Thanks to Severn House for this great ARC by a new-for-me author..it won't be the last I read for sure. The idea of the Cotswold's drew me and I did have some things to understand as an American- like what is a snug ( snug, a small private room within a public house) , and how remote was this area ( great for walking tours and sheep) ? It was terrific!
What I do not know until I read other books in the series is, how close did Alex's mother Lily keep her daughters father's identity and why was that? It is clear that it is 2 generations of oppressed women who were able to grasp their lives in a unique way.
The story had a fresh and complicate mystery plot, besides the remoteness of the area that I came to appreciate. It took me awhile to understand all the players here as the chapters had different scenarios. I had prepped a little bit by reading the "sample" on book #1 on my kindle so I did know that Alex and her coterie did sort of "fall into" mysteries.
This one has some brutal murders which fortunately were mostly alluded to, although the presence of the medical examiner definitely shared the forensics. A lot of players in the law enforcement community will become clear with further reads for me.
Recommended for mystery fans who like unique settings. Preorder link is up now in the US but start now and read the 4 (at least) others.
A very enjoyable Medieval Mystery in Priscilla Royal's Prioress Eleanor's outing #14, possibly one of the two best ones so far. The poignant ending, connecting the two Prioresses and their families, ratcheted it up to 5 Stars.
"Spring 1282. England is at war again with Wales.. Baron Hugh of Wynethorpe,prepares to join his King's army in Outremer." He asks his sister Prioress Eleanor to carry a gift of rents from the to Mynchen Buckland Priory. The reasons for this unfold as you will read this fine mystery.
Prioress Eleanor, Brother Thomas and Sister Anne travel to Somerset where they stumble into a scenario much different than they had planned. Former Prioress Amicia is confined in a cell, charged with murder and the new Prioress Emelyne is hostile and tries to get them to leave immediately.
What can our trio from Tyndal Priory do to solve a mystery long over? Well order your copy now and you will find out. Suitably complicated and quite delightful.
This was a terrific book, the ending left me a little cold with the kidnap conspiracy, but the rest of it was stellar! I know it is a novel, with not a lot known about Catherine's death, so it worked out in the end. I read the First of the Tudors before this one, when I reread them ( and I will) I will do it in order and after the Tudor Crown is released.
Mette and her family ( families with her two marriages) were my favorite characters and had great depth, although her fanatical allegiance to Catherine was a bit extreme. I do recommend this book and the others by this fine author.
I received this ARC from NetGalley for review purposes and it was so very good. It was so good that I am going to go back and read other books in the series, as well as purchasing copies for my sister and my best friend for Christmas. I have read a few of the earlier books but this one has depth of character, as well as a terrific mystery.Since it is a holiday read, the happy ending should suit everyone just fine.
THIS from the publisher:"Semi-retired private detective Molly Murphy Sullivan is suffering from depression after a miscarriage.. She and her husband, Daniel, are invited for Christmas at a mansion on the Hudson, and they gratefully accept, expecting a peaceful and relaxing holiday season."
So what happened, you might wonder, to change this idyllic picture? Well let me start with some "Class" disconnect in the host family, their neighbors and friends of Molly, as well as long standing grief for their only daughter who disappeared 10 years before.
"Molly can identify with the mother's pain at never knowing what happened to her child and wants to help, but there is so little to go on. No ransom note. No body ever found. But she begins to suspect that the occupants of the house know more than has been divulged."
On Christmas Eve, while they sing carols around the tree a young girl appears and says " I'm Charlotte. I have come home" - and the peaceful planned Christmas becomes a scene of upheaval and complicated intrigue. A very very fine mystery but lighthearted enough in many places ( and the ending) to suit as Christmas reading.
Get your copy right now, it is recently released. I am purchasing two more besides my gifts and plan to finish the series eventually.
This was such an enjoyable book, I quickly went back and found one that I had not read ( The Tudor Bride) and purchased that one right away. I had not read a lot about Jasper Tudor although he does seem to have had two daughters. It is a different way of looking at Margaret Beaufort also- sort of with narrowed eyes.
His life with Jane ( who surely existed in some fashion) was one of legend, as was his birth to an anointed queen. His devotion to his nephew Henry VII was also legendary, but possibly NOT common knowlege how much he taught and protected him.
Reading about this intersection, and the egress between England and Wales, was quite fascinating in this book. The clash of cultures helps us to understand this particular period. Recommended for this reason, as well as explaining how the Tudor kings came to exist.
A 5th book, The Tudor Crown will be published next May and I cannot wait to receive that one.
5 stars- A riveting read that I tried several times to put down, as it was painful with recognized emotions. I must think about this review~
I loved and admired this couple..saw both Carly and JT in concert and played some tapes until they disintegrated. You would think they had always had charmed lives but apparently mostly not so.
