It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list. Click on the picture to be taken to Sheila at One Person's Journey Through A World of Books!

 

Read Last Week:

• The Captive Maiden by Melanie Dickerson 
• Four Seconds to Lose by K.A. Tucker
• India Black and the Gentleman Thief by Carol K Carr

Currently Reading:  

• The Queen's Choice by Cayla Kluver

Up This Week: 

 

• The Forbidden Queen by Anne O'Brien  
• This Side of Salvation by Jeri Smith-Ready

Stacking the Shelves!

For Review: 

• The Girl with the Windup Heart by Kady Cross
• How to Fall by Jane Casey 
• The Boleyn Reckoning by Laura Anderson
• 
  
  
  Stacking The Shelves is all about the books we are adding to our shelves each week, sharing with you our excitement for our newest titles and maybe have you discover a new book in the process!  It's hosted by Tynga's Reviews!
   

Stacking the Shelves!

For Review: 

• Compulsion by Martina Boone
• Damaged by Amy Reed
• Witchfall by Victoria Lamb
• The Diamond Thief by Sharon Gosling
• The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson
• The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa

Stacking The Shelves is all about the books we are adding to our shelves each week, sharing with you our excitement for our newest titles and maybe have you discover a new book in the process!  It's hosted by Tynga's Reviews!

Queen Elizabeth's Daughter by Anne Clinard Barnhill Virtual Tour!

 

Title: Queen Elizabeth's Daughter

Author: Anne Clinard Barnhill

Series: Stand Alone

Pages: 384

Published: March 18th 2014 by St. Martin's Griffin 

ISBN: 9780312662127

Source: Arranged Tour

Description: Mistress Mary Shelton is Queen Elizabeth’s favorite ward, enjoying every privilege the position affords. The queen loves Mary like a daughter, and, like any good mother, she wants her to make a powerful match. The most likely prospect: Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford. But while Oxford seems to be everything the queen admires: clever, polished and wealthy, Mary knows him to be lecherous, cruel, and full of treachery. No matter how hard the queen tries to push her into his arms, Mary refuses.  Instead, Mary falls in love with a man who is completely unsuitable. Sir John Skydemore is a minor knight with little money, a widower with five children. Worst of all, he’s a Catholic at a time when Catholic plots against Elizabeth are rampant. The queen forbids Mary to wed the man she loves. When the young woman, who is the queen’s own flesh and blood, defies her, the couple finds their very lives in danger as Elizabeth’s wrath knows no bounds. 

I Give This ...

Just when I think I might have come to the end of what I could possibly learn from fiction about Elizabeth I, there comes a book that really brings to light a character that I don't know much about.   

I admit, I probably have read Mary Shelton's name many times before.  But, she blends into the background to the point that I knew nothing about her.  I really wondered for the first little bit if this was a completely fictional character.  I think it was the diary type entries that had me.  They didn't completely feel like Elizabeth and the known documents by her hand.  

However, as I learned more about their relationship and Mary herself I was swept up into the story.  I loved how Mary could tell it like it was to the Queen.  There were very few people who were comfortable enough to do that.   I'm curious how much she was treated as nobility and how much she was dismissed as just a lady in waiting.  Was it well known that she had the Queen's ear and how much influence did she have?  This book doesn't really address that but more about Mary falling in love and the Queen's desire to control every aspect of her life.

While I've long known that the Queen had a particular habit of keeping her ladies close to her side, this book really showed how far she was willing to go.  Despite all her talk about wanting Mary to have an advantageous marriage, I don't think anyone would have come along that would have persuaded her to give up her Mary.  Even her instance on Oxford I could have seen falling through.

It must have been hard for Mary to make the decision to marry Sir John.  The Queen had expressly forbid it many times over.  To further complicate matters, Sir John was a Catholic in a time period were they were not trusted much.  It's those occasions that I hope this was a love match for Mary to endure so much.  As painful as a broken finger was...I'm sure it was preferably to being locked in the tower.

I really enjoyed this book.  It had all the right elements and I always love learning about a new figure in history.   I especially love learning about the women who surrounded the Queen.  

Buy the Book

Amazon UK
Amazon US
Barnes & Noble Book Depository Books-a-million

About the Author

Anne Clinard Barnhill has been writing or dreaming of writing for most of her life. For the past twenty years, she has published articles, book and theater reviews, poetry, and short stories. Her first book, AT HOME IN THE LAND OF OZ, recalls what it was like growing up with an autistic sister. Her work has won various awards and grants. Barnhill holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Besides writing, Barnhill also enjoys teaching, conducting writing workshops, and facilitating seminars to enhance creativity. She loves spending time with her three grown sons and their families. For fun, she and her husband of thirty years, Frank, take long walks and play bridge. In rare moments, they dance.

For more information, please visit Anne Clinard Barnhill’s website. You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.

 

 

Review - Perfect Lies (Mind Games #2) by Kiersten White

Title: Perfect Lies

Author: Kiersten White

Series: 2nd (Mind Games)

Pages: 232

Published: February 18th 2014 by HarperTeen 

ISBN: 9780062135841

Source: Publisher via Edelweiss

Description: The sisters have been manipulated and controlled by the Keane Foundation for years, trapped in a never ending battle for survival. Now they have found allies who can help them truly escape. After faking her own death, Annie has joined a group that is plotting to destroy the Foundation. And Fia is working with James Keane to bring his father down from the inside. But Annie's visions of the future can't show her who to trust in the present. And though James is Fia's first love, Fia knows he's hiding something. The sisters can rely only on each other - but that may not be enough to save them.

I Give This ...

I wasn't sure how I felt about this one.  I wasn't completely sold on Mind Games.  The overall plot greatly intrigued me, so I decided to read this one.

I really enjoyed that this one focused more on Annie.  Perhaps that's why the first one didn't fully connect with me, I had a hard time with Fia.  Annie's choices made a lot more sense to me.  I really enjoyed that added twist that she is blind.  I think it makes her instincts that much more powerful.  She relies on her visions quite a bit as well, which makes some of the events extremely interesting.

There are some intense moments that drove the story forward.  There were times I felt like the book was in a lull, and then bam something crazy would happen.  These events would leave me wondering what the heck Fia was up to.  I never trusted James, even in the end.  I don't think he had Fia's best interest at heart.  He saw her as a means to and end.

I loved the ending.  I did not see that what coming.  Who could have thought the blind girl carried such a punch!  I goes to show that sometimes the person you least expect can totally save the day!  

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list. Click on the picture to be taken to Sheila at One Person's Journey Through A World of Books!

 

Read Last Week:

 

•   Killer Frost by Jennifer Estep 
• Queen Elizabeth's Daughter by Anne Clinard Barnhill 

Currently Reading: 

 

• Torn by K.A. Robinson 

Up This Week: 

 

• The Captive Maiden by Melanie Dickerson

 

Review - The Shadow Throne (The Ascendance Trilogy #3) by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Title: The Shadow Throne

Author: Jennifer A Nielsen

Series: 3rd (The False Prince, The Runaway King)

Pages: 336

Published:  February 25th 2014 by Scholastic Press 

ISBN:  9780545284172

Source: Publisher via Netgalley

Description: One war. Too many deadly battles. Can a king save his kingdom, when his own survival seems unlikely? War has come to Carthya. It knocks at every door and window in the land. And when Jaron learns that King Vargan of Avenia has kidnapped Imogen in a plot to bring Carthya to its knees, Jaron knows it is up to him to embark on a daring rescue mission. But everything that can go wrong does. His friends are flung far and wide across Carthya and its neighbouring lands. In a last-ditch effort to stave off what looks to be a devastating loss for the kingdom, Jaron undertakes what may be his last journey to save everything and everyone he loves. But even with his lightning-quick wit, Jaron cannot forestall the terrible danger that descends on him and his country. Along the way, will he lose what matters most? And in the end, who will sit on Carthya's throne? 

I Give This ...

 Anticipation could not have been higher when it came to this book.  I'll be the first to sing my praises for this series, so this last book in the series had a lot to live up to.  Jennifer Nielsen pulled it off with a bang.

 

I've come to expect a lot from Jaron.  He's basically the complete package.  He's smart, resourceful, courageous, and cares for his country.  He's going to do anything in his power to prevent a complete takeover from another country.  It also kills him to know that to do this there will be loss of life on both sides.  It's a price he has the hardest time paying and I think that shows honor as well.

I admired that fact that the author was not afraid to take this story to the brink of despair.  Characters die that you would think would make it to the very end.  I honestly had no idea if Jaron would save the day because King Vargon always seems one step ahead. How is it that Jaron never really gives up hope?  Even when it seems like there is no way out, Jaron is willing to trade his life to bargain for his people.   

Our cast of characters fill out the rest of the story beautifully.  They all have a role to play even if they don't know the ultimate plan that Jaron has. It makes those final moments that much more suspenseful.  I even got one of those rare surprises and someone ultimately wasn't on the side I thought they were on.

I can not recommend this series enough!  It's well rounded, has awesome characters, and rich world building.  I think I need to seek out this author's previous books and I look forward to what she offers in the future!