I know I shouldn't be out buying books right before Christmas, especially since I'm quite sure I'll find a few gift cards to my favourite bookstore under the tree Christmas morning, but it seems I just can't help myself.
Here are the books that made their way into my home this past week -- All synopses come courtesy of Chapters.indigo.ca
Received for review:
The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau
Joanna Stafford, a Dominican nun, learns that her favorite cousin has been condemned by Henry VIII to be burned at the stake. Defying the sacred 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.
The ruthless Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, takes terrifying steps to force Joanna to agree to spy for him: to save her father's life she must find an ancient relic-a crown so powerful, it may hold the ability to end the Reformation. Accompanied by two monks, Joanna returns home to Dartford Priory and searches in secret for this long-lost piece of history worn by the Saxon King Athelstan in 937 during the historic battle that first united Britain.
But Dartford Priory has become a dangerous place, and when more than one dead body is uncovered, Joanna departs with a sensitive young monk, Brother Edmund, to search elsewhere for the legendary crown. From royal castles with tapestry-filled rooms to Stonehenge to Malmesbury Abbey, the final resting place of King Athelstan, Joanna and Brother Edmund must hurry to find the crown if they want to keep Joanna's father alive. At Malmesbury, secrets of the crown are revealed that bring to light the fates of the Black Prince, Richard the Lionhearted, and Katherine of Aragon's first husband, Arthur. The crown's intensity and strength are beyond the earthly realm and it must not fall into the wrong hands.
With Cromwell's troops threatening to shutter her priory, bright and bold Joanna must now decide who she can trust with the secret of the crown so that she may save herself, her family, and her sacred way of life. This provocative story 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.
My Purchases:
At Home with the Templetons by Monica McInerney
When the Templeton family from England
takes up residence in a stately home in Australia, they set the locals
talking-and with good reason. From the outside, the seven Templetons
seem so bohemian, unusual...peculiar even.No one is more intrigued by the family than their neighbours, single mother Nina Donovan and her young son Tom. Before long, the two families' lives become entwined in unexpected ways, to the delight of Gracie, the sweetest of the Templeton children.
In the years that follow, the relationships between the Templetons and the two Donovans twist and turn in unpredictable and life-changing directions, until a tragedy tears them all apart. What will it take to bring them together again?
From Australia's top-selling female novelist comes her best book yet-a wonderfully entertaining and touching story about the perils and pleasures of love, friendship and family.
Breakfast at Darcy's by Ali McNamara
When Darcy McCall loses her beloved Aunt Molly, she doesn't expect any
sort of inheritance - let alone a small island. Located off the west
coast of Ireland, Tara hasn't been lived on for years, but according to
Molly's will Darcy must stay there for twelve months in order to fully
inherit, and she needs to persuade a village full of people to settle
there, too. Darcy has to leave behind her independent city life and swap
stylish heels for muddy wellies. Between sorting everything from the
plumbing to the pub, Darcy meets confident Conor and ever-grumpy Dermot -
but who will make her feel really at home? Divergent by Veronica Roth
That is what arrived in my mailbox this week. What did you get in yours?
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