"A Song Unheard" by Roseanna M. White

Well, I didn't like this as well as A Name Unknown, and that is entirely because of the characters.  Specifically, because of Lukas De Wilde.  I eventually ended up liking him okay, but wow, the dude did not understand the meaning of the word 'no,' did he?

Time and again, Willa Forsythe told him she was not romantically interested in him, and time and again he ignored that and insisted on wooing her anyway.  If a notorious playboy singlemindedly pursued a girl today, we'd call him a stalker or a creeper, but because this is historical fiction, it's supposed to be okay?

Nope, rubbed me wrong.

Willa herself didn't really win me over either.  I like con artists, but I don't like liars, and she did too much lying and too little conning for me to really warm to her.

Now, once she told Lukas the truth?  I settled right in and liked this book from then on.  It helped that Barclay was on the scene then too, and he elevated the story from oh-can't-they-just-either-get-together-or-give-this-up tiresomeness to something I dug.  I really am looking forward to reading An Hour Unspent, which I hear focuses on Barclay instead of one of his sisters.

I also very much liked Lukas' little sister Margot -- her habit of praying by using numbers really intrigued me.  God understands every language and created mathematics, so of course you could pray with numbers if that makes sense to you.  I'd just never thought of it!  So I liked that.

The basic plot of this is that thief Willa Forsythe is charged by the mysterious V to find and steal a secret code from famous Belgian violinist Lukas de Wilde, who has escaped the German occupation of Belgium and is raising money in Wales to help other Belgians.  Lukas' mom and sister are still in Belgium, he knows not where.  Willa is a violin prodigy herself, and I did enjoy lots of the musical content of this book.

(From my Instagram account.)

Particularly Good Bits:

She felt, as she listened to the ninety musicians following the motions of the maestro into a frenzy of musical bliss, as though she were seeing true beauty for the first time.  She felt bigger and smaller all at once.  More alive.  Closer to death.  Fear and peace, love and sorrow.  She felt like she never had before.  And it left her with energy coursing through her veins, stinging her fingertips (p. 115).

"My mother always says that the one you're meant to marry is simply the one you do marry -- it's not a matter of romance, it's a matter of deciding to love and make it work" (p. 122).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:  PG-13 for veiled references to Lukas's playboy past, spending nights with random women, as well as for violence and suspense.

"Gone-Away Lake" by Elizabeth Enright

I love this book.  I loved it as a kid, and I love it now.

I read Gone-Away Lake over and over as a pre-teen, and I vaguely could remember now what it was about -- some kids who find an abandoned village -- but I really didn't recall the particulars.  My son found this on my shelves a couple of years ago and fell in love with it too, and he's nearly destroyed my copy with his love.  But neither of my daughters wanted to read it on their own.

When we got home from vacation, I decided this would be the next book I'd read out loud to my kids because it's such a good summer story.  July and August were frenetic and hectic, so it took me two whole months to read it aloud to them.  But we finished it just at the beginning of September, which was perfect timing because the last couple chapters take place at the beginning of September too.  And we all loved it so much, I'm going to read the sequel to them next week.

Yes, there's a sequel!!!  I was entirely unaware of that fact until a year or so ago when we spotted it at the used bookstore.  I haven't read it yet, but I'm excited.

I really didn't remember a ton of this book while I read it, which surprised me.  Usually books that I read multiple times as a kid still feel very familiar.  And certain scenes did come back to me as I read, but not the book as a whole.  However, I realized while reading it that this book is a HUGE part of why I am somewhat obsessed with abandoned places.  And why I generally find abandoned buildings beautiful and inspiring, not creepy.  I do vividly recall wishing that there was an abandoned house somewhere near where I lived that was sound enough still for me to clean up and take over as my own clubhouse like Portia and Julian get to do in this book.  I still wish that.  I love old, neglected houses in a "let me rescue it and give it love" sort of way, and I see now that this book certainly fed into that, though I can't tell if it caused that interest.

Anyway, this book is about two cousins, Portia and Julian, who go tramping around in the woods and stumble on an abandoned cluster of summer homes.  But they're not entirely abandoned -- two delightful elderly people, brother and sister, still live there.  Julian and Portia befriend them, and they have a jolly summer together.  I love it.

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:  G.  It's clean and wholesome.  There's a tense chapter where someone gets stuck in quicksand that might be hard on kids under 6.

This is my 5th book read and reviewed for the Old School Kidlit Reading Challenge and my 20th for my second go-round with the Classics Club.  (Do I count this book as a classic?  Yes, I do!  It was written in 1957 and should be read by every child.  It's a classic.  So there.)

The "Dancing and Doughnuts" Giveaway Winners!

My book tour officially ended yesterday, and so did the giveaways associated with it.  This afternoon, the Rafflecopter widgets have spoken, so I can announce the winners!!! 

The winner of the blog tour prize pack, shown above, is...

Betsy Waggoner

Congratulations, Betsy!  

I also held a giveaway open only to those who hosted blog tour stops, and the winner for that is...

Annie from The Western Desk

Annie will get to choose either autographed copies of both Cloaked and Dancing and Doughnuts OR a $15 Amazon gift certificate.  Congratulations to you too, Annie!

Everyone else, I'm sorry you didn't win :-(  I guess you'll just have to buy your own copy, or convince your library to get it, or put it on your Christmas list.  Right?  Right!

The Silmarillion Awards

Do you love fantasy fiction?  Are you finding it hard to fill your days while you wait for the Tolkien Blog Party to begin?  Check out the Silmarillion Awards, which are open for nominations through the end of today.  They're for characters in fantasy books, and I don't think it matters if it's a new book or a classic -- as long as it's fantasy, it's good to go.  

Ten different blogs are involved in this, each blog responsible for one Silmaril award.  Follow these links to get in on the nominations and watch for the voting to begin next week!

Least Competent Henchman

Most Nefarious Villain

Wisest Counselor

Most Epic Heroine

Most Mischievous Imp 

Most Silver Tongued

Most Epic Hero

Strangest Character

Most Magnificent Dragon

Most Loyal Friend

"The Welsh Gambit" by Charity Bishop

Book one in the Tudor Throne series, The Usurper's Throne, was one of my ten favorite reads of 2017.  Book two, The Welsh Gambit, is very likely going to be one of my top ten new reads of 2018.  It's every bit as breathless and engrossing as the first book, and I read the last quarter of the book in one sitting because I just had to know what happened next!

The action in this book centers around a castle in Wales where Edward Stafford, the Duke of Buckingham, is preparing to host a tournament in honor of the memory of the prince who died at the end of The Usurper's Throne, but in the interest of not spoiling things, I won't say the prince's name.  Anyway, the tournament means that lots of people get thrown together as they gather to watch or participate in the festivities.  Friends and enemies alike mix in the crowds.  

Of particular interest to me was the Lady Anwen, who spent months as a tormented captive of Lord Meuric and his brutish protege Beynon.  Though they never actually assaulted her virtue, they threatened to do so repeatedly.  Anwen is now free, but traumatized.  She breaks off her engagement to a wonderful young man named James because she cannot bear to be touched by anyone.  Gradually, she finds healing for body, soul, and mind by learning new things and eventually confronting her tormentors.  

But my favorite character was once again Sir Thomas Lovell, the sly, devious, but often honorable Enforcer.  He spies and connives and bullies, and sometimes I want to slap him.  But just when I think I'm done with him, he does something absolutely wonderful and then I'm a fan again.

There's lots of mystery and intrigue in this book.  A dead woman is said to haunt the castle, and several characters make it their mission to find her remains.  Treason and envy and desire lie at the root of several other mysteries entwined throughout the story, keeping me on the edge of my seat through the last nine chapters.

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG-13 for a little bad language, discussions of attempted rape, violence, bloodshed, and some intimate scenes between married people that do not progress beyond passionate kisses.

Full disclosure:  I received an ARC copy in exchange for my honest opinion, which I have given here.

You can pre-order the Kindle version here, and there will be a paperback edition available soon as well.  The Goodreads page for this book is here.

Announcing the Sixth Annual Tolkien Blog Party

Sorry this announcement is a bit late.  But yes!  I will be hosting my annual Tolkien Blog Party for the sixth year.  I assure you I am greatly looking forward to it.  I hope you are too!

As usual, I'll have a questionnaire tag for you to fill out, some games, a book review or two, and a giveaway.  This year, it will run from Saturday, Sept. 22 (Bilbo and Frodo's birthday, and always observed as Hobbit Day) to Saturday, Sept. 29.

Here are a few blog buttons I've worked up for the occasion -- share them on your own blogs or other social media accounts to spread the word!  We always have such a merry time during this blog party, and I look forward to it all year.

See you there!

In Which I Join the Reams of Rereads Event

My friend Eva is hosting a blog event during the month of October called Reams of Rereads.  The idea behind it is that we often get so focused on our TBR mountains we don't make time to reread books we already love.  Well, I LOVE rereading books, as you may have noticed if you've been hanging out with me for more than a day or two.  So I'm 100% on board with this idea.

In October, I intend to re-read at least four of these books:

• The Hound of the Baskervilles by A. Conan Doyle (this is the best book to read in October)
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Wild Horse Mesa by Zane Grey
• The Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler
• Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
• The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
• From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg
• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

If you want to join this event too, visit this post on Eva's blog, Coffee, Classics, and Craziness!