There's a book I can't wait to get my hands on.

It's coming in April and it's Elizabeth I by Margaret George! I am an absolute, die-hard fan of this writer and her books have never failed me. I thought I was done with Tudors (too many books about them, kinda like those love-struck teenage vampires), but because it's Margaret George, I know it will be outstanding. By the way, those who compare her to Philippa Gregory, please stop. You are doing Ms. George a grave disservice. Gregory and George are not even on the same planet as far as writing and historical accuracy go. Anyway, below is a little info on the book from the author's website:

New York Times best-selling Margaret George captures history’s most enthralling queen—as she confronts rivals to her throne and to her heart.
One of today’s premier historical novelists, Margaret George dazzles here as she tackles her most difficult subject yet: the legendary Elizabeth Tudor, queen of enigma—the Virgin Queen who had many suitors, the victor of the Armada who hated war; the gorgeously attired, jewel-bedecked woman who pinched pennies. England’s greatest monarch has baffled and intrigued the world for centuries. But what was she really like?
In this novel, her flame-haired, look-alike cousin, Lettice Knollys, thinks she knows all too well. Elizabeth’s rival for the love of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and mother to the Earl of Essex, the mercurial nobleman who challenged Elizabeth’s throne, Lettice has been intertwined with Elizabeth since childhood. This is a story of two women of fierce intellect and desire, one trying to protect her country, and throne, the other trying to regain power and position for her family. Their rivalry, and its ensuing drama, soon involves everyone close to Elizabeth, from the famed courtiers who enriched the crown to the legendary poets and playwrights who paid homage to it with their works. Intimate portraits of the personalities who made the Elizabethan age great—Shakespeare, Marlowe, Dudley, Raleigh, Drake—fill these pages, giving us an unforgettable glimpse of a queen who ruled as much from the heart as from the head, and considered herself married to her people.
This magnificent, stay-up-all-night page-turner is George’s finest and one that is sure to delight readers of Alison Weir, Philippa Gregory, and Hilary Mantel.

Also, when you visit Ms. George's website, make sure to read Ten Surprises About Elizabeth Tudor.

Elizabeth I by Margaret George will be published on April 5th, 2011 by The Viking Press

Black Hills by Dan Simmons Audio Book Giveaway!

This time I am giving my very gently used copy of Black Hills on audio (Unabridged). And when I say 'very gently', I mean I opened it and took only one disc out. So, it's pretty much not used at all. Unfortunately, the book didn't work for me but I'm hoping it will find a good home where it'll be appreciated.

The book's synopsis:

Paha Sapa, a young Sioux warrior, first encounters General George Armstrong Custer as Custer lies dying on the battlefield at Little Bighorn. He believes--as do the holy men of his tribe--that the legendary general's ghost entered him at that moment and will remain with him until Sapa convinces him to leave.

In BLACK HILLS, Dan Simmons weaves the stories of Paha Sapa and Custer together seamlessly, depicting a violent and tumultuous time in the history of Native Americans and the United States Army. Haunted by the voice of the general his people called "Long Hair," Paha Sapa lives a long life, driven by a dramatic vision he experiences in the Black Hills that are his tribe's homeland. As an explosives worker on the massive Mount Rushmore project, he may finally be rid of his ghosts--on the very day FDR comes to South Dakota to dedicate the Jefferson face.

Giveaway 411:
1. Please leave a comment with your email or a way to contact me (if you have an email in your profile, no need to leave it here).

2. Because of the shipping costs, this one is open to U.S. and Canada residents only.

3. Deadline for entries is February 10th, 2011. The winner will be announced on February 11th, 2011.

An extra entry:

Become a follower of my blog for one extra entry. Please leave a separate comment if you do. If you already are a follower, please also leave a separate comment letting me know

Vixen by Jillian Larkin International Giveaway Results

The giveaway for Vixen by Jillian Larkin ended last night. The winner has been chosen and notified via email.

LAMusing is a winner. 

Congratulations!!!

Thank you everyone who visited my blog and participated on the giveaway! Don't lose your spirit, I will have many new giveaways coming up on my blog this year and there is still time to enter my The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating giveaway.

2-in-1: The Anatomy of Ghosts by Andrew Taylor & Matched by Ally Condie

1. The Anatomy of Ghosts by Andrew Taylor

The book's synopsis from the author's website:

1786, Jerusalem College, Cambridge

They say Jerusalem is haunted by Mrs Whichcote's ghost. Frank Oldershaw claims he saw her in the garden, where she drowned. Now he's under the care of a physician.
Desperate to salvage her son's reputation and restore him to health, Lady Anne Oldershaw employs her own agent - John Holdsworth, author of The Anatomy of Ghosts, a controversial attack on the existence of ghostly phenomena. But his arrival in Cambridge disrupts the uneasy status quo. He glimpses a world of privilege and abuse, where the sinister Holy Ghost Club governs life at Jerusalem more effectively than the Master, Dr Carbury, ever could.


But Holdsworth's powers of reason and his knowledge of natural philosophy have other challenges. He dreams of his dead wife, Maria, who roams the borders of death. Now there's Elinor, the very-much-alive Master's wife, to haunt him in life. And at the heart of it all is the mystery of what really happened to Sylvia Whichcote in the claustrophobic confines of Jerusalem.


Why was Sylvia found lying dead in the Long Pond just before a February dawn? And how did she die? Indeed, why was she at Jerusalem, living or dead, in the first place?

It was an okay book for me. It took too long to get into the whole murder mystery and despite there being more than one secret to reveal, I just couldn't get myself very interested. The Anatomy of Ghosts is considered a literary thriller and maybe I'm just not that big of a fan of this particular genre. There is definitely a lot more to the story than simply solving the murder case. The whole little society of scholars living on the grounds of Jerusalem College (a fictitious part of Cambridge University) seems to be almost drowning in secrets. The characterization is not bad really. No one's character seems to be really spotless and the ones that do, turn out quite the opposite at some point in the story.

I actually liked the ending quite a lot and this is what redeemed the whole novel for me. The action picked up as the mysteries started to get revealed, one by one and I didn't see the outcome of the murder coming at all. Fans of literary thrillers will probably like The Anatomy of Ghosts a lot, as well as history fans since it was interesting to read about the life in Cambridge in the 18th century. But if you're just looking for the swift plot and quick action, it's probably not a book for you.

2. Matched by Ally Condie

The book's synopsis from the book's website:

In the Society, Officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die.

Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s hardly any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one… until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow — between perfection and passion.

It was a nice read, very quick, it can be easily read in one day, if the time allows. The concept of the dystopian society where everything is controlled, including the nutritional content of the food one eats, and no one stands out is interesting and scary. I hope it will never come to that in real life (I think that teenagers, if no one else, would rebel sooner or later, unless there's something in the food that makes them docile and not interested in asking questions and seeking answers). Ms. Condie did create a convincing, if frightening, reality.

What I didn't like was the love triangle. I think this part of the plot is what usually keeps me away from the YA books. Call me a bitter cynic or something, but the sappiness of it all just put me off and was the barrier keeping me from fully enjoying the story. And Cassie was another problem. Her cowardice throughout most of the book was annoying and I'm just glad she showed some guts in the end. All and all, it was an all right book and young readers will definitely enjoy it.

2-in-1: Queen Hereafter by Susan Fraser King & The Dressmaker by Posie Graeme-Evans

1. Queen Hereafter by Susan Fraser King

The book's synopsis from the author's website:

Margaret, a young Saxon princess, is shipwrecked with her family on the coast of Scotland and forced to accept sanctuary from the recently widowed warrior-king Malcolm Canmore of Scotland.  Malcolm sees a political prize in Margaret, and promises to help her brother, the outlawed rebel Edgar of England, in return for his sister’s hand in marriage.

When Malcolm brings a female bard, Eva, to court as a hostage to ensure good behavior of her kinswoman, his conniving enemy Lady Macbeth, Margaret, and Eva expect to resent one another.  Instead, they discover an unlikely bond as outcasts of a sort–Eva a wild Celtic spirit captive among her enemies, Margaret suppressing her passions as she endures increasing pressure as a queen and a mother of princes.

Torn between loyalties, Eva must betray the king and the new queen in order to honor her devotion to the former queen.  Thrown into Malcolm’s dungeon, charged with witchcraft and treason, Eva soon learns that Queen Margaret–counseled by the furious king and his powerful priests–will decide the fate of the young bard and her mentor, the troublesome Lady Macbeth.

I liked Queen Hereafter because it introduced me to Queen Margaret of Scotland of whom I had known nothing before this book. Nor did I know much about the medieval history of Scotland. Thanks to Ms. Kings, my spark of interest has been ignited and I now want to really put my effort into finding out more about Scotland and her people. Enough about that. Let's go back to the book itself. I really enjoyed Queen hereafter, it was very intriguing to read about the saintly life of Margaret (who is also a saint now) and about how her successful efforts to bring refinement into the court life.

The way the author writes about her, it's really impossible not to like Margaret. And that brings me to the biggest disappointment. Queen Hereafter was simply cut too short for me. In the afterword, Ms. King talks about the rich life on Margaret and how it would make for a door stopper of a book. Honestly, I wish it were one. It would have been such a better story. I wanted to read more about Margaret, Malcolm and their family of future kings of Scots, instead, I felt I was given just a morsel and now I'm craving for more.

2. The Dressmaker by Posie Graeme-Evans

The book's synopsis from GoodReads:

Set in 1850s London, at the height of Victoria's reign, Posie Graeme-Evans' glorious fourth historical novel tells of a woman ahead of her time. Ellen Gowan is a famous dress designer for ladies of high society and one of the very few women in England who owns her own business. But her life wasn't always one of such privilege.
The only surviving daughter of a Cambridge scholar-turned village minister and a beautiful woman who was disowned by her family for marrying for love, Ellen had a childhood plentiful in affection, if not in currency and dresses made of fine silks. Tragedy strikes on her thirteenth birthday, when her father dies suddenly, leaving Ellen and her mother penniless and dependent upon the kindness of her mother's estranged family. 

And so begins Ellen's road to to success paved with humiliation, deprivation but also with good people, friends who love her, care for her and want to help. One request to all who want to read this book: do not read the description provided by the publisher because you might as well just stop there. It pretty much tells the whole story almost from beginning to the very end. It was very disappointing to me to keep reading, nearing the end and realizing that I already knew all that from the synopsis with a few little events not mentioned (even the GoodReads description is like that so I only provided the first two paragraphs).

Besides that failure of a synopsis, The Dressmaker was quite all right. The story wasn't boring, it kept me engaged and interested in Ella's fate from the beginning till the last page. I thought I would be bored with the details of dresssmaking but that wasn't bad either, it was actually fun to read about the process. The story is set in the Victorian England so while a lot of people were getting rich, there also was a lot of despair present, especially in the way women were treated, as possessions and with no rights, other than the ones bestowed upon them by men. All the more praise to Ellen then for having the strength of character and enough perseverance to survive and be successful in this world of men. My only problem (besides the infamous synopsis) is that the story ended too neatly and very improbably. Maybe it's the cynic in me but what happened was just too predictable and I wish it had ended differently. Not necessarily in any kind of tragedy, but just not the way it did (I can't divulge more because it would spoil the book).