The Printed Page

I was struggling with another review book so The Heretic’s Wife by Brenda Rickman Vantrease was the perfect antidote for not DNFing another book this month. From the minute I spotted the cover back in January I been longing to get my hands on a copy. I loved it from the first page to the last. The Heretic’s Wife will be included on my favorite books list come year’s end. I was sucked right into the story and never once did it lose its grip on me. Its a good thing the hubby is out of town as I devoted all my time to reading over the last day or so. While I’ve read many books with story lines based around the Tudor era this is first one I’ve read focusing on the Lutheran reformation. The Heretic’s Wife is the fascinating story of major players in England’s early religious struggles. Along with John Frith and William Tyndale Thomas More is a major player in this story with his counterparts Cardinal Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell getting in on the action as well. Granted what I do know of Sir Thomas I’ve picked up from watching The Tudors which is probably not the best place to get historical accuracy but makes for great TV. I had absolutely no idea that Sir Thomas become so fanatical in hunting down heretics. His zeal to stamp out the Lutherans knew no bounds or mercy. And its just plain great historical fiction. A story line peppered with interesting characters and rich in historical detail. The Heretic’s Wife transports readers to a time and place we’d otherwise not be able to go. I’m not surprised I devoured The Heretic’s Wife as I’m a fan of Ms. Vantrease’s other historical novels, The Illuminator and The Mercy Seller. If you’ve not read one of her novels The Heretic’s Wife is a great place to start.

Here’s what others are saying: Because this novel is hot off the presses I wasn’t able to find any other independent blog reviews when I posted. Feel free to leave your post link in the comments if you’ve read and reviewed The Heretic’s Wife.

Tudor England is a perilous place for booksellers Kate Gough and her brother John, who sell forbidden translations of the Bible. Caught between warring factions – English Catholics opposed to the Lutheran reformation, and Henry VIII’s growing impatience with the Pope’s refusal to sanction his marriage to Anne Boleyn – Kate embarks on a daring adventure that will lead her into a dangerous marriage and a web of intrigue that pits her against powerful enemies. From the king’s lavish banquet halls to secret dungeons and the inner sanctums of Thomas More, Brenda Rickman Vantrease’s glorious new novel illuminates the public pageantry and the private passions of men and women of conscience in treacherous times.

Book of Souls

The Library: Only a handful know it exists . . . It holds the world’s most astonishing – and terrifying – information . . . But the one book that is the key to the greatest secret of all time . . . is missing.

Former FBI Special Agent Will Piper solved – and survived – the “Doomsday Killer” case . . . and his reward was a forced early retirement. But the shattering truths he learned about the government’s most covert operations won’t let him rest – and now he’s on the trail of a mysterious volume that’s been lost for six centuries. This is the book that inspired Shakespeare and the prophecies of Nostradamus, and once Will gets his hands on it, his life will be worth nothing – his death sentence a top priority handed down from the very highest levels of power.

Because there are some truths too dangerous for anyone to know – those that concern the future, world domination . . . and the end of everything.

Watermark

The daughter of a papermaker in a small French village in the year 1320 – mute from birth and forced to shun normal society – young Auda finds solace and escape in the wonder of the written word. Believed to be cursed by those who embrace ignorance and superstition, Auda’s very survival is a testament to the strength of her spirit. But this is an age of Inquisition and intolerance, when difference and defiance are punishable “sins” and new ideas are considered damnable heresy. When darkness descends upon her world, Auda – newly grown to womanhood – is forced to flee, setting off on a remarkable quest to discover love and a new sense of self . . . and to reclaim her heritage and the small glory of her father’s art.

The Queen’s Pawn

A historical novel of the legendary Eleanor of Aquitaine and the one person she loved more than power-her rival for the throne.

At only nine, Princess Alais of France is sent to live in England until she is of age to wed Prince Richard, son of King Henry II and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. Alais is an innocent pawn on the chessboard of dynastic marriage, her betrothal intended to broker an uneasy truce between the nations.

Estranged from her husband, Eleanor sees a kindred spirit in this determined young girl. She embraces Alais as a daughter, teaching the princess what it takes to be a woman of power in a world of men. But as Alais grows to maturity and develops ambitions of her own, Eleanor begins to see her as a threat-and their love for each other becomes overshadowed by their bitter rivalry, dark betrayals, conflicting passions, and a battle for revenge over the throne of England itself.

No Will But His

The author who “masterfully builds a dramatic story” presents another gripping novel of the women of Tudor England.

As the bereft, orphaned cousin to the ill-fated Anne Boleyn, Katherine Howard knows better than many the danger of being favored by the King. But she is a Howard, and therefore ambitious, so she assumes the role Henry VIII has assigned her-his untouched child bride, his adored fifth wife. But her innocence is imagined, the first of many lies she will have to tell to gain the throne. And the path that she will tread to do so is one fraught with the same dangers that cost Queen Anne her head.

All the Queen’s Players

Rosamund has two loves—sketching and the theater—and is happy to have a brother who indulges her in both. Her idyllic days draw to a close, however, when her cousin, Secretary of State to Queen Elizabeth, deems it time to prepare herself for marriage, and suspects that her eye for art could make her a uniquely valuable spy. Once in the queen’s court in the role of a lifetime, Rosamund finds herself not truly prepared for the politics and deceit, nor the love.

The Mistaken Wife

Autumn, 1797. With Napoleon’s forces sweeping through Europe, a young English woman travels to Paris, risking her life on a secret mission that just might end the war for good…Mary Finch is no stranger to adventure, but even she hesitates before accepting her new assignment, travelling as the wife of an American artist into the very heart of enemy territory. The plan is so secret she can’t even tell Captain Holland, with whom she is supposed to have ‘an understanding’. After a terrifying journey through revolutionary France she arrives in Paris only to discover that her American ‘husband’ is not quite what he appears. With the French chasing a deadly new weapon and an old nemesis threatening to unmask her as a spy, Mary soon finds herself in mortal danger…Thrilling and deeply satisfying, The Mistaken Wife is a spirited and gripping historical mystery from the author of the acclaimed The Blackstone Key.

31 Bond Street

The sensational murder of Dr. Harvey Burdell in his lower Manhattan townhouse was the biggest news story in the United States before the Civil War; ‘Who killed Dr. Burdell?’ was the question that gripped the nation. Deftly interweaving fiction and fact, 31 Bond Street is a clever historical narrative that blends romance, politics, greed and sexual intrigue in a suspenseful drama.

When an errand boy discovers Burdell’s nearly decapitated body in the bedroom of his posh Bond Street home, there are no witnesses and virtually no clues. With the city up in arms over the vicious killing, District Attorney Abraham Oakey Hall immediately suspects Emma Cunningham, the striking young widow who has been living at 31 Bond Street with her two teenaged daughters, caring for Burdell’s home in exchange for a marriage proposal. But Burdell’s past is murky and his true intentions towards Emma Cunningham were questionable, leaving Emma with a plausible motive for murder. With the help of her defence attorney, Henry Clinton, Emma embarks on a legal drama to prove her innocence and spare herself from the gallows.

Set against the background of a bustling and corrupt New York City in 1857, 31 Bond Street is a fascinating archeological dig, taking the reader through the minutiae of a buried past, only to uncover circumstances that are shockingly contemporary: a sensationalist press, burgeoning new wealth, a booming real estate market, and race and gender conflicts. Ellen Horan’s gripping novel vividly exposes a small slice of lost history as it explores New York City on the eve of the Civil War.

Dead Write

When it comes to solving murder, sometimes the pen can be mightier than the sword …

Handwriting expert Claudia Rose heads to the Big Apple at the behest of Grusha Olinetsky, the notorious founder of an elite dating service whose members are mysteriously dying. Drawn into the feckless lives of the rich and single, Claudia finds herself in a twisted world of love and lies fueled by desperation. But is one among them desperate enough to kill?

Claudia must find clues in the suspects’ handwriting before more victims are scribbled into the killer’s black book…

A Witch in Time

Stony Mill, Indiana’s newest witch, Maggie O’Neill, has been attached at the hip to the smoking-hot Marcus Quinn. Things couldn’t get any better- until her sister Mel gives birth to not one, but two babies…

Maggie’s visiting Mel in the hospital when a whispered conversation in a cafeteria sends chills down her spine. She can’t make out what they’re saying, but Maggie knows malice when she hears it. The next night, death visits the hospital…twice. Nobody bats an eye, but Maggie knows something sinister is haunting the hospital. Now she’ll need help if she’s going to tie two murders to one killer.

The Heretic’s Wife

Tudor England is a perilous place for booksellers Kate Gough and her brother John, who sell forbidden translations of the Bible. Caught between warring factions – English Catholics opposed to the Lutheran reformation, and Henry VIII’s growing impatience with the Pope’s refusal to sanction his marriage to Anne Boleyn – Kate embarks on a daring adventure that will lead her into a dangerous marriage and a web of intrigue that pits her against powerful enemies. From the king’s lavish banquet halls to secret dungeons and the inner sanctums of Thomas More, Brenda Rickman Vantrease’s glorious new novel illuminates the public pageantry and the private passions of men and women of conscience in treacherous times.

Haunt Me Still

A legendary theatrical curse . . . A rune-engraved blade, a mysterious mirror, and an ancient cauldron . . . And a ritually murdered body laid out in the manner of ancient pagan burials.

Kate Stanley, Jennifer Lee Carrell’s dauntless Shakespearean scholarturned- director, made a memorable – and New York Times bestselling – debut in Interred with Their Bones. Having chased down her mentor’s killer (and recovering one of Shakespeare’s lost plays in the process), Kate’s fame as a director with an expertise in ‘occult Shakespeare’ catapults her – and Ben Pearl, her partner in crime-solving – into a new production of Macbeth, showcasing a fabled collection of objects relating both to the play and the historical Scottish king for whom it is named.

The Bard’s witch-haunted play is famously cursed, its reputation for malevolence so strong that many actors refuse to quote or even name the play aloud. And as rehearsals begin at the foot of Scotland’s Dunsinnan Hill, it doesn’t take long for the curse to stir. Strange references to the boy actor who first played Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare’s day – and died in the role – pop up. A trench atop Dunsinnan Hill is found filled with blood, and a severed human thumb turns up among the props. And Kate begins sleepwalking, waking early one morning alone atop the hill, her hands smeared with blood.

Kate has no memory of how she got there, but later that day a local woman is found dead on the hill in circumstances that suggest not just ritual murder but ancient pagan sacrifice. With the police more focused on Kate as a suspect than as a possible future victim, she and Ben find themselves in a desperate race to discover a lost version of Macbeth, said to contain rituals of witchcraft aimed at conjuring demonic forces to gain forbidden knowledge. However much Kate would like to dismiss such rituals as superstition, someone else appears willing to kill for them – and for the manuscript said to spell them out.

Marked for sacrifice, can Kate Stanley uncover the killer before she becomes the next victim?

Burning Lamp

The Arcane Society was born in turmoil when the friendship of its two founders evolved into a fierce rivalry. Sylvester Jones and Nicholas Winters each sought to enhance their individual psychic talents. Winters’ efforts led to the creation of a device of unknown powers called the Burning Lamp. Each generation the Winters man who inherits it is destined to develop multiple talents – and the curse of madness.

Plagued by hallucinations and nightmares, notorious crime lord Griffin Winters is convinced he has been struck with the Winters Curse. And the instincts that have helped him survive the streets and rise to power are now drawing him toward Adelaide Pyne, the bothersome social reformer. But even as he arranges a meeting with the mysterious woman, he has no idea how closely their fates are bound, for Adelaide holds the Burning Lamp in her possession.

A dreamlight reader, Adelaide should be able to manipulate the Lamp’s light to save both Griffin’s sanity and his life. But their dangerous psychical experiment makes them the target of forces both inside and outside of the Arcane Society. And though desire strengthens their power their different lives will keep them apart – if death doesn’t take them together.

J.D. Robb’s In Death series is my all time favorite series. I read a lot of different series but none of the others compel me to auto-buy the I minute I find out about the newest release. I spend lots of time visiting Amazon until the pre-order button makes an appearance. I’ll admit I just finished Fantasy in Death, book #37 and I’m already lusting after Indulgence in Death, book #38 (Nov ’10). I’ve been torturing myself by holding off reading Fantasy in Death for a couple of months as I try to space out the books because 9 months in between is too much. And I even read the anthologies, the only time Iread short stories, in between new releases just so I can have a periodic fix. Picking up Fantasy in Death Saturday was like meeting up with old friends I haven’t seen in a while. There’s plenty of catching up to do and new stories to be shared. I just love Eve, Roarke and the rest of the gang. They are a unique blend of personalities that click. These are characters I’d love to hang out with in my real life. I was taken with this series from the very first book published in 1995 and to date I’ve yet to be disappointed. For me most series seem to get stale over time but not the In Death series. Yes its always murder but murder in some of the most fascinating scenarios. Very intriguing when you pick the years 2058-2060 as your setting and technology that is in its infancy today is fully developed in these story lines. In Fantasy in Death watch out for the video game you chose to play as it has murder on its mind. You think a game can’t kill well with some very creative programming this one does. And throughout this series Ms. Robb has knack for renaming everyday items. Suddenly your cell phone is a link, your tennies are skids, your money is credits, that can of pepsi is a tube of pepsi. Not much difference except for a small twist on the usual name. But start putting all those new names together in same story line and pretty soon you have items that sound like they belong in 2060 and not 2010. Sure the story lines are a bit futuristic but not in the sense that you’re reading true sci-fi. And lastly I’m more than a little in love with Roarke.

Here’s what others are saying. Book Binge Books, Books, and more Books Mom Blog network

They were best friends, driven by one shared vision – to rule the world of virtual reality games. Cill, hard-edged and beautiful, Var and Benny, brains and business acumen, and Bart, the genius behind the idea. Their newest invention, developed to transport the player into a fantastical virtual world, is just about to be launched. Then, suddenly, Bart is found brutally killed, defeated by their own game. Their close-knit group is torn apart. Who could have engineered a virtual death with such devastating consequences? Even Eve Dallas, New York City’s most cunning investigator, is hard-pressed for an answer. But as she digs deeper, peeling back layers of secrets, revenge and misplaced allegiances, she realises with growing dread the depth of the killer’s master plan. And she knows his game is far from over…

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

If you’re new to Mailbox Monday welcome! Thank you to everyone who stops by Mailbox Monday. Whether you comment or visit I appreciate your taking the time to drop in.

*** RIF: Donating to the library The End Game by Gerrie Ferris Finger (new-to-me author/publicist contact)

Moriah Dru’s weekend off with her lover, Lieutenant Richard Lake, is interrupted when Atlanta juvenile court judge Portia Devon hires Dru to find two sisters who’ve gone missing after their foster parents’ house burns down.

An ex-cop, Dru established Child Trace, Inc., after leaving the force. Judge Devon sees to it that Lake is assigned to head the police investigation, because Dru and Lake together have a habit of solving cases.

After questioning the neighbors, the couple decide that the abduction of the girls looks like more than an ordinary kidnapping. Dru learns that in the past eight years two other foster children from the area have gone missing. The investigation turns up a snitch who tells Dru he’s heard that a secret sex organization, with members named after chess pieces, is bound for Costa Rica with two girls. The chase is on to stop the kidnappers before they escape the country.

RIF: Kindle eBook (pdf file) Drummer Boy by Scott Nicholson (author contact)

On a Blue Ridge Mountain peak, three boys hear the rattling of a snare drum deep inside a cave known as “The Jangling Hole,” and the wind carries a whispered name.

An old man who grew up at the foot of the mountain believes something inside the Hole has been disturbed by a developer’s bulldozers.

Sheriff Frank Littlefield, haunted by his own past failures, must stand against a public enemy that bullets can’t harm.

A skeptical local reporter is driven to unearth the supernatural mysteries the locals prefer to leave undisturbed.

On the eve of a Civil War re-enactment, the town of Titusville prepares to host a mock battle. The weekend warriors who don their replica uniforms and clean their black-powder rifles aren’t aware they will soon engage in mortal combat.

This is a war between the living and the dead, because a troop of Civil War deserters, trapped in the Hole by a long-ago avalanche, are rising from their dark slumber, and their mission is far from over.

And only one misfit kid stands between the town and the cold mouth of hell…

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What books came into your house last week? You have the choice of using inlinkz or Mr. Linky. With inlinkz you can include a book cover if you’d like along with the link to your Mailbox Monday post (clicking on the image takes you to the blog post.) Duplicate links will not count toward the fundraising efforts.

Don’t forget to fill out either inlinkz or Mister Linky or leave a comment with a list of books if you don’t blog. If you’re interested in Read It Forward you will need to leave a comment in addition to filling out a link feature.

• In the “Your name:” box, please enter either your name or your blog’s name.

• In the “Your URL:” box please enter the URL/link that will lead directly to the post you are submitting (also called the permalink). This is not the URL to the blog’s home page.

***

Read It Forward details

Right now I’m frustrated reader. I’m 140 pages into The Exile of Sara Stevenson by Darci Hannah and if the going gets any slower I’ll soon be sleeping. I so wanted to love this story and was very excited to receive my copy from the Librarything Early Reviewers program. The blurb definitely gives one the feeling that a great story is housed between the front and back covers. And I do love the cover. But I’m as miserable working my through this story as Sara is living at Cape Wrath where she’s been exiled because she’s been a very bad good girl according to society rules of the day. So now comes decision time – do I continue to torture myself hoping for something good on the next page or the page after that or do I just call it quits and move on as I’m wont to do when my interest has fallen by the wayside? Hmmm… this is a very tough decision as I really think there’s a gem hidden in here somewhere but my gut tells me to give it up. My suspicion is that The Exile of Sara Stevenson will be a big hit with a lot of readers and time will show me that its yet another book that getting a lot of great buzz that I tossed aside.

I DNF’d it @ pg. 140. I could use it for a doorstop as Devin, our youngest male cat, has developed an affection for shutting doors and locking himself in but I’ve promised it to another book blogger.

Here’s what others are saying: B.A.B.A.E.L

In 1814, Sara Stevenson, the well-bred but high-spirited daughter of celebrated Scottish lighthouse designer Robert Stevenson, falls in love with a common sailor, Thomas Crichton. On the day of their clandestine elopement, Thomas mysteriously disappears, leaving Sara heartbroken, secretly pregnant, and at the mercy of her overbearing family. Refusing to relinquish her hopes that Thomas will someday return to her, Sara is banished to an eerie lighthouse on lonely and remote Cape Wrath. There she meets William Campbell, the reclusive yet dashing light-keeper who incites her ire—and interest. Soon Sara begins to accept her life on the cape and her growing attraction to William—until a mystifying package from an Oxford antiquarian arrives, giving intriguing clues to Thomas’s whereabouts. Through her correspondence with the antiquarian, Sara slowly uncovers the story of her beloved’s fate. But what she doesn’t immediately grasp is that these letters travel an even greater distance than she could have imagined—as the boundaries between time and space unravel to forge an incredible connection between a woman and a man many years apart.

Title: Haunt Me Still Author/website: Jennifer Lee Carrell Release date: April ’10

“It’s the oldest temptation. Not gold or the power it can buy, not love, not even the deep, drumming fires of lust: what we coveted first was knowledge.” A legendary curse, A witch-haunted king, An ancient blade, And all-too-modern murder….

As Kate Stanley begins directing rehearsals for Macbeth at the foot of Scotland’s Dunsinnan Hill, it doesn’t take long for the legendary curse on Shakespeare’s evil-ridden play to stir. Strange references emerge to the boy actor who first played Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare’s day and died in the role. A trench atop the hill is found filled with blood shortly after some of the actors go missing. And a mysterious tarot card leads Kate into the woods where she finds a local woman dead in circumstances that suggest not just ritual murder, but ancient pagan sacrifice.

With Kate marked as both suspect and future victim, she and Ben Pearl race to discover an early version of Macbeth, said to contain actual rituals of witchcraft and forbidden knowledge. However much Kate would like to dismiss such rituals as superstition, someone else appears willing to kill for them—and for the cursed manuscript said to be Shakespeare’s darkest secret.

The books: Inside Out by Barry Eisler; Suddenly You by Lisa Kleypas; Daughters of the Witching Hill by Mary Sharratt; The Butcher of Beverly Hills by Jennifer Colt; The Exile of Sara Stevenson by Darci Hannah

I’m happy to write that my experience this time with a Barry Eilser novel was more rewarding than the last one. I started the week (Saturday) cracking open his newest release Inside Out (June ’10) returning lead character Ben Treven. If you’re a fan of Mr. Eilser’s you’ll know that we first meet Ben last year in Fault Line. Fault Line didn’t rock my reading world but gave me enough insight into Mr. Eisler’s writing style to know that with the right story line I’d enjoy his work. I found Inside Out to be that right story. Ben is in a whole heap trouble and getting out doesn’t look promising. Rescued from a hell hole he goes from the frying pan to the fire and this fire burns blindingly hot. Government corruption and absolute power are never pretty but make for great thriller reading. And the marriage of two characters – John Rain and Ben Treven appears to be in the works if the hints dropped in Inside Out come to fruition. Now all I need to do is make my way through the John Rain books to be ready for Ben’s next big adventure as he meets (?) John Rain and attempts to bring down the political folks who think they know best. If you’re reading this and would like to read Inside Out my ARC is looking for a home. Just leave a comment letting me know you’d like my copy.

Ah the joys of guilty pleasure reading. I got hooked on Lisa Kleypas’ historical romances last year when I needed a diversion from all the review reading I’d been doing. Thank heavens she is a fairly prolific writer as it gives me a back list to make my way through. The guilty pleasure this week was Suddenly You. Of course I know the ending – boy gets girl and they live happily ever after. But it’s the getting there that is so much darn fun. I can always count on Lisa to keep me thoroughly entertained. She should sell fans with her books so that I have some way to cool down after those delightfully scandalous passages.

Thinking that the wait list at the library would be long for the Daughters of the Witching Hill by Mary Sharratt I didn’t expect that I’d have it within a few days of placing my name on the list. This year I’ve taken to reading one historical book for every other book I read in any genre. But with DOTWH showing up yesterday I’m reading two historicals in row as I know there is someone who is patiently waiting for me to finish. Library wait lists don’t allow for due date extensions. And it was a short wait for the next person on the list. I read 60 pages (finishing through the first 4 pgs of Chpt. 4) before calling it quits. I just could not get into this story. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by that as books that get a lot of buzz tend to be ones that I end up not liking or finishing. I know Amy at Passages to the Past – Daughters of the Witching Hill was sucked in from the very start and really liked it plus its getting high marks at Amazon. That should have been my first clue. Oh well it was worth a try.

Next up was the first book in a new-to-me PI mystery series starring the McAfee twins – twenty somethings Terry and Kerry. I’m working my way through this series to book #5, The Hellraiser of the Hollywood Hills, sent to me by the author Jennifer Colt. The Butcher of Beverly Hills is a delightfully light-hearted entertaining mystery. Yes there’s murder but its not the hard core blood all over the bedroom kind. And the twins endeared themselves to me right away when they rescued the dogs of the dead owners from going to the pound. The twins find themselves caught up not only in solving a murder or two but busting wide open a prescription drug ring and chasing down stolen art worth millions. There’s no shortage of humor or mayhem when the McAfee twins are on the case. I’m looking forward to reading books 2-5 in this engaging series and have placed my hold at the library for The Mangler of Malibu Canyon.

I ended the week 98 pages intoThe Exile of Sara Stevenson by Darci Hannah. This book has yet to really catch my interest. I’m not ready to put it aside but it seems a bit slow. I’m really hanging because I want to get to the part where Sara receives a package from an Oxford antiquarian in hopes that there is where the story will take off. If not you can expect a DNF at the start of next week.

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

If you’re new to Mailbox Monday welcome! Thank you to everyone who stops by Mailbox Monday. Whether you comment or visit I appreciate your taking the time to drop in.

*** RIF: ARC – Adopted by Melissa The Exile of Sara Stevenson by Darci Hannah (new-to-me author/Librarything Early Reviewers)

In 1814, Sara Stevenson, the well-bred but high-spirited daughter of celebrated Scottish lighthouse designer Robert Stevenson, falls in love with a common sailor, Thomas Crichton. On the day of their clandestine elopement, Thomas mysteriously disappears, leaving Sara heartbroken, secretly pregnant, and at the mercy of her overbearing family. Refusing to relinquish her hopes that Thomas will someday return to her, Sara is banished to an eerie lighthouse on lonely and remote Cape Wrath. There she meets William Campbell, the reclusive yet dashing light-keeper who incites her ire—and interest. Soon Sara begins to accept her life on the cape and her growing attraction to William—until a mystifying package from an Oxford antiquarian arrives, giving intriguing clues to Thomas’s whereabouts. Through her correspondence with the antiquarian, Sara slowly uncovers the story of her beloved’s fate. But what she doesn’t immediately grasp is that these letters travel an even greater distance than she could have imagined—as the boundaries between time and space unravel to forge an incredible connection between a woman and a man many years apart.

RIF: Donating to library Neverland by Douglas Clegg (publicist contact)

One summer on Gull Island off the coast of Georgia, Sumter Monroe indoctrinates his cousin Beau Jackson into the marvels of Neverland, Sumter’s name for a tumble-down shack on their mutual maternal grandmother’s property that’s a shrine to a god he names Lucy. In Neverland, reality and illusion blur eerily, and the spirit of fun takes a malevolent turn as Sumter begin offering sacrifices of an increasingly disturbing nature to placate Lucy and sustain his special relationship with her.

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What books came into your house last week? You have the choice of using inlinkz or Mr. Linky. With inlinkz you can include a book cover if you’d like along with the link to your Mailbox Monday post (clicking on the image takes you to the blog post.) Duplicate links will not count toward the fundraising efforts.

Don’t forget to fill out either inlinkz or Mister Linky or leave a comment with a list of books if you don’t blog. If you’re interested in Read It Forward you will need to leave a comment in addition to filling out a link feature.

• In the “Your name:” box, please enter either your name or your blog’s name.

• In the “Your URL:” box please enter the URL/link that will lead directly to the post you are submitting (also called the permalink). This is not the URL to the blog’s home page.

***

Read It Forward details

The books: Rumors, Luxe book #2 by Anna Godbersen; The Clouds Roll Away by Sibella Giorello; The Queen’s Soprano by Carol Dines; The Red Church by Scott Nicholson and Envy, Luxe book #3 by Anna Godbersen

I started the week off in the middle of Rumors: Luxe Novel #2 by Anna Godbersen. I don’t usually read YA fiction but The Luxe was a free Kindle download which got me started on this series. Rumors isn’t the best book I’ve read but I’ve read far worse. And I found Rumors more entertaining than The Luxe. I’m sticking with the series simply because I’ve developed a curiosity as to how the lives of these characters will work out and this series has become a bit addictive. Was the death of a male character a plot setup with more to come in books 3 & 4 or was it simply as it appears to be written? Me thinks there is more to come surrounding those suspicious circumstances. Patiently waiting (tapping fingers) for my number to come up on the hold list at the library.

