Mailbox Monday #129

My book collection got a little larger this week, although more than half came as e-books to my Kindle (I can’t get yelled at too much about that! haha)

I received one Kindle book for review – part of the Historical Fiction Virtual Book tour – The Forgotten Queen by D. L. Bogdan.  This is the first of her books that I will be reading but I have heard so many good things about her books I’m excited to check this one out.

From her earliest days, Margaret Tudor knows she will not have the luxury of choosing a husband. Her duty is to gain alliances for England. Barely out of girlhood, Margaret is married by proxy to James IV and travels to Edinburgh to become Queen of Scotland.

Despite her doubts, Margaret falls under the spell of her adopted home. But while Jamie is an affectionate husband, he is not a faithful one. And nothing can guarantee Margaret’s safety when Jamie leads an army against her own brother, Henry VIII. In the wake of loss she falls prey to an ambitious earl and brings Scotland to the brink of anarchy. Beset by betrayal and secret alliances, Margaret has one aim—to preserve the crown of Scotland for her son, no matter what the cost…

I purchased 3 other Kindle books – all at a great sale price of $2.99 or less!  These I am going to use if I decided to actually sign up again for a fairytales retold challenge – but they also looked interesting as it.  Two are even HF retellings of fairytales.

• Ember by Bettie Sharpe – a retelling of Cinderella in novella format – written for adults – not children.

Everyone loves Prince Charming. They have to—he’s cursed. Every man must respect him. Every woman must desire him. One look, and all is lost.

Ember would rather carve out a piece of her soul than be enslaved by passions not her own. She turns to the dark arts to save her heart and becomes the one woman in the kingdom able to resist the Prince’s Charm.

Poor girl. If Ember had spent less time studying magic and more time studying human nature, she might have guessed that a man who gets everything and everyone he wants will come to want the one woman he cannot have.

• The Merchant’s Daughter by Melanie Dickerson – HF retelling of Beauty and the Beast

An unthinkable danger. An unexpected choice. Annabel, once the daughter of a wealthy merchant, is trapped in indentured servitude to Lord Ranulf, a recluse who is rumored to be both terrifying and beastly. Her circumstances are made even worse by the proximity of Lord Ranulf's bailiff---a revolting man who has made unwelcome advances on Annabel in the past. Believing that life in a nunnery is the best way to escape the escalation of the bailiff's vile behavior and to preserve the faith that sustains her, Annabel is surprised to discover a sense of security and joy in her encounters with Lord Ranulf. As Annabel struggles to confront her feelings, she is involved in a situation that could place Ranulf in grave danger. Ranulf's future, and possibly his heart, may rest in her hands, and Annabel must decide whether to follow the plans she has cherished or the calling God has placed on her heart.

• The Healer’s Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson – HF retelling of Sleeping  Beauty

Two Hearts. One Hope.

Rose has been appointed as a healer's apprentice at Hagenheim Castle, a rare opportunity for a woodcutter's daughter like her. While she often feels uneasy at the sight of blood, Rose is determined to prove herself capable. Failure will mean returning home to marry the aging bachelor her mother has chosen for her—a bloated, disgusting merchant who makes Rose feel ill.

When Lord Hamlin, the future duke, is injured, it is Rose who must tend to him. As she works to heal his wound, she begins to understand emotions she's never felt before and wonders if he feels the same. But falling in love is forbidden, as Lord Hamlin is betrothed to a mysterious young woman in hiding. As Rose's life spins toward confusion, she must take the first steps on a journey to discover her own destiny.

Also for review, however this time in paperback – I received a copy of Lady of Ashes by Christine Trent from the author for review as part of the HF Virtual Book Tour.  I have always enjoyed reading her books and I’m excited because this is the start of a HF mystery trilogy! 

In 1861 London, Violet Morgan is struggling to establish a good reputation for the undertaking business that her husband has largely abandoned. She provides comfort for the grieving, advises them on funeral fashion and etiquette, and arranges funerals.

Unbeknownst to his wife, Graham, who has nursed a hatred of America since his grandfather soldiered for Great Britain in the War of 1812, becomes involved in a scheme to sell arms to the South. Meanwhile, Violet receives the commission of a lifetime: undertaking the funeral for a friend of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. But her position remains precarious, especially when Graham disappears and she begins investigating a series of deaths among the poor. And the closer she gets to the truth, the greater the danger for them both…

Finally, my final purchase was a splurge and so not like the rest of the above books, but I’m very excited about it.  I purchased The Crockin’ Girls cookbook – from QVC.  It is a recipe book of all crock pot recipes that look simple and yummy.  I’m planning on making two recipes from it this week.  If you have a crockpot that spends most of its time in the closet – like mine has – this might just be the book that gets it to spend more time on the counter with something awesome cooking.

What did you get in your mailbox this week?

Mailbox Monday is on a monthly blog tour and for the month of January it is being hosted by Lori’s Reading Corner.

 

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