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

Alien Mate, #3

Kidnapped or rescued, it’s a

ISBN13: 9781936279647

matter of alien perspective. Either way, it results in pleasurable probing.
Abducted by a hunky blue alien, researcher and admitted geek Penny is eager to study his mating habits—in the flesh. She’d like to blame her illogical affection for him on hormones, but the erotic remedy just heightens her chemical imbalance.
Reg never thought a simple rescue mission would make him question his decision to remain single for while Penny drives him crazy with her never-ending questions, her simple presence inflames his lust—and causes havoc with his emotions. But is he ready to give up the galactic travel he loves so much to settle down with an earthling female?

76 pages

Published January 14th 2011

(Amira)

First Impression

Reg doesn't want a life mate when rewarded in by the Oracle... so she sends him on a mission to rescue an Earthling who is in danger to bring back to the planet.

Penelope (Penny) is a Science geek in space with a asteroid on a collision course with her spacecraft, until a blue alien rescues her and take her aboard his ship.

My Rating ⭐⭐

Alien Mate #3 is the short story of Reg and Penny. 

Filled with plenty of rescue attempts and hot fun it wasn't a bad read just would have like more pages.

Quotes

The Blood Confession

Erzebet is young, beautiful, rich, and

ISBN 0525477322
ISBN13: 9780525477327

imprisoned in her castle, waiting to be sentenced for murder. In a brilliant fiction debut, Alisa M. Libby resurrects the real-life Erzebet Bathory, a seventeenth-century countess who believed that bathing in human blood would preserve her looks forever. The jailed countess tells her story from her birth, which was overshadowed by a bad omen, to her mother's mental deterioration, Erzebet's own love for a mysterious figure, and the crimes she committed in pursuit of eternal life.

399 pages

Published July 7th  2013

(Red Hound Press)

First Impression

Set in the 1st person The Blood Confession tells the interesting life story of the famous Countess Bathory.

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Blood Confession is an enchanting tale that starts in the tower where the Countess Bathory is been held awaiting the Prince of Hungary.

From here it then goes into a detailed account of her life as a child, who Yearned for her mother's company.

Her relationship with her father became strained as he was often was away at court "but when he did visit, our conversations were restricted to the typical subjects".

Her mother eventually when mad, "she turn to me with a strange smile, her dead eyes fixed on my face. She stared at me as if she could detect something that no one else was able to see." 

I feel really sorry for her as she only felt she could rely on her maid as seen in this passage "Despite Rowena's  reassuring presence, I was a loney child." 

I really enjoyed reading The Blood Confession And would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the history of Countess Bathory it was a very interesting subject to read about.

Quotes

“Envy is a dangerous sin. To envy someone you love is to kill a part of yourself”