Recent Reads {The Betrayed}

The Betrayed by Lisa T. Bergren - This is the second novel in Bergren's trilogy, and continues the adventures of the group of fourteenth century Christians known as The Gifted.  In the first novel, The Begotten, the group was brought together by circumstances and a portion of a mysterious illuminated letter from centuries earlier.  Each has a remarkable spiritual gift, and together they are learning to use their gifts for God's glory and to work together as a Body to discover God's calling for them, while facing the opposition of a dangerous enemy.  As The Betrayed opens, the band of believers is fleeing to Venezia where they hope to find more clues about their purpose, and the villain Lord Amidei and his allies are in pursuit with the goal of destroying the Gifted completely.  Many adventures await in Venezia, and the Gifted find some trusted friends and another of their number, all the while trying to discern what God is leading them to do, and keep each other safe from the enemy's increasingly vicious attacks.  They face some very difficult trials and great danger, and the suspense and drama of this compelling historical novel kept me on the edge of my seat.

By the same author:  The Begotten

Recent Reads {Tears of Pearl}

Tears of Pearl by Tasha Alexander - I'm finding the Lady Emily novels very enjoyable, and rather hard to put down once I've started!  They are generally a quick read as well.  This is the fourth in the series, and opens with newlyweds Lady Emily and Colin Hargreaves on their wedding trip.  They are looking forward to a relaxing and exotic honeymoon in Constantinople, but on their first night there one of the harem girls is found murdered.  It turns out the girl is the daughter of one of the British diplomats and had been kidnapped many years earlier.  Emily and Colin launch an investigation to find her killer, with Emily given access to the mysterious world of the seraglio so she can question the sultan's concubines and eunuchs.  The answers aren't easy to find, especially as new twists and turns - and more victims - keep bringing new questions into the investigation.  Emily's friend Margaret comes to Constantinople as well, and assists Emily with her investigation while providing the comfort and support of a trusted friend as Emily deals with some very personal questions and fears as well.  In this mystery, I had my eye on the suspect much earlier than in the previous installments, but was kept wondering how everything fit together and how Emily would find the solution and capture the killer.  Another winner in the series!

By the same author: And Only to Deceive,  A Poisoned Season, A Fatal Waltz

Recent Reads {A Fatal Waltz}

 

A Fatal Waltz by Tasha Alexander - in the third novel of suspense featuring Lady Emily Ashton, she and Colin Hargreaves attend a house party at the estate of a powerful member of the British government.  Lady Emily expects the event to be uncomfortable and tedious, as she despises the powerful Lord Fortescue, and attends only as a favour to her best friend Ivy, whose husband is a protege of Lord Fortescue.  It certainly is uncomfortable - one of the other guests is Kristiana von Lange, an Austrian countess who has a past relationship with Colin.  But the party is not tedious.  Lord Fortescue is found murdered and Ivy's husband is arrested and charged with the crime.  Lady Emily is determined to clear his name, and her investigation takes her to Vienna.  There she must continue to deal with the countess and her husband, and she matches wits with an anarchist, all in a race to find the real murderer before Ivy's husband stands trial.  In the end, Lady Emily must also trust the countess for Colin's safety as well.  An intriguing murder mystery and lovely romance all in one!

By the same author: And Only to Deceive,  A Poisoned Season

Recent Reads {The Skin Map}

The Skin Map by Stephen R. Lawhead - Most years, when I get birthday money, I spend at least part of it on books.  This year I purchased my own copies of The Skin Map and The Bone House with birthday money.  I had read The Skin Map very shortly after it was first published, but now that I had the second book in the series to read, I thought it would probably be a good idea to refresh my memory of the first.  I enjoyed it every bit as much the second time through, but then again, Lawhead is one of my favorite authors and I never seem to get tired of reading his work.

The Bright Empires series is an intriguing combination of science fiction, suspense thriller, and historical novel.  Kit Livingstone lives a rather dull existence in a dead-end job and a lackluster romance, but all that changes when he unexpectedly meets with his great-grandfather and is introduced to the adventures of ley line travel.  Kit tries to show his skeptical girlfriend Mina what happened, but they become separated - she finds herself in Bavaria of long ago, while Kit returns to the London of the 17th century where he had been with his great-grandfather.  And so begins their quest to find Mina in whatever alternate universe she has landed in, while eluding the bad guys in the race to find the skin map.  At the same time, Mina is adjusting to the surprising changes in her circumstance and making the best of things.

