The Returned
Jason Mott, 2013
Harlequin/MIRA
352 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780778315339
Summary
Harold and Lucille Hargrave's lives have been both joyful and sorrowful in the decades since their only son, Jacob, died tragically at his eighth birthday party in 1966. In their old age they've settled comfortably into life without him, their wounds tempered through the grace of time
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Until one day Jacob mysteriously appears on their doorstep—flesh and blood, their sweet, precocious child, still eight years old. All over the world people's loved ones are returning from beyond. No one knows how or why this is happening, whether it's a miracle or a sign of the end.
Not even Harold and Lucille can agree on whether the boy is real or a wondrous imitation, but one thing they know for sure: he's their son. As chaos erupts around the globe, the newly reunited Hargrave family finds itself at the center of a community on the brink of collapse, forced to navigate a mysterious new reality and a conflict that threatens to unravel the very meaning of what it is to be human.
With spare, elegant prose and searing emotional depth, award-winning poet Jason Mott explores timeless questions of faith and morality, love and responsibility. One of the most highly acclaimed novels of the year, The Returned is an unforgettable story that marks the arrival of an important new voice in contemporary fiction. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—1978
• Where—Bolton, North Carolina, USA
• Education—B.A., M.F.A., University of North Carolina,
Wilmington
• Currently—lives in southeastern North Carolina
Jason Mott lives in southeastern North Carolina. He has a BFA in Fiction and an MFA in Poetry, both from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. His poetry and fiction have appeared in various literary journals, and he was nominated for a 2009 Pushcart Prize award. Entertainment Weekly listed him as one of their 10 “New Hollywood: Next Wave” people to watch.
Mott is the author of two poetry collections: We Call This Thing Between Us Love and “…hide behind me…” His debut novel, The Returned, was published in 2013 in over 13 languages and became a New York Times Bestseller. A film adaptation will air on ABC-TV in March, 2014, under the title Resurrection. (Adapted from the author's webiste.)
Book Reviews
Jason Mott's impressive debut novel...is a tense and touching treatise on life, death and life again.
USA Today
(Starred review.) In his exceptional debut novel, poet Mott brings drama, pathos, joy, horror, and redemption to a riveting tale of how the contemporary world handles the inexplicable reappearance of the dead. The primary focus is on Harold and Lucille Hargrave, who lost their son, Jacob, half a century ago.... Mott brings depth and poignancy to the Returned and their purpose for existing.
Publishers Weekly
What if the dead came back to us on Earth? Would your loved one's reappearance be a blessing or a curse? All over the world, people are spontaneously rising from the dead.... Highly recommended for those who love a strong story that makes them think. —Katie Lawrence, Chicago
Library Journal
(Starred review.) Mott brings a singularly eloquent voice to this elegiac novel, which not only fearlessly tackles larger questions about mortality but also insightfully captures life's simpler moments....A beautiful meditation on what it means to be human.
Booklist
(Starred review.) The world, a community, and an elderly couple are confused and disconcerted when people who have died inexplicably come back, including the couple's 8-year-old son, whom they lost nearly 50 years ago. No one understands why people who died are coming back.... Mott has written a breathtaking novel that navigates emotional minefields with realism and grace.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
We'll add specific questions if and when they're made available by the publisher.
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The Medea Complex
Rachel Florence Roberts, 2013
R. Roberts
273 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781493651177
Summary
Based on a true story . . . Anne wakes up in a strange bed, having been kidnapped from her home. Slowly, she realizes she is in a lunatic asylum. 1885.
Anne Stanbury—Committed to a lunatic asylum, having been deemed insane and therefore unfit to stand trial for the crime of which she is indicted. But is all as it seems?
Edgar Stanbury—the grieving husband and father who is torn between helping his confined wife recover her sanity, and seeking revenge on the woman who ruined his life.
Dr George Savage—the well respected psychiatrist, and chief medical officer of Bethlem Royal Hospital. Ultimately, he holds Anne’s future wholly in his hands.
