Belle of the Library

From the award-winning author of Sinners and the Sea comes a breathtaking new look into the timeless tale of Queen Esther. A glittering Persian king has a vast empire that reaches farther than where the sun meets the horizon. He is bathed in riches and commands a frightening military force. He possesses power beyond any other mortal man and rules his kingdom as a god. Anything he desires, he has. Any woman he wants, he possesses. Thousands of them. Young virgins from all across his many lands. A Jewish girl is ripped from her hut by the king’s brutish warriors and forced to march across blistering, scorched earth to the capitol city. Trapped for months in the splendid cage of the king’s palace, she must avoid the ire of the king’s concubines and eunuchs all while preparing for her one night with the king. Soon the fated night arrives, and she does everything in her power to captivate the king and become his queen. But wearing the crown brings with it a new set of dangers. When a ruthle...

Hardcover, 416 pages Published September 22nd 2015 by Kingswell Teen ISBN 1484727460 (ISBN13: 9781484727461) edition languageEnglish Red is 16 and lives with Granny in a cottage in the village, where boarding up the house and hiding during Wolfstime is a means of survival. Red help's Granny with Granny's baked good business, catering as well as door-to-door sales.  Red has a constant internal battle between her wild side and her strict, overprotective upbringing, and the issue of "control" as she discovers she has a hot temper when the "mean girls" push her too far. ("When we learn to control it, we needn't fear it," Rumpelstiltskin says in the series.) She has flashbacks to her 13th year when she received her cloak and the nickname "Red." She is plagued by nightmares that she doesn't understand, but the Once Upon a Time fans will recognize them as her wolf side coming out.  Red balances the difficult times with Granny at home and...

The Sisters of Versailles (Mistresses of Versailles, Book One) by Sally Christie Publication Date: September 1, 2015 Publisher: Atria Books/Simon & Schuster Formats: Ebook, Paperback Pages: 432 ISBN-10: 1501102966 Genre: Historical Fiction READ AN EXCERPT .      A sumptuous and sensual tale of power, romance, family, and betrayal centered around four sisters and one King. Carefully researched and ornately detailed, The Sisters of Versailles is the first book in an exciting new historical fiction trilogy about King Louis XV, France's most "well-beloved" monarch, and the women who shared his heart and his bed. Goodness, but sisters are a thing to fear. Set against the lavish backdrop of the French Court in the early years of the 18th century, The Sisters of Versailles is the extraordinary tale of the five Nesle sisters: Louise, Pauline, Diane, Hortense, and Marie-Anne, four of whom became mistresses to King Louis XV. Their scandalous story is stranger than fict...

Today we turn BOOKLOVER'S PARADISE over to Marissa Campbell, author of AVELYNN, for a quick guest post. The Perils of Writing Historical Fiction Steering clear of anachronisms is a pretty big deal to those of us writing historical fiction. We are constantly battliTng how to stay true to a particular time period despite writing to a modern audience. Word usage and character traits are two of the biggest red flags when writing historical fiction, i.e., which words are considered acceptable and which ones are not, and is a character thinking and behaving in a way that reflects the world they inhabit. For example, you wouldn’t have a character in the 1600s utter the word ‘Gadzooks!” and then cruise Main Street on their horse trying to pick up chicks. ;) Here is the definition of Anachronism according to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED): Anything done or existing out of date; hence, anything which was proper to a former age, but is, or, if it existed, would be, out of harmony with th...

Avelynn by Marissa Campbell Publication Date: September 8, 2015 St. Martin's Press Formats: eBook, Paperback, Hardcover Pages: 320 ISBN13: 978-1250063939 Genre: Historical Fiction/Romance      One extraordinary Saxon noblewoman and one fearless Viking warrior find passion and danger in this dazzling and sensuous debut. Marissa Campbell's debut novel is a winning combination of romance, history, and adventure sure to appeal to fans of Diana Gabaldon. It is 869. For eighteen years, Avelynn, the beautiful and secretly pagan daughter of the Eadlorman of Somerset has lived in an environment of love and acceptance. She hasn't yet found a man to make her heart race, but her father has not pressured her to get married. Until now. With whispers of war threatening their land, her father forces Avelynn into a betrothal with Demas, a man who only covets her wealth and status. The dreaded marriage looming, she turns to her faith, searching for answers in an ancient ritual along t...