Book Review: A Half Forgotten Song

'A Half Forgotten Song'
Author: Katherine Webb

Format: ARC
Published: William Morrow Paperbacks; May 2013
Pages: 496
Genre: Historical fiction; mystery
Grade: B
Source: TLC Book Tours

Synopsis: A spellbinding tale about the power of love, the danger of obsession, and the unfaithful nature of memory, A Half Forgotten Song is by turns haunting, joyous, and heartbreaking
1937. In a windswept village on the Dorset coast, fourteen-year-old Mitzy Hatcher has endured a wild and lonely upbringing. But the arrival of renowned artist Charles Aubrey, along with his exotic mistress and their two daughters, changes everything. Over the course of three summers, Mitzy develops a deep and abiding bond with the Aubrey household, gradually becoming Charles's muse. Slowly, she begins to perceive a future she had never thought possible—and a powerful love is kindled in her. A love that will grow as she does: from innocence to obsession; from childish infatuation to something far more dangerous.
Years later, a young man in an art gallery happens upon a hastily drawn portrait and is intrigued by its curious intensity. The questions he asks lead him to the seaside village—and to the truth about those fevered summers of long ago.

My Take: A Half Forgotten Song by Katherine Webb had all of the characteristics of a book I would love. It's historical fiction, it has a hint of mystery (my new favorite addition to books), it's set in England. And guess what? All of these elements did add up to a book I really enjoyed. I love it when that happens!

Let's start at the beginning though shall we? A Half Forgotten Song tells two different, intertwined stories. I am going to try to summarize them without completely blowing the mystery for you. One of the stories is set in the present day and follows Zach, an art gallery owner and recent divorcee learning how to live a life that he feels he has lost control of. In his gallery hang three portraits by Charles Aubrey, a famous artist from the 1930s who may or may not have had an affair with his grandmother. The other story is of Dimity "Mitzy" Hatcher. An old, mysterious woman who lives on the coast of Dorset being interviewed by Zach about her relationship/connection to Charles Aubrey in the summers of the late 1930s for a book he may be writing.

We travel back to the 1930s during Dimity's recollections of the past to Zach but soon her memories overtake her and we are there with her when she is young. Dimity is at best an old woman who perhaps doesn't remember the past as well as she might, at worst she is an unreliable narrator who colors events the way she wishes they had occurred. Because of this, you the reader, have to work hard to try to figure out what the real emotions are of the characters involved. Dimity was a young, naive girl when these things were happening. Her accounts may not be entirely accurate.

What I really enjoyed about A Half Forgotten Song was the fact that you knew there was a mystery, some sort of suspense building, but at times I couldn't even figure out what the mystery was surrounding. Once I reached the last 100 pages, events started unfurling that really brought these mysteries to the forefront and then, just as efficiently, solved them.

What I didn't really enjoy was that at almost 500 pages, divided into only twelve chapters, and with incredibly small print, A Half Forgotten Song quickly began to feel more like homework than pleasurable reading. As enjoyable a story as it was, the book needed to be tightened considerable to make this one that I would read again. My suggestion? Remove the modern day story of Zach and keep the mystery around Dimity/Mitzy intact.

However, those who enjoy historical novels with ghosts and mysteries thrown in will surely get enjoyment out of this novel.

Don't just take my word for it! Check out the whole TLC Book Tour.

Cover Lust: I think this is a perfect cover for A Half Forgotten Song. This is exactly what I envisioned The Watch (the house Dimity has lived in her whole life) to look like.

Book Review and Giveaway: Fabio's Italian Kitchen

'Fabio's Italian Kitchen'
Author: Fabio Viviani

Format: Paperback
Published: Hyperion; Apr. 2013
Pages: 304
Genre: Cookbook
Grade: A
Source: Publisher

Synopsis: When Fabio Viviani was growing up in a housing project in Florence, Italy, the center of his world was the kitchen, where his mother, grandmother, and especially his great-grandmother instilled in him a love for cooking and good food.

Now he shares the best of Italian home cooking while telling the story of his hardscrabble childhood, his success as a chef in the United States, and the women in his family who inspired him. In more than 150 delicious recipes, Viviani takes us from his family home, where his great-grandmother taught him to make staples like Italian Apple Cake and Homemade Ricotta, to the kitchen of a local trattoria, where he honed his craft cooking restaurant favorites like Gnocchi and the Perfect Tiramisu, and then across Italy where he studied each region’s finest recipes, from Piedmont’s Braised Ossobuco to Emilia Romagna’s Perfect Meat Sauce.

