The Peddler of Wisdom: A Tale of A Village Revolt

I'm glad to be reviewing a historical fiction with a strong woman protagonist during women's history month.  I won a digital copy of The Peddler of Wisdom by Laura Matthias Bendoly in a giveaway on the Historical Fictionistas group on Goodreads.  The author sent it to me as a gift from Amazon, and this is my honest review.

                           

Central character Irène Guéri is a healer and a diviner who resides in Les Échelles, a fictional village in the south of 17th century France. Les Échelles was invaded by an army of  Sardinians led by Domenico, a tyrannical nobleman with strange obsessions that involved cruel practices.  When Domenico demanded that the villagers consult his alchemist/physician instead of Irène, I expected that she would become the victim of a witchcraft hysteria which were quite common in the 17th century.  It turned out that I was being too pessimistic.  While there were a few collaborators with the invaders,  most of the village wanted to resist Domenico. So Irène became a rebel. I love women who take a stand.

There were other amazing female characters. One of them was Bijou, a female raptor who was very protective of Noisette, the ten year old girl who'd adopted Bijou.  I was also impressed by the courage of  Irène's closest friend, Simone.

There's a romance element in The Peddler of Wisdom.  We even get a HEA ending.  Yet I wouldn't categorize this novel as a romance.  I think that the romance content is insufficient.  I would say the same about characterizing The Peddler of Wisdom as a fantasy.  There is a great deal of discussion about magic, but there are relatively few magical acts.   

I wouldn't count Irène's Tarot readings as magic.  For me, they exhibit insight/intuition.   Some would say that the 17th century was too early for Tarot divination since the earliest historically recorded use of Tarot for that purpose was in the 18th century.  Tarot images were originally utilized for playing cards, not as divination tools.  I should point out that recorded history has tended to focus exclusively on the doings of the wealthy and powerful.   Irène learned about divination with Tarot cards from a Romani woman.  It seems to me at least possible that the Romani might have been reading Tarot somewhat earlier than history indicates.

The Romani are called "gypsies" in this book.    I have been guilty of using the term "gypsies" myself, but that was before I learned the history of  "gypsy" as a pejorative.  It's enough for me that members of this ethnic group prefer Romani.   My policy is that people should be called what they want to be called.  Of course, 17th century Irène wouldn't have known better.  It did bother me that Irène was insulting toward Romani  at the end of the book.   Hurtful stereotypes about the Romani have been common and they still do have a great deal of currency.  Irène seemed advanced in a number of ways.   That comment caused me to think less of her.  It also left a bad taste in my mouth since it was literally the last thing Irène said.

The protagonist of The Peddler of Wisdom was by no means perfect, nor did she need to be perfect.   Characters seem more real if they have flaws or complexity.   A number of characters in Bendoly's book were well-developed including the villainous tyrant Domenico who had a background, and an unpredictable degree of ambivalence.

I had some minor problems with this novel that I won't discuss here.  I did like The Peddler of Wisdom for the most part, and was glad to have the opportunity to read it.                       

The Moon Sister: Blog Tour and Review

The Moon Sister  by Lucinda Riley is the fifth novel in the Seven Sisters series.  I reviewed The Pearl Sister which was the fourth book on this blog here.  I was delighted to be again selected for the blog tour by Atria, the publisher.  I received a review copy from them via Net Galley.  This post includes my  review.

ABOUT THE MOON SISTER:

Tiggy D’Aplièse spends her days experiencing the raw beauty of the Scottish Highlands doing a job she loves at a deer sanctuary. But when the sanctuary is forced to close, she is offered a job as a wildlife consultant on the vast and isolated estate of the elusive and troubled laird, Charlie Kinnaird. She has no idea that the move will not only irrevocably alter her future, but also bring her face-to-face with her past.

At the estate, she meets Chilly, an elderly Romani man who fled from Spain seventy years before. He tells her that not only does she possess a sixth sense passed down from her ancestors, but it was foretold long ago that he would be the one to send her back home…

In 1912, in the poor Romani community outside the city walls of Granada, Lucía Amaya-Albaycin is born. Destined to be the greatest flamenco dancer of her generation—and named La Candela, due to the inner flame that burns through her when she dances— Lucía is whisked away by her ambitious and talented guitarist father at the tender age of ten to dance in the flamenco bars of Barcelona. Her mother is devastated by the loss of her daughter and as civil war threatens in Spain, tragedy strikes the rest of her family. Now in Madrid, Lucía and her troupe of dancers are forced to flee for their lives, their journey taking them far across the water to South America and eventually, to North America and New York—Lucía’s long-held dream. But to pursue it, she must choose between her passion for her career and the man she adores.

