Shivering Sands of Shivering Revelations!

               Victoria Holt has always been my go-to author for gothic romance.  I found her early in high school when I was visiting my family in WA. We’d flown up for the summer and I was going through my grandmother’s books trying to find something to read. I found a Reader’s Digest on her shelves with 6 gothic romances inside. I read them all and enjoyed them, but the one that caught me and held me was Mistress of Mellyn by Victoria Holt. During the vacation, my cousin and I scoured used book stores trying to find a copy of it. Which we did thankfully, in a mom and pop store that is no longer there. This moment began my love affair with her novels.

            Now, they’re all packed tightly in a box right now so I haven’t really had a chance to read any of them in some time. Then one night I got a text from Amanda asking if I’d read Pride of the Peacock or Shivering Sands. My response was “probably. I’d have to get the box out and look!”  So when Amanda said we were going to read The Shivering Sands for May, I grew very excited at reconnecting with one of my favorite authors.  It felt like hugging an old friend to me.

            One thing I’ve always loved about Holt is when she deals with murder, you guess until the reveal. I was going through various characters trying to figure out who it was, but failed until the last moment. Heck, I was even considering it to be the new vicar, lol, for a while but it didn’t make sense. Perhaps it was partly (or largely since y’all know me) because I didn’t want Caroline having any attraction to him. I was all for Napier, even though it took a long time to warm up to him. All the characters kept me interested. I was fascinated by Pietro’s hold over Caroline so well after death. The impression I got from her was that he wasn’t the nicest guy. Napier wasn’t either, but he didn’t seem to taunt her the way Pietro’s memories did. The mystery behind Roma, then a later character (who I suspected was gonna get it) definitely amped up the tension, as well as Sybil’s actions.

            Various revelations made for some great surprises as the climax came and went. I had at least one moment of “Hoooollllyyy crap!” lol. The biggest revelation for me was the whodunit. Didn’t expect it, but knowing Holt, I probably should have! I really enjoyed getting back to some of my reading roots. I’m gonna have to go out and look at the rest of the books I have. It could be a lot of fun to go back and re-immerse myself in the world of Victoria Holt.

            On that note, YAY! For Victoria Holt. Enjoyed May’s book! :-D

The seemingly Impossible lives of Bees

"The people called her Our Lady of Chains. They called her that not because she wore chains [...] They called her Our Lady of Chains because she broke them."

August, The Secret Lives of Bees

Two thumbs up for girl power novels. I really enjoyed this story and could not put it down. I felt a strong kinship with all of the characters and was really pulled in to each of there stories. Kidd did a wonderful job of getting into the mind of a young teenager. I think so many writers portray teenagers incorrectly today--they make them too mature and levelheaded. I am not saying it is not possible, I am just saying that time of life there is so much going on internally and Kidd really brought that forward with Lily. 

I think people forget that kids and young teens absorb so much of what happens around and to them. We have so much emotional and mental baggage that piles on us as we are growing up that deeply effects our perception of the world and the way we think and perceive ourself. Kidd really brought that to light by letting us in to Lily's head.

I really enjoyed the faith aspect of the story. I personally believe it is so important to ground yourself in something you believe in. It does not even necessarily have to be a religion, just something you know deep down is true for you no matter what others or the world thinks. That is what makes Kidd's characters so strong and realistic for me. They had there pasts, faults and troubles but they really stood firm in there faith. And believe me, when everything is falling apart around you, grasping and holding on to that little, faint light of faith inside of yourself makes all the difference. It makes you a Lily or August instead of a May. 

It is so easy to let the world weigh you down and drown you. When May was discovered, I could not help but think about Hamlet's Ophelia. The stories may be 400 years apart, but those two women are kindred souls.  

Now, my favorite aspect of the book was the bees. I have had a secret obsession with bees since my junior year in high school. It has less to do with actual bees and more to do with their ability to fly. 

"According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly. It's wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee, of course, flies anyway, because bees don't care what humans think is impossible."

The Bee Movie

(I couldn't resist throwing that quote in there)

So, I figure if the bees don't care then neither should you or I or anyone else. Because that is what breaking your chains is all about. Deciding to fly when the world says it's impossible.

Final Thoughts.

I enjoyed reading this book, but I don’t think for me it is going to be one of those absolutely life changing holy crap novels. But I did learn two things from this book:

I learned that life and the people in it are precious. And just like bees we’re protective of those we love.

I did find myself comparing this book to The Help quite often while I read, and I think that is because they shared similar themes. The whole book was a quest for independence, I think. To find confidence and drive within, without always needing that crutch of others' acceptance. The book almost achieved that. But it gave in at the last, to deliver a happy ending.

I did think much of the book was cliche. But it was also a good read. The strength of Lily saved the story for me, and it had some absolutely gut-twisting parts.

I think that it was an honest, true voice of a fourteen year old, you could feel the wonder and angst without it being irritating. I loved how she grew and learned; gained courage and wisdom; without the morals of the story beating you over the head. I absolutely loved August and Rosaleen. To be honest, I loved them all. I was even rooting for Zach and Lily to hook up.