Monthly Archives: February 2015

It’s Monday! What are you reading?

Published February 16, 2015 | By Kendal

Welcome to It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?! This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well…you never know where that next “must read” book will come from! Hosted by Book Journey.

I’M BACK!!! Since about last October I have put aside my blog to focus on other things; one of which is a new job that I love. Now that I’m settling into my new job, I’m going to try to do some blogging again. So here goes:

Last Week:

The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau
The Chalice by Nancy Bilyeau (review coming soon)

This Week:

Son of the Morning by Linda Howard

A scholar specializing in ancient manuscripts, Grace St. John never imagined that a cache of old documents she discovered was the missing link to a lost Celtic treasure. But as soon as she deciphers the legend of the Knights of the Templar — long fabled to hold the key to unlimited power — Grace becomes the target of a ruthless killer bent on abusing the coveted force. Determined to stop him, Grace needs the help of a warrior bound by duty to uphold the Templar’s secret for all eternity. But to find him — and to save herself — she must go back in time . . . to fourteenth-century Scotland . . . and to Black Niall, a fierce man of dark fury and raw, unbridled desire. . . .

Maus I: A Survivor’s Tale

A story of a Jewish survivor of Hitler’s Europe and his son, a cartoonist who tries to come to terms with his father’s story and history itself.

Audiobook of the Week:

Book of Life by Deborah Harkness (All Souls Trilogy #3)

After traveling through time in Shadow of Night, the second book in Deborah Harkness’s enchanting series, historian and witch Diana Bishop and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont return to the present to face new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home at Sept-Tours, they reunite with the cast of characters from A Discovery of Witches–with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency. In the trilogy’s final volume, Harkness deepens her themes of power and passion, family and caring, past deeds and their present consequences. In ancestral homes and university laboratories, using ancient knowledge and modern science, from the hills of the Auvergne to the palaces of Venice and beyond, the couple at last learn what the witches discovered so many centuries ago.

What are you reading this week?

Review: The Crown

Published February 15, 2015 | By Kendal

The Crown (Joanna Stafford #1)
Written by Nancy Bilyeau
Published on January 10, 2012 by Touchstone
409 pages
Historical Fiction
Purchased from Amazon

Synopsis:

Joanna Stafford, a Dominican nun, learns that her favorite cousin has been condemned by Henry VIII to be burned at the stake. Defying the rule of enclosure, Joanna leaves the priory to stand at her cousin’s side. Arrested for interfering with the king’s justice, Joanna, along with her father, is sent to the Tower of London.

While Joanna is in the Tower, the ruthless Bishop of Winchester forces her to spy for him: to save her father’s life she must find an ancient relic—a crown so powerful, it may possess the ability to end the Reformation.

With Cromwell’s troops threatening to shutter her priory, bright and bold Joanna must decide who she can trust so that she may save herself, her family, and her sacred way of life. This provocative story set in Tudor England melds heart-stopping suspense with historical detail and brings to life the poignant dramas of women and men at a fascinating and critical moment in England’s past.

The Crown is a wonderful depiction of Tudor England. Henry VIII has broken away from Rome in order to produce an heir. By doing, he has selfishly destroyed so many lives that depended on the Catholic church for survival. Joanna Stafford is one such person. She only wanted to live a peaceful life as a bride of Christ. But that life was cruelly taken from her. Nancy Bilyeau has a written a tale that takes the reader through Joanna’s turbulent life. It is a tale that depicts a woman’s life that has so few choices and very little power.

Joanna is a remarkable heroine for this story. She is highly educated which was very rare for that time. She is intelligent, strong-willed and a true believer of the Faith. Her Faith is what carries her through each brutal event in her life. Ms. Bilyeau brings her to life with such intensity and richness. Joanna is not weak and she will fight for beliefs and the people she loves.

Ms. Bilyeau has also vividly brought to life the bloody times of Tudor England. By destroying the Catholic Church in England, he basically started a civil war. Conspiracies ran everywhere. Henry VIII executed thousands to protect his new church reign. His paranoia and selfishness runs rampant. I find it so amazing how ugly and brutal religious war can be. So much torture, blood and betrayal in the name of God. It’s too bad we can’t learn from the past. There are never any winners in a religious war. Furthermore, the political intrigue is dizzying. Cardinal Gardner plays both sides to increase his power. Joanna is caught in his vicious web.

The Crown is a piece of historical fiction that needs to be savored. This is a wonderful being to a series that will be full of intrigue and suspense. I look forward to see how Joanna Stafford is able to find her place in this new world of hers.