Now Reading.... Footsteps in the Dark by Georgette Heyer

Footsteps in the Dark
by Georgette Heyer

Publication Date: January 2007
(first published 1932)
Paperback: 352 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Romance



Overview
The ramshackle old house, with its rambling charm, is beloved of Peter, Margaret, and Celia who inherited it from their uncle. Local wisdom, however, says the Priory is haunted and then a murder is committed. Can the answer be found in the realm of the supernatural or is it more down to earth?

To Tame a Highland Warrior by Karen Marie Moning

Rating: SNAG!

To Tame a Highland Warrior
by Karen Marie Moning
Genre: Romance, Historical Fiction
Paperback: 366 pages
Publication Date: June 2004





Cover Description

Only her love could gentle his savage soul—
He was born to a clan of warriors of supernatural strength, but Gavrael McIllioch abandoned his name and his Highland castle, determined to escape the dark fate of his ancestors. Hiding his identity from the relentless rival clan that hunted him, he called himself Grimm to protect the people he cared for, vowing never to acknowledge his love for ravishing Jillian St. Clair. Yet even from afar he watched over her, and when her father sent an urgent summons, "Come for Jillian," he raced to her side—into a competition to win her hand in marriage.
 
Why had he run from her so many years before? And why return now to see her offered as a prize in her father's manipulative game? Furious, Jillian vowed never to wed. But Grimm was the man she loved, the one who urged her to marry another. He tried to pretend indifference as she tempted him, but he could not deny the fierce desires that compelled him to abduct her from the altar. She was the only woman who could tame the beast that raged within him—even as deadly enemies plotted to destroy them both....

Verdict

To Tame a Highland Warrior is not one of Moning's best endeavors. It was very reminiscent of the typical trashy romance novel. The romantic overtures, at times, were so ridiculously sweet I felt like Molasses was dripping from the pages. The novel lacked that typical Moning quality that I find so enticing.
However, if you are a big fan of Moning, it is worth the time and money.

Good Reading!
Sarah :)

The Devlin Diary by Christi Phillips

Rating: BRAG!

The Devlin Diary

by Christi Phillips
Historical Fiction, Mystery
Paperback: 464 pages
Publication Date: April 2010





Verdict
Mesmerizing! The Devlin Diary goes down as one of my all-time favorites! I loved this book.... LOVED IT! Claire and Andrew are history fellows at Trinity, Cambridge and are trying to solve a murder in the current time period. Hannah and Edward are both doctors trying to solve several murders during the 1670's near Whitehall. Mystery, romance, high level vocabulary, history, royalty.... It's got it all! Christi Phillips ability to perfects the details of the time period is astounding. You will lose yourself in this book! Terrific purchase.

Good Reading,
Sarah :)


 

Trinity, Cambridge



Whitehall from St. James Park
Copyright © Sara Douglass Enterprises Pty Ltd 2006

About the Author
Christi Phillips is the author of The Devlin Diary and The Rossetti Letter, which is being translated into eight languages including Russian, German, Spanish and Portuguese. Her research combines a few of her favorite things: old books, libraries, and travel. When she’s not rummaging around in an archive or exploring the historic heart of a European city, she lives with her husband in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she is at work on her next novel, set in France.
http://christi-phillips.com/

Now Reading.... The Devlin Diary by Christi Phillips

The Devlin Diary

by Christi Phillips
Historical Fiction, Mystery
Paperback: 464 pages
Publication Date: April 2010







Cover Description

From the bestselling author of The Rossetti Letter comes a “thrilling” (Library Journal) novel of intrigue, passion, and royal secrets that shifts tantalizingly between Restoration-era London and present-day Cambridge, England. London, 1672. A vicious killer stalks the court of Charles II, inscribing the victims’ bodies with mysterious markings.Are the murders the random acts of a madman?Or the violent effects of a deeply hidden conspiracy?
Cambridge, 2008. Teaching history at Trinity College is Claire Donovan’s dream come true—until one of her colleagues is found dead on the banks of the River Cam. The only key to the professor’s unsolved murder is the seventeenth-century diary kept by his last research subject, Hannah Devlin, physician to the king’s mistress. Through the arcane collections of Cambridge’s most eminent libraries, Claire and fellow historian Andrew Kent follow the clues Hannah left behind, uncovering secrets of London’s dark past and Cambridge’s murky present and discovering that the events of three hundred years ago still have consequences today. . . .

Good Reading,
Sarah :)

The Scarlet Lion by Elizabeth Chadwick

Rating: BRAG!

by Elizabeth Chadwick
Historical Fiction, British Literature, Romance
Publication Date: December 2006
Hardcover: 592 pages





VERDICT

If you fancy historical fiction and haven't read an Elizabeth Chadwick novel, don't wait any longer! She is truly a master of the genre. I laid siege to this book and wished many times to take a short vacation from my life in order to finish it all at once.

The Scarlet Lion, while certainly a stand-alone novel, is the continuation of The Greatest Knight and William Marshal's life. Elizabeth Chadwick novels include accurate historical details with some ingenious imagination added that fill in the gaps.

Truly Delightful!

Good Reading,
Sarah :)



William Marshal's Effigy - Temple Church, London



William Marshal Coat of Arms

Other Elizabeth Chadwick Novels

The Greatest Knight
The Time of Singing

Shadows and Strongholds

To Defy a King

Lords of the White Castle

The Champion

The Marsh King's Daughter

The Wild Hunt

The Winter Mantle

A Place Beyond Courage

Daughters of the Grail

The Running Vixen

Shields of Pride

The Leopard Unleashed

First Knight

Lady of the English