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Review: The Determined Heart: The Tale of Mary Shelley and Her Frankenstein by Antoinette May
Mary Shelley was the daughter of the iconic feminist Mary Wollstonecraft and her husband William Godwin. She has not had a normal childhood….she’s been exposed to all kinds of brilliant literary and philosophical figures. But she has also suffered tragedy, Mary never knew her mother. Her mother died shortly after giving birth to Mary, so the only family she has ever known was her half sister Fanny and her father. Well, Mary’s life is about to get more complicated and uncomfortable when her father remarries. William has only ever really loved one woman, Mary Wollstonecraft, so when he remarries his neighbor Mary Jane Clairmont she is pretty jealous of Wollstonecraft’s memory.…
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Review: Paris Time Capsule by Ella Carey
Cat Jordan is about to get the surprise of her life when she opens a mysterious letter from Paris. Cat has been working as a photographer and basically lives a very bohemian lifestyle. She has a boyfriend, Christian, who she has been with for a while who is much different than she is…..his family is very wealthy and he is very traditional. Basically they are complete opposites but it seems to be working….ish. Well Cat finally decides to open the mysterious letter, only to find that she has inherited something…..from a woman she has never heard of! Side note, why can’t this sort of thing happen to me?! Cat calls…
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Review: Lamb Black, Wolf Grey by Paula Brackston
Artist Laura Matthews and her husband Dan and decided to move to the Welsh countryside for a couple of reasons. They have enjoyed their lives in the city but for Laura, she hopes that living in the country will inspire not only her artwork, but also a baby. Dan and Laura have tried repeatedly for a baby and nothing has seemed to work. Laura hopes that the relaxed environment will help them achieve what they both desire, and she hopes that living there will help ease some of the other difficulties in their marriage. Dan on the other hand is not terribly excited about living in the remote area but…
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Review: Avelynn by Marissa Campbell
Avelynn, a Saxon noblewoman in 869, has enjoyed luxuries that most women of her time haven’t. Her father is a lord and allows her to attend gatherings and she eventually hopes to rule her lands….the last things she expects is for her father to marry her off. Her father has allowed her to have a say in her suitors but with the threat of a Viking invasion and growing tensions abroad, his patience is wearing thin with her being picky. Avelynn continues to reject just about every suitor that presents himself….her parents’ marriage was a love match so why shouldn’t her’s be one as well? Well, her father has tolerated just…
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Review: A Curious Beginning (Veronica Speedwell Mystery #1) by Deanna Raybourn
Veronica Speedwell is finally free from her spinster aunts! Not that she is rejoicing in their deaths or anything but she has longed to be free to travel the world in pursuit of butterflies and a few romantic liaisons. She is not just an amateur butterfly collector, but a scientist, lepidopterist, and lover of natural science in particular. When a mysterious German baron shows up on the day of her aunt’s funeral proclaiming that it is a matter of life and death that she come with him to London, she agrees but not because she is afraid for her life but because he promises a free ticket to London. When they…
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Review: The House of Hawthorne by Erika Robuck
Sophia is a talented artist and writer. Her well known Salem family has discouraged her from pursuing traditional women’s roles such as marriage, in favor of pursuing her creative and educational talents. Plagued by debilitating headaches, Sophia spends a lot of time in bed and her parents even send her to Cuban in hopes of curing her headaches. While she is in Cuba, she begins writing about some of the slavery she has witnessed in her journal, when she returns to Salem, Massachusetts she catches the eye of upcoming writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. From their first meeting, Nathaniel and Sophia begin an intense romantic relationship that despite many setbacks leads to their marriage.…
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Announcement: Winner AllSoulsCon Ticket Giveaway
And the winner of the giveaway for the AllSoulsCon free ticket giveaway is….. Darlene C (commented on post) The winner will be notified via email. Thank you to everyone who entered and a huge thank you to the publisher and the people at AllSoulsCon for making this giveaway possible!
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Special Feature/Giveaway: TICKETS TO AllSoulsCon (an ALL SOULS TRILOGY exclusive event)
AllSoulsCon is coming! What is AlSoulsCon you ask? Well it’s a fan-run one-day convention celebrating THE ALL SOULS TRILOGY, taking place September 12th in Los Angeles but available to fans all over the world via livestream. Deborah is attending, as is audiobook reader Jennifer Ikeda, and it’s going to be an outstanding opportunity to meet them and fellow fans, enjoy AST-inspired food, wine, contests, and a lot more! You can see the schedule here, but highlights include: Q&A sessions with Deborah Harkness and Jennifer Ikeda A Renaissance Music Workshop, with performances by University of Southern California musicians and featuring original compositions by Isaias Garcia A fan panel (details to come)…
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Review: At the Water’s Edge by Sara Gruen
Maddie has not idea that New Years Eve 1942 is going to be a day where everything in her life changes The belle os the ball and Philadelphia society is married to Ellis and lives a life of shelter and privilege. While there is a war raging across the pond, Maddie and her husband Ellis aren’t really that in touch with it. Ellis and his best friend Hank should be enlisting in the war like all the other men their age but they both have medical conditions and aren’t allowed to join. Ellis’s father is beyond ashamed of his son’s inability to enlist and reminds Ellis of it on a…
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Book Blast: THE ENCHANTRESS OF PARIS by Marci Jefferson
Enchantress of Paris: A Novel of the Sun King’s Court by Marci Jefferson Publication Date: August 4, 2015 Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press Hardcover & eBook; 336 Pages Genre: Historical Fiction READ AN EXCERPT. Fraught with conspiracy and passion, the Sun King’s opulent court is brought to vivid life in this captivating tale about a woman whose love was more powerful than magic. The alignment of the stars at Marie Mancini’s birth warned that although she would be gifted at divination, she was destined to disgrace her family. Ignoring the dark warnings of his sister and astrologers, Cardinal Mazarin brings his niece to the French court, where the…