The Golden Manuscripts: A Novel (Between Two Worlds, Book 6) by Evy Journey Book Tour, Review, Guest Post & Giveaway! {Ends 10/9/23}

Sep 22, 2023 | 5 comments

The Golden Manuscripts: A Novel is inspired by the actual theft of medieval manuscript illuminations during the second world war.

Book Details:

The Golden Manuscripts: A Novel (Between Two Worlds, Book 6) by Evy Journey
Category: Adult Fiction 18+, 340 pages
Genre: Women’s Literary Fiction
Publisher: Evy Journey
Release date: April 2, 2023
Tour dates: Sept 5 to Oct 2
Content Rating: PG: Some kissing, no bad language, no sex scenes

Book Description:

Clarissa, an Asian/Caucasian young woman has lived in seven different countries and has no lasting connection to any place. She thinks it’s time to settle somewhere she could eventually call home. But where?

She decides to live in the city of her birth. There, she joins a quest for the provenance of stolen illuminated manuscripts—a medieval art form that languished with the fifteenth-century invention of the printing press—hoping it would give her the sense of belonging she craves. But will it be enough?

For her, these ancient manuscripts elicit cherished memories of children’s picture books her mother read to her, nourishing a passion for art.

The trail of the manuscripts leads to an American soldier who served in World War II. Clarissa is anxious to know what motivated him to steal and keep the artwork for fifty years. But instead of easy answers, she finds bigger questions.

Immersed in art, but naïve about life, she’s disheartened and disillusioned by the machinations the quest reveals of an esoteric, sometimes unscrupulous art world. What compels individuals to steal artworks, and conquerors to plunder them from the vanquished? Why do collectors buy artworks for hundreds of millions of dollars? Who decides the value of an art piece and how?

The Golden Manuscripts: A Novel is inspired by the actual theft of medieval manuscript illuminations during the Second World War.

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Review By LAWonder10:

The Golden Manuscripts is a slower-paced drama. In the beginning pages, while setting the background, I found it difficult to find a real interest in the book. However, since it is based on a true event and as the story continued, it became more interesting.

This is a unique and unexpected story. There are some debatable points and a portrayal of how many individuals’ growing years are indeed variegated. Is there such a thing as a “normal” childhood”?

The characters began to feel real and the background scenes were easily visualized.

This book centers around post-World War ll events that are still trying to be resolved. It is also a book with some romance and adventure.

The Title is fitting but the Cover image depicts the story but is not eye-catching to “the browser”.

This book can be recommended to reading groups, providing several convincing points for discussion. It is quite well-written.

I offer a Three and a Half Stars rating.

This book was gifted me with no pressure to post a positive review. This is my honest review

 

Other Books in the Series:

Guest Post:

The Illustrious Origins of Picture Books

Are you ever curious how picture books and, by extension, even graphic novels, first began? Has it ever occurred to you that picture books might have illustrious beginnings?

As a mother who read to my son when he was a boy, I claim some expertise on picture books. If you’re a parent, you understand how wonderful they can be. Pictures in books are not only entertaining, they also teach. Remember how your child began to recognize the letter “A” after you’ve shown it to him accompanied by images of objects beginning with the letter “A”?
Admittedly, my children’s picture book expertise is fairly limited and not up to date (my son is now a grown man), but I do have some nearly-forgotten specialized knowledge.

While selecting books for my child, I learned to recognize different styles of illustration in popular children’s books. A Berenstain style, for instance, is employed by these well-known authors. Then, there was Maurice Sendak.
Children’s book reviewers loved Maurice Sendak for dealing with the “little demons” that plague children as they grow up. His books included illustrations he did of his stories—illustrations that, in their vividness probably helped make those demons more concrete and easier to deal with.

My interest in picture books went into hibernation as my son relied on me less and less to show him the pleasures of books. But I found that when I read books for myself—\ excluding those that must rely on illustrations to make more sense (art books, for example)—I enjoyed them more when they had
illustrations. They helped me imagine and, sometimes even understand, what I read. I especially loved them in fiction.

One of my favorite books is an old almost tattered copy of a collection of Jane Austen’s novels featuring illustrations of scenes from the novels by a nineteenth-century artist. Before Masterpiece Theater and my exposure to films of 19th century England, these drawings shaped my limited conception of everything that was old English. Now, I have an ebook copy of an old illustrated Jane Austen collection.

Today, we take picture books for granted. We love images. We whip out our cell phones and take pictures to preserve memories of instances in time.

Illustrated books have medieval beginnings. And while there’s often more than one version of history, I believe the credit for such beginnings belongs to Charlemagne during whose reign in the 9th century, picture bookmaking flourished. Most people in the Middle Ages couldn’t read, so he championed the creation of picture books to teach them about God.

Historians called those early picture books illuminated manuscripts or manuscript illuminations. They were handwritten and illustrated on parchment (dried and stretched animal skins), often by the same creator.

An illumination is a picture or illustration in a book that conveys the meaning of a piece of text. It is “illuminated” through the use of gilding—gold or silver decorations on letters and figures. In medieval times, these manuscripts represented a high art form.

Meet the Author:

Evy Journey writes. Stories. Blogs (three sites). Cross-genre novels. She’s also a wannabe artist, and a flâneuse (an ambler).

Evy studied psychology (M.A., University of Hawaii; Ph.D. University of Illinois) initially to help her understand herself and Dostoevsky. Now, she spins tales about multicultural characters dealing with problems and issues of contemporary life. She believes in love and its many faces.

