The Second Empress by Michelle Moran

The Second Empress: A Novel of Napoleon's Court. Michelle Moran. Crown Publishing Group. August 2012. 320 pages. ISBN #: 9780307953032.

Michelle Moran has written a novel about the courtly life of Napoleon Bonaparte and his family.  The story is told from the point of view of Maria Lucia, Princess of Austria, who will become Napoleon's wife after he discards the cheating Josephine; Pauline, Napoleon's sister, who really believes she is like Cleopatra and in truth would like to marry Napoleon and be Empress; Paul Moreau, Napoleon's Haitian chamberlain, trusted by all and serving almost like a Greek chorus in this evolving tragedy; and other characters who have forgotten their origins and become ambitious and proud beyond the mere definition of those words.  This is a stunning story!

The reader will be hard-pressed not to have severe reactions toward these selfish and sad characters.  Pauline seems like a crazed, delusional woman who becomes the master manipulator and shows very little "care" except to Paul and the Empress.  Paul has achieved his freedom at the cost of a sacrifice beyond bearing; ironically he is respected and heard by Napoleon as the latter realizes the fawning lies he hears from all others in his court.

The tension increases as the desired peace, after so many years of war, eludes France and war looms large, forcing changes and decisions that will show the essence of truth of each character herein.

Michelle Moran has an exquisite gift of depicting characters.  Yes, some are stock characters who are just plain nasty people, but others show an educated, compassionate, and cultured side that is the beauty lying behind this tale of pride that goeth before a grand fall!

Masterfully told, Ms. Moran.  No, it's not full of historical events but it does portray the personalities shaping those same events that have already been told numerous times in other places.  Great historical fiction!

Leaves by Michael Baron

Leaves. Michael Baron. The Story Plant. September 2012. 352 pages. ISBN #: 9780984190546.

The "Sugar Maple Inn" is having its last Halloween party.  The original owners have died; but although the adult children are planning to sell the bed and breakfast inn in this lovely Connecticut town, they are determined to have one last party that has always been a family and town tradition. But troubles beset each family member and it seems like it will take divine intervention or something magical to make it all come together!

This is a unique story in that each child has his or her own story that could be a stand alone, with high and low moments, as in all families, novel.  There is Deborah who is a bona fide chef for the inn and whose recipes and meals will make the reader's mouth salivate as these descriptions are exquisite.  But where is she to go after the inn is sold?  Should she start her own business?

And what's the story with the visceral animosity between Corinna and Tyler?  Tyler has been taking skilled photographs of the famous leaves of the area, an education in itself for those not familiar with various types and colors of autumn leaves, but his works are not selling so well any more.  What is his future?

The tension mounts as there are only three weeks left to prepare for this huge party, a tension heightened by personal and familial conflicts.  Yet through it all each character shares a nostalgic point of view, honestly portrayed with victories, disappointments, fights, and resolutions.  Add to that a poignant ending that will pull a tear from the hardest of hearts!

Leaves is plainly a lovely, lovely story that will be enjoyed by all readers.  Sometimes, potency is conveyed without a stick of dynamite because it is just so - like most of our lives - very real!  Grand job, Michael Baron!  Keep writing and thanks for the diverse characters you depict so well in all of your books!

The Winemaker by Noah Gordon

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The Winemaker. Noah Gordon. Open Road Integrated Media, LLC. September 2012. 342 pp. ISBN #: 9781453271094.

Josep Alvarez might be called a self-made man, but that appellation would be missing the essence of his visionary nature.  Initially, he is a young boy trying in any way he can to get employment for his family, suffering devastating poverty and famine as their wine-making business is failing.  Civil War is tearing Spain apart in the early days of the 20th century.

As a very young man, Josep tries out to be a soldier but he's not sure on which side he's being tested for.  A grim training officer is taking Josep and his few friends through a grueling program involving physical stamina, guts, sharp shooter skills, etc.  Finally, Josep and all of his friends are chosen to participate in a secret mission that will make Spain reel and even though only an observer will make Josep look over his shoulder for years and years to come!

