Title: Angel and Apostle Author: Deborah Noyes Publisher: Unbridled Books
My Synopsis:Angel and Apostle tells the story of Pearl, Hester Prynne's daughter from The Scarlet Letter. I read The Scarlet Letter about 30 years ago and do not really remember the ending, but you do not need to have read (or remember) The Scarlet Letter to enjoy Angel and Apostle.
The book starts when Pearl is but a child, living with her mother. She is just as punished by the villager's and their children as her mother is, because of the scarlet letter that her mother has to wear.
Pearl stumbles upon Simon sitting in his garden one day as she flees through the woods to get away from the village children. She soon learns that Simon is blind and is watched over by Liza, a woman hired by his father to take care of him and his mother. His mother is very ill and soon dies. Simon's father returns from sea with Nehemiah, Simon's brother and they make plans to return to England. Nehemiah grudgingly accepts Pearl as he sees how much her friendship with Simon means to both of them. This friendship will over shadow many of the choices Pearl makes in her life and will ultimately effect the path she takes.
When the minister dies who had shielded Hester and daughter through the years, Hester becomes distraught. This just fuels the rumors that he is Pearl's father. Hester is once again put in the stocks. It is here that Pearl discovers who her real father is as she overhears him talking to her mother.
Hester is convinced to leave America and so her and Pearl get passage on Simon's father's ship. In England, Pearl grows up, marries, and tries to make a life for herself apart from her mother. I believe that part of her was still shadowed by her mother's scarlet letter and the shame she felt as a child. I am not going to tell you much about her life in England, as I don't want to give any spoilers, so you will need to read the book!
I loved Pearl's voice in this story. It really gave you a sense of the time period and made you feel as if you were there. I will say that I am not sure that I cared for the ending. It felt very abrupt, but it does leave the door somewhat open for a sequel. . . I very much liked the tone of the book though and am looking forward to reading more by Deborah Noyes.
~I was provided this book for review by Unbridled Books.~
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Denise's Daily Dozen by Denise Austin
Denise Austin shares the perfect plan for anyone who wants to live better and lose weight but can't seem to find the time. Denise's Daily Dozen covers a whole range of health-and diet-related concepts managed in a no-stress, time-conscious program of "twelves" to keep you flexible, strong, trim, and feeling great about yourself. Denise knows these methods work because she uses them personally to stay fit and looking fabulous, and they've worked for countless others, too!
Organized into seven-chapters - one for each day of the week - this perfectly balanced lifestyle program offers a three-week healthy meal plan with simple recipes and delicious foods. Each chapter also features a fully illustrated, total body workout of twelve simple and fun exercises you can do in just twelve minutes any time during the day. Cardio, fat-burning, toning, yoga: they're all here but in a way that maximizes effect while minimizing time. Denise also gives inspiring encouragement and advice in her numerous Daily Dozen tips, including ways to trim food costs as you trim your waistline, boost your energy level, get a better night's sleep, and inspire your family to join you.
Leave any excuses behind. . . Denise wants you energized about your health and fitness so you can feel better about yourself right now! (back cover)
Your Best Body Now by Ashley Marriott and Marc L. Paulsen, M.D.
Each of us is unique. we were all born with a specific body type and body shape based upon our genetics. Although we can't change our genetics we can take charge of our shape by "specific body shape blueprint training." To do this we need to understand our individual shape and put together a workable and enjoyable fitness plan to achieve the best version of ourselves we can. (back cover)
Terror By Night by Terry Caffey with James H. Pence
As I sat there gasping for breath, I turned my attention to my house. Even through the thick woods, I could still see the glow of the fire. As I watched the sparks and smoke soaring over the trees toward heaven, a wave of despair washed over me. My throat thickened, and tears filled my eyes, blurring what little vision I had.
They're gone.
Penny, Erin, Matthew, and Tyler were dead, and no effort on my part would bring them back.
What am I going to do without them? Oh, God, what am I going to do?
I didn't understand any of what was happening, but most of all I couldn't understand why God had turned His back on us and allowed this.
Finally the porch light came on, and my next-door neighbor, Tommy, Opened the door.
"Oh, my God. Helen, come quick!"
Tommy came out and bent down to talk to me. "What happened?"
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"What about Penny and the kids?" he asked.
A tidal wave of grief swept me away.
