The White Queen

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The White Queen

The White Queen

By Philippa Gregory

Thorndike Windsor Paragon

ISBN: 978-1-4104-1930-9

3 stars

Elizabeth Woodville is young, beautiful, and a widow with two small boys when she plans to petition the newly crowned King Edward to get her lands back from her former mother-in-law. She waits patiently with her two boys by the side of the road knowing he will pass by with his army. While the Woodvilles fought on the side of Henry, Edward’s cousin and now defeated king of England, she has hopes that her beauty will make him stop and help her.

The two fall in love, marry in secret, and wait for Edward to secure his crown before announcing the marriage. Elizabeth is a commoner and the marriage is not popular with the King’s counselors who do all they can to convince him to leave her. He doesn’t and the two begin building strong alliances by marrying off every supporter, brother, sister, and friend to anyone they see as a future problem. In the end, the war they fought so hard to end, never does. After Edward’s death, the world Elizabeth knows is gone but she keeps fighting wanting to continue and secure the Plantagenet line that she and Edward worked so hard to protect.

This is the first Philippa Gregory book I’ve read. I love historical fiction but somehow I’ve managed to pass her over. I picked this one up with very high hopes. I won’t say the hopes were dashed, but it may be a while before I read another.

I liked the time period, I liked the royals fighting, I liked the court, and I liked the characters. Edward and Elizabeth had good chemistry and the court intrigue was really interesting but there was something that was holding me back from really liking it and I think it was the magical element to the story. It felt silly and contrived to me. I usually like the fantasy, magic, and witchcraft additions to a story but here it didn’t work for me. I vaguely remember reading that either Elizabeth or her mother were accused of witchcraft and I understand the need to include it in the story but I couldn’t get into it here.

I almost put this book down a few times but I decided to finish it and I’m glad I did. Gregory’s writing style can pull you in and in a few places I felt I was really liking the book and then the queen and her mother would get to cursing someone and I quickly backed away again. I don’t know what it was here but in a few months time I think I will give her another chance.

W… W… W… Wednesdays

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www_wednesdays41W… W… W… Wednesdays asks three (3) questions:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll be reading next?

And this week’s books are…

Currently reading – Nefertiti by Michelle Moran

Recently finished – Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Reading next – Fallen by Lauren Kate

W… W… W… Wednesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Leave a comment here with a link to your own W… W…W… Wednesdays post, or share your answers at Should Be Reading.

Teaser Tuesday

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Tuesday TeaserTeaser 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!

My Teaser this week:

“The cold exhausted me and I didn’t know how long Grace would be up with her parents, so I climbed into bed without turning on the light. Sitting there in the dim moonlight, leaning against the pillows, I rubbed life back into my frozen toes and listened to Grace’s distant voice down the hall.”

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, pg. 154.

Shiver

Cleopatra’s Daughter

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Cleopatra's Daughter

Cleopatra’s Daughter

By Michelle Moran

Crown Publishers

ISBN: 978-0-307-40912-6

4 stars

After the deaths of Marc Antony and Cleopatra, Egypt’s new conqueror, Octavian, takes their three children, twins Alexander and Selene, and the youngest Ptolemy, to Rome as prisoners. Ptolemy dies on the journey causing Alexander and Selene to cling to each other even more knowing Octavian can order their deaths on a whim. After being paraded through the streets of Rome in chains, Alexander and Selene are sent to live with Octavia, Octavian’s sister who loves them as her own. While their life is by no means difficult — Octavia goes out of her way to make them feel at home — they still live in fear of death and desperately long for Egypt.

Told through Selene’s eyes, the story focuses on her brother and their small group of friends. While Alexander spends his time and money with Octavia’s son Marcellus at the Circus Maximus, Selene spends her time studying and attempting to make herself useful to Octavian hoping he will send her and her brother home. When their 15th birthday arrives and they are declared adults, Selene and Alexander’s lives take on a heightened urgency. Knowing a marriage will soon be in her future, Selene prepares for a difficult life, and Alexander attempts to live out his days happily instead of worrying about the future knowing he may not have one as the last living son of Marc Antony.

I enjoyed this book and the incredible detail Moran adds to the story. Selene is strong, stubborn, and unwilling to forget who and what she is — a princess of Egypt and daughter of Cleopatra. She questions Octavian’s orders, is outspoken to her guards, and always makes it known that she wants to return to Egypt. The years they spend in Rome are eventful and eye opening, even the smallest trip to the forum is interesting creating an incredible picture of Roman life.

I wanted to read this book because I loved The Heretic Queen so much. I don’t think I liked this book as much but it was still a great read. Moran has a way of describing events and details so well that you can picture everything clearly. She drops you right into the story. Selene is a captive princess in a foreign land and you feel her loss, fear, hope, and eagerness to learn and be useful. There were two small things that bothered me though. I did wonder about Selene’s maturity level at the beginning (she is 10 when Octavian invades Egypt) as she seems way too precocious for her age, and I didn’t like her eager acceptance of her chosen husband at the end. These two things didn’t deter from my reading, just made me wonder, but in the end had no impact on my liking the story any less.

Moran is fast becoming one of my new favorite authors. Now, I’m off to buy a copy of Nefertiti since my library doesn’t have it.

Of Books and Travels

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cropped-book-stack-1a.jpgI’m off on a long work trip and after tossing a random assortment of clothes into a suitcase carelessly, I now find myself worrying about what books to take with me.

I raided the library, the bookstore, and my shelves and 8 have made the cut. I’m learning towards taking them all right now. It’s a cross-country plane ride and I am going to a city I don’t much care for. I won’t name it as I don’t want to offend anyone who happens to live there. Let’s just say gambling is not my thing. 😉 So, what am I to do? Well, break out the backpack of course! Yes, my husband was correct when he said we needed a second one for traveling. He was thinking of hiking, but I find they are a great way for me to carry a large number of books on trips.

Here’s the reading list for next week. We’ll see how many I get through after working a few 15 hour days.

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. I’ve read a few pages but I keep putting it off knowing I have a long flight in my future. It’s a chunkster and so perfect for a long trip.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. I can’t wait to start this book!

Fallen by Lauren Kate. This is an advanced reader’s copy but it looks interesting.

Nefertiti by Michelle Moran. I broke down and bought it since I enjoyed Cleopatra’s Daughter and The Heretic Queen so much.

A Highlander’s Temptation by Sue-Ellen Welfonder. I don’t ever read books like this but I thought it would be a great distraction on the plane when The Pillars of the Earth gets too heavy to hold.

Covenant with the Vampire by Jeanne Kalogridis. The library didn’t have The Borgia Bride so picked up this one. It’s supposedly her first novel. I liked The Devil’s Queen and I’m looking forward to this one.

Kristin Lavransdatter I: The Bridal Wreath and II: The Mistress of Husaby.

On average, I read about 3 books a week. I know I won’t be getting through many on the list but at least I’ll have a lot of choose from.

Friday Finds

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Friday FindsWhat books did you discover this past week?

I have two to add to the TBR list.

May Contain Traces of Magic

In Great Waters

May Contains Traces of Magic by Tom Holt. I think this one came from an email newsletter but I can’t remember which one.

In Great Waters by Kim Whitfield. This one I found thanks to The Literary Omnivore.

Anything interesting you added to your list this week?

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.

Booking Through Thursday

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Booking Through ThursdayBooking Through Thursday asks — Which do you prefer? Biographies written about someone? Or autobiographies written by the actual person (and/or ghost-writer)?

Biographies written about someone. It’s not one of my favorite genres though and unless it’s something that really interests me, I tend not to read many.  It’s odd, I love stories but somehow when they are based on real people I find them less fascinating.  I wonder why that is…and it’s too early for me to delve into that.

Although, one of my most fascinating reads has been a biography — Augustus by Anthony Everitt. I also have his book Cicero. (I love reading about ancient Rome.) I got about 40 page in before I put it down. I should start it again one of these days.

The Haunting of Hill House

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The Haunting of Hill House

The Haunting of Hill House

By Shirley Jackson

Penguin Books

ISBN: 0-14-30-3998-9

4.5 stars

Eleanor Vance has no life. After the death of her mother, whom she physically cared for the last few years, she moves in with her sister, brother-in-law, and niece. She owns nothing, has no job, and desperately wants to belong somewhere. When a letter from a Dr. John Montague arrives in the mail inviting her to spend the summer at Hill House, she readily accepts thinking this is her chance at a new life. Her sister balks at the idea and tries to stop her by telling her that she cannot borrow the car. Eleanor decides to defy her sister and herself. She takes the car and goes to Hill House not understanding or prepared for what she is about to face.

Dr. Montague is studying the paranormal and plans to write a book documenting the events at Hill House which is widely reported to be haunted. The individuals he invites to spend the summer at the house have all experienced some sort of paranormal activity and he hopes to tap into their collective abilities. With the arrival of Theodora and Luke Sanderson, the experiment begins and quickly takes a strange and frightening turn. Over the next few days, Eleanor gets pulled in deeper and begins to lose her grip on reality. When the others try to help, the experiment takes a tragic turn.

As the reader, you hear Eleanor’s thoughts and they are sad, scary, and deluded. She is always imaging the happy life she thinks she should be living but she’s so incredibly unstable that you feel uncomfortable knowing her thoughts. It’s these same thoughts that keep you hooked though. There’s something so very wrong about the house but also Eleanor that the two become almost one in the book. When the paranormal activity picks up, you do wonder if it’s all in Eleanor’s head.

When reality takes over, you feel bad for Eleanor because what happens to her is almost inevitable. There is no way out and no escape from her depressing life. She exercises the only option she can see and while she does, for one brief moment, question her choice, it’s already too late for her.

I didn’t find The Haunting of Hill House scary for the paranormal activity but Eleanor’s thoughts and life which give the book a tragic and creepy feel. The backdrop of the haunted house only adds to the effect and brings to life the raving thoughts of a person so depressed and scared of life that she has to imagine a new one every second of the day.