Top 5 book characters from my 2021 reading list. #TuesdayBookBlog

Inspired by my recent list of Top 10 book covers (read the post here) from 2021, I have been thinking out some of the characters that whisked me away for a bit of escapism reading.

John Maripaz is an artist, interpreter and narrator of The Exhumation by Nick Padron. This story is set during The Spanish Civil War and follows on from Hemingway’s For Whom The Bell Tolls. John and his partner have been hired by the family of Hemingway’s character Robert Jordan, to bring his body back to America. As the story unfolds John’s hidden skills emerge, and it is his tale which engages the reader in this book. I was very pleased with the balance of description and action, and could easily picture the nighttime bombardments of Madrid, the civilian life and the warring sides.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58883132-the-exhumation

Celwyn, an immortal magician led the storyline in steampunk mystery The Violins Played Before Junstan by Lou Kemp. Set in 1865, this story offers murder, mayhem and mischief, along with heroic aided escapes and a small band of travellers that grows in number as the adventure rolls along until the story reaches a grand climax in Prague. I easily found myself immersed in the narrative and could picture the wonderful scenery and magic that Celwyn conjured. 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58664238-the-violins-played-before-junstan

Amber Montgomery in Sweet, Sexy Heart by Melissa Foster is a book shop owner in a small American town. She also suffers from epilepsy and has a trained seizure dog to help her live an independent life. While Dash Pennington is a high profile ex-footballer who is launching his debut novel at Amber’s shop. Although this is a very sweet loving (and hot) romance, it tackles epilepsy in an open way without it feeling like a lecture.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39329375-sweet-sexy-heart

BB is the narrator of Any Summer Sunday at Nacho Mama’s Patio Cafe by Steve Schatz. A story set in a gay bar in Magawatta, Indiana. The whole story takes place on one summer Sunday evening; a group of friends gather each week at Nacho Mama’s patio café to catch up on news, and to listen to the drag artists sing at the bar next door. On this particular night lead singer Miss TiaRa del Fuego announces her retirement. This is a book full to the brim with a rich language about a group of friends and their concerns for each other, all set against a colourful drag setting.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52188106-any-summer-sunday-at-nacho-mama-s-patio-cafe

The lead character in superhero fantasy It Takes An Oni by Scott Rhine is Solomon, a priest to a god of the underworld; he believes that he is a hideous monster, hiding his face behind numerous masks. Solomon is a deeply layered character who fills much of his life with good deeds to compensate for being the monster that he believes that he is. The book opens with an exciting heist and the fast pace continues with a story full of mythological and paranormal themes.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55879379-it-takes-an-oni

What characters from the books that you read in 2021 were memorable for you?

‘An entertaining way to learn more about this time period.’ Robbie reviews Spanish Civil War adventure The Exhumation by @nfpadron for Rosie’s #Bookreview Team #RBRT

Today’s team review is from Robbie. She blogs here https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/

Robbie has been reading The Exhumation by Nick Padron

The Exhumation is an exciting adventure, overlaid with a romance, set in war torn Spain during the civil war of 1937. This is not a period of history I know a lot about so I was keen to read this book and learn more.

Three Americans, an ex-military ‘hired gun’ nicknamed The Major, his interpreter and ‘right hand man’ who goes by the pseudonym of John and an older individual, Mr Jordan, travel to Spain to bring back the body of a young American, Robert Jordan, who has been killed in the fighting. His wealthy parents are prepared to pay a great deal of money for the return of their son’s body and have sent his uncle along to make any necessary payments to ensure it happens. The information the three men have to work with is scanty, but meetings have been arranged with people who know him to enable their investigation.

John is concerned that they will run into trouble going behind the enemy lines in Spain, but The Major is confident that with the help of a few locals, he and John can successfully find the corpse and bring it back to Madrid, and from there back to the US.

During their brief stay in Madrid, prior to the expedition into enemy territory, John meets a lovely young woman called Maripaz. He spends two evening with her and becomes emotionally attached. He resolves to persuade her to leave Spain and return with him to the US after the job is done.

The pursuit of the body and John’s romance entwine beautiful to create and interesting and exciting storyline.

The Major is a strong character who, despite being unorthodox and quite brutal in his methods, is able to put on a good show of being an amiable and likeable personality. He is driven by personal gain and is prepared to go to extreme lengths to obtain the money he has been promised for the return of Robert Jordan’s body. He is exposed as being unethical and ruthless in his behaviour with little consideration for consequences or respect for the lives of others. Despite his character flaws, he is held in high regard by John whom he saved from a difficult and life threatening situation.

John is a conflicted person who has become attached to The Major whom he treats like a replacement father. He comes across as a person who is searching for love and affection and quite easily falls under the spell of Maripaz, a nice woman from a good family. He quickly escalates their brief affair into the great love of his life and becomes quite obsessed with her. The romance is a branch of the main adventure, but it is important to the way the entire novel plays out.

The history is nicely woven into the novel and this book is an entertaining way to learn more about this time period. All in, an interesting and entertaining read.

In the fall of 1937, besieged Madrid lies in near ruins, its people struggling under nightly bombardments. Into this uncertain world, enter three Americans assigned with the task to find and exhume the remains of Robert Jordan – a member of the International Brigade killed in action –and bring him home for proper burial in the States. They are Jordan’s uncle and the two-man team hired for the job: the amoral but winsome Major Williamson and their interpreter, John, who tells us the story of how one man’s greed-driven final act becomes another man’s shot at redemption.

Set over the course of three days, amid vivid depictions of wartime Madrid, we follow the team through the violent drama that surrounds Robert Jordan’s exhumation, the human cost of the undertaking, and then John’s Maripaz’s, the beautiful piano teacher he meets during an artillery attack, fateful escape from Madrid. More than a tale of action and suspense set in a world at war, THE EXHUMATION is a story about the meaning of loyalty, of love and loss and, finally, the unending search for a lasting ideal.

AmazonUk | AmazonUS

Set During The Spanish Civil War. Rosie’s #Bookreview Of The Exhumation by Nick Padron @nfpadron @TouchPointPress #TuesdayBookBlog

The Exhumation by Nick Padron

4 stars

The Exhumation is set in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. It is the story of three men: an ex-military man, his intepreter John and a dead boy’s uncle. They travel from America to bring back the body of a young American killed during the conflict.

The trio arrive in war-torn Madrid during 1937 to hear that the body they seek is behind the enemy lines. They make deals, money changes hands and they head out into the night to exhume the body. What follows is an action filled adventure which dips in and out of the civil fighting giving us enough details without it feeling like a history lesson. The trio rubbed shoulders with both miltary officers and civlians caught up in the battles; as a reader I felt it painted a good picture of the war from a relatively neutral point of view.

The story is narrated by John, an artist and interpreter; as the story unfolds John’s hidden skills emerge, and it is his tale which engages the reader in this book. I was very pleased with the balance of description and action, and could easily picture the nighttime bombardments of Madrid, the civilian life and the warring sides. The whole story tales place in just a handful of days which heightens all the tension and keeps the pace rolling. I liked it; I didn’t know much about the Spanish Civil War, but I have come away from this book with more understanding.

View all my reviews on Goodreads

The things we do for others that we would never do for ourselves … love and death in a world at war.

It’s 1937 and besieged Madrid lies in near ruins, its people struggling under nightly bombardments. Into this uncertain world, enter three Americans assigned with the task to find and exhume the remains of Robert Jordan—a member of the International Brigade killed in action—and bring him home for proper burial in the States. They are Jordan’s uncle and the two-man team hired for the job: the amoral but winsome Major Williamson and their interpreter, John, who tells us the story.

Set over the course of three days, amid vivid depictions of wartime Madrid, we follow the team through the violent drama that surrounds Robert Jordan’s exhumation, the human cost of the undertaking, and John’s and Maripaz’s, the beautiful piano teacher he meets during an artillery attack, fateful escape from Spain. More than a wartime tale of suspense set in a crumbling world, The Exhumation is a story about the meaning of loyalty, of love and loss, and finally, the unending search for a lasting ideal.

AmazonUK | AmazonUS (Publication Nov 1st)