The Valley by Helen Bryan

Rating: NA

Obtained from: Netgalley

Read: May 27, 2016

Left suddenly penniless, the Honorable Sophia Grafton, a viscount’s orphaned daughter, sails to the New World to claim the only property left to her name: a tobacco plantation in the remote wilds of colonial Virginia. Enlisting the reluctant assistance of a handsome young French spy—at gunpoint— she gathers an unlikely group of escaped slaves and indentured servants, each seeking their own safe haven in the untamed New World. What follows will test her courage and that of her companions as they struggle to survive a journey deep into a hostile wilderness and eventually forge a community of homesteads and deep bonds that will unite them for generations. The first installment in an epic historical trilogy by Helen Bryan, the bestselling author of War Brides and The Sisterhood, The Valley is a sweeping, unforgettable tale of hardship, tenacity, love, and heartache.

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

Before I get too far ahead of myself, I want to emphasize that I did not finish this book and will not be offering a rating of any kind. I managed the first hundred pages, but was so disenchanted with the story that I saw no reason to continue to push on the remaining five hundred. That said, I feel I read enough of the book to offer commentary on the portion I did complete and am posting my thoughts in way of explanation for having abandoned the piece outright. 

The Valley marks my second experience with author Helen Bryan and while I did not enjoy War Brides, I tried my best to see The Valley with unbiased eyes. I was glad to note that Bryan's new release did not suffer the same trifecta of editing errors that plagued her earlier work, but new issues made it impossible for me to get into and appreciate Sophia Grafton's story and I ultimately decided the novel unreadable. 

It is my understanding that The Valley is based on the lives of Bryan's ancestors, but I feel the author's personal interest in the material made it impossible for her cut superfluous detail. To be perfectly blunt. the jacket description has more action in its synopsis than the first hundred pages of Bryan's work and I'm not inclined to pretend I appreciate glacially paced lit that is overburdened with redundant and unnecessary minutia.

I found Bryan's development of Sophia thin and stereotypic, but her presentation left me so bored and disinterested that I found no reason to continue. 

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

The promise of a dress allowance was sweet, but above all she wanted her father to love her again. And it seemed that the only way that would happen was if she became more like her mother. How was she to resemble a dead saint?

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

The Blood Countess by Andrei Codrescu

Rating: NA

Obtained from: Netgalley

Read: July 30, 2015

A Hungarian-American journalist confronts the beauty and terror of his aristocratic heritage in this suspenseful chronicle of murder and eroticism. Turmoil reigns in post-Soviet Hungary when journalist Drake Bathory-Kereshtur returns from America to grapple with his family history. He's haunted by the legacy of his ancestor, the notorious sixteenth-century Countess Elizabeth Bathory, who is said to have murdered more than 650 young virgins and bathed in their blood to preserve her youth. Interweaving past and present, The Blood Countess tells the stories of Elizabeth's debauched and murderous reign and Drake's fascination with the eternal clashes of faith and power, violence and beauty. Codrescu traces the captivating origins of the countess's obsessions in tandem with the emerging political fervor of the reporter, building the narratives into an unforgettable, bloody crescendo. Taut and intense, The Blood Countess is a riveting novel that deftly straddles the genres of historical fiction, thriller, horror, and family drama.

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

Countess Elizabeth Bathory

No. Just, no.

I’m tempted to leave my thoughts on Andrei Codrescu’s The Blood Countess at that, but I think my fellow readers deserve an explanation. That said, I want to be very clear that I did not finish this book. I made it through 45% of the narrative and bailed. I did not bother skimming through to the end as there seemed no point in subjecting myself to material I found both salacious and repugnant. I’d award a single star to the portion I completed, but as I did not finish the book I’ve chosen to leave this review unrated.

I am familiar with Elizabeth Bathory, but my objections to the material within these pages have nothing to do with blood baths and dead virgins. I don’t know how the author utilized the material later on, but the obscene sexual nature of the chapters I did experience didn’t sit well with me. Drake’s climax in the iron maiden was uncomfortable, Elizabeth’s hands on approach to Johannes’ encounter with the gypsy disturbed me, and don’t get me started on the harlequin doll. I’ll give Codrescu the benefit of the doubt and assume the material was meant to elicit the response it did, but the depravity he depicted went too far and I lost any and all interest in the story he was trying to tell. 

Speaking of story, I felt the contemporary elements of the piece should have been scrapped altogether. I didn’t care a whit for Drake or his experience. These sections were tediously slow and dominated by exposition better suited to nonfiction. I will note the religious elements of Elizabeth’s story arc were interesting, but Codrescu’s narrative is so drawn out that the ideas felt fractured and incoherent. 

The description claims the novel unforgettable and for once I honestly agree with the sales pitch. The Blood Countess is unforgettable, but for all the wrong reasons. Not for me and not something I could possibly recommend.

