- book title
- author name
- book blurb
- buy link
One blurb per author, please. I'm looking forward to reading some great blurbs this weekend!
Post away!
Cate
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Historical BlurbFest this weekend!
This weekend, TBR invites writers of historical fiction to share their book blurb - any and all subgenres included.
It's easy to participate. In the comments section of this post, enter:
- book title
- author name
- book blurb
- buy link
One blurb per author, please. I'm looking forward to reading some great blurbs this weekend!
Post away!
Cate
- book title
- author name
- book blurb
- buy link
One blurb per author, please. I'm looking forward to reading some great blurbs this weekend!
Post away!
Cate
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Oooh, what a brilliant idea. Will post up banner at facebook... :)
ReplyDeleteTITLE: By Loyalty Divided
BLURB:
A 17th century story of Undying Love and Scandalous Seduction, and all set against the backdrop of the English Civil War in which swashbuckling Cavaliers and Musketeers abound.
To live a privileged existence is one thing, to assist a much loved and wounded enemy soldier another. To then hide a blooded gown is to bring the wrath of one’s betrothed upon one’s head, the punishment unimagined. Torn between penniless flight or succumb to the inevitable, fate steps forth to cause pain and heartache Anna Lady Maitcliffe never thought to experience. How is it possible when the enemy is in the house to love and hate with such intensity? But a woman from the past shows her the extent to which a woman in love will resort to win the man she wants, and war of a different kind is set to decide the victor of love.
Point of sale:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Loyalty-Divided-Royal-Series-ebook/dp/B0080H62A2/ref=sr_1_5?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1353764147&sr=1-5
Thank you Cate!
ReplyDeleteTitle: THE BELTANE CHOICE by Nancy Jardine
Blurb:
Banished from the nemeton, becoming a priestess is no longer the future for Nara, a princess of the Selgovae tribe. Now charged with choosing a suitable mate before Beltane, her plan is thwarted by Lorcan, an enemy Brigante prince, who captures her and takes her to his hill fort. Despite their tribes fighting each other, Nara feels drawn to her captor, but time runs out for her secret quest.
As armies of the Roman Empire march relentlessly northwards, Lorcan intends to use Nara as a marriage bargain, knowing all Celtic tribes must unite to be strong enough to repel imminent Roman attack. Nara’s father, Callan, agrees to a marriage alliance between Selgovae and Brigante, but has impossible stipulations. Lorcan is torn between loyalty to his tribe and growing love for Nara.
When danger and death arrive in the form of the mighty Roman forces, will Nara be able to choose her Beltane lover?
http://amzn.to/UdT8v0
Thank you so much for the opportunity!
ReplyDeleteTITLE: Oleanna
BLURB:
Set during the separation of Norway from Sweden in 1905, this richly detailed novel of love and loss was inspired by the life of the author's great-great-aunts.
Oleanna and her sister Elisabeth are the last of their family working their farm deep in the western fjordland. A new century has begun, and the world outside is changing, but in the Sunnfjord their world is as small and secluded as the verdant banks of a high mountain lake.
The arrival of Anders, a cotter living just across the farm's border, unsettles Oleanna's peaceful but isolated existence. Sharing a common bond of loneliness and grief, Anders stirs within her the wildness and wanderlust she has worked so hard to tame.
When she is confronted with another crippling loss, Oleanna must decide once and for all how to face her past, claim her future, and find her place in a wide new world.
More information: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13254652-oleanna and http://www.juliekrose.com
Available in e-book and paperback globally via Amazon, B&N, Powell's, and other fine retailers. Amazon (US): http://amzn.to/Sh9WCh
Thanks for the opportunity, Cate!
ReplyDeleteINTERRUPTED ARIA by Beverle Graves Myers
Venice, 1731. Disaster strikes Tito’s opera premiere when the singer loses one beloved friend to poison and another to unjust accusation and arrest. Alarmed that the merchant-aristocrat who owns the theater is pressing the authorities to close the case, Tito races the executioner to find the real killer. The possible suspects could people the cast of one of his operas: a libertine nobleman and his spurned wife, a jealous soprano, an ambitious composer, and a patrician family bent on the theater’s ruin. With carnival gaiety swirling around him and rousing Venetian passions to an ominous crescendo, Tito finds that the most astonishing secrets lurk behind the masks of his friends and family.
Link to Kindle version (also on Nook & Kobo)
http://amzn.to/S23xJH
What a great idea - thanks for the opportunity!
