Watermark by Vanitha Sankaran

Some of us are born with an inclination to create beauty and live it no matter what the cost, while others follow traditions and keep their heads low.  Vanitha Sankaran's Watermark weaves an intricate tale in the shadow of dark forces that once held sway over the Church and through which a young woman blossoms and carves her path in the world out of love and sacrifice.

"'For crimes of heresy and thoughts against our Church,' he began, 'the condemned who have repented are forthwith instructed to wear the yellow cross of the heretic upon their clothes at all times, so all may know their crimes and trust or mistrust their words and deeds as is just.'  He brandished a parchment roll and read off names followed by crimes in his sonorous voice.  Relief rose in cries after each name.

Auda watched the archbishop's mouth move.  More than ever, he seemed like a puppet."  (Page 298 of ARC)

Auda is a mute Albino living in France during the 1300s at the time of the inquisition when heresy and witches are seen even among the innocent.  Her father is a papermaker and her sister, Poncia, is a young wife of a merchant in Narbonne, a prospering and sheltered city.  Innocent activities in Narbonne can be misconstrued into heresy by those who dislike you, misunderstand you, or simply wish to be devoid of suspicion.  Making paper and providing it to anyone, rather than parchment to nobles and the church, is unwise, but Auda and her father have unflappable dreams.  Auda wants her voice to be heard -- clearly and loudly -- despite her disability, but already she is an anomaly being a woman of letters.

"'The Italians and the Spainards have sold their broadsheets for years,' her father said, glancing at Auda.  'The Church has done nothing --'

'Because Her eyes are fixed on France.'

'Oc, because France houses her pope, not because of any heresy!' His voice rose.  'Even if paper brought cause for concern, that doesn't put me in the same barrel as witches and heretics.'"  (Page 189 of ARC)

Rising fortunes bring her to the forefront of society after being sheltered since her mother's passing, but can Auda handle what is to come, how her life will change, and where her conviction will lead?  Watermark transports readers to a time when many in France were carefully watching their own actions and those of their neighbors, looking for sinister subtleties in their behaviors.  It will emotionally tug at the heartstrings as Auda learns to come into her own, makes adult decisions, and learns that even simple actions can have hefty consequences and that love can transcend the physical.  One of the best books of the year!

About the Author:

Vanitha Sankaran holds an MFA in creative writing from Antioch University. In addition, her short stories have been published in numerous journals, such as Mindprints, Futures, Prose Ax, and The Midnight Mind. She is at work on her second novel, which is about printmaking in Italy during the High Renaissance.

Check out the rest of her TLC Book Tour here.





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Also don't forget to check out the next stop on the National Poetry Month Blog Tour at Reading Frenzy with Edgar Allan Poe.

This is my 23rd book for the 2010 New Authors Challenge. 






 FTC Disclosure: Thanks to TLC Book Tours, HarperCollins for sending me a free copy of Watermark for review. Clicking on title and image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page; No purchase necessary, though appreciated.

© 2010, Serena Agusto-Cox of Savvy Verse & Wit. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Savvy Verse & Wit or Serena's Feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith

Steve Hockensmith's Dawn of the Dreadfuls is a whimsical prequel to the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies mash-up.  But even though it is a prequel, the struggles with the zombies occurred long before this story begins and this is just a rebirth of the plague.

"Capturing a dreadful, it turned out, was the easy part.  Getting it to go where one wanted -- that was nearly impossible.

Dr. Keckilpenny's custom-built zombie net fit over the unmentionable's head and upper torso snugly enough, pinning its arms to its sides.  But the only way to get the creature to do anything other than hurl itself, snarling, at the nearest sign of life was to push or pull it by the attached rod."  (Page 192)

In this story, the Bennet girls are being trained in the dark arts following the rise of the undead in the English countryside.  Unlike previous mash-ups, Hockensmith stays true to Austen's language and characterizations, as much as he can with the introduction of zombies and ninjas.  Mr. Bennet seeks to take on the tutelage of his daughters on his own, but the Order soon sends him Master Hawksworth, a young man of 26, who takes a keen interest in his daughter Elizabeth.

