So I am finally getting around to doing some updates on my challenges. And here is the update for my 2009 Dangerous challenge update. I have just one more book to read for this one. So it’s 99% done. YAY! I am pretty happy about that and feel like I am doing really well.
The fateful tale of Selene and Alexander is brought brilliantly to life in Cleopatra’s Daughter. Recounted in Selene’s youthful and engaging voice, it introduces a compelling cast of historical characters: Octavia, the emperor Octavian’s kind and compassionate sister, abandoned by Marc Antony for Cleopatra; Livia, Octavian’s bitter and jealous wife; Marcellus, Octavian’s handsome, flirtatious nephew and heir apparent; Tiberius, Livia’s sardonic son and Marcellus’s great rival for power; and Juba, Octavian’s watchful aide, whose honored position at court has far-reaching effects on the lives of the young Egyptian royals.
Selene’s narrative is animated by the concerns of a young girl in any time and place–the possibility of finding love, the pull of friendship and family, and the pursuit of her unique interests and talents. While coping with the loss of both her family and her ancestral kingdom, Selene must find a path around the dangers of a foreign land. Her accounts of life in Rome are filled with historical details that vividly capture both the glories and horrors of the times. She dines with the empire’s most illustrious poets and politicians, witnesses the creation of the Pantheon, and navigates the colorful, crowded marketplaces of the city where Roman-style justice is meted out with merciless authority.
Based on meticulous research, Cleopatra’s Daughter is a fascinating portrait of imperial Rome and of the people and events of this glorious and most tumultuous period in human history. Emerging from the shadows of the past, Selene, a young woman of irresistible charm and preternatural intelligence, will capture your heart.
Born into affluence, Mia Stanley is a winsome socialite with a knack for matchmaking. She’s also a writer for Godey’s Lady’s Book magazine, much to the disdain of her family–and their society friends. A proper young lady of her social standing isn’t meant to labor in such a way, but Mia has always had a way with words.
When her writing draws her into the world of downtrodden seamen’s wives on Philadelphia’s docks, Mia uncovers a scheme that puts her in harm’s way. But her heart ends up on the line as well…. Has her determination to always make a match driven away the one man whose esteem she covets?
Oppsy, ha well I got sick again. but I shall be doing the memes again in earnest on Monday. And hopefully I will also catch up on my reviews.
I am feeling a little better.
I will not do any MEME’s til next week. (self imposed rule)
But I will be writting some reviews on what I have been reading.
Coming Reviews for:
Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix
Quiksilver
Memories of Magdalene
I am a bad blogger. I have been so busy reading, and handling other stuff fiance related and what have you that Ihave totally not been doing my MEME’s and I have some reviews from June that didnt get posted yet, Oppsy, lol. So guess what I will be spending this weekend doing. Yup. Playing catch up.
July 1st 2009
Product Description
In 1860s Seattle, a man with a wife could secure himself 640 acres of timberland. But because of his wife’s untimely death, Joe Denton finds himself about to lose half of his claim. Still in mourning, his best solution is to buy one of those Mercer girls arriving from the East. A woman he’ll marry in name but keep around mostly as a cook. Anna Ivey’s journey west with Asa Mercer’s girls is an escape from the griefs of her past. She’s not supposed to be a bride, though, just a cook for the girls. But when they land, she’s handed to Joe Denton and the two find themselves in a knotty situation. She refuses to wed him and he’s about to lose his land. With only a few months left, can Joe convince this provoking–but beguiling–easterner to be his bride?
From the Inside Flap
From A Bride in the Bargain Mr. Asa Mercer placed his pen back in its holder and looked at Anna. “A cook, you say?” “Yes. I prepared the menu and all courses for the morning, noon, and evening meals, having only Sundays off.” Mercer leaned back in his chair. “Well. We aren’t taking any passengers on credit, but there is one man who wanted a br–, err, a woman who could feed the men who work for him.” She straightened. “Well, I daresay he’d be very pleased with me.” Mercer gave her a quick appraisal. “I daresay he would.” “How many men does he employ?” “He’s a lumberjack. I’m not sure how many men are involved in his operation. No more than a dozen, I’d say, if that.” A lumberjack. The word conjured up visions of pine forests, fresh air and wilderness–something far removed from the bustling city, the aftermath of the war. “Goodness,” she said, a flicker of anticipation whisking through her. “I could feed a dozen men with one hand tied behind my back.” He rubbed his hands against his legs. “Well, he was very specific that he would pay for the fare. You would then have to work off your debt for him.” “I’m agreeable to those terms, if he is.” Mercer said nothing. She could see his inner struggle. Was he worried she wouldn’t measure up to her new employer? Sitting a little straighter, she forced herself to not squirm. Finally, he turned again to his desk and retrieved his pen. “Very well, Miss Ivey. I will draw up your papers and award you passage to the Washington Territory on the S.S. Continental.”
She dreams of a quiet life with her beloved George, but war looms…
Though still a young woman, Martha Custis is a widow. But she is not without means and has no desire to remarry. Not, that is, until a striking war hero steps into her life and she realizes she is ready to love again. Yet she wonders whether this man, accustomed to courageous military exploits, can settle down to a simple life of farming and being a father to her children. Even as she longs for domestic bliss, Martha soon realizes she will have to risk everything dear to her and find the courage to get behind a dream much larger than her own. Known for moving first-person novels of Nannerl Mozart and Jane Austen, Nancy Moser now brings to life the loves and trials of the First First Lady of the United States.
