Contest for The Stolen One by Suzanne Crowley!

Thanks to Suzanne, I have a copy of The Stolen One along with a bookmark to giveaway to one lucky reader.

Here's the summary:

No one wanted you. But I did.

Kat's true identity is a secret, even from her. All she has ever known are Grace and Anna and their small village. Kat wants more—more than hours spent embroidering finery for wealthy ladies and more than Christian, the gentle young farmer courting her.

But there are wolves outside, Grace warns. Waiting, with their eyes glowing in the dark . . . and Grace has given Kat safety and a home when no one else would.

Then a stranger appears in their cottage, bringing the mystery of Kat's birth with her. In one night, Kat's destiny finds her: She will leave. She will journey to London, and her skill with the needle will attract the notice of the magnificent Queen Elizabeth—and of the wolves of the court. She will discover what Grace would never tell her.
Everything will unravel.

To enter please fill out the following form.

Also, this contest is open to people ages 13 or older and US only, but if you have a friend in the US who can send it to you, feel free to enter. Oh, and this contest will close on 4/24.

The Stolen One by Suzanne Crowley

Summary from Barnes and Noble:

No one wanted you. But I did.

Kat's true identity is a secret, even from her. All she has ever known are Grace and Anna and their small village. Kat wants more—more than hours spent embroidering finery for wealthy ladies and more than Christian, the gentle young farmer courting her.

But there are wolves outside, Grace warns. Waiting, with their eyes glowing in the dark . . . and Grace has given Kat safety and a home when no one else would.

Then a stranger appears in their cottage, bringing the mystery of Kat's birth with her. In one night, Kat's destiny finds her: She will leave. She will journey to London, and her skill with the needle will attract the notice of the magnificent Queen Elizabeth—and of the wolves of the court. She will discover what Grace would never tell her.

Everything will unravel.

Review:

As I've mentioned countless times before on this blog, The Tudor time period is without a doubt one of my favorites. I love the dresses, the scandal, the royals, just about everything except the downfalls to that time, so when the chance arose to read The Stolen One, I jumped at, eager to devour a new addition to this genre.

Thankfully, Suzanne Crowley's The Stolen One proved to not only be a beautifully written and intriguing tale of one girl's journey to find who she is at the royal court of the grand Elizabeth, but a book that will have readers begging for more from this very talented author!

From page one, Suzanne allows her wonderful storytelling to transport you into the world of Kat, a character who while has faced much heartbreak still manages to be one strong girl who you can't help but to root for and love. It was fun and at times heartbreaking to be there right along with Kat as discovered the many secrets left behind for her to unravel the mystery of who she is and how she could overcome the hardships she faces because of it. In addition, Suzanne introduced many rich secondary characters such as Christian, a boy who would do anything for the young Kat, Elizabeth, someone Suzanne managed to portray quite well, and Anne, Kat's beautiful yet crippled sister, to mention a few. Leaving the characters of this story to be one of my favorite parts.

The plot of this almost never had a dull moment. Though, I didn't particularly like how the mystery of who Kat's mother was could be told from a mile away and how quickly the book wrapped up with almost no pivoting point, but I did like the other mysteries that arose throughout this, the addition of Grace's diary, and the romance. Along with how Kate's character grew greatly and the lessons she learned through that.

Adding to this, Crowley's writing was spectacular and continued to amaze me with just how far she went to bring this story to life!

In all The Stolen One is a book that I highly suggest you pick up, especially if you're a Tudor history fan like myself.

Grade: A-
 
The Stolen One is now out!

Souce: Author. Thanks Suzanne!

Inspired Friday with Suzanne Crowley

Suzanne Crowley is the author of The Stolen One which will be released on June 30.
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I grew up with fascinating stories of my ancestors. There was the bishop on my father’s side who came over to America from England three times in the seventeenth century, outlived several wives, and lived to be a ripe old age of 97! On my mother’s side we can boast of a relative who came over on the Mayflower, an American revolutionary war hero, James Gray, who fought along with his father and uncle for America’s Independence, and a great grandfather who was a rough rider with Teddy Roosevelt.

But it was James Gray’s ancestor, Lady Jane Grey, the tragic queen of nine days, who intrigued me the most as a girl. What little girl wouldn’t be fascinated with a young queen, a teenager, forced to take the throne and marry a boy she did not love? As a teenager myself, I toured the Tower of London and saw the spot where she was beheaded. This was something I didn’t soon forget.

It began a lifelong obsession with the Tudors. I read as many books as I could on the era including anything by Lady Antonia Fraser and Allison Weir. Henry the VIII and his poor wives and later Queen Elizabeth provided endless hours of entertainment. I loved the intrigue, the romance, the riches, the jewels, the heatrtbreak, and in some cases, the horror. It all made my heart go pitter-patter. Somewhere along the way I came across a little bit of mystery that never received more than a sentence or two. But it was enough to plant a seed.

When I received the contract for my first novel, The Very Ordered Existence of Merilee Marvelous, my agent got me a two-book deal. “Do you have an idea for a second book?” she asked me on the phone when she called with the news. I was groggy from bone graft surgery on my gum. “Ummm, yea I thinks so,” I mumbled. But as soon as I got off the phone, I quickly forgot about the pain I was in and ran to the computer. I typed up a one paragraph synopsis of the mystery I had read about so many years ago. I sent it off to my agent to forward to my new editor.

A year and a half later when my first book came out, I finally sat down to write the story that had been simmering in my head for many years, inspired by a very distant relative who lived centuries ago. It became “The Stolen One.” Enjoy.

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Thanks so much, Suzanne! :)