More Blood: The Eternity Cure

Last year, I read the first instalment in the ‘Blood of Eden’ series by Julie Kagawa. Full of blood-thirsty vampires, zombie-like rabids and surprisingly resilient humans, The Immortal Rules was exciting to the last (you can read my review here) and I was very much looking forward to the next instalment.

This month, it arrived, and as I dived head first into the action of The Eternity Cure (Harlequin) I was greeted by starving vampires, territorial mole men and a new, horrifying and bloody plague…

Allison Sekemoto has done the unthinkable: died so that she might continue to live. Cast out of Eden and separated from the boy she dared to love, Allie will follow the call of blood to save her creator, Kanin, from a psychotic vampire. But there’s a new plague on the rise, a strain of the Red Lung virus that wiped out most of humanity generations ago — and this strain is deadly to humans and vampires alike.

Allison thought that immortality was forever. But with eternity itself hanging in the balance, the lines between human and monster will blur even further as Allie faces another choice she could never have imagined having to make…

Allison is on a quest, katana in hand and a pillar of strength while all of those around her fall victim to violence and plague. The Eternity Cure is action-packed and full of unlikely allegiances…

“Why was Jackal here now? The last I’d seen of him, he had been shoved out of a thirty-story window – after, I remembered quite clearly, he’d jammed a wooden stake into my stomach. I didn’t have fond memories of the raider king, and I knew Jackal wasn’t terribly happy with me either. 

Then the implication hit me like a brick in the chest, and I stared at him in horror. Kanin was our sire, having Turned the both of us. The raider king was my “blood brother” and blood called to blood. No wonder there had been two pulls. If Jackal was here, then he was the presence I’d been following. Not Kanin. Not Sarren. I’d chosen to track the wrong lead.”

This volatile partnership keeps the reader on the edge of their seat, wondering if it is in any way workable… surely it’s only a matter of time before Jackal and Allie turn their weapons on each other?

This novel is a fantastic follow up to The Immortal Rules, with just the right amount of narrative, horror, action and romance…

“He froze for a second, before his arms came up to pull me closer. I leaned into him, feeling the Hunger rise up, feeling his lips on mine, his hands sliding over my back. I let myself feel all these things, including the urge to drop my head to his neck and plunge my fangs into his throat. I could control it, I would control it. Because there was no way I was letting Zeke go now.”

I can’t wait for part three.

To find out a little more about what makes this series tick, I asked a few questions of the author Julie Kagawa…

This latest instalment in the Blood of Eden series kicks off at a cracking pace… was it fun to be able to immerse yourself again in Allie’s world?
Yes, and I actually liked writing this book a little more than The Immortal Rules, because Allie’s character has been established, and all the other major characters have been introduced.  I don’t need to spend time setting everything up, I can jump right into the story.

There’s a real horror element to this installment, the new plague is vicious and bloody. Do you like the idea of scaring your readers?
Scaring them, infuriating them, making them laugh, making them sob.  The worst feeling is reading a book and liking it okay, but that’s it.  It becomes forgettable, and I don’t want my books to become forgettable.  I want readers to be terrified, horrified, hysterical and grief stricken.  If a book can bring out such intense emotion, then I’ve done my job as an author.

 Allison is an absolute pillar of strength, seemingly unbeatable but still maintaining some of her human vulnerabilities. What do you like most about her character?
I love her extreme stubbornness, which can, at times, get her into trouble, but also becomes her saving grace, as well.  She is completely determined not to become a monster, and she clings to her humanity as tightly as she can.  She also possesses a “never back down” quality which, like her stubbornness, can get her into trouble, but she’s more than willing to fight for what she believes in and usually comes out on top.

You’ve assembled a fantastic cast in ‘The Eternity Cure’; rabids, vampires, humans, pets and mole men… do you have a favourite?
I have to say I like the vampires, because they are savage yet refined, civilized yet monstrous.  They’re not friendly; they’re predators and humans are their food source.  I’ve always enjoyed the darker aspects of vampires, and I wanted to bring back a little of the fear humans once had for the Children of the Night.