Along the way the Bennet sisters work hard to polish their skills, vanquish unmentionables, and reclaim their dignity in a society that finds their modern ways unappealing until it is convenient for them.  From the strong and reserved master to the single-minded Dr. Keckilpenny, the Bennets meet obstacles head on and overcome them.  Some of the same societal prejudices exist in this mash-up, but it's also full of fun dialogue, swift action, and bungling antics.  And readers will see a different side of Mr. Bennet and learn some of Mrs. Bennet's past in Dawn of the Dreadfuls.

And for fun, check out this cool book trailer.


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Don't forget to stop over at 32 Poems Blog and Diary of an Eccentric today as part of the National Poetry Month Blog Tour today!

This is my 22nd book for the 2010 New Authors Challenge.

This is my 4th book for the Jane Austen Challenge 2010.

FTC Disclosure: Thanks to FSB Associates and Quirk Classics for sending me a free copy of Dawn of the Dreadfuls for review.  Clicking on title and image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page; No purchase necessary, though appreciated.

© 2010, Serena Agusto-Cox of Savvy Verse & Wit. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Savvy Verse & Wit or Serena's Feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Fireworks Over Toccoa by Jeffrey Stepakoff

Jeffrey Stepakoff's Fireworks Over Toccoa is a romance set around World War II -- a time when decisions between young couples were made in haste and passionately.  Lily Davis runs against the grain of her family and society's expectations, but she's trying to curb her wayward inclinations and carve out her own life.

"It was a gorgeously plated meal that was ordered for her, one she was reluctant to disturb with immutable matters rendered by the fork, but even more loath to send back untouched."  (Page 10 of ARC)

Lily meets Paul Woodward, and they fall in love just before he is shipped off to the war overseas.  She spends three years alone, living at home with her parents as their marital home stands empty.  In many ways, her life was put on hold, but just as her "life" was coming back to her it is turned upside down.  She meets a fireworks technician and her soul mate, Jake Russo.

"The smell from the furnaces lingered.  It ruminated through the woods well beyond the razor-wire-topped fences that surrounded the muddy camp like a nightmare that remains upon waking.  Indeed, it was a smell that would haunt him for the rest of his life.  Sulfurous and singed, coppery sweet, the remains of deer after a wildfire.  It was nauseating, the stench of madness."  (Page 222 of ARC)

Readers will be immediately drawn into Lily's story and the effects of war on Jake, Lily, America, and the entire world.  There was much more WWII in this novel than readers may expect, but it is integrated well from how it impacts the characters and their decisions to their environments.  However, one element that may bother readers is that Lily's granddaughter Colleen is introduced early on in the story and by the end seems little more than a plot device to get Lily to revisit her past.  Readers may feel cheated in that the lesson they expect Lily's story to illustrate for Colleen is not as clearly defined and interaction between the two characters is very flat -- especially given parallels drawn between their lives.  Overall, Fireworks Over Toccoa is a well-written romance that offers a look at a tough time in America's history, the passions of young love, and the duty-bound decisions many of us have made.

For more information about the author or the novel and to enter the sweepstakes (through 3/30/10), visit the Web site.

As an aside, I'm trying to keep track of where I first see reviews of books, and in this case, I saw Fireworks on The Printed Page and BookNAround.

This is my 21st book for the 2010 New Authors Challenge.



FTC Disclosure: I'd like to thank St. Martin's Press for sending me a free copy for review.  Clicking on title and image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page; No purchase necessary, though appreciated.

