Mailbox Monday is where other bloggers write about the books they received the previous week. The Mailbox Monday is now going on a blog tour with the host for the month of June being at Burton Book Review, a blog that primarily reviews historical novels. Visit the blog to see what books made it’s way and check out the others who are participating like me in the Monday Mailbox Meme.
It’s been quite some time since I last participated. I believe January sometime? EEK! Where did half the year go already?! Books have been arriving left and right in both electronic and print format. For this post, I thought I’d just focus on three print books I’ve received over the past couple of weeks. All of which will have reviews posted later this summer if not before the end of the month of June.
THE NIGHT CIRCUS by ERIN MORGENSTERN - The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.
True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead. – FROM AUTHOR SITE
SPARTACUS: THE GLADIATOR by BEN KANE - Today we know very little about Spartacus the man – partly because contemporary Roman historians were keen not to eulogise his successes. This of course is grist to the novelist’s mill.
Ben Kane’s latest novel begins in the Thracian village to which Spartacus has returned, after serving as an auxiliary in the Roman army. He quickly falls foul of his overlord, the tribal king, who has set his heart on Dionysian priestess, Ariadne – later to become Spartacus’ wife.
Betrayed to the Romans by his jealous king, Spartacus – and with him Ariadne – are taken in captivity to the gladiator school at Capua. It is from here – against the unbelievable brutality of gladiatorial life – that Spartacus and Crixus the Gaul plan their escape to Vesuvius, where they recruit and train a huge slave army. An army which will keep the might of Rome at bay for two years and create one of the most extraordinary legends in history. - FROM AUTHOR SITE
THE ORCHID HOUSE by LUCINDA RILEY – Spanning from the 1930s to the present day, from the Wharton Park estate in England to Thailand, this sweeping novel tells the tale of a concert pianist and the aristocratic Crawford family, whose shocking secrets are revealed, leading to devastating consequences.
As a child, concert pianist Julia Forrester spent many idyllic hours in the hothouse of Wharton Park, the grand estate where her grandfather tended exotic orchids. Years later, while struggling with overwhelming grief over the death of her husband and young child, she returns to this tranquil place. There she reunites with Kit Crawford, heir to the estate and her possible salvation.
When they discover an old diary, Julia seeks out her grandmother to learn the truth behind a love affair that almost destroyed the estate. Their search takes them back to the 1940s when Harry, a former heir to Wharton Park, married his young society bride, Olivia, on the eve of World War II. When the two lovers are cruelly separated, the impact will be felt for generations to come. – FROM PUBLISHER’s SITE
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Tribute Books
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bermudaonion (Kathy)
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Holly
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Mary