But then what was different between we baby-boomers? Not a great deal apparently..
It is a must read for those of my generation who came of age at this same time.
4 + Stars
I really enjoyed this book, I wish Victoria had been a more likable character, but she was Queen Victoria after all. Furthermore, she was a young woman as well as a young queen, and made mistakes.
Her mother the Duchess of Kent either got a bad rap or was very shallow. All in all, the British royal family, as well as those from Saxe- Coburg were also fairly self centered and unaware of how they were perceived by the public.
Lord Melbourne was very interesting and witty ( at least in this novel).Many of the events between he and the young Queen I was not aware of until reading this book.
I intend to purchase or borrow Daisy Goodwin's forthcoming book Victoria & Albert : A Royal Love Story when it comes out next week. I would recommend this author's work completely and will read more of her work.
Roman Britain is a favorite era for me to read about, and this is the best of this series so far. Rosemary Rowe's historical setting is impeccable, and this outing of Libertus rose above the rest. The time period of late in the year in AD193 was one that saw the Roman provinces, and Britannia in particular(being remote and far north) as having drastic internal problems.
In this 17th mystery Libertus, our protagonist, finds himself very much in the thick of this strife. He is tapped by his patron, Marcus Aurelius Septimus to stand for the Glevum council much to his wife, Gwellia's delight. He is transported in style from his Celtic roundhouse to Marcus' estate, another honor as Marcus is a very powerful man in the province.
Internal strife, slavery and Celtic culture are juxtaposed against the Romano British military in this very fine and complex mystery. Libertus, former Celtic noble, former slave and now citizen is housed in military mansios, in what is a continual decline of comfort and increasing danger, as he is sent to attempt to solve a mysterious death.
Eventually he is briefly enslaved with his identity stolen. He is almost sent out of the country to work in salt mines. until his quick wit and his ability to convince others of his plight prevails.
Highly recommended for all those who enjoy mysteries and novels of Roman Britain. I received this advanced copy from NetGalley for an honest review. 5 Stars.
I did thoroughly enjoy this book about Mary Boleyn, one of my all time favorite historical personages, and her family. Josephine Wilkinson did a fine job with SOME equivocating on the actual paternal line of Henry and Catherine Carey. I work extensively with DNA..it would be lovely to know that for sure.
Mary, to me and apparently to the author, was a sympathetic character and I feel redeemed herself as she bowed out of Henry VIII's life.
Recommended to many others, who like Tudor historicals, I really only like some of them, Mary Boleyn and her family primarily, as well as the Plantagenets.
This was a very good book and not out in Kindle -apparently I did not finish it and found it when thinning out my bookshelves.So glad!
I really adore any books in which Dame Frevisse interacts with her cousin Alice Chaucer, Duchess of Suffolk, and this was one of those. The Duke of Suffolk has been assassinated and Alice requested her cousin come to London and pick out funeral vestments for priests to say his paid masses.
Frevisse also had another task which was to be a "go between" and deliver a parcel from the seamstress to Duchess Alice. The parcel turns out to be 3 bags of gold which must be hidden, one at a time under Frevisse's nun's habit but who delivers it and what transpires at that time is the tale.
All this mystery is superimposed on Cade's revolt in London, and Frevisse, Dame Juliana, Master Naylor and his son Dickon are virtual prisoners of that uprising. Overtones of the Inquisition occur with two deaths which Frevisse was able to solve with the help of Daved Weir, a Jewish merchant and sometimes smuggler.
What a great story and recommended for all lovers of Medieval mystery!
Loved this one by Margaret Frazer, who was a fine author, I thought I had read them all.
Alice Chaucer, Countess of Suffolk is Dame Frevisse's cousin, and I am pulling out the Sister Frevisse books with Alice or her father to reread. Apparently this was not a reread or, if it was I do not remember it. Lady Jane de la Pole was the maiden, and was a real life character married to a yeoman, in addition to being Suffolk's cousin.
Throw in two attempted murders of the Duke of Orleans, Lady Jane and others and you will have the gist of it. It was delightful!
A well done biographical tale of a queen who lived in a time we know little about. Matilda of Ringelheim, Saint Matida, was born around 895 in the Duchy of Saxony and married Henry the Fowler about 910.
Matilda was venerated because of her piety and her prophetic dreams.
Matilde and Heinrich were an improbable couple who shared a meaningful relationship in a time and place where that was more difficult.
They ruled Germany together and Matilda assisted her husband with her insight.
I enjoyed the beginning immensely but it was long, and some of the dream sequences could have been shorter. Recommended to those who have great interest in medieval
I liked this one a lot, better than some and I have read them all. The plot line was excellent maybe until the end, the vigilante-type justice threw me a little. Frank,Sarah, Gino and even Maeve have perhaps given up on the judicial system dispensing deterrents on the wealthy, as Frank a former police officer would know of first hand.
