Thursday, December 9, 2010

Book Feature/Mini-Review: Love of a Stonemason by Christa Polkinhorn

Love of a StonemasonLove of a Stonemason by Christa Polkinhorn
Publisher: CreateSpace
Release:July 24, 2010
Paperback, 434 pages





I promised Christa I would review her book today and it was my full intention to do so, but I forgot to schedule in the fact that I had two winter concerts to go to this week and a sickness to deal with as well. 

I am in the middle of reading Love of a Stonemason and I have to say what I have read is beautiful.  Christa makes the words flow so easily and the sights, sounds and textures of the setting come through beautifully.  She really paints the picture of the story with her words.  So far I am loving the characters of Karla and Andreas, they feel very real to me.  I am also intrigued with where life is taking them, both figuratively and literally.  They are traveling and exploring and I am enjoying every minute.   I will post a full review within the next day or two when I finish the book, but know this is a prize of a book if it continues the way it has started and I fully believe it will.



About the Book:

The young painter, Karla Bocelli, is no stranger to loss. When she was five years old, her mother died in a car crash in the south of Switzerland. Her Peruvian father lives at the other end of the world, and a year ago, her aunt and guardian passed away. Now, at age twenty-four, Karla almost gets hit by a speeding car. As if this wasn't fateful enough, Andreas, the driver, turns out to be a sculptor and carver of tombstones. In spite of his profession, Andreas is anything but morbid. Quick-tempered and intense, he exudes a rough-and-tumble energy. After a tumultuous start of their relationship, Karla comes to see in Andreas the "rock in her life," the perfect antidote to her fears of abandonment and bouts of depression. Andreas, however, wrestles with his own ghosts: an alcoholic father who abused him as a child and his own fits of anger. Together, the two artists must confront the demons that haunt them. Love of a Stonemason is a story about the struggle of two artists with their past, their family, their creativity, and their love for each other. Told from the point of view of Karla, it depicts the world through her painter's sensibility. It takes the reader on a journey full of sights, smells, tastes, and sounds from the south of Switzerland to Italy and the Peruvian Andes.

About the Author:
Christa Polkinhorn, originally from Switzerland, lives and works as writer and translator in Santa Monica, California. She divides her time between the United States and Switzerland and has strong ties to both countries. Her poems have appeared in various poetry magazines. She is the author of Path of Fire, a collection of poems published by Finishing Line Press. Love of a Stonemason is her first novel.
 
Author’s page on Amazon with the ebook for Kindle and the trade paperback version
Christa's page on Smashwords with a variety of ebook versions


FTC Information: I received this book from the author for an honest review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.

2011 Challenge: Show Me the Free Reading Challenge

Since I received my Kindle this past February I have obtained a lot of free ebooks from Amazon and have yet to read one of them.  So when I saw the Show Me the Free Reading Challenge hosted by The Unread Reader, I knew I wanted to join.

To find out more about the specifics of the challenge, go here.  To sign up and obtain the buttons you can go here.

I am going to sign up at the Coupon Clipper level which is the minimum, 12 Books.  I'm doing the minimum because I know how hard it is for me to get to the books I own versus the books I need to review.  But this way I'm committing to reading at least 1 book a month.



Here are some of the books I am contemplating but this list is subject to change depending on what comes out in the next year:


  1. Code Blue by Richard L. Mabry
  2. The Paradise War by Stephen R. Lawhead
  3. Deeper Waters by Robert Whitlow
  4. House of Dark Shadows by Robert Liparulo
  5. Thirsty by Tracey Bateman 
  6. The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox
  7. Bake Sale Murder by Leslie Meier
  8. The Sari Shop Widow by Shobhan Bantwal
  9. Mixed Bags by Melody Carlson
  10. St. Dale by Sharyn McCrumb
  11. Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning
  12. Critical Care by Candace Calvert
I'll update on this post as I finish books and post the reviews.