beautific selfie with autographed goodness!

As I posted on Twitter and on Facebook, I went to the Romantic Time Booklovers Convention during their Giant Book Fair which was open to the public on Saturday May 16 2015.

If you are my FB Friend, you would have seen a few pictures of me dorking out with my favorite inspirational authors, such as Elizabeth Ludwig and Regina Jennings. I got to meet several other authors too like Heather Manning, Melanie Dickerson, Susanna Kearsley, Cindy Nord and Francine Rivers. It was really a booklover's dream.

Cindy Nord - a very sweet lady!

Of course it was complete and utter mayhem and towards the beginning of the event I had wondered what in the world was I thinking as hundreds of us were herded like cattle all around the hotel.. but in the end I must say they did pretty good except for the part where we were all huddled into an empty room (with no cellphone coverage) in which I am sure we far exceeded the occupancy level. I was trying to ignore the claustrophobic feelings when after fifteen minutes of second guessing my wisdom of attending such an event as my dear mother wondered aloud, "This is a Nazi experiment and they are going to gas us."

Luckily, we survived.

One of my local authors also survived the event, Anne Mateer. And I had been meaning to give away one of the books I bought from her from a signing from (oopsy) 2013 that I had attended. And I never got around to it, just as I had never gotten around to reading the copy that I had purchased for myself. Time ran away and all that.

So at this point, in honor of surviving local author events I figured I better get some of these goodies out of my library before I die...

The intriguing backdrop of an early-1900s orphanage makes this a unique, engaging read.
Sadie Sillsby works as the assistant to the matron at the Raystown Home for Orphan and Friendless Children and dreams of the day she'll marry her beau, Blaine. But when the matron surprises everyone by announcing her own engagement, Sadie is suddenly next in line for the job. For a young woman who was once an orphan herself, a shot at such an esteemed position is a wish come true. But the matron of the Home cannot be married. Is Sadie willing to give up her dreams of a life with Blaine and a family of her own? Is she prepared to forgo daily involvement with the children as she instead manages the financial, legal, and logistical aspects of the orphanage? And when it's revealed that the Home is spending a lot more money than it's taking in, can Sadie turn things around before the place is forced to close forever?

This giveaway is for the awesome fan shown above which many inspirational authors autographed, plus a new copy of Anne Mateer's 2013 release A Home For My Heart (also autographed!) and then some extra little goodies like bookmarks/marketing materials which I picked up at the Book Fair on May 16 2015.


Since I am mailing this out myself I have to request that entries are limited to USA addresses only. Apologies to Canadians, please don't skewer me.

Thanks for being a follower of Burton Book Review... you are much appreciated.

To enter I would like for you to be amazing and share this post, and comment below with a way I can contact you. If I am your Facebook friend, no need to leave your email addy.

For extra fun, try telling me who you recognize in the autographed fan I am holding or who I am smiling with in the photos below:






If you are receiving this post via email and would like to enter, please forward this email to reviewer(at)Burtonbookreview(dot)com and you will receive five extra entries. You still need to comment here though.

Giveaway ends May 28th at midnight CST and winner must respond to my request for mailing information by May 30th 8:00 AM.

THE BOOK OF LIFE is the long-awaited final chapter in the smart, sexy All Souls Trilogy, about historian and witch Diana Bishop and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont (Penguin Books; on sale May 26, 2015; $17.00).

In this finale, Diana and Matthew continue their hunt for the magical alchemical manuscript, Ashmole 782, and reunite with beloved characters from the first two All Souls books to save their world from the powerful enemies who want to destroy it.

After traveling through time in Shadow of Night, the second book in Deborah Harkness’s enchanting series, historian and witch Diana Bishop and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont return to the present to face new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home at Sept-Tours, they reunite with the cast of characters from A Discovery of Witches—with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency. In the trilogy’s final volume, Harkness deepens her themes of power and passion, family and caring, past deeds and their present consequences. In ancestral homes and university laboratories, using ancient knowledge and modern science, from the hills of the Auvergne to the palaces of Venice and beyond, the couple at last learn what the witches discovered so many centuries ago.

With more than one million copies sold in the United States and appearing in thirty-eight foreign editions, A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night have landed on all of the major bestseller lists and garnered rave reviews from countless publications. Eagerly awaited by Harkness’s legion of fans, The Book of Life brings this superbly written series to a deeply satisfying close.

A paperback copy of THE BOOK OF LIFE for giveaway, set of buttons and a small BOOK OF LIFE mirror with the ouroboros design for giveaway!

On sale May 26, 2015

A Q&A with the author was offered as part of a giveaway post for the celebration of book three of the trilogy, and I wanted to share just a few of those questions here.

Q: From the moment Matthew and a pregnant Diana arrive back at Sept-Tours and reinstate themselves back into a sprawling family of witches and vampires, it becomes clear that the meaning of family will be an important idea for THE BOOK OF LIFE. How does this unify the whole series? Did you draw on your own life?

A. Since time immemorial the family has been an important way for people to organize themselves in the world. In the past, the “traditional” family was a sprawling and blended unit that embraced immediate relatives, in-laws and their immediate families, servants, orphaned children, the children your partner might bring into a family from a previous relationship, and other dependents. Marriage was an equally flexible and elastic concept in many places and times. Given how old my vampires are, and the fact that witches are the keepers of tradition, I wanted to explore from the very first page of the series the truly traditional basis of family: unqualified love and mutual responsibility. That is certainly the meaning of family that my parents taught me.

Q: While there are entire genres devoted to stories of witches, vampires, and ghosts, the idea of a weaver – a witch who weaves original spells – feels very unique to THE BOOK OF LIFE. What resources helped you gain inspiration for Diana’s uniqueness?

