Anne of Cleves plus a GIVEAWAY

Title: Anne of Cleves: Henry's Luckiest Wife

Author: D. Lawrence-Young

Genre: Historical Fiction

Length: 292 pages

Release Date: July 2013

ISBN-13: 978-0615827377

Imprint: Celestial Press - GMTA Publishing

Book Description:

It is winter 1539. King Henry VIII is galloping through the night to Rochester to meet a young woman. Just arrived in England from Germany, Anne of Cleves is destined to become his fourth wife. He has never met her before. He has only seen her portrait – the portrait of a sweet, demure and innocent young woman. The impatient and lovesick king must see her before their marriage. But this rushed and unplanned rendezvous will shock them and the country both. It will also lead to some completely unexpected and fatal results.

my thoughts

I was thrilled to read this book.  I am fascinated by Anne of  Cleves.  Henry's luckiest wife?  Not certain about that.  I think anyone unfortunate enough to be involved in anyway with such a vain, pompous man can hardly be considered lucky.  

Henry chose Anne based on the famous Holbein portrait.  When he met her, he felt he was misled. 

Judge for yourself.  Below is the famous portrait

I know you can't see the actual Anne to compare, however, Holbein has a history of painting his subjects in a realistic manner.  

On to the book-

Fantastic!  I loved this book.  Couldn't put it down.  I was fascinated to read about Anne's life in England.  I'm not certain whether she truly cared for Henry, but she was grateful to get out of Cleves.  

The author created a real person.  I felt as if I was getting to know Anne while reading these pages.  I found her to be a likable and friendly person.  She was sheltered as a child, but grew into a knowledgable, charming and intelligent person.

The author, Mr. Lawrence-Young, was able to create 16th century England.  In my mind, I was able to 'see' the places he described.  I 'heard' the voices of the individuals from the story.

As you may have guessed, I completely enjoyed this book and I thank GMTA tours for allowing me to participate in this book tour.

About the Author:

David Lawrence-Young

D. Lawrence-Young takes the often pompous and frequently silly “Shakespeare Authorship Controversy” and turns it into a fast-paced page-turning detective story. All the nooks and crannies of rival candidates and claims are traversed in interesting locations and often funny encounters. The SAC has got under the Shakespeare-loving and teaching David Young’s skin and he has turned this irritant into a pleasure to read and from which there is much to learn.

Connect with D. Lawrence – Young

 http://dly-books.weebly.com/

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4575990.David_Lawrence_Young

Links to buy the book

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/anne-of-cleves-d-lawrence-young/1116116678?ean=2940148477525

http://www.amazon.com/Anne-Cleves-Henrys-Luckiest-

ebook/dp/B00E1UI85O/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1377175334&sr=1-1&keywords=anne+of+cleves+henry%27s+luckiest+wife

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ANVIL OF GOD by J.Boyce Gleason

Twitter Hashtag: #AnvilOfGodTour

About ANVIL OF GOD

Publication Date: July 26, 2013

iUniverse

Paperback; 440p

ISBN-10: 1475990197

It is 741. After subduing the pagan religions in the east, halting the march of Islam in the west, and conquering the continent for the Merovingian kings, mayor of the palace Charles the Hammer has one final ambition-the throne. Only one thing stands in his way-he is dying.

Charles cobbles together a plan to divide the kingdom among his three sons, betroth his daughter to a Lombard prince to secure his southern border, and keep the Church unified behind them through his friend Bishop Boniface. Despite his best efforts, the only thing to reign after Charles's death is chaos. His daughter has no intention of marrying anyone, let alone a Lombard prince. His two eldest sons question the rights of their younger pagan stepbrother, and the Church demands a steep price for their support. Son battles son, Christianity battles paganism, and Charles's daughter flees his court for an enemy's love.

Based on a true story, Anvil of God is a whirlwind of love, honor, sacrifice, and betrayal that follows a bereaved family's relentless quest for power and destiny.

my thoughts

8th century Carolingian history is unfamiliar to me.  For those of you also unfamiliar with the time period- remember your high school history.  Charles "The Hammer" Martel...grandfather of Charlemagne.

I'm glad I read this amazing story. Historical truths with a story weaved into it.

Gleason did his research. The story is unforgettable. Basically, Charles the Hammer dies and leaves his vast empire to his three sons. His has promised his daughter in marriage to a man she wouldn't chose as a husband. Trudi is her name, in my opinion, she was the best of The Hammer's four children. She was a sword yielding, fighting individual- don't mess with her. 

The three sons, two Christians and one pagan, are fascinating characters. Pippin, is my favorite. (He's not the pagan) Pippin and Trudi are two characters who will grab your heart. As a reader, I became emotionally involved in their lives. They are both multidimensional characters who add a great deal to the story.  

