Blog Tour: At the Mercy of the Queen + giveaway

At the Mercy of the Queen by Anne Clinard Barnhill

Reviewed as a part of Historical Fiction Book Tours

Anne Barnhill's Website: http://www.anneclinardbarnhill.com/

Twitter Event Hashtag: #MeryOfTheQueenVirtualTour

About a year ago on my personal blog, I pondered a scenario that most Tudor-fanatics have come across. We are constantly inindated with books about either Henry VIII or his six wives - and that's it. Where are all of the other people? The families, servants, and friends were there and can certainly offer up a fresh new viewpoint to the well-known stories surrounding Henry and his queens. At the Mercy of the Queen does a great job of this, re-hashing the frequently told story of Anne Boleyn from another perspective.

Margaret Shelton, also called Madge, is sent in 1533 at the age of 15 to become a lady-in-waiting to her cousin, Anne Boleyn. Since they are family, Madge quickly becomes one of Anne's favorites and a close confidante. Madge is historically famous for being thought to be the cousin that Anne Boleyn offered to Henry VIII as a new mistress - a mistress that Anne would have under her control and grasp. In the book, this is a major struggle for Madge. On the one hand, she wants to please her queen, who is quickly losing Henry's favor, by singing her praises to the king. Yet on the other hand,  Madge is in love with Arthur, Charles Brandon's bastard son. I personally could not ever imagine being in this scenario and willingly putting up with Anne's schemes. Just as a side note, I kept picturing Henry as the one portrayed in show The Tudors - we must realize that the real Henry was a large, gluttonous man with a festering leg wound. Not even close to Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. This was another factor in Madge's reluctance.

Even though this was Madge's book and story, I still feel as if Anne Boleyn was the main star. All of the decisions, outcomes and storylines revolved around her. I suppose it is hard to write a story about a minor player in the Tudor-era without having the notariety of someone such as Anne Boleyn play a large part in it. Madge's thoughts and personality were still intigrated very well; it still fit the bill as a refreshing look at Anne Boleyn's story through someone else's eyes. The book overall was well written and interesting - I finished the book in one day, I couldn't put it down! At the Mercy of the Queen also made me look at several people very differently, Henry Norris and Jane Seymour in particular. In this book, neither are the kind, easy-going characters we are used to.

Of course, I highly reccommend this book to other Tudor-lovers, but I also know that general historical fiction readers will enjoy it as well. As this is her first novel, I am excited to see what else Anne Clinard Barnhilll will write about!

Giveaway!
As I will be moving in a few months and am looking to downsize my book collection, I am giving away my copy of At the Mercy of the Queen to one of you! Just fill out a simple form here to enter.
-Open to US residents only
-You have until January 23 to enter!

Daisy's Review of The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley

Title/Author: The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley
Publisher/Date published: Sourcebooks Landmark, October 4th 2011
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "When Eva's film star sister Katrina dies, she leaves California and returns to Cornwall, where they spent their childhood summers, to scatter Katrina's ashes and in doing so return her to the place where she belongs. But Eva must also confront the ghosts from her own past, as well as those from a time long before her own. For the house where she so often stayed as a child is home not only to her old friends the Halletts, but also to the people who had lived there in the eighteenth century. When Eva finally accepts that she is able to slip between centuries and see and talk to the inhabitants from hundreds of years ago, she soon finds herself falling for Daniel Butler, a man who lived - and died - long before she herself was born. Eva begins to question her place in the present, and in laying her sister to rest, comes to realise that she too must decide where she really belongs, choosing between the life she knows and the past she feels so drawn towards."

This book went BEYOND my expectations! Seriously, on starting it, I thought I would enjoy this book. Instead, I ended up LOVING it! It was so amazing, so prepare for a gushing review :)

This is a time travel story and this makes it a historical romance mixed with a contemporary romance novel and I really enjoyed this part of it! I loved how there's such an emphasis on the importance of the house, to the point it almost felt like a character itself. I also loved that Eva had such a connection to it from her childhood!

Eva as a main character is wonderful! I'm all about the strong family bonds, mostly with close family (parents, siblings) and Eva genuinely loved her sister very much. Her sister was a famous actress and I didn't sensed only a little jealousy because of this, which I can totally understand. She is sensitive and strong and I loved how this balanced out for her.

