The View from Prince Street by Mary Ellen Taylor

Mary Ellen Taylor is another author I've discovered in the past few years that I have grown to enjoy.  Yes, she has entered the category of "immediately purchase" whenever she has a new book published. This is her fourth book, and I was happy to dive back into Alexandria, Virginia and all the characters from her past novels.  It's my humble opinion that in order to get the most out of this book, you should read all the previous books first:  The Union Street Bakery, Sweet Expectations,  and At the Corner of King Street.  I've reviewed them all, so click on the titles to see my reviews.  You don't have to read them, but I believe it makes for a better story when you know the history of the characters.  Mary Ellen Taylor has made a hybrid of sorts:  The Union Street Bakery  and Sweet Expectations are a duo, and then At the Corner of King Street  and The View from Prince Street are another duo.  Characters from the first three novels all appear in Prince Street.  These books are all perfect for a reader who enjoys early American history, relationships between sisters and friends, contemporary issues, and a hint of mystery and the paranormal.  Once again, my history geek jumps out.  I would love love love to visit Alexandria, Virginia and the Washington, D.C. area again.  I had a chance years ago to visit Washington, D.C. for a weekend and have never forgotten how much I enjoyed it.  Someday, I'll go back.  

Prince Street features Rae McDonald and Lisa Smyth, two women connected by the death years before of Rae's older sister Jennifer.  Lisa and Jennifer were best friends and Lisa survived the car accident that killed Jennifer.  Lisa is a recovering alcoholic who travels the country as a photographer, while Rae still lives in her family home in Alexandria and has a successful practice as a therapist.  Both women are a bit of a mess.  Rae is emotionally withdrawn, and Lisa has regular conversations in her head with Jennifer.  Neither has seen each other in years.  Lisa is forced to return to Alexandria to take care of her ailing Aunt Amelia, who has Alzheimer's disease and suddenly confesses she was adopted as a child--and has proof, but no explanation of why her mother never came back for her. 

Enter in Margaret and Addie from the Shire Architectural Salvage Company, who arrive at Rae's house to look over the boxes of letter and documents passed down through Rae's family.  Over 300 years of family history, and a mystery to be solved.  Three witch bottles, three families, and a dark secret that stretches back to the early days of Alexandria.  How are the families connected, and do the witch bottles carry curses that have doomed each descendant of the original settlers?   Can Rae and Lisa find a way to break out of their self-imposed prisons and move on with their lives?  And how do all the dots connect together?  

There is a lot going on in this novel.  Luckily, the author has family trees set up at the beginning of the book.  I found myself looking at them over and over, trying to keep everyone straight.  It is a tangled mix of history that is fascinating and makes for a good story.  Can't wait to see what Mary Ellen Taylor has in store for her next novel.  

Rating:  7/10 for a continuation of family and city history that keeps revealing secrets made hundreds of years ago.  Strong female characters faced with emotional issues that will make or break them.  I love how all the novels by Mary Ellen Taylor fit together, but are distinctly different.  

Available in paperback and  e-book.  

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The View from Prince Street by Mary Ellen Taylor

Finals Finished and a Great Book Review: The Secret Rooms by Catherine Bailey

I'm pretty happy I managed to survive my first semester at grad school.  It was messy, stressful, and tear-inducing, but I learned quite a lot and look forward to starting a new semester in January armed with more wisdom and better time management skills.  

But…I was lucky enough to receive a copy of The Secret Rooms by Catherine Bailey from Penguin and in between finishing up the semester and working, I've been reading it and loving every drama that unfolded.  Anyone who's interested in English history, particularly World War I and the aristocracy, will want to pick this book up and dive into the saga of the Rutland family.

John, the 9th Duke of Rutland, had a few things in his life that determined the path he would take before dying alone amongst the family archives in 1940:  the death of his older brother as a young boy, and an interfering mother who could write letters like a machine.  

Catherine Bailey first came upon the intriguing story of John and the Rutland family while looking through the archives at Belvoir Castle, the Rutland family estate.  She was interested in writing about the soldiers from the area who had fought in World War 1.  It was a big deal for her to be given access to these archives; the five rooms they occupied has been closed off to everyone since John, the 9th Duke of Rutland, had died in 1940.  John had spent the last years of his life (he died relatively young of pneumonia) working on the family history, and amassing archives that were priceless.  Not only did he organize the family history, but he collected other written treasures of English history that went back to the 11th century.  His work creating these archives is just amazing and became his life's obsession.

While Catherine was looking through the archives, she found a few peculiar things missing:  family correspondence from three particular times:  months in 1894, months in 1908, and a five-month period in 1915, when John was involved in World War 1.  Not one bit of information was found for these three time frames.  Catherine came to the conclusion that only John could have removed the letters from the family archives. But why?  Her search and tenacity are amazing, as she uncovers family secrets that haunted John all his life, and shaped the man he became.  Family intrigue, a manipulating mother, a father who was on the brink of financial ruin, and an uncle that John adored all come alive in the letters Catherine finds in the archives.  

This is a really entertaining book, and of course the photos in the book put each person's face in your mind as you read the letters they wrote each other through the years.  It really is hard to believe that the machinations that occurred were not made up fiction, but really happened.  Violet Rutland (John's mother) is one character you won't soon forget.  

Fans of Downton Abbey, World War 1, and anyone who enjoys a bit of history will find this book intriguing and a bit sad, too.  It's available in a few weeks, in paperback.  It would make a great read on a winter's night.  

Rating:  8/10 for readability and a fascinating story researched by Catherine Bailey.  

Available in paperback and e-book.

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Finals Finished and a Great Book Review: The Secret Rooms by Catherine Bailey