Weekly Reader: Darkness Awaits (Virtus Academy Book 2) by Jamila A. Stone; Confusing Horror Volume With Two Interesting Leads

 Weekly Reader: Darkness Awaits (Virtus Academy Book 2) by Jamila A. Stone; Confusing Horror Volume With Two Interesting Leads

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Jamila A. Stone's Darkness Awaits is the second book in her Virtus Academy series. It has many of the same flaws that a second volume in a series often contains: a confusing plot which is made to continue from the first volume but requires the Reader to remember or have read the first volume to follow, too many characters with their own storylines but not enough interest in following them, and a fast pace that doesn't allow the Reader to grasp fully what is going on.

However the book does give us a great pair of leads in two young powerful witches that have to use not only whatever magic they have to bring several feuding supernatural clans together but their love and trust in each other and their friends to survive the various attacks on them.

The plot such as can be discerned involves various gangs and clans of witches, vampires, and werewolves who battle each other. Similar to the five Mafia families in the Godfather, they have at best a tempestuous resolution in which they don't attack each other on occasion but even the smallest argument could set them off against each other and leave many creatures and humans in their wake. 

The main characters are a motley crew of different supernatural creatures, vampires, werewolves, a professor who is half banshee,

and so on. Even though this is a tight group of friends, ancient family rivalries and love triangles abound to make these characters fly off the handle and attack each other. The majority of the characters are teenagers with raging hormones, but also possess supernatural abilities to go with those raging hormones so even a slight argument could result in a few subsequent days of recuperation.

The main protagonists are Alexandra Aurelius and Nat King, witches who are members of powerful families. Alex has just become the head of her powerful wealthy coven of witches instead of her wayward self centered mother, Brenda. Nat is the daughter of Samantha King, a human mayor who has the unenviable task of keeping not only her human constituency but her supernatural one in line. Nat and Alex have a very close friendship despite their being polar opposites. Nat is the more outgoing open one who has a flirtatious sexual relationship with a vampire, Hamilton. Alex is quieter and more reserved and has an intimate relationship with the possessive Rachel. Nat and Alex are the only decent characters in an otherwise lackluster book.

One of the concerns with the book are the various subplots that are interwoven through the book but are not balanced very well. Sometimes it's hard to tell who is who and what exactly their concern is. Sometimes a character appears like Quentin, a vampire with a tie to one of the older vampires but aside from knowing that he was the vampire that made him, we aren't given more development than that. Nat and Alex's female friends Olivia, Leslie, and Eleanor alternate being friends and vying against other characters and themselves for unexplained reasons. The effect seems like Mean Girls With Fur and Fangs.

It doesn't help that the book is so fast paced and so jumbled with various conflicts that after a while it is hard to follow and hard to care about what happens. There are mentions of organizations like Order of the Light and the Incari that leave no time to tell who they are or why we should care about them in the overall scheme of things. This is one of the books that practically cries out for a "Previously on..." Prologue to keep the Reader up to date.

Some characters go through changes in personality with very little explanation. Brenda, Alex's mother goes from being an irresponsible childish idiot, to a manipulative puppet master, to a loving devoted mother with very little reason for her change in personality. One chapter she is willing to put her daughter through a potentially dangerous and fatal procedure to ensure that the Aurelius family line is intact and the next she is begging the others to save her with no reason for this change in character (except maybe she's manipulating them). 

One of the more irritating character changes involves something that happens to Alex. For spoiler's sake, I won't reveal what it is but it's something that leaves her naturally horrified and violated over what was done. Then she becomes glurgy, maternal, and forgiving with scant mention over how this turn of events came about. It's a betrayal against a character who was left more or less assaulted and even her author won't let her realistically come to terms with it. Instead it seems to be a dangerous wish fulfillment that at least should not have transpired the way that it did.

The one saving grace is in the characters of Nat and Alex. They make effective leaders and are able to balance out their wilder friends. The two young women show their gifts in leadership particularly in the chapter where Alex addresses her shadowy coven members and is declared leader and also where Nat acts as go between among the diverse groups and her mother.

The two also have a very close friendship in which they bounce off each other, have similar goals, and fight side by side. They are like many close friends in fiction. They make a terrific duo that are so compelling that the Reader hopes that they end up together. Then just when the Reader thinks that it won't happen, it does!

Despite the various other subplots that move too fast, Nat and Alex's romance is handled surprisingly well. There are hints even beforehand such as when Rachel accuses Alex of having more than a friendship with Nat. Also, the two have private feelings for each other that borders on erotic. Their romance is a slow burn that by the time they do get together, it's actually a perfect resolution to the tension that we already knew. It's a relief for all of those fictional same sex friends who we paired in the past to find two that actually do get together. 

It gets to the point that if the book had just been about them,,it might have been better. But instead, they are the center of various characters and plots that make no sense.

Perhaps, this book might have been more understandable with Book One but authors should do more to draw Readers in no matter which volume they are reading. Instead, The Virtus Academy is a missed opportunity of confusion and dangled plots with a loving same sex relationship between two interesting characters if you look close enough.

Weekly Reader: Unraveled and Made Whole Again by Deanna Wood Priddy: Short Slim But Intriguing Book About Religion and Faith

 

Weekly Reader: Unraveled and Made Whole Again by Deanna Wood Priddy: Short Slim But Intriguing Book About Religion and Faith

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Deanna Wood Priddy's memoirs Unraveled and Made Whole Again is a very short slim book. However, in its brief length it tells an interesting story about Priddy's religious background and how her faith led her through difficult times.

Priddy spends a lot of time describing her childhood as a preacher's daughter going from revival to revival. Her recall is fascinating as she remembers her father discovering religion after a nightmare and goes from being a drywall worker and painter to a minister.

Some of the highlights in Priddy's book are the various revivals. The Reader can practically hear the religious music, see the excited faces, and feel the sweat of hot days, pre-AC buildings and tents, and large crowds.

While some might disagree with the veracity of Priddy's claims such as seeing people get instantly healed, it's not hard to get swept up in her telling of the stories. When she writes about her father praying for a man to be healed from his cancer, it is an absorbing tale. Even more so, when he is not only declared cancer free but lives to a ripe old age. Regardless of personal belief, it is an interesting story and Priddy's writing grabs the Reader's interest.

Priddy also recalls the various travels that she and her family made. Her book is filled with various anecdotes like when they visited Mexico and received assistance from their interpreter and his wife. Also the times where they traveled by bus from one revival to another, but stopped to fish or listen to Kentucky bluegrass are nice chapters. The travels and various people that they meet such as a boisterous gospel songwriter and a belligerent man with a pipe wrench who wanted to shut down the revival are some of the more interesting passages in the book.

The book is good at showing the difference between religion, the rules and standards that are practiced within a building, sometimes the practice that one is raised in without question, and faith, the personal belief system that one has and chooses that helps get them through difficult troubled times. While Priddy was raised by a religious family and household, her personal beliefs are not discussed at first. Throughout her childhood, she is just moved by her parent's beliefs, never wondering for herself. She saw things that could be described as miraculous but never really considered how it affected her life, until she got married and began a musical career.

She began a career in gospel music sending audition tapes to recording studios and married Craig, a saxophone player. Even though she was rejected by The Grand Ole Opry, she and Craig joined a gospel band until the band leader got too affectionate with her. They settled in Missouri where Priddy worked as a teacher's aide.

Priddy's father's death in 1995 was also a time of problems within Priddy's first marriage. A time of infertility before she gave birth to two daughters, frequent moves and job changes, and differing ideologies particularly when one of the churches that they joined began to transmogrify into a cult took their toll on Priddy's marriage. It got to the point where she became angry at everything and everyone, even at God for putting her in this situation.

Priddy's spiritual anger is a perfectly natural reaction and is handled well. This is the voice of someone who spent her whole life following God, never questioning what she had been taught and wondering what it cost. What was in that faith for her if all it got her was an unhappy marriage and lots of unanswered questions.

Priddy's answers became known in personal signs like hearing a man sing "I'll Fly Away" and then she and her daughter seeing a feather. These spiritual signs allowed her to gain a more personal relationship with her God and not just parrot the way she was raised.

Her renewed faith strengthened as her first husband became verbally abusive and forced her to divorce him. She thanks her girls and her God for the strength to get through the divorce, unemployment, poverty, and a prolonged custody battle. She managed to get through those difficulties and her daughters remained with her, developing talents in art and music. She also began a relationship with Kirk Priddy, a former boyfriend and drummer with his family gospel band. This relationship evolved into a romance and happy second marriage as they formed the band, Unbroken. 

Besides her renewed faith, what also helped Priddy was seeking counseling. This was in contrast to her upbringing which insisted that God could fix anything so psychiatry and counseling were unnecessary. Priddy broke from that upbringing when she realized that "God has counselors too." She found one that encouraged her and helped her relieve much of the anxiety and depression that filled her throughout her life.

 Deanna Wood Priddy's book Unraveled and Made Whole Again is brief but tells a marvelous story about how one can find their own faith and strength to move on in even the toughest situations.

Weekly Reader: Eternally Artemisia by Melissa Muldoon; Beautiful Historical Fantasy About The Timeless Links Between Art, Romantic Love, and Female Friendship

  Weekly Reader: Eternally Artemisia by Melissa Muldoon; Beautiful Historical Fantasy About The Timeless Links Between Art, Romantic Love, and Female Friendship

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: I have it. I figured out the solution.

Last year's literary themes were biker gangs, motorcycle clubs, and travels by motorcycle, multicultural teen superheroes, post apocalyptic dystopian science fiction and fact, and trips through Heaven and Hell with plenty of religious allegory. It makes sense, except for the travel by motorcycle bit, every one of these subjects in one way or another wanted to face the real life traumatic situations head on. 2020 was a dark year and we were looking for solutions even in fiction. 

This year the themes seem to want to get away from the darkness as much as possible. With Regency Romance and Epic Fantasy (not yet but five yes five Epic Fantasy reviews are on their way) there is an overwhelming urge to escape the darkness that surrounds us. This is also evident in one of the biggest themes that I have encountered this year: science fiction and fantasy featuring time travel and reincarnation starring friends and lovers who encounter each other who meet from different times or travel across oceans of time to find one another once more. 

These types of books offer the strongest escapism. After all, what better way to escape than to a seemingly simpler time or even better various times? (Never mind that those periods had similar problems or worse, as well but whatever, we are reading here!)

I have read Canvas of Time by Amelie Pimont, Rosemary for Remembrance by Nikki Broadwell, and Trapped in Time by Denise Daye all with similar themes. Now we can add Melissa Muldoon's Eternally Artemisia to that list. This book is one part fantasy about a woman discovering that she has shared a long link with Renaissance painter Artemisia Gentileschi, but also one part historical fiction about Gentileschi's life and the legacy that her art has inspired through the years.

For those that don't know, Artemisia Gentileschi was a portrait painter in Renaissance Italy. She was an exception to the rule of many talented but unsung women of her day in that she was taught to paint by her father, Orazio. She was also tutored by Agostinio Tassi. One day, Tassi raped her. Gentileschi was put through a very public and humiliating trial in which her body was observed. Tassi was found guilty and exiled but the damage was done as Gentileschi was seen as a fallen woman and damaged goods. She was also estranged from her father who cared more that Tassi had stolen a painting than the violence inflicted upon his daughter.

 She was then practically sold into marriage to Pierantonio Stiattesi, a fresco painter, for money. The two made their way to Florence where Gentileschi became the only female to be accepted to the Arts Academy in Florence. Even though she gave birth to a daughter, Palmira and two other children, her marriage to Pierantonio ended in a separation because of his jealousy of her talent and his infidelity.

Gentileschi was a student of Caravaggio in that her paintings often revealed shadows, dark colors, and violent scenes. Her two most well known portraits are based on stories of the Bible and many believe reflected her rage about the rape and the trial. The first, Susannah and the Elders, shows a young woman walking and being the subject of gossip by older men. 

Her most famous painting is Judith Beheading Holofernes. This painting depicts Judith and her handmaid, Abra, holding the king down right as the Biblical heroine goes in for the kill. The blood around Holofernes' horrified visage and the looks of determination on the two women's faces speaks volumes.

For a straight historical fiction on Gentileschi's amazing life look no further than The Passion of Artemisia by Susan Vreeland which tells of her life from beginning, middle, and end. (It can be found as #7 in this Historical Fiction Novel list.) For a tale that is more wide reaching that is more than about Gentileschi herself, but is also about her legacy and how those who are drawn to her story are drawn to each other, then Muldoon's is the book for you. 

I am saying this because while Gentileschi is frequently discussed, her actual life experiences only cover a third of Eternally Artemisia. Instead it is her art and spirit that are shown through various lifetimes from the Bible, to the Renaissance, to the 1930's, to modern day, to the distant future.

The book begins with an introduction from Biblical days when Judith and Abra are standing over the drunk and sleeping Holofernes. They both are ready to commit violence in vengeance over the death of Judith's husband and many Israelites. The bond between Judith and Abra is clearly felt beyond mistress and servant as the two are forever united in this bloody moment which will be immortalized in art.

The moment between Judith and Abra is emphasized and recalled in the present with the experiences of Maddelena AKA Maddie, an art therapist. Maddie travels to Italy to get in touch with her roots and get some artistic inspiration. She flourishes in the Tuscan landscape by creating a circle of creative women that inspire and encourage one another and becomes romantically involved with Matteo, one of a very old established Italian family. Maddie falls in love not only with Matteo but the whole Florentine landscape like she knew him or had been there before. 

She also has a fascinating "woman-crush" on Gentileschi and begins to see Gentileschi's life through her eyes. She also gets visited by Gentileschi's spirit who advises her to take a real close look at the portrait of Judith Beheading Holofernes, and tell her what she sees. Maddie sees that Judith has Gentileschi's face and that Abra has her own. Yes, Gentileschi replies, she and Maddie have been friends practically sisters for centuries. Not only that but Maddie has shared multiple lives with Matteo. The rest of the book focuses on those other lives.

