#BookReview Meet Me in Monaco by Hazel Gaynor & Heather Webb @FreshFiction @WmMorrowBooks

Meet Me in Monaco by Hazel Gaynor
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Set in the 1950s against the backdrop of Grace Kelly’s whirlwind romance and glamourous wedding to Prince Rainier of Monaco, New York Times bestselling author Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb take the reader on an evocative sun-drenched journey along the Côte d’Azur in this page-turning novel of passion, fate, and second-chances.

Movie stars and paparazzi flock to Cannes for the glamorous film festival, but Grace Kelly, the biggest star of all, wants only to escape from the flash-bulbs. When struggling perfumer Sophie Duval shelters Miss Kelly in her boutique, fending off a persistent British press photographer, James Henderson, a bond is forged between the two women and sets in motion a chain of events that stretches across thirty years of friendship, love, and tragedy.

James Henderson cannot forget his brief encounter with Sophie Duval. Despite his guilt at being away from his daughter, he takes an assignment to cover the wedding of the century, sailing with Grace Kelly’s wedding party on the SS Constitution from New York. In Monaco, as wedding fever soars and passions and tempers escalate, James and Sophie—like Princess Grace—must ultimately decide what they are prepared to give up for love.

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Each year, paparazzi and movie stars travel to Cannes in droves for the celebrated film festival. Among the movie stars is Grace Kelly, who will soon become the wife of Prince Rainer of Monaco. Grace Kelly, however, just wants to be left alone and it's when she's trying to get away from a photographer that she enters the store of perfumer Sophie Duval. This chance meeting between Miss Kelly and Sophie will forge a bond between them. But, Sophie will also forge another bond with the photographer trying to capture a photo of the future Princess Grace, James Henderson...

READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW OVER AT FRESH FICTION!

#BlogTour The Phantom's Apprentice by Heather Webb @msheatherwebb @hfvbt #bookblogger #bookbloggers

The Phantom's Apprentice by Heather Webb

Publication Date: February 6, 2018

Sonnet Press

Paperback & eBook; 350 Pages

ISBN13: 9780999628508

Genre: Historical Fiction

In this re-imagining of Phantom of the Opera, meet a Christine Daaé you’ve never seen before…

 Christine Daaé sings with her violinist Papa in salons all over Paris, but she longs to practice her favorite pastime—illusions. When her beloved Papa dies during a conjurer’s show, she abandons her magic and surrenders to grief and guilt. Life as a female illusionist seems too dangerous, and she must honor her father’s memory. 

Concerned for her welfare, family friend Professor Delacroix secures an audition for her at the Nouvel Opéra—the most illustrious stage in Europe. Yet Christine soon discovers the darker side of Paris opera. Rumors of murder float through the halls, and she is quickly trapped between a scheming diva and a mysterious phantom. The Angel of Music. 

But is the Angel truly a spirit, or a man obsessed, stalking Christine for mysterious reasons tangled in her past? 

As Christine’s fears mount, she returns to her magical arts with the encouragement of her childhood friend, Raoul. Newfound hope and romance abounds…until one fateful night at the masquerade ball. Those she cares for—Delacroix, the Angel, and even Raoul—aren’t as they seem. Now she must decide whom she trusts and which is her rightful path: singer or illusionist. 

To succeed, she will risk her life in the grandest illusion of all.

“Heather Webb combines music and magic seamlessly in The Phantom’s Apprentice, weaving glittering new threads into the fabric of a classic story. Romantic, suspenseful and inventive, this novel sweeps you along to its breathless conclusion.”—Greer Macallister, USA Today bestselling author of The Magician’s Lie and Girl in Disguise

“Heather Webb’s The Phantom’s Apprentice delivers a performance worthy of the Paris Opera. Unlike so many other renditions of the Phantom’s tale, Webb breathes life into Christine, so often portrayed as the helpless victim. Christine’s evolution from ‘damsel in distress’ to self-reliant woman is masterfully done, hooking the reader from the first page. Webb’s work is immersive, well-crafted, and beautifully paced. A must-read for fans of this bewitching legend!”—Aimie Runyan, author of Daughters of the Night Sky

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | IndieBound | Kobo

About the Author

HEATHER WEBB is the author of historical novels Becoming Josephine and Rodin's Lover, and the anthology Fall of Poppies, which have been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan, Elle, France Magazine, and more, as well as received national starred reviews. RODIN’S LOVER was a Goodreads Top Pick in 2015. Up and coming, Last Christmas in Paris, an epistolary love story set during WWI will release October 3, 2017, and The Phantom's Apprentice, a re-imagining of the Gothic classic Phantom of the Opera from Christine Daae's point of view releases February 6, 2018. To date, her novels have sold in ten countries. Heather is also a professional freelance editor, foodie, and travel fiend.

