Anna Van Housen has a secret. A gifted illusionist, Anna assists her mother, the renowned medium Marguerite Van Housen, in her stage show and séances, easily navigating the underground world of magicians, mediums, and mentalists in 1920’s New York. As the illegitimate daughter of Harry Houdini—or so Marguerite claims—sleight of hand illusions have never been a challenge for...
Posts By Tag
historical fiction
Book Review: Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys
It’s 1950, and as the French Quarter of New Orleans simmers with secrets, seventeen-year-old Josie Moraine is silently stirring a pot of her own. Known among locals as the daughter of a brothel prostitute, Josie wants more out of life than the Big Easy has to offer. She devises a plan get out, but a mysterious death in...
Waiting on Wednesday (April 16)
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly book meme hosted by Breaking the Spine, which spotlights upcoming releases that are eagerly anticipated. This week, I’m waiting on Born of Deception by Teri Brown, which has an expected publication date of June 10, 2014. Budding illusionist Anna Van Housen is on top of the world: after scoring a spot on...
Book Review: A Mad, Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller
Welcome to the world of the fabulously wealthy in London, 1909, where dresses and houses are overwhelmingly opulent, social class means everything, and women are taught to be nothing more than wives and mothers. Into this world comes seventeen-year-old Victoria Darling, who wants only to be an artist—a nearly impossible dream for a girl. After Vicky poses...
Waiting On Wednesday (July 17)
Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine, which spotlights upcoming releases that are eagerly anticipated. This week’s release that I’m (not so) patiently awaiting is Speak Easy by Melanie Harlow, which has an expected publication date of July 22. Temptation is everywhere. It’s July 1923. By day twenty-year-old Tiny O’Mara works for her father’s...
Teaser Tuesday (July 2)
Teaser Tuesday is a weekly event hosted by Should Be Reading, which asks you to grab your current read, open to a random page, and share two teaser sentences. This week’s teaser comes from The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. “It was a rainy winter, with days as gray as lead, and I read Great Expectations about...