The Medea Complex tells the story of a misunderstood woman suffering from insanity in an era when mental illnesses were all too often misdiagnosed and mistreated. A deep and riveting psychological thriller set within an historical context, packed full of twists and turns, The Medea Complex explores the nature of the human psyche: what possesses us, drives us, and how love, passion, and hope for the future can drive us to insanity.
Watch the video.
Author Bio
• Birth—January 26, 1984
• Where—Liverpool, England, UK
• Education—R.G.N., Southampton University
• Currently—lives in Malta, European Union
Visit the author's website.
Visit the author's page on Facebook.
Book Reviews
5/5 stars, one of the best books of the year. Gripping, flawless, unique.
Readers Favourite (Blog)
This is a writer with a promise of becoming a major contributor to literature.
Fabulosity Reads (Blog)
For the reader who enjoys their historical mysteries to be well plotted, with a firm grip on the newest ides of the time, this is well worth a read. An accomplished debut novel.
Cleopatra Loves Books (Blog)
A stunning piece of story telling. Easily one of the best books Ive read in 2013.
Lost in Dandyland (Blog)
You will find it a fascinating read, with a "gasp, I cant believe it!" kind of ending. Rachel Roberts has done a stellar job.
Piece of My Mind (Blog)
AMAZON REVIEWS
A real eye opener. Very interesting, and well written. (5 stars)
Christine Walker
An amazing story, best I've read in ages. (5 stars)
Dawn Heald
Hooked from start to finish. (5 stars)
Charlotte
A fast paced roller coaster ride of a novel. Once I started, I could not put it down. (5 stars)
S. Graham
Intriguing, interesting, easy to read...loved it! (5 stars)
Dr M
This book had me hooked with some brilliant twists at the end. I highly recommend this book. (5 stars)
Kate
Loved this book, loved the plot. Kept me at the edge of my seat, couldn't put it down! (5 stars)
Hazel Bartlett
This book is a "tour de force"' in the exploration of the human psyche and in its ability to transport the reader, with such authenticity and in-depth knowledge of subject matter. Powerful and chilling. (5 stars)
Dolphin
An early night kind of book...just to read it! (5 stars)
Julie Ann Evans
A stunning piece of story telling, every player pulls his or her's weight in accomplishing a multilevelled, consistent novel, the twist to which, I expect few people will see coming. (5 stars)
Gin Oliver
Gripping. Couldn't put it down near the end! (5 stars)
Dunner
The more I read, the more I was pulled in with all the twists and turns. Rachel's writing style is quite unique. An historical novel which beautifully perfects the language and atmosphere of those times. The narrative is also spot-on making this story easy to follow and never dull. Rachel manages to inject much humour into an otherwise chilling tale—I laughed out loud at certain parts and then felt guilt because of Anne's dilemma. I don't think I have ever encountered so many surprises and twists in a novel before. (5 stars)
Linda
Read in one day. Couldn't put it down. Fantastic book really recommend it. Very historically accurate. Have rarely read one as fast as this. (5 stars)
Teresa
Discussion Questions
1. Who was the "victim" in this story? Discuss.
2. What do you think of the Doctor? Was he negligent in his duties, or was he constrained by the medical knowledge at the time?
3. Everyone had their own reasons for their actions in the novel. Do you think they were all justified?
4. The girl on the road. Discuss.
5. Was Anne wrong in what she did? Legally, morally, ethically? Or did she simply defend herself in an untenable position?
6. This is a story that would never work in the 21st century. Do you think we have a better quality of life, and rights, now as opposed to then?
7. Do you think postnatal depression is an "excuse," or a real medical condition? What do you think should be the treatment of women suffering from it now, who are a danger either to themselves, or others?
8. Do you have any questions of your own that have been raised by the reading of this story?
(Questions provided courtesy of the author.)
