Rise - A Novel of Contemporary Israel by Yosef Gotlieb

Rise: A Novel of Contemporary Israel. Yosef Gotlieb. Published by The Olive Group. October 2011. 386 pages. ISBN #: 97857557011.

Lilah Kedem left Israel thirty years ago after she was emotionally decimated by the death of her brother, who died in battle during his military service in Israel.  Now, she's come back to initially watch as her husband, with whom she's had an on again off again relationship over the years, in his leadership position in the Israeli government, meets opposition in the government.  She also sees how honorably, bravely, and maturely her son, Ido, behaves in his position in an elite division of the Israeli Defense Forces.  No, it's not an idyllic reunion at all and days after her return the appalling violence begins that will change all of their lives.

Lilah over the years has become a renowned photography journalist, a master at her trade.  She decides to take some pictures of Arab and Jewish Israeli women.  One Arab woman with stunning blue eyes piques her attention and she takes her picture, only to see a photo of that same woman two days later on the front page of a national newspaper.  For this woman was the first victim of those who advertise themselves as Jewish extremists who vow to remove all Arabs from Israel's soil.  

Eli Zedek is a retired member of Israeli's security forces who is determined, after several even more violent attacks against Arab villages, to find the perpetrators of such horrific acts.  At the same time, Lilah and Naftali reunite with Lilah's oldest friend, Micah, and her husband, Issam, an Arab doctor.  Their response, after forming a group of both Arabs and Jews to discuss and celebrate the ideas that unite and speak of the best of Israel, is to form a grass-roots movement, called Rise, that will oppose the materialistic, inadequate parties of the Israeli government and force them to acknowledge the desires of the population which for the most part desire peace and an end to the centuries old cycles of rage and death.  At first the goals and methods seem rather naive and fantasy-ridden, especially when the reader considers the reality of this regions's history, but little but little the people do rise to indicate this is a dream that can become reality through the union and demands of the many.  

The final confrontations with the evil force perpetrating the attacks are tense and in one sense unbelievable as the reader cannot guess who is behind the evil appearing as a harbinger of death.

Yosef Gotlieb obviously knows his subject very well, is familiar with all the ins and outs, the support and opposition, the materialism, religiosity, and spiritual outlook present in the varied citizens of this war-torn and war-weary land of Israel.  He tells an amazing story that should be read by many, a story of rising above the worst that man can demonstrate to create the best that all united can fashion.  Wonderful contemporary fiction and well-crafted novel!!!

Thief of Shadows by Elizabeth Hoyt

Thief of Shadows - Book Four in the Maiden Lane Series. Elizabeth Hoyt. Grand Central Publishing.  June 2012. 384 pages. ISBN #: 9781455508327.

Lady Isabel Beckinhall is returning home from being a representative for a special home for unfortunate infants and foundlings when she has a startling experience in the seamier St. Giles part of London, England in 1738. Her carriage comes to a halt when the driver spies a dead man in the street, the notorious Ghost of St. Giles, who really is severely wounded but not dead at all!  Against the advice of others and her own reason, she has him stuffed into the carriage and covered. After a frightening moment of being stopped by the police, she returns home and has the injured man carried inside.  She sees he has a deep wound that needs sutures but never sees his face as he regains consciousness before she can remove the face covering which disguises his real person.  What she sees in his eyes and he in hers is enough to kindle a light that at first appears to go nowhere!

He soon recovers and leaves and she is back to her society responsibilities.  These concern being asked to teach high society manners to the manager of the home for orphans, a brusque cold fish of a character when in society but a warm, generous, big-hearted man for the children whose lives he manages.  However, the foundling home's Board of society snobs don't know that and are threatening to replace him unless Isabel can re-educate him to rise to the level of those whose finances are necessary for the survival of the home.  Let the games begin!

What follows are some funny moments as Winter Makepeace learns to act like a boring, stuffy member of the aristocracy by participating in Isabel's lessons.  But something else is happening in this supposedly neutral relationship - both are cautiously but rapidly falling for each other.  He must learn to dress in a more fashionable style and learn to speak general nonsense that means nothing and yet everything to the "right" people.  What further will happen when the rising peace between Winter and Isabel gets fueled by their private and then public meetings?

