Royal Mistress follows the story of Jane Shore, Edward IV "merriest" mistress.  We meet Jane Lambert as a headstrong, smart, quick-witted and  sensual woman working for her father, a mercer.  Jane is the more troublesome daughter for her father and he marries her off to a fellow mercer, William Shore. While working with William, Jane catches the eye of many high ranking officials in King Edward's court. As Jane seeks an annulment, the King seeks a way to be with Jane. As a mistress, Jane finds happiness, love and freedom, but that is far from the end of the story.

I enjoyed Royal Mistress and was glad to read about yet another important woman from the War of the Roses.  A lot of research was done for this story, most of the characters are non-fictional and there are real excerpts from letters and text written at the time.  All of the real characters were true to their historical counterparts and without being flat.
Jane's story is captivating and I'm glad that there is a story from her point of view.  Personally, I would have enjoyed it better if the entire story was told from Jane's point of view alone. There are many points of view introduced in this story, which the author, Anne Easter Smith, explains at the end of the work.   The switching viewpoints and additional storylines did become a little tedious for me since I have read much about this time period.  However, if you are a lover of historical fiction and enjoy this time period, you will enjoy the book.

This book was provided for free in return for an honest review.

A sweeping saga that tells the tale of Josephine Bonaparte, the first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte and beloved first empress of the French.

Moving through her life from childhood to the end of her marriage with Napoleon, we get to know Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie on an intimate level.  As a child on the island of Martinique, Rose is adventurous and outgoing, but not the favorite of the family.  After the death of favored sister Catherine, Rose is sent to Paris to wed Alexandre de Beauharnais.  Through their tumultuous marriage, war and imprisonment Rose keeps her strength and determination.  Later, after becoming a mistress to many influential men, Rose meets Napoleon, finds what true love is and finally becomes Josephine Bonaparte.

Previous to reading Becoming Josephine, I did not know a lot about Josephine Bonaparte.  I was immediately captivated by her spirit and strength.  Through a work of fiction, I think author Heather Webb did a marvelous job finding the motivations in Josephine's life and her path to freedom.  Through every step of Josephine's journey we are able to see through Josephine's eyes, a wonderful mix of history and fiction that makes me want to learn more about Josephine Bonaparte.

This book was received for free in exchange for an honest review.

Luca Vianello's life has been set for him; as the eldest son of one of Venice's top gondola makers, he is destined to one day take his father's place.  His father has also arranged a beneficial marriage for him.  Luca is not sure that this is his destiny at all and when his mother dies in childbirth, Luca decides to tell his father exactly how he feels.  While arguing with his father, the entire boathouse, and Luca's unwanted inheritance, goes up in flames.  Luca flees, and creates a new life for himself while trying to find his own destiny.  By way of fate, Luca finds a job as a gondoliere with a portrait painter who happens to have a dilapidated gondola made by his grandfather in his boathouse.  Luca decides to restore the gondola and becomes enamored with a beautiful woman who is having her portrait painted.

Despite not having much action, The Gondola Maker draws you into 16th century Venice and makes you feel as if you are being rowed down the canals yourself.  Much of this book is description of gondolas and the process by which they are made.  There are also vivid descriptions of magnificent homes, luxurious costumes and grand parties that Luca encounters. I applaud the amount of research that went into this book.  Luca's character is hard for me to describe. While this story is about him finding his destiny, I did not feel like I knew many of his motives surrounding women and would like to know what happened with his love interest. However, this is not really the bulk of the story and still ends well.

This book was provided as an Advanced Reading Copy for free in exchange for an honest review.

In 1845, Eliot Saxby is a naturalist who has been booked passage upon a ship sailing to the Arctic in order to settle a bet.  The bet is whether or not the Great Auk is still alive.  Eliot is excited by the prospect that he may be able to see and study these wonderful birds that everyone thought to be extinct.  There are two other passengers on the ship, Edward and his cousin Clara.  Eliot notices that Edward is quite a character, who is a little off at times and has an interesting relationship with Clara.  When Eliot finally catches a glimpse of Clara, he thinks of her as a woman who haunts his past.  The rough crew and the troubled captain of the Arctic ship, Amethyst add an element of danger that the passengers can not escape.

Written with a haunting passion, The Collector of Lost Things is a poignant novel for today.  Set at the time when humans began to destroy the Arctic, our destruction continues today.  Many of the hunting and killing scenes were written so vividly, that I had to put the book down for a minute.  Eliot's character reacted to these scenes appropriately, and I think my emotions would be similar.  An air of mystery was added with Eliot's reaction to Clara and it was interesting to learn of his past.   I was glad to join Eliot on his journey to find the Great Auk, and I appreciated this story being told.

This book was received for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.