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~

Book Review: THE STRANGLED QUEEN by Maurice Druon

Ruling King Philip IV passed away suddenly leaving his kingdom to his eldest son now known as Philip X. France at this time was in a complete melt down with the change of power and the loss of their great king. The new king inherited the crown and a whole mess of feuding fractions that his father had kept under control for some time. The dead kings loyal advisors took things in their own hands and a feud followed with the royal cousins. Philip found it was overwhelming to fill his fathers position and to make things worse his wife was still locked up for her crimes of adultery.  He felt trapped in a marriage that he could not get out of or end. He might have been able to seek an annulment if the Pope had not died suddenly; he was also a blood relative.  A new Pope had not been elected yet and the dead kings vindictive advisor Enguerrand Marigny was maliciously preventing a new Pope from being elected for his own diabolical reasons.

Stuck with his wife in jail Philip was in a major dilemma. A king needs heirs and he would not get them from an adulterous wife that was in jail. He needed help and he enlisted the help of his uncle in ridding himself of his wife and finding a new one. With everyone fighting especially the advisors and the Kings uncle, Philip proved he was no king like his father.  He relied heavily on his fathers corrupt advisors until the Templars curse proved it was out to destroy Philip the Fair’s family all the way down to the thirteenth generation.

4/5 this one like the previous novel in the series  “The Iron King” took awhile to pick up but once it did I found I could not put it down. It was kind of confusing at points with the advisors and all his family fighting with the royals but I did find that the character index was very helpful.

R ~ Rating for violence

FTC ~ this novel is from my personal collection.

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~

Early Mailbox Monday: Emma Campion, Maurice Druon, Conn Iggulden

A Triple Knot by Emma Campion

"Joan of Kent, renowned beauty and cousin to King Edward III, is destined for a politically strategic marriage. As the king begins a long dynastic struggle to claim the crown of France, plunging England into the Hundred Years’ War, he negotiates her betrothal to a potential ally and heir of a powerful lordship.
But Joan, haunted by nightmares of her father’s execution at the hands of her treacherous royal kin, fears the king’s selection and is not resigned to her fate. She secretly pledges herself to one of the king’s own knights, one who has become a trusted friend and protector. Now she must defend her vow as the king—furious at Joan’s defiance—prepares to marry her off to another man.

In A Triple Knot, Emma Campion brings Joan, the “Fair Maid of Kent” to glorious life, deftly weaving details of King Edward III’s extravagant court into a rich and emotionally resonant tale of intrigue, love, and betrayal".

The Poisoned Crown by Maurice Druon

A crown is a poisonous thing...

After having his first wife murdered and his mistress exiled, the weak and impotent King Louis X of France becomes besotted with the lovely and pious Princess Clemence of Hungary.

Having made her his new queen, and believing the succession assured, Louis foolishly embarks upon an ill-fated war against Flanders.

The kingdom needs an Iron King. But where his father, Philip IV, was strong, Louis is feeble. Surrounded by ruthlessly ambitious nobles, Including Robert of Artois and his monstrous aunt, Mahaut, Louis will find himself a lamb amongst wolves.

War of the Roses: Stormbird by Conn Iggulden
"The first book in #1 New York Times bestselling author Conn Iggulden’s brilliant new historical series about two families that plunged England into a devastating, decades-long civil war.
In 1437, the Lancaster king Henry VI ascends the throne of England after years of semi-peaceful regency. Named “The Lamb,” Henry is famed more for his gentle and pious nature than his father’s famous battlefield exploits; already, his dependence on his closest men has stirred whispers of weakness at court.

A secret truce negotiated with France to trade British territories for a royal bride—Margaret of Anjou—sparks revolts across English territory. The rival royal line, the House of York, sees the chaos brought on by Henry’s weakness and with it the opportunity to oust an ineffectual king.

As storm clouds gather over England, King Henry and his supporters find themselves besieged abroad and at home. Who or what can save the kingdom before it is too late"?

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~

Book Review: THE IRON KING by Maurice Druon

The Iron King, Philip the fair ruled France with an iron fist. Hard as a rock he was unmovable when it came to his will as king. His eldest daughter Isabella was the very unhappy Queen of England. It was well known that her husband forsook her bed for that of men.  His sons were all married to beautiful women of high rank. Isabella in league with their cousin Robert of Artois set out to uncover the truth behind the rumors that all three of her brother’s wives were committing adultery and making cuckolds of her brothers. Isabella hated her sister in-laws with a passion but Robert hated them even more. Their mother was Roberts’s aunt and she had “stolen” from him the Artois estate that he felt rightly belonged to him. Destroying the three adulterous wives meant his aunts greedy downfall. Robert and Isabella would stop at nothing to bring about their destruction. 

In the middle of Isabella and Roberts plot, king Philip was fighting his own battles in court. Philip's biggest battle at the moment was the destruction of the Knights Templars. The Templars grand master Jacques de Molay and many others were put on an unfair trail on trumped up charges.  They never had a chance of making it out alive. The grand master was condemned to death by burning at the stake. When the moment of his death came he used his dying breath to curse Philip for “thirteen generations” for murdering innocents. The curse left everyone uneasy and with in days the sister in-laws were on trial for adultery and the royal family was falling apart. Could the curse really be working against them? Could it be true that Philip’s actions against the innocent Templars cause the whole royal family to collapse in destruction? 

5/5 Loved this one to death. It was kind of slow in parts and a bit confusing when it came to the family ties and the three sister in-laws but it all worked out in the end. I was elated when I found out this is part of a big series called the Accursed Kings Series. The Iron King is the first book in the series. 

R ~ Rating for sexual reference and gory violence

FTC ~ this novel is part of my personal collection.

Amazon: The Iron King (The Accursed Kings, Book 1) by Maurice Druon

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~

Book Review: HIS LAST DUCHESS by Gabrielle Kimm

Lucrezia de’ Medici was Raised in a loving home. She was an innocent young woman awaiting her marriage to the handsome Duke of Ferrara. Having no idea what to expect in becoming the Duchess of Ferrara Lucrezia was more childlike than woman. She believed in fairy tale happy endings until she realized her handsome Duke was anything but a charming prince.

Alfonso de’ Este wanted to love Lucrezia from the moment he saw her but he was incapable of real love. He was a sadist and when it came time to go to the marriage bed he found Lucrezia’s innocence’s a roadblock to his passion. The marriage was left unconsummated and Alfonso began to despise Lucrezia for it. Since he could not control the situation in the royal bedroom he became cruel and sought to control Lucrezia by emotionally abusing her and eventually he escalated to physical abuse. Lucrezia was confused she did not understand what she did to incur her husbands wrath.  She was now afraid of him and what he could be capable of doing, her new home now became a prison under Alfonso’s watchful eye.

The marriage was under extreme strain when Alfonso decided to commission a portrait of Lucrezia. When the artists arrived Lucrezia was enthralled by their artistic skills. Fascinated by the artist’s young apprentice she discovered what it really felt like to love someone and be genuinely loved in return. It was a dangerous choice to have a liaison with anyone let alone an artist right under her cruel husbands nose. If he discovered her infidelity he would kill them both but that was a risk she was willing to take because she had to know what real love was.

4/5 Really good read, mysterious, fast paced and it kept me guessing all the way to the end. It was a real page-turner.

R ~ Rating for sexual references

FTC ~ this novel is from my personal collection

Amazon: His Last Duchess by Gabrielle Kimm

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~