Reveiw & Blog Tour: Ravens by George Dawes Green

Shaw McBride and Romeo Zderko, bored with their dull jobs as telephone technical support in Ohio, decide to go on a lengthy Florida vacation. They hop in Romeo's old car and drive south. When they have a slight mechanical issue they pull off the highway and into a convenience store parking lot in a small Georgia town. Shaw goes inside and happens to overhear the clerk gossiping on the phone about someone in town having just won the lottery. The ticket was bought at that convenience store and the jackpot is more than 300 million dollars. The winner hasn't been announced yet and this information sets Shaw's brain whirling...he is on to a diabolical scheme.

The owners of the winning ticket are the Boatwright family. Mom Patsy is an alcoholic who compulsively buys lottery tickets each and every week, believing that a pile of cash will be the answer to all of their problems. Ineffectual Dad Mitch runs his own business but can't control anything at home. Daughter Tara is putting herself through college with the single goal of getting free of her bizarre mother. Son Jase is happy to sit and play video games. When they end up with a winning ticket, they are all in a blissful state of stunned disbelief in their good fortune.

Their happiness will not last long. Shaw, aided by that predator's friend MySpace, has found out all he needs to know about this family. He presents himself at their home under false pretenses and then proceeds to hold them hostage. He wants half of the jackpot and he will be on his way and no one will get hurt. By his reasoning, they should be happy to share. Half of over 300 million should be more than enough for any family. This is money they never had in the first place, why should they care if they only get half of a huge fortune? For the next week, the Boatwright family must act to the entire outside world as if everything is normal. Meanwhile, Shaw lives with them as an old family friend and Romeo cruises the town ready to start killing extended family members and friends if the Boatwrights step out of line.

I found this book to be a chilling psychological thriller with an interesting, if not completely plausible, premise. The character interactions were extremely compelling for me, I have a little knowledge of hostage behavior and the response of the hostages to form attachments to their persecutor is accurately and fascinatingly portrayed here. If you like suspense fiction, this is an absorbing tale that you won't be able to put down until the last page has been read.

I read Ravens as part of a Blog Tour, for a complete list of participating blogs, click here. Thanks to Miriam and Hachette for sending me my copy for review! For more information about the author and his books, please visit his website. You can listen to an interview with George Dawes Green on Blog Talk Radio by clicking here.

Ravens is published by Grand Central. ISBN 978-0-446-53896-1

Review and Blog Tour: Last Light Over Carolina by Mary Alice Monroe

The small coastal town of McClellanville, South Carolina has always relied on the bounty of the sea to sustain its citizens. Most of the residents of the town make their livings shrimping or fishing. Bud Morrison is no exception.

Bud is a third generation shrimper, going out with his dad on the boat from the time he could walk. It has been a hard-working life, but he wouldn't trade it. There is something special about working your own boat, being your own boss. Things have been going downhill for a while now, though. Foreign shrimp dumped on the market drives the prices down, regulations for shrimping hamper every catch and the numbers of shrimp are down, too. It's getting harder and harder to make a living.

So Bud is caught in a classic catch-22. He has to work more, longer hours to support his family and pay his bills. But the harder he works, the less time he spends with his wife, Carolina. She chose to marry Bud even though she knew that their lives would be full of hard work. She didn't count on their physical separation becoming an emotional one, too. Their constant battles have just about ruined their thirty year marriage. They have struggled to get back to the close relationship they had when they were first married but the strain is difficult to bear.

On the morning of September 21, Bud gets up before 4 a.m., as usual. When his cousin and deckhand fails to show up at the boat, Bud leaves without him - even though he is aware of the risks he faces going out alone. Carolina awakens with a feeling of lingering gloom that she is unable to dispel. Throughout the day, both Bud and Carolina reflect on the events that formed their relationship and their lives together.

When Bud fails to return to the the dock in the afternoon, everyone bands together to find him. Though both Bud and Carolina have lived with the dangers of an occupation at sea for many years, the actuality of a disaster brings them both to stark realizations about themselves. If they can get through this one day, they might be able to get back what they had, because now they both realize how precious it is.

Mary Alice Monroe brings to life a struggling American family in an industry plagued with hardship. I loved the way she told both sides of this couple's story, thoughtfully drawing the history as seen from each partner and weaving them together into a portrait of a marriage. The warm southern style of the narrative makes the reader feel right at home in this enjoyable novel.