My comments from my first read of The Skin Map.

By the same author:  The Pendragon Cycle: Taliesin, Merlin, Arthur, Pendragon, and Grail;  Patrick.

Recent Reads {A Poisoned Season}

A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander - This is the follow-up to And Only to Deceive, and follows  the adventures of Lady Emily Ashton as she finds herself involved in another investigation.  Emily is being very choosy about the invitations she accepts as the London season gets under way, and soon finds herself gaining attention of a man claiming to be the heir to the French throne - attention she does not want!  She has a rather low opinion of Mr Berry, and is skeptical of his claim that he is the decendent of the dauphin who escaped the French Revolution.  At the same time, jewelry and other valuable items that once belonged to Marie Antoinette are being stolen from London homes by a clever cat burglar.  And Emily finds that she has a mysterious secret admirer.  Are there connections? Emily sets out to find out, and the urgency intensifies when a young man of her acquaintance is found murdered after he reports that a valuable diamond of Marie Antoinette's was stolen from him.  While navigating the social scene and dealing with gossip about her own character, Emily continues to pursue the investigation with valuable help from Colin Hargreaves.  And Colin is pursuing Emily with clear intent to marrying her.  By the end of this clever novel of intrigue and suspense, Emily identifies her admirer, unmasks a murderer, finds the truth about the dauphin's descendents, and makes a decision about marrying again.

By the same author:  And Only to Deceive

Recent Reads{The Begotten}

The Begotten by Lisa T. Bergren - This book was recommended to me by a friend at least two years ago, and has been on my to-read list ever since.  I finally got around to reading it this past week, and I'm so glad I did!  This is historical fiction that deals with the Church of the middle ages and spiritual gifts and calling.  The setting is fourteenth century Italy, and the main characters are a noblewoman with the gift of healing, an unusual priest with the gift of wisdom, and a knight of the Church with the gift of faith.  They are brought together by divine circumstances with an ancient prophetic writing and its illumination that challenges them and encourages them to use their gifts as God directs them and to trust Him alone.  The story is definitely a page-turner, something of a mystery and a thriller, because these main characters are being pursued by a powerful enemy that they don't identify until very late in the book, and there is danger and intrigue all around.  I found it to be inspirational as well as entertaining.

Although I do wish my friend had told me it's the first part of a trilogy! Now I have to track down the next two in the series so I can find out what happens next!

 

Recent Reads {And Only To Deceive}

And Only To Deceive by Tasha Alexander - Tasha Alexander titles have popped up a few times on Amazon as suggested books after searching for other historical fiction, but when I quickly skimmed past a review on a Jane Austen fan blog I thought I would give it a try.  The setting and many plot elements actually remind me far more of Deanna Raybourn's novels, her Lady Julia Grey series being a favorite of mine.  This one opens with the young society widow Lady Emily Ashton reflecting on her brief marriage and very superficial relationship with her late husband, Philip.  She readily admits that she accepted his proposal in order to escape her mother's home, and although she liked him well enough, she certainly wasn't deeply in love, nor did she feel a great loss at the news of his death while on a safari in Africa.  As information about Philip's regard for her, and his interest in Greek antiquities comes to her, she begins to regret his loss more keenly and especially that she never really got to know him.  However, her interest in her late husband's dealings in antiquities also stirs up danger and intrigue and a number of questions about how he might have been connected to a black market in antiquities and engaged in fraudulent activities.  Determined to remain free of her mother's influence and resistant to any thought of marrying again, Emily sets out to unravel the mysteries and decide which, if any, of Philip's friends she can trust.  She also decides to follow up on rumours that her husband may still be alive somewhere in Africa, and her quest places her in more danger than she realizes.  Emily is an interesting character, and while there are many elements of this story that are strikingly similar to the Lady Julia series, I think Raybourn's characters are more eccentric themselves, and certainly have a more unusual supporting cast of characters.  Alexander's novel has a lot of flair in its suspense and mystery, with just a hint of romance, so it was an easy read and left me wanting to read the follow-up novel.