Historical Fictionistas discussion

Reading List for 2012:

1. The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau DONE!
2. At the Mercy of the Queen: A Novel of Anne Boleyn by Anne Clinard Barnhill DONE!
3. The Orchid House by Lucinda Riley DONE!
4. By The King's Design by Christine Trent DONE!
5. The Sister Queens by Sophie Perinot DONE!
6. The Technologists by Matthew Pearl DONE!
7. The Book of Lost Fragrances: A Novel by M.J. Rose DONE!
8. The King's Agent by Donna Russo Morin DONE!
9. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett DONE!
10.Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
11. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
12. Voyager by Diana Gabaldon DONE!
13. Ah, But Your Land Is Beautiful by Alan Paton
14. Four Queens: The Provençal Sisters Who Ruled Europe by Nancy Goldstone
15. The Gilded Chamber: A Novel of Queen Esther by Rebecca Kohn DONE!
16. An Inconvenient Wife by Megan Chance
17. Katherine by Anya Seton DONE!
18. The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner DONE!
19. The Linnet Bird by Linda Holeman DONE!
20. The Forest Laird by Jack Whyte DONE!
21. The Queen's Pleasure by Brandy Purdy DONE!
22.The Queen's Vow: A Novel of Isabella of Castile by C.W. Gortner DONE!
23. Enchantments by Kathryn Harrison DONE!
24. The Sumerton Women by D.L. Bogdan DONE!
25. The Taker by Alma Katsu DONE!

Library Books to check out:
1. Aztec Blood by Gary Jennings DONE!
2. The Mercy Seller by Brenda Rickman Vantrease DONE!
3. The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera DONE!
4. My Dream of You by Nuala O'Faolain NOT 4 ME
5. Duchess: A Novel of Sarah Churchill by Susan Holloway Scott DONE!

Holly P wrote: "Reading List for 2012 so far.....


1. The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau
2. At the Mercy of the Queen: A Novel of Anne Boleyn by Anne Clinard Barnhill
3. The Orc..."</i>

I'm reading [book:The Book of Lost Fragrances: A Novel also. I saw your list of upcoming HF releases and went to your blog. Very impressive! Thanks for the tips on good new books.
from--the other Holly

The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau

Liked this one a lot. Loved the protagonist and the plot surrounding the mysterious Crown of Athelstan was interesting and not too predictable. 4/5

At the Mercy of the Queen: A Novel of Anne Boleyn by Anne Clinard Barnhill

Anne Boleyn's story from the POV of her cousin and lady in waiting Madge Shelton. A few problem areas but liked it overall and recommend to those who love the Tudor era. Nice to see a sympathetic portrait of Anne Boleyn. 3/5

Full review will be posted here @ GR and on blog on Jan 25th.

The Orchid House by Lucinda Riley

Not what I expected. Part of this is set in present day England and part is set in 1930's England and Thailand. Liked the parts set in the past better than those in the present and the farther I read the more "out there" the plot became. Still, liked it well enough though. Saw quite a few bad reviews here on Goodreads and don't think it was as bad as some of them said. 3/5

Full review will be posted here @ GR and on blog on February 4th.

By The King's Design by Christine Trent

Enjoyed her earlier book The Queen's Dollmaker and liked this one too. Set in Regency England with spunky heroine Annabelle Stirling. Love that her novels focus on different trades.

3.5/5

Full review will be posted here and at blog on February 10th.

Aztec Blood by Gary Jennings

I loved Aztec and thought Aztec Autumn was a decent read. This one took forever to get going for me. Although it finally did pick up towards the end it was kind of rough reading through 350 pages before it did. Hoping Aztec Rage (next in series) is better.

3/5

The Mercy Seller by Brenda Rickman Vantrease

Enjoyable novel about woman named Anna who is the granddaughter of Finn the Illuminator (from the first book The Illuminator). Starts out with religious unrest in Prague as the Church starts to crack down on Lollards (those who believe the Bible should be read in any language not just Latin). Anna must flee for her life and makes her way to England. A little slow going at times but a good story. Really liked the ending. 3.5/5

The Technologists: A Novel by Matthew Pearl

Was really surprised I liked this one as much as I did. Its about the first class at MIT and having to stop a madman bent on destroying Boston with technology. Thought I would be bored to death by the science and it did start off a little slow for me but it ended up being really good.

4/5

The Forest Laird by Jack Whyte

Definitely not the William Wallace depicted in Braveheart. This version had a kind of Robin Hood vibe going on and truth be told I like Jack Whyte's take on WW better than the Mel Gibson movie. Told through the eyes of William's cousin Jamie and a good deal of history here. Never read anything by Whyte before but really liked this one and am looking forward to the next 2 in the trilogy.

4/5

Enchantments by Kathryn Harrison

Offers a different view of the end of the Romanov family through the eyes of Rasputin's daughter Masha who goes to live with them after her father is murdered. I liked Masha and her relationship w/the tsarevich. A few areas were a little strange to me but overall I liked this one.

3/5

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

This book is all about relationships w/a philosophical bent. Thought the characters were well written but the book jumped around a lot between the different characters and a book focused on sex and philosophy is probably just not my thing. Kundera has a different writing style though that I liked.

3.5/5

The Taker by Alma Katsu

I was warned by others that this one had some dark themes to it and they were right but it still managed to pull me in. It reminded me a little of Anne Rice's Mayfair witches trilogy with the darkness. The immortality, combined with the 19th century, an obsessive love and one evil villain made for a pretty good story.

3/5

The Sister Queens by Sophie Perinot.

This book was excellent! The story of sisters Marguerite and Eleanor separated by their marriages to the Louis IX of France and Henry III of England was beautifully done. The writing was wonderful, the sisters and their husbands were both well drawn, and I loved seeing the political turmoil of these times through their point of view. One of the best books I have read this year so far and am looking forward to her next one.

4/5

I had an online chat with Sophie Perinot this weekend. She is hilarious! Glad to see you gave her book a high rating. I must check it out.

30 books listed, 25 of them read. Probably not going to make it through the last 5 in the next 15 days but I'm happy w/what I did get done. :) Now time to draw up the 2013 list!