A gorgeously illustrated cookbook, Fabio’s Italian Kitchen is a celebration of food and family that brings all the joy, fun, and flair that Fabio Viviani embodies to your kitchen.

Fabio Viviani was born in Florence, Italy, and became a sous chef at Il Pallaio, a trattoria in Firenze, at the age of sixteen. He now works as the owner and executive chef of Cafe Firenze, a renowned Italian restaurant in Ventura County, California, and Osteria Firenze, a Los Angeles Italian eatery. He has appeared on Top Chef (season five), Top Chef All Stars, and Life After Top Chef.

My Take: Any Top Chef fans out there? We are huge fans in this household and to me, there has been no sexier, more charismatic chef-testant on that show than Fabio Viviani. So naturally, when offered the chance to review his latest cookbook I leapt at the opportunity!

Fabio's Italian Kitchen by Fabio Viviani is as full of life and humor as the author himself. Each chapter begins with stories of Vivani's life. Showing family photos and stories it really paints the picture of a precocious child in Italy and how he's made his way to the US. 

My version of Fabio's Drunken Spaghetti!

Italian food is always a perennial favorite in many households so I was happy to try out some dishes that I haven't had before that were contained within Fabio's Italian Kitchen. For a cookbook to be one that I'll  go back to over and over again, not only do the recipes have to be good but there needs to be accompanying images for each and every recipe (I want to know if I did it right!) and this book delivers.

I flipped through the book few times trying to find the best recipe to try and I decided it would have to be 'Drunken Spaghetti'. I mean seriously, how fun is that name? You dye your spaghetti purple by cooking it in red wine. I had never tried this before and not only was it a feast for the eyes but my stomach wasn't complaining either! I made this with grilled asparagus which is always a hit in this house.

Fabio in the flesh!

To make matters even more interesting, I discovered that Fabio would be doing a talk and book signing at my favorite local cookbook store, Omnivore Books (seriously if you are ever in SF, you have to check this gem out!). Naturally I had to go (and my husband had to go too to make sure I didn't throw myself at Fabio!). So that's how we found ourselves in an intimate setting laughing away while Fabio told stories of his life and how he loves what he does. Such a fun day! And sadly, it came to light that he does have a girlfriend. Oh well! :)

So, if you love Top Chef, or if you just love to cook, I highly recommend Fabio's Italian Kitchen as a great addition to your cookbook collection!

Cover Lust: Well there is a big photo of Fabio so how can it be anything other than perfect!

Giveaway Details
Thanks to the publisher, I have one signed copy to give away! The deadline for this giveaway is June 27th; entries open to those in the US and Canada only (no PO boxes please).

To Enter (Mandatory)!
Comment below with a way for me to contact you.

For Extra entries (Optional), indicate that you are:
+1 Follow this blog on Google Connect (see right sidebar)
+1 Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway (include @amusedbybooks in your tweet)
+1 Blog/Post about this giveaway on your sidebar

3 extra entries available. Giveaway open until 11:59pm PST June 27th. I will draw the winners using random.org and announce them here on my blog. Good luck!

Book Review: The Perfume Collector

'The Perfume Collector'
Author: Kathleen Tessaro

Format: ARC
Published: Harper; April 2013
Pages: 514
Genre: Historical fiction
Grade: A
Source: Publisher

Synopsis: An inheritance from a mysterious stranger . . .
An abandoned perfume shop on the Left Bank of Paris . . .
And three exquisite perfumes that hold a memory . . . and a secret
London, 1955: Grace Monroe is a fortunate young woman. Despite her sheltered upbringing in Oxford, her recent marriage has thrust her into the heart of London's most refined and ambitious social circles. However, playing the role of the sophisticated socialite her husband would like her to be doesn't come easily to her—and perhaps never will.
Then one evening a letter arrives from France that will change everything. Grace has received an inheritance. There's only one problem: she has never heard of her benefactor, the mysterious Eva d'Orsey.
So begins a journey that takes Grace to Paris in search of Eva. There, in a long-abandoned perfume shop on the Left Bank, she discovers the seductive world of perfumers and their muses, and a surprising, complex love story. Told by invoking the three distinctive perfumes she inspired, Eva d'Orsey's story weaves through the decades, from 1920s New York to Monte Carlo, Paris, and London.
But these three perfumes hold secrets. And as Eva's past and Grace's future intersect, Grace realizes she must choose between the life she thinks she should live and the person she is truly meant to be.
Illuminating the lives and challenging times of two fascinating women, The Perfume Collector weaves a haunting, imaginative, and beautifully written tale filled with passion and possibility, heartbreak and hope.

