Pale Rose of England: A Novel of the Tudors by Sandra Worth (Terra's Review)

It is 1497. The news of the survival of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, has set royal houses ablaze with intrigue and rocked the fledgling Tudor dynasty. With the support of Scotland's King James IV, Richard-known to most of England as Perkin Warbeck-has come to reclaim his rightful crown from Henry Tudor. Stepping finally onto English soil, Lady Catherine Gordon has no doubt that her husband will succeed in his quest.

But rather than assuming the throne, Catherine would soon be prisoner of King Henry VII, and her beloved husband would be stamped as an imposter. With Richard facing execution for treason, Catherine, alone in the glittering but deadly Tudor Court, must find the courage to spurn a cruel monarch, shape her own destiny, and win the admiration of a nation.

(Terra's Thoughts) This is such a heart felt story of what True Love really is that it will toy with your emotions like a cat plays with a mouse. I so admire our heroine Catherine for not only her total dedication to her husband and the love she has for him but for her courage to stand up against that which is wrong even in the light of extreme danger to those whom she loves most dearly.

Lady Catherine Gordon, cousin to Scotland's King James IV is a beauty of such rare quality in both looks and manner. Her elegance is what lands her the long lost Duke of York whom is the rightful heir to England's throne and a threat to Henry VII.

Wedded bliss in short in duration as Catherine and Richard head to England to fight for what is by blood and right his, the English throne. Perils plague them along the way but this is but a minor nuisance compared to what awaits them as the days progress into weeks, months and years.

As Richard is captured by King Henry and then guards are sent out to bring back to the castle Catherine and a separate set of guards take their child to places unknown, Catherine and Richard are put to the ultimate test of faith, love and hope as they are tested beyond extremes. King Henry is a fool though as to think that he can break a love so rich as it shines like Heaven's Golden Glow. You have to give King Henry credit for trying though by any and all means but alas it's not to be, Catherine his Black Swan whom he feel instantly in love with at first sight is not to be his come Hell or High Water.

Our author has given us a rare treat of purity in it's most primitive form. Love, true and real love is not to be trifled with for it will forestall all who brook against it and will most assuredly last not only in this lifetime but in all eternity to come.

Paperback: 464 pages
Publisher: Berkley Trade; Original edition (February 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425238776
ISBN-13: 978-0425238776

The Mistress House by Leigh Michaels (Terra's Review)

The rules are made to be broken...When the handsome, rakish Earl of Hawthorne buys the charming house across the back garden from his town home, he never expects the lovely lady he installs there to ensnare him completely...

Again...

After Lady Keighley marries the earl, it seems a shame to leave the house empty, so she offers it to her childhood friend Felicity Mercer, who discovers that the earl's gorgeous cousin is precisely the man she's been waiting for...

and again...

Finally, feisty Georgiana Baxter moves into the house to escape an arranged marriage, and encounters the earl's friend Major Julian Hampton late one night in the back garden. The handsome soldier is more than willing to give her the lessons she asks for...

There is plenty of gossip, scandal, and torrid speculations surrounding the "mistress' house", but behind closed doors, passions blaze...

(Terra's Thoughts) This is a wonderful book of what love at first sight can bring about. Three stories interwoven as one large one doesn't deter from how deliciously vivid each interaction is.

The story starts out with Lady Anne Keighley who just wants to have lessons on how to be a mistress. After having been married to an old man with one foot in the grave for a number of years she is in no way ready, willing or wanting of marriage again anytime soon. Little does she know she is about to get more than she bargained for.

The next candidate for the Mistress House is Felicity Mercer who decides she just wants to have a child no matter what. Her best childhood friend Lady Anne invites her to stay at the hotter than hot love trap in Mistress House and it doesn't take long for Felicity to find that she will get her wish plus some.

Our last candidate is a very young and lively Georgiana Baster who is the ward of the Earl of Hawthorne who just happens to put her up at the Mistress House to protect her virtue. Haha, yah right! Georgiana trying her best to escape an arranged marriage throws her into the arms of a returning soldier who is friends with the Earl. The code of honor is pushed to the limits and both our innocent characters are drawn into something that will surprise them mightily at the end. This is just too cute.

I loved the book and the stories of the three lovely ladies but I just feel the interchange between one set of characters and the next could have been a wee bit smoother. This however doesn't deter from the book and you will still enjoy it with a delicious appetite.

Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca (February 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1402241356
ISBN-13: 978-1402241352

Winners of Notorious Pleasures by Elizabeth Hoyt

Judy H

Shaunesay

Stephanie

Please send your snail mail info to terraontop57 at yahoo dot com. You have seven (7) days to claim your prize or it will go to someone else. Congrats to our winners and I hope you enjoy your prize!

Winner of Pale Rose of England by Sandra Worth

Soft Fuzzy Sweater

Please send your snail mail info to terraontop57 at yahoo dot com. You have seven (7) days to claim your prize or it will go to someone else. Congrats to our winner and I hope you enjoy your prize!

Pale Rose of England: A Novel of the Tudors by Sandra Worth (Guest Blog and Giveaway)

The Course of True Love

Shakespeare said, “The course of true love never did run smooth.”

And never did his observation prove more accurate than in the case of Lady Catherine Gordon, the dazzling princess of Scotland and cousin to James IV who was loved by a romantic prince, a cold-hearted king, and three of the most powerful men of her time. When forced to choose between the captive prince she loved, and the king who could lay the world at her feet, she did not hesitate. She chose the captive.

Lady Catherine Gordon was married to the dashing and devastatingly handsome young man believed by many of her era to be the younger prince in the Tower, Richard, Duke of York. It was a whirlwind courtship. No sooner had the prince arrived in Scotland from Europe than they were married—with a baby already on the way!

So deeply did Lady Catherine love her husband, and so firmly did she believe in him that she accompanied him to England to reclaim his father’s crown, gambling everything on a single roll of the dice and placing herself in the same appalling danger he faced..

We know what happened. The Tudors established a dynasty. They were bloody, and ruthless. Under the Tudors, the Tower of London acquired a reputation as a chamber of horrors. Today, we associate the place with torture and can scarcely believe it was ever a lovely royal residence with a zoo to delight children of the nobly born.

Into this dark pit, our careless young lovers sailed blithely, seeking their fortune. Catherine’s devotion would cost her more than most of us would ever be willing to pay. Thanks to Fate’s brutal intervention in the form of a tempest, their ship was blown off course, wrecking their timing, and destroying their chance of winning the inheritance they thought was rightfully theirs.

The course of true love did not run smoothly for Catherine and her husband, but her love and her loyalty to him won the envy of a royal poet and the admiration of all who witnessed it. Catherine and Richard stood hand in hand in Henry Tudor’s glittering, dangerous court, bearing what they must together, never wavering in the face of temptation or revenge. Catherine carried herself with such grace and dignity that she won the obsessed love of a cold-hearted tyrant and the admiration of the nation that called her its “Pale Rose of England.”

Today, on Valentine’s Day, it is good to know that Love Conquers All and that love can triumph over tragedy. Catherine and Richard’s story illuminates for us the grand passion that brings humanity its greatest joy, and embodies the shining ideal that we call “love.”

Synopsis


From the award-winning author of The King's Daughter comes a story of love and defiance during the War of the Roses.

It is 1497. The news of the survival of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, has thundered across Europe, setting royal houses ablaze with intrigue and rocking the fledgling Tudor dynasty. Stepping finally onto English soil, Catherine arrives at the island of Saint Michael’s Mount, along with her husband and young son Dickon, their second child already on the way. With the keen support of Scotland’s King James IV, Richard—known in England as Perkin Warbeck—has come to reclaim his rightful crown from Henry Tudor. Based on a prophecy given Catherine by a seer that she would be loved by a king, she has no doubt Richard will succeed in his quest. But rather than assuming the throne she believed was their destiny, Catherine would soon be prisoner of King Henry VII, and her beloved husband would, unimaginably, be stamped as an imposter.

Nothing could shake Catherine’s belief in Richard and her loyalty to the man she loved. She became a favored lady-in-waiting to the queen, Elizabeth of York, but her dazzling beauty only brought her unwanted affections from a jealous king and enmeshed her in a terrifying royal love triangle. With her husband facing execution for treason, Catherine, alone in the glittering but deadly Tudor Court, finds the courage to spurn a cruel monarch and shape her own destiny, winning the admiration of a nation.

About the Author:
Sandra Worth is the acclaimed author of five historical novels chronicling the Wars of the Roses. Each is the recipient of multiple awards and prizes, including three Reviewers Chloice Awards and a Best Books of 2009 nomination.

http://sandraworth.com/index.html


Contest Time: Many thanks to Sandra and Penguin Books for providing one copy of Pale Rose of England for us to giveaway to one lucky winner. This is for the U.S. only everyone! Make sure and leave your email addy along with a comment for Sandra letting her know what you think of True Love and Valentine's Day!

