fiction

Throwback Thursday – June 1

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ Leave a comment

throwbackthursday

Renee began this Throwback Thursday meme at Its Book Talk as a way to share some of her old favorites as well as sharing books that she wants to read that were published over a year ago. Books that were published over a year ago are almost always easier to find at libraries or at a discounted sale price. As I have been sifting through my TBR list and purging those books that no longer hold my interest, I came across several from years past that I have not yet had the opportunity to read that I’d love to share with you!

 

TheNameOfTheWind

Title: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Published:  March 27th 2007
Added to TBR: December 2016
Published by: Penguin Group DAW Hardcover

Told in Kvothe’s own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen.

The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature.

A high-action story written with a poet’s hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard.

 

My sister has been recommending this book to me for some time now even though I only added it on Goodreads in December. I’ve been putting it off because it is high fantasy which I usually don’t connect with but, I must admit, I am still tempted. Why? Rothfuss himself. He is a riot on social media and some of the articles he has written or taken part in are great. Not to mention he is a gamer which holds a special place in my heart. I know I’ll read this book eventually but it may be a while yet. Going to have to be in the right mood for it.

 

Have you read this book or another one by Rothfuss? What are your thoughts?

May Wrap Up

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 3 Comments

MayWrapUp

The end of a another month and I believe my theme for this year is, “How in the world is this year flying by so quickly?” Wasn’t I outside yesterday watching fireworks for New Years? I also just nearly typed 2016 instead of 2017. I feel like I’ve missed this whole year so far. Despite my personal misgivings on the passage of time, I did get through a few books in May and wanted to go through a quick run down of them.

Read

A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn – 4 stars
So far I have read two books by Deanna Raybourn and have loved them both. The Veronica Speedwell series is set in Victorian England. Ms. Speedwell is a forward thinking butterfly hunter and she along with her slightly cranky companion Stoker they solve perplexing mysteries. The dialogue is more of a witty banter which is very entertaining. Excellent books.

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas – 2 stars
Yes, I am that jerk that didn’t like this book. It is currently sitting a 4.59 stars on Goodreads and I wish I had loved it as much as everyone else seemed to. The first two books in this series were amazing and I devoured them. The third one needed a hard re-write in my opinion.

The Haunting of Ashburn House by Darcy Coates – 4 stars
I don’t pick up a horror novel often but when I do I like it to scare the pants off of me and give me some nightmares. While I was reading this book I was terrified to turn off the lights or turn my back to an empty room. It was great.

Victoria by Daisy Goodwin – 4 stars
What is better than stumbling across a great book? I picked this one up on a mere whim and am so glad that I did. In this book we follow the first couple years of Queen Victoria’s reign. We get to witness her growth, intelligence, determination, and cunning. The young Queen impressed me and left me wanting to learn more about her.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller – DNF – 2 stars
I will be the first to admit that it is my own fault that I didn’t like this book. When I see the name Achilles I expect daring fights, bravado, and bloody battles. What I don’t expect is a love story. If you have read any of my reviews you may have noticed I’m not that interested in love stories and I couldn’t bring myself to finish this one.

Watched

I have found myself watching Once Upon a Time toward the end of the month. I started it a few years ago and got annoyed watching them meandering around Neverland and turned it off. Kind of glad I’m giving it another shot because Hook and his guyliner is the stuff of TV legend.

In May I also got through the rest of season 2 of Reign. I’m still pissed about all that happened to Conde because the situation wasn’t entirely his fault. However, Greer is the shit. The. Shit.

So many people talk about Sense 8 I decided to give it a shot. I hardly got through the first episode. Too many characters, no clear plot, and very little personality. I just couldn’t do it.

Usually the only time I watch TV is while I’m making dinner but I found myself devouring Penny Dreadful season 2 whenever I had spare time. I love that show. It’s creepy, has carefully developed characters, and always keeps me on my toes.

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Covers

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Things on Our Reading Wish List

Top Ten Tuesday: Mothers in Literature

Top Ten Tuesday: Summer Reads

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Releases

What Are You Reading Wednesday

WWW Wednesday – May 3

WWW Wednesday – May 10

WWW Wednesday – May 17

WWW Wednesday – May 24

WWW Wednesday – May 31

Other

Thank you, followers! – In May I also had the honor of hitting 150 followers and wanted to thank you all again for that! I love reading and having the opportunity to share my opinions on those books with you all. Since I started blogging I’ve met many wonderful bibliophiles and have truly enjoyed my discussions with you all.