For more information, please visit Heather's website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, February 5 

Review at The Maiden's Court 

Tuesday, February 6 

Review at The Lit Bitch 

Feature at A Bookaholic Swede 

Wednesday, February 7 

Review at Just One More Chapter 

Review at History From a Woman's Perspective 

Thursday, February 8 

Review at A Bookish Affair 

Friday, February 9 

Review at Trisha Jenn Reads 

Saturday, February 10 

Review at Bookish 

Monday, February 12 

Review at Creating Herstory 

Tuesday, February 13 

Review at Linda's Book Obsession 

Wednesday, February 14 

Review at Clarissa Reads it All 

Thursday, February 15 

Review at 100 Pages a Day 

Friday, February 16 

Review at Baer Books 

Monday, February 19 

Review at Cup of Sensibility 

Review at Let Them Read Books 

Review at Bookworms Anonymous 

Tuesday, February 20 

Feature at Passages to the Past 

Wednesday, February 21 

Review at Writing the Renaissance 

Monday, February 26 

Interview at Jorie Loves a Story

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour we are giving away two paperback copies of The Phantom's Apprentice! To enter, please enter via the Gleam form below. Giveaway Rules – Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on February 26th. You must be 18 or older to enter. – Giveaway is open to US & Canada residents only. – Only one entry per household. – All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion. – Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen. The Phantom's Apprentice

#CoverCrush The Phantom's Apprentice by Heather Webb

For new visitors do I want to explain that Cover Crush is something that my friend Erin over at Flashlight Commentary came up with and I adopted the idea together with some other friends. And, now we try to put up a Cover Crush every week. You can check below my pick of the week for their choices this week!

In this re-imagining of Phantom of the Opera, meet a Christine Daaé you’ve never seen before…

Christine faces an impossible choice: be a star at the Paris opera as Papa always wanted, or follow her dream—to become a master of illusions. First, she must steal the secrets of the enigmatic master who haunts her, survive a world of treachery and murder, and embrace the uncertain promise of love. To succeed, she will risk her life in the grandest illusion of all.

Some thoughts about the cover:

I have loved The Phantom of the Opera since the first time I heard the musical on cd as child and after that have I seen a lot of movies, read the book, and read other authors version of this story. And, I was thrilled to learn that Heather Webb was doing her own book from Christine's POV. And, look at the cover, it's so gorgeous with the mask and the rose petals. 

Check out what my friends have picked for Cover Crush's this week:

Stephanie @ Layered Pages

Heather @ The Maiden’s Court

Holly @ 2 Kids and Tired Books

Colleen @ A Literary Vacation

Meghan @ Of Quills & Vellum

Erin @ Flashlight Commentary

indieBRAG

Rodin's Lover by Heather Webb

Rodin's Lover by Heather Webb
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As a woman, aspiring sculptor Camille Claudel has plenty of critics, especially her ultra-traditional mother. But when Auguste Rodin makes Camille his apprentice—and his muse—their passion inspires groundbreaking works. Yet, Camille’s success is overshadowed by her lover’s rising star, and her obsessions cross the line into madness.

Rodin’s Lover brings to life the volatile love affair between one of the era’s greatest artists and a woman entwined in a tragic dilemma she cannot escape.

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If Camille Claudel had been born a century later she would have been much more accepted and that is very tragic. She was talented, but she lived in a man's world and she just couldn't play by their rules. I mean women apparently had to send a request for permission to wear trousers! All she wanted in her life was to sculpt, but she had to fight for that, her mother was against it, thanks to her father she could do it.

Her relationship with Auguste Rodin was passionate, but her jealousy, her fierce nature, and in the end her illness just couldn't make the relationship work.

I liked the book, but I found it was hard to read also, partly because I know how it would end, but also because I felt that I really never got into the story. I felt sorry for Camille Claudel, but I never really liked her in the book, I liked that she struggled to do something that before just men had done. But often I felt that she lacked the will to compromise, do keep her mouth shut sometimes. But this could easily be a part of her illness, but that didn't make her more sympathetic. She drove her friends away with her sharp tongue and I can understand why they find it was hard to be friendly with her. I don't know if she was this way in real life or if Heather Webb has just portrayed her this way. But it really made it hard to read the book. Also the relationship between Rodin and Claudel, I just didn't feel any passion I was never engrossed by their tragic love story. I didn't feel that moved by their relationship. It was interesting to read to get to know more about them, but I could just as well have read a biographical book about them.

Still, it was a good book, it was never boring, and I liked the small part with Victor Hugo, made me want to know more about him.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!