Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More


Nov 16

30

Brothers Path by Martha Kennedy: Review

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on November 30, 2016
Posted in Books Read in 2016 • Historical Fiction  | Tagged With: , , , | 3 Comments

Brothers Path by Martha KennedyBrothers Path by Martha Kennedy


In 1524 to 1531 times were tough in a small village near Zürich, in Switzerland.  It was the time of the Protestant Reformation.  Much like the bloody Spanish inquisition and the Christian crusades, it was a struggle for religious freedom.

‘The Brothers Path’ tells the struggles of the Schneebeli family.  The book begins with the birth and death of Rudolf and his mother.  The six brothers are left to navigate the tumultuous times.  We witness each brother’s journey to work and raise their families or take other paths, while also trying to stay alive.  Some embrace the Protestant religion, one becomes a priest, staying in the Catholic religion but none come out unaffected by the Reformation!

I didn’t know about this other religious struggle in history.  I love to read and learn about different places, periods and struggles in history so this book was a great read for me.  Some of this book is hard to read, it’s like watching a train wreck in slow motion however, the characters are well drawn out and you can’t help needing to follow them to their fates.  At times I felt like I was their struggling along side. A very memorable novel that will stay with me. Recommended for historical fiction lovers.

I received the ebook for my honest opinion.

4/5

About Martha KennedyBrothers Path by Martha Kennedy


Award winning author, Martha Kennedy has published three works of historical fiction. Her first novel, Martin of Gfenn, which tells the story of a young fresco painter living in 13th century Zürich, was awarded the Editor’s Choice by the Historical Novel Society Indie Review and the BRAG Medallion from IndieBRAG in 2015.

Her second novel, Savior, also an BRAG Medallion Honoree (2016), tells the story of a young man in the 13th century who fights depression by going on Crusade. Her newest novel, The Brothers Path, a loose sequel to Savior, looks at the same family three hundred years later as they find their way through the Protestant Reformation.

Kennedy has also published many short-stories and articles in a variety of publications from the Denver Post to the Business Communications Quarterly.

Kennedy was born in Denver, Colorado and earned her undergraduate degree in American Literature from University of Colorado, Boulder and her graduate degree in American Literature from the University of Denver. She has taught college and university writing at all levels, business communication, literature and English as a Second Language.

For many years she lived in the San Diego area, most recently in Descanso, a small town in the Cuyamaca Mountains. She has recently returned to Colorado to live in Monte Vista in the San Luis Valley.

Website http://marthakennedy.co
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thebrotherspath/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarthaKennedy6

To learn more about Kennedy’s award-winning novels, Martin of Gfenn and Savior,check out her Amazon author page: amazon.com/author/martha_ann_kennedy

Buy Brothers Path by Martha Kennedy


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Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus Oct 4 Kickoff & Giveaway

Rockin’ Book Reviews Oct 5 Review & Giveaway

Words and Peace Oct 6 Guest Post

Words and Peace Oct 6 Excerpt & Giveaway

Carole Rae’s Random Ramblings Oct 7 Review

SolaFide Book Club Oct 10 Guest Post

Serendipity Oct 11 Review

Serendipity Oct 11 Interview

The Brothers Path Oct 11 War Anniversary Post

Books, books, and more books Oct 20 Review (Postponed)

StoreyBook Reviews Oct 25 Excerpt

StoreyBook Reviews Oct 25 Giveaway

Lisa’s Writopia Oct 28 Review

Lisa’s Writopia Oct 28 Guest Post

Deal Sharing Aunt Nov 3 Review & Giveaway (postponed)

Broken Teepee Nov 4 Review, Excerpt, & Giveaway

Infinite House of Books Nov 8 Interview

Celticlady’s Reviews Nov 22 Excerpt

Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus Nov 30 Review

Brothers Path by Martha Kennedy

Nov 16

23

Written In the Ashes by K. Hollan Van Zandt: Review

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on November 23, 2016
Posted in Books Read in 2016 • Historical Fiction  | Tagged With: , , , , | 4 Comments

Written In the Ashes by K. Hollan Van ZandtWritten In the Ashes by K. Hollan Van Zandt


In the 5th century, Hannah, a sheep herder is taken from her father in Sinai and is taken into the slave trade to be sold in Alexandria, Egypt.  She was bought by Tarek, a young man, still living with his father, Alizar.  Alizar was a pagan and alchemist.  Tarek hid Hannah in his room but Alizar discovered her quite quickly and took her from Tarek and treated her kindly.  

Alizar freed her from her irons had a doctor come and tend to her wounds that the slave traders inflicted.  He treated her very kindly and recognized her intelligence. She lived with him and Tarek but not not totally free from danger. 

This was a time when Christianity was still in its infancy and there were men, called the Parabolani that went after anyone they believed were pagans.

Later, Alizar brought Hannah to the Great Library of Alexandria to sing and she becomes fast friends with Hypatia and other pagans who work there to preserve important art and scrolls.  Hannah decided to work with them and became comfortable in her enriched life. She also helped to unite the fractured pieces of the Emerald Tablet which was seen as the last hope for pagans to live in peace.

Full of adventure, danger, romance, history, and strong female characters, Written In the Ashes has something for just about everyone! I read and reviewed it back in 2012 as a self published novel and loved it.  Now it has been picked up by a new Harper Collins division, Legends.  It has been newly revised and edited and I still love it!  K. Hollan Van Zandt’s writing reminds of Michelle Moran, one of my favorite historical fiction authors.  Written In the Ashes remains one of my top five novels of all times!  It is a must read for historical fiction fans! 

5/5

I received the ebook for my honest review.

About K. Hollan Van ZandtWritten In the Ashes by K. Hollan Van Zandt


Kaia Van Zandt is a celebrated author and teacher whose novel, Written in the Ashes, chronicles the events that led up to the burning of the Great Library of Alexandria, Egypt. Kaia’s spiritual journey began at age 14 when she founded the youth division of the Humane Society of the United States. Then as a junior in high school, she traveled to the Earth Summit in Brazil, where she taught meditation, and was given the opportunity to work with world leaders on the challenges facing humanity and the planet today, an experience that profoundly influenced her work.

She’s a graduate of Antioch University, where she focused on the intersection between the ancient Goddess traditions and modern culture. Her fascination with healing-both personally and collectively – led her to yoga. During her career she’s worked with thought leaders like Marci Shimoff and Deepak Chopra, actors like Ashley Judd, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Garry Shandling, as well as Sony ImageWorks, UCLA Medical, and the San Francisco 49ers. Her beloved writing mentor is bestselling novelist/humorist, Tom Robbins.

Website: www.kaiavanzandt.com


Facebook: https://business.facebook.com/Kaia-H-Van-Zandt-62326196268/?business_id=1527166044253916
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KaiaVanZandt
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaiavanzandt/?hl=en
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbpNRBX9k7z1bJndQ2a4Rgg

Buy Written In the Ashes by K. Hollan Van Zandt


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Written In the Ashes Only $2.99


Right now you can get your very own Kindle copy for only $2.99.  Click here: Amazon


Written In the Ashes by K. Hollan Van Zandt

Nov 16

15

Bones You Have Cast Down by Jean Huets: Giveaway

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on November 15, 2016
Posted in My Past Giveaways  | Tagged With: , , | 3 Comments

Bones You Have Cast Down by Jean HuetsBones You Have Cast Down by Jean Huets


Thanks to Jean Huets of  Circling Rivers, I am giving away three signed print copies of Bones You Have Cast Down by Jean Huets.

Description of Bones You Have Cast Down by Jean Huets


Inspired by a true story, The Bones You Have Cast Down will transport you to a medieval village and a lush Renaissance court, to long ago times not unlike our own, when the keepers of faith conspired against the faithful, and the rich and powerful embraced war and corruption even while fostering works of artistic brilliance revered to this day.

In 1447, Taria is swept from a convent orphanage into the glittering retinue of the duchess of Milan. Lowborn in a highborn circle, she has never felt so alone. Then a small, mysterious painting of a female pope carries her back 150 years to the joyous circle of a holy woman, worshipped in her time, mysteriously obscure in Taria’s time.

The duchess believes the journey is only a vision, yet she orders Taria to learn more. Reviving the holy woman’s fame could bring badly needed prestige to the noble family. But Taria conceals  a devastating revelation: the saint and her followers are despised by the Inquisition.

As jealousy wrecks her romance and poisons her closest friendship, Taria shuns the present and embraces the holy woman’s circle as the family she has always craved. And the Inquisition closes in.

Praise for Bones You Have Cast Down by Jean Huets


The Bones You Have Cast Down transported me to Italy at the dawn of the Renaissance, and into the heart of a young woman who’s deceptively quiet, extraordinarily spirited. From the hand-painted tarot cards to lavish festivities set amidst the misery of war, from cathedrals to village churches, Jean Huets brings alive this paradoxical time. The Bones You Have Cast Down is enchanting and richly historical, as well as dazzling and dark, heart-wrenching and intoxicating. – Stuart R. Kaplan, author of The Encyclopedia of Tarot

A well written book with an intriguing story and an element of magic. Adults and teens alike will be drawn to this historical novel. – Cary Meltzer Frostick, reviewer for School Library Journal and Youth Services librarian

About Jean HuetsBones You Have Cast Down by Jean Huets


Jean Huets is co-author with Stuart R. Kaplan of The Encyclopedia of Tarot and author of The Cosmic Tarot. As editor at U.S. Games Systems, she oversaw the publication of Brian Williams’ Renaissance Tarot deck and book, Luigi Scapini’s Medieval Tarot, an edition of the Visconti-Sforza Tarocchi, and many other tarot decks and books.

Her interactive book With Walt Whitman: Himself was acclaimed by Whitman scholar Ed Folsom as “a true Whitmanian feast.” Her articles on the U.S. Civil War era have appeared in The New York Times and Civil War Monitor. She is co-founder of Circling Rivers, an independent publisher of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.

Giveaway of Bones You Have Cast Down by Jean Huets


This giveaway is open to the U.S. only and ends on December 2, 2016 midnight pacific time.  Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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