 

 

 

WWW Wednesday – May 31

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 7 Comments

WWWWednesday

 

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words and was formerly hosted by A Daily Rhythm. It is open for anyone to participate, even without a blog you can comment on Sam’s post with your own answers. It is a great way to share what you’ve been reading! All you have to do is answer three questions and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.

The three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading?

DorothyMustDie

“No matter how tough you think you are, there are certain things that just get to you, and they’re usually the little things. The ones you don’t expect.”

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige. I picked Dorothy Must die up last week and, I admit, I have only read about three chapters of it. It really does seem like a good book but I’ve hit a slump and just don’t think anything will pull me in right now. Maybe I’ll put this one down for a while and try again another time. I don’t want to read it and dislike it just because I’m in funk, you know?

What did you recently finish reading?

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“In the darkness, two shadows, reaching through the hopeless, heavy dusk. Their hands meet, and light spills in a flood like a hundred golden urns pouring out of the sun.”

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. This book is the reason for my reading slump. I picked it up expecting epic battles, the clashing of swords, and a noble and heroic death. What I got was a love story. If you are into love stories it would be a wonderful book, I think, but I’m not. With the name “Achilles” in the title I just expected something very different than the book I got and it was such a disappointment.

 

What do you think you’ll read next?

AndIDarken

“On our wedding night,” she said, “I will cut out your tongue and swallow it. Then both tongues that spoke our marriage vows will belong to me, and I will be wed only to myself. You will most likely choke to death on your own blood, which will be unfortunate, but I will be both husband and wife and therefore not a widow to be pitied.”

And I Darken by Kiersten White . Look at that quote. Look at it. How can I resist? Even Emily May liked it and if you’ve spent any time at all on Goodreads you’ve seen Emily’s reviews and know she is a bit picky. I’ll be picking this book up from the library later today and am really looking forward to getting started on it. Hopefully it gets me out of my reading funk because, at this rate, I’m not going to have a review to put up this week. Yikes!

That is it for WWW Wednesday! Feel free to leave a link to your own WWW posts in the comments and have a fabulous day.

 

Top Ten Tuesday – May 30

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 12 Comments

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Welcome to this week’s installment of Top Ten Tuesday! This week’s the theme is to discuss your most anticipated releases for the second half of 2017. I admit, most of the books I had been anticipating for this year have already been released but there are still a few on the horizon that warrant some attention. (The books below are listed in no particular order)

 

– Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore  (October 3)
Love grows such strange things.

For nearly a century, the Nomeolvides women have tended the grounds of La Pradera, the lush estate gardens that enchant guests from around the world. They’ve also hidden a tragic legacy: if they fall in love too deeply, their lovers vanish. But then, after generations of vanishings, a strange boy appears in the gardens.

The boy is a mystery to Estrella, the Nomeolvides girl who finds him, and to her family, but he’s even more a mystery to himself; he knows nothing more about who he is or where he came from than his first name. As Estrella tries to help Fel piece together his unknown past, La Pradera leads them to secrets as dangerous as they are magical in this stunning exploration of love, loss, and family.

 

– Now I Rise (The Conqueror’s Saga #2) by Kiersten White (July 27)
Lada Dracul has no allies. No throne. All she has is what she’s always had: herself. After failing to secure the Wallachian throne, Lada is out to punish anyone who dares to cross her blood-strewn path. Filled with a white-hot rage, she storms the countryside with her men, accompanied by her childhood friend Bogdan, terrorizing the land. But brute force isn’t getting Lada what she wants. And thinking of Mehmed brings little comfort to her thorny heart. There’s no time to wonder whether he still thinks about her, even loves her. She left him before he could leave her.

What Lada needs is her younger brother Radu’s subtlety and skill. But Mehmed has sent him to Constantinople—and it’s no diplomatic mission. Mehmed wants control of the city, and Radu has earned an unwanted place as a double-crossing spy behind enemy lines. Radu longs for his sister’s fierce confidence—but for the first time in his life, he rejects her unexpected plea for help. Torn between loyalties to faith, to the Ottomans, and to Mehmed, he knows he owes Lada nothing. If she dies, he could never forgive himself—but if he fails in Constantinople, will Mehmed ever forgive him?

