BOOK REVIEW: My Name is Emilia del Valle by Isabel Allende

I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

Isabel Allende has a new book coming out in May, My Name is Emilia del Valle. I’ve only read one other book by this author, Violeta, and this one reminds me of that. Both books are set largely in Chile and are structured with a feisty female protagonist looking back and recounting her life story. I had a similar reaction to this story as to the last. It’s a fascinating tale, giving me insight into a period of time and a country that I know next to nothing about. The prose is lovely, especially when describing the beauty of Chile. However, I feel distanced from the narrative. I’m interested in what is going on, but don’t ever feel emotionally drawn in by the characters.

Emilia is brought up in San Francisco in the post- Civil War years. She is the illegitimate daughter of an Irish almost-nun and a Chilean playboy. He abandons mother and child. Emilia’s mother marries a teacher who showers them both with kindness and love.

Emilia wants to be a writer. She moves from writing dime novels under a male pseudonym to journalism, although the editor of the newspaper only wants her to write human interest stories. She is befriended by another staff writer, Eric, who helps her learn the ropes and supports her as she branches out into more substantive journalism. When the Chilean civil war breaks out, she and Eric are sent to Chile. She is to write about the government’s stance, and Eric is to write about the rebels.

The novel takes us deep into the politics and violence of the civil war of 1891. By showing both sides, through what Emilia and Eric discover, each with their own bias, the reader gets a more multidimensional view of what took place–in all its seeming futility.

At the same time, Emilia hunts down her birth father and her extended family in Chile. Emilia learns about family, identity, and love in the midst of and in the aftermath of the brutal conflict.

BOOK REVIEW: The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel by Douglas Brunt

Here’s something different. I had a recommendation for a non-fiction history book from a novelist I met at a meeting: The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I by Douglas Brunt. Yes, the title is too long, clearly trying to get all the key words in. But the title fits. This is a very interesting book.

Rudolf Diesel (inventor of the diesel engine) was one of the most famous, successful inventors of his day. He rose from poverty and obscurity to become exceptionally wealthy and he was sought after for lectures and consultations all over the world. Yet on September 29, 1913, he boarded a ship to cross the English Channel and on September 30, he went missing. Had he committed suicide? Did he fall overboard accidentally? Was he murdered?

Brunt provides a biography of Diesel, situating him within his time. This includes a look into the lives of John D. Rockefeller and Kaiser Wilhelm II, two unscrupulous, powerful men who had reasons to wish him dead and the means to conduct an assassination. Brunt also explains in clear layman’s terms how diesel engines work and how they differ from other modes of power production at the time. He weaves all this together, bringing the reader up to the night of Diesel’s disappearance. And then, he makes a compelling case for what might have been the true story of what happened to Diesel.

This is a fast-paced read that taught me stuff I didn’t even know that I wanted to know! Highly recommended.

BOOK REVIEW: The Charmer Without a Cause by Katherine Grant

The Charmer Without a Cause by Katherine Grant is the fourth book in her Regency Romance series The Prestons. It brings together a sensitive hero (Benjamin Preston) and a passionate heroine (Lady Lydia Deveraux) in a marriage that Benjamin thinks is a love match, but Lydia thinks is a marriage of convenience.

Benjamin, who comes from a family that live their high principles, has just inherited ten thousand pounds from his uncle. He believes in helping the less fortunate, but wants to find his own cause, not simply follow the path forged by his father. More importantly, Benjamin wants to find true love. He’s known for repeated bouts of instalove, so his father is concerned that he’ll end up with a fortune hunter. In a way, he does.

Lydia’s family belongs to the Irish Protestant aristocracy. And while her parents and brother are glad of their top dog status, Lydia has more compassion for the Irish people who want their independence from Britain. She became a true fighter for Ireland when she fell for Seamus, an Irish Catholic activist who died for his beliefs. Now, Lydia wants only to continue the fight in his memory. She sees her role as marrying for money to funnel funds to the cause.

The first part of her plan succeeds quickly. Benjamin is easy to catch. And he is even more generous with his fortune than Lydia could have hoped. But the political situation is much more difficult to navigate than she anticipated. And it’s hard to keep Benjamin at a distance when he is so handsome and kind, and they are so good together in bed. 

This steamy romance brings together strong characters in a fascinating historical setting. I don’t usually jump into a series at book four, but this one stands very well on its own. However, now I have to go back and read books 1-3!

BOOK REVIEW: Evidence of Evil by Mary Lancaster

Constance Silver and Solomon Grey are reunited in Book 2 of the Silver and Grey Regency mystery series, Evidence of Evil, by Mary Lancaster. This can be read as a standalone for the mystery, but the evolving romance will make more sense if you first read book 1, Murder in Moonlight.

Constance Silver is the exceptionally beautiful owner of a high-priced London brothel, that also serves as a refuge and training school for women in crisis. Solomon Grey is a wealthy British businessman from a Jamaican background, who has risen in society because of his wealth but is nevertheless subjected to racism as an everyday experience. The two have met before and solved one mystery together. A friendship has evolved between them, but also a sexual attraction that is difficult to ignore.

