Booking Through Thursday – The Favorites Game

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This week’s Booking Through Thursday asks — Who’s your favorite author that other people are NOT reading? The one you want to evangelize for, the one you would run popularity campaigns for? The author that, so far as you’re concerned, everyone should be reading–but that nobody seems to have heard of. You know, not JK Rowling, not Jane Austen, not Hemingway–everybody’s heard of them. The author that you think should be that famous and can’t understand why they’re not…

Hmm, this is a tough one and the author I’m going to pick is not a complete unknown. I’m going to go with Michelle Moran (Nefertiti, The Heretic Queen, and Cleopatra’s Daughter). I know, a lot of book bloggers talk about her but I found that people who don’t spend their time with noses buried in books (not a criticism, I always have my nose in a book too ;-)) don’t know about her. I introduced her to two of my co-workers who absolutely loved The Heretic Queen.

She creates great characters and her first three books were all set in Egypt or at least had Egypt as a central theme and it was a fantastic setting. Her descriptions are subtle but it’s obvious she knows her subjects and easily transports you back in time. Anytime anyone asks me about a book or an author that I like that’s a good, entertaining read, I recommend her.

Got any favorites of your own to share?

The Wild Hunt

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The Wild Hunt

The Wild Hunt

By Elizabeth Chadwick

St. Martin’s Press

ISBN: 0-312-06491-8

3.75 stars

Guyon, Lord of Ledworth, is told by the king that he will be marrying. His future wife, Judith of Ravenstow, is a child and he’s none too happy with the arrangement which will make him an Earl and a pawn to keep an evil treacherous man from clutching more land and power.

Guyon is loathe to leave the mistress he’s been with for a number of years but they both know it can go no further with his impending marriage. Reluctantly, they part and he finds himself married to a willful and terrified Judith, who having been traumatized by her father’s beatings and brutality, is scared of him and what he might do to her. She is a skilled healer and capable of running a strict household but innocent and helpless when it comes to her husband. Guyon treats her with nothing but kindness and the two become less tense around each other. The war deposits several tragedies at their feet and Guyon and Judith grow closer and find a true love that neither thought was possible.

I’ve been wanting to read The Greatest Knight by Chadwick but my library doesn’t have it. I found this one on the shelf and was pleasantly surprised by it. I was a bit annoyed by Judith — who while headstrong and competent, she’s also young and inexperienced. She doesn’t want Guyon to herself but she also wants no one else to have him. Guyon, on the other hand, is quite likable and the relationship between the two becomes more tolerable and even compelling by the middle of the book.

Chadwick does a great job with characters, even the ones you don’t like. They are all very genuine and the story, while nothing new — war over land, drunken lords, raping, pillaging, etc. — it feels different and slightly exciting. I’m going to be picking up more of her books in the future.

Teaser Tuesdays

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. The idea is to give everyone a look inside the book you’re reading.

1.) Grab your current read

2.) Open to a random page

3.) Share two teaser sentences from that page

4.) Share the title and author so that other participants know what you’re reading.

Be careful not to include spoilers. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!

Lengar feared the gods. He did not understand them, but he understood himself and he knew that the treachery of the gods could far outdo anything man could contrive, so he feared them and took good care to placate them as best he knew how.

Stonehenge by Bernard Cornwell, page 128.

Stonehenge

Into the Path of Gods

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Into the Path of Gods

Into the Path of Gods

By Kathleen Cunningham Guler

Bardsong Press

ISBN: 0-9660371-0-3

3 stars

Marcus ap Iorwerth is a spy in 5th Century Britain working to free his people and help the rightful ruler of Britain take his place. On one of his missions, he meets Claerwen, a woman who has visions of the future, and is being hunted by a man who believes she holds the key to a mythical treasure.

Claerwen was promised to a man named Drakar. He’s a cruel and brutal person and she refuses to agree to the marriage arranged by her mother. To avoid the marriage, she runs away with her cousin Grania. In time, their paths cross with Marcus. He helps put the two women into a convent to keep them safe from Drakar who is hunting them relentlessly believing that Claewen knows where a legendary treasure is buried. When Draker is killed, Marcus and Claerwen feel it is safe to profess their love and marry, but he carries on with his spying dragging them deeper into the mystery of the treasure and putting their lives in danger.

This book moved a bit slow for me in the beginning but did speed up in the end. It seemed every time Claerwen turned around, she was in trouble. She didn’t always want rescuing and did her best to help herself but, all the same, Marcus seemed to be there when needed. The relationship between Claerwen and Marcus was fairly genuine, although Grania was like nails on a chalkboard. Very, very annoying. I did find some of the dialogue awkward and the use of the word awesomely through me off completely for a few pages. I don’t know, but I somehow don’t think 5th Century Britains were using the word awesomely but I could be wrong.

Into the Path of Gods is the first book in the Macsen’s Treasure series. There are four books in all. Being the series lover that I am, I wouldn’t be surprised to find myself reading a few more of the books. While it was a bit awkward in places, I found it mildly entertaining and a fast read once I got past the first few chapters.

I won this book through the LibraryThing Member Giveaway.

