Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia, is on a blog tour! This month’s host is chaotic compendiums.

Horemheb by Charlotte Booth (bought)

Horemheb ruled Egypt after Tutankhamun, and was fundamental in bringing Egypt back to the rich and powerful nation it was before Akhenaten took the throne. Rather than simply clearing up the mess left behind after the Amarna period, he lay the foundations for the kings who were to come, and his choice of heir to the throne, led eventually to the rule of Ramses II, one of the most famous kings in Egyptian history.This book puts Horemheb in his rightful place in Egyptian chronology as the start of the 19th Dynasty, and demonstrates how he was fundamental in shaping history as we are know it.

Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine (purchased)

When Claire Danvers learnt that her college town was run by vampires, she did what any intelligent, self-preserving student would do: she applied for a transfer and stocked up on garlic. The transfer is no longer an option, but that garlic may come in handy.

Now Claire has pledged herself to Amelie, the most powerful vampire in town. The protection her contract secures does little to reassure her friends. All of a sudden, people are turning up dead, a stalker resurfaces from Claire’s past, and an ancient bloodsucker extends a chilling invitation for private lessons in his secluded home.

Dinner With A Vampire by Abigail Gibbs (purchased)

or Violet Lee, a chance encounter on a darkened street draws her into a world beyond her wildest imaginings, a timeless place of vast elegance and immeasurable wealth – of beautiful mansions and lavish parties – where a decadent group of friends live for pleasure alone. A place from which there is no escape…no matter how hard Violet tries.

Yet all the riches in the world can’t mask the darkness that lies beneath the gilded surface, embodied in the charismatic but dangerous Kaspar Varn.

Violet and Kaspar surrender to a passion that transcends their separate worlds – but it’s a passion that comes at a price…

The Roots of Betrayal by James Forrester (purchased)

1564: Catholic herald William Harley, Clarenceaux King of Arms, is the custodian of a highly dangerous document. When it is stolen, Clarenceaux immediately suspects a group of Catholic sympathisers, the self-styled Knights of the Round Table.
Francis Walsingham, the ruthless protégé of the queen’s Principal Secretary, Sir William Cecil, intercepts a coded message from the Knights to a Countess known to have Catholic leanings. He is convinced that Clarenceaux is trying to use the document to advance the cause of the Catholic Queen.
And soon Clarenceaux enters a nightmare of suspicion, deception and conspiracy. Conflict and fear, compounded by the religious doubts of the time, conceal a persistent mystery. Where has the document gone? Who has it and who really took it? And why? The roots of betrayal are deep and shocking: and Clarenceaux’s journey towards the truth entails not just the discovery of clues and signs, but also the discovery of himself.

Tolkien: The Illustrated Encyclopedia by David Day (purchased)

Here is a book to enchant and inform anyone from the casual reader of The Lord of the Rings to the dedicated student of Tolkien’s life and his many works.

David Day’s innovative and illuminating perspectives on the historical, geographical, sociological and biological evolution of Tolkien’s world fully chronicle its 37,000-year-old history from its creation to the aftermath of the War of the Ring. By drawing upon all Tolkien’s stories and exploring the linkages, he has produced the first comprehensive guide to the most complex and detailed invented world and mythological system in the history of literature.

More than 500 alphabetic entries in the five major subject areas – History, Geography, Sociology, Natural History and Biography – cover every important aspect of Middle-earth and the Undying Lands. They are brought to life with 200 powerful and imaginative drawings and paintings and more than 20 pages of charts and maps.