Crime Scene At Cardwell Ranch, B.J. Daniels

Book Review: I was off with one of my college friends at a hair appointment when my hairstylist told me they were giving away free books on the second floor of the mall. While my hair was drying she scooted up there and got me a copy! Apparently it was Harlequin's 60th anniversary!

I don't particularly care for Harlequin novels, my old faithful being Mills & Boons, a UK leader in romance novels, whose caliber in the genre I much prefer to Harlequin. However, it was free, I had three hours on my hands till Cindy got her hair colored, and there was a Starbucks close by. So I spent my three hours emersed in the world of B.J. Daniels.

A modern tale of murder and mystery, this novel is definitely not the best I've read, the plot is too sparsely laid out and an overly cute cowboy on the cover...one of those novels where the end is in sight from the first page! Definitely a time killer if you have nothing else on your hands!

Book Synopsis: After Hudson Savage betrayed her, Dana Cardwell hoped never to lay eyes on the seductive cowboy again. Until a bunch of old bones showed up on her family ranch. Suddenly her former lover was back in her life in a big way-to investigate a decades-old crime.
Five years ago, Hud left town with a heart load of regrets. But now, as acting interim marshal, he had a job to do. And this time he wasn't walking away. Because now Dana's life was on the line-as the unsuspecting target of a killer who still walked the canyon. Hud would do whatever it took to keep Dana close. Even if it meant risking his own heart for a second chance for both of them.... Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.com

Don't Bargain with the Devil, Sabrina Jeffries

Book Review: I was totally surprised when I got this book in the mail! An autographed, reader's advance copy that I had won through an online giveaway! Pretty cool!

So, as soon as I got it, I sat down to read it! And I was pleasantly surprised at how good a read it actually was! For a while I had grown weary of the typical, mass-produced romance novel! But this was indeed one whose plot had been carefully thought out, and even more carefully laid out!

It was a pleasure reading every page of this novel and for any of you romance readers out there, this is definitely a book you should add to your shelf!

Book Synopsis: New York Times bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries delights and entertains with this novel of Regency manners and roguish passions -- fifth in her dazzling School for Heiresses series.
The future of Charlotte Harris's fi nishing school is in jeopardy when a charming Spaniard -- world-famous magician Diego Montalvo -- arrives to turn the bordering estate into a scandalous pleasure garden. Valiantly ignoring his wicked flirtations, outspoken Lucinda Seton vows to derail his plans and save the school, unaware that Diego's true mission is to spirit the long-lost heiress away to Spain for a handsome reward! But before long Diego's heart is playing tricks on him, and Lucy is falling under the illusionist's spell. How can the Master of Mystery go through with his devilish scheme when all he wants is to make the lovely heiress his own? About the AuthorBy the time Sabrina Jeffries was eighteen, she'd eaten chicken heads and jellyfish, been chased by a baby elephant, seen countless cobras and pythons, had the entire series of rabies shots, and visited rain forests and rubber plantations. But that wasn't enough excitement for her; to escape her mundane life as a missionary's daughter, she read romance novels.
Now she writes romance novels, and her bestselling, award-winning tales of strong women and sexy, dangerous men have been translated all over the world. Although she now lives in North Carolina with her husband and son, her colorful life has given her plenty of inspiration for more novels.
Visit her website at www.sabrinajeffries.com.

Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.com

Sarah, Marek Halter

Book Review: From the lands of ancient Ur comes a story of an amazing woman. A woman who's beauty was unrivaled, who became the mother of a civilization so great its numbers rival the grains of sand. A woman who went from the palaces of her pagan childhood to the tents of the beduin people; those who followed the One True God.

In Sarah Halter takes us in the footsteps of an amazing woman in Biblical History, Sarah wife of Abraham. But before she was Sarah, she was Sarai, "born in a house with thirty rooms in a city that contained a hundred similar houses, its most beautiful temple as high as the hill of Qiryat-Arba, its outer walls thicker than an ox."

Our Bible characters, are sometimes without faces; without personalities. They are the people who were inspired by God. This book brought this most mysterious of women to my attention... She was more than Abraham's wife, she was more than 'the woman who was barren but God healed'; in this books Halter brings her to life. Her fears, her desires, her destiny are all alive and shining with the brilliance of God's plan for her life. A truly worthy read!

Book Synopsis: Yet another entry in the burgeoning subgenre of fictional portraits of biblical women (see, for example, Rebecca Kohn's retelling of the story of Queen Esther in The Gilded Chamber), Halter's novel (the first in a trilogy) adheres to a by now familiar formula: frank sexual and emotional revelations presented against a backdrop of burnished interiors. Halter's Sarah is born Sarai, the daughter of one of the most powerful lords of Ur.

At the age of 12, she is pledged in marriage to a man she has never met, and despite the finery of her bridal chamber ("Everything was new.... Linen rakutus as smooth as a baby's skin"), she flees in distress. Dragged back to her father's house, she doses herself with an herbal concoction that leaves her barren and is made a priestess of Ishtar, Ur's goddess of war. Six years later, an encounter with her childhood love, the handsome Abram, furnishes her with the chance she's been waiting for: she escapes with him and joins his nomadic tribe.

Her contentment is short-lived, because Abram is called by God to leave his tribe and set out for a new land, whereupon the familiar (but freely adapted) Bible story unfolds. The misery Sarah feels at being barren, the indecent love her nephew Lot expresses for her, her encounter with Pharaoh and her quarrel with Hagar, the slave woman who gives Abram a child, shape the novel's second half. Halter isn't afraid to present headstrong Sarah as bitter in her old age, and his complex portrait of the biblical matriarch gives this solid if predictable novel a dash of freshness.

