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Title: To Do and Die

Author: Patrick Mercer

Narrator: Jonathon Oliver

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 1 min

Language: English

Release date: 05-07-10

Publisher: Oakhill Publishing Ltd

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

It is1854. War is imminent as the Western powers quarrel with Russia over the crumbling Ottoman Empire. Wanting to prove himself to his father, Official Tony Morgan is keen to set sail. The Morgan's chambermaid, Mary, whom Tony loves, has wed another officer and will accompany the regiment to the front as a nurse. Eager to prove himself a worthy leader, he finds himself shaken by the brutality of war. With his romantic longings for Mary revived, Tony faces dire conflict on the battlefield and off.

Critic Reviews:

"An excellent fiction debut. Any more please?" (Military Illustated)

Members Reviews:

First Class Yarn

What did you like most about To Do and Die?

I thoroughly enjoyed the story which held my attention all the way through, I listened mostly in the car and sometimes couldn't get out until a particular passage or chapter had reached the point I was prepared to leave it . Quite a few journeys flew by!

What does Jonathon Oliver bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you had only read the book?

The versatility of the narrator to handle a wide variety of accents gave the story greater authenticity.

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Title: Daughters of Spain

Author: Jean Plaidy

Narrator: Jilly Bond

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 1 min

Language: English

Release date: 05-03-10

Publisher: ISIS Audio Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Isabella and Ferdinand rule over a newly united Spain, steadfast in their determination to build the powerful state they have always dreamed of. During the final years of Isabellas reign, Ferdinand looks to his daughters to further his ambitions, but his wife finds herself torn between his brilliant plans and her love for her children.

As events unfold, the sovereigns begin to feel that there must be a curse on the royal house misfortune strikes at the heart of their family and tragedy after tragedy befalls the Daughter of Spain.

The infanta Isabella is left a broken-hearted widow; Juana is driven to devastating madness by her husbands philandering; and Catalina leaves her devoted family, destined to become Katharine of Aragon, wife to Henry VIII and Queen of England.

Members Reviews:

Castile for Isabella

I only knew of Isabellanin passing from history class, her sending Columbus on his journey, and from books on Katherine of Aragon, her daughter, mentioning her love for her.

Plaidy introduces Isabella before all of this. When she's young, not certain to inherit the throne of Castile, in danger from her brother, his wife and nobels of Spain.

As usual Plaidy works her magic on history. You're drawn in from the very beginning. You sweat and remain calm when she does, you feel the hotness of Spain, you worry about her mother, her brother and you are rooting for her to get what she wants.

I liked that Plaidy spends so much time on Isabella's world and the other people are supporting players within. It sets up nicely for the next books in the series.

It was also a nice departure from the English series I've been reading and totally worth the detour.

Isabella, Juana and Catalina

They are the daughters you need to be concerned with as their stories and the most told, and most interesting of Isabella and Ferdinand's four daughters. The one left, Maria, isn't very interesting at all, and Plaidy states it a few times and spends next to no time on her at all.

This book focuses more on Isabella's passion for her family. While she may be Queen of Castile, she is a mother, and she struggles with which to put first often in this book. While she has four daughters she also as a beloved son, Juan. He is the apple of her eye and his story is so very tragic. As is what happens to all but Maria. Isabella, her daughter, tried to tell people the House of Spain was cursed and it seems so.

This book is really filled with so much upset and tragedy it's a wonder it's not so depressing you don't put it down. There are deaths, exiles, burnings, turn abouts, and downs. There is madness, sadness and at times a little gladness. Plaidy does a wonderful job showing the end of Isabella's years.

Five Stars

Good book!

Was she a real god mother?

It is a amazing book from Isabella's daughters. I even wish I had a mother like her, if she were not so cruel to the child of the others.

If you wnat to Know about Queen Isabella from Castille, read this book.

Unfortunately I didn't knom the history of the Queen Isabella from Castille in the fifteenth century. Now, thanks to this book, I have more desire to study about that sovereign.