In short, this book will just pull you into the plot. It is action packed from the beginning to the end. For those of you unfamiliar with Charles "The Hammer" Martel, he is the grandfather of Charlemagne. He started the Carolingian empire in what is now France.

I cannot wait for book two! I look forward to reading more about these characters. 

For those of you who love reading period pieces, ie- The Tudors, The Borgias- you will love this series.!

About the Author

After a 25-year career in crisis management and public affairs, J. Boyce Gleason began writing historical fiction and is publishing his first novel ANVIL OF GOD, Book One of the Carolingian Chronicles.  With an AB in history from Dartmouth College, Gleason brings a strong understanding of the past to his historical fiction.  He is married, has three sons and lives in Virginia.

For more information please visit www.jboycegleason.com.

 http://hfvirtualbooktours.com/anvilofgodtour

It's here!! In time for Halloween!

I am sooo excited about this book!  I can only gush about the Eve Hallows series.  Your kids, ( and their parents) will love this series.  It is FUN!!  

about this book:

So far, Eve's summer vacation has been uneventful, but when her grandparents—traveling all the way from the monster world known as Gravesville—appear at her doorstep, she learns that the URNS Director has gone missing. Worse, a new director, bent on destroying humans, has taken over URNS. 

Eve and her family are no longer safe in the human world, and as they race to escape this new threat, Eve stumbles into a trap, which forces her back to Gravesville along with her family and friends. But once there, everything goes adorably wrong, and her best chance to get out of this mess is to seek out The Book of Shivers and the elusive author Sedrick Creach—the only creature who knows the secrets of the Nightmare Books. Unfortunately for Eve, searching for Sedrick and the next book in the series will reveal uncomfortable details about her own murky past. 

Once again, Eve and her friends find themselves on an incredible adventure—one that involves underground battles with bloodthirsty creatures, a lightning-fueled train, and some unexpected new allies. 

Hilarious and bone-chilling, this third book continues the story of an unlikely hero trying to save not one, but two worlds … This time around, though, Eve's not sure she can even save herself.

I have read the first two books in the series, and thanks to Mr. Robert Gray, I now have the third.  

It is available at

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G803LPW

for your reading enjoyment.

I will post a review as soon as I've finished reading!

About the first two books in the Nightmare Series:

For fourteen-year-old Eve Hallows, life can be summed up in one word-horrible. She has the most horrible friends. She lives in a horrible old castle. Even her family is a bunch of horrible monsters. However, in the monster-inhabited world of Gravesville-a world where messages are sent through Ouija boards, jack-o'-lanterns get facials to suit their moods, and the worst thing Eve has to deal with are those annoying zombie tourists who overrun her favorite graveyard during the Halloween season-horrible means wonderful. And everything for Eve is perfectly horrible. But her life is about to go head over heels when a mysterious group known as The Source starts terrorizing Gravesville. Now she must move to the human world-where everything is opposite ... and for Eve, that's absolutely adorable!

my thoughts:

WOW! What an absolutely horrible book (horrible meaning fantastic!) Think The Munster's from the viewpoint of Marilyn- remember her? The only strange and bizarre human in a family of perfect monsters!

Well, Eve's life is somewhat like that. Mom is a Gorgon, Dad is a shapeshifter and brother Sam is a ghoul. Even the family pet Wolf is a werepig. This book was laugh out loud funny. I loved when Mom accidentally turned people to stone. Dad's crazy attempts at running a pizza store were just hysterical.

Trouble began when the mysterious SOURCE started killing monsters and trying to steal the BOOK OF SHRIEKS. Eve and her human friends had to help save the day. I don't think the adventures are over for Eve and her buddies. Looking forward to the next book in the series. A wonderful book and we both recommend it to kids who love Halloween and funny/ghoulish stories.

http://www.amazon.com/Hallows-Book-Shrieks-Nightmare-ebook/dp/B0064NRJXI/ref=sr_1_5?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1383052286&sr=1-5

Ever since encountering The Source and its minions on Halloween, Eve Hallows has found life surprisingly quiet … not to mention adorably boring! So when Dad receives a Ouija message that she must return to Gravesville, Eve couldn't be happier—at least until she discovers the Director of URNS, also known as the Grim Reaper, has a special job for Eve … one that will lead her to New York City and to the true identity of The Source. 

With The Book of Shrieks offering zero help and a new URNS agent driving the school boys—and Eve!—crazy, Eve's beginning to realize this whole saving-the-world nonsense isn't what it's cracked up to be. 

All this and she still has to find The Book of Shadows...

my thoughts:

Even better than the first book!!!!!!

If one lives in our world, as I do, this book is fabulous. If one lives in Gravesville, it was horrible- horrible and ten more horribles!

