From the New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six . . . Four famous siblings throw an epic party to celebrate the end of the summer. But over the course of twenty-four hours, their lives will change forever. 

Malibu: August 1983. It’s the day of Nina Riva’s annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer; and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over—especially as the offspring of the legendary singer Mick Riva.

The only person not looking forward to the party of the year is Nina herself, who never wanted to be the center of attention, and who has also just been very publicly abandoned by her pro tennis player husband. Oh, and maybe Hud—because it is long past time for him to confess something to the brother from whom he’s been inseparable since birth.

Jay, on the other hand, is counting the minutes until nightfall, when the girl he can’t stop thinking about promised she’ll be there.

And Kit has a couple secrets of her own—including a guest she invited without consulting anyone.

By midnight the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames. But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family’s generations will all come rising to the surface.

Malibu Rising is a story about one unforgettable night in the life of a family: the night they each have to choose what they will keep from the people who made them . . . and what they will leave behind.

Her mother had screwed up almost as much as she'd succeeded.

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August 07 2018 USA edition

Bellewether by Susanna Kearsley
August 07 2018 Sourcebook Landmark
448 pages HistFic/Sci fi/Fantasy
egalley provided via NetGalley from the publisher, thank you!

"The house, when I first saw it, seemed intent on guarding what it knew; but we all learned, by the end of it, that secrets aren't such easy things to keep."

It's late summer, war is raging, and families are torn apart by divided loyalties and deadly secrets. In this complex and dangerous time, a young French Canadian lieutenant is captured and billeted with a Long Island family, an unwilling and unwelcome guest. As he begins to pitch in with the never-ending household tasks and farm chores, Jean-Philippe de Sabran finds himself drawn to the daughter of the house. Slowly, Lydia Wilde comes to lean on Jean-Philippe, true soldier and gentleman, until their lives become inextricably intertwined. Legend has it that the forbidden love between Jean-Philippe and Lydia ended tragically, but centuries later, the clues they left behind slowly unveil the true story. Part history, part romance, and all kinds of magic, Susanna Kearsley's latest masterpiece will draw you in and never let you go, even long after you've closed the last page.

I do like this cover as a departure from their previous covers but I think there are a few different covers depending on region. I have to sadly state that this was not my favorite Susanna Kearsley novel. No matter how much I tried to enjoy it there were times I just could not talk myself into picking it up again. I spent 20 plus years on Long Island and I thought I would feel a special connection to the setting but it was not very atmospheric for me. I love ghost stories and the novel was unsuccessful in trying to be a creepy ghostly goose bumps thing. Being told in the same style of dual time period that Susanna Kearsley is known for writing the ghosts were in the form of the occasional unplugged lamp in the house, or the spark of a lantern in the woods and the modern day characters would imagine that they were there in the house of the Wilde family.

The historical time period story was very interesting:  the Wilde family (all fictitious unfortunately) hosting prisoners of war while keeping a slave that they called a cook. The modern day story of Charley dealing with her restless/depressed niece as Charley discovers clues of the Wilde family is very slow but I did appreciate the slavery issue and how the descendants of the family were saddened that their family did indeed have slaves which was a no-no for the northern half of the country at the time. (The time being when there was a war going on so when the Canadian prisoner falls in love with the young daughter Lydia all drama is supposed to ensue.)

The house is a character in itself, since the spook factor is the fact that some things just don't work right when Charley is around but the best part of the story was the thread of romantic tension between Charley and the guy who was working on renovations. There were a lot of loose threads for Charley to tie together as she learned more about the Wilde house and the people who lived there. The ending did actually make up a bit for the slow start and I appreciated the happier than expected conclusion.

The one thing that set me off on the wrong foot altogether was the dividing line of Canada and USA. Canada readers were treated to an April publication date while Long Island and the rest of the USA had to wait until an August publication date. BOOOO

Maybe since it was my eighth Susanna Kearsley it was just destined to be boring all the way around, but this one just wasn't all there for me as much as some of her others were. 


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Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
Hardcover, 342 pages
Published June 6th 2017 by Ballantine Books
borrowed from local library

Two families, generations apart, are forever changed by a heartbreaking injustice in this poignant novel, inspired by a true story, for readers of Orphan Train and The Nightingale.

Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge—until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents—but they quickly realize that the truth is much darker. At the mercy of the facility’s cruel director, Rill fights to keep her sisters and brother together—in a world of danger and uncertainty.

Aiken, South Carolina, present day. Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all: a successful career as a federal prosecutor, a handsome fiancé, and a lavish wedding on the horizon. But when Avery returns home to help her father weather a health crisis, a chance encounter leaves her with uncomfortable questions—and compels her to take a journey through her family's long-hidden history, on a path that will ultimately lead either to devastation or redemption.

Based on one of America’s most notorious real-life scandals—in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country—Wingate’s riveting, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting tale reminds us how, even though the paths we take can lead to many places, the heart never forgets where we belong.

I had seen this novel mentioned pretty much everywhere I looked and so I put it on my wish-list. The local book club then chose this as their group read so I put it on hold and waited patiently for the person who was keeping the book past the due date to actually return it. I then read it in a single day and returned it the next day so that others could enjoy the story.

The story is not one that will get you all happy warm/giddy as it actually is based on true events that ruined lives in the thirties and forties. We may never know the true ramifications of all that occurred with child trafficking. The summary above is long and accurate and I do not want to repeat it but I will say that I am ashamed how politics and big money used children as poorly as they have. The main characters in Wingate's telling may have been fictional but the overall theme of knowing that Georgia Tann actually did exist and did not have to do any time in prison is appalling to say the least.

The Before We Were Yours story is woven with the present day story-line of a young woman following in the political footsteps of her father, and then the story of five young siblings stolen from their home and then are left to the fate of the evil Georgia Tann who sold kids under the guise of the orphanage Tennessee Children's Home Society. In real life we can only estimate the number of kidnap victims there were but there is today a memorial for the at least nineteen children known to have died in her care. It has been said that Georgia plucked children from poor families and gave them to the rich, such as Joan Crawford who paid $5,000 for one of her several adopted children. Blonde hair and blue eyes were the favored traits of the day.

The life of living on river, a shanty-town family is vividly re-imagined in the novel and the main narrative of Rill Foss is so evocative and horrifically mesmerizing that I had to forsake all other duties so that I could read her story in full as I prayed for a happy ending after all she'd gone through.

The redemption is finally (fictionally) found as the author brings about healing through the remaining family members years after their 'adoptions'. I was unsure of the connecting threads so it did keep me guessing as to who was who in their later years and how they related to the present day narrative. I absolutely love dual time-frame stories and this one is next on my favorites reads list.

Definitely understand why this book was chosen as a 2017 Goodreads Choice for Historical Fiction as well as it being a bestseller, etc.

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The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
Published February 16th 2010 by Washington Square Press (first published 2008)
personal library purchase
Review of The Lake House by Kate Morton can be found here

A tiny girl is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She arrives completely alone with nothing but a small suitcase containing a few clothes and a single book; a beautiful volume of fairy tales. She is taken in by the dockmaster and his wife and raised as their own. On her twenty-first birthday, they tell her the truth, and with her sense of self shattered and very little to go on, "Nell" sets out to trace her real identity. Her quest leads her to Blackhurst Manor on the Cornish coast and the secrets of the doomed Mountrachet family. But it is not until her granddaughter, Cassandra, takes up the search after Nell's death that all the pieces of the puzzle are assembled. A spellbinding tale of mystery and self-discovery, The Forgotten Garden will take hold of your imagination and never let go.

This was a very well written tale that is very hard to put down - I devoured the 552 pages within three days. I don't even know what possessed me to pick it up -- I had stood in my own study and contemplated what to read next and this was the first one I touched. Very lucky to have this spring break to sit and read most of the days away as I am making up for last year's spring break when I was packing my old library up and begging people to take books. I kept most books that I felt I would get around to reading in my lifetime and I am so glad I did.

With a fairly-tale feel this is a novel that twists and turns like an invasive vine sprouting new shoots this way and that way; trying to discover the truth of the little girl's origins who was abandoned on a ship takes us from Australia to England and several generations of secrets and deceptions. The mysterious cottage that holds all the clues to the past is waiting to be unearthed by the present day character Cassandra who is the grand-daughter of the little girl who was once abandoned. The story blends several timelines as we slowly unravel the vines to discover the reasons behind the abandoned girl and where she really came from.