ReplyDeleteBlurb:Sometimes life isn't what we wish for. A Gypsy circus comes to a small Appalachian community in 1843. A naïve, misunderstood farm girl is entranced by the sights, sounds and costumes and is persuaded to join the troupe. Late one night she leaves the only home she has ever known and follows the Gypsy wagon circus. She learns to ride the main act - an elephant named Cecil and she and the elephant form an instant bond. She is given the stage name of INZARED, Queen of the Elephant Riders and is delighted.
But all is not as it seems. There are undertones of danger and sadness lurking in the shadows, as foretold by the old fortune-teller Vadoma. Inzared finds true love and works hard to gain acceptance into the Gypsy world. Someone is sabotaging the circus - but whom? Inzared and Paytre (the boss handler) search for clues. What of the family Inzared left behind? Will they ever forgive her? Does she miss them?
This book is for anyone who has ever had a dream so big, so overwhelming that it consumed his or her every waking minute. Sometimes you just might get more than you bargained for and maybe it’s not what you really wanted after all.
http://tinyurl.com/7dfave4
Very intriguing!
DeleteLove the blurbs, everyone! Here's mine :)
ReplyDeleteA Midwest Summer Night’s Dream
by Cate Masters
Open sky, Shakespeare, solitude. All Jebediah Greene needs. Alone since his teens, he’s never known loneliness, until he leaves Winona Young in California. Worse, he fears she’ll trap herself in a loveless marriage of convenience. After acting as her guide to San Francisco, how far will Jeb go to win her heart?
Reading provides escape for Winona Young. Usually. Fleeing Philadelphia, she learns her distant suitor isn’t who he seemed. Neither is her mountain man guide, in a good way. Intelligent, but mule-headed, Jeb’s impossible to speak to, in any language. Winona falls in love with the stunning beauty of the wilderness, with the simple ways of the Osage people, and with Jeb. But books can’t teach her how to tame a mountain man.
Book Strand: http://www.bookstrand.com/a-midwest-summer-nights-dream
Thank you!
ReplyDeleteTITLE: Walls of Jericho
by Jonathan Hopkins
BLURB: 1808. As Napoleon’s conscript armies smash their way across Europe, a small British expeditionary force lands on the coast of Portugal. Its mission: to support Portuguese efforts to eject the French from their country.
Young cavalrymen Corporal Joshua Lock and Lieutenant the Honourable John Killen disembark with the 20th Light Dragoons. But their unlikely three-year friendship, forged in the aftermath of a near-fatal accident, ends tragically when Lock is killed in a French ambush.
So when his regiment marches to meet the French in battle, will Killen live to honour his father’s memory?
And is Lock really dead?
Available in Paperback and on Kindle. For more info please visit www.cavalrytales.co.uk
Title: Fallen From Grace
ReplyDeleteBy J. R. Lindermuth
Blurb: As the 19th century winds to a close, Sheriff Sylvester Tilghman of the small Pennsylvania town of Arahpot ponders his biggest problems: finding a new deputy and convincing his true love, Lydia, to marry him. But an early autumn day finds Arahpot’s usual tranquility shaken when a stranger is fatally stabbed. Upon seeing the victim, Tilghman recalls witnessing a strained encounter between him and Valentine Deibert, an obese man with a wife half his age who had recently moved to Arahpot. The sheriff questions Deibert who denies knowing the victim. Tilghman is unconvinced, but lacks a connection until the widow arrives in Arahpot. Suddenly Sylvester is plunged into investigating two murders. As he works through an abundance of motivated suspects, Tilghman finds himself in danger. And worse -- Lydia is pushing her obnoxious cousin as a candidate for deputy.
Available in print and Kindle:
http://www.amazon.com/Fallen-Grace-J-R-Lindermuth/dp/161009011X/ref=la_B002BLJIQ8_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353768696&sr=1-1
Thanks for the opportunity Cate and hi to fellow blurbers!
ReplyDeleteBook Title: The Fifth Knight
Author: E.M. Powell
Blurb: When mercenary Sir Benedict Palmer agrees to help King Henry II’s knights seize the traitor Archbishop Thomas Becket, what begins as a clandestine arrest ends in cold-blooded murder. And when Fitzurse, the knights’ ringleader, kidnaps Theodosia, a beautiful young nun who witnessed the crime, Palmer can sit silently by no longer. He and Theodosia rely only on each other as they race to uncover the motive behind Becket’s murder—and the truth that could destroy a kingdom.
