New Review - "Shields of Pride" by Elizabeth Chadwick

Joscelin de Gael is the bastard of a noble. Because he wont inherit anything from his father, he has to make his own way in the world. He was a mercenary for a long time when he gets the chance of a lifetime: become the guardian of a young boy's estate and marry the boy's mother, Linnet. ...continue reading...

Rating: ***** (5/5 stars)

Currently Reading: "Woman of a Thousand Secrets" by Barbara Wood

Boxing Day Update!

Hey there, I have finally found the time to update my site! Head on over there to see 5 new reviews and an updated book list! Here are previews of the new reviews:

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"Gladiatrix" by Russell Whitfield
Rating: **** (4 out of 5 stars)

It was a well written, enjoyable, and entertaining read about Ancient Rome, inspired by my favourite book "The Light Bearer" (which Whitfield alludes to briefly in the book). ...read more.

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"Skeletons at the Feast" by Chris Bohjalian

Rating: ***** (5 out of 5 stars)

This was a really great book. Bohjalian does a great job of creating these fictional characters and how they may have viewed the war based on real accounts. ...read more.

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"Cleopatra's Daughter" by Michelle Moran
Rating: ***** (5 out of 5 stars)

I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting to get a glimpse of how Selene may have coped with losing her parents, her kingdom, and moving to a new world. ...read more.

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"Romanitas" by Sophia McDougall

Rating: *** (3 out of 5 stars)

This book was alright. It was interesting to imagine what the world would be like without Rome having fallen (or simply changed into the Medieval world as some scholars believe), but unfortunately, the book started out choppy and slow and I had a hard time getting into it. ...read more.

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"Gods Behaving Badly" by Marie Phillips
Rating: **** (4 out of 5 stars)


This was a highly entertaining book. It was sometimes silly, funny, and even sad. If you like Greek mythology then you might enjoy reading this novel. ...read more.

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Until next time,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

~*~Vanessa

Currently Reading: "Shields of Pride" by Elizabeth Chadwick

New Review - "The Rose of Sebastopol" by Katharine McMahon

Mariella Lingwood is a young woman living in Victorian England. She is very prim and proper, like she should be, and is great with a needle thanks to her "Aunt" Eppie (really her father's cousin). When Eppie dies, Mariella's family takes in Eppie's son, Henry, who is a few years older than Mariella. ...continue reading...

Rating: ***** (5 stars)

New Review - "The Blooding of Jack Absolute" by C.C. Humphreys

Jack Absolute is a child when his story begins. He is living in the care of his tough-luck uncle and at the mercy of his equally rough cousin. He is told that he is a bastard and has nothing to look forward to in life. But lo and behold, after a terrible accident takes the life of his uncle, Jack's father returns with his mother and carries him away to London. ...continue reading...

Rating: *** (3 stars)

New Review - "Maid Marian" by Elsa Watson

This novel is a re-telling of the legend of Robin Hood, only it is told through the eyes of Maid Marian. As such, it is really her story and Robin Hood is only a secondary character throughout the book. Marian tells of her lonely childhood as a ward at Warwick castle. The only person she was close to was her nurse, Annie. ...continue reading...

Rating: *** (3 stars)

New Review - "The Virgin's Tale" by Sherri Smith

"The Virgin's Tale" is the story of Aemilia, a girl who was chosen to be a Vestal Virgin around the age of ten. Aemilia tells of how much of an honour this was for her family, but for her it was like she was being abandoned by the only people she had ever known. She had to adjust to becoming a Virgin, with the strict rules and conduct required of every Virgin. ...continue reading...

Rating: ***** (5 stars)

New Review - "The Principessa" by Christie Dickason

Francis Quoynt is sent on a dangerous mission to La Spada by England's second most powerful man, Robert Cecil, the Earl of Salisbury and English Secretary of State. Francis accepts the mission because he has grown tired of amusing courtly idiots with his fireworks and because his lover had married his father! ...continue reading...

