Cinder and Glass by Melissa de la Cruz

Me trying to do like...remember the family trees of French kings
Also. VERSAILLES. IT'S SO PRETTY THERE. Do I desperately wanna go back. Yes. 
Aaaaaaaaaaand now I'm worried about the Terror and how literally anyone noble died....does math to check years. 
Laughs uncomfortably at this whole situation, if Louis is who I think he is..

*reads summary again....
Does more math and digging based on parents....ok this is just a mess. I almost wish it hadn't officially been France because like... 
France. Why. Why would you have a Louis (who does not become king-history-wise) marry a Maria, who is the grandfather of Louis XVI who marries a Marie.....like....can we...why.
Anyways if we disregard the mess of history, it's super cute and I loved it. Auguste was adorable and he was so sweet, and I always need fluff in my life, and I love him. I love Cinderella retellings, and it had some Selection vibes, so that was fun. 
336 Pages

Bringing up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman

An American journalist and parent living in Paris, Druckerman researches modern French parenting.  In Druckerman’s observation, French parents set a rigid framework for children.  However, within this framework, children are given much freedom allowing them to rise to the high expectations of their parents.  It is a quick and pleasant read. 

432 pages

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Unfortunately, this is the end of the line for me, and my actual score is more of a 2.5. I really wanted to love this one, but for me, it was drawn out and tedious. There was a huge lull from about 1/3 to 2/3, and I think this whole story could have been successfully accomplished and be far better in half the number of pages.

They still don't address the time travel issue in any way that is helpful or more satisfying than the previous novel, so I've effectively read 1,700 pages of a classic time travel novel and continue to have no answers or even clues to my most basic questions. All they did was give me more questions, and there's a point at which mystery and delay can be good for a story, but it's not after 1,700 frustrating pages of no real answers. I think I've finally accepted that actually addressing the concept of the story is never going to be a priority, and that sits poorly with me, since it's the concept that attracted me.

In addition, I got tired of rape scenes being used as filler to help drag the story out and add another 100 pages of drama. There's a limit to how much of that I want to continue to read, especially at this point.

This novel also diverged from almost everything I truly loved about book one, and that about did me in. Instead of being different or interesting, it took away all the things I loved most and expected me to hang on through those 600 or so middle pages of exhausting nonsense which did little to improve or progress the plot.

I just can't anymore. The characters aren't enough of a reason to continue on, especially now that I know these books are going to all be dreadfully long due to an inability to edit effectively, rather than a true need for each story to be so lengthy.

There's a phrase in the writing world that says, "kill your darlings." It basically means that if you want to have a good story, you have to be able to delete useless words, sentences, paragraphs, scenes, chapters, and sometimes even sections of your manuscript to create a better story. Unfortunately, there are no dead darlings in this monster. They're all there, and you have to read them all, no matter how slow, unnecessary, and boring they may be. And sometimes they aren't boring. Sometimes it's a funny scene but still completely useless to the story, in which case, I would have preferred some humor through a different method.

A drawn out story can be good, if there's enough motion to compel someone forward. There just isn't here, and I quit this book so many times and had to force myself to restart and restart and restart to finish it. While the ending was more interesting, it should have arrived 500 pages sooner, in order for me to continue onward. I don't by any means dislike a long book, but I can't slog through so many chapters of nonsense just to get to the good stuff. I'm not that patient. I think this just isn't my cup of tea after all, but I'm glad I finally know what this series is all about after years of wondering.

Book 148 Read in 2018

Pages: 976

Impure Blood (Captain Darac #1)

 Impure Blood
by Peter Morfoot
Pages: 539
Rating: 4 out of 5

In the heat of a French summer, Captain Paul Darac of the Nice Brigade is called to a highly sensitive crime scene. A man has been found murdered in the midst of a Muslim prayer group. There were many witnesses but no one saw how it happened.

As the Tour de France heads towards Nice, the police receive a terrorist threat. But Darac is convinced the threat is a hoax and some how the murder is involved. What is the real goal? Darac must try and unravel a complex knot in which racial hatred, sex and revenge are tightly intertwined before anyone else dies.

