Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth Book Tour

Title: Bitter Greens

Author: Kate Forsyth

Series: Stand Alone

Pages: 496

Published: September 23rd 2014 by Thomas Dunne Books

ISBN: 9781250047533

Source: Arranged Tour

 Description: French novelist Charlotte-Rose de la Force has been banished from the court of Versailles by the Sun King, Louis XIV, after a series of scandalous love affairs. At the convent, she is comforted by an old nun, Sœur Seraphina, who tells her the tale of a young girl who, a hundred years earlier, is sold by her parents for a handful of bitter greens... After Margherita’s father steals parsley from the walled garden of the courtesan Selena Leonelli, he is threatened with having both hands cut off, unless he and his wife relinquish their precious little girl. Selena is the famous red-haired muse of the artist Tiziano, first painted by him in 1512 and still inspiring him at the time of his death. She is at the center of Renaissance life in Venice, a world of beauty and danger, seduction and betrayal, love and superstition.  Locked away in a tower, Margherita sings in the hope that someone will hear her. One day, a young man does. 

I Give This ...

  I wanted to love this.  It had all the cards, but for some reason I could just not connect with it.  I have no idea why.

Maybe it's the time period.  It's always amazing to me how books about certain characters come in groups. I had never heard of Athénaïs de Montespan, and yet this is the second book I've read this year that contains her as an important figure.   While I  find the story of the Sun King and his court to be interesting, the people themselves are a little hard to relate to.  So much of this story is told from the Charlotte's point of view, and she seems so vain at times.  The part of the story that I thought I would enjoy the most I ended up dragging through.  

I actually really enjoyed the story of Margherita.  The way the author set up the traditional fairy tale of Rapunzel was fascinating.  I've never actually read the original version having always thought it was by the Brother's Grimm.  I need to seek out this tale.  I liked the witch and her part in the story and her own reformation in the end.

So, in the end, I wasn't sure how I felt about this book.  It was dreadfully slow in parts.  But, others were quite enjoyable.  I didn't find it as awesome as others seem to.

About the Author

Kate Forsyth wrote her first novel at the age of seven, and is now the internationally bestselling & award-winning author of thirty books, ranging from picture books to poetry to novels for both adults and children. She was recently voted one of Australia’s Favourite 20 Novelists, and has been called ‘one of the finest writers of this generation. She is also an accredited master storyteller with the Australian Guild of Storytellers, and has told stories to both children and adults all over the world.

Her most recent book for adults is a historical novel called ‘The Wild Girl’, which tells the true, untold love story of Wilhelm Grimm and Dortchen Wild, the young woman who told him many of the world’s most famous fairy tales. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, ‘The Wild Girl’ is a story of love, war, heartbreak, and the redemptive power of storytelling, and was named the Most Memorable Love Story of 2013.

She is probably most famous for ‘Bitter Greens’, a retelling of the Rapunzel fairy tale interwoven with the dramatic life story of the woman who first told the tale, the 17th century French writer, Charlotte-Rose de la Force. ‘Bitter Greens’ has been called ‘the best fairy tale retelling since Angela Carter’, and has been nominated for a Norma K. Hemming Award, the Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Fiction, and a Ditmar Award.

Her most recent book for children is ‘Grumpy Grandpa’, a charming picture book that shows people are not always what they seem.

Since ‘The Witches of Eileanan’ was named a Best First Novel of 1998 by Locus Magazine, Kate has won or been nominated for numerous awards, including a CYBIL Award in the US. She’s also the only author to win five Aurealis awards in a single year, for her Chain of Charms series – beginning with ‘The Gypsy Crown’ – which tells of the adventures of two Romany children in the time of the English Civil War. Book 5 of the series, ‘The Lightning Bolt’, was also a CBCA Notable Book.

Kate’s books have been published in 14 countries around the world, including the UK, the US, Russia, Germany, Japan, Turkey, Spain, Italy, Poland and Slovenia. She is currently undertaking a doctorate in fairytale retellings at the University of Technology, having already completed a BA in Literature and a MA in Creative Writing.

Kate is a direct descendant of Charlotte Waring, the author of the first book for children ever published in Australia, ‘A Mother’s Offering to her Children’. She lives by the sea in Sydney, Australia, with her husband, three children, and many thousands of books.