Escaping to France, Josep becomes an employee of a wine-grower who teaches him the "art" of growing fine grapes and producing finer wine than any produced in Spain.  That apprenticeship ends when Josep learns of the death of his father and he returns to mourn the loss of his parents and confront a brother who has nothing but acts like rich prince!

To say more would spoil the essence of this wonderful story!  Suffice to say, the reader will work fields with Josep, woo a love, work to have restored trust by neighbors and even eventually respect, and so much more.  This is a lovely story that has plenty of conflict and struggle but that same tension seems to seamlessly weave its way through the story instead of being deliberately hammered on the reader as well as the characters.  Noah Gordon continues to demonstrate a versatility and diversity of subjects and characters in his fiction that is the mark of a truly great writer!  Any book by him, including this literate tale, is a must read!!!

The Trouble with Voodoo by Kristi Ahlers

The Trouble With Voodoo. (The Trouble Series). Kristi Ahlers. Tirgearr Publishing. May 2012. Sold by all major e-book sites. 153 KB.

Ashley Quinn is having dreams that are both haunting and traumatizing dreams about a terrible heartbreak.  When she awakes she knows that it has happened to her.  She soon makes the connection that the bookstore she has bought in the French quarter of New Orleans is haunted!

Ashley had been warned by the realtor and a psychic that she was renting, a message she scorned initially.  Now books are flying off the shelves and she's falling in love with Royce Kingston, an 18th century debonair guy who is breaking hearts left and right until he does it one to many times.

Now he's locked in time and Ashley's dreams transport her to that time in which her heart is broken, over and over on a nightly basis.  Now she knows the only way to heal her own heart is to free the man who broke hers?

Sound confusing - it seems so at first.  But then we realize that Ashley must truly find what it is about this sexy, swashbuckling guy that makes a gal lose her head and heart, even against her own best interests.  She'll also meet a voodoo woman who has had enough of watching Royce's cold, callous behavior toward woman.

Perhaps all will learn the real power of voodoo to change lives as well as the troubles when voodoo and love collide!

This romance novel is marked by just the right balance of heartache, sexy passion, and haunting mysterious effects and affects to create a credible plot as well as tension and fire in every reader! So far this reviewer has found this novel to be the best in a notable "Trouble Series."  Nicely done!

Sweat by Mark Gilleo

Sweat. Mark Gilleo. The Story Plant. August 2012. 366 pages. Available in trade paperback and E-book format. ISBN #: 9781611880519.

Senator Day and Peter Winthrop are on a trip to Saipan, meeting Lee Chang, the owner of a factory.  They will make a movie about the fine working conditions and fine quality product being produced.  Simple story, right?  Wrong!  That will be the most placid scene the reader will experience because the remainder of the book immediately turns into a frenetic paced race to upend the "bad guys," as it used to be called. For the Senator and Peter have a bit of feminine entertainment after their business is over, never realizing the after effects will change their world forever!

Mark Gilleo has written a novel about the outsourcing of labor to countries where workers produce in "sweatshop" conditions, where one pregnant girl is just a burden to be discarded, that is until her workers mastermind a way to bring public attention to the young girl's plight.  It is Jake Patrick who takes a summer internship while awaiting his future academic studies.  It is he who shows little interest in his father's business until he receives a secret message and enlists others to help solve what he perceives to be a devastating injustice and soon enough finds to be an international scandal.

Jake initially has no idea what and who he is up against - the Chinese businessman who thinks nothing of killing employees; a doctor who is willing to lie and perform other unethical acts to guarantee his paradise living, a town detective chief who follows one law and it's not one created by any government, a government representative who prides himself more on fostering business and generating money than caring for the precious gift of life, and so much more.

Sweat is a political thriller that will engage any and all readers.  It's all too real a possibility and it is the hope of a young idealistic man who guarantees that integrity is larger than all the dirt bags taking advantage of the few for the almighty "buck!"  Very well written and highly recommended!!!

