Teaser Tuesday, April 12

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
- Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers

This week's teaser is from the deliciously readable and super fabulous Pale Rose of England by Sandra Worth.  Even though I know nothing about this era, Worth's writing is so engaging and her characters so human, I'm sucked in.  This week's teaser is from early in the novel, when a sick Catherine is sent to sanctuary for safety.

The prior was a figure of misery as he stood rubbing the edge of his crucifix between his fingers.  He was thinking of the beautiful young woman in the tawny sea gown who had stood before him little more than a week earlier, her babe asleep in his nurse's arms, her handsome husband at her side.  They had come with such high hopes, such noble designs for the kingdom, and now here they were, their doom fast approaching.  Though he was a man of faith who would never question God's plan, sometimes the uncertainty of human destiny and its tragic consequences brought him to the edge of grief.



Comments

  1. Jessica @ Laugh Love WriteApril 12, 2011 at 10:32 AM

    I really like that Victorian-esque cover. Beautiful.

    My Teaser is a little different and based on author Olivia Cunning who is over at my blog today giving away free books.

    Jessica @ Laugh Love Write

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beth FApril 12, 2011 at 11:36 AM

    Nice teaser. I might have to add this one to my wish list.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Julia WriterApril 12, 2011 at 11:59 AM

    This book sounds just like my cup of tea. Another one for my wish list :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. AudraApril 12, 2011 at 12:01 PM

    All - I'm posting my review on Thursday -- this is the kind of historical novel that makes me love the genre. It's so good!

    ReplyDelete
  5. AartiApril 12, 2011 at 4:23 PM

    I am glad this book is good! I LOVE Richard III, and I am looking forward to the chance to read this one when I have some time :-) And money.

    ReplyDelete
  6. ElysiumApril 12, 2011 at 4:48 PM

    Nice teaser! I've read mixed reviews about this and I'm looking forward for your review.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Lady QApril 12, 2011 at 5:39 PM

    That is a really great teaser! I haven't read this author yet, but I love the way that passage was written. Thanks for stopping by today :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. MysticaApril 12, 2011 at 10:58 PM

    Thank you for a wonderful teaser. The cover alone is enough to tempt one to get this book. Thank you for coming over to my blog. I am also now a subscriber to yours.

    ReplyDelete
  9. History and WomenApril 14, 2011 at 11:37 AM

    This book sounds great - especially after your recommendation. Now I must get it.

    Mirella

    ReplyDelete
  10. AudraApril 14, 2011 at 11:40 AM

    All -- just posted my review -- I loved this book -- such a moving, engrossing telling of this woman's life -- well written and engaging!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Interview with Susan Higginbotham

Image
I am so excited to share my interview with novelist Susan Higginbotham. Although she might be most well known for her novels set in the UK, she's started exploring 19th-century America in her more recent books, including her newest, The First Lady and the Rebel. It's the gripping story of Abraham Lincoln's wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, and her beloved sister Emily, as they find themselves at the opposite ends of the Civil War. My review comes on Thursday but prepare for major squees. I loved this book!

What was the plot of your very first piece of fiction?

Because I've been writing since I was a child, I can't remember, but I can tell you that it likely had something to do with cats. My first attempt at a historical novel, however, was when I was in junior high and started to write a novel about a family of orphans living through the Blitz. (Clearly, given the current vogue for World War II novels, I was way ahead of my time.) It didn't have much plot, as I recall,…
Read more

Farewell My Life by Cynthia Sally Haggard

Image
The war had been over for less than four years, and Berlin was full of amputees begging on the streets, of gaunt young men startling at the slightest thing.

This is a splashy, dramatic historical novel that reads like a mix of penny dreadfuls, 1980s Joan Collins romances, and any number of thrillers. Mixing a tumultuous, intriguing setting -- Europe in 1921 and 1922, then a jump to 1938 -- with a dysfunctional family saga, this book is like a froofy cocktail in a bubble bath: a little excessive but oh-so good.

Farewell My Life by Cynthia Sally Haggard
Self Published, 2019
Copy provided by author as part of blog tour
Read Harder 2019

What I so appreciated and enjoyed in this book was the mix of expected and surprising in the story. I've read many pre-war historical novels and any number of gifted-heroine-exposed-to-the-world coming-of-age stories, but Haggard picked unique details that made this story new. The heroine at the heart of this novel is Grace, an Italian-American woman w…
Read more

The Only Skill That Matters by Jonathan Levi

Image
But the truth is that while it's great to have enthusiasm for learning, enthusiasm without planning cna do more harm than good.

The subtitle of this book -- "The proven methodology to read faster, remember more, and become a superlearner" -- immediately attracted me. I usually only read one or two nonfiction books in a year but wish I read more, especially for personal and professional development. Never mind my perpetual yearning to learn another language or be more adept at some of my woo hobbies.

The Only Skill That Matters by Jonathan Levi
Lioncrest Publishing, 2019
Source via publisher, thanks to TLC Book Tours

I was unfamiliar with Levi and his SuperLearner empire, but found his book to be easy to engage with and understand. At the center of this book is a particular practice of priming one's self for learning and a particular way of studying; and honestly, I wish I had had this book when I was in college. I managed to do well in high school without learning ho…
Read more

National Geographic's Almanac 2020

Image
Breaking bread is the universal bonding mechanism of humanity. At a table, over food, one has no enemies.

National Geographic magazine is a sentimental staple in my life: I grew up on old issues given to me by neighbors and treasured the subscriptions I got for Christmas. I've given up my paper magazines in the name of conservation but am still drawn to that familiar yellow border and the images and knowledge within.

Almanac 2020 by National Geographic
National Geographic, 2019
Copy provided by publisher for TLC Book Tours

I hadn't had an opportunity to pour over any of NatGeo's annual almanacs until offered one for review, and it's an ultra dose of everything the magazine does well, broken up into small, easily consumed tidbits. It's perfect for trivia nerds and kids: most of the topics are covered in two pages or less, broken up with NatGeo's trademark stunning photography or infographics and timelines for context.

Between us, I'm not precisely sure what ma…
Read more