25. A Presumption of Death

By: Jill Paton Walsh & Dorothy L. Sayers
Rated 4 1/2 Stars

I rated this down a little simply because I think I am starting to get burned out a little with these books. But I have to say that Jill Paton Walsh does a very good job of capturing Dorothy Sayer's voice. I sure wish she would do more of them. After a little change of pace I would be happy to revisit Lord Peter and Harriet. Below is a blurb from Barnes and Nobel.

"While Lord Peter is abroad on a secret mission, Harriet Vane, now Lady Peter Wimsey, takes their children to safety in the country. But there's no escape from war: rumors of spies abound, glamorous RAF pilots and flirtatious land-girls scandalize the villagers, and the blackout makes rural lanes as sinister as London's alleys. And when a practice air-raid ends with a young woman's death, it's almost a shock to hear that the cause is not enemy action, but murder. Or is it? With Peter away, Harriet sets out to find out whodunit...and the chilling reason why."

23. The Kingmaking

By Helen Hollick
Rated 5 Stars+

I ordered this book from Amazon's marketplace solely because I enjoyed Hollicks A Hollow Crown and Harold The King so much. I certainly wasn't all that interested in another take King Arthur since I have already read so many different ones that my eyes threatened to glaze over a little at the thought. But I do love Hollick's take on historical characters so I took the leap. Boy am I glad I did. Hollick is going to be an automatic must read author for me from here on. Below is a blurb from amazon. It pretty much agrees with my assessment:

"In this first volume of what promises to be a monumental historical trilogy, rookie British author Hollick depicts Arthur's rise from A.D. 450, when he was a 15-year-old boy of hidden parentage, to A.D. 457, when he took his place as the King Arthur of legend. The story combines private emotions and public statecraft as marriages, alliances and enemies are made and unmade to suit the politics of the era. Hollick mixes elements from fifth-century history, myth, early romances, contemporary fantasy and other novels about Arthur, adding her own inventions for good measure. The treatment of Gwenhwyfar and her love for Arthur (depicted here as star-crossed even without Lancelot's help) is especially vivid. Though the novel contains no supernatural aspects, with its exotic setting, passionate characters and epic battles and intrigue, it still should appeal to the fantasy fans to whom most Arthurian adventures are addressed. The language, too, is influenced by genre fantasy, especially in its dramatic descriptions and reliance on archaisms; but this big-hearted novel's historical speculations alone should make it of interest to the non-fantasy reader as well.
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24. The Venetian Mask

By Rosalind Laker
Rated 5 Stars

Laker has the historical romance down cold. In her sixteenth, she spins a successfully readable tale set in late-eighteenth-century Venice. The novel's central characters are three women who meet and become lifelong friends in the Ospedale della Pieta, Venice's renowned musical conservatory for orphaned girls. Against all odds, the three women suffer to preserve the lasting ties between them. Elena, betrothed to nobleman Marco Celano, is forced to marry Marco's jealous brother, Filippo, when, days before the wedding, Marco is stricken with fever and dies; Marietta later marries Domenico Torrisi, the sworn enemy of Filippo Celano, and she and Elena are forbidden to see one another; Adrianna, the oldest, is the critical link and, for years, arranges clandestine meetings between the friends. Doses of tyranny, adventure, merriment, and sentimentalism are tastefully sprinkled throughout. An enjoyable sojourn to another time and place.