Featuring Lucinda Riley’s “addictive storytelling with a moving, emotional heart” (Dinah Jeffries), THE MOON SISTER follows these two women bound across time and distance on their journey to discover their true futures—but at the risk of potentially losing the men they had hoped to build futures with.

                                

                              

My Review

I've wanted to read this book ever since I first saw the summary. I loved both female protagonists of this dual period novel.

I admire those who like Tiggy are dedicated to preserving threatened animals and their habitats.  Tiggy also faced down sexual harassment and numerous revelations that impacted her sense of identity when she discovered her Romani birth family in Spain.  Yet she remained focused on her vocation to protect animals. She has been criticized in a Goodreads review for not being a consistent vegan.  A vegan once told me that dairy foods were the most difficult animal products for her to give up, and that she struggled with eliminating dairy for years.  Even principled vegans may have difficulties. Becoming  a vegan can be a process.  I feel that Tiggy is a strong woman who always remained true to the central core of herself throughout the novel.

I've had a love of flamenco dancing and a fascination with the trance state called duende ever since I first learned about its existence in the Highlander: The Series episode Duende. This is why I identified with Lucia's dedication to flamenco.  I felt that her strengths lay in being loyal to her gift and to family.

I thought that The Moon Sister was a moving portrayal of these memorable characters.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lucinda Riley is the New York Times bestselling author of over twenty novels, including The Orchid House, The Girl on the Cliff, and the Seven Sisters series. Her books have sold more than fifteen million copies in over thirty languages globally. She was born in Ireland and divides her time between England and West Cork with her husband and four children. Visit her online and learn more about The Seven Sisters series at LucindaRiley.com.

Roma Nova Extra: Stories on the Matriarchy's Alternate Timeline

I've been reviewing the novels of Roma Nova on this blog.  These are alternate history books dealing with a matriarchal society written by Alison Morton. I'm going to list them in chronological order. You can find the reviews of  the 20th century Roma Nova novels Aurelia, Insurrectio and Retalio at their hyperlinks. Three 21st century Roma Nova novels have been reviewed at Inceptio, Carina and Perfiditas. If you read these reviews, you will find out about the series premise, protagonists and story lines.

Roma Nova's origins go back to ancient times. I'd been hoping that Alison Morton would one day reveal the details of Roma Nova's founding.   She has chosen to deal with how Roma Nova was established in the format of  short stories within an anthology that spans Roma Nova's history called Roma Nova Extra. I can't say that the entire history of Roma Nova is covered in this collection.  There could conceivably be Roma Nova stories set in the Renaissance or the 18th and 19th centuries, but for now I will be content with what we've been given.

I pre-ordered this anthology on Amazon, but had to wait until I had sufficient time to read it between review commitments.

                            

The tales that took place in ancient times more than fulfilled my expectations.

 I loved  the independence of Julia in "The Woman in the Market" and her commitment to her Celtic heritage. These beliefs stiffened her opposition to demands for submission from her husband and the local Christian bishop.

Yet my favorite story in the anthology was "Victory Speaks" which was from the perspective of the statue of the Goddess Victory which stood in the Senate of ancient Rome.  It was slated for destruction by Christians.   Perhaps the decline and fall of the Roman Empire was caused by the Goddess Victory withdrawing her support.  I considered this a powerful story and was very moved by the ending.

I normally don't read every story in an anthology, but the only story I skipped in Roma Nova Extra was one I'd already read in the alternate history anthology 1066 Turned Upside Down which I reviewed here .  All the remaining stories held my attention which makes Roma Nova Extra a superior collection.
         

The Widows of Malabar Hill: A Pioneering Lawyer in 1920's India

The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey was nominated in the mystery category in the earliest phase of this year's Goodreads Choice Awards. Since I had a copy from the F2F mystery group that I attend, I decided to prioritize it.  I am reviewing it on Thanksgiving because I am thankful for this book.

                           

 I  read some of the books in Sujata Massey's  mystery series about Japanese American Rei Shimura and found them entertaining.  Yet I've always wondered if she could produce more riveting mysteries if they were more related to her own heritage.   I don't believe that authors should be forbidden from writing books that have nothing to do with their heritage. What I do think is that Own Voices work is important and should be encouraged. Sujata Massey is partly Indian.  So I rejoiced when I saw that she had written a mystery taking place in India.  Not only this, but her fictional protagonist was based on real women who were among the first to practice law in India.

