Almost wordless: My apple tree made few flowers this year and none of them photo-worthy. These blossoms are from a tree in the park that was just filled with beautiful blooms.
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More Wordless Wednesday. © 2014 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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The Chronicle of Secret Riven, Book 2 of the Keeper of Tales Trilogy, a mythical tale of wonder, releases today. To celebrate, I have one copy to giveaway to a reader with a US mailing address.
About the Book
The Chronicle of Secret Riven
by Ronlyn Domingue
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Atria Books
Publish Date: May 20, 2014
Book 2 of the Keeper of Tales Trilogy
An uncanny child born to brilliant parents, befriended by a prince, mentored by a wise woman, pursued by a powerful man, Secret Riven has no idea what destiny will demand of her or the courage she must have to confront it in the breathtakingly epic, genre-spanning sequel to The Mapmaker’s War.
One thousand years after a great conflict known as The Mapmaker’s War, a daughter is born to an ambitious historian and a gifted translator. Secret Riven doesn’t speak until her seventh year but can mysteriously communicate with plants and animals. Unsettled by visions and dreams since childhood, she tries to hide her strangeness, especially from her mercurial father and cold mother. When her knowledge of an esoteric symbol brings unwelcome attention, gentle, watchful Secret finds acceptance from Prince Nikolas, her best friend, and Old Woman, who lives in the distant woods.
When Secret is twelve, her mother, Zavet, receives an arcane manuscript to translate from an anonymous owner. Zavet begins to suffer nightmares and withdraws into herself. Secret sickens with a fever and awakens able to speak an ancient language, discovering that her mother is fluent as well. Suddenly, Zavet dies. The manuscript is missing, but a cipher has been left for Secret to find. Soon, Secret will have a choice to make: confront a destiny tied to an ancient past or deny it, never to know its whole truth.
A spellbinding story, rich with vivid characters and set in a fascinating world, The Chronicle of Secret Riven explores the tension between love and hate, trust and betrayal, fate and free will.
[Read an excerpt.]
About the Author
RONLYN DOMINGUE is the author of The Mapmaker’s War, Book 1 of the Keeper of Tales Trilogy. The Chronicle of Secret Riven, Book 2, will be released May 2014. Her critically acclaimed debut novel, The Mercy of Thin Air, was published in ten languages. Her writing has appeared in The Beautiful Anthology (TNB Books), New England Review, Clackamas Literary Review, New Delta Review, The Independent (UK), Border Crossing, and Shambhala Sun, as well as on mindful.org, The Nervous Breakdown, and Salon.com. Born and raised in the Deep South, she lives there still.
Connect with Ronlyn
Twitter | Goodreads | Webpage | Facebook
Giveaway Information
I have one copy of The Chronicle of Secret Riven to give away to a reader with a US mailing address. To enter, fill out the form below on or before midnight, May 31st. For an extra entry, tweet or blog about the giveaway. Winners will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond.
[Giveaway Has Ended]
Winner: Michelle
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© 2014 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Source: Giveaway provided by the author and Atria Books.
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Welcome to Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia of To Be Continued, a place where readers share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week.
After several years of being on tour with different blogs as the monthly host, the Mailbox Monday Blog is now the permanent home for the meme.
Only one new book this week. My mail carrier could use a break and maybe I’ll get caught up on a few books. Between gardening, spring cleaning and my latest project – cleaning and re-sealing our large deck – I should get in a lot of audio time. I just need a few warm days with no rain.
New Arrivals
Field of Prey by John Sandford from Random House Audio.
A new Lucas Davenport thriller —
The night after the fourth of July, Layton Carlson Jr., of Red Wing, Minnesota, finally got lucky. And unlucky. He’d picked the perfect spot to lose his virginity to his girlfriend, an abandoned farmyard in the middle of cornfields: nice, private, and quiet. The only problem was . . . something smelled bad — like, really bad. He mentioned it to a county deputy he knew, and when the cop took a look, he found a body stuffed down a cistern. And then another, and another.
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New Giveaway
Signed copy of Ladies Night plus a fabulous goody bag:
To celebrate the paperback release of Ladies Night by Mary Kay Andrews, I have a fantastic prize package, courtesy of the publisher and Tandem Literary, to giveaway to one lucky reader.
Click the image for details.
To enter, fill out the form. US addresses only by midnight 5/24.
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© 2014 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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Thank you to everyone that stopped by to enter the giveaways last week. Winners have been selected for the following books:
The Promise
by Ann Weisgarber
Winner: Serena
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In Velvet
by Burt Weissbourd
Winners:
Carol Wong, Vicki, and Nancydl
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© 2014 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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The Rock Pigeon is a common bird found in cities around the world. They are plentiful in Chicago, and when I worked in the city I would see them roosting under the elevated train tracks, scavenging along the sidewalks and plazas downtown or nesting on buildings and window ledges.
Pigeons under the train tracks
After a while they became so ubiquitous, I would forget they were there. They are common even in the suburbs and are often seen congregating in flocks under bridges and along roads.
For most of us, pigeons are an urban bird that subsists on dropped scraps of fast food, stale bread and bird seed. But every once in a while I’ll see them in a natural area.
Pigeons at the pond
Last week I was out looking for warblers and other spring migrants. The common Rock Pigeon was not a bird I was expecting to find along the nature trail pecking in the grass by the pond. From a distance I thought the birds were Mourning Doves, but Mourning Doves are larger and have bigger heads. A closer look through the binoculars revealed a pair of Rock Pigeons.
A few cool facts
- Pigeons can find their way home when released from a distant location. They navigate by sensing the earth’s magnetic fields and possibly using sound and smell.
- Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets and Egyptian hieroglyphics suggest that pigeons were domesticated more than 5,000 years ago.
- Rock Pigeons carried messages for the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War I and II.
- The male chooses the nest site and both male and female incubate the eggs and feed the young.
Saturday Snapshot was originated by Alyce at At Home With Books. It is now hosted by Melinda of West Metro Mommy. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
© 2014 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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Decoded
by Mai Jia
Genre: Literary Thriller
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, Giroux | Random House Audio
Publish Date: March 18, 2014
Formats: Audio: 15½ hours | Print: 320 pages
Rating: 3½ of 5
From the Publisher:
In his gripping debut novel, Mai Jia reveals the mysterious world of Unit 701, a top-secret Chinese intelligence agency whose sole purpose is counterespionage and code breaking.
Rong Jinzhen, an autistic math genius with a past shrouded in myth, is forced to abandon his academic pursuits when he is recruited into Unit 701. As China’s greatest cryptographer, Rong discovers that the mastermind behind the maddeningly difficult Purple Code is his former teacher and best friend, who is now working for China’s enemy—but this is only the first of many betrayals.
My Thoughts:
Decoded is primarily the story of Rong Jinzhen, a mathematical genius who worked for the Chinese government as a code breaker during the cold war. His story is told by an unnamed narrator, probably a reporter, who is investigating and documenting his life. It is presented in flashbacks through interviews, transcripts and journal entries. But before we arrive at Rong Jinzhen story, the novel opens in the 19th century with a look at the history of the Rong family and his ancestors.
The book started out strong. The first portion, about Rong Jinzhen’s forebears, was enchanting and read like a Chinese fable. We moved forward through the years towards Rong Jinzhen birth, and his eventual recruitment into code breaking. I kept wondering when the “thriller” portion of the story was going to kick in. Half way through the novel I realized this was not going to be about cryptography, would not be a thriller by my definition, nor would it be a classic spy novel. There is a mystery as to who created the unbreakable code “purple”, but the story is mainly a psychological character study.
While the book wasn’t what I was expecting when I chose to read it, the writing was good and there were portions I found interesting and enlightening. We get a fascinating look at the inner workings of the Chinese espionage system from an author that spent years working among spies during his time with the People’s Liberation Army intelligence unit. Rong Jinzhen is most likely autistic and is a sympathetic character who is taken advantage of by not only the government but also his family. His downward spiral towards a psychological breakdown was almost painful to follow.
The last portion of the book dragged a bit and became difficult to follow. I’m still not totally clear on what happened and, for me, the novel itself remains a bit of a cipher. Those looking for a thoughtful, deep, literary thriller will probably enjoy this more than I did.
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Source: Review copy provided by the publisher through Amazon Vine.
© 2014 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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Ladies Night by Mary Kay Andrews is now available in paperback.
To celebrate the paperback release of Ladies Night, I have a fantastic prize package, courtesy of the publisher and Tandem Literary, to giveaway to one lucky reader with a US address.
Here’s what will be in that fabulous goody bag:
- Signed copy of LADIES’ NIGHT in paperback
- Set of 3 LADIES’ NIGHT recipe cards
- LADIES’ NIGHT drink coasters
- Cocktail umbrellas
- LADIES’ NIGHT drink cup
- Three different Mary Kay Andrews bookmarks
- SAVE THE DATE magnet
- Set of 3 SAVE THE DATE recipe cards
- News about a special SAVE THE DATE pre-order gift
About the Book
Ladies Nightby Mary Kay Andrews
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publish Date: April 29, 2014
Take a splash of betrayal, add a few drops of outrage, give a good shake to proper behavior and take a big sip of a cocktail called…Ladies’ Night!
Grace Stanton’s life as a rising media star and beloved lifestyle blogger takes a surprising turn when she catches her husband cheating and torpedoes his pricey sports car straight into the family swimming pool. Grace suddenly finds herself locked out of her palatial home, checking account, and even the blog she has worked so hard to develop in her signature style. Moving in with her widowed mother, who owns and lives above a rundown beach bar called The Sandbox, is less than ideal. So is attending court-mandated weekly “divorce recovery” therapy sessions with three other women and one man for whom betrayal seems to be the only commonality. When their “divorce coach” starts to act suspiciously, they decide to start having their own Wednesday “Ladies’ Night” sessions at The Sandbox, and the unanticipated bonds that develop lead the members of the group to try and find closure in ways they never imagined. Can Grace figure out a new way home and discover how strong she needs to be to get there?
Heartache, humor, and a little bit of mystery come together in a story about life’s unpredictable twists and turns. Mary Kay Andrews’ Ladies’ Night will have you raising a glass and cheering these characters on.
More Information
Twitter | Goodreads | MKA’s Website | Facebook
To enter the giveaway:
Fill out the form below on or before midnight, May 24, 2014. One entry per person or address, US only. I will draw a random winner who will be notified by email.
[Giveaway has ended]
Winner: Rita Moffat
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© 2014 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Giveaway provided by St. Martin’s Press and Tandem Literary.
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