So Many Books, So Little Time

  I'm linking up with Bookishly Boisterous' Bookish and Not So Bookish Things again.  Check out the other posts here !    1.) I am officially in love with Susanna Kearsley's books.  I don't know why it took me so long to read them because they are amazing! 2.) The tiny dictator that lives at my house (aka Julia) has not been wanting to go to bed lately.  Once she falls asleep, there's no problem but it's been taking her well over an hour to go to sleep.  The minute she gets in bed, she decides it's time to play. 3.) I'm really behind on writing reviews and other blog posts.  I don't why I constantly do this to myself.  It's hard for me to find the time to work on the blog but I really shouldn't let things pile up so much. 4.) My birthday is today.  I'm now 31 and I just don't know if I'm okay with officially being in my 30s. 5.) I need a serious attitude adjustment.  Normally, I can play nice and get along with...

Synopsis:  Rose Tascher sails from her Martinique plantation to Paris to trade her Creole black magic culture for love and adventure. She arrives exultant to follow her dreams of attending Court with Alexandre, her elegant aristocrat and soldier husband. But Alexandre dashes her hopes and abandons her amid the tumult of the French Revolution. Through her savoir faire, Rose secures her footing in high society, reveling in handsome men and glitzy balls—until the heads of her friends begin to roll. After narrowly escaping death in the blood-drenched cells of Les Carmes prison, she reinvents herself as Josephine, a socialite of status and power. Yet her youth is fading, and Josephine must choose between a precarious independence and the love of an awkward suitor. Little does she know, he would become the most powerful man of his century- Napoleon Bonaparte. BECOMING JOSEPHINE is a novel of one woman’s journey to find eternal love and stability, and ultimately to...

Hi all!  Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours is hosting its first ever Facebook Launch Party in honor of the release of Cloaked in Danger by Jeannie Reusch!  It sounds so awesome; there will be prizes, trivia and you can ask Jeannie any questions you may have. What: Jeannie Ruesch's Facebook Launch Party for Cloaked in Danger Where: https://www.facebook.com/ events/479465215499279 When:  Monday, January 27 .  3:00 - 7:00pm PST About Cloaked in Danger Publication Date: January 27, 2014 Carina Press eBook ASIN: B00F93X7ZI Aria Whitney has little in common with the delicate ladies of London society. Her famous father made his fortune hunting archaeological treasures, and her rustic upbringing has left her ill prepared for a life of parties and frippery. But when Gideon Whitney goes missing in Egypt, Aria must embrace the unknown. Armed with only the short list of highborn men who’d backed her father’s venture, she poses as a woman looki...

Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia at To Be Continued.  It's a great way to share all the awesome books you receive each week!  Check it out here ! I received a couple review books this week and they all sound so good! For Review (from HFVBT): The Boleyn Bride by Brandy Purdy The Debt of Tamar by Nicole Dweck The Collector of Dying Breaths by M.J. Rose What books did you pick up this week?

Synopsis:  It is August, 1645, one year since York fell into Puritan hands. As the city suffers through a brutal summer heat, Bridget Hodgson and Martha Hawkins are drawn into a murder investigation more frightening than their last. In order to appease God’s wrath—and end the heat-wave—the city’s overlords have launched a brutal campaign to whip the city’s sinners into godliness. But for someone in York, whipping is not enough. First a prostitute and her client are found stabbed to death, then a pair of adulterers are beaten and strangled. York’s sinners have been targeted for execution. Bridget and Martha—assisted once again by Will, Bridget’s good-hearted nephew—race to find the killer even as he adds more bodies to his tally. The list of suspects is long: Hezekiah Ward, a fire and brimstone preacher new to York; Ward’s son, Praise-God, whose intensity mirrors his father’s; John Stubb, one of Ward’s fanatic followers, whose taste for blood may not have been sat...

Synopsis:  The book follows the story of three generation of women from 1900 through 1970, seven decades of wars and hardship. At the turn of the century, an era of strict moral codes, Angela falls in love with a priest who abandons her and her unborn child. She overcomes rejection and misfortunes, including losing her right hand, and brings up her daughter, exuberant, stubborn Ilonka. In spite of the stigma of her illegitimate birth, the girl finds happiness in love and marriage, raising five children, among them Sarika, independent and high-spirited, much like herself.  With the outbreak of WWII, however, their lives change drastically, followed by equally hard times as the country falls under Soviet-style dictatorship. When an attempt to free the country in 1956 fails and people start to flee retributions, Sarika and her brothers join the exodus to the West.  With her family torn apart Ilonka never recovers her strength. Years of fear and political p...

I have loved reading the Bookish (and Not So Bookish) Thoughts posts at Bookishly Boisterous for a while and decided that I need to join in on the fun.  1.) We have started giving Julia solids and it's not going well.  We've given sweet potatoes and avocados and she hates them both.  I think she's not really ready for solids yet.  She doesn't even get that excited about cereal.     This is seriously what she looked like.    2.)  One of my bookish goals for the year was to kind of take a break from the blog and accepting review copies. In the past few days, I have accepted two review copies and all I can think about are ideas for keeping the blog going.  What am I doing?!   3.)  I don't know why but I really don't want to read the book I'm reading.  It's not because I'm not interested in it, I just have other things I want to read instead.  I have to finish it by this time next week so I ne...

    From Goodreads:  1205 - the town of Chinon is beseiged by enemies of King John, and his young Queen calls upon a trusted servant to conceal her treasured jewels. Emily Braden is intrigued by the medieval story of Queen Isabelle, and cannot resist when her cousin Harry, a historian, suggests a trip to the white-walled town of Chinon, nestling in France's Loire Valley. But when Harry vanishes and Emily begins to search for him, she stumbles across another intriguing mystery -- a second Isabelle, a chambermaid during the Second World War, who had her own tragedy, and her own treasure to hide. As Emily explores the ancient town of labyrinthine tunnels, old enmities, and new loves, she finds herself drawn ever closer to the mysterious Isabelles and their long-kept secrets. My Thoughts: I am quickly becoming a Susanna Kearsley fan.  This book sucked me in and would not let go until I finished. The story jumped between the 13th century, World War II an...

 Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme created by Marcia at To Be Continued.  It's a great way to share the bookish things you get each week.  Check out everyone's posts here ! I am so excited about the books I got this week!  I got some great nook and kindle deals and picked up an awesome book from the library!  Here's what I got: From the Library: I am in love with Susanna Kearsley's books!     The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley Purchased for nook: I have been wanting to read these for so long and they were on sale for $1.99! Haunted by Joy Preble Anastasia Forever by Joy Preble Purchased for kindle:     A Dance with Dragons by George RR Martin What books did you pick up this week?  

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn Gillian Flynn is such a good writer!  Her books are seriously messed up but still so good.   The mystery sucked me in pretty quick and wouldn't let go until the end.  There was kind of a twist at the end and honestly, I never saw it coming.  I had a total 'wait, what?' moment.  The main character was difficult to like at first and kind of prickly but I grew to like her.  I would recommend this to anyone who loves a good mystery.  4 stars. Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich I have thoroughly enjoyed this series but I think it's time to end it.  This latest installment was definitely better than the 18th book but there's only so many times Stephanie's car can get blown up before it stops being funny.  I have loved all of the characters in this series but I'm hoping that Evanovich doesn't continue to drag this out too much longer.  It did have some laugh out loud moments and was a much nee...

  Taken from 'Quote Queens' on pinterest. Can you believe that 2013 is over?!!  It's crazy how fast it went by!  There were some really great times (having Julia!) and some really sad times (losing my grandpa) in 2013 but for the most part, it was a great year! I did okay with my reading goals.  My original goal was to read 75 books and I met that goal!  However, I set a secondary goal of 90 books for the year and I only got to 88.  Oh well, I had a LOT going on this year!  I also did a good job of buying fewer physical books and I purged my book collection again.  I still had a TON of books to move in August but it was better than it could have been!  I didn't do a good job of keeping up with the blog nor did I read very many physical books that I owned (only 12!). For 2014, I am setting my reading goal low.  I know things are going to be really busy for the next few months and I don't want to stress myself out.  I hop...