The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic
Emily Croy Barker, 2013
Penguin Group (USA)
567 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780670023660
Summary
With her dissertation stalled and her ex-boyfriend engaged to another woman, Nora Fischer finds herself flailing. While suffering through a friend's wedding weekend, Nora wanders into the woods to clear her head and somehow discovers a portal that transports her away from her current misery into a world unlike anything she's known before.
There, Nora meets a mysterious and powerful woman named Ilissa and her suave son, Raclin. Nora is seduced by the excitement of this new realm, and she tumbles headlong into a passionate romance with Raclin. The wondrous veneer soon fades though, and Nora realizes she's not only caught in a strange, foreign land but she has been thrust into an age-old power struggle between Ilissa, Raclin and their nemesis, the magician Aruendiel.
When Nora finds her life in danger, it is Aruendiel who comes to her rescue and who reluctantly agrees to mentor her in the spells and magic that she'll need to survive in this new and perilous world. Despite Aruendiel's reclusive, acerbic nature, Nora begins growing closer to him. As her spell-casting skills grow, Nora encounters plenty of magical characters including a former witch-priestess-turned magician and her dangerous pet, a wizard with literary ambitions, and an ice demon whose deadly hunger is tamed only by poetry. As the land readies for war, Nora is alone at a crossroads with a decision to make: stay in this realm of magic or return to her own world?
Emily Croy Barker has written a richly imagined debut that is steeped in the literature of fantasy, fairy tale, and classic fiction. Readers will find all sorts of homages in The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic-from Beauty and the Beast, to Alice in Wonderland, to classic journeys to the underworld. And they will fall for Nora, who is indeed a thinking woman's heroine: smart, quirky, witty, and best of all, very real.
For lovers of Lev Grossman's The Magicians series (The Magicians and The Magician King) and Deborah Harkness's All Souls Trilogy (A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night). (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1965-66
• Raised—Greensboro, North Carolina, USA
• Education—B.A., Harvard University
• Currently—lives in New Jersey
A graduate of Harvard University, Emily Croy Barker has been a magazine journalist for more than twenty years. She is currently executive editor at The American Lawyer. This is her first novel. She lives in New Jersey. (From the publisher.)
Book Reviews
Centered on more adult concerns than the Harry Potter books, Barker’s debut is full of allusions to dark fairy tales and literary romances. If Hermione Granger had been an American who never received an invitation to Hogwarths, this might have been her story.
People
[A]mbitious, densely packed.... Nora [Fischer]...has escaped into another world in which magic exists—and is not as cute and cuddly as she might have imagined. Though the story starts with a classic tale of unpleasant fairies working their will, it morphs into something deeper and more nuanced.... [A] well-rounded, smooth, and subtle tale.
Publishers Weekly
Nora Fischer, a doctoral student whose dissertation and love life have both hit the skids....is transformed into a beautiful woman surrounded by the rich and eclectic. Thus begins Nora's fast-paced adventure, full of romance, magic, and intrigue in which things are never quite as they seem. —Crystal Renfro, Georgia Inst. of Technology Lib. & Information Ctr., Atlanta
Library Journal
The Thinking Woman’s Guide to Real Magic is a medieval fairy tale with a deliciously dark twist...a thoroughly enchanting read.... Barker has spun a clever, lush yarn that is uniquely its own.
BookPage
[G]raduate student Nora Fischer wanders...smack-dab into a parallel universe seemingly populated by glamorous refugees from a Fellini film.... [But] all is not as it seems beneath the shining veneer of her new world.... This dark fairy tale has plenty of curb appeal for a wide range of fantasy, time-travel, and alternate-reality fans. —Margaret Flanagan
Booklist
Debut novelist Barker turns in a pleasant if largely predictable fantasy yarn. [A] brilliant literary scholar....wanders through a mysterious portal into the otherworld.... Will she ever find her true love in the magic kingdom? Will she get back to real life in time to pay her tuition? Barker's pages tell all—and leave plenty of room for a sequel or even a series.... An entertaining tale capably told.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. Nora proves particularly adept at magic. Is there something about her personality that makes her a good magician?
