Unread Owned Books TBR update

I feel I need to put this out there so I can put my mind at ease about my TBR (to be read) list. When I originally set up my TBR list I was a brand new blogger and did not really comprehend how the whole thing worked before it was too late to change it. I being the goofy goober I am picked out some books I owned but many of the books I had picked were not ones I owned. What made it worse was that I did not look to much into the novels I picked and I found out after the fact that many of them were non fiction, blah.

To date there are 16 books on the list and I have finished reading 6. I am calling it quits on the list and decided that for next years TBR list it will be compiled of only books I own. Until the new TBR opens I am keeping my own list and as I read them I will take them off. I am hoping to at least have a few finished finished off the list before the new year opens. If you would like to see my original TBR post from 3.17.2009 go here. Who knows if I can even finish all of my owned unread books with a list like this it might spill into 2011 for all I know. I promised my husband no more buying books until I read at least half of these books. Enjoy my insane list there are a few odd balls in there that might stir up some rukus.

Books Owned To Be Read

1. Hammer of Scots, Jean Plaidy
2. Red Rose of Anjou, Jean Plaidy
3. Indiscretions of the Queen, Jean Plaidy
4. The Courts of Love, Jean Plaidy
5. Goddess of the Green Room, Jean Plaidy
6. Williams Wife, Jean Plaidy
7. The Third George, Jean Plaidy
8. The Queen’s Confession, Victoria Holt aka Jean Plaidy
9. To Hold the Crown, Jean Plaidy
10. Lady in the Tower, Jean Plaidy
11. Mary Queen of France, Jean Plaidy
12. The Kings Grace, Anne Easter Smith
13. Rose for A Crown, Anne Easter Smith
14. Royal Harlot, Susan Holloway Scott
15. The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, Lauren Willig
16. The Mask of the Black Tulip, Lauren Willig
17. The Deception of the Emerald Ring, Lauren Willig
18. The Last Boleyn, Karen Harper
19. Twilight Tower, Karen Harper
20. The Poyson Garden, Karen Harper
21. Through A Glass Darkly, Karleen Koen
22. Dark Angels, Karleen Koen
23. Guenevere Queen of the Summer Country, Rosalind Miles
24. The Knight of the Sacred Lake, Rosalind Miles
25. The Child of the Holy Grail, Rosalind Miles
26. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
27. Persuasions, Jane Austen
28. Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen
29. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Lisa See
30. The Last Greatest Dance on Earth, Sandra Gulland
31. The Memoirs of Cleopatra, Margaret George
32. In the Shadow of the Sun King, Golden Keyes Parsons
33. Courtesan, Diane Haeger
34. Leonardo’s Swans, Karen Essex
35. The Tea Rose, Jennifer Donnelly
36. The Duchess of Milan, Michael Ennis
37. Elizabeth the Great, Elizabeth Jenkins
38. The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
39. The Golden Nineties, Lisa Mason
40. We Two, Gillian Gill
41. Margaret Pole, Hazel Pierce
42. Ovid, The Poetry Library
43. Pandora, Anne Rice
44. Merrick, Anne Rice
45. Blood and Gold, Anne Rice
46. Black Wood Farm, Anne Rice
47. The Loves of Charles II by Jean Plaidy
48. The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. by Sandra Gulland
49. Victoria Victorious by Jean Plaidy
50. Cassandra, Lost by Joanna Catherine Scott
51. Royal Road to Fotheringhay by Jean Plaidy
52. The Courts of Love by Jean Plaidy
53. Peoney in Love by Lisa See

Winner A Land Beyond Ravens by Kathleen Cunningham Guler

With out Delay The winner of "A Land Beyond Ravens" is...... JAMIE

Congrats Jamie!
Be sure everyone to enter in the other current giveaways:

Pendragon's Banner by Helen Hollick
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Giveaway Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel New Release on October 13Th 2009
Man Booker Prize Winner!

Remember I do not want to have to disqualify your comment for not leaving a contact email.

It is a hardback copy and is only open to US and Canada.

For 1 entry leave me a comment with a way to contact you.
For 2 entries follow my blog. If you already do, thanks, and please let me know in the comments. You're eligible for the extra entry as well.
For 3 entries blog, sidebar, or tweet this giveaway to spread the word. My user name is HObsessed.

