PROLOGUE

NEW YORK CITY’S TENDERLOIN DISTRICT

-1876-

The dark-haired young man could scarcely believe his good fortune. He tried to slow his breathing, but the plush, deep carpet felt strange beneath his feet, keeping him off balance.

Between holding his breath so as not to fall over and trying not to hyperventilate, he was a trembling mess. He had to steady himself. This was the reward everyone coveted, and it had come to him.

He focused on the deep folds of the gold-fringed drapery that hung across the entrance. Intricate nets of transparent fabric laced the ceiling, muting the light and casting the place in an unearthly, beckoning dimness.

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So many questions

What has this young man done to earn a reward and why should he be so surprised about it?

What kind of background does the young man come from, that carpet should make him feel so uncomfortable?

Why is such an opulent and well furnished place, kept in such dimness?

And that’s before I even start reading …..

As usual, so as to avoid too many unwanted spoilers, I have not included a full synopsis of the book in this post. However to find out a little more about the story before deciding whether it is your ‘cup of tea’ or not, you can click on the book image.

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What is ‘Book Beginnings’ and how can you join in the fun?

Would the first few lines of your book make you want to read on?

If so, would you like to share them with us, (without revealing too many spoilers of course) ?

 Click on the link and visit Gilion @ Rose City Reader

You can then leave a link to your own book beginnings post, or just browse for some great reads, there are always plenty of new authors and titles to be discovered.

Don’t forget that Gilion and all the other contributors to this meme love to hear from you, so why not leave a comment or two at the same time.

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As this was an author invitation to read and review, a download of ‘The Devil’s Dime (The Samaritan Files) ‘ was sent to me free of charge, by its author, Bailey Bristol.

This will in no way influence any comments I may express about the book, in any blog article I may post. Any thoughts or comments are my own personal opinion and I am in no way being monetarily compensated for this, or any other article.

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‘Wondrous Words Wednesday’ is a weekly meme where we share new (to us) words that we have encountered in our reading.

It is hosted by Kathy, over at BermudaOnion’s Weblog. You can either stop by and leave a link to your own ‘mystery’ words of the week, or just browse the eclectic mix of words that others have discovered, there is always a great selection.

Don’t forget that Kathy and the rest of us, all love to read your comments  as well!!

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 My words this time are, I am sure, just the first of many from this delightful book, set in Zimbabwe, which I have just begun to read:

‘The Hairdresser of Harare‘ by Tendai Huchu.

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1. KIYA-KIYA

Amai Ndoro was the fussiest customer to ever grace a salon. And she would not let any ordinary kiya-kiya touch her hair

KIYA-KIYA … When you asked a Zimbabwean how they were managing in the difficult conditions, the answer would often be, “tiri kungokiya-kiya!”, meaning they were using all sorts of imaginative skills to make ends meet. Kukiya-kiya means many things; anything really to make a living, usually outside the formal forum. Everyone kiya-kiyad in order to survive.  It didn’t matter
whether it was legal or illegal, some things just had to be done to create income. Indeed, by the time the unity government was formed, Minister of Finance Tendai Biti was asked where they were getting the money from his answer was ‘taka kiya-kiya’, leading his critics to label him Minister Kiya-kiya. The pejorative insinuations aside, this was a formal acknowledgement of how Zimbabweans had to survive in a decade when things got really twisted. They had to kiya-kiya and may still have to in the present decade, given the conditions.

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2. CHIBUKU

… plus Charlie boy, our barber, who always came in smelling of chibuku

CHIBUKU … The traditional alcoholic drink of Zimbabwe, is chibuku, meaning ‘the beer of good cheer’. This potent beer is usually served up in buckets, which are passed around between partakers.

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3. MUTI

It seems that nowadays whether it’s AIDS or MUTI or just the way things are, children become the victims

MUTI … In colloquial English and Afrikaans the word muti is often used to refer to medicines in general or medicines that have a ‘miraculous’ effect

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 4. KOMBI

“The Kombi’s from Kamfinsa were all full“

KOMBI … Kombi, from German: Kombinationskraftwagen (combination motor vehicle), with side windows and removable rear seats, both a passenger and a cargo vehicle combined. (Pictures and detailed description available by clicking here.)

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Enjoy the rest of the week everyone, I’m off to find me some great new words!

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MAILBOX MONDAY

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house during the last week.

Be warned that Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

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This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

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Another good week for author review requests, with the arrival of ‘Skin Games: A crime drama‘, by Adam Pepper.

‘Skin Games’, is something of genre switch from Adam’s usual style of urban fantasy horror and dark fiction writing, although the strength of the storyline and characterisations apparent in the synopsis certainly make this book, not one for the faint-hearted reader.