When a friend of Constance’s, Lady Elizabeth Maule, asks her to visit her in the country because she is afraid she is about to be accused of murder, Constance is ready to leap to her defense. She knows Elizabeth is incapable of murder. A one-time resident of the brothel, Elizabeth moved on to a position as governess and then married the father of the children, Sir Humphrey Maule. One of Elizabeth’s neighbors, a beautiful young woman, was found dead in Sir Humphrey’s pond, and Elizabeth is supposedly the last person to see her alive. Moreover, they had a fairly public argument.

Rather than go alone, Constance enlists Solomon’s help. 

Together the two piece together the truth of what happened. And they grow closer. The novel delves into the psyches of the protagonists and also into that of the murdered woman, who was neither as angelic nor as evil as revelations about her would suggest.

Constance and Solomon make a perfect investigating team. They also make a perfect couple, except for the fact that Constance’s profession stands in the way. Book 3 comes out in May!

BOOK REVIEW: White Mulberry by Rosa Kwon Easton

For me, one of the pleasures of historical fiction is learning something new. White Mulberry by Rosa Kwon Easton takes readers to Korea and Japan in the years 1928 to 1943, places I know very little about.

The protagonist, Miyoung, is a young Korean girl, living in poverty, whose future is bleak. Although she excels in primary school, it’s very unusual for girls to move on even to middle school. Instead, they are given in arranged marriages with little to no say in the matter. However, with the encouragement of her teacher and a small Christian community in her town, Miyoung dares to dream of more. And when her mother arranges to send her to live with her sister (who was married to a Korean man in Japan, where presumably there is more economic opportunity), Miyoung has the chance to continue her education.

It doesn’t take long for Miyoung to understand that her Korean heritage is a disadvantage in Japan. Koreans are looked down upon, live in ghettos, and are denied good jobs with decent wages. Miyoung learns to “pass” as Japanese. However, she doesn’t stop missing her home and she has a lot of mixed feelings about living a lie.

Again, Miyoung reaches out to a Christian community for friendship and support. There, she meets a young Korean activist who is studying to be a lawyer to help his people. Her relationship with this man changes her life.

I don’t want to give any spoilers, so I’ll stop my summary there.

Based on the author’s family history, White Mulberry is an interesting look into Korea and Japan in the years leading up to WWII. It explores issues of prejudice as well as being true to oneself, as seen through the eyes of a caring, resilient young woman.

BOOK REVIEW: Orbital by Samantha Harvey

One of the most memorable books I’ve read in the past few years was The Western Wind by Samantha Harvey. And yet, it has taken me this long to read another of Harvey’s books.

Orbital is a fairly short contemporary literary novel that, like The Western Wind, is uniquely structured by time. And the writing is beautiful. 

Have you ever wondered what life would be like on the International Space Station? What you would see? What would occupy your thoughts? How you would feel? Well, I never have. And now I don’t have to. Because Samantha Harvey explores this in such rich detail, readers might as well be up there orbiting.

Orbital follows four astronauts and two cosmonauts on the space station over the course of one 24-hour day, which corresponds to 16 orbits around the earth. We get to see the work they do, the leisure they enjoy, and their views of the world they pass over. And we get very intimate looks into their psyches. Why did they choose this career? Who do they miss at home? What do they think about as they gaze down at the earth or out into space?

It’s a meditative novel, focused on character and setting. And will leave you thinking of the world in a whole new way.

BOOK REVIEW: The Matrimonial Advertisement by Mimi Matthews

I really enjoy Mimi Matthews’ historical romances. Her characters have depth. The plots are compelling. And she is able to ramp up the sexual tension while the novels remain “closed door.”

While waiting for her new series to launch, I reached back to an older series, Parish Orphans of Devon. Book one of the series is The Matrimonial Advertisement.

Lady Helena Reynolds is in desperate straits. Her brother, an earl, is presumed dead. The title went to her uncle, but her brother left all his wealth to her. Naturally, her uncle thinks she should sign it over to him. To persuade her, he resorts to violence and the threat of locking her away in an institution for the insane. Battered and terrified, she escapes by fleeing London to answer an advertisement for a wife.

Justin Thornhill is tired of being alone in his isolated, rundown, seaside estate in Devon. An ex-soldier with physical and mental scars, he can’t imagine wooing a wife. At the suggestion of his secretary, he resorts to placing a matrimonial ad. To his surprise, the woman who answers is a beautiful, cultured lady. He knows she’s keeping secrets, but so is he. And he wants her.

Their marriage of convenience is anything but convenient when Helena’s uncle sends his henchman to retrieve her, with the argument that she is not mentally competent to consent to marriage. Helena and Justin return to London, risking it all to free her from her uncle’s control. But once Helena is safe, willl she still need Justin?

Although the “trapped in an insane asylum” trope is one of my least favorites, it is utilized well in this novel. The protagonists (and the secondary characters) are engaging. The chemistry is believable. And I’m eager to read the rest of the series.