Upcoming Release: The Autumn Throne: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine by Elizabeth Chadwick

The Autumn Throne: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine by Elizabeth Chadwick
Release date: October 4, 2016
Series: Eleanor of Aquitaine
Paperback: 512 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
ISBN-10: 1402296843


"The Son She Loved. The Betrayal She Faced. The Legend She Became.

The stunning conclusion to the Eleanor of Aquitaine trilogy

Imprisoned by her husband. Separated from her children. If King Henry II thought these things would push his queen into submission, he was wrong. Eleanor of Aquitaine refused to give into his tyranny. Freed by his death, she became dowager Queen of England. But the competition for land and power that Henry bred among his sons had grown into a dangerous rivalry that Eleanor must skillfully control. Eleanor would need every ounce of courage and fortitude as she crossed the Alps in winter to bring her son Richard his bride, ransom him from imprisonment and deal with his brother John's treachery. Her indomitable spirit would be tested to its limits as she attempted to keep the peace between her warring sons, fend off enemies, and negotiate a magnificent future for a chosen granddaughter".

Amazon
Book one: The Summer Queen: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine
Book two: The Winter Crown: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine
Book three: The Autumn Throne: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine
~Lizzie~ 

Book Review: A BRIDE FOR A SEASON by Jennifer Delamere

Lucinda Cardington was nothing like the other social butterflies of London’s polite society. Socially awkward Lucinda found herself at parties always wishing she could melt into the walls and disappear. Her little sister Emily on the other hand was her complete opposite. She loved all the girly things in life like dresses, parties, and men. The sisters made social appearances regularly and the Beauchamp ball was another event Lucinda cringed at being forced into going. Emily partied the night away pursuing London’s most eligible bachelor James Simpson. Caring nothing for these events she stole away from the party with a photography book even though her father did not approve of her reading such books. By chance she accidentally crossed paths with James and rekindled their mutual love for photography. Emily was always hot on James heels and she burst in and ruined the moment they shared.

Later that night Lucinda caught Emily sneaking out of her room to surprise James at his scandalous gentlemen’s club. Fearing her sisters reputation would be forever destroyed Lucinda had no other option but to follow her and force her sister to come home before it was too late.  Arriving at the club just in time to see her sister in a secret embrace with James, Lucinda threw a hissy fit to get her sister home. But the whole time a gossip reporter was documenting the whole drama as it unfolded. It would be the top story in the Times gossip column the next morning. To save Emily’s reputation James the long time bachelor decided it was time he settled himself down with a wife. Emily was young and frivolous but he felt in time she would grow to become the woman he really needed yet there was one problem in the way.  The sister’s father had put one condition on the engagement agreement; James must help find Lucinda a husband before he could marry Emily. It would be no easy task and the more time he spent with Lucinda the more he developed feelings for this unique woman.

3/5 Loved this one too but I have to admit the ending was a bit too cheesy for me. I still read it and enjoyed it greatly. This is the third book in the Loves Grace trilogy that I highly recommend for romantic historical fiction lovers

PG - 13 rating for slight sexual reference

FTC - This novel is from my personal collection.
Amazon A Bride for a Season by Jennifer Delamere

Book Review: A LADY MOST LOVELY by Jennifer Delamere

Margaret Vaughn was part of London’s social elite. She put up a good front hiding the fact that her father had died leaving her seriously in debt on the verge of financial ruin. Realizing she had little options of saving her family estate she knew she had to marry into money or loose everything. Her fiancé at the time was a well-bred entrepreneur that would have the resources to bring her back from the brink of finical ruin. Everything was working out as planned until after some careful detective work she found out that her fiancé was a fraud and a liar. Breaking off the engagement Margaret found herself in serious trouble with her debtors.

