Review - The Determined Heart by Antoinette May

Title: The Determined Heart (The Tale of Mary Shelley and her Frankenstein)

Author: Antoinette May

Publication date: Sept 29, 2015

Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis:

The daughter of political philosopher William Godwin and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley had an unconventional childhood populated with the most talented and eccentric personalities of the time. After losing her mother at an early age, she finds herself in constant conflict with a resentful stepmother and a jealous stepsister. When she meets the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, she falls deeply in love, and they elope with disastrous consequences. Soon she finds herself destitute and embroiled in a torturous love triangle as Percy takes Mary’s stepsister as a lover. Over the next several years, Mary struggles to write while she and Percy face ostracism, constant debt, and the heartbreaking deaths of three children. Ultimately, she achieves great acclaim for Frankenstein, but at what cost?

I received a free ebook copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My thoughts:

Being a fan of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein I couldn’t miss out on this biography. I have read about the Shelleys before; Daisy Hay’s Young Romantics enchanted me when I came across it years ago. I couldn’t help but think of Young Romantics a lot while reading this book, and this continuous, uncalled-for comparison made me like The Determined Heart less in the beginning. As I read on, however, I warmed to this nice novel.

It has a less academic feel to it than the previously mentioned work, even though it is just as widely researched and well put together as Young Romantics. What gives it a fiction-y tinge is that Antoinette May writes about Mary’s – or other characters’ – thoughts as if she knew exactly what was going on in their head. First I had some issues accepting this, but once I got over it I started to enjoy this book immensely. The writing was very enjoyable and I got to know some details from Mary and Bysshe Shelley’s story that were completely new to me.

Mary Shelley’s life was full of bitter tragedies and it is remarkable how she could start again so many times, how she could go on and live with such haunting memories.

In this book Mary’s two dominant sides are thoroughly discovered: Mary the mother and Mary the writer. Of course she was a multi-layered person, but I felt these two ‘layers’ were in focus. Beyond these we get glimpses of Mary the lover, Mary the friend, Mary the daughter etc. She was first and foremost an intellectual person, but of course the events of her personal life shaped her, inspired her and many times tore at her. 

I think Antoinette May managed to draw a vivid picture of this extraordinary woman who, with a novel which she wrote at a very young age, basically created a new genre: science fiction.

 
Goodreads | Amazon

Teaser Tuesday #15

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
The rules:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week's teaser is from The Determined Heart by Antoinette May:

Synopsis:

The daughter of political philosopher William Godwin and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley had an unconventional childhood populated with the most talented and eccentric personalities of the time. After losing her mother at an early age, she finds herself in constant conflict with a resentful stepmother and a jealous stepsister. When she meets the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, she falls deeply in love, and they elope with disastrous consequences. Soon she finds herself destitute and embroiled in a torturous love triangle as Percy takes Mary’s stepsister as a lover. Over the next several years, Mary struggles to write while she and Percy face ostracism, constant debt, and the heartbreaking deaths of three children. Ultimately, she achieves great acclaim for Frankenstein, but at what cost?

My Teaser

The colour was back in Mary's cheeks, the sparkle in her eyes. Indicating the striking young man holding court in the parlor, Fanny whispered excitedly, "What do you think of him?"

What do you think she thought of him? Hahaaa ;)

Please leave a link to your TT post in a comment below. Also, tell me if you've ever read a book about the Shelleys. I love them.

Review - The Heartbeat Thief by A.J. Krafton

Title: The Heartbeat Thief

Author: A.J. Krafton

Publication date: Sept 18, 2015

Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis:

In 1860 Surrey, a young woman has only one occupation: to marry. Senza Fyne is beautiful, intelligent, and lacks neither wealth nor connections. Finding a husband shouldn’t be difficult, not when she has her entire life before her.
But it’s not life that preoccupies her thoughts. It’s death—and that shadowy spectre haunts her every step.

So does Mr. Knell. Heart-thumpingly attractive, obviously eligible—he’d be her perfect match if only he wasn’t so macabre. All his talk about death, all that teasing about knowing how to avoid it…

When her mother arranges a courtship with another man, Senza is desperate for escape from a dull prescripted destiny. Impulsively, she takes Knell up on his offer. He casts a spell that frees her from the cruelty of time and the threat of death—but at a steep price. In order to maintain eternal youth, she must feed on the heartbeats of others.

