2017 in Review

Happy New Year everyone!  Hope you had a safe and happy celebration.  My husband and I were asleep before 10:30 this year!

Before we get started with a whole new year of bookish things, and I am really excited for what this year is going to bring, I want to take a few minutes to look back at what 2017 gave us.  It helps me to see what sort of reading trends I had and it is fun to look at why I might have read the way I did.

So first, here are some book stats for 2017.

BOOKS READ: 46

Wow! This was my lowest reading year. I was off to such a great start the first half of the year and then things just fell apart! I started choosing to go to bed earlier and not reading and my audiobook listening dropped off too with work being a little more crazy. I’m not happy with this number and a going to work hard at it for next year.

BOOKS REVIEWED: 41

The majority of the books I read this year resulted in reviews. Those that did not were genres that I don’t review but still enjoy reading, but you know what? This year I don’t have any reviews owed for stuff I read last year!

PAGES READ: 14, 247

That’s about 700 pages more than last year. While I read less books, I clearly read longer ones, so that helps with my pain for my total book number. Year over year I have read more pages.

HOURS LISTENED: 142.15

Again, trending, this number went down for a third year in a row. My commute is actually longer than in was for most of last year, but I haven’t been listening much in the car (because my Bluetooth capability became difficult and I forgot I had another way to plug it in). And I haven’t had as much opportunity to listen at work lately. Honestly, I thought it was even less hours!

FORMAT: (some may overlap)

• Hardcover: 2
• Paperback: 3
• ARC: 37
• Audio: 19
• E-Book: 24
• From My Personal Collection: 9

I read more of my own personal books than I had expected! This is great because I have so many of them to get to!

GENRE: (may overlap)

• Historical Fiction: 35
• Young Adult: 7
• Contemporary Fiction: 0
• Romance: 13
• Non-fiction: 9
• Western: 2
• Memoir: 2
• Fantasy: 1

A couple noticeable things here: I read no contemporary fiction this year, which while that has never been a huge portion of my reading, I am surprised to have none. I read more YA this year than I felt like I had. My romance reading also went down – like all my reading has!

SETTING: (may overlap)

• England: 14
• France: 4
• Ancient Worlds: 1
• Scotland: 2
• America: 15
• Fantasy: 1
• Germany: 1
• Spain: 1
• Middle East: 1
• Italy: 1
• Canada: 3

No surprise here that America and England top the lists, again! A lot less diversity this year, just dabbling in other countries.

MALE/FEMALE AUTHOR RATIO: 9/40

FIRST LADY READS/PRESIDENT READS:  0/0

What happened to my quest to read about Presidents and First Ladies!?! This must change. I’m currently part of the way through a book on George Washington, so this is an effort to rectify that. I have another friend who is doing a Presidential Reading Challenge this year, so maybe that will kick me into gear as I see her posts!

AUTHORS MOST READ:

• L.M. Montgomery (3)
• Darcy Burke (2 – Also currently reading another)

Not too many author repeats this year – I spread out the love!

FAVORITE BOOKS READ IN 2017: (in no particular order, not all released in 2017):

• The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
• The Jersey Brothers by Sally Mott Freeman
• A Deadly Affection by Cuyler Overholt
• Wild by Cheryl Strayed
• The Secret Life of Anna Blanc by Jennifer Kincheloe
• The Beauty Shop by Suzy Henderson

All 5 Stars in my book!

MOST ANTICIPATED OF 2018: (in no particular order)

• The Atomic City Girls by Janet Beard
• The Romanov Empress by C.W. Gortner
• The Dutch Wife by Ellen Keith
• Varina by Charles Frazier
• Templar Silks by Elizabeth Chadwick

I am SO Excited to see a new novel from Elizabeth Chadwick and to see it has to do with my favorite, William Marshall!!! And an additional novel from another fav, C.W. Gortner! There are also some great novels on niche subjects that I am so excited to see coming out this year.

You can check out a really cool visual of my reading year on Goodreads here.

I enjoyed the survey questions from The Perpetual Page Turner that I used in my year-end review the last couple years, so I wanted to continue this for 2017.

