Monday, April 6, 2009

The Spymaster's Lady

I like to recommend great books to folk, and for those who like historical romance, this is a splendid one. SPYMASTER'S LADY is by Joanna Bourne, who's a friend of mine (I luckily have a number of friends who write wonderful books; tomorrow I'll tell you about Kim Harrison and Dana Stabenow, who both have great new books out); it's beautifully researched, beautifully written, and is by turns hilarious, moving, and sexy.

For any of you who may already have read the book and liked it--Jo tells me that SPYMASTER'S LADY is a finalist in the "DaBwaha" contest, sponsored by the "Dear Author" and "Smart Bitches" websites. Should you feel so moved, the final voting round is TODAY (4-6-09) and the place to vote is here.

25 comments:

  1. I like when you recommend books! You haven't led me astray, yet! Amazon will be shipping this one, hopefully tomorrow! Thanks!

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  2. Dear Janine--

    Well, I think if you like historical romance at _all_, you'll like this one. [g]

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  3. And both of Jo's books are RITA finalist's!

    Jo is made of awesome. Not only does she write kick-ass romance, but she is one of coolest women I've ever met.

    (Present company included, of course.)

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  4. Awesome book! :)

    And just an FYI, I tanked so bad in both the original and the second chance brackets. :( *sigh* Oh well, there's always next year...

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  6. Wonderful, I'm always looking for new books to read from reliable sources ;). I'm almost finished with Laurel Hamilton's Anita Blake series so I'll be looking for something new really soon.

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  7. Thanks for the suggestion, was just wondering what I could read after to sob stories in a row. This one should be mind candy, then.

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  8. I've already placed an order for this book...sounds like it right up my alley (and most everyone here, as well)! Thanks Diana :)

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  9. I second Diana's rec - the heroine, Annique, is one of the best, most unique women characters ever written. Along with Claire, she's in my top five.

    P.S. the word verification people must be running out of words - I had to type in "pukin" before posting!

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  10. I checked this out, Diana, looks like a good one! Wish I'd gotten it to review. I just finished an excellent book, speaking of spymasters - Almost Home by Pam Jenoff (ex State Department officer). Great plot, great characters, and set in England.

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  11. I love Kim Harrison...along with yourseld as authors. I read and re-read ya'll's (so, I'm from TX) series over and over again and it drives my hubby nuts. Thanks for the recommendation! Will spend rest of Borders gc!

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  12. Totally off the subject but...
    Now that there's a pub date for Echo, does that mean we won't have any more excerpts? Will I really have to wait until late September to hear anything from Claire and Jamie?

    Enjoy Easter

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  13. I just finished this book. Very quick enjoyable read. Interesting plot, funny characters. I think that Adrian was my favorite character.

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  14. the library doesn't have spymaster's lady :(. however, i LOVE kim harrison!

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  15. I put this on hold at the library on your recommendation, and last night my husband was picking up some books and brought it home for me. With the picture of the guy on the cover, his shirt open and buff abs exposed, my husband was quite embarassed! He wants to know if they had the ab cruncher in the 1800s. Gave me quite a laugh and now I'm looking forward to reading it!

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  16. Great read. Jamie is still my favorite (of course). Any more recommendations?

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  17. Love having the recommendation, and I'll read it. I would have passed it by, if I even looked at the romance section in the first place!

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  18. LOVED IT. I would not normally pick out this type of book but it was great! I look forward to other recommendations!

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  19. It's always wonderful to get your recommendations for authors writing historical romance. I really trust your judgment and shall add these women to my must read list. I met you in Kingston, Ontario a couple of times at book signings Diana and I just want to say that I am now writing a book review blog at http://scullylovepromoreviews.blogspot.com/ - and if you have a moment to check out my latest blog, you'll see there's something there just for you! You deserve it!

    All the very best,
    Christine

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  20. I am always searching for something engrossing to read while waiting for ECHO... Your brother-in-law's book was good so I will look for this one. Diana, your books have such depth, historical details, intriguing plots and ridiculously interesting characters that there really isn't methadone that is truly effective !! Good luck with staying focused and filling those holes you spoke of! Tried the drunken pasta---many thanks, big hit!

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  21. Diana,

    I just began reading "Outlander", a recommendation from a friend. It is fabulous! As I am reading, I am wishing I could write like this. I am becoming friends with the characters, LOL, and can see that you now have yet another loyal reader. I am looking forward to reading more....

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  23. Dear Diana,
    I wonder if you have read the Skye O'Malley novels by Bertrice Small. They come in 6 huge volumes but they are very interesting. The story starts in Ireland/England in the Elizabethan era and it is set in different parts of Europe and even the ottoman empire. Exactly like your books, when you start the first one you can't wait to read the second and so on...Enjoy.

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  24. Great recommendation! I read this book several months ago! No wonder I liked it...Joanna's a friend of yours! (Her website is on my favorites list.) This was a great story; I'm looking forward to the next in the series, My Lord and Spymaster.

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