Three Maids for a Crown: A Novel of the Grey Sisters by Ella March Chase

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was a FirstReads win!

I absolutely fell into this book when it came, dove headfirst into the story of the three sisters Grey and didn't come up for air again until I was done. I love historical novels that come about history from a different perspective. Since not much was ever recorded of the Grey sisters thoughts and emotions surrounding the reign of Lady Jane and the years after except for pieces of letters preserved, I thought the author did a wonderful job of trying to "think" like a woman of those times and bringing them to life.

I still think that Lady Jane wasn't as innocent of what was going on as portrayed in this take on things, but her family most certainly did manipulate her into a situation that quite simply led to her demise, as well as their own. She would have been helpless to prevent her own family for using her against their own advancement and desire of control of the crown. The echoes of that action reverberated throughout her sisters life and one follows the book almost wishing, just once, that a magic wand could be waved and history rewritten in the amazing job the characters do to bring you right into how it might have felt to be thrust into situations beyond control and beyond imagining nowadays.

A wonderful read, would most certainly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys that period of time.



View all my reviews

Erg, when you're not looking...Life Happens!

Seriously, I really want to kinda work on my blog. Dues to some major life changes it may possibly be a bit easier now. In a months time I have lost a job, got a job, moved a kid, found a new apartment for myself to move into, started packing/sorting and got a kid back to school.

Big changes and a bit more free time for trying to pursue the things i want to, like blogging. I want to get back into the habit of writing, enjoying writing again and improving on it as well.

Maybe this won't be what i had envisioned a year ago as being more of a humor based thing, but that's ok. It will be a bit more like me. An odd mish-mash of amusements and the very decidedly weird things I tend to find online and off.

Right now, I get to start working at home, brand new experience for me though I have a feeling even with being busy nights now that I will have a bit more time before and after school to connect with the aforementioned teenager. They are such strange alien creatures as it is that finding some common things to go and enjoy will be fun. She has been talking about wanting to go bowling a bunch lately. We might try that instead of doing things like movies (that really doesn't allow for communication) or shopping (which requires moolah).

So, now, each night I will be locked up in my tower and spinning...wait... not my story. *hehe*

I have set aside a place in the bedroom to get a cheapie desk into and a chair for an in home office area away from TV and noise, my laptop comes tomorrow to get it set up, lots of fun with signatures and documents and then the fun begins right off the bat.

I am glad I have this opportunity, loosing a job with such little warning set me into a tailspin. Going into work to be told that I could either work full time or part time in a new location that is 50+ miles away was a bit of a shock. I just didn't see it coming and the commute was a huge shift. The cost of gas alone and time spent on the road made it a non-option for me. Thankfully, the company had a work at home position with the Afterhours team. I jumped on it since at the very least it means money coming in while I readjust and look around for a new job. The more I get into the idea though, the more I learn about the position and the possibilities, it might turn into more and a better option. At home, I am at least available for the kidlet and to get things done like dentist/doctor/etc.

So yeah, a bit jazzed.
Just a bit.
A weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee bit.
...
....
Ok, done bouncing around now and all. :)

I really can't wait to get moved next month. I will have movers for the first time ever, so not much of the heavy lifting will fall to me. With a weeks overlap as well, I get time to actually clean and spruce up the old place before turning it back over.
Plus, I will be done with roaches. Evil roaches. I hate roaches. *Shudder* No one ever warned me about those things, never had them, never want them. Sadly the place I am now is and has been infested and management has ignored the issue.

So yay for new job and new place!
Yay for changes!
Yay for life and me!

Things no one ever bothered to tell you but I will...

In Texas we have tree roaches, huge tree roaches.
These things are seriously big, as in this roach got hit by gamma radiation, ate every other roach in sight for protein bulking and now crawls all over in search of...well... something a tree roach wants.

