Camino Primitivo - A Wise Pilgrim Guide
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Catholic Mass Times
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The Twenty Days of Turin
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In the spare wing of a church-run sanatorium, some zealous youths create "the Library," a space...
Stipulations and Complications (The Sisters, Texas Mystery Series Book 3)
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Life comes with stipulations. If you want to fit into last year’s swimsuit, you can’t eat ice...
cozy mystery mystery Texas adult fiction series
Angel Thieves
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An ocelot. A slave. An angel thief. Multiple perspectives spanning across time are united through...
Houston Texas Historical Fiction slavery YA Young Adult
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Hell’s Bell (Lizzie Grace #2) in Books
Sep 28, 2021
Book
Hells Bell ( Lizzie Grace book 2)
By Keri Arthur
Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments
When the church bell tolls thrice in the middle of the night, evil this way comes…
Lizzie Grace and Belle Kent, her witch familiar, are living and working on the Faelan Werewolf Reservation—one that has banned the use of magic within its borders. Although they have their supporters—including ranger Aiden O’Connor, who once hated all things witch—Lizzie and Belle now face possible eviction.
But the Faelan Reservation is a place filled with wild magic which—when left unprotected—quickly becomes a draw to those who walk the darker paths. As Christmas approaches, a new evil comes to town—one that eats the souls of the living and animates the flesh of the dead.
As the body count grows and the trail of clues leads them to the doorstep of the local vampire, Lizzie, Belle, and Aiden must find the killer before death comes calling on them.
But the biggest threat of all may come in the form of a witch who sees through the veils of Lizzie’s carefully constructed lies and suspects the truth of who she really is…
Hells Bell picks up from Blood Kissed and I have to say this is really becoming one of my favourite series by Keri. I love Lizzie’s and Bellas relationship they bounce of each other so well. The sexual tension is ramped up in this between Lizzie and Aiden which is handled so well! The big bad in this was a soul eater which is just a scary thought full stop! I’m also a little bit in love with our resident vampire!!!
A Matter of Faith – Henry VIII: The Days of the Phoenix
Book
Finally free of Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII, is now married to Anne Boleyn and eagerly awaiting...
Historical Fiction Tudors Henry VIII
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Tidelands ( Fairmile book 1) in Books
May 8, 2022
Book
Tidelands ( Fairmile book 1)
By Philippa Gregory
⭐️⭐️⭐️
A country at war
A king beheaded
A woman with a dangerous secret
On Midsummer’s Eve, Alinor waits in the church graveyard, hoping to encounter the ghost of her missing husband and thus confirm his death. Until she can, she is neither maiden nor wife nor widow, living in a perilous limbo. Instead she meets James, a young man on the run. She shows him the secret ways across the treacherous marshy landscape of the Tidelands, not knowing she is leading a spy and an enemy into her life.
England is in the grip of a bloody civil war that reaches into the most remote parts of the kingdom. Alinor’s suspicious neighbors are watching each other for any sign that someone might be disloyal to the new parliament, and Alinor’s ambition and determination mark her as a woman who doesn’t follow the rules. They have always whispered about the sinister power of Alinor’s beauty, but the secrets they don’t know about her and James are far more damning. This is the time of witch-mania, and if the villagers discover the truth, they could take matters into their own hands.
This was my first Philippa Gregory book and I liked it but it didn’t wow me! I took a while to get into it and struggled a little for a while. I’m glad I stuck with it though and it did really pick up towards the end. I’m a fan of historical history reads so the era was right up my street. I must say the ending was just so sad and my heart actually wrenched for Allinor. I look forward to reading more.
ClareR (5721 KP) rated The Darkest Sin in Books
Dec 4, 2023
This story picks up not long after book 1, and Aldo is called to a convent that has had reports of an intruder. This isn’t a harmonious convent, though. There are opposing ideas on what sort of convent it should be (with some very unchristian nuns!), and it has it’s share of secrets.
Meanwhile, Constable Carlo Strocchi has taken his new wife home to introduce her to his mother, and he happens to stumble across the remains of a rather unpopular former officer of the city’s criminal court. And it looks as though he has been murdered.
I love this blend of historical fact and fiction: the Medici’s and the roles of nuns (to be enclosed or not?), the inequalities in Italian society at the time, women’s roles and lack of power, the structure of authority and how the catholic church ruled supreme (and not particularly morally). Aldo is the bastard son of a wealthy man, and when he is ‘reunited’ with his family, he’s not exactly welcomed back with open arms. He does however meet his niece, and she is far more accepting of him, even if it is, I think, a way of getting her own way!!
This is such an atmospheric read, and is thoroughly addictive. There are enough twists, turns and threats to Aldo’s life to make it very difficult to put the book down!
So is Aldo a threat to my love of Giordano Bruno or Matthew Shardlake? Err, nope, but he’s joining them - and if you like either of these, you’ll love Aldo Cesare!
Bethr1986 (305 KP) rated Ascent (House of Normandy #1) in Books
May 11, 2023 (Updated May 11, 2023)
Poppa is in church for service when her village is attacked by the Vikings, she refuses to take things lying down. She stands up for her people and tries to save the men that are being taken as slaves. One thing she is absolutely sure of is she will have nothing to do with these Norse heathens no matter what her father the Count of Bayeux insists, she would rather die! Who would or could ever find themselves loving a savage like them?
This is the story of Poppa and although it is fictional it seems to have a lot of depth to what has been written. There are little bits of history weaved within Poppa's tale and it makes it all the more interesting to read. I have enjoyed reading about the life of a count's daughter and how she deals with raids and her friends being taken as well as the life she knew and how she is able to deal with the hardships and tasks that are sent her way. When I first started reading I thought Poppa was a brat and could see us clashing, as I read further into the book I had more compassion for her and she ended up being my favourite. I could see myself reading other books like this by the same author as she has a flare for pulling you into the story and involving you.
Completely recommended
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *