Book Review: The Passing Bells by Phillip Rock

Synopsis:

The guns of August are rumbling throughout Europe in the summer of 1914, but war has not yet touched Abingdon Pryory. Here, at the grand home of the Greville family, the parties, dances, and romances play on. Alexandra Greville embarks on her debutante season while brother Charles remains hopelessly in love with the beautiful, untitled Lydia Foxe, knowing that his father, the Earl of Stanmore, will never approve of the match. Downstairs the new servant, Ivy, struggles to adjust to the routines of the well-oiled household staff, as the arrival of American cousin Martin Rilke, a Chicago newspaperman, causes a stir.

But, ultimately, the Great War will not be denied, as what begins for the high-bred Grevilles as a glorious adventure soon takes its toll—shattering the household's tranquillity, crumbling class barriers, and bringing its myriad horrors home.

My Review

4.5 Stars

The first novel in Phillip Rock's Greville Family Saga, The Passing Bells, is a magnificent work of historical fiction that successfully captures the atmosphere and spirit of the age in which it is set.  The novel opens in England in the summer of 1914, and even though Europe is poised on the brink of war, life continues on as usual at Abingdon Pryory, the stately home of the Earl of Stanmore and his family.  After the War's outbreak, the general consensus is that Britain and her allies will enjoy a quick victory.  Countless young men, including Charles Greville, heir to the Earldom of Stanmore, enthusiastically heed the call to arms and are dispatched to fight for King and country.  Despite initial optimism, a conclusion to hostilities remains elusive and the spirit with which the participants began the war soon dissipates as the realities of the conflict set in.  Back in England, the War brings an end to the nobility's golden age and ushers in a period of immense social change.    

With well-developed characters, engaging story lines and a remarkable sense of time and place, The Passing Bells is a novel not to be missed.  The early part of the book, which focuses primarily on the lives and loves of the Greville's and those closest to them prior to the outset of the War, provides an intimate look at the privileged lives of Britain's noble class.  While the first part of the novel is entertaining, the greatest strength of this book rests with how well Rock has captured the War and the struggles of those who fought in it.  Whether detailing character experiences in the trenches of the Somme, on a ship off the coast of Gallipoli, at a Casualty Clearing Station close to the Front, or in hospital recovering from wounds, Rock successfully conveys the horrors of WWI.  For this reason it is not difficult to understand why the War had such a devastating and lasting effect on those who lived through it. 

The Greville Family Saga continues in Circles of Time and A Future Arrived. 

Recommended to all readers of historical fiction, especially those interested in novels set during the Edwardian era and WWI. 

Note: The book comes from my own personal collection.

Book Review: The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen by Syrie James

Synopsis:

The minute I saw the letter, I knew it was hers. There was no mistaking it: the salutation, the tiny, precise handwriting, the date, the content itself, all confirmed its ancient status and authorship…

Samantha McDonough cannot believe her eyes--or her luck. Tucked in an uncut page of a two-hundred-year old poetry book is a letter she believes was written by Jane Austen, mentioning with regret a manuscript that "went missing at Greenbriar in Devonshire." Could there really be an undiscovered Jane Austen novel waiting to be found? Could anyone resist the temptation to go looking for it?

Making her way to the beautiful, centuries-old Greenbriar estate, Samantha finds it no easy task to sell its owner, the handsome yet uncompromising Anthony Whitaker, on her wild idea of searching for a lost Austen work--until she mentions its possible million dollar value.

After discovering the unattributed manuscript, Samantha and Anthony are immediately absorbed in the story of Rebecca Stanhope, daughter of a small town rector, who is about to encounter some bittersweet truths about life and love. As they continue to read the newly discovered tale from the past, a new one unfolds in the present--a story that just might change both of their lives forever.

Berkeley Trade | December 31, 2012

My Review

4 Stars

While flipping through an old book of poetry she purchased at a second hand bookshop in London,  Samantha McDonough is surprised to discover hidden within its pages a letter that appears to have been penned by Jane Austen.  Even more surprising is that the contents of the letter point to the existence of an previously unknown Austen manuscript that was lost while the author was on a visit to Greenbriar, a stately manor home in Devonshire.  As a long-time Jane Austen enthusiast, Samantha is excited at the prospect of discovering the lost manuscript and immediately sets out for Greenbriar in the hopes of finding it.  While the owner of Greenbriar, Anthony Whitaker, has doubts about Samantha's quest for the missing manuscript and initially denies her request to look for it, Samantha's assertion about the potential dollar value of the manuscript ultimately encourages him to both allow the search and to help her with it.  Almost immediately upon finding the lost manuscript Samantha and Anthony begin reading it and, before long, they are captivated by the story of Rebecca Stanhope, the daughter of a country rector with little experience of life outside her small village.  As they become further absorbed in Rebecca's story, Samantha finds herself becoming increasingly drawn to Anthony.   As they eagerly read the final pages of Rebecca's story, Samantha wonders how this chapter of her own life will end.   

The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen is sure to delight any Jane Austen fan. While Samantha's quest for the manuscript and her relationship with Anthony form the foundation of the book, it is the content of the manuscript itself, which takes up the bulk of the narrative, that makes this story come alive.  Syrie James has done a remarkable job of capturing Jane Austen's voice, so much so that one might think they were reading Jane Austen's own words.  It is also obvious that James is thoroughly familiar with Austen's novels, as the inspiration for many of the characters and events in the manuscript can be found within the pages of Austen's books.  Although this novel is two stories rolled into one, both narratives are captivating and both heroines are worth rooting for.  

A delightful novel that you simply won't want to put down, The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen is a must read for all Jane Austen enthusiasts. 

Note: A copy of this novel was provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. 

Mailbox Monday

It's time for Mailbox Monday, a weekly meme created for bloggers to share the books that arrived in their home over the previous week.  Mailbox Monday is a travelling meme and is being hosted in the month of January by Lori over at Lori's Reading Corner. 

Since I missed the last couple of Mailbox Monday posts in December, this week's post includes some of the many books I've received since that time, including those I purchased using some of the gift cards I received for Christmas.



Received for Review

Oleanna by Julie K. Rose

Set during the separation of Norway from Sweden in 1905, this richly detailed novel of love and loss was inspired by the life of the author's great-great-aunts.

Oleanna and her sister Elisabeth are the last of their family working their farm deep in the western fjordland. A new century has begun, and the world outside is changing, but in the Sunnfjord their world is as small and secluded as the verdant banks of a high mountain lake.

The arrival of Anders, a cotter living just across the farm's border, unsettles Oleanna's peaceful but isolated existence. Sharing a common bond of loneliness and grief, Anders stirs within her the wildness and wanderlust she has worked so hard to tame. When she is confronted with another crippling loss, Oleanna must decide once and for all how to face her past, claim her future, and find her place in a wide new world.

A Tainted Dawn by B.N. Peacock

August 1789. The Rights of Man. Liberty. Equality. Idealism. Patriotism. A new age dawns. And yet, old hostilities persist: England and Spain are on the brink of war. France, allied by treaty with Spain, readies her warships. Three youths - the son of an English carpenter, the son of a naval captain, and the son of a French court tailor - meet in London, a chance encounter that entwines their lives ever after. The English boys find themselves on the same frigate bound for the Caribbean. The Frenchman sails to Trinidad, where he meets an even more zealous Spanish revolutionary. As diplomats in Europe race to avoid conflict, war threatens to explode in the Caribbean, with the three youths pitted against each other. Will the dawn of the boys' young manhood remain bright with hope? Or will it become tainted with their countrymen's spilled blood?

Thwarted Queen by Cynthia Haggard

THWARTED QUEEN is a portrait of a woman trapped by power, a marriage undone by betrayal, and a King brought down by fear.

Cecylee is the apple of her mother’s eye. The seventh daughter, she is the only one left unmarried by 1424, the year she turns nine. In her father’s eyes, however, she is merely a valuable pawn in the game of marriage. The Earl of Westmorland plans to marry his youngest daughter to 13-year-old Richard, Duke of York, who is close to the throne. He wants this splendid match to take place so badly, he locks his daughter up.

The event that fuels the narrative is Cecylee’s encounter with Blaybourne, a handsome archer, when she is twenty-six years old. This love affair produces a child (the “One Seed” of Book II), who becomes King Edward IV. But how does a public figure like Cecylee, whose position depends upon the goodwill of her husband, carry off such an affair? The duke could have locked her up, or disposed of this illegitimate son.

But Richard does neither, keeping her firmly by his side as he tries to make his voice heard in the tumultuous years that encompass the end of the Hundred Years War - during which England loses all of her possessions in France - and the opening phase of the Wars of the Roses. He inherits the political mantle of his mentor Duke Humphrey of Gloucester, and becomes the people’s champion. The rambunctious Londoners are unhappy that their country has become mired in misrule due to the ineptitude of a King prone to fits of madness. Nor are they better pleased by the attempts of the King’s French wife to maneuver herself into power, especially as she was responsible for England’s losses in France. But can Richard and Cecylee prevail? Everywhere, their enemies lurk in the shadows.

This book is filled with many voices, not least those of the Londoners, who forged their political destiny by engaging in public debate with the powerful aristocrats of the time. By their courageous acts, these fifteenth-century Londoners set the stage for American Democracy.

Captain Blackwell's Prize by U.E. Ulett

A romantic adventure from the days of wooden ships and iron men. Captain Blackwell's Prize is a story of honor,duty, social class and the bond of sexual love.A small audacious British frigate does battle against a large but ungainly Spanish ship. British Captain Blackwell intercepts the Spanish La Trinidad and outmaneuvers and outguns the treasure ship then boards her. Fighting alongside the Spanish captain sword in hand is a beautiful woman The battle is quickly over. The Spanish captain is killed in the fray and his ship damaged beyond repair. Its survivors and treasure are taken aboard the British ship, Inconstant. Captain Blackwell's Prize features exciting sword fights and sea battles alongside the manners, ideas and prejudices of men and women from the time of Nelson and Napoleon.


Purchased

The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan

Paris, 1878. Following their father’s sudden death, the Van Goethem sisters find their lives upended. Without his wages, and with the small amount their laundress mother earns disappearing into the absinthe bottle, eviction from their lodgings seems imminent. With few options for work, Marie is dispatched to the Paris Opera, where for a scant seventeen francs a week, she will be trained to enter the famous Ballet. Her older sister, Antoinette, finds work as an extra in a stage adaptation of Émile Zola’s naturalist masterpiece L’Assommoir. Marie throws herself into dance and is soon modeling in the studio of Edgar Degas, where her image will forever be immortalized as Little Dancer Aged 14. Meanwhile, Antoinette, derailed by her love for the dangerous Émile Abadie, must choose between honest labour and the more profitable avenues open to a young woman of the Parisian demimonde. Set at a moment of profound artistic, cultural and societal change, The Painted Girls is a tale of two remarkable sisters rendered uniquely vulnerable to the darker impulses of “civilized society.” In the end, each will come to realize that her salvation—her survival, even—lies with the other.

419 by Will Ferguson

A car tumbles through darkness down a snowy ravine.

A woman without a name walks out of a dust storm in sub-Saharan Africa.

And in the seething heat of Lagos City, a criminal cartel scours the Internet, looking for victims.

Lives intersect. Worlds collide. And it all begins with a single email: "Dear Sir, I am the daughter of a Nigerian diplomat, and I need your help."

Will Ferguson takes readers deep into the labyrinth of lies that is "419," the world's most insidious Internet scam.

When Laura Curtis, a lonely editor in a cold northern city, discovers that her father has died because of one such swindle, she sets out to track down-and corner-her father's killer. It is a dangerous game she's playing, however, and the stakes are higher than she can ever imagine.

Woven into Laura's journey is a mysterious woman from the African Sahel with scars etched into her skin and a young man who finds himself caught up in a web of violence and deceit.

And running through it, a dying father's final words: "You, I love."

The Last Summer by Judith Kinghorn

I was almost seventeen when the spell of my childhood was broken...It was the beginning of summer and, unbeknown to any of us then, the end of a belle epoque...

In July of 1914, innocent, lovely Clarissa Granville lives with her parents and three brothers in the idyllic isolation of Deyning Park, a grand English country house, where she whiles away her days enjoying house parties, country walks and tennis matches. Clarissa is drawn to Tom Cuthbert, the housekeeper's handsome son. Though her parents disapprove of their upstairs-downstairs friendship, the two are determined to see each other, and they meet in secret to share what becomes a deep and tender romance. But soon the winds of war come to Deyning, as they come to all of Europe. As Tom prepares to join the front lines, neither he nor Clarissa can envision what lies ahead of them in the dark days and years to come. Nor can they imagine how their love will be tested, or how they will treasure the memory of this last, perfect summer.

