Weekly Reader Philippa Gregory Edition: The Queen's Fool (The Plantagenet and Tudor Court Series Vol. XII) by Philippa Gregory; Fictional Protagonist Sees Reign of Queen Mary I Up Close

Weekly Reader Philippa Gregory Edition: The Queen’s Fool (The Plantagenet and Tudor Court Series Vol. XII) by Philippa Gregory; Fictional Protagonist Sees Reign of Queen Mary I Up Close


By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews


Spoilers: Of Philippa Gregory's The Plantagenet and Tudor Court books, The Queen's Fool has a peculiar legacy. It is the only one of the entire series that tells the book through the eyes of a fictional character.

The advantage of this unique volume is that the fictional character is just as well-written and developed as her real-life counterparts.

The fictional character is Hannah Verde, also known as Hannah Greene, a young Jewish woman. Hannah has fled Inquisition-era Spain with her father and Daniel Carpenter, her betrothed. They now live in an England that is reeling from the death of King Henry VIII and ascension of his frail son, King Edward VI.

Hannah tries to settle into life in England by working in her father's print shop making and selling books and not looking forward to her upcoming wedding. One day three men stroll into the shop. Two are Robert Dudley, the son of John Dudley, King Edward's regent and the most powerful man in England, and John Dee, astrologer and advisor to the king. However, the third man gets the most attention when it is revealed that only Hannah can see him and no one else can. Dee reasons that she must have seen an angel and that Hannah possesses clairvoyant abilities, called the Sight.

Seeing a distinct advantage to having a psychic friend, Robert begs for Hannah's services as a fool to King Edward. Hannah finds herself acting as a fool to Edward then after his death to Edward's sister, Queen Mary I. Hannah then is recruited as a spy and go-between among Mary and her younger sister, Princess Elizabeth. She then finds herself caught between worlds:. Raised Jewish but forced to conform to the religions that the Royals practice, arranged to marry Daniel but falling in love with Robert, and becoming a close confidant and unofficial advisor to both Queen Mary and Princess Elizabeth.

Hannah is a fascinating protagonist in that she is completely different from the other narrators of these books. For the first time, we see the court through the eyes of a commoner with no noble or royal distinction. It's interesting reading about how the average working person lived and survived in Tudor England.

We also get to see what it is like to be an outsider and minority in this era. Hannah and her friends and family have to hide their Jewishness from the outside world. They practice their religion in secret by celebrating the High Holy Days in dark rooms behind locked doors and closed drapes. They whisper Hebrew prayers and only privately call one another by secret names that reveal their religion. They hide all of their Torahs and Hebrew language books away from curious customers. It gets to the point where Hannah is ashamed of all of this hiding and becomes dismissive of her religion. She later recants these feelings to the point that she proudly insists that the child who is put into her care is circumcised.

In one heart tugging moment, Hannah is left alone with her father's books and considers destroying them. She can't bring herself to do it, because she realized that she would be no better than the Inquisition that burned her mother and considered “ideas to be dangerous.” As a woman who has a deep thirst for knowledge and learning that is found in books, she cannot bear for that to happen.

Through Hannah's narration, we meet three rulers of England and hear about a fourth. King Edward is young and sickly and unfortunately dies before he can leave any lasting impact. However, he is ruled by regents who use the prince to get their way. After Edward's death, Dudley tries to get his Protestant daughter in law, Jane Grey to become queen and gets her on the throne for nine days before they are arrested and executed. (We only hear about Jane and get no sense of her as a character. Her story is saved for The Last Tudor).


However, we do get to meet Mary and Elizabeth who are interesting in their characterization. Mary is written as a woman who has a full awareness that time is running out for her. She does not ascend the throne until she is in her late-30’s so she is desperate to create a lasting legacy after years of being disgraced, bastardized, and ignored.

She throws herself into a hasty marriage to Prince Phillip of Spain and is desperate to conceive a child. Even though Hannah's Sight warns Mary that this is a marriage destined for heartbreak, Mary doesn't care. She placates her young husband and looks the other way when he flirts with other women including her own sister. On two emotional occasions, she announces that she is pregnant and goes into seclusion to deliver. Both times, no baby appears and she stays in seclusion long after the believed due dates.

Mary is also fervently devoted to her Catholic religion considering it the only comfort in her tumultuous past of the banishment and death of her mother, the disgrace and dismissal by her father, and the revolving door of stepmothers. Mary's Catholic faith was the one constant in her life, so it's no surprise that she would find solace in it upon adulthood.

However as Mary's life implodes she becomes more ruthless and fanatic. She constantly pressures Elizabeth to convert to Catholicism not listening to the princesses’ claims of illness and not knowing the catechism. Even though she is concerned for her sister's soul, she is still highly suspicious of her and has her put under house arrest numerous times.As her marriage to Phillip disintegrates, Mary becomes a dictator putting Protestants to death if they do not conform to Catholicism. Hannah is horrified as the Queen that she once loved and respected becomes another Inquisitor in her life.

By contrast, Elizabeth gives Hannah someone to admire. Unlike Mary who is dour and shriveled up from all of the waiting, Elizabeth is young and has plenty of years ahead of her. She is vibrant, witty, and alive with fire and passion. When she enters a room, she makes everyone else fade away by her brilliance, especially her sister. (Hannah realizes that Mary had better marry Elizabeth off and fast otherwise she will be in complete competition against her.)

While Hannah looks at Mary as a mother figure and pities her because of her sorrows, she sees Elizabeth as almost an older sister, someone whom Hannah could be like. She sees Elizabeth's independence and how she carries herself at court and wishes she could be that self-assured. She sees how Elizabeth openly flirts with men, loving the attention but refusing to give her heart to them and wishes that she didn't have to be tied down and married. Elizabeth is a woman that Hannah hopes to become.

Elizabeth is a shrewd game player. Her every move, word, and action is calculated to ensure her survival. She will do anything from remaining bedridden from stress related illness to studying the catechism while greeting Protestant ministers in secret, to not only play the game, but to win.

This plays into her romantic relationship. When she lives with her stepmother, Kathryn Parr and Kate's fourth husband, Thomas Seymour, Elizabeth allows Thomas into her bed and plays sexual games with him. Then when Thomas is arrested for treason, Elizabeth denies being with him. (In reality, no one is sure how active Elizabeth was in Thomas's Seymour's seduction of her. Most of her enemies said she was a willing participant. Supporters believed her. Most modern historians believe at the very least, Thomas had committed statutory rape with her and she was a victim who was coerced into being with him.)

Elizabeth pulls the same trick with other men including Prince Phillip and Robert Dudley. She flirts with them to gain powerful allies and the upper hand in her rivalry with Mary. However, what is clear is Elizabeth is a woman with her own mind and will not allow any man to rule over her.

Mary and Elizabeth's influence play into Hannah's life as well. As the Fool, her role in court is to wear men's clothing, tell jokes, and predict the future using cryptic clues. Since she can say whatever she wants, she has the unusual task of being blunt and honest to the monarchs and keep her head. Her gift of the Sight also holds great interest in court.

Through her involvement with Mary and Elizabeth, Hannah sees other alternatives to how a woman could live her life. She had been reluctant to marry Daniel in the first place, and now likes the freedom this strange role as a Fool gives her. Not to mention that she harbors a crush on the handsome and charismatic Robert Dudley. For a time, Hannah is separated from her father and Daniel as they move to Calais and then Genoa. Hannah enjoys her independence and freedom that comes with the territory of being the Fool.

Unfortunately, Hannah's happiness is short lived when Mary suspects her of treason. Hannah flees to Calais and settles into marrying Daniel, giving up her former life of palace intrigue and friendships with the Queen and Princess.

In some of the slowest portions of the book, Hannah has to uncomfortably settle into the life of a Jewish wife and then later, after the English lose possession of Calais, has to go into hiding in the country home of Robert’s wife, Amy. However, they both reveal Hannah's difficulties of conforming to the life of a normal woman of the Tudor era. They also show her reconciliation with her Jewish heritage as she begins to find common ground with Daniel and her father and cares for a young abandoned boy.

While Hannah Greene was not a real person, Philippa Gregory's writing makes her a compelling character that is just as real as everyone else around her.

Weekly Reader Philippa Gregory Edition: The Taming of The Queen (The Plantagenet and Tudor Court Series Vol. XI) by Philippa Gregory; Story of Henry VIII's Sixth Wife Tells of a Woman of Great Intellect and Independence

Weekly Reader Philippa Gregory Edition: The Taming of the Queen (The Plantagenet and Tudor Court Series Vol. XI) by Philippa Gregory; Story of Henry VIII's Sixth Wife Tells of a Woman of Great Intellect and Independence

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews


Spoilers: One thing can be said about King Henry VIII is that he loved variety. No two of his wives were exactly alike. There was the strong-willed warrior, Katherine of Aragon. Followed by the seductive and conniving, Anne Boleyn. Then the sweet domestic, Jane Seymour. Then came the willful and independent, Anne of Cleves. Followed by the dizzy romantic, Katherine Howard.

We now come to the last wife, Kateryn Parr. What set her apart from her predecessors was her age and experience.

Parr was the oldest of Henry's wives at the time of her marriage. She was 30-years-old and unlike her predecessors had been married before. Twice. She also had an understanding with Thomas Seymour, a courtier and brother of the late Wife #3 Jane Seymour. Of course that understanding came to an end when Henry came a-courtin’. (Only to reconvene after Henry's death.)

Also what set Kateryn Parr apart from the previous five were her literary and scholarly ambitions. While Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn were both highly intelligent women with various talents and abilities, they used those skills and learning mostly to serve as aides to Henry.

Parr however was not only well-read, but she was also a good writer. In fact, she published three books in her lifetime and became the first queen of England to have a work published under her own name.


In her final work on the wives of King Henry VIII, Philippa Gregory describes in great detail not only the marriage of Parr to Henry but her impact as a writer, an intellectual, and a woman of great thought and independence.


In the Taming of the Queen we first encounter Kateryn right at the point where she is proposed to by Ol’ Henry. She isn't exactly excited at the prospect of marrying a man who beheaded two wives, divorced two, and was away as another died in childbirth. Really, who could blame her?

In fact, Kate has dreams that she is Tryphine, the wife of Bluebeard, and she sneaks to his secret room where all of his wives’ bodies are stored. Kate is naturally terrified that she could be next.


Kate is haunted by the ghosts of the former wives. Everyone compares her to them. Her sister, Nan, served under the various wives and tells her about them. Kate tries to choose a motto that is different from the other wives’. (She settles on “To be useful in all that I do.”)

She goes through the jewelry and decor and find that the other wives have left their styles behind, to the point that Kate can't go anywhere or find anything that a former wife hasn't owned or touched. (Helpfully, Nan reminds Kate that she is the first to collect clocks.)

In one of the most difficult passages, Kate poses for her family portrait with Henry, Prince Edward, and Princesses Mary and Elizabeth. She is stunned when the portrait is revealed and instead of her, it shows Jane Seymour, the wife that Henry claims that he has always loved and still grieves for. Though the book implies that he only misses her because she gave him the long awaited living son.


Kate has to make her mark. One of the ways that she does this is successfully compartmentalizes her emotions. While yes, she had to leave Thomas Seymour behind, she remembers the troubles that Anne Boleyn and Kitty Howard had when they took on lovers. Even though, she sees Thomas quite often, she keeps her emotions in check so as not to betray her true feelings or get caught.


