Tag: The Mistaken Wife

March Read: “The Mistaken Wife”- finished!

Finished March’s Book of the Month- “The Mistaken Wife,” by Rose Melikan. If you like historical fiction that you can set down, go to the computer, brush up on your world history, then continue reading when you’ve satisfied your curiosity about the facts behind the fiction, this series is for you. None of that is necessary, of course, but sometimes you want a book that entertains and provides the opportunity to educate as well. The three books of this series are all packed with lots interesting sleuthing around, all based on historical facts of the period.

from http://rosemelikan.com/ click the photo to take you to her site- great background info to each book there!
Photo from http://rosemelikan.com/
click the photo to take you to her site- great background info to each book there!

In this third novel, Miss Mary Finch is recruited to carry out a mission to sabotage American and French relations during the close of the 18th Century. The author provides a very short, two page summary of international relations between France, England and America at the end of the book- I’d recommend reading that if you want a quick intro to Western history circa the Napoleonic era. No spoilers if you read these back-of-the-book pages, I promise.

This is not a steamy romance- next to none at all, it’s just not that kind of book… but we do see our heroine and hero headed at their own pace toward matrimony.

Like more historical fiction with a strong heroine, detailed events and accurate period culture? I’d also recommend the Lady Emily series by Tasha Alexader.

Why Challenge Yourself? (Book and Project of the Month Pep Talk)

March Read: The Mistaken Wife

March Project: 5K and The Only Two Reasons I Run

The month is halfway over. I am more than halfway through my book, but failing at this running challenge. I won’t give up, though. I have friends who have gone back to college and set far higher fitness goals than I have- out of respect for them, and myself, I’ll keep plugging away. They truly inspire me!

Need a reason to challenge yourself with new projects, plays, and books, recipes, etc.? Go online, look up “neural plasticity” and follow links on reputable websites. (here’s some!) Even better, enter “neural plasticity” into the search bar on Pinterest… now sit back, and start reading. In a nutshell: when you experience new things your brain is energized.

Doing something new every day and going out on a limb is my way to help get over years of anxiety.

If I also end up expanding my cognitive abilities, broaden my perspectives and become more creative, even better!

“Creativity is just connecting things.
When you ask creative people how they did something,
they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it,
they just saw something.
It seemed obvious to them after a while.
That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had
and synthesize new things.
And the reason they were able to do that was that
they’ve had more experiences
or they have thought more about their experiences than other people.
Unfortunately, that’s too rare a commodity.
A lot of people in our industry haven’t had very diverse experiences.
So they don’t have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions
without a broad perspective on the problem.
The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have.”
Steve Jobs

Read the whole WIRED interview here: http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/4.02/jobs_pr.html

March Read: Abby Picks Historical Fiction…. “The Mistaken Wife” or “Hild”

It is time to choose a new Book of the Month! Today, Abby the Labby gets to pick, and she’s quite excited… because we are bribing her with a treat to keep her sitting down and posing for this photo. What’s it gonna be? She knows I don’t want another edjoo-ma-cative read after January’s “The Happiness Project” and  February’s “Nikon D3300 for Dummies.” She also knows that I am fond of historical fiction, and have picked up two recently.

“Hild,” is book number one by Nicola Griffith, who, through much research created a novel about what 7th century Britain would be like for the woman who would be later known as Saint Hilda. This book came highly recommended by staff at a favorite small bookstore. Book number two is “The Mistaken Wife,” third in a series including “The Blackstone Key” and “The Counterfeit Guest,” all by Rose Melikan.

Abby during the discernment process:

Sure looks like she is leaning toward "Hild," and check out all the wine we won at the school's raffle! We've NEVER won anything like that, WOO HOO!!!
Sure looks like she is leaning toward “Hild,” and check out all the wine we won at the school’s raffle! We’ve NEVER won anything like that, WOO HOO!!
Is Abby choosing "Hild?" Is she in a 7th century Britain mood? Hmmm...
Is Abby choosing “Hild?” Is she in a 7th century Britain mood? Hmmm…

So what is Abby going to choose for me? It’s…

IT’S “THE MISTAKEN WIFE!” But, how do we know which one Abby chose? It came down to which book she drooled on, honestly. Remember, we had treats for her, and she was quite aware of it. Maybe she also knew that I already read Melikan’s first two stories about Mary Finch, reluctant heiress and even more reluctant spy during the close of the 1700’s. Either book presented a win-win situation for me- I’m a sucker for well researched historical fiction,  And Harry Potter. If you ever feel like discussing the minutiae of that universe, I’m your Potterverse Pal.