Seven Stones to Stand or Fall by Diana Gabaldon

Seven Stones to Stand or Fall by Diana Gabaldon

A collection of seven novellas published in various anthologies over the years, Seven Stones to Stand or Fall deals with interesting side-stories within the Outlander universe. "The Custom of the Army" tells of Lord John Grey's time in Canada, where he and his comrades lay siege to the Citadel of Quebec. "The Space Between" encounters a grief-stricken Michael Murray, a nephew of Jamie Fraser, who has been charged with accompanying Joan MacKimmie, his kind-of cousin, to Paris so she can join a convent. Then there's the ever-troublesome Comte St. Germain .... In "A Plague of Zombies," we meet Lord John once again, this time in Jamaica, where he has been charged with putting down a slave rebellion. "A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows" details the tragic story of Roger MacKenzie's parents, Jerry and Dolly. In "Virgins," a young Jamie Fraser and his best friend, Ian Murray, become mercenaries in France, and both are rather worried they'll end up in hell for their actions. We learn the story behind how Lord John's older brother, Hal, meets and falls in love with his rather fierce wife, Minnie, in "A Fugitive Green." Lord John travels to Cuba in "Besieged," in order to save his mother, who is a guest of Governor Juan de Prado. But once he learns the British navy is preparing to wreak havoc on Havana, Lord John fears the Dowager Duchess of Pardloe could become a hostage. 

Part of the Outlander universe. 544 pages.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

In this Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Doerr writes about the years leading up to and including WWII from the very personal perspective of two children who grow into their teens during the 1930's and 1940's.  Marie-Laure, who is blind, lives with her father in Paris, but evacuates with him when the Germans invade.  Her father helps her 'see' and navigate the world by building models of their neighborhood.  She is the embodiment of good and innocence, and has a great curiosity and love for learning. The orphan boy Werner, growing up in Germany, has a great knack for mechanical things, especially radios, that eventually takes him to an elite training school for German youth.  Following these two characters as they grow and develop allows Doerr to explore themes of the role of the individual in confronting evil.  I was most struck by his descriptions of how the average German citizens became entangled, little by little, in the promises and lies of Hitler's fascism.  Doerr is a master storyteller, and an expert at putting in the details of each scene to make it superbly real.  530 pages.

Lunch in Paris: a love story with recipes by Elizabeth Bard

I picked up this book in the New Books section of my local library-(shout out to Scenic Regional Hermann Branch). I had a little trouble getting in to it at first.  Elizabeth Bard is a self-described "free spirit with a five-year plan" who attended a boarding high school, I'm guessing an Ivy League college, and who met her French boyfriend while in graduate school in London.  But she drew me into her story first with the recipes and then with her increasingly complex relationship with France.  She writes very candidly about encouraging her husband to leave behind the boring but safe job at a state run digital archive to start a consulting business helping French cinemas go digital. In one chapter, she describes observing her mother-in-law for clues for staying slim: no eating between meals, drinking lots of water, small portions, and regular walking, swimming, dancing, etc.-not for exercise but for fun!  On their two week family beach vacation, Elizabeth observed that all the women wore bikinis, no matter their age-a good incentive for following her mother-in-law's regime! Anyone who ever dreams of living the expat life in France will find this a worthwhile read.    324 pages.

"From Missouri to the Isle of Mull: Impressions of a Little Journey by Three Missourians" by Ethelbert F. Allen, Campbell Wells, and Walter Williams

Written and privately printed in 1909, this little tome chronicles a five week trip from Montreal to the Isle of Mull and back.  Wells and Williams helped found the MU School of Journalism in 1908 and traveled with Allen, a bigwig in the Kansas City Masonic community, by boat and train.  Along with descriptions of fellow passengers, the book recounts Dublin, London (which was the most populous city at the time), rural England, Paris, Plymouth (where they attended the Institute of Journalists' annual conference), Edinburgh, the Isle of Mull, and their inhabitants.  It was interesting to read the impressions that these cities and people made on the three men over 100 years ago.  There are also some amusing observations, such as "Is living cheaper in England?  That depends on the living and the liver."  "Ireland is the saddest country. ... The land and inhabitants alike appear in tears."  And this gem:  "The Frenchman like the Englishman runs his business to get money enough to maintain himself and family in comfort at home.  The American man runs his home as a boarding house where he sleeps and eats to get strength to run his business."  77 pages; published in 1909.

Death at the Chateau Bremont by M.L. Longworth

A Verlaque & Bonnet Mystery, in a fairly cozy style.  The most interesting part is the setting in the Aix-en-Provence region in the south of France.  Antoine Verlaque is the local investigative judge, and Marine Bonnet his ex-lover who is also a lawyer.  When a young count dies suspiciously by falling (or being pushed) out of a window of his Chateau, Verlaque is called on to investigate.  The case becomes more interesting when his brother is killed a few weeks later and some possible ties to the Russian mob are uncovered.  Verlaque is a lover of good food, wine, women and cigars, so the reader is treated to a lot of the local culture.  311 pages.

