Forthcoming Books: 2014 Edition

Mythica · Post by **Mythica** » Wed June 26th, 2013, 9:24 am

The Red Lily Crown: A Novel of Medici Florence by Elizabeth Loupas
April 1, 2014

Elizabeth Loupas returns with her most ambitious historical novel yet, a story of intrigue, passion, and murder in the Medici Court...

April, 1574, Florence, Italy. Grand Duke Cosimo de’ Medici lies dying. The city is paralyzed with dread, for the next man to wear the red lily crown will be Prince Francesco: despotic, dangerous, and obsessed with alchemy.

Chiara Nerini, the troubled daughter of an anti-Medici bookseller, sets out to save her starving family by selling her dead father’s rare alchemical equipment to the prince. Instead she is trapped in his household—imprisoned and forcibly initiated as a virgin acolyte in Francesco’s quest for power and immortality. Undaunted, she seizes her chance to pursue undreamed-of power of her own.

Witness to sensuous intrigues and brutal murder plots, Chiara seeks a safe path through the labyrinth of Medici tyranny and deception. Beside her walks the prince’s mysterious English alchemist Ruanno, her friend and teacher, driven by his own dark goals. Can Chiara trust him to keep her secrets…even to love her…or will he prove to be her most treacherous enemy of all?

Mythica · Post by **Mythica** » Wed June 26th, 2013, 9:27 am

Sequel/prequel to "The Turncoat"... (it appears to take place before Turncoat)

The Rebel Pirate: Renegades of the Revolution by Donna Thorland
March 4, 2014

1775, Boston Harbor. James Sparhawk, Master and Commander in the British Navy, knows trouble when he sees it. The ship he’s boarded is carrying ammunition and gold…into a country on the knife’s edge of war. Sparhawk’s duty is clear: confiscate the cargo, impound the vessel and seize the crew. But when one of the ship’s boys turns out to be a lovely girl, with a loaded pistol and dead-shot aim, Sparhawk finds himself held hostage aboard a Rebel privateer.

Sarah Ward never set out to break the law. Before Boston became a powder keg, she was poised to escape the stigma of being a notorious pirate’s daughter by wedding Micah Wild, one of Salem’s most successful merchants. Then a Patriot mob destroyed her fortune and Wild played her false by marrying her best friend and smuggling a chest of Rebel gold aboard her family’s ship.

Now branded a pirate herself, Sarah will do what she must to secure her family’s safety and her own future. Even if that means taking part in the cat and mouse game unfolding in Boston Harbor, the desperate naval fight between British and Rebel forces for the materiel of war—and pitting herself against James Sparhawk, the one man she cannot resist.

Mythica · Post by **Mythica** » Wed June 26th, 2013, 9:52 am

Fallen Beauty by Erika Robuck
March 4, 2014

Without sin, can we know beauty? Can we fully appreciate the summer without the winter? No, I am glad to suffer so I can feel the fullness of our time in the light.

Upstate New York, 1928. Laura Kelley and the man she loves sneak away from their judgmental town to attend a performance of the scandalous Ziegfeld Follies. But the dark consequences of their night of daring and delight reach far into the future.

That same evening, Bohemian poet Edna St. Vincent Millay and her indulgent husband hold a wild party in their remote mountain estate, hoping to inspire her muse. Millay declares her wish for a new lover who will take her to unparalleled heights of passion and poetry, but for the first time, the man who responds will not bend completely to her will.

Two years later, Laura, an unwed seamstress struggling to support her daughter, and Millay, a woman fighting the passage of time, work together secretly to create costumes for Millays next grand tour. As their complex, often uneasy friendship develops amid growing local condemnation, each woman is forced to confront what it means to be a fallen womanand to decide for herself what price she is willing to pay to live a full life.
Lovers of the Jazz Age, literary enthusiasts, and general historic fiction readers will find much to love about Call Me Zelda. Highly recommended. Historical Novel Society, Editors Choice

Mythica · Post by **Mythica** » Wed June 26th, 2013, 9:57 am

The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee
February 11, 2014

Lilliet Berne is a sensation of the Paris Opera with every accolade except one: she has never created an original role, every singers chance at immortality. When she is approached with an offer to do just that, it comes with a caveatthe opera must be based on a secret from her past that she has thought long buried. Who has exposed her? In pursuit of answers shes drawn back into her past. An orphan who left the American frontier in search of her mothers family in Europe, Lilliet was swept up in the glitzy, gritty world of Paris at the height of Napoleon IIIs rule. There she transformed herself from hippodrome rider to courtesan, from maid to Empress Eugenie to debut singer, weaving a complicated web of romance, obligation, and political intrigue. With endless twists, a cast of characters drawn from history, and a captivating, resourceful heroine, The Queen of the Night tells its story through the transformations of Lilliet as she sheds role after role, moving with every step closer to the spotlight of the Parisian stagea spotlight that may reveal the secrets she has fought to keep.

