"The Dovekeepers" by Alice Hoffman I never expected to purchase this book, and the cover design caught my eye. I read the back and was immediately intrigued. "Nearly two thousand years ago, nine hundred Jews held out for months against armies of Romans on Masada a mountain in the Judean desert. According to the ancient historian Josephus, two women and five children survived." That tale alone is enough to dive deeper into history, discover lives deeper than fiction and learn about their tales. Who are the dovekeepers? What are their mysteries, secrets, lineage? -brr Book Specs: Title: The Dovekeepers Author: Alice Hoffman Publisher: Scribner, A division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Fiction. Copyright 2011. Map Included, Copyright 2011 pages: 505 including acknowledgements. Scribner Reading Group Guide/Note from author Included

Day  24 in  #BookSpine365 . Visit a title a day from my bookshelf. Coco Chanel and composer Igor Stravinsky. Their love affair inspired their art. Their art defined an era.  First time novelist Chris Greenhalgh introduces the title as hot, steamy, and romantic, but the title develops into something far more richer. The setting is 1915 Paris, a time of musical revolution and the reinvention of self. There, Coco becomes much more in this modernization including the classic Chanel  No.5---fighting through old ways and using her designs all while having a deep affair from an exiled man questioning if the relationship can survive at all. If someone wants a pure bio approach to Coco, this book isn't for you. After all, the title sums it pretty nicely: it's all about the affair, the secrets, the passion, the desires and the yearning for what cannot be.  We only delve a little into what Coco truly was on this title, which is quite disappointing. The wom...