I have to ask… what’s next?
Well, the second book of the spin-off Iron Fey series, Call of the Forgotten: The Iron Traitor, is set to be released sometime in the fall, and after that, the third and final book of Allie’s story, The Forever Song.  Beyond that, anything is possible.

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If you’d like to find out more about The Eternity Cure, you can do so here…

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True Adventures: Red Carpet Burns

Today’s book had TBYL Reviewer, Tam Jenkin galavanting around Los Angeles. Red Carpet Burns by Georgia Cassimatis (Harlequin) is Georgia’s memoir, full of famous names and famous faces, complete with ups and downs and beautiful scoundrels. Here’s what Tam thought of the book…

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Red Carpet Burns is the very busy memoir of Georgia Cassimatis’s seven years in Los Angeles. It’s packed full of stories, many that are fascinating, some that are infuriating and others that are simply mind boggling!

After meeting the gorgeous and charismatic Simon, Georgia Cassimatis swaps her fabulous life in Sydney for Los Angeles, risking it all for a chance at love. Georgia soon finds out, however, that Simon is not the man he seemed to be, and she has left her entire world behind for a loveless marriage with a man who is intent on making her miserable.

LA is a tough town – especially for a girl with no friends, no money and no job – but Georgia finds her way through the liars, fakes and cheats to become a successful celebrity journalist and soon realises she’s fallen in love again – this time with her new home town… LA.

Georgia begins this book by recounting every girl’s nightmare… thinking she had found ‘The One’ she gives up her life in Australia to move to a new country with him, only to find out that Prince Charming is in fact anything but! Much to her dismay, once she moves to Los Angeles to be with him, Simon quickly turns into an extremely mean and abusive man – the promises that he had made to her were very different from reality, leaving her heart-broken and a long way from home.

As it turns out, Georgia seems to have a lot of bad luck with men, always finding herself attracted to the wrong guy. Throughout her book, she actually paints a pretty bleak picture of the guys of Lis Angeles. Men that on the outside appear wonderful, with expensive cars, who are well groomed and have impressive jobs, but all of whom seem to end up so flaky and with far too much baggage. It’s fascinating to read her descriptions of how different the ‘dating’ scene is in LA compared to Australia.

Despite being ‘unlucky in love’, Georgia does have some very impressive stories to tell of the life she begins to live once she’s a little more settled in her new home. Although it takes her a long time to find work, when she does finds her feet, she meets a lot of famous stars and becomes deeply embroiled in a life of freelance interviews, parties and ‘background artists’ (otherwise known as Extras on movies).

One aspect that I found the most interesting about Red Carpet Burns were the stories of the friends that she makes during her time in LA. Her ‘Angels’ as she calls them, were quite often fellow Aussies who had set up home in LA. They seemed to find a sense of comfort in each other, they became one another’s family.

Red Carpet Burns is a very well told story. There’s a lot of information and many short stories in this novel, but it is well put together and I found it very easy to follow. I found it quite a fascinating read, but also a frustrating read – I found myself wanting to just shake Georgia and warn her of the next bad decision she was about to make!

At the time of reading this book, I was personally researching a trip to America and found it fascinating to hear an insider’s view on all the glitz and glamour. She on one hand made it sound as though you would be sitting next to someone famous at every cafe you visited, but then on the other hand she also described some places rather bleakly. It did however, only feed my desire to visit the States as it really does sound like a world completely different to the one we reside in.