As nations fall around them, the Dracul siblings must decide: what will they sacrifice to fulfill their destinies? Empires will topple, thrones will be won . . . and souls will be lost.

 

– Mightier than the Sword by K.J. Parker (June)

World Fantasy Award winner K.J. Parker’s newest novella Mightier than the Sword presents itself as a translated oddity of a document called “Concerning the Monasteries”. But in true Parker style, this novella is instead a sprightly, riveting tale that reveals secret upon secret, building to an ending at once perfect and perfectly unpredictable.

An Imperial legate is called into see his aunt, who just happens to be the empress running the civilized world while her husband’s in his sick bed. After some chastisement, she dispatches her nephew to take care of the dreaded Land and Sea Raiders, pirates who’ve been attacking the realm’s monasteries.

So begins a possibly doomed tour of banished relatives and uppity royals put in charge of monasteries like Cort Doce and Cort Maleston, to name a few. While attempting to discover the truth of what the pirates might be after, the legate visits great libraries and halls in each varied locale and conducts a romance of which he knows – but doesn’t care – his aunt will not approve. With enough wit and derring-do (and luck), the narrator might just make it through his mission alive… or will he?

– Renegades by Marissa Meyer (November 7)

Secret Identities.
Extraordinary Powers.
She wants vengeance. He wants justice.

The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies—humans with extraordinary abilities—who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone…except the villains they once overthrew.

Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice—and in Nova. But Nova’s allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both.

 

I know that this is a top ten list but I think I am going to stop here. Why? I love being surprised by new releases! I absolutely love stumbling across a new book propped up in all it’s glory on some display in a store. I love to log into Amazon and it give me a list of fabulous looking new releases in my recommendations. I like to be pleasantly surprised. Sure, there are some books (mostly ones as part of a series) that I know about in advance because I’m invested in the characters and story but for the most part I love just stumbling across a book. That is how I’ve found many of my favorite authors. I’ve just walked into a store and been pulled in by their cover or an artful display. The surprise makes it exciting!

What books are you looking forward to in the later half of 2017 or are you like me and like the surprise?

 

 

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller – DNF

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 9 Comments

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This is going to be the first book I’ve taken the time to write about that I did not finish. Usually when I DNF a book I just pop onto Goodreads, leave a pithy comment, and go on my way. This one, I felt, deserved a little more attention. The Song of Achilles is currently sitting at a 4.26 rating on Goodreads and nearly every review I read was over the moon about this book. I figured it would be a slam dunk. Historical fiction? Love it. Greek? One of my favorite eras. Achilles? One of the most bad ass warriors in antiquity. Why wouldn’t I love this book? Let me explain…

This book isn’t a story about Achilles’ prowess on the battlefield. It is, in fact, not even told form his perspective. How are you going to title a book “Achilles” and then not tell the story from his POV? Instead we are introduced to the character Patroclus. Patroclus is the son of a wealthy ruler and his mentally unstable wife. His father has always been displeased with Patroclus because while other noble sons are strong, fast, and impressive Patrcolus is small, quiet, and (the father suspects) a bit slow. In my opinion he also had all the personality of a dead fish.

After Patroclus accidentally kills another boy he is forced into exile by his father. He finds himself at the palace of another ruler. I can’t remember his name and can’t be bothered to jog downstairs to grab the book to find it. This fellow collects the exiled children and trains them as warriors for his army. There, Patroclus meets Achilles who is the ruler’s son.

Achilles is admired by all the cast off children who clamor for his attention or praise. Achilles, however, gives his attention to Patroclus, the boy who is obviously terrible in combat training and doesn’t talk to anyone. Achilles chooses to make Patroclus his companion. Patroclus now instead of training with the other kids spends his time going to lessons with Achilles and accompanying him wherever he goes.

It is evident early on in their friendship that there are underlying romantic feelings. Once that point is made evident, that is all the story really focuses on for chapter after chapter. The Song of Achilles is not a story about a magnificent warrior. It is about two young people who fall in love and the trials and tribulations that can come from that. Maybe I should have read the other reviews a little more closely before picking this one up. I don’t like love stories. Had I been aware that this was a love story I would not have read it.

