If You Live In a Small House by Sandra Park

This story takes place on the island of Oahu in the early 1950’s before Hawaiian statehood. The heart of the story lies with a large, multigenerational Korean-American family living under one roof – immigrant grandmother and grandfather, mother, father, children, Auntie and Uncles. The story bears the traces of war fatigue from post World War II and the Korean War and deals with what those conflicts did to a population fighting an enemy that looked like them in different uniforms.

The book is not so much a self-contained novella as a series of vignettes and scenes, each written in beautiful language. The final scene is a powerful re-telling of the Hawaiin Tsunami and it certainly derives some of its power because of the reader’s new-found knowledge of Tsunami.

The author starts the Tsunami sequence by describing the picnic or party feel the Tsunami warning gave. Oahu’s inhabitants travel into the hills and enjoy the hospitality of their neighbors, like Mr. Casella, who serves his spicy chili and Mrs. Casella who makes sweet chili for those who prefer it. The warning continues for two days and many no longer take it seriously. Then, in her typically languid language, the author paints the following scene where the reader can only read in horror, knowing what will happen:

A clear mile of the bay’s floor was exposed; it was a strange sight that no one could compare to anything in memory.

On the wet stretch of sand, fishers were flopping everywhere. Ruts and ledges of sand, colorful rubber slippers here and there, seaweed clumped like gelatinous trees or light green and matted like air, piles of pocked gray-white rocks, smooth green glass, shells that looked like ordinary gravel, and bits of trash that looked like precious jewels. Word spread and a few people ventured out to see for themselves. There were many who were tired of waiting. Earlier feelings of dread were overrun by boredom. Among the restless, there was no expectation that waiting any longer would make a difference. Every passing hour added credence to their suspicion that endless waiting was for fools. The sky was clear blue. Bird were silent, out of sight.

By noon, it looked like the day before, people everywhere. A wave of people rushed from the highest hill to the bottom of the sea. Adults behaved like children, pointing and laughing.

Everyone wanted to start a collection. The bay turned into a concourse of opportunity, crawling with treasure hunters. There were more fish and ono seaweed than anybody could possibly gather. Buckets and wheelbarrows were not big enough to hold the harvest. Separating collectibles from garbage was exhausting guesswork, an impossible predicament of what to keep, what to throw away. People were picking through the littered expanse, relentless in their efforts, driven by the unforeseen opportunity. A bow-legged woman said that someone found a wedding ring with a diamond as big as a tooth. Radio broadcasts continued to issue warnings.

On a hill overlooking the bay, Mr. and Mrs. Casella were sitting in their kitchen, listening to the radio. Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars. Mrs. Casella was secretly in love with Ol’ Blue Eyes. She poured a cup of coffee for her husband. She made more coffee for the people still camped on their lawn.

When the wave train came, it rolled forward at over two hundred miles per hour.”

This scene was by far the most powerful in the book and it’s probably the largest and most complete of the vignettes. Since the story doesn’t have a primary point of view character and is written almost as narrative nonfiction, plot is not the novella’s strongest point. However, if you’re interested in Hawaii or the 1950s, or if you're interested in detailing this time period to a classroom, this book's detailed, vivid portrayal of everyday life in Oahu is worth your time.

The Bells by Richard Harvell

This is a mesmerizing debut novel about a young boy named Moses. The waif is born to a deaf mute woman and they live in utter poverty, completely dependent upon scraps to survive. His mother’s only role in life is to toll the massive church bells in the church tower that provides them with a place to live.

From his earliest memories, Moses is attuned to the sound, able to discern even the minutest of changes or nuances, and he is entranced by the melodius sounds. Everyone believes he is like his mother, deaf and mute. But when his true father, the priest of that church accidentally discovers Moses can hear and talk, his father attempts to deafen him out of fear the secret of his paternity will be discovered. When that failed, he threw Moses into the raging river. Moses is rescued by two wandering monks and ultimately is brought to a monastery to live. There, he encounters Ulrich who attempts to preserve Moses’ beautiful voice by castrating him.

As a castrato, Moses encounters adversity wherever he goes – from the taunting of boys in the monastery, to the ballrooms of Vienna. When Moses falls in love with the beautiful Amalia, and she with him, their lives are embroiled in turmoil as others seek to tear them apart.

The Bells is a beautiful, tragic love story. The prose is redolent with music, as if the prose creates sounds and tones for the ear. Each page seems to evoke emotion as Moses faces one adversity after another, making the book literally unputdownable. I cannot say enough about the wonders and beauty of this novel and the emotions that grab you with every word. With all sincerity, this is one book you must read, not only for its uniqueness, but because it’s so very, very good!

