Review: The Actor and the Earl (The Crofton Chronicles #1) by Rebecca Cohen

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

When Elizabethan actor Sebastian Hewel’s twin sister Bronwyn elopes unexpectedly, it leaves him and his uncle in a huge mess. His uncle had accepted money from the Earl of Crofton for her hand in marriage. That money was to pay off Sebastian’s father’s debt to his uncle. Now with one shocking action, everything his uncle had arranged was in jeopardy and that was money that the poor actor had no way of paying back. His cousin’s solution? For Sebastian to take his sister’s place at meeting between the Earl and Bronwyn prior to the wedding to give them time to find Bronwyn and bring her back.

For Anthony Redbourn, Earl of Crofton, a marriage is just the thing he needs to quiet the voices at court about his “peculiarities” , sexual appetites that could cost him his head. Queen Elizabeth will only approve of marriages to families whose loyalty to her is unquestionable. The Hewels are just such a family and the marriage to Bronwyn is the perfect solution.

At the meeting between “Bronwyn” and Anthony nothing goes as planned. Sebastian finds the Earl not only handsome but shrewdly intelligent as Anthony guesses at the real identity behind the skirts. But instead of anger and outrage, the Earl applauds the deception and suggests an arrangement. Sebastian will marry the Earl and play the part of his sister for a year. And if the arrangement includes the benefits of a marriage bed for both, even better given their proclivities and the lethal consequences should they be found out.

Sebastian is warned by those in the know not to fall for the Earl because of his inability to remain satisfied by one partner. But what happens when the heart isn’t listening and Sebastian finds himself falling in love for the first and only time in his life.

I always approach a historical fiction story with trepidation. Why? Because quite a few authors I have read forget the first rule of historical fiction is an accurate setting and an attention to detail. Historical fiction of any type is, in my opinion, one of the hardest genres to write. Not only does the author have the usual elements to create and incorporate, such as plot, characters, and setting, but in addition the historical aspect of any work must include an authenticity of that era to make it believable. To render a historical story authentic an author should pay particular attention to details such as the type of clothes worn, laws and societal norms, art, music, architecture, and yes, even dialog. To get it right means research, research, and more research. You would be amazed how often that doesn’t happen. Alexander Bell’s invention of the telephone is put in the wrong year. Dates are mixed up along with royal families, scandals, and types of dress. And when that happens and is spotted, then it almost always ruins the story as time is spent searching for more errors than is spent involved in the plot and characters with the reader thinking…”well, if they got that (fill in the blank) wrong, what else will I find…”

Why do I point all this out? Because Rebecca Cohen gets it right in The Actor and the Earl. And I can’t begin to tell you how much that increased my enjoyment of this already entertaining tale. Some of the historically accurate highlights were the mention of premier pamphleteer Thomas Nashe’s The Choice of Valentines and Philip Sydney’s The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia. The Globe is almost finished construction, and Queen Elizabeth holds court with a face painted white using ceruse and vermillion for the lips and cheeks. Cohen slides these facts into her story with a subtly I appreciated and in a manner that helps to set the time frame for her story. I love it when authors get it right without making it seem like an information dump. Great job.

So with her background and setting firmly in place, Rebecca Cohen then goes on to give the reader some wonderful characters to follow and root for. First off is 20 year struggling actor Sebastian Hewell. Sebastian rebelled against his uncle’s plans for him after his father perished and left him with debts. Sebastian has worked for years as an actor but at his age, romantic roles (the female ones) are getting scarce. I fell in love with Sebastian in the back dressing room of the theater where he was working. He feels young, ruefully aware of his waning future and still determined to do it on his own. Such vulnerability in Sebastian works to pull in the reader’s affections and keep us engaged throughout the story.

Another astonishing twist is his sister, Bronwyn. In most stories, Bronwyn would be slender, gorgeous, and extremely feminine, Not so here. Bronwyn is plainfaced (as is Sebastian supposedly), straightforward, blunt, a true force of nature. I loved her. The scenes with her, Sebastian and Anthony were priceless, especially when she is putting the Earl in his place with a “fat assed pig” bit of name calling. Did I want more of Bronwyn? Why, yes I did!

Anthony Redbourn was a character that left more questions in my mind then I felt the story answered. There were hints of a special role he played for Queen Elizabeth that never came forward. Is Anthony a spy perhaps? We don’t know, only that he is favored at court and on call for the Queen at her whim. I loved the accurate picture Cohen paints of London at that time. Smelly and rank, especially in the summer, people fled to their country estates to escape the heat and the odors that overpower you in the city. It came across as just as unpleasant as it probably was, especially for the women who had to travel by coach. The Earl’s estate is beautifully described along with the dinners served, which made me sort of queasy. Ah, the picky tastes of the modern person. Still for all the authenticity framing the character, it was the character himself that was a little lacking. A man in his 30’s, arrogant and confident, his switchover to impulsive and jealous felt surprising.

I wish we had more of a romance between Sebastian and Anthony, although the sex was plentiful. I believed in them as a couple and just wished for a little more of a foundation to base their love on then the brief interludes we got. There are also some elements here sure to upset those readers who like their pairings chaste and of the “cleaving only to each other” type. Anthony is a “womanizer” and a flirt, that’s not going to change overnight and doesn’t. There are some holes in the plot with questions about how gullible the upper classes would be with Bronwyn and Sebastian switching in and out of their role. But those were my only quibbles and my enjoyment in this lighthearted historical romp didn’t falter because of them.

There are already three stories in this series to date. I have listed all below. I am already on to the next one to see how Sebastian and Anthony are faring and will let you know how that works out. In the meantime, if you want a pleasurable, accurate historical romance, then The Actor and the Earl just might be the story for you. Don’t expect a lot of drama or mystery, perhaps that’s coming next. This is the beginning of a romance….let’s see where Rebecca Cohen will take us next.

Cover art by Anne Cain. Cain’s cover is a wonderful representation of the story. Sebastian’s looking pretty good in both genders.

Buy Link: Dreamspinner Press ARe Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 1st Edition, 206 pages
Published November 30th 2012 by Dreamspinner Press (first published November 2012)
original titleThe Actor and the Earl
ISBN 1623801516 (ISBN13: 9781623801519)
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3429
seriesThe Crofton Chronicles #1

Books in The Crofton Chronicles Series are in the order they were written and should be read:

The Actor and the Earl (The Actor and the Earl #1)
Duty to the Crown (The Actor and the Earl #2)
Forever Hold His Peace (The Actor and the Earl #3)

Review: The Crimson Outlaw by Alex Beecroft

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Vali Florescu, heir to a powerful local boyar, is determined that his beloved sister will not have to marry the much older, scarred man their father has betrothed her to. So he hatches a plan to upset the wedding, but everything goes awry, leaving Vali imprisoned by an enraged father. Escaping, Vali flees instead of his sister, hoping to see the world. But that plan too fails when he is captured by Mihai Roscat, the fearsome Crimson Outlaw.

Vali finds his captivity surprisingly wonderful, falling quickly for the outlaw. But Vali also finds that his father is far more cruel than he ever expected. The villages and their inhabitants on his father’s land have been subjected to raids from his father’s soldiers, raids that saw villages burned to the ground, women and children killed over something so small as an imagined slight. Soon Vali is feeling ashamed to be a prince and his father’s son, vowing to changed his peoples lives for the better.

Mihai Roscat came from highly regarded, wealthy family himself. But that family came up against the power and evil of Wadim Florescu, Vali’s father. Almost all were slaughtered, leaving only 3 sons alive. Mihal has vowed vengeance upon the Florescus and thought to punish the son for the father’s deeds. But Vali is nothing like Mihai expected, and when Vali helps Mihai defend a village against his father’s soldiers, Mihai’s affection turns into love. Together, Vali and Mihai vow to overthrow Wadim Floriescu once and for all. Will they succeed or lose everything in trying?

Hard to believe that Alex Beecroft jammed such a sweeping tale into 131 pages. Set in Carpathian forests of Romania, Beecroft’s story conjuers up visions of boyers, and Vlad the Impaler. Specifically it is 1720 – Harghita County, Transylvania when the story opens up and the Florescu family preparations for the wedding of Stela Florescu to Ionescu, a war-hardened old warrior and important ally of Wadin Florescu. From the vivid descriptions of the wedding finery to the dialog of the soldiers closest to Vali, Beecroft brings this time and place alive before us. This is the start of the wedding procession:

It was the grimmest of weddings. Even the weather agreed, rain lashing down from a glowering sky, turning the red tiles of the turrets the colour of blood, gushing over all the balconies, and churning the moat to a froth.

Vali, with a sodden sheepskin clutched around his silken hat, escaped his father’s scrutiny long enough to dash through the puddles of the courtyard and catch up with his sister and her maidens before she entered the castle church. The girls gave him sour looks for stopping them outside in this downpour, but he didn’t care overmuch that the spun-sugar delicacy of their headdresses were drooping and darkening with the wet, and that their heavy gold-and-silver-laced bodices, their globes of shimmering skirts were sopping up water with every second.

They were uncomfortable. Well, so they should be, since his sister’s face was anguished and her eyes red with weeping. She had met her husband-to-be for the very first time yesterday, at a feast thrown for that purpose, and although she had concealed her horror fairly successfully at the time, it was clear to see she had not spent a peaceful night. Even encased as she was in so many layers of cloth-of-gold she might be a martyr’s mummy, he could see her shaking, and he was furious to know she was as frightened as she was miserable. Her voice was as raw as her eyes. “You shouldn’t be here. If Father sees you . . . Go back to the men’s side before you’re missed.”

Beecroft sets the scene beautifully for all that is to follow. Laid upon these vibrant primal setting are characters that are perfect for the time period. Vali, the young impetuous prince, comes across as the thoughtless, yet well meaning young man that he is. His is also a character who grows up as the story progresses. I really liked Vali. Stela, Wadim and other members of the court are harder to pin down and perhaps that is as the author intended. Because the other characters that really come to life are the villagers that Vali meets once he is away from the castle. They are more vibrant then the gray denizens we met at the wedding. Again, I felt as though that was intentional. The villages and the inhabitants need to be lifelike if we are to believe in Vali’s transformation from spoiled, naive child to realistic young warrior ready to overthrow his father.

The only issue I had with this story is the instant love that sprang up between the outlaw and the prince. It was such a short time between capture and enrapture, and the prince’s sexual kinks aside, their romance needed much longer to percolate in order for it to be believable. Vali’s affection for his horse seemed far more realistic than his love for Mihai. The reader must accept this instantaneous love affair for the book to really work. Some of the readers will, others won’t. That will affect how much enjoyment and satisfaction they will get from reading The Crimson Outlaw.

For myself, I loved Beecroft’s settings and descriptions. Romania is steeped in tradition and legends. Beecroft makes the most of both with descriptions as lush and layered as the land itself. That alone made this story for me. I love Alex Beecroft’s stories and look forward with anticipation to each new one that is released. Add this to your to be read pile and enjoy your journey to the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania and romance.

Cover Art by Simoné, http://www.dreamarian.com. This is the most amazing cover. It is as gorgeous and vibrant as Alex Beecroft’s descriptions of the land and people. One of the best covers of 2013. Just outstanding in every way.

Book Details:

ebook, 131 pages

Published August 12th 2013 by Riptide Publishing

ISBN13 9781626490536

edition language English

url http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/crimson-outlaw

April 2013 Book Reviews

Unbelievably, today is the last day in April and the start of something new for Scattered Thoughts. I am going to post a summary of each months books reviews on the last day of the month. Hopefully, this will make it easy to find a new book to read, a book review you might have missed or a book you just might want to reconsider. It also helps me gather my Scattered Thoughts when it comes to the year’s Best of in December.

It was a very good month, with some remarkable stories from new authors and beloved writers and everyone in between. Trust me, there really is something for everyone here this month:

April 2013 Review Summary

5 Star Rating:

Collusion by Eden Winters

On The Lee Shore by Elin Gregory

The General and the Horse-Lord by Sarah Black

Touch & Geaux by Abigail Roux

4 to 4.75 Star Rating:

A Beautiful Disaster by Willa Okati (4.25)

Brute by Kim Fielding (4.5)

Fire For Effect by Kendall McKenna (4.5)

Freedom by Jay Kirkpatrick (4.75)

Into This River I Drown by TJ Klune (4.5)

Josh of the Damned, Triple Feature #2, The Final Checkout

by Andrea Speed (4.25)

Loving Hector by John Inman (4.25)

Masked Riders by Lucius Parhelion (4.5)

The Fight Within by Andrew Grey (4.5)

The Good Fight by Andrew Grey (4.75)

Unearthing Cole by A.M. Arthur (4.25)

3 to 3.75 Star Rating:

Highland Vampire Vengeance by J.P. Bowie (3.75)

Love You Like A Romance Novel by Megan Derr (3.5)

Sensei by Karenna Colcroft (3)

2 to 2.75 Star Rating:

The Astral Mage by Hurri Cosmo (2.75)

Review: Masked Riders by Lucius Parhelion

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

When ex union cavalryman and now California rancher Jesse Putnam is summoned by his wealthy aunt and boss to come to San Francisco for a meeting. he uses the night before to visit a bawdy hotel where he could satiate his illegal desires for men. But nothing prepared Jesse to seeing his sexual companion of the previous night standing in his aunt’s office, apparently an employee of hers as well.

Wardley Bridger, now his colleague, is there to help Jesse investigate the peculiar goings on at the ranch in California where the profits are less than they should be and rumors are rife over bad management as well as potential illegalities. Previous investigators have come up empty handed so the men are going in undercover as ranch hands to see if they can ferret out the truth.

On s their journey south on a trail that stretches out from the dusty Pueblo of Angles into the brush-covered hills of Ranchero Los Robles, Jesse and Wardley find they have much in common, from a love of fine literature to beautiful horses and finally a illegal sexuality that they don’t have to hide from each other. When a ghost rider appears at the ranch, threatening their investigation, Wardley and Jesse find that the truth jeopardizes evverything, including their burgeoning love affair.

Lucius Parhelion is one of the first names that pop into my head when someone asks for a recommendation for m/m historical fiction about the American West. Parhelion’s stories are told with an authentic, dry tone that seems to come up from the very soil and arid climate of the land the characters ride over and exist on. The author’s stories are factual, full of information and dates that locate the story in a specific time and place. But these details always serve to enhance rather than obfuscate or weigh down the discourse. Here is a sample:

Jesse shut the ledger hard enough to stir the smoky air. Above them, the nine years of accumulated spider webs that gave the Cobweb Palace its name, swayed gently. The proprietor felt that spiders were lucky. The patron confronted by a spider might or might not agree.

“I assume that our leaving the steamer before San Pedro would have something to do with obtaining mounts.”

“Well, there are horses a-plenty at the Playa Negra, but given what Mrs. Gifford said to me about due speed, I can’t see her being happy with our taking the time to ride all the way down from north of Santa Barbara to Los Robles.” Bridger shook his head while smiling, a rather mild reaction to Ada.”

Parhelion easily inserts the name of The Cobweb Palace, an establishment that opened up in 1856 at the foot of Meigg’s Wharf , in a lovely blend of fact and fiction, a trademark of this author I have come to expect from all of Parhelion’s stories.

Masked Riders is composed of 11 chapters, each with an amusing and old sounding title, such as Chapter VIII — You May Lead a Man Towards Aiming, but You Cannot Make Him Hit. The opening paragraph is perfectly suited to title and content:

If there was one lesson Jesse had been grateful to learn during the late rebellion, it was the difficulty of actually hitting a man with a bullet. He’d never expected to feel that particular gratitude again. He’d been wrong.

