Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. (Library books don’t count, but eBooks & audiobooks do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists!
Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring meme (details here). This month it is hosted by I’m Booking It.
In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren.
In My Mailbox
You may or may not know that I went to this ubercheap book market last week, and that I purchased roughly 35 books. Wow. Insane, right? Well, you’re a book addict, or you’re not. Take a look at my crazyness below.
Yes, that’s right, folks. An entire bed filled with books. Every book lover’s dream. I will discuss the books in little groups of 2-5, depending on their relative relationship with each other 😉
Title: Dreaming The Eagle (Boudica #1)
Author: Manda Scott
Genre: Historical Fiction, Adult
Dreaming the Eagle is the first part of the gloriously imagined epic trilogy of the life of Boudica.
Boudica means Bringer of Victory (from the early Celtic word “boudeg”). She is the last defender of the Celtic culture in Britain; the only woman openly to lead her warriors into battle and to stand successfully against the might of Imperial Rome — and triumph.
It is 33 AD and eleven-year-old Breaca (later named Boudica), the red-haired daughter of one of the leaders of the Eceni tribe, is on the cusp between girl and womanhood. She longs to be a Dreamer, a mystical leader who can foretell the future, but having killed the man who has attacked and killed her mother, she has proven herself a warrior. Dreaming the Eagle is also the story of the two men Boudica loves most: Caradoc, outstanding warrior and inspirational leader; and Bàn, her half-brother, who longs to be a warrior, though he is manifestly a Dreamer, possibly the finest in his tribe’s history. Bàn becomes the Druid whose eventual return to the Celts is Boudica’s salvation.
Dreaming the Eagle is full of brilliantly realised, luminous scenes as the narrative sweeps effortlessly from the epic — where battle scenes are huge, bloody, and action-packed — to the intimate. Manda Scott plunges us into the unforgettable world of tribal Britain in the years before the Roman invasion: a world of druids and dreamers and the magic of the gods where the natural world is as much a character as any of the people who live within it, a world of warriors who fight for honour as much as victory, a world of passion, courage and spectacular heroism pitched against overwhelming odds.
Dreaming the Eagle stunningly recreates the roots of a story so powerful its impact has lasted through the ages.
Boudica means Bringer of Victory (from the early Celtic word “boudeg”). She is the last defender of the Celtic culture in Britain; the only woman openly to lead her warriors into battle and to stand successfully against the might of Imperial Rome — and triumph.
It is 33 AD and eleven-year-old Breaca (later named Boudica), the red-haired daughter of one of the leaders of the Eceni tribe, is on the cusp between girl and womanhood. She longs to be a Dreamer, a mystical leader who can foretell the future, but having killed the man who has attacked and killed her mother, she has proven herself a warrior. Dreaming the Eagle is also the story of the two men Boudica loves most: Caradoc, outstanding warrior and inspirational leader; and Bàn, her half-brother, who longs to be a warrior, though he is manifestly a Dreamer, possibly the finest in his tribe’s history. Bàn becomes the Druid whose eventual return to the Celts is Boudica’s salvation.
Dreaming the Eagle is full of brilliantly realised, luminous scenes as the narrative sweeps effortlessly from the epic — where battle scenes are huge, bloody, and action-packed — to the intimate. Manda Scott plunges us into the unforgettable world of tribal Britain in the years before the Roman invasion: a world of druids and dreamers and the magic of the gods where the natural world is as much a character as any of the people who live within it, a world of warriors who fight for honour as much as victory, a world of passion, courage and spectacular heroism pitched against overwhelming odds.
Dreaming the Eagle stunningly recreates the roots of a story so powerful its impact has lasted through the ages.
Title: Dreaming The Bull (Boudica #2)
Author: Manda Scott
Genre: Historical Fiction, Adult
The second part of the stunning fictionalization of the life of Britain’s warrior queen, Boudica, immerses us in a world of druids and dreamers, warriors and lovers, passion and courage. Originally a trilogy, this is now a four-part series.
“Boudica” means “Bringer of Victory” (from the early Celtic word “boudeg”). She was the last defender of the Celtic culture; the only woman openly to lead her warriors into battle and to stand successfully against the might of Imperial Rome — and triumph.
Book one, Dreaming the Eagle, took readers from Boudica’s girlhood with the Eceni tribe to the climax of the two-day battle when she and her lover, Caradoc, faced the invading Romans. Believing her dead, Breaca’s beloved brother, Bán, joined the Roman cause.
Dreaming the Bull, the second book in this compelling series, continues the intertwined stories of Boudica, and Bán, now an officer in the Roman cavalry. They stand on opposite sides in a brutal war of attrition between the occupying army and the defeated tribes, each determined to see the other dead. In a country under occupation, Caradoc, lover to Breaca, is caught and faces the ultimate penalty. Only Bán has the power to save him, and Bán has spent the past ten years denying his past. Treachery divides these two; heroism brings them together again, changed out of all recognition — but it may not be enough to heal the wounds.
Dreaming the Bull is a heart-stopping story of war and of peace; of love, passion and betrayal; of druids and warring gods, where each life is sacred and each death even more so; and where Breaca and Bán learn the terrible distances they must travel to fulfill their own destinies.
“Boudica” means “Bringer of Victory” (from the early Celtic word “boudeg”). She was the last defender of the Celtic culture; the only woman openly to lead her warriors into battle and to stand successfully against the might of Imperial Rome — and triumph.
Book one, Dreaming the Eagle, took readers from Boudica’s girlhood with the Eceni tribe to the climax of the two-day battle when she and her lover, Caradoc, faced the invading Romans. Believing her dead, Breaca’s beloved brother, Bán, joined the Roman cause.
Dreaming the Bull, the second book in this compelling series, continues the intertwined stories of Boudica, and Bán, now an officer in the Roman cavalry. They stand on opposite sides in a brutal war of attrition between the occupying army and the defeated tribes, each determined to see the other dead. In a country under occupation, Caradoc, lover to Breaca, is caught and faces the ultimate penalty. Only Bán has the power to save him, and Bán has spent the past ten years denying his past. Treachery divides these two; heroism brings them together again, changed out of all recognition — but it may not be enough to heal the wounds.
Dreaming the Bull is a heart-stopping story of war and of peace; of love, passion and betrayal; of druids and warring gods, where each life is sacred and each death even more so; and where Breaca and Bán learn the terrible distances they must travel to fulfill their own destinies.
Title: Dreaming The Hound (Boudica #3)
Author:
Genre: Historical Fiction, Adult
In a spellbinding novel of gods and men, myth and brutality, acclaimed author Manda Scott returns to her heralded saga of a world under siege. For here is the epic tale of Boudica, the legendary Celtic queen, and her embattled Eceni tribe—a bold new work of imaginative fiction that takes us on a thrilling journey into a clash between magic and mankind.
To the Eceni tribe of Britannia, nature is the ultimate god, and warriors are joined in battle by the voices and spirits of their ancestors. But the proud Eceni are running out of time. Nero’s army, long since out of patience with Britannia’s wild tribes, is becoming increasingly oppressive. And Boudica’s family is at the center of a gathering storm: Cunomar, Boudica’s son, who longs for the mettle to kill as fiercely as his mother… Graine, her young daughter, gifted with the power of dreamers, scarred forever by the horrors of war…and Boudica’s brother, born Bán of the Eceni, turned the traitor Valerius—a man caught between worlds: warrior and dreamer, Roman and Eceni.
As conflict erupts between the tribes and their brutal invaders, Boudica is forced to make a bold sacrifice. Cloaking her identity, she will travel directly into the stronghold of an enemy who longs for her crucifixion. What happens next—in a brutal drama of betrayal, heroism, and sacrifice—will leave Boudica with no options but one: to raise and arm every warrior, every dreamer, every tribe…and push the invader and its legions back into the sea.
From the thundering hooves of the Eceni’s great horses to mystical spirit quests of young warriors, from the politics of an empire to the passions of lovers, Dreaming the Hound takes us on a breathtaking journey of the imagination—at once brutal, fantastical, and utterly unforgettable.
To the Eceni tribe of Britannia, nature is the ultimate god, and warriors are joined in battle by the voices and spirits of their ancestors. But the proud Eceni are running out of time. Nero’s army, long since out of patience with Britannia’s wild tribes, is becoming increasingly oppressive. And Boudica’s family is at the center of a gathering storm: Cunomar, Boudica’s son, who longs for the mettle to kill as fiercely as his mother… Graine, her young daughter, gifted with the power of dreamers, scarred forever by the horrors of war…and Boudica’s brother, born Bán of the Eceni, turned the traitor Valerius—a man caught between worlds: warrior and dreamer, Roman and Eceni.
As conflict erupts between the tribes and their brutal invaders, Boudica is forced to make a bold sacrifice. Cloaking her identity, she will travel directly into the stronghold of an enemy who longs for her crucifixion. What happens next—in a brutal drama of betrayal, heroism, and sacrifice—will leave Boudica with no options but one: to raise and arm every warrior, every dreamer, every tribe…and push the invader and its legions back into the sea.
From the thundering hooves of the Eceni’s great horses to mystical spirit quests of young warriors, from the politics of an empire to the passions of lovers, Dreaming the Hound takes us on a breathtaking journey of the imagination—at once brutal, fantastical, and utterly unforgettable.
Title: Dreaming The Serpent Spear (Boudica #4)
Author: Manda Scott
Genre: Historical Fiction, Adult
The fourth and final novel in the magnificent saga of Britain’s warrior queen (Boudica – “Bringer of Victory” and the last defender of the Celtic culture) will capture readers’ hearts and minds, as Manda Scott brings the series to a stunning close.
