Mailbox Monday was created by The Printed Page. Mailbox Monday is currently on tour, hosted by a different blog each month. Today’s Linky will be hosted by Book Dragon’s Lair.

Omens by Kelley Armstrong (for review)
Twenty-four-year-old Olivia Taylor Jones has the perfect life. The only daughter of a wealthy, prominent Chicago family, she has an Ivy League education, pursues volunteerism and philanthropy, and is engaged to a handsome young tech firm CEO with political ambitions.

But Olivia’s world is shattered when she learns that she’s adopted. Her real parents? Todd and Pamela Larsen, notorious serial killers serving a life sentence. When the news brings a maelstrom of unwanted publicity to her adopted family and fiancé, Olivia decides to find out the truth about the Larsens.

Olivia ends up in the small town of Cainsville, Illinois, an old and cloistered community that takes a particular interest in both Olivia and her efforts to uncover her birth parents’ past.

Aided by her mother’s former lawyer, Gabriel Walsh, Olivia focuses on the Larsens’ last crime, the one her birth mother swears will prove their innocence. But as she and Gabriel start investigating the case, Olivia finds herself drawing on abilities that have remained hidden since her childhood, gifts that make her both a valuable addition to Cainsville and deeply vulnerable to unknown enemies. Because there are darker secrets behind her new home, and powers lurking in the shadows that have their own plans for her.

Blood Song by Anthony Ryan (for review)
An epic fantasy exploring themes of conflict, loyalty and religious faith. Vaelin Al Sorna, Brother of the Sixth Order, has been trained from childhood to fight and kill in service to the Faith. He has earned many names and almost as many scars, acquiring an ugly dog and a bad-tempered horse in the process. Ensnared in an unjust war by a king possessed of either madness or genius, Vaelin seeks to answer the question that will decide the fate of the Realm: …who is the one who waits?

Mailbox Monday was created by The Printed Page. Mailbox Monday is currently on tour, hosted by a different blog each month. Today’s Linky will be hosted by Bob of Beauty in Ruins.

Women in the Middle Ages by Frances Gies, Joseph Gies (book mooch)

Women in the middle ages corrects the omissions of traditional history by focusing on the lives, expectations, and accomplishment of medieval women. The Gieses’ lively text, illuminated by illustrions from medieval manuscripts, art and architecture, depicts the Middle Ages as a vibrant time in which women were powerful agents of change.

The first part of the book gives the historical and cultural background for the lives of the women discussed. The author offer a succinct but penetrating review of the religious, scientific, and philosophical attitude that defined women’s place in the medieval world.

Mailbox Monday was created by The Printed Page. Mailbox Monday is currently on tour, hosted by a different blog each month. Today’s Linky will be hosted by Notorious Spinks Talks.

The Spies of Warsaw by Alan Furst (bookmooch)

On a cool October evening in 1937, German engineer and secret agent Herr Edvard Uhl arrives at Warsaw railway station. He suppresses a chill of fear. Tonight, he will be with his mistress; but tomorrow, he will be at a workers’ bar where he will meet with a French military attaché. Information will be exchanged for money.

War is coming to Europe. And although bombs and bullets have yet to fly, French and German operatives are already caught in a deadly espionage battle. In war and subterfuge, no spy can help being drawn into the murky world of abduction, betrayal and intrigue. in the diplomatic salons and back alleys of Warsaw.

Feast of Fools by Rachel Caine (purchased)

In the town of Morganville, vampires and humans have learnt to live in relative peace. Still, Claire Danvers knows that after dark, her homework can take a backseat to staying alive. But this tenuous harmony is turned on its head with the arrival of Mr Bishop.

Bad to the bone, the ancient old-school vampire cares nothing about keeping the peace; staying at the top of the food chain is enough. What he wants from the town’s living and dead is unthinkably sinister. It’s only at a formal ball attended by vampires and their human dates that Claire realises Bishop’s plan—and the elaborately evil trap he’s set for the warm-blooded souls of Morganville…

Lord of Misrule by Rachel Caine (purchased)

In the college town of Morganville, vampires and humans coexist in (relatively) bloodless harmony. Then comes Bishop, a master vampire who threatens to abolish all order, revive the forces of the evil dead, and let chaos rule. But Bishop isn’t the only threat.

Violent black clouds promise a storm of devastating proportions. As student Claire Danvers and her friends prepare to defend Morganville against the elements—both natural and unnatural—the unexpected happens: Morganville’s vampires begin to vanish one by one. Discovering why leads Claire to one last choice: swear allegiance to Bishop… or die.

Women in Ancient Egypt by Barbara Watterson (purchased)

Women in Ancient Egypt is a detailed and fascinating study of the often overlooked contributions made by women of all classes to the political and social history of pharaonic Egypt, c. 3100 B.C. to 30 B.C. Using evidence gleaned from written records, monuments, sculpture, tomb-paintings and material found in tombs, including objects and human remains, the author has been able to build up an intriguing picture of the lives led by ancient Egyptian women throughout the pharaonic period. The types of occupations and careers open to women are described; as are their domestic and personal lives–marriage, health and childbirth; the family; household chores undertaken by women; and their clothing, jewellery and beauty preparations. The women whose lives are fleshed out in these pages are largely the “little people” of history, women who rarely exercised any power outside the home. In contrast, however, the final chapter deals with those women, surprisingly few in number, whose influence on the political affairs of their country was considerable and legendary.

Mailbox Monday was created by The Printed Page. Mailbox Monday is currently on tour, hosted by a different blog each month. Today’s Linky will be hosted by Notorious Spinks Talks.

A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters (book mooch)
In the remote Welsh mountain village of Gwytherin lies the grave of Saint Winifred. Now, in 1137, the ambitious head of Shrewsbury Abbey has decided to acquire the sacred remains for his Benedictine order. Native Welshman Brother Cadfael is sent on the expedition to translate and finds the rustic villagers of Gwytherin passionately divided by the Benedictine’s offer for the saint’s relics. Canny, wise, and all too wordly, he isn’t surprised when this taste for bones leads to bloody murder.

The leading opponent to moving the grave has been shot dead with a mysterious arrow, and some say Winifred herself held the bow. Brother Cadfael knows a carnal hand did the killing. But he doesn’t know that his plan to unearth a murderer may dig up a case of love and justice…where the wages of sin may be scandal or Cadfael’s own ruin.

The Flaming Sword by Christian Jacq (bought)

In the north, the barbaric Hyksos still rule with unimaginable brutality. Queen Ahhotep, meanwhile, has recaptured much of the south — but at a terrible price: her husband has been killed in combat and her elder son, Kames, was mysteriously poisoned. Ahhotep refuses to be crowned pharaoh and prepares her second son, young Amose, to take power instead. Thanks to her, the Egyptians are now ready for the final battle. They lay siege to Avaris, the Hyksos capital — and once the city is taken, nothing can stop them. After 100 years of occupation and thousands of violent deaths, it looks as though the Egyptian empire may at last rise from the ashes.

Bosworth 1485: Psychology of a Battle by Michael K. Jones (bought)

The battle of Bosworth marked an epoch in the lives of two great houses—the house of York fell to the ground when Richard III died on the field of battle; and the house of Tudor rose from the massacre to reign for the next hundred years. Michael Jones rewrites this landmark event in English history with startling evidence to suggest that the site of the battle recognized for over 500 years is wrong. He not only shifts the location of the battle, but shifts our perspective of its heroes and villains and its place in history.

Queen Without a Country by Rachel Bard (bought)

As 25 year old Berengaria of Navarre journeys on a ship bound for Sicily, little does she know what adventures and trials lie before her. She must face an indifferent husband, a domineering mother-in-law and the turbulent political climate of twelfth-century Europe. Will she find happiness amid such tribulations?

Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs (bookmooch)

Anna never knew werewolves existed until the night she survived a violent attack…and became one herself. After three years at the bottom of the pack, she’d learned to keep her head down and never, ever trust dominant males. But Anna is that rarest kind of werewolf: an Omega. And one of the most powerful werewolves in the country will recognize her value as a pack member—and as his mate.

Harlequin by Bernard Cornwell (bookmooch)

At dawn on Easter morning 1343, a marauding band of French raiders arrives by boat to ambush the coastal English village of Hookton. To brave young Thomas, the only survivor, the horror of the attack is epitomized in the casual savagery of a particular black-clad knight, whose flag three yellow hawks on a blue field presides over the bloody affair. As the killers sail away, Thomas vows to avenge the murder of his townspeople and to recapture a holy treasure that the black knight stole from the church.

To do this, Thomas of Hookton must first make his way to France; So in 1343 he joins the army of King Edward III as it is about to invade the continent the beginning of the Hundred Years War. A preternaturally gifted bowman, Thomas quickly becomes recognized as one of England’s most deadly archers in King Edward’s march across France. Yet he never stops scanning the horizon for his true enemy’s flag.

When Thomas saves a young Frenchwoman from a bloodthirsty crowd, her father French nobleman Sir Guillaume d’Evecque rewards his bravery by joining him in the hunt for the mysterious dark knight and the stolen holy relic. What begins as a search for vengeance will soon prove the beginning of an even higher purpose: the quest for the Holy Grail itself.

Mailbox Monday was created by The Printed Page. Mailbox Monday is currently on tour, hosted by a different blog each month. Today’s Linky will be hosted by Bermudaonion’s Weblog.

Since my blog was down so long I have quite a few books to post. This post consist books I got from a shopping trip to Helsinki few weeks ago.

Also, if you want to receive posts via email you need to re-subscribe.

Queen’s Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle (purchased)

Katherine Parr is thirty-one years old and already twice widowed.

She’s in love with a man she can’t have, and about to wed a man no one would want – for her husband-to-be is none other than Henry VIII, who has already beheaded two wives, cast aside two more, and watched one die in childbirth.

What will become of Katherine once she’s wearing Henry Tudor’s ring and becomes Queen of England?

They say that the sharpest blades are sheathed in the softest pouches. Only time will tell what she is really made of…

The Queen’s Vow by C.W. Gortner (purchased)
Young Isabella is barely a teenager when she and her brother are taken from their mother’s home to live under the watchful eye of their half-brother, King Enrique, and his sultry, conniving queen. There, Isabella is thrust into danger when she becomes an unwitting pawn in a plot to dethrone Enrique. Suspected of treason and held captive, she treads a perilous path, torn between loyalties, until at age seventeen she suddenly finds herself heiress of Castile, the largest kingdom in Spain. Plunged into a deadly conflict to secure her crown, she is determined to wed the one man she loves yet who is forbidden to her—Fernando, prince of Aragon.

As they unite their two realms under “one crown, one country, one faith,” Isabella and Fernando face an impoverished Spain beset by enemies. With the future of her throne at stake, Isabella resists the zealous demands of the inquisitor Torquemada even as she is seduced by the dreams of an enigmatic navigator named Columbus. But when the Moors of the southern domain of Granada declare war, a violent, treacherous battle against an ancient adversary erupts, one that will test all of Isabella’s resolve, her courage, and her tenacious belief in her destiny.

The Favourite Ralegh and His Queen by Mathew Lyons (purchased)
The Favourite strips away the myth to reveal Sir Walter Ralegh in the role in which his contemporaries knew him best: the courtier who could win the attention – and the heart – of Elizabeth I, while also being the ‘most hated man in England’. Using first-hand accounts, Lyons uncovers the maze of ambition and desire: a brutal Elizabethan world riven with crime and corruption and riddled with traitors and spies.

The Gothic King: A Biography of Henry III by John Paul Davis (purchased)
The son and successor of Bad King John, Henry III reigned for 56 years from 1216, the first child king in England for 200 years. England went on to prosper during his reign and his greatest monument is Westminster Abbey, which he made the seat of his government—indeed, Henry III was the first English King to call a parliament. Though often overlooked by historians, Henry III was a unique figure coming out of a chivalric yet Gothic era: a compulsive builder of daunting castles and epic sepulchres; a powerful, unyielding monarch who faced down the De Montfort rebellion and waged war with Wales and France; and, much more than his father, Henry was the king who really hammered out the terms of the Magna Carta with the barons. John Paul Davis brings all his forensic skills and insights to the grand story of the Gothic King in this, the only biography in print of a most remarkable monarch.

Exile by Rowena Cory Daniells (purchased)
Slowly losing himself to madness, King Charald has passed his verdict on the mystic Wyrds: banishment, by the first day of winter. Their leader, Imoshen, believes she has found a new home for her people, but many are still stranded, amidst the violence and turmoil gripping Chalcedonia. A reward is offered for their safe return, and greedy men turn to abduction.

Tobazim arrives in port, to ready the way for his people, and finds their ships have been stolen. Sorne, the king’s half-blood advisor, needs to find his sister and bring her to safety. Ronnyn and his family, living peacefully in the wilderness, are kidnapped by raiders eager for the reward.

Whether the ships are ready or not, the Wyrds must leave soon; those who remain behind will be hunted down and executed. Time is running out for all of them.

Sanctuary by Rowena Cory Daniells (purchased)
The mystic Wyrds have been banished by King Charald, whose descent into madness grows ever steeper. Exiled and forced to set sail on the first day of winter, Imoshen’s people are packed onto seven crowded ships. Tensions flare under the pressure and the all-fathers and all-mothers are put to the test controlling their hardened warriors. Ronnynand his sister Aravelle have been separated, just as they feared, and look to an uncertain future. Sorne is betrayed and captured on the seas. Tobazim faces a confrontation with the bloodthirsty All-father Kyredeon and his notorious assassin, Graelen. And, while Imoshen has promised the T’Enatuath a home with the Sagoras, the enigmatic scholars have not yet replied to her plea for sanctuary. This is the thrilling climax to The Outcast Chronicles.

The Rogue by Trudi Canavan (purchased)
Living among the Sachakan rebels, Lorkin does his best to learn about their unique magic. But the Traitors are reluctant to trade their secrets for the Healing they so desperately want.
Meanwhile, Sonea searches for the rogue, knowing that Cery cannot avoid assassination forever — but the rogue’s influence over the city’s underworld, however, is far greater than she feared.
And in the University, two female novices are about to remind the Guild that sometimes their greatest enemy is found within..

The Traitor Queen by Trudi Canavan (purchased)
Events are building to a climax in Sachaka as Lorkin returns from his exile with the Traitor rebels.

The Traitor Queen has given Lorkin the huge task of brokering an alliance between his people and the Traitors. Lorkin has also had to become a feared black magician in order to harness the power of an entirely new kind of gemstone magic. This knowledge could transform the Guild of Magicians – or make Lorkin an outcast forever.

The Last Boyfriend by Nora Roberts (purchased)
Owen is the organizer of the Montgomery clan, running the family’s construction business with an iron fist – and an even less flexible spreadsheet. And though his brothers bust on his compulsive list-making, the Inn BoonsBoro is about to open right on schedule. The only thing Owen didn’t plan for was Avery McTavish

Avery’s popular pizza place is right across the street from the inn, giving her a first-hand look at its amazing renovation – and a newfound appreciation for Owen. Since he was her first boyfriend when they were kids, Owen has never been far from Avery’s thoughts. But the attraction she’s feeling for him now is far from innocent.

As Avery and Owen cautiously take their relationship to another level, the opening of the inn gives the whole town of Boonsboro a reason to celebrate. But Owen’s hard work has only begun. Getting Avery to let down her guard is going to take longer than he expected – and so will getting her to realize that her first boyfriend is going to be her last…