Available now on Kindle Serials (For US customers only at this time)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A017O0I/ref=amb_link_364921202_9?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_r=1GARZ3C4A1YW41HSAA0H&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1421727162&pf_rd_i=5044445011
Great idea! Thank you!
ReplyDelete"Women of the Way" by John Kachuba
Women of the Way is an inspirational historical novel that recounts the stories of three women in first-century Palestine that find their lives transformed when they meet an enigmatic, itinerant rabbi from Nazareth named Yeshua.
Miriam is a widow of independent means, defamed as a harlot and shunned by the villagers of Magdala precisely because of her independence. Joanna is a patrician woman and wife of Chuza, King Herod’s chief steward, who finds herself subjected to the unwanted advances of Philip, Herod’s nephew. Hannah, the Homeless One, is a young orphan roaming from village to village, barely able to keep herself alive.
The words and deeds of Yeshua draw the women to him. But Palestine is a volatile land where Roman rule and Jewish nationalism are on a collision course. Women are not treated as equals to men—despite Yeshua’s egalitarian views; feminism is centuries away. As Yeshua’s popularity increases, so do the numbers of his enemies and the women find themselves in mortal danger as they spread the teachings of the Way.
Drawn from Bible stories, Women of the Way blends adventure with spirituality, and history with religion to create a thought-provoking and moving book.
http://www.amazon.com/Women-of-the-Way-ebook/dp/B0091J2M1Q/ref=sr_1_10?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1346003441&sr=1-10&keywords=women+of+the+way
Wonderful idea - thanks!
ReplyDeleteA Thing Done
by Tinney Sue Heath
In 1216 the noble families of Florence hold great power, but they do not share it easily. Tensions simmer just below the surface. When a Jester's prank-for-hire sets off a brawl, those tensions erupt violently, dividing Florence into hostile factions. A marriage is brokered to make peace, but that fragile alliance crumbles under the pressure of a woman's interference, a scorned bride, and an outraged cry for revenge. At the center of the conflict is Corrado, the Jester, whose prank began it and who is now pressed into unwilling service by both sides. It will take all his wit and ingenuity to keep himself alive and to prevent the unbridled ambitions of the nobles from destroying the city in a brutal civil war.
http://www.amazon.com/A-Thing-Done-ebook/dp/B009Z4WAU0/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1351708368&sr=8-5&keywords=Tinney+Heath
Hello readers1
ReplyDelete"The Darling Strumpet" by Gillian Bagwell
From London’s slums to its bawdy playhouses, "The Darling Strumpet" transports the reader to the tumultuous world of seventeenth-century England, charting the meteoric rise of the dazzling Nell Gwynn, who rises from the streets to become a beloved comic actress, capturing the affection of London audiences and then the heart of the king himself.
"An absolute triumph as a debut novel.... [It] is an absolutely brilliant addition to the historical fiction genre and might be the best novel on Nell Gwynn ever. …Nell would have applauded in approval and probably done a little jig to celebrate her tribute."
Pittsburgh Historical Fiction Examiner
http://www.amazon.com/The-Darling-Strumpet-Captured-England/dp/B0058M7K4O/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_t_3
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Darling-Strumpet-Gillian-Bagwell/dp/1847562507/ref=pd_rhf_pe_p_t_1
Thanks so much for the invite!
ReplyDeleteTree Soldier by JL Oakley
One mistake can ruin a life. One mistake can transform it. A government forestry camp set deep in the mountainous forests of the Pacific Northwest might not seem the likely place to find redemption, but in 1935, Park Hardesty hopes for just that. Blaming himself for the fiery accident that caused his brother's disfigurement and the death of the bootlegging woman he loved, planting trees, building bridges and mentoring tough, homesick New Jersey boys brings him both penitence and the renewal of his own self-worth. When he wins the love of Kate Alford, a local naturalist who envisions joining the Forest Service, which allows only men, he also captures the ire of a camp officer who refuses to let her go. Just when he is ready to seek his brother's forgiveness, he is falsely accused of rape. Every aspect of his life he has tried to rebuild is put in jeopardy. In the end, the only way he can defend himself is to tell the truth about his brother, but he risks being kicked out of the camp. Worse, he could lose Kate's love forever.
2012 EPIC ebook award historical fiction
2012 Chanticleer Book Reviews Grand Prize historical fiction
"Oakley constructs this rugged romance with tremendous care, fully developing its characters, particularly the honorable Hardesty, and building moments of tension in an engaging and entertaining novel." ~PW Select
Buy:
http://www.amazon.com/Tree-Soldier-J-L-Oakley/dp/1453896473/ref=tmm_pap_title_0
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tree-Soldier-ebook/dp/B004C44F0Q
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this opportunity!