The Bowery atmosphere and the historical facts that were actually happening make this a great read.This is book #20 and a new series written by Victoria Thompson will be out soon- I would get my cope of this well done book now!
What a book, what an ending and whatta girl Lottie is! I did so hate for this one to end but I had to barge ahead to see what happened. It is always, always a pleasure to read Chris Nickson's mysteries in their unique settings. This one was enthralling.
In "The Year of the Gun",Lottie Armstrong, is recently rehired after two decades away, in the Women's Auxiliary Police Corps, WAPC for short. She is again assistant, driver actually, to her former boss DCS McMillan, with whom she has kept in contact over those years. She is grateful that he sought her out, a widow who is nonetheless comfortable, although still numb from her husband's death.
It is February 1944 in Leeds and Lottie has been back three months and the war has not slowed down the underworld. Privations throughout England have caused crime of all kinds to escalate, black markets and prostitution among them. American troops as well as their own military occupied the same areas, for the most part without jostling.
Life then abruptly changes with a call to a murder scene, and those responding wore both police uniforms and army khaki. A female military private was the victim, shot at close range with a US Army black market revolver. The next night is a repeat and then there is a third,unheard of crimes for that era.
Enter Captain Ellison and the US Army who add another dimension to everything with different agendas and regulations. A possible romantic interest for Lottie which was up and down while they fought to solve this desperate string of crimes. The ending was surprising for me, see what you think when you get your copy!
I am hoping against hope that there is another outing for Lottie. I so very much enjoyed the WWII quite accurate historical atmosphere, that this author always provides for his beloved Leeds.
My favorite outing of these characters so far.. the author continues to increase their depth, vitality and their exposure. I do love that they remain in the same group of friends and relatives so we do not have to relearn a lot.
Peter Winchingham, merchant, is a new character and I hope a new volume is being worked on that includes him. I suspect it will be so, as he bought a manor in Leighton, Nicholas' home community not very far from Oxford.
The historical aspects of the St. Frideswide's fair and Priory are very important to me as a reader, as are all of Ann Swinfen's works. The inclusion of the Black Prince as a visitor to the Priory and Oxford was excellent. Does it presage more contacts between Nicholas and the Prince?
This one was wonderful and the newer characters I feel point to more outings for this group. A tremendously good read.
Cora Harrison's novels are among my very favorite reads, for many reasons,including time, place , historical accuracy and characterization. This new Hugh Mac Egan mystery is no exception as it is a tale of an Irish Brehon, superimposed on the court of Henry VIII, a time where these worlds clashed.
Hugh Mac Egan of a Kilkenny Brehon family seems to be a Renaissance man and fits into both English and Irish culture. It was a fascinating glimpse at a world and time long gone, as well as coming into the Tudor court at an oblique angle.
It was a complicated and many faceted mystery ( think Earl of Ormond, Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn and Cardinal Wolsey's Hampton Court) and of course had a surprise ending. Recommended to anyone at all. Marvelous.
"When beautiful cloth merchant’s daughter Elizabeth Williams is widowed at the age of twenty-two, she is determined to make herself a success in the business she has learned from her father. But there are those who oppose a woman making her own way in the world, and soon Elizabeth realizes she may have some powerful enemies – enemies who also know the truth about her late husband…
Security – and happiness – comes when Elizabeth is introduced to kindly, ambitious merchant turned lawyer, Thomas Cromwell. Their marriage is one based on mutual love and respect…but it isn’t always easy being the wife of an influential, headstrong man in Henry VIII’s London. The city is filled with ruthless people and strange delights – and Elizabeth realizes she must adjust to the life she has chosen…or risk losing everything"
I have called this novel "powerful", and it was to me..and "groundbreaking" because few facts are available to the public about the wife of Thomas Cromwell, excepting for her name and her death date. Additionally, again for me, this family has not been "overdone" in fiction although the Tudors themselves perhaps have been.
I preface this review to say two things: one is that I received this ARC for a review and secondly, that I hope there is a sequel of some sorts ( Gregory Cromwell and/or Richard Williams). This author's prior work that I am most familiar with, was a family series involving three book.
This evocative story begins with a preface, that shows how Elizabeth's life will be in 1526, then jumps to Part One, which is when she is widowed from Tom Williams. On that occasion she is reintroduced, as an adult with Thomas Cromwell ( who she may have met in childhood).
Carol McGrath,in her fine author note, indicates that any "inventions" are a novelist's prerogative, but emerge from facts which are in existence, from her historian perspective. She also handles "time jumps" adroitly and in a way that enhances the story.
It was very satisfying to me to be able to read about the Cromwells' life together, and to put flesh on their bones, as the saying goes. It seems to have been a good life lived in very difficult times, poised as they were on a religious reformation with many societal norms being thrown asunder.
