Books
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Interview: Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth
The amazing power and truth of the Rapunzel fairy tale comes alive for the first time in this breathtaking tale of desire, black magic and the redemptive power of love. Award-winning author Kate Forsyth braids together the stories of Margherita, Selena, and Charlotte-Rose, the woman who penned Rapunzel as we now know it, to create what is a sumptuous historical novel, an enchanting fairy tale retelling, and a loving tribute to the imagination of one remarkable woman. I am thrilled to be able to offer a copy of this novel in a giveaway which will be happening all week (see the giveaway post to enter for a chance to win). Forsyth also…
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Review: Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth
I think most know the classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale of Rapunzel. The child sold to a witch for a handful of bitter greens who grows up to be the beautiful girl in the world with long golden hair. Destine to live in a tower forever, a prince rides by and hears a voice and is enchanted by her. He learns how to get to her by climbing up her hair and ultimately rescues her for the witch and the tower and they live happily ever after. Sound familiar? But what of the original fairy tale by Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force that was published in 1698? In Kate Forsyth’s book Bitter…
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Special Feature: M.L. Longworth featured on NPR’s Crime in the City
When the seasons start to change from summer to fall….I find myself instinctively drawn to reading a good murder mystery. For me, fall means curling up by the fire with a pumpkin spice latte and reading a good who-dunnit! I was recently approached by Penguin to review M.L. Longworth’s latest novel Murder on the Île Sordou (Verlaque and Bonnet #4) and let me just say that this book is satisfying my urge to read a good mystery! I should finish it up tonight, I started reading it this weekend and haven’t put it down since! My review will be up later this month but in the mean time…..M.L. Longworth was recently featured…
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Special Feature: Harbor Island (Sharpe & Donovan #4) by Carla Neggers
I recently reviewed one of Carla Neggers’s Sharpe & Donovan novel, Declan’s Cross and though I didn’t read some of the other novels in the series, it was an interesting plot with with history, romance, and suspense. I am looking forward to the novel book in the series, Harbor Island. In this book, Emma Sharpe finds herself on a wild ride which takes her from Boston, to Ireland, and back across the pond to Maine. I am thrilled to be able to post this except from this thrilling novel! Please enjoy the excerpt and be sure to add it to your TBR list today!
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Special Feature: Guest Outlander Review
For those of you who have followed this blog for a lengthy time, you will know how much I LOVE the Outlander series! It is one of the best series I’ve read and I recommend it to almost everyone I meet who like historic fiction. So it goes without saying that I have been glued to my TV every Saturday night watching the Starz Outlander series which is based on the books. I have been meaning to write a review of the series for quite some time. I originally planned on writing a review for reach episode, but decided that might be too ambitious for this season….so I think I will write…
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Review: Inglorious Royal Marriages: A Demi-Millennium of Unholy Mismatrimony by Leslie Carroll
Don’t we all wish we could be a fly on the wall of a royal marriage. There is something about royalty, romance, and marriage that lures us in and doesn’t let go. With Leslie Carroll’s new book we get all the juice from some of history’s most notorious marriages! Let’s just put it this way…..everything that could go wrong in these marriages, often did! And how could they not when marriages were often arranged for political gain and purpose, rather than love and affection. I won’t go into too much detail as far as background info on the book based on the way it is structured. It’s pretty straight forward and…
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Review: Inceptio (Roma Nova #1) by Alison Morton
This is my first experience reading an alternative history novel. Inceptio is not just an alternative history novel though…it’s part political thriller, part romance, and part fantasy. Karen Brown leads an unassuming life. She grew up in rural Nebraska and moved to New York where she continues living a quiet life. She works in a cubicle with no major responsibilities. She isn’t seeing anyone special, and like most young women on their own, she’s barely making ends meet. But all that is about to change, in a big way. When she starts working on a new account for a Roma Nova organization, she has no idea they are actually there surveying her. She soon…
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Review: The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles #1) by Mary E. Pearson
This book has been flooding my social media feeds for the last month. It seems like everyone has been reading this new YA series. So naturally I needed to see what all the fuss was about. And really, how can you ignore this stunning cover? I’m in love with it….yes I am totally judging a book by it’s cover right now. Princess Lia is a First Daughter of Morrigham and with her regal status comes obligations. One of those obligations is to marry. Her father arranges a marriage with a prince from the neighboring kingdom of Dalbreck to secure a much needed peace in the realm. As a First Daughter, Lia is…
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Book Blast/Giveaway: The Typewriter Girl by Alison Atlee
Author Alison Atlee’s The Typewriter Girl is now an audiobook, narrated by Audie winner Rosalyn Landor, and in celebration she’ll be touring the blogosphere from August 4-29 with HF Virtual Book Tours! Audible Audio Book Edition Audible.com Release Date: April 4, 2014 Listening Length: 12 hours and 39 minutes Publisher: Audible Studios Language: English ASIN: B00JH0L9HW Genre: Historical Fiction A Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year pick: The Typewriter Girl is a “spectacular debut, set in a perfectly realized Victorian England.” When Betsey Dobson disembarks from the London train in the seaside resort of Idensea, all she owns is a small valise and a canary in a…
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Review: Tempting Fate (The Immortal Descendants #2) by April White
Since discovering her power as a ‘clocker’, or an Immortal Descendant, life for Saira Elian hasn’t gotten much easier. Being a clocker means Saira can transport herself through time at will. She is currently living at St. Brigid’s school where she is learning about her power as well as the powers of the other Descendants. For the first time in her life she is stable: she has friends, her mother, excelling in school, and her super attractive boyfriend, Archer who happens to be Death’s Descendant–better known as a Sucker, or vampire. But she is struggling with what it means to rely on others and to truly open her heart to her friends…