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

Elizabeth Bathory was a powerful woman in a time of powerful women. She was a contemporary of Queen Elizabeth. Educated in the highest traditions of the late Renaissance, she was the absolute ruler of her domains, which were situated at the center of Christian Europe. If it was true that she tortured and killed, bathed in blood, and ate the flesh of young girls, these charges had to be carefully considered by those who would judge her.

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

On Distant Shores by Sarah Sundin

Rating: NA

Obtained from: Netgalley

Read: November 13, 2013

Lt. Georgiana Taylor has everything she could want. A comfortable boyfriend back home, a loving family, and a challenging job as a flight nurse. But in July 1943, Georgie’s cozy life gets decidedly more complicated when she meets pharmacist Sgt. John Hutchinson. Hutch resents the lack of respect he gets as a noncommissioned serviceman and hates how the war keeps him from his fiancée. While Georgie and Hutch share a love of the starry night skies over Sicily, their lives back home are falling apart. Can they weather the hurt and betrayal? Or will the pressures of war destroy the fragile connection they’ve made?

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

Ever hear the phrase once in a blue moon? If you haven't, please, take a moment and look it up, for tonight the moon is most certainly blue, as I am voluntarily putting aside Sarah Sundin's On Distant Shores.

Let there be no misunderstanding, this is not a surrender wherein I set down my sword and run-up the flag because this book is too taxing or tedious. This is a staunch refusal to do battle… a withdrawal based on intense feelings of both disinterest and disgust.

For the record, I recognized my lack of enthusiasm for Sundin's work early on. Despite taking place during my favorite era, I was not drawn into the story and I found the characters altogether tiresome. There were a few interesting fact-based details, but overall, this piece wasn't piquing my imagination or speaking to my soul. Still, in an effort to seek her message and potentially appreciate her ministry, I was determined to patiently await whatever revelations may be part of her master plan… until I came to the end of chapter seven. 

In this scene, Georgie Taylor confronts Vera Viviani and Alice Olson over a trick they played on Mellie Blank. She strikes up a conversation with her fellow nurses, deliberately offering false flattery in language that drips with innuendo in her effort to make them uncomfortable. When it becomes clear she has achieved this goal, Georgie is nothing short of self-righteous. 

Color rose in Alice’s cheeks, and Vera stared at the tarmac. After the dirty trick they’d played on Mellie, they deserved to be uncomfortable.

Her mission, however, is far from complete. Mellie has convinced her commanding officer that though Vera and Alice were wrong, they deserve a second chance and that she herself should be sent home. Georgie recognizes Mellie's sacrifice as one of insecurity and is determined that her friend see she is both needed and appreciated by the squadron. To do this, she created a petition which at this point, has been signed by every member of their unit with exception of Vera and Alice, who have purposely been approached last. 

“As you can see, you two are the only ones in the entire squadron who haven’t signed it yet. I wanted your signatures to be last, big and bold like John Hancock himself. Only fitting after all Mellie’s done for you.” She tipped her head to the side and raised her sweetest smile.

Playing her role to the fullest, Georgie continues the attack, reveling in triumph as Vera and Alice become increasingly embarrassed. A veritable freight train Georgie shows no sign of slowing, even as both women turn their gazes toward their shoes.

She waited a moment to let the guilt sink in, then tapped the petition in Vera’s hand. “See? I left a big space at the bottom for you. Feel free to add a personal note. Most everyone did.” Was it wrong to enjoy this so much?

Wishing to be rid of her, Vera and Alice quickly add their names to the bottom of the page, but Georgie, still basking in her own glory, can't resist launching one last assault on their pride.   

Georgie tucked it in her pocket. “Thank you. You don’t know how much this means to me, and how much this will mean to Mellie. She deserves to know she’s loved.” A bit much, but it was fun to watch Vera and Alice writhe.  

Not to be impertinent, but what happened to: Love your enemies; Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you; As you wish that others would do to you, do so to them; Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned? If Sundin really expected me to rejoice in this petty act of retribution and bullying, she will be sadly disappointed for I feel naught but mislead. 

I find Sundin’s interest in crafting her heroine to enjoy demoralizing, degrading and openly shaming her peers, morally repugnant. This passage left me so disheartened that ceasing to read the book became my only viable option. I had hope when I started this piece, and I envisioned it capable of coaxing my spirit to celebrate the values and ideologies with which I was raised. Instead, finding her interests unrighteous, I lost faith in this author, felt deceived and while I will forgive her transgressions, I will not again be tempted to read her work in the future.

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════

He dropped to his backside along the port side of the boat and closed his eyes. To ease suffering, to heal, to prevent death — that’s why he took this position in the first place.

════════════════════════════ ❧  ════════════════════════════