Book you read in 2017 that you recommended to people most in 2017?

There are two that I have recommended over and over – The Beauty Shop by Suzy Henderson and The Alice Network by Kate Quinn. The latter has been recommended over and over by historical fiction enthusiasts, and for good reason, it’s an AWESOME book. The Beauty Shop is independently published and has a bit of a deceiving title, but it is an excellent book about WWII and fits beautifully into my niche area. Very worth your time!

Best series you discovered in 2017? 

I’m going to have to go with the Anna Blanc Mysteries by Jennifer Kincheloe. Although I have only fully read and reviewed one book so far, the second book was released in 2017 and I’m loving it as far as I am so far!!!!

Favorite new-to-me author discovered in 2017?

Cuyler Overholt– I so enjoyed A Deadly Affection because of how fascinating the characters were and how the city itself became a character too. And reading about the medical understanding of the time made the mystery even more interesting.  I have book 2 in my listening queue!

Favorite cover of a book you read in 2017?

Several of the books I read this year were entries in my Cover Crush series, but my favorite I would say is The Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb.

Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2017 to finally read? 

Wild by Cheryl Strayed. I had heard a lot of great things about the book and saw the commercials for the film, but really had no interest in a book about hiking. But it is so much more than that. I first decided to pick this book up after seeing it in a list of books for people who have lost their mothers (which I did about a year and a half ago) – and that was the driving force behind me picking it up.

Favorite book you read in 2017 from an author you’ve read previously?

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn. I have read several of Quinn’s novels set in ancient Rome, as well as one of her Borgia series, and her contributions to the H Team collections, and really have enjoyed the wit she brings to her writing and her fab female characters. The Alice Network blows all her prior novels out of the park!

Best 2017 debut you read? 

The Beauty Shop by Suzy Henderson – for all the reasons I stated above and I look forward to seeing what she will come out with next.

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Beyond reading, this year has brought a lot of new energy to The Maiden’s Court. I reinstated some old post series that I loved, I worked on doing more than just reviews and keeping relatively consistent with my content, and I worked on sharing this content with you all in more ways. I have built greater bonds of friendship with several wonderful ladies in the book reviewing community who I look forward to talking with everyday about things both bookish and not. Make sure you check out The Maiden’s Court Facebook page as I have been sharing fun and random bookish content there that I haven’t been sharing here – Live book chats, book clubs, and more! I hope you all enjoy the materials that I am sharing with you and that you stick around throughout the year! Happy New Year!!

What have you learned about your reading habits in 2017? Did anything surprise you?  What were your favorite reads?

Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, and Litsy (@dolleygurl)!

Copyright © 2018 by The Maiden’s Court

A Look Back at 2016

Happy New Year everyone!  Hope you had a safe and happy celebration.  My husband and I were asleep before 9:30 and didn’t turn on the tv coverage once!  It’s a weird feeling when both of our parents stayed up til midnight and we didn’t.

Before we get started with a whole new year of bookish things, I want to take a few minutes to look back at what 2016 gave us.  It helps me to see what sort of reading trends I had and it is fun to look at why I might have read the way I did. 

So first, here are some book stats for 2016.

BOOKS READ: 62

This was a good reading year. Not only did I finish my Goodreads goal of 50, but I read more than last year (51). This year felt more consistent in reading habits and now that I’m 100% done with school I should have more reading time to devote to books I want to read.

BOOKS REVIEWED: 54

The majority of the books I read this year resulted in reviews. Those that did not were genres that I don’t review but still enjoy reading, as well as 2 books that I still owe reviews of that will be coming up in January.

PAGES READ: 13,528

That’s about 500 pages more than last year, which makes sense because I read more books.  It’s nice that there is some consistency.

HOURS LISTENED: 182.15

Surprisingly this number went down again for a second year in a row. Yes, my commute has been shorter, but I have done a lot of listening while at work. Just surprising.