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Title: A Cruel Courtship

Author: Candace Robb

Narrator: Lesley Mackie

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-21-10

Publisher: Random House AudioBooks

Ratings: 1 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Scotland, 1297. In the weeks leading up to the Battle of Stirling Bridge, Margaret Kerr takes up residence in Stirling town. She has come to discover why the informer who has been providing Wallace and Murray with details of the English plans has become unreliable. Although fearful that she may have inherited her mother's visionary gift and curse, and estranged from her husband, Roger, she is as determined as ever to play her part in saving Scotland from the hammer of Edward Longshanks - King of England and would-be King of the Scots.

She has accepted the undertaking at the request of James Comyn, kinsman of the deposed Scottish king, John Balliol. It is an important and difficult mission, for who holds Stirling Castle holds Scotland, and with fresh English recruits marching forth, a battle for the castle is imminent. But Margaret's loyalty to the cause is severely tested when Roger is killed. Now her spying role is doubly dangerous.

Members Reviews:

Romantic Historical Adventure and a Plucky Heroine

Candace Robb is a fine writer with a true flair for historical adventure, and I enjoy her writing very much. The Margaret Kerr stories are absorbing, the historical settings impeccable, and the characters and language are fascinating. I think it was somewhat problematic for central characters to be a woman and other women in her circle as the protagonist at a time when women's roles, although varied and challenging, were somewhat limited. It just meant that events swirled around the protagonist and her efforts to change events seemed a bit too exceptional for her time and circumstances. But I don't mind stretching credulity, since I am reading fiction. I could say that the series was a bit too romantic for me, and that may be more truthful. Nevertheless, I think the series was interesting and I liked reading about a plucky lass in very engaging historical times, handled expertly by an author with a deft hand for historical detail and a fine ear for Scots' dialect.

This is supposed to be a mystery and a love story in a historical context of the conflict between ...

This is a third book in the trilogy. The first book, "The trust betrayed", was much more intriguing and exciting. In this one story dragged for too long. This is supposed to be a mystery and a love story in a historical context of the conflict between Scotland and England. Much like in the novel #1,"The trust betrayed", I enjoyed the detailed approach author takes to describing everyday life in early medieval Scotland. The love part of the story (which is suggested by the title) was a tad disappointing and outright boring. It took not even the second chair, but the fifth one to the rest of the story line. I am not sure what was the original plan, but the story lines that I guessed were supposed to be secondary ones, became much more interesting that the one of Margaret and James. I got much more interested in the story of convoluted and twisted relationships between some of the secondary characters (not naming any names or providing details for the fear of a spoiler alert). Originally, I disagreed with those who valued Owen Archer mysteries (same author) over Margaret Kerr, but after "The Cruel Courtship" I can see their point.

Not Owen Archer, but close.

Not nearly as good as the Owen Archer Series, but well researched and a very enjoyable read.

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Title: Siege of Heaven

Author: Tom Harper

Narrator: Gareth Armstrong

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 58 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-21-10

Publisher: Random House AudioBooks

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

August, 1098. After countless battles and sieges, the surviving soldiers of the First Crusade are at last within reach of their ultimate goal: Jerusalem. But rivalries fester, and while the Crusaders delay, new enemies are amassing against them in the Holy Land. Demetrios Askiates, the Emperor's spy, has had enough of the Crusade's violence and hypocrisy.

He longs to return home. But when a routine diplomatic mission leads to a deadly ambush, he realises he has been snared in the vast power struggles that underlie the Crusade. The only way out now leads through the Holy City.

From the plague-bound city of Antioch to the heart of Muslim Egypt, across mountains, seas and deserts, Demtrios must accompany the army of warlords and fanatics to the very gates of Jerusalem. Where, as the lethal end-game plays out, the crusade climaxes in an apocalypse of pillage, bloodshed and slaughter.

Members Reviews:

Four Stars

Good

Five Stars

thank you

Great History Mixed With Fiction

Tom Harper again has balanced history with fiction creating a novel both interesting and captivating. More, please....

A great end to the trilogy

First posted on Amazon.co.uk on 5 February 2012

Siege of Heaven is the third and last installment of the adventures of Demetrios Askietes, the "truth-finder", as his follows the First Crusade. As usual, the detective story is a pretext, more than anything else, for telling the story of the First Crusade and, here, of the Siege of Jerusalem, but seen through a Byzantine's eyes.

