Unabridged Chick

Today is my last day of sabbatical! I wish I could announce I finished the second draft of my novel, but I didn't; I wish I could brag I read a dozen books, but I think I managed two. Instead, I spent almost all my time with Unabridged Baby , and I'm so grateful for that. I'm going to miss this face when I return to the office on Monday! I am looking forward to resuming my routines, however. My long commute is great for both reading and knitting, and there's an active craft group at my office -- which means I'll knit over lunch and breaks, too. (This is important as I've got a long queue of things to knit -- holiday presents, more items for the baby before he outgrows them, and a few things for myself!) I'm still nursing a book hangover from Naomi J. Williams' amazing Landfalls (which I need to review, but for now, just imagine me squee-ing and flailing) but have started Karen Abbott's Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in t

I'm so excited for this release! Stephanie Dray, one of my favorite authors, has paired up with Laura Kamoie to pen a novel about Thomas Jefferson's daughter Patsy. I'm absolutely on pins-and-needles for this one as I love Colonial/Revolutionary-era historical fiction and I'm so curious to see how Dray and Kamoie deal with Jefferson's complicated legacy. Read on to learn more about the book and the authors, and be sure to enter the giveaway to receive early access to a review copy! America’s First Daughter By: Stephanie Dray & Laura Kamoie Releasing March 1st, 2016 William Morrow In a compelling, richly researched novel that draws from thousands of letters and original sources, bestselling authors Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie tell the fascinating, untold story of Thomas Jefferson’s eldest daughter, Martha “Patsy” Jefferson Randolph—a woman who kept the secrets of our most enigmatic founding father and shaped an American legacy.   From her earliest

Title: Enchantress of Paris Author: Marci Jefferson First line : Footmen threw open the front doors of my casa , my sanctum of peaceful exile in Madrid for nearly a decade, and a whiff of spices and the gleam of moonlight filled my front hall. Review: I'd been dying to get my hands on this book solely because I adored Jefferson's debut novel, Girl on the Golden Coin . And while I loved that book, I think I might love this one more. It has another charming, convincing heroine whose voice sealed my adoration from the first page, evocative historical details, and a dramatic plot that made me race to the last page. Set during the reign of the young Louis XIV, the titular enchantress is Marie Mancini, an Italian noblewoman and niece of the powerful Cardinal Mazarin. She and her beautiful sisters are better known as the Mazarinettes for their obedience to their ambitious uncle, who is the close personal adviser to King Louis. Mazarin has no qualms about throwing his n

My swoony review for this will come tomorrow but ohemgee, I just loved Marci Jefferson's newest historical novel, Enchantress of Paris . A delicious hist fic featuring a charming, captivating heroine -- Marie Mancini, mistress to the Sun King -- and loaded with fab details and dripping with drama, I hung on every word and prayed that somehow, Jefferson would change Marie's fate, I was that caught up in Marie's story. I'm thrilled to share this book release blast -- read on to learn more about this book and be sure to enter the giveaway! Enchantress of Paris: A Novel of the Sun King's Court by Marci Jefferson Publication Date: August 4, 2015 Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press Hardcover & eBook; 336 Pages Genre: Historical Fiction READ AN EXCERPT . Fraught with conspiracy and passion, the Sun King's opulent court is brought to vivid life in this captivating tale about a woman whose love was more powerful than magic. The alignment of