There are many issues discussed within the story, plight of the Celestials as the Chinese were called as well as the freed slaves who came west after the war was over. Parhelion gives the reader a real feel for the state of western society and the many layers it was comprised of through descriptions that paint such a vivid portrait of the people and land that I could almost feel like I was walking the streets or riding along the trails. The author’s characters are as strong as the historical setting they find themselves in. From Jesse and Wardley to Aunt Ada, a tower of strength and intellect in a diminutive body, all are fully fleshed out and totally human.

At 90 pages, I always end up wishing for more of a drawn out resolution to issues the men find at the ranch, although the ending was perfect in its realism and tone. If you love westerns, this is for you. If you love beautifully done historical novels, this is for you. If you love a realistically portrayed growing affection that turns into something more, than this is for you. Masked Riders is a wonderful introduction to the works of Lucius Parhelion. Don’t pass it or the author’s other works up.

Cover illustration by BS Clay. Beautiful cover, luscious, and perfect for the trail to the ranch and a relationship.

Review: On The Lee Shore by Elin Gregory

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

When his last ship is lost at sea and he is the only officer to survive, Lt Christopher “Kit” Penrose finds his reputation tarnished, leaving him unable to secure a new position on another ship. Things are looking grim when his godfather, Admiral Tregarne of the Navy Office suggests that Kit work as an aide to Sir George Wilberforce, traveling on the Hypatia on a mission for the Navy. Kit is desperate to get back to sea and accepts the job, even though it means he is little more than a lackey in the eyes of the other sailors.

At sea, the Hypatia is attacked by pirates and three men of the Hypatia are taken aboard the pirate ship, Africa, impressed into joining the pirates crew or suffer dire consequences. One of those men is Kit whose training as a sailing master is highly prized by pirates in need of his skills. The Captain of the Africa is the notorious pirate, La Griffe, known as Griffin to his crew. Forced to obey the Captain and live by the pirates rules, Kit soon realizes that not all of his assumptions about pirates and the pirate life are correct. These pirates seem honorable, leaving the ships and crews they attack alive and able to sail away once the pirates have taken the booty they want off the ship. Captain Griffin is a real enigma, intolerant of abuse, a graduate of Cambridge, he is honorable in a way Kit never expected. Griffin is also very handsome, and charming when the occasion arises, leaving Kit confused and if he were to admit it, attracted to the man in every way.

The longer Kit stays on board, the less sure he becomes about where his loyalties lie. Is it with the Admiralty and the Navy or with Griffin, the Africa and a crew that now welcomes him as one of their own. And his heart is just as confused as his head. Things come to a head when another pirate ship clashes with their own, and Kit must make a decision that will haunt him no matter which way he decides.

What a glorious book! I picked it up and immediately found myself at sea on a vessel so yar she sped through the waves like a porpoise, sails booming in the wind and the mast creaking as the ship rocked in the currents. Elin Gregory plunges us into a world where the British Navy ruled the seas, the East India Company is doing brisk trade and pirates are taking advantage of the situation by plundering every shipping lane of the era. And Gregory does so by rendering the time period and events taking place in vivid detail along with marvelous descriptions that bring it alive on every page. Elin Gregory has gathered her historical facts and blended them beautifully with her fiction to create a sumptious banquet for the mind and soul.

When she describes Kit on his way to Moorgate, you can understand why the sea would have its appeal to a Cornishman like Kit:

Kit had been aware of the clock chiming when he left Mother Carey’s. He had not caught the hour, but he knew it was late, not perhaps midnight but certainly eleven. The streets were busy. Night soil carts and delivery drays headed out against the tide of incomers bringing goods from the countryside to the city. Men pushed barrows, horses and oxen strained against their harnesses. Lanterns flickering above doorways and on corners and torches carried by linkboys accompanying chairs, coaches, and pedestrians, made great leaping shadows in which anything could lurk. Kit walked quickly and with care. It was important to stay alert. Too many of his acquaintance had been robbed after such a night out. He kept to the broadest roads and had climbed most of Gracechurch Street before he was approached.

“Call you a chair, sir?” The linkboy was a dirty scrap of a youth with bony wrists showing at the cuffs of his jacket. He bounded along at Kit’s side, torch bobbing.”Or I could light your way. Only a farthing, sir. I’ll see you right.”

Contemplating shoes soaked in horse piss or worse, Kit gave the boy a short nod. “I’m bound for close to Moorgate. If that is too far, best say now.”

“Ha’penny if you want me to take you past the Wall, sir.”

“Fair enough.” Kit agreed and placed the boy on the inside of the pavement. A half penny wasn’t cheap, but the light was welcome.

You can almost feel the grime and filth of the streets climbing up Kit’s boots. Kit’s plain outfit is in direct contrast to his best friend, Tristan, a diamond if ever there was one.

“Ah, there you are!” Tristan set his three-cornered hat on his glossy curls and tucked his hand into Kit’s elbow. “Good man, good man. Dear Lord, as you love me, Kit, smaller strides.”

“If the shoes hurt why are you wearing them?” Kit asked, moderating his pace. “They make you walk like an old duchess with corns.”

Tristan snorted. “Fashion, dear boy. If one wants to do well at work it’s best to look as though one has no financial worries. As long as they all think I’m being very good at what I do on a whim, they’ll keep promoting me to try to pique my interest.”

“Bloody silly reason for promotion,” Kit growled, and Tristan gave his arm an affectionate squeeze.

“Maybe you should try it?” he suggested. “You look like a Quaker. That’s not going to give them any faith in your fighting spirit, now is it?”