It’s a little bit Jane Austen, a little bit Edgar Allen Poe, and a whole lot of stealing heartbeats in order to stay young and beautiful forever. From the posh London season to the back alleys of Whitechapel, across the Channel, across the Pond, across the seas of Time…

How far will Senza Fyne go to avoid Death?

I received a free ebook copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

My thoughts:

Deliciously poetic and hauntingly dark – The Heartbeat Thief by A. J. Krafton takes you on a journey through time and an extremely long life to show you the real nature of Death.

There is a period in everyone’s childhood when we are afraid of dying. That fear is so palpable, so real that even the mere possibility prevents you from sleep… because what if you never wake up again? This dread passes eventually as we accept that death is part of life and we move on knowing we can’t stare Death in the face every passing moment.

But there is a girl who can’t let go. Senza Fyne meets Death sitting by her grandmother’s bed at the tender age of 17 and from that day on, she is followed by a dark shadow. When a strange but captivating young man offers to free her from the fate every living thing is bound to meet in the end, she is eager to accept the new life he promises to give her. And so the endless days begin.

I adore Edgar Allan Poe and his short story The Masque of the Red Death, so when I read this book has something to do with it I felt I should give myself a favour and read it.

The atmosphere of this novel was truly amazing. Very heavy, very dense, yes – death takes center stage here after all –, but very effective at the same time. I’m not sure I could have read The Heartbeat Thief in one sitting, even if I had the time, because of its weighty subject, but then again, I don’t think it’s a book one has to read hastily. There is a lot to savour, a lot to contemplate while going through it.

The heroine is more and more likable as the story grows, she definitely becomes wiser and more mature as the plot plays out. However, she makes mistakes all the time, no matter how old she is and by her imperfectness the human nature is emphasized – we all tend to make mistakes and it wouldn’t change even if we lived through centuries. I think this is a beautiful thought.

The side characters are also well written and interesting, each a milestone in Senza’s journey, since each conveys a lesson Senza has to learn. Every meeting and every goodbye has its reason here, you can see the nicely built structure of this book as you read it.

I have to say I didn’t expect the ending, although I should have. It was so obvious, really. But I’m glad I didn’t, because it was more of a surprise and I like surprises.

I love stories that are set in different time periods and this novel was certainly a treat for me. I’d recommend it to lovers of historical fiction and gothic literature.

Goodreads | Amazon

Be sure to check out the links below... there are some awesome sites associated with this book! Including an amazing Book Trailer made by Laurence himself!

 

Space Cadets By Author: Laurence Moroney 

Genre: Y/A Sci-Fi 

Publisher: BookTrope 

Release Date: November 2015

Blurb:

After conflicts in Korea, Pakistan and the Middle East turned nuclear, the world stood on the eve of destruction. Realizing that we only have this one precious planet containing all of humanity, the United Nations pulled us back from the brink, and started a new, multinational effort to conquer space. Many years later, the peak of achievement for any young person is to be admitted to the Space Academy. Previously available only to a precious few, it has recently opened enrollment to anybody who can meet their strenuous entry criteria. Space Cadets is the story of the first African-American girl, Aisha Parks, to enter into the academy, where she learns that the more some things change, the more they stay the same, and despite the honorable intentions of the academy, there are some dark secrets being kept – secrets that could be the end of us all.