FORMAT: (some may overlap)

• Hardcover: 2 (my beautiful hardcover of The Vatican Princess by C.W. Gortner and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling)
• Paperback: 1
• ARC: 47
• Audio: 16
• E-Book: 43
• From My Personal Collection: 14 (most of these were school books but the rare few were from my own shelf)

Holy cow did I read very few physical print copies! I was sure that it was more than 3! Although my husband is thrilled with this statistic because it means that the physical amount of books in the house isn’t much increasing.

GENRE: (may overlap)

• Historical Fiction: 51
• Young Adult: 1
• Contemporary Fiction: 5
• Romance: 30
• Non-fiction: 4
• Fantasy: 1
• Western: 14

Well the number of romance reads skyrocketed this year because of my participating in the group blog, Romantic Historical Reviews – which will continue this year. There were I think only 2 of those 30 that were modern romances. My non-fiction went down this year, which is something that makes me sad since I really enjoy reading them. I must work on that in 2017.

SETTING: (may overlap)

• England: 21
• France: 4
• Ancient Worlds: 1
• Scotland: 1
• America: 31
• Fantasy: 1
• Germany: 3
• Asia (Ceylon): 1
• Russia: 2
• Cuba: 1
• Australia: 3
• Belgium: 1
• Antarctica: 1
• Spain: 1
• Italy: 2

Well there was certainly more diversity in places this year, but the bulk was still America (specifically the American West) and England for sure.

MALE/FEMALE AUTHOR RATIO: 9/42

FIRST LADY READS/PRESIDENT READS:  0/0

What happened to my quest to read about Presidents and First Ladies!?! This must change. Over the last 2 years I have read exactly 1 book.

AUTHORS MOST READ:

• Vivi Holt (7)
• Debra Holland (3)
• Stephanie Laurens (3)
• Kasey Michaels (3)
• Kathleen Kimmel (2)

All of these are romance authors and I typically notice that they tend to release books quicker so I end up with more from them to review. Plus, most of these were on the 200-ish page length.

FAVORITE BOOKS READ IN 2016: (in no particular order, not all released in 2016):

• The Time Between by Karen White
• Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
• My Last Continent by Midge Raymond
• The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
• The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa

A little eclectic this year – a couple historicals, a thriller, and a couple contemporary fiction works are all in my top novels.

MOST ANTICIPATED OF 2017: (in no particular order)

• Becoming Bonnie by Jenni L. Walsh
• For the Most Beautiful by Emily Hauser
• The Enemies of Versailles by Sally Christie
• The Bridge Across the Ocean by Susan Meissner
• The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
• The Diplomat’s Daughter by Karin Tanabe

2016 was certainly a wider net of people and settings than in prior years, which was something I was hoping to accomplish. It also was a year of a lot of sequel reading or series continuations. I think that will be a little less in 2017 based on what I have for review and what I know of to be coming out and what I am interested in reading, but who knows! Some of the titles I am most excited about being released are from debut authors who are writing on fascinating subjects. While I see a trend of early 20^th century novels coming out (and some released this past year), these don’t hold my attention quite as much and as such they will probably not be as frequently reviewed (I do make exceptions for some of my favorite authors who are releasing novels set in some of these time periods).

You can check out a really cool visual of my reading year on Goodreads here.

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I enjoyed the survey questions from The Perpetual Page Turner that I used in my year-end review the last couple years, so I wanted to continue this for 2016.

Book you read in 2016 that you recommended to people most in 2016?

There are really 3 here that I recommended over and over: Song of War by Kate Quinn, Christian Cameron, Libbie Hawker, Vicky Alvear Shecter, Russell Whitfield, Stephanie Thornton, and S.J.A. Turney; My Last Continent by Midge Raymond; and The Time Between by Karen White.

I think all of the short story collections that have been released by the H Team have been among my top recommendations each year they have come out and Song of War is no different. I have always loved The Odyssey and The Illiad by Homer and loved how each of the authors took a character or group of characters to tell the story from their perspectives. It was so well done. Even if you haven’t read or enjoyed Homer’s works, but you enjoy reading novels set in the ancient world this one will work for you.

My Last Continent by Midge Raymond is not a historical novel, but was one that I made exception for and reviewed on the blog. I loved how vividly she brought the completely foreign world of Antarctica to life for me. Tie that together with the hardships of living there and a romance thread (which isn’t romancey at all like you might expect and certainly isn’t a romance novel by far) and there is enough drama to keep it moving along.

The Time Between by Karen White I did not review because it is a contemporary novel for the most part, but it is one that I really enjoyed. The way she told the story from three different perspectives and unveiled the flight from Hungary of the elderly aunt was beautifully put together and I couldn’t put this one down.

Best series you discovered in 2016? 

It seems like the only new series that I discovered this year were all romances. Regular historicals that I read were second installments in a series or further – so they don’t count for this question. Additionally, many of these series have only 1 book released so far, so it’s hard to say. But, if I were to pick it would be The Little Season series by Kasey Michaels. I like that there is an overarching story that envelopes all the novels but that each one focuses on a specific couple. And it is quite comical too!

Favorite new-to-me author discovered in 2016?

Karen White – I so enjoyed The Time Between because of how she crafted her characters. Elements of them were revealed over time and it was nice to learn about them as other characters did. There was so much hidden behind facades and bravado.

Favorite cover of a book you read in 2016?

Fall of Poppies – I love the simplicity of the cover but how much it represents the tone and theme of the stories.

Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2016 to finally read? 

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. I had heard about this novel in passing before, but WWII was never a huge theme for me. I picked it up on a whim for my next audio book and was so enraptured with the characters and the non-linear storytelling and unreliable narrator that I just couldn’t put it down. After I finished I realized how much talk about the book there had been.

Favorite book you read in 2016 from an author you’ve read previously?

I read so many new-to-me authors this year that there are only a few whom I have read previously. I would say that it is Rivals of Versailles by Sally Christie, which isn’t that surprising because I listed Christe’s The Sisters of Versailles as my favorite debut in 2015.

Best 2016 debut you read? 

My Last Continent by Midge Raymond – for all the reasons I stated above.

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Beyond reading, this year has brought a lot of new energy to The Maiden’s Court. I reinstated some old post series that I loved, I worked on doing more than just reviews and keeping relatively consistent with my content, and I worked on sharing this content with you all in more ways. I have built greater bonds of friendship with several wonderful ladies in the book reviewing community who I look forward to talking with everyday about things both bookish and not. I hope you all enjoy the materials that I am sharing with you and that you stick around throughout the year! Happy New Year!! 

What have you learned about your reading habits in 2016? Did anything surprise you?  What were your favorite reads?

Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, and Litsy (@dolleygurl)!

 

Copyright © 2017 by The Maiden’s Court

Sunday Morning Updates

Well I don’t know about you, but this morning I’m getting prepared to hunker down and ride out miss Hurricane Sandy which will be hitting us sometime tomorrow (probably afternoon).  We are supposed to get some pretty bad wind here.  Friday and Saturday did all the preparations – hardest part is figuring out what food to have on hand if the power goes out, since we can’t have a grill and we have electric everything, ugh.  Today I’m meeting up with a friend for a quick lunch and some shopping before it is back home to wait it out.  I’m not expecting to go to work tomorrow – they are predicting at least 70% of Connecticut to be without power, so we will see.  If I’m not around this week, you will know why!  If any of you are also in the path of the storm I hope you are all prepared and stay safe!

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In book news, I do have a couple of winners to announce from 2 giveaways:

The winner of the Sacred Treason giveaway is…Carolyn!!!

The winner of the Apple and Pumpkin Old Fashioned Cookbooks is…Beth Fish!!!

Congrats to you both.  I have sent emails to the winners for mailing info and if I don’t receive it within 5 days new winners will be selected.  Thanks to everyone that entered – I will have 2 more giveaways coming up this week so stay tuned!

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Coming up this week I have two blog tour stops.  Tomorrow is the Days of Splendor, Days of Sorrow review and giveaway

and Friday is the stop for The Lincoln Conspiracy review and giveaway. 

