Storms of Malhado Book Blog Tour
STORMS OF MALHADO
by
MARIA ELENA SANDOVICI
Genre: Historical Fiction / Ghosts
Publisher: Independently
Published
Date of Publication: March 26, 2020
Number of Pages: 252
Scroll down for the giveaway!!
Through three different timelines, Storms of Malhado weaves a story of Galveston’s past, underscoring its danger and isolation, as well as its remarkable resilience, and its capacity for both nostalgia and reinvention. Full of contradictions, at once insular and open to the world, Galveston Island is as much a character of the novel as Katie, Suzanne, Betty, their lovers, and their confidantes.
PRAISE FOR STORMS OF MALHADO:
“Taking place entirely on a beautifully moody Galveston Island, Ms. Sandovici weaves three simultaneous stories with ease. With a timeless tale, ethereal language, and complicated characters, readers will be entranced by this modern ghost story. How many times can the past repeat itself? How do we recognize people through generations? The author tackles this topic amid a backdrop of violent nature and intangible dreamscapes."
—Courtney Brandt, author of The Queen of England: Coronation, Grand Tour, Ascension”Three women, three great storms, and one house haunted by forbidden love and frustrated ambition. Get ready to be swept away by Sandovici’s foray into Galveston Island’s tempestuous history in this tale of lives intertwined across time.”
—Donna Dechen Birdwell, author of Not Knowing
CLICK TO PURCHASE
Three lives. Three chances. Three storms.
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I honestly wasn't quite sure if I would like it. I chose to review it because, I thought it would be a fun way to visit a place, Galveston, where I spent many a summer as a child and two I wanted to read this ghostly story. If you know a little of Galveston's history, you know it is rife with Ghost or ghostly tales. How exactly would the author weave a story that has romance, ghosts, and three significant hurricanes to make landfall in Texas - The
Great Storm of 1900, Hurricane
Carla and, Hurricane Ike?
Well, color me surprised when the story truly turned out to be about reincarnation, not a ghost or three. The story opens with Katie, her parents, and her boyfriend all gathering at their mansion in Galveston to weather Hurricane Ike in 2008. Katie is a bit neurotic, but not really sure why. Katie's father believed the mansion was haunted, but neither Katie nor her mother had ever experienced any such thing. My overactive Gemini mind kept coming up with different scenarios, but none so fantastic as the reality. In meeting the three women- Suzanne, Betty & Katie-at the center of this story, we find that they all have some interesting similarities. They were all artists. They all wanted men who were unobtainable. They were all wildly dissatisfied with their lives. Suzanne wanted more than the confines of high society. Betty wanted more than her mundane existence. Katy just wanted something.. anything that stopped her anxiety and grounded her.
I like that the author left these little bread crumbs of familiarity for the reader to pick up. My favorite was "He's no good for me. He's no good for himself." I swear it's something that I've said in my own life. Each woman had a female counterpart that coddled and pacified her on some level. I also like that as I read I would go on google and refresh my memory of certain real-life events i.e. the devastation each Hurricane inflicted in Southeast Texas. I absolutely loved how the author revealed the connection between all three stories and their characters.
Now what didn't work for me on any level was the ending. Yes. My questions were answered, but I was enjoying the ride and it seemed to put together. Hmmm, I'll probably think of a better term once I've sat with it some more.
All in all, this was a good read that moved quickly and transitioned well, which can be hard to do when constantly switching time periods. The story was simply well written. The story also had the added benefit of touching on a few elements that added realism to the story like interracial relationships, racism, and adultery. I would recommend this story to anyone.
Sandovici is a 2008 graduate of John Ross Palmer's Escapist Mentorship Program, a program that teaches artists business skills. She resigned from her tenured academic position in December 2018 and opened her own private gallery space. Her previous works of fiction are Dogs with Bagels, Stray Dogs and Lonely Beaches, Lost Path to Solitude, The Adventures of Miss Vulpe, and Lone Wolf. She is also the author of Stop and Smell the Garbage, a volume of poetry in the voice of her dog, Holly Golightly. You can follow her daily adventures on her blog HaveWatercolorsWillTravel.blog.
GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
ONE WINNER receives a signed copy of Storms of Malhado
MAY 21-31, 2020
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Great review! Sounds like there is something for every reader to enjoy. Thanks for the post!
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