Circles of Time by Phillip Rock (Book Two of the Greville Family Trilogy)

The Acclaimed Trilogy That Has Been Called a Must-Read for Fans of Downton Abbey

A generation has been lost on the Western Front. The dead have been buried, a harsh peace forged, and the howl of shells replaced by the wail of saxophones as the Jazz Age begins. But ghosts linger—that long-ago golden summer of 1914 tugging at the memory of Martin Rilke and his British cousins, the Grevilles.

From the countess to the chauffeur, the inhabitants of Abingdon Pryory seek to forget the past and adjust their lives to a new era in which old values, social codes, and sexual mores have been irretrievably swept away. Martin Rilke throws himself into reporting, discovering unsettling political currents, as Fenton Wood-Lacy faces exile in faraway army outposts. Back at Abingdon, Charles Greville shows signs of recovery from shell shock and Alexandra is caught up in an unlikely romance. Circles of Time captures the age as these strongly drawn characters experience it, unfolding against England's most gracious manor house, the steamy nightclubs of London's Soho, and the despair of Germany caught in the nightmare of anarchy and inflation. Lives are renewed, new loves found, and a future of peace and happiness is glimpsed—for the moment.

I also bought the following:

• The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken;
• Witchlanders by Lena Coakley;
• Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
• The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro
  
• Gods of Gotham by Lindsay Faye

What arrived in your mailbox last week?

Suddenly Sunday

It's time for Suddenly Sunday, a weekly meme hosted by Svea at Muse in the Fog that provides bloggers with the opportunity to share their blogging events from the past week.   I missed posting to this meme in 2012, so I've decided to make it a weekly feature once again. 

Last week was a relatively quiet one on the blogging front.   I only managed to post one review, which was for The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark.  I also posted about my reading and blogging resolutions/goals for 2013.  Reading-wise, I read my first book of 2013, The Spirit of Lost Angels by Liza Perrat, a novel set in France around the time of the French Revolution. 

Looking ahead to next week, in addition to participating in Mailbox Monday I also expect to post a couple of new reviews, including one for Syrie James' wonderful The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen.  

I'm currently reading T.J. Brown's Summerset Abbey, but expect to finish it later today and will then turn my attention to Jennifer Chiaverini's Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker.  I'll review both of these novels the week of January 14th. 

I hope everyone has a great week!

Book Review: The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark

Synopsis:

I gasped, or tried to. My mouth opened, but I couldn’t draw breath. His lips, pearly wet, parted and he blew into my mouth. My lungs expanded beneath his weight. When I exhaled he sucked my breath in and his weight turned from cold marble into warm living flesh.

Since accepting a teaching position at remote Fairwick College in upstate New York, Callie McFay has experienced the same disturbingly erotic dream every night: A mist enters her bedroom, then takes the shape of a virile, seductive stranger who proceeds to ravish her in the most toe-curling, wholly satisfying ways possible. Perhaps these dreams are the result of her having written the bestselling book The Sex Lives of Demon Lovers. Callie’s lifelong passion is the intersection of lurid fairy tales and Gothic literature—which is why she’s found herself at Fairwick’s renowned folklore department, living in a once-stately Victorian house that, at first sight, seemed to call her name.

But Callie soon realizes that her dreams are alarmingly real. She has a demon lover—an incubus—and he will seduce her, pleasure her, and eventually suck the very life from her. Then Callie makes another startling discovery: Her incubus is not the only mythical creature in Fairwick. As the tenured witches of the college and the resident fairies in the surrounding woods prepare to cast out the demon, Callie must accomplish something infinitely more difficult—banishing this supernatural lover from her heart.

Random House | December 27, 2012

My Review

4 Stars

Although I'm generally not a fan of paranormal romance novels, Juliet Dark's The Demon Lover, with its small town setting and a main character interested in the linkages between fairy tales and Gothic literature, seemed to be a book I would enjoy.  I was right.  

At the heart of this novel is Callie McFay, a young college professor who accepts her first teaching position at a small private college in upstate New York.  Soon after Callie arrives in Fairwick and moves into an old Victorian mansion that was once the home of one of her favourite romance novelists, she begins to experience what she at first thinks are only erotic dreams but quickly realizes are visits from an incubus, or demon lover.  Faced with a life-sucking demon in town, some of Fairwick's residents, including the college Dean, intervene to help Callie, who learns that, as home to witches, fairies and other fay, there is much more to Fairwick then meets the eye.  While Callie is seemingly able to banish her demon lover from her life, soon after strange things begin to happen to her students and colleagues, which lead her to question what is really going on in the quaint college town.