I reviewed a mystery about the real woman who was the first to practice law in California here. I hoped that The Widows of Malabar Hill would be better written and more authentic. My expectations were definitely fulfilled. 

The main character of this novel, Perveen Mistry, belongs to a religious and ethnic minority in India.  She is a Parsi.  The Parsis originated in Persia, and continue to practice Zoroastrianism which is an ancient religion that influenced Judaism, the faith of my own ancestors.   I read about this influence in Rav Hisda's Daughter by Maggie Anton which I reviewed here.

Some very traditional Zoroastrians had customs that were abusive to women.  Perveen had some horrifying experiences that many readers will find very troubling. I feel that I have a duty to warn that some readers who are survivors of domestic abuse may find that this section about Perveen's past in The Widows of Malabar Hill triggers flashbacks for them.  So this isn't a book for everyone.

 Perveen had the strength to emerge from the shadow of abuse, but it's important for me to say that she couldn't have done this alone.  As I mentioned in the last review I posted to this blog here , class can be an important factor in women's lives. Without the support of her wealthy and influential lawyer father, Perveen would have had nowhere to go and couldn't have become a lawyer herself.

As a result of the British Raj, India had two types of lawyers--barristers and solicitors. Barristers argue cases in court.  Solicitors write documents and briefs.  They also give advice to clients.  Both types of lawyers are very necessary to the practice of  law. Since both the British and Indian traditionalists didn't believe that it was proper for women to have occupations that required high profile public appearances, it was initially very difficult for a woman to become a barrister.  So the first woman lawyers in India were solicitors.  Perveen became a solicitor at her father's law firm.

The case in The Widows of Malabar Hill illustrates an important role for woman solicitors.  There were devout Muslim women who needed to consult a lawyer and couldn't speak to a man.  So Perveen helps women with their legal difficulties.  The Parsi female lawyer who is the main basis for Perveen, Cornelia Sorabji also began as a solicitor for women.

Another wonderful woman character in this novel is Perveen's closest friend, Alice, an English feminist who Perveen met when she was studying law at Oxford.  I would like to see Alice continue to assist Perveen with her cases in future novels in this series.

I will be very surprised if The Widows of Malabar Hill doesn't turn out to be my favorite mystery of 2018.   I am very much looking forward to seeing more of Perveen in the future.

Temptation Rag: Music, Class, Race and Feminism in a Historical Novel

When Joelle Speranza from Smith Publicity requested that I become an early reader of Temptation Rag by Elizabeth Hutchison Barnard, she pitched it to me as dealing with a number of different themes that made it sound both complex and of particular interest to the readers of this blog.  So I accepted a paperback ARC from the publisher and this is my honest review.

                           

    

Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard originally intended to write a book focused on male protagonist Mike Bernard who was a prominent ragtime musician and the grandfather of the author's husband.  She decided to expand her focus by creating a fictional life for Mike Bernard's first wife, May Convery, about whom almost nothing is known.

This fictionalized May Convery became a published poet and a women's suffrage activist.  Her struggle to achieve the independence that allowed her to pursue the life she wanted for herself is important to this novel.  Yet I have to say that the critical factor that allowed her to succeed was having been born into a wealthy family.   If that hadn't been the case, May's dreams would have died.

  I have seen reviews that call May the real protagonist of Temptation Rag.  If this were true, there would have been a great deal more about May's career.   While there is some content about her career activities that appears relatively late in the narrative,  I feel that this is still primarily a novel about Mike Bernard and ragtime music.

Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard shows us through the life of Mike Bernard how and why the history of ragtime was re-written.  This book allows readers to understand that the cultural appropriation of ragtime music was all about racism.  Racists could not enjoy this music unless they could claim it for themselves.  Mike Bernard is depicted as trying to be fair minded because of his own Jewish heritage. Mike didn't want to owe his success to racism.  The suppression of African American musicians is very much a part of Temptation Rag.

I applaud the honest characterization in this book.  Mike Barnard is portrayed as a flawed character who mistreated people thoughtlessly and falsified his history. May also became reluctant to share her true self as a result of her experience with Mike. It was difficult for these characters to form meaningful relationships. They were both very self-protective individuals.

