Happy New Year!

Happy new years everyone, I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday.

Giveaway Kathryn Caskie’s The Duke’s Night of Sin

"The "Seven Deadly Sins" lived for scandal and delighted in disgrace, but now they must repent—in marriage!
A sin he cannot forget
The Duke of Exeter knows it's time to find a bride, and he's determined to locate the passionate minx who enticed him in a pitch-black library. But how can you find someone you've never really seen? Then, while supervising his young ward's education, he is irresistibly attracted to her exquisite new teacher. He keeps wondering if they've met somewhere before, never suspecting she's the woman he's never forgotten after his one night of sin.
A wicked secret
As a beloved instructress at an exclusive school for young ladies, Lady Siusan Sinclair is a model of deportment. But no one knows her secret—that she fled London for Bath, her reputation on the verge of tatters, her fortune lost. Still, no matter how hard she tries, she can't forget the knee-weakening kiss of the man who led her astray . . " 

The Rules

 Up for grabs is one paperback copy

The giveaway is INTERNATIONAL 

For 1 entry leave me a comment with a way to contact you.

For 2 entries follow my blog. If you already do, thank you for following my blog, and please let me know in the comments. You're eligible for the extra entry as well.

For 3 entries blog or tweet this giveaway to spread the word.

Giveaway will end on January 6th at midnight.

I will draw one winner using Random.org 

Good luck to everyone!

Amazon

Book Review: BY ROYAL DECREE by Kate Emerson

Fresh onto book shelf’s everywhere “By Royal Decree” is the third installment in Emerson’s series “The Secrets of the Tudor Court”. I love this series it is one of the few that I stand firmly by and continue to be awe stuck by each and every book. My favorite aspect of the series is they all focus on all the side playing courtiers. In Tudor times the courtiers would rise as fast as they would fall and Emerson seems to focus on all the people I have been curious about but never had the option to explore more until now. Emerson changes the view of the Tudors making it fresh and new all over again because it is always from a point of view I never saw before.

Elizabeth Brooke also known as Bess grew up in a large family in a nice castle her father was Lord George Brooke, 9th Baron Cobham of Kent. He served under King Henry VIII and Henry was fresh back on the market for a new queen. Henry called upon all the nobility to send their pretty eligible women to court to have a banquet with him. Basically Henry wanted it easy and he rounded up all the pretty girls of town and made them eat dinner with him. Henry scoured the women for his sixth and final wife. Bess had been brought to court just for the banquet and she narrowly dodged Henry and her curiosity got the better of her and she stumbled upon her hating nasty aunt Dorothy making out with an abruptly handsome man. The handsome man would turn out to be not just any man but Lord William Parr. His sister would become lucky number six for King Henry which would put the family name Parr in high favor. I have to admit that I always have been curious about the brother of the famous final wife of Henry’s. I now understand that with William and the constant shifting of England current religious grounds he was forced into constantly being judged and re-judged again depending on who reigned as the current monarch. It is no easy task getting and holding a royal decree because it can be over turned just as easily as it was given.

Before Bess came into the picture William Parr was married at a young age and spent one night with his wife before returning to court. Shortly after that his wife ran off with a man of the church and had a whole hoard of illegitimate brats. William was allowed by Henry VIII to keep his wife’s title and was technically divorced. The catch with the decree was that he was not allowed to remarry until his first wife died. This would officially put the handsome William Parr completely off limits to the beautiful fresh to court Bess. But how can we tell the heart who it loves? Bess asked the same question and try as she might she could not replace him with one of the Dudley boys. Bess knew she needed real love, passionate love, the kind of love that only William Parr could give her in this life. The only problem in their way was that everyone around them kept on dying and nothing in England in the 16th century stayed the same for too long. The petition to win the Royal Decree would work with Henry but what did the future hold with a boy king and more turbulent times ahead?

4.5/5 Another beautifully written Tudor secret love that before I never even knew existed. It was everything I could have hoped it to be and more. This one was unique from the previous novel because it went past Henry VIII into Edward, Jane Grey, Mary and Elizabeth. The series had never done that before and I felt it was a natural progression in the series. Some of you might know I love Robert Dudley he is one of my favorites and this book is filled with the Dudley’s. It really opened my eyes to their lives and their family situation. I enjoyed that this book focused more on the older brothers that were infatuated with Bess. I cannot wait for the next one on the Duke of Buckingham sister titled “At The Kings Pleasure” which is slated for release in 2012

FTC- Sent by the author

PG-13 Sexual Reference

Amazon

In Stores Today: A Royal Likeness by Christine Trent

"As heiress to the famous Laurent Fashion Dolls business, Marguerite Ashby's future seems secure. But France still seethes with violence in the wake of the Revolution. And when Marguerite's husband is killed during a riot, the young widow travels to Edinburgh and becomes apprentice to her old friend, Marie Tussaud, who has established a wax exhibition. When Prime Minister William Pitt commissions a wax figure of Admiral Nelson, Marguerite becomes immersed in a dangerous adventure - and earns the admiration of two very different men. And as Britain battles to overthrow Napoleon, Marguerite will find her loyalties under fire from all sides. With a masterful eye for details, Christine Trent brings one of history's most fascinating eras to life in of a story of desire, ambition, treachery, and courage".