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You can find out more about Red Carpet Burns here…

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Five More Things

Monday again, and I’m tapping away like crazy, working on lots of reviews and interviews for the TBYL blog. Here’s an update on what’s going on and coming up for TBYL…

Firstly, you might have already noticed, but the TBYL Reading Pile is busting at the seams with exciting new titles. If you’ve not already, can I suggest that you take a look at the Reading Pile for some great reading ideas? I’d love to know what you like the look of… 

Secondly, I’m reading in a few different directions this week – there’s just too much to choose from to just pick one book! I’ve got three titles on the go at the moment; All That Is, by James Salter, Shooting Star, by Clayton Zane and  Dark Matter, by Brett Adams. All I can say at this stage is that I wish there were (many) more hours in the day!

Thirdly, for this month’s TBYL Book Club we’re going to be talking about our favourite literary mums! You can find out more here, but essentially, it’ll give us a chance to think about our favourite bookish mothers and the books that our mums (and other lovely ladies) love the most. Plus, for something a little different, we’re going to be holding our club discussions on the Facebook page in May. To get involved, just join our Facebook community.

And fourth, there are still a handful of tickets left for the TBYL Event The Next Step. As well as being a fantastic chance to chat with publishers and authors from Escape Publishing, the event will be held 22 May 2013 (7pm) at the Wheeler Centre, Melbourne. Book your tickets now!

Finally fifth, I wanted to make sure that you knew that there are two copies of Angela Lawrence’s The Rules of Conception from Harlequin up for grabs at the moment. It’s super quick to enter, you’ll find full details in this month’s edition of TBYL News: All Things Bookish… Don’t miss out, this is a really funny book on a fascinating topic.

So that’s a little of what’s going on with TBYL at the moment, so much fun, and lots of goodies coming up for all you lovely bookish people!

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What are ‘The Rules of Conception’?

Handing over today’s novel to one of the TBYL Reviewers was difficult, I really wanted to read it myself. But alas, in order to be timely I am learning to  share, and to that end, the lovely Steph recently took a look at the hilarious and engaging, The Rules of Conception by Angela Lawrence (Harlequin). She was also able to ask a few questions of Angela, giving us further insight into how this fascinating story made it to the page.

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“Rachel Richards is ready to be a mother. She’s got a great job, a good income, a beautiful inner city apartment and a great group of supportive friends. All she needs is a father to have the child with….”

Single motherhood is an emotionally charged topic often hotly debated in the media. Angela Lawrence’s The Rules of Conception from Harlequin should be mandatory reading for anyone entering into the debate.

“While I’m watching, the little boy reaches up and gives his mother a big smacking kiss on the cheek. She tickles him and he laughs hysterically before being so tired that he puts his arms around her neck and closes his eyes. And it hits me right then and there, while sitting on the bus, looking at the little boy’s chubby arms and sleeping angel’s face. I am not going to miss out on that.”

Angela Lawrence has written a fantastic story about one woman’s solo journey to become a parent. From the moment we first meet Rachel, as she is being stood up by her boyfriend on her birthday, to the final exciting chapter of her story, we are drawn into the emotional rollercoaster that is pregnancy. Who could begrudge Rachel the chance to experience the unconditional love that she sees between mother and son on the bus.

Rachel is a great character, likeable and easy to relate to. She has a nightmare boss in a job she loves, great friends and a supportive family. Rachel could easily be your sister, cousin or workmate. She explores many options for solo pregnancy and along the way encounters supportive and discouraging people in the most unlikely of situations.

Angela Lawrence shows the ups and downs of pregnancy and going it alone. Rachel’s birthing class experience is hilarious and totally relatable to anyone who has been to one.

I really enjoyed reading The Rules of Conception. It is a funny, engaging book which will appeal to mothers and singles alike. You will love Rachel from the moment you meet her, and will be cheering her on as she embarks on a sometimes turbulent, sometimes hilarious journey.

It was wonderful to be able to ask Angela a few questions last week…

You present a well balanced and realistic portrayal of single parenthood. Was it almost cathartic to write about the single mother road as it is one you, yourself have travelled? 
I decided to write The Rules of Conception after seeing a couple of interviews with single mothers by choice and felt that these women were represented by the media as lonely and slightly disappointed. It occurred to me that people are willing to accept a stereotype about single mothers that is increasingly becoming outdated – particularly with reference to those who have children alone by choice, or are happy to fall pregnant even if they are single. So, in that sense that I was pleased with how Rachel’s character and choice developed as the story progressed.