Like I said, since the book travels through time, Gentileschi's actual personal life is given a surprising short shrift. Only her time in Florence, her unhappy marriage, and the patronage of the Medicis towards her art are discussed. She also makes some equally talented friends in Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger and Galileo Galilei. 

It is through these talented friends that Gentileschi encounters this version of Maddie and Matteo. In the Renaissance, Matteo is an astronomer fascinated by the studies of Galileo and Copernicus.

Maddie is a courtesan who is looking to soak up the local arts and cultural scenes. She even models for various paintings including (of course) Judith Beheading Holofernes.

The chapters are some of the best parts in the book because of the intricate plot and characters that are woven throughout. For those hoping that Tassi should get some retribution, it comes swift and clever. Gentileschi and Maddie give Gentileschi's rapist vengeance that hits him right where he deserves...right in the reputation.

Muldoon also gives much attention to how Maddie, Matteo, and Gentileschi flourish in their Renaissance environment. These are three people who are excited for the opportunities that the Renaissance provides for artists and scientists, particularly under the protectorate of Cosimo de Medici. Medici encourages great ideas even if, like Galileo's, they counter the church. They are allowed to flourish,  educate, and encourage others.  Unfortunately, that protection only lasts as long as Cosimo does. After he dies, the Archduchess and her priests go on a cleansing to get rid of ideas that they find offensive so the artists, scientists, and thinkers scatter. The Power Trio of Gentileschi, Matteo, and Maddie are separated only to reunite next time.

The second best section is in the 1930's which intersects the fictional incarnations of Maddie and Gentileschi with a real life pair. According to Muldoon's notes at the end, the 20th century version of Maddie is based on Elsa Schiaparelli, a fashion designer who was known for her eccentric styles such as elaborate embellishments on clothing and unusual accessories like shoe shaped hats. She was also known for her antifascist stance which she openly spoke against Hitler and Mussolini (in contrast to her frequent rival, Coco Chanel who cozied up to the Nazis. Their rivalry is played out in the juicy historical fiction, The Last Collection by Jeanne Mackin.).

 Gentileschi's counterpart, called Luciana, is based on Anna Banti who was the first to gather information on Gentileschi and write about her. Through Banti, we now know  Gentileschi's name. Without her preservation of her art and research into her life, Gentileschi might have been one of those women hidden by history that Virginia Woolf spoke about. It is wonderful that Muldoon paid tribute not only to the artist, but the woman who gave her a second posthumous life. Like all researchers, Luciana protects her research with her life. When Mussolini comes in, she makes sure when she leaves that her research either comes with or is expertly hidden.

As the Schiaparelli stand-in, Maddie also shines as does her husband, the latest Matteo. One of the more interesting moments when she is told that someone is interested in her pantsuit and is looking to revitalize her look for her Hollywood image. Into her shop strolls Katharine Hepburn. This moment links the arts of painting, fashion, and cinema in one continuous cycle. Maddie is naturally incensed when the strict fascist rule deprives women of many of their rights including running their own business. The more Maddie and Matteo remain in Italy the more dangerous their life becomes, particularly when they are at a party that is also attended by Mussolini and Maddie literally finds herself dancing with the devil. 

There is a brief epilogue where Maddie, called Lena, is in the future and arrives at a space station named Artemisia (of course) and meets another astronaut named Matt (also of course.) Like many books that explore reincarnation, bodies may die but souls remain and the things that capture our souls: art, history, literature, science, memories, families, friendships, and all of those things are what are preserved and continue.

New Book Alert: The Secret Life of Sofonisba Anguissola by Melissa Muldoon; Wonderful Romantic Historical Fiction About A Brilliant Artist and Woman

 

New Book Alert: The Secret Life of Sofonisba Anguissola by Melissa Muldoon; Wonderful Romantic Historical Fiction About A Brilliant Artist and Woman

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: The more I work on this blog, the more I begin to agree with Virginia Woolf "I would venture to guess that Anon...was often a woman" not to mention Laurel Thatcher Ulrich that "well-behaved women seldom make history." 