She also develops close bonds with Henry's children. She becomes a surrogate mother to Edward by caring for the young boy. She is a confidant to Mary when the princess confesses her concerns over the marriages that her father arranges for her as well as her determination to stay true to her mother's Catholic religion.

Kate also serves as a mentor to Princess Elizabeth. When Kate is declared regent in Henry's absence, Elizabeth watches in amazement to see a woman take power, rule the country, set laws, and control the various advisors and councilman on her own. Throughout the book, Kate gives Elizabeth advice that echoes in the young woman's future career as queen. Once, Kate tells Elizabeth that people may think that she has the frail body of a woman, but that she must have the heart and stomach of a king of England. Of course this would be the famous speech that Elizabeth would later give to the English troops when they faced the Spanish Armada.


Like the other books in the Tudor portion of the series, religion is an important issue and in this case plays into Kate's literary and scholastic impact. She was from a once-Catholic family that converted to Protestantism. However, she questions Catholic teachings herself such as why do people need to confess sins to a priest? Why do they have to buy indulgences to get out of Purgatory? Why can't the Bible be in English or any other language? Why can't women be permitted to lead the church?

These questions concern Kate so she begins to form a study group of religious scholars, intellectuals, philosophers, and other thinkers to get some opinions. One of the people that visits is Anne Askew, an outspoken woman who preaches at her own religious groups and holds definite opinions about women's role in church. Because Anne is such a controversial figure and is arrested quite often, Kate is wary about her friendship with the woman. However, she also is in awe of her faith and confidence.


Kate also takes leadership within the church. Her studies inspire her to write and she has a book called Psalms published anonymously and later writes another called Prayers or Meditations, this time published under her own name. (A third, Lamentations of a Sinner, is published after Henry's death.)

Unfortunately, it is her religious studies and works that make her a target especially with their ever changeable king. One minute Henry is encouraging her studies by saying how much he loves intelligent women. The next he is publicly chastising her for her opinions.

In one awful passage, he plays psychological mind games with her by whipping her in public and calling her the lead in his new play, The Taming of the Queen.

In fact Kate is almost arrested and it is only Henry's death that keeps her from following the path of her predecessors.

The Taming of the Queen makes a great end to Gregory's books about Henry VIII's Wives. Kateryn Parr was an intelligent and literary woman of strong opinions and forthrightness. Above all, she did what very few of her predecessors did: She survived.

Weekly Reader: Alpha Wolves by D.J. Swykert; Middle Book in Maggie Elizabeth Harrington Trilogy Emphasizes Romance Over Love of Nature

Weekly Reader: Alpha Wolves by D.J. Swykert; Middle of Maggie Elizabeth Harrington Trilogy Emphasizes Romance Over Love of Nature

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews




Spoilers: In Maggie Elizabeth Harrington and For the Love of Wolves, author, D.J. Swykert explored the love that humans have for animals. Maggie Elizabeth Harrington is about the female protagonist, Maggie and her then-boyfriend Tommie Stetter protecting four newborn wolf puppies from becoming a hunter’s trophies. For the Love of Wolves focuses on a now elderly Maggie feeling the spiritual presence of her long deceased white wolf friend, Wolf.

The second book in the trilogy focuses more on the human aspects rather than the nature aspects. Instead of exploring more of Maggie's connections with wolves, the book is more about Maggie's complex love life. Her relationship with Wolf, her future guide and protector is mostly a subplot.

That's not particularly bad since Maggie is an interesting character and her interactions with other characters help define her independent spirit. But what is missing is the relationship Maggie has with her beloved wolves which were central themes of the other two books, making this the weakest of the trilogy.




It has been ten years since Maggie recklessly ran off with Tommie Stetter. Ten years since he was sent away to school to take his place in society and forget about her. Ten years since Maggie remained in Central Mine as she kept house for her father and waited for her lover to return. And return he does.

The mine is faltering and Tommie returns to take his late father's place as the new manager. Unfortunately, he is not alone. He returns to Central Mine with a wife and child in tow.

Maggie is devastated but she is also determined that she still loves Tommie no matter what. However, she has become friends with a miner, Jeremy Paull who is a sweet, even tempered guy. It's not too long before Maggie finds herself caught between two guys: the loving and unattached, Jeremy and the now married love of her life, Tommie.




Maggie shows a lot of spunk and independence. When Tommie reenters her life, Maggie vows that shame or no shame that she will love him anyway. One of her greatest moments occurs late in the book when the judgemental town minister confronts her with gossip about her feelings towards Tommie. He begins to lecture her about the wages of sin and what the role of a good wife should be. She is outwardly polite, but inwardly she is determined to live her own life and love two men.




Maggie also has to come to some hard decisions. These decisions are based on her love for both Tommie and Jeremy. Swykert does us all a favor by making them both good characters thereby making it easy to see why Maggie can't choose between them. She loves them both because she really can't choose one over the other. They are both great guys and she doesn't want to hurt either one.




She doesn't know who the right man is supposed to be and to her credit, neither does the Reader. It's one of the few times in literature that I could genuinely say, that I was actually rooting for an open marriage to occur.

Unfortunately, ménage a trois are not the thing in Central Mine. A wedding occurs but Maggie finds herself in big trouble after a night of passionate love making to Tommie. She has to make a real decision, not with her heart but with her head. She realizes that she has to make a decision for all involved not just her.




As I mentioned before, Maggie's relationship with wolves is a subplot compared to the other two books. However, it does serve a real purpose. Maggie receives Wolf as a gift from Jeremy. In gratitude and for love of the majestic animal, Maggie keeps him bound as a pet. He is kept as she is kept. Wolf feels pressured to be a pet and Maggie feels pressured to conform to standards that others require of her such as what her role as a woman is supposed to be and whom she is required to love.


