Publication Date: February 4, 2013 Devon House Press Paperback; 332p ISBN-10: 061558361X
During the second half of the 16th century, a wealthy widow by the name of Doña Antonia Nissim is arrested and charged with being a secret Jew. The punishment? Death by burning. Enter Suleiman the Magnificent, an Ottoman “Schindler,” and the most celebrated sultan in all of Turkish history. With the help of the Sultan, the widow and her children manage their escape to Istanbul. Life is seemingly idyllic for the family in their new home, that is, until the Sultan’s son meets and falls in love with Tamar, Doña Antonia’s beautiful and free-spirited granddaughter. A quiet love affair ensues until one day, the girl vanishes.
Over four centuries later, thirty-two year old Selim Osman, a playboy prince with a thriving real estate empire, is suddenly diagnosed with a life-theatening condition. Abandoning the mother of his unborn child, he vanishes from Istanbul without an explanation. In a Manhattan hospital, he meets Hannah, a talented artist and the daughter of a French Holocaust survivor. As their story intertwines with that of their ancestors, readers are taken back to Nazi-occupied Paris, and to a sea-side village in the Holy Land where a world of secrets is illuminated.
Theirs is a love that has been dormant for centuries, spanning continents, generations, oceans, and religions. Bound by a debt that has lingered through time, they must right the wrongs of the past if they’re ever to break the shackles of their future.
My Thoughts:
The Debt of Tamar opens in 16th century Spain, during the Inquisition. Doña Antonia Nissim is released into Turkey by the demand of Suleiman the Magnificent. Her daughter , Reyna and nephew, Jose meet her as she is helped off the ship. They are now free to practice Judaism freely but are they totally free? Jose and Reyna marry and have a daughter, Tamar. When Tamar is a teenager Jose makes a decision, he thinks is best for the family but sets off ‘The Sultan’s Curse’ with consequences spanning over many centuries.
The book jumps from the 16th century, to present day, to the 1940’s and again to present day. I get why the author did that but I did get annoyed at times. I would have likes a few more details up front upon arriving at each time frame but those came out as the book skips around.
Other than the the writing was beautiful. Nicle Dweck has a knack for capturing time and landscape and framing them for her reader. I would have liked to get to know some of the characters more. We never even find out what actually happens to Tamar. I wish we had.
I still highly recommend The Debt of Tamar. It truely is a beautiful book that I had a hard time putting down, most of the time. I would love to read more by Nicole Dweck.
4/5
I received the ebook version of this book for my honest opinion.
About Nicole Dweck:
Nicole Dweck is a writer whose work has appeared in newspapers and magazines across the country.
The Debt of Tamar, her debut novel, was a two-time finalist in the UK’s Cinnamon Press Novel Award Competition. It has also received an honorable award mention in the category of Mainstream/Literary Fiction from Writers Digest and was the highest rated book for two weeks running on the Harper Collin’s “Authonomy” website.
Nicole lives in New York City with her husband and son.
Thanks to Amy Bruno of Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, I am giving away one print copy of The Debt of Tamar. This giveaway is open to the U.S. only and ends on April 11, 2014. Please use Rafflecopter to enter.
Publisher: Matador (November 26, 2013) ISBN-13: 978-1780883908 Category: Travel, Adventure Travel, Living & Working Abroad Tour Dates: March/April, 2014 Available in: Print & ebook, 256 pages
From Luton to Peru to Ningaloo, a Search for Life After Redundancy
Three things happened simultaneously. The lioness charged, Alistair fled across the parched savannah and his wife screamed for him to run faster. Stuffed deep inside his tattered rucksack was a guidebook containing advice on what to do in wildlife emergencies, which he planned to read if he survived the next thirty seconds. Future plans to climb Kilimanjaro, teach English in the Amazon and live in Australia were temporarily forgotten as he turned to face the pouncing lioness, thinking back to the words of advice from his mother-in-law. “Don’t do anything silly, and look after Francine.”
From deep underground in a remote Bolivian mine to the scorched Australian outback, Round the Bend is an adventure travel story. It explores the turbulence of redundancy, the excitement of travel, the anguish of leaving home and the challenges of starting a new life in Australia.
My Thoughts:
When the plant in his home town of Luton, UK closed, Alistair McGuiness and his wife Fran didn’t fret or panic, they rejoiced and made lemonade out of the situation. First they travelled to remote parts of the world and then immigrated to Australia.
Their first stop was to volunteer in the Amazon for a month. They cleared out brush to re-forest and Alistair taught English to the village people. Then the travelled all over South America. They scaled mountains, went white water rafting, experienced culture, visited the Bolivian salt flats, braved public buses, and even saw where the final stand off was for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
After going back to Luton to pack and say their farewells, they traveled to Africa. When they were finally ready to go to their final destination, Australia, there was a glitch with immigration for Fran, which sent her to another county on her own. They both finally made it to Australia, where they still reside.
