The Secret History of the Mongol Queens
RECOMMENDED: The Secret History of the Mongol Queens by Jack Weatherford is $1.99! This book was reviewed earlier this year by Carrie, who gave it an A:
The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued his Empire is slow going, but, my goodness, is it ever worth it. This non-fiction book illuminates a part of history that I was completely ignorant about. It’s sometimes horrifying and sometimes inspiring, but always fascinating.
The Mongol queens of the thirteenth century ruled the largest empire the world has ever known. Yet sometime near the end of the century, censors cut a section from The Secret History of the Mongols, leaving a single tantalizing quote from Genghis Khan: “Let us reward our female offspring.” Only this hint of a father’s legacy for his daughters remained of a much larger story.
The queens of the Silk Route turned their father’s conquests into the world’s first truly international empire, fostering trade, education, and religion throughout their territories and creating an economic system that stretched from the Pacific to the Mediterranean. Outlandish stories of these powerful queens trickled out of the Empire, shocking the citizens of Europe and and the Islamic world.
After Genghis Khan’s death in 1227, conflicts erupted between his daughters and his daughters-in-law; what began as a war between powerful women soon became a war against women in power as brother turned against sister, son against mother. At the end of this epic struggle, the dynasty of the Mongol queens had seemingly been extinguished forever, as even their names were erased from the historical record..
One of the most unusual and important warrior queens of history arose to avenge the wrongs, rescue the tattered shreds of the Mongol Empire, and restore order to a shattered world. Putting on her quiver and picking up her bow, Queen Mandhuhai led her soldiers through victory after victory. In her thirties she married a seventeen-year-old prince, and she bore eight children in the midst of a career spent fighting the Ming Dynasty of China on one side and a series of Muslim warlords on the other. Her unprecedented success on the battlefield provoked the Chinese into the most frantic and expensive phase of wall building in history. Charging into battle even while pregnant, she fought to reassemble the Mongol Nation of Genghis Khan and to preserve it for her own children to rule in peace.
At the conclusion of his magnificently researched and ground-breaking narrative, Weatherford notes that, despite their mystery and the efforts to erase them from our collective memory, the deeds of these Mongol queens inspired great artists from Chaucer and Milton to Goethe and Puccini, and so their stories live on today. With The Secret History of the Mongol Queens, Jack Weatherford restores the queens’ missing chapter to the annals of history.
Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
This book is on sale at:
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!How to Seduce a Fireman
How to Seduce a Fireman by Vonnie Davis is 99c! If it isn’t obvious from the title, this is a contemporary romance with a fireman hero, who happens to be the heroine’s crush. Some readers complained about the ending. Though it’s not a cliffhanger, some felt it wasn’t satisfactory. Other readers love the angst of the romance, and it has a 3.8+ avg on GR.
The heat is on…
Cassie Wolford has crushed on fireman Quinn Gallagher ever since he moved to Clearwater three years ago. There’s just one problem: he’s always made it clear dating is out of the question. But once a Wolford sets their sights on someone, that person doesn’t stand a chance! Cassie decides it’s time for Quinn to get a dose of his own medicine… and sets out to show him what he’s missing!
Quinn knows only too well what Cassie’s up to but he can’t give her what she wants. He isn’t good for anyone, much less someone as sweet as his angel. Fighting her off hurts like hell, but giving her false hope of a happy ever after would be damn cruel. That’s why he has to leave Clearwater.
Unfortunately, someone from his past has different ideas and when Cassie’s life is threatened this former CIA operative is staying put, prepared to crawl through hell and back to keep her safe. And it looks like he might just have to.
Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
This book is on sale at:
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!The Billionaire Bad Boys Club
The Billionaire Bad Boys Club by Emma Holly is 99c! This is the first in a series and is definitely classified as erotica, given the menage arrangement at the heart of the plot. The heroes are billionaires and the heroine is a chef. The two men are lovers who both happen to be attracted to the same women, so everyone is into everyone, which is my sort of arrangement. While readers love the heroine, some weren’t exactly buying the triad romance.
Self-made billionaires Zane and Trey have been a club of two since they were eighteen. They’ve done everything together: play football, fall in love, even get smacked around by their dads. The only thing they haven’t tried is seducing the same woman. When they set their sights on sexy chef Rebecca, these bad boys just might have met their match!
Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
This book is on sale at:
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!The Frenchman
RECOMMENDED: The Frenchman by Lesley Young is 99c! Unfortunately, it’s only available at Amazon. I’m on the fence whether or not it’s just a very sexy contemporary or if it’s erotica, but it was heavily recommended by a reader in a previous podcast:
I devoured The Frenchman in a single night, and totally loved it! It’s the closest thing I’ve read to Kresley Cole’s The Professional in characters, emotions, hot rough sex (minus the BDSM exploration in Cole’s book) and the international high-stake romantic plot, while definitely maintaining a unique voice and story. Young’s writing isn’t as polished as Cole’s (Kresley Cole is a machine who churns out pure gold every time in my eyes) but it’s well edited, emotional and exciting.
Fleur Smithers rarely veers off the straight and (excruciatingly) narrow. So moving to the seaport town of Toulon to live with her newfound biological mother—an inspector with the French National Police—for one year is a pretty major detour.
Son of France’s crime royalty family and international rugby star, Louis Messette, is devoted to his sport, famille and nothing else. But the carefree American he meets one night changes everything. She sparks a desire in him like no other. Possession takes root. She will do as he commands.
Bit by bit Fleur slips into the Frenchman’s realm of wanton pleasure agreeing to his one condition: that she keep their affair secret. She serves up her heart without reservation in the hub of the glittering Côte d’Azur, and the along the soulful Seine in Paris, unaware of the danger she is in. For her new lover’s family business will pit her against her mother, the police woman sworn to bring down the Messettes. And by then, far more than Fleur’s heart will be on the line.
Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
This book is on sale at:
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!
Don't want to miss an ebook sale? Sign up for our newsletter, and you'll get the week's available deals each Friday.
Billionaire Bad Boys Club might have been 99c this morning but as of 8:30 PDT it’s back to 5.99.
The Mongol Queens book is on Scribd in audio format.