My Take: I was immediately drawn to this book because of the strikingly beautiful woman on the cover of Kathleen Tessaro's new novel The Perfume Collector. If only I could have such style! Upon reading the synopsis and learning that it was set in both the 1920s and the 1950s I knew that this would be a book I would enjoy.

Considering the length, I veritably blew through The Perfume Collector. Finishing it in only a few days, it's one of the best books I've read in a while. I became completely captivated by the twinned stories of Grace Monroe and Eva d'Orsey.

The Perfume Collector begins with Grace Monroe. It is the 1950s in London. Grace is a newly married woman, a little shy, a little uncomfortable in her own skin. She receives a letter from a law firm in Paris telling her that she has come into an inheritance after the death of Eva d'Orsay. The only problem is, Grace has never heard of this woman before in her life. In order to solve this mystery, Grace flies to Paris to meet with the lawyers to learn who this Eva woman is.

The novel cuts to the 1920s in New York City telling us the story of Eva d'Orsay, a young immigrant working as a maid in a hotel, trying to find her way in life. I want to tell you more, but alas I don't want to give anything away so I better stop while I'm ahead!

The two different story lines are not confusing to follow. The chapters begin with the location and the year and Grace and Eva are different enough that you can't really get confused between the two stories. Even though I figured out pretty early on how these two women were probably connected I couldn't help but want to keep reading how the 'mystery' would be solved for Grace, what it would mean for her life, for her marriage. And Eva? Well her life was just plain fascinating.

If you love historical fiction with a bit of mystery, and characters you get to know as though you've become friends with them in real life, then Kathleen Tessaro's The Perfume Collector will not let you down.

Don't just take my word for it! Be sure to check out the full TLC Book Tour.

Cover Lust: As I said earlier, I couldn't take my eyes off this cover. It was very fitting and I think this woman may have been Eva.

Book Review: The Roots of the Olive Tree

'The Roots of the Olive Tree'
Author: Courtney Miller Santo

Format: Paperback
Published: William Morrow Paperbacks; April 2013
Pages: 336
Genre: Women's fiction
Grade: B
Source: TLC Book Tours

Synopsis: Courtney Miller Santo's compelling and evocative debut novel captures the joys and sorrows of family—the love, secrets, disappointments, jealousies, and forgiveness that tie generations to one another

Meet the Keller family, five generations of firstborn women living together in the same house on a secluded olive grove in the Sacramento Valley of Northern California. Anna, the family matriarch, is 112 and determined to become the oldest person in the world. Strong in mind and firm in body, she rules Hill House, the family home she shares with her daughter Bets, granddaughter Callie, great-granddaughter Deb, and great-great-granddaughter Erin.
While the Keller women are bound by blood, living together has not always been easy. And it is about to become more complicated now that Erin, the youngest, is back, alone and pregnant, after two years abroad with an opera company. Her return and the arrival of a geneticist who has come to study the family's unusual longevity ignites explosive emotions that these women have kept buried and uncovers revelations that will shake them all to their roots.

My Take: I blew through Courtney Miller Santo's The Roots of the Olive Tree! A generational story set in Northern California (yay!), this book just screamed family secrets to be uncovered! I needed to find out what those secrets were.

The Roots of the Olive Tree is centered around the Keller family. Five generations of first born women who have found themselves all living together at their family olive grove near Sacramento, CA. Some wish they could move away and some know that they are right where they belong. 

The matriarch, Anna, has lived on the orchard almost her whole life. She was four when her family emigrated there from Australia and knows not only the history of the orchard, but of the small town in which they live in as well. At 112, she is soon set to be the oldest living person in the world and a doctor has come to study what makes the women in her family live so long. As the story progresses we learn about the true origins of her birth.

Anna's daughter Bets is in her 90s and lives at the orchard as well. Her husband is still alive but is in a nursing home and as the story progresses we learn the secrets of their marriage. Her daughter Callie has a lot of scars, both physical and emotional that she needs to work through. Owning a roadside store, The Pit Stop, does not bring her the worldliness she craves. Callie's daughter, Deb, is in jail for shooting her husband. This brings the entire family a layer of shame and resentment. Finally, we have Deb's daughter Erin. In her early twenties and off singing opera in Europe, she shows up one day pregnant and lost. 