I haven’t read many travel books but after reading Around the Bend, I certainly want to read more. I would love to travel one day, while I can still get around unassisted, LOL! I have never been outside of North America. I have dreamed of going to Africa since I was a little girl. I would also live to go to Australia and New Zealand. Parts of Europe would be lovely too. I’m hoping Bill and I can go somewhere after the house is paid for!
In Round the Bend Alistair shared his travels with the reader in such a way that as times, I felt like I was there. His writing is poetic and he has a wicked sense of humour. I found my self laughing out loud many times. I didn’t want Round the Bend to end. I hope Alistair and Fran go on more adventures and share them with us. I LOVED this book! Highly recommended!
5/5
I received the ebook version for my honest opinion.
To any of my dear readers who have read travel and travel/adventure books, what do you recommend I read next in this genre? I would love your thoughts on this!
I am giving away one copy of Round the Bend internationally, here.
Publisher: Logikal Solutions, May 30, 2013 ISBN-13: 978-1-939732-00-2 Category: Dystopian, Science Fiction Tour Dates: January, 2014 Available in:Print, ebook & Audio, 272 pages
What if the Mayans got the start of the end correct because they had survived it once before? What if our written history was just as accurate as the old tale about three blind men describing an elephant? What if classic science fiction writing and television shows each got a piece of it correct, would you know which ones? If your eyes can only see a tiny portion of a collage do you know it is a collage?
Many might jump to the knee-jerk assumption that this book is a sequel to “Infinite Exposure” but they would be wrong. This book does occur after that book and will make reference to the outcome of the prior book, but it is definitely not a sequel.
“John Smith” ties together Atlantis, cell phones, the Mayans, God, the Egyptians, “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”, and the outcome of the terrorist attack yet to come all in the form of an interview between the last known survivor of the war and a reporter for the largest newspaper of its day, serving 5000 people twice monthly.
During the course of this interview the reporter and reader will learn what did and did not survive, both this time and the previous times. Throughout the course of this interview both blatant and subtle nods are made to such works as “1984”, “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”, “Peter Pan”, “Battlestar Galactica” (the new one), “Star Trek TNG”, and “Babylon 5” because one must both acknowledge greatness and build on what the fans already know.
To steal a line from the Rolling Stones, “but what was-in you is the nature of this game.” When one finishes reading this book they should fall into exactly two categories: The morally offended and those who sit around for days questioning their beliefs and the true meaning of life.
The book should be incredibly easy for an organization like the SyFy channel to turn into a film or made for TV movie, interspersing clips from old movies and shows, with or without sound, where their topics are being discussed and where they are being directly referenced.
My Thoughts:
As most of my readers know, I tend to gravitate more towards literary fiction, historical, and classics. I think it is the theme of humanity that is most important to me. Because of that, I do like to read the occasional dystopian novel, one that I think will deliver on that theme.
John Smith delivered “humanity” in spades. The format of the book is simple, an interview between reporter Susan Krowley, of the town Fieldspring and John Smith, the last know survivor of the Microsoft Wars. Susan asked questions but John did not give the answers she wanted to hear. She thought it would be a simple in/out interview but it was far from that.
She had no concept of what technology was. John would talk about computers and other technology and she thought he must be made. However, to understand the Microsoft wars, she would have to know all about it and more. She didn’t even know what a university was.
John Smith: Last Known Survivor of the Microsoft Wars was refreshing. It examines what we know to exist today and smash it all to pieces. It examines humanity and all of our faults as well as what would happen if all technology and education became a thing of the past.
Some may think that the interview format would get stale fast however, I found it to worked well. I applaud Roland Hughes for his creativity and for questioning humanity and all of the what if’s. I highly recommend this book.
5/5
I received the ebook version for my honest review.
Guest Post and Giveaway:
Please see the guest post and giveaway,here. It’s your chance to win a copy of John Smith: Last Known Survivor of the Microsoft Wars.
About Roland Hughes:
Roland Hughes is the president ofLogikal Solutions, a business applications consulting firm specializing in VMS platforms. Hughes serves as a lead consultant with over two decades of experience using computers and operating systems originally created by Digital Equipment Corporation (now owned by Hewlett-Packard).
Roland Hughes is the recipient of the 2008 Best Books Award Winner in the category Business: Computers/Technology/Internet for his book, ” The Minimum You Need to Know About Service Oriented Architecture” and a 2009 Finalist Eric Hoffer Awards.
Book Description:
