From Goodreads: Two Spartan boys grow up together, and become inseparable friends. One is a prince of Sparta , destined to rule this ancient Greek state, the other a slave, or helot, who serves the young prince. In the harsh training camps, or agoges, where boys are groomed to become the great warriors of Spartan fame, their skills are honed and brutally tested. Only citizens may aspire to the warrior’s Red Cloak, and one of the tests is the annual crypteia, or hunting of the helots. A beautiful and mysterious young Sibyl speaks of an uprising of the slaves. The Oracles warn of a deadly conflict between two ruling factions. Evil forces will challenge the two boys and test their loyalties, as secret truths about their own identities are revealed.

Buy it now from Hicklebee’s.

Heidi From Ya Bibliophile sent me this book. I promised to read it fast and pass it on (which I have done) but I was nervous. I knew Heidi had loved it and I have this rule that I don’t read self published books, it keeps me from reading something bad quality right?

Song of the Red Cloak put a chink in my gatekeeper armor. This book was fabulous. It reads like you are watching Troy or Clash of the Titans (but its actually good) and I found it absolutely unputdownable. Acevedo touches on the most fascinating points of Spartan history and lore to accent her story.

We begin the book with two fathers pouring wine over their just born babies faces. One cries, one does not. A sibyl says that the princes will betray each other and cause upheaval in Sparta, it is decided that one of the two must die. As the father of the chosen child- the one who didn’t cry- stands over the crack in the earth ready to end his just born babies like, it is then he begins to cry. The father lost his nerve and brought shame to his family for not going through with killing the child.

Skip ahead a few years and you meet Galen. A helot slave to the agoge and best friends with one of the two princes. The other wishes him dead for sullying the royal line with his filthy helot friendship.

Sparta has been without a Sybil for twenty years, when one is found and kidnapped Galen swears to do everything in his power to keep her from being sent to the rock. THe new sybil sees that Sparta will be undone and Galen works with his friends to stop the prophecy from coming true.

Song of the Red Cloak is a story about friendship, betrayal and finding yourself in a world where everyone has mistreated you. The characterizations were interesting, well fleshed out and completely authentic to me. Much like the ballad of the 300 these Spartans have a bitter sweet story and the author did a fabulous job bringing it all together for one thrilling chariot ride through Sparta.

I loved Song of the Red Cloak and urge you to pick it up as well. Especially if you are a lover of fabulous characters, Greek Myth, prophecy, and love stories.

From Hicklebees: The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it’s the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

Soon “Rippermania” takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn’t notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

There are several things I love about Maureen Johnson’s writing. Her ability to describe a setting in such a way that causes vivid imagery to accompany her words, and her incredibly intellectual wit that makes me laugh out loud while reading. When I read that Johnson was publishing a paranormal YA book I knew I had to read it.

Rory is a Southern girl going to school in London, I adore the way Rory sees the city and the brilliant deductions she makes about all things British. She is having an okay time at school, making friends and learning to fit in then she starts seeing things, things that no one else sees.

Not long after Rory sees a man that her roommate didn’t Rippermania seizes London. Is this the work of a copy cat killer? Can the police stop the next murders on the list since they know when and where they will happen? What can anyone glean from CCTV footage that doesn’t show an assailant?

Rory soon realizes what she saw wasn’t normal and is thrown into a world of secret police and paranormal investigation. Will the special team of Scotland Yard detectives be able to stop the Ripper before he strikes again?

The Name of the Star is full of edge-of-your-seat thrills, laugh-out-loud moments and quotable phrases. Johnson has breathed life into a genre swiftly turning stale and blended thriller with paranormal with humor in a recipe that is guaranteed to please. I promise you that this book is wholly unputdownable. As this is a first in a series, I am bouncing about waiting to see what will happen next with Rory and the gang!

The Name of the Star comes out September 29th and features blurbs from paranormal goddesses like Cassie Clare and Holly Black. Preorder your copy now from Hicklebees (This is not an affiliate link)

From Goodreads: Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they’ve known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin’s orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.

Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously—and at great risk—documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father’s prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives. Between Shades of Gray is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart.

It has taken me a few days to come to terms with how to review this book. I want you to know how important it is, and I want you to know how powerful the book itself is and I am coming up short for a way to tell you that without seeming to only build hype or generally being too enthusiastic.

I tried so hard to remember if this part of Stalin’s reign was detailed to me in a class at school and I do not believe it was covered in any class. This being new information to me aided in me becoming addicted to this novel. I was literally awake until three am because I could not put the book down until I came to the conclusion of the story.