Space Cadets Blog: http://join-the-cadets.blogspot.com/ 

Space Cadets Website: http://www.join-the-cadets.com/

Watch the Space Cadets Trailer:

About the Author:

Laurence Moroney

Bio:

Laurence Moroney is the author of more books than he’s prepared to admit. After several best selling programming books, his first Young Adult novel “The Fourth World” became a #1 book on Amazon Kindle, spawned two sequels “The Million Year Journey” and “The Legend of the Locust”, and is currently being shopped around studios for a potential movie. “Space Cadets” is his latest, a cutting edge science fiction novel, based on real science that starts a new series charting out humanity’s course to the stars. He’s presently working on the sequel “The Quiet World”, which he hopes to finish in 2015. For his day job, Laurence works as a Developer Advocate for Google, where he is constantly counting his blessings for being part of the best workplace in the world…

Find him here:

Space Cadets Blog Space Cadets Website Twitter Amazon

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Cover Reveal Organized by:

Cover Reveal – The Pirate Princess by Catherine Banks

About the Book

Title: Pirate Princess

Author: Catherine Banks

Genre: YA/NA Fantasy

As the daughter of the Pirate King, Tilia Swanson has an unusual upbringing learning skills that aren’t often available for women. As the heir apparent for the Kingdom of Crilan, her skills set her apart as she is trained by the best in the land and taught to harness her magic. However, piracy is in her blood, and draws danger to Tilia in the way that treasure draws pirates. Some treasures are more valuable than others. Will this lesson be learned in time or will the betrayal of those around her be her undoing?

Author Bio

Catherine Banks is the author of the Artemis Lupine Series, Little Death Bringer Series, Ciara Steele Novella Series, and the novel Daughter of Lions. She began writing fiction stories when she was only four years old and finished her first full length novel at the age of fifteen.

Catherine is a Northern California native and has lived within a twenty mile radius her entire life. She plans to travel to as many places as possible in her thirties to make up for her lack of traveling experience. She is married to her soulmate and best friend, Avery, who blessed her with two amazing children. After her full time job she reads books, plays video games, and watches a lot of anime shows and movies with her family to relax.

Links

Amazon

B&N

Goodreads

Smashwords

Website

Facebook

Teaser Tuesday #14

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
The rules:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week's teaser is from The Heartbeat Thief by A. J. Krafton:

Synopsis:

In 1860 Surrey, a young woman has only one occupation: to marry. Senza Fyne is beautiful, intelligent, and lacks neither wealth nor connections. Finding a husband shouldn’t be difficult, not when she has her entire life before her.
But it’s not life that preoccupies her thoughts. It’s death—and that shadowy spectre haunts her every step.

So does Mr. Knell. Heart-thumpingly attractive, obviously eligible—he’d be her perfect match if only he wasn’t so macabre. All his talk about death, all that teasing about knowing how to avoid it…

When her mother arranges a courtship with another man, Senza is desperate for escape from a dull prescripted destiny. Impulsively, she takes Knell up on his offer. He casts a spell that frees her from the cruelty of time and the threat of death—but at a steep price. In order to maintain eternal youth, she must feed on the heartbeats of others.

My Teaser

 "Never wait, child. Tomorrow may never come, and what you do today will have to be enough to last." 

 Don't forget to leave a link to your TT post. Happy reading!

Teaser Tuesday #13

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
The rules:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week's teaser is from Burial Rites by Hannah Kent:

Synopsis:

Northern Iceland, 1829. A woman condemned to death for murdering her lover. A family forced to take her in. A priest tasked with absolving her. But all is not as it seems, and time is running out: winter is coming, and with it the execution date. Only she can know the truth. This is Agnes's story.

My Teaser

 'Natan did not believe in sin. He said that it is the flaw in the character that makes a person.' 

Don't forget to leave a link to your TT post in a comment below! :)

My Dream Literary Collection (Invaluable project)

I was contacted by Invaluable.com recently, an online auction site with a huge collection of valuable books. They asked me if I felt like putting together my dream literary collection from antique books they have to offer and I thought why not.

Being a poor student these books are only eye-candies for me, but hey, who knows? Someday I might get rich and be able to bid on half or all of these books. I'll have a private library with several floors and shelves so high I'll need a ladder to reach the highest ones... Yes, it's time to dream!

When I went through the list of books on the site, I found some that I, had I the chance, would buy without a second thought. Let me show them to you:

Lot 745 (available): The Tempest by William Shakespeare (1908)

Look at this beauty! Even though the Tempest is not one of my favourite Shakespeare plays, I studied it at uni and I have several good memories of the courses where it came up. Someday I would like to own a collection of all of Shakespeare's plays and I would be glad to own copies as beautiful as this one.

Lot 450 (available): For whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I'm not a big fan of Mr. Hemingway, but I love Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby to death. These are first edition books. Although The Great Gatsby is not in pristine condition, I would still be more than happy to own it.

Lot 197 (sold): The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Oh, this is a clever cover! Beautiful edition. I have a special relationship with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I wrote an essay a few years ago for a course in which I compared Stevenson's book with Mihály Babits's Gólyakalifa (The Nightmare in English) and I enjoyed the writing process a lot, because I had amaizing materials to work with. I would definitely treasure this edition.

Lot 177 (sold): Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne

I  spent long days reading Winnie-the-Pooh when I was a child. Everyone has favourite childhood books, for me this is one of them. The animals who live in the Hundred Acre Wood became my friends and who wouldn't want to share their house with their friends? Even if they live on paper. I love the colours of these editions, the minimalist cover and the map and drawings on the inside of the front and back cover.

 

Lot 1906 (past lot): Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Of course I would need a copy of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein in my collection! When I saw this cover design I completely fell in love. A bit cartoonish, but I think it reflects the atmosphere of the story just fine. The green and black works together oh so well. If you take a look at the illustrations inside (you can do that on the website), you'll see that they are a bit different from that on the front covers, but still gorgeous. *grabby hands*

 If you had a huge literary collection which books would surely be part of it? Let me know in a comment below! :) Happy reading!

"Waiting on" Wednesday #3

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by breakingthespine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

The following book is one I truly can't wait to put my hands on. Guys, it's a steampunk Frankenstein retelling! With a Clockwork!Monster. Sounds awesome.

This Monstrous Thing by Mackenzi Lee

Date of publication: Sept 22, 2015

Synopsis:

In 1818 Geneva, men built with clockwork parts live hidden away from society, cared for only by illegal mechanics called Shadow Boys. Two years ago, Shadow Boy Alasdair Finch’s life shattered to bits.

His brother, Oliver—dead.

His sweetheart, Mary—gone.

His chance to break free of Geneva—lost.

Heart-broken and desperate, Alasdair does the unthinkable: He brings Oliver back from the dead.

But putting back together a broken life is more difficult than mending bones and adding clockwork pieces. Oliver returns more monster than man, and Alasdair’s horror further damages the already troubled relationship.

Then comes the publication of Frankenstein and the city intensifies its search for Shadow Boys, aiming to discover the real life doctor and his monster. Alasdair finds refuge with his idol, the brilliant Dr. Geisler, who may offer him a way to escape the dangerous present and his guilt-ridden past, but at a horrible price only Oliver can pay…

Teaser Tuesday #12

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
The rules:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week I'm going to tease you with a couple of sentences from Threshold (Whyborne & Griffin #2) by Jordan L. Hawk:

 

Introverted scholar Percival Endicott Whyborne wants nothing more than to live quietly with his lover, ex-Pinkerton detective Griffin Flaherty. Unfortunately, Whyborne's railroad tycoon father has other ideas, namely hiring Griffin to investigate mysterious events at a coal mine.

Whyborne, Griffin, and their friend Christine travel to Threshold Mountain, a place of dark legend even before the mine burrowed into its heart. A contingent of Pinkertons-including Griffin's ex-lover Elliot-already guard the mine. But Griffin knows better than anyone just how unprepared the detectives are to face the otherworldly forces threatening them.

Soon, Whyborne and Griffin are on the trail of mysterious disappearances, deadly accidents, and whispered secrets. Is Elliot an ally, or does he only want to rekindle his relationship with Griffin? And if so, how can Whyborne possibly hope to compete with the stunningly handsome Pinkerton-especially when Griffin is hiding secrets about his past?

For in a town where friends become enemies and horror lurks behind a human mask, Whyborne can't afford to trust anything-including his own heart.

My Teaser

"My family has certain expectations of me". I spoke only the truth – father expected me to fail spectacularly at whatever I turned my hand to – but I saw no need to elaborate.  

I find this series very entertaining so far. The first book reminded me of Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes movie and Antal Szerb's The Pendragon Legend. It was pure fun. I'm enjoying the second book so far, too!

Don't forget to leave a link to your TT post in a comment below! :)