The Thirteenth Tale Review

The Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield

Margaret Lea works in her father's antiquarian bookshop where her fascination for the biographies of the long-dead has led her to write them herself. She gets a letter from one of the most famous authors of the day, the mysterious Vida Winter, whose popularity as a writer has been in no way diminished by her reclusiveness. Until now, Vida has toyed with journalists who interview her, creating outlandish life histories for herself - all of them invention. Now she is old and ailing, and at last she wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary life. Her letter to Margaret is a summons.

Somewhat anxiously, the equally reclusive Margaret travels to Yorkshire to meet her subject - and Vida starts to recount her tale. It is one of gothic strangeness featuring the March family; the fascinating, devious and wilful Isabelle and the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline.

Margaret is captivated by the power of Vida's storytelling. But as a biographer she deals in fact not fiction, and she doesn't entirely trust Vida's account. She goes to check up on the family, visiting their old home and piecing together their story in her own way. What she discovers on her journey to the truth is for Margaret a chilling and transforming experience.

In this captivating book, you will find a very enigmatic story that will keep you reading and reading in order to find out what’s going on, what will happen, guess what?? You won’t find a thing, so you will keep reading page after page and chapter by chapter until you end up even more confused. And that is the better part of the book, is so good and absorbing and has such a well constructed plot that is fantastic. It has a lot of suspense, mystery so is actually really hard to guess the twists the story is going to take, but that is the greatest part, to keep wondering throughout the entire book if your theories are right. At the end you will find out of the truth and I can assure you its nothing like you thought it was going to be. But I’m pretty sure you will totally enjoy the whole book.

The plot is awesome and the characters are very well developed, the end is just mind-blowing and the secrets are just the best part. Is hard to believe that this is the first book Diane writes, because she is really good at this writing style.

I think there is not a single part I disliked, not just about the book in general, but in the things that are written, I mean, is about a writer, about books, about stories and storytelling and a booklover, so its easy to feel identified with Margaret.

Highly recommended The Thirteenth Tale is one of the best books I’ve read this year.

Official Website

Buy here and here

Interview with the author

See inside

Waiting on Wednesday (2)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Waiting on Wednesdays (WoW) spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Of All The Stupid Things by Alexandra Diaz

(Realease date December 22, 2009)

 When a rumor starts circulating that Tara's boyfriend Brent

And then new-girl Riley arrives in school with her long black hair, athletic body, and her blasé attitude, and suddenly Tara starts to feel things she's never felt before for a girl--and to reassess her feelings about Brent and what he may/may not have done. Is Tara gay--or does she just love Riley? And can her deepest friendships survive when all of the rules have changed? has been sleeping with one of the guy cheerleaders, the innuendo doesn't just hurt Tara. It marks the beginning of the end for an inseparable trio of friends. Tara's training for a marathon, but also running from her fear of abandonment after being deserted by her father. Whitney Blaire seems to have everything, but an empty mansion and absentee parents leave this beauty to look for meaning in all the wrong places. And Pinkie has a compulsive need to mother everyone to make up for the mom she's never stopped missing. This friendship that promised to last forever is starting to break under the pressure of the girls' differences (From Egmont USA)

Something interesting about the author

Alexandra Diaz grew up in a bilingual Spanish/English-speaking family in various parts of the US but has also lived in Puerto Rico, Austria, and Great Britain, where she's currently based. She graduated magna cum laude with a BA in English and Communications from Lake Forest College and then went on to be awarded an MA on the prestigious Writing for Young People course at England's Bath Spa University. Her writing has appeared in newspapers, literary magazines, children's magazines, Web sites, and anthologies. Although writing is the only career she ever wanted, Alexandra has worked as a nanny, teacher, Web designer, financial administrator, and waitress, to name but a few.

Shades of Midnight by Lara Adrian

(Release date December 29, 2009)

From the back cover:

IN A FROZEN WILDERNESS STEEPED IN DARKNESS, THE LINES BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL, LOVER AND ENEMY, ARE NEVER BLACK OR WHITE BUT DRAWN IN SHADES OF MIDNIGHT . . .

Something inhuman is stalking the frigid Alaskan wilds, leaving unspeakable carnage in its wake. For bush pilot Alexandra Maguire, the killings stir memories of a horrific event she witnessed as a child and evoke in her the inexplicable sense of otherness she has long felt but never fully understood . . . until a darkly seductive stranger with secrets of his own enters her world.