© 2010, Serena Agusto-Cox of Savvy Verse & Wit. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Savvy Verse & Wit or Serena's Feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Short Girls by Bich Ming Nguyen

Bich Minh Nguyen's Short Girls is a story of Vietnamese, second-generation immigrants Linny and Van Luong and their family.  Their father, a loner and inventor, holding them at arms length, and their familial history is obscured by stories and silence.  The story is broken into alternating chapters about each young woman, though written in a point of view that is more like an observer with each woman's inner thoughts are revealed --  much of this complaints or observations about how different they are from one another.

"The Luongs had always done this, scratching at each other's words as much out of habit as anything.  But this time when Thuy Luong had told her husband to go sleep in the basement "like a dog"he stayed there instead of slinking back upstairs."  (Page 4 of ARC)

Van is an immigration lawyer with the "perfect" life, or at least that's how it seems to her sister, Linny.  Linny, on the other hand, has a free life where she can act and do as she desires on a whim without responsibility -- at least that's how it seems to her sister.  The tension between these sisters is vivid, but in many ways could have been better executed without the internal dialogue complaints about the other sister at every turn or before each memory surfaced to demonstrate their differences.

"She would have set the glass to shattering, sailed through someone else's house, used up all the space that humans never reached."  (Page 53 of ARC)

Van's world has been falling apart slowly, and now she is set adrift without a compass and without a husband.  She struggles to keep her drama to herself and to overcome the emptiness in her home and her life.  Meanwhile, Linny has to come to grips with her errors and her drifting life to make her dreams come true, while at the same time support her sister and her father, who continues to struggle to find success.

"Linny put in long hours experimenting shadows and liners, trying to make her eyes look bigger, deeper-set, less Asian.  She painted plum colors up to her eyebrows and applied three coats of mascara.  She ran peroxide-soaked cotton balls through her hair to create caramel highlights."  (Page 58 of ARC)

Nguyen's Short Girls is a look at racial discrimination, height discrimination, immigrants looking for their place in a society that welcomes and shuns them, and finding once self amid the melting pot and one's own family, while trying to accept your family's own faults and ideas about success and love.

 This is my 20th book for the 2010 New Authors Reading Challenge.



FTC Disclosure: Thanks to Library Thing Early Reviewers and the Viking for sending me a free copy of Short Girls for review.  Clicking on title and image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page; No purchase necessary, though appreciated.

© 2010, Serena Agusto-Cox of Savvy Verse & Wit. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Savvy Verse & Wit or Serena's Feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

The Birthing House by Christopher Ransom

Christopher Ransom's The Birthing House was our latest book club selection, which was supposed to branch myself and Anna of Diary of an Eccentric out into the world of horror, etc.  I started off with an audio book I purchased from the bookstore, but finished up with a borrowed copy of the hardcover from the library.  OK, let's get to the review.

Conrad Harrison and his wife Jo are having severe marital problems in The Birthing House, and as a way to rebuild his marriage away from the pressures of Los Angeles, Calif., Conrad buys a home in Black Earth, Wisconsin, following the death of his father.  Jo isn't exactly thrilled with the birthing house or the fact that it was in a small town in the middle of nowhere, but she has little choice after Conrad gives her an ultimatum.

Readers will find moments of suspense and confusion in this novel, which could be traced back to the ability of the writer to properly sequence certain events.  Ransom has a knack for writing internal dialogue that adequately reveals characters' true emotions and faults.  But in terms of creating a sense of fear in the reader, Ransom's writing is hit or miss.

"He was starting to doubt that he had actually seen it move when the doll took another step -- click -- and then another after that one, moving with renewed purpose, as if it had just found what it was looking for.

But that's crazy, because it has no eyes.

Conrad was splayed crooked on the bed, immobilized as the absurd stick figure doll, no wider than a scarecrow Barbie, came at him in rapid steps -- click, click, click, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK! -- and raised its pipe cleaner arms to attack."  (Page 76)

It is clear that as the book moves on that Conrad is losing his mind, but how far has he lost it and how much of the haunting is real, and what is the history of this birthing house?  Ransom waits too long to reveal anything of substance about the birthing house, and readers will grow frustrated as Conrad wanders about, bumbling over the teen next door and her voluptuous, pregnant curves, while his wife is out of town for sales training.  In fact, the absence of Jo and her odd behavior on the phone leaves her character underdeveloped and almost pointless to the story until the final chapters.