Last Light over Carolina is published by Pocket Books. ISBN 978-1-4165-4970-3

I read Last Light over Carolina as part of a Pocket Books blog tour (thanks, Sarah!). Here's the list of all participating blogs:

All About {n}

Bookin’ with “BINGO”

My Guilty Pleasures

Just Jennifer Reading

Chick With Books

Bella’s Novella

Books and Needlepoint

Booksie’s Blog

Bermudaonion

Medieval Bookworm

Living Life and Reading Books

Book N Around

The Eclectic Book Hoarder

Pick of the Literate

A Book Bloggers Diary

My Friend Amy

Gaijin Mama

Blog Business World

ScarpettaJunkie’s Blog

Frugal Plus

Carolina Gal’s Literary Café

This Book For Free

Marta’s Meanderings

Review and Blog Tour: The Kingmaking (Pendragon's Banner, Book One) by Helen Hollick

The fifth century in Britain was a time of upheaval and change. The Romans had abandoned the island and a power vacuum was created with their going. The native tribes, never unified except for one single, shining moment under Queen Boudicca, immediately returned to warring against each other. Cunedda, Lord of the Votodini, lost his lands north of Hadrian's Wall and was exiled to the mountains of Gwynedd in Wales. Uthr the Pendragon, great war leader and Cunedda's ally, fled the island. The victor, Vortigern, declared himself King of Britain and, to keep his throne, hired vast numbers of hated Saxon mercenaries and took a Saxon wife.

The Kingmaking begins with Arthur's arrival, at the age of fifteen, in Gwynedd. He comes as a serving boy to Uthr, but despite his low status he dreams of becoming a leader of men. A rebellion is planned to reclaim Britain from Vortigern. The war party departs, leaving Arthur behind with Cunedda's young sons and only daughter, Gwenhwyfar. In the short peaceful time they are together, Arthur and Gwenhwyfar forge a strong bond. But the harmony is shattered when the war party returns, defeated, with the news that Uthr is dead.

The demoralized troops feel that all hope has been lost with their leader. But Cunedda has a surprise announcement for all assembled. Uthr had a son, declared dead at birth but actually hidden away, in plain sight, to keep Vortigern from killing the Pendragon heir. Arthur, humble servant, is actually Uthr's son.

Arthur now has the chance that he dreamed of, and he grabs it. Unfortunately, he is young and untried, has little skill with sword or spear. He must learn and the only way to do that is to pledge his sword to the one in power, his enemy Vortigern. To cement his loyalty Vortigern exacts a terrible price, Arthur must marry Vortigern's daughter: greedy, scheming Winifred.

Gwenhwyfar is heartbroken, then horrified when she learns that she is to be forced to marry Vortigern's nephew and right hand man, Melwas. To prevent the marriage to a cruel and violent man, her family helps her escape to Less Britain, Arthur's childhood home, beyond the reach of Melwas.

The coming years will test the strength and determination of the Pendragon and his followers. They will learn lessons well, bide their time and overcome seemingly impossible obstacles on the way to their goal....giving Britain an honorable King and the hope of a peaceful future.

This is Historical Fiction at its best. The author has taken the story of Arthur and deftly shaken off the myth and fantasy that cling to it. Gone are Merlin and his sprinklings of magic, instead we have Arthur as he might have really been. A man, a leader, a soldier who drank and used women, who loved and was loyal but also cheated and lied. A warrior who adopted tactics that worked, no matter the cost. A man trying to find footing in a rapidly changing world, a complex world that included those that clung to Roman ways, followers of the Goddess and the druids, and the vast, spreading tide of Christianity.

Here you will find rich, multi-layered characters, breathtaking drama and aching sadness. Crumbling Roman cities and soaring Welsh mountains. Brilliant battles and horrible losses. A complex, compelling story and a refreshing look at the origins of a legend.

I have long been a fan of Helen Hollick's writing and The Pendragon's Banner trilogy is at the top of my list of favorite Historical Fiction. The other two books in the series are Pendragon's Banner and Shadow of the King. I can't recommend them highly enough, they are all fantastic historical novels!

The Kingmaking is published by Sourcebooks. ISBN 978-1-4022-1888-0

Here's the list of blog tour stops...see what other reviewers have to say!

http://harrietdevine.typepad.com/harriet_devines_blog/2009/02/the-kingmaking.html
http://lazyhabits.wordpress.com/2009/02/20/the-kingmaking/
http://carpelibrisreviews.com/the-kingmaking-by-helen-hollick-book-tour-giveaway/
http://www.historicalnovels.info/Kingmaking.html
http://www.bibliophilemusings.com/2009/02/review-interview-kingmaking-by-helen.html
http://lilly-readingextravaganza.blogspot.com/2009/02/kingmaking-by-helen-hollick.html
http://chikune.com/blog/?p=488
http://booksaremyonlyfriends.blogspot.com/
http://peekingbetweenthepages.blogspot.com/
http://webereading.blogspot.com/
http://www.caramellunacy.blogspot.com/
http://bookthoughtsbylisa.blogspot.com/
http://www.skrishnasbooks.com/
http://jennifersrandommusings.wordpress.com/
http://rhireading.blogspot.com/
http://passagestothepast.blogspot.com/
http://steventill.com/
http://savvyverseandwit.blogspot.com%20/ 3/2 and interview 3/3
http://www.carlanayland.blogspot.com/
http://readersrespite.blogspot.com/ 3/3 and interview on 3/5
http://libraryqueue.blogspot.com/ 3/4
http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/ 3/4
http://www.myfriendamysblog.com/ 3/5
http://samsbookblog.blogspot.com/ 3/5
http://goodbooksbrightside.blogspot.com/ 3/5