The Buzz...About Books

If you heard a squeal of delight the other day, that was just me getting my hands on the new - and long awaited - novel by my favourite author.  To me, that's Awesome!

My favourite  author is Sharon Kay Penman.  Her books are extremely well researched, but somehow she does not let that get in the way of a well told story.  Her characters are always fully drawn, very human and come to life in the imagination.  A fantastic author for anyone who enjoys both history and historical fiction.

Lionheart is her latest book about England's Plantagenets.  Although Sharon's books have a sequence, each can be read on their own.

Lionheart is the story of Richard I, known to history as Lionheart, starting just after Henry II was killed and Richard became King of England. Within a few months of gaining the throne,  Richard set off to the Holy Land, leaving his younger brother, Prince John, free to plot with the French King to take his crown.  Lucky for Richard, his mother was Eleanor of Aquitaine.  Newly released from captivity after Henry's death, she was more than capable of protecting Richard's interests while he was away on Crusade.

The book follows Richard through the Third Crusade -  the many battles among the Christians and the warfare with the Saracens, including with his most worthy opponent, the famous Saladin. 

If you enjoy historical fiction, I would recommend that you give one of her books a try.  You could start with Time and Chance, which covers the earlier years of the tempestuous relationship between the fascinating Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II.  My favourite is still Here Be Dragons, which is the story of Joanna, the illegitimate daughter of King John and wife of Llewelyn, Prince of Wales. It is the first book in her Welsh trilogy.

If you agree that a new book by a favourite author is awesome and would like to read about more awesome things, try Neil Pasricha's The Book of Awesome, The Book of (Even More) Awesome or place a hold on the upcoming The Book of (Holiday) Awesome.

The Book of Awesome is also available as an eBook.