"He wanted to touch the ghost, if that's what it was, maybe even help it.  Her.  He was terrified, repulsed, and drawn to it as he was drawn to the girl and the destruction she would bring down."  (Page 189)

There are many instances where The Birthing House reads like a bad horror movie in which the characters willingly put themselves in harm's way and refuse to contact the police or outsiders fail to intervene.  Ransom is a good writer, but this novel falls flat.  The narrator of the audio book was good at differentiating characters' voices, but the material in the novel made some of the scenes very comical when read out loud.  As a book club selection there is a great deal to talk about, but is it really worth the time spent?

To enter to win a copy of The Birthing House and/or Ravens (click for my review) on audiobook (GLOBAL):


1.  Leave a comment on this post about what horror book you've enjoyed.
2.  Facebook, Tweet, blog, or otherwise spread the word and leave a link on this post.

Deadline is March 30, 2010, 11:59 PM EST

This is my 4th book for the 2010 Thriller & Suspense Reading Challenge, and I'm counting this as a horror thriller.

This is my 18th book for the 2010 New Authors Reading Challenge.







FTC Disclosure: Clicking on title and image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page; No purchase necessary, though appreciated.

© 2010, Serena Agusto-Cox of Savvy Verse & Wit. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Savvy Verse & Wit or Serena's Feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

City of Refuge by Tom Piazza

I first heard about the City of Refuge by Tom Piazza from Jen at Devourer of Books and Wendy of Caribousmom. I recently received my copy from Jen at Devourer of Books when she was slated to be on That's How I Blog! hosted by Nicole at Linus's Blanket.  Unfortunately, it has taken me a while longer to finish this book than I expected, though the book club discussion for Nicole's show with Jen was an enlightening experience.  OK, enough of all that . . . let's get to the review.

"New Orleanians knew how to turn deprivation into an asset; they had the best gallows humor going, they danced at funerals, they insisted on prevailing.  They had heard it all before, and most of the time it turned out to be a false alarm.  The regular challenge made them defiant."  (Page 28)

Tom Piazza's own experience of being evacuated from New Orleans must have played a significant role in his writing of this novel.  The horror, the grief, the devastation, the hollowness, and a range of other emotions following the 2005 disaster, known as Hurricane Katrina, rips through readers' hearts and puts them through the wringer alongside SJ, Craig, and their families.

"A block away water bubbling and churning from a submerged, ruptured gas line.  Below him, amid a cataract of smashed weatherboard, face-down in the water, a man, unmoving; his white T-shirt had ridden up his back almost all the way to his shoulder.  A black dog swam by.  Not twenty feet away, the sole of a sneaker stuck out of the water, held up by an ankle attached to an invisible leg, waving slightly, probably snagged on something below the surface. . ."  (Page 139)

SJ and his family live in the Lower Ninth Ward, which was the hardest hit by the hurricane's storm surge, while Craig and his family live in a different section of New Orleans.  On the surface, both of these families are different from their skin color to where they live and from their education to their jobs, but what they have in common is a deep connection to the city, its culture, and their homes.  Beyond the moral outrage of New Orleanians against the government, insurance companies, and others, which readers will surely have seen on the news or in the papers and magazines, Piazza's novel weaves a tale of surprising resilience -- a common trait in humanity -- a will to survive.

"One day he saw something he had seen every day for a month and a half, a loose hinge on the closet door.  He went downstairs to Aaron's utility room, rummaged around and found a Phillips head screwdriver and an assortment of screws and simply replaced the screw that was in the hinge with a larger one.  That would hold it until he could really fix the hinge.  

That was how you came back, if you came back."  (Page 285)

Each of these families has their own personal struggles and dynamics, which Piazza deftly navigates in alternating story lines weaving a tense atmosphere before, during, and after the hurricane.  Piazza's characters are deep with their own backgrounds, personalities, and demons, and SJ is a prime example.  As a Vietnam War veteran, he's already had enough to deal with before Hurricane Katrina.  In a way -- like so many other veterans -- he never made it back from the war completely and has been going through the motions of life.

"Aaron would get him to go out for walks.  Aaron, who had also been in Vietnam, knew a fair amount about the traumatic syndrome that SJ was struggling with, and exercise and talking through things could be important.  Some days they would walk and SJ was silent, some days he would talk for a while, and then get silent.  Often he had violent fantasies that would crumble apart into debilitating grief.  'I don't want to be angry like this A,' SJ said.  'I spent long enough dealing with it.  I never thought I'd have to be back in this.'"  (Page 273)

Piazza's comparisons of PTSD among Vietnam War veterans and the PTSD of New Orleanians is a valid comparison, and City of Refuge brings with it an emotional tsunami that readers cannot ignore.  One of the best books I've read this year, and an excellent selection for book clubs because of the range of social and political issues it illuminates.

About the Author:

Tom Piazza is the author of the post-Katrina classic Why New Orleans Matters, the Faulkner Society Award-winning novel My Cold War, and the short-story collection Blues And Trouble, winner of the James Michener Award for Fiction. He lives in New Orleans.

This book is my 17th book for the 2010 New Authors Challenge.





 FTC Disclosure: Clicking on title and image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page; No purchase necessary, though appreciated.

© 2010, Serena Agusto-Cox of Savvy Verse & Wit. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Savvy Verse & Wit or Serena's Feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

The Writing on my Forehead by Nafisa Haji

Nafisa Haji's The Writing on my Forehead transports readers into another culture and the struggles that members find themselves in as the world around them evolves, causing clashes between modernity and the past.  Told from the point of view of Saira, readers are taken on a very personal journey into the past, uncovering the deep secrets of Saira's grandmother and grandfather as well as her own parents.  The dynamic between Saira and her sister is only partially shown, with the point of view of Ameena silent.  From fate to choices, each character must follow their path to the end -- no matter what it holds for them.

"I close my eyes and imagine the touch of my mother's hand on my forehead, smoothing away the residue of childhood nightmares.  Her finger moves across my forehead, tracing letters and words of prayer that I never understood, never wanted to understand, her mouth whispering in nearly silent accompaniment.  Now, waking from the nightmare that has become routine -- bathed in sweat, breathing hard, resigned to the sleeplessness that will follow -- I remember her soothing touch and appreciate it with an intensity that I never felt when she was alive."  (Page 1)

Saira grows into an independent woman who is running from her culture and tradition to find herself grasping for it in the darkest moments of her life.  As an American with a strong Pakistani-Indian heritage and a mother reminiscent of Mrs. Bennet in Pride & Prejudice, it is no wonder that she rebels against tradition and culture to become a traveling journalist.

"I shudder, now, to think of how my mother, trying hard and failing to be subtle, got the word of my availability -- accompanied, I learned later, by a full-size, glossy headshot -- out on the proverbial 'street' where desi families gathered and speculated, assessed and collated young people into the 'happily ever after' that getting married was supposed to promise."  (Page 191)

Haji's prose is eloquent and engages not only the readers' sensibilities and emotions, but their inquisitive nature as family secrets are unraveled.  Saira is a complex character who searches for a center, an axis on which she can revolve and become grounded.  While she is connected to family, like Mohsin and Big Nanima, throughout her life because they are in effect the outsiders of a culture she rejects, she continues to struggle with her other relations -- her sister, Ameena, her mother and her father -- because they represent to her a culture she finds limiting.  The Writing on my Forehead provides a variety of topics for discussion from political imperialism and its consequences to the tension between the modern world and tradition and the modern dilemmas facing adolescents striking out on their own to the loss of family -- making this an excellent book club selection that will inspire debate and introspection.