 

HFBRT event of "A Royal Likeness"

Here is a list of my event posts just in case you did not catch them the first time:

Phantasmagoria! A ROYAL LIKENESS Guest Post with Christine Trent

Creative Post: Death Masks of Europe

Book review "A Royal Likeness" by Christine Trent

Grand Event Announcment

Extra's on Christine Trent:

Mailbox Mondays

YA Readings

"A Royal Likeness" Cover Alert

Christine Trent hits it big in The Washington Post

In Stores Today "The Queen's Dollmaker"

Book Review "The Queen's Dollmaker" by Christine Trent

For More on Christine Trent:

Christine's Website

Subscribe to her newsletter

Mailbox Mondays

Delilah: A Novel by India Edghill. Signed new paperback edition.

Won from Passages to the Past, thank you Passages!

"Given to the temple of Atargatis as a child, Delilah is raised to be a priestess to the Five Cities that rule Canaan. With her beloved friend Aylah, Delilah grows up under the watchful eyes of high priestess Derceto, who sees the devout young priestesses as valuable playing pieces in her political schemes. In the hills of Canaan, the Israelites chafe under the rule of the Five Cities, and choose Samson to lead them to victory. A reluctant warrior, Samson is a man of great heart who prefers peace to war.  But fearing a rebellion, those who rule the Five Cities will do anything to capture Samson. When Samson catches a glimpse of Delilah, he is ready to risk his freedom to marry her, and Derceto seizes the chance to have Samson at her mercy. The Temple's intrigues against Samson force Aylah and Delilah apart, lead Delilah to question her own heart, and change her future forever. A glorious and inventive retelling of an ancient story, Delilah is a soaring tale of political turmoil, searing betrayal, passionate friendship, and forbidden love".

The Queen's Rival: In the Court of Henry VIII by Diane Haeger

Biggest bound galley I have ever seen. Very big but very very cool!

"From the author of The Queen's Mistake comes the untold story of King Henry VIII's first well-known mistress.

As the beautiful daughter of courtiers, Elizabeth "Bessie" Blount is overjoyed when she secures a position as maid of honor to Katherine of Aragon. But when she captures the attention of the king himself, there are whispers that the queen ought to be worried for her throne.

When Bess gives birth to a healthy son the whispers become a roar. But soon the infamous Boleyn girls come to court and Henry's love for her begins to fade. Now, Bess must turn to her trusted friend, the illegitimate son of Cardinal Wolsey, to help her move beyond life as the queen's rival".

The Highest Stakes by Emery Lee

"WHAT WOULD YOU WAGER FOR LOVE???

In the high stakes gentleman's world of 18th century horse racing, when the blood of the "desert kings" ruled the English turf, a hero returns from war to claim the girl he has loved since he first spied her riding hell-for-leather over the Doncaster heath. Determined to have her at any cost, he will risk everything.

A story of star-crossed lovers and horse racing, THE HIGHEST STAKES transports the reader to 18th century England, an era infamous for corruption, arranged marriages, and high stakes gambling; when racing and breeding became the obsession of the uppermost elite, and a match race might replace a duel in settling a point of honor.

Through the fictional love story of Robert Devington and Charlottte Wallace, a tale of drama, danger, thwarted love, and retribution unfurls..."

Pale Rose of England  by Sandra Worth

"From the award-winning author of The King's Daughter comes a story of love and defiance during the War of the Roses.
It is 1497. The news of the survival of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, has set royal houses ablaze with intrigue and rocked the fledgling Tudor dynasty. With the support of Scotland's King James IV, Richard-known to most of England as Perkin Warbeck-has come to reclaim his rightful crown from Henry Tudor. Stepping finally onto English soil, Lady Catherine Gordon has no doubt that her husband will succeed in his quest.
But rather than assuming the throne, Catherine would soon be prisoner of King Henry VII, and her beloved husband would be stamped as an imposter. With Richard facing execution for treason, Catherine, alone in the glittering but deadly Tudor Court, must find the courage to spurn a cruel monarch, shape her own destiny, and win the admiration of a nation".

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Amazon

Giveaway Winners Galore

Winners, winners, winners galore! I know I have been a bit lacking on this because of the holidays but I am starting to get back on track as of today. Here we go!

“Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women“ DVD winner is...

 Linda

"A Royal Likeness" by Christine Trent winner is...

Rosanne

"Twilight of Avalon" and "Dark Moon of Avalon" by Anna Elliott winner is...

Little Tesoro

Royally Obsessed first place necklace winner is...

Queen Lizzz

Lovely Liz shared with us these beautiful pictures from her honeymoon in Paris. It just goes to show she was meant to win the lovely necklace with the Eiffel Tower on it. Thank you for sharing your beautiful pictures with us they are to die for.

Liz's beautiful picture of The Eiffel Tower

Liz and her main squeeze on the Seine River.

Royally Obsessed second place bracelet winner is...

Ronda

Amazon