Don't read this book if you're looking for a romance novel.  There is no HEA. This book is recommended for people who want to know what life was like for women and minorities at the turn of the 20th century in the U.S., and for those who are interested in the history of music.






           

The Witch of Willow Hall: The Coming of Age of a Witch

Although I read a great many novels involving paranormal elements, I usually don't blog about them on Flying High Reviews even when they have female protagonists that could be considered strong. There are several reasons why I decided that this review belongs here.  One is that The Witch of Willow Hall is historical, another is that it's primarily a romance and finally October is the month of Halloween.  So I thought the readers of this blog might be interested in a seasonal historical romance about a witch.  I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher via Net Galley.

                          

   
 
I tend to be inclined to try out new writers.  Every year I find debut novels that show potential.  I hoped that The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox would be one of them.

The best aspect of this novel is the protagonist's character growth.  Lydia is the middle daughter in a family with a heritage of witchcraft.  Despite taking place in 19th century Massachusetts, this initially seemed to have a great deal in common with the TV series Charmed about  three sisters who were witches from a long line of magical practitioners which takes place in a contemporary context.  Charmed just rebooted with a very current approach and a new set of sisters on the CW network.  There are some major differences between The Witch of Willow Hall and Charmed. In the book that is the subject of this review, there weren't three paranormally gifted sisters, and there was no one to train those who did have gifts. Lydia was pretty much on her own coming to grips with her powers, and the ghosts at Willow Hall.   This meant that she needed to become very strong and independent, and that's exactly the direction in which she evolved over the course of the narrative.

Since Hester Fox's book is a romance, it focused on the impact that being a witch had on Lydia's relationships--particularly her relationships with the men in her life, and the poisoned relationship with her elder sister Catherine who apparently had no powers, and perceived herself as being in competition with Lydia. It seemed to me that Catherine wasn't sufficiently developed, but Lydia herself and the man who emerged as the romantic hero more than made up for Catherine's deficiencies in character development.

I think it's possible that Hester Fox will write better books in the future, and that The Witch of Willow Hall certainly works for historical romance fans who are looking for a Halloween read.

The Girl From Berlin: A Legal Thriller Dealing With A Woman Violinist and Holocaust Survival

I was approached by the publisher to review The Girl From Berlin because I reviewed Karolina's Twins, the third volume in the Liam Taggart and Catherine Lockhart legal thriller series.  That review can be found on this blog here. The Girl From Berlin is #5 in the same series.  I received a free copy for review from the publisher via Net Galley.

                     

In most dual period books, I prefer one of the narratives more than the other, but in the Ronald Balson  Liam Taggart and Catherine Lockhart books I've read both continuities feel equally exciting and significant.

The Girl From Berlin has a contemporary story line that focuses on an elderly woman with an award winning vineyard in Tuscany who is being outmaneuvered legally by a large corporation that wants her land.   I was definitely rooting for Gabriella Vincenzo to get justice.  There is also a mystery in Gabriella's history and the history of her estate's ownership.  That's where the memoir of  musician Ada Baumgarten comes in.  We eventually learn about the connection between Gabriella and a German Jewish violinist.  We also discover the truth about the struggle over this Italian vineyard through the mesmerizing story that Ada tells about her life.

This post belongs on Flying High Reviews because at its heart The Girl From Berlin is about strong women.  It's about Gabriella Vincenzo who refuses to surrender her land.  It's about two equally determined woman lawyers--one of whom is Catherine Lockhart.  The other is the Italian lawyer who is found to represent Gabriella in court.  Then there is the magnificent Ada Baumgarten whose talent was regarded so highly that she received standing ovations in Hitler's Germany.  Yet Ada had Nazi enemies that threatened her survival.  She remains in jeopardy during the climax of the World War II portion of her narrative.  Finding out what happened to Ada kept me at the edge of my seat through horrific dangers and amazing triumphs over adversity.

There were also courageous men who played supportive roles in the lives of these women. Mentioning all of them would be too much of a spoiler, but I have to give plaudits to at least one. As a PI who is Catherine's husband, Liam Taggart is the ongoing male protagonist of the series. Liam and Catherine worked as a team in this novel.    He did whatever was necessary to bring the Gabriella Vincenzo case to a successful conclusion.

The historical story line about Ada Baumgarten was intense, and I found her musical achievements inspiring.  At the end of the contemporary narrative, I wanted to applaud.   You will not want to miss out on reading The Girl From Berlin.