Magic to the Bone, #1

Allie would rather moonlight as a Hound 

ISBN 0451462408
(ISBN13: 9780451462404)

than accept the family fortune - and the strings that come with it. All magic use has costs -- hers include migraines and memory loss. She finds a boy dying from a magic Offload with her father's signature, then her father is murdered. Allie's search for the truth calls on her country friend and the handsome man originally assigned as her bodyguard. Someone is forging magic signatures -- and hers is on her dead father.

355 pages

Published November 4th 2008

(New American Library)

First Impression

Magic to the Bone tells the story of Allie, a down-on-her-luck 25 year old woman who has try and make bed meet with low pay hound work.

Taking her black book and pen to help with her memory loss Allie goes to help the superstitious Mama Rossitto after receiving a call about a boy been hurt. 

Upon arriving and seeing the boy she finds that it is a serious problem and use of magic and begins to deal with the situation.

My Rating ⭐⭐

Changing from 1st person when discussing Allie and to 3rd person when talking about Cody. 

I found Magic to the Bone to be very bland, telling the tale of Allie Beckstrom and how the events of her dad been dead with her own magical signature on him leads to danger and betrayal in unexpected places.

I was disappointed as a there could have been so much more to the plot than there was which I felt let The book down, leaving it a chore to read in some parts.

I also felt The spacing between each paragraph was very off putting. 

I don't know if I would recommend it as it just left me feeling 'meh' but I would be willing to read the next book in the series, Magic in the Blood before deciding whether to give the series a miss it not.

Quotes

“...Magic is a heartless bitch, and she's had me by the throat for years.”

A Discovery of Witches, #1

Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a

ISBN  0670022411
(ISBN13: 9780670022410)

bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

579 pages

Published February 2011

(Viking Penguin)

First Impression

Set in the 1st person A Discovery of Witches is the first book in the All Souls Trilogy linked to the t.v. show of the same name.

Through the book we learn about the story behind the relationship of Diana a scholar who is a descendant of Bishop witches and the vampire Matthew.  

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I found the first chapter very confusing, but found reading easier as I read more. 

A Discovery of Witches gives the viewpoints of both Diana and Matthew.

After Diana calls for the Ashmole 782 her world is turned upside down...daemons, vampires, and witches seem to pop up out over nowhere.

Throughout the chapters we learn of Diana's relationship between Matthew, which comes across as been very mixed in the beginning but also explores her relationships with other characters like Gillian , who I think is a very rude untrustworthy person that is stuck up herself as we see when she is discussing Diana's family.

Also Peter Knox, who  comes across as a power greedy man that can be seen when he discusses Ashmole 782 with Diana.

I enjoyed reading about the connection and bond between Diana and Matthew. I would recommend A Discovery Quotes Witches to anyone who liked Twilight...I look forward to reading the the next book in the series Shadow of Night.

Quotes

“Just because something seems impossible doesn’t make it untrue,”

“It begins with absence and desire.
It begins with blood and fear.
It begins with a discovery of witches.”

“It is a blessing as well as a burden to love so much that you can hurt so badly when love is gone.”

The Beloved

Escape from a bullying mother takes one young woman to an even more

ISBN 1471403793
(ISBN13: 9781471403798)

dangerous place. Alice Angel has known only a life of rules, restriction and punishments as she strays from the rigid path of Victorian proprietary that her mother has set out for her. A constant disappointment to all but her doting father, she longs for the day that she might break free from the stifling atmosphere of her mother's rule.
After a chance encounter with a charming stranger, and a final incident with her family that sees her condemned to the madhouse, Alice sees her opportunity to run and grasps it with both hands. She escapes to join the Agapemonites in their Abode of Love, where ex-Reverend Henry Prince rules his isolated colony of women as their Beloved. Prince ignites a passion in Alice that she never knew existed, and she dares to think she might be free at last.
But as Alice becomes more deeply drawn into the life of Prince's strange religious sect, secrets are revealed that seem to hint at a darker nature lurking behind the man's charm. Instead of freedom, is Alice in fact more trapped, alone and in danger than ever before?

286 pages

Published March 5th 2015

(Hot Key Books)

Just a warning The Beloved Mentions The Agapemone community and has some child abuse which is imperative of the Victorian era of you or someone you know is experiencing any issues please seek professional help.

First Impression

Giving two view points, The Beloved gives the story of 16 year old Alice, who has had a difficult relationship with her mother since she was born.

Also the viewpoint of her mother Temperance, who shares that she "could not bring herself to even like her daughter." And had a stronger relationship with her son Eli, who was the eldest of her two children.

My Rating ⭐⭐

I found it difficult to get into a rhythm with reading The Beloved.

Set in Bridgewater 1848, The Beloved opens up with Alice been strapped in her bed, and her asking her father to talk to her mother about the situation before he leaves, leading to the conclusion that her father is afraid of his wife as "he will never go against her wishes".

I feel sympathetic  towards both Alice and Temperance...

Alice because she much feel left out as everyone around her respects her mother and she feels annoyed that her mother hasn't shown her any warmth over her life as she seems to want to antagonize her when she states she "would ruin the whole day for Mama if I could".

Temperance because she is desperate to "finally be accepted into the upper echelons of society."  She also has to feel that Alice seems to go out of her way to embarrass her at every opportunity.

The Beloved is a very dark tale and a very trying read especially when it goes into the section where Alice joins up with Henry Prince and the The Agapemone community

I'm not sure that I would recommend The Beloved to anyone.

Quotes

Knight of Desire, #1

FEARLESS IN BATTLE

ISBN 0446553395
(ISBN13: 9780446553391)

His surcoat still bloody from battle, William FitzAlan comes to claim the strategic borderlands granted to him by the king. One last prize awaits him at the castle gates: the lovely Lady Catherine Rayburn.

TENDER IN BED
Catherine risked everything to spy for the crown. Her reward? Her lands are declared forfeit and she is given this choice: marry FitzAlan or be taken to the Tower. Catherine agrees to give her handsome new husband her body, but she's keeping secrets, and dare not give him her heart. As passion ignites and danger closes in, Catherine and William must learn to trust in each other to save their marriage, their land, and their very lives.

354 pages

Published July 1st 2009

(Forever)

Just to highlight there is some mention the Domestic Violence of you or someone you know has been in this situation please seek help...

First Impression

Starting in the year 1400, in England, near the Welsh border, the prologue of Knight of Desire tells the tale of a young girl on the eve of her wedding night. Feeling restless she plans to go ridding but stumbles upon a equally young William FitzAlan who insists on accompanying her...

5 years have past since that night Lady Catherine Rayburn awaits news from the King after letting him know if her husbands deceit with the Welsh rebel army. 

Some of the King's Men arrived at Ross Castle. William FitzAlan, after been granted Ross Castle upon the death of the traitor is leading them. He has been left to decide the Fate of Catherine either the tower or marriage.

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Knight of Desire tells the story of the developing relationship between William FitzAlan and Lady Catherine Rayburn.

My heart goes to Lady Catherine who after years of a violent marriage has to learn that not all men are the same.

William has to master his patience side as good things come to those who wait.

I enjoyed reading how they both dealt with the ups and downs of their relationship.

I would recommend reading Knight of Desire to anyone who loves historical and I look forward to reading the second book in the series.

Quotes

Book of the Month May 2020

This is where I share 2020's May Book of the Month.

Genre

Waterstones	Fiction, Novel My Thoughts
Book of the Month	Thriller My Thoughts
Waterstones	Thriller My Thoughts

Look out for when I am going to be reading them on the calendar on my blog.

Death in Her Eyes, #1

Since she was four, Elle’s

ASIN BO83N269QL

life has been nothing but pain and death, so it’s not
surprising she ended up jaded.
When Elle’s absentee father kidnaps her from her own mother’s funeral, Elle is forcefully enrolled into Fallen Academy, a school for nephilim like herself.
Mind readers, seers, and elementals? Finally, Elle is with other freaks like herself.
Except, Elle soon finds that even surrounded by her own kind, she might just be too different to fit in.
Will Elle find her place among the other children of the fallen? Or does her father have plans of his own?

Published March 2020

(Embrace the Fantasy Publishing, LLC)

First Impression

Set in the 1st person Death in Her Eyes tells the story of Elle, who has what her mother called a "gift"...but she felt otherwise. 

Elle has visions of Death, triggered by a word or phrase. Sometimes through something small, like a flower in the ground. Especially when she touched someone new.

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was asked by the author to review Death in Her Eyes.

During her mother's funeral Elle watches as her dad, who left when she was 13 appears. 

He kidnaps her and enrolls her into the Fallen Academy after telling her she is a nephilim.

Filled with emotional outbursts, strained relationships and indecision Death in Her Eyes leaves you wanting more.

Quotes

Captive Queen: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine

Nearing her thirtieth birthday, Eleanor of Aquitaine has spent the past dozen frustrating

ISBN 0345511875
(ISBN13: 9780345511874)

years as wife to the pious King Louis VII of France. But when Henry of Anjou, the young and dynamic future king of England, arrives at the French court, he and the seductive Eleanor experience a mutual passion powerful enough to ignite the world. Indeed, after the annulment of Eleanor’s marriage to Louis and her remarriage to Henry, the union of this royal couple creates a vast empire that stretches from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees—and marks the beginning of the celebrated Plantagenet dynasty. But Henry and Eleanor’s marriage, charged with physical heat, begins a fiery downward spiral marred by power struggles and bitter betrayals. Amid the rivalries and infidelities, the couple’s rebellious sons grow impatient for power, and the scene is set for a vicious and tragic conflict that will threaten to engulf them all.

Pages 473

Published July 13th 2010

(Ballantine Books)

First Impression

set in 3rd person Captive Queen tells the historic tale of Eleanor of Aquitaine, who is trapped in a unhappy marriage to Louis VII, king of France. 

She is frustrated and has committed adultery with 2 people one Geoffrey, count of Anjou, who is presenting his son, Henry to the French court.

Both her and Henry seem to share an instant attraction to each other, desperate for an annulment from the King she urges the Abbott again to persuade the King to agree.

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII have shared a 14 year unhappy marriage and at 29 she has reached an impasse especially when she sees Henry FitzEmpress who sets off a wanton rush through her.

After a shared night of passion they make a marriage promise to each other. 

Eleanor pleads with the King himself in an effort to complete her promise. Once her annulment is declared she returns home and follows through with her promise.

To me Henry seems nothing more than a child "Henry lost control and, throwing himself on the floor, rolled around telling bloodcurdling oaths before finally falling quiet and grinding his teeth on the rushed strewn over the flagstones."

I wholeheartedly recommend reading Captive Queen it is a informative and rewarding experience. An amazing insight into the past dated from 1151 all the way through to 1204.

Quotes