Seeing Red
Looking for some great historical fiction with a little bit of magic? Well, perhaps you should read The Red Queen's Daughter by Jacqueline Kolosov.
The Red Queeen's Daughter by Jacqueline Kolosov:
The Red Queen's Daughter is rich in history, mystery, tapestry, intrigue, magic and bittersweet romance. I'm not sure that anything I write will do it justice. I won't even pretend to be any kind of history expert, but I was truely enchanted by this book.
Mary Seymour is the daughter of the late Queen Katherine Parr, who was once married to Henry VIII. She is also the daughter of Thomas Seymour, who was executed as a traitor. As fortune does not seem to smile upon Mary, she is soon orphaned again at the age of nine with the untimely death of her guardian. This leaves her and her wolfhound Jack to be looked after by a new guardian. Her name is Lady strange, and she informs Mary that there is a great destiny that she must fulfill.
As the years go by, Mary is trained as a white magician and she is told of the extraorinary life that her mother lead as a scholar and an advocate for the elevation of women. With all that she has learned about her mother she becomes convinced that love lead to her downfall. Mary makes a vow to never fall in love and let her logic become clouded by the folly of romance.
Shortly ofter her sixteenth birthday, by way of a spell, Mary meets her spirit guide Cordelia and her destiny is confirmed. She is soon called away to Queen Elizabeth's court to be her a lady-in -waiting. This is not her only duty, for she is secretly instructed to use white magic to insure a safe and prosperous reign for the young Virgin Queen. To help her in this quest, Mary is gifted with an enchanted hound named Perseus by Cordelia. She is able to communicate with Perseus and he provides faithful protection.
The duties and politics of her new position provide enough dificulty without the added pressure of keeping her magic a secret from Elizabeth and her subjects. Behind the grandure of the palace lurks many other evils as well. One of which is her handsome cousin Edmund Seymour, whom she is fighting her attractions to with each day. She finds that he and others are involved in a plot against the queen and she is bound by her duties to stop them at any cost. But in the end will her own feelings betray her, and is she strong enough to fight the dark magic that surrounds her?
Kolosov weaves a beautiful and magical tale worthy of any queen. What is even better is that there is room at the end for a sequel, but it is still satisfying on it's own.
Anyone who is waiting patiently (or impatiently) for the release of The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray (book three in the saga of A Great and Terrible Beauty) should take note and pick this book up to tide you over until it's release on December 26th.
Finally, Lately I have been frequently asked the question "I just read the Twilight books and I was wondering what else I can read that is like them". Here I will put together a few recommendations:
The first books I tell people to read are the Morganville Vampire Chronicles. Glass Houses, Dead Girls Dance and Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine. These are fantastic vampire themed books with plenty of bite.
These are about a girl who goes away to school and finds that the town she now lives in is being run by vampires. She is bullied by gilrs in her dorm and is forced out and ends up living in the Glass House with some very interesting people. She has become an unwilling part of the battle that rages in the town and manages to get herself into some unbelieveable situations. With all that is going on she still manages to fall in love. There is so much more to the story, but you will have to find out for yourself!!
Next would be Blue Bloods and Masquerade by Melissa De La Cruz:
These are a cross between Gossip Girl and Twilight. They are just wonderful. Vampires in the city. I can't wait for the next book.
Marked and Betrayed by P.C. and Kristin Cast are other great choices:
Basically, if Harry Potter was a teenaged vampire girl, this is how the story would go. It's set in a vampire boarding school in a world where vamps are part of known society. An excellent series. I cried like a baby while reading Betrayed. It is so amazing. Book three, Chosen will be released in March '08.
My personal favorite is City of Bones by Cassandra Clare:
Action, romance, demons, vampires, werewolves, demon hunters, magic and one heck of a cliffhanger!! One of the coolest books I've read in a long time. I love, love, love this book!! The first chapter of book two, City of Ashes can be found on her website. Just click on the picture of the book on her site. http://cassandraclare.com/
Another great series is the Sweep series by Cate Tiernan:
No vampires, but it's got witchcraft and an epic romance. It's an amazing and very addictive series. There are 14 books total, plus a bonus special book that ties up the series. Do not miss out on these.
The Blue is for Nightmares series by Laurie Faria Stolarz is another great one. The order is Blue, White, Silver, Red:
A fantastic paranormal mystery that will leave you breathless. It all begins when Stacey has a psychic dream that her roommate is going to be murdered. She doesn't know who, where, when or how, but she knows it will happen if she doesn't follow the clues and stop it. Each book is a new dream and mystery, but they all come together in the end. Silver is my favorite in the series, what a powerful ending it has.
If those sound good to you, then try The Seer series by Linda Joy Singleton.
The order is as follows:
Don't Die Dragonfly
Last Dance
Witch Ball
Sword Play
Fatal Charm
This is one of my favorite series. Sabine is a psychic who is trying to solve her own problems as well as the issues of the paranormal. If it's not a murder, it's a ghost or an evil spirit. Add to this her grandmothers "hereditary" illness and the search for the cure. Good thing Dominic is there to help, *swoon*. I can't tell you how awesome these books are. Last Dance is my favorite story, and Sword Play had the best (and most shocking) ending.
Finally, back to the vamps with Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith:
Quincie is opening an Italian restaurant with a vampire theme. After their chef is found murdered they hire a new one, and he may have brought more than just pasta. Of course, you can't expect life to be normal when your best friend is a werewolf and half the town is vamp crazy. A VERY cool book. Funny, suspenseful and original. Deliciously good.
I hope I helped in some way. I'll have more later, but I need to call it a night!
The Red Queeen's Daughter by Jacqueline Kolosov:
The Red Queen's Daughter is rich in history, mystery, tapestry, intrigue, magic and bittersweet romance. I'm not sure that anything I write will do it justice. I won't even pretend to be any kind of history expert, but I was truely enchanted by this book.
Mary Seymour is the daughter of the late Queen Katherine Parr, who was once married to Henry VIII. She is also the daughter of Thomas Seymour, who was executed as a traitor. As fortune does not seem to smile upon Mary, she is soon orphaned again at the age of nine with the untimely death of her guardian. This leaves her and her wolfhound Jack to be looked after by a new guardian. Her name is Lady strange, and she informs Mary that there is a great destiny that she must fulfill.
As the years go by, Mary is trained as a white magician and she is told of the extraorinary life that her mother lead as a scholar and an advocate for the elevation of women. With all that she has learned about her mother she becomes convinced that love lead to her downfall. Mary makes a vow to never fall in love and let her logic become clouded by the folly of romance.
Shortly ofter her sixteenth birthday, by way of a spell, Mary meets her spirit guide Cordelia and her destiny is confirmed. She is soon called away to Queen Elizabeth's court to be her a lady-in -waiting. This is not her only duty, for she is secretly instructed to use white magic to insure a safe and prosperous reign for the young Virgin Queen. To help her in this quest, Mary is gifted with an enchanted hound named Perseus by Cordelia. She is able to communicate with Perseus and he provides faithful protection.
The duties and politics of her new position provide enough dificulty without the added pressure of keeping her magic a secret from Elizabeth and her subjects. Behind the grandure of the palace lurks many other evils as well. One of which is her handsome cousin Edmund Seymour, whom she is fighting her attractions to with each day. She finds that he and others are involved in a plot against the queen and she is bound by her duties to stop them at any cost. But in the end will her own feelings betray her, and is she strong enough to fight the dark magic that surrounds her?
Kolosov weaves a beautiful and magical tale worthy of any queen. What is even better is that there is room at the end for a sequel, but it is still satisfying on it's own.
Anyone who is waiting patiently (or impatiently) for the release of The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray (book three in the saga of A Great and Terrible Beauty) should take note and pick this book up to tide you over until it's release on December 26th.
Finally, Lately I have been frequently asked the question "I just read the Twilight books and I was wondering what else I can read that is like them". Here I will put together a few recommendations:
The first books I tell people to read are the Morganville Vampire Chronicles. Glass Houses, Dead Girls Dance and Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine. These are fantastic vampire themed books with plenty of bite.
These are about a girl who goes away to school and finds that the town she now lives in is being run by vampires. She is bullied by gilrs in her dorm and is forced out and ends up living in the Glass House with some very interesting people. She has become an unwilling part of the battle that rages in the town and manages to get herself into some unbelieveable situations. With all that is going on she still manages to fall in love. There is so much more to the story, but you will have to find out for yourself!!
Next would be Blue Bloods and Masquerade by Melissa De La Cruz:
These are a cross between Gossip Girl and Twilight. They are just wonderful. Vampires in the city. I can't wait for the next book.
Marked and Betrayed by P.C. and Kristin Cast are other great choices:
Basically, if Harry Potter was a teenaged vampire girl, this is how the story would go. It's set in a vampire boarding school in a world where vamps are part of known society. An excellent series. I cried like a baby while reading Betrayed. It is so amazing. Book three, Chosen will be released in March '08.
My personal favorite is City of Bones by Cassandra Clare:
Action, romance, demons, vampires, werewolves, demon hunters, magic and one heck of a cliffhanger!! One of the coolest books I've read in a long time. I love, love, love this book!! The first chapter of book two, City of Ashes can be found on her website. Just click on the picture of the book on her site. http://cassandraclare.com/
Another great series is the Sweep series by Cate Tiernan:
No vampires, but it's got witchcraft and an epic romance. It's an amazing and very addictive series. There are 14 books total, plus a bonus special book that ties up the series. Do not miss out on these.
The Blue is for Nightmares series by Laurie Faria Stolarz is another great one. The order is Blue, White, Silver, Red:
A fantastic paranormal mystery that will leave you breathless. It all begins when Stacey has a psychic dream that her roommate is going to be murdered. She doesn't know who, where, when or how, but she knows it will happen if she doesn't follow the clues and stop it. Each book is a new dream and mystery, but they all come together in the end. Silver is my favorite in the series, what a powerful ending it has.
If those sound good to you, then try The Seer series by Linda Joy Singleton.
The order is as follows:
Don't Die Dragonfly
Last Dance
Witch Ball
Sword Play
Fatal Charm
This is one of my favorite series. Sabine is a psychic who is trying to solve her own problems as well as the issues of the paranormal. If it's not a murder, it's a ghost or an evil spirit. Add to this her grandmothers "hereditary" illness and the search for the cure. Good thing Dominic is there to help, *swoon*. I can't tell you how awesome these books are. Last Dance is my favorite story, and Sword Play had the best (and most shocking) ending.
Finally, back to the vamps with Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith:
Quincie is opening an Italian restaurant with a vampire theme. After their chef is found murdered they hire a new one, and he may have brought more than just pasta. Of course, you can't expect life to be normal when your best friend is a werewolf and half the town is vamp crazy. A VERY cool book. Funny, suspenseful and original. Deliciously good.
I hope I helped in some way. I'll have more later, but I need to call it a night!