ReplyDeleteThe King's Agent by Donna Russo Morin
The King’s Agent is based loosely on the life of Battista della Palla-a patriotic plunderer, a religious rogue-of the 16th century, a lifelong friend to the great Michelangelo.
As the cloistered ward of the Marquess of Mantua, Lady Aurelia is a woman with a profound duty, and a longing for adventure. In search of a relic intended for the King of France, Battista and Aurelia cross the breathtaking landscape of Renaissance Italy. Clues hide in great works of art, political forces collide, secret societies and enemies abound, and danger lurks in every challenge, those that mirror the passages of Dante's Divine Comedy. It is an adventurous quest with undercurrents of the supernatural, powers that could change the balance of supremacy throughout Europe.
"Russo Morin skillfully blends historical fiction and fantasy in surprising ways. She draws effortlessly upon influences ranging from Dante to Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the authority of her presentation makes the world she’s created come alive. A wonderfully action-packed ride through the lush landscape of Renaissance Italy." Starred Review, Publishers Weekly
http://www.amazon.com/Kings-Agent-Donna-Russo-Morin/dp/075824682X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353778301&sr=8-1&keywords=the+King%27s+agent
Mistress of the Stone
ReplyDeleteParanormal Historical
Samhain Publishing
She was ready for his steel, but not for his flesh.
Luísa Tavares has a list of sins the length of the Antilles, but there’s no time to repent for them now. When a pockmarked Frenchman hands her Papa’s ring—still attached to his severed finger—she orders the Coral back to the Caribbean, despite her father’s earlier warning never to return.
It’s Luísa’s luckless fate that the only man who can help her is a blasted Inglés pirate hunter who’s more dead than alive and locked in a curse he doesn’t want lifted. Worse, his feral sensuality sparks a hunger she can’t ignore.
****
Buy it here.
Thank you so much for the chance to post
ReplyDeleteTHE GILDED LILY by Deborah Swift
OUT SOON - NOV 27th
A spellbinding historical novel of beauty and greed and surprising redemption.
England, 1660. Ella Appleby believes she is destined for better things than slaving as a housemaid and dodging the blows of her drunken father. When her employer dies suddenly, she seizes her chance--taking his valuables and fleeing the countryside with her sister for the golden prospects of London. But London may not be the promised land she expects. Work is hard to find, until Ella takes up with a dashing and dubious gentleman with ties to the London underworld. Meanwhile, her old employer's twin brother is in hot pursuit of the sisters.
Set in a London of atmospheric coffee houses, gilded mansions, and shady pawnshops hidden from rich men's view, Deborah Swift's The Gilded Lily is a dazzling novel of historical adventure.
'There is no greater compliment than 'Give me more!' Susanna Gregory
'Impeccably written historical fiction' Let Them Read Books
'The author excels in making the reader care for the two girls' Historical Tapestry
'an addictive, page-turning read' Mary Sharratt
'A fast-paced adventure peopled with ruthless villains and feisty heroines whose exploits grab the imagination and add suspense and excitement to a historical gem' Lancashire Evening Post
http://www.amazon.com/The-Gilded-Lily-A-Novel/dp/1250001900
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for this opportunity! My mystery is:
ReplyDeleteFLOATS THE DARK SHADOW by Yves Fey
Young American painter Theodora Faraday struggles to discover her identity as an artist in vibrant Belle Epoque Paris. She’s tasted the champagne of success, illustrating poems for the Revenants, a group of poets led by her adored cousin, Averill. When children she knows vanish mysteriously, Theo clashes with Inspecteur Michel Devaux, who suspects the Revenants are involved. Theo refuses to believe the killer could be a friend—could be someone she loves.
Classic detections and occult revelation lead Michel and Theo through the dark underbelly of Paris. Following the maze of clues, they discover the murderer believes he is the reincarnation of the most evil serial killer in the history of France. Whether deranged mind or demonic passion incite him, the killer must be found before he strikes again.
Available from Barnes and Noble and Amazon as hardback, paper, and Kindle
http://www.amazon.com/Floats-The-Dark-Shadow-Yves/dp/1937356213/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1353782338&sr=8-1
Title: Stealing The Sheriff's Heart by L.B. Shire
ReplyDeleteBlurb:Sheriff Corban Culley came to Becker's Ridge to set roots and make a good name for himself. He never expected to risk it all to save Miss Amelia Grey, the woman who stole his heart.