Now, I want to make clear that I do not give a donkey’s behind that the romantic aspect of this story is of a homosexual nature. I don’t care. I just wanted to make it perfectly clear that the reason I dislike this book was because of the story itself, not because of the nature of the romantic relationship. It is ridiculous that I have to bring this up but I will not have someone jumping down my throat about LGBT acceptance. Achilles could have fallen for a woman and the story would have been equally dull. Or he could have been into a perverted dendrophilia or have sexual thoughts about sheep. It still would have been dull. The nature of the sexual relationship of the story is not what made it bad for me. Are we absolutely clear? Good. Moving on.

Achilles spends years in training to be the best warrior that has ever lived. We don’t get to read about his training, mostly get told that he is doing it. For this to be a story with Achilles you know that Troy must become involved at some point. So, after 3/4 of the book where nothing worth noting happens, Achilles and Patroclus find themselves along the beaches outside the city of Troy. A massive army of Greeks has come to reclaim Helen and return her to her husband. Once more we are told that Achilles goes off to battle but we don’t get to see anything of it. He comes back to his tent and to Patroclus covered in blood but once more the focus of the story is their relationship, not Achilles deeds.

This is where I threw in the towel. Maybe the rest of the story is wonderful and exciting and everything I hoped it would be. I’m not going to be finding out. You know when you start watching a movie or TV series and most of it is boring and monotonous? You don’t continue watching it, do you? That is how I felt about this book. It was monotonous. The ratings for this story are mostly all positive and that is wonderful. I love that a book that features a healthy LGBT relationship is so accepted and appreciated. My problem, I think, is that I just don’t like a love story.

“I could recognize him by touch alone, by smell; I would know him blind, by the way his breaths came and his feet struck the earth. I would know him in death, at the end of the world.”

 

 

Throwback Thursday – May 25

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 7 Comments

throwbackthursday

Renee began this Throwback Thursday meme at Its Book Talk as a way to share some of her old favorites as well as sharing books that she wants to read that were published over a year ago. Books that were published over a year ago are almost always easier to find at libraries or at a discounted sale price. As I have been sifting through my TBR list and purging those books that no longer hold my interest, I came across several from years past that I have not yet had the opportunity to read that I’d love to share with you!

 

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Title: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Published: March 14th 2006 (first published 2005)
Added to TBR: December 2016
Published by:  Knopf Books for Young Readers

It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

You ever feel like you are the last person in the world to read a book? I’ve been seeing this one every time I turn around for years. In fact, I just glanced through the information on Goodreads and 95% of my friends list has read it. How is that even a thing? It has become one of those books you use as starting point to compare other books to. “(Insert random book title here) is good but it is no Book Thief.” I’m sure I’ll get to it eventually. Maybe. Probably.

“I wanted to tell the book thief many things, about beauty and brutality. But what could I tell her about those things that she didn’t already know? I wanted to explain that I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race-that rarely do I ever simply estimate it. I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant.”

What are some older books sitting on your TBR?

WWW Wednesday – May 24

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 4 Comments

WWWWednesday

 

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words and was formerly hosted by A Daily Rhythm. It is open for anyone to participate, even without a blog you can comment on Sam’s post with your own answers. It is a great way to share what you’ve been reading! All you have to do is answer three questions and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.

The three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading?

11250317

“He is a weapon, a killer. Do not forget it. You can use a spear as a walking stick, but that will not change its nature.”

The Song of Achilles by Madison Miller. I’m not going to lie, the first half of this book bored me beyond words. I could barely read a couple of paragraphs before putting it down again. I have reached the section where they have landed at Troy and hopefully it gets a little more interesting or I’m going to have to DNF this one.

 

What did you recently finish reading?

Victoria

“I know that I am young, but I am ready for the great responsibility that lies before me.”

Victoria by Daisy Goodwin. I love when I stumble upon a good work of historical fiction. Victoria is the story of the early years of Queen Victoria of England. When I started the story I knew very little about her but quickly came to love her. This strong willed Queen had me entertained from page one.

 

What do you think you’ll read next?

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“Forgiveness can get you places, I guess. But sometimes you need to light a fire.”

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige. To be honest with you lovely folks, I feel a reading rut coming on. I’m hoping Dorothy Must Die will snap me out of that funk. Let me let you in on a little secret, I never watched the original Wizard of Oz. Or read it. However, I adore Wicked. Hopefully Paige’s take on the classic story will give me some zip.

