Apparently I read this book during the outage and forgot to post any updates about it. That should tell you how memorable it was. 

The blurb promises a reader a fast paced romp through Tudor England full of intrigue and conspiracy. Both of those things were true. However, at some point the author started to focus less on the mystery at hand and more on when Susanna and Parker were going to end up in bed together. It was obvious from page two that this was the author's end goal. I have zero problems with that considering the duo were actually married at some point in history.

I found the de la Pole story intrigue to be quite good. It definitely held my interest. The minor plot about Henry VIII being a Cesare Borgia devote was a little hard to digest. It was only meant to raise the readers eyebrows. At the end, it was very well done. The author sort of forgot about it and wasn't really able to tie it back in to the rest of the story. 

The constant innuendos and the will they/won't they, would have been tolerable if it weren't for the characters themselves. These characters were flat. Especially the villains. From their greasy hair to their hooked noses, they checked off every box on the stereotype list. Don't even get me started on George Boleyn. I don't understand why he was even introduced if for no reason other than to have the author point out she's not a George Boleyn fan.

A lot of things made sense when I got to the author's note at the end. It would seem the author's only source of research was Alison Weir. Any Weir fans will more than likely enjoy this book as the author's style is much like Weir's but with a little more blood. 

There are two and a half other books in this series. I won't be reading any of them. Unless maybe I find them at a used store for 50 cents, which is how I came to own this book.

Book read 1/8/2020-1/11/2020

More than I realized, apparently.

While I was on my little hiatus from the reading and internet world last week, I went out into the real world and did something I hadn't done in years. I visited a brick and mortar independent bookstore and spent hours browsing. I looked at every used title and realized I owned many of them (oops) and then I went over to the new section and tried to touch them all.

It was heavenly.

You all need to do it at least once a week if you don't already, even if you don't buy anything (I didn't, I really wish I had but tbr guilt stayed my hand). Go, look, touch, smell (well, maybe don't smell if they look anything like this!) and savor the bliss that washes over your soul. There is nothing quite like it. I used to do this when I was young and free and had all the time in the world. I worked next door to a used bookstore and the employees all knew me by name and usually had a stack waiting just for me. I hadn't realized how much enjoyment and peace those weekly (sometimes daily) trips brought into my life.

It's only been a week and I am dying to go back to relive that feeling and buy some books I do not need but must have. How ever did I let this kind of joy leave my life?! Wait, I know. Non-reading visitors to my home began to comment on the number of books I had lying about and I began to feel indulgent, wasteful, greedy. I started hiding my books from sight and from the unwanted comments that would wound them. Don't let it happen to you. I don't care if you own all the books in the world on your e-reader or in your home, do yourself a favor and visit a real bookstore if you're lucky enough to have a good one nearby.

If you're road-tripping it to the northeast of the US may I recommend the lovely independent  The Toadstool Bookstore? They have three locations and two have cafes. I don't know about the third as I haven't made it there yet. The Peterborough location has an enormous selection of used and new books that you can lose yourself in for a day or two and, best of all, no one bugged me the entire time I was there!

Do you have a favorite spot to buy "real" books? Do you ever browse a physical bookstore without a list in hand? And, because I'm super nosy, do outsiders give your love of books the side-eye too?

There's been plenty of revolutions out there and it's high time to start our own. Now it's time for social revolution on BookLikes! Are you in??!? 

Last week was a milestone for our team, we've announce the farewell of Thursday's releases on BookLikes (if you've missed the post, click here) but promised not to leave you empty handed. And we won't. Our brains work on the highest level, our mugs get never-ending coffee refill, and the office fridge gets frightfully empty (it is true that brain work strengthens appetite!).

Our excitement peaked when we spotted how supportive and devoted to BookLikes cause you are! We can't thank you enough for your constructive criticism, enthusiastic moves and creative initiatives. The power of community, BookLikes community, is genuine and amazing. Remaining in high spirits, we'd like to introduce you and remind about the initiative that popped up several days ago thanks to group of trending bloggers on BookLikes.

The outcome of this common drive is a discussion group Find New BookLikes Blogs To Follow set up by Hunger For Knowledge.

Hunger For Knowledge writes in the group description:

Find new people to follow, let new people to find you.

This group is dedicated to finding new people to interact on BookLikes.

This is a group for everyone and anyone. This is a result of good community and great teamwork. Let's connect. (go to the group)

The group is open for all welcoming BookLikes newbies, rising up bloggers, regular and part time BookLikes members, authors, publishers -- long story short, all book lovers on BookLikes. Feel invited to join, share your ideas, show your stand, interact with our team and other bloggers. Show yourself, discover and be discovered. 