Kit glanced at Tristan’s tightly curled wig, his exquisitely fitted coat, the riot of embroidery on his waistcoat, those ridiculous shoes whose heels brought Tristan up to equal Kit’s height. Kit own attire, mostly shades of sensible hard-wearing brown, including his own naturally curly hair, did look penny-pinched in comparison.

Before you realize it, you are walking shoulder to shoulder with Kit, taking the clothes, mannerisms and news of the day as commonplace as Kit finds them. And it’s not just Gregory’s ability to make history come alive that pulls the reader into the story, it’s her characters and plot as well.

Every character you will meet in this book is as unique an individual as any I have met in real life. Whether they be scoundrel like Captain Wells or loved, somewhat addled pirate Denny, all will be remembered after the story is done and most of them quite fondly too. I love the complexities to each character. Each pirate and each Naval officer have their own merits as well as seedy elements to their character. Some are horrific, no matter which side of the law they are on. And the of life of a sailor can switch from an easy berth to one of hardship and abuse depending upon the captain and crew. Equally amazing is the ages that young men went to sea, as early as 8 or so. It is all here, a even handed portrait of life on the sea, made all the more remarkable because it is a backdrop or foundation for both a love story and tale of adventure and not the focus of the story itself.

On The Lee Shore is not your typical love story. Remember, during that age, it is not only dishonorable but a hanging offense to love other men. So it is not surprising that Kit pushes down his “unnatural” desires at the beginning, hiding them in furtive glances and nameless encounters. But the pirates ways and expansive viewpoint, along with a certain Captain, starts to free Kit from his conventional notions and the reader is along every step of the way. It is a realistic journey with nary a case of “instalove” in sight. Kit and Griffin engage in a slow dance around each other, complicated by their stations aboard ship, Kit’s identity as a Naval officer as well as Griffin’s as a pirate. There are other obstacles as well, but I will leave that joy of discovery to the reader.

Within this book, you will find fast paced action, breath taking adventure, piracy on the high seas, booming cannons and a future fraught with danger and pain as well as love. Trust me, once you pick this book up, you won’t want to put it down. I didn’t and once finished, wanted to start the journey all over again.

I had to look up the nautical term “lee shore”, and found that it meant a shore, towards which the wind is blowing, and to which there is the danger of being driven aground on shoals or reefs. A lee shore is to be avoided, and yet Kit feels himself to be on a lee shore throughout most of the story, uncertain, sometimes adrift in his emotions and thoughts. But Elin Gregory knows her craft and you can be sure she leaves her men sailing smoothly into fresh waters under clear skies, their future interesting as their times. I really wish I could be there for the rest of their journey, but I am delighted with the tale I got. You will be too.

Published By
Etopia Press
1643 Warwick Ave., #124
Warwick, RI 02889
http://www.etopia-press.net
On A Lee Shore
Copyright © 2012 by Elin Gregory
ISBN: 978-1-939194-44-2
Edited by Jennifer Fitzpatrick
Cover by Mina Carter is just outstanding and matches perfectly with the story within.

A Cluttered Sunday and the Week Ahead In Reviews

Somehow I’ve done it again. It creeps up on me with all the discretion of a whispering wind, but its effects can feel more like a nor’easter by the time I realize it’s occurred once more. It starts with one project, maybe overhauling one small section of a garden, then spreads to cleaning out the library, and then, like some giant amoeba, slides gelatinously over every aspect of my life, sinking me in projects, expanded plans and , oh yes, clutter. Clutter of the gardens, house, Kindle, and mind, making me plant my butt in my favorite chair, mouth dropped to the floor as I stare in horror at the chaos I have created.

I have ferns, hostas, primroses and toadlilys amassed by the backdoor, the library looks like the yarn fairy and the book gnome had a brawl, throwing their wares willy nilly around the room, cook books are spread open in the kitchen to various receipes needed to cook for Mothers Day (have to try them out first you know, another thing on my list to do), and Kirby has found the mole holes, gleefully rolling about in the muck. Dogs to wash, add to list. My Kindle is loaded with books to read and review. And I promised one author to beta his book immediately. So many promises and things waiting for my attention. Then the tsunami arrives. My father becomes seriously ill due to the effects of new medication. Things come to a complete standstill until he is home once more. Then the reality of Dad getting sick (this man never gets sick) hits my Mother, she gets ill, and things remain in status.

Now both parents are back at home and doing well. But the effects are still reverberating through my life. As I sit amongst the clutter of my life, I can only think, my parents were seriously ill and I am stunned. At their age and mine, this should not surprise me, but it does, hitting me with an emotional wallop I was in no way prepared for.

So I need to move forward and start to clear away the chaos that life, generously helped along by moi, has created. The plants will start to go in the ground on Wednesday when they say it will be warmer, the books I will tackle one at a time, the library will see its books reshelved and the yarn organized starting tomorrow (ever so slowly), I will apologize to Brandon once more about his novel and get to it, and slowly, ever so slowly order will be restored. Sigh. Even without my parents getting ill, I can see that things were getting a little out of control.

How does that happen again? Oh yeah, life. I know there are people out there this never happens to. Organized, compartmentalized gems of folks. I just don’t know them. I often wonder what their lives must be like, with uncluttered surfaces that gleam and spotless floors with nary a dog toy in sight. I do know that will never happen here. Welcome to my world, lowered expectations!

