Tanzanite's Castle Full of Books

Every Sunday Tanzanite highlights books that will be released during the upcoming week. She hopes you will find something you will enjoy!

The Queen's Pawn by Christy English.  US and UK release April 6, 2010.   historical novel of the legendary Eleanor of Aquitaine and the one person she loved more than power-her rival for the throne.

A Golden Web by Barbara Quick.  Young Adult.  US release April 6, 2010.  Alessandra is desperate to escape. Desperate to escape her stepmother, who's locked her away for a year; to escape the cloister that awaits her and the marriage plans that have been made for her; to escape the expectations that limit her and every other girl in fourteenth-century Italy. There's no tolerance in her quiet village for Alessandra and her keen intelligence and unconventional ideas.   In defiant pursuit of her dreams, Alessandra undertakes an audacious quest, her bravery equaled only by the dangers she faces. Disguised and alone in a city of spies and scholars, Alessandra will find a love she could not foresee -- and an enduring fame.  In this exquisite imagining of the centuries-old story of Alessandra Giliani, the world's first female anatomist, acclaimed novelist Barbara Quick gives readers the drama, romance, and rich historical detail for which she is known as she shines a light on an unforgotten -- and unforgettable -- heroine.   Look for an interview with Barbara and a giveaway tomorrow!

Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn.  US release April 6, 2010.  An exciting debut: a vivid, richly imagined saga of ancient Rome from a masterful new voice in historical fiction.  Thea is a slave girl from Judaea, passionate, musical, and guarded. Purchased as a toy for the spiteful heiress Lepida Pollia, Thea will become her mistress's rival for the love of Arius the Barbarian, Rome's newest and most savage gladiator. His love brings Thea the first happiness of her life-that is quickly ended when a jealous Lepida tears them apart.   As Lepida goes on to wreak havoc in the life of a new husband and his family, Thea remakes herself as a polished singer for Rome's aristocrats. Unwittingly, she attracts another admirer in the charismatic Emperor of Rome. But Domitian's games have a darker side, and Thea finds herself fighting for both soul and sanity. Many have tried to destroy the Emperor: a vengeful gladiator, an upright senator, a tormented soldier, a Vestal Virgin. But in the end, the life of the brilliant and paranoid Domitian lies in the hands of one woman: the Emperor's mistress.

No Will But His by Sarah Hoyt.  US and UK release April 6, 2010.  As the bereft, orphaned cousin to the ill-fated Anne Boleyn, Katherine Howard knows better than many the danger of being favored by the King. But she is a Howard, and therefore ambitious, so she assumes the role Henry VIII has assigned her-his untouched child bride, his adored fifth wife. But her innocence is imagined, the first of many lies she will have to tell to gain the throne. And the path that she will tread to do so is one fraught with the same dangers that cost Queen Anne her head.

Cleopatra (My Royal Story series) by Kristina Gregory.  Childrens/Young Adult.   UK release April 5, 2010.  Before Julius Caesar ... before Marc Antony ... she was Cleopatra, Princess of the Nile, growing up in a climate of danger where sisters can also be assassins, and her pet leopard stalks the garden at night to fend off intruders. Princess Cleopatra just cannot keep away from the marble tomb of Alexander the Great ... she hpes that one day people will call her 'Great'.