Review: Banquet of Lies by Michelle Diener

Originally, I thought this book was a romance story with a little bit of detective work mixed into it. Turns out, it's a detective story with a little bit of romance mixed into it. Even though my presumptions were wrong, it's still a good book with a very different heroine. Gigi is a lady of the upper crust who has traveled far and wide with her father. She's a little unusual because she is well educated, well traveled, hangs out with cooks and the below stairs staff, collects recipes and is a small time spy with her father. She's not exactly "in the know" with what they are running for other people but she knows it is political and important. It's also deadly if they get caught. 

The story opens with her father's murder. Gigi knows that the murderer is coming after her next so she goes underground by going below stairs. She takes the job of french chef to Lord Jonathan Aldridge who cannot abide English cooking any longer. Since Gigi is hidden in plain sight, she can keep a watch on her home and work to find the murderer before he finds her. 

I don't read detective or mystery books. They are just not my thing so I have to admit that the being chased constantly by someone in dark alleys or late at night or in a market started to really stress me out. When I read novels, it is to take a trip to a different place and time with a romance that is sigh worthy. I rarely have to worry about my heroine who has (once again) ran out into the back alley in the rain for a secret meeting without any protection but it definitely added a little bit of tension to the story.

What I thought worked in this book:
* The Food! All the talking of French food which I loooovvee. Creme Brulee, Beef Bourguignon, Brioche. Oh man. Made me wish the French restaurant in town hadn't closed up. 

* The heroine is genuinely likable. There are a lot of books out there where the female character is vapid or flat out irritating. Gigi is actually someone I'd want to hang out with. She's a strong woman, maybe a little head strong, but not in a grating way. She hangs out with the below stairs staff and genuinely cares for them. She interacts with the upper crust, political people, czars and ambassadors and holds her own with them.

* The reveal. I've never read a scene quite like it and I really, really enjoyed how it played out with all the characters together in one scene. All I can tell you is that its fast paced, heart warming and funny.

* The hero doesn't know what's going on but never seems like he's out of control of the situation. I liked Lord Jonathan. A lot. I wish we could have seen a little more of his alpha side. We know he led a battalion and we know he is a take charge kind of guy. He handles each situation calmly. He's never out of his depths. We know he desires Gigi but it just never goes anywhere.

Which leads me to what I didn't like about the book:
* I would have liked to have seen more develop between Jonathan and Gigi. The chemistry between them was there but the fruition of that chemistry didn't make it into the book. I would rate the heat on this book as kisses. Barely kisses. There were definite sparks but it was secondary to the story. There's not a lot of tension going on here and there should be. He was fooling around with his staff and he should be struggling with that issue a little harder, in my opinion.

* This is the closest I will come to a spoiler and it's my biggest gripe: It really, really bothered me that we don't know what happens to the butler, Edgars. It's just left up in the air at the end of the story. We walk away from him and that's it. Maybe it will come out in the next book because we don't really know how Jonathan and Gigi work out either. We know they will but it all ends up in the air.

With all that being said, I still liked the book. I already downloaded the previous book in this series to read. The author also hinted at a book with Lord Wittaker and I'd like to read that one too.

Banquet of Lies: 6 out of 10

Review: The Harem Midwife by Roberta Rich

When I saw "The Harem Midwife" novel up for review in the Edelweiss catalog, it appealed to me because 1) I know nothing about harems 2) how women in harems gave birth 3) that there were harem midwives (but that makes sense thinking about it now) 4) how women in harems lived and got along with each other. After reading it, I now have quite a bit of new information about harems. Hannah Levi is a Jew, exiled from her home in Venice, now living in Constantinople and working for the Sultan Murat III as a midwife for his harem. Except there is a problem...the Sultan only desires his wife. He can't "perform" with any of the women in his harem so there aren't many births happening for the midwife to assist with at the moment. This all changes when a young, wild child is brought into the harem to see if she can stir up the attentions of the Sultan.
    
While this all sounds sexually charged and titillating, it's not really. The sexual aspects of the book are very mild and generally summed up in a few short lines. It's a long, long ways from a bodice ripper. If you're looking for that, this is not your book. What I liked best about the book might surprise you. The story line was great, the characters well written and the plot was interesting but here are some of the reasons that made the book 7 out of 10 stars for me:
* the descriptions of the palace and the rooms in the harem. Roberta Rich does an amazing job of describing the grandeur and opulence of the environment - the bathing rooms, the birthing kiosk, the consummation room, the zoo - all described with attention to every detail. Even the descriptions of the streets, carriages and markets made you feel like you were there and could see what the characters saw. "A dwarf with a rounded forehead unhooked the door of the cage. The birds took flight, swooping and swirling overhead. The scent of orange blossoms filled the air. Hannah moved toward one of the doves at her feet. Fastened to its neck and to the necks of all the birds were scented pomanders, filling the room with that glorious aroma. It was as though a silk canopy had become unmoored from the ceiling and drifted down, holding her in a veil of fragrant oranges." Isn't that description amazing? Can't you see it and smell it? Love that.

* the descriptions of the birthing process and ensuing party - "At home in Venice, the birth room was a hushed, secluded space with only a midwife and perhaps the laboring woman's mother and mother-in-law. Here the entire harem believe a mother's suffering was cause for celebration." This celebration included dwarves doing gymnastics, acrobats, musicians, jugglers, an astrologer and a ton of people milling around. Sounds like a circus to me and would have made me insane.

* little things that I can't possibly imagine but delighted to read about - "The garden should have been dark. It was not. The flower beds were so well lit that Cesca could see every petal on the nodding heads of the tulips...The lawn glowed with light so bright it appeared as though the world had turned topsy-turvy. Instead of the stars being in the heavens, they were a carpet of illumination undulating on the grass...As her eyes adjusted, she realized she was looking at the glow of scores of beeswax candles, but they were moving...She bent over the closest source of light, surprised to see a tortoise at her feet. On its back was a beeswax candle pressed into the shape of a red rosette. All those pricks of light were tortoises with candles attached to their shells. She hoped her awe was not too apparent." I would have been in awe and would have definitely shown it. Just that description and the image it conveys, is worth the price of the book alone!

This was a really good read. It wasn't a book that I couldn't pull myself away from but it WAS a book that had me going back to it every chance I could. It was an escape to a magical environment in an exotic locale which made it a very good book indeed. Hannah and Levi are also featured in the book "The Midwife of Venice" which is first in the series. "The Harem Midwife" will be released February 25, 2014.

The Harem Midwife: 7 out of 10