Now I had a thought at the beginning of this post……I just don’t know where I put it. It’s somewhere under the yarn or maybe out in the garden. It’s time to go look for it. In the meantime while I am gathering up my scattered thoughts, here is the week ahead in reviews:

Monday, April 22: Into This River I Drown by TJ Klune (yes really)

Tuesday, April 23: On A Lee Shore by Elin Gregory

Wed., April 24: Masked Riders by Lucius Parhelion

Thursday, April 25: Unearthing Cole by AM Arthur

Friday, April 26: Astral Mage by Hurri Cosmo

Saturday, April 27: Scattered Thoughts On World Building in Fiction

Authors News, Book Reviews and Book Giveaway

What an exciting and blustery week this has been at Scattered Thoughts! Things are quite topsy turvy around here! There are so many notable and anticipated books being released this week that I can almost hear the twitching and scrambling as people get ready to click “download”. Two of those books are being touted here this week and the next. And I am equally scampering around trying to get my reviews finished for all of them. But I will just say this, you are going to love them, hate parts of them and reread them often! Just saying.

Now another thing to bring up is that I had scheduled T.J. Klune’s latest novel, Into This River I Drown for review on Saturday and that is not going to happen and here’s the reason why, I finished the book and then just sat there speechless, just absolutely floored. Really, folks, I was in no way prepared for this novel. I have read all of Klune’s books, most of which I adored, one not so much and still would never have guessed he would have written such a milestone of a novel, one that people always hope to write but few do. But I can’t figure out how to write the review, don’t know even where to start yet. So look for it at the end of next week, hopefully I will have figured it out by then. But please go get this book, right now even if you have to drop what you are doing to do so. Read it, finish it, and then let me know what it means to you. I really want to know.

Next on the agenda is that I am participating in Riptide Publishing’s Cut & Run Web Hunt in celebration of the release of Abigail Roux’s seventh book in the Cut & Run series, Touch & Geaux. On April 8th, Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words, along with other terrific book blogs, will be joining the party by posting about the book and including one of their favorite quotes from any book in the Cut & Run series. Readers who collect each quote and submit their findings to marketing@riptidepublishing.com will be eligible to win one of two runner-up prizes and one grand prize, to be revealed soon. I will have more on this web hunt on Saturday so stay tuned in. Again, fyi, I think this is one of the best books in a superlative series, just outstanding, but you will have to wait until Monday to read the full review.

Finally, I know this is going to be a very expensive week for all of you book buyers so I hope to lighten the financial load just a bit for one lucky person. Tomorrow Sarah Black’s latest book, The General and the Horse-Lord is being released by Dreamspinner Press. To celebrate, Sarah Black is guest blogging here about her characters and soap making. It’s fascinating post and the book is just terrific. Sarah Black is a must read author for me and you can always find her on my “favorite” lists (see Marathon Cowboys and The Legend of the Apache Kid). So stop buy tomorrow and leave a comment. At the end of the day, one lucky person will be chosen from those who commented and they will receive a free copy of The General and the Horse-Lord.

Wow, so much going on around here! Later today I will be reposting my Author Spotlight on Sarah Black in preparation for tomorrow’s giveaway. So mark all these dates on your calendar, check in with us tomorrow, and let’s finish this week up in style shall we?

Review: The Mayfield Speakeasy by L.A. Witt

Rating: 4 stars

Walter Mayfield’s life is quite the balancing act. The Mayfield Speakeasy, owned by himself and his brothers, is neutral ground in an area subjected to continual turf wars by various gangs. It is only due to Walter’s reputation as an honest man and his diplomatic skills that the gangs check their grievances and guns at the door of his establishment. The same goes for the cops, Vice cops that is. For Prohibition is in full swing and serving liquor to the sounds of easy music is the name of the game for The Mayfield Speakeasy. The balancing act also includes keeping his volatile brothers in check and the liquor flowing. But that all changes when Detective Joe Riordan comes through the door.

The bodies of three women have been dumped in the river and the only connection between the three is Walter’s brother, John. Detective Joe Riordan and his partner are there to get information and to find the murderer. And they are going to start with asking questions of Walter. As the investigation gets underway, Joe and Walter realize that the other man is gay and act on their attraction to one another. But the gangs soon notice that the cops are continuing to hang around and soon the delicate juggling act is threatened by the murder case as well as Joe and Walter’s ongoing relationship.

As the case hits closer to home than either man expects, it is a race to catch the murderer before everything threatens to collapse under the investigation, from The Mayfield Speakeasy to the new burgeoning love affair of Walter and Joe’s.

The Mayfield Speakeasy is a short story of 62 pages and L.A. Witt manages to cram a lot of historical flavor and plot into such a short length. She starts off the story in a very “film noir” manner . Here is Walter as he views his club:

The O’Reilly brothers and their goons liked to put back some bootlegged whiskey and smoke cigars–those Cuban cigars that cost way more than the cheap ones everybody else had to make do with–while that pretty dame in the red dress sang next to the piano. That was Shirley. She was new here. She’d be Walter’s sister-in-law soon, if Billy didn’t mess things up.

There are plenty of dames and gangsters and bodies floating in the river. And into this speakeasy of Walter’s walks Detective Joe Riordan. Cue the music as Walter walks over to the table the cops are sitting at:

Music still played, and Shirley was still singing in that pretty voice of hers, but nobody was talking. Nobody except Walter. “Name’s Walter Mayfield,” he’d said. “I don’t want no trouble.”

L.A. Witt does a fabulous job of bringing the Prohibition era to life in the form of The Mayfield Speakeasy, you can almost taste the smoke and hard liquor. But the short length brings its own issues, primarily that of lack of character development and depth of plot. The men jump into bed even with all the dangers surrounding such actions. And Billy and John, Walter’s two brothers, need fleshing out for their roles to gel and their animosity towards each other to feel real. The mystery too needed a little more length so that you don’t see the identity as soon as you do in the story.

But still, within these 62 pages, the 30’s come to life once more as the liquor flows illegally, and so does a love that dares not speak its name. While it takes time for the affection to build between Joe and Walter, the reader will enjoy every moment from the smokey beginnings to the end.

Cover art by Trace Edward Zaber. Great cover, looks as though it just came off one of the dime store novels of the era.

A Cambridge Fellows Q & A with Charlie Cochrane

When I finished All Lessons Learned I found question after question popping into my mind for the author of this remarkable series. Primarily, what happens next? Or is there a next for our beloved Jonty and Orlando? Over the course of the series, I feel like I have walked the paths of Cambridge, gone punting on the river, watched honey buzzards in the sky and ridden the marvelous Flip-Flap ride during the Franc0-British Exhibition in the White City. All that was all due to Charlie Cochrane’s ability to bring us right into her story as though we were physically there ourselves.

So I scribbled off some questions about the series and here are her replies. One more thing mentioned in a comment previously is that she is thinking about writing a 10th book to finish the series off completely. So here we go:

Scattered Thoughts: What pushed you forward to right one more book after All Lessons Learned (not that I am complaining)? After the epilogue which I found to be bittersweet for the couple, what prompted more in the series?

Charlie Cochrane: “Two things. Fans asking when another book would come out and Jonty and Orlando whisering in my ear saying “write me, write me”. It always feels like coming home when I’m back with them. (If that makes any sense.)

Scattered Thoughts: And I say bittersweet because of the time frame. They had stayed hidden for so long and change is in the air just not soon enough.###

Charlie Cochrane: “I know. Ironic, isn’t it? Mind you, Orlando wouldn’t like the modern day so maybe it’s as well. Can you imagine Jonty dragging him to Provincetown?”

Scattered Thoughts: Do you have a favorite book of the series? And if so, why?###

Charlie Cochrane: “Maybe Lessons in Trust because of the White City. I had books about it and an original programme from the Anglo French exhibition which was constantly at my side when I wrote it. Also Lessons in Power because it deals with poor Jonty’s past. And has rugby in it.”

Scattered Thoughts: And do you have a prompt, either a historic artifact or location that you build your books around when you are getting started?###

Charlie Cochrane: “Usually a location, so Jersey, or Pegwell Bay or Bath or – in the case of the one I’m writing at present – a thinly disguised Cliveden house.”

Scattered Thoughts: I have to ask because I know I am thinking it so others are too. Any chance of “lost cases from the Cambridge Fellows mysteries” popping up? Stories out of sequence from the books already published. You know we just hate to let Jonty and Orlando go.

Charlie Cochrane: ” I think it’s entirely possible that lost cases will pop up. I have one buzzing at the back of my mind. Also lost scenes/snippets. I want to post something for Mothering Sunday, maybe a letter from Mrs. Stewart to Jonty when he was young. Still getting my thoughts together on that.”

Scattered Thoughts: And do you have any new series in mind for the future?

Charlie Cochrane: “New series? Maybe. I’ve just completed a contemporary cosy mystery (think Midsomer Murders but with a gay detective) and will be trying to find the right home for it. If it succeeds, I could see me writing more.”

Scattered Thoughts: I love a good cosy and can’t wait for this one. Thank you so much for such a wonderful series and taking time to answer my questions.

To learn more about Charlie Cochrane, her books and stories, visit her website and blog listed below.

You can find many free stories by Charlie Cochrane at Charlie’s Free Fiction group. Or visit her website

Her last release, Promises Made Under Fire, Carina Press February 2013, is also available from Amazon and All Romance.

Review: Lessons for Survivors (Cambridge Fellows #9) by Charlie Cochrane

Rating: 4.75 stars for the book, 5 stars for the series

Cambridge, 1919. It has been a year since Orlando Coppersmith and Jonty Stewart emerged from the Great War and reunited. Now back at St. Bride’s College, Orlando prepares to be inducted as Forsterian Professor of Applied Mathematics and needs to have a lecture prepared for the honor, a lecture he is having problems writing. Jonty Stewart is by his side as normal. Jonty recognizes that Orlando needs a distraction, and along it comes in the guise of a murder mystery. This murder mystery also comes with a time constraint. It must be solved in a month’s time or the suspected murderer will inherit a fortune and no one will be able to stop it.

Then with a lecture to write and a murder mystery to solve, on top of it all Orlando is made head of a committee to investigate a crime of plagiarism that involves their collegiate nemesis Dr. Owens from the college next door. Dr. Owens has never forgiven them for solving the Woodville Ward case and has threatened to out the couple if the case against his protege continues. But the biggest fight for the couple is against Orlando’s predilection for depression and his uncertainly about his ability to not only finish the lecture but solve the mystery as well. Jonty knows that this case is just what they need to shore up Orlando’s confidence in himself and to spice up the routine they have gotten into since their return. But the closer they get to the mystery, the larger the mystery gets until even Jonty starts to doubt their ability to solve it. They have survived the war, now they have to survive their return and find the peace they are searching for.

In Lessons for Survivors, Charlie Cochrance brings us into the lives of our favorite couple one year after the events of All Lessons Learned. On first appearances, things seem delightfully back to normal. Jonty and Orlando are back home at Forsythia Cottage with their needs being taken care of by Mrs. Ward and her grandaughter. Jonty has resumed teaching Romantic Literature and Orlando is being made Professor of Applied Mathematics at St. Brides. Ariadne “Peters” Sheridan is back at the college too, her new husband taking the place of Lemuel Peters, her brother, as head of the college. But just as the battles of WWI has left its scars across the landscape of Europe, so too has it left its marks upon Orlando and Jonty. Both men bear physical scars from their time on the front but they also brought home internal scarring as well. Cochrane does not dwell on this any more than Jonty and Orlando do but with subtly and discretion so appropriate to this pair we learn that Jonty is prone to flashbacks of the fighting and Orlando has nightmares and wakes up crying in remembrance. Orlando has also lost his confidence, both in himself and his abilities due to his experiences in WWI and the fact that he is prone to depression is never far from Jonty’s thoughts and ours as well.

And it is just that sort of details in Charlie Cochrane books that I find so compelling and right. After nine books and several independent stories, we know these men intimately due to her extraordinary characterizations. Jonty and Orlando are not the type to give in to over sharing of any trauma, or complaining about their time on the front or their experiences in the trenches, instead they would internalize them, speaking of them only when necessary, and then probably only to each other. And these brief glimpses of how they are haunted by WWI are exactly what we would expect from them.

While some things are back to normal at St. Brides, there are several gaping holes in Jonty and Orlando’s lives now as Mr. and Mrs. Stewart have passed away from influenza and it is their absence that is so greatly missed, not only by Jonty and Orlando but the reader as well. They were remarkable personalities and they are often in our couples thoughts. Cochrane ties their deaths together with the awful events of WWI forever in our minds as well as Jonty and Orlando’s, bringing the enormity of loss that occurred down to a personal and definable level. And while we recognize just what we have lost by the Stewarts passing, Cochrane delivers a older, wiser and quite funny Lavinia Broad and her family to take their place in Jonty and Orlando’s lives and our hearts. It follows just as it would in real life and further illustrates the care and art that Charlie Cochrane brings to her writing and this series.

And let’s not forget that wonderful, light hearted and ebullient banter that is a hallmark of Jonty and Orlando’s relationship. It is as quick witted, warmhearted and as lively as ever. How I love listening to them love each other through snort and snark. They are equally at home in a Noel Coward play or a Sherlock Holmes and Watson mystery, although Orlando would hate to hear it. The author gives us a wonderful mystery here too, one of the best of the series. It comes complete with dead triplets, a happy widow, missing jewels, and a tragic family history to undercover. It will take everything Jonty and Orlando have at hand and more to solve this one and its resolution at the end with leave the reader as well as Jonty and Orlando with a cat’s cream face to show for it.

The angst of the last two books is missing here and that’s just as well. Its time for the painful events of the past to subside and happiness and contentment to take their place, though the memories will always be there. If I have a small quibble with this story, it is that it ends a little too abruptly. I would have wished for one last scene in Forsythia Cottage or in their garden, perhaps having tea or maybe some sherry. Ariadne and Dr. Panesar would be expected shortly. Ariadne to discuss her beloved planarian worms and Dr. Panesar his latest thoughts on time travel. And in the meantime, Lavinia has phoned to discuss the exploits of her son, George with his favorite uncles and ask their opinion. That is how I leave them in my heart and mind, happy, together, surrounded by friends and family in the life they built together , pain and traumatic pasts not withstanding, to arrive at their happy every after, including the occasional eye rolling, snort and kicked shin to prove it.

I do hear the rumors of a 10th book might be planned. If so, I will be “over the moon” in joy but if this is to be the last book in the series, well, I am happy here too. Thanks for a most wondrous series, Charlie Cochrane. Like the Flip-Flap, it has been a most excellent ride.

The new cover design by Alex Beecroft underscores the fact that this book was published by Cheyenne Publishing and not Samhain Press as the others were. It is still as much a delight as the others, just lovely.

For those of you for whom this review is your first introduction, please start from the beginning. Take your time getting to know these remarkable men, delve into life and times of England in the 1900′s. It starts out with all the joys of a slow promenade and then picks up the pace with each succeeding book.

It is an extraordinary journey. Dont miss a page of it. Here are the order the stories were written and should be read to fully understand the relationships and events that occur:
Lessons in Love (Cambridge Fellows, #1)

Lessons in Desire (Cambridge Fellows, #2)

Lessons in Discovery (Cambridge Fellows, #3)

Lessons in Power (Cambridge Fellows, #4)

My True Love Sent To Me

Lessons in Temptation (Cambridge Fellows, #5)

Lessons in Seduction (Cambridge Fellows, #6)

Lessons in Trust (Cambridge Fellows, #7)

Once We Won Matches (Cambridge Fellows, #7.5)

All Lessons Learned (Cambridge Fellows, #8)

Lessons for Survivors (Cambridge Fellows, #9) – released by Cheyenne Publishing.

For free stories in the Cambridge Fellows Mysteries universe and more about the author, visit the author’s website.