It has been awhile since I participated in Mailbox Monday. It is hosted by Marcia at the Printed Page. Okay...last time I participated it was. But now it is on Tour. Not sure what that means? Me, neither but I am catching up and it appears that the August Tour is at
Chick Loves Lit.
I haven't been accepting books, but I wanted to get my butt reading so I have accepted a few over the last 4 weeks, and some came by surprise.
First off:
The Queen's Pawn from
Christy English. I intend to read it soon with pleasure!! It sounds great! Thank you Christy.
A bit about the Book: (From Amazon)
A historical novel of the legendary Eleanor of Aquitaine and the one person she loved more than power-her rival for the throne.
At only nine, Princess Alais of France is sent to live in England until she is of age to wed Prince Richard, son of King Henry II and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. Alais is an innocent pawn on the chessboard of dynastic marriage, her betrothal intended to broker an uneasy truce between the nations.
Estranged from her husband, Eleanor sees a kindred spirit in this determined young girl. She embraces Alais as a daughter, teaching the princess what it takes to be a woman of power in a world of men. But as Alais grows to maturity and develops ambitions of her own, Eleanor begins to see her as a threat-and their love for each other becomes overshadowed by their bitter rivalry, dark betrayals, conflicting passions, and a battle for revenge over the throne of England itself.
From Algonquin: A Curable Romantic by Joseph Skibell (Thank you algonquin)
As far as romance goes, Dr. Jakob Sammelsohn is fairly incurable. Twice married, once divorced, once widowed—all by the tender age of twelve— he finally flees his small village and his pious, vengeful father. A lovelorn candide, young Dr. Sammelsohn wanders optimistically through history—pursued by the amorous ghost of his dead wife.
Arriving in Vienna in 1890, a chance encounter with Sigmund Freud leads our hero into the arms of Emma Eckstein, one of Freud’s most famous patients. Later he romances the beautiful and wealthy Loë Bernfeld, who carries him into the world of Esperanto and the universal language movement. Finally, Dr. Sammelsohn finds himself in the Warsaw ghetto in 1940, only to become a pawn in a battle over the path to heaven.
A Curable Romantic is a novel of personal and historical exile that could spring only from the literary imagination of a virtuoso. Often fantastical yet always grounded in tradition and history, it is that rare literary feat —a truly incomparable tale, ingenuously told, peopled with characters who live on in the memory.
Thirdly:
Deep Nights, by Steven Sloan
A bit about the book:
Summary
A policeman, haunted by memories of past failures and faced with opposition from loved ones, finds himself under pressure to protect the citizens of his community. In Duncan Switch, most deep night shifts are usually quiet, but tonight’s converging events threaten to smother his efforts and test his ability. Protecting a fellow officer, a hostage situation and working the night shift short-handed tests the officers of Duncan Switch, Texas. One of them finds the biggest challenge of the night, still ahead. Thank You Kim from AtlasBooks.
And lastly.
Salvation City, by Sigrid Nunez from Lydia with Riverhead Books.
After losing both parents to a flu pandemic that seriously threatens his own life as well, thirteen-year-old Cole Vining is sent to live with an evangelical pastor and his wife in Salvation City, a small town in southern Indiana. There, Cole feels sheltered and loved but never as if he truly belongs. Everything about his new home is vastly different from the secular world in which he was raised. As he tries to adjust, he struggles also with memories of the past, a struggle made more difficult by the fact that he had lost his parents at a time when family relations were at their most fraught and unhappy. How is he to remember them now? Are they still his parents if they are no longer there? Must he accept what those around him believe, that because his parents did not know Jesus they are condemned to hell? During this time, Cole finds solace in drawing comics, for which he has a remarkable gift, and in fantasies about being a superhero.
Salvation City is a story of love, betrayal, and forgiveness. It is about spiritual and moral growth, and the consolation of art. It is about belief—belief in God and belief in self. As others around him grow increasingly fixed on the hope of salvation and a new life to come through an imminent rapture, Cole imagines a different future, one in which his own dreams of happiness and heroism begin to seem within reach.
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