It is no coincidence that after Maggie decides which man that she is bound to and whom she really loves, she sets Wolf free. She realizes that Wolf was once wild and untamed and that it was wrong to keep him as a pet. Setting him free allows Wolf to continue in his role as a wild animal. Maggie too had a wild free spirited heart that was bound by rules. However, unlike Wolf she cannot run free. She has to live among her own kind. However, she chooses to live honestly and with love. She has matured but she is still a wild and free spirit.




As with the other books there is a strong sense of seasonal passage of time in Alpha Wolves. Maggie Elizabeth Harrington deal with spring and early summer, birth, and young love. For the Love of Wolves dealt with winter, aging, and death.

Alpha Wolves is concerned with late summer and autumn. Days grow shorter. Children begin school. Suddenly, the youthful energy and enthusiasm gives way to adulthood and the worries that come with developing maturity.

The once vibrant imaginative girl, Maggie is not yet the elderly sorrowful woman. She is someone who longs tp hold onto that young heart that she once had. Eventually, she realizes that she and Tommie have changed. They recognize flaws in each other's character that they never noticed before.

They are settling into marriage, employment, and children and establishing themselves as community members. Because of this, there are more people to consider than their own reckless passions.




While Alpha Wolves is not the best book in the pack, it is another great addition to the series. It serves as a bridge between who Maggie was and who she later becomes.

Weekly Reader: Maggie Elizabeth Harrington by D.J. Swykert; Historical Romance Youth and Love Between Humans and Animals

Weekly Reader: Maggie Elizabeth Harrington by D.J. Swykert; Historical Romance Explores Youthful Love For Humans and Animals

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews


Spoilers: It's an odd experience reading a series out of order. Besides the confusion of events not being chronological, there is a sense of sadness when you know how things are going to end. Every hopeful moment and every happy ending is tinged with some sadness that this happiness is only temporary.


That's the experience that I have when reading Maggie Elizabeth Harrington trilogy by D.J. Swykert. Through no fault of mine or Swykert’s, I read the last book, For the Love of Wolves first, followed by the first book Maggie Elizabeth Harrington, then the second, Alpha Wolves. Because of this, it is emotionally difficult to read about the young girl Maggie was without thinking of the elderly lonely woman that she becomes.

This book begins when Maggie is 13 and she witnesses her dour father kill a fragile kitten. Sickened by the event and upset by her widowed father's stern nature, Maggie finds solace with her friends, Annie and Tommie Stetter and in their explorations of the nature around their small town of Central Mine, Michigan.

The trio learns that a hunter shot a female wolf who had puppies. Maggie, Tommie, and Annie sneak out the four orphaned puppies and raise them in secret.

As they care for the wolf puppies, the imaginative Maggie can't resist galling in love with Tommie. She starts dreaming of a life in which her male friend becomes her lover and future husband.


Like For the Love of Wolves, Maggie Elizabeth Harrington is filled with beautiful evocative descriptions of nature and a strong connection between humans and animals.

The descriptions contrast greatly with For the Love of Wolves’s. Whereas For the Love of Wolves was concerned with winter and aging, Maggie Elizabeth Harrington deals with spring and summer and youth.

When Maggie looks out her bedroom window, she is glad to feel the sun in her face. In the winter her father boards up the house to keep the heat inside, so Maggie dislikes the darkness both real and manufactured.

In the summer however, Maggie can see for miles. She says, “I can see the bluffs that overlook Lake Superior, which surround this narrow peninsula I live on here in Northern Michigan. It is beautiful, so beautiful that when it is summer like it is now, I don't think that I would ever want to live anywhere else.”


Also like it's predecessor, or technically successor, Maggie Elizabeth Harrington is filled with the emotional connection between humans and animals. The wolf puppies are brilliantly written as Tommie, Maggie, and Annie care for and name them: Annabelle, Naomi, Emma, and Blackie. Maggie feels a maternal bond with them. It is no coincidence that as she and Tommie care for the wolves, they start to think that a life together is possible. Their caring for the puppies transfers into a caring for each other and opens the possibility of greater love.

Maggie's love for these small animals also foreshadow her affection for wolves later in life and makes her behavior in For the Love of Wolves understandable. Her desire to protect her beloved wolves lasts throughout her life and it is perfectly natural that she would seek vengeance against those who would hurt them.


The widowed lonely Maggie from For the Love of Wolves is far off in the future. This is a youthful Maggie in the summer of her life. This book is filled with the promises of youth in the summer. Young puppies are born. Young people fall in love. The type of youth where people act irrationally, dreams are created, and promises are made without thinking of the reality that is involved in preparing for those dreams, keeping those promises, and thinking about the consequences of those actions.


That recklessness is personified after Maggie, Tommie, and the puppies are discovered. (The more practical Annie has already ducked out worrying about the consequences of getting caught and no longer interested in living in Maggie's fantasy world.)

After they have to face Maggie's father and the hunter in a violent confrontation, Maggie and Tommie run off.

Left to their own devices, the couple stay with a friend and dream of a life together on the run. Unfortunately, their plans are not well thought out and are based on impulse than any acceptance of reality. Unfortunately, reality comes crashing into their dream world. The outlaws return home and there are real consequences for their actions.


The beautiful life that Maggie in which has dreamt is gone. Youth must give way to maturity. The summer lovers must become the autumn leaders and winter elders. Those days disappear for them as they do everyone.


What doesn't disappear however is the love that Maggie has for animals. As shown in a final passage between Maggie and a newly born tiny kitten, Maggie reveals that for the rest of her life, the animals have at least one human protector. No matter how old Maggie gets or her life changes, she will always be constant in her love for animals.

