Book review: Incubus Dreams (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #12) by Laurell K. Hamilton

July 6, 2020August 31, 2020 - Ambrosia Leave a comment

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Anita Blake:

In the latest New York Times bestselling Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series, Anita’s life is more complicated than ever, as she is caught between her obligations to the living and the undead. A vampire serial killer who preys on strippers is on the loose. Called in to consult on the case, Anita fears her judgment may be clouded by a conflict of interest. For she is, after all, the consort of Jean-Claude, the ever-intoxicating Master Vampire of the City. Surrounded by suspicion, overwhelmed by her attempts to control the primal lusts that continue to wrack her, Anita does something unprecedented: she calls for help.

Book Review: The Last Romanov by Dora Levy Mossanen

June 28, 2020August 31, 2020 - Ambrosia Leave a comment

LON A child of the Romanov line…

She was an orphan, ushered into the royal palace on the prayers of her majesty. Yet, decades later, her time spent in the embrace of the Romanovs haunts her still. Is she responsible for those murderous events that changed everything?

If only she can find the heir. Maybe she can put together the broken pieces of her own past. Maybe she can hold on to the love she found.

Bursting to life with the rich and glorious marvels of Imperial Russia, The Last Romanov is a magical tale of second chances and royal blood

Book Review: The Jewel of St. Petersburg (The Russian Concubine #0) by Kate Furnivall

May 24, 2020August 31, 2020 - Ambrosia Leave a comment

LON Jewel of St. Petersburg: Russia, 1910. Valentina Ivanova is the darling of St. Petersburg’s elite aristocracy-until her romance with a Danish engineer creates a terrible scandal and her parents push her into a loveless engagement with a Russian count.

Meanwhile, Russia itself is bound for rebellion. With the Tsar and the Duma at each other’s throats, and the Bolsheviks drawing their battle lines, the elegance and opulence of Tsarist rule are in their last days. And Valentina will be forced to make a choice that will change not only her own life, but the lives of those around her forever…

Book Review: The Passionate Brood by Margaret Campbell Barnes

March 2, 2020March 2, 2020 - Ambrosia Leave a comment

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The private lives of the Plantagenet’s, that ‘passionate brood‘ who were the children of Henry the Second and Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard and Johanna, Henry and John.

Margaret Campbell Barnes explores the Crusader King’s triumphs and tragedies in a compelling novel of love, loyalty, and lost chances. The fierce Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine birthed a Plantagenet dynasty before her marriage to Henry II became a mockery, and her family’s future hinges on Richard. With a persistent link you always see the Lionheart in folklore with Robin Hood. Portrayed here as Richard’s foster brother and conscience, who so enraged the King that he is banished. The Passionate Brood is a tale of a man driven to win back the Holy Land, beset by the guilt of casting out his childhood friend, and shouldering the burden of being the lionhearted leader of the Plantagenet’s.

Book Review: The Queen’s Command by Maggie Osborne

February 24, 2020 - Ambrosia Leave a comment

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The Queen’s Command: An engrossing novel, rich in historical details, unforgettable characters. Heart-stopping intrigue and timeless romance- as found only in the Tudor court.

For young widow Lady Nellanor Amesly, the court of Queen Elizabeth I is the most exciting place in the world. but the death of her guardian, Sir Robert Dudley, casts a menacing uncertainty over her future, as his vindictive wife wants to send Nell off to a convent.

So does that happen?

Since Nell is a favorite of the court, the queen strikes a devil’s bargain with her- she, along with the irrepressible Lord Will Steele, must retrieve a small casket of letters from a certain set of Spanish spies. The casket must remain unopened as the letters contain secrets that could alter the line of succession to the English throne. Only if Nell and Will succeed, will they get a reward of riches to secure a future. If they fail, they will lose everything…possibly even their lives. What will happen with the Queen’s dangerous command?

Book Review: India Black (Madam of Espionage #1) by Carol K. Carr

January 27, 2020January 24, 2020 - Ambrosia Leave a comment

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India Black: In the red-light district of London, India Black is in the business of selling passion her clientele will never forget. But when it comes to selling secrets, India’s price cannot be paid by any man…

In the winter of 1876, the beautiful, young madam, India Black, is occupied with her usual tasks. Keeping her tarts in line, avoiding the police, and tolerating the clergyman bent on converting her girls. But when Sir Archibald Latham of the War Office dies from a heart attack while visiting her brothel. India is unexpectedly thrust into a deadly game between Russian and British agents. Both who are seeking the military secrets Latham carried.

