Saturday, December 17, 2011

Josephine Baker: The Black Pearl

Full name:                                      Freda Josephine McDonald
Birth:                                             June 3, 1906
Place of Birth:                                St. Louis, Missouri
Death:                                           April 12, 1975

Place of Death:                              Paris, France
She was an American dancer, singer, and actress who found fame in her adopted homeland of France. She was given such nicknames as the "Bronze Venus", the "Black Pearl", and the "Créole Goddess".
Baker was the first African American female to star in a major motion picture and to integrate an American concert hall.
Josephine Baker's mother was Carrie McDonald and her father was Eddie Carson. Arthur Martin was her stepfather. Her siblings were Richard, Margaret and Willie Mae. Surviving the 1917 riots in East St. Louis, Illinois, where the family was living, Josephine Baker ran away a few years later at age thirteen and began dancing in vaudeville and on Broadway.
Josephine's first husband was Willie Wells; her second husband was Willie Baker; she later took the name Baker from her second husband, whom she married at age 15. In 1925, Josephine Baker went to Paris where, after the jazz revue La Revue Nègre failed, her comic ability and jazz dancing drew attention of the director of the Folies Bergère.
Overcoming the limitations imposed by the color of her skin, she became one of the world's most versatile entertainers, performing on stage, screeen and recordings. Virtually an instant hit, Josephine Baker became one of the best-known entertainers in both France and much of Europe. Her exotic, sensual act reinforced the creative images coming out of the Harlem Renaissance in America.
During World War II Josephine Baker worked with the Red Cross, gathered intelligence for the French Resistance and entertained troops in Africa and the Middle East.
After the war, Josephine Baker adopted, with her second husband, twelve children from around the world, making her home a World Village, a "showplace for brotherhood”, whom she called her "Rainbow Tribe." Her twelve adopted children were: Akio (male), Janot (male), Luis (male), Jari (male), Jean-Claude (male), Moise (male), Brahim (male), Marianne (female), Koffi (male), Mara (male), Noel (male), Stellina (female). She returned to the stage in the 1950s to finance this project.
In 1951 in the United States, Josephine Baker was refused service at the famous Stork Club in New York City. Yelling at columnist Walter Winchell, another patron of the club, for not coming to her assistance, she was accused by Winchell of communist and fascist sympathies. Never as popular in the US as in Europe, she found herself fighting the rumors begun by Winchell as well.
Josephine Baker responded by crusading for racial equality, refusing to entertain in any club or theater that was not integrated, and thereby breaking the color bar at many establishments. In 1963, she spoke at the March on Washington at the side of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Josephine Baker's World Village fell apart in the 1950s and in 1969 she was evicted from her chateau which was then auctioned off to pay debts. Princess Grace of Monaco gave her a villa. In 1973 Baker married an American, Robert Brady, and began her stage comeback.
In 1975, Josephine Baker's Carnegie Hall comeback performance was a success, as was her subsequent Paris performance. But two days after her last Paris performance, she died of a stroke.

