Book Drunkard’s 12 Days of Christmas: Books to read in 2015 – Day 1

December 12, 2014 by MartinaCK 2 Comments

Welcome to Book Drunkard’s 1st annual 12 Days of Christmas: Books to read in 2015.  Each day, I will share one of my most anticipated 2015 releases AND one from a fellow book blogger/lover!  Come back each day for a new pair of books to add to your TBR pile 🙂

DAY 1:  

Martina’s Pick

 

The Dream Lover: A Novel of George Sand by Elizabeth Berg.

March 31, 2015.

 

George Sand was a 19th century French novelist known not only for her novels but even more for her scandalous behavior. After leaving her estranged husband, Sand moved to Paris where she wrote, wore men’s clothing, smoked cigars, and had love affairs with famous men and an actress named Marie. In an era of incredible artistic talent, Sand was the most famous female writer of her time. Her lovers and friends included Frederic Chopin, Gustave Flaubert, Franz Liszt, Eugene Delacroix, Victor Hugo, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and more. In a major departure, Elizabeth Berg has created a gorgeous novel about the life of George Sand, written in luminous prose, with exquisite insight into the heart and mind of a woman who was considered the most passionate and gifted genius of her time.

Stephanie’s Pick (From Layered Pages blog)

The Tapestry by Nancy Bilyeau

March 24, 2015.

After her priory in Dartford is closed, Joanna resolves to live a quiet and honorable life weaving tapestries, shunning dangerous quests and conspiracies. Until she is summoned to Whitehall Palace, where her tapestry weaving has drawn the King’s attention.

Joanna is uncomfortable serving the King whom she has twice attempted to overthrow, unbeknownst to him. She fears for her life in a court bursting with hidden agendas and a casual disregard for the virtues she holds dear. And her suspicions are confirmed when an assassin attempts to kill her moments after arriving at Whitehall.

Struggling to stay ahead of her most formidable enemy yet, an unknown one, she becomes entangled in dangerous court politics. A disturbing encounter with Thomas Cromwell propels Joanna to prominence in the King’s circle. She discovered that her dear friend Catherine Howard is rumored to be the King’s mistress. Joanna is determined to protect young, beautiful, naive Catherine from becoming the aging King’s next wife and possibly, victim. Two friends she makes at court, painter Hans Holbein and courtier Thomas Culpepper, offer help, but at what cost?

Set in a world of royal banquets and feasts, tournament jousts, ship voyages, and Tower Hill executions, this thrilling tale finds Joanna in her most dangerous situation yet, as she attempts to decide the life she wants to live: nun or wife, spy or subject, rebel or courtier. Joanna must finally choose her fate.