Upcoming Releases: A new Anita Amirrezvani and Susan Carroll

From the author of the internationally bestselling The Blood of Flowers comes a compulsively readable and gorgeously crafted tale of power, loyalty, intrigue, and love in the royal court of sixteenth-century Iran.

Iran in 1576 is a place of peace, wealth, and dazzling beauty. But when the Shah dies without having named an heir, the court is thrown into tumult. Princess Pari, the Shah’s daughter and closest advisor, knows more about the inner workings of the state than almost anyone, but the princess’s maneuvers to instill order after her father’s sudden death incite resentment and dissent. Pari and her trusted servant, a eunuch able to navigate the harem as well as the world beyond the palace walls, are in possession of an incredible tapestry of secrets and information that reveals a power struggle of epic proportions.

Based loosely on the life of Princess Pari Khan Khanoom, Equal of the Sun is a riveting story of political intrigue and a moving portrait of an unlikely friendship between a princess and a eunuch. Anita Amirrezvani is a master storyteller and in her lustrous prose this rich and labyrinthine world comes to vivid life with a stunning cast of characters, passionate and brave men and women who defy or embrace their destiny in a Machiavellian game played by those who lust for power and will do anything to attain it.

Release Date: June 5, 2012

Thoughts: Marg and I loved The Blood of Flowers. It was way back in 2007 when the book was released. You can read our thoughts on it here. I had sort of stopped thinking about her, so when Sarah posted A Visual Preview of the Summer Season, Part 1 on her blog and revealed this as one of the releases I was excited. It will not be easy to top or even come close to her first book, so I will be interested to see what she accomplishes with this latest release. It has taken 5 years, so I have high hopes!

For fans of Philippa Gregory, comes this brilliant new installment in bestselling author Susan Carroll’s mesmerizing Dark Queen historical fiction series.

Meg Wolfe, The Lady of Faire Isle, is a gifted healer who can find a cure for almost any ailment. But she’s also the daughter of Cassandra Claire, a mad witch and heretic with a notorious history. Meg’s infamous lineage makes her a target from both those who want to use her extraordinary talents for good and those who want to use them for evil. One man in particular needs her special skills: to execute his revenge on a king. History and a kingdom hang in the balance as Meg tries to navigate the delicate line between right and wrong. And what she discovers is that she can no longer trust anyone or anything…not even her own heart.

Release Date: December 11, 2012

Thoughts: Anyone that remotely knows my reading style knows that I am horrible with keeping up in series. I am always behind and there are very few exceptions. This series is one of the exceptions. I started it back in 2006 and loved it! I never expected to at all. I was hesitant to even start the first one, but with the blend of historical fiction, fantasy, and romance the books work out to be a really great read. In 2009 I read, and never reviewed, Twilight of a Queen. I thought it was the end of the series, but here we are 3 years later with a new book to enjoy. The only one reviewed on here is The Huntress by me back in 2007.

The Huntress by Susan Carroll

Completion Date: July 2007
Pages: 512
Publication Year: 2007
Received from Random House in 2007.
Book 4 in the Faire Isle Women Series

Reason for Reading: I quite liked the other three books in this series, so when I heard it was going to have more I was very interested to read this book.

In a time of intrigue and betrayal, the huntress is on a quest that could jeopardize two empires and two great queens: Catherine de Medici and Elizabeth I.

The year is 1585–and prophecy has foretold the coming of a daughter of the Earth whose powers are so extraordinary they could usurp the very rule of the Dark Queen herself, Catherine de Medici. Dispatched from Brittany to London, Catriona O’Hanlon, known as the Huntress, must find this mysterious young girl and shield her from those who will exploit her mystic abilities, which have the potential to change the course of history.

Catriona’s skill with weaponry is all she has to protect herself and her young charge from spies who snake through the courts of Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen-including the girl’s own father, whose loyalties are stretched to the breaking point. But Catriona will soon face menacing forces and sinister plots unlike any she has ever encountered.

From Susan Carroll, the celebrated storyteller of historical fiction, The Huntress is an unforgettable portrait of power and passion–and one woman’s courage to risk everything for those she loves.

The first three books in this series are about three sisters, the Cheney sisters. When I read the last book in what I thought was a trilogy, I felt that there were still things that could have been said and characters that could have been developed more. Many people thought that it was time for Martin de Loup to have his main character role, instead of being second-best to the man that the youngest Cheney sister eventually chooses. We all got our wishes.

This book has brief appearances from Ariana, the oldest Cheney sister, with an even briefer appearance from her husband, Justice. Otherwise, this is Catriona (Cat), Martin de Loup, and his young daughter, referred to by many as The Silver Rose. After the death of the woman that seduced Martin and came to be the mother of his daughter, Martin snuck off into the night with his daughter in an attempt to protect her from further evil. His hope is that she will put the life she had with her mother behind her and be a proper and respectable English lady.

This book deals with many things. The further threat of trouble from the Dark Queen, new troubles from the British monarch, her mothers supports still looking for their Silver Rose, a father caught in a risky situation, and Cat trying to keep everything together. I loved Cat, she was a very enjoyable person to read about. The book takes place in the 16th-century, so women were supposed to be very demure. Cat could be a 'respectable' woman, but at the same time she was often breaking the rules. She was deadly when she was mad, and could really hold her own in a fight. She also talks a great deal and can be rather comical!

For those that have missed Martin de Loup and wanted a book about him, you will not be disappointed! He is very stubborn in this book, which he always was, but it is very key to this storyline. He is a loving father that still has a hard time believing he has a daughter sometimes. As he looks to the future, he finds himself battling with the fact that he has not had his daughter in his life for long enough and he has to start making plans for her future marriage and respectable living.

I will say, not as much happens in this book as in The Silver Rose, so if you think of this book as the next book in the series, it is a slower book than the previous one. If you think of it as the first book in a new trilogy it is much more interesting. Either way, another very good book from Susan Carroll. It will be interesting to see 'The Silver Rose' grow up and come into her own. She gets the life that she wants during this book, even if it is not the life her father wanted for her. Oh, and one of the best things about this book that I have not mentioned is that someone is pregnant!

Overall, an enjoyable read, but I liked the previous trilogy, so far, better.

Upcoming release: The Huntress by Susan Carroll

One of the upcoming releases that Kailana and Marg are very excited about is The Huntress by Susan Carroll, which is due to be released on July 31.

The year is 1585 and prophecy has foretold the coming of a Daughter of the Earth whose powers are so extraordinary, she could usurp the Dark Queen herself, Catherine de Medici. Caitlin O’Hanlon known as the Huntress must find this mysterious young girl and shield her from those who would exploit her mystic abilities which have the potential to change the course of history.

This book is the fourth book in the Fair Isle series. The first three books in the series are set in the late 1500's, in France during the time of Catherine de Medici, a queen rumoured to have more than a passing acquaintance with the dark arts.

These books are a mixture of historical fiction, romance, with elements of magic, and they are a fantastic read.

The books in the series in order are:

The Dark Queen
The Courtesan
The Silver Rose
The Huntress

You can read Marg's review of The Dark Queen here, Kailana's here, and we have written joint reviews for The Courtesan and The Silver Rose. The author also now has a website that can be found at www.susancarroll.org.

Can not wait to get to this book!