Many of the associates and staff of Thomas Cromwell and "Lizzie", as she was called, had their life station rise as their employer's did. We do know that in these perilous times life was precarious. This family dared to challenge some norms and consequences occurred.
I recommend this book to all historical novel lovers as well as some Tudor fans, although Henry and his queens were only backdrops to how this story is told. Masterful!
3.5 stars. It was a good read, although not really my usual historical novel type, I tend to avoid a lot of battle scenes and gore. That being said, I think the author's notes were superb, so for sure some history was there. I gave it a bumping grade for that reason.
I have read several books about Nest so had no idea this one would lead to multiple executions, and that Gerald of Windsor sort of vanishes at the end. I would have liked, or hoped that Nest would have gone on towards her next relationship at the end.
Also was Nest or Gwenllian the Warrior Queen, the primary character? There was a bit too much of jumping from scene to scene with depth and context. Curious as to whether this was a standalone of a sequel to the Blood of Kings Series.
I appreciated being given an ARC at Netgalley by Thomas and Mercer for this read. Recommended for followers of this author and others who write about Welsh rebellions.
This long telling of the Grey sisters trauma at the hands of Elizabeth I was engrossing as well as an emotional read. I did know a good bit about these sisters, having read other books recently but this one went into much more depth and juxtapositions of Elizabeth versus anything that was threatening.
What I got from this very well written story was that Elizabeth's terrors and anxieties put her at odds with almost everyone from time to time, reminding me of our own political landscapes I suspect.
The book ended sort of upbeat, although we know that despite having a pension and owning a house, Mary Grey only have several years of freedom and never again lived with Thomas Keyes. Did she communicate with him in letters prior to his death? I hope so and the book portrayed it that way.
Jane Grey's tragic story is known to most and that was the shorter part of the book, which makes sense. Jane was portrayed as being a "saint" and a "martyr" and surely was fanatically religious; that fact consoled a bit for the manner of her death, as she was not terrified.
The part of the book that tells of the life of Catherine Grey had a lot of depth, which also makes sense as she lived a fuller life. Did she die because she was depressed and anorexic or as other chroniclers indicate also have consumption, if so she may have been infected from Lady Jan Seymour her sister in law.
Married first to Henry Herbert at 13 she was back at court at the age of perhaps 14. Her cousin Queen Mary was kind to her and kinder to her mother Frances Brandon Grey than Elizabeth I was.
Catherine Grey was beautiful and according to Philippa Gregory, she was the darling of the people of Britain when she was imprisoned.
Her imprisonment was for marrying without the Queen's consent and she and her spouse and her two young sons paid dearly for their relationship. Elizabeth I was , indeed, a horrible person as her cousins ( Especially Mary Grey) said often.
I received this book from NetGalley for a review and I feel it was excellent, although I greatly missed an "author's note" , which was not in this ARC. It was an emotional read and quite engrossing. Recommended to all who appreciate this era.
A birthday present book that I bumped ahead of my ARC I was supposed to be reading for two days. I thought this book was awesome as was a previous book by Sally Cabot, "Benjamin Franklin's Bastard" - great fiction based on accurate and known facts.
Not an expose as such, but letters between Martha and some of her peers suggest that she had a love interest in William Short a protégé of Thomas Jefferson. If that was not the case then they were very close lifelong friends. Martha's life with Thomas Randolph was not easy although they had twelve children together, they lived apart for the last years of Randolph's life.
The author allowed Martha as the main character of this work to rationalize away, for many years her father's relationship with Sally Hemings. She was aware that it was likely that Sally Hemings was her mother's half sibling.
When she went to Washington to act as her father's "First Lady" for a short time she was confronted with associates who queried her about her father's liaison with Sally Hemings. Upon returning to Monticello she decided that in the South such things were not talked about.
One time she came upon her father and Sally in her father's room at night, a fact that made clear to her that at least one child belonged to her father. The contents of her father's will also made that clear but although she discussed the will with her father they did not discuss what his actual relationship was to the Hemings children.
After her father's death she relocated herself away from Thomas Randolph but apparently was at his deathbed when he passed away. I appreciate the allusion that she may have resumed a relationship with William Short.
I recommend this book wholeheartedly.
I gave something over 3.5 and rounded up to 4 on here. It was difficult to follow as there were many subgroups and subplots going on, as this was a diaspora of sorts. I found a reviewer who had itemized the characters who traveled together and originated from the same places, thanks going out to her!
I do love Roman Britain and this aftermath is important to understand, the author's note goes into some detail. I would have liked a bit more cohesion of plot, although I assume this was a "scattershot" sort of crisis, and the author gave a good glimpse of what might have been going on.
Coel, who might be "Old King Cole", was a favorite character with some depth.(See Colchester or "Cole's Castle") I also was partial to Llinos and Owain as a couple and their relationship to others had depth.
I would recommend to those who love Roman Britain as I do.
This was a very good book, well researched and written and I enjoyed it. My only problem was that I could not get "into it" for a long time due to the quite blatant fictional aspects of the book. Yes, I understand it was a novel. Let's go right to the point,though, and say she did not have an adult brother named Cuthbert, and that it is extremely doubtful that Cecily Neville had an illicit physical affair with a fairly close relative.
So what would have been a 5 star book for me sort of melted down to maybe 3.75. I almost did not finish it but I am very glad that I did. Once I got going on it, I could not put it down. The historical details were mostly excellent and the last half of the book was a delight.
Except that Cecily had no such adult brother, the role of Cuthbert as "other voice" worked very well. Perhaps he could have been a well depended on squire so there was not SO much fiction but he lent credence to the "unseen" things we needed to hear about Cecily and Richard's life.
I do recommend this book to those who admire this part of the Plantagenet family and just say.."keep reading" as it is certainly worthwhile!
This is a series I have enjoyed for years, this one was not my all time favorite but it was still quite enjoyable. There were at least two mysteries involved in this story: one was involving King John, the second was about a long missing Sicilian boy, and third was an unrelated mystery of a family of drapers with an illegitimacy over generations which culminated in a murder.
The Medieval Lincoln and its historical atmosphere of the series is just right, but sometimes the characters do not spring to life. Nicolaa de la Haye, hereditary castellan of Lincoln castle, and her husband Gerard de Camville, Sheriff of Lincoln always are credible, this book is no exception. Gianni could be a bit more colorful as could the Templar.
If there is another outing I will be glad to read it. Recommended for historical mystery Medieval fans.
Such a wonderful book, I put everything aside to read this one and wish I could find another. I am sort of obsessed with accurate stories about Roman Britain that make the characters feel contemporary and I feel this one did just that.
Senovara the female protagonist is a hard working person from an earlier time who, nonetheless, has motives and feelings that I could identify with. I saw reviews that said it was not a romance or a mystery but perhaps it was a little of both?
I say that because even with the cultural constraints on marriage, Senovara and Quintus had a great deal of love for each other and their respective families. The story ends with Senovara "adjusting herself to fit more comfortably against Quintus' rough tunic.
Mystery is surely there with the military wives learning how to interact with other cultures both as marital partners and their friends and peers. Mysterious also is what gods were answering their prayers as they would speak them. In some cases the wives were more sophisticated but often the men as we read about the eclipse and it's portents.
My 3 years of high school Latin and my degree in anthropology has made me appreciate who we are and where we came from over many centuries. Latin and the Romans have shone an everlasting spotlight back in time for all of us. I hated for this book to end. Summa Cum Laude Lindsay Allason-Jones
I rounded this up to 4 stars..maybe 3.75 or so, and the reason is, I felt the characters were not as developed as they could have been. Elfrida was pretty much ruled by her passions,especially for Edgar, and I am not sure that did her justice. She was after all an important figure as Queen and Dowager Queen for many years, but it was a novel after all.
M.J.Porter, in his quite excellent historical note, probably explains this, as he says that: first, it is the least historical novel he has written and, secondly, that he usually focuses on men in this period. The author bases most of his sources on contemporary accounts, which is good. He also says that were he to write a sequel it would be of Elfrida and be ten years later.
Edgar,known as 'The Peaceful', although we did not get into much of this in this tale, was the first King of all England. He built a very large navy and kept the Danes from pillaging as well as keeping peace in the Danelaw. Shires and Hundreds were briefly mentioned as he met with his Eldermen as well as his and his Queen's support of monastic reform.
He died at only 33 years of age but I think there were some very good years that could be part of a sequel or two. Overall I did like the book and am going to look at others this prolific writer had penned.
So I stayed up late finishing it as I could tell it was going to end badly for some.."Noli respicere post tergum" says Mother Aquinas.." Do not look back"..
It was a riveting book in so many ways for me..first I continually marvel that my great Uncle Patrick and family lived in that part of Cork at that exact time..well Uncle Patrick died in 1907, his son in 1913 and his wife and daughter in 1921 but his granddaughters were still living at Little Cross Street. Secondly that so very many experienced those hardships that went on and on.. Great Uncle Patrick's two older sons got themselves to New York and New Jersey well before that.
It was a complex but extremely interesting plot which slowly resolved itself, but not without some tragedy. A murder in the Confessional of a beloved priest had so very many ramifications, which the fight for a Republic complicated, as did personal greed and ideology.
So now we readers and followers of Reverend Mother and her entourage will be waiting and wondering what will happen. Will Reverend Mother have a debilitating illness and she mentions her age? Will Inspector Patrick recover, and what role will Eileen be playing in future and will they collaborate. I wish I knew but for sure you need to preorder this copy now.
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.