The Sunday Salon

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Earlier this week I was looking at the stack of books sitting on the corner of the desk waiting to be read and realized I was putting them in order. There was a mystery, a fantasy, and some historical fiction. I don’t like to read books that are similar back to back, unless I’m reading a series, and I purposely look for something different when I finish one and move on to another. I know that’s probably fairly common. For me it just makes reading that much more enjoyable, always something new. I try for a diverse reading list but do read a lot more fiction than non-fiction and I’m hoping to change that this year.

The Wife's Tale

For this week’s round-up: I finished The Black Tower by Louis Bayard and The Wife’s Tale by Lori Lansens and started Stonehenge by Bernard Cornwell. Both were good but I really loved The Wife’s Tale. Lansens has a way of making you feel completely uncomfortable with her characters and then you fall in love with them. I almost abandoned the book because it was so depressing (it’s about a morbidly obese woman whose husband leaves her on the eve of their 25th wedding anniversary) but I felt like I couldn’t. I was already hooked and even though I felt like I was watching the events through my fingers laced across my face, I had to keep going. It’s a very good book and I’m glad I stuck with it.

The Black Tower

The Black Tower was about Louis the Seventeenth, the long lost son of Marie Antoinette and Louis the Sixteenth. It was a good mystery but by the end of the book I couldn’t decide if I liked any of these people or not. For me, the events were much more interesting than the characters although it was a very interesting list of characters. It was still a good read and I plan to do a longer review of it in the coming weeks. I don’t read many mysteries so this was a nice change for me.

On my reading list this week: Finish Stonehenge by Cornwell and start The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbury and The Midnight Guardian by Sarah Jane Stratford. I gave in and bought myself a copy of The Swan Thieves and while I promised myself that I would read all my library books this month and leave my own for February, I maybe breaking that truce to start this one.

Anything good on your list this week?

Friday Finds

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I haven’t done a Friday Finds in a while so I thought I’d share a few books that have been added to my TBR list this week.

The Art of Deception by Elizabeth Ironside. A story about forbidden love, obsession, and stolen art.

Noah’s Compass by Anne Tyler. I’ve always liked Anne Tyler and it’s been a while since I’ve read one of her books.

The Kingdom of Ohio by Matthew Flaming. Time travel and alternate histories, what can be more fun!

The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn by Alison Weir. A history book but supposedly reads like a fiction thriller. I’m adding a few more non-fiction books to my list this year and I thought this would be a good addition.

Ordinary Thunderstorms by William Boyd. Intelligence/spy fiction. I don’t read much of this genre and this one looked interesting.

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. A lot of people have been talking about Waters and this book in particular. I can’t wait to read it.

Anything good make it onto your TBR list this week?

The Art of Deception

Noah's Compass

The Kingdom of Ohio

Friday Finds is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Leave a comment here with a link to your own finds, or share your answers at Should Be Reading.

The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn

Ordinary Thunderstorms

The Little Stranger

Booking Through Thursday – The Back Flap Issue

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This week’s Booking Through Thursday asks — Do you read the inside flaps that describe a book before or while reading it?

Yes, I do — but after I finish to see if it matches up to what I thought of the book. I know, why bother at that point. I guess I like to read first and then see if the publisher got it right. As if I might know better! 🙂

I will admit though to being one of those people who reads the last page first (the horror!) and sometimes when a story is taking an odd turn that seems out of whack or things are not going well for the characters that I’m liking, I will read ahead. Why do this and not read the inside flap? I know it seems like the two things don’t match up. Here’s why I do one and not the other — I don’t like surprises. Yes, reading the inside flap would give me the information I want since most flaps these days seem to be bent on spoiling the reading experience by telling you everything but the flaps don’t tell you exactly how it all happens. I like to know what is said and thought and when I find what I’m looking for, I go back to regularly scheduled reading time.

Crazy, I know, but we all have our reading quirks.  And, no, I don’t do this with all books.  Sometimes I’m content to read through with no unscheduled interruptions but if a book grabs or annoys me then, yes, I’m reading ahead. I never found that reading ahead has spoiled anything for me. If I’m going to be bothered by something a character does, I’d rather know all about it. I might find out all the intervening reasons along the way but I still like to know.

So, do you? Read the inside flap that is.

Versailles

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Versailles

Versailles

By Kathryn Davies

Houghton Mifflin Company

ISBN: 0-618-22136-0

3.5 stars

We meet Marie Antoinette at the age of 14 on her way from Austria to France to marry the Dauphin, Louis. She is young, anxious, and completely unprepared for what her life will be. She soon finds herself married to young man who has more interest in locks than in her. Her position is precarious without an heir, as her mother constantly reminds her. To distract herself, she spends her time gambling away a French fortune.

In time, her and Louis find a happy companionship but before they are able to figure out their roles or who they are, they are crowned king and queen of France. Unable to handle the weight of ruling, France begins to crumble as they do nothing but watch.

I love reading about Marie Antoinette. She’s a tragic figure with so many rumors surrounding her any one in itself can be a story. I was expecting more of the same with this book and I found it, however, I also found an interesting re-telling of a story I was already familiar with. Told from Marie Antoinette’s point of view, you see the odd aloofness, the sense of confusion, sadness, and her need to be loved by her husband. I felt bad for her and, at the same time, completely intrigued and dumbfounded by her actions.

Interspersed throughout the story are small plays. People enter stage left and right and it’s almost as if you’re overhearing a whispered conversation in the palace with these short asides. It’s effective and broke up the story just enough to keep my interest. The book wasn’t what I was expecting and that was a nice surprise.