I will end the contest at 12 pm October 20Th. I will randomly generate one winner and I will post the winners on the 21st and will contact the winner then through email to obtain shipping information so be on the watch out for me. Good Luck to all and let the giveaway begin!

"England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years, and marry Anne Boleyn. The pope and most of Europe opposes him. The quest for the king’s freedom destroys his adviser, the brilliant Cardinal Wolsey, and leaves a power vacuum.

Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell. Cromwell is a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people and a demon of energy: he is also a consummate politician, hardened by his personal losses, implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph?

In inimitable style, Hilary Mantel presents a picture of a half-made society on the cusp of change, where individuals fight or embrace their fate with passion and courage. With a vast array of characters, overflowing with incident, the novel re-creates an era when the personal and political are separated by a hairbreadth, where success brings unlimited power but a single failure means death."

Giveaway Pendragon's Banner by Helen Hollick

ooh wehe, another rocking giveaway this one is courtesy of Sourcebooks. The contest will run until the 19th at midnight. The winner will receive one paperback copy of "Pendragon's Banner" by Helen Hollick. Sorry but this one is for the US & Canada only.
>Rules
* For 1 entry leave me a comment with a way to contact you.
* For 2 entries follow my blog. If you already do, thanks, 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.

Good Luck Everyone

"After claiming his throne on the blood-soaked fields of Rutupiae—striking fear into the hearts of his enemies—only Morgause “the witch” dared to challenge Arthur in this follow-up to Helen Hollick’s smash hit The Kingmaking. In a deadly game of politics and back-stabbing, Arthur must deal with the reality that taking a kingdom is far different from keeping one! Hollick’s new historical, Pendragon’s Banner (ISBN: 978-1402218897), spans six years, from 459-465 A.D., and details Arthur’s struggle to stay in power and keep his family alive.

Two enemies in particular threaten everything that is dear to him: Winifred, Arthur's vindictive first wife, and Morgause, priestess of the Mother and malevolent Queen of the North. Both have royal ambitions of their own.

This is not a fairy tale or fantasy. There is no Merlin, no sword in the stone, and no Lancelot. This is a tale of battle, intrigue and an irate Morgause who delights in nurturing the belief that she is a witch—especially after her very public curse on Arthur’s sons… This is an account of Arthurian legend, based on historical evidence and meticulous research; a story of King Arthur as it may have actually unfolded.

Bernard Cornwell has said that “Helen Hollick has it all” and that she “tells a great story.” Sharon Kay Penman felt that the novel was “compelling, convincing and—ultimately—unforgettable.” In this story of harsh battles, treasonous plots, and the life-threatening politics of Britain 's dark ages, author Helen Hollick boldly reintroduces King Arthur as you've never seen him before. This is the true story of King Arthur’s quest to keep all of Britain united under his legendary Pendragon’s Banner."

500 Mary Rose Appeal, Join the New Crew

Today marks the launch in a new public effort to raise awareness and funds to help protect Henry VIII "Mary Rose". The beautiful historical artifact needs our help in raising funds for a new place to call Mary Roses Home. You can visit there site for more information and get the cool inside scoop on the ship itself.

Preservation is the key to saving this wonderful beauty for generations to come. If we do not act how will our children be able to enjoy this in the future? Everyone can contribute even if it means just posting a link on your blog.

Sundays Art:The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

Great Pyramid of Giza
Egyptians built as the tomb of fourth dynasty Egyptian pharaoh Khufu. Still standing

Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Babylonians Diodorus Siculus described multi-levelled gardens reaching 22 metres (75 feet) high, complete with machinery for circulating water. Large trees grew on the roof. Built by Nebuchadnezzar II for his wife Amytis of Media.

Statue of Zeus at Olympia
Greeks Occupied the whole width of the aisle of the temple that was built to house it, and was 12 metres (40 feet) tall.

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
Dedicated to the Greek goddess Artemis, it took 120 years to build. Herostratus burned it down to achieve lasting fame. Rebuilt by Alexander the Great only to be destroyed again by the Goths. It was rebuilt once again after, only to be closed in 391 and destroyed by a mob led by St John Chrysostom in 401.

Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
Carians, Persians, Greeks Stood approximately 45 metres (135 feet) tall with each of the four sides adorned with sculptural reliefs. Origin of the word mausoleum, a tomb built for Mausolus, a satrap in the Persian Empire

Colossus of Rhodes

Greeks

A giant statue of the Greek god Helios, c. 35m (110 ft) tall.

Lighthouse of Alexandria
Hellenistic Egypt Between 115 and 135 metres (383 - 440 ft) it was among the tallest structures on Earth for many centuries. The island that it was built on, Pharaohs, eventually spawned the Latin word for lighthouse, again Pharaohs.

10 Winners of Lady Vernon and Her Daughter

Thank you to all who entered, with out delay here are the ten winners of "Lady Vernon and Her Daughter" by Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway. Congrats to everyone!

journeythroughbooks, delilah0180, andie.v107, cyeates, haleymathiot, nihongo90, runaway84, throuthehaze, meiran, marieburton2004

Be sure to check into my other giveaway, A Land Beyond Ravens by Kathleen Cunningham Guler

Last Chance For Giveaway of Lady Vernon and Her Daughter

Just a quick reminder that today is the last day to enter for a chance to win one of ten copies of Lady Vernon and Her Daughter by Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway

Go here to ENTER, it ends at midnight!

Guest Post with Kathleen Cunningham Guler

Author Kathleen Cunningham Guler was gracious enough to pay a visit to Historically Obsessed with a wonderful guest post. Be sure and enter for a chance to win a copy of her novel "A Land Beyond Ravens". The giveaway ends on October 12th at midnight. Thank you Kathleen it has been a pleasure.

Rummaging Around Inside the Medieval Mind

Thank you for inviting me to write a guest post. I am honored!

In times long past, did people think the same way as we do now? On the basic level of human nature born in all of us, yes, because human nature doesn’t change. No matter which time, culture or level of technology, human nature, like water seeking its own level, will always strive to find happiness, comfort, hope, whatever feels like normal.

Beyond that basic level? Absolutely not. Physical and cultural environments dictated what constituted how happiness was perceived, and that could have been anything as horrific as seeking vengeance or even war.

To portray another era properly, any writer of historical fiction must intuit the mindset of that time and place. I’ve been working with fifth century Britain through the course of the four novels in the Macsen’s Treasure Series. This period of 200 years lies between the end of Roman rule and the Anglo-Saxon conquest. Britain’s lands were divided into perhaps fifty small kingdoms. The southern region was Romanized; the west, central and north below Hadrian’s Wall less so and was likely Celtic in nature. Picts lived north of the Wall. Germanic tribes, collectively called Saxons, had settled in the southeast and gradually spread west and north. The Roman church had its initial foothold in the island as well, slowly shifting religious thought from Celtic and Roman paganism to Christianity.

None of these cultures were uniform in location or separation. Lines blurred, both along borders and in time. So after studying all these facts, traits, ideas and theories, how does the author come to understand the mindset?

We all have our personal methods. For me, it begins with sitting alone in the dark at night, undisturbed, and taking on a character’s persona—daydreaming the character through a scene until she’s so real she’s sitting right there in the room. It’s sensing the entirety of the place, feeling the cold mist on your skin, smelling the stench of midden heaps, hearing the slash of a sword blade on chain mail, seeing the timber fort crowning the top of a hill, or not seeing it because the mist is obscuring everything. It’s listening to the hero’s voice, deep and resonant because, like everyone else, he constantly breathed in smoke from the hearth. He had a habit to rake his fingers through his hair because the norm was to wear it long. I ask him: what would a warlord do when someone of his clan is killed? Shed blood in return? Follow the law? What does the law say? Will he strike back? Alone, or with a war band? If so, will others worry about his fate or is it presumed he’ll succeed in his vengeance? Will he be followed without question? Or will his clansmen waste time with endless squabbling?

So much to wrap the mind around! But the picture will come into focus. How fascinating to watch a long-dead and very human story return to life!

