Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours: The Secret Language Of Stones

The Secret Language of Stones by M.J. Rose

Publication Date: July 19, 2016

Atria Books

Hardcover & eBook; 320 Pages

Series: The Daughters of La Lune, Book Two

Genre: Historical Fiction/Fantasy

As World War I rages and the Romanov dynasty reaches its sudden, brutal end, a young jewelry maker discovers love, passion, and her own healing powers in this rich and romantic ghost story, the perfect follow-up to M.J. Rose’s “brilliantly crafted” (Providence Journal) novel The Witch of Painted Sorrows.

Nestled within Paris’s historic Palais Royal is a jewelry store unlike any other. La Fantasie Russie is owned by Pavel Orloff, protégé to the famous Faberge, and is known by the city’s fashion elite as the place to find the rarest of gemstones and the most unique designs. But war has transformed Paris from a city of style and romance to a place of fear and mourning. In the summer of 1918, places where lovers used to walk, widows now wander alone.

So it is from La Fantasie Russie’s workshop that young, ambitious Opaline Duplessi now spends her time making trench watches for soldiers at the front, as well as mourning jewelry for the mothers, wives, and lovers of those who have fallen. People say that Opaline’s creations are magical. But magic is a word Opaline would rather not use. The concept is too closely associated with her mother Sandrine, who practices the dark arts passed down from their ancestor La Lune, one of sixteenth century Paris’s most famous courtesans.

But Opaline does have a rare gift even she can’t deny, a form of lithomancy that allows her to translate the energy emanating from stones. Certain gemstones, combined with a personal item, such as a lock of hair, enable her to receive messages from beyond the grave. In her mind, she is no mystic, but merely a messenger, giving voice to soldiers who died before they were able to properly express themselves to loved ones. Until one day, one of these fallen soldiers communicates a message—directly to her.

So begins a dangerous journey that will take Opaline into the darkest corners of wartime Paris and across the English Channel, where the exiled Romanov dowager empress is waiting to discover the fate of her family. Full of romance, seduction, and a love so powerful it reaches beyond the grave, The Secret Language of Stones is yet another “spellbindingly haunting” (Suspense magazine), “entrancing read that will long be savored” (Library Journal, starred review).

“A spellbinding ghost story that communicates the power of love and redemption through Rose's extraordinary, magical lens.” (Alyson Richman, internationally bestselling author of The Lost Wife)

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | IndieBound

About the Author

M.J. Rose grew up in New York City mostly in the labyrinthine galleries of the Metropolitan Museum, the dark tunnels and lush gardens of Central Park and reading her mother’s favorite books before she was allowed.

She is the author of more than a dozen novels, the co-president and founding board member of International Thriller Writers and the founder of the first marketing company for authors: AuthorBuzz.com. She lives in Greenwich, Connecticut. Visit her online at MJRose.com.

Connect with M.J. Rose on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Goodreads.

Sign up for M.J. Rose’s newsletter and get information about new releases, free book downloads, contests, excerpts and more.

Review: 

Rating: 5 flowers

Blog Tour Schedule

Tuesday, July 12
Review at The Lit Bitch
Review at The Mad Reviewer
Review at Peeking Between the Pages

Wednesday, July 13
Spotlight at Passages to the Past

Thursday, July 14
Spotlight at Teddy Rose Book Reviews

Friday, July 15
Review at A Dream within a Dream

Monday, July 18
Review at Oh, for the Hook of a Book!

Tuesday, July 19
Review at First Impressions Reviews

Wednesday, July 20
Review at Laura's Interests

Thursday, July 21
Review at Read Love Blog

Friday, July 22
Review at Nerd in New York
Spotlight at I Heart Reading

Monday, July 25
Review at Broken Teepee
Spotlight at Let Them Read Books

Tuesday, July 26
Review at Historical Fiction Obsession

Wednesday, July 27
Interview at First Impressions Reviews

Thursday, July 28
Review at Creating Herstory

Friday, July 29
Review at Beth's Book Nook Blog

Monday, August 1
Review at The Book Junkie Reads

Tuesday, August 2
Interview at The Book Junkie Reads

Wednesday, August 3
Review at Diana's Book Reviews

Thursday, August 4
Interview at Diana's Book Reviews

Friday, August 5
Review at A Chick Who Reads
Spotlight at What Is That Book About

Monday, August 8
Review at So Many Books, So Little Time

Tuesday, August 9
Review at Worth Getting in Bed For

Wednesday, August 10
Review at Jorie Loves a Story
Review at CelticLady's Reviews

Thursday, August 11
Review at Girls Just Reading

Friday, August 12
Review at Dianne Ascroft's Blog

Monday, August 15
Review at Fangirls Ahead!

Tuesday, August 16
Review at Book Lovers Paradise
Review at The True Book Addict

Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours Book Review: The Witch Of Painted Sorrows

Publication Date: March 17, 2015
Atria Books
Formats: Hardcover, Ebook
Pages: 384

Genre: Historical Mystery





READ AN EXCERPT.

Possession. Power. Passion. International bestselling novelist M.J. Rose creates her most provocative and magical spellbinder yet in this erotic, gothic novel set against the lavish spectacle of 1890s Belle Époque Paris.

Sandrine Salome runs away to her grandmother’s Parisian mansion to escape her dangerous husband, but what she finds is even more menacing. The house, famous for its lavish art collection and elegant salons, is mysteriously closed up. Although her grandmother insits it’s dangerous for Sandrine to visit, she defies her and meets Julien Duplessi, a mesmerizing young architect. Together they explore the hidden night world of Paris, the forbidden occult underground and Sandrine’s deepest desires.

Among the bohemians and the demi-monde, Sandrine discovers her erotic nature as a lover and painter. Then darker influences threaten – her cold and cruel husband is tracking her down and something sinister is taking hold, changing Sandrine, altering her. She’s become possessed by La Lune: A witch, a legend and a sixteenth-century courtesan, who opens up her life to a darkness that may become a gift or a curse.

This is Sandrine’s “wild night of the soul,” her odyssey in the magnificent city of Paris, of art, love and witchery.

Praise for the novels of M.J. Rose

The Witch of Painted Sorrows

“Rose's new series offers her specialty, a unique and captivating supernatural angle, set in an intriguing belle epoque Paris—a perfect match for the author's lush descriptions, intricate plot and mesmerizing storytelling. A cliffhanger ending will leave readers hungry for the next volume. Sensual, evocative, mysterious and haunting.” (Kirkus Reviews)

“A haunting tale of possession.” (Publishers Weekly)

The Collector of Dying Breaths

"Breathtaking...combines fascinating history, torrid romance and a compelling mystery into a marvelous package that will entice fans of Anne Rice and Diana Gabaldon.” (Associated Press)

"A page-turning, alluring concoction of fiction infused with fantastical yet actual history. Readers will be charmed by her well-drawn and memorable characters, and they will be mesmerized by her enchanting narrative, which takes them on a mystical and magical journey." (Library Journal (starred))

"A terrific piece of entertainment." (CT Post)

"Wondrously original... elegantly written. Rose manages to utterly suspend our disbelief in a book that leaves us, appropriately enough, breathless." (Providence Journal)

"Mysterious, magical, and mythical…what a joy to read!" (Sara Gruen, New York Times bestselling author of Water for Elephants)

Seduction

"Atmospherically romantic and perfectly toned. Classy and elegant literary seduction of the highest measure. As wondrously crafted as it is original." (Providence Journal)

"Readers will be enchanted by M.J. Rose's supernaturally charged novel Seduction, inspired by Victor Hugo's self-imposed exile on the British island of Jersey in the 1850s." (USA Today)

“Has just about everything a thriller fan could wish for.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

“Full of well-researched history, the paranormal, and modern intrigue, this atmospheric tale of suspense is fully engrossing to those willing to suspend their disbelief.” (Library Journal (starred review))

The Book of Lost Fragrances

"A compelling page turner...Once you catch a whiff, you will be enchanted." (Associated Press)

"M.J. Rose is a bold, unflinching writer and her resolute honesty puts her in a class by herself." (Laura Lippman)

"The Book of Lost Fragrances resonates with spirit, blending myth with reality, tragedy with triumph, pain with joy. You'll find yourself questioning everything you believe--and wanting more." (Steve Berry)

“Provocative…a sweeping sense of romance [and] history.” (Cleveland Plain-Dealer)

Buy the Book

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Review: I absolutely adore M.J. Rose's Reincarnationist series. This isn't one of those books, but there is a small mention of the famous fragrance makers in this book.



What I love about Rose's writing is the way you really feel like you are transported into the story, not to mention the sensuality of the story.



The story takes place in the 1890s in France. This story, like her others has a great sense of family as well as suspense and a bit of the paranormal.


Sandrine is an interesting character and your feelings for her will change as the book progresses, mostly because of Le Lune. To go into how the character changes would spoil the story for the reader, but suffice to say, it is not for the better in some ways. In fact, the way Sandrine treats her grandmother makes me want to choke her, but the behavior is understandable. Its just hard to handle because her grandmere is my favorite character in the book.


Why you ask? Because she's a courtesan. How cool is that really? And she's classy.


Her relationship with Julien is perfect. It starts out innocently and works its way to erotic, without being trashy. The scene where Sandrine paints Julien is so powerful and so erotic that you may need a cold shower after reading it.


Sandrine's family history is captivating and the story of Le Lune will keep you turning the pages. This isn't a light fluffy novel either, as you might guess if you've read any of Rose's past work.  This is a novel of possession and the occult. So it's quite dark at times.



Highly recommended!

Rating 5 flowers

About the Author

M.J. Rose grew up in New York City mostly in the labyrinthine galleries of the Metropolitan Museum, the dark tunnels and lush gardens of Central Park and reading her mother's favorite books before she was allowed.

She is the author of more than a dozen novels, the co-president and founding board member of International Thriller Writers and the founder of the first marketing company for authors: AuthorBuzz.com. She lives in Greenwich, Connecticut. Visit her online at MJRose.com.

Connect with M.J. Rose on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Goodreads.

Sign up for M.J. Rose's newsletter and get information about new releases, free book downloads, contests, excerpts and more.

Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours Book Review: The Collector Of Dying Breaths

Author: MJ Rose
Title: The Collector Of Dying Breaths
Publication Date: April 8, 2014
Atria Books
Hardcover; 384p
Review copy provided by: Net Galley
ISBN-10: 1451621531
Book Blurb:
From one of America’s most imaginative storytellers comes a passionate tale of love and treachery, spanning the days of Catherine de Medici’s court to the twenty-first century and starring a woman drawn back, time and again, to the past.

In 1533, an Italian orphan with an uncanny knack for creating fragrance is plucked from poverty to become Catherine de Medici’s perfumer. To repay his debt, over the years René le Florentine is occasionally called upon to put his vast knowledge to a darker purpose: the creation of deadly poisons used to dispatch the Queen’s rivals.

But it’s René’s other passion—a desire to reanimate a human breath, to bring back the lives of the two people whose deaths have devastated him—that incites a dangerous treasure hunt five centuries later. That’s when Jac L’Etoile—suffering from a heartache of her own—becomes obsessed with the possibility of unlocking Rene’s secret to immortality.

Soon Jac’s search reconnects her with Griffin North, a man she’s loved her entire life. Together they confront an eccentric heiress whose art collection rivals many museums and who is determined to keep her treasures close at hand, not just in this life but in her next.

Set in the forest of Fontainebleau, crisscrossing the lines between the past and the present, M.J. Rose has written a mesmerizing tale of passion and obsession. This is a gothic tale perfect for fans of Anne Rice, Deborah Harkness, and Diana Galbadon.

Review: Anyone that has read any of M.J. Rose's Reincarnationist series will be delighted by The Collector of Dying Breaths.

I thought that Seduction was the best in the series, but this book proves that Rose is just getting better with each new offering in the series. I'm hoping the series continues, but with the way this book ended, I'm not sure.

The best thing about these books is their rich detail of history. Rose creates mystery that weaves the past and the present together. This time we get Catherine de Medici's perfumer. Just seeing that name should tell you that there will be more suspense than usual, or rather, palace intrigue.

I found myself on the edge of my seat more while reading this book than any of her past novels in this series, especially in the present day parts of the book. Jac's work to finish what her brother started really had her in with some crazy people. VERY CRAZY people.

The other thing that was a bit different in this book was the level of eroticism. Don't get me wrong, it isn't smutty in the least, but there are parts with Rene and his lover that will leave you needing a cold shower.

If you love Rose's writing you won't want to miss this book and if you like a good weaving of past and present it will be up your alley as well.

Rating: 5 flowers

Historical Fiction Book Tours Book Review: Seduction

Publication Date: May 7, 2013
Atria Books
Hardcover; 384p
ISBN-10: 1451621507
From the author of The Book of Lost Fragrances comes a haunting novel about a grieving woman who discovers the lost journal of novelist Victor Hugo, awakening a mystery that spans centuries.
In 1843, novelist Victor Hugo’s beloved nineteen-year-old daughter drowned. Ten years later, Hugo began participating in hundreds of séances to reestablish contact with her. In the process, he claimed to have communed with the likes of Plato, Galileo, Shakespeare, Dante, Jesus—and even the Devil himself. Hugo’s transcriptions of these conversations have all been published. Or so it was believed.
Recovering from her own losses, mythologist Jac L’Etoile arrives on the Isle of Jersey—where Hugo conducted the séances—hoping to uncover a secret about the island’s Celtic roots. But the man who’s invited her there, a troubled soul named Theo Gaspard, has hopes she’ll help him discover something quite different—Hugo’s lost conversations with someone called the Shadow of the Sepulcher.
What follows is an intricately plotted and atmospheric tale of suspense with a spellbinding ghost story at its heart, by one of America’s most gifted and imaginative novelists.

Review: Seduction brings back some of the characters that you met when reading M.J. Rose's last novel The Book Of Lost Fragrances, so there will be some familiar faces here, especially for those of us that have been reading The Reincarnationist Series. (These books can be read as stand alone novels, but I think in this case, it might be helpful if you had read the previous book in the series)

This book, like the others in this series, blends past and present beautifully, bringing the life of Victor Hugo into the realm of fiction. His character is one of the main reasons I wanted to read the novel and as always, M.J. Rose didn't disappoint. I really felt connected to him in a way I never have before. He's  more than just the author of Les Miserables now.

More than suspenseful, this book also has a lot of spooky going on, which gives it a slightly different feel from the other novels. It almost made me wish that this book had been released in the autumn, because it is more the type of book I read around Halloween. (I'm crazy like that...I tend to read all my spooky novels in October)

The seances that occurred in Hugo's time period were creepy and the things that happened to Jac really give this book some dark undertones.

I love how well researched the book was in regards to Hugo's life. I found myself doing many an internet search to fact check and I found myself even more intrigued with Hugo's life after reading this book.

This is definitely the best book in the series so far.

I highly recommend this book and all of the series to fans of mystery/suspense and just a little something different.

Rating: 5 flowers

About the Author

M.J. Rose is the international best selling author of eleven novels and two non-fiction books on marketing. Her fiction and non-fiction has appeared in many magazines and reviews including Oprah Magazine. She has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, USA Today and on the Today Show, and NPR radio. Rose graduated from Syracuse University, spent the ’80s in advertising, has a commercial in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and since 2005 has run the first marketing company for authors – Authorbuzz.com. The television series PAST LIFE, was based on Rose’s novels in the Renincarnationist series. She is one of the founding board members of International Thriller Writers and runs the blog- Buzz, Balls & Hype. She is also the co-founder of Peroozal.com and BookTrib.com.
Rose lives in CT with her husband the musician and composer, Doug Scofield, and their very spoiled and often photographed dog, Winka.
For more information on M.J. Rose and her novels, please visit her WEBSITE. You can also find her on Facebook.

Book Review: Lip Service

Author: M.J. Rose
Title: Lip Service
Publisher: Atria Books
Publish Date: Sept 1, 1999
Buy: Amazon

Review Copy Provided By: Net Galley

Book Blurb: 

Lip Service is the prequel to M.J. Rose's Bestselling Butterfield Institute Series which includes three novels - The Halo Effect, The Delilah Complex, The Venus Fix - and the short story collection In Session. Lip Service probes the secret world of phone sex and one woman who becomes empowered by what she discovers there. Not since Erica Jong's Fear of Flying has a novel so masterfully examined the relationship between sexuality and identity. On the surface, Julia Sterling's life seems blessed. Married to a renowned psychiatrist, living on Manhattan's tony Upper East Side, Julia deeply loves her stepson, and is forging a career as a journalist. When a writing job at The Butterfield Institute - a sex therapy clinic - exposes her to the world of phone sex, Julia glimpses a world that stirs her erotic fantasies but threatens her carefully constructed reality. As she explores her emotional and sexual connections to the men she knows and several she will never meet, she confronts evil, perversity, and her own passions. Tracing the currents of desire, illusion, and psychological manipulation,Lip Service is an astonishingly vivid glimpse into one woman's inner life. At the same time, this electrifying thriller grips the reader as it builds toward a battering climax.

Review: I've read M.J. Rose's Reincarnationist series, so when I was given the chance to read Lip Service, I jumped at it. This book is totally different from what fans of that series expect.

It deals with the phone sex industry and how Julia is drawn into it.

Most of M.J. Rose's books are thrillers or at least suspenseful. This book can only be described as psychological erotica.

The parts of the books when Julia is taking calls will leave you hot and bothered. M.J. Rose really knows how to write the steamy stuff. She does it better than a lot of romance authors putting out erotica.

But this story is more than just the phone sex. Julia has a history of mental illness, but her therapist husband is overprotective of her, when it's obvious that it isn't necessary. We don't know a lot about Paul, and I think that's what makes it hard to figure out what is up with him. There are definitely some holes in the plot around her relationship with her husband. The whole part of the IRS checking out his non-profit didn't get finished in the way I thought it would, plus there were so many issues in his relationship with Julia that didn't get addressed.

I couldn't quite understand why Julia stayed in her oppressed relationship. She was smarter and had the support of many people. It didn't make much sense to me, but her staying did help the story along, because you know there would be some climactic thing once Paul knew about her and the phone sex.  I really liked Sam Butterfield's take on role playing and phone sex. It gave a different perspective to something that seems really sleazy.

Overall Lip Service was an enjoyable read. Not at all what I was expecting, but a good read, that kept me turning the pages.

Rating: 4 flowers

Historical Fiction Book Tours Review: The Book Of Lost Fragrances

65Author: M.J. Rose
Title: The Book Of Lost Fragrances
Publisher: Atria Books
Publish Date: March 13, 2012
Buy: Amazon
Review Copy Provided By: Historical Fiction Book Tours, Net Galley and the publisher
Book Blurb: A sweeping and suspenseful tale of secrets, intrigue, and lovers separated by time, all connected through the mystical qualities of a perfume created in the days of Cleopatra--and lost for 2,000 years.

Jac L'Etoile has always been haunted by the past, her memories infused with the exotic scents that she grew up surrounded by as the heir to a storied French perfume company. In order to flee the pain of those remembrances--and of her mother's suicide--she moved to America. Now, fourteen years later she and her brother have inherited the company along with it's financial problems. But when Robbie hints at an earth-shattering discovery in the family archives and then suddenly goes missing--leaving a dead body in his wake--Jac is plunged into a world she thought she'd left behind.

Back in Paris to investigate her brother's disappearance, Jac becomes haunted by the legend the House of L'Etoile has been espousing since 1799. Is there a scent that can unlock the mystery of reincarnation - or is it just another dream infused perfume?

The Book of Lost Fragrances fuses history, passion, and suspense, moving from Cleopatra's Egypt and the terrors of revolutionary France to Tibet's battle with China and the glamour of modern-day Paris. Jac's quest for the ancient perfume someone is willing to kill for becomes the key to understanding her own troubled past.

Review: I love M.J. Rose's Reincarnationist series, so I was excited to read this book. I really loved the story and mystery, but it at times it was a little hard to read. I felt there was a little too much going on at some points, but I also know that's M.J. Rose's writing style. I felt that way a few times during the other books.

The good thing about this story, is it felt a little bit removed from the other books. Maybe that's because the title grew from the simple two words of the previous books. This is definitely a book that someone who isn't familiar with the series can pick up.  It centers around one of the memory devices mentioned in the past books. The Book Of Lost Fragrances was mentioned several times in The Hypnotist.

For those that have read the previous books, it is interesting to see how Rose interweaves the characters and the Phoenix Foundation into the story.  It took about 60 pages in this book before you see some familiar names.

For me this wasn't light reading, but I enjoyed it, and will continue to read what Rose puts out. I wish at times there weren't so many stories within the story, because it would make the novel's flow to be a bit easier on the brain.

I actually think this is the best book in the series, as it really focuses on characters outside the Phoenix Foundation. I also love the concept of a fragrance triggering past life regressions.

Again this book isn't an easy read because M.J. Rose tells the story from many points of view, and that can be confusing at times, and it slows the progression of the story down, but it is still a great read.


Rating: 4 Flowers

Historical Fiction Book Tours Review: The Hypnotist

Author: M.J. Rose
Title: The Hypnotist
Publisher: Mira
Publish Date: April 2011
Buy: Amazon

Review Copy Provided By: Historical Book Tours and the publisher
Book Blurb: Haunted by his inability to stop the murder of a beautiful young painter twenty years ago, Lucian Glass keeps his demons at bay through his fascinating work with the FBI's Art Crime Team. Investigating a crazed collector who's begun destroying prized masterworks, Glass is thrust into a bizarre hostage negotiation that takes him undercover at the Phoenix Foundation—dedicated to the science of past-life study. There, to maintain his cover, he submits to the treatment of a hypnotist.

Under hypnosis, Glass travels from ancient Greece to nineteenth-century Persia, while the case takes him from New York to Paris and the movie while the case takes him from New York to Paris and the movie capital of the world. These journeys will change his very understanding of reality, lead him to question his own sanity and land him at the center of perhaps the most audacious art heist in history: a fifteen-hundred-year-old sculpture the nation of Iran will do anything to recover.
Review: I discovered this series when the  Past Lives was on Fox and I loved the concept. The books are much better than the show, which is not the case with other books to tv shows...like Bones.

M.J. Rose delivers a story that makes you want to keep turning the pages. The characters really jump of the pages. You may not connect with them, but you understand them and their motivations. The Hypnotist is the third book in The Reincarnationist  series, but it definitely can be read as a stand alone book.

What I love about the characters in this book are how well developed they are, every one of them but definitely Lucian and Malachai.  But beyond that, the story itself is unique. Memory Tools that are the key to proving reincarnation...Just Wow!

I guarantee you that if you pick up this book, the other two books will quickly become part of your TBR pile!

Rating: 5 flowers