Monday, December 5, 2011

The Lady Most Likely By Julia Quinn, Eloisa James and Connie Brockway

Synopsis: Three of the brightest stars of historical romance invite you to a party at the country home of the Honorable Marquess of Finchley
Hugh Dunne, the Earl of Briarly, needs a wife, so his sister hands him a list of delectable damsels and promises to invite them— and a few other gentlemen—to her country house for what is sure to be the event of the season.
Hugh will have time to woo whichever lady he most desires . . . Unless someone else snatches her first.
The invitation list includes:
          The horse-mad but irresistibly handsome Earl of Briarly
·         The always outspoken Miss Katherine Peyton
·         The dashing war hero Captain Neill Oakes
·         The impossibly beautiful (and painfully shy) Miss Gwendolyn Passmore
·         The terribly eligible new Earl of Charters
·         The widowed Lady Georgina Sorrell (who has no plans to marry, ever)
And your hostess, Lady Carolyn Finchley, an irrepressible matchmaker who plans to find the lady most likely . . . to capture her brother’s untamed heart.
My thoughts: the romance is divided in three parts and it shows different couples, but mostly, the story is about a list of selected lady who would be presented to the handsome Earl of Briarly, Hugh Dunne, even though he is horse-mad about horses, and not women.
The first part is about the shy Miss Gwendolyn and the Earl of Charters, who fells for her as soon as he sees her at the ball arranged by the hostess. I didn’t like this part very much: I thought it too vague. Despite the fact that I LOVE Julia Quinn’s works, I think she could have worked more in the romance, attraction and chemistry between the characters. The love happened too fast and without any explanation.
The second part is about Miss Katherine Peyton and the Captain Neill Oakes, who reencounter each other after years. I liked this one more especially because of the past they share and the strength and deepness of their love. So romantic and cute at the same time, not to say funny too.
The last part was, by far, my favorite, because it wasn’t expected. It’s about – finally – the hot, gorgeous Hugh Dunne and the widowed Lady Georgina Sorell. It was not their past that surprised me, but the time that took for them to get together and how beautiful Hugh’s love for Georgina is.
Anyway, I laughed at the turns of most of the romances, but It would have been perfect if Quinn had explored her part a little more.
Rate:

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

The Twilight Saga:Breaking Dawn-Part 1/ A Saga Crepúsculo:Amanhecer-Parte 1

Synopsis: In The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1, Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson), plus those they love, must deal with the chain of consequences brought on by a marriage, honeymoon, and the tumultuous birth of a child...which brings an unforeseen and shocking development for Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner).
 
My thoughts: This is the best Twilight saga movie ever! In this one, everything is put together. We can see Jacob and his muscles at the beginning and cute Renesmee in the end. Twilight fans are sure to be blown away. There are hotter scenes between our favorite couple, Edward speaking Portuguese, Rosalie being all motherly and everything else that is in the book. They really improved this time. Before I watched this movie, I thought it was going to be a disaster because of the early movies and critics: Bella’s wig at New Moon, for an instance. But it did surprise me and I can assure you that my Twilight love has come back. Stronger than ever.
 
Genre: Romance
 
Sinopse: A alegria de Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) e Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), recém-casados, é interrompida quando uma série de traições e situações adversas ameaça destruir o mundo deles. Após o casamento, Bella e Edward viajam até o Rio de Janeiro para a lua-de-mel, onde finalmente se entregam a suas paixões. Bella logo descobre que está grávida, mas a chegada da filha, Renesmee, coloca em movimento uma perigosa cadeia de eventos.
 
Minha opinião: Esse é o melhor filme da saga até agora! Nesse, tudo se une numa coisa só. Nós temos a visão de Jacob e seus músculos no início e a fofa Renesmee no fim. Fans de Crepúsculo com certeza se surpreenderão. Tem cenas mais “quentes” entre o nosso casal favorito, Edward falando português, Rosalie sendo toda maternal e tudo o mais que há no livro. Eles realmente se superaram dessa vez. Antes de eu assistir ao filme, eu pensei que seria um desastre por causa dos filmes anteriores e suas críticas: como por exemplo, a peruca de Bella em Lua Nova. Mas realmente me surpreendeu e posso assegurar que meu amor por Crepúsculo voltou. Mais forte que nunca.
 
Gênero: Romance
 
Rate:

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Os três Mosqueteiros/ The three Musketeers

 
Synopsis: The hot-headed young D'Artagnan (Logan Lerman) joins forces with three rogue Musketeers (Matthew MacFadyen, Luke Evans and Ray Stevenson) in this reboot of Alexandre Dumas' story. They must stop the evil Richlieu (Christoph Waltz) and face off with Buckingham (Orlando Bloom) and the treacherous Milady (Milla Jovovich).
 
