Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More


Giveaway: IN FALLING SNOW by Mary-Rose MacColl

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on August 28, 2013
Posted in My Past Giveaways  | 11 Comments

Thanks to Meredith Burks of Penguin Books, I am giving away one copy of In Falling Snow.


Book Description: 

In 1914, a twenty-one year old Iris makes the trans-continental journey from Australia to France with the hope of bringing home her fifteen-year-old enlisted brother. But in Paris, at the Gare du Nord, Iris runs into Miss Ivens, a powerfully charismatic woman who is starting a field hospital run entirely by women at the beautiful Royaumont Abbey, based on the real women’s hospital at Royaumont during World War I. Abandoning her plans, Iris follows Miss Ivens. But it’s not until she meets the wordly and welcoming Violet Heron that she decides to stay – a decision that Iris will look back on with regret and wonder for the rest of her life.

Interwoven with Iris’s tale is the story of her granddaughter, Grace. A determined doctor with a family of her own in 1970s Brisbane, Grace struggles to balance the frustrations of her male-dominated workplace with her love for her family, her concerns for Iris, and her denial in the face of her young son’s failing health.

About Mary-Rose MacColl:

Mary-Rose MacColl is an Australian writer whose first novel, No Safe Place, was a runner-up in the Australian Vogel literary award and whose first non-fiction book, The Birth Wars, was a finalist in the Walkley Awards. She lives in Brisbane , Australia and Banff , Canada with her husband and young son. In Falling Snow is her American debut.

Sorry, this giveaway is open to the U.S. only and ends on September 11, 2013.  Please use Rafflecopter to enter.

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Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Review: The Age of Desire by Jennie Fields

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on August 23, 2013
Posted in Book ToursBooks Read in 2013  | 4 Comments

Book Description:

For fans of The Paris Wife, a sparkling glimpse into the life of Edith Wharton and the scandalous love affair that threatened her closest friendship

They say behind every great man is a woman. Behind Edith Wharton, there was Anna Bahlmann—her governess turned literary secretary, and her mothering, nurturing friend.

When at the age of forty-five, Edith falls passionately in love with a dashing younger journalist, Morton Fullerton, and is at last opened to the world of the sensual, it threatens everything certain in her life but especially her abiding friendship with Anna. As Edith’s marriage crumbles and Anna’s disapproval threatens to shatter their lifelong bond, the women must face the fragility at the heart of all friendships.

Told through the points of view of both women, The Age of Desire takes us on a vivid journey through Wharton’s early Gilded Age world: Paris with its glamorous literary salons and dark secret cafés, the Whartons’ elegant house in Lenox, Massachusetts, and Henry James’s manse in Rye, England.

Edith’s real letters and intimate diary entries are woven throughout the book. The Age of Desire brings to life one of literature’s most beloved writers, whose own story was as complex and nuanced as that of any of the heroines she created.

My Thoughts:

I loved this book!  Now that I know more about the author herself, I can see some of herself in her characters.  Though this book is fiction, it is based on Wharton’s life and affair with Morton Fullerton.  

Her marriage was difficult.  Teddy seemed to really love Edith but it was pretty one sides.  However, in all fairness to Edith, and other women in that day and age, she had no idea what to expect from marriage or even what was suppose to happen in the marriage bed.  She tried to discussed what she should expect from marriage with her mother bus she just brushed her off.  It seemed her mother never had time for her daughter.

At times, I wanted to scream at her, “you deserve better than Fullerton!”  He was such a cad!  I loved Edith’s relationship with Anna Bahlmann.  Anne was her governess when Edith was a child and then became her secretary and friend.  I think she expected too much from Anne at times but Anne loved Edith and would do just about anything for her.  She also acted as caregiver to Teddy, at times.  I loved how her character was fleshed out by Ms. Fields.  I think a book could be written about Anne or at least from her point of view.

I really could go on and on about this book but I don;t want to risk spoilers.  I will say that there was one little thing that I would have like to know in the end.  My guess is most readers wouldn’t care one way or another, but the “type A” in me wanted to know.

 If you love historical fiction and/or you are a fan of Edith Wharton, this be is a must!

4.75/5

I received the ebook courtesy of the publisher and Amy over at Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for my honest review.

About Jennie Fields:


Born in the heart of the heart of the country – Chicago — Jennie Fields decided to become a writer at the age of six and produced her first (365 page!) novel when she was eleven.  She received her MFA at the Iowa Writers Workshop and published her first short stories while spending a postgraduate year at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown.  But needing to feed her family  in the era just post-Mad Men, she became an early female copywriter at an advertising agency, soon rising to creative director and moving to New York.  In her 32-year advertising career, she wrote and produced many well-known and award-winning commercials.  People even now can embarrass her by telling her they grew up dancing to one of her McDonalds’ jingles. 

Still, fiction was her great love.  Writing during her lunch hour and after her daughter’s bedtime she penned her first novel, Lily Beach, which was published by Atheneum in 1993 to much acclaim.  Since then, she’s written three more novels including Crossing Brooklyn Ferry and The Middle Ages. Her latest, The Age of Desire, is a biographical novel based on the life of the author dearest to her heart, Edith Wharton.  An Editor’s Choice of the New York Times Book Review, it describes Wharton’s mid-life love affair with a you

nger, manipulative man.  Why the affinity to Wharton?  Because she wrote about people attempting to break society’s expectations for them – which is something Fields has been yearning to do all her life.

For more information, please visit Jennie’s website.

You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter.



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Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Book Description:

A collection of vegan recipes so simple to make that even a stoner could prepare them, this highly illustrated cookbook from the creators of The Vegan Stoner food blog proves that going vegan can be fun, cheap, and easy.

The Vegan Stoners, Sarah Conrique and Graham Haynes, write, cook, and illustrate in a world filled with eccentric–and slightly uncouth–vegetable characters. Now they invite home cooks into this universe of indie veganism, presenting foolproof recipes that will be a hit with every slacker, penny-pincher, and hipster on the block. With easy recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and munchies, this is a gateway cookbook for anyone who wants to eat fewer animal products and more veggies.

My Thoughts:

This is a good beginner vegan cookbook and great for even skill cooks who want fast to prepare recipes.  

Most of the recipes are easy, such as the Orange French Toast but I wouldn’t say that all the recipes are as easy as the description leads the reader to believe.  For instance, the sushi recipe.  It says to simply “roll it like a sleeping mat.”  Um, if you have ever tried making sushi, you know it is difficult to roll.  I have made it many times with varying rolling outcomes.  It’s rarely perfect, actually never for me and I’m not a stoner.  I am also considered a really good cook, if you ask my friends, family , and husband, Bill.  My dog, DJ thinks so too but he also likes really disgusting things, so he doesn’t count. LOL!
I made the Peachy Crepes for desert, rather than breakfast, however used extra soy

milk and some maple syrup instead of the peach syrup from a can.  I don’t eat canned peaches, I think they are disgusting.  The batter would have been perfect for pancakes but came out way too thick for crepes.  I just added a lot more soy milk to the batter for the right consistency. (Something that first time crepe makers may not know to do).  They turned out great!  I stuffed them with fresh blue berries, fresh peaches, and homemade vegan coconut whip cream. (The whip cream recipe is not in the book.)


I made the Bahnwich for an easy dinner one night and Bill and I really enjoyed it.  I have a different recipe for it however, we enjoyed this one even more.


I LOVE peanut butter and chocolate, so I had to try the peanut butter squares.  That was the easiest recipe I tried, it only has three ingredients, peanut butter, chocolate, and powdered sugar.  They were as rich as you would expect, so I cut them into about 1″x1″ squares.  We still have some in the freezer.


I recommend the Vegan Stoner Cookbook.


4/5


I received a review e-copy of this book from the publisher via Net Galley for my honest review.

Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.