Winner for the Mistress House by Leigh Michaels

karen!

throuthehaze

Please send your snail mail info to terraontop57 at yahoo dot com. You have seven (7) days to claim your prize or it will go to someone else. Congrats to our winners and I hope you enjoy your prize!

The Mistress House by Leigh Michaels (Guest Blog & Giveaway)

I’ve been a writer since before I could actually write – there is poetry in my baby book (dreadful poetry!) which I dictated to my long-suffering older sister. And I wrote my first romance novel when I was a freshman in high school. Mercifully, I maintained enough common sense to burn it. I also burned the next five books I wrote (including a romance/murder mystery where I never could decide who the guilty party was).

I learned to write by reading and analyzing romances and then by writing and writing and more writing. Eventually I knew I couldn’t learn any more by myself, and since this was back in the Dark Ages before Romance Writers of America had chapters everywhere, and before writing classes were offered on the Internet, I submitted a book to a publisher in the hope that my rejection letter would give me clues on how to take the next step in making my writing better.

However, instead of the “No, but here’s why” letter I hoped for, an editor with great vision – the legendary Jacqui Bianchi of Mills & Boon – responded with an analysis of where my story fell short, and after a complete rewriting, she bought the book. After that I wrote 80 sweet traditional contemporary romances published by Harlequin Romance and Harlequin Presents in the US and by Mills & Boon in the UK, and I thoroughly enjoyed my 20-year career in contemporary romance.

Then I burned out. I’d tried to do too much and write too fast, and though I still loved my stories, after 80 books I didn’t feel I had anything new to say. I crashed hard and didn’t write a word of fiction for about two years. When I finally went back to creating characters, I wrote miniature pieces – a thousand-word short story to start, gradually building up to longer stories.

When I wrote the first pages of the story that became The Mistress House, I thought it was another short story… but the characters soon demanded more space and more time. Then they introduced me to their friends, and before I knew it, I had three intertwining stories set in a house which had managed to make itself a character, too.

That makes it sound like the writing was easy, which it wasn’t – but it was enjoyable to open up the file each day and retreat to 1815 to find out what was happening with my characters.

Fortunately for me, my agent, Christine Witthohn of Book Cents Literary Agency, and my editor, Deb Werksman of Sourcebooks Casablanca, both loved the book as much as I do. But now when I start writing a new historical romance, I know there are going to be three heroes and three heroines whose stories weave together. It’s the relationships between people – not only lovers but friends and families – that make my stories different, and I hope as special to readers as they are to me.

THE MISTRESS’ HOUSE BY LEIGH MICHAELS – IN STORES FEBRUARY 2011
Three beautifully intertwined love stories…

The rules are made to be broken…
When the handsome, rakish Earl of Hawthorne buys the charming house across the back garden from his town home, he never expects the lovely lady he installs there to ensnare him completely…


After Lady Keighley marries the earl, it seems a shame to leave the house empty, so she offers it to her childhood friend Felicity Mercer, who discovers that the earl’s gorgeous cousin is precisely the man she’s been waiting for…

Finally, feisty Georgiana Baxter moves into the house to escape an arranged marriage, and encounters the earl’s friend Major Julian Hampton late one night in the back garden. The handsome soldier is more than willing to give her the lessons she asks for…

There is plenty of gossip, scandal, and torrid speculations surrounding the “mistress’ house”, but behind closed doors, passions blaze…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Leigh Michaels is the author of nearly 100 books, including 80 contemporary novels and more than a dozen non-fiction books. More than 35 million copies of her romance novels have been published by Harlequin. A 6 time RITA finalist, she has also received two Reviewer's Choice awards from Romantic Times, and was the 2003 recipient of the Johnson Brigham Award. She is the author of On Writing Romance, published by Writers Digest Books. Leigh also teaches romance writing on the Internet at Gotham Writers’ Workshop. She lives in Ottumwa, Iowa. For more information, please visit www.leighmichaels.com.

Contest Time: We have two copies of the Mistress House to give away to 2 lucky commentors. This is for the US and Canada only! Please leave an email addy along with your comment if you would like to be considered for the contest.

Many Thanks to Sourcebooks for bringing us such a wonderful author and for the books provided for the giveaway!

Fierce Eden by Jennifer Blake (Terra's Review)

She was living in fear...

Beautiful, young widow Elise Laffont embraces her freedom during the daylight hours, running the farm she loves so dearly, but the night brings with it painful reminders of the torment she endured at the hands of her abusive husband. Fate may have taken her husband, but it hasn't erased the scars he left, and Elise wonders if she will ever be able to bear the touch of a man again.

He was a man torn by desire...

From the moment he laid eyes on the beautiful widow, Reynaud Chevalier wanted her. When disaster offers him the chance to claim her as his own, Reynaud seizes the opportunity to bind Elise to him, unaware that behind her determined bravado lays a heart shattered by the past.

(Terra's Thoughts) This is my first time reading a book by this author and I must say that I am impressed. It's not a fast paced story but a much meatier one than your average fluffy light historical romance.

Sorry ladies but this one doesn't have a sexy legged Scotsman but does have a sexy bare chested half breed American Indian. It does leave me in a quandary as I am partial to kilted Scotsman but after the descriptions here in this story it's making me think I might have to broaden my horizons.

Our heroine Elise Laffont is a very attractive young widow living in Louisiana and trying to make a go of things on her own. Considering the time period it does make this very hard for her as women are still frowned upon as far as intelligence and anything other than being barefoot and pregnant. Elise however is quite happy in her current situation of striking out to make her own path due to having a cruel and abusive husband. Who can blame her really?

Our hero Reynaud Chevalier was born on the wrong side of the tracks. Half Indian and half French he is a man of no people. Upon seeing our heroine though he does make himself indispensable to a fleeing group of French after they have been attacked by the Indians in a brutal raid. But, why should he do something like this even though he is a half breed. He knows the Indians and the French will both despise him for who he is and what he's done so what could be worth the possible cost of his life to help these people.

We travel through the harsh back country of Louisiana striving to stay one step ahead of the Indians while praying with all our might that we make it to the French fort unscathed. Dangers and disagreements abound aplenty, trust is just a five letter word that is tossed around like juggling balls and tempers blaze when all is not as it seems and some find out they have been deceived.

The descriptions are vivid while the historical aspect is over the top intriguing. Throw some romance, sex, brutality, lies, passion and patience and you have one interesting storyline.

Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca; Reissue edition (February 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1402238487
ISBN-13: 978-1402238482

Moonstruck Madness by Laurie McBain (Terra's Reveiw)

Moonstruck Madness

She's one thing by day, something else altogether by night...

After escaping the slaughter of her clan at a young age, Scottish noblewoman Sabrina Verrick provides for her siblings by living a double life, until the night she encounters the Duke, and her secret and all she holds dear is threatened...

He's so disillusioned, he's completely vulnerable...

With his inheritance at stake, Lucien, Duke of Camareigh, sets a trap for the Scottish beauty with the piercing violet eyes, never imagining what will happen when the trap is sprung...

As their lives become irreversibly entangled, Lucien and Sabrina become each other's biggest threat, as well as their only salvation...

(Terra's Thoughts) How often is it that you can say that a story has caught you by the seat of your pants from the first page of the prologue and not let you go until the very last sentence. This is one of those stories. It really took me by surprise and such a lovely surprise indeed it was.

Sabrina Verrick is a wee lassie that sees death and destruction up close and not very comfortable. A spirited child that has a bit of luck on her side that allows her to escape death's grip and flee to lead her family safely into exile penniless though they may be.

A Highland Hellcat exists in this little body of pure beauty but also one of determination and strength. She does what needs to be done for her remaining family to survive not only because of the primal need to provide and protect but also because of a hatred that is so encompassing that it's a wonder she doesn't self destruct with it's intensity.

Lucien, Duke of Camareigh is a bit of a frightening man with a scar that adorns one cheek and a temper that can singe the hair off one's head with just a quick glance. He's a man that doesn't take no for an answer and always gets what he wants but will his cost come so high as to cheat him out of a life of some happiness in a world where proprietary comes first and foremost?

Our hotheaded devilish Duke needs to marry to gain his inheritance and is on a strict time line in which to do this. Twin cousins are awaiting in the wings for Lucien to miss that deadline so that they may claim the riches and lands but to what lengths will these twins go to in order to claim a right not due to them by birth.

An interruption from a Highwayman named Bonnie Charlie and his two giant friends put a crimp in the Dukes bonnet so to speak as the thieves boldly take what they need when they want only to sneak away without a trace.

The story is a non stop action packed romance with sizzle, sparks and flames aplenty. If one doesn't ignite from a fit of temper then one will surely ignite from a blast of pure sexual intensity that you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca (February 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1402242433
ISBN-13: 978-1402242434