I guess, the main area that was cathartic for me, was writing about being single and pregnant. There are so many great things about it – but at the same time, it is unchartered territory and not without it’s challenges.

How supportive was the donor and planned single parent community when you were researching the book?
In my wider circle, I was lucky enough to be introduced to a small group of men who had become known donors or co-parents. It was great to get their perspective on how they pragmatise their decision. A lot of my perspective however is from observing and talking to men and women on donor forums and some were quite happy to talk about their actions and choices. These people have thought about their decisions and have taken a really bold step in going online to make it happen. Given they’d reached this point, those who I spoke to, could articulate their reasons extremely well.

Rachel is an immediately likeable character – how did you go about putting her on the page in such an endearing way? 
I think that Rachel’s likeability comes from her imperfections. On the whole, she’s very level headed and her plan is well thought out and executed – but she’s still capable of doing dumb things, making bad decisions, and expressing her own human frailty. Plus, she can always see humor in less than ideal scenarios

Initially, when I started writing The Rules of Conception, Rachel was far less flawed and she came across as a little too smug as a result. I remember reading what I’d written and thought to myself: If I don’t like her, who will? So I went back and made her a lot more self deprecating.

Was it important to you to present this quite emotional topic with humour and lightness?
Absolutely. The moment I decided to write The Rules of Conception, my plan was to create something accessible and entertaining. This is a subject that is relevant to a generation of women who have grown up on chick lit and fiction that takes a light approach to their big issues. I really wanted single parenting to be treated in the same way.

What’s next for you Angela? 
It’s a good question. I’ll probably spend some time in the short term, Googling reviews for my book and alternating between being really happy and somewhat mortified as a result. Other than that, I’m in the midst of writing something new, child wrangling and taking each day as it comes.

You can find out more about The Rules of Conception here…

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We’ve got two copies of Angela’s book up for grabs this month at That Book You Like… courtesy of Harlequin. Check out this month’s edition of TBYL News: All Things Bookish… for details of how to enter to win!

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Out Now! TBYL News: All Things Bookish May 2013

A fun edition of TBYL News: All Things Bookish… this month – competitions, handmade goodies and great events to start off the year!

TBYL News is a great way to catch up on recent reviews, upcoming news and words from my lovely special guests. This month you’ll find a chances to win a great book from Harlequin, and read all about our next TBYL Event!

Click here to read TBYL News: All Things Bookish… May 2013

If you’d like to subscribe to the newsletter, you can click here. This’ll mean that you get our monthly news by email, on the first Monday of the month. Perfect!

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Loyality: The Ambassador’s Daughter

Today’s review of Pam Jenoff’s The Ambassador’s Daughter (Harlequin) comes from the lovely TBYL Reviewer, Tam.

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Historical, international, and romantic, Jenoff’s story of friendship and love crosses many boundaries…

Paris, 1919. The world’s leaders have gathered to rebuild from the ashes of the Great War. But for one woman, the City of Light harbours dark secrets and dangerous liaisons, for which many could pay dearly.

Brought to the peace conference by her father, a German diplomat, Margot Rosenthal initially resents being trapped in the congested French capital, where she is still looked upon as the enemy. But as she contemplates returning to Berlin and a life with Stefan, the wounded fiancé she hardly knows anymore, she decides that being in Paris is not so bad after all.

Bored and torn between duty and the desire to be free, Margot strikes up unlikely alliances: with Krysia, an accomplished musician with radical acquaintances and a secret to protect; and with Georg, the handsome, damaged naval officer who gives Margot a job—and also a reason to question everything she thought she knew about where her true loyalties should lie.

