Okay, historical romance fans, the time has come.  I need your help to pick our February BOM!  I put the names of all nominated books on slips of paper and put them into a hat.  I drew one and had DH draw one.  I figured I'd go with whatever one was most available.  (I noted some of the books nominated were a little harder to come by.)  However, both books we chose are pretty much equally available, so I've decided to put it to the vote!  Please  vote by PMing  me with your choice. (That way the voting will be a secret, and I can surprise you on Monday!)   I will leave this open until Sunday to give everyone a chance and post the winner on Monday, January 5. 

The contestants are --

DH's Pick - The Moon in the Water by Pamela Belle www.amazon.com/Moon-Water-Pamela-Belle/dp/0425082687/ref=sr_1_6

Book Description:  FROM THE BEGINNING THEY KNEW THEIR LOVE WAS FOREVER - Glorious Thomazine, born heiress to the Heron fortune...orphaned at ten, she grew to womanhood at the great house of Goldhayes. Wild, headstrong Francis, the rebellious one...his heart was captured by Thomazine.  But the sweep of time was against them. Francis was banished, imprisoned... Thomazine was forced into bleak and loveless wedlock with Dominic, whom she could never love...  And as the drums and steel of war marched across England, their love must meet its test. Thomazine rides North, forsaking all else for her heart's desire...

This one is out of print, but there are 2 copies available here at PBS and at least 23 available at Amazon for cheap, cheap, cheap!  I checked my library system, and they don't have it, but perhaps yours does. 

My Pick - A Crowning Mercy by Bernard Cornwell www.amazon.com/Crowning-Mercy-Bernard-Cornwell/dp/0060725648/ref=sr_1_1

Book Description:  Passion and Destiny - The civil war that is tearing England asunder in the year 1643 has not yet touched Dorcas Slythe, a secretly rebellious young Puritan woman living in the countryside south of London, who longs to escape the safe, pious tyranny of her father. The chance appears with the arrival of Toby Lazender, dashing scion of a powerful royalist family. It is he who renames her "Campion," awakening her to a bold, hitherto unknown passion ... and to a mysterious and perilous destiny. With the discovery of an intricately wrought gold seal -- one of four that, when joined, will reveal a great secret and uncover an enormous fortune -- Campion's quest begins. Love, riches, and redemption await her at the end of her perilous adventure. Or death. A Crowning Mercy a breathtaking adventure, both riveting and romantic, from Bernard Cornwell, bestselling master of historical fiction, and Susannah Kells.

There are three copies available here at PBS, and over 61 used copies available at Amazon beginning at $.01!  My library has this one, and I'm guessing since Cornwell is a pretty well-known offer, it would be available at most libraries. 

Okay, just to clear up any suspiscion, yes, I admit, I am a well-known Cornwell fan, but I swear (swear, I tell you) that I really and truly picked the slip for this book without peeking.  I almost considered it fate and went with it, but in fairness (and because The Moon in the Water looks good too), I have opened it up for a vote!  I will only vote in the case of a tie.

Remember, please PM me your vote by Sunday, January 4.  Majority will rule, and I'll announce the winner on Monday, January 5.

Thanks, and Happy, Happy New Year!

I vote for A Crowning Mercy.

A Crowning Mercy sounds good to me too :)

I think I'm going to have to sit this one out....one of my reading goals for this year is to get through my pile of TBR books, which means I'm going to only join the BOM if it's a book I already own.  I'm running out of room on my shelves!!  :)

Just a reminder that if you'd like to vote you must do so by today. I'll tally the votes and post the winner tomorrow! 

Well, we either aren't going to have a lot of participants in February, or people just didn't want to vote.  Maybe they were torn.  LOL! 

AND THE WINNER IS (by a vote of 4-1, and no, I didn't even vote!). . .

A Crowning Mercy by Bernard Cornwell.

Last I looked there were some copies here.  There were quite a few cheap used copies at Amazon, and I would think most library systems would have this one.  I ordered both this one and The Moon in the Water, plus a couple of other ones that got nominated for February from Amazon. 

Will post a reminder on getting the book toward the end of this month and then start the discussion threads February 1.

Looking forward to it!  Thanks, everyone!

YAY!! I love this book and I have this one!

Looking forward to reading this. It's been a long time since I dove into a Bernard Cornwell novel.

Plenty of copies at the area libraries.  I should be G2G on this one :)

Sounds good to me. I've had a copy of this book for ages. It's about time I read it!

I just ordered my copy from PBS so I will be able to start reading on time for a change.

Ordering mine now---I've never read a Cromwell before, looking forward to it.

Colleen - Gasp!  Then you're in for a treat!  LOL!  You might want to stay away from my Bernard Cornwell Rampage thread.  It'll just enable you to buy more - lots 'o BC love there.  Although Valli is trying to put the kibosh on it!  LOL! 

Colleen, step away from Shelley while you can. We are just about ready to place Shelley in a Cornwell-free isolation booth and you don't want to get stuck in there with her. I've heard that a Cornwell detox is pretty bad to be around. ;-)

Shelley is off to order the third book in The Grail Quest Series, Heretic.  So HAH!

Face it, you just can't stop me!  LOL! 

Ugg...now I feel like I HAVE to join, since I've never read a Cornwell novel either.....so much for my Mt. TBR!!!  LOL

Michelle - Well, of course you have to join!  There is no other way!  It's Bernard Cornwell for Pete's sake!   ;)

There are a few other Susannah Kell books too, Shelley. You should just go ahead and order them all. You know you'll get them eventually anyway. ;-)

Valli - Maybe I should make it a personal life goal to read every word BC ever committed to paper.  LOL!  I read the Saxon Chronicles, will read the Feb. BOM, and then The Grail Quest series and see if I still have enough BC love to move on to one of his other series.  ;)  BTW, when IS the latest Saxon Chronicles book due out?  I need to pencil in my stalking if it's not out on time!  KIDDING!  LOL!  I dread the day when BC kills off Uhtred. 

I don't know when the next book is due out. I don't know because I'm not the stalker. I can't believe you don't know! Maybe there is still help for you. :-D

I just received my copy of A Crowning Mercy from PBS. This copy looks like the spine has never been cracked! What a treat.

Oooh, Felicia, what a treat indeed! I received my copy today too which I bought from a used bookstore selling on Amazon Marketplace.  It looks like it's been read SEVERAL times, but that's okay. 

Looking forward to BOM's glorious return to Bernard Cornwell in February! 

I requested mine off PBS on the 5th, and it was finally accepted on the 10th, now I'm waiting for it to be mailed.  Hopefully the sender gets moving so I can have it by Feb!

He's really that good? <ducking the hail of incoming word bullets>

Just a reminder, we've got not quite two weeks until the discussion on our February BOM starts!  I'm hoping to find some good discussion questions to post for each section, but I don't plan on reading too far ahead, so I'm somewhat perplexed.  LOL!  I also have to look at the book to determine how to break it down. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to share!!

Colleen - You'll have to see for yourself! LOL!  I myself am curious as to whether I'll enjoy this book as much as BC's The Saxon Chronicles series.