REVIEW: QUEEN OF THE NIGHT by Alexander Chee

I thoroughly enjoy a novel that wanders a bit, particularly historical adventures like The Count of Monte Cristo or The Three Musketeers. I am also a sucker for stories of intrigue told from the secret garden at a masked ball or a hidden rooftop in Paris. It’s fantastical but delightful. The Queen of Night has all the…

REVIEW: THE RACE FOR PARIS by Meg Waite Clayton

As the Normandy invasion’s ground forces advanced across the French countryside, the obvious objective was to liberate Paris. Allied forces crept at a snail’s pace, encountering mine fields and holdouts along the way. In 1940, when Paris surrendered to Nazi Germany, the event was documented. Footage of a triumphant Hitler in a motorcade, driving around…

GIVEAWAY: LES MISERABLES by Victor Hugo

  Thanks to the fine folks at Penguin Classics, I have one copy of a new translation of Victor Hugo’s classic to giveaway.       To enter: 1) Share this giveaway. 2) Leave a comment, with a link to your “share” and please include your email so I can tell you you’ve won. 3) Sing…