Yvonne
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.
Mailbox Monday, is currently ‘on tour’ and being hosted by a different blogger each month.
Your host for December 2013, is Gilion over at ‘Rose City Reader’
So why not stop by, leave a link to your own Mailbox Monday post, oh! and don’t forget to leave a comment for Gilion, after all, we all like to receive them!
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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Not one, but two books this week, both sent courtesy of their author, Liza Perrat, enabling me to read the series in sequence to date. You have no idea just what a bonus this is for me, as I am so notoriously bad at ending up by reading a series completely out of sequence … even though Liza does assure me that the books do work well as stand alone novels.
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‘SPIRIT OF LOST ANGELS’
Is the first in the historical ‘L’Auberge Des Anges’ series set against a backdrop of rural France during the French Revolution.
Her mother executed for witchcraft, her father dead at the hand of a noble, Victoire Charpentier vows to rise above her impoverished peasant roots.
Forced to leave her village of Lucie-sur-Vionne for domestic work in the capital, Victoire suffers gruesome abuse under the old regime of 18th century Paris.
Imprisoned in France’s most pitiless madhouse – La Salpêtrière asylum – Victoire is helpless and desperate, until she meets fellow prisoner Jeanne de Valois, infamous conwoman of the diamond necklace affair. With the help of the ruthless and charismatic countess who helped hasten Queen Marie Antoinette to the guillotine, Victoire carves out a new life for herself.
Enmeshed in the fever of pre-revolutionary Paris, Victoire must find the strength to join the revolutionary force storming the Bastille. Is she brave enough to help overthrow the diabolical aristocracy?
As Spirit of Lost Angels traces Victoire’s journey, it follows too, the journey of an angel talisman through generations of the Charpentier family. Victoire lives in the hope her angel pendant will one day renew the link with a special person in her life.
Amidst the tumult of the French revolution drama, the women of Spirit of Lost Angels face tragedy and betrayal in a world where their gift can be their curse.
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‘WOLFSANGEL’
The second in the series, set during the World War II German Occupation of France.
Seven decades after German troops march into her village, Céleste Roussel is still unable to assuage her guilt.
1943. German soldiers occupy provincial Lucie-sur-Vionne, and as the villagers pursue treacherous schemes to deceive and swindle the enemy, Céleste embarks on her own perilous mission as her passion for a Reich officer flourishes.
When her loved ones are deported to concentration camps, Céleste is drawn into the vortex of this monumental conflict, and the adventure and danger of French Resistance collaboration.
As she confronts the harrowing truths of the Second World War’s darkest years, Céleste is forced to choose: pursue her love for the German officer, or answer General de Gaulle’s call to fight for France.
Her fate suspended on the fraying thread of her will, Celeste gains strength from the angel talisman bequeathed to her through her lineage of healer kinswomen. But the decision she makes will shadow the remainder of her days.
A woman’s unforgettable journey to help liberate Occupied France, Wolfsangel is a stirring portrayal of the courage and resilience of the human mind, body and spirit.
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LIZA PERRAT
Liza grew up in Wollongong, Australia, where she worked as a general nurse and midwife for fifteen years.
Liza is currently working on the third book in the ‘L’Auberge Des Anges’ series, ‘Blood Rose Angel’, set during the 14th Century, Black Plague years.
You can catch up with Liza on her website
Chat with Liza on her personal blog
‘Tweet’ Liza here
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I can’t wait to discover all your own great new finds this week … so please stop by and share your link, so that I can visit your post.
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These both sound interesting to me, especially knowing they’re part of a series where each book is over 100 years apart. I’m awfully curious as to how they manage to come together, and hope you enjoy them!
Hi Shoshanah,
I have heard and seen nothing but praise for both these books, so it looks as though I am in for a treat.
Despite Liza saying that these can be read as stand alone stories, I can’t wait to see how the connection is made between the two timelines, especially as the third book in the trilogy will be set the furthest back in time by several centuries.
Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment, I appreciate it.
Hi Shoshanah,
Thank you for taking the time to comment. As Yvonne says, each of the books are entirely standalone stories, though they all follow the same family, the same farmhouse and rural French village. The women of each generations are connected by a mysterious bone angel pendant, passed down from mother to daughter.
It’s nice to start a new book series knowing you have the sequel in hand. These look like fascinating reads. Hope you enjoy, and have a great week!
Hi Lucy,
I am generally so bad at reading a series in sequence, that receiving the gift of both books together is a definite bonus for me.
As the two stories are so diverse in their premise, it will also feel as though I am reading from distinctly different genres, which is all to the good from my perspective.
Thanks for visiting today, I always look forward to reading your comments.
Hi Lucy,
Thanks for taking the time to comment. Best wishes, Liza
I’ve been frustrated to read a book only to find it’s part of a series and I’ve read out of order. I’m glad you received the first two and hope you enjoy both, Yvonne. Have a great week!
Hi Mary,
I tend to want to mix the genres up a bit in my reading schedule, so generally reading a series never really happens for me.
However, even though these two books are part of a series and are linked in some way, they are set in such different time eras that they are almost akin to reading two separate and different genres, so I shall no trouble reading them back to back.
Thanks for stopping by, I always appreciate your comments and I hope that you have a good week.
Hi Mary,
Thank you for your comment. I understand that frustration; it’s happened to me several times. Both Spirit of Lost Angels and Wolfsangel are entirely standalones, even though they are part of a (loosely-linked) series. Best, Liza
I read SPIRIT OF LOST ANGELS. EXCELLENT…I loved it.
ENJOY both books, and enjoy your week.
Elizabeth
Silver’s Reviews
My Mailbox Monday
Another giveaway on my blog if you want stop by that post too.
Giveaway
Hi Elizabeth,
I have seen ‘Wolfsangel’ around on quite a few sites and everyone seems to have nothing but good things to say about it. Yours is the second positive comment about ‘Spirit Of Lost Angels’ from my immediate circle of blogging friends, so that bodes well for me reading and enjoying both books.
Thanks for your feedback on the book, I appreciate it.
Thanks, Elizabeth,
I still recall your wonderful review of Spirit of Lost Angels. It was one of the very first reviews I got, and I was thrilled, and infused with self-confidence! You know that Wolfsangel is waiting for you if you ever have time… no pressure though! Best, Liza
I’ve read good things about Wolfsangel and didn’t realize it’s part of a series. I have a feeling you’re going to enjoy these books!
Hi Kathy,
It seems as though most people have come across either one book or the other, so I feel myself quite fortunate to have bagged both books at the same time.
I am looking forward to discovering how the two stories are linked, especially when Liza has now set the third book in the series in the 14th Century, hundreds of years before either ‘Wolfsangel’ or ‘Spirit Of Lost Angels’.
Thanks for stopping by today and I hope that you have a good week.
Thanks for your comment, Kathy. Wolfsangel is very loosely part of L’Auberge des Anges series, set in rural France, that follows the same family, farm and village, across many generations. However, it can also be read entirely as a standalone.
Two great books, i’m sure you’ll enjoy them. Happy reading.
Hi Tracy,
I have you to thank once again, for receiving these two great books for review, as Liza contacted me direct after reading the comments I had left on your review posts for them.
Including yourself, just about everyone who has read either one or the other (or both) books, have had nothing but positive comments to make, so it sounds as though I am really going to enjoy them.
Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate the visit and your comment.
And thanks once again, Tracy, for two great reviews. Your efforts, and those of all your book reviewing friends are much appreciated!
I hope you enjoy your reading week.
http://tributebooksmama.blogspot.com/2013/12/mailbox-monday.html
Hi Mary Ann,
I am still reading the World War I drama, which I am thoroughly enjoying, then I have a pretty full on thriller to get stuck into … that’s if the Christmas rush at work doesn’t finish me off first!!
Thanks for stopping by and have a great week.
Thanks for your comment, Mary Ann, and for your nice review of Spirit of Lost Angels in 2012.
Hi Yvonne, I read Spirits of Lost Angels and enjoyed it very much. I am looking forward to reading Wolfsangel soon. I really hope you enjoy them both! 🙂
Hi Lindsay,
It looks as though there is a massive ‘thumbs up’ for this series, so I am really looking forward to reading both books and I hope that you get the opportunity to read ‘Wolfsangel’ very soon.
Thanks for taking the time to stop by and add your vote of confidence to the conversation, I really appreciate it.
Thank you, Lindsay!
I hope you enjoy Wolfsangel too. Best, Liza