This book is pretty much the perfect type of read for me personally: mystery, history, a small nuance of romance and absolute delightful storytelling.

Read an excerpt here.
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The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell
Penguin Books March 6 2018, 315 pages
(first published in UK by Raven Books/Bloomsbury)
Review copy provided via NetGalley

When newly widowed Elsie is sent to see out her pregnancy at her late husband's crumbling country estate, The Bridge, what greets her is far from the life of wealth and privilege she was expecting...

When Elsie married handsome young heir Rupert Bainbridge, she believed she was destined for a life of luxury. But with her husband dead just weeks after their marriage, her new servants resentful, and the local villagers actively hostile, Elsie has only her husband's awkward cousin for company. Or so she thinks. Inside her new home lies a locked door, beyond which is a painted wooden figure--a silent companion--that bears a striking resemblance to Elsie herself. The residents of The Bridge are terrified of the figure, but Elsie tries to shrug this off as simple superstition--that is, until she notices the figure's eyes following her.

A Victorian ghost story that evokes a most unsettling kind of fear, this is a tale that creeps its way through the consciousness in ways you least expect--much like the silent companions themselves.

Channeling tones of Daphne Du Maurier, Laura Purcell's Gothic tale of The Silent Companions is a must read for those who enjoy feeling like they are being watched. Prepare for goosebumps as you visit the English estate of the Bainbridge family with Elsie as she prepares for her upcoming lying in as a widow. The house is a decaying estate set amongst the poorest of the villages complete with rising mists and clawing vines. This is where Elsie's new husband has died, and is Elsie's first visit. Mystery surrounds the death of her husband but Elsie is more concerned with the scratching sounds in the night and the mannequins that seem to appear out of nowhere.

The novel does a bit of a time slip from Elsie's late 1800's period to the Charles I 1600's through the diary of Anne Bainbridge once Elsie's companion Sarah Bainbridge begins to read her ancestor's diaries. Elsie and Sarah attempt to thwart the evil nuances that follow them but as it happens the novel begins as Elsie is in an asylum and so we know right away what poor Elsie's fate is. The diary speaks of Sarah's daughter Henrietta Maria and the herbs and tisane that were used to conceive Henrietta Maria - alluding to the evil beginnings of the child who was born with a shriveled tongue.

The back and forth of the narrative of Elsie's past and her current state and then the developing story told through the diaries are well presented and easy to follow. The story carries the atmospheric tones throughout as the reader tries to understand why all the evil events are happening around Elsie. I read the novel quickly and still it stayed with me after the last page perhaps wishing the book could have been a bit longer. I would have really liked to read more from the 1600's plot line and the point of view of Anne Bainbridge and her family. There was a lot of time spent to demonstrate Elsie's time in the mental health unit before we could really understand why she was there in the first place.

After reading The Silent Companions it was hard to decide what to read next -- I didn't really want to close that book and move on. I am intrigued enough to follow the author to see what tale she spins next and happy to learn that she has a Georgian Queens series that I can put on my to be read list.

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America's First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie

• William Morrow Paperbacks (March 1, 2016) 624 pages
• my copy was a library loan

The New York Times and USA Today Bestseller

In a compelling, richly researched novel that draws from thousands of letters and original sources, bestselling authors Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie tell the fascinating, untold story of Thomas Jefferson's eldest daughter, Martha "Patsy" Jefferson Randolph--a woman who kept the secrets of our most enigmatic founding father and shaped an American legacy.

From her earliest days, Patsy Jefferson knows that though her father loves his family dearly, his devotion to his country runs deeper still. As Thomas Jefferson's oldest daughter, she becomes his helpmate, protector, and constant companion in the wake of her mother's death, traveling with him when he becomes American minister to France.

It is in Paris, at the glittering court and among the first tumultuous days of revolution, that fifteen-year-old Patsy learns about her father's troubling liaison with Sally Hemings, a slave girl her own age. Meanwhile, Patsy has fallen in love--with her father's protégé William Short, a staunch abolitionist and ambitious diplomat. Torn between love, principles, and the bonds of family, Patsy questions whether she can choose a life as William's wife and still be a devoted daughter.