Synopsis Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.com

Recipes for a Perfect Marriage, Morag Prunty

Book Review: To say this book is my new favorite is to put it lightly. For anyone who is thinking about marriage, in a relationship, married or even single; this book is definitely a must read. There are so many elements in this book that I identified with. Most of the storyline was like reading my own life in print. I learned to love my husband all over again, stronger, deeper and with more respect that I ever have in the past. I learned to see my husband in a new and vastly more endearing light.

Recipes for a Perfect Marriage is written from two perspectives, and captures the lives of three generations of Irish women. Bernadine (the grandmother), and Tressa (the grandaughter) are the primary storytellers, but woven in between is the life of the somewhat distantly acknowledged Niamh (Tressa's mother & Bernadine's daughter). This beautifully written story is about the loves, lives & men that deeply influence the lives of Bernadine & Tressa, primarily their husbands. Stitched together like the pages of a treasured family recipe book, this story deals with the ingredients that keep a marriage together, the love that grows and blossoms like a well tended garden, the courage it takes to love the right man, and the fortitude needed to know what is right and what is wrong.

Love is a choice. It is not a mere emotion, and it is not something you can simply indulge in. If true love is what you are looking for, then you need to learn to look in the right places, in the right people, but most importantly you need to look for it within yourself. The journey that Tressa takes within the pages of this novel is one primarily of self-awakening. One where she discovers that love can be a fairytale if you don't get in the way of yourself. The journey that her grandmother takes is similar, but the realization takes a lifetime.

I remember standing at my grandmother's elbow watching as she effortlessly created the homemade delicacies that mark my childhood, recipes that I duplicate today in my own kitchen, and through her instructions the love I gained for cooking.

Similarly, there is a knowledge that is passed down from grandmother to child, from mother to child that can never be replaced, and never duplicated anywhere but through their hands; and it is those wisdoms that pass on from one generation to the next that help ease the path of the next generation if we are wise enough to take heed.

This book is divided by the ingredients needed in a marriage. How perfect your final product turns out is entirely up to you, just as that of any recipe. As Tressa journeys through her grandmother's recipes, she also learns that she must adapt them within her own capabilities, an interesting parallel indeed.

Book Synopsis:From Publishers WeeklyAfraid she is too old to wait for "The One," successful 38-year-old food writer Tressa Nolan marries the next man who asks her—her building super, amiable, kindly, not-very-educated Dan Mullins. Less than two months into her marriage, she realizes she does not love her husband, and never has. Horrified by his blue-collar habits, his desire to move from their Upper West Side apartment to Yonkers and his combative mother, Eileen, Tressa wishes desperately for the counsel of her late Irish grandmother, Bernadine, who taught her to cook and whose 50-year marriage to grandfather James seemed like the model of the perfect relationship. Along with old-fashioned recipes (e.g., Slow-Roasted Clove Ham and Honey Cake), Bernadine's tale, set in 1930s and '40s Ireland, is interspersed with Tressa's, in 2004 Manhattan. The two stories run parallel, each woman learning that as food too hurriedly made is inferior to its long-cooking counterpart, so the passionate love that immediately strikes the heart may be pale in comparison to the slow-growing, long-lasting love of marriage. A fine point, and nicely illustrated, but the mirror chapters becomes predictable, as whatever happens to one woman is sure to happen, in similar form, to her counterpoint. (May) Synopsis Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. Courtesy of Amazon.com

The Third Circle, Amanda Quick

Book Review: True to the fashion of her Arcane Society series, this book was even more bizarre in its historical fiction approach to paranormal antics and psychical romance. Normally an avid reader of Quick's works, I was surprisingly disappointed in this book. The plot, as always was indeed interestingly twisted, but it went from what should have been a funny, romantic interlude, to a bizarre paranormal carnival ride. I didn't particularly enjoy the homosexual/lesbian tilt to this novel either. Seriously disappointing from an otherwise wonderful novelist.

Book Synopsis: In Quick's (Jayne Ann Krentz's pseudony

m) mediocre latest installment to the Arcane Society series, Leona Hewitt, a crystal reader, and Thaddeus Ware, a hypnotist, meet trying to steal the same re

lic—the aurora stone—from a private collection, but a murdered prostitute and a t

rap

 protecting the stone initially complicate their success. Thaddeus, hired by the Arcane Society to claim the stone, allows the plot's loudly grinding gears to ally him with Leona. Both Leona and Thaddeus are sensible and pragmatic, qualities that make for efficient sleuths but passionless lovers, and Quick has to try unusually hard to make their romance believable. The story fares better when it focuses on the crystal and its connections to secret societies, to the Midnight Monster (a hackneyed serial killer) and to Leona's personal history. When the plot threads finally pull taut and the villains' motives and schemes are completely (if clumsily) exposed, Leona is endangered in a suspenseful climax. This is unlikely to garner Quick any new fans, or even delight her devotees, but it will tide them over until the next episode. (Apr.) 

Synopsis Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Courtesy of Amazon.com

The Constant Princess, Philippa Gregory

Book Review: I've noticed of late that I have had a little bit of trouble getting into the feel and rhythm of Gregory's books. I can't say what it is, perhaps the author's style has become slightly monotonous  for my tastes, but this does not take away from the fact that Gregory's books are as brilliant as they ever were!

In fact, The Constant Princess is one of the most beautifully written of all her works! Fictionally detailing the life and reign of Queen Katherine of Aragon, the first of Henry VIII's six wives, this book brings to the reader's mind this most noble of his wives. She was indeed a true princess through and through, to her death she held herself as the true queen of England and would not give ground to her usurpers.  In fact in her last

 letter to Henry, in the last stage of her life, she signs her name as 'Katherine the Queen'. 

Born to two of the greatest monarchs in Christendom, Ferdinand of Aragon & Isabella of Castile, she came to England a child bride to the then Crown Prince, Henry VII's son Arthur. As history would have it, Arthur died a mere six months after their wedding leaving Katherine a widow at 17.  She was then betrothed to Henry, the younger son who was six years her junior. And the rest as they say is history!

Gregory carefully takes her reader through the early life of Catalina, Infanta of Spain; we get a glimpse of her life with her parents as they are on campaign against the Moors. The reader gets an entrance into the sweeping grandeur of the conquered palaces, where Catalina spends most of her childhood within the walls of the

 now Spanish occupied harems.

From this lazy, feminine background the Infanta and Princess of Wales emerges to the male dominated, politically charged shores of 16th century England. Henry VII has claimed the crown from the blood-drenched battlefields and presents to Catalina the stock of royalty, the image of the vulgar commoner. We watch as she holds to herself as a true princess of the blood and seems to gleam among the rough horse-stock of England's dubious monarchy.

Gregory lends an almost Sheherzadean quality to the relationship between Arthur and Catalina, where she regales and entrances him with tales from far-off lands, tales of conquests and conquered, her Isabella's legendary fearlessness, her hero-worship of her father, her life in Spanish conquered Moorish palaces, and more!

We are taken through Catalina's first marriage, to her second with young Henry and her life with him; through it all we watch as she grows from a young, defiant girl to a woman in love, a woman who comes to the height of her expectations, a woman who grows to learn the strings of the English court, a woman who learns to hold her tongue and flatter, a woman who goes through the sorrow of one lost child after another, a woman who reconciles her child's worship of her parents with the reality of them, and a woman who to her dying day knew where her place in life stood.

This is indeed a book that endears an otherwise lost historical figure to the hearts of her readers. Definitely worth reading!

Book Synopsis: As youngest daughter to the Spanish monarchs and crusaders King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, Catalina, princess of Wales and of Spain, was promised to the English Prince Arthur when she was three. She leaves Spain at 15 to fulfill her destiny as queen of England, where she finds true love with Arthur (after some initial sourness) as they plot the future of their kingdom together. Arthur dies young, however, leaving Catalina a widow and ineligible for the throne. Before his death, he extracts a promise from his wife to marry his younger brother Henry in order to become queen anyway, have children and rule as they had planned, a situation that can only be if Catalina denies that Arthur was ever her lover. Gregory's latest (after Earthly Joys) compellingly dramatizes how Catalina uses her faith, her cunning and her utter belief in destiny to reclaim her rightful title. By alternating tight third-person narration with Catalina's unguarded thoughts and gripping dialogue, the author presents a thorough, sympathetic portrait of her heroine and her transformation into Queen Katherine. Gregory's skill for creating suspense pulls the reader along despite the historical novel's foregone conclusion. 

Synopsis Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Courtesy of Amazon.com

For more information or to purchase: http://www.amazon.com/Constant-Princess-Boleyn-Philippa-Gregory/dp/074327248X

In the Company of the Courtesan, Sarah Dunant

Book Review:

My lady, Fiammetta Bianchini, was plucking her eyebrows and biting color into her lips

when the unthinkable happened and the Holy Roman Emperor's army

blew a hole in the wall of God's eternal city

letting in a flood of half-starved, half-crazed troops bent on pillage and punishment.

As the inside flap states "Thus begins In the Company of the Courtesan, Sarah Dunant's epic novel of life in Renaissance Italy."

The book is narrated from the height, eyes, ears and heart of the dwarf Bucino Teodoldi. Bucino who is the constant companion, gatekeeper, and exalted pimp of the high-class courtesan Fiammetta Bianchini narrates an exotic tale that sweeps from the cobbled, depraved and invaded streets of middle sixteenth century Rome to the water-logged canals of Venice.

Though graphic by turns, the narration is bare of flattery. Bucino and Fiammetta tell it like it is. There is no soft lighting, no flowery phrases to mask the depravity of the trade that these two individuals are engaged in, make a living from and through which in the end comes not only their salvation but a certain amount (if the author is to be believed) of fame due to the talents of one young Tiziano Vecellio.

The story could very well have ended on page 214; halfway through the book. And it would simply have been a very good tale about a courtesan and her dwarf companion. But Dunant will not leave her readers without a climax! No pun intended, for the reader will go through this book and experience a series of highs and lows, like the tides that come in along the cobbled banks of Venice's waterways.

Without the other 147 pages and the story therein, this narration would indeed have been incomplete! For it is through these pages that the characters truly excel themselves! Bucino and Fiammetta go from being two depraved individuals to something more...something redeemed. They go from being an exotic story, to a glimmer of hope.

I'm not ashamed to say I teared up at the turn of the last page for very few books have the power to truly endear its characters to the readers heart and this was indeed one of the select few.

Please Note: Adult Content. There is a vulgarity of phrase and narration in this novel that may not appeal to all readers.

Book Synopsis: Renaissance Italy enchants in Dunant's delicious second historical (after The Birth of Venus), as a wily dwarf Bucino Teodoldi recounts fantastic escapades with his mistress, celebrated courtesan Fiammetta Bianchini. Escaping the 1527 sacking of Rome with just the clothes on their backs (and a few swallowed jewels in their bellies), Fiammetta and Bucino seek refuge in Venice. Starved, stinking, her beauty destroyed, Fiammetta despairs—but through cunning, will, Bucino's indefatigable loyalty and the magic of a mysterious blind healer called La Draga, she eventually recovers. Aided by a former adversary, who now needs her as much as she needs him, Fiammetta finds a wealthy patron to establish her in her familiar glory. Through Bucino's sharp-eyed, sharp-tongued narration, Dunant crafts a vivid vision of Venetian life: the weave of politics and religion; the layers of class; the rituals, intrigue, superstitions and betrayals. Dunant's characters—the steely courtesan whose glimpse of true love nearly brings her to ruin; the shrewd and passionate dwarf who turns his abnormalities into triumph; and the healer whose mysterious powers and secrets leave an indelible mark on the duo—are irresistible throughout their shifting fortunes. (Feb.) Synopsis Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Ransom, Julie Garwood

Book Review (By Ayla): I started reading this book and couldnt even get past the second chapter because it was boring.

Book Review (By Mimi): First let me say that this book was originally reviewed by Ayla, and for a while a considered simply commenting on her post with my review, it seemed easier to insert it into the body so it's all together! Love you Ayla! lol:O)

After reading her review on Ransom, I HAD to read it for myself! Simply because I ADORE Historical Fiction and its counterpart Historical Romance. In my opinion they should go hand-in-hand! Yes, I'm a romantic at heart!

Now, when most people think of Historical Romances, they wouldn't be necessarily wrong if they lumped it all into the Harlequin Romance genre. But a well-written Historical Romance or HR for future reference, can be a beautiful thing! I never read an HR for the sexual content, as is the first comment I get when I tell them I'm reading this genre. The sexual content is least of what interests me, if at all! A well written HR explores much more! It is usually a study in period norms which includes dress, habits, transport, architecture, literature, art, lifestyle, fashions, speech, vocabulary, historical facts and characters loosely or not so loosely based in fiction, etc.!!!
I'm also into the traditionally dashing, debonair, heroic gentleman of the romanticized Renaissance and the burly, demanding knight of the middle ages...not necessarily in that order! Coupled with the equally romanticized intelligent yet feminine, strong-willed yet delicate heroins of the traditional HR! Escapism right?

Julie Garwood captures these features in her characters with Ransom! She has a truly refreshing take on the dashing knight and the princess-in-need-of-rescue theme! Some of the key elements in Brodick Buchanan (a Scottish Highlander) and Lady Gillian's story, in a nutshell:
- Her father is murdered by an evil Lord Alford.
- The story centers around Arianna's Box, a stolen jewelled box that belonged to King John's mistress.
- An evil plot is hatched by a Highland traitor to murder the laird of a Highland clan whereby his young brother was set to be kidnapped.
- Lady Gillian rescues the unfortunate boy and so meets Brodick.

What I thoroughly enjoyed about this book is the utter chivalry of the male characters. In the modern day and age where women are portrayed as liberated and equals of men it is indeed refreshing to see an author with a different view of the female-male relationship. The female characters in Ransom are far from shrinking violets! They are strong, brave, resourceful and in this is their beauty. The male heroes are far from overbearing and ogre-like, but instead they value the women they are portrayed with, they are quick to sing her praises, protective to a fault, respectful, and sincere.

As for the adult content in this novel, I was glad to see that the author upheld a Christian-like and indeed old-fashioned outlook on intimacy. For all the novels in this genre that I have read which contain a more 'modernized' narration of sexual intimacy, this book was refreshingly old-fashioned.

I would definitely recommend this novel for any reader who is not only interested in the Historical Romance genre, but also for anyone who is looking to escape to the realm where knights wear shining armor...or kilts(!) and women who are in need of rescuing!

Book Synopsis:In Ransom, New York Times bestselling author Julie Garwood returns to her beloved Highlands and the dark days of the despotic rule of King John to reacquaint readers with Scottish chieftain Brodick Buchanan, first introduced in The Secret. Brodick finds himself playing protector to Gillian, an exquisite English beauty, who is desperate to find her long-lost sister and a treasure of incalculable worth--one for which many already have died, including Gillian's own father. Coerced by the fiendish Baron Alford, who murdered her father before her eyes and usurped her birthright 14 years earlier, Gillian must return to England with Arianna's Box, a bejeweled golden box commissioned by King John, or her beloved Uncle Morgan will be tortured to death. In spite of Gillian's fragile looks and her loathsome English bloodlines, Brodick encounters a woman of immeasurable courage and determination, one not at all intimidated by his legendary temper or imposing size. And as he realizes that he has met his match in Gillian--whose sense of honor and duty equals his own--their passion for each other grows ever stronger in this thrilling historical. --Alison Trinkle --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


For more information or purchase:http://www.amazon.com/Ransom-Julie-Garwood/dp/074347418X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241634055&sr=8-1