And I loved the guy! Daniel is SO amazing! If I was transported back in time and met him, I would totally fall for him! Because really, who in their right mind wouldn't? He's understanding and generous, not to mention HANDSOME and charming! *sigh* I loved the chemistry between them and I was just going AAAH! KISS ALREADY! So yeah, good romance :)

I also loved some of the other characters, which is always a huge bonus! And I love how everytime tied together in the end and how I kept thinking 'OH, so THAT's why that detail was mentioned before!' I love it when that happens and seriously!

This story left me feeling a mix of happy and sad at the ending, happy because the ending was SO FREAKING GOOD and sad because it ended. I didn't want it to stop yet and this for me is the sign of a good book!

My rating: 5+ stars

Tahleen reviews: "Sweetly" by Jackson Pearce

Title: Sweetly
Author: Jackson Pearce
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; 2011

Rating: 4 stars

In a modern telling of Hansel and Gretel, Jackson Pearce brings us to Live Oak, South Carolina, where Ansel and his little sister Gretchen, ages 19 and 18 respectively, run out of gas on a cross-country road trip after being kicked out of their home by their stepmother. Gretchen, still scarred from her twin sister being snatched by what she remembers as a witch one fateful day in the woods, is very withdrawn yet desperately wants to stand out so she doesn't disappear too. Ansel has always been her rock. Things look like they might be changing for the better when they find a temporary home with Sophia Kelly, the young woman who owns the local chocolatier. Yet there are secrets in these woods, and Sophia isn't telling them everything. What seems like paradise starts to look more and more like the woods Gretchen left behind.

In her second fairy tale book, Pearce has once again taken an age-old tale and brought it to the modern day. I love fairy tale retellings, but I was a little disappointed with Pearce's Sisters Red. But here, I think Pearce has improved as a writer. I liked the characters much more, and the language she uses for her characters is pitch-perfect.

I was intrigued by the mystery, and Pearce unraveled it at just the right pace. I was never too far ahead of the characters (I hate it when I can figure it out too soon), and I really like how she tied her two novels together. And man, did she bring on the action. My favorite part of Sisters Red was the fighting, and I was glad to see it return.

Oh, also? Delicious candy. I wanted chocolate pretty much the entire time I was reading this.

One thing I couldn't stand, though, was how often Pearce used certain words. The most memorable one was the word "tease." I felt like everything anyone said to anyone was followed by "I teased" or "she teased." It got so bad that I started rolling my eyes when I came across it—it was just aggravating. But I guess if that's my biggest complaint, that's not so bad.

I'm looking forward to the third novel, a retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" titled Fathomless, later this year. There were hints about part of the plot in Sweetly, and I'm eager to see how the series will continue and for the introduction of new characters.


Disclosure: I got this book from the library.

Top Ten Authors Paula Wishes Would Write Another Book

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Check out future Top Ten Tuesday topics, including some new one's listed for February over here at the Top Ten Tuesday page!

Top Ten Authors I Wish Would Write Another Book

1. Margaret Atwood- I don't know if she counts because I think she's writing the 3rd book in the MaddAddam trilogy right now. But I am just really anxiously awaiting the chance to read it. So... I wish it would hurry up and be all done!

2. Oscar Wilde- I have read the majority of his works. And as much as I love his plays and short stories (and that is coming from someone who doesn't often read short stories) I would LOVE another novel. The Picture of Dorian Gray is my favorite and I wish I could have another.

3.Gabriel Garcia Marquez- He's said a few times that he is "finished with writing" and yet there are rumors that he has one or two finished novels waiting for publishing. Do want!

4. JK Rowling- She has stated that she is working on a new children's book but it's going slow because she's focusing on family right now. She has also hinted that books she releases now will be under a pseudonym, so we may not even know that it's her that has released it.

5. Phillip Pullman- I don't know if he counts either because he recently (well 2010) released a new book called The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ. BUT I want him to release another book in His Dark Materials. Even though it's a trilogy and the story is completely over. I actually just want more Iorek Byrnison in my life.

6. J.M. Barrie- Could you just imagine how much more imaginative the world could have been if the writer of Peter Pan had written another novel?

