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Monday, December 20, 2010

Mailbox Monday #57

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page but it is now on a monthly tour. December's host is Let Them Read Books. Mailbox Monday can lead to serious conditions, such as book envy!

I got a couple of ARC's this week as well as another two preview episodes for The American Experience series.

Earlier this year I raved about Heart of Lies by M. L. Malcolm. You can read the review here if you missed it. Her new book (and sequel) Heart of Deception arrives in April, but I received the ARC this past week from HarperCollins and I couldn't be more excited! Here is the blurb:

"Leo Hoffman is a man of many contradictions. He is a Hungarian national with a French passport, a wealthy businessman with no visible means of support, and a devoted father who hasn’t seen his daughter in years. He is also a spy.

Recruited by the Allies to help lay the groundwork for their invasion of North Africa, Leo intends to do as little spying as possible; he just wants to earn his American citizenship, get to New York, and find his daughter, Maddy. But while Leo dodges death in France and Morocco, Maddy learns the truth behind her father’s mysterious past, and as she matures, this haunting knowledge compels Maddy down her own dangerous path of deception and discovery.

Spanning the years from World War II to the turbulent 1960s, this sequel to Heart of Lies tells the riveting story of a family struggling with the choices that war forces them to make, and the consequences that take a generation to unfold."

In preparation for the February event at HFBRT, I received the ARC for Pale Rose of England by Sandra Worth from Penguin. Let me tell you this was a surprise when I opened up this one - each page is the size of a standar sheet of paper - so this one is HUGE! I am so excited and can't wait to read this one! Here is the blurb:

"Award-winning author Sandra Worth takes a fresh look at the mystery of Prince Richard of England, one of the two little princes who vanished in the Tower of London, and his famous love affair with Lady Catherine Gordon, princess of Scotland.

It is 1497. The news of the survival of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, has thundered across Europe, setting royal houses ablaze with intrigue and rocking the fledgling Tudor dynasty. Stepping finally onto English soil, Catherine arrives at the island of Saint Michael’s Mount, along with her husband and young son Dickon, their second child already on the way. With the keen support of Scotland’s King James IV, Richard—known in England as Perkin Warbeck—has come to reclaim his rightful crown from Henry Tudor. Based on a prophecy given Catherine by a seer that she would be loved by a king, she has no doubt Richard will succeed in his quest. But rather than assuming the throne she believed was their destiny, Catherine would soon be prisoner of King Henry VII, and her beloved husband would, unimaginably, be stamped as an imposter.

Nothing could shake Catherine’s belief in Richard and her loyalty to the man she loved. She became a favored lady-in-waiting to the queen, Elizabeth of York, but her dazzling beauty only brought her unwanted affections from a jealous king and enmeshed her in a terrifying royal love triangle. With her husband facing execution for treason, Catherine, alone in the glittering but deadly Tudor Court, finds the courage to spurn a cruel monarch and shape her own destiny, winning the admiration of a nation."

I also received the next two preview episodes of The American Experience series from PBS. There are going to be three new episodes in January, the schedule is as follows:

Robert E. Lee - January 3rd (preview received last week and already watched)
Ulysses S. Grant: Warrior - January 10th (I believe this is a rebroadcast)
Dinosaur Wars - January 17th (preview received this week)
Panama Canal - January 24th (preview received this week)

So that is my mailbox. Did you get anything awesome this week?





Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court

12 comments:

  1. Awesome mailbox! I don't accept ARC's (rarely), but I am expecting a shipment of gorgeous Jean Plaidy novels (the Plantagenet series) that I ordered from the UK. I'm hoping they arrive before Christmas so I can have my daughter wrap them up and put them under the tree. (A little gift from me to me!) Merry Christmas!

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  2. You had some wonderful things in your mailbox this week!

    What an unusual format on Pale Rose of England...will look for your review of that one in particular.

    Enjoy your week :)

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  3. Both look like great reads! I haven't read Sandra Worth yet, but I'd like to someday! Thanks for linking up to Mailbox Monday. Happy reading!

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  4. Great mailbox! Pale Rose of England looks like a fantastic read! So jealous...:D

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  5. You reminded me I want to read Heart of Lies in 2011!

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  6. I received for review Lipstick in Afghanistan by Roberta Gately from Gallery Publishers.

    Roberta Gately’s lyrical and authentic debut novel—inspired by her own experiences as a nurse in third world war zones—is one woman’s moving story of offering help and finding hope in the last place she expected.

    Gripped by haunting magazine images of starving refugees, Elsa has dreamed of becoming a nurse since she was a teenager. Of leaving her humble working-class Boston neighborhood to help people whose lives are far more difficult than her own. No one in her family has ever escaped poverty, but Elsa has a secret weapon: a tube of lipstick she found in her older sister’s bureau. Wearing it never fails to raise her spirits and cement her determination. With lipstick on, she can do anything—even travel alone to war-torn Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11.

    But violent nights as an ER nurse in South Boston could not prepare Elsa for the devastation she witnesses at the small medical clinic she runs in Bamiyan. As she struggles to prove herself to the Afghan doctors and local villagers, she begins a forbidden romance with her only confidant, a charming Special Forces soldier. Then, a tube of lipstick she finds in the aftermath of a tragic bus bombing leads her to another life-changing friendship. In her neighbor Parween, Elsa finds a kindred spirit, fiery and generous. Together, the two women risk their lives to save friends and family from the worst excesses of the Taliban. But when the war waging around them threatens their own survival, Elsa discovers her only hope is to unveil the warrior within. Roberta Gately’s raw, intimate novel is an unforgettable tribute to the power of friendship and a poignant reminder of the tragic cost of war.

    ***
    I received for review Laney (The Brookehaven Vampires Series #1) by Joann Sowles from the author.

    In a small college town in Northern California, Laney Alexander leads a regular, uneventful life–that is, until the charming and alluring Oliver Knight enters her world. Who is this gorgeous and mysterious stranger? Or, rather, what is he?

    As Laney’s sophomore year of college begins, so does an unbelievable adventure–including a love she didn’t know she longed for. She soon learns that Oliver is not ordinary, nor is the rest of his family, including a sister who openly hates her and a brother who will stop at nothing for revenge. As she fights for her life, and Oliver’s love, Laney discovers that the fictional world of vampires isn’t so fictional after all. Nobody is safe, especially Laney, Oliver’s most important priority, and he will stop at nothing to protect her. With her mortality at risk, and a commitment revealed that she, without a doubt, knows she wants, Laney’s life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn…

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  7. Pale Rose of England looks interesting (and the cover is pretty as well!!!) I still like nice covers..


    Merry Christmas.

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  8. Joanne - oooh that is awesome! I order mine from the UK too and I think I have the first 5 or 6 in that series. Maybe after Christmas with some gift money I can get the rest. Nice!

    TheBookGirl - I thought it was quite unusual too - except I think that they were trying to get it out to me quickly for the HFBRT event so I think they just printed and bound it.

    LadyQ - thanks for hosting MM this month!

    Kelsey - I'm pretty excited about Pale Rose too - I haven't read any of her books before.

    Audra - you HAVE to read Heart of Lies - it's one of the books I read this year that I would recommened to anyone!

    Tribute Books Mama - oooh, Lipstick in Afghanistan sound so interesting - I haven't heard of it. Thanks!

    Mystica - I am still a sucker for covers as well. That is one of the reasons I don't want an e-reader!

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  9. Both books look great. Enjoy.

    I love American Experience!

    I received one book.

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  10. What a wonderful mailbox. Hee hee - I'm thinking about the last time I read a bound galley (think that is what the full-page ARC is called)... I'm so used to reading smaller books that it felt more like a text book. :) At least the reading is much better than a textbook though. Happy holidays!

    Here's my Mailbox! ~ Wendi

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  11. Teddy Rose - I love American Experience too - they do a great job of making history shows interesting.

    Wendi B - I think it is a bound galley too, and it made me think of a text book!

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  12. Yeah for you snagging the new Worth...I hope you love it!

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Thanks for leaving your comments! I love reading them and try to reply to all!