It is AD 60 and the flame of rebellion that has been smouldering for 20 years of Roman occupation has flared into a conflagration that will consume the land and all who live in it. There is no going back. Boudica has been flogged and her daughters raped, and her son has burned a Roman watchtower in an act of blatant insurgency.
This is the time to act: the Roman governor has marched his legions west to destroy the druidic stronghold of Mona, leaving his capital and a vital seaport hopelessly undefended in the face of twenty-thousand warriors aching for vengeance. But to crush the legions for all time, Boudica must do more than lead her army in the greatest rebellion Britain has ever known. She must find healing for herself, for the land, and for Graine, her 8-year-old daughter, who has taken refuge on Mona.
Is revenge worth it under any circumstances, or is the cost more than anyone can bear?
Colchester is burning and London is lost without hope. Amidst fire and bloody revolution – a battle that will change the face and spirituality of a nation for centuries to come – Boudica and those around her must find what matters most, now and for ever.
It is AD 60 and the flame of rebellion that has been smouldering for 20 years of Roman occupation has flared into a conflagration that will consume the land and all who live in it. There is no going back. Boudica has been flogged and her daughters raped, and her son has burned a Roman watchtower in an act of blatant insurgency.
This is the time to act: the Roman governor has marched his legions west to destroy the druidic stronghold of Mona, leaving his capital and a vital seaport hopelessly undefended in the face of twenty-thousand warriors aching for vengeance. But to crush the legions for all time, Boudica must do more than lead her army in the greatest rebellion Britain has ever known. She must find healing for herself, for the land, and for Graine, her 8-year-old daughter, who has taken refuge on Mona.
Is revenge worth it under any circumstances, or is the cost more than anyone can bear?
Colchester is burning and London is lost without hope. Amidst fire and bloody revolution – a battle that will change the face and spirituality of a nation for centuries to come – Boudica and those around her must find what matters most, now and for ever.
Title: The Court Of The Air (Jackelian #1)
Author: Stephen Hunt
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure
I fell in love with the cover of these novels. Didn’t really hear about them before, but I hope I do enjoy them!
When streetwise Molly Templar witnesses a brutal murder at the brothel she has recently been apprenticed to, her first instinct is to scurry back to the poorhouse where she grew up. But there she finds her fellow orphans butchered, and it slowly dawns on her that she was the real target of the attack.
Oliver Brooks has led a sheltered existence in the backwater home of his merchant uncle. But when he is framed for his only relative’s murder he is forced to flee for his life, accompanied by an agent of the mysterious Court of the Air.
Molly and Oliver each carry secrets in their blood—secrets that will either get them killed or save the world from an ancient terror. Thrown into the company of outlaws, thieves and spies as they flee their ruthless enemies the two orphans are also aided by indomitable friends in this endlessly inventive tale full of drama, intrigue, and adventure.
Oliver Brooks has led a sheltered existence in the backwater home of his merchant uncle. But when he is framed for his only relative’s murder he is forced to flee for his life, accompanied by an agent of the mysterious Court of the Air.
Molly and Oliver each carry secrets in their blood—secrets that will either get them killed or save the world from an ancient terror. Thrown into the company of outlaws, thieves and spies as they flee their ruthless enemies the two orphans are also aided by indomitable friends in this endlessly inventive tale full of drama, intrigue, and adventure.
Title: The Kingdom Beyond The Waves (Jackelian #2)
Author: Stephen Hunt
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure
Professor Amelia Harsh is obsessed with finding the lost civilization of Camlantis, a legendary city from pre-history that is said to have conquered hunger, war, and disease with the creation of the perfect pacifist society. Without official funding, Amelia is forced to accept an offer of patronage from Abraham Quest, the man she blames for her father’s bankruptcy and suicide. She hates him, but he has something that Amelia desperately wants–evidence that proves that Camlantis existed and that the Camlantean ruins are buried under one of the sea-like lakes that dot the murderous jungles of Liongeli.
Amelia will blackmail her old friend Commodore Black into ferrying her along a huge river on his ancient U-boat. With an untrusty crew of freed convicts, Quest’s force of fearsome female mercenaries on board, and a lunatic steamman acting as their guide, Amelia’s luck seems to be going from bad to worse. Her quest for the perfect society has a good chance of bringing her own world to the brink of destruction…
The Kingdom Beyond The Waves is Stephen Hunt’s third novel, set in the same universe as The Court of the Air. Amelia Harsh is a female Indiana Jones if there ever was one, and this novel is a rollicking steampunk adventure that will hook readers for one dynamite ride.
Amelia will blackmail her old friend Commodore Black into ferrying her along a huge river on his ancient U-boat. With an untrusty crew of freed convicts, Quest’s force of fearsome female mercenaries on board, and a lunatic steamman acting as their guide, Amelia’s luck seems to be going from bad to worse. Her quest for the perfect society has a good chance of bringing her own world to the brink of destruction…
The Kingdom Beyond The Waves is Stephen Hunt’s third novel, set in the same universe as The Court of the Air. Amelia Harsh is a female Indiana Jones if there ever was one, and this novel is a rollicking steampunk adventure that will hook readers for one dynamite ride.