Allah's Revenge by Pete Barber

Allah's Revenge. Pete Barber. PJ Publishing. May 3012. 354 pp. trade paperback. ISBN #: 9780985523008.

Terrorist fiction is on the rise and Allah's Revenge is at the top of the list of a possibility that could create death and mayhem enough to destroy any nation or nations.  This plot involves the creation of a nanobot that could be used for energy production (the obvious disguise herein) but instead is used to dispense a chemical that instantly kills its victims, leaving a deadly charcoal residue.  Horrors!

The plot is simple but potent.  After the first attack on a British subway, the race is on to find both the killer and the technology that created such a viral disaster.  In the process, others will die and as usual any and all Arabs are suspect. One journalist who is an okay Arab is mistaken as such initially but then manages to reclaim freedom and vows to take down whoever is behind this insane plot.  

The goal seems almost ludicrous in the light of the devastation being unleashed, the freeing of Palestinian prisoners.  

The story gives a very good description of how a terrorist is groomed for what comes to be believed as a divine mission for Allah.  One senses the slip from rational to psychotic will and tenacity that guarantees success.

Yes, the plot for more assassinations will be foiled but it's a roller coaster ride that Pete Barber crafts to rivet the reader and create tension and an almost sick feeling as the story progresses.

Nicely done, Pete Barber and may it never happen in reality!

Journeys on the Silk Road by Morgan & Walters

Journeys on the Silk Road: A desert explorer, Buddha's secret library, and the unearthing of the world's oldest printed book. Morgan and Walters. Lyons Press. September 2012. 336 pp. hardback. ISBN #: 9780762782970.

Here is the account about Aurel Stein, the archaeologist, and his dog, Dash, and their astounding journey across what is known as the Silk Road, a journey traversing China, Tibet, India and more lands.  Funded by the British government, Stein's job was to look for valuable pieces that would add to Great Britain's museum collection; but Stein's interests lay in a different direction.  So he found no difficulty finding enough "gems," figuratively speaking to make his funders happy.  But the rest of the story is magical and adventurous, and Morgan & Walters leave no stone unturned (literally and figuratively) in describing the preparation, journey, and eventual findings that riveted Stein.  Indeed those discoveries are still touching the lives of millions of readers, explorers, adventurers, and tourists, professional and lay included.

The authors describe how Stein's first journeys to Central Asia led him to wonder where the first Buddhist writings could be found and how that religion was transformed as it began in India and evolved into its state in China.  As the journey across deserts and mountains was so vigorous and life-threatening, the authors describe how selective Stein was in choosing his aides.  Sometimes the decisions proved pivotal and once almost disastrous.  The descriptions are so vivid the reader can feel the storms, heat, brutal cold and other forces of nature such as avalanches that defy the imagination but which were survived by Stein and his team.

Stein first is entranced by the artifacts inside Lahore Museum, ancient Buddhist statues, amazingly with decidedly Western features. Then the murder of the Scottish adventurer, Andrew Dalgleish, makes Stein realize what treasures existed so that others would murder anyone seeking to find those treasures.  Soon the competition of others and the need for funding fueled his desire to get moving on this treasure hunt to the mysterious settlement of Loulan that another adventurer, Sven Hedin, had discovered in 1899. The Buddhist images and wooden documents, as well as a form of early paper kindled Stein's fascination and goals.

The book also describes the writings of Xuanzang who taught Buddhism and wrote about these teachings on scrolls, all based on his journeys to India.  This was the gold mine hidden in a cave which Stein was seeking and which he eventually found.

It is impossible to cover all the aspects of this topic for which Stein dedicated his life.  Every chapter of this momentous book is an adventure story that will rivet any reader, whether or not he or she has any interest in this subject. Indeed it reads like adventure fiction as well as historical fiction.  The scholarly reader will be as satisfied as well as the lay reader is with the depth and diverse approaches to this comprehensive subject.  Morgan & Walters have created a classic work of archaeological study that will be relished inside and outside the academic and archaeological world.  Superbly crafted, mesmerizing, and informative! A must read for those who love great books!