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Sunday, January 12, 2014

*[Blog Tour Review] Becoming Josephine by Heather Webb

Becoming Josephine: A Novel
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Summary:
 
Rose Tascher sails from her Martinique plantation to Paris to trade her Creole black magic culture for love and adventure. She arrives exultant to follow her dreams of attending Court with Alexandre, her elegant aristocrat and soldier husband. But Alexandre dashes her hopes and abandons her amid the tumult of the French Revolution.

Through her savoir faire, Rose secures her footing in high society, reveling in handsome men and glitzy balls—until the heads of her friends begin to roll.

After narrowly escaping death in the blood-drenched cells of Les Carmes prison, she reinvents herself as Josephine, a socialite of status and power. Yet her youth is fading, and Josephine must choose between a precarious independence and the love of an awkward suitor. Little does she know, he would become the most powerful man of his century- Napoleon Bonaparte.

BECOMING JOSEPHINE is a novel of one woman’s journey to find eternal love and stability, and ultimately to find herself.
Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com
Length: 320 pages (Paperback)
Source: Review Copy
Available Formats: Print/E-book
Publication Date: December 31st 2013 by Plume
 
When I first started this book I hadn't read more than a couple of historical novels focusing on Josephine and those were over 10 years ago when I was 13 and devouring books by the dozens so my memory was reduced to facts I remembered about her from my grade 12 World History class and as much as I've always been curious about her, I just never found a book that made me want to delve into her history even in a fictional sense until I got the invite for this tour that is.
 
Heather Webb created an amazingly real historical back drop for her novel. Even though it's a work of fiction based on fact I can honestly say that she brought the figures in her book to life in a way that really engaged me as a reader and made me want to keep reading for hours on end (which I did and I have no shame in saying that I ignored my Mister for quite a few hours while I was reading).
 
I love books that make me feel for the characters, I love when the emotions on the page jump off and I laugh when they do in the book, or when they express anger and sadness I feel it as if I were that character and that is exactly what I found and exactly what I needed when I read Becoming Josephine and for a debut author to do that really surprised me, but Heather Webb has earned a fan for life in me because of that.
 
I enjoyed the learning curve in the book. I may love history and historical fiction but whenever I read a new book in the genre I always find myself learning things about the time period and the people thanks to the authors doing what can be nothing short of amazing research and I love that about this genre. I always walk away with a new or renewed spark of interest and reading Becoming Josephine  was no exception because now I want to go out and read as much as I can about Josephine and Napoleon.
 
The book as a whole was fabulous. I loved the author's writing style. It was elegant and strong and dramatic and everything I want when I dive into a historical novel like this. I love soaking up the culture, the history and the emotions of the character and I'm glad that I chose to read this one for the tour.
 
I would recommend this to everyone but I know historical fiction buffs will appreciate it most of all. The author has a wonderful talent for bringing her words to life and creating characters (based on real people) that make you feel for them and has an exceptional ability to transport her readers to another time and place.
 
*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my free and honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed herein are 100% my own.
 
Loved It!
★★★★★

To "Like" Heather on Facebook CLICK HERE
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To become a "Fan" of Heather on Goodreads CLICK HERE
To visit Heather's Website CLICK HERE
To purchase the book via Chapters Indigo CLICK HERE
To purchase the book via Amazon CLICK HERE
To purchase the book via Kobo CLICK HERE
To purchase the book via The Book Depository CLICK HERE
To purchase the book via Barnes & Noble CLICK HERE
 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18079742-becoming-josephine?ac=1


 

1 comment:

I love your comments! So feel free to comment away I'll try to answer every post so check back! . Also feel free to leave a link to your blog and I will absolutely follow you back :) Happy Reading!
*Note: This is an award free blog, thanks for thinking of me but I simply don't have the time to pass it along!