2. Would you rather be a wizard or a magician?
3. Aruendiel never tells Mrs. Toristel that he is her great-great-grandfather, though Nora urges him to. Nora never tells her, either. Did Nora do the right thing? Would you withhold a secret like that from a friend or family member?
4. When Aruendiel brings Massy's little girl back to life, he turns Massy into an apple tree so she can feed her children. Was this a fitting punishment for the woman?
5. After the ice demon has sucked Dorneng's soul, Nora takes care of him (though he has just tried to kill her) rather than abandon him. Would you do the same?
6. When Aruendiel is trapped by an invisible prison, Nora uses math to break the spell. Are math and science the equivalent of magic in our world?
7. Nora translates Pride and Prejudice into Ors. Discuss the role of the novels and poems that appear in this book. What do they mean to Nora?
8. When Aruendiel casts the observation spell, Nora is able to see her family. Would you stay in a magical world separated from your family physically if you could communicate with them through such a spell?
9. Did you want to know more about the mysterious Kavareen? Would you trust it?
10. If you were to learn real magic, who would you rather have as your teacher, Aruendiel or Hirizjahkinis? Why?
11. Does Aruendiel change over the course of the book? Has he learned anything from Nora by the end?
12. Were you rooting for Aruendiel and Nora to get together at the end? Or Nora and Perin?
13. At the end of the book Raclin's ring is still on Nora's finger. Do you think she will return to the world of magic?
(Questions issued by publisher.)
Christmas at the Gingerbread Cafe
Rebecca Raisin, 2013
Carina UK (Harlequin)
64 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781472073785 (ebook)
Summary
Christmas is the season the Gingerbread Cafe was made for…but owner Lily couldn’t be feeling less merry if she tried. She’s spent another year dreaming of being whisked away on a sleigh-ride for two, but she’s facing festive season alone—again. And, just to give her another reason to feel anything other than candy-cane perky, a new shop across the road has opened… Not only is it selling baked goods, but the owner, with his seriously charming smile, has every girl in town swooning.
But Lily isn’t about to let her business crumble—the Gingerbread Cafe is the heart of the community, and she’s going to fight for it! This could be the Christmas that maybe, just maybe, all her dreams—even the someone-to-decorate-the-Christmas-tree-with ones—really do come true! (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—1979
• Where—Perth, Australia
• Education—N/A
• Currently—lives in Perth, Australia
Visit author's website.
Visit author on Facebook.
Book Reviews
The Gingerbread Cafe is a special place, especially at Christmas. At the heart of the community the cafe is a delightful haven, warm and welcoming with owner Lily and employee CeeCee full of the Christmas spirit. Lily is recovering from the breakdown of her marriage and CeeCee is determined to matchmake. When handsome, mysterious Damon opens up a shop across the road, CeeCee encourages Lily to make a move for him, but before long it becomes apparent that Damon's business is in direct competition with the Gingerbread Cafe.
The relationship between Lily and CeeCee is one of the key features of Christmas at the Gingerbread Cafe, and their friendship is heart-warming and reassuring. CeeCee is like a mother hen, desperate for Lily to find love and she was my favourite character, coming across as larger than life. The combination of her and feisty Lily is fabulous!
I also loved how the cafe was portrayed as a cosy, snug place, somewhere full of warmth and festive shimmer. I wish that I had a cafe like this near me—I'd certainly be a regular customer.
Kate Beeden - Amazon Review
Discussion Questions
1. Do you think Lil would have made the same decisions without CeeCee's gentle nudging?
2. Does Lil follow her head or her heart when it comes to the Gingerbread Cafe?
3. Lil uses cooking as a coping mechanism, is there any rituals you use in times of stress?
4. Do you think Lil made the right choice when it came to Joel?
5. Do you think Lil will save the Gingerbread cafe with the expansion of the catering side?
(Questions provided courtesy of the author.)