My thoughts: good fight scenes combined with romance and good cast, this movie is highly recommended for those who love the three most famous companions. However, the beginning to me seemed a little fuzzy and the scenes without a fight were a little boring. Despite the amazing scenarios and flawless costumes, the script could have been a little better prepared.
 
Genre: Adventure
 
Sinopse: O clássico Romance francês Os Três Mosqueteiros que foi escrito por Alexandre Dumas está de volta nas telas dos cinemas, no filme D´Artagnan vai a Paris buscando se tornar membro do corpo de elite dos guardas do rei, os mosqueteiros. Chegando lá, após acontecimentos singulares, ele conhece três mosqueteiros chamados “os inseparáveis”: Athos, Porthos e Aramis.
 
Minha opinião: boas cenas de luta combinadas com romance e bom elenco é uma ótima pedida para os amantes dos três mais famosos companheiros. Porém o início me pareceu um tanto confuso e as cenas que não tinham lutas foram um tanto paradas para mim. Apesar dos cenários incríveis e figurino impecável, a trama fora dos combates poderia ter sido um pouco mais bem elaborada.
 
Gênero: Aventura
 


Monday, October 24, 2011

Mary Blair: an Eternal Little Girl

Full name:                                          Mary Robinson

Birth:                                                    October 21, 1911

Place of Birth:                                   McAlester, Oklahoma

Death:                                                 July 26, 1978

Place of Death:                                Soquel, California

                An imaginative color stylist and designer, Mary Blair helped introduce modern art to Walt Disney and his Studio, and for nearly 30 years, he touted her inspirational work for his films and theme parks alike. Walt connected with Mary's fresh, childlike art style. As Disney Imagineering artist Roland Crump once told animation historian John Canemaker, "The way she (Mary) painted - in a lot of ways she was still a little girl. Walt was like that... You could see he could relate to children - she was the same way."
                The inherently gifted artist won a scholarship to Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles. After graduation in 1933, at the height of the Depression, Mary took a job in the animation unit of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) rather than pursue her dream of a fine arts career. In 1940, she joined The Walt Disney Studios and worked on a number of projects such as "The Three Caballeros" and "Saludos Amigos." Mary's unique color and styling greatly influenced such Disney postwar productions as "Cinderella," "Alice in Wonderland," and "Peter Pan."
                From 1964-65, Mary Blair participated in the design of It’s a small world attraction, for the New York World’s Fair.
                Mary Blair died of a cerebral hemorrhage on July 26, 1978.

Monday, October 10, 2011

The Boys Next Door/Endless Summer By Jennifer Echols

Synopsis: TWO IRRESISTIBLE BOYS. ONE UNFORGETTABLE SUMMER.

Lori can't wait for her summer at the lake. She loves wakeboarding and hanging with her friends--including the two hotties next door. With the Vader brothers, she's always been just one of the guys. Now that she's turning sixteen, she wants to be seen as one of the girls, especially in the eyes of Sean, the older brother. But that's not going to happen--not if the younger brother, Adam, can help it.

Lori plans to make Sean jealous by spending time with Adam. Adam has plans of his own for Lori. As the air heats up, so does this love triangle. Will Lori's romantic summer melt into one hot mess?

My thoughts: When I bought this book, I got so scared because of its size, but I read the first part in two days!!! I just loved it! Part 1 is really fun and dynamic. We are presented to Lori, a distracted girl that has been hooking up with her neighbors since she was a little girl. Now that she has sixteen and a crush on Sean – one of the guys – she will try everything to get him, even date his younger brother, Adam, who has been her friend for her entire life. But Adam has plans of his own for Lori. As the reading goes on, you realize that Adam is a very sweet guy and you start cheering for him.
                Lori really got on my nerve! Geez, how can she be so blind about a hot guy like Adam? If I were her, I would have definitely fainted when he kissed me! They were a really cute couple. The only thing that I didn’t like a little was the fact that he forgives her too fast. I would have tortured her a little(hehehe). But the rose path that he made for her was sooo adorable that I totally forgave him.
                The second part of the book, I liked it, but not as much as I liked the first. It seemed to me that Lori didn’t like Adam that much, otherwise she wouldn’t keep kissing all the boys in the neighborhood. Besides they were so complicated… It was much easier to go to Lori’s dad, say that they love each other and be done with it! If there is going to be a third, I hope that it’ll show us a much deeper relationship between Lori and Adam.
Rate:

Monday, October 3, 2011

Perchance to Dream by Lisa Mantchev

Synopsis: Beatrice Shakespeare Smith's search for her stolen companion has brought her travelling company far from the stage of the Théâtre Illuminata. With the power of her words, Bertie can reshape reality, but the magic is wild and defies her attempts to control it. The Pirate's time is running out and Sea Goddess will not give up her prize willingly.

My thoughts: In this one, we are presented to a new adventure and new characters like the sneak-thief, the scrimshander – that has a very special connection with Bertie – and The Sea Goddess that in the previous book had kidnapped Nate – the handsome and protective pirate from The Little Mermaid. In this book, they get out of the Théâtre and into the new world and this time, there are no scene changes, no plot nothing at all. She has as companions the four inseparable and hilarious fairies and the air elemental, all from Shakespeare’s works.

                She also finds out that her words have incredible powers out of the theater, and when she finds a journal about her story – the story that she has been trying to discover for more than fifteen years – everything that she writes there becomes true – most of the time in a very complicated and funny way. Her goals in this book are:

1)      She needs to save Nate from The Sea Goddess no matter what;

2)      She has to find her father and bring him to the theater;

3)      She needs to choose between the Nate and Ariel, the air elemental.

Most of them, she can get through with a few scars but one of them in going to require a lot more than just words, magic and blood to help.

                The only bad thing, though, was that during the reading, there were many scenes were it was very confusing, because you couldn’t know if she was imagining the Théâtre, if she was inside it, or if it was just your tricky imagination. Anyway, I loved it in everyway possible, even though I had a few difficult parts to comprehend.

Rate:

Monday, September 19, 2011

Eyes Like Stars By Lisa Mantchev

Synopsis: Enter Stage Right.
             All her world's a stage.

Beatrice Shakespeare Smith is not an actress, yet she lives in a theater.
She is not an orphan, but she has no parents. She knows every part, but has no lines of her own. Until now.
            Welcome to the Théâtre Illuminata, where the characters of every place ever written can be found behind the curtain. They were born to play their parts, and are bound to the Théâtre by The Book—an ancient and magical tome of scripts. Bertie is not one of them, but they are her family—and she is about to lose them all and the only home she has ever known.

Lisa Mantchev has written a debut novel that is dramatic, romantic, and witty, with an irresistible and irreverent cast of characters who are sure to enchant the audience.
Open Curtain.

My thoughts: Love it! Very creative and unique reading, and we can’t forget funny and lovely! We are presented to Beatrice Shakespeare Smith, a girl that has lived her entire life inside the Théâtre Illuminata, a magical place were the Players have the names of famous characters – like Nate, a HOT, protective and sweet pirate from The Little Mermaid; Ariel, an air spirit that wants more than anything to get outside the theater, and will try everything, even seduce Bertie, to get what he wants and her best friends: Peaseblossom, Moth, Cobweb and Mustardseed, the four fairies from A Midsummer ight’s Dream – and where all of them are bound to The Book, which have all the plays ever written and presented.
            What I liked most of the book – besides the cover, that is simply gorgeous! – are the characters. Bertie is a determinate girl and when she finds out that she is about to lose her only home because of her rebel behavior, everything gets out of control: Nate disappears into sea water, Ariel stoles The Book and Bertie has to do something before the whole Théâtre crumbles on top of her.
            I highly recommend it to people who like theater, romantic and funny stories. The good about this book is that after you read it, you get really interested in other books, like Shakespeare’s works, which means that is a very stimulating book, in the reading section.  The four little fairies are hilarious and you fall completely for Bertie.