Her choice will follow her in the years to come, to Virginia farmland, Monticello, and even the White House. And as scandal, tragedy, and poverty threaten her family, Patsy must decide how much she will sacrifice to protect her father's reputation, in the process defining not just his political legacy, but that of the nation he founded.

Patsy's character is one to love: her compassion, her devotion to her father and his causes are the crux of this tale. The sacrifices are many, and it brings home how grateful modern Americans should be for those who made it their life work's to bring America the freedoms it was founded for. We see how Thomas Jefferson could have been as a man - and not just a presidential figure. We see how low he gets and yet we don't really see him at a high due to facts the reader is made privy to with his personal life.

The novel addresses controversial topics such as slavery, marital abuse, alcoholism and depression as seen through the eyes of Patsy. While the story started off a bit slow I eventually tuned in and became well invested with Patsy and the supporting characters. The romance of a young Patsy and her father's colleague was a turn-off when it began so young but I can understand why the authors included it. The book is definitely long but I cannot see where I would have edited anything much out aside from the young love bit. The narrative really does suck you in and make you feel like visiting Monticello, the home of the prized home of the Jeffersons.

While I am late to the party with this one - if you had not had the chance to pick this one up during its initial release a few years ago please move it forward on your to-be-read pile because it is well worth the time. Towards the last quarter of the book I was crying my eyes out. Yup, crying about Thomas Jefferson. Only a fellow reader would understand.

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The Lake House by Kate Morton
Atria Books, October 2015
606 pages
Source- Kindle Library Loan
Burton Book Review Rating: 5 stars




This is Morton's fifth novel and I have most- if not all- of her other novels. Time is not my friend however and so this newest release of hers is actually the first one I have read. It was slow going at my first try; it could have been personal pressures etc. but I wondered if I was going to be able to finish this digital library loan before it expired. Then I realized it was six hundred pages and I really worried! Soon though, I was able to dig in, and get completely absorbed in the story of a young girl whose family is perfect on the outside and yet things are never what they seem.

It is one of those stories that flip through different generations back and forth with different characters, which gets a little confusing to explain, but it was very well done this time as we are trying to solve little mysteries along the way of what happened way back when on a glorious family estate in Cornwall.

Little clues are given along the way and you really think it's going this way, but in the end I can definitely say I did not see that coming. It was a feel-good happy ending that made me teary. If you like Susanna Kearsley, you will love this one. It's a chunky one and it was just awesome for when you can settle in and sink your teeth into a great story that has suspense, romance, mystery and drama all rolled up into a pretty engrossing package. Definitely pushing the back-list closer to my will-read-this-lifetime-so-help-me-God pile.

Adored this novel!

Mariana by Susanna Kearsley
Sourcebooks re-issue 2012
Source eBook plus own personal autographed copy

My previous Susanna Kearsley posts and reviews can be found here.

The first time Julia Beckett saw Greywethers she was only five, but she knew that it was her house. And now that she’s at last become its owner, she suspects that she was drawn there for a reason.

As if Greywethers were a portal between worlds, she finds herself transported into seventeenth-century England, becoming Mariana, a young woman struggling against danger and treachery, and battling a forbidden love.

Each time Julia travels back, she becomes more enthralled with the past...until she realizes Mariana’s life is threatening to eclipse her own, and she must find a way to lay the past to rest or lose the chance for happiness in her own time.

I am not really sure why it took me so long to get to this novel, especially given how I love this author and her work; this novel marks the seventh of the author's that I have read. I have had the eBook since 2012, and I recently went to an author event and purchased another copy there so I could have her autograph it. I finally read the eBook on my Kindle so I wouldn't spoil the newness of my new copy.

This book is another one of the time slip historical gothic novels that Kearsley is known for, and this one has romance, paranormal activity/fantasy, religion, time travel, suspense and historical details. When I say religion it just is a small conceptual fact to add to the history-- so atheists will still enjoy this. The time slip has Julia flashing back to the Charles Stuart era with folks wanting Richard Cromwell to rise up and defend his father's dream of the Commonwealth.

 Do you have a soul mate? Do you believe in reincarnation?

I absolutely love loved loved it, and the ending really was so good that I was tearing up. If I had been alone at that exact moment I probably would have let the tears flow. I loved how Julia's character was portrayed as she was so realistically portrayed that she was easy to like and then of course the time-slip counterpart of her was also a character that was very easy to empathize with. There were probably so many tiny clues hidden that when I finished the novel and finally realized the "mystery" I felt compelled to start over. I will miss Julia and would love to see another book with this set of characters. I always enjoy the settings of Kearsley's novels of England and I could wax poetic but there's no need.

If you have not read Mariana yet, please go do so. Thank me later.

I love the resolution of 2016 -- reading what I want, when I want. It has meant that my reviews are all going to be for good books, because I am not going to waste time on books I don't like anymore!

Thank you Sourcebooks for another winner!

Named of the Dragon by Susanna Kearsley
Sourcebooks Landmark, reissue pub date of October 6, 2015
eGalley provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for this honest review
Burton Book Review Rating: 5 stars
Read my reviews of other works by Susanna Kearsley

A haunting tale of intrigue from New York Times bestselling author Susanna Kearsley.
Although it goes against her workaholic nature, literary agent Lyn Ravenshaw lets herself be whisked off to Wales for the Christmas holidays by her star client, flamboyant children's author Bridget Cooper. She suspects Bridget has ulterior motives, but the lure of South Wales with its castles and myths is irresistible. Perhaps a change of scene will bring relief from the nightmares that have plagued her since the death of her child.
Lyn immerses herself in the peace and quiet of the charming Welsh village, but she soon meets an eccentric young widow who's concerned her baby son is in danger—and inexplicably thinks Lyn is the child's protector.
Lyn's dreams become more and more disturbing as she forms a surprisingly warm friendship with a reclusive, brooding playwright, and is pulled into an ancient world of Arthurian legend and dangerous prophecies. Before she can escape her nightmares, she must uncover the secret of her dreams, which is somehow inextricably located in a time long ago and far away...

I think I've now read about five of Susanna Kearsley's novels, most of which I have really enjoyed. This one I also enjoyed which is intriguing to me simply because this novel isn't quite like her others. My original draw to the author was her dual time-period narratives and yet this one is different. There is no dual time period here though there are themes that redirect your thoughts to eras gone by, such as the Arthurian legends or the quest for Henry VII to win the English crown.

The story itself is that of a writer's agent, Lyn, who goes on holiday with her flirtatious client, Bridget. Lyn is there to perhaps score herself another client, but she prides herself on being of sound ethics and a good judge of character. She is definitely very easy to like which made me want to pursue reading about what was happening to Lyn as she uncovered more and more of a mystery going on in a remote village of Wales and gets a little caught up with romantic thoughts for rogue-ish Welsh guys.

There was a wonderful tension being built up between the fellow inhabitants of the house that Lyn was staying at, and the mystery theme didn't come off as a plain whodunit formula. The story revolved around Lyn's past hurts and how she was coming to terms with grief, and learning about her new friends. When she becomes protective of a baby is when the drama and tension start to take off, and I was sucked in. It wasn't till I finished the novel that I realized, hey this isn't a historical! And I liked it! Good times. I don't like coming up with buzz words or quotable sentences that feel forced, so let me just say I do love this author and her stuff: she is good at what she does. Susanna Kearsley is one of those names that come to mind when someone asks me for recommendations.

Sourcebooks has been reissuing Kearsley's novels, and this is another one. Some readers get perturbed when novels are marketed as "new" so I just wanted to put it out there that this novel was originally issued in the late nineties but long out of print. Some reviewers will also say they don't give five stars for anything unless their socks got knocked off. I don't wear socks too often, but since I read this book in less than two weeks and I actually WANTED to read again (unlike the last read which was over a month long of complete torture), hell yeah: five stars to Kearsley for making me remember what reading for pleasure was all about.

And thank you to Sourcebooks for offering the eGalley for my review. I still need to read some of the originals that Sourcebooks reissued, such as The Winter Sea or Mariana. I had gotten those signed by the author when I got a chance to see her at a signing in Dallas. Sweet!

A fantastic page turner!