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SKIN GAMES by ADAM PEPPER

When a mafia princess falls for a two-bit hoodlum an unhappy don plays some rough games in order to separate the two lovers.

Sean O’Donnell is a man who always keeps his word, especially to a lady.  His good-for-nothing old man left his mother flat.  When she gets ill, Sean assures her that he will never be like his father; if he makes a promise he will keep it, no matter what the cost.  When local mob boss Mario Torretta’s daughter Nicole falls for Sean, the Don is not pleased, and makes it known that Sean is not good enough for his princess.  However, Nicole is in love and begs Sean to stick by her.  Once Sean gives his word, no amount of pressure from the Don will weaken his resolve.  Sean will endure and persevere to keep his promise to Nicole, and to his mother.

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This crime drama novel, was gifted as a request for me to read and leave my comments about, by its author, Adam Pepper and as such was free of charge.

This will in no way influence any comments I may express about the book, in any blog article I may post. Any thoughts or comments will be my own personal opinion and I am in no way being monetarily compensated for this, or any other article.

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WHAT IS ‘TEASER TUESDAY’?

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of ‘Should Be Reading’.

Anyone can take part, by just doing the following:

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1. Grab your current read.

2. Open to a random page.

3. Share a couple of  “teaser” sentences, from somewhere on that page.

4. Be careful not to share “spoiler” sentences.

5. Remember to share the title and author too.

6. Head on over to ‘should be reading’ and leave a link to your post, so that others can share it and you can share other people’s.

It would be great if you then decided to leave a comment for MizB, as we all like to receive them and are interested in sharing your thoughts.

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My teaser lines this week are from my recently finished read and so that I can use them in conjuction with another meme I have joined, I have taken them from the 56% page of this kindle download.

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‘LIFE ON THE EDGE’ by JENNIFER COMEAUX

So as not to show any ‘spoilers’, I have not included a synopsis for this book, however, if you want to find out more about it, just click on the book image.

If you don’t really want to read any ‘spoilers’ yourself, then you can ‘tease’ yourself a little more, by reading the first few lines of the story …here.

‘His inviting smile almost made me forget my questions. Almost, but not quite. “I wanted to ask you something first. You were so adamant about us not using Carmen.” I ran my hand over his soft T-shirt. “Did you have a bad skate to it?”‘

‘My curiosity spiked with each of his vague answers. I tried to make my tone both gentle and insistent. “You never talk about your partnership with Elena. I’d like us to be able to talk about everything.”

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This YA contemporary romance novel, was gifted as a request for me to read and leave my comments about by its author, Jennifer Comeaux, and as such was free of charge.

This will in no way influence any comments I may express about the book, in any blog article I may post. Any thoughts or comments will be my own personal opinion and I am in no way being monetarily compensated for this, or any other article.

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THE SYNOPSIS

‘HIS CHOSEN BRIDE’ by SHERRY GLOAG

Prince Henri Gasquet is happy to let his father, the king, choose his bride for him, until he meets Monica Latimer.

Monica Latimer is not prepared to risk letting any man close enough to learn about her Gift. A gift that normally has men running for the hills when they find out about it.

What will happen when both mindsets are challenged?

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FOCUS ON THE AUTHOR … SHERRY GLOAG

Sherry Gloag describes herself as a ‘displaced’ Scot, who, after spending her childhood in Scotland, now lives in the beautiful East Anglian countryside of Norfolk, where she is ideally placed for her hobbies of walking, gardening and craftwork.

Like many of us, Sherry does admit to talking to her characters, although she does take a good look around first, to make sure that she is alone!

Although she has always been an avid reader of romance, it was as recently as 2009 that she wrote her first stand-alone short story, (after the challenge was laid down by her husband, who had long known about her inner desire to write), with her debut novel ‘The Brat ‘, being published the following year.

If you want to know all there is to know and more, about Sherry, then there is a great and very in-depth interview with her, over on Morgen Bailey’s Writing Blog:

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WORDS FROM THE BOOK

“Fire, like love, can burn or warm. Never let the fire within you go out.”

“The sight of his brother’s joy filled him with an unknown sense of yearning he couldn’t identify.”

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This contemporary suspense romance is the second novella in a series which will be known as:

‘The Gasquet Princes’.

My thoughts about the first book ‘From Now Until Forever’, can be read by clicking here.

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‘CAN DUTY AND LOVE LIVE AS ONE?‘

This story is almost the complete antithesis of its predecessor. ‘From Now Until Forever’, had the King and Queen attempting and failing to reign in their headstrong and rebellious youngest son, Prince Liam and finally having to reconcile themselves to accepting him for the individual personality he had developed and the independent young man that he had become, recognising that their unconditional love for him still overshadowed whatever regal dictates they were expected to conform to.