About the Author: (From her Website; Photo Credit: Robert Stewart)

Nafisa Haji was born and mostly raised in Los Angeles—mostly, because there were years also spent in Chicago, Karachi, Manila, and London. Her family migrated from Bombay to Karachi in 1947 during Partition, when the Indian Subcontinent was divided into two states.  Nafisa studied American history at the University of California at Berkeley, taught elementary school in downtown Los Angeles for seven years in a bilingual Spanish program (she speaks Spanish fluently), and earned a doctorate in education from the University of California at Los Angeles.   She started writing short stories at first, which then developed into an idea for a novel. She now lives in northern California with her husband and son and is currently working on her second novel. Nafisa maintains close ties in Pakistan, traveling there regularly to visit family.

This is my 2nd book for the 2010 South Asian Author Challenge.

This is my 14th book for the 2010 New Authors Challenge.

If you are interested in the rest of The Writing on my Forehead blog tour, please check out TLC Book Tours.

Almost Home by Pam Jenoff

Almost Home by Pam Jenoff is a novel of international intrigue, significant struggle, and humiliating heartbreak.  Jordan Weiss is a Foreign Service Officer working in Washington, D.C., who receives a letter from her college friend Sarah asking her to return to London as Sarah struggles with Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS).  Once in London, a place Jordan never expected to see again after her tragic last semester, she takes a job as a investigative diplomat working to uncover financial connections between companies and the Albanian mob.

"Chris pulls out my chair and I sit down awkwardly, conscious of his presence, the way he hovers a second too long behind me as though afraid I will flee."  (Page 64)

Jenoff really knows how to set the mood.  Almost Home is full of dark imagery, fast-paced chases, and tension as thick as butter.  Readers will be kept guessing as to who is on the wrong side of the equation.  Jordan is likable and draws readers into the story, sweeping readers into her grief over the decades ago loss of her college sweetheart, Jared, and the mystery surrounding his death.  There is tension between Jared and Jordan when they first meet as part of a rowing team, but eventually their mutual love of the river and the team gives way to their own passions.

"Trafalgar Square on a Monday morning is a swarming mass of activity.  Cars and buses move along the roadway in fits and starts, jamming up at the traffic lights, filling the air with thick exhaust.  Swarms of commuters, invisible beneath a sea of black umbrellas, jostle as they make their way from the buses to the city, from Charing Cross Tube station to Whitehall."  (Page 131)

Tension and suspense are dominant atmospheres in Almost Home, but the novel is more than just a political thriller, it deals with deep grief and healing.  There also are lighter moments between Jordan and Sarah that illustrate a part of Jordan that has been dormant since the tragic loss of Jared.  The dynamic between the two is strong and full of sisterly love, which can transcend any situation.

Jenoff's experience as a diplomat is clearly present in the novel as Jordan deals with bureaucracy and cloak-and-dagger tactics.  There are some points in the novel where Jordan appears to be out of her element and a novice diplomat, but given the recent debacle in Liberia and the death of a colleague; her flight to London to be with her sick friend; and all that is uncovered about the death of Jared, her mistakes and bad judgment should be expected.  The pressures she feels and the memories that haunt her are too much for any one person to deal with a high-stress position with government.  Jordan is a complex character dealing with new grief, renewed old grief, and a demanding job in a city she once abandoned.  Overall, Almost Home is a fast-paced, highly emotional, well-written novel.

This is my 13th new-to-me author for the 2010 New Authors Challenge.

I'm considering this for my 3rd book, a mix of the political and mob thriller , for the 2010 Thriller & Suspense Reading Challenge.


FTC Disclosure:  I received a free copy of Almost Home by Pam Jenoff from the author.  Clicking on title links or images will bring you to my Amazon Affiliate page; No purchase necessary.