

Bess – Tudor Gentlewoman (The Elizabethan Series #6) by Tony Riches
Bess Throckmorton defies her notorious background and lack of education to become Queen Elizabeth’s Gentlewoman and trusted confidante.
Forced to choose between loyalty and love, duty and desire, will she risk her queen’s anger by marrying adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh without permission?
Entangled in a web of intrigue, from the glittering Palace of Whitehall to the cells of the Tower of London, Bess endures tragedy and injustice, becoming a resilient, determined woman, who
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10 hours ago
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Excerpt: Ravens Hill (The Atheling Chronicles #5) by Garth Pettersen
In 1030 C.E. — When Harald, the second son of King Cnute, returns from fighting the king's enemies in Northern Wales, he expects his life to return to normal. He's surprised when he's granted a large landholding—an idyllic life, far from the power-mongering of King Cnute's court, farming in the Midlands, evening walks with his beloved Selia. It’s a gift they cannot refuse, but the king has other plans for Harald and his wife.
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2 days ago
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Excerpt: Death and The Poet (The Publius Ovidius Mysteries #2) by Fiona Forsyth
When Dokimos the vegetable seller is found bludgeoned to death in the Black Sea town of Tomis, it’s the most exciting thing to have happened in the region for years. Now reluctantly settled into life in exile, the disgraced Roman poet Ovid helps his friend Avitius to investigate the crime, with the evidence pointing straight at a cuckolded neighbour.
But Ovid is also on edge, waiting for the most momentous death of all. Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome, is nearing his end
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Jun 12
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Guest Post: Last Train to Freedom by Deborah Swift
1940. As Soviet forces storm Lithuania, Zofia and her brother Jacek must flee to survive.
A lifeline appears when Japanese consul Sugihara offers them visas on one condition: they must deliver a parcel to Tokyo. Inside lies intelligence on Nazi atrocities, evidence so explosive that Nazi and Soviet agents will stop at nothing to possess it.
Pursued across Siberia on the Trans-Siberian Express, Zofia faces danger at every turn, racing to expose the truth as Japan edges close
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Jun 9
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Guest Post: Nothing Proved (Regina #1) by Janet Wertman
Elizabeth Tudor learned resilience young. Declared illegitimate after the execution of her mother Anne Boleyn, she bore her precarious position with unshakable grace. But upon the death of her father, King Henry VIII, the vulnerable fourteen-year-old must learn to navigate a world of shifting loyalties, power plays, and betrayal.
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After narrowly escaping entanglement in Thomas Seymour’s treason, Elizabeth rebuilds her reputation as the perfect Protestant princess – which p
Archaeolibrarian
Jun 3
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Excerpt: Boy with Wings by Mark Mustian
When Johnny Cruel is born with strange appendages on his back in the 1930s South, the locals think he's a devil. Determined to protect him, his mother fakes his death, and they flee. Thus begins Johnny's yearslong struggle to find a place he belongs.
From a turpentine camp of former slaves to a freak show run by a dwarf who calls herself Tiny Tot and on to the Florida capitol building, Johnny finds himself working alongside other outcasts, struggling to answer the question
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May 26
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Excerpt: Tangled in Water by Pam Records
1932. Natalia is 16 and a bootlegger's daughter, playing the mermaid mascot on a rundown paddlewheel used to entertain brewers and distributors.Â
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A sequined costume hides her scarred and misshaped legs, but it can't cover up the painful memories and suspicions that haunt her. An eccentric healer who treats patients with Old Country tonics, tries to patch wounds, but only adds to the heartache. A fierce storm threatens to destroy everything, including a stash of stolen jew
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May 23
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Excerpt: White Feathers by Susan Lanigan
In 1913, Irish emigrée Eva Downey receives a bequest from an elderly suffragette to attend a finishing school. There she finds friendship and, eventually, love. But when war looms and he refuses to enlist, Eva is under family and social pressure to give the man she loves a white feather of cowardice. The decision she eventually makes will have lasting consequences for her and everyone around her.
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May 2
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Excerpt: Sister Rosa's Rebellion (The Meonbridge Chronicles #6) by Carolyn Hughes
1363. When Mother Angelica, the old prioress at Northwick Priory, dies, many of the nuns presume Sister Rosa – formerly Johanna de Bohun, of Meonbridge – will take her place. But Sister Evangelina, Angelica’s niece, believes the position is hers by right, and one way or another she will ensure it is.
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May 1
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Author Interview: The Ballad of Mary Kearney by Katherine Mezzacappa
An impoverished tenant farmer sends his seventeen-year-old daughter Mary into service at the home of his Ascendancy landlord. Viscount Kilkeel, the impulsive but idealistic son of Lord Goward, lately returned from the Grand Tour, cohabits openly there with his married mistress – but at least her presence means he is not distracted by pretty servants. When Lady Mitchelstown dies, however, only Mary is willing to lay out the corpse. Impressed, Kilkeel decides to educate her and
Archaeolibrarian
Apr 25
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Spotlight: The Cross of Ciarán (The Cross of Ciarán #1) by Andrea Matthews
When a fifth century pagan priest is unearthed in Ireland fifteen hundred years after being entombed, archaeologist Caitlin O’Connell is convinced it’s the find of the century. The body is in perfect condition, right down to the intricate tattoos adorning the Celt’s skin. In fact, if scientific data hadn’t proved otherwise, she would swear he hadn’t been interred more than a few hours.
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Apr 23
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Spotlight: Oscar's Tale by Chris Bishop
Oscar’s Tale is that of a Saxon boy who sets out to find and rescue his father who has been taken by Viking slavers.
The story begins in 877, just prior to the Viking attack on Chippenham in which King Alfred was routed. Against this backdrop, Oscar is obliged to set out on his all but impossible quest and quickly becomes embroiled in all that’s going on in Wessex at this turbulent time, culminating in him playing a small but important part in the battle at Edington.
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Apr 15
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Excerpt: The Tudor Queens’ Midwife (The Tudor Queens’ Midwife #1) by Brigitte Barnard
In the glamorous, glittering and dangerous court of king Henry VIII and his queen Katherine of Aragon, the desperate desire for a healthy ma
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Apr 2
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Excerpt: Strait Lace (Loxley Hall Books) by Rosemary Hayward
It is 1905. Edwardian England. Harriet Loxley, the daughter of a vicar and niece to a prominent Nottingham lace manufacturer, spends her day
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Mar 27
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Excerpt: The Midnight of Eights (The Island of Angels #2) by Justin Newland
Nelan Michaels docks at Plymouth after sailing around the world aboard the Golden Hind. He seeks only to master his mystical powers – the ma
Archaeolibrarian
Mar 25
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Spotlight: The Rune Stone (Dr DuLac series #3) by Julia Ibbotson
When Dr Viv DuLac, medievalist and academic, finds a mysterious runic inscription on a Rune Stone in the graveyard of her husband’s village
Archaeolibrarian
Mar 18
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Excerpt: Sword Brethren (The Northern Crusader Chronicles) by Jon Byrne
1242. After being wounded in the Battle on the Ice, Richard Fitz Simon becomes a prisoner of Prince Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod. Alexander,
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Mar 11
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