The Widow Queen and Her Lover by Alan Gold (Book Promo)

The Widow Queen and her Lover
Alan Gold
Publication date: September 1st 2023
Genres: Adult, Historical

No longer one of the spoils of war, Catherine, Queen of England and France, resolves to fight for her new life – on her own terms

Catherine of Valois, daughter of the defeated king of France, looks down from the battlements as her future rides to greet her.

As one of the spoils of war, she is to be married to her father’s enemy, Henry V of England. She is prepared to do her duty – what could be worse than continuing to live with her ailing father and cold mother – but she wasn’t prepared to fall in love.

Henry is everything that she wanted in a husband, and a king. In him she finds a devoted lover and inspiring ruler. When he dies, shortly after she has delivered his heir, her future and that of her son is in doubt. Not only must she protect her baby, the young Henry VI, she must protect his legacy from the grasping and scheming of his uncle and protector.

When Owen Tudor — Welshman, commoner, troublesomely attractive — stumbles into her lap, she sees her future. A man who will not lead armies, nor rule kingdoms. Instead, one who will devote himself to protecting what is hers. But he must sacrifice everything he has in order to marry her, and even that may not be enough to keep them all safe.

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EXCERPT:

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Gaspar saw movement. It was a woman coming up the steps from the rooms below in the castle. She’d heard the singing and wanted to see who was chanting. Monks? Townsfolk? Jongleurs? She didn’t look scared, and Gaspar recognised her immediately. It was the young and beautiful Catherine of Valois, only eighteen and the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. Tall, majestic, regal, yet happy in her life, friendly, open, and warm … the very opposite of the mad father and especially the cold cow of a mother. God knows how she could be so happy and cheerful when she had a mother like that woman down below, that Bavarian bitch and a lunatic for a father.

Author Bio:

Alan Gold began his career as a journalist, working in the UK, Europe, and Israel. In 1970, he emigrated to Australia with his wife, Eva, and now lives in St. Ives, Sydney, where he divides his time between writing novels and running his award-winning marketing consultancy.

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Monday Things (books and stuff)

 

Howdy folks in bookland! It's the start of a new week and you know what that means? A check in! More reading plans! Woo hoo! I've had myself a great weekend, my son was here to visit and I had the weekend off to spend with him! So I'm ready to dive into a new week and distract myself with great bookish things! 

It's also about to be a fresh new month too! My goal this month is to read about 10 books! So there ya go! How many do you plan on getting in? 

Also, August is the start of the High Summer Readathon (I posted about it here) so if you want to join in with that you can! I decided that with this one I'm going to try to read a book that's not in my usual genre (thinking romance or something like that?)

It's also the start of a read-a-long that I have signed up for (info on that here) The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende. 

Oh and you may notice that I'm posting more book promo stuffs...don't worry I am still reviewing books (both promotional stuff and my own personal reviews) I just really like helping out writers when I can! I'm trying to only accept promo stuff that I personally would read, so it's not going to be full on clutter! 

Okay so my stack of books this week are as such:

Now I won't get all of these read completely this week. The House of the Spirits reading selection is for this week and next, it's only a few chapters so that should be easy. 

So now it's your turn! What are you reading this week? 

New Release: Hel by Gitte Tamar (Book Promo)

Horror, Dark fantasy, psychological thriller, fiction, occult

Date Published: July 17, 2023

 

 

After losing his job at a genomic research company, Joel worries about his ability to provide for his family, especially during the holiday season. Even more concerning is how his unemployment may affect his perfect image within the extremist community he has lived in since birth. Lured by the idea of a quick fix, he impulsively books a flight for himself and his family to Europe when the offer of a large inheritance arrives in his inbox. Confident that he knows best, Joel blindly trusts a stranger's invitation to return to the village of his ancestors to collect his birthright. But rather than wealth, they quickly discover that their lineage only possesses monstrous truths with deadly consequences.

 

 

 About the Author

Brigitte, "Gitte," Tamar was born in a small rural Oregon town. Growing up, she was enthralled by scary tales featuring poetic tones and consistently gravitated towards writing darkened narratives. In the different storylines, Brigitte explores the harsh realities of social issues faced by today's generations. This includes the dark outcomes brought on by peer pressure, addiction, homelessness, mental illness, childhood trauma, and abuse. She feels it is essential to share narratives that refrain from sugarcoating the topics society tends to shy away from.

 

Contact Links

Website

Instagram

Twitter

Facebook

Goodreads

Bookbub

 

Purchase Link

Amazon

Prophecy by Elizabeth Haydon (Review)

From Amazon:

In Elizabeth Haydon's

 Rhapsody, a fellowship was forged--three companions who, through great adversity, became a force to be reckoned with: Rhapsody the Singer; Achmed the assassin-king; and Grunthor, the giant Sergeant-Major.

Driven by a prophetic vision, Rhapsody races to rescue a religious leader while Achmed and Grunthor seek the F'dor--an ancient and powerful demon. These companions may be destined to fulfill The Prophecy of the Three, but their time is running short. They must find their elusive enemy before his darkness consumes them all.

My Thoughts:

Oh geez, I do so love this series! It just keeps getting better and better with each book. I do have some teeeny tiny little grumps though, at least about this part, but I'll get into that after I tell you the good bits. This was a very long book ya'll! 

So the good: Rhapsody has really come into her own. She's learned more about her skills as a fighter, trained with the OG fighter-lady herself, and has become a badass. Her love interest/mystery dude is developed more. He's complicated ya'll, and I did like him for the most part. The mainline story itself was awesome. I loved that bit. (There's a few threads of story weaved into one main plot line). We got more backstory for Rhapsody, we learned who she really is. We learned what happened to her in her youth that made her who she is now. We learned about that damned Prophecy and now it makes sense. 

The not so good: We didn't get much time with Achmed and Gunthor, yes they were in it, but they didn't get the same treatment as Rhapsody. I really wanna know more about these dudes. I kinda feel like they are much more interesting that she is (though she is interesting don't get me wrong!). And Rhapsody, she's starting to get the vibes of a "Mary-Sue" though I hate that term. She's good at everything. Everyone loves her. She's the "chosen one" sometimes. She's so beautiful but she doesn't know it. etc. 

I will preface this by saying I am in no way a prude, HOWEVER, this book went heavy on the "love making" scenes. No they weren't explicit but it was pages and pages and pages....and I'm not reading a fantasy story for heaving bosoms ya'll! I'm after the swords and the magic! 

My final thoughts on Prophecy are that it was a good read, a very intriguing set up to the next book Destiny. I did have some issues with it in some ways but all in all I had a great time! 

High Summer Readathon Hosted by Seasons of Reading

I have signed up and you should too! It's a month-long, no pressure Readathon! Let's send Summer out with a nice big hurrah! 

I'll post my TBR stack in a few days, I'm thinking I'll aim for about 10 books! Going to grab some that I have wanted to read but never got around to reading this time! Plus, I'm sure there will be a few review books in the mix. 

Oh, and I'm thinking about trying out a few genres that I don't normally dive into. (ex-Romance, etc)

Got any suggestions? 

If'n you want to sign up, just click the graphic for the readathon and join in with us! 

The House at the End of the World by Dean Koontz (review)

From Amazon: 

In retreat from a devastating loss and crushing injustice, Katie lives alone in a fortresslike stone house on Jacob’s Ladder island. Once a rising star in the art world, she finds refuge in her painting.The neighboring island of Ringrock houses a secret: a government research facility. And now two agents have arrived on Jacob’s Ladder in search of someone—or something—they refuse to identify. Although an air of menace hangs over these men, an infinitely greater threat has arrived, one so strange even the island animals are in a state of high alarm.Katie soon finds herself in an epic and terrifying battle with a mysterious enemy. But Katie’s not alone after all: a brave young girl appears out of the violent squall. As Katie and her companion struggle across a dark and eerie landscape, against them is an omnipresent terror that could bring about the end of the world.

My thoughts:

I have read a very few of Koontz's novels in the past. I grabbed this one because the description obviously pulled me in. I liked Katie. She's a badass but not a Linda Hamilton in the Terminator movies type of badass. She knows her limits, but she works with what she has to keep herself safe. I loved how Koontz wove her backstory in slowly, bit by bit. You get a feel for her as a person before you learn her history and what made her the way that she is. 

Also, I'm kind of envious of her set up. She's got her own island, she's got solitude but she's also got peace..or at least it seems she does. Something she relishes, until something happens that changes that. 

Her peace is disrupted in a very startling and scary way. Instead of fleeing in terror, she kicks into badass overdrive and gets ready. Digging in her heels for whatever is coming. 

I liked the odd mix of genres in this book. There's the overarching story of a woman dealing with her past trauma, an almost crime drama (in the past) and a very fun scifi/horror element thrown in the mix too. And I have to say it is blended together perfectly! 

This was a fun read, quick (which says a lot considering who I am) and very engaging. I highly recommend it if you are looking for something a bit different that straight up horror!

Weekly Reading Plans

 

It's Monday folks and you know what that means!? Time to post the bookish delights that I am planning on sinking my teeth into this week! I've got a couple of review books and another in a series! I'm excited about these very much!

I also have a review coming up (check back tomorrow) for a book I read during  the weekend's Reverse Readathon! And later in the week another review from that same event! 

So what's on my menu this week? Lemme show you!

So tell me about your plans this week, what are you looking forward to cracking into?