Just as she has crossed genres in writing fiction, she has also crossed cultures, having lived and traveled in various cities in different countries. Find her thoughts on travel, art, and food at Artsy Rambler.

She has one ungranted wish: To live in Paris where art is everywhere and people have honed aimless roaming to an art form. She visits and stays a few months when she can.

Connect with the author: website ~ blogfacebook ~ pinterest ~ bookbub ~ goodreads

The Tour Schedule:

Sep 5 – Gina Rae Mitchell – book review of THE GOLDEN MANUSCRIPTS / guest post / giveaway
Sep 5 – Liese’s Blog – book spotlight of SUGAR AND SPICE AND ALL THOSE LIES
Sep 6 –Locks, Hooks and Books – book review of SUGAR AND SPICE AND ALL THOSE LIES / giveaway
Sep 6 –Liese’s Blog – book spotlight of THE SHADE UNDER THE MANGO TREE
Sep 7– Liese’s Blog – book spotlight of THE GOLDEN MANUSCRIPTS
Sep 7 – Deborah-Zenha Adams – books spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Sep 8 Stephanie Jane books spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Sep 11 –Diane’s Book Journal books spotlight / giveaway
Sep 11 – @fiction_vixen18 – book review of SUGAR AND SPICE AND ALL THOSE LIES
Sep 12 – Locks, Hooks and Books – book review of THE SHADE UNDER THE MANGO TREE / giveaway
Sep 12 – @fiction_vixen18 – book review THE SHADE UNDER THE MANGO TREES
Sep 13 – My Reading Getaway book review of SUGAR AND SPICE AND ALL THOSE LIES / giveaway
Sep 13 –Olio by Marilyn – book review of THE GOLDEN MANUSCRIPTS / author interview / giveaway
Sep 14 – Ilovebooksandstuffblog – books spotlight / giveaway
Sep 14 – Leanne Bookstagram – book review of SUGAR AND SPICE AND ALL THOSE LIES
Sep 15– Rockin’ Book Reviews – book review of SUGAR AND SPICE AND ALL THOSE LIES / giveaway
Sep 15 – @fiction_vixen18  book review of THE GOLDEN MANUSCRIPTS
Sep 18– fundinmental – books spotlight / giveaway
Sep 19 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – audiobook review of THE SHADE UNDER THE MANGO TREE / giveaway
Sep 19 – Cover Lover Book Review – book review of THE GOLDEN MANUSCRIPTS / giveaway
Sep 20 – My Reading Getaway – book review of THE SHADE UNDER THE MANGO TREE / giveaway
Sep 20 – Locks, Hooks and Books – book review of THE GOLDEN MANUSCRIPTS / giveaway
Sep 21 – Leanne Bookstagram – book review of THE SHADE UNDER THE MANGO TREE
Sep 21 – FUONLYKNEW – book review of SUGAR AND SPICE AND ALL THOSE LIES / giveaway
Sep 22 –-Rockin’ Book Reviews – book review of THE GOLDEN MANUSCRIPTS / guest post / giveaway
Sep 25 – Westveil Publishing – books spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Sep 25 – Olio by Marilyn – book review of SUGAR AND SPICE AND ALL THOSE LIES / giveaway
Sep 26 – Reading is My Passion – book review of SUGAR AND SPICE AND ALL THOSE LIES / giveaway
Sep 26 – Olio by Marilyn – book spotlight of THE SHADE UNDER THE MANGO TREE / giveaway
Sep 26 – Splashes of Joybook review of THE GOLDEN MANUSCRIPTS / giveaway 
Sep 27 –My Reading Getaway – book review of THE GOLDEN MANUSCRIPTS / author interview / giveaway
Sep 27 – Reading is My Passion – book review of THE GOLDEN MANUSCRIPTS / giveaway
Sep 28 – Welcome To MLM Opinion’s Reviews – book review of SUGAR AND SPICE AND ALL THOSE LIES
Sep 28 — Leanne Bookstagram – book review of THE GOLDEN MANUSCRIPTS
Sep 28 – FUONLYKNEW – book review of THE SHADE UNDER THE MANGO TREE / giveaway
Sep 29 – Welcome To MLM Opinion’s Reviews – book review of THE SHADE UNDER THE MANGO TREE
Sep 29 – FUONLYKNEW – book review of THE GOLDEN MANUSCRIPT / guest post / giveaway
Oct 2 – Welcome To MLM Opinion’s Reviews – book review of THE GOLDEN MANUSCRIPTS
Oct 2 – @fierymermaidbooks – book review of THE GOLDEN MANUSCRIPTS 

Giveaway Details:

Enter to win $50 Visa Gift Card, courtesy of author of THE GOLDEN MANUSCRIPTS (2 winners) (USA only) (ends Oct 9)

 

To Enter the Giveaway click on the Rafflecopter link below:

THE GOLDEN MANUSCRIPTS Book Tour Giveaway

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5 Comments
  1. Shelly Peterson

    I enjoyed the review.

  2. Dreaa Drake

    This sounds like an interesting book!

  3. Bea LaRocca

    Thank you for sharing your review of The Golden Manuscripts, I have enjoyed reading the author’s guest post and I am looking forward to reading this book and series

  4. Marisela Zuniga

    Thanks for sharing your review, it sounds good

  5. Rita Wray

    Sounds like a great read.

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