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Showing posts from August, 2017

Blog Tour: The Sworn Virgin by Kristopher Dukes: A Book Review

About The Sworn Virgin • Paperback: 352 pages • Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (August 8, 2017) Source: This book was given to me by TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Dukes’s gripping historical novel tells the tale of a desperate Albanian woman who will do whatever it takes to keep her independence and seize control of her future…even if it means swearing to remain a virgin for her entire life.      When eighteen-year-old Eleanora’s father is shot dead on the cobblestone streets of 1910 Albania, Eleanora must abandon her dream of studying art in Italy as she struggles to survive in a remote mountain village with her stepmother Meria.      Nearing starvation, Meria secretly sells Eleanora into marriage with the cruel heir of a powerful clan. Intent on keeping her freedom, Eleanora takes an oath to remain a virgin for the rest of her life—a tradition that gives her the right to live as a man: she is now head of her household and can work for a

Marie Antoinette: Daughter of the Caesars: Her Life, Her Times, Her Legacy by Elena Maria Vidal: A Book Review

Marie Antoinette, Daughter of the Caesars: Her Life, Her Times, Her Legacy Author: Elena Maria Vidal Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: Mayapple Books Release Date: 2016 Pages: 566 Source: Kindle Unlimited Synopsis: Marie-Antoinette, Daughter of the Caesars is about the life, death and legacy of Louis XVI's tragic Queen, based upon the author's thirty years of research. Whenever possible the historical persons speak for themselves out of memoirs and letters. Marie-Antoinette is seen in light of her Imperial heritage as a child of the Habsburg dynasty. Having assumed the crown of the Holy Roman Empire in the 1400’s, the crown which had originated with Charlemagne in the year 800, they were seen as the continuation of the Roman Empire of the West. The Habsburgs and their allies kept the Muslims from overrunning Europe at both the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 and at the battle of Vienna in 1683. The fall of Marie-Antoinette, as both Queen of France and the younge

Marie Antoinette by Desmond Seward: A Book Review

Marie Antoinette Author: Desmond Seward Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: Thistle Publishing Release Date: 2015 Pages: 253 Source: Kindle Unlimited Synopsis: Giddy and extravagant, Marie Antoinette came to France as a child-bride from Austria, France’s traditional enemy, but the hatred she aroused was out of all proportion to her faults. It was not the sans-culottes who first called her ‘L’Autrichienne’ or accused her of lesbianism: the campaign of vilification and scurrilous ballads originated among the nobility, even the royal family.       Posterity sees her as foolish, immoral and devious, as a meddler in politics who unduly influenced her husband, the amiable and incompetent Louis XVI. Re-examining correspondence and memoirs, Desmond Seward finds a different Marie Antoinette: strong-minded, religious, devotedly maternal, surrounded by enemies, forced by her husband’s lethargy to intrigue as best she could to save the monarchy. She failed, but could any woma

Marie Antoinette: An Intimate History by Melanie Clegg: A Book Review

Marie Antoinette: An Intimate History Author: Melanie Clegg Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: Madame Guillotine Release Date: 2015 Pages: 284 Source: Kindle Unlimited Synopsis: As the youngest daughter of the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, Marie Antoinette was born into a world of almost unbelievable privilege and power. As wife of Louis XVI of France she was first feted and adored and then universally hated as tales of her dissipated lifestyle and extravagance pulled the already discredited monarchy into a maelstrom of revolution, disaster and tragedy.      This illustrated first biography by historian and writer Melanie Clegg takes a fresh look at the story of this most fascinating and misunderstood of queens, exploring her personal tribulations as well as the series of disasters that brought her to the guillotine in October 1793.      Melanie Clegg is the author of five historical novels and is also a regular contributor to Majesty magazine and her own w

The Secret Diary of a Princess: A Novel of Marie Antoinette by Melanie Clegg: A Book Review

The Secret Diary of a Princess: A Novel of Marie Antoinette Author: Melanie Clegg Genre: YA, Historical Fiction Publisher: Madame Guillotine Release Date: 2014 Pages: 250 Source: Kindle Unlimited Synopsis: The dramatic and often tragic years of Marie Antoinette’s early life, told in her own words. This book for young adult readers follows her privileged childhood and adolescence in the beautiful palaces of Vienna as the youngest and least important of the daughters of the all powerful Empress Maria Theresa of Austria and invites the reader to share the long journey, both emotional and physical that ended with her marriage to the Dauphin Louis of France at Versailles.      This is the unforgettable story of a charming, fun loving and frivolous young girl, destined for greatness, coming to age in one of the most magnificent and opulent courts that the world has ever seen.       My Review: The Secret Diary of a Princess tells the story of the early years of Marie Antoinette in

Blog Tour: Release Week Blitz: Allerleirauh by Chantal Gadoury

     I am so excited that ALLERLEIRAUH by Chantal Gadoury is available now and that I get to share the news!      If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book by Author Chantal Gadoury, be sure to check out all the details below.      This blitz also includes a giveaway for a paperback of the book or an eBook courtesy of The Parliament House and Rockstar Book Tours. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post. About The Book: ALLERLEIRAUH Author:  Chantal Gadoury Pub. Date:  August 22, 2017 Publisher:  The Parliament House  Pages:  236 Formats:  Paperback, eBook Find it:  Amazon ,  B&N ,  iBooks ,  Goodreads      Once Upon a Time…      In the kingdom of Tranen, a king makes a promise to his dying wife that he'll only remarry a woman who possesses her golden hair. In time, the king's eyes are turned by his daughter. Realizing her father’s intentions, Princess Aurelia tries to tri

Blog Tour: Guest Post by Kathleen C. Perrin: Normandy Revisited

     Today's guest writer is Kathleen C. Perrin. She is the author of The Watchmen Saga . I have read all three novel in the series, and I really like them. In this guest post, Kathleen writes about her revisit to Normandy, which is one of the settings for her books. I hope you find this article to be interesting and that you will pick up a copy of The Watchman Saga today! Thank you, Mrs. Perrin! Normandy Revisited by Kathleen C. Perrin       Every summer, as Americans celebrate the Fourth of July with picnics, parades and fireworks, take family vacations to the beach, and hold family reunions, my thoughts turn to another summer at the beach, a summer that occurred seventy-three years ago, long before I was even born. Nonetheless, it is a summer that has marked me in immeasurable ways. It was the summer of 1944, when the Allied Forces landed at the beaches of Normandy to liberate France.      My mind is also drawn back to the summer of 1987 when I was privileged