The Other Queen, Philippa Gregory

Book Review: To be honest I was highly disappointed in this book. The story deals with the capture and imprisonment of Mary, Queen of Scots by then Queen of England, Elizabeth I. The tale is indeed a long one recited by three personalities: George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, his wife Bess of Hardwick and Mary. The narration is in these three voices, and carry the weight of their personalities, circumstances and lives. Gregory does indeed create believeable characters in them and a facinating narration of this most dramatic period in English history. However, in my reading of this book, I found her sole most facinating character to be "indomitable" Bess. George Talbot comes across as a snivelling weakling who can't hold two thoughts together! Mary comes across as a scheming harpie who carries herself less like a queen except in the eyes of her admirer, George who is primarily wooed by her striking beauty. In spite of her orchestration of an unsuccessful uprising, her constant attempts at escape, and his ultimate financial ruin; the man is apparently so besotted with her beauty and queenly carriage that he is helpless to save himself. Perhaps this is the story Gregory wishes to paint of this lackluster, real-life character but it would have been a much stronger storyline had the man seemed to have more of a brain in his head!

Mary is painted as a woman who besides constantly pining dramatically, constantly harps on her right to be queen, her assumed entitlement to three crowns, her son as an afterthought, her sickness, her beauty...etc., etc., etc. Fickle and weak but with a nasty streak of cunning, she seems to depend wholely on her misguided and desperate knights in shining armor...! After a while, that got old!

Bess is the one character in this book that has complexity and depth; a more...finished...personality than the other two put together. Halfway through I started skipping pages and just read Bess's narrations. In fact, she starts the book and she ends it. She does however constantly wax on and on about her prowess as a gold-digging, social climber. But as tedious and long as her monologues on her self-worth and her self-made fortunes are, she is less uninteresting than the other two characters.

Perhaps Gregory meant this novel to portray Bess as the leading character, and perhaps in this she achieved what she aimed for; but the utter failure in my opinion, of her other two characters to carry as much weight in the narration causes the reader to be more bored than bound by the progression of the storyline.

Overall, if you are loyal to Gregory you will at least get through this book!

Book Synopsis:Using the multiple-viewpoint technique that worked well in The Boleyn Inheritance (2006), Gregory fictionalizes a little-explored episode in the life of Mary, Queen of Scots. In 1568, after fleeing rebellious Scottish lords, Mary is placed into the custody of George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, and his wife, Bess of Hardwick. This turns their Derbyshire estate into a hotbed of intrigue and possible treason. George, normally loyal to a fault, falls in love with Mary; Bess secretly reports to William Cecil, Queen Elizabeth’s spymaster, while fretting about her foolish husband and the continual draining of their funds; Mary plays them against one another while plotting to escape, with Cecil noting her every move. Gregory skillfully evokes the suspenseful atmosphere—it was never certain that the 1569 Rising of the North in favor of Catholic Mary would fail—but the protagonists’ inner thoughts, as presented in short alternating chapters, are unnecessarily repetitive. Although this isn’t her best work, Gregory’s writing is sharpest toward the end, as the unavoidable consequences of Mary’s long imprisonment are finally felt by all. --Sarah Johnson --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. Synopsis Courtesy of Amazon.com

For more information or to purchase: http://www.amazon.com/Other-Queen-Novel-Philippa-Gregory/dp/1416549145/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242084536&sr=1-1

Foxe's Book of Martyrs, John Foxe

Book Review: This book is a gut-wrenching insight into the widespread martyrdoms that took place during the rule of Queen Mary most infamously known as Bloody Mary! Published only five years after Mary's reign and early in the reign of her half-sister Queen Elizabeth I, it sought to show readers the malevolence of the Roman Catholic Church and to sanction the establishment of the Church of England not as a seperate denomination, but rather as the true church of Christ.

This book needs to be read with steady concentration and it is extremely humbling! A study in Red Martyrdom, this book brings to the forefront the trials early Christians faced which are well documented in this compilation of first hand eye-witness statetments, and third party narrations.

Foxe's Book of Martyrs is an abridgement to “The Acts and Monuments of the Church: Containing the History and Sufferings of the Martyrs” first published in 1563 and 1570. (http://www.peterreynoldsbooks.com/home/foxereview.htm)

Book Synopsis: A great Christian classic, this book describes the heroism and martyrdom of countless believers. It has been an unparalleled volume since its 16th-century origin. Synopsis Courtesy of Amazon.com

For more information or to purchase: http://www.amazon.com/Foxs-Book-Martyrs-Sufferings-Protestant/dp/0310243912

EPIC: The Story God is Telling, John Eldredge

Book Review: This is definitely an interesting and worthy read by Eldredge, it is in a totally different sphere to his work with his wife in Captivating, but if you're looking for something to motivate you, to inspire you to get more connected with the Word of God, this will definitely do that!

I loved studying with this little booklet. Yes, it is just a little booklet, not a novel! For the longest time I kept it on my night-stand and paged through it sometimes at night before I went to bed. It helped me get my thoughts focused and in a meditative state of mind.

Book Synopsis: In Epic, a retelling of the gospel in four acts, John Eldredge invites us to revisit the drama of life, viewing God not only as the author but also as the lead actor, exploring His motives and His heart. Eldredge examines the power of story, the universal longing for a "plot" that makes sense deep inside us, our desire for a meaningful role to play, our love of books and movies, and how all of this points us to the gospel itself. Synopsis Courtesy of Amazon.com

For more information or to purchase: http://www.amazon.com/Epic-Story-Telling-John-Eldredge/dp/0785288791/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241561487&sr=1-6#

Ginger Garrett, Author & Historian, Upcoming Books & More!

I am SO excited!!!!! Ginger Garrett, one of my favorite authors to date is working on the release of her second book in the Chronicles of the Scribe series! The book entitled, In the Arms of Immortals is set to be release on my birthday: September 1, 2009!!! For anyone who is interested in getting me a birthday gift, this is number one on my wishlist!!!!

Having read her first book in the series In the Shadow of Lions, I was instantly captivated by Garrett's unique approach to Historical Fiction! Needless to say, I will be reading one and all of her books!

During the course of checking up on updates on her web site I came across a promo for a free copy of her book and my favorite In the Shadow of Lions as well as a printed copy of An Evening With The Tudors: How to Recreate A Medieval Feast in Your Home. I applied for the books, and I'm praying Ayla, Linds & I qualify as a Book Club!

If you haven't read any works by this amazing, versatile and talented author, you're missing out on something awesome!

Please keep her in your prayers as she is having surgery on her ankle.

For more information about this amazing author please visit her web site at http://www.gingergarrett.com/splash/

~Have a blessed day!
Mimi.

Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul, John & Stasi Eldredge

Book Review: I started reading this book as a part of my required reading for the Holy Order of Godly Men of which I am now a Knight Lady Companion. From the moment I read...

Let's do it." Dusk was settling in. The air was cool, fragrant with pine and sage, and the swiftly moving river beckoned.

...I was hooked.

This is THE most exhilerating, exciting, ...captivating...book I have ever laid eyes on in the Christian genre. And not just for a Christian woman either! For any woman searching for that definable truth, for any woman in search of where she belongs. My heart yearned to know my Jesus, to be intimate with him, to love him, to know I am cherished as the pinnacle of His creation. This book brought the love God had for me as His creation, his daughter.

I devoured this book, I cried through the words that touched my soul and went deeper, I laughed and twirled as a little girl cuddled in her father's arms, I yearned for the love of my heart, my Lord Jesus, and I remembered this amazing book long after I had turned the last page. This is a book I will read to my daughter, one I will read as a mother and a grandmother, as the years pass and life ebbs ever closer to heaven.

This is a collection of thoughts put down on paper, inspired only by God! and an intimate understanding of His heart.

If you have not read this book in your lifetime, you have missed an understanding of the heart of God!

Book Synopsis: Every little girl has dreams of being swept up into a great adventure, of being the beautiful princess. Sadly, when women grow up, they are often swept up into a life filled merely with duty and demands. Many Christian women are tired, struggling under the weight of the pressure to be a "good servant," a nurturing caregiver, or a capable home manager.
What Wild at Heart did for men, Captivating is doing for women. Setting their hearts free. This groundbreaking book shows readers the glorious design of women before the fall, describes how the feminine heart can be restored, and casts a vision for the power, freedom, and beauty of a woman released to be all she was meant to be. By revealing the core desires every woman shares-to be romanced, to play an irreplaceable role in a grand adventure, and to unveil beauty-John and Stasi Eldredge invite women to recover their feminine hearts, created in the image of an intimate and passionate God. Further, they encourage men to discover the secret of a woman's soul and to delight in the beauty and strength women were created to offer. Synopsis Courtesy of Amazon.com

For more information or to purchase: http://www.amazon.com/Captivating-Unveiling-Mystery-Womans-Soul/dp/0785264698#

Second Nature, Alice Hoffman

Book Review: So I discovered Alice Hoffman through Sarah Addison Allen. While reading up on Allen I found out that Hoffman had greatly influenced her work as a student. I found this facinating to say the least! It's funny, but not so far off the charts that I have been inspired by Sarah A. Allen! And Alice Hoffman! Both are great writers and both have a sense of weaving the known and the unknown together with such simplicity and yet with such intricacy that it is impossible to remove the characters from their situations.

In Second Nature Hoffman taps into the human instinct for chasing a mystery. The entire book is a mystery! From beginning to end she draws you in deeper and deeper until having to turn the page is an interruption! The story is seemless in its sense of rhythm; Hoffman takes you into the inner workings of human nature, its core, its baseness...there is a raw, wild and edgy quality to this novel that just grips you from beginning to end.

The tension she creates in and between her characters is so tangible that at the last page turn it was with a sense of sadness but also a sense of relief that I put this book down! Her characters are vivid, they are raw, they come out at you from the pages!

If you enjoy a good read this is definitely the book for you! It gave me chills and warmed me at the same time!

Book Synopsis: Beguiled by her seductive prose and her imaginative virtuosity, readers have always been willing to suspend disbelief and enjoy the touches of magic in Hoffman's novels ( Illumination Night ; Turtle Moon , etc). Here, credibility is stretched not by magical intervention but by the implausibility of a major character. When a feral young man is discovered living with wolves in a remote area of upper Michigan, he cannot speak and can barely remember his early life. Transferred to a hospital in Manhattan, he does not utter a sound and is on his way to being incarcerated in a mental institution until divorced landscape designer Robin Moore impulsively hustles him into her pickup truck and carries him to the sanctuary of her home on an island in Nassau County. There the Wolf Man reveals that his name is Stephen and that he was the sole survivor of a plane crash that killed his parents when he was three-and-a-half years old; thereafter he lived with a wolf pack. Within three months Robin teaches Stephen to read; soon afterwards they begin a passionate affair. How Stephen can so easily expand the small vocabulary he had mastered at a tender age but has never used since, how suddenly he can deal with sophisticated concepts, speak in grammatical sentences and even observe the social graces, is the central flaw that undermines what is otherwise a highly engaging tale. Stephen's presence in the community causes various people to reassess their lives; then there is a tragedy involving a child, (a device that is beginning to be a pattern in Hoffman's novels, as are strange changes in climate that herald a significant event). Hoffman's keen appraisal of human nature and her graceful prose do much to keep this novel appealing; but the bedrock implausibility may deter readers from whole-hearted enjoyment. Synopsis Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

For more information or to purchase http://www.amazon.com/Second-Nature-Alice-Hoffman/dp/0425161633/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241233005&sr=1-2

The Sugar Queen, Sarah Addison Allen

Book Review: I picked up her second book simply because her first was so delightful! I was expecting an equally enthralling read but was sorely disappointed!