Rate:

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Movie Friends with benefits

Plot: Dylan (Justin Timberlake) and Jamie (Mila Kunis) think it's going to be easy to add the simple act of sex to their friendship, despite what Hollywood romantic comedies would have them believe. They soon discover however that getting physical really does always lead to complications.
My thoughts: Very funny movie and hot too! Here we are presented to Dylan and Jamie, two people from different American states – he is from California and she is from New York – that suffered the same thing: got dumped by their partners. Because of that, they promise to themselves not to fall in love again. When they meet each other at JFK airport, he goes there because of a job offer at GQ magazine and she receives the order to go get him. Resented because of their broken relationships, all they want is to have sex without get involved and then Dylan has the craziest idea: let’s just get physical and not emotional. After that, there are a lot of hot scenes between the sheets, but of course never explicit – damn it! Hihihi Just kidding. But they’ll find out that getting physical may lead to other things too, even if you don’t want them. But is it worth it to ruin a friendship and an awesome contract just because of mere feelings? Justin Timberlake is hotter than ever and his role with Mila Kunis’s character really does the trick – she is beautiful and a really good actress.
Genre: Comedy
Rate:

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Wicked By Gregory Maguire

Synopsis:  When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum’s classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked?
            Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class citizens, and the tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to become the infamous Wicked Witch of the West – a smart, prickly, and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

My thoughts:  One of the most amazing books I’ve ever read! We are presented to Elphaba, or as we know the Wicked Witch of the West, from her birth to her death and as we keep reading, we got to meet many characters that have an essential role in the original The Wizard of Oz as much as in Elphie’s story, like Glinda, the sorceress that helps Dorothy when her house falls from the sky.
            In this book, we are able to realize that Elphaba became wicked not by choice, but by consequence: hated by her mother because of her skin color, ignored by her father, slaved by her sister, mocked by her school colleagues – including Glinda. Everything goes around her skin and because she was green, she suffered intense prejudice, for been the only green girl of all Oz. This prejudice can be even related to what happens today at school with some children because of their appearances or income.
            When Elphaba gets to the University, she becomes the joke because of her ways and dressing, so she learns to take care of herself and have attitude for self-protection. The saddest of the tale is that every time that she finds a little bit of happiness – (SPOILER) like her love affair with handsome prince Fiyero, who owned the lands that one day the Witch would live in – she gets into an ocean of sadness.

            Concerning the Broadway Show, only the characters were maintained and most of the story was changed – in my opinion. It’s good as entertainment, but not very truthful to the book.

Rate: Book-
           Play-

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Grace Kelly: from peasant to princess

Full name:                              Grace Patricia Kelly
Birth:                                       November 12th 1929
Place of birth:                         Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Death:                                    September 14th 1982
Place of death:                       Monaco, France
            Grace Kelly is one of the most admired women in the world. Even today, she is upheld as a standard of beauty, grace, and style. At a young age, Grace decided she wanted to become an actress, and studied acting (primarily theater) at New York City's American Academy of Dramatic Art and worked as a stage actress and model before moving to Hollywood.
            Grace appeared in Mogambo, which won her an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress. Her work in High Noon and a screen test for the film Taxi piqued the interest of director Alfred Hitchcock, who, with the aid of Edith Head, pruned Grace into his ideal of the elegant, beautiful blonde. She gave Hitchcock wonderful performances in Dial M for Murder, Rear Window, and To Catch a Thief. Grace went against Hitchcock's glamorized vision of her for the film The Country Girl, which won her the Golden Globe and the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role of 1954. In 1956, she was voted the Golden Globe's World Film Favorite Actor, Female.
            Later that year, she married Prince Rainier Grimaldi III of Monaco to become Her Serene Highness Princess Grace of Monaco. As a princess, she gave up her successful acting career. She had three children: Princess Caroline, Prince Albert, and Princess Stéphanie. Grace died on 14 September 1982 after her car went off a road in the cliffs of Monaco.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Fallen, Torment, Passion By Lauren Kate

Synopsis: Some Angels are Destined to Fall
There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce–and goes out of his way to make that very clear–she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.

Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, Fallen is a page turning thriller and the ultimate love story.

My thoughts: When I started reading Fallen, I had no idea what it was about until I got to chapter 15. Before that, I kept reading with the purpose to find out what was the big secret. And I have to confess, it blew my mind. We are first presented to Luce, a girl that is sent to Sword & Cross reform school because she was thought to be a suspect of a mysterious fire that killed her boyfriend. But it wasn’t her fault! It was the shadows, who followed her everywhere she goes and she doesn’t know why. When she first met Daniel Grigori, she has a kind of déjà vú because she feels that she knows him. And, even though he keeps avoiding her, she can help herself to be drawn to him. Another character that appears is Cam, a seducting, hot guy that will try everything – literally – to have Luce’s attention; and of course we can’t forget Luce’s roommate, Arriane, sort of a rebel girl, and Penn, the only friend that Luce made.  When you find out what Daniel is hiding so much from Luce – which I’m not going to tell (hehehe) – you get so chocked that after a while you connect every single thing and you think “how could I be sooo blind? OMG! Daniel can’t be that! And what about the others?”. Yeah, I totally understand you. Every page is a little box of surprise right?
Synopsis: LOVE NEVER DIES

Lucinda is sure that she and Daniel are meant to be together forever. Now they are forced apart in a desperate bid to save Luce from the Outcasts–immortals who want her dead. As she discovers more about her past lives, Luce starts to suspect that Daniel is hiding something. What if he has lied to her about their shared past? What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else?

My thoughts: After you have found out what Daniel really is, you think that nothing is going to separate him and Luce right? Wrong! In a desperate maneuver to protect his love from the Outcasts who are trying to kill Luce, he takes her to Shoreline, a school where the students aren’t normal boys and girls. And there she meets Shelby and Miles who are half what Daniel is. There she learns how to control those shadows that keeps following her.  As the story goes on, you start hating Luce so much that you almost give up reading. Please don’t otherwise you won’t know the end. She starts suspecting Daniel, thinking that maybe he is lying and that they are not supposed to end up together after all. With that thought the book ends with such a chocking scene that you ache for the next one, Passion.
Synopsis: "Every single lifetime, I'll choose you. Just as you have chosen me. Forever."

Luce would die for Daniel. And she has. Over and over again. Throughout time, Luce and Daniel have found each other, only to be painfully torn apart: Luce dead, Daniel left broken and alone. But perhaps it doesn’t need to be that way. . . .

Luce is certain that something—or someone—in a past life can help her in her present one. So she begins the most important journey of this lifetime . . . going back eternities to witness firsthand her romances with Daniel . . . and finally unlock the key to making their love last.

Cam and the legions of angels and Outcasts are desperate to catch Luce, but none are as frantic as Daniel. He chases Luce through their shared pasts, terrified of what might happen if she rewrites history.

Because their romance for the ages could go up in flames . . . forever.


My thoughts: This is the BEST of them all in my opinion! In this one we aren’t presented to just one Luce: but to hundreds of her while Luce searches for the truth about her and Daniel; and the same goes to Daniel: hundreds of him. And you think through the whole reading “How can you be so ungrateful Luce? He loves you isn’t that enough?”. The only new character is Bill, a gargoyle that decides to help her finding out why she keeps dying, but he has second intentions and plans for her and her beloved one. They go to the most historical place imagined: from Russia at World War II to Egypt at the Pharaohs period! Between getting into one Announcer – the shadow – to another, this book shows us an image of the extension of Luce’s and Daniel’s love for each other and that the forces of Hell are planning something very big that, if it’s not stopped, threaten to erase the whole story of both of them.
 