Sepetys pains a grim picture of life in Lithuania during the early parts of Russian occupation. She doesn’t use sensationalism to guide the reader into the gloomy setting that populates the book almost a character unto itself.

We begin in Lithuania at a University Professor’s house. His family is arrested and put in a military vehicle to be transported to a train station where you follow the families story as told by Lina in an Anne Frank diary style and in the first person.

Lina’s artistry becomes a great focus for the reader, the explanations of what she is drawing helps paint the gray scenery and shows us how she is feeling each moment. At times the artistry itself leads the reader into a flashback scenario where we are able to see just how carefree Lina’s life was before her arrest.

Lina and her family endure hardships that I can’t even fathom to imagine. I was entranced, horrified, and in tears through most of my five or so hours reading this book. Even as the reader it is hard to maintain any hope for the situation to improve.

Sepetys is an amazing writer who uses a simplistic writing style that suits the grim situation fantastically. I am in awe of her use of language to bring emotion to my reading when I generally do not emote for the sake of emoting. This book made me feel sad, hopeless, worried, horrified and so much more.

There are so many interesting facts well placed throughout the chapters. I also was unaware that Lithuania, Estonia and other countries just were not on the map at all from the time of Stalin’s occupation until 1991.

This is a book that you absolutely must read.

This book was picked up at ALA for review purposes.

From Goodreads: New enemies, new romance, and new horrors,

Billi’s back, and it seems like the Unholy just can’t take a hint.

Still reeling from the death of her best friend, Kay, Billi’s thrust back into action when the Templars are called to investigate werewolf activity. And these werewolves are like nothing Bilil’s seen before.

They call themselves the Polenitsy – Man Killers. The ancient warrior women of Eastern Europe, supposedly wiped out centuries ago. But now they’re out of hiding and on the hunt for a Spring Child — an Oracle powerful enough to blow the volcano at Yellowstone — precipitating a Fimbulwinter that will wipe out humankind for good.

The Templars follow the stolen Spring Child to Russia, and the only people there who can help are the Bogatyrs, a group of knights who may have gone to the dark side. To reclaim the Spring Child and save the world, Billi needs to earn the trust of Ivan Romanov, an arrogant young Bogatyr whose suspicious of people in general, and of Billi in particular.

Let me just get this out of the way: OMG WTF YAY FTW!

Sarwat Chadda’s second book in the Billi SanGreal series is mind-blowingly epic. So epic in fact that I just want to download a list of praising adjectives from a thesaurus and just put all of those in a text and call that my review. Sarwat is a master at mixing lore and handing them to you in a mash up that will literally have you anticipating each sentence. Usually when I am inundated with a mash up of different lore I immediately dislike the book *cough*CharlaineHarris*cough* and am unable to enjoy the work.

In Dark Goddess Billi is faced with life after Kay’s death. She is in a depression and resents being forced into the life of the Templar. On a random patrol she is surprised by a Werewolf and saves a small child from being eaten and that is where the book takes off at a break neck pace to the finish and oh my what a finish.

"Baba Yaga"

These books are so well written and fascinating that I know whenever I start one that I will be incapacitated until I can finish. I only hope there will be more in the Billi SanGreal series. I can’t press upon you enough to read these books. If there is one set I am going to be pushing this year it is this.

Billi SanGreal and her battle are important on so many fronts. Not often do we get a YA character that is not white, that the cover hasn’t been white washed, and more than that Billi is a beacon for feminism: she is strong and needs no one to survive. A true to life self rescuing princess.

Have you read the books or are planning to?

Find out how to get copies of Devil’s Kiss and Dark Goddess signed, personalized and shipped to you!

FTC Disclosure: I picked this up in ARC form at a conference.

From Goodreads: In 1492, when Ferdinand and Isabella expel the Jews from Spain, six year old Esther Sarfati finds herself travelling to Rome to join her father, a successful banker who has helped his fellow Spaniard, Rodrigo Borgia, finance his bid for the Papacy. Nine years later, as Pope Alexander VI, he repays the favour by offering Esther a place in the household of his daughter, Lucrezia, who is about to marry Alfonso d’Este, heir to the Duchy of Ferrara. Against her own better judgment, but in accordance with her father’s wishes for her future, Esther converts to Christianity and enters Lucrezia’s service as lady-in-waiting. Flattered by Lucrezia’s favour, seduced by the friendship of her cousin, Angela Borgia and swept off her feet by Lucrezia’s glamorous and dangerous brother, Cesare, she is drawn into a web of intrigue and deceit which will test her heart to its utmost and burden her with secrets she must carry to her grave. Set against the glittering background of the court of Ferrara in the early sixteenth century, this is the heart-breaking story of what happens to an innocent abroad in the world of the Borgias.