In her second novel Allen sadly falls short of her debut in Garden Spells! The author who's debut novel I couldn't put down failed to keep me entranced through her second attempt. Her characters were accentric and taciturn and I couldn't connect with any of them on a more deeper level than words on a page. The plot was rather bland and the whole ensemble seemed almost haphazardly put together with long pauses for effect.

I did however, like that her protagonist was an identifiable character. She was definitely not your run-of-the-mill variety.

Basically, I was not into it! Slightly dissappointing.

Book Synopsis: Much like her charming debut novel Garden Spells, Sarah Addison Allen's Sugar Queen is a blend of food and magic. Josey Cirrini is fast approaching thirty. She's a plump, painfully shy recluse who hides in her closet stuffing herself with junk food and reading romance novels to find solace from her overbearing mother (the two live together). While her mother Margaret was a classic Southern belle, Josey is mousy and timid, with no friends, no love life, and no dreams. She's expected to stay and care for her mother. But Josey's dull, predictable life is turned upside-down when bad girl Della Lee mysteriously appears in her closet, smack-dab in the middle of her stash of moonpies, pecan rolls, and Little Debbie snacks. Della Lee is Josey's opposite: she lives fast and hard, has been arrested for solicitation, and seems to be on the run from someone. The only problem is that she refuses to leave the closet.

Synopsis Courtesy of Amazon.com

For more information or to purchase http://www.amazon.com/Sugar-Queen-Random-Readers-Circle/dp/0553384848/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241231234&sr=1-1

Duchess of Milan, Michael Ennis

Book Review: This is one of my all time favorite books. I love it so dearly that Jason got it for me on our first date February 14, 2003! Ennis's characters are fragile and robust, passionate and complex, and you can't help but fall in love with each and every one of them!

My heart was in every page, every plot turn and twist, I cried over their sorrows and jumped around madly at their triumphs! And I needed closure after the turn of the last page.

This book is yet another staple on my bookshelves and brings me much joy time and time again!

Book Synopsis: This complex, ambitious novel of Renaissance Italy by the author by Byzantium explores volatile events of the period from 1491 to 1508, as dukes of Naples and Milan scheme viciously, the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor play politics and the runty Valois king Charles VIII claims kinship with the house of Milan in order to "crusade" over the Alps and install French authority. The tale's appealing protagonist is Beatrice d'Este, who cherishes the poetry of Dante and maintains a healthy awe for the goddess Fortune. Wedded at 15 to faithless, dark-haired Lodovico Sforza, 40, the cruelly powerful son of an upstart condottiere, Beatrice first loathes and then loves her callous spouse, though the development of their relationship is not convincing. Throughout, Beatrice vies with shrewish cousin Isabella of Aragon for the title of Duchess of Milan. Scenes of torture, sex and childbirth; texts of letters; descriptions of gowns, artifacts, dreams, ceremonies and hunt parties; and inserted passages of explanatory history (Leonardo da Vinci periodically reports as engineer at the court of Milan) add color and texture. The narrative sometimes sags beneath the weight of its supernumary characters and compulsive documentation, but the play of strongwilled personalities against a vivid historical background produces a satisfying tale. 60,000 first printing; $60,000 ad/promo. Synopsis Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

For more information or to purchase http://www.amazon.com/Duchess-Milan-Onyx-Michael-Ennis/dp/0451404289/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Reign of the Favored Women, Ann Chamberlin

Book Review: I'm currently reading this novel, and so far, it's pretty good. Will update this post as soon as I'm done reading it!

Book Synopsis: A historical novel on a power struggle between two women in the harem of Sultan Murad of Turkey. They are Safiye, mother of the sultan's only son, and Nur Banu, the sultan's mother and official head of the harem. Each has her own political agenda and on the outcome of the conflict depends the future of the Ottoman Empire. By the author of The Sultan's Daughter. Synopsis Courtesy of Pines Library System.

For more information or to purchase http://www.amazon.com/Reign-Favored-Women-Book/dp/0765342979/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241221672&sr=1-1

The Maid of the White Hands (Tristan and Isolde Novels, #2), Rosalind Miles

Book Review: Boring. I was looking for something interesting and instead got a mixture of Wicca and Sci-Fi.

Book Synopsis: Isolde's day has come. In Ireland, her mother, the Queen, lies dying. The throne of the Emerald Isle, one of the last strongholds of the goddess, awaits her. But while Ireland is her destiny, Isolde is already Queen of Cornwall, trapped in a loveless marriage to its mean-spirited King Mark. Her true love is his nephew, Tristan of Lyonesse, who has never married, remaining faithful only to Isolde.