The greatest strength of The Demon Lover is that the novel's principal character, Callie, portrayed as an intelligent and independent woman, is a heroine most readers will be able to identify with (demon lover notwithstanding) and, given her strength of character, is also one readers will find easy to root for.  The inhabitants of Fairwick are an eclectic group of people whose actions and antics help to make the book an enjoyable read.   The story itself proceeds at fairly quick pace and while many of the mysterious aspects of the plot can be figured out relatively easily before their resolution, this doesn't diminish the conclusion of the novel.   While not a prominent feature of the book, Juliet Dark's incorporation of mythical legends, including how some of these tie to Gothic literature, is interesting.  My only criticism of the novel, and it isn't a significant one given that it didn't have an impact on my enjoyment of the book or my rating, is that it at over 400 pages the novel is a little too long.  I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series, The Water Witch, which will be released in February.    

Recommended to fans of paranormal romance or fantasy novels, or to those readers looking for something a little bit different.   

Note: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. 

2013 Reading and Blogging Resolutions and Goals

Happy New Year!  I thought I'd start 2013 off by sharing some of my reading and blogging resolutions and goals for the new year.

Reading Resolutions and Goals

(1) Buy fewer books.  I didn't include this one on my 2012 reading resolutions list because each year I always seem to buy more books than I did the year before.  However, as I really do need to cut down on the number of books I buy, I've decided to bring it back for 2013.   Wish me luck, because I'm going to need it in order to achieve this resolution. 

(2) Read at least 85 books.  I normally set a goal to read 75 books each year, but since I've been consistently achieving this goal in recent years I've decided to increase it to 85.   

(3) Read more books outside of my comfort zone.   I read 91 books in 2012, but only a handful were in genres or settings outside of my usual comfort zone.   I'm going to attempt to change this in 2013, by reading more books in genres I don't normally read (e.g. science fiction, contemporary non-fiction) or that are set in time periods or locations that don't normally interest me. 

Blogging Resolutions and Goals

(1) Post more reviews.  One of my blogging resolutions for 2012 was to post more reviews of novels from outside the historical fiction genre.  While I did post more non-historical fiction reviews in 2012 than I did in 2011, based on the number of comments/page views these reviews received it appears there wasn't much interest in them.   I'm going to keep my resolution to post more reviews, but will continue to focus predominantly on historical fiction since reviews of books within this genre generate the most interest. 

(2) Take part in more blog giveaway hops.  I enjoyed participating in the two blog giveaway hops I took part in during 2012.  Not only did participation in these hops generate more interest in my own blog, but I also found some great new blogs to follow.   I'll be looking to participate in more giveaway hops during 2013, especially if they are focused on historical fiction.

(3) Reply to comments.   I'm generally pretty good at this, but during 2013 I resolve to be more consistent with replying to comments left on my blog.   I will also aim to more consistently visit the blogs of those who leave comments on my posts.

(4) Pick some weekly memes and stick with them.   I've tried a few different weekly memes since I first started blogging, but with the exception of Mailbox Monday, which I participate in frequently, I am pretty inconsistent with my participation.  I've tried Top Ten Tuesday, Waiting on Wednesday and Suddenly Sunday, for example.   My intention for 2013 is to make Mailbox Monday and Suddenly Sunday my two weekly memes of choice, so look for my regular participation in them. 

That's it for me.  Do you have any reading or blogging resolutions/goals for 2013?

My Top 12 Books of 2012

2012 was a great reading year for me.  I read some wonderful books and was introduced to some fabulous new to me authors.   Of the 91 books I read this year, the following 12 were my favourites and all earned either a 5 or 4.5 star rating:

(1) Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel.   The sequel to the fabulous Wolf Hall, Mantel's latest novel of Thomas Cromwell focuses on the downfall of Anne Boleyn and is every bit as good as its predecessor.   I can't wait to read the final novel in the Thomas Cromwell trilogy.    Mantel's Cromwell novels are a must read for any fan of Tudor-era historical fiction. 