I need to get finished reading the Lincoln book, I’m over halfway there, and if I’m home tomorrow…

Hope to see you all this week!  Have a great (and safe) rest of your weekend!

 

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

Quick Update

Hi everyone!  You may not have really noticed, but I have been incommunicado since Wednesday (luckily I had pre posted everything!).  I have been able to keep up with stuff on my phone and with a couple quick jaunts to Barnes and Noble and Panera for free Wi-Fi.  In case you don't follow me on Twitter or Facebook or just missed it on either - my apartment complex was hit by a tornado on Wednesday night.

There were three tornadoes that hit Massachusetts on Wednesday June 1st.  It was the scariest experience of my life.  I was in my car and just getting ready to pull into my complex after work when it came - it hailed, my car got swept to the side of the road and a tree limb fell on my windshield - pushing the wiper through the glass and shattering it everywhere.  I was able to get back up to the apartment - and it looked like a war zone.  Luckily our actual building has no damage, but there are 65 apartments that have now been deemed unlivable.  My boyfriend was home at the time and said it was crazy.  Luckily there were was no one hurt at our complex.  Just after we got the car covered with plastic and I got done with the insurance company, we were told by the fire department to go back inside and hunker down because another bad storm was coming where there had been another touchdown.  So into the bathroom we went with the cat and cold dinner to wait out this storm.  We have been without power (and at the time of this writing we still are) for almost 3 days now.  There is an alarm in our building that is super high pitched that has been going off the whole time.  Wednesday night I had a nightmare and couldn't sleep because of the tornado.

I have been so thankful for several things in the last 2 days - my insurance company (for making everything go smoothly from the claim to the rental car to fixing my car), the Southbridge Conference Center for letting anyone come down for hot showers (you can't imagine how wonderful this was!), the Red Cross for bringing bottled water and snacks, and my wonderful neighbors.  I have to thank my boyfriend for really holding me together - it has been hard - I was shaking so bad when I got out of the car.  He has made sure that I have eaten, slept, called everyone I needed to, asked the questions I need to, and been overall a wonderful rock.  It has been a very tough year for us with so many terrible things that have happened.  I also want to thank you all for being my support when I needed it!

We just posted some photos to Facebook - so drop by and take a look.  These are just some of the photos of our complex - the street below us was pummeled as well.  I would be remiss if I didn't point out that Old Sturbridge Village was hit by the tornado as well - we went and checked it out today.  None of the actual buildings had damage but some came very close.  There were many trees down in the back pastures and some of their old apple trees were uprooted.

But hang in with me and I should be back up and running in a few days.




Copyright © 2011 by The Maiden’s Court

Armchair BEA - Getting to Know Me!

Welcome to the first day of Armchair BEA and if this is your first time dropping by my little part of the world, welcome! This first event is supposed to be a get to know me post – and I realized that I don’t think that I have really ever done one of these before. So without any further adieu…

My name is Heather and I am 23 years old and live in quiet, rural, Central Massachusetts, not much exciting goes on around here! I live with my boyfriend (another bibliophile who from time to time posts on his blog Lions and Men) and our pain-in-the-butt cat and fish. By day, I work for the federal government in your typical desk job pushing papers, but when I am not working I like to read (obviously!), watch movies (especially old ones from the 30’s-60’s), play tennis (really it’s mostly chasing the ball down rather than actually hitting it), go to visit historic sites (there are so many in New England), among other things. I have a Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice, a major I chose mostly for fun rather that future aspirations, and am going to be starting my Masters degree (online) this fall in History – focusing on Ancient Cultures. I’m very, very excited for that!

I started this blog in May 2009 on a whim. I was in my senior year of college with a little bit of spare time on my hands and lots of good books to read. I had been following a couple of blogs and thought “I can do that” – and that was how it all started. I have since been to various author signings, BEA and Book Blogger Con in 2010, made some great friends, became a founding member of the Historical Fiction Round Table, participated in various blog tours, and wrote reviews until they have come out my ears! The ultimate event for me this year will be attending the Historical Novel Society Conference in San Diego in June.