Tom Poole had freshly arrived from making a fortune in gold mining in Australia. He was struggling to fit in with London’s polite society. His sister Lizzie was forcing him into social circles he was not fond of. The first time he saw Margaret at her engagement ball he knew on the spot that she must be his at whatever the cost. In a coincidental turn of fate Tom barged into Margaret’s home with the intention of rescuing her. The aggressive loan sharks had forced themselves into her home demanding payment of all loans immediately. Being the willful woman that Margaret was she refused Toms offer of help and his hastily stated marriage proposal. Margaret realized that she had no other choice but to strike a deal with him to save her estate. Tom would loan her the funds she desperately needed while putting her families racehorses up as collateral.  There was no denying that she felt a connection to this rough adventure man from Australia. Yet Margaret had always done everything alone and saving her family estate was no different. Tom found he could not give up on her. He knew Margaret was tough on the outside but he was determined to beak down the walls she worked so hard on keeping up.

5/5 LOVED this one too! It was super romantic and I honestly could not tell where the story was going to go. One second she hated him and in another she acted like she loved him. If you enjoy romance with a historical flare I highly recommend this trilogy. This is book is number two in the Loves Grace trilogy.

PG - 13 rating for slight sexual reference
FTC - This novel is from my personal collection.
Amazon A Lady Most Lovely by Jennifer Delamere

Book Review: AN HEIRESS AT HEART by Jennifer Delamere

Victorian era Lizzie Poole had made many bad choices in her life but running away to Australia with her brother was not one of them. In Australia the pair met a beautiful couple that would impact their lives deeply. Lizzie and her new friend Ria were each other’s doppelgangers; the resemblance between the two was striking. In a tragic turn of events Lizzie looses everything including her new best friend Ria.  Upon Ria’s deathbed she forced Lizzie promise to return to her family in England and take her place to right all the wrongs Ria had done to her family.

Left with no other choice Lizzie went back to her native England but this time as Ria, Lizzie Poole no longer existed. Upon her arrival Lizzie almost lost her courage to go to Ria’s grandmother Lady Thornborough. In a flash Lizzie was hit by a passing carriage and knocked completely out of her senses.  Almost knocked to death Lizzie was lucky that the man in the carriage had scooped her up out of the street to safety. Coincidently the man in the carriage was Geoffrey Somerville, Ria’s own brother in-law that she had never met. Geoffrey ran Lizzie to the closest friendly home he knew and that was Lady Thornborough’s grand home.  Geoffrey took her to the one place she needed to be.

Before coming to her senses Lizzie is almost immediately taken for Ria by the household staff. Upon waking she confirms to all that she really is Ria the runaway granddaughter of Lady Thornborough. Officially taking Ria’s place meant that Lizzie was now part of London’s elite upper class and not poor Lizzie from the working class. As she comes to and put everything together she realizes that this handsome man that carried her here was actually Ria’s brother in-law making her charade of becoming Ria even more complicated. How long could she keep this up? Her plan was to go on indefinitely as Ria but she suddenly finds herself falling head over heels in love with the one man Ria was not ever meant to have. 

5/5 I LOVED this novel. I happened to find this book at my work and was so bored one night that I picked it up and gave it a go. I literally could not put this book down. I read it in two days because the story was more of an adventure than a love story. I would highly recommend this novel because it was romantic in all the right ways with a flare of adventure that added up to a real page-turner.

PG -13 Rating for mild violence

FTC – This novel is part of my personal collection
Amazon An Heiress at Heart by Jennifer Delamere

Book Review: WAR OF THE ROSES by Conn Iggulden

In an era when mental health was left untreated and ruled by fear, King Henry VI of England suffered terribly from an undiagnosed mental disorder. Deemed weak of mind as a youngster, his mental heath was an on going issue his whole life. He was an empathetic pious soul that would have been much happier serving the church rather than becoming the child king of England. Henry’s loyal spymasters governed his realm while he spent his days in his chapel praying for guidance. Derry Brewer was his most trusted spymaster and most faithful servant. The peace of the realm was on everyone’s mind; France was a constant threat to Henrys realm and he would do anything to broker a peace treaty.

Derry did as his king wished and negotiated relentlessly for a peace treaty with the French. The price of peace between France and England was high but Henry would do anything to have peace between the two realms. The English would loose all their lands on the continent except Calais. It was a big loss for the English families that were to be forced from their now French owned lands. England would get its treaty and a new queen in the process, Margaret of Anjou. A fragile peace would be brokered for England at a very high price, which led to the start of the war of the roses.

2/5 I must explain my reasons for such a low rating but first let me explain that I never tear up books I read. My deal is this: if I finished it then I liked it to some degree or I would not have finished it. I try to point out what it was that kept me reading the novel and strive to explain why it was not my cup of tea.  In my opinion I found this novel very long and hard to keep my attention. I did really enjoy the story line but I found the extensive battles and rebellions too long for my taste. For me it is just that this style of historical fiction is geared towards male readers. I say this because this novel focuses on the manly aspects of history like weapons, strategy of battles, and brutally graphic violence. This novel made me realize that I enjoy historical fiction that focuses on feelings, clothing, and have more of a generalized idea of battles that are fought. It took me over a month to read this novel because even though I love this period and the historical figures I just could not get into it. I would recommend this novel to male historical fiction readers.

R - Rating for graphic violence

FTC  - This novel is part of my personal collection.
Amazon War of the Roses by Conn Iggulden

Giveaway: Watch the Lady: A Novel by Elizabeth Fremantle

Watch the Lady by Elizabeth Fremantle Tudor Trilogy #3

Giveaway: Watch the Lady: A Novel by Elizabeth Fremantle

ARC Giveaway: Art in the Blood by Bonnie MacBird

Art in the Blood: A Sherlock Holmes Adventure by Bonnie MacBird

ARC Giveaway for "Art in the Blood" by Bonnie MacBird

Book Review: ART IN THE BLOOD by Bonnie Macbird

Sherlock Holmes after the famous ripper case was in the grips of depression and addiction. His faithful companion Dr. Watson had moved out of their bachelor pad and married his sweetie. Watson’s days since the ripper case had been filled with marital bliss until his old landlady had sought him out to help Holmes. Discovering Holmes sunken so low, Watson kept a vigil on his long time companion. It was then when a mysteriously encoded letter arrived from France. It was from the famous French singer Emmeline la Victoire. Holmes instantly became recharged with the mysterious plea for help from Emmaline. Worried about writing too much information in a letter she had secretly encoded a plea for help in finding her missing son.  Intrigued by the letter Holmes could not resist the opportunity to discover where the child had gone. The detective duo instantly took off to Paris to interview their new client about her son and his privileged, art-collecting father the Earl of Pellingham.

After meeting their famous client La Victoire they discussed the situation with the child. Her son Emile had been born out of wedlock and his mother at the time had been very young. The parents had made an agreement that that Emile would live with his father in England and would be raised as his heir by his step mom as his real mother. La Victoire would see him once a year at holiday time as a “family friend”. She had contacted Holmes because she went to meet her son for their yearly visit but was told he was not coming and to never contact him or the Earl again. After making a few inquires La Victoire was nearly assaulted in the streets and was told to leave the boy alone because it would mean problems for her. Scared to death she reached out to the eccentric Holmes because the Earl of Pellingham was untouchable as far as the authorities were concerned. The earl was already being watched for unproven art thefts and his illegal work practices were yet to be proven.

Leave it to the professionals, Holmes and Dr. Watson to solve this classic who done it case. They were hot on the earl’s trail, which eventually led them to Madame’s son Emille.  Trying to solve one case they ended up also on another that went hand in hand. The case of the notoriously missing statue Marseilles Nike, it was speculated the earl had a hand in illegally acquiring the Nike.  Holmes and Watson were determined to find the child and save the Nike no mater what the cost was.

3.5/5 Defiantly a different type of read for me. I enjoyed this one but I found it just did not really grab me. I think it was a great novel it just was not my style, which is the only reason I gave it a low rating. Honestly there was nothing bad about it but just not my cup of tea. It was fast paced, good characters, and had a great twist ending I did not see coming. Releasing 10.6.2015

R ~ Rating for violence

FTC ~ this novel was sent to me by the publisher for review. I received no compensation for this honest review. 

S T A Y C O N N E C T E D W I T H M E :
YOUTUBE ~ BEAUTIFULLY OBSESSED ~ T W I T T E R ‪ ~ F A C E B O O K ~ I N S T A G R A M ~ G O O G L E +‪
~L I Z Z I E~