When I saw this book, I knew I had to read it. With the Borgia drama coming to HBO in April, I wanted a fun way to remind myself of the schemes and plots of this doomed lot.

I was however presented with Esther a Jewess who becomes a conversa (takes the Christian religion and is baptized) and falls madly in love with Cesare. It was hard for me to follow her falling in love with Cesare, he never gave her any indication or hope and we rarely see him in the book. Mostly we hear about things he has done via letter to Donna Lucrezia, he can’t even be bothered to write Esther who is now known as Madam Voilante the promise breaker.

The book moves at a slow pace and Voilante is not a very likable character. She gave up on her religion too easy, I feel like I was being told everything and there was nothing left to imagine. The book title is misleading as the book has little to do with the actual Borgia family and the plot starts well into the Borgia Pope’s reign and on to Lucrezia’s third marriage.

I was enamored with the side characters. Giulio and Ippolito and their love for Monna Angela kept me reading for the small spaces I got to spend with them. The book began in such a way I expected a lot of steamy scenes and I am glad that I was wrong there.

I gave the book a solid three and if you love historical fiction you may want to give it a go. The book is $2.99 for a short time on Nook and Kindle.

I received this book from the publisher in turn for a review.

From Goodreads: It is 1876, the year of the Centennial in Philadelphia. Katherine has lost her twin sister Anna in a tragic skating accident. One wickedly hot September day, Katherine sets out for the exhibition grounds to cut short the haunted life she no longer wants to live.

Filled with vivid detail that artfully brings the past to life, National Book Award nominee Beth Kepart’s DANGEROUS NEIGHBORS is a timeless and finely crafted novel about betrayal and guilt, hope and despair, love, loss, and new beginnings.

Beth Kephart is such a fantastic writer that I am always in awe of her prose and story telling ability, so much so that reviewing any piece of literature from Kepharts small but growing canon is always hard for me to accomplish. Kephart is astonishingly capable of making her characters come to life in such a way that putting down the book to do menial tasks such as walking the hound become impossible. Which is why August of 2010 will always be known to me as the month that I learned walking the dog while reading results in severe coordination disability, causing walking into a pole, nose bleeds, and incredible embarrassment to all who try. This life lesson is just one of the things Kephart has taught me while reading her books.

Why Teens Will Love It:

The teen scene is in such need of historical fiction and heart-wrenching tales, Kephart has supplied both in her Dangerous Neighbors. We learn so much about the bonds of sisterhood and America in her early stages of development from a East Coast perspective. There is a flash of young love and life lessons to be learned from picking up this fantastic novel.

Why Adults Will love It:

Kephart does not write down for the reader, her prose is sincere and the story line is engaging to those of all ages. Katherine and the other characters will speak to you and having you remembering your formative years in a very exciting way.

This story is not to be missed. I give it four stars instead of five only because of my selfish need for more, Dangerous Neighbors is such a short book. Pick a copy up at your local bookstore today!

FTC Disclosure: I picked this up at BEA and read it lovingly

From Goodreads: Sovereign Power. Eternal Pleasure.

Revealed at last in this new vampire saga for the ages: the true, untold story of the “Virgin Queen” and her secret war against the Vampire King of England. . . .

On the eve of her coronation, Elizabeth Tudor is summoned to the tomb of her mother, Anne Boleyn, to learn the truth about her bloodline—and her destiny as a Slayer. Born to battle the bloodsucking fiends who ravage the night, and sworn to defend her beloved realm against all enemies, Elizabeth soon finds herself stalked by the most dangerous and seductive vampire of all.

He is Mordred, bastard son of King Arthur, who sold his soul to destroy his father. After centuries in hiding, he has arisen determined to claim the young Elizabeth as his Queen. Luring her into his world of eternal night, Mordred tempts Elizabeth with the promise of everlasting youth and beauty, and vows to protect her from all enemies. Together, they will rule over a golden age for vampires in which humans will exist only to be fed upon. Horrified by his intentions, Elizabeth embraces her powers as a Slayer even as she realizes that the greatest danger comes from her own secret desire to yield to Mordred . . . to bare her throat in ecstasy and allow the vampire king to drink deeply of her royal blood.