Sheriff Corban Culley is hot on the heels of an outlaw who just robbed the local stagecoach. He captures the hooded bandit easily enough, but what he finds under that cover will change his life forever.
As of late, Amelia Grey has been threatened, bullied and blackmailed. In her desperation to save her kidnapped brother and her family's ranch, she's forced to make a tough decision. After falling for handsome lawman Corban Culley, she spent months finding ways to cross his path. But she hadn't expected their next encounter to be with her on the wrong side of the law, and him needing to risk his reputation to save her family.
Link:http://www.amazon.com/Stealing-the-Sheriffs-Heart-ebook/dp/B009EKO8ZA/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_t_3
Thanks so much, Cate! :-)
ReplyDeleteDark Deceit by Cathie Dunn
Blurb:
On his return from battle at Lincoln, Geoffrey de Mortagne, under-sheriff of Gloucester and spy for the Empress Matilda, assists a dying knight caught in an ambush. Promising to look after the welfare of the knight's only daughter, Geoffrey stays at her manor, investigating the murder. Keen to join the Empress on her progress through England, he is torn between his oath and his duty.
Left to defend her manor following her father's death, Alleyne de Bellac reluctantly accepts Geoffrey's support. As she doesn't trust the taciturn stranger, she asks Will d'Arques, an old friend, for help. But loyalties change. Her life in danger and her inheritance at stake, Alleyne must decide which man to trust.
Discover England and Normandy divided by a brutal civil war, where vows are broken as allegiances waver.
Link:
http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Deceit-ebook/dp/B0075XY8OO/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1328601097&sr=1-2
Cate, I thank you for this opportunity --
ReplyDeleteROCAMORA by Donald Michael Platt
Blurb: Rocamora, a novel of 17th century Spain, is based on the historical life of Vicente de Rocamora, who struggles to make his place in a Spain obsessed with limpieza de sangre, purity of blood untainted by Jew, Moor, or recent convert.
Poet, swordsman, and master of disguise, at the insistence of his family, Vicente enters the Dominican Order and is soon thrust into the scheming political and clerical hierarchies that at Court.
Vicente becomes Confessor and Spiritual Director for King Philip IV’s teenage sister, the beautiful Infanta Doña María, five years younger than he, protégé and possible successor of Inquisitor General Sotomayor, and an invaluable assistant to the King’s chief minister, the Count-Duke de Olivares.
Vicente needs all his skills and cunning to survive assassination by a growing list of ruthless foes in both Church and Court, solve a centuries-old riddle to quell rumors of his own impurity of blood, and above all suppress his love for the seemingly unattainable María.
http://www.amazon.com/Rocamora-Man-of-Masks-ebook/dp/B005Q37NII/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1317226891&sr=1-2
Fabulous idea! Thank you.
ReplyDelete"Okatibbee Creek" by Lori Crane
In May of 1862, Mary Ann stands on the side of the dirt road and proudly waves her little Confederate flag as her husband and brothers march off to war. Little does she know, those left at home will be no safer than the men fighting on the battlefield.
As the war wages on and she struggles to raise her four children and the five orphans she has taken in, the collapse of the Confederate dollar, food shortages, and a typhoid epidemic threaten to overwhelm them all. When General Sherman’s troops march through Mississippi on their way to destroy Meridian, the distant war literally arrives on her doorstep.
"Okatibbee Creek" (pronounced oh-kuh-TIB-be) vividly brings the Deep South to life through the emotional journey of Mary Ann Rodgers, a strong and resilient woman, who with the help of an unexpected champion, eventually rebuilds her shattered life.
Available December 2012 in paperback and Kindle.
http://www.bookwire.com/Okatibbee-Creek-9780988354500.html
What a great idea, and thank you!
ReplyDelete"Rebel Puritan" by Jo Ann Butler
When twelve-year old Herodias Long survives bubonic plague which kills her father and ravages England in 1636, she thinks that she is lucky.
When she impulsively marries a handsome stranger a year later and sails to New England, Herodias thinks that she has escaped servitude.
When her family casts off Puritan repression in Massachusetts and settles in Rhode Island, Herodias thinks that she has found freedom at last.
However, when she learns that it is easier to marry a jealous man than to be freed from him, Herodias realizes that her troubles have just begun ...
Available at:
http://www.malloybooks.com/neverest.html
and as an ebook at:
http://www.amazon.com/Rebel-Puritan-Scandalous-Life-ebook/dp/B008464QSE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353875450&sr=8-1&keywords=rebel+puritan