Reading The Roots of the Olive Tree, you learn about all of these women and the secrets they hold from each other. You discover why they argue and why they love each other so fiercely. You feel as though you become a part of this amazing extended family.

Additionally, it makes you question what you know about aging. I would think The Roots of the Olive Tree would make a fascinating addition to any book club's reading calendar because the longevity issues it brings up kept making me want to discuss it with someone else. I know this is a work of fiction but it doesn't mean you can't wonder if what they are talking about with a longevity gene might actually be a possibility. 

Bottom line, if you like generational tales as much as I do, you can't really go wrong with The Roots of the Olive Tree.

Of course mine is not the only opinion out there so I encourage you to visit the whole TLC Book Tour.

Cover Lust: I am going to say that this cover is just meh. It doesn't say anything about what is in inside and is a little too generic for me.

June Review Book Giveaway!

I just love hosting this giveaway every month and I hope you enjoy the possibility of grabbing some great reads for free. So without further ado, here's what's on offer this month, and as before, the titles link to my reviews.

I Shouldn't Be Telling You This: Success Secrets Every Gutsy Girl Should Know by Kate White

The Ambassador's Daughter by Pam Jenoff

All titles are ARCs, have been read once by me, and are in very good condition.

Giveaway Details!
The deadline for this giveaway is June 30th; entries open to those in the US.

To Enter (Mandatory)!
Comment below, indicating which book(s) interest you and a way for me to contact you. You can enter for all but you will only win one.

For Extra entries (Optional), indicate in the comments below that you are:
+1 Follow this blog on Google Connect (see right sidebar)
+1 Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway (include @amusedbybooks in your tweet)
+1 Blog/Post about this giveaway on your sidebar

Three extra entries available. Giveaway open until 11:59pm PST June 30th. I will draw the winners using random.org and announce them here on my blog. Good luck!

Winners of May Review Book Giveaway!

Thanks to everyone who signed up to win a book in my May Review Book Giveaway! The winners, using random.org, are:

• Traveler has won The Fine Color of Rust by P.A. O'Reilly
• JJT has won Visiting Tom: A Man, a Highway, and the Road to Roughneck Grace by Michael Perry

Enjoy your new reads!

Book Review: The Patron Saint of Lost Dogs

'The Patron Saint of Lost Dogs'
Author: Nick Trout

Format: Paperback
Published: Hyperion; Feb. 2013
Pages: 352
Genre: Fiction
Grade: D
Source: Publisher

Synopsis: Dr. Cyrus Mills returns to his hometown after inheriting his father's failing veterinary practice. Cyrus intends to sell the practice and get out of town as fast as he can, but when his first patient--a down-on-her-luck golden retriever named Frieda Fuzzypaws--wags her way through the door, life suddenly gets complicated.

With the help of a black Labrador gifted in the art of swallowing underwear, a Persian cat determined to expose her owner's lover as a gold digger, and the allure of a feisty, pretty waitress from the local diner, Cyrus gets caught up in a new community and its endearing residents, both human and animal. Sensing he may have misjudged the past, he begins to realize it's not just his patients that need healing.

The Patron Saint of Lost Dogs is a winsome tale of new beginnings, forgiveness, and the joy of finding your way home.

My Take: I am going to keep this review short and sweet. If you love animals (and seriously who doesn't, even if just from afar?) you will probably want to pick up this book. I am a lover of animals and really really want to someday have an English bulldog of my own, so yes, basically I took one look at that cover and had to read it. Sadly for me, I overlooked the fact that if a book is cheesy, or dare I say schmaltzy, I will find myself just rolling my eyes the whole time and not get much out of it. Basically, upon reading it, I discovered that I knew exactly how this whole book would fall in order. Man inherits vet business. He doesn't really want to work at, just sell it as quickly as possibly. He finds that he actually loves the animals, and perhaps will learn to love the people too. So then, he has a decision to make, to sell or not to sell? Perhaps if I was on vacation and just wanted to escape this would have worked for me, as it was I wasn't even that interested because it was a story I've already read.

Now I know there are always different opinions, so please tell me yours when it came to reading The Patron Saint of Lost Dogs by Nick Trout!

Cover Lust: Honestly, I don't think this cover could be more adorable!

