Today, for Hidden Gems, I'm so excited to be spotlighting the novels of both fantasy author, Anne Elisabeth Stengl, AND historical author Julianne Donaldson!
We don't have these lovely ladies with us today, but we have their books for company! ^_^
And I'm giving away a used copy of either Heartless {Tales of Goldstone Wood #1} OR Edenbrooke {A Proper Romance #1} to one winner.
And I'm giving away a used copy of either Heartless {Tales of Goldstone Wood #1} OR Edenbrooke {A Proper Romance #1} to one winner.
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ANNE ELISABETH STENGL makes her home in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she lives with her husband, Rohan, a passel of cats, and one long-suffering dog. When she's not writing, she enjoys Shakespeare, opera, and tea, and studies piano, painting, and pastry baking. She studied illustration at Grace College and English literature at Campbell University. She is the author of the "Tales of Goldstone Wood", which currently includes seven novels and two novellas, with plenty more works due to release over the next few years. Her novels Heartless, Veiled Rose, and Dragonwitch have each been honored with a Christy Award, and Starflower was voted winner of the 2013 Clive Staples Award.
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Reasons I Think This Author Is One You Need to Discover
- Books are Christian Fantasy with an altogether Delightful Fairy Tale Feel
- Beautiful, Lyrical Writing Style & Big, Epic Stories! (caution: some violence and dark/intense themes)
- Heart-touching Christian allegories woven into the Tales
- Intricate, Complex, Fantastic World, Mysteries, and Characters!
- Just ... AMAZING (if you like fairy tale-feeling-fantasy stories, you must read these.)
~ TALES OF GOLDSTONE WOOD Series ~
The Dragon King Seeks His Princess—
Who Dares to Stop Him?
Princess Una of Parumvir has come of age and will soon marry. She dreams of a charming prince, but when her first suitor arrives, he's not what she'd hoped. Prince Aethelbald of mysterious Farthestshore has travelled a great distance to prove his love - and also to bring hushed warnings of danger. A dragon is rumored to be on the hunt and blazing a path of terror.
Una, smitten instead with a more dashing prince, refuses Aethelbald's offer - and ignores his cautions with dire consequences. Soon the Dragon King himself is in Parumvir and Una, in giving her heart away unwisely, finds herself in his sights. Only those courageous enough to risk everything have a hope of fighting off this advancing evil.
A Tale of Goldstone Wood
Timeless Fantasy That Will Keep You Spellbound
Rose Red trusts no one with her secret. She hides in the forest, her face veiled in rags, shunning the company of all save her old father and her nanny goat. Her life is bleak and lonely.
Until she meets a privileged young man sent to spend his summer in the mountains. Headstrong young Leo startles everyone by befriending Rose Red, and together they begin searching for the monster rumored to be stalking these lands.
But the hunt, which began as a game, holds greater risk than either imagines. Soon both are forced to test their trust in each other as a far more terrifying scourge puts their entire land at risk.
Desperate to regain the trust of his kingdom, Prince Lionheart reluctantly banishes his faithful servant and only friend, Rose Red. Now she is lost in the hidden realm of Arpiar, held captive by her evil goblin father, King Vahe.
Vowing to redeem himself, Lionheart plunges into the mysterious Goldstone Wood, seeking Rose Red. In strange other worlds, Lionheart must face a lyrical yet lethal tiger, a fallen unicorn, and a goblin horde on his quest to rescue the girl he betrayed.
With the Night of Moonblood fast approaching - when King Vahe seeks to wake the Dragon's sleeping children - Lionheart must discover whether or not his heart contains courage before it's too late for Rose Red ... and all those he loves.
When a cursed dragon-witch kidnaps fairest Lady Gleamdren, the Bard Eanrin sets boldly forth on a rescue mission...and a race against his rival for Gleamdren's favor. Intent upon his quest, the last thing the immortal Faerie needs is to become mixed up with the troubles of an insignificant mortal.
But when he stumbles upon a maiden trapped in an enchanted sleep, he cannot leave her alone in the dangerous Wood Between. One waking kiss later, Eanrin suddenly finds his story entangled with that of young Starflower. A strange link exists between this mortal girl and the dragon-witch. Will Starflower prove the key to Lady Gleamdren's rescue? Or will the dark power from which she flees destroy both her and her rescuer?
Who Will Dare to Face the Dragonwitch?
Submissive to her father’s will, Lady Leta of Aiven travels far to meet a prospective husband she neither knows nor loves–Lord Alistair, future king of the North Country.
But within the walls of Gaheris Castle, all is not right. Vicious night terrors plague Lord Alistair to the brink of insanity. Whispers rise from the family crypt. The reclusive castle Chronicler, Leta’s tutor and friend, possesses a secret so dangerous it could cost his life and topple the North Country into civil war.
And far away in a hidden kingdom, a fire burns atop the Temple of the Sacred Flame. Acolytes and priestesses serve their goddess to the limits of their lives and deaths. No one is safe while the Dragonwitch searches for the sword that slew her twice … and for the one person who can wield it.
The vengeful Goddess demands her tithe ...
When a stowaway is discovered aboard the merchant ship Kulap Kanya, Munny, a cabin boy on his first voyage, knows what must be done. All stowaways are sacrificed to Risafeth, the evil goddess of the sea. Such is her right, and the Kulap Kanya's only hope to return safely home.
Yet, to the horror of his crew, Captain Sunan vows to protect the stowaway, a foreigner in clown's garb. A curse falls upon the ship and all who sail with her, for Risafeth will stop at nothing to claim her tithe.
Will Munny find the courage to trust his captain and to protect the strange clown who has become his friend?
This is a tale of blood.
And love.
And the many things that lie between.
And love.
And the many things that lie between.
By her father's wish, Lady Daylily is betrothed to the Prince of Southlands. Not the prince she loves, handsome and dispossessed Lionheart, but his cousin, the awkward and foolish Prince Foxbrush. As her wedding day dawns, Daylily flees into the dangerous Wilderlands, her only desire to vanish from living memory.
But Foxbrush, determined to rescue his betrothed, pursues Daylily into a new world of magic and peril, a world where vicious Faerie beasts hold sway, a world invaded by a lethal parasite.
A world that is hauntingly familiar.
BEYOND THE REALM OF DREAMS IS A WORLD SHE NEVER IMAGINED
Masayi Sairu was raised to be dainty, delicate, demure ... and deadly. She is one of the emperor’s Golden Daughters, as much a legend as she is a commodity. One day, Sairu will be contracted in marriage to a patron, whom she will secretly guard for the rest of her life.
But when she learns that a sacred Dream Walker of the temple seeks the protection of a Golden Daughter, Sairu forgoes marriage in favor of this role. Her skills are stretched to the limit, for assassins hunt in the shadows, and phantoms haunt in dreams. With only a mysterious Faerie cat and a handsome slave—possessed of his own strange abilities—to help her, can Sairu shield her new mistress from evils she can neither see nor touch?
For the Dragon is building an army of fire, and soon the heavens will burn.
In the darkness of the pit
The light shines brightest
Drums summon the chieftain’s powerful son to slay a man in cold blood and thereby earn his place among the warriors. But instead of glory, he earns the name Draven, “Coward.” When the men of his tribe march off to war, Draven remains behind with the women and his shame. Only fearless but crippled Ita values her brother’s honor.
The warriors return from battle victorious yet trailing a curse in their wake. One by one the strong and the weak of the tribe fall prey to an illness of supernatural power. The secret source of this evil can be found and destroyed by only the bravest heart.
But when the curse attacks the one Draven loves most, can this coward find the courage he needs to face the darkness?
A princess gone mad.
A queen obsessed.
A kingdom succumbing to poison.
***Release Date Yet to be Determined***
***Release Date Yet to be Determined***
~ THE FAMILY OF NIGHT Series ~
A Ghost Trapped in a Tower. A Peasant Girl. A Curse Six Hundred Years Old ...
For six hundred years I have dwelt in this prison. Trapped. Helpless. Unliving and undying.
For six hundred years I have watched as cursebreakers come and go. Brave young women all, gifted with powers beyond mortal understanding.
I have watched them die. I have watched them wish to die.
Once again the Family of Night invades this country to claim its dues, and this generation’s cursebreaker has her chance to break the endless chain of torment. To save me. To save her sisters.
But how can a peasant child scarcely fourteen years of age discover the three-part key and liberate the captives? Will she too be doomed to join the Death Dance binding us all to the Family of Night?
Connect Further With Anne Elisabeth Stengl
- Website ~ Award-Winning Novelist Anne Elisabeth Stengl
- Blog ~ Tales of Goldstone Wood
- Facebook ~ Anne Elisabeth Stengl
- Twitter ~ @AEStengl
Additional Blog Stops:
Mon. ~ Soleil @ ReviewsbySoleil: Book Review(s)
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JULIANNE DONALDSON grew up as the daughter of a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot. She learned how to ski in the Italian Alps, visited East Berlin before the wall came down, and spent three years living next to a 500-year-old castle. After earning a degree in English, she turned her attention to writing. She writes historical romance when she is not busy with her four young children and husband. Edenbrooke is her first novel.
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Reasons I Think This Author Is One You Need To Discover
- Books are Historical - Regency Romance
- Clean, Sweet, and just simply Adorable
- Fun - perfect, especially, for fans of Historical Romance & Regency Fiction
- Swoon-y ... *grins and winks*
~ A PROPER ROMANCE Series ~
Marianne Daventry will do anything to escape the boredom of Bath and the amorous attentions of an unwanted suitor. So when an invitation arrives from her twin sister, Cecily, to join her at a sprawling country estate, she jumps at the chance. Thinking she'll be able to relax and enjoy her beloved English countryside while her sister snags the handsome heir of Edenbrooke, Marianne finds that even the best laid plans can go awry. From a terrifying run-in with a highwayman to a seemingly harmless flirtation, Marianne finds herself embroiled in an unexpected adventure filled with enough romance and intrigue to keep her mind racing. Will Marianne be able to rein in her traitorous heart, or will a mysterious stranger sweep her off her feet? Fate had something other than a relaxing summer in mind when it sent Marianne to Edenbrooke.
Philip Wyndham has never envied his older brother for being the heir to Edenbrooke. He would much rather carve out his own destiny than live under the constraints of that position. But when his older brother dies unexpectedly, Philip's life is turned upside down as duty requires him to give up the life he planned. Philip takes on his new role as the most sought-after bachelor in London with alternating reluctance, boredom, and resentment. But all that changes the night fate leads him to an inn, where he meets the incomparable Marianne Daventry.
Kate Worthington knows her heart and she knows she will never marry. Her plan is to travel to India instead—if only to find peace for her restless spirit and to escape the family she abhors. But Kate’s meddlesome mother has other plans. She makes a bargain with Kate: India, yes, but only after Kate has secured—and rejected—three marriage proposals.
Kate journeys to the stately manor of Blackmoore determined to fulfill her end of the bargain and enlists the help of her dearest childhood friend, Henry Delafield. But when it comes to matters of love, bargains are meaningless and plans are changeable. There on the wild lands of Blackmoore, Kate must face the truth that has kept her heart captive. Will the proposal she is determined to reject actually be the one thing that will set her heart free?
Set in Northern England in 1820, Blackmoore is a Regency romance that tells the story of a young woman struggling to learn how to follow her heart. It is Wuthering Heights meets Little Women with a delicious must-read twist.
Nothing ever goes right for Skye Cameron, thanks to her family’s Scottish curse. She protects herself from the worst of it by following certain rules, like no traveling, avoiding all things Scottish, and never doing anything she loves. Everything changes on her nineteenth birthday when she receives a postcard from her mother, begging Skye to come to Scotland to help her break the curse. But the travel curse is strong with Skye, and without the help of a handsome stranger with a wicked sense of humor, she wouldn’t make it past airport security, let alone to the Scottish islands where the future of her family hangs in the balance. But if getting there is more than half the battle, getting there without falling in love is the war of her life. Lost in Scotland is a contemporary romance full of adventure, humor, and heart.
Connect Further With Julianne Donaldson
- Website ~ Julianne Donaldson
- Blog ~ Julianne Donaldson - Blog
- Facebook ~ Julianne Donaldson
- Twitter ~ @AuthorJulianne
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Giveaway
Enter the rafflecopter form below for a chance to win a used paperback of either Heartless OR Edenbrooke. Winner's choice. One Winner. USA entries ONLY.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Sounds like great books!! I would love to read them sometime! =)
ReplyDeleteThey are, Deborah! ^_^ And I hope you can!! I quite recommend! :D
DeleteGreat authors!
ReplyDeleteYes, indeed! :) :)
DeleteI *love* Anne Elisabeth's books!! And I'll certainly have to look into Julianne Donaldson's; I've been searching for some clean Regency reads, lately! :)
ReplyDeleteMe too, Olivia!! SO much! ^_^ In fact, I just finished A Branch of Silver, A Branch of Gold, and it was incredible!
DeleteYes, do! Hers are such sweet and amazing novels as well! :) And definitely clean Regency reads! I really love them.
"Edenbrooke" looks so good!! And I don't think I've heard of the author before - lovely to discover her now! :)
ReplyDeleteIt was beyond lovely, Raechel! :) You should give Edenbrooke a try, for sure!!
DeleteI just love the Tales of Goldstone Wood series!!!!!!!! I hope to collect them all some day:) I have never read by Julianne Donaldson but they do sound quite interesting. ~Moriah
ReplyDeleteYES, they are so amazing, Moriah!!! I hope you can! I adore having them on my shelf! :) :)
DeleteJulianne Donaldson is a great author - clean Regency romance at some of its finest! You should try them out! :)
Yay!! Anne Elisabeth Stengl is an amazing author!
ReplyDeleteShe is that, indeed!!! ^_^ I never get tired of her books!
DeleteI loved Heartless. I haven't been able to get the rest of the series from the library, though. It vexes me greatly.
ReplyDeleteAh, it's such a good series, Rebekah! That's terrible you can't get the rest from your library! :'( Maybe get them as a Christmas present? ;)
DeleteBut truly, I hope you can finishing read Tales of Goldstone Wood someday soon! ^_^