Title: Angelology
Author: Danielle Trussoni
Genre: Thriller, Supernatural
I heard so many good things about Angelology that when I saw it at the book market, I just couldn’t resist.
Sister Evangeline was just a girl when her father entrusted her to the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in upstate New York. Now, at twenty-three, her discovery of a 1943 letter from the famous philanthropist Abigail Rockefeller to the late mother superior of Saint Rose Convent plunges Evangeline into a secret history that stretches back a thousand years: an ancient conflict between the Society of Angelologists and the monstrously beautiful descendants of angels and humans, the Nephilim.
For the secrets these letters guard are desperately coveted by the once-powerful Nephilim, who aim to perpetuate war, subvert the good in humanity, and dominate mankind. Generations of angelologists have devoted their lives to stopping them, and their shared mission, which Evangeline has long been destined to join, reaches from her bucolic abbey on the Hudson to the apex of insular wealth in New York, to the Montparnasse cemetery in Paris and the mountains of Bulgaria.
Rich in history, full of mesmerizing characters, and wondrously conceived, Angelology blends biblical lore, the myth of Orpheus and the Miltonic visions of Paradise Lost into a riveting tale of ordinary people engaged in a battle that will determine the fate of the world.
For the secrets these letters guard are desperately coveted by the once-powerful Nephilim, who aim to perpetuate war, subvert the good in humanity, and dominate mankind. Generations of angelologists have devoted their lives to stopping them, and their shared mission, which Evangeline has long been destined to join, reaches from her bucolic abbey on the Hudson to the apex of insular wealth in New York, to the Montparnasse cemetery in Paris and the mountains of Bulgaria.
Rich in history, full of mesmerizing characters, and wondrously conceived, Angelology blends biblical lore, the myth of Orpheus and the Miltonic visions of Paradise Lost into a riveting tale of ordinary people engaged in a battle that will determine the fate of the world.
Title: The Heretic’s Daughter
Author: Kathleen Kent
Genre: Historical Fiction, Based on A True Story, Witches
This is the first book I’ll read, because I’ve been eagerly anticipating reading this one. Witchcraft, Salem Trials, History? I’m one happy bookworm.
Martha Carrier was one of the first women to be accused, tried and hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts. Like her mother, young Sarah Carrier is bright and willful, openly challenging the small, brutal world in which they live. Often at odds with one another, mother and daughter are forced to stand together against the escalating hysteria of the trials and the superstitious tyranny that led to the torture and imprisonment of more than 200 people accused of witchcraft. This is the story of Martha’s courageous defiance and ultimate death, as told by the daughter who survived.
Kathleen Kent is a tenth generation descendent of Martha Carrier. She paints a haunting portrait, not just of Puritan New England, but also of one family’s deep and abiding love in the face of fear and persecution.
Kathleen Kent is a tenth generation descendent of Martha Carrier. She paints a haunting portrait, not just of Puritan New England, but also of one family’s deep and abiding love in the face of fear and persecution.
Title: Wicked: The Life and Times of The Wicked Witch of The West
Author: Gregory Macguire
Genre: Fantasy, Humor
This one has been on my wishlist since forever and a day. I’m so happy I finally got it!
Years before Dorothy and her dog crash-land, another little girl makes her presence known in Oz. This girl, Elphaba, is born with emerald-green skin — no easy burden in a land as mean and poor as Oz, where superstition and magic are not strong enough to explain or to overcome the natural disasters of flood and famine. But Elphaba is smart, and by the time she enters the university in Shiz, she becomes a member of a charmed circle of Oz’ most promising young citizens.
Elphaba’s Oz is no utopia. The Wizard’s secret police are everywhere. Animals — those creatures with voices, souls and minds — are threatened with exile. Young Elphaba, green and wild and misunderstood, is determined to protect the Animals — even it means combating the mysterious Wizard, even if it means risking her single chance at romance. Even wiser in guilt and sorrow, she can find herself grateful when the world declares her a witch. And she can even make herself glad for that young girl from Kansas.
In Wicked, Gregory Maguire has taken the largely unknown world of Oz and populated it with the power of his own imagination. Fast-paced, fantastically real and supremely entertaining, this is a novel of vision and re-vision. Oz never will be the same again.
Elphaba’s Oz is no utopia. The Wizard’s secret police are everywhere. Animals — those creatures with voices, souls and minds — are threatened with exile. Young Elphaba, green and wild and misunderstood, is determined to protect the Animals — even it means combating the mysterious Wizard, even if it means risking her single chance at romance. Even wiser in guilt and sorrow, she can find herself grateful when the world declares her a witch. And she can even make herself glad for that young girl from Kansas.
In Wicked, Gregory Maguire has taken the largely unknown world of Oz and populated it with the power of his own imagination. Fast-paced, fantastically real and supremely entertaining, this is a novel of vision and re-vision. Oz never will be the same again.
Title: Fall of Giants (Century Trilogy #1)
Author: Ken Follett
Genre: Thriller, Drama, Literature
I loved Pillars of The Earth, so I’m pretty sure I’ll be in love with this book as well.
The first novel in The Century Trilogy, this book follows the fates of five interrelated families-American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh-as they move through the world-shaking dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women’s suffrage. Thirteen-year-old Billy Williams enters a man’s world in the Welsh mining pits…Gus Dewar, an American law student rejected in love, finds a surprising new career in Woodrow Wilson’s White House…two orphaned Russian brothers, Grigori and Lev Peshkov, embark on radically different paths half a world apart when their plan to emigrate to America falls afoul of war, conscription, and revolution…Billy’s sister, Ethel, a housekeeper for the aristocratic Fitzherberts, takes a fateful step above her station, while Lady Maud Fitzherbert herself crosses deep into forbidden territory when she falls in love with Walter von Ulrich, a spy at the German embassy in London…
These characters and many others find their lives inextricably entangled as, in a saga of unfolding drama and intriguing complexity, Fall of Giants moves seamlessly from Washington to St. Petersburg, from the dirt and danger of a coal mine to the glittering chandeliers of a palace, from the corridors of power to the bedrooms of the mighty. As always with Ken Follett, the historical background is brilliantly researched and rendered, the action fast-moving, the characters rich in nuance and emotion. It is destined to be a new classic.
In future volumes of The Century Trilogy, subsequent generations of the same families will travel through the great events of the rest of the twentieth century, changing themselves-and the century itself. With passion and the hand of a master, Follett brings us into a world we thought we knew, but now will never seem the same again.
These characters and many others find their lives inextricably entangled as, in a saga of unfolding drama and intriguing complexity, Fall of Giants moves seamlessly from Washington to St. Petersburg, from the dirt and danger of a coal mine to the glittering chandeliers of a palace, from the corridors of power to the bedrooms of the mighty. As always with Ken Follett, the historical background is brilliantly researched and rendered, the action fast-moving, the characters rich in nuance and emotion. It is destined to be a new classic.
In future volumes of The Century Trilogy, subsequent generations of the same families will travel through the great events of the rest of the twentieth century, changing themselves-and the century itself. With passion and the hand of a master, Follett brings us into a world we thought we knew, but now will never seem the same again.
Title: Sorcerer’s Moon (Boreal Moon #3)
Author: Julian May
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Adult
I have the first 2 books in these series, and I’ve actually been looking for this one quite a while. Imagine my happiness when I finally found it!
For sixteen years, King Conrig Ironcrown has battled to preserve the Sovereignty he imposed over High Blenholme Island and repel the invading Salka monsters. His hopes rest on Prince Orrion, his heir – whose betrothal should bring peace. But Orrion is determined to marry his childhood sweetheart – and would rather forfeit his life than wed the barbarian princess chosen by his heartless father.
In the devastated kingdom of Moss, the Salka are hunkered down – and planning the reconquest of “their” island. A shaky interval of peace has been broken only by skirmishes with these monsters. But the Salka’s audacious new battle plan will keep them undetected until they vanquish the human settlements on Terminal Bay – while their reserves secure a beachhead and their main force seizes the heart of High Blenholme.
With his scheme for his son Orrion in ruins, King Conrig – his magical powers weak – is more vulnerable than he realizes. Years of opposing the Salka and his human enemies have undermined his sanity. With his dreams of extending his Sovereignty beyond this island fading away, he’ll be even harder to control. Once again, he is preparing to use the foulest Beaconfolk sorcery to counter the monsters’ massive invasion.
As battles rage, the only chance for peace lies deep in King Conrig’s past. His former spy, Deveron Austrey, has secret magical powers – and no love for the Beaconfolk. And while the King’s first wife is largely unremembered, she has not forgotten that her son is the true heir to the throne of High Blenholme.
In the devastated kingdom of Moss, the Salka are hunkered down – and planning the reconquest of “their” island. A shaky interval of peace has been broken only by skirmishes with these monsters. But the Salka’s audacious new battle plan will keep them undetected until they vanquish the human settlements on Terminal Bay – while their reserves secure a beachhead and their main force seizes the heart of High Blenholme.
With his scheme for his son Orrion in ruins, King Conrig – his magical powers weak – is more vulnerable than he realizes. Years of opposing the Salka and his human enemies have undermined his sanity. With his dreams of extending his Sovereignty beyond this island fading away, he’ll be even harder to control. Once again, he is preparing to use the foulest Beaconfolk sorcery to counter the monsters’ massive invasion.
As battles rage, the only chance for peace lies deep in King Conrig’s past. His former spy, Deveron Austrey, has secret magical powers – and no love for the Beaconfolk. And while the King’s first wife is largely unremembered, she has not forgotten that her son is the true heir to the throne of High Blenholme.