As told by Lucy Weston, the vampire prey immortalized in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, this spellbinding account will capture your heart and soul—forever.

Let me start this review by saying that I have read tons of Tudor literature. From Weir’s actual histories, to Jean Plaidy’s historical fictions and much more in the realm of Tudor and not once have I ever read a book that no matter how much I loved it or thought the book was a fantastical representation have I ever thought that Elizabeth’s voice was so truly portrayed.

In the moonlight, the scaffold appears to be made of bleached bones from one of the leviathans that wash up on our shores from time to time to general alarm, for what godly world encompasses such creatures? The platform is raised high above the crowd of gray shadows gathered around its base. A woman climbs slowly, carrying the weight of her anguish and fear. She holds her hands clutched in front of her, asthough in prayer. Stepping out onto the platform, she steps into the beast’s gaping maw and is devoured.
Sometimes the woman in my vision is my mother; other times she is I.

I felt that Weston’s writing and dialogue were so true to how I imagine Elizabeth that I was instantly drawn into her novel and I stayed interested all the way through. If you know my blog at all you will know that I am in no way a fan of mash-ups. I really dislike the concepts of most and laugh at the ridiculousness of the elemental plot, and have tried to read several usually abandoning them by page twenty or so.

The beginning of this novel takes a young Elizabeth through her coronation and shows us the start of the Golden Age as it began. However Elizabeth is immediately met with a supernatural problem that will affect all of her beloved England in the form of Mordred the bastard son of Arthur who did not die on the battlefield when he slayed his father as historical accounts portray. He was in fact given a choice for eternal life and has waited thousands of years for Elizabeth, an actual descendant of Morgaine le Fey to be born so that he can turn her and rule England always with his eternal queen.

A king cannot afford to show weakness. I learned that from my father, who learned it too late to save himself. I was his weakness, as it happens. Arthur loved me despite my failings, so he claimed, when all I wanted was to be loved for them.
Tant pis, as the French say. Too bad.

Elizabeth being Protestant has some immediate issues with Mordred’s offer. How can she risk her immortal soul even if Mordred promises her he can make England the capitol of the world and save her from her mortal enemies such as The Pope, and her Spanish brother-in-law? She is captivated by Mordred’s beauty but as she learns the twisted vine he has wielded to make sure she became Queen some day and what people in her life were sacrificed by him to make that an assurance her will to defeat him becomes even stronger. Even with her slaying powers will it be enough to defeat the ethereally gorgeous King of the Vampire?

The characters that Weston has used in this fictionalized Elizabethan Age are a perfect pick, the book moves quickly while building on suspense and giving you just enough details and back story as you go to keep you hooked. The book was slated for release in early January but the release was bumped up to today! So you can grab a copy for yourself and one for a friend for Christmastime! I highly suggest that you do so whether you are a fan of the mash-up or like me a skeptic of the sub-genre.

The marketing team and the author have done an amazing job at creating a fun world online and an amazing pre-buzz for the book. Check it out for yourself on Twitter, and the website where the blog posts tell the author’s need to get the story out before officials stop her!

FTC Disclosure: I got this book for review from the publisher after seeing the plot. I begged for it via email.

From Goodreads: The court of James I is a volatile place, with factions led by warring cousins Robert Cecil and Francis Bacon. Europe is seething with conflict between Protestants and Catholics. James sees himself as a grand peacemaker—and what better way to make his mark than to use his children in marriage negotiations?

I was in love with this novel from Christie Dickason from the first sentence. I hadn’t read much historical fiction set in James I’s time period and this book was a great introduction to the peacemaker king.

Dickason’s voice is phenomenal and the book reads fast and keeps the readers interest. The pace is not frenetic or slow the writer found a great way to condense the history while still giving you plenty of juicy details to go on. The book was very well researched, the characters were intriguing and the fictional Tallie is a fantastic addition to this story.

It is rare that the emotions in a book are so deftly written. The voices used to express the emotions in this book are expertly used and you feel more than you read when browsing this novel. I really enjoyed learning more about Elizabeth as a princess and this is one historical you should not miss! Even those who do not enjoy historical fiction will appreciate Elizabeth’s voice and the fictionalization of events.

I reviewed this book thanks to the awesomeness that is TLC Book Tours they do awesome book tours so you don’t have to. Check out what everyone is reviewing next!

FTC Disclosure: I got this book for free from the publisher for review via TLC Book Tours.

Goodreads: Prisoners in the Palace — London, 1838. Sixteen-year-old Liza’s dreams of her society debut are dashed when her parents are killed in an accident. Penniless, she accepts the position of lady’s maid to young Princess Victoria and steps unwittingly into the gossipy intrigue of the servant’s world below-stairs as well as the trickery above. Is it possible that her changing circumstances may offer Liza the chance to determine her own fate, find true love, and secure the throne for her future queen?

Meticulously based on newly discovered information, this riveting novel is as rich in historical detail as Catherine, Called Birdy, and as sizzling with intrigue as The Luxe.

I have been trying to think for a while and compile a list of great historical fiction for the YA sect. I have had a hard time doing so. You can say oh there is plenty of it out there but no there is not. Most YA hist fic has some sort of paranormal or fantastical element to it. What I want to see is the Philippa Gregory of YA if you will.

Michaela MacColl has astounded me with this novel. I recently watched The Young Victoria and made myself a note to find some fiction surrounding her early life. I had read previously Jean Plaidy’s account of her childhood but nothing about her and Prince Albert.

When I got the email from Chronicle asking if I would like to review this book I bounced in my chair with happiness.

This book gives you fiction, scandal, intrigue, fantastically well written characters and it blends it all with history in such an amazing way that MacColl is set to be my new queen of YA hist fic!

It is said that a King is only as good as his people and in this novel that proved true for Victoria. If it weren’t for Liza, Will and other servants surrounding her that cared for her greatly and went out of their way to make sure Victoria took the throne she very well may have not had a throne in the first place!

The early part of Victoria and Albert’s relationship deemed true to historical events and I was very intrigued by Liza’s romance. This novel has it all for any lover of historical events.

For a limited time Chronicle has allowed me to share with you a link that will give you 25% off and free shipping your ENTIRE purchase of any Chronicle books! Just use the coupon code PRISONER when you check out. Click here to go to Chronicle and learn more about Prisoners in the Palace!

FTC Disclosure: I received a hardbound copy of this book from the publisher for review.

From Goodreads: With an exotic setting in the foothills of the Himalayas and the introduction of an arch-villain, Dark Road to Darjeeling promises to be the most exciting Lady Julia novel yet.

For Lady Julia Grey and Nicholas Brisbane, the honeymoon has ended…but the adventure is just beginning.

After eight idyllic months in the Mediterranean, Lady Julia Grey and her detective husband are ready to put their investigative talents to work once more. At the urging of Julia’s eccentric family, they hurry to India to aid an old friend, the newly-widowed Jane Cavendish. Living on the Cavendish tea plantation with the remnants of her husband’s family, Jane is consumed with the impending birth of her child—and with discovering the truth about her husband’s death. Was he murdered for his estate? And if he was, could Jane and her unborn child be next?

Amid the lush foothills of the Himalayas, dark deeds are buried and malicious thoughts flourish. The Brisbanes uncover secrets and scandal, illicit affairs and twisted legacies. In this remote and exotic place, exploration is perilous and discovery, deadly. The danger is palpable and, if they are not careful, Julia and Nicholas will not live to celebrate their first anniversary.

Oh how I love this series. Dark Road to Darjeeling is number four and I am hoping this series continues on for many more. Deanna Raybourn is a master of her genre and time period. As mysteries are a genre I tend to avoid, Lady Julia Grey and her acquaintances keep me entertained through-out the course of the novel.

While I recommend beginning at the first of this series, Raybourn’s thoughtful recaps can catch the reader up to this point in the series. However you will miss many small nuances of the March family if you choose to skip ahead.

I am forever spending the novel trying to figure out the culprit and rarely am I ever one-hundred percent correct in my private guessing game I play with myself while reading from a Lady Julia Grey Mystery. Raybourn has a great sense of action and Julia is such a strong persona that she exudes her empowerment from the pages.

Taking Julia and Brisbane out of England and into new and exciting territories was absolutely the best part of this novel. Raybourn was able to keep true to the characters and the general story lines while providing the reader with a glimpse into far and away places that weren’t available in the previous novels.

I will never be able to thank the employees at Fountain Bookstore in Richmond Virgina for turning me onto this series.

If you have read the previous works in the series then you will not be disappointed in Dark Road to Darjeeling. If you like romance, mystery, and Victorian Era fiction you should pick up Deanna Raybourn’s titles immediately.

FTC Disclosure: I received this book from a publicist for review.