characters, plot, and style is beyond me- but I'm glad she does.  While her keyboard probably sets off smoke detectors from all the typing, it means readers never have to wait too long for the next amazing adventure, no matter the series.  And now we are treated to a new addition that has every sign of being just as excellent as the others.

Securing Caite begins a new series but long-time readers will enjoy a few cameos from some of Stoker's earlier books. As always, this can be read as a stand alone, and guarantees a happy and romantic conclusion and a teaser to get you excited for the next book!   

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout in exchange for an honest review

Henry VIII

Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him- Tracy Borman
Atlantic Monthly Press
Release Date: February 5, 2019

Rating: 
📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Henry VIII is best known in history for his tempestuous marriages and the fates of his six wives. However, as acclaimed historian Tracy Borman makes clear in her illuminating new chronicle of Henry’s life, his reign and reputation were hugely influenced by the men who surrounded and interacted with him as companions and confidants, servants and ministers, and occasionally as rivals—many of whom have been underplayed in previous biographies.

These relationships offer a fresh, often surprising perspective on the legendary king, revealing the contradictions in his beliefs, behavior, and character in a nuanced light. They show him capable of fierce but seldom abiding loyalty, of raising men up only to destroy them later. He loved to be attended by boisterous young men, the likes of his intimate friend Charles Brandon, who shared his passion for sport, but could also be diverted by men of intellect, culture, and wit, as his longstanding interplay with Cardinal Wolsey and his reluctant abandonment of Thomas More attest. Eager to escape the shadow of his father, Henry VII, he was often trusting and easily led by male attendants and advisors early in his reign (his coronation was just shy of his 18th birthday in 1509); in time, though, he matured into a profoundly suspicious and paranoid king whose ruthlessness would be ever more apparent, as Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk and uncle to two of Henry’s wives, discovered to his great discomfort, and as Eustace Chapuys, the ambassador of Charles V of Spain, often reported.

Recounting the great Tudor’s life and signal moments through the lens of his male relationships, Tracy Borman’s new biography reveals Henry’s personality in all its multi-faceted, contradictory glory, and sheds fresh light on his reign for anyone fascinated by the Tudor era and its legacy.

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When people think "Henry VIII" they probably think of beheadings and serial marriages. But there is a great deal more to his legacy than this and Tracy Borman explores all of it in Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him.  Borman examines Henry's life by looking at the men he surrounded himself with.  Henry loved to have intelligent, active young men around him who shared his interests in hunting, hawking, dancing, and every other form of sport available.  After a difficult relationship with his father, Henry wanted to be a king as opposite his predecessor as possible.  While he may be more well known today as a harsh and paranoid tyrant, in his youth Henry was trusting and could be easily led by trusted confidants seeking power.

Borman explores Henry's relationships with Cardinal Wolsey, Thomas Cromwell, Thomas Moore, the Howards, the Seymours, and the Boleyns as well as less well known figures.  A refreshing amount of the book is based on contemporary sources, most notably ambassador Eustace Chapuys. This means the reader is treated to the gossip and rumors that swirled around Henry's court as well as the reality of court life- brilliantly and subtly illuminating the court's atmosphere of infighting and backstabbing as individuals and factions sought Henry's favor and the money and power that came with it.  While Henry's controlling disposition and violent temper increased as he aged, the reader discovers that the popular image of a king who routinely beheads people was enhanced by his followers at court who used their king's paranoia to get rid of their competitors- thinking of themselves more often than the king.  

A well-researched, well-written, and entirely fascinating book, Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him is a must-read for anyone interested in English history, and the Tudor dynasty.  More readable than might be expected from a tome of its length, readers who know something about Henry's reign will discover new fascinating gems of information and readers new to the time period will get a wonderful and thorough introduction to the life and times of Henry VIII and the men who helped make him who he was.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Ragnarok Unwound

Ragnarok Unwound- Kristin Jacques
Sky Forest Press
Release Date: January 8, 2019

Rating:
📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Prophecies don’t untangle themselves. Just ask Ikepela Ives, whose estranged mother left her with the power to unravel the binding threads of fate. Stuck with immortal power in a mortal body, Ives has turned her back on the duty she never wanted.

But it turns out she can’t run from her fate forever, not now that Ragnarok has been set in motion and the god at the center of that tangled mess has gone missing. With a ragtag group of companions—including a brownie, a Valkyrie, and the goddess of death herself—Ives embarks on her first official mission as Fate Cipher—to save the world from doomsday.

Nothing she can't handle. Right?

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Unraveling fate might sound like a good job, but Ikepela Ives has been ignoring her own fate since her absentee mother dropped that surprise on her three years ago.  Until now Ives' closest contact to the supernatural has been her best friend, the brownie Jules.  Now an insistent Valkyrie is claiming Ives needs to use her abilities as the Fate Cipher to help stop the Norse apocalypse, Ragnarok.  Seeing outside the box and possessing high-level snark may be two of Ives' biggest talents, but will they be enough to help her survive her first day on a new job?

I went into Ragnarok Unwound not entirely sure what I was getting into, or if it was a good idea.  One chapter in and I knew this book was going to be a winner! Ives (don't call her Ikepela!) is a heroine full of snark, courage, and a fantastic ability to roll with weirdness.  Completely unprepared for her job and in total denial of her heritage, Ragnarok forces Ives to confront her destiny.  Like Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum, Ives has no clue what she's doing, but before long is fully committed to doing it anyway and trusting that luck and fast-talking will help her stall until she's figured it out.  And it works.  She's completely believable, and absolutely who you'd want at your side for an impending apocalypse.  

Ives comes at Ragnarok thinking that it doesn't make a lot of sense and that Loki and his children got a pretty lousy deal through it all.  What if they aren't the monsters the legends have turned them into?  On meeting Hel, goddess of death, Ives knows there is far more to the story than what's on the surface.  She becomes determined to figure out her abilities, to save Hel's family and to stop Ragnarok. Things are complicated since Hel's brothers are a giant wolf and the World Serpent; they've lost Hel's father; there are frost and fire giants destroying Las Vegas and Hawaii; the Hound of Asgard protecting Ives' father is completely incompetent; and it turns out that using her Fate Cipher abilities too many times will kill the mortal Ives.

I can only hope we get more of Ragnarok's cast of secondary characters in future books. Hel and Loki in particular are wonderfully entertaining and scene-stealing.  There were enough touching moments to see that Jacques has talent for emotional depth as well as humor and is good at doling those moments out just when they are needed.  Unexpected twists and turns, surprise allies and enemies, characterize a book full of non-stop action that you won't be able to put down once you've started!

Full knowledge of the mythology isn't needed to enjoy Ragnarok Unwound, but is always a good excuse to re-read Neil Gaiman's magical Norse Mythology.

Norse and Hawaiian legends meet in a way that Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Xena & Hercules/Marvel fans will love in this first book of a new and delightful series! 

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review