 

That’s it for this Wednesday. Happy reading!

Top Ten Tuesday – Summer Reads

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 11 Comments

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme Summer Reads. In preparation for Memorial Day (which is always the unofficial summer kickoff), let’s recommend some summer/beach reads: books to go in your beach bag, best books set in summer, books with summer-y covers, best beach reads for people who don’t enjoy contemporary/realistic reads, best beach reads for fans of X genre, etc. etc.

To get myself in the mood to write this one I pulled up a playlist called So Cal Summer on Google Play. To say the least, I’m not feeling summery yet. Here it is still rainy and vaguely chilly. (For the record, so far this play list is more depressing than anything)

 

A BOOK WHERE THERE IS A LITERAL BEACH

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Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts. So, every now and then I read a romance novel. If you’ve so much as glanced at my book reviews before that may be a bit of a shock, I know. Toward the end of the book, the characters take a vacation at the beach where our main character, Laurel, gets engaged. It’s really a pretty sweet scene.

THE ALIEN BEACH

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Freedom’s Choice by Anne McCaffrey. This book is the second in McCaffrey’s Catteni series. In this series, Earth and other planets have been invaded and the indigenous intelligent life has been stolen away from their home planet and some of them are transplanted on new planets to colonize them. Low and behold the group, which includes a giant biped cat, find themselves on an alien beach. (Can you tell I’m having trouble with this summery/beachy theme, yet?)

SUMMERY COVER

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That Summer by Sarah Dessen. I’ve never read this one but boy does that cover shout summery beach day to me.

UPCOMING SUMMER RELEASE

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Are you Sleeping by Kathleen Barber. This book is set for release on August 1st which is certainly high summer. Serial meets Ruth Ware’s In A Dark, Dark Wood in this inventive and twisty psychological thriller about a mega-hit podcast that reopens a murder case—and threatens to unravel the carefully constructed life of the victim’s daughter. -From Goodreads

 

Alright, guys. I’m going off the rails on this one. This theme and I are going to have a fight. I could just tap out and list a bunch of books that I’d like to sit on a beach to read but that would end up being just a list of my favorite books. That feels like cheating. So, while above you see some beachy/summery books, below I give you… songs that make me think of summer! Yeah, I know, that’s still cheating…give me a break, here.

 

My Own Worst Enemy by Lit. For me, this is close to an ultimate summer song. I remember sitting in the grass at a music festival, the summer sun beating down on me, listening to these guys blast this song to the crowd. It was a great experience and will always be a happy summer memory.

Scotty Doesn’t Know from the Euro Trip soundtrack. Does this song even need an explanation? High school graduates, graduation party, awesome and catchy song.

1985 by Bowling for Soup. I remember hanging out with my friends on summer nights singing along to this song. It came out the year I graduated from high school and a lot of warm nights were spent with this blasting out of the car windows.

Josie by Blink 182. This song just makes you think of a hot California summer. Not to mention I’m pretty sure it’s the first time I’ve run across this video and I may have giggled.

 

 

So maybe I didn’t follow this week’s theme to the letter. Maybe I should have just browsed Goodreads and found books with titles or covers that made me think of summer. But, I didn’t. I hope you enjoy it all the same. Happy Tuesday!

Victoria by Daisy Goodwin

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 6 Comments

Victoria

 

Sometimes I sit down to write these reviews and just don’t know where to start. I’ve been staring at this screen for several minutes now wondering, “Now, where do I begin?” Always best to start at the beginning, I suppose. I didn’t intend to read this book. I hadn’t read any opinions about it on Goodreads or, to be honest, had not ever even seen it before. This book was chosen completely at random. I was walking into the library with my little girl and snagged a book haphazardly from a display near the entrance to amuse myself while she did her thing. I’m so glad that my hand landed on this one.

“I am referred to as Alexandrina Victoria. But I do not like the name Alexandrina. From now on I wish to be called Victoria.”

Our story begins with a young Alexandrina, the heir to the English throne. She is hardly more than a child and is already keenly aware that when the current king dies she shall ascend to the throne. Her mother, a rather self serving German duchess, and her co-conspirator Conroy believe that upon the king’s imminent death they will be the power behind the throne and control Alexandrina Victoria’s every move. However, the young Victoria has far too much spirit to ever allow that to happen.