Title: Northern Lights / The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials #1)
Author: Philip Pullman
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Epic Fantasy
I’ve been wanting to read this series for a while, since I totally loved the movie. I even bought the ones with the movie cover, because I loved it so much. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the 2nd book, so I’ll have to order that one online sometime.
When Lyra’s friend Roger disappears, she and her dæmon, (pronounced ‘demon’) Pantalaimon, determine to find him. The ensuing quest leads them to the bleak splendour of the North, where armoured bears rule the ice and witch-queens fly through the frozen skies – and where a team of scientists is conducting experiments too horible to be spoken about.
Lyra overcomes these strange terrors, only to find something yet more perilous waiting for her – something with consequences which may even reach beyond the Northern Lights…
Lyra overcomes these strange terrors, only to find something yet more perilous waiting for her – something with consequences which may even reach beyond the Northern Lights…
Title: The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials #3)
Author: Philip Pullman
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Epic Fantasy
Lyra and Will, the two ordinary children whose extraordinary adventures began in The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife, are in unspeakable danger. With help from Iorek Byrnison the armored bear and two tiny Gallivespian spies, they must journey to a gray-lit world where no living soul has ever gone. All the while, Dr. Mary Malone builds a magnificent amber spyglass. An assassin hunts her down. And Lord Asriel, with troops of shining angels, fights his mighty rebellion.
As war rages and Dust drains from the sky, the fate of the living — and the dead — finally comes to depend on two children and the simple truth of one simple story. The Amber Spyglass reveals that story, bringing His Dark Materials to an astonishing conclusion.
As war rages and Dust drains from the sky, the fate of the living — and the dead — finally comes to depend on two children and the simple truth of one simple story. The Amber Spyglass reveals that story, bringing His Dark Materials to an astonishing conclusion.
Title: Firethorn
Author: Sarah Micklem
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy
Introducing a mesmerizing debut in the rich tradition of Marion Zimmer Bradley–a passionate tale of love and war, honor and vengeance, in which the gods grant a common girl uncommon gifts…
Before she was Firethorn, she was Luck, named for her red hair, favored by the goddess of Chance. A lowborn orphan, Luck is destined to a life of servitude. But when her mistress dies, Luck flees to the forest. There she discovers the sacred firethorn tree, whose berries bring her fevered dreams, a new name–and curious talents. Transformed, she emerges from her exile a young woman with powers beyond her ken.
Firethorn has changed, but her world has not…until one chance encounter alters her destiny forever. In the chaos of the UpsideDown Days, when the highborn and the low trade places, Firethorn couples with Sire Galan, a highborn warrior. Emboldened by desire and her own restlessness, she follows fate and Galan to camp with the king’s army. But their unspoken love has no place in a brutal world ruled by caste and violence, and a dark future threatens from the shadows. Living among soldiers, concubines, and wastrels, and faced with a series of tormenting challenges, Firethorn will have to rely on the enigmatic gifts Fate grants her to survive–body and soul.
Before she was Firethorn, she was Luck, named for her red hair, favored by the goddess of Chance. A lowborn orphan, Luck is destined to a life of servitude. But when her mistress dies, Luck flees to the forest. There she discovers the sacred firethorn tree, whose berries bring her fevered dreams, a new name–and curious talents. Transformed, she emerges from her exile a young woman with powers beyond her ken.
Firethorn has changed, but her world has not…until one chance encounter alters her destiny forever. In the chaos of the UpsideDown Days, when the highborn and the low trade places, Firethorn couples with Sire Galan, a highborn warrior. Emboldened by desire and her own restlessness, she follows fate and Galan to camp with the king’s army. But their unspoken love has no place in a brutal world ruled by caste and violence, and a dark future threatens from the shadows. Living among soldiers, concubines, and wastrels, and faced with a series of tormenting challenges, Firethorn will have to rely on the enigmatic gifts Fate grants her to survive–body and soul.
Title: Sister Teresa
Author: Bárba Mujica
Genre: Historical Fiction, Adult
This novel was only €1.50, and since that’s unmistakingly cheap, I had to buy it.
Spoiled with beauty, riches, and adoration, a young girl from Àvila is sent to a convent by her parents to learn discipline, but discovers instead an unparalleled spiritual fervor– one so powerful as to be condemned as sinful by some. She is Saint Teresa–known as a mystic, reformer and founder of convents, and the author of numerous texts that introduced her radical religious ideas and practices to a society suffering through the repressive throes of the Spanish Inquisition. In Barbara Mujica’s masterful tale, her story–her days of youthful romance, her sensual fits of spiritual rapture, secret heritage as a Jewish convert to Catholicism, cloak-and-dagger political dealings, struggles against sexual blackmail, and mysterious illness–unfolds with a tumultuous urgency. Blending fact with fiction in vivid detail, painstakingly researched and beautifully rendered, Mujica’s tale conjures a brilliant picture of sisterhood, faith, the terror of religious persecution, the miracle of salvation, and to one woman’s challenge to the power of strict orthodoxy, a challenge that consisted of a crime of passion–her own personal relationship with God.