Finally we learn who the real Ghost of St. Giles is, the background behind his name in story form and the incident that led him to discovery that children were being kidnapped for financial gain by the most unsavory characters. Who is the aristocrat behind these kidnappings still occurring? A strong sense of justice fills The Ghost's being and he vows to save as many children as possible.  What will happen to such  a group of honest businessmen who profit from the work of young, young children?   Will the Ghost of St. Giles be able to fill a larger goal of helping those in distress?

Remarkable, passionate story, Ms. Hoyt - well-told and oh so romantic!

On The Island by Tracey Garvis Graves

On The Island. Tracey Garvis Graves. Plume/Penguin Group USA. July 2012. 336 pages - Paperback. ISBN #: 9780142196724.

Anna Emerson is traveling with T. J. Callahan to a tropical island for several months. He's on vacation after recovering from cancer treatment, and she's there to tutor him for the schooling he missed during his illness. As she's bored with her Chicago life and unsure about the guy she's dating who refuses to even contemplate any type of commitment, this strikes her as a chance for something very different as well as some space to think about what her future holds.  It turns out she's going to have more than a brief interlude to contemplate her future.

Things begin to go awry when she notices the pilot popping anti-acids, sweating profusely, and occasionally rubbing his chest.  Sure enough, he has a heart attack but manages to land the plane on water but so hard the aircraft begins to fall apart.  Clutching remaining pieces and eventually each other, they finally manage to float and swim to a sandy shore, an island with no other inhabitants. 

What follows are three-and-a-half years of growing intimacy and harrowing, life-threatening experiences with disease, jellyfish, storms, and more.  Just learning how to get enough food to survive is an extraordinary strain, not to mention the toll it takes physically on both of them.

At first, TJ is the one whose hormones kick in because of this tutor who he begins to appreciate as a woman, but it's Anna who refuses to cross the line for a long, long time.  How will they reconcile their growing intimacy with what they know people will say about their ages and what would be seen as an older woman seducing a much younger man, even a teen. And really, at this time, it doesn't seem as if they will ever be rescued.

The plot sounds fairly simple, but the way the author crafts the story keeps the reader intensely interested, enjoying the humor, feeling the tension, and rooting for the well-being of these engaging characters.  Some may say it stretches credibility but such tales of solitary island living have occurred in reality.  On The Island is a heart-wrenching, adventurous, and passionate read on so many levels - all in all a great summer read!

Master of Verona by David Blixt

Master of Verona. David Blixt. St. Martin's Griffin. September 2008. 592 pages pbk. ISBN #: 9780312361440 .

Pietro Alaghieri (Palio) is 17 years old at the opening of this novel and definitely a boy constantly being corrected by his father, the famous poet Dante who wrote "The Inferno." But Palio will soon prove himself as a man as he inadvertently becomes involved in a battle led by "Cangrande" or Francesco della Scalla.  Palio is wounded and remains lame in one leg.  That, however, does not daunt Palio as he continues to repeatedly prove his fierce bravery and loyalty.

Sounds like a simple plot, right?  Not at all.  Words can hardly convey the depth of plot, characterization, battle scenes, political intrigue, et al contained in these amazing pages!  To begin with, Palio's father has been exiled from his native Florence and his writings are considered brilliant by many but also heretical by many others, who make the sign of the evil eye when he passes.   Then there is Cangrande's sister, an enigmatic woman who seems to have a very strong affect on her brother, who will later bring up a mysterious child predicted to have a formidable role in Italian politics, and who knows her brother and his secrets like no other friend or foe!  

Feuding between the Northern medieval cities is a constant, with agreements and betrayals interspersed with battles described in realistic detail.  Astrology is a foremost aspect in the lives of all characters, laced with the warnings of a church divided within itself.  The quest for power fuels all!

Poetry and prose are aptly included, with a fascinating look at the publishing (or copying in reality) process described through the character of Palio's sister.  A strong allusion to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is present in the war between two of Palio's friends over a woman, with a fierce battle not ending the debacle.

Finally, there's a plot conceived by two main characters that does not become clear until the end but is masterfully carried out.  Who, out of the mysterious prophecy, will be the "wolf" leader bound to unite Italy and create a new destiny for this war-besieged country?

Master of Verona cannot be simply described but MUST be experienced.  David Blixt is a brilliant, talented writer whose novels will be relished by all lovers of historical fiction and those who love a great story full of intelligence, wit, humor, adventure, romance, and so much more!  So, well-done, David Blixt!