I’m mildly ashamed to admit that when I started this book I knew very, very little about Queen Victoria. Other than knowing she was an English monarch, about the only other exposure I had had to her was a portrayal of her in Doctor Who that was mostly unflattering.  I know, I know, horrible of me. As a lover of history I should have had more knowledge of her. Somehow the queen had never been a blip on my radar, though. I will be amending that.

From the moment Victoria took the throne she began as she meant to go on. She dropped her first name of Alexandrina, which she disliked, for the uncommon Victoria. She also promptly created distance between herself and her mother. Victoria knew that the duchess and Conroy intended to rule her and she would not have it. She was young, only eighteen, when she took the crown and was well aware that people thought her too young and inexperienced to rule effectively. The Queen had every intention of proving them wrong.

I have to applaud the nerve Victoria displayed throughout the book. She knew her own mind and was more than willing to push her agenda. The Queen seemed fearless. During the course of this story, once the monarch had made up her mind there was no turning back. Sure, she was wrong occasionally but she had no qualm about making strong decisions.

One such decision she weighed heavily was taking a husband. The young queen had become enamored with her first Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne. Though he was years older than her she still took a liking to him. He had kindly and gently guided her at the beginning of her reign. Victoria had not been properly taught all the ways of the English court and government and Melbourne was there to help her through the worst of it. She even went as far as to propose to him though he, as politely as he could, declined.

There were no wars and battles in this book. No obvious and flashy entertainment. Instead it was a story of the Queen’s everyday life and her struggles to adjust to her role up until her betrothal to Prince Albert. We witness her coronation, her opening of poor houses for her people, and her giddy joy while playing with her dog or enjoying a ball. It is the life of the woman behind the throne.

Despite the lack of flashy entertainment this book pulled me in. It was so easy to get lost in the budding world of Victorian England. All of the characters were well written and had purpose and the story was easy to follow. There were certainly a few points where I wanted to knock a character’s head for poor decisions but even those parts were amusing. Victoria had sparkle and glint, drama and intrigue. It was a thoroughly enjoyable read and I’m very glad that it was the closest book to me on my way into the library that day.

“I know that I am young, but I am ready for the great responsibility that lies before me.”  

Throwback Thursday – May 18

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 1 Comment

throwbackthursday

Renee began this Throwback Thursday meme at Its Book Talk as a way to share some of her old favorites as well as sharing books that she wants to read that were published over a year ago. Books that were published over a year ago are almost always easier to find at libraries or at a discounted sale price. As I have been sifting through my TBR list and purging those books that no longer hold my interest, I came across several from years past that I have not yet had the opportunity to read that I’d love to share with you!

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Title: The King’s Mistress by Emma Campion
Published: August 2009
Added to TBR: December 2016
Published by: Arrow Books LTD

When had I choice to be other than I was? From childhood Alice Salisbury has learnt obedience in all things and at fourteen, dutifully marries the man her father has chosen for her – at the cost of losing the love of her mother forever and the family she holds dear.

But merchant Janyn Perrers is a good and loving husband and Alice soon learns to enjoy her marriage. Until a messenger brings news of his disappearance and she discovers that her husband had many secrets, secrets he didn’t want her to know – but which have now put a price on her own head and that of her beloved daughter. Brought under the protection of King Edward III and Queen Philippa, she must dutifully embrace her fate once more – as a virtual prisoner at Court.

And when the king singles her out for more than just royal patronage, she knows she has little choice but to accept his advances. But obeying the king brings with it many burdens as well as pleasures, as she forfeits her good name to keep her daughter free from hurt.

Still a young woman and guided by her intellect and good business sense, she learns to use her gifts as wisely as she can. But as one of the king’s favourites, she brings jealousy and hatred in her wake and some will stop at nothing to see her fall from grace. – from Goodreads

 

I have always loved a good work of historical fiction and there are few topics more interesting to me than the intrigues of a historical royal court. While the reviews of this book widely vary I think it could still be an entertaining read. The idea of a mother that will do whatever is necessary to protect her daughter damn the consequences to herself certainly appeals to me. Luckily, this book is available at my local library and I think I may go pick it up today.

How about you? Are there any older books sitting on your TBR begging for some attention?