A. Believe it or not, my inspiration for weaving came from a branch of mathematics called topology. I became intrigued by mathematical theories of mutability to go along with my alchemical theories of mutability and change. Topology is a mathematical study of shapes and spaces that theorizes how far something can be stretched or twisted without breaking. You could say it’s a mathematical theory of connectivity and continuity (two familiar themes to any reader of the All Souls Trilogy). I wondered if I could come up with a theory of magic that could be comfortably contained within mathematics, one in which magic could be seen to shape and twist reality without breaking it. I used fabric as a metaphor for this worldview with threads and colors shaping human perceptions. Weavers became the witches who were talented at seeing and manipulating the underlying fabric. In topology, mathematicians study knots—unbreakable knots with their ends fused together that can be twisted and shaped. Soon the mathematics and mechanics of Diana’s magic came into focus.

Q: A Discovery of Witches debuted at # 2 on the New York Times bestseller list and Shadow of Night debuted at #1. What has been your reaction to the outpouring of love for the All Souls Trilogy? Was it surprising how taken fans were with Diana and Matthew’s story?

A. It has been amazing—and a bit overwhelming. I was surprised by how quickly readers embraced two central characters who have a considerable number of quirks and challenge our typical notion of what a heroine or hero should be. And I continue to be amazed whenever a new reader pops up, whether one in the US or somewhere like Finland or Japan—to tell me how much they enjoyed being caught up in the world of the Bishops and de Clemonts. Sometimes when I meet readers they ask me how their friends are doing—meaning Diana, or Matthew, or Miriam. That’s an extraordinary experience for a writer.


Also available for the paperback release party are clips from the trilogy audiobooks, read by Jennifer Ikeda which you can listen to by clicking these links:



I haven't read any of these books, but I plan on making them all part of my Summer Reading Fun! Have you read these? How did you like them? 

If you would like to enter the giveaway for the paperback, set of six buttons and mirror, please leave me a comment below with your email address so that I may contact the winner. 

I wanted to make it as easy as possible to enter the giveaway, but it would be very nice of you if you would share this giveaway post as well!

Giveaway open to USA residents and ends May 24th, there will be one grand prize winner. Good luck!

Captivating storytelling of a passionate love between the Hawthornes

The House of Hawthorne by Erika Robuck
NAL Hardcover May 5 2015
eGalley provided via NetGalley in exchange for this review
Burton Book Review Rating:

Beset by crippling headaches from a young age and endowed with a talent for drawing, Sophia is discouraged by her well-known New England family from pursuing a woman's traditional roles. But from their first meeting, Nathaniel and Sophia begin an intense romantic relationship that despite many setbacks leads to their marriage. Together, they will cross continents, raise children, and experience all the beauty and tragedy of an exceptional partnership. Sophia's vivid journals and her masterful paintings kindle a fire in Nathaniel, inspiring his writing. But their children's needs and the death of loved ones steal Sophia's energy and time for her art, fueling in her a perennial tug-of-war between fulfilling her domestic duties and pursuing her own desires.

Spanning the years from the 1830s to the Civil War, and moving from Massachusetts to England, Portugal, and Italy, The House of Hawthorne explores the tension within a famous marriage of two soulful, strong-willed people, each devoted to the other but also driven by a powerful need to explore the far reaches of their creative impulses. It is the story of a forgotten woman in history, who inspired one of the greatest writers of American literature...

A vivid re-imagining of nineteenth century transcendentalists and feminism, The House of Hawthorne introduces us to famous figures of the era while boldly portraying Nathaniel and Sophia Hawthorne as none have attempted before.

Growing up in Massachusetts when emancipation issues begin to affect society, young Sophia and her sister Mary travel to Cuba in hopes of a healthier existence. While there, they are exposed to slavery and its cruelty firsthand, tormenting her fragile sensibilities further. Her soul is a creative one and it finds an outlet through painting, but this also leads to excruciating headaches. She eventually paints for a rising literary star Nathaniel Hawthorne and after a long courtship they are finally married - each in their thirties.

Author Erika Robuck slowly builds up this romance story, weaving us under the Hawthorne spell. We feel the artistic tension while the couple tries to cope with the daily toil of chores (as opposed to simply doing "what we were born to do") which are too mundane and oppressive for the likes of them. Despite the charities of fellow literary greats such as the Browning and Emerson families, financial struggles plague the couple forcing Nathaniel to take a real job in government through his previous classmate Franklin Pierce.

The novel portrays a palpable passion between Nathaniel and Sophia throughout their marriage, where Sophia is his "dove" and she is willing to give up seemingly everything for his happiness. Their family grows as the years go on, with grief and sorrow permeating the pages even as we feel the intense connection between the two.

Robuck's newest novel brings to life the courage and values of the Hawthornes, displaying both the gloomy and intense sides of creativity as well as the blissful euphoric moments. This exquisite blend of history and emotion is gift wrapped with the prose of Robuck's hypnotic writing style making The House of Hawthorne an easily recommended historical novel.


I will say that that eGalley formatting of this novel was very distracting. Major distractions were the missing quotations where appropriate and the page breaks (where I would assume there was one) were very non-existent. I wrote the review with the hopes that the finished copy corrects these issues.

Erika Robuck is a favorite novelist of mine, and you can find all my reviews of her published work here at the Burton Book Review.

Character driven WWII romance

Into The Storm by Lisa Bingham
Diversion Books, March 31, 2015
Historical Romance/WWII
Review copy provided in exchange for review in Library Journal Xpress
Burton Book Review Rating: 4 stars

RueAnn Boggs meets Charles Tolliver, a handsome Brit with a secret job, and in the course of twenty-four hours, RueAnn is swept off her feet—seduced, wed, and then left by dashing Charlie, who hastily departs for an assignment in England. When weeks go by and she hears nothing from her new husband, RueAnn becomes determined to find out if she’s a wife in name only, and she travels to London for answers. But what she finds there is not at all what she expects…

Susan Blunt has spent her life staying put, retreating into her books while her vivacious twin sister, Sara, lives life to the fullest. The start of the war hasn’t stopped vibrant Sara from collecting a throng of beaus in uniform, including Paul Overdone, an RAF pilot heading for the front. When Sara pressures Susan into switching places and going to a dance with Paul, Susan reluctantly agrees. Little does Susan know that a single night is more than enough time to fall deeply in love with Paul—who returns her ardor, even though he thinks she is someone else…

When the Blitz begins and bombs start raining down on London, both RueAnn and Susan must find the strength and courage they never knew they had in order to survive. They form a friendship out of the city’s ashes, one that helps them weather the storm as they wait for news from the front—from the men they love, have lost, and hope desperately to find once more.

Set against the backdrop of a remarkable era, INTO THE STORM brilliantly explores relationships in wartime, when the passion shared in just one day could sustain love for a lifetime and the love borne of one night’s deception could become the truth that saves a life.

Into The Storm stays true to its title as there is never a dull moment for the characters of this World War II-set novel. Although very character-driven, the plot focuses on the Blunt family and their neighbors, thrust together during London air raids. American RueAnn Tolliver chases after her new husband and finds her reluctantly welcomed by her mother-in-law and the Blunt family. Twins Susan and Sara Blunt struggle to keep their family together during very harsh times of rations and the harsh realities of their country suffering through bombing raids. With a bit of espionage interlaced with Charles Tolliver's storyline, the romance and the historical details make for an intriguing and very promising story.

Into The Storm reads swiftly and easily, with smooth writing that draws the reader in. There were quite a few characters whose stories eventually intermingled but one could sense the rushing of the story to get to the end, where it would have better suited to add a few more pages to the novel to flesh it out. While the story reveals grief and sorrow as the characters develop, the romance brought a happy-ever-after feel with perhaps a touch of incredulity. Still, Into The Storm is a very enjoyable World War II novel with a stronger character development theme than the romance factor, as the heat rating was very low key.

An intriguing blend of history, mystery and romance

A Desperate Fortune by Susanna Kearsley 
Sourcebooks Landmark, April 7 2015
Review copy provided in exchange for this review

For nearly 300 years, the mysterious journal of Jacobite exile Mary Dundas has lain unread — its secrets safe from prying eyes. Now, amateur codebreaker Sara Thomas has been hired by a once-famous historian to crack the journal's cipher. But when she arrives in Paris, Sara finds herself besieged by complications from all sides: the journal's reclusive owner, her charming Parisian neighbor, and Mary, whose journal doesn't hold the secrets Sara expects.

It turns out that Mary Dundas wasn’t keeping a record of everyday life, but a first-hand account of her part in a dangerous intrigue. In the first wintry months of 1732, with a scandal gaining steam in London, driving many into bankruptcy and ruin, the man accused of being at its center is concealed among the Jacobites in Paris, with Mary posing as his sister to aid his disguise.

When their location is betrayed, they’re forced to put a desperate plan in action, heading south along the road to Rome, protected by the enigmatic Highlander Hugh MacPherson.
As Mary's tale grows more and more dire, Sara, too, must carefully choose which turning to take... to find the road that will lead her safely home.

Susanna Kearsley is one of those writers that will always intrigue me, if not fascinate me. She writes her books with the same tone which could tend to drag, but if you  immerse yourself in the slower pace you are rewarded with a good story with some special characters. I was a little sad that the last review I wrote for Kearsley's Season of Storms couldn't be all gushy, so reading A Desperate Fortune I went in with a little trepidation. In doing so, I think I prepared myself for her slow, smooth, suck you in style because I was able to read this without feeling like I was going down a rabbit hole (to use a phrase from the book).

The novel features two storylines that went back and forth between the modern day and the year 1732. The year 1732 is when our young diarist Mary Dundas has an adventure with a Scottish rogue and takes part in the Jacobites' mission to protect their own in honor of the exiled king. Mary leaves behind her diary of the intriguing adventures she has while aiding a fugitive, but it is in cipher. This is where our modern day character Sara comes in, who is a genius at codes and has asperger syndrome, making her vulnerable in social situations but makes her more in tune to numbers, meticulousness, and routine.

As Sara travels to Paris to work on decoding the diary, she meets several people who show her kindness and compassion, including a certain Luc Sabran who captured her heart with his "symmetrical smile" and his "perfect blue eyes" -and his adorable son sweetened the package. Luc lives up to the hero status and their romance is a tenderhearted and sweet one, much like the counterpart of Mary and her handsome Scottish protector, though theirs is more of a respectful admiration of each other.

The two narratives of Sara and Mary pleasantly played well off the other, and the ending -particularly for Mary's - was very endearing and just perfect for Mary. I really enjoyed the plotlines and the historical context of the mystery that surrounded the Jacobite Mr. Thomson that Mary was escorting throughout France and eventually leads to Rome where Mary hopes to find her father, and there is an author's note that describes much more in detail about the era.

This was a winner for Kearsley, much to my delight! While it may not be in the  haunting, gothic/suspense feel that I got from some of the author's earlier works, this was enjoyable historical romance and I will remember Hugh Macpherson. And if you've read some of the author's other titles, see if you can find some cameo appearances from those in A Desperate Fortune!

I think my favorite novel is The Shadowy Horses, but I have yet to read The Winter Sea or Mariana. Do you have a favorite?

A wonderfully crafted surprise of a novel

The Abduction of Smith and Smith by Rashad Harrison
Atria Books, January 2015
352 pages Hardcover 978-1451625783
Review copy provided by HNS in exchange for this review
Burton Book Review Rating: 4.5 stars

In this harrowing and thrilling work of historical fiction, two enemies become the unlikeliest of allies as they fight to save their own lives aboard a hell ship headed into the dangerous unknown.The Civil War is over, though for Jupiter Smith, a former slave and Union soldier, many battles still lie ahead. He returns to the plantation he worked on before the war in search of his woman, but rather finds his old master gone mad, haunting the ruins like a ghost. Out of pity for the now mentally ill Colonel, Jupiter strangles him and heads west to seek a new life in San Francisco.

When the Colonel’s son, Confederate soldier Archer Smith, arrives at home and finds his father murdered, he vows revenge upon Jupiter for all he has lost—following his former slave to the far reaches of the continent.

But things take a new turn as Archer’s desire for retribution is overwhelmed by his dependency on opium, and he ends up the target of a gang of “crimpers”…the very gang that Jupiter works for in San Francisco. When Jupiter fails in an attempt to save Archer, they both end up shanghaied aboard a ship headed on a dangerous mission and ruled by a merciless captain. Will the two Smiths work together to stay alive and return home, or will they become victims of the sea, the crew, and their mad captain?

 For a novel that started out with a uneasy beginning, the author was able to hold my attention as I read the entire book in one day. The setting of the American Civil War's aftermath is a popular one for readers, yet this story brings us to a harsh reality of how the war's effect caused ripples for years to come. Wholly intriguing characters in a unique setting set this novel apart as the author writes with no holds barred. Though it comes off as crude when we are dealing with sailors and ruffians who kidnap innocents to force them to work on ships, and run ins with the mobster like villains who hold the cards of the day, the entire package presented by author Rashad Harrison is a well thought out suspenseful masterpiece of a story. There are many moving parts, from the fractured relationships of slaves and masters, brothers in arms and women who seek restoration after so many hardships which will captivate the reader as things slowly begin to connect to each other.

These many twists and turns intermix to create a powerful story as Jupiter Smith, a freed slave, seeks his wife after seven long years. During his search he encounters people from his past and battles the harsh reality of his life after freedom has been granted through the war. Through one of those twists of fate Jupiter finds himself kidnapped along with his former master's son Archer Smith and they are both forced to rely on each other begrudgingly for mere survival's sake during the dangerous voyage. Several characters are featured in the novel which the author creates short chapters around each scene, and there are even a few sketches interspersed throughout. The short chapters make it a quick read but the story itself is a vivid tale that is unforgettable and creative as it brings us to the underbelly of San Francisco to Shanghai and all the way to Liberia. A wonderfully crafted surprise that I would not hesitate to recommend.

Emma of Normandy's story continues...

The Price of Blood (The Emma of Normandy Trilogy #2) by Patricia Bracewell
Published by Viking, February 5, 2015
Hardcover 448 pages
Review copy provided by the publisher, thank you!
Burton Book Review Rating: 4 stars

Read my review of the first book in the trilogy, Shadow on the Crown

Menaced by Vikings and enemies at court, Queen Emma defends her children and her crown in a riveting medieval adventure

Readers first met Emma of Normandy in Patricia Bracewell’s gripping debut novel, Shadow on the Crown. Unwillingly thrust into marriage to England’s King Æthelred, Emma has given the king a son and heir, but theirs has never been a happy marriage. In The Price of Blood, Bracewell returns to 1006 when a beleaguered Æthelred, still haunted by his brother’s ghost, governs with an iron fist and a royal policy that embraces murder.

As tensions escalate and enmities solidify, Emma forges alliances to protect her young son from ambitious men—even from the man she loves. In the north there is treachery brewing, and when Viking armies ravage England, loyalties are shattered and no one is safe from the sword.

Rich with intrigue, compelling personalities, and fascinating detail about a little-known period in history, The Price of Blood will captivate fans of both historical fiction and fantasy novels such as George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series.

I waited two years for this novel to come out and it was very much worth the wait. In the previous book of Emma's younger days as a Norman bride to the English King Æthelred we were introduced to a volatile era in England's history as it struggled to withstand numerous Viking attacks. While Shadow on the Crown was fast paced and exciting, The Price of Blood delves more into the personal conflicts of the marriage of Emma and Æthelred and more about the political factions that affected the country.

Characters reappear, such as Lady Elgiva, as she makes up much of this book's story when she is able to hide from the king and his newest henchman Eadric, stirring up trouble from afar unbeknownst to the king. Eadric himself is not making many friends as he is a new favorite of the king's, offering him unwise counsel and using harsh tactics to get his way. The princes have little say in their father's court and Æthelred is described as being a paranoid and nervous king. Emma tries her best to survive among the many threats to her safety and that of her son, and is portrayed as a strong and capable Queen even when her king gives her little space in the court.

I can only hope for the final installment in the trilogy to bring us both a climax and a resolution to the saga of Emma's life and the events of her time, as The Price of Blood has set this reader on the edge of her seat waiting for things to blow up in the royal family. What the author does by filling in the blanks of the Anglo Saxon Chronicles is nothing short of amazing as she brings to life an otherwise forgotten time period; something I am especially grateful for as the historical fiction genre seems to have become bloated with novels of Tudors and Plantagenets. The writing of Patricia Bracewell may well possibly be compared to some of my other favorite story tellers such as Elizabeth Chadwick and Sharon Penman....if the final installment pulls it off as a marvelous conclusion to the trilogy. Sadly I will have to wait and see another long few years.

Burton Book Review - Leafing through history: Happy Saint Patrick's Day!: My 9th great-grandfather, Thomas Lee was born circa 1672 in Carrickfergus, Antrim, Ireland. He had a son named Gershom, who had a son named ...

Season of Storms by Susanna Kearsley
Sourcebooks Landmark (Reissue) September 2014
512 pages
Review copy provided by the publisher in exchange for this review
Burton Book Review Rating: 3 stars





When I received this book in summer of 2014 I was extremely excited to read another novel by Susanna Kearsley. I had really enjoyed the few that I read in recent years which were reprinted via Sourcebooks Landmark. Her novels have hints of Rebecca DuMaurier tones set in contemporary settings which always intrigues this stuck in historical fiction reader.

This particular novel involves the theater, Italy, and a possible ghost of an actress from many years ago who bears the same name of our contemporary first person character. Celia Sands' character is easy enough to like, but during the entire novel I wished I knew what she looked like and I wished I felt like I cared more about what happened to her. Celia had a big hang up about her famous mother, and she was raised by two gay men which made for an endearing backdrop to the character, but that was almost all we get out of the characterization of our main protagonist. At twenty-two she gets a chance to go to Italy to act in a play written for her namesake. Celia slowly -- very slowly-- develops friendships and relationships with the other actors while hints of treachery and ghosts flit in and out of the story line.

I first attempted to read the novel the moment I received it, but I got bored so much that I had to put it down a few weeks later. I tried again five months later and hard to restart from the beginning. It was still a struggle to really want to read the novel, but I persevered. It took quite a while to get going, though I'm not really sure the plot line did get going. If you haven't read any of Kearsley's novels before, don't start with this one. I would definitely recommend any of these others that I have reviewed previously here at Burton Book Review:

The Splendour Falls
The Firebird
The Shadowy Horses

Treat yourself to a sizzling historical romance

Never Surrender To A Scoundrel (One Scandalous Season #3) by Lily Dalton
Grand Central Publishing's Forever imprint
January 27, 2015 432 p. ebk.
Historical Romance/Regency
Review copy provided by Library Journal in exchange for review in Xpress Originals
Burton Book Review Rating: 4.5 stars

A Reckless Desire...

Lady Clarissa Bevington is in trouble. A reckless indiscretion has left her with two choices: ruin her family with the scandal of the Season, or marry Mr. Kincraig, the notorious scoundrel mistaken as her lover. Desperate and disgraced, Clarissa vows to love and cherish a veritable stranger, a man whose eyes smolder with danger—and undeniable desire...

An Unexpected Arrangement

As an agent for the Crown, Lord Donovan Blackmer has spent the last two years guarding Clarissa's grandfather from an unknown assassin while disguised as the rakehell Kincraig. His mission may now be over, but his duty has just begun. Salvaging his beautiful, impetuous wife's virtue will cost him his fortune and his position as an officer—but it might save him from the ghosts that haunt his own past. When their marriage "in name only" leads to exquisite seduction, Donovan must risk the only thing he has left to lose . . . his heart.

Historical romance readers will delight with this third installment to the One Scandalous Season Series featuring lords and ladies of the ton. Previous titles involved Clarissa's sisters yet this could be read as a stand-alone. Clarissa is about to announce an engagement to her secret lover when she discovers his unworthiness and moments later Clarissa is found in a compromising position with family friend Mr. Kincraig. Kincraig is forced to marry Clarissa to save her honor which inevitably destroys his own undercover operations for the Crown and leaves him unemployed. The story unfolds as Clarissa learns the true identity of Mr. Kincraig, who happens to be a very wealthy Lord Dominick Blackmer, though he is resistant to the title. Clarissa and Dominick slowly learn to love each other in a heated yet heartwarming and rainy journey to Lord Blackmer's estate where he must confront his own past in order to move forward with Clarissa.

Passionate scenes are abundant as Clarissa discovers what real love can be like as she discovers Blackmer's expertise in the bedroom, yet the story is also intriguing and eventful for those readers who prefer a believable plot with their romance. Complete with pleasurable settings, enjoyable characters and an entertaining storyline which includes poison, Never Surrender to a Scoundrel is an ideal choice for any historical romance lover.

Welcome to Mailbox Monday, a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued, and now hosted on its own blog.

I haven't done a Mailbox Monday post - or any meme post- in over a year, but today I am actually on the computer and I actually have had some books come in the mail this past week! These are goodies, and I know that because I had read the first book in their series and totally enjoyed them. The authors are based in the UK so I used some Amazon gift card money to purchase these from Amazon who had the best prices for these awesome titles:

Published September 2014 (UK) Sphere

The Winter Crown (Eleanor of Aquitaine #2) by Elizabeth Chadwick


It is the winter of 1154 and Eleanor, Queen of England, is biding her time. While her husband King Henry II battles for land across the channel, Eleanor fulfils her duty as acting ruler and bearer of royal children. But she wants to be more than this - if only Henry would let her.
Instead, Henry belittles and excludes her, falling for a young mistress and leaving Eleanor side-lined and angry. And as her sons become young men, frustrated at Henry's hoarding of power, Eleanor is forced into a rebellion of devastating consequences. She knows how much Henry needs her, but does Henry know himself?
Overflowing with scandal, politics, sex, triumphs and tragedies, The Winter Crown is the much-awaited new novel in this trilogy and a rich, compelling story in its own right.

Read my review of The Summer Queen, the previous title in the series here.

Published September 25th 2014 by Michael Joseph

Trinity (Wars of the Roses book #2) by Conn Iggulden

The brilliant retelling of the Wars of the Roses continues with Trinity, the second gripping novel in the new series from historical fiction master, Conn Iggulden.

1454: King Henry VI has remained all but exiled in Windsor Castle, struck down by his illness for over a year, his eyes vacant, his mind a blank.

His fiercely loyal wife and Queen, Margaret of Anjou, safeguards her husband's interests, hoping that her son Edward will one day know the love of his father.

Richard Duke of York, Protector of the Realm, extends his influence throughout the kingdom with each month that Henry slumbers. The Earls of Salisbury and Warwick make up a formidable trinity with Richard, and together they seek to break the support of those who would raise their colours in the name of Henry and his Queen.
But when the King unexpectedly recovers his senses and returns to London to reclaim his throne, the balance of power is once again thrown into turmoil.

The clash of the Houses of Lancaster and York will surely mean a war to tear England apart . . .

Following on from Stormbird, Trinity is the second epic instalment in master storyteller Conn Iggulden's new Wars of the Roses series. Fans of Game of Thrones and The Tudors will be gripped from the word go.

Conn Iggulden is one of the most successful authors of historical fiction writing today. Following on from Stormbird, the Sunday Times best-seller, Trinity is the second book in his superb new series set during the Wars of the Roses, a remarkable period of British history. His previous two series, on Julius Caesar and on the Mongol Khans of Central Asia, describe the founding of the greatest empires of their day and were number one bestsellers. Conn Iggulden lives in Hertfordshire with his wife and children.

Read my review of Stormbird, the first book in the series here.

I didn't read as many books as I have in previous years, so my Best of 2014 list is short but sweet. In no particular order, here are my picks for the Top Five Titles that I read in 2014:

My newest favorite Julie Klassen work!

The Secret of Pembrooke Park by Julie Klassen
Bethany House Publishers, December 1, 2014
Historical/Christian fiction
Paperback 460 pages
Review copy provided by the publisher in expectation of an honest review
Burton Book Review Rating: 5 stars

Read my reviews of other Julie Klassen titles here.

Abigail Foster fears she will end up a spinster, especially as she has little dowry to improve her charms and the one man she thought might marry her--a longtime friend--has fallen for her younger, prettier sister. When financial problems force her family to sell their London home, a strange solicitor arrives with an astounding offer: the use of a distant manor house abandoned for eighteen years. The Fosters journey to imposing Pembrooke Park and are startled to find it entombed as it was abruptly left: tea cups encrusted with dry tea, moth-eaten clothes in wardrobes, a doll's house left mid-play . . .

The handsome local curate welcomes them, but though he and his family seem to know something about the manor's past, the only information they offer Abigail is a warning: Beware trespassers who may be drawn by rumors that Pembrooke contains a secret room filled with treasure.

Hoping to improve her family's financial situation, Abigail surreptitiously searches for the hidden room, but the arrival of anonymous letters addressed to her, with clues about the room and the past, bring discoveries even more startling. As secrets come to light, will Abigail find the treasure and love she seeks...or very real danger?

This is the third year in a row that I have read a Julie Klassen novel this time of year and I believe I enjoyed this year's title just a bit more than last year's The Dancing Master. This novel packed a bit more of the gothic suspense in it, which is a return to the style I loved in The Tutor's Daughter and The Maid of Fairbourne Hall. Klassen is a skillful storyteller who can easily channel Jane Eyre and Jane Austen as she writes her intriguing Regency novels which are also laced with an inspiring Christian theme.

The Secret of Pembrooke Park introduces us to a young Abigail Foster who is very close to becoming off the shelf in comparison to her beautiful sister Louisa. After an unfortunate series of events, Abigail gives over her dowry funds to provide a coming out season for the younger Louisa. Meanwhile, a stroke of luck lands Abigail and her family in Pembrooke Park, a large estate which needs a house sitter. Mysteries and strange characters follow Abigail's path as she tries to uncover the past of Pembrooke Park with the help of the locals who remember only pieces of the legend that haunts Pembrooke Park.

The previous inhabitants were distant cousins of Abigail's family, and feature two rival brothers who eventually grew up to have families of their own. One brother comes back to reclaim what he thought was his, and the children become victims of Clive Pembrooke's greed. How this all happens is what Abigail slowly entangles, just as she is also trying to entangle her heart from her girlish fantasy over a beau ignoring the more realistic path to a brighter future with the local parson who is a better fit for Abigail, but it'll take a lot for Abigail to let her guard down after her heart was wounded so recently.

Julie Klassen's The Secret of Pembrooke Park is perfectly packaged with several threads of the gothic suspense, Regency romance and inspirational themes while presenting a well plotted story with intriguing characters in an amazing setting. This one is a bit longer than her others which is always welcomed when stories are written are so well. This is definitely one of my very favorite Julie Klassen novels which I highly recommend to readers of Jane Austen and Jane Eyre.

December 2014 marks the sixth anniversary since I first posted here on blogger. Six years is a very long time, especially when you consider my son is now seven. I really enjoyed the first few years of blogging and reviewing for others until it seemed like all of a sudden there were a huge glut of other bloggers and then bloggers started getting roped into blog tours with rules and obligations and just crappy attitudes from lots of folks who didn't like anything from a five star review to a one star review. Then bloggers turned against bloggers and formed cliques against other cliques and egads- just run for the hills.

Six years of blogging where there were those folks who sorta live kinda close and I'm all for maybe meeting up and hanging out, yo! But I don't drink wine, and I just never was that outgoing person who could just meet someone from the internet. My husband would kill me before the internet person would get a chance to. I'm just not a clubber no matter which connotation you take it.

I have seen online bloggy friends come and go, some with hard feelings and some more just like "I'll like your status update on Facebook but that's it for me".  I can't say I have much of a following here as things really have quieted down on the blog front. I don't remember the last time I got a comment. I think I'll turn commenting off to make myself feel better.

But hey six years! It's been a wild ride for me, as I really have learned a lot of useless information about things from the UK from five hundred years ago. I have also seen people fight about a stupid little historical fact on Facebook/Goodreads. Grow up and get a grip.

I actually stopped wanting to review historical fiction because there would be people out there who would exclaim "You actually liked that when it was fiction and they made that part up about ___ and ____???! How dare you, you evil reader!!"

I went from Tudor Fanatic to Tudor Pee U Icky I hate the Tudors and then I was like, "OH I LOVE the Wars of the Roses!" and then I was like "oh, Regency how Quaint!" and then I was like, "oh look, a Book! Must Buy!" and then "Oh, look a Book! Must Buy!" & "oh look, a Book! Must Buy!" and then "Oh, look a Book! Must Buy!"  and then I acquired my own library, and my own reading room, and my bedroom also looks like a mini library and then I realize geez, I've had some unread ARC's for about five years. (SO sorry, y'all!).. and then I'm like "Medieval?" eh can't really get into it so let's go Christian fiction and hell yeah I loved that for a year and then boom I switched professions and dropped off the face of the earth (or internet) and thousand of books are literally collecting dust as I type.

And then I am like awww I lurrvve my new church! let's sign up to do this! and that! oh okay, if you say so, I guess I'll do that, too! and then my daughter's Girl Scout Troop needs an assistant leader because no one else is left in the list of troop moms to do it, so Crap you Are So Screwed and why the f did you want to be a PTA mom, really??

And now I'm like, "bed... must sleep."

I miss reading. So when I do read - it's when I want to tune everyone out and I don't really give a crap about obtaining an education on Richard III anymore and V.C. Andrews is just magnificent for this exhausted brain.

I read every now and then and sometimes I will post a review if I get a large cup of coffee, pray to the wireless connection gods and try to get blogger to function on the old decrepit laptop.

So yeah. Maybe I'll see you here, but most likely not. It's okay if you're not around here, because I haven't had time to blog surf myself over there and I've missed your blogs-- if you are even posting out there anymore?! I'm out of the loop, man! (Same old story, different decade!)


I just felt like I owed my sad little blog a little Happy Anniversary post, since it was such a good friend to me for quite awhile. Happy Sixth Birthday, Burton Book Review!!!

If you haven't read the prequel then you're totally missing the point!

Garden of Shadows (Dollanganger prequel) by V.C. Andrews
Pocket Books, first published 1987
Personal copy/read for pleasure

Read my other V.C. Andrews reviews

Dollanganger Series:
Flowers in The Attic
Petals on the Wind
If There Be Thorns
Seeds of Yesterday
Garden of Shadows (prequel)


Christopher's Diary: Secrets of Foxworth (October 2014; ghostwritten)
Christopher's Diary: Echoes of Dollanganger (January 2015; ghostwritten)

Before terror flowered in the attic there was a young girl. An innocent, hopeful girl... When young Olivia arrives at Foxworth Hall, she thinks her marriage to handsome Malcolm will bring the joy she has longed for. But in the gloomy mansion filled with festering desires and forbidden passions, a stain of jealous obsession begins to spread—an evil that will threaten her children, two charming boys and one very special, beautiful girl. For within the halls of this cursed house a shocking secret lives. A secret that will taint the Foxworth family for generations to come...

Recent posts have comprised of my V.C. Andrews reviews of both new and old releases, and this one is an old release that I never had the pleasure of reading. I cannot imagine why I didn't read it - perhaps I was turned off by the "prequel" part since I was in my teens and I had a high opinion of myself and what I felt was worthwhile. I have a feeling that I had a misconception that I knew everything there was to know about those kids who looked like Dresden doll angels as they were locked up at the Foxworth Mansion. I probably thought I didn't like that crazy old coot of a Grandma that Olivia was, and didn't want to know anything about her.

Garden of Shadows is all about Olivia Foxworth and her sad life as a wife to Malcolm Foxworth. More crazy weirdo shenanigans await readers with Olivia's story - and there is indeed a very intriguing secret that I had no idea about which pretty much floored me! It all really comes together now and puts everything into perspective as we see what brought Olivia to the point of locking grandchildren up in her attic. And we get to see Corrine as she grows up, and her brothers too. Olivia's character is a lot of matter-of-fact and definitely not a lot of sympathy can be derived, but in some ways the reader at least gets to see why Olivia does what she does.

Remember Joel from Seeds of Yesterday? Only now was I able to connect the dots. Melodramatic twists that even I didn't expect as we learn more about Garland Foxworth and his first wife who was Malcolm's runaway mother, and then we learn more Malcolm's beautiful stepmother Alicia. The Swan Room and the Attic are all key rooms in the story, and Olivia doesn't disappoint with her stern observance over every minor detail and her love for her children. Her cousin John Amos appears as Olivia's butler when she needs him most and later we see where the religious fervor all began, but most importantly: why.

When we find out why, we actually can sorta understand the reason behind the melodramatics that led to locking children in an attic for three years. Sorta. But all that stuff that turns people off from V.C. Andrews books like incest, abuse, making the bible look bad, peeking in on people having sex; this insanity is only for a certain few of us looking for that perfect escape from accounting.

Yes indeed, this is the perfect book for when you're ignoring the kids, the dogs, the husband, but not the cat. You mustn't ignore the cat.

Christopher’s Diary…For those who liked the Dollanganger series…

Christopher’s Diary: Secrets of Foxworth by V.C. Andrews
Pocket Books Paperback; October 28, 2014; ISBN: 9781476790589 $7.99
Review copy provided by the publisher, thank you!
Burton Book Review Rating: 4 stars

Read my other V.C. Andrews reviews

Jealousy, tragedy, survival, and revenge—the discovery of Christopher’s diary in the ruins of Foxworth Hall brings new secrets of the Dollanganger family to light and obsesses a new generation. With Flowers in the Attic and Petals on the Wind both now major Lifetime TV events, this first new addition to the Dollanganger story in nearly thirty years is a timely look at the events in the attic—from teenage Christopher’s point of view.

Christopher Dollanganger was fourteen when he and his younger siblings—Cathy and the twins, Cory and Carrie—were locked away in the attic of Foxworth Hall, prisoners of their mother’s greedy inheritance scheme. For three long years he kept hope alive for the sake of the others. But the shocking truth about how their ordeal affected him was always kept hidden—until now. 

Seventeen-year-old Kristin Masterwood is thrilled when her father’s construction company is hired to inspect the Foxworth property for a prospective buyer. The once grand Southern mansion still sparks legends and half-truths about the four innocent Dollanganger children, even all these decades later. Foxworth holds a special fascination for Kristin, who was too young when her mother died to learn much about her distant blood tie to the notorious family.

Accompanying her dad to the “forbidden territory,” they find a leather-bound book, its yellowed pages filled with the neat script of Christopher Dollanganger himself. Her father grows increasingly uneasy about her reading it, but as she devours the teen’s story page by page, his shattering account of temptation, heartache, courage, and betrayal overtakes Kristin’s every thought. And soon her obsession with the doomed boy crosses a dangerous line…

(Read an excerpt here)

I am one of those age forty-something readers that remember the drama and the wicked horror of the original Flowers in The Attic series when the books had first caused a sensation in the eighties. The Real Virginia Andrews had a way with words that made this once-a-teenager swoon over her next published book. She became such a success that long after her death in 1986 a ghost writer still makes money off of her iconic name. The tone may be the same but it is inevitable that there are only whispers of the passion that the original author of the series had infused into her plots.

I had recently re-read the series which goes as follows: Flowers In the Attic, Petals on The Wind, If There Be Thorns, Seeds of Yesterday, and I am now just beginning Garden of Shadows, which is a sort of pre-quel to the series (I also re-read My Sweet Audrina, a stand alone novel that was just as juicy fun as the novels of the Foxworths). These were all titles that were written by the original author, and almost thirty years later Andrew Neiderman brings us the Dollanganger series with the new releases of Christopher's Diary: Secrets of Foxworth, and coming in early 2015, Christopher's Diary: Echoes of Dollanganger.


Christopher's Diary: Secrets of Foxworth is set in a later time long after the children of the attic are gone. We can only revisit them through Christopher's diary as Kristin Masterwood discovers the diary at the ruins of Foxworth Hall. While the synopsis hints at amazing secrets coming to life, we as the reader are not getting anything new. But Kristin is! Apparently, no one really knew what was going on at Foxworth Hall though the reader knew the secrets firsthand through the original books. Yet when Kristin finds the diary, she really did not have a good grip on what really went on behind the doors of Foxworth Hall before the two fires had finally destroyed the ancestral home. All that anyone in the community knew was that crazy Bart went off to bang the bible somewhere else. The rest were all theories and gossip about children in an attic but Kristin would like to know more since she knows her deceased mother was somehow a distant cousin.

The distant relative theme was something that could have come up as major suspenseful, but instead it become more of a mantra getting thrown out there for no effect but to annoy. If we are seriously talking fifty years later, the math doesn't really add up if you think hard about it. The storyline was all about Kristin and her current relationships and how "oh no- I should study to be valedictorian but I can't because Christopher's diary is calling my name." Kristin develops an odd relationship with a boy and the reader gets to hear all about how Kristin feels about her teen life and how her modern life would relate to Christopher's and Cathy's. As a new character to the series, Kristin's traits can turn off readers as she is obsessive but otherwise seemingly perfect; plus the narrative would go off into la-la land while Kristin's dad was talking to her by having a long musing about Christopher's and Cathy's feelings, and then going back into the current event at hand which got a bit old.

The next book will hopefully put a bit of closure on this first installment in the Dollanganger series, as the first ends with a dangling string of darkness and promises new attic moments. While I enjoyed this novel, I am on the fence as to which readers would enjoy it. Some major hardcore fans of V.C. Andrews may not like Niederman's drawn out (and unfinished) plot line, but those who really can't get enough of the soap opera drama that the original story provided should still enjoy the additional fodder related to the Flowers In The Attic family.

Christopher’s Diary: Echoes of Dollanganger is scheduled for release by Pocket Books in January 27, 2015; I look forward to that book to see if the family relationship between Kristin and the original clan can be unveiled.

Fabulous biblical retelling

Keepers of the Covenant (Restoration Chronicles #2) by Lynn Austin
-easily read as a stand-alone!
Biblical fiction, paperback 480 pages
Bethany House, October 2014
Review copy provided by Bethany House in exchange for this review
Burton Book Review Rating: 5 stars


Read my review of the previous title in the series, Return To Me

The Old Testament Comes to Thrilling Life in the Latest from Lynn Austin

In one life-changing moment, the lives of the Jewish exiles in Babylon are thrown into confusion and despair when a decree arrives from the king's palace in Susa. It calls for the annihilation of every Jewish man, woman, and child throughout the empire on the thirteenth day of Adar, in less than one year. Ezra, a quiet Jewish scholar and teacher, is suddenly called upon to lead the community as they seek God for a reason for this catastrophe. When a second decree arrives, authorizing them to fight back, Ezra is thrust into the role of military leader as they defend themselves against their enemies.

When the battles come to an end, Ezra's brother Jude is dead and Ezra is required by the Law he so diligently studies to marry Jude's widow, Devorah, and provide an heir. Fatherhood changes Ezra, and he asks God to make a way for him and the other exiles to leave Babylon for good and return to Jerusalem. His prayers are answered and the exiles move to Judea to revitalize worship at the temple--but the fight to keep God's Law is never easy. As more and more of his community are tempted, a new battle emerges...this one for the survival of God's covenant and the souls of His chosen faithful.

Ahasuerus has risen from his throne and is in the act of stepping forward towards his wife, who falls swooning against her handmaidens. They support her as best they can, as Haman, in the seat of honor beside the King, leans forward, wondering what has prompted this reckless action of Esther's.- Women In The Bible

Long before the birth of Jesus, the Jews were persecuted and punished. The Old Testament shows us in the book of Esther how Queen Esther saved the Persian Jews from complete annihilation which resulted in the celebration called Purim. While the biblical story in Keepers of the Covenant begins with this well-known story of Haman and Mordecai of Esther 3-8, the author gives us a wonderfully fictionalized retelling of the prophet Ezra's family during this period of war and hardship. In the bible, the Book of Ezra tells us how God shows his forgiveness and restores the faith of his wayward people.

As with the first book in the series which gives us Zechariah's story, book two in the Restoration Chronicles focuses on characters who pull us into their re-imagined lives with absorbing and exciting storytelling. Ezra and his brothers were hard-working members of the Levite tribe exiled to Babylon when the king of Persia sends out a decree allowing all Jewish people to be slaughtered on a specific day. Ezra forces himself to become a leader of his Jewish peers and fight back. Meanwhile, we are also introduced to characters such as Amina and Sayfah, young daughters of the pagan Babylonian Gentiles who are eager to destroy the Jews; and Reuben, the young boy whose faith is tested when he loses almost everything during the violent thirteenth day of Adar.

Some favorite lines from characters in Keepers of the Covenant: