Celestine, The House on rue de Maine
by FJ Wilson
Blurb:
In 1795 New Orleans, the Spanish controlled city struggles to rebuild after two devastating fires, and a young teenage girl is just as determined to leave her past behind and start anew. Celestine, the daughter of a Mississippi River prostitute spends most of her time hating herself, her life and the dirty men who rut with her mama. When she turns thirteen and her mama informs her she’ll be servicing the very men she hates and fears, she has no other option but to run to the good nuns of the Ursulines Convent where for the first time she encounters kindness and a different kind of life. After meeting the dashing ship captain Maurice Dubois, a man with his own past demons to reckon with, Celestine allows herself to be truly loved for the first time. But when a shocking turn of events leaves her once again with nothing more than her own wits to survive, Celestine begins to realize the power her intoxicating beauty gives her over men including the debonair and infamous pirate Jean Lafitte. It’s this very power that Celestine learns to capitalize on to begin a new career...not as the common riverfront lady of the night her mother had been...but as the most sought after courtesan in all of New Orleans.
Review:
I am not too sure how to review this book, First off, I did enjoy it! The descriptive writing was fantastic. This was supposed to be a historical romance. Historical -YES! Romance - not quite. Yes there were love interests, sex (plenty of it) but not really a "find your one true love" kind of story. Celestine was a great character, but I kind of saw her as more modern than of this time period (but that wouldn't fit in with the story-line). Take the chance and read it...I do think you will enjoy it too!
The Hornet Slayer
by FJ Wilson
Blurb:
Will a forbidden love on the fringes of society stand the test of time?
“The music was working its magic in the hot afternoon and she moved to the slow beat of its wonderfully flowing rhythm. She could feel the insane heat in his eyes without turning around. He stood, cupped her breasts and gently ran his hands over and under the swell of them, weighing them in his hands, surprised at the heaviness. She laid her head back against him and her hair fell across his chest. Drew’s erection was almost painful. Oh dear sweet Jesus, so this was why Adam was thrown out of Eden, what a ride that must’ve been”.
Drew Down, an accomplished son of a rich Kentucky planter, is destined to be the richest man in America; however, his life-long love for Daisy, a young, beautiful slave on his grandparent’s plantation, threatens to unravel their world and destroy their families. In this sweeping saga beginning with his lessons with the beautiful courtesan Celeste in the house of her grandmother, Celestine, the Civil War, the collapse of King Cotton, and exiles to Europe, two lovers struggle to be true to their hearts despite society’s disapproval.
Review:
The Hornet Slayer is a continuation, of sorts, of the first book Celestine. I really liked this book! This was more of the historical romance I have always read. Finding true love, not being able to act upon it, secrets, and strife abound... this was a fantastic read! To understand some of the characters & information in this book, you really should read Celestine, but it isn't absolutely necessary. Read it, You'll love it!
Author info:
F. J. Wilson was raised on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi in the fishing village/ artist community of Ocean Springs, ninety miles east of New Orleans; the city far from her reach but close to her heart. Much of her time growing up was spent reading under her grandmother’s big camellia bushes hiding from housework and the inevitable call to come inside and help start ‘supper’. In a time when young girls dreamed of big weddings and picket fences, she dreamed of the dangerous but darkly handsome Heathcliff and the English moors of days long gone. With Hemingway’s Paris, Scott Fitzgerald’s language and Margaret Mitchell’s south keeping her company, why would she want to clean her room? Raised with small town values but dreams of a bigger life, she was more than ready to leave home in 1965 and begin her education in the Theatre Department of the University of Southern Miss. From there she finally reached New Orleans and began a film career that sent her to New York, where she co-wrote an episode of the Kate & Allie television show, then to Los Angeles and all over the United States, Canada and New Zealand. Between films if she wasn’t taking screen writing courses she read scripts for independent producers. Her passion for the south and New Orleans brought her back to Mississippi in 2003 to work in the New Orleans film industry. In 2007 her love for writing and her love of films collided and she wrote humorous articles for the Arts and Entertainment Section of the Hattiesburg American Newspaper. She’s been writing short stories and novels about southern people since her retirement in 2008.
F. J. Wilson has one son, Jason Klein. She now lives in Hattiesburg one and a half hours North East of New Orleans with her two Springer/ Hound Spaniels and is at the time married to her computer and her love of writing.
F. J. Wilson has one son, Jason Klein. She now lives in Hattiesburg one and a half hours North East of New Orleans with her two Springer/ Hound Spaniels and is at the time married to her computer and her love of writing.
No comments:
Post a Comment