Bed with Books

Throwback review from April 2012! Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution is an adult historical fiction title by Michelle Moran. Marie Tussaud has learned the art of wax sculpting from her uncle, whom she works alongside at the Salon de Cire, their wax museum. She has an impeccable eye for it, and their patrons often are amazed at how lifelike their models of popular heroes from the American Revolution like Thomas Jefferson are. Many also come to see the royal family in different moments of their luxe lives. Yet, the Salon is also a place of gossip and news – so Marie soon begins to realize just how much people’s opinions of the royal family are changing. She knew already, of course, that there are many starving and having much financial difficulty – mostly due to famine and a heavy tax burden the lower classes must bear for the higher ones – but in December of 1788 she is starting to see the anger… Still determined to keep the Salon open and active, creating n...

A throwback review from March 2014. This remains one of my FAVORITE books! Check it out:  The Thirteenth Tale is an adult contemporary novel with a classic gothic mystery feel by Diane Setterfield. Oh. My. Gosh. This book is fantastic!!! Margaret Lea leads a quiet, book-loving life that all of us bibliophiles would adore – working in a book store and whiling away the hours reading. Her passion for literature extends to a fascination with non-fiction. She loves letters, journals – anything that ties her to people who are now deceased. Margaret has even written a few minor biographies on lesser known figures. When she receives a letter from one of the most famous contemporary authors of the day, Vida Winter, she’s floored to discover that Ms. Winter wants her to write her biography. For years, Vida has given numerous, glittering stories when asked about her life. Not one of them true. Apparently now, old and ailing, she wants to finally tell her story. Unable to deny her cu...

A throwback review from May 2013! Enjoy! Crocodile on the Sandbank is the first in the humorous historical Amelia Peabody Mystery series by Elizabeth Peters. Independently wealthy and ready for an adventure, Amelia Peabody, Victorian spinster of thirty-two, embarks on a trip to Egypt. Armed with all the necessities – unwavering self-confidence, sharp intelligence, and a pointy parasol – Amelia embarks and finds herself utterly enthralled with the landscape and history. As she is ready to travel to Cairo, though, she ends up rescuing the young and lovely Evelyn Barton-Forbes, a fellow Englishwoman left disgraced and alone – abandoned by the lover that estranged her from her grandfather, ready to end it all. Well, Amelia certainly can’t have that. Especially when the lady has been so wronged! So, instead of letting the girl go off herself she employs her as a companion and sets off to sail the Nile with her by her side. The trip is turning decidedly enjoyable. When they rea...

A throwback review from July 2012! I hope you all had a wonderful July 4th!!! Extraordinary* the true story of my fairy godparent, who almost killed me and certainly never made me a princess is a YA urban fantasy humor novel by Adam Selzer. Straight-A, Shakespeare-lover Jennifer just wants to chill out during her senior year. She’s already been accepted to a college that is of high-standing in Iowa and she’s ready to relax after all the hard work. Also, she wants to start taking steps toward being the eccentric, cool woman she aspires to be. First step? Color her hair purple. She loves purple. Second step? Finally go to a school dance by getting the relatively cute guy in her Human/Post-Human Alliance group to ask her – and hope that helps her get over her absurdly long crush on Mutual Scrivener whom she hasn’t seen since sixth grade when he mysteriously disappeared with his parent’s overnight. Pathetic? Yeah. The next events in Jennifer’s story have been sorely misrepresent...

Throwback Review from 2012! Cleopatra's Moon is a YA historical fiction by Vicky Alvear Shecter. Cleopatra Selene is a princess. She is the only daughter of the revered, intelligent Cleopatra and the Roman General Marcus Antonius. Her people love her and her twin brother Alexandros, as well as their adorable little brother Ptolly. They are the picture of a happy, beautiful family for a people to look up to. And Cleopatra Selene has every intention of being just as powerful and brilliant a queen as her mother. But before that day even comes close the Roman ruler, Octavianus, sets out to destroy Cleopatra. At least that is how he is spinning it. Calling her a witch, a whore, and worse. He's determined to turn the people against her as he slowly gains approval for dismantling all that Cleopatra Selene's ever known and loved. Events turn horrifying, and after experiencing immense loss of life Cleopatra Selene and her brothers are taken to Octavianus's palace in...

This upcoming September, keep your eyes open for this red and orange cover! Ninth City Burning is the first in a new epic science fiction series from the debut novelist J. Patrick Black. As all best books are, it has a YA and mainstream crossover audience appeal. And if that doesn't whet your appetite enough already, below you'll find an excerpt and some additional info! Excerpt The Valentine War, Earth 500 Years Ago It starts with the world how it used to be, with countries and billions of people living everywhere. Back then there was no such thing as thelemity, and people built houses and machines sort of like they have in settlements today, but all of that changed when the Valentines came. The reason we call them the Valentines is that the day they first attacked, February 14 on the old Western Calendar, was called “Valentine’s Day”. We still don’t know what the Valentines call themselves, because we’ve never been able to talk to them. We don’t even know what they look like...

On June 7th, a new YA fantasy trilogy began with the release of Catherine Egan's Julia Vanishes . It looks to be a promising read! I am honored to have a guest post with the author today! Maybe it’s a Tree I first heard the expression “filling the well” – consuming art to fill your own creative reservoirs so they don’t run dry – in an interview with Joss Whedon a few years ago. He was talking about working on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the inspiration for Firefly. He said: “My vacation from Buffy was… two weeks every year, and in that vacation I read, in 14 days, 10 books, my wife and I saw like nine plays, and that’s all we did.” I love that idea and of course it’s true that art will set your mind alight and feed your creative drive. But when I read that interview, my own life was a far cry from going to the theater or wandering through art galleries. I still read books, but often fell asleep mid-sentence. My days were a blur of diaper changes, carefully prepared meals tossed o...