For those of you new to this blog, I focus most of the blog on Historical Fiction and Historical Non-Fiction. There are reviews, author interviews and guest posts, historical content, etc. I also have two feature series that I do from time to time – Caught on Tape (each episode looks at a specific historical character and looks at movies that they appear in) and Two Sides (which looks at various sides of different historical issues).

I hope you enjoy the blog and drop by often! There are various ways to follow my blog and they are all located on my right hand sidebar: Google Friend Connect, subscribing to my posts or comments in a reader, subscribing by email, following me on: Twitter, Networked Blogs, Facebook Group, Shelfari and Goodreads!

You can check out other posts like this at the Armchair BEA blog where there is a link-up of today's posts.




Copyright © 2011 by The Maiden’s Court

Reading Wrap Up 2009

I just finished tallying up the number of books I have read this year and am shocked with my total of 47! This number includes regular books as well as audio books. When I started blogging I thought I might read 20, so this blows me away. Here are the books I read this year with links to those that I did reviews for (in case you missed them!). I marked my favorite reads of the year with a star.

~*The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
~The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory
~Rose Without A Thorn by Jean Plaidy (somehow I forgot to review this one - look for it in early 2010)
~The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory
~Plain Jane by Laurien Gardner
~*Nefertiti by Michelle Moran
~The Dangerous Book For Demon Slayers by Angie Fox
~Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir
~Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
~Madame Serpent by Jean Plaidy
~*The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn by Robin Maxwell
~1st to Die by James Patterson
~Eve by Elissa Elliott
~Rage by Jerry Langton
~*The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran
~Dancing with Ana by Nicole Barker
~2nd Chance by James Patterson
~Five Days in Paris by Danielle Steel
~The Merry Monarch's Wife by Jean Plaidy
~The Hot Kid by Elmore Leonard
~Coraline by Neil Gaiman
~Tara Road by Maeve Binchy
~The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
~*The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
~The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
~Smitten by Janet Evanovich
~The Triumph of Deborah by Eva Etzioni-Halevy
~*Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran
~Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult
~Elizabeth's Women by Tracey Borman
~*Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
~Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
~*The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
~Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire
~The Golden Tulip by Rosalind Laker
~3rd Degree by James Patterson
~Going Bovine by Libba Bray
~4th of July by James Patterson
~*O, Juliet by Robin Maxwell - (Look for the review during the Historical Fiction Bloggers Round Table event in January)
~The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks
~The Shadow of the Pomegranate by Jean Plaidy
~*Thirsty by Kristin Bair-O'Keeffe
~The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
~The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox
~Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler
~Notorious Royal Marriages by Leslie Carroll - (Look for the review during the Historical Fiction Bloggers Round Table event in January)
~My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler

Copyright © 2009-2011 by The Maiden’s Court

A Step Back in Time at King Richard's Faire!

I wanted to share with you all an awesome event that I went to last weekend. I went to King Richard's Faire (a Renaissance faire) located in Massachusetts. I have been there one time previously but my boyfriend hadn't and he had such a good time. It really was like stepping back in time. The town was made up of old looking houses.

There were shops where you could buy swords, leather work, outfits, and many other things. You could try your hand at throwing hatchets, knives, and using a bow and arrow. There were rides that you powered yourself by pulling on ropes (which I thought was a rip off since you had to pay for it and then power yourself! lol).

We also were able to watch a joust! I sat right in the front row (basically in the mud and uncomfortably close to horse droppings) but it was a great view and got some good pictures. Our champion was Sir James (although he was more of a rouge scoundrel).

He cheated in every event and was disqualified everytime. But he was the most exciting to watch and we gave him great cheers. In the end he challeged the other man to fight to the death (an outcome we didn't see because it was later in the day after we left).

It was so much fun to get to be a princess for a day and step back in time. Hope you enjoyed the photos!

Copyright © 2009-2011 by The Maiden’s Court

Review Policy

Attention Authors & Publishers!
Updated 2/21/2011

Hello! I would love to hear from you if you have a book that you would like for me to review. Below you will find my review policy to give you a sense of what I will and will not review and what you can expect from me.

I operate this blog purely on my own time and I am uncompensated for my work on this blog. As I also have a full time job, my reading time is precious and I will be very selective as to what books I will accept for review. Also, I make every effort to respond to my emails in a timely fashion but I do not always respond to every one; please don’t hesitate to contact me again in the future regarding another reviewing opportunity nonetheless.

I will also participate in blog tours, host author interviews or guest posts, and conduct giveaways. Please contact me in regards to these opportunities as well.

If you are interested in having me review your book please send me an email at dolleygurl@hotmail.com with the information or fill out the contact form at the bottom of this page. I try to respond to most pitches for reviews - but sometimes will not if it is not something I will consider (as expanded below).

What I Will Review: The genres I am currently reviewing are historical fiction, biblical fiction, contemporary fiction, and non-fiction (focusing on royalty mostly right now for the non-fiction). I will review some YA novels within the historical setting as well.

At this time I am only accepting bound books and some audio books.

What I Will Not Review: I do not review books that have a contemporary setting – as my blog is essentially a historical based blog (fiction and non-fiction). I also do not review science fiction and most fantasy books (unless they are based more in the real world). I do not review books that are heavily erotic.

I will not review e-books or pdf’s. I don't have an e-reader and I will not read books on my computer (I spend too much time on the computer for my day job!).

What You Can Expect In My Reviews: I make it my top priority to write my honest opinions about the books I review. If there is something that doesn't work for me, I will write about it with support for why I feel that way. On this regard, even if I don't like the book, I will always be respectful in my reviews. I will not, under any circumstances, change my review.

If I cannot finish reading a book accepted for review because it is not working out for me, I will post a review of what I have read. I will also discuss what it was about the book that caused me to not finish reading it. At that time I will most likely offer the book to another blogger to read and review.

My Typical Reviews Include: A photo of the book cover, a link to the author's website/publisher's website/author's blog (whichever is applicable), some form of a summary of the book (usually the back cover blurb), and my opinions on the book.

I will never sell and ARC - I respect books too much for that. Almost under all circumstances I will keep the book; sometimes I will offer them to a blog reader in a giveaway.

Where I Will Post Reviews: All reviews I write will be posted on my blog and at least one other book site (Amazon.com, Goodreads, Shelfari, etc). I also make an effort to email you a link to my review.

At the time of posting the review a link will be posted on my Twitter page @dolleygurl as well as on my Facebook Fan site and Networked Blogs.

Time Frame for Reviews: I try to post my reviews during the month that the book is being released. If there is a specific day that you would like the review posted (such as during a tour or the like) let me know and I will work it into my schedule. Most requests are able to be scheduled.

If the book has already been published prior to contacting me about a review, it may take me a little longer to review it. I usually have a few laid out in advance, and I will read it as promptly as I can (usually within 2-4 months depending on how many reviews I have lined up).

I will accept unsolicited books but they will not necessarily be reviewed. If the book is not a good fit for me I will likely pass it on to another blogger for review or offer it through a giveaway on my blog. If the book is something I will read, I will make every effort to review it in a timely fashion, but be aware that because it was unsolicited I may already have a full review schedule and it may take some time.

Some Blog Traffic Details: As of January 2011, I have posted 450+ posts collecting in excess of 2,500 comments. Currently, over 300 people subscribe to my blog feed and over 250 people follow my blog publicly through Google. I also communicate information about my blog through my Twitter account (@dolleygurl) which has over 100 followers and through my blog's page on Facebook. I have surpassed 30,000 page views during the life of this blog with an average of 2,000 page visits per month.

My blog has an Alexa rank of 5,453,402, a blog grader score of 91%, and a Google PageRank of 4.

Additional Information:
• 2010 Book Expo America attendee in New York City
• 2010 Book Blogger Convention attendee in New York City
• Founding member of Historical Fiction Blogger Round Table website
• Intend to attend Historical Novel Society Conference in San Diego, CA

foxyform.com

Thank you to Galleysmith, Devourer of Books and Maw Books Blog for helping me to create this review policy.

Copyright © 2011 by The Maiden’s Court

Blog Update

Happy Saturday everyone! I'm working on some changes to my blog over the next week, so please bear with me if there is a mess or things don't work right away, haha. You will notice three new buttons on the righthand sidebar - Reviews, Author Interviews, and Challenges. These buttons will eventually be linked to indicies of the above named categories. This should make it easier to find these as you want to see them.

This week will also be a review catch up week. I have several reviews to write and post - so that will be this weeks theme. The following reviews will {hopefully} be posted:

Five Days in Paris by Danielle Steel
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
The Hot Kid by Elmore Leonard
The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory

Tonight I will be posting the review of The Merry Monarch's Wife by Jean Plaidy.
Thanks everyone for making the past week a great success!




Copyright © 2009-2011 by The Maiden’s Court

Sunday Update

Happy Sunday everyone! Man is it hot here today. Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

I wanted to let you guys know what my plan is for the blog this week.

Wednesday I will be announcing the winners of Dancing with Ana. If you haven't entered yet you still can here.

I will also be posting the interview with Nicole Barker sometime during the week as well. That will wrap up Dancing with Ana Theme Week.

Next week's focus will be The Women of Charles II. Each day I will have a post about one of the women in his life and at the end of the week I will have my review of The Merry Monarch's Wife by Jean Plaidy. I will also have an extensive list of vocabulary words from this book as well!

Also, a long term plan is to work on posting some reviews of books that I read during my pre-blogging days. These will appear every now and then. As I go through my bookshelf I will be updating my reviews that I missed.

Can't wait to see you around the blog this week!




Copyright © 2009 by The Maiden’s Court

My Ever Growing Bookshelf

In response to a post at J.Kaye's Book Blog I decided that I would post some pictures of my bookshelves. I don't really have a huge organizational strategy to my shelves, but they are in some order. I try to keep each author grouped together and usually try to keep them in numerical or chronological order. Then I try to keep the taller ones to the left and the shorter ones to the right. I have the books that I want to read mixed in with the books that I have already read. It's all in my head as to which ones those are. I will explain more as I go...
The bottom shelf has all of my Philippa Gregory, Jodi Picoult and a couple other random authors.
The second shelf holds my Libba Bray, Allison Weir, Julie Lessman, and Kate Morton, as well as a couple others.
My third shelf hosts my rapidly expanding Plaidy/Holt collection as well as my Margaret Campbell Barnes, Michelle Moran, and Robin Maxwell books.
The fourth shelf is mostly made up of my Gossip Girl Series and my paperback James Pattersons (the audiobook versions are either in the car or by the stereo).
The top shelf (the one that I can't reach without standing on my bed) holds my Shel Silverstein poetry books, as well as the couple of celebrity books that I have (my favorite being Get Happy about the life of Judy Garland).Any books that I am currently reading or my magazines are put on the bottom shelf of my nightstand.
As I said...not too much organization - I change my mind too often, but at least it is an organized mess.





Copyright © 2009 by The Maiden’s Court

Just a Short Little Update

Hello everyone, happy Thursday! Usually Thursday's aren't all that special, but I get to finally go home tomorrow - after my 2 1/2 week stay in Pittsburgh for job training. It actually hasn't been that bad, but I miss my family.

I am thinking that I should have a review of The Heretic Queen up on Saturday (hopefully). I am just racing through the pages and I can't believe that I am almost finished (after starting on Sunday and not being a really fast reader)! It's so engrossing! I also have a plane ride tomorrow - so I should be able to finish.

I also think that I will be posting a giveaway sometime in the next week. I just have to make a decision as to what it will be. I will make that decision after I get home and see what I actually have. And hopefully I will have something for Mailbox Monday this week - as some things should have come while I was gone.

Hopefully everyone has a great rest of Thursday and a great Friday - and the next time I post I will be back home again. Yay!




Copyright © 2009 by The Maiden’s Court