I Feel So Unnecessary

(image: http://hollylynnpayne.com/books/damascena/) Damascena: the tale of roses and Rumi Author: Holly Lynn Payne 348 pages Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Skywriter Books , June 2014 Source: Free copy via publisher Young Damascena ( named after the rosa damascena) is an orphan born in a monastery in Bulgaria. She is raised by a cruel monk, but as an adolescent flees him and discovers her gift for turning roses into rose oil. She then travels to Turkey where she meets Rumi, who recognizes her as his final spiritual companion, and unlocks the secret of the rose. I admire Rumi, but don't know much about him. Even though this is a work of fiction the setting, characters, and dialogue seemed so real that I felt I got to know him a little better. It's a beautifully written book. A little slow going at times but worth the read. So, I'm giving it... 1/2 teacups Here's what others are saying: “ Damascena is a stunner. Holly Payne ta...

The Queen's Handmaid By: Tracy L. Higley Genre: Historical Fiction 400 pages Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publication Date: March 2014 I received a copy of the book from the publisher via BookLook Bloggers in exchange for an honest review. Orphaned Lydia is a nurse to Cleopatra's young son. When her mentor dies she is entrusted with the writings of the prophet Daniel. She then flees to Jerusalem where she becomes Queen Mariamme's- the wife of Herod- handmaid. She must then protect the scrolls from the evil forces who wish to thwart the coming of The Messiah. This book was a well- researched, well-plotted out novel. It flowed well, it was suspenseful, and the characters were fully realized. I enjoyed it very much. Lydia is the perfect protagonist. So, I'm giving it... Buy it here: Thomas Nelson Amazon B&N Author Links: Facebook Website Twitter

Moonless (Maiden of Time # 1) By: Crystal Collier Genre: YA Historical 323 pages Publisher: Raybourne Publication Date: November 2013 Buy it here: Amazon B&N * I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: In the English society of 1768 where women are bred to marry, unattractive Alexia, just sixteen, believes she will end up alone. But on the county doorstep of a neighbor's estate, she meets a man straight out of her nightmares, one whose blue eyes threaten to consume her whole world-especially later when she discovers him standing over her murdered host in the middle of the night. Among the many things to change for her that evening are: her physical appearance-from ghastly to breathtaking, an epidemic of night terrors predicting the future, and the blue-eyed man's unexpected infusion into her life. Not only do his appearances precede tragedies, but they're echoed by the arrival of ravenous, black-robed...

Christmas at the Homeplace ( The Homeplace Saga Series) By: William Leverne Smith Genre: Historical  Fiction 154 pages Publisher: Vision to Action Publishing Publication Date: October 25, 2013  Get it at: Amazon   B&N   Synopsis: Will they all be home for Christmas? For the first time since their father died, Karen (Bevins) Winslow is expecting all her children in Oak Springs for Christmas 1996. This Christmas of homecomings offers some surprises as "The Homeplace Saga" continues. Will Staff Sergeant Travis Inman arrive home from Bosnia in time to see his baby daughter for the first time at Christmas? Will a life-long friend of the Winslow family move to Oak Springs permanently? Does Peter have a son? The boy's mother insists he does. How would this change the inter-generational dynamics in the family businesses in the Oak Creek valley of the southern Missouri Ozarks? Learn more by reading this latest addition to this continuing family saga. ...

The Last Lord of Paradise Generation Four: Isidore and Josette Generation Five: Conrad and Perrine Generation Six: Julie Genre: Historical Fiction  By: Vivian LeMay Publisher: Vivian LeMay Publishing Publication Dates: 2012  * I received copies from the author in exchange for an honest review. Generation Four Synopsis:   Their fields were fertile, their animals multiplied. With muskrat and fish from the Rivière Secrète, and wild grapes for wine, the habitants of Paradis lived oblivious to the world beyond the Marais Foncé. Marry, have babes, eat and drink well, and dance before a bonfire--These were the goals of Paradis. But every generation has a dream and Isidore Reno, fourth Seigneur of Paradis, dreamed of escaping Paradis.   Generation Five Synopsis:   He was surprised to see a last remaining farm on the outskirts of Paradis. Amid acres of corn bristling in the breeze, a mossy roof peaked above a screen of pines and willows...

The Other Side of the River By: Robert  D. Halpert, MD Genre: Historical/ Christian Fiction 282 pages Publisher: WestBow Press Publication Date: February 2013 I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com®  book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255  Purchase the book here: WestBow Press   Amazon   Barnes and Noble   Kobo   Synopsis: Bold and thought-provoking, this historical novel journeys into an era of great upheaval in U.S. history and into the mind of one of the era’s most unique characters, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. The Other Side of the River draws a picture of his deep-rooted faith at war with himself within a parallel breathtaking background of a nation at war with itself. See Jackson’s military brilliance—a...

The Last Lord of Paradise: Generation Two- Jean Baptiste and Louise The Last Lord of Paradise: Generation Three- Zacharie and Pauline By: Vivian LeMay Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Vivian LeMay Publishing Publication Dates: December 2011  * I received copies from the author in exchange for an honest review. Purchase them here: Generation Two   Generation Three   Generation Two Synopsis:   Jean Baptiste smiled. "I'm a foundling, Thomas, penniless, landless, no family. I will always be grateful to Maman for taking me in as one of her own, but in Paradis, blood is everything."Thomas took a deep breath and tried to smile ... hoping to hide the look of guilt on his face, he turned back to his bellows. The great lie his mother had told Jean Baptiste was still a well kept secret of Paradis. His mother's power over the habitants was amazing. After all these years, they still feared her. Even Uncle Joseph went along with her great lie...

The Last Lord of Paradise-Generation One: Jeanne and Anton ( The Last Lord of Paradise #1) By: Vivian LeMay 66 pages Publisher: Vivian LeMay Publishing Publication Date: December 2011 Genre: Historical Fiction * I was given a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.* Purchase Here:   Amazon   Synopsis:   Secrets of the past--Love stories wonderful and sad, span six generations in this Kindle series. I remembered that autumn day when a party from the Compagnie Franche de la Marine visited our village in France. They came to recruit men for the war in New France and Papa allowed them into our orchard. I was only sixteen, enchanted by the handsome young marines in their blue uniforms... It was the sparkle of energy in his blue eyes that caught me, and I smiled. His gaze was so intense I thought he'd pierced my soul and as he bowed to kiss my hand, his very presence dominated me. Anton had that affect on everyone he met. We wed qui...

Honeymoon in Paris: A Novella By Jojo Moyes Genre: Women's Fiction 75 pages Format: E-book Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books/Viking Publication Date: June 27, 2013 Purchase the Book Here:   Amazon   Barnes and Noble   Kobo   iTunes Add it on: Goodreads * I was provided a free copy via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Book Synopsis: At the heart of Jojo Moyes’ heartbreaking new novel, The Girl You Left Behind , are two haunting love stories—that of Sophie and Édouard Lefèvre in France during the First World War, and, nearly a century later, Liv Halston and her husband David. HONEYMOON IN PARIS takes place several years before the events to come in The Girl You Left Behind when both couples have just married. Sophie is swept up in the glamor of Belle Époque Paris but discovers that loving a celebrated artist like Édouard Lefèvre brings undreamt of complications. Following in Sophie's footsteps a hundred years later, Liv, after a whir...

Dance the Moon Down by R.L. Bartram Genre: Historical Fiction 301 pages Publisher: Authors Online Publication Date: November 4th, 2011   * I was provided a free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.*   Synopsis:     In 1910, no one believed there would ever be a war with Germany. Safe in her affluent middle-class life, the rumors held no significance for Victoria either. It was her father's decision to enroll her at university that began to change all that. There she befriends the rebellious and outspoken Beryl Whittaker, an emergent suffragette, but it is her love for Gerald Avery, a talented young poet from a neighboring university that sets the seal on her future. After a clandestine romance, they marry in January 1914, but with the outbreak of the First World War, Gerald volunteers but within months has gone missing in France. Convinced that he is still alive, Victoria's initial attempts to discover what has bec...

Formats: Paperback Kindle Nook Publisher: Open Books ( March 2013) I received a copy through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers Program in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: As French émigré Roman Catholics, Lizette Molyneux and her brother Robert are used to an existence on the edge of their Regency Nottingham community. But when Robert is arrested for a crime he insists he did not commit, Lizzie must draw on all her strength and courage to help him. Overcoming poverty, prejudice and the unwanted advances of her employer’s son, she unites with the frame-breaking Luddites to free her brother and to rectify social injustice. My Review: Although it got off to a slow start and was uneven in places I enjoyed the book overall. Real life history was woven nicely into the plot and I like how she used Lord Byron as a character. It was a quick read and I learned something about England's Industrial Revolution that I hadn't heard of before. I...