Library Loot - August 26

Library Loot is hosted each week by Marg of Reading Adventures, and Eva from A Striped Armchair. It's also a great way to find out more about different books.

After a couple of weeks where I wasn't borrowing books, I went back to the library yesterday. Only got two books out, but with the number of books I've bought recently, two should be plenty.

The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran
Interestingly, I can only seem to find the upcoming paperback release on Amazon to link to.

The cover blurb:

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.

I just finished reading Nefertiti last week, and loved it. This book looks to be just as good.

Graceling
Kristin Cashore
Amazon.com product description:

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug. When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

This one I'm borrowing on the strength of several reviews I've seen on other blogs. The descriptions make it look like it'll be a really good read. Again, I've linked to the upcoming paperback release.