"September, 1216. A foreign army has invaded England. The country is divided.King John summons Sir Josse d'Acquin to support him."
I received an ARC of this book from Severn House via NetGalley for a review. I have read all of the Hawkenlye Mysteries and review many. I give the book 4.5 stars and did very much enjoy it, although the mystery was a bit more contrived and slow than it maybe needed to be.
That being said, if this is the last Heloise mystery, it is wonderful that most of the characters are well and settled at the end. It was a good ending to a long series, if that is the case.
"Sir Josse d'Aquin is summoned to assist the beleaguered King John in the 17th - and final - Hawkenlye mystery."
Ah.. that is what it says..Maybe one more peek in a few years? How will Meggie do? How will Heloise and Josse do in their declining years? Who will join the family in the future - and importantly how will Hawkenlye Abbey fare?
The book will be out in late July so you have lots of time to start reading other books in the series so that you too are able to really appreciate this final mystery.
What a great effort to reconstruct the historical facts available to us; Adrienne Dillard's fine research has made Jane Parker Boleyn a sympathetic as well as dramatic figure. I applaud her for that and totally agree; a 10 year marriage, where Jane cohabited with George Boleyn and lived in the court supports this hypothesis.
There are many people who were players in, and victims of, Henry VIII 's cruel narcissistic rampage through his reign who deserve our sympathies. Jane apparently was one such and I am sure that Mary Boleyn and her children were also. Adrienne's fine first novel "Cor Rotto" sheds light on Mary Boleyn's life after Henry though her daughter Catherine Carey Knollys.
This novel has even more depth, character development as well as giving readers historical vignettes back and forth in time. A very fine Author's note take us through the known facts, including many that were unknown until fairly recently.
Jane Boleyn was, and is, a tragic figure of course; who would not be who was executed in this time? What the author has done is to make her a vivid and believable heroine who was resilient for as long as she could be. I look for more by this fine author.
Recommended for fans of those affected by Henry VIII and other novels in this turbulent era. 5 Stars.
4.5 stars..A very nice small book by an author I follow now; I am also reading The Raven's Widow. I got right into this one and finished overnight, Mary Boleyn and her children are favorites of mine.
I am hopeful that Catherine, Henry and Mary 's lives were mostly good and this author does also. The Jane Boleyn book tells me that she is sympathetic to Henry VIII's victims and has searched for the good times of their lives to share. I am very hopeful that Adrienne Dillard continues with this effort and this family. Henry Carey's life would be wonderful to illustrate and I adore Robert Carey also.
There was a confusing part in the middle about the number of children. It seemed the author was going to list them after an ": " but then a narrative ensued, which did list them but not in a list. Other than that I have no complaints and am hoping for more.
Adrienne Dillard provides fine historical detail which backs up her hypotheses and I recommend this book for others who read about this troubled time.
"Oxford, Late Summer 1353.
Hearing that his cousin is short-handed for the harvest, Nicholas Elyot takes a group of friends back to the family farm to help. When a deer hunt ends in tragedy, suspicion is directed toward the huntsman, a friend of Nicholas."
This is a great series and the ending makes me hopeful that it will continue. A trifle slow perhaps in the beginning but it picked up speed and barreled towards the exciting ending.
Nicholas and his coterie are fun to read about and he seems to help them to be more "well-rounded" in their lives. Will Philip decide to make his family life permanent although it may impact on his life? Will Nicholas' workers continue to have their lives better?
Additionally this period of the 14th Century after the Black Death has been illuminated very well, and presented a prime setting for the crime that Nicholas and his friend Jordain encounter. It is very well documented historically and that perhaps is the best part.
Recommended to all lovers of historical novels, especially those in Medieval times.
This was a fine read, a bit heavy on Elizabeth I and known facts, but I enjoyed knowing about the interactions with Katherine Carey Knollys and others. Some little known interactions were mentioned which I appreciated reading about.
There were other less remarked upon vignettes, such as the brief life of Mary Seymour daughter of Katherine Parr and Thomas Seymour, that were the reason I decided to read the book.
I definitely have noted the other books by this author and will be acquiring them also. I am giving it 4 + Stars and definitely will recommend it to others
Very happily I stumbled upon this short novel by favorite author Ruth Downie and SJA (Simon) Turney while looking for some Anglo Saxon books. I did not realize there was such a book, but was very glad that she and Simon Turney had another collaboration. ( see " The Year of Ravens")
Here it is:"A short story of love and danger on the empire's most hostile frontier..from two acclaimed authors of Historical Fiction "
It read like a full length novel with depth of character and plot as well as very accurate historical detail. A quite marvelous authors' note tells of "Prince" Caracalla son of the Emperor Severus who was violent and without scruples.
The setting is Vindolanda on Hadrian's Wall, where Senna the main female character's tribe lived within a long day's walk. As a reader who has an anthropology degree and love this era, the landscape was meticulously described. "The Maeatae live next to the cross-wall ,which cuts the island in half", was how it has been explained, which suggests it is not the Antonine Wall .
Brigius, the main male character is Senna's man, of the Votadini tribe and a solider in the Second Nerviorum stationed at Vindolanda. There is a very intricate plot and a complex battle scene which I must reread now to get straight. ( I read too fast) I must also try to figure out which of Senna's family survive this event by rereading the battle.
"A flood ruins King Alle’s kingdom. His crops are destroyed and he does not have the necessary grain to pay his yearly tribute to neighbouring war-lord, Aethelfrid. Instead he offers him his daughter, Acha, who, aged 16, must become a peace-weaver bride to the most brutal and feared warrior in the land. "
What a terrific book this was! I found it while starting to reread "A Swarming of Bees" which I loved.. I may have even loved this book more but will know when I finish my reread ( which is the same group of people more or less)
These people from Anglo Saxon Chronicle "A.D. 617. This year was Ethelfrith, king of the Northumbrians,slain by Redwald, king of the East-Angles; and Edwin, the son of Ella, having succeeded to the kingdom, subdued all Britain,except the men of Kent alone, and drove out the Ethelings, the sons of Ethelfrith, namely, Enfrid. Oswald, Oswy, Oslac, Oswood. Oslaf, and Offa"
Mentioning here that Oswald, Oswy and Oslac were his nephews from his sister Acha, these nephews did not go away so this book and "A Swarming of Bees" are must reads!! I just loved the characterization and the historical details were superb.
Arbella Stuart, niece to Mary, Queen of Scots and presumed successor to Elizabeth I, has spent her youth behind the towering windows of Hardwick Hall. As presumed successor to the throne, her isolation should mean protection - but those close to the crown are never safe.
I received an ARC from Netgalley and Penguin UK for this book for an unbiased review and I would give it above 3 stars so 3.5. I thought that the juxtaposition of Ami the poet's story with Arbella Stuarts's was hard to do well and might have been better with only a few vignettes of Ami. Did it detract from Arbella's character, perhaps?
I have not read a book about Arbella and although she was not a vibrant subject, I appreciated the very fine historical details. Elizabeth Freemantle had a wonderful afterward that really did the trick. Perhaps less of being a "novel" and more of the historical details would have worked for me.
Having said that, I do recommend it to Elizabethan Era lovers and Bess of Hardwick followers. I think the King James era was done quite well. Very poignant.
"Detective Inspector Tom Harper finds answers hard to come by in his latest, most challenging, investigation to date."
Nothing is more satisfying than a Chris Nickson historical police procedural, set in various time periods, in Leeds. Why Leeds? The author says "It's where I was born and raised , and that puts a place in your bones."
I think there is more than that however. Leeds, in whichever epoch we see here described, exemplifies a time and place that existed and mattered and vanished but not without a trace. Each subsequent era left it's mark upon those who follow, other regular working class men and women, who chose to make their city a good place.
Why police procedurals? Because good and bad people exemplify all places, and are a necessity to describing a society. Chris Nickson is an accomplished author who writes with a deep sociological perspective of "his" Leeds.
D.I Tom Harper, soon to be Superintendent Harper, becomes plunged into a series of murders. "Leeds, England. March, 1895. The day after his release from prison, petty criminal Henry White is found stabbed to death at his terraced home on Copper Street."
These crimes are bookended by his promotion, and the deaths of important people in his life. His touchstones are his wife, Annabelle a suffragist and political figure in her own right, and his daughter Mary. His predecessor's death is a blow to him but he leaves him a touching legacy gift.
If you like historical police novels, this one has all the elements, with a maiming by acid of two youngsters which leaves several mysteries of it's own. Several innocent or well meaning people came to untimely ends which is why I did not always read it at night.
Please join Superintendent Harper and Annabelle,newly promoted Inspector Ash and Fireman,, former copper, Billy Reed in Victorian Leeds. Start with "Gods of Gold" Book 1 ,why don't you? You will enjoy this series.
I received an ARC via Netgalley, and Severn House for an honest review.
"It's late August, 1592. Sir Robert Carey, cousin to Queen Elizabeth from the wrong side of Henry VIII's blanket, remains at his post on the Borders at Carlisle. He has at last been confirmed by his monarch as Deputy Warden and is still deeply in love with Lady Elizabeth Widdrington while despising her elderly, abusive husband (will the man never die?). Carey remains estranged from his dour but lethal henchman, Henry Dodd"
The story is intriguing but perhaps a bit too intricate, as events are presented in vignettes that go back and forth in time, winter and then the previous summer and back again. The intricacy is my only problem with the book, whose characters I adore and an author I admire.
Henry Dodd did not really want to have Robert Carey killed, but the thread of the book goes there more than once. Janet his wife does want a child to secure Dodd's land but at what expense?
