medieval

REVIEW: For My Lady’s Heart by Laura Kinsale

REVIEW: For My Lady’s Heart by Laura Kinsale

It’s Not Easy Being Green – For My Lady’s Heart This review might be a little shorter than usual, because all I really have to say about For My Lady’s Heart is “it’s awesome.” Thanks for reading! See you next week! Okay, I should probably say a little bit more than that, but this will(…)

REVIEW:  Highlander Most Wanted by Maya Banks

REVIEW: Highlander Most Wanted by Maya Banks

Dear Ms. Banks: Your historical series is really hit or miss for me. While Genevieve McInnes and Bowen Montgomery are perfectly nice characters with a perfectly nice romance, the tone and spirit of the romance was too similar to the last one for me to fully enjoy it. Genevieve McInnes was stolen from her bridal(…)

REVIEW:  Shadows and Strongholds by Elizabeth Chadwick

REVIEW: Shadows and Strongholds by Elizabeth Chadwick

  “Ten-year-old Brunin FitzWarin is an awkward misfit in his own family. As an act of encouragement, his father sends him to be fostered as a knight in the household of Joscelin, Lord of Ludlow. Here he meets the lord’s youngest daughter, Hawise, and a strong friendship is formed. When Brunin aids his lord in(…)

REVIEW:  Never Seduce a Scot by Maya Banks

REVIEW: Never Seduce a Scot by Maya Banks

Dear Ms. Banks: I read this book on recommendation from a friend of mine whose description of it brought me back to my early days of reading romances when Julie Garwood and Amanda Quick were my staples. I gulped the book down in one evening. It’s totally sudsy fun. These are not historically accurate masterpieces(…)

REVIEW:  Knight Awakened by Coreene Callahan

REVIEW: Knight Awakened by Coreene Callahan

Dear Ms. Callahan: I was excited when I received the pitch for this book because I hadn’t read a medieval in quite a long time. The added element of mysticism intrigued me. The setting is supposed to be outside the Carpathian Mountains near Transylvania but while that is where the book is situated, the language(…)

REVIEW:  Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman

REVIEW: Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman

Dear Ms. Cushman, The title of this book rang a bell when I saw it for sale. Since it has such a positive reputation and was a Newbery Honor book, I felt confident that it would be worth my time to seek out and try. I immediately fell for Catherine, called Birdy. But I also(…)

REVIEW:  Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

REVIEW: Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

Dear Ms. Cashore, While I really liked your debut YA fantasy, Graceling, I was less keen on your second novel, Fire. Graceling had a strong heroine, Lady Katsa, who, along with the man she grew to love, sought to rescue a child princess from an evil king, guarding her independence the whole way, but Lady(…)

Friday Film Review: The Flame and the Arrow

Friday Film Review: The Flame and the Arrow

The Flame and the Arrow (1950) Genre: Adventure/Romance Grade: Kinda depends My recent review of The Crimson Pirate made me curious about TFATA. It had been years since I saw either film and I remember not liking this one *quite* as much as TCP. I found that I still liked TCP but what about TFATA?(…)

REVIEW: Crusader Captive by Merline Lovelace

REVIEW: Crusader Captive by Merline Lovelace

“A strategic marriage to a powerful Saracen lord with a penchant for virgins will enable wealthy Lady Jocelyn to keep her fortress home. But at what cost? Her only hope of escaping the depraved lord’s harem is to lose her virginity—and fast! Captured and tortured knight Simon de Rhys is in no position to refuse(…)

Wednesday Midday Links

The Carl Brandon Society is a literary organization that supports writers of color in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres. They are holding a fundraiser for the Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship Fund. People can enter a drawing by donating a dollar and win an eReader — we’ve got Nooks, Kobo Readers, and an(…)

REVIEW:  Wolf's Cross by S.A. Swann

REVIEW: Wolf's Cross by S.A. Swann

Dear Mr. Swann, Books that are in medieval time settings haven’t been my thing; for me the 14th century generally conjures up images of the Plague, dank, miserable castles, and men and women who are happy to remain unwashed for as long as possible. That being the case, it took me quite a while to(…)

REVIEW: A Murderous Procession by Ariana Franklin

REVIEW: A Murderous Procession by Ariana Franklin

Dear Ms. Franklin, I knew there’s a reason why I love doing this blog. It’s so I can get my hands on the copy of your latest book, “A Murderous Procession” before it hits market shelves. Even though it’s book 4 of the “Mistress of the Art of Death” series, Adelia and Co are in(…)

REVIEW: Knight of Pleasure by Margaret Mallory

REVIEW: Knight of Pleasure by Margaret Mallory

Dear Ms. Mallory: I remember a number of people raving about your debut in the If You Like Debut books thread. I bought the debut book, Knight of Desire, but by the time I got around to reading it your second book, Knight of Pleasure, was out. So I read that one first. While I(…)

REVIEW: Runaway Lady, Conquering Lord by Carol Townend

REVIEW: Runaway Lady, Conquering Lord by Carol Townend

Dear Ms. Townend, I’ve enjoyed several of your other books for Harlequin Historicals and was delighted when you contacted me offering a copy of your latest in the “Wessex Weddings” series for possible review. (Note: FTC discloser out of the way!) And the heroine is a Fallen Woman too. Even better. At first I didn’t(…)

Tuesday Mid Day Links RoundUp: The Medieval Chronicle

A short piece in Publisher’s Weekly notes that   July booksales fell 0.5% and down 2.5% for the year.   The good thing for bookstores is that the new Dan Brown book is out.   Increased foot traffic in stores will hopefully lead to an increase in book sales over all.    M.J. Rose jump started a twitter(…)