book review and crossword – Read First Chapter.com

DESCRIPTION FROM AMAZON.com:

A gothic thriller full of romance, murder, and mayhem. It begins with a priceless heirloom that turns into a horrible curse…

A parson’s daughter, Druscilla Delaney is enthralled by her wealthy, glamorous neighbors—the Framlings—and their handsome son, Fabian. They gift her a priceless heirloom, a beautiful fan, but what happens when this fan turns into a curse? Everything changes.

Beautiful as its peacock feathers may be, the fan hidden deep in the Framling mansion has a legacy of death and destruction. Druscilla has no idea she’s been marked by it. Her life is in danger.

Will the fan’s dark past prove less of a danger than Fabian Framling himself though? Dark, brooding, and dominating, could he be the one to save her from the fan’s cruel fate or do the opposite: cause her death?

Including elements of historical romance and romantic suspense, The India Fan is a spellbinding tale from the Queen of Gothic Romance. Fast paced and gripping for fans of Georgette Heyer, Mary Stewart, and Daphne Du Maurier.

“A mesmerizing story of blackmail, romance, and deception.”—Associated Press

REVIEW AS A READER:

cartoon-cat-reading-chillin I purchased this book based on reading another of Victoria Holt’s books. I wasn’t instantly in love with this book but the author’s writing style is so beautiful, that alone kept me going. However, I slowly fell in love with the characters — but not because they were great people, most of them were flawed in one way or another. I fell in love with the story itself and how it all unfolded to the main character, Drusilla.

Although this was not a classic gothic story, it was a story about aristocrats and the working class, the differences between them, and how it affects everyone involved in the story. So it had a gothic feel to it because there was a mystery or two that laced all the way through the story.

The story contained a few historical elements but only in a general way. The drama took place at a time when the British ruled India and the Indians had enough of it. There was tension in the air and this added to the suspense of the book. Without too much dry historical information, the conflict between the two sides played out in the drama among and between all of the characters. It’s a story wasn’t political at all. It explained only in a cursory way both sides of the conflict. Ms. Holt presented the story from characters on both sides of the conflict.

This was a family saga. The narrative took place over half a lifetime, and the characters grew and changed within the changing drama. There were two love interests on Drusilla’s mind and it wasn’t revealed which way she would go until the last few pages. I was guessing the entire way through.

This is the third book I’ve read by Victoria Hold. The book was as beautifully written as the other two. The story is filled with interesting characters right out of Hollywood. The narrative was gripping, suspenseful, mysterious and hauntingly sad at certain times. I absolutely loved this book and I would give it 5 stars and will read it again I’m sure.

MY REVIEW AS AN AUTHOR:

I learned quite a bit as an author from this novel. I didn’t realize it would be a saga when I picked it up but the story was so riveting that it went fast. It wasn’t until about three-quarters of the way through the book that I realized the story had covered decades of time.

It was interesting and enlightening to see how Ms. Holt handled the passage of time. She cleverly and sometimes casually mentioned the passage of a few years here and there, and the story continued its natural flow.

The story was also broken into sections that made it easier for the reader to remember where the drama was taking place. There was a section called India; and then another section titled England when they returned. Even if a reader put the book down, it would have been easy to figure out where everyone was with a flip of a few pages.

Ms. Holt had a way of adding just enough historical information to enrich the story and yet, not enough to call this a historical fiction. This was a big eye opener. I’m so used to reading these big research dumps in fiction that I was surprised but pleased by Victoria Holt’s brevity. She used no real dates or formal event names. There was only a passing mention of what was in the air around them and how it was affecting everyone. As an author, I stood in awe of her ability to write with this type of know-how and flair.

HOW I KEEP TRACK AS AN AUTHOR:

I wanted to pass on my technique in case this blog post is being read by other authors. I would love to hear other authors’ reviews of books as a reader and author.

I read on the Kindle app on a 10 inch tablet. I use the yellow highlighter to underscore any character names, story-changing action and anything else I want to remember. Then I use my blue highlighter as a author to highlight my favorite turn of phrases, which I will post below. I use blue to also keep track of any words or historical terms I want to note in a large file I’ve been nursing lately.

Reading in the kindle app allows you to look up any word that comes up that’s unfamiliar. I love this technology and I highlight in blue if I want to make sure I put this on my list of words to learn and yellow if I manage to add a note with the definition if it’s only a word or two.

Occasionally, I will use my orange highlighter to point out something that is unusual about the book or a section I want to make a note about or revisit after I finish the book. This allows me to go back and take the time to see what captured my attention during the read and take another look after I finish the story.

ANOTHER EXERCISE I THINK IS HELPFUL:

I plan to write a bit more gothic romance myself when I’m done with my present book – the fifth and final book in my Newport Vampire Series. As I read through gothic books at this time, I’m keeping a running list of architectural terms, castle-part terms, gothic atmospheric terms, anything that I may want to reference as I enter into this new area of writing.

I would love to know if anyone else does this!

I’ve already rated the book five stars as a reader and I would also rate this book as a five star as an author read. It is a great book to see how an author adds history to enrich the story, how to handle the passage of time, character development, how to present a decade’s long family saga and more. So if you’re just breaking into the gothic romance area or you want to see the difference between adding a little history verses writing an actual historical novel, this is great choice.