7. Neil Gaiman - I know he's been a busy man recently but my hands are getting itchy to hold a new book of his. Thankfully he recently announced that he is starting the writing process again. Yessssss.

8. Charles Yu- How to Live Safely in A Science Fictional Universe was probably one of my favorite books last year. He has a collection of short stories I need to check out, but I await a second novel with high hopes!

9. Diane Setterfield - I loved The Thirteenth Tale and I hope there is a second novel coming soon. There is no hints of anything on any sites I've found.

10. John Green- Okay so I know this one doesn't count since his new book is getting released today (and I will be picking up my copy!) but can we all just get a giant YAY!

Paula reviews The Demi-Monde

Book: The Demi-Monde by Rod Rees
Publisher: HarperCollins 2011
How I got it: Received an ARC copy

I got this book a few weeks ago and I just finished it the other day. I wont blame it being a slow read on the book completely - there were holidays going on and I had life and work distracting me. Sadly with life being frantic, every time I looked at the book sitting on my bedside table, I sighed. Anyway- on to the review.

The Demi-Monde: Winter is hard to classify genre wise. I'm not sure if it should be considered Cyberpunk or Steampunk, although it is certainly dystopian.
The premise of the novel is that in the Real World, the military has created a computer simulation to help prepare soldiers for war. Once you're hooked up you are completely immersed (think similar to the Matrix). The world you are sent to in the simulation is the Demi-Monde, which is a world filled with all of history's baddies, and so it constantly on the brink of war. However, one of these baddies has retained some of his old consciousness and wants to get out - so he steals the President's daughter and holds her hostage in the Demi-Monde. So the government finds Ella and promises her a lot of money in order to enter the Demi-Monde to save the President's daughter.

I thought the over all concept of the novel was pretty cool. I love history, so the idea of bringing a lot of history's evil psychopaths together was highly entertaining for me. And what you get is a world filled with a lot of hatred, persecution and oppression. And you have a lot of revolutionaries trying to fight the system who become just as crazed as they tyrants they are against (i.e. the character Trixie Dashwood)

I enjoyed the main character Ella, she is thrown into this world with no briefing what-so-ever and just runs with it. She has a lot going against her in this world: A. being a "shade" (being black) and B. being a woman. But she is unstoppable (mainly because she wants to get out of this awful place) and it's really fun to see what plans she comes up with to try and save Norma.

The only thing I found irksome in the novel was the lack of established time period. The military says that they stopped the technology at around 1890, so you have a steampunk aspect to the book, but then you have sections of the world that seem to exist in the 1920s and others that seem stuck in the Tudor era. I understand that since Rees was throwing characters from all over the time spectrum together things like that might happen, but it was just really hard to imagine what people were wearing and how they should be behaving. That might have been one of the reasons it took so long to read, because his world building wasn't quite complete.

I am looking forward to the next one and hopefully little quirks that didn't quite work in this one will have been worked out. Overall: 3.5 stars

Daisy's Review of Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

Title/Author: Hallowed (Unearthly #2) by Cynthia Hand
Publisher/Date published: HarperTeen, January 17th 2012
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose — the task she was put on earth to accomplish — is not as straightforward as she thought. Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning."


**WARNING: spoilers for Unearthly are very much possible!**

Let me give a hooray for the first 2012 release I have read! I totally went off-schedule for this one because I'd been reading some 'meh' books and decided I needed to get out of my reading slump. And I'm so glad I made the time to read this already!!

As you may know, I LOVED Unearthly! I gushed about it in my review of Unearthly and I think it will make my favourites of 2011 list. It was THAT good. So I was really excited to read more about Clara and Tucker and everyone.

Other bloggers who already read this told me there wasn't a lot of Tucker in this one and I'm kind of glad I knew beforehand, because I love Tucker and would have been very disappointed otherwise. So be warned!

In Unearthly there was a sense of hope and excitement about the upcoming moment for Clara to face her purpose, this one is a lot darker and has more sorrow in it. And I FELT the sadness, I hate it when a story is all 'sad things are happening, be sad', this one made me feel it without seeming like I got pushed into it. If you get what I mean. I'm not sure I'm being coherent about this...

