I love reading books about the court of Henry VIII and this one was not one of the best I have read, but still a good book. The book does not concentrate on Henry VIII but on Thomas Howard, the Duke of Norfolk. The story is told through the three main characters point of view, Thomas Howards, his second wife Elizabeths, and his mistress Bess Hollands. I really liked how the story had these different points of view, it made it more interesting.

The story moved along quickly, there were no sections that I felt were too long or dragged. This time in history is so exciting and there are so many things going on it really keeps you interested in the book. The part that I enjoyed reading the most was the development of Thomas Howard's character and how he changed from all the tragedies in his life. Bogdan really gives us an in-depth view of his motivations, desires, and ambitions. All the characters are developed well, but Thomas's is given the most time and is the most complex.

If you enjoy reading Tudor history and books about interesting lives in history, I would definitely recommend reading Rivals in the Tudor Court.

The Game of Kings is the first book in The Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett. It is the story of Francis Crawford of Lymond and is set in Scotland in 1547. Lymond has just returned to his home of Scotland and is trying to clear his name from a charge of treason. He sets himself up as the leader of a group of outlaws and goes about trying to find the proof he needs to redeem his reputation while fighting the English and keeping them out of Scotland and away from their young Queen, who they want to kidnap and take to England. While doing all of this he also must deal with his family, especially his brother, Richard, who wants him dead.

This book was a very difficult read for me. It had lots of references to things that I did not understand and so many characters to keep track of, I sometimes got confused over who was on which side. Despite these drawbacks, I really enjoyed this book. Lymond was an incredibly entertaining character to read about and I found myself liking him more and more as I read. The tension between him and his brother and how it was resolved were some of the best parts of the book, very well written. Of course there is lots of adventure, mystery, and political intrigue with a little romance thrown in. The other characters in the book were given lots of time to develop, especially the rest of Lymond's family. This is the first in the series and I am sure I will be checking out the other books to see what other adventures are had by Francis Crawford.

Wildwood Dancing is a retelling of the fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses with The Frog Prince and vampires put in as well. Jena is the heroine of the story, her and her four sisters are left alone in their home when their father becomes ill and must go to a warmer climate for the winter. They are left to endure the harsh Romanian winter with only the help of their cousin, Cezar. The only true enjoyment they find in their lives is every full moon they pass through a magical portal to an enchanted place called the Other Kingdom where they spend the night dancing with magical creatures. Joining the sisters to this kingdom is Gogu, Jena's constant companion, a pet frog that she carries in her pocket who can speak to her. Of course Jena must face trouble and they are found in her sisters falling in love with one of the magical people and her cousin Cezar taking more control from her and taking more power over the family.

I thougth this was good retelling of some well known fairy tales. Juliet Marillier does a good job of describing the Other Kingdom and the creatures the sisters find there. These were the best parts of the book. Cezar made a very believable villain and there was lots of tension in the book because of him that made it more interesting. The vampires were shown in a little different light and really just played minor characters in the book. The one thing that I really didn't care for was the love story between Jena's sister Tatiana and Sorrow. Tatiana show more spends most of the book pining for Sorrow and is no help to her sisters at all. Other than that it was fun to read this fairy tale story. show less

Deborah Harkness has written a very impressive first novel. It is the story of Diana Bishop, a historian who is researching at Oxford's Bodleian Library. While researching she comes across a manuscript called Ashmole 782. Coming from a long line of witches, she soon realizes the manuscript is magical. After not being seen for centuries, the finding of the book brings out interest in it by witches, daemons, and vampires, all who now want to know Diana Bishop's secrets. One vampire interested in the book that Diana cannot resist is Matthew Clairmont, a handsome scientist who tries to get closer and closer to Diana.

This book contains so many elements that I enjoy in a book: history, magic, mystery, great descriptions of other countries, and romance. There is a lot of detail in this book. I was really impressed with the amount of hisorical facts. There is also a lot of science, which I sometimes found a bit confusing. I particularly loved the details about Bodleian Library, I really felt like I was there.

The one thing I did have a problem with was Matthew Clairmont. He reminded me so much of Edward Cullen from Twilight. They are both vampires, very rich, handsome, charming, intelligent, controlling, and overly protective of their mates. I couldn't get the similarities out of mind.

As a whole, I really enjoyed this book, it was well researched and well written and I had a hard time putting down at the end. I couldn't wait to see shat happened at the end

The Red Garden is a collection of short stories that all take place in Blackwell, a small town in Massachusetts. It begins with the first settlers in the 1700s and covers the lives of people in this town for about 300 years.
I really enjoyed most of the short stories in this book. They were filled with magic and longing and hope. They gave a nice view of a small American town during lots of different times important to our country, including the Civil War, the Great Depression and Vietnam.
Though I did enjoy most of the stories some were not very interesting. I would have to say that though I did enjoy reading this book, I have enjoyed other books by Alice Hoffman much more.