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Showing posts from May, 2018

The Visionary Mayan Queen: Yohl Ik'Nal of Palenque by Leonide Martin: A Book Review

The Visionary Mayan Queen: Yohl Ik'Nal of Palenque (The Mists of Palenque #1) Author: Leonide Martin Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Made for Wonder Publishing Release Date: 2014 Pages: 268  Source: Personal Collection Synopsis: Enter the world of a Mayan Queen      Yohl Ik'nal, first Mayan woman ruler, must overcome forces opposing her rule . . . betrayal and revenge, attack by enemy cities, and shamanic powers. Using her visionary ability, she saves her city from destruction, builds temples to honor her father and the Gods, and brings prosperity to her people while finding a love that sustains her.      But she foresees a time of darkness and devastation coming. Danger lurks ahead and she must choose a successor, either her weak son or willful daughter. Can she trust her vision to reveal the will of the Gods? The results of her choice will lead to ruin or bring her city to greatness.      Discover the opulent world of royal court intrigue, exotic ceremonies

The Pursuit of Mary Bennet by Pamela Mingle: A Book Review

The Pursuit of Mary Bennet: A Pride and Prejudice Novel Author: Pamela Mingle Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks Release Date: 2013 Pages: 322  Source: Personal Collection Synopsis: A tale of love and marriage, society balls and courtship, class and a touch of scandal, Pamela Mingle's The Pursuit of Mary Bennet is a fresh take on one of the most beloved novels of all time, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice .      Growing up with four extraordinary sisters—beautiful and confident Jane and Elizabeth, and flirtatious and lighthearted Lydia and Kitty—wasn't easy for an awkward bookworm like Mary Bennet. But with nearly all of her sisters married and gone from the household, the unrefined Mary has transformed into an attractive and eligible young woman in her own right.      When another scandal involving Lydia and Wickham threatens the Bennet house, Mary and Kitty are packed off to visit Jane and her husband, Charles Bingley, whe

The Deadliest Sport: A Miriam bat Isaac Mystery in Ancient Alexandria by June Trop: A Book Review

The Deadliest Sport: A Miriam bat Isaac Mystery in Ancient Alexandria Author: June Trop Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery Publisher: Black Opal Books Release Date: 2017 Pages: 242 Source: This book was given to me by iRead Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Miriam bat Isaac, a budding alchemist in first-century CE Alexandria, welcomes her twin brother Binyamin home to fight his last gladiatorial bout in Alexandria. But when he demands his share of the family money so he can build a school for gladiators in Alexandria, Miriam explains that he forsook his share when he took the gladiatorial oath.      When she refuses to loan him the money for what she feels is a shady and dangerous enterprise, Binyamin becomes furious. Soon after, the will of Amram, Miriam's elderly charge, turns up missing; Amram becomes seriously ill; and the clerk of the public records house is murdered. Could Binyamin really be behind this monstrous scheme? If not he, who could be

The Forgotten: Heir of the Heretic by J. Lynn Else: A Book Review

The Forgotten: Heir of the Heretic Author: J. Lynn Else Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: J. Lynn Else Release Date: 2016 Pages: 452 Source: Kindle Unlimited Synopsis: It is a time of new beginnings! Pharaoh Akhenaten has declared that there is only one god to be worshipped throughout Egypt. He has also made a promise to his oldest daughter, Merytaten, that one day she will be his heir and the future pharaoh. However, as pressures build up against the new religion, it falls upon Akhenaten's wife, Nefertiti, and Merytaten to help prevent an insurrection.       Merytaten soon finds herself trapped in a world of broken dreams and empty promises. When she loses the meaning to her life, how can she possibly help the citizens? What can she do to assist the people who are falling into poverty? How can she save those she loves when Death's shadow looms large across the city?       Discover the struggles and triumphs of one young woman's lifetime...      " Heir

The Forgotten: Aten's Last Queen by J. Lynn Else: A Book Review

The Forgotten: Aten's Last Queen Author: J. Lynn Else Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: J. Lynn Else Release Date: 2015 Pages: 558 Source: Personal Collection Synopsis: "I am King Tut’s wife, but my name is barely a whisper in history’s memory. I was the last of my family to survive the Aten revolution. I had a child at age 12 and was forced to marry three times. But that didn’t mean my story ended badly. My name is Ankhesenamun, my loved ones called me An, and I will stop at nothing to save my family."      Despite the vast treasure found in Pharaoh Tutankhamun’s tomb, there is little left over regarding his bride. From the turbulence of her father’s reign, Akhenaten, who forced monotheism on the country to the mending of these wounds by the now-famous Tutankhamun, her life saw more change than most ancient Egyptians dared even dream about. Evidence left to us about her is this: She was forced to marry her father, her brother, and her grandfather. She gave bi

Blog Tour: The Deadliest Sport: A Miriam bat Isaac Mystery in Ancient Alexandria by June Trop

The Deadliest Sport: A Miriam bat Isaac Mystery in Ancient Alexandria Author: June Trop Category: Adult fiction, 242 pages Genre: Mystery, Historical Fiction Publisher: Black Opal Books Release date: October 7, 2017 Tour dates: May 14 to 25, 2018 Content Rating: PG (mild religious oriented expletives, such as "Lord," some violent descriptions, such as the corpse, the gladiatorial arena) Book Description:      Miriam bat Isaac, a budding alchemist in first-century CE Alexandria, welcomes her twin brother Binyamin home to fight his last gladiatorial bout in Alexandria. But when he demands his share of the family money so he can build a school for gladiators in Alexandria, Miriam explains that he forsook his share when he took the gladiatorial oath.      When she refuses to loan him the money for what she feels is a shady and dangerous enterprise, Binyamin becomes furious. Soon after, the will of Amram, Miriam's elderly charge, turns up missing; Amram becomes

Blog Tour: Woven by Bree Moore

Author: Bree Moore Narrators: Rebecca McKernan Length: 13 hours 49 minutes Publisher: Books by Bree, LLC Released: Mar. 28, 2018 Genre: Epic Fantasy For 30 years, Elaina has sat in her tower, fingers caught in an eternal dance, cursed to weave the tapestry of life on her loom. Bound by an enchanted mirror whose magic shows her the distant lives of the people of Camelot, she must forever watch a land which remains ever beyond her reach. Elaina despairs that she will ever experience more than just the shadows of life, until one day, a face appears in the mirror that will change her life, and possibly her fate, forever. Guinevere is losing her mind. When a severe injury to her head nearly kills her and awakens alternate personalities suppressed from her past, Guinevere learns that one of them is plotting with a knight of the round table to murder King Arthur and take control of Camelot. In the midst of war, Guinevere fights to save both her own lif

Blog Tour: Cover Reveal for Nancy Bilyeau's The Blue!

The Blue by Nancy Bilyeau Publication: Fall 2018 Endeavour Quill Genre: Historical Fiction      What would you do to possess the most coveted color in the world? The year is 1758, and a headstrong woman artist, 24-year-old Genevieve Planche, is caught up in a high-stakes race to discover the ultimate color, one that threatens to become as deadly as it is lucrative. When Genevieve’s mission is complicated by her falling in love with the chemist behind the formula, she discovers the world of blue is filled with ruthless men and women and how high the stakes really are. The story sweeps readers from the worlds of the silk-weaving refugees of London’s Spitalfields and the luxury-obsessed drawing rooms of Grosvenor Square to the porcelain factory of Derby and, finally, magnificent Sevres Porcelain in the shadow of Versailles. And running through it all: the dangerous allure of the color blue.      “Bilyeau’s sumptuous tale of mystery and intrigue transports the reader int

Cleopatra Unconquered (Volume #1) by Helen R. Davis: A Book Review

Cleopatra Unconquered (Cleopatra Reimagined Book #1) Author: Helen R. Davis Genre: Alternative Historical Fiction Publisher: Savant Books & Publications LLC Release Date: 2015 Pages: 328 Source: This book was given to me by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: The first book of three in a richly imagined ancient world where the course of history is altered by one battle. In this world, Antony and Cleopatra triumph at the Battle of Actium, and Cleopatra emerges as a queen, stateswoman, and politician. Those around her come to life as the reader returns to those days to live them with her.        My Review: Cleopatra Unconquered is the first in a trilogy that that imagines what would happen if Cleopatra won the Battle of Actium. This book narrates Cleopatra’s challenges to becoming pharaoh. She is the favorite child of her father Ptolemy XII. When he dies, Cleopatra marries her brother Ptolemy XIII. However, she faces a war betwe

My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie: A Book Review

My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton Author: Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks Release Date: April 3, 2018 Pages: 652 Source: This book was given to me by TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: From the New York Times bestselling authors of America’s First Daughter comes the epic story of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton—a revolutionary woman who, like her new nation, struggled to define herself in the wake of war, betrayal, and tragedy. Haunting, moving, and beautifully written, Dray and Kamoie used thousands of letters and original sources to tell Eliza’s story as it’s never been told before—not just as the wronged wife at the center of a political sex scandal—but also as a founding mother who shaped an American legacy in her own right.       A general’s daughter…      Coming of age on the perilous frontier of revolutionary New York, Elizabeth Schuyler champions the fight for indep

Death Below Stairs (A Below Stairs Mystery #1) by Jennifer Ashley: A Book Review

Death Below Stairs (A Below Stairs Mystery #1) Author: Jennifer Ashley Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery and Suspense Publisher: Berkley Release Date: January 2, 2018 Pages: 335 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review Synopsis: Victorian class lines are crossed when cook Kat Holloway is drawn into a murder that reaches all the way to the throne.      Highly sought-after young cook Kat Holloway takes a position in a Mayfair mansion and soon finds herself immersed in the odd household of Lord Rankin. Kat is unbothered by the family’s eccentricities as long as they stay away from her kitchen, but trouble finds its way below stairs when her young Irish assistant is murdered.       Intent on discovering who killed the helpless kitchen maid, Kat turns to the ever-capable Daniel McAdam, who is certainly much more than the charming delivery man he pretends to be. Along with the assistance of Lord Rankin’s unconventional sister-in-law and a mathematical geniu