Wounded Spirits by April Gardner

Amid the ruggedness of frontier America, Adela McGirth and her family struggle to carve a new life for themselves. When a handsome young military officer declares his love for her and intention to marry her, Adela hesitates. She is unsure whether she loves him enough to marry him.

Life on the American frontier is fraught with discord. Soon, a dispute between the natives and the settlers surfaces and explodes into a raid on the fort where Adela and her family have sought safety. The slaughter results in the deaths of hundreds. Away at the time, Zachariah McGirth, Adela’s father is unaware of fate that befalls his family. His wife, Adela and one sister survive and are taken as captives, while Elizabeth is slaughtered. Zachariah vows to revenge their deaths.  Adela soon learns what is important in life. 

Totka is a peaceful Creek warrior caught between his friendship with the Whites and the hate of the Red Stick for the white man. He finds himself reluctantly in charge of the McGirths.

Wounded Spirits is a Christian novel of early America. It starts slowly, but the plot becomes riveting during the raid, which was brilliantly written and described. It is an enjoyable read that explores the faith of one family to endure despite the impossible hardships they find themselves embroiled in.

Crestmont by Holly Weiss

Crestmont is novel about a young woman named Graicie in 1920’s Pennsylvania who has fallen for her sister’s husband. To prevent things from escalating, she leaves her home and family to pursue a career as an opera singer. She finds work as part of the cleaning staff at an enchanting lakeside inn named Crestmont.


The inexperienced Gracie soon finds herself amongst patrons and a colorful cast of fellow employees, including Bessie who proves to be a most difficult colleague. She is befriended by the inn’s owners and their two daughters. Gracie is dependable and a hard worker, and soon she is given better tasks, one of which is to care for an older woman named Mis Cunningham one day a week, which brings down a realm of new problems for Gracie.

Crestmont is very much a character driven novel about how a group of people, thrown together in the confines of a mountain resort, learn to live and interact with each other, each growing and developing along the way.

Author Holly Weiss developed the novel after she visited the hotel. From there, after a bit of research, she developed the characters and story incorporating the inn’s history, architecture and furnishings, and its beautiful surroundings.

Although the heroine tends to be a little weak and the plot is more gentle and flowing than riveting, what I enjoyed most about this novel was being swept away, as if I were on vacation, to the quaint inn. The author did a great job of describing historical details. The prose was pleasant and flowing and allowed one to fall into the story easily. All in all, a delightful, tender summer read.

Marcus of Umbria by Justine Van der Leun

Marcus of Umbria: What an Italian Dog Taught an American Woman about Love is a memoir recounting of the author’s own experience. Told in first person narrative in novel style, it is the story of a young woman from New York who visits Italy on vacation and falls in love with a handsome Italian gardener named Emanuele. Although she returns home after her vacation, the draw to Italy disturbs her peace. Within a few weeks, she abandons her job and life in New York and returns to Italy to move in her new Italian boyfriend and live with him and his family in Collelungo an Umbrian town of 200 people.


However, building a relationship between two people of vastly different cultures is challenging to say the least. As the author immerses herself into a new Italian life, she faces numerous challenges, makes a realm of good friendships, and ultimately finds an unusual, but true love of the heart.

Being first generation Italian Canadian and having travelled to Italy on numerous occasions, what I enjoyed most was that the novel gave a very clear and accurate picture about rural Italian life. The author captured the essence of the culture, the traditional roles of men and women within a family and the bonds that bind them together. She went into wonderful detail about the food, a simpler lifestyle, and the generosity of the Italian villagers. The relationship between rural Italians and their pets was also accurately portrayed in that animals often serve a utilitarian purpose rather than kept as pets.

The author has a nice easy writing style, peppering her prose with poignancy and humour. For the animal lovers or anyone who loves Italy and it’s rich culture, this is a wonderful, satisfying story. Because the story arose from the author’s direct experiences, the novel was rich and vivid and a true pleasure to read.

Book Giveaway: Excerpt From On Falcon's Wings

Avicia stumbled into the courtyard and headed for a dense copse of thick leaves. Her eyes watered with every step. She wiped the tears aside as soon as they fell, intent on the solitude the thicket offered.

“Avicia?” In her path sat the source of her embarrassment.

When Edric rose, she stepped back. He advanced and she put her palms up, warding him off. His fingers closed on her wrists.

“Get away from me! By your own recent observation, I am a lowly retainer, worth no one’s notice.”

“Stop this. I did not mean to hurt you.”

She wriggled from his grasp, desperate for an escape. “Let me go, or I shall scream.”

“You behavior draws unnecessary attention. The King’s guards look at us.”