Rating: *** (3 stars)

New Review - "The Lover's Path" by Krish Waldherr

"The Lover's Path" is an illustrated novel in which the protagonist tells her story of a love found and lost. Filamena Ziani is a young woman living in sixteenth century Venice. She loves music and has a beautiful singing voice. ...continue reading...

Rating: **** (4 stars)

Updates coming soon!

Hey everyone! I am in the process of updating my site for the first time in a month. I have been having trouble with my internet and as such was totally not into logging on - I just end up getting really mad at my internet and therefore enter into a bad mood. Not good for my cats who run for cover when I start yelling at my computer. Haha. Anyway a few new reviews will be up shortly, assuming of course I don't have any problems with my internet from now till then!

New Review - "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" by Lisa See

"Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" is the story of Lily and Snow Flower, two nineteenth century Chinese women. Lily narrates the story of her life by using nu shu, a secret writing women used to communicate with each other. Because this is not her official autobiography, she focuses on her relationship with Snow Flower, her laotang or old same. These old same relationships were lifelong and matched together girls who were born the same day and year and who had the same characters. ...continue reading...

Rating: ***** (5 stars)

Reading next: "The Lover's Path" by Kris Waldherr

Updated Wishlist

Hello there, I have recently updated my wishlist with two books:

- "Crowned in Candlelight" by Rosemary Hawley Jarman
-"Shanghai Girls" by Lisa See

Have a nice weekend! New review coming in a few minutes!

New Review - "Duchess" by Susan Holloway Scott

"Duchess" is a fictionalized account of the life of Sarah Churchill (born Jennings). At the young age of thirteen, she is sent to the court of the king's brother, James. Sarah's mother did not want her around anymore, being a bitter widow and resenting her daughter for having been born to her at an old age. Sarah is happy to be going to court and immediately becomes a favourite of the Princess Anne, as well as a maid of honor to the Duchess Mary Beatrice. ...continue reading...

Rating: **** (4 stars)

Reading next: "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" by Lisa See

Just wondering...

Hello. I was just wondering when the next book by Donna Gillespie will be released? I wonder if she is actually done writing it? I wish she would update her website or her blog. I really want to know what happens in the series. "The Light Bearer" is my favorite book ever and I love the sequel to it also ("Lady of the Light"). I waited so long for the sequel to come out and I don't want to have to wait super long for the third book! And I even only read "The Light Bearer" a few years after it was released. I was lucky I even found it in the store. I just happened to be at Chapters one day and saw it there all by its lonesome on the shelf and decided to buy it because the story looked interesting. I will never regret buying it. Now I am just whining about having to wait for the next book. It'll probably be better if she takes her time, but I wanna read it now! LOL. Yeah I am so bored right now so I just decided to whine a bit. Have a nice weekend! I am going to read "The Duchess" now. Good night!

In case you didn't notice...

In case you didn't notice, I have decided to use my blog to post updates to my site. I will post excerpts of my reviews here and if you want to read the full review then just click on the link provided. I thought this might be a good idea.

I have picked "Duchess" by Susan Holloway Scott out of my kleenex box of books needed to be read. I have not gotten very far in it however, as I have been amusing myself with the Sims 3 for the past few days. LOL. Have a nice day!

New Review - "Crossed" by Nicole Galland

"Crossed" is a story of an anonymous and suicidal Briton bent on vengeance on an Englishman. Just as he is about to assassinate this man, the Briton realizes it is not the man he was looking for and as he is caught by an accompanying knight, he begs the knight to kill him. The knight accompanying the Englishman (who turns out to be the commander of the upcoming Fourth Crusade) refuses to kill him and instead takes him to his tent where he informs the Briton that he will be going on Crusade. ...continue reading...

Rating: **** (4 stars)

My first post!

Hey!
I have decided to try out blogging just for the fun of it. My plan is to post my book reviews onto the blog for now. I have a wesbite (Vanessa's Book Nook) where I have posted some reviews already, but I have gotten really busy and stuff with school and have therefore gotten quite lazy to update. So right now I am thinking of just moving it to a blog for now at least. I am still thinking about it at the moment. I really do like my website and don't really want to let it go, but I am thinking this will be simpler. That is it for now. I will post with my decision sometime soon!