Booking Through Thursday: Discuss

"I was wanting to try a certain author and wished I knew someone who had read her works so I could get a recommendation when it occurred to me that having a “YOU ask the question” Booking Through Thursday might be fun. Each participant could ask a question they’ve wanted to discuss with other readers. Perhaps, like me, you’d like a recommendation of a certain author’s best work, or perhaps you LOVE a certain genre or series but no one else you know does and you’d just like to discuss it with someone. Or perhaps you want to try a new genre and would like recommendations from seasoned readers."

Hum I am not sure how to approach this weeks discussion but I decided to feature a book that I have noticed that not too many people have read or even heard of. My all time favorite novel by Robin Maxwell "To The Tower Born". The reason I bring this novel to light is I read this quite some time ago (early last year) and to this day I still find myself thinking about it. It was an intriguing story of Elizabeth Woodville, Elizabeth York, and the prince's in the tower. I find that any novel I read set with in this time frame I compare to "The Tower Born" and so far nothing has even come close to beating it in my book.

"The disappearance of the young York princes, Edward and Richard, from the Tower of London in 1483 has been debated for more than five centuries. It has stirred the imaginations of numerous writers from Shakespeare to Josephine Tey and posited the question: Was Richard III the boys' murderer, or was he not?

"In a novel rich in mystery, color, and historical lore, Robin Maxwell offers a new, controversial perspective on this tantalizing enigma. The events are witnessed through the eyes of quick-witted Nell Caxton, only daughter of the first English printer, William Caxton, and Nell's dearest friend, "Bessie," daughter of the King of England, sister to the little princes, and founding ancestress of the Tudor dynasty. With great bravery and heart, the two friends navigate this dark and dangerous medieval landscape in which the king's death sets off a battle among the most scheming, ambitious, and murderous men and women of their age, who will stop at nothing to possess the throne of England."

As far as series are concerned I have had my eye on a few. One being Laurien Willig's Carnation Series, and the other The Guenevere novels by Rosalind Miles. I have heard wonderful things about Guenevere but not so much on the carnation series.

Lady Veron and Her Daughter By Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway

ABOUT THE BOOK:

"In an early, untitled epistolary novella (referred to as “Lady Susan”), Jane Austen introduced one of her most compelling characters – Lady Susan Vernon – an attractive and cunning widow who believes her beauty allows her to behave in selfish, devious ways. Written during the same period in which Austen produced Elinor and Marianne, “Lady Susan” also focuses on the economic and romantic plights of two heroines displaced when the family home passes to an unworthy heir. But, while Elinor and Marianne was revised and happily expanded to become Sense and Sensibility, “Lady Susan” was abandoned. Until now.

In LADY VERNON AND HER DAUGHTER: A Jane Austen Novel (Crown; October 2009), mother-daughter team Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway have taken letters from this epistolary novella and transformed them into a vivid, authentic, and more recognizably “Austen” work of fiction. In this enthralling reimagining, Lady Vernon and her daughter must navigate a society where a woman’s security is at the mercy of an entail, where love is hindered by misunderstanding, where marriage can never be entirely isolated from money, yet where romance somehow carries the day.

Both avid readers of Jane Austen, Caitlen and Jane worked in tandem to piece together LADY VERNON AND HER DAUGHTER. To do so, they reexamined Austen’s six great novels in order to reproduce her distinctive style and the fundamentals of her storytelling. The result is a delightful interpretation and a treat for fans of literature’s most beloved woman of letters."

SYNOPSIS:
Lady Vernon and Her Daughter begins with an Austenesque sentiment:

"A woman with neither property nor fortune must ward off this affliction by cultivating the beauty, brilliance and accomplishment which will blind a promising suitor to the want of a dowry and take her off the hands of a grateful family. When she is securely married, she may suspend her own improvement and turn her energies toward the domestication of her husband and the acquisition of wealthy suitors for their daughters. Still, she must never sink to complacency, but always keep sharp, for it may be her unfortunate lot to survive her spouse and she will be thrown back upon her wits once more."

Such is the plight of Lady Vernon and her daughter, Frederica. Upon the premature death of Sir Frederick Vernon, his estate passes to his younger brother and heir, Charles Vernon; Vernon chooses to regard his promises to Sir Frederick of financial support for Lady Vernon and her daughter as conditional –“only an informal understanding that Lady Vernon and her daughter would not starve.”