New Book Alert: Lost Boy by Rawiri James; Suspenseful and Dramatic YA Novel Marred by Unnecessary Supernatural Subplot

New Book Alert: Lost Boy by Rawiri James; Suspenseful and Dramatic YA Novel Marred by Unnecessary Supernatural Subplot


By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews


Spoilers: Sometimes a book works when you combine several genres. You are reading about cowboys then all of a sudden, oops, a dragon appears! A couple goes out on a date, then suddenly he sprouts fangs and that chick lit romance you are reading suddenly heads towards Dark Fantasy Land.

Then there are times when crossing genres doesn't work so well when one half of the genre so overwhelms the course of the book, that the other genre becomes intrusive and almost unnecessary.

The latter situation is the issue with Lost Boy by Rawiri James. This book is an attempt to combine a coming of age YA and suspense novel with a science fiction/fantasy along the lines of X-Men. That isn't a bad premise in and of itself. The central idea is intriguing and the various aspects could work together. But in this case, they don't.


Mike DeVelli Jr.’s life seems to spiral out of control lately. His mother has died and both he and his father are having trouble coping with the loss. Mike Sr. retreats into alcohol while Mike Jr. becomes obsessed with constantly working out and eating very little. Mike Jr. alienates both his best friend, Joey, and his girlfriend, Nicole, to find solace through clubbing with school bad girl, Priyanka. Things go from bad to really bad when Priyanka goes missing and Mike is considered a suspect.


All of that would work as a coherent plot, but James also adds that Mike finds a newspaper article from another country that implies that he may be adopted. He also shares memories that he never had before and suddenly discovers that he has the ability to control and manipulate water.


Lost Boy has enough great things going for it that is a shame to take it apart but take it apart we must. The Coming of Age and suspense angles work so well that when the book veers towards the sci-fi and superhero, those aspects become jarring and take the Reader out of the rest of the book.


This book is filled with many different subjects: parental death, alcoholism, drug addiction, eating disorders (with a male character no less), interracial dating, pedophilia, child molestation, false accusations against a teacher, and child abduction. Anyone of these could just as easily remained the main focus of the book. Even Mike Jr. discovering that he was adopted could lead to an interesting subplot about what it's like to be a displaced orphaned child from an impoverished war-torn country.


However, the science fiction aspects get introduced in the middle of the book almost too late for it to be any importance to the rest of the story. Then, it takes the lion's share of the climax so what begins as a realistic kidnapping becomes a mano-y-mano match between a superhero and supervillain.


If maybe the superhero plot had been introduced earlier or became instrumental to the rest of the book (perhaps Mike's mother could have been killed by a former adversary instead of heart failure), the book may have succeeded. But there is just too much going on with too many plots that don't work together.


Lost Boy ends with the promise of a sequel. Here's hoping that there will be a better handle of combining the real and the unreal.

New Book Alert: Van Ops: The Lost Power by Avanti Centrae: Thrilling, Suspenseful, And Engaging Treasure Hunt Begins New Series

New Book Alert: Van Ops: The Lost Power by Avanti Centrae; Thrilling, Suspenseful, and Engaging Treasure Hunt Begins New Series

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews



Spoilers: Thanks to the Da Vinci Code, for a time in the early to mid 2000’s, you couldn't throw a rock without hitting a book about a treasure hunt. Several books were written where the protagonists looked for some treasure or knowledge that had been hidden for centuries that could shake up the known usually western world. The protagonists are on the run from dastardly villains, usually working for the church or government that are determined to keep the secret.

One of the better of those treasure hunt novels was 2005’s Labyrinth by Kate Mosse which involved books that contained references to the Holy Grail, the history of the Cathars in France, a commentary on gender roles, and two strong female protagonists in modern day and 13th century France.


We return to that trend that now reaches 20 years old (yikes) with Avanti Centrae’s The Lost Power, a book in her Van Ops series. When done right, these treasure hunt novels are interesting lessons in history and speculative fiction, filled with intense suspenseful action-based passages, and feature interesting characters that guide the action. Lucky for us, Centrae gets it right.

Twins, Will and Maddy Argones are invited to visit their father who tells them that he has important news. Before he can reveal it, however both he and Will’s wife, Maria, are killed by an assassin's bullet. The twins barely have time to grieve before their father’s attorney sends them a letter which tells them to return to the family's ancestral home Aragon Castle in Spain and locate the Aragon Chassé, a small box that contains an object of immense power. This quest takes them and their old school friend and current military man, Teddy “Bear” Thorenson on a journey through Spain, Israel, and Egypt with dangerous assassins in hot pursuit.

The book is an escapist fantasy of exotic locations and roller coaster actions designed to end several chapters with cliffhangers. There are various tense situations where the Argones Twins and Bear hide from assassins in various locations including the Dome of the Rock and a hot air balloon. There is an interesting subplot when the trio take part in various tests to determine their strength, knowledge, and worthiness to find the Aragon Chassé.

The characterization is brilliantly executed. Will and Maddy both shine with individual moments. Maddy is a seventh level Dan and martial arts instructor and uses those skills to defend her loved ones. She is also psychic and has premonitions of people being hurt or kidnapped. She shows a strong maternal bond with A.J., a young student who unfortunately gets caught in the middle of these struggles.

Will is also well written. He is a skeptic where Maddy is intuitive. While it stretches credibility over how skeptical he can possibly be, with not only a psychic sister but going on a journey that includes some unexplained phenomena, but this can also be attributed to Will’s stubborn nature. Also, the plot offers scientific possibilities which gives Will, an engineer opportunities to use his expertise. On an emotional front, Will shows genuine grief over Maria's death which is refreshing to see when in many novels of this sort ignore the personal tragedy when someone dies in favor of action. This book shows the grief that would be involved when someone dies particularly when they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Bear isn't as developed as the twins but he offers some interesting possibilities when it is revealed that he is part of Van Ops, a secret military organization that studies unexplained phenomena. He also harbors a secret crush on Maddy and shares some sweet heroic moments with her.