Two huscarls, who warmed themselves by a fire, nudged each other with shrewd leers. One winked at her and gave a raspy chuckle before he whispered to his companion, who also laughed.

“Come with me,” Edric urged.

She bridled. “Leave me be! How dare you?”

His hand clamped on her wrist. He dragged her toward a timber structure. Behind them, the sounds of laughter echoed.

He pried open the door and pushed her inside. Birds squawked in loud protest at the intrusion. They stood in the King’s mews.

“I am the wife of a knight, not some peasant you can abuse. Let me out, my lord, or I shall scream this place down!”

He barred the door and stepped closer.

Her stomach fluttered and she licked her dry lips.

She wiped her clammy hands in her skirts before she balled them into fists. Her senses grew attuned to the sound of his even breath, the smell of horses and grass that lingered on him. Masculine power emanated in his square shoulders and powerful legs.

“I acted without foresight. I regret my earlier behavior, my lady.”

“You regret it? You regret it! You embarrassed me before my friend, my husband, and a woman whom I despise. Yet you can counter my feelings with simple regret.”

“Shall I fall on my knees and beg forgiveness? I shall if you want!”

As if giving proof of his words, he did so. His body hit the earthen floor with a heavy thud. She held his rapt gaze in silence. The King’s birds quieted.

“Why did you do it?” Her eyes watered again.

“It was unforgivable. I was angry. I did not expect that you might marry, might love another.”

“Should I have brooded forever in your absence?”

He smiled but it seemed insincere, forced. “Was it too much to hope?”

She turned her back on him. “You are an English lord’s son. I lived by the whim of my uncle. Your status and mine dictated our fates.”

“My father is dead. I am the lord of his lands now. Your fate changed for the better, too. You left Lille and your cruel uncle behind.”

“Philippe rescued me.”

Stillness descended in the room again. Stifling warmth grew and swelled in the enclosure. Edric’s boots scraped the earth behind her. She whirled and faced him. He stood with arms rigid.

Perspiration glided down her back underneath her garments. She backed off, but he reached for her and held her firm.

“Do you love the Frenchman?”

“I married him.”

He jerked her toward him. “That is no answer. Do you love him?”

His breath warmed her cheeks. His mouth drew her gaze for a moment before her eyes flitted back to his. “I love him! I carry his child. Did you believe I would never find love again, content with shallow memories of you? There is a great divide, which separates us forever. Hope forsook me when you told me you belonged to another. Philippe found me. He desired and loved me. I chose to love him, too.”

Edric released her so fast, she stumbled a moment. He turned from her, his shoulders hunched. Waves of misery cloaked him. Her heart wrung with pity at the sight.

“Cynwise is no true wife,” he muttered. “She does not love me. I married her because Godwin wished it. She tolerates me at best.”

Avicia blinked back tears. His voice seemed so wooden, remote. With trepidation, she put a hand on his shoulder. Muscles bunched beneath her touch.

“I am sorry for you, my lord.”

He spun around, his face a dark mask. “Do you think I want your compassion? Am I some object of your pity, scorned and ridiculed for my loveless marriage? Do you congratulate yourself for the happiness of your union with the Frenchman?”

“Please, I meant no such thing! I would never pity you, or think myself above you. You have confused me and made me say things I do not mean.”

Edric captured her face in his hands, forced her gaze upward.

Her eyes traced the contours of his mouth. She remembered the pleasure of his lips on hers. Her heart fluttered in tiny ripples.

He loomed closer. “Did you forget me, Avicia?”

She tugged at her lips with her teeth. He inhaled sharply, desire warming his gaze.

“Please release me. I am a married woman, my lord.”

“What did you feel when you first saw me? Why did you stare openly? Did you remember our days together? Have you missed me as much as I have missed you?”

“I love my husband. Edric, do not do this….”

His lips hovered dangerously close to hers. “You forgot to say ‘please’.”

She drew breath in one space. In the next, the feathery light touch of his kiss trailed across her mouth. So softly, her mind scarcely acknowledged it. She leaned toward him, seeking proof of the phantom caress. With a low, urgent chuckle, his mouth pressed against hers in full. She responded with keen insistence. Their lips and breath melded together. Her hands swept up his arms to his face. She held it firm between her fingers.

The distance and time between them faded. His kiss outmatched the hesitant, exploratory embrace of their past. He grew bold and brutal, possessive. She moaned when his hands slid down her waist, cupped her buttocks beneath the coarse wool and lifted her against him. He hardened beneath the layers of cloth, and pressed against her firm, rounded belly where the child grew inside her. Philippe’s child.