Penniless and homeless, Lady Vernon and her daughter are taken into the high-spirited household of their friends, the Manwarings; but, when Lady Vernon learns the particulars of her late husband’s understanding with Charles Vernon – specific promises of the amount to be settled upon herself and Frederica - she returns to the Vernon estate to confront her in-laws. When her sister-in-law’s younger brother, Reginald deCourcy, descends upon the household to get a look at “the most accomplished coquette in England,” his arrival sets off rumors of a romance between the young man and Lady Vernon. Meanwhile, in London, Frederica’s term in a finishing school, set down as a prelude to her marriage to a wealthy cousin, Sir James Martin, ends in scandal and expulsion.

As the tale moves from Sussex to Kent to London, romance, gossip, misunderstanding, two proposals of marriage and an unexpected arrival bring about surprising reversals of fortune in this skillful and witty revision of Jane Austen’s early novella, Lady Susan."

Author Spotlight: Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway

While most women can’t imagine working with their mother or daughter without causing major trauma to their relationship, for mother-daughter writing team Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway, the process brought them closer together. The two recently collaborated on their first work together, LADY VERNON AND HER DAUGHTER: A Jane Austen Novel (Crown; October 6, 2009), a delightful retelling of one of Jane Austen’s early, untitled works that she had never finished, and say their working relationship gave them new found respect for each other.

LADY VERNON AND HER DAUGHTER is based on an epistolary novella generally referred to as “Lady Susan,” which follows the plight of Lady Susan Vernon, a beautiful and cunning widow who schemes to secure a wealthy younger husband for herself, and a foolish nobleman for her daughter. Jane and Caitlen, both avid readers of Jane Austen, have taken letters from this epistolary novella and transformed them into a vivid, authentic, and more recognizably “Austen” work of fiction. In this enthralling reimagining, Lady Vernon and her daughter must navigate a society where a woman’s security is at the mercy of an entail, where love is hindered by misunderstanding, where marriage can never be entirely isolated from money, yet where romance somehow carries the day.

Just as the heroines of their novel work as a team to successfully find their way through Regency society, Jane and Caitlen worked in tandem to piece together LADY VERNON AND HER DAUGHTER. To do so, they painstakingly reexamined Austen’s six great novels in order to reproduce her distinctive style and the fundamentals of her storytelling. The result is a delightful interpretation and a treat for fans of literature’s most beloved woman of letters.

JANE RUBINO BIOGRAPHY:
Jane Rubino holds a BA from NYU in Dramatic Literature, Theatre and Cinema. She lives in Ocean City, New Jersey and is the author of a contemporary mystery series set at the Jersey shore, and a volume of Sherlockian novellas. She has also written several short screenplays that have been produced as student and independent films; one of the films was recently awarded a jury prize at San Francisco's annual WYSIWYG Film Festival. She and her husband of 36 years have three grown children and a number of beloved dogs.


CAITLEN RUBINO-BRADWAY BIOGRAPHY:
Caitlen Rubino-Bradway holds a BA in English Literature and an MA in Publishing from Rosemont College. While in college, she interned with LeFrak Productions, Tor, and Jane Dystel Literary and received the Margaret Humphrey Award for Creative Writing. She was raised in Ocean City, New Jersey and now lives and works in New York City, where she is currently perfecting her recipe for peach cobbler.

Be sure and enter for a chance to win a copy of their novel "Lady Vernon and Her Daughter"

New Release, Katherine The Queen by Linda Porter

Oooh, this one looks really good. I am waiting patiently until it release date. But it is so far off...March 12Th 2010!

"The general perception of Katherine Parr, the sixth and last wife of Henry VIII, is that she was a provincial nobody with intellectual pretensions who became queen of England because the king needed a matronly consort to nurse him as his health declined. In the various studies of the six wives of Henry VIII she receives much less attention than Katherine of Aragon or Anne Boleyn. Her main achievement, in the famous rhyme about Henry's six wives, is that she 'survived'. Yet the real Katherine Parr was attractive, passionate (she had a mighty temper when aroused) ambitious and highly intelligent. She was thirty years old (younger than Anne Boleyn had been) when she married the king. Twice widowed, held hostage by the northern rebels during the great uprising of 1536-37 known as the Pilgrimage of Grace, her life had been dramatic even before she became queen. It would remain so after Henry's death, when she hastily and secretly married her old flame, the rakish Sir Thomas Seymour. Katherine died shortly after giving birth to her only child in September 1548, her brief happiness undermined by the very public flirtation of her husband and step-daughter, Princess Elizabeth. Despite the vivid interest of her life, this is the first full-scale, accessible biography of this fascinating woman who was, in reality, one of the most influential and active queen consorts in English history."

The Paper Back Swap Hook Up

After seeing Arleighs post on Historical-Fiction I just could not resist following her lead. I joined paperbackswap.com and I love it! The way it works is if you own books that you think you might not read why not pass them off to someone who will. Once you join you can choose to upload 10 books that you want to swap, if you upload 10 then you get 2 extra credits. Yes I did say credits, it is like a point system, one book equals one credit. You upload, someone requests it, you mail it, you get a credit, and from there you can pick any book out of the data base that fits your taste.

It is a wonderful place and I feel for once that I just might be able to get ALL of those new beautiful Jean Plaidy books my heart so desires. Thank you Arleigh I would have never known what I was missing with out your expertise in books!

Gave up

The Proper Care and Feeding of HusbandsWoman Power : Transform Your Man, Your Marriage, Your Life
100 Banned Books: Censorship Histories of World LiteratureBreaking Dawn (Twilight, Bk 4)A Secret Alchemy: A Novel (P.S.)Forbidden Knowledge: From Prometheus to PornographyI, Elizabeth





Got in ReturnRoyal Harlot
Leonardo's SwansThe Lady in the Tower: The Wives of Henry VIIIA Rose for the CrownThe Child of the Holy Grail : The Third of the Guenevere NovelsGuenevere, Queen of the Summer CountryThe Queen's Secret (Queens of England, Bk 7)Mary, Queen of France (Tudor Saga, Bk 9)Dark Angels" by Karleen Koen


"Leonardo's Swans" I just had to have because of Allie's amazing review of it over at Hist-Fic Chick, I got lucky in getting a hardback copy that is literally brand new.

Heather at The Maiden's Court also gave a great review of "Dark Angels" by Karleen Koen and it was the first book I requested.

Thank you Heather and Allie for cluing me into 2 new books that are a wonderful addition to my library. Both are beautiful books.

Author Spotlight: Kathleen Cunningham Guler

"Novelist Kathleen Cunningham Guler is the author of the multi-award winning Macsen’s Treasure Series. Drawing on a long background in literature and history as well as her Welsh and Scottish heritage, she has published numerous articles, essays, reviews, short stories and poetry. The author is a member of the Historical Novel Society, the International Arthurian Society and participates in various writing organizations.

Be sure and enter for a chance to win her latest release "A Land Beyond Ravens"
You can visit her website at KathleenGuler.com" or you can visit her blog.

Giveaway A Land Beyond Ravens by Kathleen Cunningham Guler

This one is open internationally and it is for a hardback copy of "A Land Beyond Ravens", Book 4 of the Macsen’s Treasure Series by Kathleen Cunningham Guler. Courtesy of Pump up Your Book Promotions.

Rules
* For 1 entry leave me a comment with a way to contact you. If you do not post an email I can not add you to the list randomnizer.
* For 2 entries follow my blog. If you already do, thanks, 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. My twitter id is HObsessed.

Contest will end at midnight on October 12Th 2009. Good Luck to all who enter!

"No one in 5^th century Britain knows more secrets than master spy Marcus ap Iorwerth, and that makes him a dangerous man. It also makes him a hunted one. For nearly three decades he has manipulated stubborn, irascible kings and warlords in a quest to not only unite them against foreign invasion but to stop them from destroying each other as well. And along with his beloved wife Claerwen, he has followed a greater, even more perilous pursuit—to forge a clear path for the fulfillment of Merlin the Enchanter’s famed prophecy that one day a great king will take command, the king known as Arthur of the Britons.

Now, with Arthur at last on the brink of adulthood and already showing great promise as a leader, Marcus discovers that the emerging Christian church is gaining enough power to dangerously shift control of Britain. At the same time Claerwen, gifted with second sight, is

plagued with strange dreams that connect inexplicable doom to both Arthur and a long lost grail sacred to Britain’s high kings. As foreboding mounts, Marcus struggles to prevent the church from crushing Arthur’s chances of becoming an effective king. But how he goes about it sets up the very doom that Claerwen sees. Will she be able to stop him? Or will her visions send Marcus to his own doom as well?"

Sundays Art: Nevis Island and Historical Landmarks

I just could not help myself after reading Erika Robuck's "Receive Me Falling" Nevis Island is lingering in my mind. I found some really interesting historical landmarks that I just had to share. If you would like to see more on Nevis Island check out the photo gallery.

Eden Brown Estate
Located in the countryside, about 30 minutes from Charlestown, the Eden Brown Estate was originally a sugar plantation, but cotton was grown there until the mid-1900's. But the circa 1740 plantation, with a great house and other outbuildings has a history unlike many of the other plantations, and some believe it is haunted. A duel took place at the house in 1822, the night before the wedding of Julia Huggins, between her betrothed and the best man, who was her brother. A recent discovery of an old letter has shown that the bridegroom survived, and he went to propose to another woman. However, her father forbade her from marrying a "murderer." As the story goes, Julia spent the rest of her days as a recluse in the house, and can still be heard today as she wanders through the ruins.

Nelson Wedding Site
On the grounds of the Montpelier Plantation-under the branches of a silk cotton tree-Lord Horatio Nelson wed the Nevisian widow Frances Nisbet on March 11, 1787. Prince William Henry, who eventually became King William IV, gave away the bride at this well-known affair. The marriage certificate is carefully preserved at St. John's Fig Tree Church. The entrance pillars to the estate are still there but the original Great House has been gone for many years. Two hundred years later, on March 11, 1987 a group of hoteliers in collaboration with the Nevis Historical and Conservation Society organized a week of activities to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Lord Nelson's association with Nevis. As part of these activities, the marriage of Lord Nelson and Frances Nisbet was reenacted at the site with a great festivity reminiscent of 1787.
Source

Book Review: RECEIVE ME FALLING by Erika Robuck

Have you ever had a book that was always on your mind but for some reason or another never able to get to it? That is what this novel was like for me until I was finally able to sit down and give it a go. I was hooked, lined, and sinkered within the first two pages. Normally I stay away from anything having to do with American historical fiction because it is just not to my taste. Erika delivered a seamless double story of two incredible women that lived over a hundred years apart.

"Nevis Island February 1831....The slave woman fell over the cliff's edge toward the black swirl of water that churned over the boulders reaching up from the sea. Her mistress crawled to look over the ledge. The stones bit her shins and left smears of blood on their jagged surface. She was unable to locate the body amidst the swells and rocks, unable to see through her tears, and the night, and the rain."

Catherine Dall was the young daughter of a plantation owner on the Caribbean island of Nevis. Her mother suddenly passed away after giving birth to Catherine, leaving her to be cared for by her alcoholic father. She grew up loved by the hard working slaves who ran her father's plantation, they were the heart and soul of her home. Mami, the plantations house slave was the only mother she ever knew and it just so happened that Mami had given birth to a daughter about the same time that Catherine was born. Leah and Catherine were inseparable even as babies, sleeping with Mami every night together. Crossing the lines of skin color Catherine's love knew no color and she loved whole heartily. In a period when when whites ruled over the blacks Catherine had a different approach.

She loved the plantation slaves and felt extreme empathy for them when others would not even recognize that they were not animals. She knew they were human beings who had thoughts, feeling, and dreams. I developed a great respect for her she was not cruel and did have the strength to stand up for what she believed in. She deep inside of her she had this feeling that no matter how great Nevis was, it was built on the backs of the suffering of others and she knew it could not go on like this forever.

Then Meg enters set in modern day times in America. She is what most would call American elite, working for the mayors office, living in the NY, successful parents who had money. In the midst of preparing for her up coming wedding her parents were suddenly lost in a terrible car accident. Meg became lost in a world of chaos and seeked solace by going to her parents home. I felt every sting with Meg and as she walked through her parents home seeing how things had been left. It was like they were coming back, things like a coffee cup with her mothers lipstick still on the edge were traumatizing. At her fathers desk she found a stack of folders at the very bottom was a folder with an old picture of a plantation home in what looked like paradise. The word Nevis was written on the back she would find out later Nevis meant paradise. After trying to return to work Meg felt like the world was suffocating her and she ran. She called off the wedding, left her fiance behind, and took off to her newly inherited property in the Caribbean, called Nevis.

Upon her arrival she stays in a local bungalow close to Nevis. She came there with a reason and the reason was to decide what to do with Nevis. Everything would change once she laid her eyes on the old plantation house that was still standing on the property. The locals had told her it was haunted but she was never afraid. Meg later received disturbing news from her attorney that after reviewing her father estate he had found that her father for many years had been embezzling money from his clients. Once the clients found out they wanted their money back and even though her father was gone she had to find a way to pay them all back or be sued.

Meg decided to explore the house more and was shocked upon her entry that everything was as the last people had left it. Dinner plates on the table, and sheet music still on the piano with a pamphlet for the abolishment of slavery hidden in the pages. Something terrible had happened there. Why would everything still be there untouched for over 100 years? Had no one come to check on the house or it previous inhabitants. Where did all the people go and where was that mysterious piano music coming from that wafted into her bungalow at night? Would Meg's search for the truth behind Nevis lead her to Catherine or someone else entirely?

5/5 Muses A surprise new favorite of mine by far. Erika seamlessly told Meg and Catherine's story. Twisting and turning at every corner I was hooked the whole time. I think it became apparent that I loved it when I finished it in three days. Nothing but Praise for Erika and this mysterious tale of two women who became tied together by an act of fate and destiny. If you like a good mystery mixed with historical fiction and ghosts then this one should be on the top of you list.

Rockin' Giveaway Lady Veron and Her Daughter by Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway

Hi all I have got a sweet giveaway for you all courtesy of Crown Publishing. The giveaway is for TEN copies of Lady Veron and Her Daughter by Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway. It is a new historical fiction that is due to hit book store October 6Th in hardback.

Yes I did say TEN copies, crazy I know but I knew everyone would have a fairly good chance at winning a copy. The TEN winners will receive a hardback copy of this beautiful book. Sorry but this one is for the US & Canada only. Contest will end on October 9Th at midnight.

Rules
* For 1 entry leave me a comment with a way to contact you.
* For 2 entries follow my blog. If you already do, thanks, 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.

"Jane Austen’s novella Lady Susan was written during the same period as another novella called Elinor and Marianne–which was later revised and expanded to become Sense and Sensibility. Unfortunately for readers, Lady Susan did not enjoy the same treatment by its author and was left abandoned and forgotten by all but the most diligent Austen scholars. Until now.

In Lady Vernon and Her Daughter, Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway have taken Austen’s original novella and transformed it into a vivid and richly developed novel of love lost and found–and the complex relationships between women, men, and money in Regency England.

Lady Vernon and her daughter, Frederica, are left penniless and without a home after the death of Sir Frederick Vernon, Susan’s husband. Frederick’s brother and heir, Charles Vernon, like so many others of his time, has forgotten his promises to look after the women, and despite their fervent hopes to the contrary, does nothing to financially support Lady Vernon and Frederica.

When the ladies, left without another option, bravely arrive at Charles’s home to confront him about his treatment of his family, they are faced with Charles’s indifference, his wife Catherine’s distrustful animosity, and a flood of rumors that threaten to undo them all. Will Lady Vernon and Frederica find love and happiness–and financial security–or will their hopes be dashed with their lost fortune?

With wit and warmth reminiscent of Austen’s greatest works, Lady Vernon and Her Daughter brings to vivid life a time and place where a woman’s security is at the mercy of an entail, where love is hindered by misunderstanding, where marriage can never be entirely isolated from money, yet where romance somehow carries the day."

Booking Through Thursday: Would you Lie?

Suggested by Monibo: Saw this article (from March) and thought it would make a good BTT confessional question:

Q: Two-thirds of Brits have lied about reading books they haven’t. Have you? Why? What book?

A: No I have not though I have considered it once for one book because I did not want to finish it but it ended really good so I am glad I stuck with my conscience.