The discussion threads are divided into several sections giving you the opportunity to give the shout out to other bloggers, meet international personalities, share your brainstorms in the Think Thank discussion, and share your advices and suggestions.

We've spotted some cool suggestions for BookLikes newbies

in the Think Thank section, have a look:

Familiar Diversions:

- Check out the "Hot Reviews" and "New and trending" sections on the Explore page. Those are good places to find active bloggers.

- Add books to your shelves. I don't know about others, but one of the first things I do when I'm considering whether to follow someone who's followed me or who has commented on/liked one of my posts is to check what they've read and how they've rated it.

- Comment on posts. Don't be shy. :)

Charmingly Euphemistic:

To find people to follow: Pick a book you adore (preferably a kind of obscure one) and go look at the blogs of people who reviewed it.

If they read stuff you like and post stuff you want to read, follow them.

Char's Horror Corner:

Commenting on posts is how I've found most of the people I follow.

One of the first things I look at when I'm considering whether or not to follow someone is their shelves. Empty shelves will almost always make me click off and be on my way, without following.

If the shelves are stocked, I will poke about to see if I agree with the blogger's ratings, or I will see if they have read or are reading books that I'm interested in-if they are. I'm followin'. :)

Where to find more blogs to follow?

If you're looking for new bloggers to follow visit Explore page (under review now, some changes coming), Book Catalog page (go to book pages to look through reviews and shelves), Reading lists (in Apps), Book clubs and discussion groups, including the new one Find New Booklikes Blogs To Follow sections with heated discussions by BookLikes members.

Here are some rising up bloggers worth your attention,

you can also spot more in the Shout-out for Newbies discussion:

View blog & follow if you like it

View blog & follow if you like it

View blog & follow if you like it 

View blog & follow if you like it

View blog & follow if you like it 

View blog & follow if you like it 

View blog & follow if you like it

You can also use the Compare books option which will show you how compatible the blogger with your reading taste is. To compare the shelves go to the blogger's blog and click the stats icon or go to Apps in the main menu and choose Compare books tab. 

View blog & follow if you like it

View blog & follow if you like it

View blog & follow if you like it

View blog & follow if you like it

View blog & follow if you like it

View blog & follow if you like it

View blog & follow if you like it

View blog & follow if you like it

The BookLikes team is always here to listen to your suggestions and react to any hiccups in the service.

If you'd like to share your ideas or you'll notice something we should know about, drop us a line or leave a post in the official BookLikes discussion group threads: Feature requests or Bug reports.

Share your bookish mood with your friends and followers and show how do you feel about books you're reading! Now when you shelve books, click Finished! or set any other reading status you can supplement the shelving information with the emotion status. 

To add the emotion status to a book you're shelving, search the book or click the book cover as usual and go to the advanced pop up with the additional shelving options: 

Answer the question How do you feel about this book?

The emotion status will be visible in the book pop up and on Dashboard: 

The emotion status in the advanced book pop up 

Book emotions on Dashboard

Why to use emoticons when shelving and reviewing?

Emotion statuses and emoticons won't replace full length reviews, they can, however, complement the text with an enjoyable mood addition.

Some scientific surveys revealed that our brain reacts likewise when we see an emoji and a human face -- this means we pay the similar degree of attention to the smiley face as we do to real face. And attention is what we wish for when we write or share the book news, right?

What's more, emojis tend to enhance our memory skills and have a highly positive influence on getting the message across -- they make a happy news more enjoyable and negative more approachable. 

Being just an addition and another mean of conveying the message, emoticons can be a fun supplement to your texts, and a way of expressing yourself and how you feel about your books. In a short and tips-like manner. Why not? :-) 

Updates

• Emotion statuses are now available in Draft views. This means that when you write a text, add an emotion status and click Save as Draft, the emotion status will be attached to your text and visible in Draft view (to see your Drafts, click Blog from the upper menu and Drafts in the right column). 

• Emotion statuses are visible on your public blog pages. This refers to reviews, posts and 3 BookLikes design templates only (Gentle Spirit, Notebook, Smart Casual).

If you have a different blog theme, a customized blog look or if you have edited your blog's HTML code, please have in mind that this update will not be visible on your public blog page. To make the emojis visible on blog pages, please follow the instructions on Theme Docs (in the footnote) and add the changes to the code or contact your designer. 

Emotions on public blog pages