"Paris A to Z" by Marie Sexton

Not so much a sequel as a continuation of the Coda series, this book finds Zach, Angelo, Matt, and Jared flying to Paris for the wedding of Jon and Cole.  Zach still harbors grief and guilt over hurting Jon over a decade ago, and Matt is trying to deal with his irrational jealousy over Cole being in Jared's life long before he was.  The story is alternately told in Zach's and Matt's voices, which I liked.  It was also a bit soapy, but I liked that, too.  It was good to revisit the couples again and see where they are in their relationships.  The previous books must be read first.  105 pages (Kindle edition).

Paris by Edward Rutherfurd, read by Jean Gilpin

I love all things French so when I saw this book at the library I had to pick it up.  Rutherfurd tells the story of Paris through the experiences of various members of an aristocratic, a bourgeoise, a communist, a working class and a Jewish family.  The families intersect through time, taking turns betraying, saving, and/or working together to defeat a common enemy. One of my favorite parts of the book is the building of the Eiffel tower. The narrator, Jean Gilpin, does a great job of varying the voices of the different characters too. Anyone who loves history and a good story will appreciate this book. 38 hours, unabridged audiobook. 809 p.

Five Quarters of the orange: a novel by Joanne Harris

I picked up this book because it was about France, cooking, and World War II.  Framboise (french for raspberry!) has returned to the village her family fled during the war. Believing no-one recognizes her, she opens a successful cafe using the recipes left to her by her mother. But she finds cryptic messages from her mother hidden among the recipes. The messages awake repressed memories of the German execution of 10 villagers. A story of loss, survival, and making it to mellow old age.  320 pages.

Syndrome E by Franck Thillier, translated by Mark Polizzotti, read by Gildart Jackson

I was hooked at hello.  A film buff is struck blind while watching an old film. Five young men are unearthed in a mass grave, their skulls cut open and their eyeballs removed. Two french detectives join forces to unravel the mystery that ties these two events together. The usual suspects include the CIA, the intelligence branch of the French Foreign Legion and a mad scientist or two. Inspired by a real-life scandal from 1950s Quebec. Curious? Check it out! Unabridged audiobook, 13 hours 18 minutes. 384 pages.

"Ruthless" by Anne Stuart

Francis Rohan, Comte de Giverney, Viscount Rohan, Baron of Glencoe, is an Englishman living in exile in France.  He's also known as the King of Hell for the secret society of aristocrats that he hosts for dark parties at his large estate.  At the ripe age of 39, he's seen and done it all and is bored until he meets Elinor Harriman, also an English expat, who crashes one of his parties looking for her crazed mother.  She reluctantly accepts his help if only to protect her beautiful younger sister from his attentions, but Rohan has set his sights on Elinor.

This is the first book that I've read by Stuart and really enjoyed her writing.  Elinor and Rohan made a very interesting hero and heroine.  There was lots of verbal sparring with a tug-of-war quality to their relationship.  Throw in surprises on both sides, assassination attempts, as well as an ordinary looking heroine who has what is referred to as "The Nose," and a much better than average historical romance is born.  409 pages.

"The Black Hawk" by Joanna Bourne

This novel should have been named after the heroine, not the hero, since it is more her story than his.  Adrian Hawkhurst ("Black Hawk") and Justine DeCabrillac ("Owl") meet in Paris in 1794 when they are 13.  Both are orphans learning the spy trade during the French Revolution.  He's the son of a British prostitute and unknown father, and her French aristocratic parents were murdered two years earlier after which she was horribly abused.  Hawk ends up working for the British intelligence while Justine spies for the Police Sècrete.

Their story is told in flashbacks through their various meetings to 1818 London when someone stabs Justine with a poisoned knife a few blocks from Hawk's home.  Although they haven't met in three years, he helps her recover and together they go after her attempted assassin.

This was different from any other historical romance that I've read.  Justine and Hawk both risk their lives for their countries, sometimes fighting for the same cause and sometimes not.  Their love for each other is not all consuming, but is one of the few constants in each others lives.  The writing is descriptive in unusual ways, and both characters are jaded but not hopeless.  I'd like to read more by this author.  304 pages.