Both of these legendary quotes about the absence of women in conventional historical, literary, and artistic accounts reveal why it was so difficult for women to be spoken of in the same breath as their male peers. Even now it is a wonderful experience to learn about and meet many of these women for the first time like the Yekineyen Parastina Jin, Elizabeth Craven, Sophie de Tott, Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson, Caroline Ferriday and the Ravensbruck Rabbits, Alouette Richard and Marthe Cnockeart, Elsa Schiaparelli , Danielle Casanova, Mai Politzer, and the other women of the French Resistance, Harriet Jacobs, Victoria Woodhull and Tennessee Claflin, Dorothy Vaughn. Mary Jackson, and Katherine Johnson, Ruth Handler, and Henry VIII's so-called lesser known wives, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Kateryn Parr

 That's one of the things that I love about this job: reading historical fiction and nonfiction and discovering a new and zoutstanding name to be added to others. But sometimes, it's sad that many of these names are being read for the first time. I sometimes wonder how it is that many people don't already know of these courageous talented women? Why are they not automatically mentioned in the same breath as their male counterparts? Why did it take me 40+ years to learn Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson's name when I already knew Paul Revere's since I was 7?  In the decades since gender studies have been brought to light in academia, are women still lagging behind or are we finally catching up? Or to rephrase a meme, why is traditional white men's history and literature still a requirement and women's (and for that matter Black and Indigenous and Asian etc.) history and literature still an elective?

Modern publishing is taking great strides to correct that. Best Seller lists, libraries, and bookstores are flooded with titles of both fiction and nonfiction books about real life women from different time periods that are finally getting their stories told. We can't change that we haven't heard about them before, but we can change hearing about them from now on. Authors and historians will do their best to tell their story, while reviewers like me will do our best to share those stories even further.

Melissa Muldoon is one of those authors who is doing her bit to promote historic women in the arts. She has written a four part series about Italian Renaissance artists, patrons, and promoters, all of them female. These books are a memorable legacy about how art is seen and shared. Also that sometimes the female artist's soul can be revealed more in her work than in her personal life, when societal constraints sometimes forbade her from being open about her private life.

One of Muldoon's books is The Secret Life of Sofonisba Anguissola, a conventional historical fiction novel which tells about portrait painter Sofonisba Anguissola. In this brilliant detailed novel, an elderly Anguissola tells fellow artist, Anthony Van Dyck, the story of her life with one challenge: one of the details in her story is a lie. She dares Van Dyck (and the Reader) to guess which one. With this introduction, Muldoon weaves fact and fiction to tell a wonderful story about a spirited independent woman who embraced her talent before love and ended up getting both.

Anguissola begins by telling the origin of her name and proud family history. Her surname Anguissola came from an ancestor who was a soldier and warrior nicknamed Anguissola (the serpent) for his cunning nature. Her first name, Sofonisba came from a Carthaginian princess who was caught in a deadly love triangle. She also reveals her nickname, Sorella Leone (Sister Lion) as the oldest and most fiery of her and her four siblings. The name origins foreshadow Anguissola's future as an intelligent spirited woman caught up in the passions and combats of the day.

We also see how Anguissola's family influenced her path. Her parents were unconventional, believing that their daughters should be educated along with their son.

Not only does Sofonisba show a talent in art but her other sisters are adept in other fields: Minerva is a talented poet and writer, Elena is a gifted musician and composer, and Europa has a more mathematical mind. The passages where the sisters play act stories from history and mythology as well as their diverse skills are similar to the March Sisters in Little Women who use their talents for entertainment and future prospects (and coming from a similarly talented family who show our diverse skills in music, art, computer science, writing, veterinary medicine, drama, education, and finance, I find these chapters completely relatable).

Because of this upbringing, the Anguissola Sisters are more real and more defined than their younger brother, Asdrubale. He grows  into a spoiled brat who contributes nothing, except withholding funds and permission to wed, all with the lame declaration that he is the head of the family, though does nothing to earn that title.

Anguissola's education is dwelt upon as she studies under great artists like Bernardino Campi and Michelangelo Buonarroti learning how to perfect her portraits of the human body and add form, shadow, and texture to her work. One of the key moments that foreshadows Anguissola's genius is a painting that she makes as a gift for Campi. It is a pentimento, in which an artist's original underdrawing bleeds into the finished project in essence, a hidden message or detail within the original painting.  The portrait is a self portrait with an image of Campi painting her. Even more impressive is the detail in which Anguissola's hand is on top of Campi's so it is uncertain who is painting whom.

Anguissola also reveals a strong independent character when she resolves that she will devote herself to her art. Many women chose to marry, but her first love is her art and she has no intention of marrying until she is good and ready. In fact true to her resolve, she doesn't marry for the first time until she is in her mid-30's and in a situation where marriage is her only option.

By far the most intriguing chapters are the ones set in Spain where Anguissola is hired as a portrait painter/art teacher/spy for Elizabeth of Valois, wife of King Phillip of Spain and the eldest daughter of Henry II and Catherine de' Medici. As I mentioned before, I love how historical fiction (and nonfiction for that matter) authors will take a historic character and give them a different outlook, so you are experiencing different aspects of the same figure. 

I recently was acquainted with King Phillip through Philippa Gregory's The Queen's Fool and The Virgin's Lover, both of which focus on Phillip's unhappy marriage to Queen Mary Tudor and failed courtship and rivalry with Queen Elizabeth. In both books, he is seen as a feckless callous self-centered oaf who openly flirts with pretty younger women while married to Mary and verbally abuses her when she is unable to bear children. He proves to be no match for Elizabeth's cunning and sly nature. 

However, Muldoon's version of Phillip is an older and wiser man, happily married to Elizabeth and in mourning for his former wife, the Infanta Maria Manuela who died giving birth to his son, Don Carlos. He is older and sees the ramifications of his past, becoming a more mature thoughtful man. He is also constantly exasperated and frustrated by the behaviors of his son, Don Carlos, relying more on his associate Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, the Duke of Alba. Phillip considers Alba a better person to become his heir rather than the ruthless sadistic Don Carlos.

Elizabeth of Valois is seen as a sweet loving person who is so concerned for Anguissola's welfare when she recruits her as a spy that she tells her that all she has to do is listen as she paints and reports gossip. She is not to concern herself with notes, codes, or anything dangerous. Anguissola is just supposed to share any gossip or rumors that she hears. 

Also, as a Medici descendant, Elizabeth has a keen eye and appreciation for the arts which she reveals in her sisterly bond with the portrait painter. She is the type of sweet fragile good character that, even without the benefit of studying history, you just know something bad will happen to them even when you hope it doesn't.

While Phillip and Elizabeth and her family are diverse in their frequent portrayals in various media, I have yet to hear of an account of Don Carlos in which he is not written as a complete psychopath. While he may garner some sympathies because of his physical abnormalities such as scoliosis, it is his cruel and despotic nature that is often at play. In this Novel, he tortures young women whom he takes to bed for fun, openly lusts after his young stepmother, and violently attacks anyone who dares to disagree with him. Don Carlos is so sadistic and deplorable that many hope for his comeuppance before he finally receives it.

This is a tempestuous household that Anguissola finds herself in and finds protection not only from Elizabeth but from Alba. Unfortunately, Alba has a less altruistic side. He lusts after Anguissola and doesn't buy her devotion to art. His behavior becomes unstable and even borderline stalkerish when she becomes romantically involved with sea captain, Orazio Lemollino arranging his dismissal and fumes with obsessive jealousy when she finds herself pregnant and is forced to marry Fabrizio Pignatelli to save face.

Far from being a dry account of chronological events of Anguissola's life, Anguissola (and Muldoon of course) sprinkle the narrative with literary touches that make one doubt the veracity of her tale but enjoy it all the same. Remember the whole theme is finding the lie in Anguissola's story so of course she is going to embellish, fabricate, and play with her narrative. Of course with Anguissola as a narrator, she is going to give Muldoon permission to take liberties with her history.

Some of the events play into various genres. Anguissola's first meeting with Orazio is pure romance as they meet for the first time when they are young. They have a splendid time for one night walking the streets of Etruria and encouraging one another in their pursuits of art and seamanship. They don't get each other's names at first but Sofonisba can't get him out of her mind. Lo and behold, they reunite years later in Spain and begin a very passionate affair as two people that are similar in intelligence, drive, and passion. (Because of course, people always reunite in one country after encountering each other for one night, years ago in a completely different country.)

There is a whiff of murder mystery as a few months after Anguissola's marriage to the much older Pignatelli, he dies under mysterious circumstances. Pignatelli's spoiled temperamental daughter, Cinzia, suspects Anguissola while Anguissola herself is surrounded by sinister characters including Cinzia and both of her former paramours, Alba and Orazio, who arrive just in time for Pignatelli to conveniently be murdered.

Anguissola knows how to play her audience. She tells her story so well that Van Dyck (and the Reader) don't care about finding the lie. We just enjoy the fascinating time spent with this brilliant, vibrant, and talented woman that Muldoon captured through her excellent writing.

New Book Alert: Central City by Indy Perro; The Thin Line Between Cop and Criminal Gets Thinner

 

New Book Alert: Central City by Indy Perro; The Thin Line Between Cop and Criminal Gets Thinner

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: There are many authors in the hard boiled mystery genre that explore the thin line between cop and criminal. Sometimes their methods aren't that different. Sometimes they are psychologically damaged and may have more in common than others are aware. Sometimes the police officer displays behavior that could be considered violent or illegal while the criminal is a beloved member of the community and devoted family head.

One author who explores that line is Indy Perro with his novel, Central City. This mystery suspense thriller tells of police officers and a representative from the other side of the law conducting their own separate investigations on the same murders only to learn that their links are much tighter than either would believe or want to admit.

After a tense opening set in 1977 in which two young boys are caught in an abusive situation with their father, we turn to 1992 where a man has been brutally murdered. Detectives Vinnie Bayonne and Adam McKenna are on the case. After they investigate similar murders before and since this one, they learn that the men all had something in common: they were prostitute's johns (clients). So someone is out killing men who solicited prostitute's company but who and why? Is it a jealous ex? A prostitute making the johns pay? Someone with a venereal disease making the whole world pay? A religious person removing sin from the world? 

While Bayonne and McKenna conduct their investigation, someone else is trying to figure it out, someone with less legal means at his disposal. Kane Kulpa, an ex-con and informant to the police is also looking for the murderer. Of course, he gets to bypass all of those pesky laws and requirements that police officers aren't supposed to follow like resorting to violence, intimidation, and psychological mind tricks. Of course that cops do them anyway further cements the close links between characters on the opposite sides of the law showing that they aren't that different except one carries a badge and the other doesn't.

Of the characters in this book the best one is Kane himself. He acts as a go between the law and the lawless not really a part of either one. He has a mutual respect with Bayonne and often offers information for the price of a drink. He is also caught in an approaching war between different gangs as a Vietnamese gang threatens him to leave his old gang behind and work with them or else. 

Just like Bayonne and McKenna, Kane wants to keep the streets safe. He is especially protective of the prostitutes including having one, with the delightful name of Molly Matches, live with and work for him as a housekeeper. His history as a once abused child and former convict gives him empathy for impoverished citizens forced to turn to crime when they have no other means of employment. Kane comes across as a better character than Bayonne and McKenna.

Bayonne and McKenn aren't bad characters per se. They are just not as developed as Kane. Perhaps that's the point, to subvert our understanding and loyalty between cop and crook. Bayonne is the seasoned veteran without much of a character and backstory. He is clearly concerned for people like Kane and the prostitutes, taking a fatherly concern for their welfare. He is the kind of cop that many wish would exist in real life: the type that looks beyond the poor and criminal exterior and sees the suffering hurting person inside.

McKenna is the typical rookie who tries to set himself above the people that he and Bayonne encounter. However, there is a surprise twist that links Kane, Bayonne, and Mckenna and puts them closer together. Even though the surprise is somewhat easy to guess, it's not cheesy and the results bring out the best in all three characters.

Central City is a brilliant detective noir story with modern sensibilities that reveal sometimes law givers and law breakers are often on the same side.

New Book Alert: Kill Three Birds A Kingdom of Aves Mystery by Nicole Givens Kurtz; Murder Mystery That's For The Birds

 New Book Alert: Kill Three Birds A Kingdom of Aves Mystery by Nicole Givens Kurtz; Murder Mystery That's For The Birds

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Just when I thought that I read every type of murder mystery that has been written, along comes someone like Nicole Givens Kurtz who flies high with a very imaginative and mysterious tale that is definitely for the birds. That's because Kurtz's novel Kill Three Birds, the first of her Kingdom of Aves series is about a colony of anthropomorphic birds or shape shifting humans with birdlike abilities. (It's made ambiguous whether the characters are birds or humans. The cover says one thing but the book implies something else). Either way this book is one that is filled to the beak with a great imagination and world building that surrounds an engaging plot.

Hawk Prentice Tasifa is called to investigate a young woman's murder. Gretchen Finch, a member of one of the oldest and most revered families in the Gould community was found beaten to death. Even though Gretchen came from a seemingly religious family that worshipped the Goddess, she had a wild mischievous side and was said to have taken a crow for a lover. (Not approved of by her family.) As with all murder mysteries Hawk Prentice has to use her talents (which in the case includes sharp eye sight, high flying ability, hunting talents, a devotion to a Goddess figure, and talons that you do not want to be caught by) to ask questions, get stalked by suspects, and get out into and out of dangerous situations before she finds the perpetrator who committed this fowl crime.

One thing to make clear: Despite this featuring talking animal characters, this is not a book for the kids. There are violent graphic moments and sexual situations are discussed. There is a lot of talk about cults, subjugation of women, double standards, and some borderline incestuous moments within some members of Gretchen's family. 

Unlike say The Voyages of Gethsarade by M.G. Claybrook which masquerades as a children's book but is deeper and really written for adults, Kill Three Birds is definitely for adults. It is no more a book for kids than Animal Farm or Maus (two books  in which Kill Three Birds shares a great deal in common, including using animal characters as an allegory for humanity's more violent and domineering tendencies).This is a murder mystery set in a fantasy world in which characters have bird like qualities but are extremely violent, backstabbing, tyrannical, and cruel. Ages 13 and up would be the best Readers for this type of book.

That being said, Kurtz's world building is beyond impressive. It is fascinating how many details that she captures with her avian characters to make them believable as both birds and fleshed out characters. She clearly studied how birds interact, their mannerisms, family dynamics, mating rituals, and abilities to make a complete picture.

Kurtz however is not necessarily bound to nature's rules when portraying her characters. Some of their behavior is by choice and not necessarily animal instinct. This is shown with how she flip flops the notion of birds that are considered predators and those that are considered prey. 

While some fit known stereotypes such as Balthazar Dove, a literal dove of peace who is a priest, others do not. The most heroic charracter is Hawk Prentice, a bird that is known to attack and feast upon smaller animals. No mention is made of her natural predatory characteristics and most seem to trust that she will get the job done. In fact her relentless hunting skills and sharp eyesight, a talent that many hawks possess, are particularly helpful in her career as a,l law enforcement officer.

By that same token, many of the more suspicious characters are smaller birds, ones that are usually thought of as domesticated innocent creatures. Some behave in a very sinister clannish nature and are suspicious of outsiders. Others are hiding secrets that hinder the investigation (that is until they either turn stool pigeons or sing like canaries). Like all good murder mysteries, Kurtz distorts what we believe about innocence and guilt and subverts our expectations in surprising ways.

Kill Three Birds is a brilliant cross genre of murder mystery and fantasy. It is certainly a feather in Nicole Givens Kurtz's cap of imaginative excellent writing.

New Book Alert: Shadows in the Light by Sophie Shepherd; Fascinating YA Dystopia About A World of Dance

 

New Book Alert: Shadows in the Light by Sophie Shepherd; Fascinating YA Dystopia About A World of Dance

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Many people value the Arts over any other activity. They offer free expression, free speech, are mostly non combative, and it is assumed that the people who practice them are tolerant and believe in equality, and would therefore make effective leaders. Well, Sophie Shepherd's YA novel, Shadows in the Light shows that's not always the case. In a world built entirely on the Arts, the wrong people could use those arts to become just as much a dictator as any other, especially in their means to control that art.

In the country the Realm of the Light, everything belongs to the Dance. There are more dance studios than we have Walgreens, Wal Marts, and Dollar Generals. Everybody is trained from when they are young to study dancing. Those who make it to be Dancers are considered the elite. Every year a competition is held to determine the best dancer. That dancer is then selected to be a Grace and lead their own colony. All other positions and interests such as education, medicine, computers, and production design are only meant to encourage the art of dancing and no other reason. Anyone who can't fit their talent into dancing in some way is labelled an Alternative and is exiled or made to disappear. The country is ruled by Mrs. Wren who would be what would happen if Martha Graham ruled the world. She insists that her people follow light and beauty and not the combat and competition of the old days. Anyone who disagrees has a funny way of either suddenly conforming or disappearing.

In true YA dystopian fashion, it takes a young teen to wake up and suddenly see the cracks in this so-called perfect society. In this variation, that character is Rowan Cole. She begins to recognize the cracks when she overhears one Dancer told by his lover that he doesn't want to lose him in a way that doesn't mean a break up. She also questions it when she, her father, and her brother, Leon try to communicate with her mother who is a Grace, but her chirpy assistant keeps insisting that she is unavailable.

Finally, Rowan has a personal reason to go against the Realm's Dancer Only policy. She studies martial arts and boxing in private, two abilities that are outlawed by Mrs. Wren. Her friend, Mica, hacks into computers to study the world before the change to focusing solely on dance. It isn't long before these young ladies are being followed by sinister characters and people who are part of a rebellion against the despotic Mrs. Wren. Rowan quickly learns that Mrs. Wren is less Martha Graham and more Eva Braun and needs to be stopped.

Shadows in the Light is an interesting concept in dystopian fiction by placing the arts as the preferred pursuit by the dictatorship instead of military or combat sports like in other such works. Those choices show that anything, even those that seem the most innocuous and creative can be used in the worst ways by people with the worst motives. Mrs. Wren is the type of character who uses the dance solely for her own benefit so people look to her as a Goddess figure and no one else. She is a diva, primadonna with power and had the means to make sure any potential threat to her order is exterminated. There are times where she comes across as a scenery chewing villain, probably intentional because of her diva superstar fixation. (If Shadow in the Light ever becomes a movie, the actress playing Mrs. Wren would have a blast playing such a character who appears all sweetness and light and then acts so broad that she would put most Disney villains to shame.)

It is also no coincidence that the protagonist studies martial arts and boxing: fighting competitive sports. These chosen talents show that a little competition and aggression can be a good thing. Hiding those drives can be just as destructive as relying solely on and giving into them.

It also explores how important it is to explore and nurture different talents to make a better and complete society. 

Shadows in the Light is a fascinating foray into the YA dystopian genre. While that genre is extremely oversaturated, sometimes an author can give a new fresh look and perspective. Sophie Shepherd does just that.