Against the backdrop of one of the most significant events of the century, a delicate web of lies obscures the line between the casualties of war and of the heart, making trust a luxury that no one can afford.

While I did come to enjoy this book, I must admit that it took me a little while to get into. The author has done her research exceptionally well and this historical fiction is full of details about World War I and the negotiations for the peace treaty at the war’s end. I found myself more engrossed in the story when the very solitary main character, Margot, makes friends with two unlikely choices, Krysia, and then the handsome officer Georg, who she works closely with and starts to develop feelings for. These feelings lead to many questions of loyalty and true happiness.

This story has intrigue, political drama and danger, romance, mystery and misery. Margot finds herself torn between her loved ones, deciding who she will protect and where her loyalties truly lie, and this is a constant struggle for her. Margot is naive to the real happenings of life and this leads her to making many mistakes and being easily mislead. How far will she let the deceptions send her life out of control?

Ultimately, Margot must choose between the life she feels that she should honour or being truly happy and taking the chances in life that she wants to explore.

A beautiful and tragic post-war picture is painted in this novel of Paris and Germany and I believe would be a great read for history and political story lovers.

***

If you’d like to find out more about The Ambassador’s Daughter, you can visit the Harlequin website here…

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Blue fire: Indigo Awakening

Today, TBYL Reviewer, Carolyn Jones introduces us to the Indigo Children of Jordan Dane’s Indigo Awakening (Harlequin)…

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Jordan Dane’s young adult novel Indigo Awakening introduces us to a complex and intriguing idea, bringing us the Indigo Children.

During the 1970s, a pseudoscientific new-age theory emerged introducing the world to a new group of people. According to this new notion, children are born with unique and paranormal abilities and are considered to be the next stage of evolution in mankind – they are the Indigo Children. Jordan uses this set of ideas as the basis for her newest novel.

Set in present day Los Angeles, seventeen year old Rayne Darby begins her story on a quest to locate her missing younger brother, Lucas.  She struggles to know where to start, as all she knows is that Lucas has escaped the private mental hospital their older sister had him committed to after the death of their parents.  Rayne has never recovered from the guilt she feels for allowing the committal of her brother to this hospital, and so sets out to find him.

As she begins her search, the only thing that Rayne knows for sure is that she needs to trust her instincts and keep this quest a secret from her older sister, as well as from the adults who run the hospital.

In good fortune, Rayne meets Gabriel – a tall, dark and handsome young man who, from the moment she lays eyes on him, evokes feelings of real love and safety. And, he isn’t your average boy… rather, he is accompanied by a ghost dog, screams silent rage and catches on fire.  With an introduction like that, Rayne realises that she needs this strange and fascinating boy’s help to find her brother.

“The damned thing moved and drifted like a ghost. Rayne could’ve sworn it never touched the ground. She blinked twice, but the phantom dog didn’t go away, and that boy never looked down. Frozen in that moment with him, Rayne felt strangely calm and watched as he kept his face lifted toward the night sky. She thought things couldn’t get any weirder, but when that ghost dog brushed against him –

The boy caught fire.

Blue fire.”

At the same time, we meet a gang of teenagers living in the abandoned and forgotten underground of L.A.  These are no ordinary teenagers, they have the ability to communicate telepathically – they are Indigo Children.  Some have stronger powers than others but all are on a common mission to locate the many misunderstood Indigo Children to keep them safe from the “Believers”.  The Believers are adults running a fanatical church, who spend their time hunting Indigo teens in order to run scientific and inhumane research, mostly involving tests on the brains of these children.

The author of this book, Jordan Dane, takes the reader on an action-packed ride, building suspense throughout each chapter.  She has created strong female characters, all of whom have a power over the males in their lives.  She nurtures and grows each character so that readers will empathises with them in their struggle against a conspiracy-lead adult world.