Next up was a review book The Clouds Roll Away (Raleigh Harmon, book #3) by Sibella Giorello. This has been a really frustrating series for me to read. As I prefer to read series in order I borrowed book #1 The Stones Cry Out from my local library. TSCO was very slow with not much to hold my interest. Knowing that I had TCRA on the review shelf I vowed to read book #2 The Rivers Run Dry but I wasn’t looking forward to it. TRRD was a much better story line than TSCO and kept my interest from start to finish. So I cracked open TCRA and I knew within pages that TCRA was possibly going to be a struggle. Once again Raleigh is back in her hometown with all the associated family and relationship issues that for most part where left behind in TRRD because she’d been transferred temporarily to the Seattle office. In TRRD Raleigh was out of her personal environment and those entanglements took a backseat to the central storyline. In TCRA the issues are front and center once again detracting from her case. But TCRA isn’t a complete loss. Even though are there are parts I could do without its still better than TSCO. If I was rating this series and you don’t mind reading out of order, though you might be a bit lost without knowing what’s gone on before, then I’d go books 2, 3, & 1.

I came across The Queen’s Soprano while browsing historical fiction book images at Bing. And if you know anything about me you won’t be surprised that this particular cover caught my eye. Covers on historical fiction books are my weakness. Its another YA book which don’t usually hit my radar so two in the same week is more than I usually read in months. There is not Kindle edition so off to the library homepage to place a hold on it. And with perfect timing it arrived Monday when I was pages from finishing The Clouds Roll Away. And yes I had to start it very late Monday night/Tuesday morning (130AM) because I figured reading the forward would give me sneak peek at the story line. Here’s what sparked my interest so late at night – Pope Innocent IX and his cardinals created laws forbidding females to sing in public. (Forward, page 1) Any woman who dared to sing in public was automatically suspected of being a courtesan or prostitute because she was seen as “prostituting” herself onstage. If caught, she could be fined a large sum of money, arrested, expelled from the city, or placed in a convent for wayward women. (Forward, page 2). Well after reading the forward I couldn’t resist so I also read Chapter 1 as I was so intrigued by Angelica Voglia’s story. I was surprised by how much I ended up enjoying this story. Even though some of the complications of court life and palace intrigue aren’t as scintillating as they might have been if this story was written for a more mature audience there was still plenty to hold my interest.

Now it was time to scare the pants off myself. I fired up the Kindle and loaded The Red Church pdf file sent to me by author Scott Nicholson. Last week I read The Skull Ring another pdf file sent to me by Mr. Nicholson. I found TSR good psychological suspense so I was expecting good things from TRC. I’m always on the lookout for authors who have me double checking door and window locks. Someone who will have me sleeping with the lights on and keeping one eye open. And TRC was a big disappointment for me. I DNF’d it at pg. 58. It starts out as a great psychological thriller with just a touch of horror surrounding a graveyard killing. Then morphs into story line full of God this and God that. References to faith and God appear every other page or so if not more often. I wouldn’t have minded if the references had been subtler as I’ve come to expect some good vs. evil in this type of story line but it got to be a bit much for me. I kept it thinking I could hang on simply for the psychological thrill but realized I probably wouldn’t enjoy my reading very much. TSR had some references to faith but not nearly the overwhelming amount that TRC did.

And now I’ve circled back around to the Luxe gang and my 3rd YA novel in a week and half. I had better luck this week with YA fiction then I did straight adult fiction. I started the week reading Rumors, Luxe book #2 and I finished the week reading Envy: Luxe book 3. These books truly are brain candy and definite beach reads. While I probably wouldn’t recommend them they have become addictive and I’m seriously considering buy Splendor, Luxe book 4 in a Kindle version simply because I want to know how the story ends. I’m on the hold list at the library which is long and considering you check out a book for 3 weeks it might be the end of summer before my name comes up. So do I wait or do I buy? Keep checking out my Mailbox Monday posts and see what I do.