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Review: On Falcon's Wings by Lisa Yarde

The story opens in Lille in 11th Century Flanders, with an emotive scene of a public whipping meted out to Avicia, a Normal noblewoman as punishment for the killing of a pet merlin belonging to her mistress. Edric of Newington, a Saxon warrior and the man she loves, witnesses the punishment but is powerless to prevent it.

Orphaned young, Avicia was raised by her uncle, Count Roland and his wife, Countess Gisele, securing a position for her as Lady Matilda’s attendant. Fearing she may never see Edric again, who is on his way back to England, Avicia seeks solace among the falcons she loves.

Edric’s parents, Lord Tunwulf and the Lady Emmeline, arrange his marriage to Cynwise, the former lover of Earl Sweyne, Earl Harold Godwinson’s brother. Resentful, but obedient, Edric embarks on a loveless marriage, made no better when he learns Sweyne was his wife’s attacker, not her lover.

In Flanders, Avicia is rescued from a skittish horse by two brothers in Duke William’s entourage, Hugh of Montford sur Risle and his brother, Phillipe. She treats them both with disdain, but Phillipe comes to her rescue again when, after interrupting a liaison between a woman and her Uncle Rudolf in the mews, he attacks her. Philippe asks for her hand and although Avicia welcomes the opportunity to escape Lille, she is apprehensive of the dark stranger.

Philippe convinces her they belong together and Avicia relents. Alice de Beaufort becomes her close friend in Rouen and they are married at St Ouen church in Normandy.

In Kent, Edric celebrates the birth of a son, and Tunwulf leaves for Sandwich with Earl Godwin. Edric says goodbye to his father, only for him to be lost at sea.

Avicia discovers she is pregnant and persuades Philippe to let her accompany him to England with Duke William. Edric and Cynwise are also bound for London, where Cynwise is asked to care for the two small boys – Wulfnoth, Earl Harold’s son and Haakon, his brother Sewyn’s bastard. Avicia faints when she sets eyes on Edric and informed of her pregnancy Philippe demonstrates his anger at her for keeping it a secret.

Edric and Avicia are thrown together when the English Court moves to Gloucester. Resentful of her happy marriage, Edric insults her previous station in life. Avicia is hurt, but begins to see imperfections in her own husband. She provokes a fight and runs out, straight into Edric. He apologises, but although Avicia acknowledges her feelings for him, she is a married woman and knows they have no future.

Time passes and William, Duke of Normandy casts covetous eyes on the English throne. It is not the first time Edric and Avicia are thrown together, but their repressed mutual passion cannot be disregarded and they embark on a dangerous affair.

Bishop Odo of Bayeux, Duke Harold’s half brother, accuses Avicia of adultery. Reviled by her husband and friends, she is imprisoned, awaiting trial. Edric refuses to abandon Avicia, but his king commands him, saying he can do nothing other than watch her suffer if he stays.

Pregnant, Avicia is sent to the convent of Montivilliers, where the daughter she recognises as being Philippes is born. She travels to Rouen to face her accusers, but before she leaves, she tells Alice she will pledge baby Cecelia to the convent. Alice is confused but Avicia has her reasons.

In Rouen, Avicia will not confess to adultery and is subjected to the ordeal of iron; carrying a hot iron three paces to the cathedral door. Her hand is bandaged and sealed with wax for three days, but if it shows no signs of healing, Avicia will be found guilty. Despite Bishop Odo’s protests, Avicia’s hand begins to heal and she is allowed to leave.

1066 dawns: King Edward dies and Harold becomes king. Edric is now a grandfather and his home is happy, but he is tormented by thoughts of his abandonment of Avicia, who remains at the convent with her daughter. However, she too is haunted by the past and at Alice’s behest, she sets off for England and Saltwood Castle.

Edric joins King Harold in Hastings to repel Duke William of Normandy who has arrived to destroy the Saxon kingdom. The battle is a victory for the Normans, but at a heavy cost to both countries, to Avicia and Edric, as well as the English royals. Will Edric and Avicia find each other again, and will the fates be kind and allow them happiness? Or will they be apart forever?

This Medieval Romance is a story of two lovers separated by fate, wars, loyalties and responsibilities. The inappropriateness of their reunions conspires to separate them even further, though both know there is nothing they want more than to be together. Duty, rage, betrayal and abandonment work against them through their lives, until the final defeat of one king over another offers them a chance.

Ms Yarde has excelled in her debut novel, On Falcon’s Wings by offering a colourful portrayal of Medieval France and England at a time where events change the country forever. Her detailed account of the different factions and the ambitions that resulted in the Norman Conquest is fascinating as well as informative. This book is a must-read for all those who love authentic middle age settings with two star-crossed lovers at its core.