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Feb 21st, 2015, 1:09 pm
The Stockholm Octavo by Karen Engelmann (October 2012)
Requirements: ePUB Reader | 4.7 Mb
Overview: The Stockholm Octavo transports readers to 18th-century Sweden -- and a world of intrigue and magic in a dazzling golden age of high art, music, and opulent fashion.

Life is close to perfect for Emil Larsson, a self-satisfied bureaucrat in the Office of Customs and Excise in 1791 Stockholm. He is a true man of the Town - a drinker, card player, and contented bachelor - until one evening when Mrs. Sofia Sparrow, a fortune-teller and proprietor of an exclusive gaming parlor, shares with him a vision she has had: a golden path that will lead him to love and connection. She lays an Octavo for him, a spread of eight cards that augur the eight individuals who can help him realize this vision - if he can find them.

Emil begins his search, intrigued by the puzzle of his Octavo and the good fortune Mrs. Sparrow's vision portends. But when Mrs. Sparrow wins a mysterious folding fan in a card game, the Octavo's deeper powers are revealed. For Emil it is no longer just a game of the heart; collecting his eight is now crucial to pulling his country back from the crumbling precipice of rebellion and chaos.

Set against the luminous backdrop of late eighteenth-century Stockholm, as the winds of revolution rage through the great capitals of Europe, The Stockholm Octavo, a masterwork of historical fiction, brings together a collection of characters, both fictional and historical, whose lives tangle in political conspiracy, love, and magic in a breathtaking debut that will leave you spellbound.
Genre: Fiction, Literary, Historical Thriller

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"Neatly mixing revolutionary politics with the erotic tension and cut-throat rivalry of the female conspirators... Engelmann has crafted a magnificent, suspenseful story set against the vibrant society of Sweden’s zenith, with a cast of colorful characters balanced at a crux of history." ~Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Fantastic . . . This rollicking adventure story reads at times like a fairy tale, with Good Guys and Bad Guys and obstacles to be recognized and overcome. It’s all quite fun. As either historical novel or adventure story, this clever first novel should appeal to a broad range of readers." ~Library Journal, starred review

"A dizzying story of political intrigue and forbidden romance, all played out in an array of lost arts, from the reading of cards to the language of ladies’ fans to the healing power of plants. Each has its own delicious vocabulary and in Engelmann’s debut, each word is savored." ~Boston Globe

"Blends political intrigue, fortune-telling, alchemy, skullduggery, high treason and love. The plot is so compelling it will keep you up at night, and the characters so well-crafted you will gladly follow them through the streets and alleys of 18th-century Stockholm." ~Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Karen Engelmann’s absorbing debut doesn't traffic in mystery so much as Mystery with a capital 'm'... As she deftly shuffles characters, Engelmann’s hand moves faster than a reader’s eye in a thoroughly engaging story of intrigue and gamesmanship." ~Christian Science Monitor

"Mysterious, suspenseful, and, at times, action-packed." ~Booklist, starred review

"A bonbon box filled with treats designed to appeal to lovers of literary historical thrillers." ~Salon.com

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Feb 21st, 2015, 1:09 pm

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