Patriots by David Frum

Patriots. David Frum. CreateSpace Publication. May 2012. 484 pages, pbk. ISBN #: 9781475141962.

Well-known and vague commentators state that the political system in Washington is rotten to the core and needs to be scrapped and reshaped.  David Frum, former economic speechwriter for President George W. Bush, has given the reader a look at the inner machinations and nefarious actions of America's most powerful Senators, lobbyists, assistants, radio commentators, bloggers and anyone else therein.

Walter Schotzke, rich playboy son of the famous "mustard" family name, is mandated to employment by his grandmother who has had enough of his free-wheeling, uneducated, partying lifestyle.  Initially, he is assigned to work as an assistant to an eminent Senator who supposedly is a fierce supporter of the "Constitutionalist" (Republican?) Party.  But things begin to run amok when the newly elected President states he will be working to cross party-lines in all decisions, and the ire of the Constitutionalist Party awakens to become a destructive monster determined to destroy the President.

There's a war in Mexico and a horrific attack occurs in which it is believed that traitors within were responsible for the death and kidnapping of American soldiers.  Add to that an economy that is about to tank, with a plan to rescue the looming crisis by taxing new homeowners, and the picture becomes clear.  Other similar nightmarish scenarios follow.

What is specifically horrific is the political blurring of fact and fiction used by behind-the-scenes, well-paid agents of change who shape the news and thereby shape public policy enacted by our local and national politicians.  Is this news?  Not really to any intelligent, news-savvy, aware citizen but the blatant way Frum depicts the opulence and vicious nature behind the attacks is, as obviously intended by the author, quite revolting. The reader spends an inordinate amount of time working out who the "real" people behind this account are and the party affiliations, a process not very hard to decipher.

For those who eat up the Washington scene and the big players there, Patriots is a must read. It's satirical qualities reek off every page.  Walter Schotzke starts off as an ignorant "yes" man but evolves into a man wanting to know all the facts and fiction and believing that the "truth" (which is very hard to figure out) must be allowed to rule the day rather than the "rotten in Denmark" conditions.  

The reader is left to decide what the solution is, if one exists!  After all, this is fiction, isn't it?

A bit overdone but all in all, a clever account of political fiction, David Frum!

The Trouble With Pilots by Kristi Ahlers

The Trouble With Pilots. Kristi Ahlers. Tirgearr Publishing. April 2012. 45 pp. or 126 KB - print or e-book format.  

Sarah Harper is off to Paris to design her best friend's wedding dress.  The problem is she is absolutely petrified of flying.  She's beside herself as she sits down for the flight.  How surprised is she to find an ex-pilot, Trey Chasen, is sitting next to her.  The combo of her medication to relax her and the scent and relaxed manner of her seatmate wind up bringing out an outrageous, totally unplanned reaction before they land!  While she's embarrassed, he's fascinated and wants to spend more time with this funny but intriguing, sexy gal!

Now Sarah has previously dated a pilot and thinks they all have egos bigger than the skies in which they regularly fly!  But Trey Chasen is blowing that image out of the skies, and Sarah is starting to like the new thoughts electrifying her body and mind!

Where will this hot romance lead?

The second novelette in The Troubles series, this story again is short but oh so satisfying and  passionate! Again, very nicely done, Ms. Ahlers!

The Trouble With French Kisses by Kristi Ahlers

The Trouble with French Kisses. (Book 1 of The Trouble Series).  Kristi Ahlers. Tirgearr Publishing. February 2012. 43 pp. or 118 KB - print or e-book. 

Hannah Walsh hardly expects to fall so fast to a French aristocrat, Damien Jacques, descended from a French King and owner of a successful wine vineyard.  

Hannah's last romance had severely injured her self-image, but she's managed to restore some of it with her job with Louis Vuitton and the breathtaking view in Paris. After a first date at the lively Moulin Rouge, she finds herself more and more interested in Damien but is still hesitant, having learned that men with large egos are more self-centered than interested in caring and loving a woman.

However, Damien shows signs of intelligence, wit, and humility as he takes her through the more famous Parisian sites such as Versailles and even his own home, where the lights truly begin to turn on - and not from the regal surroundings!  

So how is it that they are arrested for kissing? Find out about a law rarely enforced except this one time!

This is a very short but lovely novelette that all lovers of the romance fiction genre will eat up quickly and want more!  Terrific story, Ms. Ahlers!