Evergreen Falls by Kimberley Freeman
Simon & Schuster/Touchstone (reissue) August 2015
HistFic/Dual Time Period
Review copy provided by the publisher in exchange for this review, thank you!
Burton Book Review Rating: 4.5 stars

A long-forgotten secret, a scandalous attraction and a place where two women's lives are changed forever - Evergreen Falls is the captivating new novel from Kimberley Freeman. 1926: Violet Armstrong is one of the few remaining members of staff working at the grand Evergreen Spa Hotel as it closes down over winter. Only a handful of guests are left, including the heir to a rich grazing family, his sister and her suave suitor. When a snowstorm moves in, the hotel is cut off and they are all trapped. No one could have predicted what would unfold. When the storm clears they must all keep the devastating secrets hidden.

2014: After years of putting her sick brother's needs before her own, Lauren Beck leaves her home and takes a job at a Blue Mountains cafe, the first stage of the Evergreen Spa Hotel's renovations. There she meets Tomas, the Danish architect who is overseeing the project, and an attraction begins to grow. In a wing of the old hotel, Lauren finds a series of passionate love letters dated back to 1926, alluding to an affair - and a shocking secret.

If she can unravel this long-ago mystery, will it make Lauren brave enough to take a risk and change everything in her own life?

Read reviews of Kimberley Freeman's previous novels here at BurtonBookReview.com


This is the fourth novel of Kimberley Freeman's that I have read, and I have yet to be disappointed. Her novels are similar to another favorite author of mine, Susanna Kearsley, as they follow a dual time period story arc and always seem to be intriguing and fast paced. If I wasn't offered this novel for review, I was all set to buy it! But many thanks to the publisher for originally turning me on to this author in 2011.

Evergreen Falls is a small little town in Australia's Blue Mountains where the contemporary character Lauren Beck is working when she stumbles upon papers in an old hotel that is being remodeled. Her new love interest gives her access to the hotel so she can do some further investigating after finding evocative love letters that were hidden away. The story brings us to the 1920's, set in a classy hotel where servant Victoria Armstrong finds forbidden love with a very wealthy guest, Sam Honeychurch-Black. Both storylines eventually intersect but each mirrors the other with the themes of a building romance, family loyalties and betrayals, and sacrifice.

There are quite a few supporting characters to add realistic touches to the novel: with meddling mothers, and both overbearing men and heroic men. The setting is beautiful, from and enchanting swimming hole and a love cave to a luxury hotel held captive among the snowdrifts.

The author does a very good job with capturing the nuance of both eras, and the switching from one narrative to the next wasn't jarring in any way. Very enjoyable with the suspense of Lauren trying to discover what happened many years ago with Victoria and Sam, and Lauren's current issues with her family were also timely and intriguing. Full of secrets and scandals, Evergreen Falls is a fantastic piece that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend. Fair warning: you will find it difficult to put down in order to get a good night's sleep!

An intriguing blend of history, mystery and romance

A Desperate Fortune by Susanna Kearsley 
Sourcebooks Landmark, April 7 2015
Review copy provided in exchange for this review

For nearly 300 years, the mysterious journal of Jacobite exile Mary Dundas has lain unread — its secrets safe from prying eyes. Now, amateur codebreaker Sara Thomas has been hired by a once-famous historian to crack the journal's cipher. But when she arrives in Paris, Sara finds herself besieged by complications from all sides: the journal's reclusive owner, her charming Parisian neighbor, and Mary, whose journal doesn't hold the secrets Sara expects.

It turns out that Mary Dundas wasn’t keeping a record of everyday life, but a first-hand account of her part in a dangerous intrigue. In the first wintry months of 1732, with a scandal gaining steam in London, driving many into bankruptcy and ruin, the man accused of being at its center is concealed among the Jacobites in Paris, with Mary posing as his sister to aid his disguise.

When their location is betrayed, they’re forced to put a desperate plan in action, heading south along the road to Rome, protected by the enigmatic Highlander Hugh MacPherson.
As Mary's tale grows more and more dire, Sara, too, must carefully choose which turning to take... to find the road that will lead her safely home.

Susanna Kearsley is one of those writers that will always intrigue me, if not fascinate me. She writes her books with the same tone which could tend to drag, but if you  immerse yourself in the slower pace you are rewarded with a good story with some special characters. I was a little sad that the last review I wrote for Kearsley's Season of Storms couldn't be all gushy, so reading A Desperate Fortune I went in with a little trepidation. In doing so, I think I prepared myself for her slow, smooth, suck you in style because I was able to read this without feeling like I was going down a rabbit hole (to use a phrase from the book).

The novel features two storylines that went back and forth between the modern day and the year 1732. The year 1732 is when our young diarist Mary Dundas has an adventure with a Scottish rogue and takes part in the Jacobites' mission to protect their own in honor of the exiled king. Mary leaves behind her diary of the intriguing adventures she has while aiding a fugitive, but it is in cipher. This is where our modern day character Sara comes in, who is a genius at codes and has asperger syndrome, making her vulnerable in social situations but makes her more in tune to numbers, meticulousness, and routine.

As Sara travels to Paris to work on decoding the diary, she meets several people who show her kindness and compassion, including a certain Luc Sabran who captured her heart with his "symmetrical smile" and his "perfect blue eyes" -and his adorable son sweetened the package. Luc lives up to the hero status and their romance is a tenderhearted and sweet one, much like the counterpart of Mary and her handsome Scottish protector, though theirs is more of a respectful admiration of each other.

The two narratives of Sara and Mary pleasantly played well off the other, and the ending -particularly for Mary's - was very endearing and just perfect for Mary. I really enjoyed the plotlines and the historical context of the mystery that surrounded the Jacobite Mr. Thomson that Mary was escorting throughout France and eventually leads to Rome where Mary hopes to find her father, and there is an author's note that describes much more in detail about the era.

This was a winner for Kearsley, much to my delight! While it may not be in the  haunting, gothic/suspense feel that I got from some of the author's earlier works, this was enjoyable historical romance and I will remember Hugh Macpherson. And if you've read some of the author's other titles, see if you can find some cameo appearances from those in A Desperate Fortune!

I think my favorite novel is The Shadowy Horses, but I have yet to read The Winter Sea or Mariana. Do you have a favorite?

Season of Storms by Susanna Kearsley
Sourcebooks Landmark (Reissue) September 2014
512 pages
Review copy provided by the publisher in exchange for this review
Burton Book Review Rating: 3 stars





When I received this book in summer of 2014 I was extremely excited to read another novel by Susanna Kearsley. I had really enjoyed the few that I read in recent years which were reprinted via Sourcebooks Landmark. Her novels have hints of Rebecca DuMaurier tones set in contemporary settings which always intrigues this stuck in historical fiction reader.

This particular novel involves the theater, Italy, and a possible ghost of an actress from many years ago who bears the same name of our contemporary first person character. Celia Sands' character is easy enough to like, but during the entire novel I wished I knew what she looked like and I wished I felt like I cared more about what happened to her. Celia had a big hang up about her famous mother, and she was raised by two gay men which made for an endearing backdrop to the character, but that was almost all we get out of the characterization of our main protagonist. At twenty-two she gets a chance to go to Italy to act in a play written for her namesake. Celia slowly -- very slowly-- develops friendships and relationships with the other actors while hints of treachery and ghosts flit in and out of the story line.

I first attempted to read the novel the moment I received it, but I got bored so much that I had to put it down a few weeks later. I tried again five months later and hard to restart from the beginning. It was still a struggle to really want to read the novel, but I persevered. It took quite a while to get going, though I'm not really sure the plot line did get going. If you haven't read any of Kearsley's novels before, don't start with this one. I would definitely recommend any of these others that I have reviewed previously here at Burton Book Review:

The Splendour Falls
The Firebird
The Shadowy Horses

Effortless storytelling

The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley (a sort of sequel to The Shadowy Horses)
Historical Timeslip
Sourcebooks Landmark, June 4 2013
Paperback 544 pages
Review Copy provided by the publisher in exchange for this review, thank you!
Burton Book Review Rating: 4.5 stars

Nicola Marter was born with a gift: when she touches an object, she sometimes glimpses those who have owned it before. When the gallery she works in receives a wooden carving she can see the object’s history and knows that it was named after the Firebird, the mythical bird that inspires an old Russian fairytale and was once owned by Russia’s famed Empress Catherine.

Nicola’s investigation into the Firebird’s origin draws her into the 1715 world of Anna Logan and leads her on a quest through Scotland, France and Russia, unearthing a tale of love and sacrifice, of courage and redemption.

After reading of young Robbie in The Shadowy Horses, I had been eagerly anticipating The Firebird as Rob is now a grown man but still happily using his sight to peek into the history that he stumbles upon. The story follows Rob and Nicola as they both search for a woman during the 1700's which would help give answers to a woman they would like to help. Their search for Anna consists of Nicola and Rob traveling to the places they believe Anna Moray to be, and using their paranormal gifts they are able to 'watch' Anna's life unfold during her childhood and adulthood. The Scots talk that was so endearing in The Shadowy Horses comes alive again with Rob's voice, only this time he exudes a powerful but sensitive masculinity that keeps us wanting more of his story and his voice.

It becomes a timeslip novel as we are sucked into Anna's historical world, with Captain Graeme, Captain Jamieson and Vice Admiral Gordon during the tumultuous era of Jacobite uprisings and exiles and traitors. There are quite a few historical threads and settings, from a convent at Ypres to St. Petersburg as we - along with Rob and Nicola - trace Anna's intriguing path which is full of intrigue, suspense, romance and sorrows. Anna is the star of the show, yet the contemporary relationship between Rob and Nicola doesn't detract from the story, which is different from other timeslips that we read where we would prefer to get back to one storyline over the other. Each of the characters all had something to like and something to give, and we wanted to learn as much as we could within these pages. Some of the actual history bits were like a cat's string - baiting me to learn more but the book itself didn't uncover overly much of the historical facts that were actually occurring. I am very intrigued with Russia, St. Petersburg, Peter The Great and will now seek to learn more because of the glimpses I've had through this book.

Kearsley's writing is so fluid and descriptive that every word was a pleasure and after reading the author's note I see that some of the historical characters were also in The Winter Sea which I have yet to read but definitely have very good reason to now. This was a wonderful story that will create new Kearsley fans, but I do hope that readers get to read The Shadowy Horses (& maybe even The Winter Sea) first so that they can better appreciate the background to the story. Let the record show that I am not a reader of paranormal, or timeslip novels, but if it's a Kearsley novel I'm all over it. Once I read a few more of her works I am sure I will be listing Susanna Kearsley as one of my favorite storytellers.

The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley
Sourcebooks reissue October 2012
Originally published 1997
Review copy provided by the publisher, thank you!
Burton Book Review Rating: 4.5 stars

THE INVINCIBLE NINTH ROMAN LEGION MARCHES FROM YORK TO FIGHT THE NORTHERN TRIBES. AND THEN VANISHES FROM THE PAGES OF HISTORY.
Archaeologist Verity Grey has been drawn to the dark legends of the Scottish Borderlands in search of the truth buried in a rocky field by the sea.
Her eccentric boss has spent his whole life searching for the resting place of the lost Ninth Roman Legion and is convinced he's finally found it—not because of any scientific evidence, but because a local boy has "seen" a Roman soldier walking in the fields, a ghostly sentinel who guards the bodies of his long-dead comrades.
Here on the windswept shores, Verity may find the answer to one of the great unsolved mysteries of our time. Or she may uncover secrets someone buried for a reason.

I really loved this story set in Scotland during a small archaeological dig that featured several lovable and quirky characters. Verity's name means truth, and that's exactly what she is looking for in regards to the history of the land that Peter Quinnell and his team are excavating. Most endearing is the Scottish accent which came through vividly and easily, making me wonder how the author was able to effortlessly set this scene for us. This novel is making me think twice about men in kilts.

Verity's GQ-style ex-boyfriend is among the team, and is a bit protective of Verity as she falls head over heels in love with David. David and his mother are a fixture in Peter Quinnell's life, and it was like a small family that Verity found herself a part of as she joined the archaeological dig. All of the characters brought their own element to the storyline and I loved their banter back and forth. Most surprising of all, the ghostly 'sightings' were magnificently told. A young boy Robbie seemed to have a bit of a second-sight, and it went against Verity's logical judgement to believe that a member of the famous Ninth Legion was trying to contact the team through Robbie.

Great story, great plot, fabulous characterizations made this a fantastic read for me. As far as the suspense and details go, there were some things that were either taken for granted or glazed over which left me wondering what exactly just happened, as if we got from point A to point C without stopping at point B. But, even with the conclusion tying things up as far as the mystery goes, I would love to read a sequel because I adored all these characters. I took some extra time just to make this novel last longer because I just knew I would not want it to end. I was right. This one is going in my keeper pile as I may want to re-read it just for the way the Scots talk.