 (2) The Riyria Revelations by Micheal J. Sullivan.  Okay, so I'm cheating with this one since the Riyria Revelations is composed of three novels rather than just one (Theft of Swords, Rise of Empire and Heir of Novron), but once you read the first book you'll immediately want to read the next two.   I love pretty much everything about this series, including the two main characters Hadrian Blackwater and Royce Melborn, and recommend it to everyone I know who enjoys fantasy novels.    A prequel to the series, The Crown Tower, is set for release in August 2013 and is one of my most anticipated reads of 2013. 

(3) Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer.  This work of non-fiction provides readers with Jon Krakauer's first hand account of the 1997 Mt. Everest disaster that saw the deaths of eight climbers.   I couldn't put this book down and, once finished, I couldn't stop thinking about the events detailed in it. 

(4)  The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani.  A wonderful work of historical fiction set in Italy and the United States in the early 20th century.  I fell in love with the two main characters and their story.  Although the time period and settings of this novel aren't ones I would normally choose when selecting a work of historical fiction to read, I'm very glad I decided to take a chance with this one. The Shoemaker's Wife is a truly beautiful book. 






(5) A Place Beyond Courage by Elizabeth Chadwick. I've enjoyed every Elizabeth Chadwick novel that I've read, and this one is no exception.  Her attention to historical detail, well-developed characters, vivid settings and lovely prose make her novels must reads for me.  A Place Beyond Courage tells the story of John Marshall, father to William Marshall who is the main character in my favourite Chadwick novel, The Greatest Knight.  If you love historical fiction make sure you read this book (as well as Chadwick's other novels) as I think Elizabeth Chadwick is one of the best writers within the genre today. 



(6) The Master of Verona by David Blixt.   Set in early Renaissance Italy, this novel's principal protagonist is Pietro Alaghieri, son of the poet Dante.   A fabulous cast of characters, a great story, and lots of historical detail made this one a winner for me.   This is the first of David Blixt's novels that I've had the pleasure of reading, but it definitely won't be the last. 







(7) The King's Concubine by Anne O'Brien.   The star of this novel is the infamous Alice Perrers, mistress to English King Edward III.  While history has not been kind to Alice, very little is actually known about her life.   In this novel O'Brien has created a remarkably sympathetic portrait of Alice, one that is entirely plausible.   This book is also provides one of the best examples of the use of first person narrative that I've ever read. 






(8) The Passing Bells by Phillip Rock.  Set just before and during WWI, and featuring a stately manor home, its aristocratic inhabitants and those who serve them, The Passing Bells is recommended to fans of Downton Abbey.  Since I love Downton Abbey I simply couldn't resist reading this one.   Much of this book is concerned with WWI, and I think Rock has masterfully captured the horrors of the Great War.   I'm looking forward to reading the second novel in this trilogy, Circles of Time.  





(9) The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton.   Another year, another Kate Morton book on my list of favourites.   I simply love Morton's novels and her latest release is no exception.   While lacking the Gothic elements that are the hallmarks of her other books, The Secret Keeper had me turning the pages into the wee hours wanting to know what was coming next.   Morton has such a lovely way with words that her novels are a treat to read.   Here's hoping it won't be too long before her next book comes out. 

(10) The Queen's Vow by C.W. Gortner.   Historical novelist C.W. Gortner's latest book is a biographical novel about Queen Isabella of Castille, a historical figure I knew little about prior to picking up this novel.   I particularly enjoyed how Gortner chose to characterize Isabella, who is portrayed as an intelligent, loyal and determined woman.   Given the novel doesn't cover the entirety of Isabella's reign, it is my hope that there will be a follow-up to this book in the future.





(11)  Nefertiti by Michelle Moran.  Ancient Egypt as a setting is not a particular favourite of mine when it comes to historical novels, but Nefertiti is a well-written and engaging look at ancient Egypt's most intriguing woman.  I particularly liked that the novel was told from the perspective of Nefertiti's younger sister.  Last year Moran's Madame Tussaud was included among my favourite reads of the year. 






(12) The Prophet by Amanda Stevens.  The third installment of Stevens' Graveyard Queen paranormal romance series is probably my favourite of the series thus far.   Paranormal fantasy/romance is not usually my thing, but this series has captivated me and I can't wait to read more. 








What were your favourite books of the year?