This novel is young adult fiction and I believe Jordan Dane beautifully describes the angst and fear that is associated with first love.  She describes the transformations that the Indigo Children experience so vividly all while managing to let the reader know how these young adults are struggling with their own misunderstandings of their powers.  I believe the author did a stellar job at knowing her market, making children stand together as one to fight adults in a very one-sided world.  She also taps into relevant pop culture making reference to current music groups and comedy shows to engage her audience.

Indigo Awakening is the first book in the “Hunted” series and can be read as a stand alone novel or as the introduction to a new series. Interestingly, Jordan Dane does what so many young adult stories do these days, ending the novel with a cliffhanger, ‘encouraging’ readers to buy into the franchise.  Fortunately an excerpt of the follow-up novel is provided.  I can see this story being made into a film with state-of-the-art special effects following the lead of other young adult franchises such as The Hunger Games and Twilight.

Indigo Awakening is a good read and contains strong lead characters that may empower young readers to trust their instincts. Using the city of L.A. as the backdrop, this fast moving city symbolises the confusion that all teens feel at some point in their lives.

I have read quite a bit of paranormal teen fiction in the last few months so believing in the powers of Indigo Children was not too difficult for me.  For those who are new to this genre I do think Indigo Awakening might be a tad hard to get into at first, as the start of the novel introduces a large number of characters with little explanation of what motivates them.  Perhaps this is the trick to Jordan Dane’s intrigue but I found it to be a little too rushed and had to force myself to sit down for a long period just to get into the story.  However, if you love young adult stories or even paranormal fiction then I think you will enjoy this novel.  Considering there really is a phenomenon surrounding Indigo Children I believe some readers will be enticed to learn more about this idea and the conspiracy theories associated with it.

If you’d like to find out more about Jordan Dane’s Indigo Awakening, visit the website here…

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Secrets: Garden of Stones

Today’s review comes from my friend and new TBYL Reviewer, Anne Hoye. In January Anne read Catch of the Day, a fun, light-hearted romance. This time, Anne she’s gone for something a little darker.  Anne’s review this week is of Sophie Littlefield’s Garden of Stones (Harlequin)…

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“In the dark days of war, a mother makes the ultimate sacrifice.”

Garden of Stones is a story of a mother’s love and a daughter’s courage, set in America during the second World War, with flashes forward to the year 1978. This is a wonderful story, well written, and it’s very interesting.

Lucy and her parents  are Japanese, living in Los Angeles. They lead a comfortable life, filled with luxuries. However, after the sudden death of her father, and the bombing of Pearl Harbour, Lucy and her mother’s lives are turned upside down. Their non-Japanese friends and neighbours turn against them, “because you’re a Jap”.  All Japanese people, including Lucy and her mother, Miyako, are rounded up and sent off to Manzanar, a prison camp. The conditions are harsh, with gaps in the floors and walls, allowing the cold, and the sand, and the heat to constantly enter their sparse rooms.

Miyako and Lucy are beautiful. Miyako catches the eye of the prison guards, and suffers abuse over many months. When Lucy begins to be targeted by the same prison guards, Miyako is horrified, and tries to protect Lucy. Unfortunately, the manner in which Miyako protects her daughter is shocking, horrifying. As a mother, I can only imagine the horror that Miyako must have gone through at the hands of the prison guards for her to think that her actions toward Lucy were better than the thought of Lucy having to suffer the same such abuse.

Sadly, unable to bare any more, Miyako commits suicide leaving Lucy alone in the world. We follow her story as she tries to find her way through life, a path made more difficult by her looks. Lucy eventually finds love and comfort, however, after an unplanned pregnancy, this is also taken away from her.

Throughout the book, the story moves between the past, and the present (which is set in 1978.) Despite the changes in time and place, the narrative is easy to follow, as the chapters are clearly marked with the year in which that part of the story is occurring. In the year 1978, we are introduced to Lucy’s adult daughter, Patty. Patty is planning her wedding, when her mother Lucy is implicated in a murder investigation. Patty has grown up with no father, and no knowledge of who he is. She knows little of her mother’s past and it is through Patty’s determination to clear Lucy’s name, that she uncovers the real story of her mother’s upbringing.

Garden of Stones is a story of tragedy and revenge, but it is also a story about love, kindness, and forgiveness. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and couldn’t put it down. I was intrigued to find out what happened to Lucy, and through Patty’s discoveries, I kept finding out more and more surprising details which ensured I kept reading. The surprises kept coming right up until the very end. This is a real page turner – part suspense, part drama.

A highly recommended read!

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You can find out more about Sophie Littlefield’s Garden of Stones here…

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Get truckin’: Queen of the Road

Have I introduced you to Jade? No? Well that’s quite remiss of me…

I’d like to welcome our newest TBYL Reviewer, Jade Blann. Jade’s a friend of a friend of TBYL at she’s been wonderfully generous with her time, agreeing to take a look at the recently released Queen of the Road by Tricia Stringer (Harlequin).

Here’s what Jade thought of this outback, truckin’ tale…

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In an attempt to sort out her mounting debt and escape the problems she has created during a drunken wedding, Angela agrees to help out her Dad’s trucking business by temporarily re-locating to Munirilla, a remote farming community between Adelaide and Perthwhich. Munirilla is relying on Angela to transport their essential supplies in Big Red, her double B truck. Problem is, not everyone is pleased to see a female driving the truck, much less one with an inquisitive four-year-old Claudia in tow.

From the outset I was attracted to this story by the idea of a female truckie. I take great satisfaction in any female pushing her way into an environment that is generally male dominated, and Queen of the Road was packed full of strong women forging ahead in this arena. Angela is welcomed into the community by many locals, after all, they have been desperate for someone to provide a regular, and reasonably priced service of goods back and forth to the city. But it turns out not everyone is happy that the new service is being provided by a woman. Suddenly orders are being changed or cancelled, information is mis-communicated and Angela’s attempts to bring some stability to the community seem to be in jeopardy.

Adding to Angela’s problems, Claudia’s father turns up, wanting contact with his daughter, just when Angela thought she had finally come to terms with the fact he was no longer a part of her life. Then appears Coop, a farm-hand from out of town, in the area to keep things going while his boss Alice, another admirable character, spends time under going treatment in an Adelaide hospital. Coop is a loner, itching to move on but he made Alice a promise, and Coop is a man of his word. When he meets Angela, Coop discovers feelings he hasn’t encountered in a long time. the trouble is, does Angela feel the same? Coop has his own problems to deal with, the fields need planting and the seeder needs fixing, it looks like Alice’s predicted rain is finally arriving and now sheep have gone missing. Thus ensues a lovely dance of emotions, as both characters work on dealing with their own problems.

While being a fairly predictable romance story, Queen of the Road incorporates a variety of mystery elements, making for an interesting read. This kept me engaged and wanting to know more. I had great respect for several of the characters and Claudia’s antics amused me, maybe because I have my own four-year-old daughter! On the whole, I found this to be a very enjoyable read, and I read it faster than I’ve read a book in a long time – I think that that fact itself speaks volumes!

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Sounds like a fantastic blend – strong women, hard work, outback romance.

If you’d like to find out more about Queen of the Road by Tricia Stringer, you’ll find details here…

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Keeping counsel: Mistress to the Crown

I can’t quite believe that so many wonderful people are keen to become part of the TBYL Reviewers team! Today I get to welcome the lovely Kate Barber.

Over the summer break, Kate read Mistress to the Crown, by Isolde Martyn (Harlequin). It was a different kind of book to that which she’d normally read, and Kate shared what she thought of this historical drama…

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After having a few weeks off reading over the summer holidays, I was eager to get back into a good book, and so when Mistress to the Crown arrived on my doorstep, having not read many historical novels, I was ready to ‘read outside my comfort zone’.

