Beth Fish Reads: Today's Read: Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown

04 June 2013

Today's Read: Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown

What if your life depended on your cooking skills? Now imagine that your kitchen is on a pirate ship and that your pantry is rarely restocked. Would you last even one night? Each Sunday, Owen Wedgewood must produce a stellar meal for Mad Hannah Mabbot, captain of the Flying Rose, or face the wrath of his abductor.

This body is not brave. Bespeckled with blood, surrounded by enemies, and bound on a dark course whose ultimate destination I cannot fathom—I am not brave.

The nub of a candle casts quaking light on my damp chamber. I have been afforded a quill and a blank logbook only after insisting that measurement and notation are crucial to the task with which I've been yoked.

—Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown (Macmillan / Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013, p. 3)

Quick Facts

Setting: the high seas, various ports around the world, 1819
Circumstances: female pirate Mad Hannah demands her weekly gourmet meal while hunting down her sworn enemies and obtaining wealth; Owen cooks for his life
Characters: Owen, world-famous chef; Hannah, world-famous pirate; the crew; a love interest
Genre: historical fiction; food fiction; adventure
Themes: friendship; loyalty; making the best of things; the darker side of the British Empire
Miscellaneous: I was lucky enough to meet Eli Brown at BEA, and he has promised us a guest post; the novel has been described as "the Scheherazade story turned on its head, at sea, with food"

20 comments:

Yvonne, 6/4/13, 6:32 AM: I'd be sunk if I had to depend on my cooking skills. LOL Great teaser!

Thank you for visiting my blog.
(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea, 6/4/13, 6:39 AM: Not sure about this one for me, but hope you enjoy it.
BooksPlease, 6/4/13, 7:34 AM: This looks very different from other stories - and no, I couldn't cook a gourmet meal every Sunday on a pirate ship, not even sure I'd want to at home! Actually you wouldn't get me on any ship - I get seasick.
JoAnn, 6/4/13, 7:58 AM: Adventure and food fiction seems like a unique combination!
Unknown, 6/4/13, 8:03 AM: I agree with Yvonne. If I had to cook like that, I too would sink. Thanks for your preview. Enjoy!
Sheila (Bookjourney), 6/4/13, 8:12 AM: This looks kind of fun!
Laurel-Rain Snow, 6/4/13, 8:34 AM: Wow! Love the language in the opener...and the title grabbed me, too.

Enjoy!

Thanks for visiting my blog.
Anonymous, 6/4/13, 8:40 AM: This body of mine is not brave, too. :) That's such a good teaser... I love the play of words, this author's good!

Thanks for hopping by my Teaser Tuesday post this week.
bermudaonion, 6/4/13, 8:53 AM: This sounds like a fun book! I don't think I'd last long if my life depended on my cooking skills.
Anonymous, 6/4/13, 9:06 AM: The concept really appeals but the writing style of that first para leaves me cold... will await your review!
rhapsodyinbooks, 6/4/13, 9:44 AM: I started to take some of the cinnamon and gunpowder taffy they were handing out, and TWO different people around me warned me if I had any fillings or crowns they would come out! LOL Maybe they just wanted my candy!
Nise' , 6/4/13, 10:31 AM: I would not survive if my life depended upon my cooking skills!
Andi, 6/4/13, 11:27 AM: You're killing me. I HAVE to read this!
Literary Feline, 6/4/13, 12:13 PM: I am not sure this book is for me, but I like the opening just the same!
kayerj, 6/4/13, 12:33 PM: I would not like to cook under those conditions but I would like to read about someone who does. kelley—the road goes ever ever on
Sandra Nachlinger, 6/4/13, 2:10 PM: I love the premise of this book, as well as the setting and time frame. Sounds like a fun read.
My Teaser is from THE COMEBACK KISS.
Margot, 6/4/13, 3:04 PM: This looks excellent. I;d love a different take on food fiction.
Heather, 6/4/13, 9:43 PM: Looks like it could be a fun read. Enjoy the voyage! My teaser: The Wizard of Oz
Vasilly, 6/6/13, 12:47 AM: Now I want to read this! :-)
Julie P., 6/10/13, 10:04 AM: It was fun getting to meet the author!