The antagonists are fairly decent as well. The stand out among them is Ivan, a gun toting hit man who hides a heart as big as the number of his confirmed kills. Ivan can be a ruthless killer, but that's not all to his story. Centrae reveals that he is worried about his kidnapped son whom his employers hold hostage in an attempt to get Ivan to obey them. Ivan also shows protectiveness over the kidnapped, A.J. revealing the fatherly side he hides behind his gruff violent exterior.

The search for the Aragon Chassé is pretty tight as clues are given and tests are required to find the object. When the Chassé is revealed, it proves to be every bit as powerful as advertised and during the climax that power is unleashed in a violent and ultimately satisfactory moment.

The Lost Power is a treasure hunt worth going on with a thrilling plot, great characters, and a truly intriguing adventure.

Best of the Best 2019 Part 3: New Book Alert

Best of the Best 2019 Part 3: New Book Alert

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Now we come to my most popular category, New Book Alert.

I am proud to say that this year, I have seen a tremendous explosion in new book reviews. Because there were so many, I am doing a Top 20 countdown rather than Top 10.

A tremendous clientele have wanted to see their books read and reviewed.  I hope that I have done my part to give these authors and their works the attention that they deserve.

I would like to extend a hearty thank you to all of the authors, publishers, websites, social media platforms, and literary groups that have brought these books to my attention. You are what makes this blog great.

If you have or know of a book that you would love for me to review in the next year, do not hesitate to contact me at

Email: juliesaraporter@gmail.com

Twitter: @JulieSaraPorte1

Facebook

LinkedIn:

Now without any further introduction, on with the countdown:

 

20. Meditations on Discipline and Failure: Stoic Exercises for Mental Fitness/A Life Worth Living: God, Death, and Stoicism by William Ferraiolo

Ferraiolo's books take a modern look on how Readers can implement the philosophy of Stoicism in our daily lives. Meditations on Discipline and Failure offers quick suggestions and witticisms that cover various topics such as death, acceptance, relationships, success, and failure.

A Life Worth Living is a more in-depth coverage on bigger concepts like the existence of God and acceptance of death. These books give us advice on what we can learn and do to make our existence on Earth worth while. We can do it with a reserve that acknowledges loss and failure and moves on.

19. Shadows of the Raven (Sons of Kings) by Millie Thom

This is the first of many historical fiction novels on this list and begins with a hard, dark, violent look. In Anglo-Saxon England, Eadulf, a young Mercian prince is kidnapped from his family and sold into slavery to Vikings. The book is mesmerizing as Eadulf adapts to their ways by taking on a more violent persona, worshipping the warrior-like Norse gods, and participating in village raids with his masters.

18. The Bipolar Addict: Drinks, Drugs, Delirium, and Why Sober is the New Cool by Connor Bezane

Bezane's memoir about drug addiction and mental illness succeeds as a personal story and a more external outlook at the drug crisis in general. Bezane writes about his addictions with drugs including heroin, meth, and opioids as well as struggles with bipolar disorder in a way that is both witty and moving. He then turns the focus to five other people who had similar struggles. This book explores the hardships of addiction and illness and shows that recovery is possible.

17. For the Love of Wolves by D.J. Swykert

The third book in Swykert’s series about animal lover, Maggie Elizabeth Harrington is the best. In old age, Maggie lives alone with her memories of friends and lovers who have long died or left. She feels a deep connection to a white wolf that she believes still roams the woods long after his death. The book is filled with beautiful descriptions and a strong deep connection to nature that transcends beyond life and death. It shows that for some people, their love for animals can be greater than their love for fellow humans.

16. Zodiac States by William Stalker

A sharp and funny satirical novel about an island which is separated into twelve states that represents the signs of the Zodiac. Five newcomers experience each area that is brilliantly characterized from the gun-toting Cancers, to the feminist Virgos, to the meditative Pisces, to the hippy Aquarius. Stalker uses this bizarre premise to send up everything from international dependency, politics, economics, gender roles, war, fashion, technology, personality testing and everything else in between.

15. Gumshoe Blues (The Peter Ord Yarns) by Paul D. Brazill

The Hard-boiled detective genre has never looked more Millennial. British detective, Peter Ord investigates several cases involving missing persons and dealing with the local toughs. Ord's first person narration is what makes this anthology as he mocks the dark sinister world around him with a dry cynicism and references to popular culture.

14. Shiri by D.S. Taylor

This is a strong emotional novel about a woman sold into slavery in Ancient Egypt and being forced to work in the household of a man posing as an Egyptian nobleman. There are some very tense situations involving physical and sexual abuse and some drama involving Shiri’s loved ones who are on the opposite side between the slave-master dynamic. But Shiri is a strong admirable lead as she maintains her strength and faith throughout her captivity.

13. Sapphire and Planet Zero by Christina Blake

This is the start of a hopefully great YA Science Fiction/Fantasy series. Sapphire, a typical middle schooler, discovers that she is descended from a race of alien beings called the squilan and that she must return to her family's home planet to save her native race from a sinister dark wizard. Blake creates a unique world with unique characters. The squilan race are brilliantly created with violet eyes, crystal running through their veins, and unusual abilities like telekinesis and controlling the elements.

This journey becomes a rite of maturity as Sapphire learns to use her hidden powers and strength to fight her adversaries.

12. Confessions of A Bookseller by Shaun Bythell

Bythell's memoirs are a treat for anyone who makes a living by selling, writing, making, or reading books. Bythell recounts a year in which he ran the Book Shop in Wigtown, Scotland. He writes about eccentric customers, wacky co-workers, and his involvement in various activities including the Wigtown Festival, social media contests, and a shop where people can temporarily operate a book store. Bythell's reminisces are humorous, heartfelt, and fun.

11. The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins

Hawkins’s book is a lovely charming novel about life in a sweet, magical, small town. Sara Dove is the town librarian of Dove Pond, South Carolina and she hears books talk to her-literally. Her efforts to rescue her fading town involve friends, family, and a business-like newcomer. This book is filled with charming little touches like flowers that change colors and sweet subplots of friendship and romance. This is the type of book that ends happily but it warms your heart when it does.

10. Unbalanced by Courtney Shepherd

This is a brilliant fantasy about four separated sisters who learn that they control the elements-Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. The fantastic elements are intriguing as the sisters learn about the dangers that their abilities possess. What really stands out are the four protagonists. Little details such as their hobbies, interests, and locations make them individuals. However, it is when they work together that balances their powers and makes them a formidable team.

9. Crossing the Hall: Exposing an American Divide by Lori Wojtowicz

Wojtowicz’s book not only takes an unflinching look at racism in the American classrooms but asks some intentionally uncomfortable questions of the Reader. Wojtowicz writes about her time teaching Honors English and African-American Literature classes and how the student body differed in terms of racial demographics, economic disparity, and family structures. The book identifies several forms of racism that people can fall into. It also discusses the way people can recognize those forms and change their outlook and behaviors. Sometimes the greatest changes can come from within.

8. Strung Out: One Last Hit and Other Lies I Told Myself by Erin Khar

Khar’s autobiography is an intense look at her struggles with opioid addiction and mental illness. Khar's troubled life before her addiction including divorce and sexual abuse is not glossed over and neither are the difficulties that she encountered during her recovery. This book gives us the full account of addiction and illness and how they affect that person before, during, and afterwards.

7. The Last Collection: A Novel of Elsa Schiaparelli and Coco Chanel by Jeanne Mackin

This is a stylish, glamorous, and savage historical fiction novel about the two noted fashion icons, Elsa Schiaparelli and Coco Chanel. A young widow works for Schiaparelli's fashion house and gets caught up in the rivalry between the two fashion titans. The book explores the differences between the duo in their styles, personalities, and politics and how they swept everyone along in their one on one war.

6. Glossolalia (Agents of the Nevermind) by Tantra Bensko

Glossolalia is a strange, bizarre, and unforgettable suspense novel set in an Alternate Universe United States where magic runs free. Two women and a young girl are caught up in the machinations of the Nevermind, a secret organization that runs the country. There are intense moments of mind control, psychic phenomena, drug therapy and other means that the Nevermind uses to control the populace. The plot brims with betrayal and odd connections as the protagonists discovers the unusual connection that they share.

5. Sand and Smoke (Dragon's Destiny) by Carl Cotas-Robles

This book transcends genres in bringing the Readers a combination Western-Steampunk Science Fiction-Fantasy. Al Hardin AKA The Silver Bandana and Maya Samoralt, a Dragonrider work together to stop a superweapon and bring down a corrupt government. Cotas-Robles brings this odd genre mixture to life by making them seem like a natural fit. In this world, cowboys and outlaws exist alongside sorcerers and dragons in an even almost anticlimactic way that accepts these circumstances. The best tropes of the genres combine to bring this brilliant novel to life.

4. Elizabeth Craven: Writer, Feminist, European by Julia Gasper

This biography tells the story of an overlooked but amazing woman who challenged 18th-early 19th century views of womanhood. Gasper brings Craven to life recounting her scandalous divorce, her travels through Europe and Asia, and her writing career which questioned the role of women in society. With this treatment, Elizabeth Craven deserves to be put in the spotlight and recognized for her contributions to Feminism.

3. L’Agent Double by Kit Sergeant

Sergeant has written a series of novels about female spies on the war front. This one is an exciting look at three women taking part in espionage during WWII: Mata Hari, Marthe Cnockeart, and Alouette Richer. The three are analyzed in their personalities and means of spying, making them memorable characters that are caught up in times that take tremendous courage and sacrifice.

2. Ashes by Sharon Gloger Friedman

The best historical novel of the year covers various topics like immigration rights, labor activism, women's suffrage, and Anti-Semitism. Miriam, a Russian Jewish immigrant, finds work to help support her impoverished family. Her work at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory is filled with details that describe the hardships of working in such a factory with long hours, inhuman regulations, and foremen that don't keep their hands and lecherous thoughts to themselves. The plot climaxes in the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911 which many organizations cited to make enormous changes in society.

1. The Unseen Blossom by Zlaikha Y. Samad and L'Mere Younossi

The best book from this year is a beautiful allegorical fantasy about Zuli,an Afghan princess and Lamar, a commoner that go on a magical journey to find a fig blossom. The book is filled with enchanting chapters in which Zuli and Lamar travel to lands where flowers sing, birds and fish talk, and magical creatures dispense wisdom that aids the two on their trip.

Above all, The Unseen Blossom is a strong allegory of self-actualization. Zuli and Lamar harness their knowledge, strengths, limitations, and abilities to move beyond their roles as princess and commoner and to bring great change to their world.

Honorable Mention: The Meadows (Legacy of Darkness) by London Clarke, 8 Seconds to Midnight (Commander John Hart) by John Leifer, A Prison in the Sun (Canary Islands Mysteries) by Isobel Blackthorn, Seance on a Summer's Night by Josh Lanyon, Corruption Behind Bars: Stories of Crime and Corruption in America's Prisons by Gary York, Stories We Never Told by Sonia Yeorg, The Lost Power (Van Ops) by Avanti Centrae, Ways to Go Beyond and Why They Work by Rupert Sheldrake, Magic Sleep by Cherie Smith, Saving Grace (Fox River Romance Book 4) by Jess B. Moore

Happy Reading!

Best of the Best Part 2: Weekly Reader and Beyond

Best of the Best 2019 Part 2: Weekly Reader and Beyond

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews




Spoilers: This has been an interesting year for books written between 2000-2018. I experimented with some ideas so the individual books aren't near as many but I had two favorite series that made up for it.