In this story ‘His Chosen Bride’, the focus is on the Royal Family’s eldest son and heir, Henri. Having suffered and survived the trauma with his brother Liam, Henri’s parents have learned their lessons well and are determined that he should be encouraged to live freely and love a little, before settling down to his Royal duties in earnest, and even then, that he should finally take a bride of his choosing, trusting explicitly in their son’s judgement in reconciling matters of his heart, with the expectations of his duty.

In Henri, Sherry has created a fiercely loyal character, who accepts his future role with great dignity and pride, who is quite prepared to accept an arranged marriage of his parents choice, if it means that there is someone eminently suitable to take her place beside him as  the future Queen of his country.

He is therefore totally unprepared for the scheming which his family has been doing without his knowledge and for his overwhelming feelings for Liam and Melanie’s friend Monica, for whom there is an instant, mutual attraction, which has a devastating effect on them both.

Henri tries, with difficulty to maintain his position of detachment and indifference, which only serves to confuse and frustrate him and send mixed messages to Monica, who fears that Henri will eventually come to see her as the ‘stranger’ she is and therefore totally unsuitable as a Royal bride, whilst completely misinterpreting his shyness and aloofness for arrogance. When he is placed in a situation which he cannot control, we see Henri’s stoic facade disintegrate, rendering him powerless to control his feelings and having to decide whether he can accept Monica for who she is, or whether their relationship is purely a ‘fatal attraction’.

Added to this, is the small matter of Monica’s ‘special gift’, which she hopes to hide from Henri, but which cannot be denied when it is most needed and he is in danger. Whilst Monica is quite an insecure and complex character, she is also quite single-minded in her quest to determine whether Henri’s feelings for her are genuine, or simply his token act of rebellion, before returning home and settling down to a ‘marriage of convenience’.

The plot is quite an ‘open-book’ and not overly complicated, with the main emphasis being centred on the development of the characters and their burgeoning relationship, although there are a couple of unexpected twists and turns along the way. The story is definitely character centric, as feelings, emotions and personalities evolve with each passing page, bringing a maturity of mind and spirit, together with a sensitivity and sense of caring which will stand the couple in great stead for the pressures and intrusive focus, which will undoubtedly follow them as they pursue their Royal duties.

As an experienced and accomplished author Sherry has seamlessly combined the two individual stories about the eldest and youngest of the Gasquet princes, whilst managing to keep the separate identities of both books. She has also carefully crafted the two middle princes into this story, thereby leaving the door open for further episodes in the series, at the same time giving herself the option to leave the series at just the two books and move on to pastures new.

This romantic suspense novella was gifted as a request for me to read and leave my comments about, by it’s author Sherry Gloag and as such was free of charge.

This will in no way influence any comments I may express about the book, in any blog article I may post. Any thoughts or comments will be my own personal opinion and I am in no way being monetarily compensated for this, or any other article.

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I personally do not agree with ‘rating’ a book, as the overall experience is all a matter of personal taste, which varies from reader to reader. However some review sites do demand a rating value, so when this review is posted to such a site, it will attract a 4 out of 5.

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‘Wondrous Words Wednesday’ is a weekly meme where we share new (to us) words that we have encountered in our reading.

It is hosted by Kathy, over at BermudaOnion’s Weblog. You can either stop by and leave a link to your own ‘mystery’ words of the week, or just browse the eclectic mix of words that others have discovered, there is always a great selection.

Don’t forget that Kathy and the rest of us, all love to read your comments  as well!!

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This is a second helping of words from ‘His Chosen Bride‘ by Sherry Gloag

1. SCUPPER

‘… Would make tonight’s plans less straightforward, but not scupper them completely.’

SCUPPER … 1. An opening in the side of a ship at deck level to allow water to run off.

                            2. An opening for draining off water, as from a floor or the roof of a building.

                            3. To overwhelm or massacre.

                            4. To ruin or destroy

I knew a couple of the definitions for this word, however there are also a couple of new definitions to me, more opportunities to use the word in conversation now!

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2. HAUTEUR

‘Her attempt at hauteur failed, sabotaged by another laugh.’

HAUTEUR … (French in origin) … Haughtiness in bearing and attitude; arrogance.

This one I could probably have guessed at, but I looked it up just to be sure. Don’t some words just sound so much more ???? in French.

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3. PHLEGMATIC

‘ … That is so unlike my phlegmatic brother, I nearly choked with laughter.’

PHLEGMATIC … 1. Of or relating to phlegm; phlegmy.

                                         2. Having or suggesting a calm, sluggish temperament; unemotional; stolid

                                         3. Not easily excited.

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I knew the first definition of this word, but couldn’t see just how that fit in with the sentiment of the sentence. The other definitions were new to me.

