TEASER TUESDAYS is hosted by ShouldBeReading and asks you to:
♠Grab your current read.
♠Let the book fall open to a random page.
♠Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page.
♠You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
♠Please avoid spoilers!

My Unfair Lady by Kathryne Kennedy:

"He stalked Summer, grabbed her arm, and spun her around. Her golden eyes were glassy with horror, and instead of scolding her to let the men do the grisly job, as he'd thought to, he gathered her into his arms and let her soak the front of his shirt." ~page 174

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page. We share what books that we found in our mailboxes last week. And I am adding what I purchased, swapped, etc.

For Review:

I would recommend buying the paperback version, for this beautiful cover, available in April 2010.

Or, buy the audio book with his voice telling his own story.
The Time of My Life: An Autobiography by Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi
"In a career spanning more than thirty years, Patrick Swayze has made a name for himself on the stage, the screen, and television. Known for his versatility, passion and fearlessness, he's become one of our most beloved actors.
But in February 2008, Patrick announced he had been diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer. Always a fighter, he refused to let the disease bring him to his knees, and his bravery has inspired both his legion of fans and cancer patients everywhere. Yet this memoir, written with wisdom and heart, recounts much more than his bout with cancer. In vivid detail, Patrick describes his Texas upbringing, his personal struggles, his rise to fame with North and South, his commercial breakthroughs in Dirty Dancing and Ghost, and the soul mate who's stood by his side through it all: his wife, writer and director Lisa Niemi.
A behind-the-scenes look at a Hollywood life and a remarkable love, this memoir is both entertainment and inspiration. Patrick and Lisa's marriage is a journey of two lives intertwined and lived as one--throughout their years in Hollywood and at home on their working ranch outside Los Angeles, and culminating in the hope and wisdom they've imparted to all who know them. This book will open the door for families, individuals, and husbands and wives to grow, bond and discover entirely new levels of love and sharing, proving that life shouldn't be lived as a series of endings, but rather as the beginning of greater strength and love. Patrick Swayze died with family at his side on September 14, 2009, at age 57, twenty months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer."

For review: "Royal Affairs: A Lusty Romp Through the Extramarital Adventures That Rocked the British Monarchy" by Leslie Carroll

"A funny, raucous, and delightfully dirty history of 1,000 years of bedroom-hopping secrets and scandals of Britain’s royals.Insatiable kings, lecherous queens, kissing cousins, and wanton consorts—history has never been so much fun.Royal unions have always been the stuff of scintillating gossip, from the passionate Plantagenets to Henry VIII’s alarming head count of wives and mistresses, to the Sapphic crushes of Mary and Anne Stuart right on up through the scandal-blighted coupling of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Thrown into loveless, arranged marriages for political and economic gain, many royals were driven to indulge their pleasures outside the marital bed, engaging in delicious flirtations, lurid love letters, and rampant sex with voluptuous and willing partners.This nearly pathological lust made for some of the most titillating scandals in Great Britain’s history. Hardly harmless, these affairs have disrupted dynastic alliances, endangered lives, and most of all, fed the salacious curiosity of the public for centuries. Royal Affairs will satiate that curiosity by bringing this arousing history alive."

Notorious Royal Marriages: A Juicy Journey Through Nine Centuries of Dynasty, Destiny, and Desire by Leslie Carroll

"A funny, raucous, and delightfully dirty 900-year history of the royal marriages of Europe's most famous-and infamous-monarchs. Since time immemorial, royal marriages have had little to do with love- and almost everything to do with diplomacy and dynasty. Clashing personalities have joined in unholy matrimony to form such infamous couples as Russia's Peter II and Catherine the Great, and France's Henri II and Catherine de Medici-all with the purpose of begetting a male heir. But with tensions high and silverware flying, kings like England's Henry II have fled to the beds of their nubile mistresses, while queens such as Eleanor of Aquitaine have plotted their revenge... Full of the juicy gossip and bad behavior that characterized Royal Affairs, this book chronicles the love-hate marriages of the crowned heads of Europe-from the Angevins to Charles and Di-and ponders how dynasties ever survived at all."

From Paperbackswap: Banners of Gold by Pamela Kaufman, the sequel to Shield of Three Lions. I really loved her book on Eleanor of Aquitaine, so I hope this series keeps me just as entranced.

"The enchanting Alix of Wanthwaite returns in a suspenseful and richly textured adventure in which nothing less than the future of England is at stake.Alix is home at her beloved estate on the Scottish border when King Richard’s soldiers march into her castle and demand to take her to the Continent with them. King Richard has been captured while on Crusade, and Alix is among the nobles whose lives will be collateral for the king’s ransom. But when she’s delivered to Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard’s mother, she is dumbfounded to learn that the queen has other plans for her. King Richard needs an heir, Eleanor tells Alix. Repulsed by his queen, a homely religious fanatic, he has told his mother that the only woman he wants is the one he met on Crusade, when she was disguised as a boy. Richard wants Alix to be his mistress and the mother of the next Plantagenet king. Now a beguiling and irrepressible young woman, Alix faces more tribulations—and romance—on this trip to Europe, where affairs of the state and affairs of the heart are intricately intertwined."

Is anyone here who participated in the Read-A-Thon? I am not one of them. But I hope everyone had tons of fun. How many books did you read? I have a head cold and that is not the best thing to have when needing to focus on tiny letters. But this week has been a busy week blog-wise: I added two new giveaways making that three giveaways you can enter for now.

The giveaway for Monica Fairview's The Other Mr. Darcy ends 10/26;
Simon Cox's Decoding The Lost Symbol ends 10/29;
Diane Haeger's The Queen's Mistake ends 11/6.

Be sure to enter for your chance to win one of these books today! I'm a little saddened by the lack of response to the Decoding the Lost Symbol post. Sniffle. But that bodes well for those who really want this book, it is a very quick giveaway sponsored by the publisher. I did receive the book and I look forward to reading it and getting that Nicolas Cage-Explorer feeling. (I did not enjoy Tom Hank's hair in the DaVinci Code movie.)

In other bookish news, I composed a Fall Preview of certain books for the Examiner, I'd love for you stop by. You can also subscribe to the posts that I enter there, and don't worry, I would be lucky to post once a week there, so your inbox will not be inundated with Examiner links when you do subscribe. I still haven't gotten a penny for this affiliation, and I would like to change that someday but I need you stop by and show some support. I appreciate it in advance, I really do!

My DH constructed the fourth bookcase for the hallway. That was fantastic, and I now have plenty of room to add more books and keep them within their genres. Always a great feeling!! We have room for another bookcase in the foyer so I am happy. And I can share a shelf and a half with the kiddos. (Anything beyond that will have cause for serious discussion.)

I finished reading Delilah by India Edghill just last night, and yep, it will be another positive review for the blog. I really enjoyed it, and I wish I had more time in my reading schedule to jump on her previous title, Queenmaker. Be on the lookout for the review to post in a few days. The book itself is available for per-order: Delilah: A Novel and will be released 11/24/09. Next, I plan on reading a new romance, My Unfair Lady, by Kathryne Kennedy, so hopefully I could be ready for a 11/18 guest post. I have about 32 books to review. Ugh.

Historical fiction author C.W. Gortner has unveiled the cover of his highly anticipated book, The Confessions of Catherine de Medici which releases 5/25/10. This is definitely a fantastic cover! This is one of those books that began building buzz the moment he announced he was working on it! His fantastic novel, The Last Queen, took blogland by storm in multiple book blog tours, and I can only imagine this new release will surpass our expectations. No pressure! He wrote a fantastic guest post for my blog which you can find here. Catherine De Medici is one of those queens that has inspired countless books, but this one is going to stand out on its own just as The Last Queen did due to Gortner's superior writing style. No pressure!

The synopsis for his newest forthcoming title: "The most infamous queen of the Renaissance reveals her secrets in an epic tale of persecution, intrigue, and betrayal.
At the age of fourteen, Catherine de Medici, last legitimate descendant of the Medici blood, finds herself betrothed to the King Francois I's son, Henri. Sent from her native Florence to France, humiliated and overshadowed by her husband's life-long devotion to his mistress, when tragedy strikes her family Catherine rises from obscurity to become one of 16th century Europe's most powerful women.
Patroness of Nostradamus and a seer in her own right, accused of witchcraft and murder by her foes, Catherine fights to save France and her children from savage religious conflict, unaware that her own fate looms before her -- a fate that will demand the sacrifice of her ideals, her reputation, and passion of her own embattled heart.
From the splendors of the Loire palaces to the blood-soaked battles of the Wars of Religion and haunted halls of the Louvre, this is the story of Catherine's dramatic life, told by the queen herself. "

Virginie of Virginie Says.. honored me with this pretty award. All I have to do is answer these questions:

1. Where is your favourite place to read a book? In bed
2. Bookmarks or dog ears? Bookmarks, I use ones that Arleigh sent me, my favorite one is here.
3. What is the best book you’ve read so far this year? Several awesome books were read this year, but I'd say a toss up between The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner & Twilight of Avalon by Anna Elliott
4. Do you like to snack while reading and if so, what is your favourite snack? Not really. A cup of tea is an indulgence for me and is preferred.
5. Book borrower or book collector? DEFINITELY a collector =)

In sad news, there is a search on for Morgan Dana Harrington who disappeared from a concert on 10/17/09. My thoughts and prayers go out to her family, and I hope there is a happy ending. Thank you to Susan from West of Mars for posting about this.

Along with my cold-induced sniffles, the disappearance of a young, vibrant 20 year old like Morgan Harrington is definitely cause for sniffles, I can only imagine the heartbreak and grief and sorrow that friends and family are going through. Don't mean to be a downer, but if you could help get the word out, especially those in VA, maybe we can help find her.

TEASER TUESDAYS is hosted by ShouldBeReading and asks you to:
♠Grab your current read.
♠Let the book fall open to a random page.
♠Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page.
♠You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
♠Please avoid spoilers!

Delilah by India Edghill; available 11/24/2009

"And although I had been trained well in all the arts a Rising Moon might be called upon to perform, and thought myself mistress of the skills that would be demanded of me, I still felt unprepared, not good enough. Fire danced light-footed across my skin; bees seemed to murmur in my ears, dizzying me. I summoned and then discarded half a dozen different responses, none of them worthy." - p. 230, ARC copy

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page. We share what books that we found in our mailboxes last week. And I am adding what I purchased, swapped, etc.

I received some fabulous books for review here on the blog: Jane Seymour: Henry VIII's True Love by Elizabeth Norton:
"Jane Seymour is often portrayed as meek and mild and as the most successful, but one of the least significant, of Henry VIII’s wives. The real Jane was a very different character, demure and submissive yet with a ruthless streak — as Anne Boleyn was being tried for treason, Jane was choosing her wedding dress.
From the lowliest origins of any of Henry’s wives her rise shows an ambition every bit as great as Anne’s. Elizabeth Norton tells the thrilling life of a country girl from rural Wiltshire who rose to the throne of England and became the ideal Tudor woman." 240 pages; Amberley (July 2009)

The Six Wives of Henry VIII by David Loades:
"The story of Henry VIII and his six wives has passed from history into legend — taught in the cradle as a cautionary tale and remembered in adulthood as an object lesson in the dangers of marying into royalty. The true story behind the legend, however, remains obscure to most people, whose knowledge of the affair begins and ends with the aide memoire ‘Divorced, executed, died, divorce, executed, survived’.
David Loades' masterly book recounts the whole sorry tale in detail from Henry’s first marriage to his brother’s widow, to more or less contented old age in the care of the motherly Catherine Parr." 240 pages; Amberley (July 2009)

In a win from Historically Obsessed:

Lady Vernon and Her Daughter: A Novel of Jane Austen's Lady Susan by Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway

"Jane Austen's novella Lady Susan was written during the same period as another novella called Elinor and Marianne–which was later revised and expanded to become Sense and Sensibility. Unfortunately for readers, Lady Susan did not enjoy the same treatment by its author and was left abandoned and forgotten by all but the most diligent Austen scholars. Until now.

In Lady Vernon and Her Daughter, Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway have taken Austen's original novella and transformed it into a vivid and richly developed novel of love lost and found–and the complex relationships between women, men, and money in Regency England.Lady Vernon and her daughter, Frederica, are left penniless and without a home after the death of Sir Frederick Vernon, Susan's husband. Frederick' s brother and heir, Charles Vernon, like so many others of his time, has forgotten his promises to look after the women, and despite their fervent hopes to the contrary, does nothing to financially support Lady Vernon and Frederica. When the ladies, left without another option, bravely arrive at Charles's home to confront him about his treatment of his family, they are faced with Charles's indifference, his wife Catherine's distrustful animosity, and a flood of rumors that threaten to undo them all. Will Lady Vernon and Frederica find love and happiness–and financial security– or will their hopes be dashed with their lost fortune?

With wit and warmth reminiscent of Austen's greatest works, Lady Vernon and Her Daughter brings to vivid life a time and place where a woman's security is at the mercy of an entail, where love is hindered by misunderstanding, where marriage can never be entirely isolated from money, yet where romance somehow carries the day." Crown/RandomHouse (October 6, 2009)

I also received Diane Haeger's newest release, "The Queen's Mistake". The good news for YOU is I have an interview ready to go with the author, and if you check back later today you will see your chance to win your very own copy of this book!

"When the young and beautiful Catherine Howard becomes the fifth wife of the fifty-year-old King Henry VIII, she seems to be on top of the world. Yet her reign is destined to be brief and heartbreaking, as she is forced to do battle with enemies far more powerful and calculating than she could have ever anticipated in a court where one wrong move could mean her undoing. Wanting only love, Catherine is compelled to deny her heart's desire in favor of her family's ambition. But in so doing, she unwittingly gives those who sought to bring her down a most effective weapon-her own romantic past. The Queen's Mistake is the tragic tale of one passionate and idealistic woman who struggles to negotiate the intrigue of the court and the yearnings of her heart."

Happy Sunday to everyone! It's been a busy week here at The Burton Review!

I reviewed Elizabeth's Women by Tracy Borman, a non-fiction account of the ladies and family members that influenced Elizabeth I's character. I really enjoyed this book, and I think it belongs it everyone's Tudor book collection. The book is available through the links I provided on the post, but will be readily available in bookstores in the USA in September. What made my review of Tracy Borman's new book extra special is the fact that it was my first buddy read. Heather from The Maiden's Court and I interacted during our progress and you can see our own interviews on my review post and her review post. It was great fun. We've got some more fun stuff up our sleeves, but you'll have to wait and see!

The author Tracy Borman is expecting a baby any day now, so congratulations and best wishes are being sent her way. She is working on two more books now, as baby permits, but I am excited about both of the topics she has chosen. The first one is Matilda, wife of William the Conqueror, for 2011; and the second is the Witches of Belvoir - a scandalous 17th century witchcraft trial event, for 2013. You can bet I'll be first in line for these reads as well!

I also read and reviewed Harriet and Isabella by Patricia O'Brien which was another fantastic read. I also did a special post on it here for Lyman Beecher's birthday. I definitely recommend this for anyone interested in late 1800's America, social issues of the times, and the Beecher story in general. I am looking for the author's historical fiction book, The Glory Cloak, as well. You may have missed my review because I decided to post it late on Friday night. It was one of those that I didn't want to spend too much more time on and turn it into a big mess!

I was going through my reviews for the year so far and posting them with their ratings on my Reviews page. It really looks like I've found a way to discern the not-great books from the better books, as I've received a lot of better books (in my opinion) lately. I have not had many doozy's, probably because I have learned to stick within my niche of historical fiction and not straying too far from that. I counted 54 books read and reviewed in 2009 so far. That is great for me! I had no idea how many it was because this is the first time I've attempted to count. I am happy with that total, considering there are 52 weeks in the year, and we are still in October. I hope I can keep up the pace for 2010, and wouldn't mind being a little quicker then since I have a lot more review opportunities now.

Big Congratulations to Ms. Lucy, I am so excited you are the winner this time around! Canada misses out on some of our contests, so I am always happy to see US spreading the love ;)

I still have another week going for the giveaway for Monica Fairview's The Other Mr. Darcy. If you enjoyed Pride and Prejudice at all, you are really going to like this one, as I did. I enjoyed this version of Caroline Bingley very much and there was a lot of regency flair to this read. Enter for the book giveaway here at The Burton Review!

I am working on some facelift/bloggiesta type improvements for the blog, which include a graphic navigation menu bar for underneath the header picture, and composing the obligatory About Me post etc. I did update my Email Me button that is on my left sidebar. The graphics are there, (obviously) but I'm working on some of the corresponding posts they link to. I also killed the bazillion awards that cluttered up my sidebar. My blog takes awhile to load because of the header, the background, the widgets, the 15 posts, the Amazon Associates links, and everything else, so the awards were just cluttering my brain up. And I have a music player on there as well. Which I realize you guys don't use, but believe it or not, I have my blog page up all day at work to look at my sheepish header for sanity, and I listen to the music player. For 8 hours a day. And now that I have the menu bar up, the page will probably load slow because of linking the graphics from photobucket. So we'll see how it goes. I added a TweetMeme thing that shows below the header of the posts. I also configured my google friends gadget. I was bored.

Then I found this on google books.. they have uploaded LIFE magazine to their database, so now you can browse back issues of LIFE magazine.Check it out here! I was looking at a 1972 issue wher Margaret Truman talks about the book about her dad that she wrote, which I just got from Paperbackswap last month. And there are these awesome Panasonic ads with an 8 track and a system that looks similar to my dad's.. so awesome.

And then I googled all issues, and searched Harriet Beecher.. I can be here ALL night!

I completed 125/250 points for Virginie's Four month challenge, and she started another Four Month Challenge here on her blog. I've completed three of the six books for The Everything Austen Challenge but I might have to substitute one or two on the list I had originally posted. We'll see how far we get. More than likely I will get 50% on this one as well. I am not that good at these Challenges, I always end up changing my priority reads to coincide with newer review requests.

My goal for next week is to get my husband to construct another bookcase. I've got some categorizing to do and I need some more space. I'll let you know how that works out. I'm about to start Delilah by India Edghill, and I hope to get somewhere with it this weekend, but I would have to get off the computer in order to do that.

I've been busy working, kids, reading/reviewing, so I haven't been commenting much on your sites and I apologize for that. I do keep up with google reader on my iPhone when things settle enough for me to take a peek at what is going on. So I am making it up to you with two more giveaways! One starts Monday, and the other starts Friday! I will also have one more review for you this week, The Wildest Heart, by Rosemary Rogers. See you then!

Harriet and Isabella: A Novel

I absolutely loved this novel. My heart ached at several points within the book and then again at the end. I even cried. I checked the rating on Goodreads as I marked this finished, and the average rating is 3.24 of 5. So again, I am loving a book beyond reality. But I'm not changing my rating of 4.5, because I LOVED IT! This is a very absorbing fictional account of the sisters to Henry Ward Beecher who caused a sensational scandal in 1875 when he was publicly accused of being a cheating preacher. These two sisters were Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, and Isabella Hooker, who was a leader in the woman's suffrage movement and also became an author. Henry shocked his family and friends with the scandal of their times that tore the family apart, as he was the most eloquent and popular preacher of the time. This was not your ordinary family; the Beecher's were an intellectual group and there were a total thirteen siblings that called Lyman Beecher their father. Lyman Beecher was a force all by himself, and he instilled family pride and the desire for learning, along with political stands on abolition, into the family value structure. How the Beecher children took this knowledge to greater heights helped America to grow in the 1850's and beyond, such as with Harriet's book, which was a small factor in providing inspiration for the American Civil War.

Patricia O'Brien walked the paths of the main protagonists in Brooklyn Heights and read the archives of the Brooklyn Library to get the essence of her story just right. She conveyed the sense of of the period with ease, and focused on the story of two of the Beecher sisters, Harriet and Isabella. The story is wrapped with questions of virtue, humility, wisdom, and the price that was paid by Beechers for all of it. And at times, it was Harriet versus Isabella, and triumph versus burden.