Book Review: Tuesday Night Miracles

'Tuesday Night Miracles'
Author: Kris Radish

Format: Paperback
Published: Bantam; Jan. 2012
Pages: 496
Genre: Chick-lit
Grade: B
Source: Publicist

Synopsis: Free-spirited psychologist Dr. Olivia Bayer suspects she’ll need a miracle to help the four wildly different women in her anger management class. Grace, a single working mother, can barely find a moment’s rest. Jane, a high-profile real estate agent, is struggling in the recession. Kit, in her fifties, has had it with her taunting older brothers. And Leah, a young mother of two, is starting over after ending a troubled relationship. All have reached a crossroads, and Dr. Bayer has an unconventional plan to steer them on the right track. As the class gets taken everywhere from a bowling alley to a shooting range, the women’s Tuesday meetings transform from tense, reluctant gatherings into richly rewarding experiments in female bonding. As Grace, Jane, Kit, and Leah open up—revealing secrets, swapping stories, and recovering long-lost dreams—old wounds begin to heal, new friendships are forged, and miracles manifest in the most surprising ways.

My Take: Tuesday Night Miracles by Kris Radish called out to me as soon as I looked at that cover. Then when I saw that a character in this novel was named Leah (aka my name) I knew I wanted to give it a go. I know, a ridiculous reason to want to read a book but hey, whatever works right?!

In this novel we really get to know the lives of five different women, four of whom are going to a court-ordered anger management class every week, and one who is their psychologist. You might think it would have been confusing that way but it wasn't. Each chapter was dedicated to someone different which made it flow well.

Dr. Olivia is the psychologist for the group therapy class. Heading towards retirement, she wants to try something on these women that she has never tried before. She figures this is her last hurrah and if it doesn't work out, well, she is going to retire anyway! The four women in the anger management class are Grace, Kit, Jane, and Leah. Grace is a nurse and a single mother. I felt for her because she was stretched incredibly thin in her day to day life but clearly she wasn't able to deal with her stress very well. Kit is a wife and mother who recently lost her own mother. She doesn't know how to deal with her grief without taking it out on others. Jane is the one who scares me. She was a real estate agent and when the economy took it's downturn, Jane did not handle it well. Finally we have Leah. She is living in a battered women's shelter with her two children and is trying to figure out how to survive.

All of the women come from such different backgrounds and at first absolutely hate and are embarrassed by the idea of attending a court-ordered anger management class. What they soon find out though is Olivia might just have some surprises up her sleeve for the class so it isn't as bad as it might sound.

What I liked about Tuesday Night Miracles is getting to know each woman individually and how Radish very slowly revealed each woman's struggles. It made you want to keep reading. What I found a little off was this novel was clearly dealing with a very real subject and yet, Phyllis, Dr. Olivia's dog, was personified in the story as well so we could hear her thoughts and feelings too. It made for a real disconnect with me with what I felt the story was trying to achieve. However, that one minor flaw wasn't going to ruin the whole story for me. If you are looking for a great read with some real heart, Tuesday Night Miracles would be a great way to go!

Cover Lust: I LOVE this cover. Yes, that must be Phyllis emoting to her master!

Book Review: Solomon's Oak

'Solomon's Oak'
Author: Jo-Ann Mapson

Format: Paperback
Published: Bloomsbury USA; Oct. 2011
Pages: 384
Genre: Fiction
Grade: A
Source: LibraryThing EarlyReviews

Synopsis: Solomon's Oak is the story of three people who have suffered losses that changed their lives forever: Glory Solomon, a young widow who struggles to hold on to her Central California farm; fourteen-year-old Juniper McGuire, who arrives on Glory's doorstep, pierced, tattooed, angry, and homeless; and Joseph Vigil, a former Albuquerque police officer now disabled and in constant pain, who comes to California to fulfill his dream of photographing the state's giant trees, including the two-hundred-year-old Solomon's Oak on Glory's farm. In this deeply felt, wise, and gritty novel, these three broken souls will find in each other an unexpected comfort, and a second chance to see the miracles of everyday life.

My Take: This is one of those books that I have had in my 'to-read pile' for quite some time. Whenever I pick up a book and it is so good, I always wonder what the heck took me so long to read it in the first place. This was one of those books. However long it may have been, I devoured it in a short amount of time because I just couldn't get enough of the story enclosed within Solomon's Oak by Jo-Ann Mapson.

I was initially drawn to this book because it was set in California. Living there, I love to read books set  in locations I know. Set in Central California on a family farm, the location was as much of a character as the people who lived there. Glory is the owner of Solomon's Oak. When the story opens, Glory has recently lost her husband and is having a hard time making her way through all of the grief. One thing she knows she needs to do is keep her farm and her animals alive, and if she is going to do that then she needs to work. She decides that perhaps Solomon's Oak could be a wedding venue. 