Anyway, I think Clara very much grew stronger in this one and while I'm thinking book 3 will give us some real action, this didn't feel as a filler. I'm glad we got to know more about the whole angel-lore and got to meet Clara's father, cause I'd been wondering about him.

The only thing I didn't like was that there's a definite love triangle going on here and while it is well done, I feel like I'm rooting for the underdog. And while I do get what's happening and how things could end up like this, it's got me feeling sad and a bit brokenhearted. I am however glad that Clara feels the same way. She's not really fine with the triangle either and this makes me like her even more.

I warmed up to Christian as we got to know him more, I liked him in Unearthly and in this one discovered he has some really nice qualities and I'm not talking about his hotness, even though that never hurt anyone ;)

And yes, I'm going to say it: TEAM TUCKER! But mostly team Clara! Because I love her and am looking forward to the untitled third book in this series!

My rating: 5 stars

Top Ten Books We Are Excited To Read in 2012

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Check out future Top Ten Tuesday topics, including some new one's listed for February over here at the Top Ten Tuesday page!

Happy 2012 everyone! I hope everyone is ready for 2012, whether your 2011 was good or bad. This year I wish unto you, dear readers, health, happiness, adventure and any umph you need to get through your TBR pile!

This week the reviewers here at The Broke and the Bookish collaborated to give you the book we are most excited to read! So without further ado...

Top Ten Books I'm Excited To Read in 2012

1. Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson - Amy & Roger's Epic Detour was one of my favorite books of 2010. I am so excited for Matson's second book to be released. I'm curious about the format of the book...will it have a scrapbook feel like Amy & Roger? Or follow a more tradition book layout? Needless to say, I just want to read it! (Jen's Pick)


2. Everneath by Brodi Ashton
Normally I dont get too into YA books because I am usually disappointed (yes I do realize this a sweeping generalization). I found this book on Goodreads a bit ago, immediately added it to my TBR shelf and told some friends about it. It looks like it is going to be a new twist on the greek myth of Hades/Persephone. I don't think it claims to be this, but reading the description, it sure sounds close. Regardless, I am excited to read it! (Julia's Pick)

3. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
I absolutely love both Anna and Lola, and can't wait to read more from Stephanie Perkins! She has got to be my favorite author, and her writing is amazing, not to mention she helped me discover that I love contemporary romance! (Jana's pick)


4. Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
Daisy Says- Delirium was one of my favourite books of 2011 and that ending left me needing the sequel right away! Cliffhanger much? I am beyond excited it's coming out soon and will be pre-ordering this book! The wait has been KILLING me! Kelly says--
Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver - the sequel to Delirium, one of the BEST YA books I read in 2011! We were left with such a cliffhanger, I need to know what happens NOW. (Daisy & Kelly's pick)


5. Fever (Chemical Garden) by Lauren DeStefano: I am kind of cheating because I've already read it but I AM SO EXCITED TO HAVE A HARD COPY VERSION OF THIS AND READ IT AGAIN! Can you tell I'm excited? You can read my review of Fever on my own personal book blog and if you haven't read Wither yet...I recommend you get on this so that you can get excited about Fever!! (Jamie's pick)


6. Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen: A twist on the Robin Hood story..heck yes I'm excited! (Jamie's pick)


7. Insurgent (Divergent Trilogy) by Veronica Roth: Divergent was so refreshing the sea of sameness that teen dystopian literature has become. I'm very excited about the continuation of this story in Insurgent, due to be published on May 1—I can't wait to see where the characters will go and how the conflicts presented in the first book will be resolved, or if they will be resolved right away. (Tahleen's pick)

8. Touch of Power (Healer) by Maria V. Snyder - This one came out in late December 2011 so technically it's not a 2012 book but a good one to be excited about nonetheless. (Kimberly's pick)


9. Thief of Shadows (Maiden Lane) by Elizabeth Hoyt: The fourth book in the Maiden Lane series! I reviewed the first one here a really long time ago (I liked it), and just read the third book recently. The lead in to Thief of Shadows is just ... urgh!! I need this now! (Julia's pick)

10. The Dressmaker: A Novel by Kate Alcott:  It's a historical fiction book that takes place on the Titanic and after the ship sinks.  I've always been interested in the Titanic and this book sounds really good! (Jen's pick)

What books are YOU looking forward to?