Across the sea in France, a young princess who shares Isolde's name enters the story. King Hoel named his daughtor in honor of Isolde of Ireland, and young Isolde of France has always been determined to outdo her beautiful namesake. She is a physician, too, and is called "Blanche Mains," for her white hands and healing touch. Blanche is of an age to be married, and she has chosen her husband—Tristan of Lyonesse. Her father objects, but fate favors Blanche. King Mark has become suspicious of his wife and nephew, and when Tristan is wounded in battle, he sees a chance to separate them for good.Mark sends Tristan to France to be healed by Blanche, who makes the most of the opportunity. Tristan's letters to Isolde are intercepted, and he is told that she has given him up. Near death from his wounds, Tristan sends one last, desparate letter to Isolde by a trusted servant. He is dying, he tells her, and asks for one final sign of their love. If she can forgive him for betraying her, she must come to France in a ship set with white sails. If the ship's sails are black, however, he will know that she no longer loves him. Isolde immediately leaves for France, but when Blanche sees the white-sailed ship from the castle window, she pulls the curtains and tells Tristan that the sails are black. To her horror, he turns his face to the wall and dies.

There ends the traditional medieval story of Tristan and Isolde—with betrayal, death, and grief. But the original Irish lengend ends differently, and so does this book, wth magic and drama as only Rosalind Miles could write it. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. Synopsis Courtesy of Amazon.com

You can purchase this book at http://www.amazon.com/White-Hands-Tristan-Isolde-Novels/dp/B000C4SLOQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241220584&sr=1-1

Harem: A Novel, Dora Levy Mossanen

Book Review: This was definitely an interesting read! However I think three quarters of this book deals with Rebekah and the unfortunate series of events that is her life in the poor Jewish Quarter. Vulgar by turns, and tastelessly graphic this novel only reaches the outer edges of the Harem. Rebekah's daughter becomes a part of the Harem, and ultimately the Shah's favorite, but by the time the reader actually gets to Raven (Gold Dust's daughter) the story has run its course. Three generations of unfortunate women, their stories, against the background of the Harem is a little more than one reader and indeed one novel can handle. I was left hanging.

Let me also say: Adult Content.

Book Synopsis: Lush and erotic, this first novel overflows with the magic and sensuality of Arabian Nights tales, 19th-century orientalist paintings and languorous, silken-pantalooned harem beauties. Set in 14th-century Persia, the tale moves easily between the crowded, garbage-strewn alleys of the Jewish quarter and the magnificent palace of the shah. The shah's palace harem is concealed behind a tracery of delicately carved stone panels, where his 365 wives and their many attendant eunuchs lounge, and the queen mother, Bibi Sultana, rules. In the Jewish quarter, the characters are Rebekah, the indomitable heroine; the ancient Zoroastrian, a seeress; the one-eyed rabbi; the merchant Rouh'Allah, who realizes nearly too late he loves Rebekah; and Moses, fated to be gelded and become a lover to the shah. Rebekah is only 10 when she's married to Jacob the Fatherless, a brutal blacksmith, and branded by him with a hot iron bar between her breasts, a mark that will assume nearly supernatural importance. After Jacob commits suicide, Rebekah becomes a prostitute to support her child, Gold Dust. Determined to place her daughter within the harem, she sells her charms to Narcissus, the chief eunuch, even though he carries "his manhood pickled in a jar." Gold Dust becomes the shah's favorite, but provides the sonless ruler with another daughter, Raven, who will eventually be as implacable as her grandmother. The multifaceted story involves an invasion by the Mongol hordes under Teymour the Lame (Tamerlane) and daring escapes by Rebekah and Gold Dust. Shamelessly exotic, it's a delightful read and a grandly romantic escapade. Synopsis Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

You can purchase this book at http://www.amazon.com/Harem-Novel-Dora-Levy-Mossanen/dp/0743230213

The Sultan's Harem, Colin Falconer

Book Review: What can I say!? The characters are amazing, the plots are colourful and energetic, the backdrop of history and flavors of the exotic are intoxicating! This is a book rich in language, flawlessly executed. A must read!

I'm reviewing this book months after I read it so I can't remember all the details, but I do remember how intricate it was in customs, colors and backgrounds of the period.

I do remember how much I enjoyed reading it, and I know that should the opportunity make itself available again I would read it again!

As with most fictional novels that have to do with Harems, this book does have adult content. For those of you who prefer your fiction to be sensored.

Book Synopsis: Falconer, author of Feathered Serpent (2002) and When We Were Gods (2000), stirs up a potent brew of splendor and misery in this page-turner set during the reign of sixteenth-century Ottoman sultan Suleyman I, called "the Magnificent" in the West. As seen here, Suleyman is a competent ruler with a fatal flaw: an obsession for Hurrem, his favorite concubine. Embittered by slavery, a "living death," Hurrem will stop at nothing, even the murder of her own sons, in her drive for power and revenge. Caught up in the intrigue are other characters, both historical and fictional: Gulbehar, the mother of Suleyman's heir; Ibrahim, Suleyman's trusted Grand Vizier; Julia, a Venetian who is taken captive by pirates and winds up as one of Suleyman's 300 harem girls; and Abbas, the eunuch in charge of the harem, who loved Julia in his youth and paid a terrible price. Plot twists, an exotic setting, and vivid details compensate for some wooden dialogue. This peek behind the walls of the seraglio will seduce lovers of large-scale historical fiction. Mary Ellen QuinnCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

You can purchase this book at http://www.amazon.com/Sultans-Harem-Colin-Falconer/dp/1400083125/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241219174&sr=1-1