Rate:

               

Monday, August 1, 2011

Dracula In Love by Karen Essex

Synopsis: This variation on Bram Stoker’s Dracula tells the story from Mina Murray Harker’s point of view. As a child, Wilhemina was given to strange dreams and sleepwalking, which so alarmed her parents that at age seven she was sent to a boarding school for young ladies to “learn to control herself and her urges.” And she did become a proper young lady, with a proper fiancé, a young solicitor named Jonathan Harker. But the bewildering dreams continue, and one summer, which she is spending in Yorkshire with her friend Lucy Westerna, she sees a mysterious shipwreck at Whitby. After that the dreams become more like memories, and a presence, which she cannot see, follows her. Essex, who has been praised for her historical novels, has drawn a detailed picture of England at the end of the nineteenth century, including some of the horrendous psychological practices introduced from Germany. Essex’s twist on Stoker’s plot is sufficiently original, and the quality of her writing makes this novel stand out among the vampire offerings.

My thoughts: What a marvelous reading! We are presented to Dracula by the girl of the story: Mina Harker. With her, we discover an entirely different point of view of The Count. If you read Dracula, you probably thought that he was an ugly, mad and evil vampire; but after you read Dracula in Love you will wonder if you were correct. In this book, we are presented to a totally different Count, one that had fell in love and have been waiting for seven hundred years for his love to accept him again. With a lot of sexy scenes and romantic quotes from our handsome and rich Count Dracula, this is a “must read”, especially if you read the original Dracula and want a different way of thinking. Mina goes through many situations – from being attacked by a lunatic while sleep walking to find out that she is half immortal (SPOILER). The book shows us that maybe the Count wasn’t a vampire at all: just an eternal Merlin! With an astonishing end, Karen Essex shows us that even immortal beings are able to love someone and wait for them.
Rate:

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Educating Caroline by Patricia Cabot

 

Synopsis: Lady Caroline Linford is horrified to discover her fiancé, the Marquis of Winchilsea, in the arms of another woman. Unfortunately, Victorian society considers such masculine peccadilloes a trifle; canceling their imminent wedding would be unthinkable. But Caroline's wish is for the man she is to marry to desire only her...and she seeks lessons in the art of romance from the best teacher - London's most notorious rake.
 Braden Granville may be a famous lover but he has no intention of taking part in Caroline's scheme - until he learns she has something he wants - the name of his own unfaithful fiance's lover. As their passionate tutelage begins, sparks fly - and the lines between teacher and student fall away. Now there is just one last lesson to learn - on the subject of true love, the heart chooses its own unpredictable ways.

My thoughts: Educating Caroline was one of the most exciting books I’ve ever read! We are presented to the sweet Caroline Linford, who discovers her fiancé in the arms of another and, instead of crying, she looks for the Lothario of London, Branden Granville – who is handsome, sexy and despite of all, very sweet – to teach her the art of seduction.  Branden, however, doesn’t want to have a thing which such a prune. How is he supposed to teach her the art of seduction? It doesn’t even make sense! But, still, he accepts it, because she has what he wants: the name of his fiancé’s lover.
                Their first lesson is the funniest: she gets to his office – he worked with weapon production – sits down right in front of him, and, full of naivety, pull her glasses out of her reticule and her little notebook. He just stares at her, thinking “What in the name of God did I put myself into?!”. As class begin – he was teaching how to have the best environment for seduction – she suddenly asks: “Can we skip to the kiss part?”. JUST LIKE THAT! He almost chocked at that one. She is asking him, the most infamous man of all London, to teach her how to KISS PROPERLY?! Really?

As the lessons follow, both realize that something happens between them, but neither of them wants to see much less accept it. The narrative get hotter e funnier page after page, as well as their love. The book shows that it doesn’t matter how you look like, how wealthy you are or where you came from, love can happen.
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