Mythica · Post by **Mythica** » Wed June 26th, 2013, 9:58 am

India Black and the Gentleman Thief by Carol K. Carr
February 4, 2014

India Blacks double life operating a high-class brothel and running high-stakes espionage for Her Majestys government can take its toll. But theres no rest for the wearyparticularly when an international conspiracy comes knocking

India Black is one of Victorian Londons most respected madamsnot a bloody postmistress. So when Colonel Francis Mayhew forwards a seemingly innocuous shipping bill to her address, shes puzzled. And when three thugs bust down her door, steal the envelope, and rough up both her and fellow agent Frenchwell, thats enough to make India Black see red.

The veteran spies soon discover that Mayhew has been butchered in his own bedroom. An impromptu investigation leads them to Londons docks, where India makes a startling discovery she cant bear to tell the rakish Frenchshe has a history with their chief suspect, the gentleman thief who once stole her heart

Mythica · Post by **Mythica** » Wed June 26th, 2013, 10:01 am

Murder on High Holborn (Exploits of Thomas Chaloner) by Susanna Gregory
January 1, 2014

In 1665 England is facing war with the Dutch and the capital is awash with rumours of conspiracy and sedition. These are more frenetic than normal because of the recent sinking in the Thames of one of the largest ships in the navy - a disastrous tragedy that could very well have been caused by sabotage.

As an experienced investigator, Thomas Chaloner knows that there are very few grains of truth in the shifting sands of the rumour-mill, but the loss of such an important warship and the murder of Paul Ferine, a Groom of the Robes, in a brothel favoured by the elite of the Palace of White Hall makes him scent a whiff of genuine treason.

As well as investigating the murder, Chaloner is charged with tracking down the leaders of a fanatical sect known as the Fifth Monarchists. He suspects his masters are not particularly concerned by their amateur antics, and that the order for him to infiltrate the group is intended to distract him from uncovering some unsavoury facts about Ferine and his courtly associates.

Then, as he comes to know more about the Fifth Monarchists and their meetings on High Holborn, he discovers a puzzling number of connections - to both Ferine's murder and those involved with the defence of the realm. Connections that he must disentangle before it is too late to save the country ...

Mythica · Post by **Mythica** » Wed June 26th, 2013, 10:07 am

Written in My Own Heart's Blood: A Novel (Outlander) by Diana Gabaldon
US: March 25, 2014
UK: March 20, 2014

The wait is nearly overClaire and Jamies story continues in the next thrilling book in Diana Gabaldons multimillion bestselling Outlander series. Written in My Own Hearts Blood follows Gabaldons characters through revolutionary Philadelphia and onto the battlefields, as Jamie makes a dramatic return to Claires side, a new army sweeps the city, and romance and violence brew. This enthralling adventure carries us through betrayal and redemption, death and danger, and through the perilous waves of a familys loves and loyalties.

Mythica · Post by **Mythica** » Wed June 26th, 2013, 10:09 am

The Island of Doves by Kelly O'Connor McNees
April 1, 2014

Vivid and enthralling, Island of the Doves tells the story of a courageous woman who is desperate for freedom and of those who will risk everything to help her

Susannah Fraser lives in one of Buffalos finest mansions, but her monstrous husband makes the home a terrible prison. When a local nun offers to help her escape, Susannah boards a steamship headed for Mackinac Island and a chance at freedom.

Magdelaine Fonteneau has seen her share of tragedya husband murdered before her eyes, two sisters lostand she sees offering Susannah refuge in her island home as atonement for her many regrets. This act of kindness changes Susannah in ways she never could have imagined as she finds solace in the company of others who carry their own secrets and scars. Only together can they untangle their pastsand find a future bright with the promise of new life

emr · Post by **emr** » Wed June 26th, 2013, 12:23 pm

[quote=""Mythica""]The Red Lily Crown: A Novel of Medici Florence by Elizabeth Loupas
April 1, 2014

Elizabeth Loupas returns with her most ambitious historical novel yet, a story of intrigue, passion, and murder in the Medici Court...

April, 1574, Florence, Italy. Grand Duke Cosimo de Medici lies dying. The city is paralyzed with dread, for the next man to wear the red lily crown will be Prince Francesco: despotic, dangerous, and obsessed with alchemy.

Chiara Nerini...[/quote]

I was wondering why The Alchemist Prince had completely poofed from amazon. I guess this is the new title?

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Wed June 26th, 2013, 2:28 pm

India Black gets the best covers. I hate to admit it, but I can wait for the next segment in the Outlander books. Echo was a bit of a dog, she really needs an editor IMHO. They just let her carry on too much and too long and too OT.

Lots of interesting choices, and nice to see different periods and settings. Can't wait for the new Loupas.