Her majesty’s secret service…

French, the handsome, British spy, discovers India disposing of Latham’s body and blackmails her into recovering the missing documents. Their quest takes them from the Russian embassy to Claridge’s Hotel, from London to the English coast. All the while dodging Russians intent to do them harm.

But it is their own tempestuous relationship they will have to weather. As India and French attempt to resist the mutual attraction between them. An attraction that can prove as deadly as the conspiracy entangling them.

Book Review: The Queen’s Lady (Thornleigh #1) by Barbara Kyle

January 24, 2020January 24, 2020 - Ambrosia Leave a comment

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The Queen’s Lady: Abducted as a child-heiress, Honor Larke escapes to London seeking justice from the only lawyer she knows: the brilliant Sir Thomas More. With More as her affectionate guardian, Honor grows to womanhood. When the glitter of the royal court lures her to attend Her Majesty, Queen Catherine of Aragon. But life at Henry VIII’s court holds more than artifice for an intelligent observer. And Honor knows how to watch—and when to act. . . .

How to help a Queen…

Angered by the humiliation heaped upon her mistress as Henry cavorts with Anne Boleyn and presses Rome for a divorce. Honor volunteers to carry letters to the Queen’s allies. It’s a risky game, but Honor is sure she’s playing it well. Until someone proves her wrong. Richard Thornleigh may cut a dashing figure at court. However, Honor doesn’t fall for his reckless charm. Only later does Honor realize that Richard has awakened something within her—and that he, too, has something to hide. . .

For the King’s actions are merely one knot in a twisted web that stretches across Europe. Ensnaring everyone from the lowliest of peasants to the most powerful of nobles. Swept away in a tide of intrigue and danger. The Queen’s lady is about to learn everything: about pride, passion, greed—and the conscience of the King. . . .

Book Review: When We Were Brave by Karla M. Jay

January 2, 2020January 24, 2020 - Ambrosia Leave a comment

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Aug. 2019 Silver medal winner in Reader’s Favorite Contest for historical fiction.
Nov. 2019 New York City Big Book Award® Distinguished Favorites

In WHEN WE WERE BRAVE, we find a conflicted SS officer, Wilhelm Falk, who risks everything to escape the Wehrmacht and get out the message about the death camps. Izaak is a young Jewish boy whose positive outlook is challenged daily as each new perilous situation comes along. American citizens, Herbert Müller, and his family are sent back to the hellish landscape of Germany because of the DNA coursing through their veins. In the panorama of World War II, these are the high-stakes plots and endearing characters whose braided fates we pray will work out in the end.

Book Review: Blood of Elves (The Witcher #1) by Andrzej Sapkowski

January 1, 2020January 6, 2020 - Ambrosia 23 Comments

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The New York Times bestselling series that inspired the international hit video game: The Witcher.
For over a century, humans, dwarves, gnomes, and elves have lived together in relative peace. But times have changed, the uneasy peace is over, and now the races are fighting once again. The only good elf, it seems, is a dead elf.

Geralt of Rivia, the cunning assassin known as The Witcher, has been waiting for the birth of a prophesied child. This child has the power to change the world – for good, or for evil.

As the threat of war hangs over the land and the child is hunted for her extraordinary powers, it will become Geralt’s responsibility to protect them all – and the Witcher never accepts defeat.

The Witcher returns in this sequel to The Last Wish, as the inhabitants of his world become embroiled in a state of total war.

Book Review: The Woman on the Orient Express by Lindsay Jayne Ashford

December 30, 2019January 6, 2020 - Ambrosia 1 Comment

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Hoping to make a clean break from a fractured marriage, Agatha Christie boards the Orient Express in disguise. But unlike her famous detective Hercule Poirot, she can’t neatly unravel the mysteries she encounters on this fateful journey.

How will the journey go?

Agatha isn’t the only passenger on board with secrets. Her cabinmate Katharine Keeling’s first marriage ended in tragedy, propelling her toward a second relationship mired in deceit. Nancy Nelson—newly married but carrying another man’s child. Is desperate to conceal the pregnancy and teeters on the brink of utter despair. Each woman hides her past from the others, ferociously guarding her secrets. But as the train bound for the Middle East speeds down the track. The parallel courses of their lives shift to intersect, with lasting repercussions.

Filled with evocative imagery, suspense, and emotional complexity. The Woman on the Orient Express explores the bonds of sisterhood forged by shared pain and the power of secrets.

The Purple Booker

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