Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Mailbox Monday


Mailbox Monday is a meme from Marcia at The Printed Page.

I took time out from the Read-a-Thon on Saturday to go to a Friends of the Library used book sale...and glad I did! I arrived just in time for the bag sale and I got all the books listed in the bought section below for $3.00!!! WOW!

Won:


Rebecca's Tale by Sally Beauman from A Reader's Respite. (Thanks again Michele!)

On the 20th anniversary of the death of Rebecca, the first wife of Maxim de Winter, family friend Colonel Julyan receives an anonymous parcel containing a notebook - marked "Rebecca's Tale" - and two pictures. Has she kept her word to haunt him for ending up in the de Winter crypt?


Pendragon's Banner by Helen Hollick from Enchanted by Josephine  (Thanks again Lucy!)

Arthur, now king of england with a young family, has two enemies who threaten him: Winifred, his vindictive first wife, who is determined to use the fledgling Christian church to ensure succession for her own son; and Morgause, priestess of the Mother and malevolent Queen of the North. To complicate matters, tragedy strikes just when Arthur needs Gwenhwyfar most, putting their passionate relationship on precarious ground. It promises to take all of Arthur's strength, courage, and cunning to secure his birthright and the confidence of his queen.




In the Mail:


The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran (signed copy!) which I won from The Burton Review.

In ancient Egypt, a forgotten princess must overcome her family's past and remake history.



The winds of change are blowing through Thebes. A devastating palace fire has killed the Eighteenth Dynasty's royal family - all with the exception of Nefertari, the niece of the reviled former queen, Nefertiti. The girl's deceased family has been branded as heretical, and no one in Egypt will speak their names. A relic of a previous reign, Nefertari is pushed aside, an unimportant princess left to run wild in the palace. But this changes when she is taken under the wing of the Pharaoh's aunt, then brought to the Temple of Hathor, where she is educated in a manner befitting a future queen.
Soon Nefertari catches the eye of the Crown Prince, and despite her family's history, they fall in love and wish to marry. Yet all of Egypt opposes this union between the rising star of a new dynasty and the fading star of an old, heretical one. While political adversity sets the country on edge, Nefertari becomes the wife of Ramesses the Great. Destined to be the most powerful Pharaoh in Egypt, he is also the man who must confront the most famous exodus in history.
Sweeping in scope and meticulous in detail, The Heretic Queen is a novel of passion and power, heartbreak and redemption.

Bought:


Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller (hardcover)

When the new teacher first arrives, Barbara immediately senses that this woman will be different from the rest of her staff-room colleagues. But Barbara is not the only one to feel that Sheba is special, and before too long Sheba is involved in an illicit affair with a pupil. Barbara finds the relationship abhorrent, of course, but she is the only adult in whom Sheba can properly confide. So when the liaison is found out and Sheba's life falls apart, Barbara is there...




Kiss by Ted Dekker & Erin Healy (hardcover)

After a car accident puts Shauna McAllister in a coma and wipes out six months of her memory, she returns to her childhood home to recover, but her arrival is fraught with confusion. Her estranged father, a senator bidding on the White House, and her abusive stepmother blame Shauna for the tragedy, which has left her beloved brother severely brain damaged. Leaning on Wayne Spade, a forgotten but hopeful lover who stays by her side, Shauna tries to sort out what happened that night by jarring her memory to life. Instead, she acquires a mysterious mental ability that will either lead her to truth or get her killed by the people trying to hide it. In this blind game of cat and mouse that stares even the darkest memories in the face, Shauna is sure of only one thing: if she remembers, she dies.


Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata (hardcover)

kira-kira (kee' ra kee' ra): glittering; shining

Glittering. That's how Katie Takeshima's sister, Lynn, makes everything seem. The sky is kira-kira because its color is deep but see-through at the same time. The sea is kira-kira for the same reason. And so are people's eyes. When Katie and her family move from a Japanese community in Iowa to the Deep South of Georgia, it's Lynn who explains to her why people stop them on the street to stare. And it's Lynn who, with her special way of viewing the world, teaches Katie to look beyond tomorrow. But when Lynn becomes desperately ill, and the whole family begins to fall apart, it is up to Katie to find a way to remind them all that there is always something glittering -- kira-kira -- in the future.
Luminous in its persistence of love and hope, Kira-Kira is Cynthia Kadohata's stunning debut in middle-grade fiction.



Shadow of Colossus (A Seven Wonders Novel-Book 1) by T.L. Higley (hardcover)

In a world enslaved by money and power, one woman dares to be free. Will an explosive secret enslave her again?

The place is the island of Rhodes; the time, 227 BC. In the ten years that Tessa of Delos has been in bondage as a hetaeira, a high-priced Greek courtesan to a wealthy politician, she has learned to abandon all desire for freedom and love. But when her owner meets a violent death, Tessa is given the chance to be free—if she can hide the truth of his death and maintain a masquerade until escape is possible. Now Tessa must battle for her own freedom and for those she is beginning to love, as forces collide that will shatter the island’s peace and bring even its mighty Colossus to its knees.
Here is a powerful story showing how the love of God can transform even the most hardened person and bring back to life a soul jaded by sin and grief. (from Amazon)


Wind Dancer by Jamie Carie (hardcover)

Raised in a British-held frontier town during the American Revolution, Isabelle Renoir is not like other women around her. A free spirit, she dances in the moonlight as a praise offering to God and is more at home fearlessly taking her long rifle and knife into the woods for adventure and inspiration.

But Isabelle's latest journey may be more than even her strength can handle when a huge storm throws the raven-haired beauty off course and into the path of rugged American spy Samuel Holt. After matching wits and denying their passion for each other, they are attacked by Indians, held prisoner, and forced to watch the horrific killing of Isabelle's brother. Now together but in captivity, they must fight spiritual forces that no knife or rifle could ever conquer in order to be free.


The Spice Box by Lou Jane Temple (hardcover)

A delicious new mystery series that takes readers on a cook's tour of kitchens through history.

A fresh new series begins-- one which will follow a spice box--and the cooks who use it--through different historical periods, each with a mystery to solve and a handful of precious recipes.
Bridget Heaney escaped from Ireland's Great Famine to New York City, where she spent her childhood as a pickpocket, supporting herself and her younger sister. But ever since she made her first pot of soup at the orphanage, she knew she wanted to be a cook. Now, in the home of wealthy and powerful department store owner Isaac Gold, her dream is about to come true.
But on Bridget's first day of work, amidst gleaming copper pots and mighty woodstoves, she finds a body hidden inside the dough box. It is Gold's youngest son, whose whereabouts have been a mystery for several days. Bridget's courage and street sense take her from cook to crime-solver as she helps the heartbroken Gold family unravel the story of their son's fate. Justice will be served-along with a home-cooked meal.




A taste of The Spice Box's recipes:

Mustard Fruit Compote

1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon dried powdered mustard
1/2-cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey mustard
2 cups apple juice
15-20 pitted prunes, chopped
15-20 dried apricots, chopped
1-cup raisins
1-cup dried cranberries or cherries
6-8 dried figs, chopped
3 fresh pears, chopped

In a small sauté pan over medium heat, heat the mustard seed and turmeric until the seeds begin to pop, about two minutes.
Be careful not to inhale directly over the pan, as the mustard gas is strong. Remove from heat. Combine all ingredients in a large, heavy saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook until the pears are soft, about 25 minutes. Serve with ham, turkey, or a prime rib of beef or pork.


Sticks & Scones by Diane Mott Davidson (hardcover)

When the sound of broken glass shatters her sleep, Colorado caterer and meddling sleuth Goldy Schulz doesn't know what to think. Is it a gunshot? A bomb? An earthquake? And where the heck is her husband, Tom, when she needs him most?

But Tom is away for the night, working a case for the Colorado police department. So Goldy's on her own and the timing couldn't be worse, with her first big gig in five weeks only a few hours away.
The job is a huge Elizabethan banquet, a luncheon at a Gothic chapel on a grand old English estate owned by nouveau millionaires Eliot and Sukie Hyde. And in spite of the late-night scare at Goldy's home, it looks like she just might pull the lavish event off without a hitch-until she discovers a disfigured body floating face down in the creek that winds past the chapel. To make matters worse, the body belongs to Andy Balachek, an on-the-lam suspect who Tom's been looking for in connection to a stolen stamp ring. When Tom arrives on the scene and gets shot by a sniper, Goldy can't help but wonder: What else could possibly go wrong?
She shouldn't have asked. Because with an angry ex-husband out of jail and out for revenge...a ghost haunting Hyde Castle and stirring up one disaster after another at the worst possible moments...two dissatisfied former clients determined to ruin her career...and Tom keeping secrets about a beautiful mystery woman from his past, Goldy's got more on her plate than any caterer can handle-even an invincible caterer like Goldy!
Bestselling author Diane Mott Davidson's got all the ingredients for a five-star mystery-including mouthwatering recipes for Castle Scones, Queen of Scots Shortbread, Damson-in-Distress Plum Tart, Shuttlecock Shrimp Curry and Shakespeare's Steak Pie-in this culinary whodunit, sure to satisfy her most discriminating fans.


Holly by Jude Deveraux (hardcover)

The plot of this Yuletide confection revolves around a passionate fling that erupts by chance between wealthy young Hollander "Holly" Latham and mysterious Nick Taggert when they meet at the site of an old plantation. Holly, who inherited a passion for restoring old homes as a teenager -- the same year she fell in love with Lorrie Beaumont -- has persuaded her parents to buy the Spring Hill Plantation, a property that has seen better days. But Holly's interest in restoring the plantation is surpassed by her desire to rekindle a relationship with her new neighbor, Lorrie. Nick Taggert, a handsome doctor masquerading as a trucker, is hiding out from the aftermath of a bad breakup by riding a motorcycle and staying in a friend's garage in the area. The two first meet when Holly falls into an old cistern, and Nick comes to her rescue. But nothing is what it seems to be in this romance with a dash of mystery and threat. Are the money and status that Lorrie offers enough to make Holly turn her back on the powerful attraction she feels to Nick? The love triangle comes to a peak on a tumultuous Christmas Eve.


A Magical Christmas by Heather Graham (hardcover)

Jon and Julie Radcliff, whose marriage is in trouble, face their last Christmas together, until they take an extraordinary trip. Their family's desperate search for meaning in their lives, the discovery of the healing power o... (show all)f love, and the true spirit of the holiday season! (from Library Thing)



   (all synopses obtained from Fantastic Fiction unless otherwise noted)

So, what was in your mailbox?


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2 comments:

Thank you for visiting and taking the time to comment. It means so much.

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  1. Great books this week. Sticks & Scones was my first Dian Mott Davidson book I ever read, great series.

    The covers of The Spic Box and Rebecca's Tale are gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
  2. A lady at a book sale recommended Mott Davidson to me and this was a bag sale so I thought, why not? I'll give it a try! I know if you liked it, I probably will too!

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