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Announcement: Elizabeth Gilbert lets fans choose the cover of her new novel THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS!
I have some exciting news to share with all of my readers….Elizabeth Gilbert, bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love, is letting her fans choose the US cover of her new novel THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS—an epic novel of love, ambition and 19th century botanical exploration, coming out from Viking on October 1st. Voting on three potential book covers begins today 3/21/13 at 8am on Gilbert’s Facebook page and runs through Sunday night 3/24/13. I hope you’ll consider voting in this contest and helping spread the word about this exciting opprotunity! See here for USA Today’s coverage including quotes from Gilbert. To my knowledge, Gilbert is one of the first…
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Review: And Only to Deceive (Lady Emily #1) by Tasha Alexander
Lady Emily Ashford is not in love with her new husband, the Viscount Philip Ashford. In fact she hardly knows him. So when she receives word that her husband died on safari in Africa, she can hardly morn a man she barely knows. Emily married Philip to escape the constraints of her family and hoped that marriage would provide that. Now that she is a widow, she finds she has even more freedom than she did as a wife. All of London society can’t stop singing the praises of Lord Ashford to Emily which makes her uncomfortable, but in an effort to at least try and morn the stranger she…
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Interview and Giveaway: Thwarted Queen by Cynthia Sally Haggard
I recently had the pleasure of reviewing Thwarted Queen as part of the Thwarted Queen Virtual Book Tour thanks the the lovely Amy over at Historic Fiction Virtual Book Tours! Thwarted Queen takes us thru a thrilling period in English history, The War of the Roses and the end of the Plantagenet kings. In this novel we meet the spirited woman who would be the mother of two notorious kings: Cecylee de Neville. When young Cecylee marries Richard Duke of York she has no idea what her future will hold, but this strong woman holds her own in a world where the enemy is everywhere…lurking behind curtains, plotting against you….waiting to destroy you.…
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Review: Thwarted Queen by Cynthia Sally Haggard
The Plantagenet kings helped shape England from a colony to a structured monarchy and super-power during the middle ages. But like all great things, the Plantagenet era was coming to an end during the fifteenth century. Tensions were already high in England especially during the reign of Henry VI who suffered doubts of madness. Richard Duke of York was appointed protector of the realm but within a short amount of time, the famous War of the Roses was in full swing. In this novel we meet the spirited woman who would be the mother of two notorious kings: Cecylee de Neville. When young Cecylee marries Richard Duke of York she has no idea what her…
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Review: The Cross and the Dragon by Kim Rendfeld
Under Charlemagne’s reign, Francia was no stranger to war. War was just part of every day life in 773, but so were romance and chivalry. Alda’s brother, Count Alfihar of Drachenhaus, is starting marriage negotiations for her to wed the wealthy and good looking, but cruel Count Ganelon of Dormagen. Alda has no desire to marry Ganelon at all, she would rather wed another….Prince Hruodland, heir to the March of Brittany but alas he is of royal blood and far above the reach of a Countess. But yet Alda and her uncle can’t help but sense Hruodland is more than interested in Alda’s hand. Ganelon is jealous of the friendship between…
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Review: A Parachute in the Lime Tree by Annemarie Neary
While Ireland might have been neutral during WWII, it doesn’t mean that the war didn’t effect the lives of it’s Irish residents. Kitty in Dunkerrin, a small town in the middle of Ireland. One morning she wakes up to find a parachute hanging from one of her lime trees. The previous night, Belfast was hit by Luftwaffe air raiders so Kitty can only assume the parachute belongs to a German. She later finds the airman raiding her kitchen and injured. Hi name is Oskar and he explains that he has deserted the war and wishes her no harm. Kitty agrees to help Oskar. Oskar has one mission in mind when he…
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The Lit Bitch has entered the 2013 Historic Fiction Reading Challenge
It’s that time of year again, reading challenge time! I can hardly believe it! Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be posting my entries for various challenges here as I sign up and I will also have a special page/section devoted to my entries which will have lists of books I plan on reading. As per usual I’ll post my reviews throughout the year and add the buttons on my sidebars. So here is the first challenge sign up of 2013: the Historic Fiction Reading Challenge hosted by Historical Tapestry. For more details about my entry and goals please see my the Historic Fiction Reading Challenge 2013 page. If you are interested in signing up…
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Review: A Wreath of Snow: A Victorian Christmas Novella by Liz Curtis Higgs
It’s Christmas Eve and snow has started falling on the small Scotland town of Stirling. Margaret Campbell has just had a row with her family and wants nothing more than to catch the first train out of Stirling back to Edinburgh. Gordon Shaw has just completed his interview for the newspaper he works for and he too is eager to leave Stirling but for an entirely different reason. Stirling was his home long ago until the shame of a tragic accident forced him to move away. The snow is coming down harder when the train finally departs from Stirling with Margaret and Gordon on board when it collides with a large snow…
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Review: The Lady of Secrets (The Dark Queen Saga #6) by Susan Carroll
In Edinburgh 1591, Maidred Brody is being executed. Found guilty of being a witch, she is sentenced to die by fire along side another well known witch names Tamsin Rivers. Everyone in town has turned out to watch the execution, including the king himself, James I. Maidred’s brother, Robert Brody, plans on appealing to the king and begging his sister’s pardon. When James refuses, Robert watches unable to do anything but watch her die. At that moment he vows his revenge on King James….someone will answer for this miscarriage of justice. As the witches burn, Tamsin Rivers calls out a curse on the House of Stuart forever striking fear in…
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Review: The Gilded Lily by Deborah Swift
When Ella Appleby’s employer turns up dead, she knows what will be come of her….she will be out in the cold without a second thought unless she thinks of something quick. Ella wakes her sister, Sadie, and together the loot her employers mansion and head for the glitz and glamour of 17th century London. But when they arrive, they are met with anything but opportunity. Work is hard to find and the sisters are forced to take any employment they can get. Luckily they both find work at a wig shop and are able to rent a small room. Though their loggings and income are meager, Sadie is simply happy…