Does your house have a communal bookshelf? If not, is your bookshelf centrally located so everyone has access to it?
I am the only one in the house who really reads. That being said my book room and my overflow shelves can be reached by the hubby. He has a few books on the shelves but otherwise it’s all me. Anyone who comes over is welcome to have access to the books. I am happy to share reading with anyone and everyone!
The author of the highly praised The Wild Irish is back with a mesmerizing novel that probes one of the most intriguing unsolved mysteries in history — what happened to the lost princes of York
Debated for more than five centuries, the disappearance of the young princes Edward and Richard from the Tower of London in 1483 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 captivating 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.
Have you ever wondered just how the Tudor line came to be the one that ruled? The War of the Roses raged on for a very long time. The House of York and the House of Lancaster were bitter enemies. For a while though and so they thought they were secured it was the house of York and their King Edward on the throne of England.
This book is fantastic and exiting you follow “Bessie” who became the ultimate founder of the house of Tudor through her life. You meet her shortly after her son Arthur has died and than backtrack to her younger life. It is fantastic and thrilling to see these events through the eyes of Bessie and her best friend Nell Caxton.
Once King Edward dies it certainly is mysterious how two Princes of royal blood go into the Tower never to be heard from again. Robin Maxwell tackles just one thing that may have happened to him, but also the most logical. If you’re a fan of the War of Roses, or the Tudor line this is a book you should read. There is romance, intrigue, murder and mystery. There is a little bit of something for everybody and a good helping of well researched history.
From her beginnings as a servant girl in Maine, Helen Jewett refashioned herself, using four successive aliases, into a highly paid courtesan. She invented life stories for herself that helped her build a sympathetic clientele among New York City’s elite, and she further captivated her customers through her seductive letters, which mixed elements of traditional feminine demureness with sexual boldness.
But she was to meet her match–and her nemesis–in a youth called Richard Robinson. He was one of an unprecedented number of young men who flooded into America’s burgeoning cities in the 1830s to satisfy the new business society’s seemingly infinite need for clerks. The son of an established Connecticut family, he was intense, arrogant, and given to posturing. He became Helen Jewett’s lover in a tempestuous affair and ten months later was arrested for her murder. He stood trial in a five-day courtroom drama that ended with his acquittal amid the cheers of hundreds of fellow clerks and other spectators.
With no conviction for murder, nor closure of any sort, the case continued to tantalize the public, even though Richard Robinson disappeared from view. Through the Erie Canal, down the Ohio and the Mississippi, and by way of New Orleans, he reached the wilds of Texas and a new life under a new name. Through her meticulous and ingenious research, Patricia Cline Cohen traces his life there and the many twists and turns of the lingering mystery of the murder. Her stunning portrayals of Helen Jewett, Robinson, and their raffish, colorful nineteenth-century world make vivid a frenetic city life and sexual morality whose complexities, contradictions, and concerns resonate with those of our own time.
As far as murder mysteries go I have to say this is on the top of the list. Although perhaps a mystery is the wrong word for Murder of Helen Jewett it is a good book. You have elements of everything in it. From Romance to betrayal and everything in between. This review is a little short as I read this book a while back with some of my others and didn’t have a chance to post the review. But I do recommend this book if you like historical thriller. It will keep you on your toes and the information is very good.
So it is Sunday again. And I am proud of myself I have restarted my Meme’s and I am working on reading again. I am much slower than usual and than I would like. But I will take the accomplishment where I can. And say I have started reading again and that is better than nothing. I have written two reviews, and I am working on a very good book. It is good I wish I could just dig in and read for hours and hours like I used to. But I have to accept my limitations currently. And I shall.
So my other thought for the day? I like Flintstones vitamins. Yes I do and I am not afraid to admit I am an adult who eats a kid’s vitamin. The biggest reason? I am so sick of swallowing so many pills. I used to eat Flintstones as a kid too. My doctor said I needed to take a multivitamin and I am at the point where I just did not want to take another pill. I swallow so many a day now for my medicines I just didn’t want to. So I said “what about Flintstones?” he laughed and said that would work fine. So every day I eat my Flintstone like a good girl.
So say it loud and proud I am an Adult who eats Flintstones! Happy Sunday!
Such as are thy habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of thy soul-for the soul is dyed by the thoughts. Dye it then, with a continuous series of such thoughts as these-that where a man can live, there if he will, he can also live well.
Consider how much more you often suffer from your anger and grief, than from those very things for which you are angry and grieved.
I am dying, Egypt, dying.
You Are Humor |
 You love to laugh at life, and if possible, get others to laugh along with you. You believe there’s always a humorous side to everything. And your sense of humor ranges from upbeat to very dark. You are outrageous and very honest. You’re often the only one willing to say what everyone else is thinking. You are witty and verbally talented. You like to play with words and say things in interesting ways. |
Looking at my blog and the Meme’s I do I decided I needed something to put on my book blog on Saturdays I am trying to gather a Meme for everyday of the week. And to start posting them regularly like a good girl. Well I didn’t see any good Saturday ones, so I decided to start my own. And I decided to title it the Saturday Sanctuary.
The Saturday Sanctuary will be a Weekly Writing Post. I will ask something or give a topic. Sometimes it will be short, sometimes it might be longer. The idea is just to write! So others can read. I thought it would be a great idea for a Book Blog to do something about writing. We are bloggers after all so we must have some enjoyment of writing too! So hop on in and Join the Saturday Sanctuary, grab our link and our picture and post your replies here. Make sure you visit others blogs out there and leave comments. Mostly have fun.
Today will be a short fun post. What is your favorite time of day to read?
For me my favorite time to read is the wee morning hours. When my hubby is asleep and when the animals are usually laid back and some of them are sleeping on me happily cuddled up. No one bothers me and I can just settle into my book and focus. That is the best time to read for me and there are no distractions.
I don’t have a nice neat pile like previous months because I am so behind. But I am trying to get back into the swing of things and prepare for my 2010 Challenges. So keeping that in mind. Currently here is my planned books for this month.
Currently Reading: To the Tower Born by Robin Maxwell 307 pages
Courtesans by Katie Hickman 336 pages
A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander 306 pages
A Lady of High Regard by Tracie Peterson 336 pages
Jemima J by Jane Green 373 pages
Hunted by P.C Cast & Kristin Cast 323 pages
Have you ever wondered what secrets lurk behind the closed doors of New York City’s wealthiest families? They’re powerful, they’re famous… they’re undead. Schuyler Van Alen’s blood legacy has just been called into question–is the young vampire in fact a Blue Blood, or is it the sinister Silver Blood that runs through her veins? As controversy swirls, Schuyler is left stranded in the Force household, trapped under the same roof as her cunning nemesis, Mimi Force, and her forbidden crush, Jack Force. When one of the Gates of Hell is breached by Silver Bloods in Rio de Janeiro, however, the Blue Bloods will need Schuyler on their side. The stakes are high; the battle is bloody; and through it all, Carnavale rages on. And in the end, one vampire’s secret identity will be exposed in a revelation that shocks everyone.
And here we have another installment of the Blue Bloods Novels. I have to say this was not my favorite of the series. It was a little bit slower and confusing than the other two books. It was not a bad read, just not as good in my opinion.
Once again we follow Schuler Van Alan her friends and family and of course Mimi and Jack Force through the world of the elite vampires. But now we delve more into the paranormal and more into the religion that has been placed into this kind of Vampire. I personally feel that some of the enjoyment of the first books was lost in this installment because of how much more they leaned on the religion.
That said there are a few things revealed in this story that you may or may not have seen coming. Schuyler takes her place among her people. She has her power and learns how to use it. While the true evil Silver Blood is revealed. Over the entire book was a good set up for the next book and while not the best in the series, is still enjoyable.