I also am using this page to feature books that I reviewed for other sources. Because of restrictions with the sites, I won't post the reviews. I will only post the titles and links to the reviews that I did for those sites.

10. You Got To Read This Book: 55 People Tell The Story of the Book That Changed Their Life Edited by Jack Canfield and Gay Hendricks-The title says it all. Several writers, actors, speakers, artists, musicians, entrepreneurs, athletes, philanthropists, and business people talk about different books that helped them through various crises and how they offered solutions. This is a beautiful encouraging book that reveals the transformative power of reading and how the right book at the right time could shape your life. What can I say but you got to read this You Got to Read This Book book?

9. Everything's Eventual: 14 Dark Tales by Stephen King-Just as brilliant with his short works as he is long, King's anthology makes for perfect horror reading. The suspense and terror is filled in every situation from haunted houses, to portraits that come to life, to frightening psychic abilities, to hostels full of vampires, to encounters with Death. King is still a master at sending that chill down your spine.

8. Greenspell: A Fantasy Anthology by Kathy Ann Trueman-As she did last year with her Stories of the Vale novel, Trueman reveals that she knows how to turn the epic fantasy genre on its head. These stories feature women who either use magic or encounter magical beings and objects. The stories present a nice variety of characters and situations that don't feel repetitive and make for clever brilliant reading. This anthology is a truly magical read.

7. All Aunt Hagar's Children by Edward P.. Jones- This anthology features stories that transcend genres to tell about the experience of African-American people in Washington DC. Jones sends up and uses various means from historical fiction, to mystery, to magical realism, to science fiction parallel universes to comment on his characters and their struggles with life, love, and acceptance.

6. Julien's Terror by Laura Rhame-This engaging novel about the French Revolution is a unique read. Julien and his wife, Marguerite are on opposite sides of the Revolution and the subsequent Reign of Terror. There are suspicions, accusations, and questions abound. Things take a particularly bizarre turn as the couple become literally haunted by the ghosts of their past.

5. Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly-This is a brilliant novel of three women who are on opposite sides during WWII: Kasia Kuzmerick, one of several Polish women sent to the Ravensbruck prison camp to be experimented on, Dr. Herta Oberheuser, the woman who oversaw the experiments on the women, and Caroline Ferriday, the American actress who helped the women receive treatment. Each character is individualized as they recount their conflicts, struggles, and their relations. It is a fascinating book that tells all sides of the story.

4. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon-The ultimate must read for Comic Book fans. Chabon brings to life two cousins Joseph Kavalier and Sammy Clay as they change the comic works with the creation of The Escapist. The book covers various events and people from the 1930’s-’50’s from Superman, to Salvador Dali, to Citizen Kane, to World War II. He also gives us two memorable leads as they struggle with love and maturity.

3. Circe by Madeleine Miller-A magical novel in which the sorceress from Homer's The Odyssey has the floor. Circe recalls the various myths like Prometheus, Theseus and The Minotaur, Daedalus and Icarus, and of course The Odyssey. Her narrative calls to question the various characters and their actions as well as how she sought her own power and independence from her disapproving family.

2. The Plantagenet and Tudor Court Series by Philippa Gregory-One of two series which I read this year. Gregory covers various events during the history of the English monarchy from the War of the Roses, to the six wives of Henry VIII, to the reigns of Queens Mary Tudor and Elizabeth I. Gregory writes full developed characters, particularly the women making them individuals in their personalities and behaviors. These books cover war, political intrigue, sibling rivalry, generation gaps, infidelity, and religious struggles all with an adept and detailed hand.

Even though I have not finished posting the reviews at the time of this writing, I have read the series in its entirety and the order of the books from least to most favorite are as follows: The Lady of the Rivers, The Other Queen, Three Sisters, Three Queens, The White Princess, The Constant Princess, The Virgin's Lover, The Last Tudor, The Kingmaker's Daughter, The Red Queen, The King's Curse, The Queen's Fool, The Taming of the Queen, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Boleyn Inheritance, The White Queen

The Thursday Next Series by Jasper Fforde-If you are a book lover, you have to experience the Thursday Next Series at least once. This brilliant imaginative original series is every book lover's dream come to life.

Thursday Next is a clever tough intelligent protagonist as she explores various literary crimes in and around her native Swindon. Things take a really epic journey when her adventures take her into the Book World, the world inside books where all our favorite literary characters hang out when they aren't being read. This series is the ultimate tribute and love letter between Author, Book, and Reader.

The order from least to most favorite in this series are as follows: The Woman Who Died A Lot, First Among Sequels, Something Rotten, One of Our Thursdays is Missing, The Eyre Affair, Lost in a Good Book, The Well of Lost Plots




Honorable Mention: The Twilight Zone Companion by Marc Zircee, Maggie Elizabeth Harrington by D.J. Swykert, Cogrill's Mill by Jack Lindsey, Emmie of Indianapolis by Kay Castaneda, Alpha Wolves by D.J., Swykert, Succubus Affair by R.E. Wood, Voodoo Warning by R.E. Wood




Elsewhere

10. The Cult Next Door: A Manhattan Memoir by Elizabeth R. Blanchard

9. Of Myriad Paths/Wind in the Flute by Saal Baraan

8. World Incorporated by Tom Gariffo

7. The Place of Quarantine by Vadim Babenko

6. Exuberance: The Passion for Life by Kay Redfield Jamison

5. Cycles of the Phoenix: The Whole Interlaced Series by C.A. Nicholas

4. The Marvelous Adventures of Gwendolyn Gray by B.A. Williamson

3. Sharp: The Women Who Made an Art of Having an Opinion by Michelle Dean

2. Wise Women: Over Ten Thousand Years of Spiritual Writing by Women Edited by Susan Cahill


The Creative Process: Reflections on Invention in the Arts and Sciences Edited by Brewster Ghiselin