Welcome to Bookish Pursuits!

My name is Joyce and this is my humble playground in cyberspace where my insanity runs amok. I created this book blog with the intention of using it for my thoughts,opinions, and reviews on the books I've read and the books I want to read. This is also where I'll keep a tab of all the reading challenges I decide to participate in, and interesting excerpts from the books I'm reading, as well as any odds and ends related to books and reading.

If you're interested, feel free to follow me and I will probably return the favour.

I’m a voracious reader and I enjoy a variety of genres including young-adult, romance, classics, mystery, fantasy, and historical fiction.

I would love to hear book recommendations from fellow booklovers. So if you want to share a recommendation or two, you can check out my Never-ending Reading List and leave me any suggestions in any of the comments section below.


Saturday, May 22, 2010

On My WishList (1)

On my Wishlist is a weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. This post aims to list down new and old books plus forthcoming releases that are on my Wishlist and share them to fellow book lovers who may find these books interesting and add them on their own mega books wishlist. This is the first time I'm joining this weekly meme and I'm very excited to share these with everyone. Here are some of the books on my huge Wishlist that some of you may enjoy.

Those who know me are aware that I love reading romance books and that Lisa Kleypas is an auto-buy author for me. I devoured her books, be it historical (Devil in Winter and Dreaming of You) or contemporary (Sugar Daddy and Blue-Eyed Devil). I enjoy reading her series and The Hathaways is no exceptions. I've read both Mine Till Midnight and Seduce Me at Sunrise and Tempt Me at Twilight, the third book in the series, is just on my bedside table, waiting to be read. I love this series that's why I'm so excited when Lisa Kleypas announced that the final two books in the will come out this summer.

Title: Married by Morning
Author: Lisa Kleypas
Series: The Hathaway Series (Book #4)
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: 25 May 2010
Paperback: 352 pages


Fantastic Fiction Summary:


For two years, Catherine Marks has been a paid companion to the Hathaway sisters—a pleasant position, with one caveat. Her charges’ older brother, Leo Hathaway, is thoroughly exasperating. Cat can hardly believe that their constant arguing could mask a mutual attraction. But when one quarrel ends in a sudden kiss, Cat is shocked at her powerful response—and even more so when Leo proposes a dangerous liaison.

Leo must marry and produce an heir within a year to save his family home. Catherine’s respectable demeanor hides a secret that would utterly destroy her. But to Leo, Cat is intriguing and infernally tempting, even to a man resolved never to love again. The danger Cat tried to outrun is about to separate them forever—unless two wary lovers can find a way to banish the shadows and give in to their desires….


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Title: Love in the Afternoon
Author: Lisa Kleypas
Series: The Hathaway Series (Book #5)
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: 29 June 2010
Paperback: 352 pages


Fantastic Fiction Summary:


As a lover of animals and nature, Beatrix Hathaway has always been more comfortable outdoors than in the ballroom. Even though she participated in the London season in the past, the classic beauty and free-spirited Beatrix has never been swept away or seriously courted.and she has resigned herself to the fate of never finding love. Has the time come for the most unconventional of the Hathaway sisters to settle for an ordinary man - just to avoid spinsterhood?

Captain Christopher Phelan is a handsome, daring soldier who plans to marry Beatrix's friend, the vivacious flirt Prudence Mercer, when he returns from fighting abroad. But, as he explains in his letters to Pru, life on the battlefield has darkened his soul - and it's becoming clear that Christopher won't come back as the same man. When Beatrix learns of Pru's disappointment, she decides to help by concocting Pru's letters to Christopher for her. Soon the correspondence between Beatrix and Christopher develops into something fulfilling and deep.and when Christopher comes home, he's determined to claim the woman he loves. What began as Beatrix's innocent deception has resulted in the agony of unfulfilled love - and a passion that can't be denied.


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I haven't read any novels written by Kristin Hannah but I've heard many good reviews about her books. I have True Colors on my shelf and I'm planning to get Firefly Lane next. I truly enjoy reading stories about women, their friendship and their journey.

Title: Firefly Lane
Author: Kristin Hannah
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: 05 Feb 2008
Paperback: 528 pages


Fantastic Fiction Summary:


"Not since Iris Dart's Beaches...has there been a story of friendship that endures everything, from girlhood dramas to bitter betrayal, to be the touchstone in two women's lives. In Firefly Lane, Kristin Hannah creates the most poignant of reunions and an unforgettable story of loyalty and love." - Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean

To the people around them they were known as Kate and Tully or the Firefly Lane Girls. A single, inseparable unit. On the surface they were as opposite as two people could be: Kate, doomed to be forever uncool, with a loving family who mortifies her at every turn. Tully, steeped in glamour and mystery, but with a secret home life that is destroying her. Yet they are best friends who swear they'll be there for each other, and for thirty years that promise holds strong - until events and choices in their lives make that promise impossible.

Firefly Lane is a novel for anyone who ever drank Boone's Farm apple wine while listening to Abba. It's a novel for anyone who ever had someone who knew you better than you know yourself. It's more than a coming-of-age novel - it's the story of a generation of women who were both blessed and cursed by choices. It's about promises and secrets and betrayals. And ultimately, about the one person who really, truly knows you - and knows what has the power to hurt and heal you.


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I promised myself to make 2010 a year of reading more historicals and one of the books in my list is The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick. I haven't read any of her books before but this one might be a good start.

Title: The Greatest Knight: The Unsung Story of the Queen's Champion
Author: Elizabeth Chadwick
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: 03 Nov 2005
Paperback: 560 pages


Fantastic Fiction Summary:


Based on fact, this is the story of William Marshal, the greatest knight of the Middle Ages, unsurpassed in the tourneys, adeptly manoeuvring through the colourful, dangerous world of Angevin politics to become one of the most powerful magnates of the realm and eventually regent of England. From minor beginnings and a narrow escape from death in childhood, William Marshal steadily rises through the ranks to become tutor in arms to the son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. A champion on the tourney field, William must face the danger and petty jealousy targeting a royal favourite. Dogged by scandal, banished from court, his services are nevertheless sought throughout Europe and when William's honour is vindicated, he returns to court and wins greater acclaim and power than before. A crusader and the only knight ever to unhorse the legendary Richard Coeur de Lion, William's courage and steadfastness are rewarded by the hand in marriage of Anglo-Irish heiress Isobel de Clare, 19 years old, the grandaughter of kings and his equal in every way.


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6 comments:

  1. I haven't heard of any of these, but I think I might have to look into some of your picks! I have my wishlist here.

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  2. Great picks!

    I realized this week that my wishlist has almost 2,000 books on it. LOL! Here are a few books I added On My Wishlist this week.

    xx,
    E.J.

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  3. All your wishlist books sound great. I have just starting reading romance, and I started with Lord of Scoundrels which I really enjoyed. Have also just read Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas, (the first book in the Wallflowers series) which was SO good! Have definitely found a new genre to read and now can't get enough LOL

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  4. @Aimee: Thank you for dropping by. Moon Sworn by Keri Arthur looks promising. I'm adding it to my list. Thanks once again. :)

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  5. @ E.J. Stevens: 2,000 books?! Wow! That's a huge list. *lol* Haven't heard any of the books on your list but they all sound great. Looking forward to reading your reviews. :)

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  6. @Book Chick City: Thank you very much for dropping by. I've been a follower of your blog and your reviews. Anyhow, I'm glad that you discovered the wonderful world that is the romance! I'm happy that you are enjoying it. :)

    I know you'll enjoy The Wallflower series and you might also want to try The Hathaway series also by Kleypas. I'm currently reading the third book in the series and patiently waiting for the last two books to be released. :)

    Anyway, happy reading! Thanks again for dropping by.

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