Belle of the Library

Hardcover, 272 pages Published December 1st 2015 by Delacorte (first published January 1st 2011) ISBN 0385744714 (ISBN13: 9780385744713) edition languageEnglish about the book: Fear Not the Unexpected.  Eleven-year-old Fairday Morrow is less than thrilled that her family is moving thousands of miles from civilization to the quiet country town of Ashpot, Connecticut, where she’s absolutely certain she’ll die of boredom. As if leaving New York City and her best friend, Lizzy, the only other member of the elite Detective Mystery Squad (DMS), weren’t bad enough, Fairday is stuck living in the infamous Begonia House, a creepy old Victorian with dark passageways, a gigantic dead willow tree, and a mysterious past. Before she can even unpack, strange music coming from behind a padlocked door leads Fairday up a spiral staircase and into a secret room, where an ancient mirror, a brass key, and a strange picture of a red-haired lady are the first in a series of clues that takes the members o...

Becoming George Washington By Stephen Yoch Publication Date: September 1, 2015 Wise Ink Creative Publishing Paperback & Ebook; 382 Pages Genre: Historical Fiction   READ EXCERPTS . George Washington, action hero . . . Long before Washington was the old man on the dollar bill, he was a fatherless boy with few resources and even less education. So how did he become the most famous person in American history? Becoming George Washington tells the story of a young man with boundless energy, bravery, and passion, who grew from a fatherless boy into a self-confident leader. At the same time, he struggled to suppress both an awful temper and his love for a married woman, Sally Fairfax. A courageous war hero, Washington rose to the pinnacle of Virginia politics. His experiences as a young man allowed him, decades later, to lead the Revolution. This compelling historical novel reveals the person behind the famous face and how he grew to become America's leading Founding Father. my...

A Year of Ravens: A Novel of Boudica's Rebellion by Ruth Downie, Stephanie Dray, E. Knight, Kate Quinn, Vicky Alvear Shecter, S.J.A. Turney, and Russell Whitfield Publication Date: November 13, 2015 Knight Media LLC eBook & Paperback; 440 Pages Genre: Historical Fiction Britannia: land of mist and magic clinging to the western edge of the Roman Empire. A red-haired queen named Boudica led her people in a desperate rebellion against the might of Rome, an epic struggle destined to consume heroes and cowards, young and old, Roman and Celt . . . and these are their stories. A calculating queen sees the sparks of revolt in a king's death. A neglected slave girl seizes her own courage as Boudica calls for war. An idealistic tribune finds manhood in a brutal baptism of blood and slaughter. A conflicted warrior hovers between loyalty to tribe and loyalty to Rome. A death-haunted Druid challenges the gods themselves to ensure victory for his people. An old champion struggles f...

A few days ago, I featured the book THE CONQUEROR'S WIFE, by Stephanie Thornton (One of my ALL TIME favorite authors).  Today we have the privilege of having a guest post by Ms. Thornton.  So,  welcome Stephanie... and a special thank you to Amy Bruno of Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for allowing me to be part of this tour and for introducing me to the fabulous works of Stephanie Thornton. It’s said that behind every strong man is a strong woman. Well, there was a veritable army of fearsome (and sometimes downright terrifying) women flanking Alexander the Great. The first, his mother Olympias, reputedly slept with snakes and eventually helped govern Macedon while Alex was off campaigning at the ends of the earth. Before Alexander became king, his father had threatened to make a younger son by a lesser wife his heir. Strangely enough, Philip soon dropped dead of an assassin’s blade and even more shocking, Olympias later congratulated and crowned that same assassin....

The Oracle (The Sarah Weston Chronicles, Book Three) by D.J Niko Publication Date: November 10, 2015 Medallion Press Paperback; 456p ISBN-13: 978-1605426273 Genre: Historical/Archaeological Adventure        In Delphi, the mountain city deemed by the Greek gods to be the center of the Earth, a cult of neo-pagans re-create with painstaking authenticity ancient rituals to glorify the god Apollo and deliver oracles to seekers from around the world. When antiquities are stolen from a museum in nearby Thebes, British archaeologist Sarah Weston and her American partner, Daniel Madigan, are drawn into a plot that goes beyond harmless role-playing: someone's using the Delphian oracle as a smoke screen for an information exchange, with devastating consequences for the Western world. Pitted against each other by the cult's mastermind, Sarah and Daniel race against time and their own personal demons to uncover clues left behind by the ancients. Their mission: to find the o...