Dragon’s Child – The King Arthur’s Trilogy
By M. K. Hume I fell in love with Arthurian tales when I first read The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I was a teenager then and the magical spells that poured from the pages enveloped me. Back in Brazil British history isn’t a big part of the academic curriculum, much less […]
The Lavender Garden
A Novel by Lucinda Riley 1998 – Emilie de La Martinières grew up alone. A poor rich girl ignored by her socialite mother all her life. Having lost her beloved father when she was only fourteen, Emilie feels distant from her family’s history and her inheritance. 1944 – Constance Carruthers is a strong smart woman […]
The Spies by Luis Fernando Verissimo
Review by Flavio Luiz Gomes In “The Spies” by Luiz Fernando Verissimo, an editor receives a manuscript that intrigues him to the point of becoming an obsession. He shares the story with his friends, and little by little the obsession is generalized and a mismatched group of “spies” is formed with the purpose […]
A Discovery of Witches
A novel by Deborah Harkness – first installment on the “All Souls Trilogy” 579 pages Published by Penguin Group I’m not a big reader of Vampire novels. As far as literary metaphors go, I prefer mine a little less bloody. The more recent creations aren’t even literary. And for the sake of entertainment, I enjoy […]
Defiance
YA fantasy by C. J. Redwine – 403 pages Rachel Adams’s father didn’t return from the Wasteland where the Cursed One roams. It’s been sixty days and according to the Commander’s law he must be declared dead. Rachel though, is sure he’s alive. Why doesn’t the Commander send men after him? Thankfully Oliver, her […]
The Club of Angels
Review by Flavio Luiz Gomes Some of the best Brazilian authors were invited to write stories with the seven capital sins as background; Luiz Fernando Verissimo, my favorite writer, tackled gluttony. Luis Fernando Verissimo (b. 1936) is best known for his chronicles and texts of humor, more precisely satire of manners, published daily in several […]
The Map of the Sky
It’s sci-fi, it’s romance, it’s historical, and it’s intriguing. Sci-fi – H. G. Wells sees his work The War of The Worlds coming to reality as aliens invade London and quickly take over the planet. Romance – spoiler alert – Gilliam Murray, the super villain from The Map of Time has a makeover and returns […]
The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo
A Novel by F. H. Haghenbeck Atria Books 352 pages Publication Date: September 25, 2012 There was a little black book amongst Frida’s personal objects discovered in “La Casa Azul,” the blue house where she lived and died. A wedding present from her dear friend, lover, and soul mate Tina Modotti, the Italian photographer and communist […]
Imperfect Bliss
Hardcover, 304 pages Published July 3rd 2012 by Atria Books Summary from Goodreads Reality TV— Jane Austen Style Meet the Harcourts of Chevy Chase, Maryland. A respectable middle-class, middle age, mixed-race couple, Harold and Forsythia, has four eminently marriageable daughters—or so their mother believes. Forsythia named her girls after Windsor royals in the hopes that […]