For more information please visit Kate Forsyth’s website and blog. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

Review - The Captive Maiden by Melanie Dickerson

Title: The Captive Maiden

Author: Melanie Dickerson

Series: Stand Alone

Pages: 302

Published: November 23rd 2013 by Zondervan

ISBN: 9780310724414

Source: Publisher via Netgalley

Description: Gisela's childhood was filled with laughter and visits from nobles such as the duke and his young son. But since her father's death, each day has been filled with nothing but servitude to her stepmother. So when Gisela meets the duke's son, Valten--the boy she has daydreamed about for years--and learns he is throwing a ball, she vows to attend, even if it's only for a taste of a life she'll never have. To her surprise, she catches Valten's eye. Though he is rough around the edges, Gisela finds Valten has completely captured her heart. But other forces are bent on keeping the two from falling further in love, putting Gisela in more danger than she ever imagined.

I Give This ...

I love fairy tale retellings.  I particularly enjoy Melanie Dickerson's versions.  They are clean and tastefully done, even if they don't stray much from the original idea.  This one was no different.

The story of Cinderella is actually one of my favorite fairy tales, so this one called to me.  I enjoyed how this story was setup.  Gisela is the daughter of a wealthy business man known for his outstanding horse farm.  Which was one of the aspects I enjoyed most in this story.  Gisela has her father's affinity for horses and I found it charming.  After her father's death, Gisela's stepmother has sold the horses one by one to keep up her extravagant lifestyle.   She also knows it's the one was to keep Gisela in check and continue to do her bidding.  

I was curious the first time we meet Valten.  I was sure that Gisela had built up this girlhood crush into a man that could never leave up to that ideal.  While Valten is far from perfect, I was relieved to learn to that Gisela was willing to see Valten for what he was.  I actually enjoyed their flirting and how they interacted with each other.  I never felt like it was an instant attraction.  They were drawn together and circumstances led to the intensity.  Plus, fairy tales are all about the heroics.  

This story actually reminded me a lot of Ever After, which is has always been one of my favorite movies, so double bonus.  I need to remember to read another one of Melanie Dickerson's books.  I have a couple on my Kindle ready to go!

Review - Splintered by A.G. Howard

Title: Splitered

Author: A.G. Howard

Series: Stand Alone

Pages: 384

Published: January 1st 2013 by Amulet Books 

ISBN: 9781419704284

Source: Publisher via Netgalley

 

Description: Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.  When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.
  I Give This ...

 

Well this is what I was looking for!   If you have every read Alice and Wonderland and enjoyed it, then I highly recommend that you read this book.  It's every bit as crazy as the original!

I particularly enjoyed the fact that Alyssa is trying so hard to be normal.  It can't be easy when you are the relative of Alice Liddell and everything is joke in reference to the original story.  She's in love with her best friend who happens to be dating the queen bee of Alyssa's tormentors.  It's no wonder she doesn't want people to think she might be following the family tradition.  But, when she discovers that Wonderland might actually be real, she stops at nothing to figure out how to get there.  She has to find a way to save her family from the curse they are under.

The minute she enters Wonderland is when the really awesome part of the story starts.  If you've read Alice in Wonderland, you know that the story is nothing like the Disney version.  Take the original and add to it and you might have an idea of what the read Wonderland might be like.  There were so many aspects of this story that I just latched on to.  I loved how Alyssa has to correct the mistakes that Alice made that the characters have been living with.  It never dawned on me that havoc Alice's visit might have created.  I was completely taken with our wise caterpillar, despite that agenda he might have had.  He was a surprising complex character.

The journey to correct those mistakes was interesting.  I had forgotten how Wonderland is a little bit of a twisted place and nothing is as it seems.  I loved how the author was able to incorporate those idiosyncrasies and add her own twist to the story.  Everything seemed to be a riddle and need to be solved in a way the fit Wonderland and not the world we know.

This was really so close to a 5 star book for me.  But, the end kind of lost me.  I know what Alyssa was trying to do, but it was really too much.  It felt like too much happened it just a couple pages and I was left to process it all.  It was one of the instances were I had to go back and reread to make sure I had understood what had really just happened.  I'm not sure there was another way to solve it though.    

Overall, a fantastic add on to the story of Alice in Wonderland.  If you've never read the original, you might be surprised by how dark Wonderland really is.  I however, loved it!