On the day of her first wedding at her home, her friend who works to place foster children calls her with a special case. Glory and her husband used to take in fosters all the time but Glory doesn't feel like this is something she can do alone. However, eventually she is persuaded to take in this teenage girl, Juniper. Without giving anything away, you soon learn that Juniper and Glory have a past and Juniper's placement is definitely meant to be.

We also meet Joseph at this first wedding. He is on the property taking photos of the farm's namesake, Solomon's Oak, a white oak that is highly unusual in that location. A former cop, when Joseph's sees a scuffle breakout at the wedding he tries to intervene, throwing him into Glory and Juniper's life.

What is hard to explain about this book is how these three characters all tug at your heartstrings and you want to keep reading to learn how they will all survive, because Glory, Juniper, and Joseph are all broken and need each other. It's not a book that will make you cry but it is a book that will make you think and love the ones near you even more. You will not be disappointed if you pick this book up and I am looking forward to reading more by Mapson.

Cove Lust: This is the perfect cover, however I don't know who that young woman is on the cover because she has blonde hair and neither Juniper nor Glory do.

Book Review: Cascade

'Cascade'
Author: Maryanne O'Hara

Format: Paperback
Published: Penguin Books; April 2013
Pages: 384
Genre: Historical fiction
Grade: B
Source: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Synopsis: It's 1935, and Desdemona Hart Spaulding has sacrificed her plans to work as an artist in New York to care for her bankrupt, ailing father in Cascade, Massachusetts. When he dies, Dez finds herself caught in a marriage of convenience, bound to the promise she made to save her father's Shakespeare Theater, even as her town may be flooded to create a reservoir for Boston. When she falls for artist Jacob Solomon, she sees a chance to escape and realize her New York ambitions, but is it morally possible to set herself free?

Fans of Richard Russo, Amor Towles, Sebastian Barry, and Paula McLain will savor this transporting novel about the eternal tug between our duties and our desires, set in New York City and New England during the uncertain, tumultuous 1930s.

My Take: This was another case of me wanting to read a book solely based on it's cover. I'm sorry but I spent about half the time I was reading Cascade by Maryanne O'Hara just mesmerized by that cover! It is so beautiful. But you've probably swung by to see what I actually thought of the book, so let's get right down to it!

Cascade by Maryanne O'Hara is set in depression era Cascade, MA. But really, it could have been set in any town in any time period because the issues at play were issues people have always dealt with. 

Desdemona is our leading lady and she is in a bit of a pickle. When the story opens, her father is on his death bed and she has rushed home to be with him and take care of him. A young artist, she saw herself pursuing her dream in New York, but instead finds herself stuck with a dying man who has made them both destitute. Not wanting to move her dad into a hotel and seeing no other way out, she marries Asa Spaulding, a man who has had a crush on her his whole life and who owns the local pharmacy, so even in a depression can take care of a family.

Once married, reality hits that perhaps there is more to life than a gut decision that leads to a lifetime of boredom. Des and Asa could not be more different and watching them try to make a 'happy marriage' out of the life they fell into is very heartbreaking to read about.

One day a travelling salesman who is also an artist, Jacob Solomon, drops by Des's house and a friendship starts up. Initially it was just a friendship but soon it starts to reveal deeper emotions and Des and Jacob must both come to terms as to what this might mean for their lives.

A couple of other major things to take into account while reading Cascade: a law is under consideration in nearby Boston to make a reservoir to supply the large city with water and one of the locations they are considering flooding to do so is Cascade. If this goes through, will this mean a fresh start for Des or will they choose a different location and Des will have to decide her own destiny herself? Another thing to consider is Des's dying father's last wish: that she see his once glorious Shakespeare Theatre come back to life. Can Des fulfill this last wish?

So, yes, while it does seem that there is a lot going on, and certainly a lot at stake, O'Hara has actually written a rather slow moving and very thoughtful story. It's not a novel to rush through, it's more of a novel to savor. And for those who aren't big fans of historical fiction, you will probably still really enjoy Cascade as it deals with emotions more than time periods. For a book that will make you continue to think about it long after you've read the last page, you can't go wrong with Cascade by Maryanne O'Hara.

Cover Lust: Well as I've said before, this cover is so beautiful I want to frame it as a piece of art on my walls!

For more opinions about this novel, be sure to check out the full Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour!