Anna of Kleve, The Princess in the Portrait by Alison Weir

In Anna of Kleve, The Princess in the Portrait, readers are introduced to Henry VIII’s fourth wife, Anna von Kleve, commonly referred to as Anne of Cleves. Following the loss of his third wife, Jane Seymour—who died less than two weeks after the birth of Henry’s longed-for male heir, Prince Edward—it was decided Henry’s next wife should be the means of forming a political alliance, in case England was attacked by France and the Holy Roman Empire. Thomas Cromwell (Henry’s Principle Secretary and Chief Minister) suggested Anna, so the King sent Hans Holbien to paint a portrait of Anna and her younger sister, Amalia. Henry would use the portraits to decide which sister to marry. Pleased with Anna’s portrait, Henry chose her to be his wife.

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: Katherine Howard, The Scandalous Queen by Alison Weir

Can’t Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. 

The featured book this week is Katherine Howard, The Scandalous Queen by Alison Weir.

Wondrous Words Wednesday (1/22/2020)

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Kathy @Bermuda Onion. All you have to do is share new words that you’ve encountered while reading or spotlighting words you love.

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

My Outlander series re-read continued with the second book in the series, Dragonfly in Amber. It took me nearly three full weeks to finish this, because I set it aside twice in order to read a couple of review copies. (The review for one of those books can be found here.) The events in Dragonfly were never far from my mind, however, and I was  able to get back into the story easily, despite the interruption.

Dead Stuff ‘n’ Thangs: The Walking Dead Mid-Season Teaser

Is it just me, or does it feel like an eternity since the mid-season finale of The Walking Dead aired?! February 23 can’t get here fast enough for me. I’m ready to see what happens next!

The Do’s and Don’ts of Approaching Book Bloggers with Review Requests

It’s been four years and three days since I posted the first book review on this blog. Back then, I didn’t consider myself a book blogger—I didn’t know book bloggers even existed at that point, to be honest. More than six weeks would go by before I posted my first official review as a book blogger, though it would take far longer than that to lock in a blog name (I’ve changed it a few times since 2015), and longer still to settle into a reviewing style that felt comfortable for me.

In those early days, I was eager to receive review requests, and it wasn’t long before they started trickling in. I was approached through the blog, and every social media site tied to it—and I accepted everything. I didn’t know how to say “no” back then. Even on the rare occasions I tried to let an author down gently by saying I was fully booked for the next month, I would end up (reluctantly) agreeing to read and review their book at a later date. And we won’t discuss my review policy, because I wasn’t savvy enough to have one. I had a lot to learn, and the most important lesson of them all was the need for boundaries.

Music Monday: “Touch, Peel, and Stand” by Days of the New

Music Monday is a meme that was created by Drew @The Tattooed Book Geek. All you have to do is pick a favorite song or video and share it on Mondays.