If you’re just diving into a Philippa Gregory series, or you’re already a fan and not sure which one to pick up next, the best place might be the Plantagenets and Tudor series. Philippa Gregory book I’d ever read, and my immediate reaction was to be inĬomplete awe of how spectacularly she builds the world in the story so you getĪ true sense of the time and the characters.įor someone like me who loves historical fiction, her books are a gold mine-and lucky for everyone, she’s written upwards of 30 other novels to dig into. Is the first installment in the new The Fairmile series. Which the story is focused, and her writing is so riveting: the stories are full Get a true look at what women had to go through during each period of time in Each novel is so thoroughly researched that you On royal women in the English court across centuries, and the passions and Queenly historical fiction, and we all love her for it.
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Normandie Alleman likes to pursue other hobbies and ways to spend her time as well. She loves to write about the journeys that her characters take on the way to love, which are often as unpredictable as they are messy. No perfect idealized generalized personalities in these books, just relatable people that you can enjoy reading about! She also has an interest in realism and real life, as well as the relationships that people tend to maintain in real life. Normandie will be the first to admit that when it comes to penning characters and putting them down onto the paper, she likes most to write characters that have a certain quirky appeal and often are very human. This interest in why people act the way that they do and do the things that they do translates to her writing as well and is part of what makes her such a great writer! The answer, as one might guess, is a resounding yes. The author’s former career working as a psychologist of course begs the question whether the author has an interest in humans and their behavior. While she loves writing novels today, she used to be a psychologist. Normandie Alleman is a published author of fiction. We also see conniving, backstabbing, greed for power, and pride in ample measures. Thus, Simon does not often stop to inquire why the people he is bludgeoning or stabbing would do the things that they do.įortunately for us, there are a number of other characters in the book more interested in these things, and more adept at drawing them out, so we get to see a remarkable amount of moral complexity. Simon, son of Kalman, is moderately introspective, but neither talkative nor gifted in seeing into other men's souls. Almost everyone has a reasonable motivation somewhere along the line. There really are few comic book villains or heroes in the Traveler's Gate trilogy. With this one detail, Wight started to flesh him out into a real character. I did not expect this, in House of Blades, Indirial was mostly a looming figure, painted in shades of black. I was moved by the very human reason that spurred Indirial to intervene: Indirial was a father, and he didn't want to see a child die if he could help it. Not only that, but we now get to see something of the character of Indirial, the Valinhall Traveler who chose to save Simon's life on that rainy day. If anything, this initial tragedy is even more gripping, now that we know something of who Simon is. The Crimson Vault starts with the same scene that initiates Simon's hero's journey in House of Blades, from the point of view of one of the other participants. The story begins in the present day with history and intrigue. Through the highlights of the Revolution and Napoleon's rise to power, I felt I had an almost visceral grasp of the world in which General Dumas lived by way of a fast-paced narrative. What do you know about the French Revolution? Are you a Francophile who thrills every year on July 14 for Bastille Day, donning your beret? I had a general understanding about the French Revolution, maybe a little vague, which made Reiss' telling of pre-revolutionary France fascinating. Dumas may have been an 18th-century man, but the experiences of his life still prove relevant today. His story involves the significant human themes of racism, greed, and the sways of government that often work against the governed. The Black Count by Tim Reiss served as an excellent book and, by way of solid storytelling, brought the times of General Alex Dumas and 1700s France alive. Plus, I must admit that I wanted to read books that would help me improve my evolution as a human being. And not just any book, but thought-provoking selections from the non-fiction genre to discuss with other fine people. I started the #reallivesbookclub nearly five years ago to assure I'd read at least one book a month. Rob Reger remains the key creative force behind the brand, and Buzz Parker is the key illustrator for the comic books and website. Key creative people over the years (designers, graphic artists, illustrators), who have worked with Reger's Cosmic Debris design house are Buzz Parker, Brian Brooks, Grace Fontaine, Liz Baca, Noel Tolentino, Fawn Gehweiler, Jessica Gruner, Adele Pedersen and Nicomi "Nix" Turner. With the momentum of mainstream success, several comics about Emily have also been made. Since then, Cosmic Debris has grown into a multi-million dollar firm with dozens of employees.Ĭosmic Debris has most recently moved its operations to Berkeley, California, and plans to open an Emily retail store there soon. In his Santa Cruz garage (and later an artist warehouse in San Francisco) Reger created the designs, and with Matt Reed brought them into the fashion world by creating t-shirt designs that captured the essence of this mysterious young girl with 4 black cats. Reger's friend Nathan Carrico designed Emily in 1991 for a skateboard company in Santa Cruz, where Cosmic Debris was born. At five years old, she’s pulled out of the harem she was born into, along with many of her sisters, to be raised into a cunning and brutal assassin. Lara Veliant is a princess of Maridrina and one of the many daughters of the cruel King Silas. There are three books in The Bridge Kingdom series and the emotional investment readers have for the main characters is a testament to Jensen's ability to create sexy but flawed protagonists you can’t help but stan. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm. Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound. There’s action, violence, political intrigue, vampires/gods/primals/shapeshifters, horrifying snake-filled zombies, and an Amarantha-esque queen to keep the action moving. The six-book series (four are presently out) builds in sexual content, and in the third book, readers finally get a scene that has been set up since book one. The series' female protagonist, Poppy, is introduced at the start of the series as “The Maiden” but becomes anything but by the final of book one. It’s as if “Under the Mountain Rhys” morphed into a Vlad-the-Impaler type vampire/god with a dark sense of humor and fetish for women wielding swords, but also extremely compassionate - fiction men are wild like that. He’s twisted in the most deliciously depraved ways. If you’re looking for a male love interest that rivals Rhysand in debauchery, then enter Hawke. From Blood and Ash (FBAA) is one of the top recommended series to overcome your ACOTAR hangover - and for good reason. One thing does become apparent very quickly: his life is in danger. He also has a blaster wound on the back of his head-possibly the source of his amnesia-that he can't account for. So go read this and tell your friends to read it too, because it's not just a book for one age group.Ĭhase Garrity wakes up with no memory of anything apart from one message: "Guide the star." He learns his name, and the name of the planet he has woken up on, from those that find him. I could go into more detail about the actual book and characters but I don't want to spoil anything. Basically this is a really great book! It's got everything you need action, humor, adventure, friendship, mystery, and a lot more haha. But only if I can make it, with the help of Rachel Searles of course. I really hope this becomes a long series in which we can watch Chase and Parker grow. It was okay to cry and not be the typical hero. Mostly I love the way boys were portrayed. I'm a seventeen year old senior in high school and I loved this book. I ended up reading it whenever she wasn't, and I finish way before her. I was kinda excited because I really wanted to read it too. After our two hours she decided that The Lost Planet was the one she found most interesting. The Lost Planet first caught my eye because the cover art is so amazingly stunning. It took us two hours of picking out books and reading the first chapters to find the one she really liked. A little while ago my eleven year old sister needed a book for a school project, so we went to Barnes and Noble to find one. In Dirtbag, Massachusetts, Fitzgerald, with warmth and humor, recounts his ongoing search for forgiveness, a more far-reaching vision of masculinity, and a more expansive definition of family and self.įitzgerald’s memoir-in-essays begins with a childhood that moves at breakneck speed from safety to violence, recounting an extraordinary pilgrimage through trauma to self-understanding and, ultimately, acceptance. But before all that, he was a bomb that exploded his parents’ lives-or so he was told. He’s been an altar boy, a bartender, a fat kid, a smuggler, a biker, a prince of New England. \”The best of what memoir can accomplish… pulling no punches on the path to truth, but it always finds the capacity for grace and joy.\” -Esquire, \”Best Memoirs of the Year\”Ī TIME Best Book of the Summer * A Rolling Stone Top Culture Pick * A Publishers Weekly Best Memoir of the Season * A Buzzfeed Book Pick * A Goodreads Readers’ Most Anticipated Book * A Chicago Tribune Book Pick * A Book You Should Read * A Los Angeles Times Book to Add to Your Reading List Even with their individual stories, the book connects nicely as Grace and Lizzie realize how they will have to fit into the werewolf pack. The first part is between Grace and Devin, while the other is with Lizzie, Dom, and Caleb. In the commotion, Grace and Lizzies’ stories ran simultaneously with each of their “captors.” The stories run with multi-POVs, so readers get to catch up on what is going on faster. Each year, their town organizes an event called the “offering.” This ceremony stems from a treaty formed between mortals and werewolves to keeps the town safe.ĭuring the “offering,” a commotion separated Grace and Lizzie. They live in the quiet town of Shadow Falls, and all is normal…or so it seems. Grace and Elizabeth (Lizzie) are best friends living together and working to earn their way for college while working at the bookstore. If chosen, you don’t come back, or so the story of the treaty goes. The only thing we know is that the ones they take belong to them forevermore. We have no idea what to expect if they choose someone, they haven’t in generations. The contract demands that every year there’s an offering and this year I’ll walk across that stage presenting myself. There’s a treaty between us and them mere mortals and the ones who terrify but keep us safe. His chiseled jaw and silver gaze, I’ve only ever gotten a glimpse of, haunts both my nightmares and my dreams. From USA Today best-selling author, Willow Winters, comes a tempting tale of fated love, lust-filled secrets and the beginnings of an epic war. Seemingly a quiet philosopher, Ewan has his own history with the cruel captain of the Home Guard, and a thoughtful but unbending strength Marlie finds irresistible. Unbeknowst to those under her roof, escaped prisoner Ewan McCall is sheltering in her laboratory. Her formerly enslaved mother’s traditions and the name of a white father she never knew have protected her-until the vicious Confederate Home Guard claims Marlie’s home for their new base of operations in the guerilla war against Southern resistors of the Rebel cause. From the award-winning author of the instant New York Times and USA Today bestseller, When No One Is Watching… The Civil War has turned neighbor against neighbor-but for one scientist spy and her philosopher soldier, the battle could bind them together as love war, and racial justice collide in Alyssa Cole’s buzzworthy, sensual, and revelatory Civil War novel.Named a Best of the Year by Entertainment Weekly * Bookpage * Kirkus * Vulture * Publishers Weekly * Booklistįor all of the War Between the States, Marlie Lynch has helped the cause in peace: with coded letters about anti-Rebel uprisings in her Carolina woods, tisanes and poultices for Union prisoners, and silent aid to fleeing slave and Freeman alike. |