Today Gemma Harding has joined us at The Book Corner to talk about her Airport finds! I am really excited about this post because just like Gemma I get super excited book shopping at the airport!
For many people when they are at the airport, the first place they will head to is the duty free. For me, it’s the Airport Exclusive book section of the WH Smith’s. Looking over the shelves of books, I try to see if there any books that I have been waiting to come out or if there is any covers that strike me as interesting.
What’s so special about these airport exclusives, is the fact that they are usually paperback versions of hardbacks or, in those rare occasions, a book that isn’t due out for another few weeks. The books I buy aren’t usually my usual picks and on those rare occasions, I end up finding a new author. So here are some of the books I have picked up while waiting for my flight out.
For many people when they are at the airport, the first place they will head to is the duty free. For me, it’s the Airport Exclusive book section of the WH Smith’s. Looking over the shelves of books, I try to see if there any books that I have been waiting to come out or if there is any covers that strike me as interesting.
What’s so special about these airport exclusives, is the fact that they are usually paperback versions of hardbacks or, in those rare occasions, a book that isn’t due out for another few weeks. The books I buy aren’t usually my usual picks and on those rare occasions, I end up finding a new author. So here are some of the books I have picked up while waiting for my flight out.
THE LAST QUEEN by C. W. Gortner
In this stunning novel, C. W. Gortner brings to life Juana of Castile, the third child of Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand of Spain, who would become the last queen of Spanish blood to inherit her country's throne. Along the way, Gortner takes the reader from the somber majesty of Spain to the glittering and lethal courts of Flanders, France, and Tudor England. Born amid her parents' ruthless struggle to unify and strengthen their kingdom, Juana, at the age of sixteen, is sent to wed Philip, heir to the Habsburg Empire. Juana finds unexpected love and passion with her dashing young husband, and at first she is content with her children and her married life. But when tragedy strikes and she becomes heir to the Spanish throne, Juana finds herself plunged into a battle for power against her husband that grows to involve the major monarchs of Europe. Besieged by foes on all sides, Juana vows to secure her crown and save Spain from ruin, even if it costs her everything
View – I picked this book up mainly due to the fact that at that time I was going through a historical fiction phase and I was really interested in the TV show The Tudors (Nothing to do with Johnathan Rhyse Meyers and Henry Caville starring in it ;) ) This book was a really interesting insight into a part of European History that I was unaware about. It may not be the usual holiday read, but I finished this book off really quickly.
In this stunning novel, C. W. Gortner brings to life Juana of Castile, the third child of Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand of Spain, who would become the last queen of Spanish blood to inherit her country's throne. Along the way, Gortner takes the reader from the somber majesty of Spain to the glittering and lethal courts of Flanders, France, and Tudor England. Born amid her parents' ruthless struggle to unify and strengthen their kingdom, Juana, at the age of sixteen, is sent to wed Philip, heir to the Habsburg Empire. Juana finds unexpected love and passion with her dashing young husband, and at first she is content with her children and her married life. But when tragedy strikes and she becomes heir to the Spanish throne, Juana finds herself plunged into a battle for power against her husband that grows to involve the major monarchs of Europe. Besieged by foes on all sides, Juana vows to secure her crown and save Spain from ruin, even if it costs her everything
View – I picked this book up mainly due to the fact that at that time I was going through a historical fiction phase and I was really interested in the TV show The Tudors (Nothing to do with Johnathan Rhyse Meyers and Henry Caville starring in it ;) ) This book was a really interesting insight into a part of European History that I was unaware about. It may not be the usual holiday read, but I finished this book off really quickly.
BOSSYPANTS BY Tina Fey
Before Liz Lemon, before "Weekend Update," before "Sarah Palin," Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV. She has seen both these dreams come true. At last, Tina Fey's story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon -- from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence. Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we've all suspected: you're no one until someone calls you bossy.
View – I’ll be honest, I keep picking this up and putting it back down. The reason I bought this book was because I really like Tina Fey and I have heard great things about this book. Everytime I pick it up, something else comes along. One day I will finish this book.
Before Liz Lemon, before "Weekend Update," before "Sarah Palin," Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV. She has seen both these dreams come true. At last, Tina Fey's story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon -- from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence. Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we've all suspected: you're no one until someone calls you bossy.
View – I’ll be honest, I keep picking this up and putting it back down. The reason I bought this book was because I really like Tina Fey and I have heard great things about this book. Everytime I pick it up, something else comes along. One day I will finish this book.
MADAM TUSSAUD by Michelle Moran
Paris, 1788.
Marie is a young woman in love with her oldest friend and neighbour, Henri. But she is also a determined businesswoman, eager to see her family's waxwork museum keep them safe and solvent. Her gift for modelling faces in wax brings her to Versailles, where she must teach the king's sister her skill. But the coming revolution will place Marie, her family and all of Paris in grave danger.
As the monarchy is overthrown and the guillotine becomes a fixture in French life, Marie is expected to show her patriotism by making death masks from the severed heads of every key figure killed as the Reign of Terror begins and France enters its darkest time. How will Marie survive the Revolution? Who will survive it with her? And just how will this girl come to be known as the woman behind one of the most famous museums in the world?
Verdict – This is another book I have bought, but yet to read. Again it was lure of Historical Fiction and the fact it was dealing with a part of European History that I didn’t know anything about. I have had many book culls since I bought this book, but each time my hand has passed over this book.
My vacation stop is usually Orlando and while I do admit that I love to go to a theme park, I also make sure that I stop off at the bookstores there. When I first went to Orlando for my holidays, I picked up a few books by authors that I had never heard of before. However, I would soon find out that the books I had bought were part of a series and that I usually had picked up a book that was in the middle of the series. Here are a few of the books/series I picked up on my travels.
Paris, 1788.
Marie is a young woman in love with her oldest friend and neighbour, Henri. But she is also a determined businesswoman, eager to see her family's waxwork museum keep them safe and solvent. Her gift for modelling faces in wax brings her to Versailles, where she must teach the king's sister her skill. But the coming revolution will place Marie, her family and all of Paris in grave danger.
As the monarchy is overthrown and the guillotine becomes a fixture in French life, Marie is expected to show her patriotism by making death masks from the severed heads of every key figure killed as the Reign of Terror begins and France enters its darkest time. How will Marie survive the Revolution? Who will survive it with her? And just how will this girl come to be known as the woman behind one of the most famous museums in the world?
Verdict – This is another book I have bought, but yet to read. Again it was lure of Historical Fiction and the fact it was dealing with a part of European History that I didn’t know anything about. I have had many book culls since I bought this book, but each time my hand has passed over this book.
My vacation stop is usually Orlando and while I do admit that I love to go to a theme park, I also make sure that I stop off at the bookstores there. When I first went to Orlando for my holidays, I picked up a few books by authors that I had never heard of before. However, I would soon find out that the books I had bought were part of a series and that I usually had picked up a book that was in the middle of the series. Here are a few of the books/series I picked up on my travels.
OBSIDIAN BUTTERFLY by Laurell K Hamilton
An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, novel
‘I was covered in blood, but it wasn’t mine, so it was okay.’
Edward is a hit man. He specialises in monsters. Vampires, shape-shifters, anything and everything. There are people like me, Anita Blake, who do it legally, but Edward doesn’t sweat the legalities or, hell, the ethics. He is an equal opportunity killer.
I may be one of the few friends that Edward has, but it’s like being friends with a tame leopard. It may curl on the foot of your bed and let you pet its head, but it can still eat your throat out...
Verdict – I picked this up because there was a quote about this series being like “Buffy on Speed”. At this time I was a huge Angel fan and picked this up based on this recommendation. Yes, I didn’t know that it was so far into the series, but I polished this book off really quick. Needless to say, before I returned home I had bought all the books up to this one. Yes, I may have fallen out of love with this series, but this book still has a place in my heart.
An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, novel
‘I was covered in blood, but it wasn’t mine, so it was okay.’
Edward is a hit man. He specialises in monsters. Vampires, shape-shifters, anything and everything. There are people like me, Anita Blake, who do it legally, but Edward doesn’t sweat the legalities or, hell, the ethics. He is an equal opportunity killer.
I may be one of the few friends that Edward has, but it’s like being friends with a tame leopard. It may curl on the foot of your bed and let you pet its head, but it can still eat your throat out...
Verdict – I picked this up because there was a quote about this series being like “Buffy on Speed”. At this time I was a huge Angel fan and picked this up based on this recommendation. Yes, I didn’t know that it was so far into the series, but I polished this book off really quick. Needless to say, before I returned home I had bought all the books up to this one. Yes, I may have fallen out of love with this series, but this book still has a place in my heart.
SUMMER KNIGHT by Jim Butcher
Ever since his girlfriend left town to deal with her newly acquired taste for blood, Harry Dresden has been down and out in Chicago. He can’t pay his rent. He’s alienating his friends. He can’t even recall the last time he took a shower. The only professional wizard in the phone book has become a desperate man. And just when it seems things can’t get any worse, in saunters the
Winter Queen of Faerie. She has an offer Harry can’t refuse if he wants to free himself of the supernatural hold his faerie godmother has over him — and hopefully end his run of bad luck. All he has to do is find out who murdered the Summer Queen’s right-hand man, the Summer Knight, and clear the Winter Queen’s name. It seems simple enough, but Harry knows better than to get caught in the middle of faerie politics. Until he finds out that the fate of the entire world rests on his solving this case. No pressure or anything…
Verdict – This was a book I picked purely based on the cover. There was something about it that drew me in. Again this was a book I didn’t realise was part of the series. It wasn’t a genre I would normally picked up but Butcher really sucked me into Harry Dresden’s world. It had the right amount of humour with some really great story telling. Yes, this was another series I ended up buying the previous books before I came home.
DARK PLEASURES by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Dear Reader,
Have you ever wanted to know what it's like to be immortal? To journey through the night stalking the evil that preys on humans? To have unlimited wealth, unlimited power? That is my existence, and it is dark and dangerous. I play hero to thousands, but am known to none. And I love every minute of it.
Or so I thought until one night when I woke up handcuffed to my worst nightmare: a conservative woman in a button-down shirt. Or in Amanda's case, buttoned all the way up to her chin. She's smart, sexy, witty, and wants nothing to do with the paranormal-in other words, me.
My attraction to Amanda Devereaux goes against everything I stand for. Not to mention the last time I fell in love it cost me not only my human life, but also my very soul. Yet every time I look at her, I find myself wanting to try again. Wanting to believe that love and loyalty do exist.
Even more disturbing, I find myself wondering if there's any way a woman like Amanda can love a man whose battle scars run deep, and whose heart was damaged by a betrayal so savage that he's not sure it will ever beat again.
Verdict – Ah, the Dark Hunter series. I mainly picked this book up because of the cover. Yes, I am shallow :D I just loved this book so much and instantly fell under its spell. Alpha Vampire Male, the good woman who will save his soul and a threat to the world. Yes, I was instantly hooked and was hunting down the others in the series. I did break up with the Dark Hunters for a little while and my
affections shifted to the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, but I have recently found them again and I am once again back in love with them.
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