While I’m not opposed to fiction that runs toward the melodramatic, I do prefer that a book be well-written and consistent regardless, which, unfortunately, are not traits I can ascribe to The Emperor’s Conspiracy. Though I’d previously enjoyed Michelle Diener’s fiction, this book was far too sil...
" In a Treacherous Court" takes place entirely in England during the reign of King Henry VIII and surrounds two very real members of his court, Susanna Horenbout and John Parker. Susanna Horenbout was a young woman who came to work as an illuminator in the court. Diener's characterization shows a...
It drowned out any noise Kayla made as she followed Jasper’s man ever downward and she was grateful for it. He walked fast, forcing her to skip around puddles slippery with fungus and lengthen her stride to stay within sight of his torchlight. Whatever damage the fire had done to the above-ground...
“It's so close, I could scream.” Pren put her hand on his head to balance herself and then dropped from his shoulders to the ground. They both looked upward again. The problem was, of the thirty or so prisoners in the hold, only Cam, Pren and the tw...
Soren stood watch over her as she knelt beside it, dipped her head, and let the water’s icy fingers tug at her unbound hair. She was shivering by the time she was done, but the hair at the back of her head was no longer matted with blood, and her scalp was blessedly numb, ...
Lewis stood at the bottom of the staircase as Phoebe made her way down the sweeping golden curve, his upturned face a study in polite attention. His hands betrayed him, though. They were stiff and clenched at his sides. It was so early, she could hear the birds twittering in the park in front of ...
Utopia by Thomas More (translated by H. Morley) The man Parker was sure was a French spy walked down Fleet Street, unconcerned and relaxed. Parker watched as he stopped and bought apples at a stall, and was close enough behind him to hear him crunch into one of them. His hand came up and w...
—Machiavelli, The Prince, chapter 25 It was like old days, Parker thought. He would get into trouble, and Maggie would patch him up. She glared at him now, stirring something with a little pestle. “I thought this kind of thing was over, when you became a fine gentleman for the King.” Parker looke...
In the last hour he had managed to annoy everyone who’d come through the kitchen, interfering in their work where he usually had the good sense to let them get on with it. Gigi wished she could leave in angry silence, like Babs and Harry just had, but she was stuck in his company as she poured th...
Of the Chief Conditions and Qualityes in a Waytyng Gentylwoman: Not to be lyghte of creditt that she is beloved, though a man commune familierlye with her of love. He was too tired for this sweet torture. And too stiff. Parker winced as Susanna applied salve to an open cut on his arm, where he’d ...
It was coming through the trees to her left, and she hesitated. Was it Bjorn? She needed to avoid him, but could she walk away from this? Leave him to fight whatever it was he fought and not help? A snarl, low and rumbling, sent a prickle of fear up her arms. That was Bjorn as she had never heard...
Paul’s Cathedral dominates London’s skyline today with its massive dome, but in 1525 it looked very different (see image here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Old_St_Paul’s_Cathedral_photographic_reconstruction.jpg). Its spire was one of the highest in Europe. Because mu...
Kila had mentioned it in amazement from the very beginning after Roseʼs first medical scan. She hadnʼt been able to get over the unlikelihood of the first advanced sentient in five hundred years being so like them. Of course, it wasnʼt chance that had brought her their way...
A woman and a man. The man looked worse, but he sat up easily when Pila stepped into the room. The woman lifted herself more gingerly. There was something in the woman's face when she caught sight of Pila, a warm flush, and Fee guessed exactly why he'd had Mun on his mind ...