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4. CATERWAULING

‘What was all that caterwauling about?’

CATERWAULING … 1. To cry or screech like a cat in heat.

I knew there was something not quite right about Dumi the very first time I ever laid eyes on him. The problem was, I just couldn’t tell what it was. Thank God for that.

There was a time that I was reputed to be the best hairdresser in Harare, which meant the best in the whole country.

Amai Ndoro was the fussiest customer to ever grace a salon and she would not let any ordinary kiya-kiya touch her hair. Having sampled all the salons in Harare – and rejected them all – she settled on ours.

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I wonder why the narrator is so glad that they couldn’t tell what it was that was so wrong about Dumi.

I am intrigued to know what Dumi’s secret was.

I am looking forward to finding out all the gossip from this hair salon … hairdressers know all the juciest gossip and there is bound to be some humour as well!

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As usual, so as to avoid too many unwanted spoilers, I have not included a full synopsis of the book in this post. However to find out a little more about the story before deciding whether it is your ‘cup of tea’ or not, you can click on the book image.

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What is ‘Book Beginnings’ and how can you join in the fun?

Would the first few lines of your book make you want to read on?

If so, would you like to share them with us, (without revealing too many spoilers of course) ?

 Click on the link and visit Gilion @ Rose City Reader

You can then leave a link to your own book beginnings post, or just browse for some great reads, there are always plenty of new authors and titles to be discovered.

Don’t forget that Gilion and all the other contributors to this meme love to hear from you, so why not leave a comment or two at the same time.

-.-

As this was an author invitation to read and review, a download of The Hairdresser of Harare was sent to me free of charge, by its author, Tendai Huchu.

This will in no way influence any comments I may express about the book, in any blog article I may post. Any thoughts or comments are my own personal opinion and I am in no way being monetarily compensated for this, or any other article.

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WONDROUS WORDS WEDNESDAY…

… is a weekly meme where we share new (to us) words that we have encountered in our reading.

It is hosted by Kathy, over at BermudaOnion’s Weblog. You can either stop by and leave a link to your own ‘mystery’ words of the week, or just browse the eclectic mix of words that others have discovered, there is always a great selection.

Don’t forget that Kathy and the rest of us, all love to read your comments  as well!!

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My words this week are taken from my recently finished book, a contemporary romantic suspense:

His Chosen Bride by Sherry Gloag

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1. PEELLY-WALLY

‘I don’t like strong tea, but how can you drink this peelly-wally brew?’

Peelly-wally,( peely-wally, peely wallie) …. (Scottish word) .. Sickly, Pasty, Wan, Pale, Peeeky, Unwell, Pale and Tired.

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2. SHINDIG

‘Then he’s wasting his time. I have no intention of returning home before your Valentine shindig, is that the right word?’

Shindig …. A festive party, often with dancing. Also called shindy.

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3. CANNY

‘And he wondered whether the canny old soul had had an ulterior motive when he sent his eldest son to Scotland for a recuperative holiday’

Canny … Careful and shrewd, especially where one’s own interests are concerned. Cautious in spending money; frugal.

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As this was an author invitation to read and review, a download of His Chosen Bride was sent to me free of charge, by its author, Sherry Gloag.

This will in no way influence any comments I may express about the book, in any blog article I may post. Any thoughts or comments are my own personal opinion and I am in no way being monetarily compensated for this, or any other article.

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After a bleak and dreary few days, this morning broke with some welcome Spring sunshine, to chase away those rainy blues. How long the sun’s warming rays will grace us with their presence, who knows? Let’s just make the most of it, whilst it is here.

SPRING FLOWERS by JOHN KEBLE (1792-1866)

Words Taken from:-

‘POEMS OF THE SEASONS‘ Illustrated by GORDON BENINGFIELD.

The loveliest flowers the closest cling to earth,

And they first feel the sun; so violets blue,

So the soft star-like primrose drenched in dew,

The happiest of Spring’s happy, fragrant birth,

To gentlest touches sweetest tones reply;-

Still humbleness with her low-breathed voice

Can steal 0′er man’s proud heart, and win his choice

From earth to heaven, with mightier witchery

Than eloquence or wisdom e’er could own.

Bloom on then in your shade, contented bloom,

Sweet flowers, nor deem yourselves to all unknown,

Heaven knows you, who one day for their altered doom

Shall thank you, taught by you to abase themselves and live.

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John Keble (25 April 1792 – 29 March 1866) was an English churchman and poet, one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement, and gave his name to Keble College, Oxford.

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Gordon Beningfield (31 October 1936, London–1998) was an eloquent, influential advocate for the protection of the English countryside and its varied wildlife – and one of Britain’s most talented, versatile wildlife and countryside artists.

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