The complicated plot against the Scots King James is because Elizabeth will die soon ( see the book the Duke of York) and bring the Spanish and English under James' control.
Lady Elizabeth is still with her " her elderly, abusive husband" but I know that will end also and she will be with Robert Carey ( Duke of York book). Did Henry Dodd really die at the end? I am not sure but since we are left with that impression a sequel will be in order.
I suggest reader start with Book # 1 of the series ( there is a special price for that) and get to this point..Well worth every one!! I give it 4.5 for the hard to follow parts ( a paper book which is NOT an ARC might be easier to go backwards with)
I received an ARC from NetGalley which I saw on Twitter for an honest review. It was an era I enjoy a lot so I requested it.I give it more than 4 stars maybe 4.25- 4.5 which is great for a first novel.
The story devolves around Marcus Gavius Apicius, a Gourmand, who a real person that we know a fair amount about. Thrassius, his kitchen slave, the main character was fictional, as are his contemporaries. Passia,his love who he eventually marries and Sotas, his long time friend were fictional also. Will there be any sequel? That would be very fine - if so I am sure that the fictional characters will acquire more depth.
Apicius and Apicata ( who possibly was not his daughter but this version makes it so) were real characters we heard about in other Roman Annals like Seneca. Tacitus said that Sejanus, also real "Disposed of his virtue at a price to Apicius, a rich man"
The author is fond of cooking ( which I'm not, sorry) and mentions that Sally Grainger's "Cooking With Apicius" a 2006, is a favorite of hers. Food lovers will like this book! I am a lover of Ancient Rome and I liked it quite well, and look forward to the author's next outing.
4.5 stars. Nice little novella although I usually prefer a longer book. It took about a third of it for me to orient myself as to why Muirteach McPhee was in that place, as well as where that place was located.
The water-horse is a mythical creature which could be Nessie, as of course Muirteach was at Loch Ness. The beast or water horse or kelpie, as Muirteach said spoke with Uisdean's voice "or perhaps I heard the words in my mind. "
However or whatever it was, you see, had killed Dubhglas and his wife Sorcha. Celtic monsters are said to be still seen in lakes in Scotland, as well as actual vicious fish off the coasts.
A delightful small book. I recommend Susan McDuffie's characters.
Britannia: land of mist and magic clinging to the western edge of the Roman Empire.
Sometimes getting into a novel written by a group of authors, even excellent authors does not work for me. However this one was different and I just loved it!
Ruth Downie writes so wonderfully about Roman Britain, and I could not get enough of Ria! This one is Ria - "A neglected slave girl seizes her own courage as Boudica calls for war" - she is the daughter of Prasutagus king of the Iceni.
"A conflicted young warrior finds himself torn between loyalties to tribe and to Rome." Andecarus who had been fostered in a Roman family but was son of Boudica's war chief and dies at his side.
I am very much hoping to see this same team of authors come back with a sequel, if that is possible. At least the half sisters Keena daughter of Boudica the Queen and Ria daughter of a slave. Hoping ~
I borrowed this on my kindle from the library and it was good if not spectacular. I did not know a lot about Gloria Vanderbilt and it was an eye opening read, although I thought I read one about her young years.
Her life was not a particularly pleasant one, although she definitely had good years. Apparently both she and son Anderson Cooper are and always have been on good terms. The book ends with this quote.
"I know her. She knows me. She is my mother. I am her son. The rainbow comes and goes"
That sums it up fairly well.
4.5 Stars ( which does not show so am making it 5)
I really enjoyed this book about rural Ireland and Lorna Peel's historical facts were excellent. I am not a romance reader although have made exceptions for historical romances, and am glad I did for this one.
I said this while reading:"an amazing read! I am of Irish descent and know about this period but not faction fighting etc. " and the book blog indicated:"Ireland, 1835. Faction fighting has left the parish of Doon divided between the followers of the Bradys and the Donnellans. Caitriona Brady is the widow of John, the Brady champion, killed two years ago. Matched with John aged eighteen, Caitriona didn’t love him and can’t mourn him. Now John’s mother is dead, too, and Caitriona is free to marry again.
Michael Warner is handsome, loves her, and he hasn’t allied himself with either faction. But what secret is he keeping from her? Is he too good to be true?"
Some of my ancestors in Tipperary were said to have been part of the 18th century "Whiteboys", a retaliatory movement by the rural poor against an oppressive class structure. However my own immigrant ancestor from that area was in the British Army and in a local Barracks charged with keeping the peace. The "Ribbonmen" in Peel's tale is the 19th century version and the Constabulary who invaded were maybe similar to some of the local barracks charged with "peacekeeping".
I was thrilled to read this book and will hope there will be a sequel. The characters could use a bit more development, same for dialogue, but it was well done overall.