I won't eleborate on the story to avoid spoilers. However, if you want to read a griping and perfectly historical yarn that shows you what the Crusade must have been like with all its sufferings and horrors, then this is it. It also shows to what extent fanaticism and suffering can bring out the worse in men, with almost the whole of the population of Jerusalem being massacred by the conquering Crusaders in a rather very "un-christian" way. One little gripe, however: at times, the doubts and uncertainties of the hero got a bit on my nerves. I don't expect all of my heroes to be "supermen" or "super warriors". However, I don't either expected them to be wimps and I did sometimes (but sometimes only!) get this impression in this book.

Given the talent show by Tom Harper in recreating the past and writting a story which "feels" real and where all historical facts are accurate and verifiable, it is a pity that he has not sticked with what are essentially as much historical novels as detective stories and thrillers. I do hope he will one day revert to those, if only because there are not that many authors who can write good stories while also including the historical pieces with so much accuracy.

Savage and Brutal War in the Name of God

Tom Harper is a pseudonym of Edwin Thomas who grew up in West Germany, Belgium and America before returning to England to study history at Oxford university. Siege of Heaven is an extremely powerful novel of holy war and the savagery that comes with it. It is also about intrigue and sacrifice and is a must read for anyone interested in the period of history that encompasses the 11th century.

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Title: Dover Beach

Author: Leslie Thomas

Narrator: Peter Wickham

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-21-10

Publisher: Random House AudioBooks

Ratings: 2 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Summer 1940. The evacuation of Dunkirk proves that the British can rise to a challenge, even under seemingly insurmountable odds.

But now the soldiers, weary and defeated, wander the streets of Dover, conscious that over the channel and above them in the skies, the might of the German war machine comes ever closer.

But life must go on, and people must take comfort where they find it. Toby Hendry, a fighter pilot, is awaiting orders when he meets Giselle, a young Frenchwoman who took the chance to flee occupied France with the English troops. Their love affair feels like a summer idyll, but can it withstand the forces of war?

Meanwhile, reserve naval commander Paul Instow has been called up to fight in a war for which he feels too old. Distracting him from his worries is Molly, a young Dover prostitute. Their relationship is tender and happy, but is this a love born from desperation or something more permanent?

And then there are Harold, Spot and Boots, three boys desperate to fight the German invaders, armed only with catapults and a stolen bren gun.

In Dover Beach Thomas chronicles the lives and loves of ordinary people in besieged Britain during these tense, but curiously elated days.

Members Reviews:

Good Read

I thought the book was an interesting read about what was/wasn't happening during the war. I always find this kind of book interesting.Having been born after the war in the Uk, I am pleased to read any book about the 'Old Country and the happenings before my time. I have never been to Dover itself, but parted the English shores in my early teens.My husband and myself both read lelie Thomas books and can fully appreciate and enjoy them.

Dover Beach

Dover Beach is another of the Leslie Thomas novels set at the beginning of WWII.

It recounts the adventures of a group of newly enlisted men as the war hots-up.

Good reading if you like a folksy light-hearted yarn set the 1940s.

I enjoyed it.

just filler

I was hoping Leslie Thomas could do no wrong but this book is a little flat. Why couldn't he just have kept writing Dangerous Davies?

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Title: The Power of a Penny

Subtitle: The Priceless Journey of One Penny

Author: Sherrie Christenson

Narrator: Josh Kilbourne

Format: Abridged

Length: 1 hr and 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-09-10

Publisher: Tate Publishing

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

In 1909, a teenager discovers the important connection of the brand new Abraham Lincoln penny to his family's ancestry. The penny becomes a sacred family heirloom and then a good luck charm. Later, it helps a World War II soldier find his mission in life. Farther down the line, it sparks a romance. One person learns that the color of a penny doesn't affect its value, and still another believes the penny has been sent to her from heaven.

Tracking the story of a single penny and its effect on those whose lives it touches as it passes from hand to hand, The Power of a Penny shows us all the true value of a coin that is supposedly worth just one cent.

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Title: Girl from New Hope

Author: John Duncklee

Narrator: Laurie Klein

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-02-10

Publisher: Books in Motion

Ratings: 1 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Girl from New Hope is a heart-warming tale of love won and lost, how people react to cultural change, a quite different look a life in the frontier west, and a wonderful addition to the literature of the west. The author writes authoritatively about Colorado, New York, horsemanship, and about the "real west" of American history.

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Title: Black Clouds and Epitaphs

Author: Pete Peterson

Narrator: J. P. O'Shaughnessy

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-02-10

Publisher: Books in Motion

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

In 1865, Trace Garrett, a war-weary and haggard young man returns to his Missouri farm to find that his kid brother, Charlie, has been lynched by a brutal band of seven Yankee raiders. Only the fast action of old Jason, the familys black retainer, saved the boy. Jason dispatches Trace to the house, where he finds his father slain, his mother ravaged, mutilated and murdered. In a black rage, Trace follows a trail of blood and plunders across the rugged frontier in hot pursuit of the border bandits. As Trace kills each bandit, he burns the mark of the serpent into their foreheads.. Cries shout out and call Trace by his new name...Trace SAVAGE!

Members Reviews:

Sophomoric

Just plain forced myself to finish this book. I certainly will not rely on Amazon recommendation after reading this book.

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Title: The Summer Day Is Done

Author: Mary Jane Staples

Narrator: Terry Wale

Format: Unabridged

Length: 16 hrs and 34 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-19-10

Publisher: ISIS Audio Books

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

When young British agent John Kirby is sent to Russia in 1911, he does not expect to fall in love. Then an invitation to a ball arrives and, after an evening of dancing and romance, John and the Tsar's eldest daughter, Olga, are totally captivated by one another.

But just as love begins to blossom, a cruel blow is dealt. John is forced to return to England and Olga and her family are caught up in the bitter and bloody war of 1914. Can their love survive the odds? Or will tragedy, pain and longing destroy them both?

Members Reviews:

Started well, and then went on, and on, and on.

Very disappointing, having been a fan of Mary Jane Staples for many years, I was surprised at her writing a novel which was such absolute rubbish. It could have been shortened to half it's length and still have been too long.

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Title: Blood Royal

Author: Vanora Bennett

Narrator: Lucy Scott

Format: Unabridged

Length: 20 hrs and 4 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-19-10

Publisher: Oakhill Publishing Ltd

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Catherine de Valois, daughter of the French king, is brought up in the unstable environment of the royal court, where her only friend is the poet Christine de Pizana. Married to Henry V as part of a treaty, she is terrified at the idea of being married to a man who is a foreigner - an enemy and a rough soldier. Within two years she is widowed, and mother of the future king of England and France.

Caught between warring factions, she has to find her own way, if only for the sake of her baby son....

Critic Reviews:

"A page-turning story, successfully evoking the atmosphere of intrigue and fear that beset the times." (Daily Mail)

Members Reviews:

Well now...

I thought this was a good listen. Lucy Scott did a good narrated job. Though I think my wife would have enjoyed it more than I. I liked the characters, though I did feel some went missing at times. Would have been a good movie back in the romantic days. A book with romance, betrayal, brutality and compassion. It was relaxing. Particularly after some of the scary brutality of some of the medieval books I have been reading/listening to lately. Worth a look for sure.

enjoyable

This book is easy to follow and never leaves you thinking how much more is left.

The narrator Lucy Scott brings all the distinctive qualities of each individual portrayed to life. Each personality is easily recognised, with their individual spirits shinning through. On one or two occasions it appears that Vanora Bennett skims over historical facts by simply listing them in chronological order. Personally I could not see the point in these lists but my personal preference is more towards individual personalities than historical facts - which this book has oodles of. Well worth a listen.

A good royal character fiction

This is a long book but justified. If you like Phillipa Gregory you may like this. It's well researched and a good underlying story. If you need an audio book that lasts, holds your interest in the story and involves history than you will not be disappointed