Library Book Haul 3/30/2017

I'm going to be doing a lot more book hauls I think. The best part, I'm not actually spending money on them. Yay Libraries! I went to the Library last week and picked up some goodies. I'm hoping I'll get a chance to read them before they're due. Here's what I got:

Goodreads Summary: To celebrate the rise of their new queen, three goddesses of the moon created three stars, one of fire, one of ice, one of water. But then they fell from the sky, putting the fate of all worlds in danger. And now three women and three men join forces to pick up the pieces…
Sasha Riggs is a reclusive artist, haunted by dreams and nightmares that she turns into extraordinary paintings. Her visions lead her to the Greek island of Corfu, where five others have been lured to seek the fire star. Sasha recognizes them because she has drawn them: a magician, an archaeologist, a wanderer, a fighter, a loner. All on a quest. All with secrets.

Sasha is the one who holds them together—the seer. And in the magician, Bran Killian, she sees a man of immense power and compassion. As Sasha struggles with her rare ability, Bran is there to support her, challenge her, and believe in her.

But Sasha and Bran are just two of the six. And they all must all work together as a team to find the fire star in a cradle of land beneath the sea. Over their every attempt at trust, unity, and love, a dark threat looms. And it seeks to corrupt everything that stands in its way of possessing the stars…
Goodreads Rating: 4 stars with over 16,000 ratings
Genre Listing: Romance, Fantasy, Paranormal, Fiction, Magic, Contemporary
Initial Thoughts: Apparently, I bought this for my Sister-in-law this for Christmas. Interestingly enough, she's the one who got me into Nora Roberts. I haven't read the entire summary. I don't plan on it. I want to be surprised. The bit about goddesses, moons, stars, etc. was enough for me to be intrigued. I promised the SIL I'd read this soon so we could talk about it, so I'll probably dive into it sometime this week.

Goodreads Summary: At the dawn of the Roman Empire, when tyranny ruled, a daughter of Egypt and a son of Rome found each other...
Selene's legendary parents are gone. Her country taken, she has been brought to the city of Rome in chains, with only her twin brother, Alexander, to remind her of home and all she once had.

Living under the watchful eyes of the ruling family, Selene and her brother must quickly learn how to be Roman – and how to be useful to Caesar. She puts her artistry to work, in the hope of staying alive and being allowed to return to Egypt. Before long, however, she is distracted by the young and handsome heir to the empire...

When the elusive ‘Red Eagle' starts calling for the end of slavery, Selene and Alexander are in grave danger. Will this mysterious figure bring their liberation or their demise?
Goodreads Rating: 4.11 with over 20,000 ratings
Genre Listing: Historical Fiction, Egyptian Culture, Romance
Initial Thoughts: I actually picked this up thinking it was in a series with a couple of other books I got. But now that I look more into it, it doesn't seem like it is. Which is awesome because this was the one I wanted to read the most. I really haven't read much Historical Fiction in regards to Egyptian Culture, so I'm extremely excited about this read.

Goodreads Summary: Nefertiti and her younger sister, Mutnodjmet, have been raised in a powerful family that has provided wives to the rulers of Egypt for centuries. Ambitious, charismatic, and beautiful, Nefertiti is destined to marry Amunhotep, an unstable young pharaoh. It is hoped that her strong personality will temper the young ruler’s heretical desire to forsake Egypt’s ancient gods.
From the moment of her arrival in Thebes, Nefertiti is beloved by the people but fails to see that powerful priests are plotting against her husband’s rule. The only person brave enough to warn the queen is her younger sister, yet remaining loyal to Nefertiti will force Mutnodjmet into a dangerous political game; one that could cost her everything she holds dear.
Goodreads Rating: 4.06 with over 26,000 ratings
Genre Listing: Historical Fiction, Egyptian Culture
Initial Thoughts: This was one of two books I thought was in a series with Cleopatra's Daughter. It looks like none of them are in a series, which makes me extremely happy. Again, I haven't read much, if any, Egyptian Historical Fiction, so this is going to be a whole new literary world for me.I think the hardest part now is which do I read first since they are not in a series?

Goodreads Summary: In ancient Egypt, a forgotten princess must overcome her family’s past and remake history.
The winds of change are blowing through Thebes. A devastating palace fire has killed the Eighteenth Dynasty’s royal family–with the exception of Nefertari, the niece of the reviled former queen, Nefertiti. The girl’s deceased family has been branded as heretical, and no one in Egypt will speak their names. Nefertari is pushed aside, an unimportant princess left to run wild in the palace. But this changes when she is taken under the wing of the Pharaoh’s aunt, then brought to the Temple of Hathor, where she is educated in a manner befitting a future queen.

Soon Nefertari catches the eye of the Crown Prince, and despite her family’s history, they fall in love and wish to marry. Yet all of Egypt opposes this union between the rising star of a new dynasty and the fading star of an old, heretical one. While political adversity sets the country on edge, Nefertari becomes the wife of Ramesses the Great. Destined to be the most powerful Pharaoh in Egypt, he is also the man who must confront the most famous exodus in history.
Goodreads Rating: 4.21 with over 17,000 ratings
Genre Listing: Historical Fiction, Romance, Egyptian Culture
Initial Thoughts: My thoughts on this one pretty much are the same as the previous two books I mentioned. Sorry, I know that's not very deep at the moment. It's 4 am, and I should be sleeping.

Goodreads Summary: Lauren O'Farrell is an "art detective" who made it her mission to retrieve invaluable works stolen by the Nazis during the darkest days of World War II. Her quest leads her to the Manhattan apartment of elderly Isabella Fletcher, a woman who lives in the shadow of a terrible history-years ago her mother was rumored to have collaborated with the Nazis.
But as Isabella reveals the events of her mother's life, Lauren finds herself immersed in an amazing story of courage and secrecy as she discovers the extraordinary truth about a priceless piece of art that may have survived the war and the enduring relationship between a mother and a daughter.
Goodreads Rating: 3.92 with over 1,000 ratings
Genre Listing: Historical Fiction, Art, Mystery, World War II
Initial Thoughts: I think what grabbed my attention with this one was the title. It just seems interesting. The reviews I've checked so far seem kind of hit and miss, so we'll see how it ends up being.

Goodreads Summary: If there’s one thing Mare Barrow knows, it’s that she’s different.
Mare Barrow’s blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control.

The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince—the friend—who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind.

Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors.

But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat.

Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?

The electrifying next installment in the Red Queen series escalates the struggle between the growing rebel army and the blood-segregated world they’ve always known—and pits Mare against the darkness that has grown in her soul.
Goodreads Rating: 3.96 with over 72,000 ratings
Genre Listing: Fantasy, Young Adult, Dystopia, Science Fiction
Initial Thoughts: Of the books I picked up, this is probably the one I'm the least excited about. I was pretty "eh" about the Red Queen if I remember correctly. That being said, I'm intrigued enough to see where the series goes.