Empress of Asia by Adam Lewis Schroeder

Described as dark, funny and beautiful. I guess so. Not so sure. I would have to, more than anything else, call this "old-fashioned." Nonetheless a compelling read. Lots of good elements - love, history, intrigue, mystery. Not a page-turner for me.

Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King, by Antonia Fraser

I really didn't think I was going to like this book, but after the first 50 pages I was hooked. Extremely well-written, Ms. Fraser makes you care. The names, and their similarities, are a little overwhelming, but I persevered and learned a lot of history. Yes - the Royals really do lead a very, very different life than the rest of us. I find it amazing that the institution still exists.

Rough Crossings - Britain, The Slaves and The American Revolution by Simon Schama

Superb historical account. Very thoroughly researched - comprehensive comes to mind. Scholarly but not too scholarly. Schama includes enough of the human anecdotal to keep our interest while presenting this historical account of some lesser-known parts of The American Revolution and The French Revolution - oh, and some history of Canada and Nova Scotia as well. The reality is a little daunting - survival as a slave is so (fortunately) removed from our own modern lives.

The Secret River by Kate Grenville

Kate Grenville won the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2001 for The Idea of Perfection, but this is my first read by this author. The prose is brilliant - the descriptive narrative awesome. And the truth of this novel actually hurts because it is so honest and straightforward. This is a page-turner that will give you goosebumps if not nightmares.