I love the characters in this story. Eve reminds me of human Marilyn living with

 the Munsters. She's different but pays no attention to the differences. Mom is a snake headed, petrifying gorgon. Dad is a shapeshifter and brother Sam is a ghoul....The family is a tight unit. You can palpate the love they feel for each other.

Due to recent events, Eve is made to feel 'unwelcome' in her hometown of Gravesville. Why? Well, she's human and not a monster. Humans are scary, they are trying to kill the monsters. Strange things are happening in Gravesville and Eve must fix them, along with her 'human' friends. We meet a few new characters, including a succubus.

We also learn more about how Eve came to live in Gravesville. 

This is a perfect combination of YA, Horror, Paranormal and Fun! 

I give it 5/5 stars (or 5 teacups) and eagerly look forward to the next book in the series.

That's a hint Mr. Gray...please keep me in mind when looking for reviewers for the next book!!

As you may have figured, I love the Nightmare Series with Eve Hallows.  I can only advise you to do yourself a favor and read this fun series as a Halloween present to yourself.  :)

Illuminations: A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen by Mary Sharratt

Mary Sharratt does it again!!!

About ILLUMINATIONS

Publication Date: October 15, 2013

Mariner Books

Paperback; 288p

ISBN-10: 0544106539

Skillfully weaving historical fact with psychological insight and vivid imagination, Illuminations brings to life one of the most extraordinary women of the Middle Ages: Hildegard von Bingen, Benedictine abbess, visionary, and polymath.

Offered to the Church at the age of eight, Hildegard was expected to live in silent submission as the handmaiden of a renowned, disturbed young nun, Jutta von Sponheim. But Hildegard rejected Jutta's masochistic piety, rejoicing in her own secret visions of the divine. When Jutta died, Hildegard broke out of her prison, answering the heavenly call to speak and write about her visions and to liberate her sisters. Riveting and utterly unforgettable, Illuminations is a deeply moving portrayal of a woman willing to risk everything for what she believed.

Praise for Illuminations

"An enchanting beginning to the story of the perennially fascinating 12th-century mystic, Hildegard of Bingen. It is easy to paint a picture of a saint from the outside but much more difficult to show them from the inside. Mary Sharratt has undertaken this with sensitivity and grace."

—Margaret George, author of Mary, Called Magdalene

"I loved Mary Sharratt’s The Daughters of Witching Hill, but she has outdone herself with Illuminations: A Novel of Hildegard Von Bingen. She brings one of the most famous and enigmatic women of the Middle Ages to vibrant life in this tour de force, which will captivate the reader from the very first page."

—Sharon Kay Penman, author of the New York Times bestseller Time and Chance

"I love Mary Sharratt. The grace of her writing and the grace of her subject combine seamlessly in this wonderful novel about the amazing, too-little-known saint, Hildegard of Bingen, a mystic and visionary. Sharratt captures both the pain and the beauty such gifts bring, as well as bringing to life a time of vast sins and vast redemptions."

—Karleen Koen, author of Before Versailles and the best-selling Through a Glass Darkly

Buy Links

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0544106539/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/illuminations-mary-sharratt/1110919627?ean=9780544106536

Books A Million: http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Illuminations/Mary-Sharratt/9780544106536?id=5724163155978

Indiebound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780544106536

my thoughts

Mary Sharratt has done it again.  She has a unique talent for taking historical characters and creating fabulous stories about them.  She did it with DAUGHTERS OF THE WITCHING HILL

if you recall, I raved and raved about this book.

Now she does it with Illuminations.  A fantastic story, about an inspirational woman.  Hildegard was a saint.  I would have become bitter and angry if placed in a situation as she was, but she managed to rise above it and become an inspiration.  A woman the church should look towards to represent all that is good and honorable in it's children.   

Hildegard wasn't always sweet and kind, but she did make the best of her situation.  

This is a fantastically written novel.  It held my attention from beginning till end.  When I turned the last page, the only thought going through my mind " I must find out more about this woman ".  That is the hallmark of a fabulous writer.  

Mary Sharratt, thank you for this story.  You have enlightened me and encouraged me to learn more.

About the Author

The author of four critically acclaimed historical novels, Mary Sharratt is an American who lives in the Pendle region of Lancashire, England, the setting for her acclaimed Daughters of the Witching Hill, which recasts the Pendle Witches of 1612 in their historical context as cunning folk and healers. She also lived for twelve years in Germany, which, along with her interest in sacred music and herbal medicine, inspired her to write Illuminations: A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen. Illuminations won the Nautilus Gold Award for Better Books for a Better World and was selected as a Kirkus Book of the Year. 

For more information please visit Mary's website and blog.  You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.