MY FAVORITE TURN OF PHRASES:

She was spoken of in hushed whispers as though those who mentioned her feared they might be taking her name in vain; in my youthful mind she ranked with the Queen and was second only to God.
I looked fearfully at the portraits. They seemed like real people regarding me severely for having trespassed into their domain. This shows the author giving the pictures a personality while passing over background information.
There was a lump in my throat. I did not cry. Crying for me was for lighter emotions. Something within me was deeply hurt and I believed that the wound would be with me forever.
She did not mention Him because he was dead, and when people died, I realized, their sins were washed away by the all-important respect.
It was what is referred to as the cockney spirit; and it certainly seemed to be a product of the streets of London.
She had small hands and feet and sailed rather than walked, her voluminous skirt making a gentle swishing noise as she moved.
I thought of a sharp retort, but I spoke gently, for there is something more than ordinarily pathetic about the arrogant when they are brought low. I was looking at a very frightened girl, as well she might be.
It was a bitter blow to my pride rather than to my deep emotions.
He looked at me rather conspiratorially . . .
. . . poor old man who seemed nothing but rags and bones.
Often great beauty will disguise emptiness and sometimes evil.
Then there was a shattering explosion. [spoiler removal] threw up his hands. I heard the knife fall to the ground; he reeled drunkenly before he collapsed in a heap at my feet.The fact that we were women and children and elderly people would not save us. This was a war against a race, not against individual people.

CROSSWORD BASED ON THE INDIA FAN BY VICTORIA HOLT

Crossword-Indian-Fan-Victoria-Holt Click here to do the crossword puzzle online

Click here to download the crossword, the clues and the answers as a pdf from Google Drive

Amazon Description of the Book:

A young woman uncovers her family’s dark secrets in this mystery and her connection to a famously cursed gemstone in this Victorian gothic thriller from an internationally bestselling author

To secure her inheritance, Jessica Clavering agrees to a marriage of convenience, but will her handsome new husband’s desire for her ever surpass his obsession with a famously cursed opal?

Raised in the shadow of her family’s financial ruin, Jessica has never felt as though she fit in. When her only friend, an elderly neighbor, offers her the chance at a new life, she’s eager to take it. His only condition: she must marry her son, Joss.

The newlyweds inherit a fabled opal mine in Australia. It’s only once they arrive on the faraway continent that Jessica starts to uncover her family’s dark past and her connection to the Green Flash, an exquisite and spellbinding opal. The stone arouses a dangerous desire in anyone who sees it—even her husband.

Blending historical romance with elements of the paranormal, The Pride of the Peacock is an exhilarating tale from the Queen of Gothic Romance. Fans of Susanna Kearsley, Daphne Du Maurier, and Kate Morton will be spellbound by classic story of an overseas voyage, a cursed opal, and forbidden desire.

MY REIVEW AS AN AUTHOR:

This was the second Victoria Holt Gothic book I read. I loved this one as well. I can see that the her style is formulaic — but in a good way. She includes all of the elements of a great gothic story: A large house, a story weaving around the wealthy vs. a lower caste in society, a family secret, a mysterious question arises that weaves all the way through the story. As an author, I could see the formula, but it didn’t take away from the enjoyment of the story, not one bit.

This story included a journey into the world of opal minors and it gave the reader a historical view and close up view of the life of an opal minor. This was the educational part of the plot, and it was very enjoyable. I would never have chosen to read a magazine article about mining for opals, but the way Ms. Holt weaved it into the story added a depth to the story and gave the reader the experience of entering a different world.

Her writing style was just as beautiful as the first novel. I found myself watching what verbs she chose to use, and how she described her scenes. I learned a lot about weaving descriptions into the storyline. Below I have a few of my favorite ‘turn of phrases’.

I don’t want to go into the storyline too deeply, but it was a story of a young woman who saved the life of a neighbor, who is intricately involved in her family in ways she has no idea of in the first half of the story. She learns about this connection one secret at a time, and her fate is also taken up by the man she saved.

I went through my notes after reading the book and put together a crossword puzzle for anyone who also read the book and wants to try their hand at it. I used mostly the words I either had never heard before or had to look up! Below, I will speak to the gothic issues that we are all interested in.

SUSPENSE: For suspense, I give this a nine out of ten. This story twisted and turned in a few different directions, enough to keep me reading chapter after chapter, long after I planned to put the book down.

PLOTTING: I give this book a perfect 10 too. The story and relationships were well planned. The clues were dropped into the storyline in a way that kept the reader — and the main character — guessing. Just when you thought you had figured out where the story was going, there was a plot twist.

GOTHIC ELEMENTS: I give the story an 7 out of 10, not because it was lacking anything. This is more of a rating based on how gothic the story was in it’s setting and timeframe. Dracula would get a 10 in gothic elements, but this story was less than that level of dark or scary. I would say it was more of a gothic intrigue. I would give it a 10 in gothic intrigue.

CLARITY OF WRITING: I give this book a perfect 10 just like the last one. There was never a time when I had to re-read the story to figure out who was talking or what was going on. The story was quite intricate, but Victoria Holt’s writing style is so crisp and clear, the reader is never abandoned on the page. It was easy to read and clearly written. The editing and grammar were perfect.

PROSE: I give this book a perfect 10 again because she is a master at writing prose. I read a bit about the author’s story and she wrote for many years and wrote I think well over a hundred books or more, so she rose to the top in my opinion. I enjoyed every page of this book, just as I did the last book.

I have even chosen another Victoria Holt book to read next. I may have found my favorite author!

BELOW ARE MY FAVORITE TURN OF PHRASES:

❖ He was an actor of a kind, for when he talked of people his voice and his expression would change.

❖ Hers was an evil sort of beauty. She was what was known as a siren, the sort who would lure men to destruction.

❖ Little eddies of dust swirled just above the ground, and I thought: The wind is certainly rising.

THE CROSSWORD:

CROSSWORD – Click on the graphic below to get he google drive file to download. It has the puzzle, the clues as well as the answers (on page 3)
Do the crossword online here.

Tag: book review and crossword

Book Review and Crossword – The Indian Fan by Victoria Holt