Sent from Boston on a mission to investigate the savage attacks and stop the slaughter, vampire warrior Kade has his own reasons for returning to the frigid, forbidding place of his birth. Haunted by a secret shame, Kade soon realizes the stunning truth of the threat he faces--a threat that will jeopardize the fragile bond he has formed with the courageous, determined young woman who arouses his deepest passions and most primal hungers. But in bringing Alex into his world of blood and darkness, Kade must confront both his own personal demons and the even greater evil that could destroy all he holds dear. . . .

Teaser Tuesdays (2)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

¿What do you have to do? 

• Grab your current read 
• Open to a random page 
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 
• Be careful not to include spoilers! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! 

"It might be nice" said Linda, "but I can´t somehow imagine her getting fond of one- too busy fussing about the weather all day, up and down, up and down- no time for human relationships"

The Pursuit of Love- Nancy Mitford

Recommendation of the week: Back Home

Back Home by Julia Keller

“I guess you would call us a normal family. Once a month, and sometimes other times, too, Dad would be gone for a few days. Mom told us that he was in the National Guard. We were normal, you could say. And then we weren’t.”

Rachel “Brownie” Browning is thirteen when her father comes back from the war in Iraq. Of course she understands that he has been injured and that he will be a little different, at least for a while. But Brownie doesn’t even know the man with a prosthetic arm and leg who sits in the living room day after day. He’s certainly not the father who helped her build a fort in her backyard, or played basketball with her sister, or hauled her little brother around like a sack of potatoes.

Brownie’s mother says that because of his traumatic brain injury, their father needs their affection and patience. In time, he’ll be better–Dad will be back. But Dad doesn’t seem to be making much progress, or much effort. He doesn’t smile. He doesn’t talk. He won’t even get out of his wheelchair, even though the doctors have taught him how and say that walking is essential to his recovery. And Brownie begins to wonder, will her family ever be able to return to the way life was before the war?

A story about an ordinary family forced to deal with an extraordinary loss, Back Home tells the tale of families scarred and the battle just beginning when their wounded loved ones return home (from Egmont USA)

What are you reading on Mondays? (2)

What are you reading on mondays is a meme hosted by J. Kaye´s Book Blog

 

Well, hello everyone!!!

Today I started to read The Pursuit of love by Nancy Mitford, and Key is finishing with El Quinto Dragón by Paulina Aguilar.

What are you reading on mondays?

IMM (2)

So, this is our second IMM.

In My Mailbox (IMM) is a meme hosted by Kristi, The Story Siren, based on Alea´s idea at Pop Culture Junkie. IMM is about the books you get in a weekly basis, bought, borrowed, swapped, etc.

There are no photos this week, because there´s no camera xD, but here are our books.

Mari

• Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
• Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

I read them while ago, but for some reason I didnt have them, I know, shame on me, I just have Twilight in spanish, but soon I´ll have the complete saga ;).

Key

• Blink of an Eye by Ted Dekker
• Starting out in the evening by Brian Morton
  
• Stolen by Lucy Christopher
  

What Did you Got This Week?? We want to know, share your IMM, leave your link ;)

In Cervantes´ Language: Three Meters Above the Sky

First of all, I want to explain what this section is about. Here we will post reviews of books we have read in spanish and that are not available in english, yet. Our intention is to open a little bit our recommendations, we hope you´ll enjoy this section. To begin, here´s this book I read last summer, and is now one of my favorite books.

Three Meters Above the Sky

Original Title: Tres Metros Sobre el Cielo/ Tre Metri Sopra il Cielo

Author: Federico Moccia

Language: Italian, translated to spanish.

Babi is an excellent student, a role model and the perfect daughter. Step is a violent and shameless guy. They come from totally different worlds. But despite everything, between them, a love beyond conventions will develop. A controversial love, and to keep it they will have to struggle more than they thought. Babi and Step are like the contemporary Romeo & Juliet, in a scenery that seems to be created for love: Rome (translated by me, sorry If its not good)

My thoughts: Three Meters above the sky is a journey through real life, you will find love, lies, pain, joy and sadness and you will know Babi and Step´s love story, a unique one, that will make you feel, that will make you cry. Moccia really knows how to capture the essence of the first love and that is what you will love about the book. The final part is heart-breaking, and you will end up wanting more. TMATS is one of my favorite books, and Moccia one of my favorite authors.

What do you think about it? Will you read it?? I assure you that you´ll like it very much. Oh yes and it has a second part, totally awesome too, called Ho voglia di te (Tengo ganas de ti, in spanish) that in english will be like.. Im thisrty of you or something like that, and I actually like that book better than this one, that means they are both awesome.

Hope you enjoyed this new section, we will bring you more recommendations In Cervantes´ Language.