Title: Ravensoul (Legends of the Raven #4)
Author: James Barclay
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy
I read The Chronicles of The Raven a couple of years ago and loved it – so I couldn’t really resist when I saw this book.
The unknown warrior thought his days with the Raven were long behind him, until Hirad Coldheart, dead for ten years knocks on his door …The dead are not at rest. Something has travelled from far beyond the dimension which has Balaia and Calaius at its heart. It feeds off Manna. And without Manna all of Balaia and the spirit realms that surround it will collapse into nothing taking the living and the spirits of the dead with it into the void. This new threat cannot be reasoned with, it is heedless to threats or entreaties. Ethereal and so advanced it barely registers its prey as sentient it is bringing doom with it. Balaia, barely recovered from the demon onslaught is thrown into chaos as the dead walk the streets and hope fails. It is left to the Raven, both dead and alive to take their courage and their faith in each other into the spirit realms for one last fight. James Barclay has returned to the landmark series that made his name – this is the book that all his fans will have been waiting for.
Title: Wicked Willow I: The Darkening (Buffy, The Vampire Slayer)
Author: Yvonne Navarro
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Witches, Buffy The Vampire Slayer
I absolute love BTVS. Unfortunately, they only translated the first 8 novels in the series in Dutch, so I spent my entire teenage years reading those 8 novels over and over again. I couldn’t resist when I finally came across something else. It’s in English, but my English is fluent enough to read these books now, which it wasn’t back when I was like 12 years old 😉
“Willow, what have you done?”
— Buffy, “Villains”In the woods outside Sunnydale, Willow Rosenberg has exacted a terrible revenge for the murder of her lover Tara Maclay: She has captured Warren, the murderous leader of the Trio, and flayed him alive. Her best friends, Buffy Summers and Xander Harris, arrived too late to stop her.
But the death of Warren isn’t enough for Willow. Now her friends can only watch as the juiced-up witch sets off on a trail of vengeance and magick-gathering to prepare the spell that will bring Tara back to life. And whoever gets in Willow’s way is going to regret it…including one Slayer who is still hoping to save her best friend.
— Buffy, “Villains”In the woods outside Sunnydale, Willow Rosenberg has exacted a terrible revenge for the murder of her lover Tara Maclay: She has captured Warren, the murderous leader of the Trio, and flayed him alive. Her best friends, Buffy Summers and Xander Harris, arrived too late to stop her.
But the death of Warren isn’t enough for Willow. Now her friends can only watch as the juiced-up witch sets off on a trail of vengeance and magick-gathering to prepare the spell that will bring Tara back to life. And whoever gets in Willow’s way is going to regret it…including one Slayer who is still hoping to save her best friend.
Title: Wicked Willow II: Shattered Twilight
Author: Yvonne Navarro
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Witches, Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Even Willow’s own coven has turned against her now. Condemned for saving Buffy from their evil phantom and for not protecting the other coven members fully, as she had promised, Willow must come up with a way to restore herself to them — and to reinforce her position of power, which hangs in the balance.
But the truth — that she battled the phantom because the ghost of Tara told her to — will only lower Willow’s status in the eyes of her coven. It is time for big magic. Infallible magic.
And as Willow turns to the elements for protection, Buffy and the rest of the Scoobies must find a way to fight back without losing Willow forever….
But the truth — that she battled the phantom because the ghost of Tara told her to — will only lower Willow’s status in the eyes of her coven. It is time for big magic. Infallible magic.
And as Willow turns to the elements for protection, Buffy and the rest of the Scoobies must find a way to fight back without losing Willow forever….
All novels shown in the image above belong to the Charmed Series, and are based on the popular TV Series Charmed. English titles of the novels shown:
- Spirit of The Wolf
- Garden of Evil
- A Date with Death
- Dark Vengeance
- Shadow of the Sphinx
- Mist and Stone
- Mirror Image
- Between Two Worlds
- Something Wiccan This Way Comes
- Truth and Consequences
- Luck Be A Lady
- A Tale of Two Pipers
- Inherit the Witch
- The Brewing Storm
Books not shown in this post (because I forgot to take pictures):
- Betrayed (House of Night #2) by PC and Kristin Cast
- Untamed (House of Night #4) by PC and Kristin Cast
- Sweep, Volume 1 (The Book of Shadows, The Coven and Blood Of The Witch) by Cate Tiernan
WoW. That’s a TON TON TON of books.
I can’t really think of a whole lot else to say besides that. Just… wow. 🙂
Whoa. That, even for a booklover, is crazy awesome. You must have had a fun, fun time dragging that home, huh?
Another thing – you got the two best in the HoN series. Those two were the only good before the series, in my eyes, at least, started to go downhill. Happy reading!
Heh, thanks. Well, I recruited my boyfriend to help me carry those books home, but it was a hellish event anyway. Especially since we had to walk like 2 km home, hehe.
I look forward to reading the HoN books. It does suck when a series that you tend to enjoy, suddenly goes downhill.
OMG! You did not get all those books!!!*mouth falling open* LOL Just kidding. That’s awesome, you got a great deal there! I wish I had Charmed and BTVS too. They’re definitely must haves!<3 I want to get Angelology and Sweep too. And the Boudica series sounds interesting. Well, enjoy your books and happy reading!
Oh, I think you should have bought a new bookcase too.:))
You’re so right about the bookcase, I really should have bought one as well. ;P Oh well!
Thanks for commenting. I only wish there were more BTVS books available here in Belgium, so I could get them all. I’m so greedy when it comes to books ;P
WOW… You are going to have lots to keep you busy! I hope that you can squeeze some time in there for my book!
No worries, Krystal. I’m pretty sure I’ll have time to read your book 😉
You got quite a few that I want to read. I really want to read Angelology!
Woah!, what a sight that is. I wish I would walk into my room and find my bed covered with new books.
I’ve never read a Charmed book, might check them out.
Happy reading!
I can tell you – it was amazing. I was so, so, SO happy! It was like a dream come true!
Wow! I’m seriously sitting over here salivating over these books, especially the BtVS (as I’m an avid fan and true facts, that show changed the way I watch television literally), Charmed, and House of Night books. A couple of months ago BooksAMillion in the next town over fro me, was having a huge sale where you could buy two and get one free plus there were tons of books piled high on a table near the back of the store with prices that ranged from $1.99 to no higher than $6.97 and a great deal of them were hardback and relatively new. So, I got about twelve books out of that deal and several of the HoN were hardback like that, the first six I believe. 🙂
Hehe, don’t you just love bargains? I’m surprised you only bought 12 books – I would have gone crazy and bought a lot more probably 😛
I have to tell you, BTVS changed the way I watch television for me too. I just loved that series, and in my opinion, there hasn’t been anything like it afterwards. Angel was nice to watch as well, but it never really came close to BTVS. After the series ended, I tried desperately to find a TV series that would replace BTVS, but I didn’t find one. Nothing can really compete with BTVS. I wish they had made like 10 seasons more, although I agree that it might have gotten boring by then. Pftttt, I miss BTVS 🙁
Wow!! That’s a huge pile of books! Enjoy!
OMG! I’m very curious how much have you spent on all these books. Probably they were cheap, since they are so many…Enjoy reading!
Whoa, that’s lot of books! I have the first Boudica book but haven’t read it yet. I liked The Heretic’s Daughter and I’ve wanted to read Angelology.
Hope you enjoy those!
And I love BtVS! I used to record it on VHS. Oh the days! I have few books too but not that many. Loved Tales of the Slayer books.
Some amazing books there! I also have The Court of the Air and all of His Dark Materials… 🙂
New follower!
comacalm.blogspot.com
Wow! What a week! The Manda Scott books look especially interesting.
My IMM
Holy Cow!!!!! What a great book haul, totally jealous.
-Happy Reading.
Um, Good Lord that’s a lot of books! How are you even going to get through all of that?!
I hope you enjoy ’em all. And wasn’t the Charmed Tv Show the freaking bomb? I have all eight seasons! Loved, loved, loved that show.
And I’m loving this layout you’ve got here. Very pretty.
Thanks for stopping by the blog earlier!
Asher K.
All I can say is WOW! Tons of awesome books this week!
Holy moly, that’s a ton of books! I’m jealous. I miss having used book stores near me. Right now I don’t have one close by at all and it drives me mad.
Melissa
http://sheshines.net/2011/03/20/in-my-mailbox-2/
I loved the Golden Compass books! And the books are so much better, and quite a bit different, than the movie. Don’t be surprised at some of the changes, but if you loved the movie I’m sure we will absolutely LOVE the books!
Wow so many books!
I hope you enjoy them all 🙂
You got so many awesome deals! *in awe* Some of your finds sound crazy good.
I LOVE the cover of Wicked! So much better than ours!
I find it interesting that both The Golden Compass and The Amber Spyglass have the same cover! If you’re OCD like me, you’ll have to snag the matching one for The Subtle Knife.
I used to LOVE the Buffy books. I think the Gatekeeper/Gatehouse/whatever-it-was-called trilogy was my favorite.
Great haul! 🙂
I’m not sure about the Buffy books (I’m not even a fan of the show – I know, I must be the only person in the universe who hates it lol) but I love Philip Pullmans books. Northern Light and The Amber Spyglass are awesome and I hope you enjoy them.
You got enough books there to keep you going a whole 6 months! Hope you enjoy them all.
That is one awesome collection of new books to read! Have fun with them!