Jane and Luc have been married for several years. Jane is a shy translator from England, and Luc is a passionate French documentary filmmaker. They share their time between London and the South of France where Luc’s mother is running a wine estate. When he suddenly has an accident, Jane discovers that her husband had a few secrets of his own. Now she has to piece her life back together, while…
Author: Cecile
Cécile Sune was born in Lyon, France, and her obsession with books started when she was 14. Her grandparents had lent her Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, and she spent part of the summer indoors reading. Needless to say, her tan didn't really improve that year! It was also around that time that Cécile fell in love with the English language. Several years later, in 1999, Cécile moved to Toronto, Canada, with her cat and 5 suitcases. Her love of reading greatly increased when she discovered that English books were much cheaper than French novels. In 2013, she decided to start a blog to share her passion. Cécile now lives in Ottawa, Canada, with her husband and their daughter, and works as a freelance translator (CS Revision).
Fun Facts
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Did You Know That Mark Twain Started Smoking When He Was 8 Years Old?
In fact, he loved cigars and found smoking very relaxing. Other fun facts about the author: His real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens. His father died of pneumonia when he was 12, and Mark Twain became an apprentice printer at the Missouri Courier. Later, he wrote for local newspapers. The author also worked as a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi river. He got his pen name, Mark Twain, from steamboat slang for 12…
Review
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The Rivals of Versailles by Sally Christie
As a child, Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson meets a gypsy that tells her she will one day be the king’s mistress and a very powerful woman. As she belongs to a modest bourgeois family, this prediction seems very outlandish, but her mother believes it and makes sure Jeanne gets the proper education of a lady. With a little help from her godfather’s connections at court, Jeanne manages to meet Louis XV, and they start a…
Lisa Lutz
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The Passenger by Lisa Lutz
Frank Dubois is lying dead at the foot of the stairs, and his wife Tanya is weighing her options: should she call the police, get rid of the body, or run away? Since she has already been running from the law for the last decade, she decides to leave, assumes a new identity and drives South without looking back. As she travels across the US, she meets Blue, another woman trying to escape from her past. They…
Cori McCarthy
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You Were Here by Cori McCarthy
It’s the five-year anniversary of Jake’s death, and his 18-year-old sister Jaycee is still grieving. In order to feel closer to him, she wears his clothes and recreates the daredevil stunts he performed while exploring abandoned sites and buildings. A group of friends decide to tag along with her: Nathalie, her bossy, cautious ex-best friend, Zach, an inveterate gamer, Bishop, a broken-hearted young man, and Mik, Jake’s mysterious friend. Will Jaycee…
Liza Perrat
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Spirit of Lost Angels by Liza Perrat
Victoire Charpentier is a young woman living in Lucie-sur-Vionne, France, at the end of the 18th century. When her father dies in a coach accident and her mother is drowned for witchcraft, she has no choice but to go to Paris to work as a scullery maid for a noble family. Overwhelmed by the big city and abused by the Marquis who employs her, life doesn’t get any easier for…
Biography
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RIP Harper Lee
Last week, I learnt with sadness about the passing of Harper Lee. Her book To Kill a Mockingbird is a favorite of mine and is, in my opinion, one of the best American classics. Born Nelle Harper Lee on 28 April 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama, she was the youngest of 4 children. Her father was a lawyer, perhaps the inspiration for Atticus Finch. Her mother suffered from mental illness, and…
Alexander Chee
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The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee
Lilliet Berne is a famous opera singer in 1882 Paris when an author approaches her to ask her to star in an opera he has just finished writing. When she reads it, she realizes that the story relates her own secret past. As she tries to discover the person who betrayed her confidence, she remembers her humble beginnings as an orphan from Ohio, her travels in Europe with a circus and her…
Giveaway
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Giveaway! The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier
Win a hardcover copy of The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier! Please leave a comment below, and we’ll draw a name at random (Open to legal residents of Canada and the US, 18 years or older. Contest ends 15 February 2016 at 11:59 pm EST). From the book jacket: Ohio 1850. For a modest English Quaker stranded far from home, life is a trial. Untethered from the moment she leaves England,…
Review
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The Witches by Stacy Schiff
In 1692, 14 women, 5 men and 2 dogs were executed for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. It started in January of that year when two girls experienced strange symptoms, twitching and contorting with pain. In the course of 9 months, dozens of people were affected by this strange epidemic, and hundreds were accused of witchcraft. Daughters pointed fingers at mothers, neighbors implicated each other. A minister was accused of being…