“The day Lord Hastings came into her husband’s store, Elizabeth saw the opportunity she had waited 12 years for – a way to separate herself once and for all from her dull, impotent husband, William Shore. The handsome stranger presented not only the chance to partake in the dance of desire, but legal counsel to annul her 12 year marriage.’

And so begins the real historical tale of Elizabeth Lambard – Mistress Shore, Mistress to King Edward IV of England in the 15th century.

Australian author Isolde Martyn is well known for her brilliantly researched and vivid accounts in her historical novels and has won numerous awards. She is a historian and former chair of the Richard II Society, and is more than qualified to write a book such as this!

The beginning of the book sees Elizabeth, at 14, trying to get legal counsel to annul her marriage to her husband while her ‘maidenhead’ is still intact. Having been ‘chosen’ to marry at 12 years of age by the 26 year old William, two years later she cannot stand her husband who she describes as ‘dull, dull, dull’ – not to mention impotent –  and she embarks on her not so easy quest to be granted a divorce, a notion almost completely unheard of in the 15th Century.

Fast forward 11 years and she is still married to William, working in his shop and bored, dreaming of grander things. When the handsome and debonair Lord Hastings (Lord Chamberlain and close friends of King Edward IV) visits the shop and spies her, she decides that this is her way out – she promptly asks him to ‘teach her’ the ways of love and so begins their affair.

All is going well with Lord Hastings until King Edward – Ned to his friends – spies her and thinks he would like in on the action. Being the King, he is not to be refused, and so Lord Hastings hands her over to the King. After some convincing, Elizabeth obliges and becomes his Mistress.

It is turbulent times within the Kingdom – wars, power struggles, take-over bids for the Crown, hangings, beheadings, the pox… but despite the hard times, Elizabeth is soon nickname ‘Jane’ by the King (as his wife is Queen Elizabeth and he doesn’t want to confuse the two!!) and moved into her own quarters within the Palace grounds where she is at Ned’s beck and call. They fall in love and the King begins to rely on her for ‘counsel’, friendship and comfort.

However, Elizabeth is labelled a strumpet and a whore and ostracised by her family and friends. She is scorned and despised by King Williams’s posse (except Lord Hastings, who still holds a flame) and frequently propositioned by the men at the Palace who despise the hold she has over the King. Nonetheless, Elizabeth is a strong and sure woman who stands up to her enemies and remains faithful to Ned.

That is until, after a short illness, Ned dies and the Kingdom is thrown into turmoil. Without the protection of the King, Elizabeth is on her own and her sorry downward spiral, at the hands of the King’s Counsel, begins. She moves from the Palace grounds and is labelled a witch, accused of sorcery and treason. She is taken to trial, thrown in jail and threatened to be burned at the stake.  When her only ally (and ex-lover) Lord Hastings is beheaded for treason she thinks there is no way out and concedes that she may well be killed.

But, a last minute reprieve, with the intervention of the new King’s Crown Solicitor, who just happens to fall for her quick wit and womanly charms (which apparently she has not lost despite being in prison with no toothbrush or shower!) and her destiny is once again changed. He devises a plan – if he marries her and gives up his Royal commitments, he can free her from the charges against her and make her a free woman. And so it is.

Having not read many historical novels, I was pleasantly surprised as to how easy this novel was to read and how much I enjoyed it. At the beginning of the book there is a ‘Family Tree’ and a list of characters appearing in the novel which comes in handy when the various Kings, Princes, Lords and Royal Counsel are discussed. There is also a ‘Glossary of Medieval Words’ at the back of the book – would’ve been good to be aware of this before I finished the book! Elizabeth is portrayed as a witty, feisty and clever woman trying hard to change her course and get out of the shackles that women in this era were bound by. The story has been told with humour and passion and gives an insight into the tumultuous times that were the 15th Century.

If you love an historical novel, I am sure you will enjoy this one too!

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If you’d like to find out more about Mistress to the Crown, by Isolde Martyn you can do so here…

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