Dan Simmons, Drood and The Fifth Heart

I am a book junkie, I read so much it's actually an addiction. I never go a day without a book in this house. Even if I already have about five or six books to read, I get more. I always worry about not having something to read, and I always have plenty of "back ups" just in case one book doesn't turn out like I thought it would.

I absolutely love my local library. It is my refuge. Seriously.

While browsing the catalog one evening (they have this new feature on there, where you click on a favorite book you have read or want to read, something you find interesting, and it will automatically suggest others related to that genre or story line etc) and this is how I was introduced to the wonderful novels by Dan Simmons.

I just finished Drood by Dan Simmons and am sad it's over so soon.

This is the first book I've read by Dan Simmons but it certainly won't be the last. I was drawn to this particular book because of my love for the works of Charles Dickens, but I knew I had to read it after attending a book signing where Mr. Simmons talked about the book and its "unreliable" narrator, Wilkie Collins. I was not disappointed!

The richness and depth of Mr. Simmons research and prose is exquisite. It is the sort of book one must immerse one's self into. I nearly felt the stays of my Victorian corset poking my ribs it is so spectacularly reminiscent of the writing styles of the period. The story is redolent with details sorely missing from more modern twenty-first century works. I particularly like the way it left me with things to think about for days and days after reading the last pages. Each reader gets the ending they want, really. It's brilliant the way Simmons doesn't tell the reader the ending, but lets you imagine your ending. I would venture a guess that if you asked ten different people the ending, you would get then different answers. That, is true artistry.

Since I discovered Dan Simmons and his novels, reading Drood got me hooked. I love his style and how he puts a story together and how he lays out the events. Some people have said the books are too long. I disagree. I think for some that get into this book expecting a big edge-of-your-seat-thriller, they just go into it with the wrong expectations and feel let down once the story carries out into events that will only appear banal (but really aren't).

It's all in your expectations and how you approach this story. I can't say anything for his other novels, I am just starting the Fifth Heart tonight, and I am very excited for this story!

I will defintiely update whne I get further into it and, of couirse, after I finish it. :)

BEST READS OF 2014

I already made a list of the books I really enjoyed this past year (my top favorites of 2014) but I feel this last particular book I read deserves it's own post.

Once again, one of my favorite authors, David Liss, wrote a very amazing piece of work called The Day of Atonement and I wanted to elaborate on it because the ending makes me wonder if this will be a first book in a saga or at the very elast a sequel is to follow soon? I hope so, and if not I would deifnitely read this one again!

I've finished reading the series on Benjamin Weaver, and this book is connected to that heroin. So when I heard about it I kenw I would love it. I went out and bought it and didn't put it down the second I picked it up and read the first page.

Sebastião Raposa is only thirteen when his parents are unjustly imprisoned, never to be seen again, and he is forced to flee Portugal lest he too fall victim to the Inquisition. But ten years in exile only serve to whet his appetite for vengeance. Returning at last to Lisbon, in the guise of English businessman Sebastian Foxx, he is no longer a frightened boy but a dangerous man tormented by violent impulses. Haunted by the specter of all he has lost—including his exquisite first love—Foxx is determined to right old wrongs by punishing an unforgivable enemy with unrelenting fury.
 
Well schooled by his benefactor, the notorious bounty hunter Benjamin Weaver, in the use of wits, fists, and a variety of weapons, Foxx stalks the ruthless Inquisitor priest Pedro Azinheiro. But in a city ruled by terror and treachery, where money and information can buy power and trump any law, no enemy should be underestimated and no ally can be trusted. Having risked everything, and once again under the watchful eye of the Inquisition, Foxx finds his plans unraveling as he becomes drawn into the struggles of old friends—and new enemies—none of whom, like Lisbon itself, are what they seem.
 
Compelled to play a game of deception and greed, Sebastian Foxx will find himself befriended, betrayed, tempted by desire, and tormented by personal turmoil. And when a twist of fate turns his carefully laid plans to chaos, he will be forced to choose between surrendering to bloodlust or serving the cause of mercy.

If you love historical fiction, the Benjamin Weaver series, or David Liss novels in particualr, then I highly recommend this one to you!

You can get your copy in either kindle, hardcover or softcover HERE. So grab a big mug of coffee (or tea) or a big glass of wine and snuggle up under a big fluffy duvet and down blanket and enjoy! ;)

2014 Favorites!

I really love books. I have a love for them I can't explain to anyone who doesn't share my passion for them. Reading has always been my past time, since I could read at the age of 2 with my brother. I've always loved books, I've always needed them. It doesn't take a lot to make me happy. My family, coffee, books, wine, the holidays . . . I tend to find happiness in the simplicities of life.

So that brings me to my latest post, which I am dedicating to books and the reading I've done this past year.

I think this year was better than any other for a long time now as far as books go, because not only did I find a new favorite author (well, just another favorite author, really), but I have a new favorite book I abolutely love, besides To Kill A Mockingbird, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christy's Poroit and others I've favorited over the years, this one is at the very top of my list.

It's The Whiskey Rebels and it is written by David Liss.

David Liss has also written a series I'm really liking right now. The series itself doesn't have a saga title, but the individual books are A Conspiracy of Paper, A Spectacle of Corruption and The Devil's Company. There is also a new book connected to this series and the series' heroin, Benjamin Weaver in The Day of Atonement.

My seocnd favorite this year was Jennifer Crusie (always a favorite authorof mine) I read Maybe This Time, and fell in love with the book and the characters in it. Very wellw ritten, great plot twist, and kept me interested enough that I lost mroe sleep than is healthy to my mortality, but so worth it.

Same with The Whiskey Rebels!

Another favorite? The Witch's Daughter by Paula Brackston. I confess I atually read this book in 2013, but it is a huge favorite of mine and I will always love it. I read it a second time this year, so it technically counts as a 2014 favorite as well ;).