Daughters of Rome

I really enjoyed Kate Quinn's follow-up to Mistress of Rome, but I wish I had read this one first, since it takes place prior to Mistress. The daughters are the four Cornelias - Cornelia, Marcella, Lollia, and Diana - two patrician sisters (Cornelia and Marcella) and their cousins whose lives are entwined with and impacted by the changes that take place in Rome during the year of the four emperors, AD 69.

The novel is based on history, and many of the characters are real, including at least one of the Cornelias. The story is fast-paced and bloody, but also intriguing and fun. The girls couldn't be more different - Cornelia is a proper Roman wife, Marcella is an intellectual, Lollia is an oft-married party girl, and Diana is a beauty who's only interested in horse racing. But four emperors bring many changes, which challenge who the girls are and what they think of themselves and each other (and one of the girls gets a lot more than she bargained for in the end).

This is a fast-paced novel that I found riveting, maybe even more so than Quinn's first book. I'll definitely read more of her work.

Daughters of Rome

Night of a Thousand Stars

This was a very enjoyable novel by Deanna Raybourn - one of those books that I just got deeper into the more that I read, and I flew through the last fifty or so pages because I HAD to know how it ended. It's the story of Poppy March Hammond, who in post-WWI London is about to marry into the aristocracy when she decides that is NOT the life she wants and, with the help of handsome curate Sebastian, goes out the window of the church and escapes to her father's home in the country. When Poppy decides a few days later she needs to thank Sebastian for his help, she returns to London to find him mysteriously gone - and also that he's not who he said he was.

So starts Poppy's adventure, aided by her ladie's maid Masterman and the dear old gentlemen who hires her to help write his memoirs, from London to Damascus, where she finds danger, romance, and eventually Sebastian. Poppy is a fun character, charming and endearing but not at all ditzy. She also seems to be the only character who isn't hiding something, and finding out who everyone is and how they're connected is an exciting read.

I'll definitely look for more of Ms. Raybourn's book in the future.

Night of a Thousand Stars

The Fiery Cross

So, this is book, um, 5, I believe, of The Outlander series. It's another 900-plus pages of 18th century fun with Jamie and Claire Fraser, who have now been joined by their daughter Brianna and her husband Roger MacKenzie, and their son Jemmy.

The action in this novel takes place in 1771-1772ish, in the years prior to the Revolutionary War (which they know if coming since Claire, Brianna, and Roger are from the future). The fiery cross referred to in the title is the symbol used by the Scottish lairds to call the clansmen to war, and Jamie uses it to lead his band of government-established militiamen against the "regulators" who are causing trouble in the colony. Jamie and Claire are aware of the fine line he needs to walk, showing loyalty to the crown for now to protect his family and holdings, and figuring out the right time to declare his support for the revolution that's coming.

As with all of Gabaldon's work, the detail is amazing, and she is obviously a demon for research. I think this novel more so than the others shows just the sort of regular everyday life of 18th century colonists - raising crops, building homesteads, bartering what you had with other colonists who had other things, and getting everything you could from what you had. Since Claire's a trained physician with a scientific mind, she's also trying to create penicillin and prevent the medical practitioners of the time from harming rather than healing her family and friends.We also see a lot more of Brianna and Roger, who are interesting characters, and hear about some other time travelers who have come through the Carolinas at some point.

I need to take a little break before the next book in the series, but I'll be looking forward to reading that one in the not-too-distant future.

The Fiery Cross

An Abundance of Katherines

This is the second Young Adult novel I've read by John Green, the first being The Fault in our Stars. It's completely different but just as enjoyable (in a different way). Green is probably the best of his generation at capturing young adult idiosyncrasies (sort of like John Hughes was with his movies), and he writes characters that are interesting while not being sort of traditionally attractive.

Colin Singleton is a nerdy prodigy who, upon graduating from high school in Chicago, is dumped by his 19th girlfriend named Katherine. Yes, always Katherine, always spelled that way. His friend Hassan decides that the only thing to pull Colin out of his funk is a road trip, so they hit the road with no particular destination in mind. When they see a sign advertising the tomb of Franz Ferdinand -- in Gutshot, Tennessee of all places -- the boys have to check it out. They wind up making friends with Lindsey, who's mother owns the textile factory in town, and get offered jobs and a place to stay.

The writing is witty, the characters are interesting, and the story is really well told. My only real problem with it is I felt that it ended very abruptly. I would have liked to have had a few more things worked out before the end. But it was a really great read.

An Abundance of Katherines

Drums of Autumn

Okay, so this is the fourth book in the Outlander series, and it is awesome! Claire is hanging out with Jamie in pre-Revolutionary War North Carolina, while daughter Brianna is living in the present day (of late 1960's) Boston, attending college and falling in love with Roger McKenzie Wakefield. But then Brianna learns something that makes her decide to go back in time to see her parents... and off to Scotland she goes, to go through the stone circle.

Okay, you really need to start with Outlander and read the books in order, otherwise you're going to be pretty lost, because author Diana Gabaldon refers to events that took place in previous books. And they are all really long books, like 1,000 pages almost. But so worth it! The research she has done is just incredible, and she tells her story with humor and passion. These books are true page-turners, almost impossible to put down. And you find yourself chomping at the bit for the next one (which I started this morning - thanks to my mother-in-law for the birthday present!).

They've made a cable TV series based on the books, it's on Starz. I've watched the first few episodes and it's pretty good (of course they haven't even gotten half way through the first book yet). But the books are still way better.

Drums of Autumn

Undomestic Goddess

So here is another fun & frothy read from Shopaholic author Sophie Kinsella. Samantha Sweeting is on the fast track to partnership at a prestigious London law firm when she makes a horrible mistake, a mistake that could cost her everything. So she walks out the door, hops on a train going anywhere, and winds up in a lovely little town in the Cotswolds. Knocking on the door of a private home in hopes of getting a glass of water, she meets Trish Geiger, who thinks she's come to apply for the housekeeper position. Samantha is so distraught and confused that she doesn't dispute the idea, and soon finds herself in a blue maids uniform in a kitchen full of state-of-the-art equipment - none of which she knows how to use.

The Geigers are rich but not that smart, and the handsome gardener, Nathaniel, has a mother who's willing to teach Samantha how to cook and clean. So begins Samantha's new life, one she comes to appreciate and even like - until she realizes that maybe she didn't make a big mistake after all, maybe someone at the law firm used her for his own nefarious purposes.

As with all of Kinsella's novels that I've read, the characters are great - I can totally see Trish and Eddie Geiger, and Samantha and Nathaniel are extremely likeable. Yes, there's a bit of farce to it, but it's fun and entertaining and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Undomestic Goddess

Mistress of Rome

So I'll admit I had a little difficulty getting into this novel about ancient (1st century AD) Rome, but after about 2 chapters I was TOTALLY hooked! It's an exciting story with vivid characters - some fictional, some historical - and I am going online in a few minutes to reserve the sequel!

Thea is a Judean slave girl purchased as the ladies maid for spoiled rich girl Lepida. When Thea catches the eye, and heart, of the gladiator Arius, whom Lepida lusts after, she is sold into a life of prostitution a hundred miles from Rome. That Thea is able to survive, even thrive, is remarkable. That she eventually catches the eye of the twisted Emperor Domitian is just another reason for Lepida to hate her, and set out to destroy her.

This is one of those novels that, while having elements of romance, is also historical (and I think pretty accurate as far as that goes). There's also enough fighting, blood, and nastiness to make it a book that both women and men would enjoy. I just loved, and I highly recommend it.

Mistress of Rome