What no one ever tells you is this. Nothing works on killing these things, raid spray them, stomp them, smack them, get into fisticuffs with them, they will win. They. Always. Win.
I found I have a very effective and incredibly disgusting secret weapon though. To the kitten these things are walking moving VR toys. But, that means at odd moments I come across the remains. Yes. Remains. Half bodies with legs, never any heads, placed just so that I can spot them right before stepping down for maximum freak out effect.

Which leads to the another thing no one ever tells you.

We amuse cats, they laugh at us and disguise it as a purr. It's not, that is restrained giggles or guffaws, haven't figured out which.

Staring contests with a cat can be won be simply letting dust enter into the mix, they can't resist, it might be prey.

Also, cats are not licking you to show affection and warm fuzzy cat love, it's tenderization for when the zombies come and they can finally eat a decent meal.

Another thing no one ever tells you, though I do think they love to see it happen and are grinning inside when it happens, chocolates with trendy flavors like Lavender simply taste like hand lotion with chocolate. This is a sad thing. Nothing should destroy the beauty and joy that is chocolate.

Zombie's are not a good excuse to put off paying your bills. Nor is the fact that you just spent three days trying to figure out the controls for X Box Resident Evil.

Teh Interwebs will still be here when you wake up, 3 am feedings are not necessary.

I know I will think of more later on...

Which brings me to the last one for now.
Teenagers will think they are Hannah Montana at 11 at night and keep you awake by belting out in song, threaten the cell phone, it makes it go away quickly.

This...
Well this is how my mind works...

One morning I get up and have coffee and go, "Oh right, challenging myself, herm yeah, think of something interesting quirky, funny, odd or just *anything* to blog about"
(Now picture someone trying to drink coffee with that scrunched up hard thinkin' going on here face.)

"Nothing's happening, shouldn't I be getting ideas? Well, darn, more coffee it is then!"

Wander off for coffee, note dishes need done, do dishes, realize we need food, food means fridge, clean out fridge, get distracted, watch netflix, go fetch food, work on crochet and BAM!
Days go by.

Repeat the above until two weeks happen to pass.
Repeat again after blotting something down just to make yourself feel accomplished. *ahem*

Rationalize the past two weeks as all the things you DID get done, kids stuff, dental appts, referee-ing (gah, is that even a word? What is the verb form of referee? Reffereering? Reffering? Oh the heck with it.) teens in the ultimate battle of who used what, where, why and how it was *awful for them to do so, playing taxi, working, cleaning the hou...well, never mind that particular one. *coughs* Let's move on.

Normally, I am witty and punny and funny and amusing and usually all by the end of the day!

Until I have to sit and think of funny, then funny leaves for vacation and doesn't tell me it went to Borneo with no cell available.
Witty hides in the closet like a strangely morphed sad looking dwarf that peeks out every so often to sigh and shake its head.
Punny gets bogged down in a word puzzle somewhere or involved in textual relations with a stranger.
Amusing is just what other people view me as. (Hi other people! See, I have now officially mentioned ALL of you in one swift blow!)

So the challenge went whoops so far, back on the horse I go to ride this for another week and see if I can get it together a bit. Hopefully funny isn't allergic to horses...or housecleaning.

A Challenge to myself

I have kind of fallen off the blogging, bad me! Bad, bad, evil me.
I really wanted to blog, truly I did.
With humor.
Or oddness.
Or some bizarrely warped combination of the two.
Maybe with life, kids, a few zombies, possibly friends tossed in for good measure.

I tend to have a weird and warped sense of humor, the people that know me *and* get it, well, I have the power of making them laugh so hard they sometimes pee.

So why not blog? Combine it with the absolutely bizarre stuff that rattles around in your head and SHARE WITH TEH INTERWEBZ!

Yeah, well, right.

I forget things that are the funny stuff before I sit down, I get wrapped up in the rest of life and voila! It's been months and I haven't touched my blog for even small posts. Nada. Not one.

So after much thought I have decided to make a do-able challenge for myself.

One blog post a week. Start the habit, get me in gear, spruce up the writing skills and abilities.

So here it is, 3 months, one per week.

Alonzi!