"They're all dead."
. . .
Then God intervened. (inside cover)
Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession (audio book) by Julie Powell
Julie Powell has always felt about butchers the way other women feel about firemen. Perhaps it is no wonder, then, that she turns to butchery when her own life and marriage are rife with confusion, doubt, and obsession.
Food saved Julie once before. Sparked by an early-onset midlife crisis, she cooked all 524 recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year and discovered herself as a writer. Now she is stuck again, this time between her adoring husband - the two of them as close as two trees twined at the root - and a lover she can't resist. Seeking escape Julie does what any torn and desperate woman would do. She plunges herself elbow-deep -- in meat.
At Fleisher's, a family owned butcher shop in the Catskills, she finds a sympathetic bunch of delightful "meat hippies" willing to train an apprentice. Julie takes instantly to the tough, physical work that (less often than she'd like) distracts her from penetrating thoughts of afternoon trysts.
Inspired by the camaraderie at Fleisher's, Julie embarks on a trip around the world, discovering an international brotherhood of butchers and a confidence she didn't know she had. As her journey progresses, she begins to see where the divisions lie. And how in breaking something down you can begin to make it whole again. (back cover)
Dear John (audio book) by Nicholas Sparks
"Dear John," the letter read. And with those two words, a heart was broken and two lives changed forever.
When Savannah Lynn Curtis comes into his life, John Tyree knows he is ready to turn over a new leaf. An angry rebel, he had enlisted in the army after high school, not knowing what else to do. Then, during a furlough, he meets Savannah, the girl of his dreams. The attraction is mutual and quickly grows into the kind of love that leaves Savannah vowing to wait for John while he finishes his tour of duty. But neither can foresee that 9/11 is about to change the world. Like so many proud men and women, John must choose between love and country. Now, when he finally returns to North Carolina, John will discover how love can transform us in ways we never could have imagined. (back cover)
Angel and Apostle by Deborah Noyes
At the end of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic novel, The Scarlet Letter, we know that Pearl, the elf-child daughter of Hester Prynne, is somewhere in Europe, comfortable, well set, a mother herself now. But it could not have been easy for her to arrive at such a place, when she begins life as the bastard child of a woman publicly humiliated, again and again, in an unrelentingly judgmental Puritan world.
With a brilliant and authentic sense of that time and place, Deborah Noyes envisions the path Pearl takes to make herself whole and to carve her place in the New World. Beautifully written with boundless compassion, Angel and Apostle is a heart-rending and imaginative debut in which Noyes masterfully makes Hawthorne’s character her own. (Unbridledbooks.com)
Bread of Angels: A Memoir of Love and Faith in Damascus by Stephanie Saldana
In 2004, twenty-seven-year-old Stephanie Saldana traveled to Damascus, Syria, on a Fulbright fellowship to study the role of the prophet Jesus in Islam. She was also fleeing a broken heart. It was not an ideal time to be an American in the Middle East -- the United States had recently invaded Iraq, refugees were flooding into Damascus, and dark rumors swirled that Syria might be next to come under American attack. Miserable and lonely, Stephanie left Damascus to visit an ancient Christina monastery carved into the desert cliffs. In that beautiful, austere setting, she confronted her wavering faith and met Frederic, a young French novice monk. As they set out to explore the mysteries entwining Christianity and Islam, Stephanie slowly realized that she had found God again -- and that she was in love with Frederic. But would Frederic choose God or Stephanie?
The Bread of Angels sweeps readers inthe violent extremes of a war-torn region and renews their belief in faith, self-discovery, and the possibility of true love. (back cover)
The Sacred Cipher by Terry Brennan
A secret room has been discovered in the chapel of the Bowery Mission.
And what's hidden inside reveals a mystery of Biblical proportions.
When New Yorker Tom Bohannon uncovers an ancient scroll containing a dead language that has been lost in the sands of time, he doesn't fully comprehend the danger that's about to unfold. Though Tom and his team of ragtag scientists and historians want to decode the ancient text, others don't want the cipher revealed. And they are prepared to kill to keep it hidden.
From a market in nineteenth-century Alexandria to a library in present-day New York to the tunnels beneath Jerusalem, the secret of the cipher is gradually revealing itself across the globe. And for those in its pat, life is about to change -- forever. (back cover)
