Review: Katherine Tudor Duchess by Tony Riches

Katherine Tudor Duchess (Brandon Trilogy, Book #3)
by Tony Riches
Release Date: September 25th 2019
2019 Preseli Press
Kindle Edition; 328 Pages
ISBN: 978-1695663855
ASIN: B07YCV3RJV
Genre: Fiction / Historical
Source: Review copy from HF Virtual Book Tours

4 / 5 Stars

Summary
Attractive, wealthy and influential, Katherine Willoughby is one of the most unusual ladies of the Tudor court. A favourite of King Henry VIII, Katherine knows all his six wives, his daughters Mary and Elizabeth and his son Edward.

When her father dies, Katherine becomes the ward of Tudor knight, Sir Charles Brandon. Her Spanish mother, Maria de Salinas, is Queen Catherine of Aragon’s lady in waiting, so it is a challenging time for them all when King Henry marries the enigmatic Anne Boleyn.

Following Anne’s dramatic downfall, Katherine marries Charles Brandon, and becomes Duchess of Suffolk at the age of fourteen. After the short reign of young Catherine Howard, and the tragic death of Jane Seymour, Katherine and Brandon are chosen to welcome Anna of Cleves as she arrives in England.

When the royal marriage is annulled, Katherine’s good friend, Catherine Parr becomes the king’s sixth wife, and they work to promote religious reform. Katherine’s young sons are tutored with the future king, Prince Edward, and become his friends, but when Edward dies his Catholic sister Mary is crowned queen. Katherine’s Protestant faith puts her family in great danger - from which there seems no escape.

Katherine’s remarkable true story continues the epic tale of the rise of the Tudors, which began with the best-selling Tudor trilogy and concludes with the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

My Thoughts
Katherine Tudor Duchess is the third book in the Brandon Trilogy and although I have not yet had the chance to read the previous books in this series, my enjoyment of this book did not depend on that fact.  I'm not sure if it helps having a history background and already knowing her story, but I really think someone with little knowledge of this time period would not have a problem understanding this book and the various characters in it.  To be honest, I don't think someone with little understanding of this time period would truly understand the huge political ramifications of some of the things that happened during this time period as the author sort of glossed over a lot of the important events to focus on the main character, something which I rather liked as the book was about Katherine, after all. However, this may require some people to Google some of the events as the author kind of assumes you know what he is talking about.

Katherine Willoughby is one of those women whose story I've wanted to read for a very long time. She has played such a secondary role in so many books and I have waited for someone to tackle her story as it seemed so interesting.  And I enjoyed the book quite a bit.  The story however, did span a long period of time and I did have a bit of an issue with the formatting.  What I mean by this is you would be in the middle of a wonderful scene, then suddenly it would end and then you would be thrust into the next scene.  I often felt like the scenes weren't quite completed which definitely affected my empathy for Katherine.  And by that, I mean I did not really connect with her at all.  So when tragedy struck her family, which it often did, I just read about it without really feeling anything. And this is definitely attributable to editing.  Unfortunately, this took what could have been a fantastic book down to a good book.  Perhaps trying to limit the amount of pages was not necessarily a good thing. Is this just a problem with the Kindle edition? Not sure.

The author definitely did a huge amount of research for this book and it shows in the descriptive scenes and in the dialogue between the characters and in their interactions.  Katherine's life is set during the very dangerous and turbulent times of King Henry VIII and it was definitely interesting to watch her grow and learn to navigate the treacherous waters surrounding the royal court and the political machinations occurring there.  I particularly liked how the author portrayed her growing awareness of the need for reform in the Church and how she set about doing so, keeping her head on her shoulders at the same time. I still shiver whenever I read Anne Askew's story and what happened to her; Katherine knew her personally and the author implied Anne went to her death keeping Katherine's involvement in her reforms a secret.  I personally think the author underestimated the power of this woman and what she accomplished.  She pretty much knew every political figure surrounding King Henry VIII, yet managed to survive as well as keep her lands and her political influence.  I would think she was one feisty lady and although it sometimes came across in the book, I think the author downplayed her temper and her resiliency.  I mean, anyone who would deliberately name their dog Gardiner, after Bishop Gardiner, after being quite vocal about how much she disliked the man had to be quite gutsy in that political climate.

Verdict
Katherine Tudor Duchess was an enjoyable book and I really liked reading about how she found her place in society and perhaps had a huge influence on the way people thought about religion during this time period.  Personally, I am amazed that Katherine survived King Henry VIII's reign as she was certainly outspoken about certain things that could have landed her in a heap of trouble.  Perhaps being married to Charles Brandon protected her from some of it, but maybe the King had a soft spot for her?  Who knows? Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in reading more about this time period and one remarkable lady.  I will definitely be picking up the first two books in this series as well.

 

Review & Giveaway: Rogue Most Wanted by Janna MacGregor

Rogue Most Wanted (The Cavensham Heiresses, Book #5)
by Janna MacGregor
Release Date: June 25th 2019
2019 St. Martin's Paperbacks
Kindle Edition; 371 Pages
ISBN: 978-1250295996
ASIN: B07H7C1YZV
Genre: Fiction / Historical Romance
Source: HFVBT

3.5 / 5 Stars

Summary
Lady Theodora Worth needs to marry fast in order to keep her estate. It’s been her heart and home for years, and she’ll not lose it to anyone. There’s just one problem—as a woman who was raised in isolation by her grandfather, she’s completely incapable of pouring a cup of tea, never mind wooing a man. She’ll need a little matchmaking help from her sprightly next-door neighbor in order to find a convenient husband…

Lord William Cavensham’s heart was broken years ago, and since that day he vowed to never love again. But his spirited Great Aunt Stella is determined he’ll marry or not inherit a single penny from her. And she’s got just the woman in mind—her beautiful and completely hapless next-door neighbor, Thea…

Thea and Will agree there’s no sense in marrying each other. Will wholeheartedly believes he’s incapable of love, and Thea refuses to marry the first man she’s practically met. But Will may be the rogue Thea wants the most after all…

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Twitter tags: @JannaMacGregor @StMartinsPress @hfvbt  

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My Thoughts
Rogue Most Wanted is the fifth entry in The Cavensham Heiresses series and focuses on Will Cavensham, a man previously jilted and who has sworn off love for the foreseeable future.  Not the most original story line, but I have always liked the author's writing style so I stuck with it which I'm glad I did.  And while it was fairly predictable, I thought it was enjoyable.

I really liked Thea's personality and character and although you have the really strong feeling she will win everything in the end (it is a romance novel after all), I definitely was on her side in all of this. She had a strong will and was very positive in her outlook on life. I wasn't overly crazy about the romance aspect in this story as I didn't really feel that spark between them like in previous books, so I chose to focus more on Thea's fight to save her inheritance and the plight of women during this time period.  Women had so little rights during this time period, but Scottish women tended to have a bit more independence which is why I think I tend to prefer Scottish romances a bit more.  I always find the intrigues of who is who and what is what quite fascinating and will probably never tire of the endless rules and etiquette one had to learn in order to move among the ton successfully.  Thea, having grown up isolated on her grandfather's estate during his illness, had not learned a lot of the etiquette required of her in society so I found her instruction to be interesting.  And when I thought that was more interesting than the romance, I knew there was a small problem.

To be fair, I really liked both Will and Thea, but Will was a bit too syrupy for my taste.  He was sweet and kind, but really didn't do anything. And while they both had a history that clearly defined who they were, I don't really think it was used enough to develop the story and the attraction. And Thea felt like she could trust him so much upon meeting him that she could share her darkest secrets with him. It just didn't sit right with me. So what we have is a story that is interesting, but isn't steamy. There is little to no push-play between them and I think I just wanted to feel that physical attraction between them a bit more. There wasn't a whole lot of drama, and Thea's capitulation seemed a bit out of character for a lady during this time period, especially one who was focused on trying to save her childhood home and title. It is interesting to note that one of my favourite scenes is where Lady Avalon returns, the woman who jilted Will; you could just feel the tension and I was really fascinated by that scene, wondering where it would go.  For the first time, I felt real sparks happening.  

Review: As Bright As Heaven by Susan Meissner

As Bright As Heaven
by Susan Meissner
Release Date: February 6th 2018
2018 Berkley Books
Kindle Edition; 387 Pages
ISBN: 978-0399585968
ASIN: B072HS2J83
Genre: Fiction / Historical
Source: Review copy from publisher

4 / 5 Stars

Summary
In 1918, Philadelphia was a city teeming with promise. Even as its young men went off to fight in the Great War, there were opportunities for a fresh start on its cobblestone streets. Into this bustling town, came Pauline Bright and her husband, filled with hope that they could now give their three daughters--Evelyn, Maggie, and Willa--a chance at a better life.

But just months after they arrive, the Spanish Flu reaches the shores of America. As the pandemic claims more than twelve thousand victims in their adopted city, they find their lives left with a world that looks nothing like the one they knew. But even as they lose loved ones, they take in a baby orphaned by the disease who becomes their single source of hope. Amidst the tragedy and challenges, they learn what they cannot live without--and what they are willing to do about it.

My Thoughts
As Bright as Heaven is the poignant story of a family poised at the end of the Great War, a time of promise and hope, until a deadly disease, the Spanish Flu, strikes with determination and deadliness, causing the Bright family to re-evaluate their priorities and their dreams.  As a history teacher with a fascination for this time period, I was enveloped into this time period by some great descriptive writing and could feel the pain and hope that people experienced during this time period.

First of all, the story began on quite a sombre note as the family was dealing with the tragedy of dealing with the death of their baby brother at just a couple of months of age.  Needing to get away, Pauline Bright convinced her husband to finally accept his uncle's proposal to live in Philadelphia and become the heir to his business.  Filled with hope, they never would have guessed that Philadelphia would have been one of the hardest hit cities during the Spanish flu epidemic, and considering that Thomas' uncle owns what is considered an early form of a funeral home, would be right and center to the pain and suffering of Philadelphia's people.  I was actually quite fascinated by the business as I never really gave the matter much consideration before, especially as to how the business must have started and how the visitation idea began.  It was also a really neat idea for the epidemic to literally come right to the Brights' door, so to speak.

The story is told in alternating POVs and I didn't mind this in the least.  I didn't really enjoy Willa's POV in the beginning as she was only six years old and her story was kind of boring, but definitely thought the rest of them were quite interesting.  There was Pauline, the mother who was still dealing with her grief and a new life in Philadelphia, Maggie, the middle sister who was quite a spitfire, and Evie, the brilliant one who wanted to be a doctor.  The author definitely didn't gloss over how difficult life was during the last year of the Great War and how traumatizing it was for the men when they returned.  I liked the author's descriptions of the flu and the way it just crept in on you and how it must have caught the city unawares and how unprepared everyone must have been.  It made made me think how unprepared we would be today for such a thing if it ever hit again, and how devastating it would be.  Even after reading this, and reading about the hundreds of bodies piled up in the streets and outside the doors to the funeral home, I don't think we have any idea how bad it really was.  Over 50 million people died during this epidemic, and even though I teach this to students, the scope of it still astounds me. 

The only thing that jarred with me a little bit was Evie's marriage; it just seemed to happen so fast and I'm not sure I agreed with it, even if I understood it.  I won't give away any details other than this so you'll just have to read it for yourself to see what I mean.  Even the author questions Evie's decision through other characters, which I liked.  I am probably being a bit judgmental here, but it is hard not to be; given the time period and what these people survived, I can definitely understand the mentality of not waiting for your happiness, but taking it as it comes.

Verdict
As Bright as Heaven is an interesting story told in the midst of the devastating Spanish flu and gives an insight as to how difficult this time period was for those who lived through it.  It is also a tale of hope though, a tale of spirit and energy, that humans can survive devastation and rise above it.  I really enjoyed this author's writing style and her descriptions made you feel like you were experiencing things as if you were there.  It is definitely a book about how the human spirit can triumph even in the midst of tragedy.

Review: Secrets of Nanreath Hall by Alix Rickloff

Secrets of Nanreath Hall
by Alix Rickloff
Release Date: August 2nd 2016
2016 William Morrow Paperbacks
Ebook Edition; 416 Pages
ISBN: 978-0062433183
ASIN: B017R5C79W
Genre: Fiction / Historical
Source: Review copy from publisher

4 / 5 Stars

Summary
Cornwall, 1940. Back in England after the harrowing evacuation at Dunkirk, WWII Red Cross nurse Anna Trenowyth is shocked to learn her adoptive parents Graham and Prue Handley have been killed in an air raid. She desperately needs their advice as she’s been assigned to the military hospital that has set up camp inside her biological mother’s childhood home—Nanreath Hall. Anna was just six years old when her mother, Lady Katherine Trenowyth, died. All she has left are vague memories that tease her with clues she can’t unravel. Anna’s assignment to Nanreath Hall could be the chance for her to finally become acquainted with the family she’s never known—and to unbury the truth and secrets surrounding her past.

Cornwall, 1913. In the luxury of pre-WWI England, Lady Katherine Trenowyth is expected to do nothing more than make a smart marriage and have a respectable life. When Simon Halliday, a bohemian painter, enters her world, Katherine begins to question the future that was so carefully laid out for her. Her choices begin to lead her away from the stability of her home and family toward a wild existence of life, art, and love. But as everything begins to fall apart, Katherine finds herself destitute and alone.

My Thoughts 
Secrets of Nanreath Hall is one those historical novels that gently unfolds, without a whole lot of drama, into a nice historical novel that is still interesting and with characters that are charming and quirky.  

The novel is written is dual timeline format, one during the Great War and the other during World War II.  If done right, the dual timeline works rather well, and although I enjoyed the two story lines in this novel, I don't think they quite connected in the way that was intended as they felt a bit disjointed and didn't quite live up to the promise of great secrets and family intrigues in the book's summary.  I did enjoy them for the descriptions of the individual wars and the effects they had on each character; the Great War perspective was told from Kitty's viewpoint and women's struggles to survive as the men battled on the front while Anna's perspective was from a nursing perspective as men recovered from serious wounds diseases fighting in France and Italy.  There was also quite a bit of information on pilots and the grievous injuries and losses they suffered during WWII; it was quite apparent the author did a lot of research on the subject matter which showed in her writing.  

I enjoyed both Anna and Kitty's characters.  Kitty, deciding to follow her heart, leaves her family and their expectations as debutante and wife to live with Simon and pursue her dreams.  Their daughter, Anna, raised by family friends, after a tragic accident is posted to her mother's old home and decided it's time to discover what has been hidden from her all of these years.  To be honest, it wasn't hard to figure out what the big 'secret' was that had been hidden from Anna all this time; it's an old familiar story that has been written about over and over again.  What I rather liked about Anna's investigations was the people with which she in contact,how it all came together, and especially Anna's interactions with the soldiers, of which there wasn't enough.  I also liked how she got along with Hugh, her cousin, and his mother, despite her aloofness, with little drama.  It seems like so many novels are so full of drama and angst that the actual story gets overlooked.  Things weren't exactly perfect for a while, but I liked how the characters got to know each other and developed deep bonds for each other.  

Verdict
Secrets of Nanreath Hall was an interesting story, but I especially liked how the author brought the after-effects of the war to life through the stories of nurses like Anna, the soldiers convalescing, the bombings that occurred, and through the descriptions of London and other places recently bombed.  I thought the author did a great job portraying the time period, the hopelessness people felt during those dark times before the U.S. joined the war effort; it's very compelling, and it's the stories of these people that linger long afterwards. While Anna and Kitty's story line is really nothing novel in terms of story telling, this story is also a story about how these wars changed society and changed people, and the struggle that came with that change, and that's what I found fascinating.  I am definitely looking forward to the next chapter in this series, the story about Cynthia's daughter. 

Review: Rare Objects by Kathleen Tessaro

Rare Objects
by Kathleen Tessaro
Release Date: April 12th 2016
2016 Harper
ARC Edition; 400 Pages
ISBN: 978-0062357540
ASIN: B00QQP1U66
Genre: Fiction / Historical
Source: Review copy from TLC Book Tours

3.5 / 5 Stars

Summary
Maeve Fanning is a first generation Irish immigrant, born and raised among the poor, industrious Italian families of Boston’s North End by her widowed mother. Clever, capable, and as headstrong as her red hair suggests, she’s determined to better herself despite the overwhelming hardships of the Great Depression.

However, Maeve also has a dangerous fondness for strange men and bootleg gin—a rebellious appetite that soon finds her spiraling downward, leading a double life. When the strain proves too much, Maeve becomes an unwilling patient in a psychiatric hospital, where she strikes up a friendship with an enigmatic young woman, who, like Maeve, is unable or unwilling to control her un-lady-like desire for freedom.

Once out, Maeve faces starting over again. Armed with a bottle of bleach and a few white lies, she lands a job at an eccentric antiques shop catering to Boston’s wealthiest and most peculiar collectors. Run by an elusive English archeologist, the shop is a haven of the obscure and incredible, providing rare artifacts as well as unique access to the world of America’s social elite. While delivering a purchase to the wealthy Van der Laar family, Maeve is introduced to beautiful socialite Diana Van der Laar—only to discover she’s the young woman from the hospital.

Reunited with the charming but increasingly unstable Diana and pursued by her attractive brother James, Mae becomes more and more entwined with the Van der Laar family—a connection that pulls her into a world of moral ambiguity and deceit, and ultimately betrayal. Bewitched by their wealth and desperate to leave her past behind, Maeve is forced to unearth her true values and discover how far she’ll to go to reinvent herself.

My Thoughts
Rare Objects is set during the Great Depression, and follows Maeve Fanning as she deals with the ups and downs of life, of being independent, duirng this time period.  A first generation Irish immigrant, I enjoyed the struggles that May had as she searched for a job, dealt with her mother, associated with her friends, and tried to deal with the morals and values of this time.  May has had a lot of difficult moments in her life, and seemed like she led a bit of rebellious life when she was younger, but she could also be manipulative and a bit of a liar when it suited her purposes and her needs.  

First of all, the beginning of this novel was quite interesting and really drew me into the story.  May is quite the troubled character, leading a double-life, one of partying and drinking in New York while lying to her family and friends about what she was doing, even going so far as to miss her best friend's wedding to hide her activities.  As May meets various characters from her girlhood when she returns home, we learn quite a bit about her background, one that was rebellious enough that her friends' parents had cautioned them about being seen in public with her or even having her in their homes.  I found this quite fascinating, that dynamic mix of old-fashioned values with the new independence that women were trying to build for themselves, how slow a process it actually was for women.  Unfortunately, as May became involved with the Van der Laars, the story actually became a bit bogged down for me, and I actually found myself losing interest in it; there were simply too many threads wound together, many quite predictable, and the philosophical, social, and moral issues didn't help streamline the story.  To be honest, I found it hard to believe that someone like Diana Van der Laar would be allowed to even associate with someone like May. I definitely believed in the treatments Diana would have received once her 'issues' were perceived by her family as it would have reflected on the entire family and would not have been tolerated.  However, her dramatics wore on me after a while; I actually liked the stronger Diana who told May to get her life together and work out her issues.  That Diana was more interesting.

I really like the descriptions of the time period, and I did like the complexity of May's character.  While there were times when I could have shaken her, it was nice to see her grow up a little bit throughout the novel; at first, I really thought she was quite egocentric, believing herself the center of her universe, and I like how that was removed as she met her childhood friends again and had to apologize for her previous behaviour.  I did find it a bit of a stretch to imagine how May would have landed such an interesting job however, as it was the middle of the Depression and millions of people were looking for work.  

I actually found Mr. Winshaw to be one of the most intriguing character, if he was annoying at times, and I wish he had more of a story to tell.  I don't feel like the author was really able to get a fix on him and how he really fit into the story, and this did cause a bit of a problem for me.  

Verdict
Rare Objects definitely has a lot to recommend it, and the many story lines by themselves, are intriguing, but I don't feel like everything came together at the end.  I didn't particularly like Maeve at the beginning of the novel, and although she did transform to some extent, I'm not really sure it was enough to really make her really likable for me, or even genuine. Many of the periodic details were fascinating however, and I did enjoy those tremendously.  While I would recommend it, I would definitely be careful to whom I did so as I don't think it would be for everyone. 

Review: Medicis Daughter: A Novel of Marguerite de Valois by Sophie Perinot

Medicis Daughter: A Novel of Marguerite de Valois
by Sophie Perinot
Release Date: December 1st 2015
2015 Thomas Dunne Books
Ebook Edition; 384 Pages
ISBN: 978-1250072092
ASIN: B00XHKMHEM
Genre: Fiction / Historical
Source: Review copy from HFVBT

4 / 5 Stars

Summary
Winter, 1564. Beautiful young Princess Margot is summoned to the court of France, where nothing is what it seems and a wrong word can lead to ruin. Known across Europe as Madame la Serpente, Margot’s intimidating mother, Queen Catherine de Médicis, is a powerful force in a country devastated by religious war. Among the crafty nobility of the royal court, Margot learns the intriguing and unspoken rules she must live by to please her poisonous family.

Eager to be an obedient daughter, Margot accepts her role as a marriage pawn, even as she is charmed by the powerful, charismatic Duc de Guise. Though Margot's heart belongs to Guise, her hand will be offered to Henri of Navarre, a Huguenot leader and a notorious heretic looking to seal a tenuous truce. But the promised peace is a mirage: her mother's schemes are endless, and her brothers plot vengeance in the streets of Paris. When Margot's wedding devolves into the bloodshed of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, she will be forced to choose between her family and her soul.

My Thoughts
Medicis Daughter is quite an enjoyable novel as it features the daughter of Catherine de Medici, Marguerite de Valois, a historical figure who has not typically been in the limelight.  While I have read countless fiction novels and non-fiction novels about Catherine de Medici, her daughter has usually been just a secondary figure to the religious events of the time and to the life of the Queen and court.  It was quite refreshing to view court life from the perspective of Catherine's daughter and to see things as a daughter of France might have seen them, one whose worth to her mother and brothers may have been the political advantage she brought to the throne through marriage.

I really like how Marguerite was portrayed in this novel as historical references to her are not always king, often believing in the rhetoric of the political times, especially a time period that didn't really value strong, dominant women unless they were kings and queens, and sometimes not even then.  Like the author, I have often wondered what France would have been like if Marguerite had been able to inherit the throne instead of Henri de Navarre, but rules in France did not permit females to inherit. In the novel, Marguerite developed from a naive, carefree young girl to one that was twisted by her family's greed, ambition, and inter-fighting, often having to take sides or act as peacemaker.  Growing up with the belief that her mother didn't care for her like she did her sons, Marguerite turned to Henri, her brother, and developed a very close relationship with him, one that eventually became warped by his own ambition and jealousy.  Even an element of incest was indicated between the two, although I really liked how the author portrayed the relationship rather than the history books; it seems much more plausible, considering the strict Catholic rules under which they grew up.  Having spent so much time in the corrupt French court, there are certainly aspect to Marguerite's personality that are not likeable; she gave no thought to giving her friend to another man because she didn't want him herself, and the flirting and other goings-on definitely gave the court its licentious reputation around the world, of which she was a part.  I don't think you can survive a court such as this, being the political figure she was, without learning a thing or two, especially things that are not especially moralistic or nice.  This is what made her so interesting though.  At times you wanted to hug her because of her mother's rejection, and then you just want to smack her because she could be downright cruel.

The one person I did like, and have always liked, is Henri de Navarre.  He is quite refreshing in a novel full of people whose values and morals were quite unrestricted.  But then, life in a French court was definitely very different than anything we would be familiar with today.  Watching Henri de Navarre struggle with the consequences of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre was gut-wrenching and I have to credit the author with the way she handled this aspect of history; seen through Marguerite's eyes made it that much more horrible, and to be honest, I'm not sure if I'd ever seen it explained in such a personal way.  I couldn't flip through the pages fast enough and felt the horror of it all as well as Marguerite's pain when she realized who could have been behind it all.  Characters I had grown to like throughout the novel were seen in quite a different light after these events and this is definitely due to the author's skilled writing.  

Verdict
Medicis Daughter was a rather gripping and emotional fictional story about the life of Marguerite de Valois and I enjoyed it quite a bit.  Marguerite developed from a rather naive girl of twelve when she joined the French court to a woman who could manipulate and connive with the best of them, but is a worthy heroine in her own right.  Despite the fact she is one of the most exalted woman in the land, she was still subject to the whims of her royal family, and bound by the edicts of her birth; furthermore, she came into her own during a time of great religious disunity in her country, taking a stand against her family that would have long-standing consequences for her and make her one of the most disliked people in France in the coming years.  I was glad the author focused on her strengths and how she stood up to her family in the end rather than on her love-life.  I am really hoping the author continues Marguerite's story as there is so much more to tell about this remarkable woman.   

 

Review: The Sisters of Versailles by Sally Christie

The Sisters of Versailles (The Mistresses of Versailles Trilogy Book #1)
by Sally Christie
Release Date: September 1st 2015
2015 Atria Books
Ebook Edition; 432 Pages
ISBN: 978-1501102967
ASIN: B00UDCI430
Genre: Fiction / Historical
Source: Review copy from HFVBT

4 / 5 Stars

Summary
Goodness, but sisters are a thing to fear.

Set against the lavish backdrop of the French Court in the early years of the 18th century, The Sisters of Versailles is the extraordinary tale of the five Nesle sisters: Louise, Pauline, Diane, Hortense, and Marie-Anne, four of whom became mistresses to King Louis XV. Their scandalous story is stranger than fiction but true in every shocking, amusing, and heartbreaking detail.

Court intriguers are beginning to sense that young King Louis XV, after seven years of marriage, is tiring of his Polish wife. The race is on to find a mistress for the royal bed as various factions put their best foot - and women - forward. The King's scheming ministers push Louise, the eldest of the aristocratic Nesle sisters, into the arms of the King. Over the following decade, the four sisters:sweet, naive Louise; ambitious Pauline; complacent Diane, and cunning Marie Anne, will conspire, betray, suffer, and triumph in a desperate fight for both love and power.

My Thoughts
The Sisters of Versailles is the first book in a planned trilogy about the mistresses of Versailles, or more specifically, the mistresses of King Louis XV.  As this is more of an area of specialty for me, especially the French Revolution, I was curious as to how the scheming sisters and their various intrigues would be dealt with in this book.  While it took a bit to get into it, due in large part to Louise who was quite an insipid character, as well as the lack of dialogue, I did enjoy the descriptions of Versailles and the various characters that surrounded the sisters and king.  And to be honest, I was intrigued enough by the concept of four sisters being seduced by the king to keep me reading.

First of all, it's a shame that Louise is the first sister to become the mistress of the king as her character is the one that annoyed me the most; while very much the nurturing sister, her naivete amidst the decadence and immorality that surrounded her was not an attractive trait.  Constantly the butt of insults and jokes, and known for not speaking her mind and defending herself, Louise just kind of floats through the world accepting it for what it was; she had been taught from a young age that one does not show emotion in front of others, but it serene and peaceful, even amonst catty courtiers and those constantly making her the receiving end of petty jokes and schemes.  She could have been such an interesting character if she had just grown a backbone.  It doesn't surprise me at all that the king would have grown tired of her; the mothering and pampering would have driven anyone crazy after a while.  Even in her letters she lived in a world of fantasy where everything was good and perfect, at least on the outside.

In all fairness, I'm not really sure I liked Pauline any better than Louise, although she was much more interesting.  If you have to be the king's mistress due to others' political manoeuvrings, you should at least be compensated for it and Pauline at least expected to receive gifts and benefits, including a title, unlike Louise who left with pretty much nothing on her back, despite her good marriage. Pauline interfered in politics and was interested in many topics, while Louise preferred to ignore anything that was bad, much like the king.  Pauline sort of forced the king, as much as she was able, to face the good and the bad of his rule.  Although it is still very controversial, there are some scholars who credit Pauline with forcing the king to begin making his own decisions rather than relying on Parliament or on his Prime Minister.  The king's rule is very controversial to begin with, as only several years after his death was the beginning of the French Revolution, not something that can be blamed simply on Louis XIV.  

Mary-Anne is one of the sisters with whom I did not really relate at all, although there was some hope at the beginning.  While I understood her actions, when it came to her sisters, it went a bit too far for me and my liking for her went straight downhill.  Mind you, I am looking at things from a modern perspective and not from the eighteenth century perspective when things were extremely different and women were very vulnerable.  Furthermore, people were starving in the streets due to famine and cold winters which made levels of tolerance for the elite that much less; the decadence and the waste was excessive and I can understand how things led to the Revolution and the path they did. This is probably the only time in the novel where I enjoyed Louise's character as she realized where her own immorality and decadence had gotten her and she began doing a lot of charity work; the reader got more of an idea as to the suffering of the people, but it wasn't enough.  While I enjoyed the descriptions of court life, I would have also liked more descriptions of regular life and the vast differences between the nobility and the lower classes.

Diane was just foolish and a follower and I can't believe she did what she did because one of her sisters asked her to.  I know this sentence sounds kind of obscure but I don't want to give everything away.  I was hoping Diane would develop some sense once she spent time at court, but nope, that didn't happen.  And Hortense, she spent so much time admonishing others and spouting Bible verses at them that she was kind of boring, almost as if her purity elevated her to a degree above the others that she felt free to spout her opinions to anyone who cared to listen, which no one really did.  

Verdict
The Sisters of Versailles is an interesting read about five sisters whose lives are changed due to four sisters having a relationship with the King of France.  While I enjoyed the different viewpoints of the sisters as you got a sense as to how each of them fit into Versailles, it was the King's development in which I was really interested and how each of them manipulated him to their own means.  King Louis XV was not the strongest king and I like how you got a sense of how he was led by his advisers and those around him, but also how everyone also waited to see how the king would react before they would dare to do anything.  Very few people would stick up for themselves, which is why I liked Pauline the best of them all, and that's saying a lot, and I have always liked Richelieu, whom we see a little bit here.  The king was also not very aware of how others were feeling, not really caring, as long as it didn't affect him, an attitude that is not unusual during this time period.  People were very isolated unto themselves, constantly scheming in order to better themselves, and it must have been a very lonely world as you couldn't trust anybody, including your own family members.  Definitely understandable how a world such a this could not survive. 

Review and Giveaway: Helen of Sparta by Amalia Carosella

Helen of Sparta
by Amalia Carosella
Release Date: April 1st, 2015
2015 Lake Union Publishing
Ebook Edition; 416 Pages
ISBN: 978-1477821381
ASIN: B00NAJZDI2
Genre: Fiction / Historical
Source: Review copy from Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

4 / 5 Stars

Summary
Long before she ran away with Paris to Troy, Helen of Sparta was haunted by nightmares of a burning city under siege. These dreams foretold impending war—a war that only Helen has the power to avert. To do so, she must defy her family and betray her betrothed by fleeing the palace in the dead of night. In need of protection, she finds shelter and comfort in the arms of Theseus, son of Poseidon. With Theseus at her side, she believes she can escape her destiny. But at every turn, new dangers—violence, betrayal, extortion, threat of war—thwart Helen’s plans and bar her path. Still, she refuses to bend to the will of the gods.

My Thoughts
Helen of Sparta is one of those stories for which I have been waiting for a very long time.  I have never been satisfied with previous versions of these stories as I never felt that the books did the women of these stories justice; I always thought they were brave, courageous, and as powerful as the men in order to survive in such circumstances, and I felt the storytelling never really did justice to their personalities or their stories. (David Gemmell's Troy Trilogy might be an exception.)  It's nice to see a story that views Helen in a different light than one who is selfish and vindictive.

This was Helen's story, from the time she became a woman, to the time of her marriage to Theseus and subsequent capture by her brothers to be returned to Sparta.  I enjoyed Helen's quirky personality, her willingness to want to be more than just a pretty face who captures the attention of kings, someone who gets into trouble rather regularly, a woman who climbs out of windows and sneaks out of her room in the middle of the night, someone who is a bit of a daredevil, as it really rounded out her personality and made her quite likeable.  This is a woman with courage; one who took her punishments when caught, but who argued against them when necessary, and who fought against even the Gods she didn't admire for the nightmares she was receiving about a horrifying future that centered around her choices.  I actually liked that little addition to the story as it gave meaning to the choices she made and why a Princess of Sparta would be willing to leave her family, travel to Athens, and escape a political marriage expected of her since she was a little girl.  Perhaps if she had just stayed put, none of this would have happened in the first place.  Although the scene with Menelaus may give you pause about that one (spoiler).

I was glad to see the Helen and Theseus story explained in much more detail as there are so many conflicting tales in the mythological world about their relationship.  Theseus has always been one of my mythological heroes and I enjoyed reading about him as both a man and a demi-God, one whose father seems to have forsaken him, but who is under the protection of Athena. Theseus does come off as quite noble, but it's something I would have expected of someone of his stature. On the other hand, you can feel his despair as he goes to visit the Gods's shrines on a daily basis asking for guidance and help, wondering if they have forsaken him.  I liked how the myths were woven quite seemlessly into the story; Leda's rape by the swam who turned out to be Zeus, Aethra's liaison with Poseidon which produced Theseus, Theseus's story about his former wives and the death of his son, and so on.  I will admit it's been a while since I've read the myths, so naturally, I spent some time re-reading stories on Agamemnon, Theseus, Menelaus, Priam, Clytemnestra, Tyndareus, Pirithous, and so on. 

I thought the story was very good, and it's evident the author has done extensive research and really knows her background on mythology.  It didn't take me long to figure out that we would not reach Troy in this novel as the pacing was too slow, but I still enjoyed the build-up and becoming re-acquainted with the characters.  For someone who has extensive knowledge on the topic, one might find it too slow for them, but it is good for someone who has little to no knowledge on the subject, or it has been a while since they have submersed themselves with the topic.  For me, I just enjoyed the storytelling from a different perspective, and soaked up the atmosphere of the times.

Verdict
Helen of Sparta was an interesting and fascinating take on a tale that is quite familiar to many people.  I enjoyed reading about a spunkier and livelier Helen, one who makes her choices in order to save her family and her people based on horrific nightmares she is having about the future.  Although it is hard to read knowing her fate, and there is still a part of you that hopes another path awaits Helen, I still enjoyed the tale, getting to know different characters and the role they played in Helen's life.  And while I felt empathy and compassion for many of the characters, I will admit that one flaw I found in the book was a difficulty to feel close grief and compassion for Helen at times, especially during her deepest moments of grief.  Despite all this, I thought the author did a fantastic job juggling the difficult task of combing historical fact with the mythology and even allowing some liberties within the text itself.  It doesn't matter if the Gods didn't actually pop down and visit from Olympus or not, what matters most is that the people believed this is what happened and that is what counts, and this is how it was related.  Kudos to a well-blended narrative, and I definitely can't wait until the sequel comes out. 

About the Author

Amalia Carosella graduated from the University of North Dakota with a bachelors degree in Classical Studies and English. An avid reader and former bookseller, she writes about old heroes and older gods. She lives with her husband in upstate New York and dreams of the day she will own goats (and maybe even a horse, too). For more information, visit her blog at www.amaliacarosella.com. She also writes fantasy and paranormal romance as Amalia Dillin.

You can also connect with Amalia on Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter here and here.

Helen of Sparta

Review: Prisoner of the Queen by E. Knight

Prisoner of the Queen (Tales from the Tudor Court, Book #2)
By E. Knight
Release Date: July 30th 2014
2014 Knight Publishing, LLC
Ebook Edition; 335 Pages
ISBN: 978-0990324522
ASIN: B00LZ3B2N0
Genre: Fiction / Historical
Source: Review copy from HF Virtual Book Tours

4 / 5 Stars

Summary
I have served three queens in my life. One was my sister, one was my savior, and one my bitterest enemy.

Knowing she was seen as a threat to the Queen she served, Lady Katherine Grey, legitimate heir to the throne, longs only for the comfort of a loving marriage and a quiet life far from the intrigue of the Tudor court. After seeing her sister become the pawn of their parents and others seeking royal power and then lose their lives for it, she is determined to avoid the vicious struggles over power and religion that dominate Queen Elizabeth’s court. Until she finds love—then Kat is willing to risk it all, even life in prison.

My Thoughts 
Prisoner of the Queen is the second book in the Tales of the Tudor Series and I enjoyed it quite a bit.  There is so much literature about Jane Grey and her unsuccessful attempt at gaining the throne while the tales of her sisters and her family often takes a backseat to that story line, so it was a pleasure to have a plot feature Katherine Grey as the main character.  With so many different interpretations about the lives of the Grey sisters, and the political machinations that existed during this time period, something that is often described as a "viper's nest" today, it was interesting to view everything from Katherine's perspective.

Personally, I really enjoyed Katherine and her personality.  I thought she was sweet, kind, resourceful, and very much aware of her situation, often playing the silly woman in order to find out information that would be useful to her and her plight.  Being cousin to both Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth put her in a very perilous position at court, with many people claiming that she was the rightful heir, causing problems between herself and Elizabeth, who could not trust her no matter what.  Despite all of this, Katherine tried over and over again to win Elizabeth's trust, only to be thrown over and over again into situations beyond her control, all due to the blood that coursed through her veins.  I can't imagine what it would be like to live day in and out in a situation such as this, wondering if you would wake up every morning with soldiers pounding on your door to take you to the Tower because of your heritage.  It must have been extremely stressful, yet Katherine handles things with maturity and grace.  Of course she gets angry from time to time as she was separated from her betrothed for many years, and also frustrated, but through it all, she kept hoping that Elizabeth would grant her clemency and allow her to be a woman for a change and be married.   Katherine definitely shows a lot of steel beneath those vapid looks, and could be quite determined when she wanted to be.  Even though I was familiar with her story, I still rooted for her every step of the way.  

I found the viewpoint on Elizabeth to be quite interesting as she was cold and calculating, a portrayal that is oftentimes different from how she is perceived, and I liked it.  Bitter and resentful from her years before being crowned, she has difficulty seeing past that bitterness and often took it out on her courtiers by expecting certain things from them, such as not succumbing to men and their affectations.  Women who did fall in love were subject to ridicule and wrath, and although there may have been a touch or two of compassion, it was quickly overlooked by her contempt.  She was a woman damaged and determined to be difficult to anyone who stood in her way or who went against her wishes and desires, a woman who could be selfish and self-absorbed.  I thought the author did a great job portraying Elizabeth as I don't think she was ever someone soft or she would never have been able to survive being queen in a climate such as the one fostered in England during this time period.  Her courtiers definitely walked a fine line between acceptance and accusation, and it didn't take much to fall out of favour.

Verdict
Prisoner of the Queen was a good historical fiction read, and I enjoyed it quite a bit.  This is definitely one of those reads where I rooted for Katherine every step of the way despite knowing what would happen, through all the scandals and the heartbreak, through the worry and the fears, through the joy and the tears.  Katherine is a woman who is portrayed as being passionate and loyal, yet is at the mercy of her royal connection to the throne.  The writing was good and so was the meticulous research into the time period; if I had one complaint, it would be the glossing over of certain events I thought were important in Katherine's life, plus I would have liked to understand more about the relationship between her and her mother, especially as Lady Frances was considered to be quite formidable.  

About the Author

E. Knight is a member of the Historical Novel Society, Romance Writers of America and several RWA affiliate writing chapters: Hearts Through History, Celtic Hearts, Maryland Romance Writers and Washington Romance Writers. Growing up playing in castle ruins and traipsing the halls of Versailles when visiting her grandparents during the summer, instilled in a love of history and royals at an early age. Feeding her love of history, she created the popular historical blog, History Undressed (www.historyundressed.com). Under the pseudonym Eliza Knight, she is a bestselling, award-winning, multi-published author of historical and erotic romance. For more information please visit E. Knight's website and blog. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Review: Madame Picasso by Anne Girard

Madame Picasso
by Anne Girard
Release Date: August 26th 2014
2014 Harlequin MIRA
Ebook Edition; 432 Pages
ISBN: 978-0778316350
ASIN: B00IPDVGKC
Genre: Fiction / Historical
Source: Review copy from Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

4.5 / 5 Stars

Summary
When Eva Gouel moves to Paris from the countryside, she is full of ambition and dreams of stardom. Though young and inexperienced, she manages to find work as a costumer at the famous Moulin Rouge, and it is here that she first catches the attention of Pablo Picasso, a rising star in the art world.

A brilliant but eccentric artist, Picasso sets his sights on Eva, and Eva can't help but be drawn into his web. But what starts as a torrid affair soon evolves into what will become the first great love of Picasso's life. 

My Thoughts
Madame Picasso is a very intriguing novel that takes the reader back into pre-WW1 Paris when Pablo Picasso was beginning to take the world by storm and delves into his character and his personal life.  Although I love art and have been fortunate enough to visit the Musee Picasso in Paris as well as the Centre Pompidou and Le Louvre, I didn't really know a lot about his personal life so I found this book quite absorbing and quite fascinating.  To be honest though, I don't know if I was more intrigued by the amazing amount of famous figures of which Picasso was acquainted or with the man himself.  

Upon reading a bit more about Picasso, I thought Ms. Girard captured the essence of his personality quite well; he was known to be quite self-absorbed, selfish, manic, frenzied, and arrogant.  Yet at the same time, there was a fragility to the man that showed through the pages, one that constantly questioned his ability, questioned who he was, questioned what he was doing.  As a foreigner, he never quite fit in Paris and felt quite distrustful of the political system and the police.  He constantly felt judged for his foreign thoughts and ideas, yet this is what made him so different and so amazing.  Critized for his Cubist ideas, he is now known to be the co-founder of the Cubist movement during the time period in which this book is set and I found the discussions surrounding the concept quite interesting.  Anything new would have been looked upon with skepticism, and pre-WW1 was such an interesting time period in Paris.  I did find it interesting that his political views, other than his deep distrust of the police, were not really mentioned in this novel.  

Eva is a character in whom I could identify quite readily.  Brought up in a rather strict household, her parents goal for her was to marry well and have children; Eva however wanted to spread her wings and explore a world that she thought quite fascinating and she and her parents disagreed over her dreams and her fantasies.  With the old world and new world colliding, I found this to be quite fascinating as I've always really enjoyed hearing the stories about women who really pushed the boundaries during this time period.  These are the women we have to thank for the freedoms we have today, but the ordeals and the timeless traditions that had to be broken just astound me.  Eva however, is a rather strong personality despite her diminutive size and naivete and she finds herself in the midst of exciting times by working at Le Moulin Rouge.  I really liked how she had doubts about Picasso and his womanizing and really tried to keep him at fingers' length, not an easy task to do.  She didn't have blinders on when it came to him and I thought she dealt with his the best way she knew how.  I wonder how their relationship would have stood the test of time?  I also thought it was quite interesting that Picasso never painted her like he painted his other 'muses'; did he feel something really different for Eva, was he protecting her from a rather unforgiving Paris, or was it something else?  

Verdict
Madame Picasso is a wonderful novel about the turbulent times of Belle Epoque Paris, a time period that was coming to an end.  With a cast of characters literally stepping out of the history books, we are swept into Picasso's world of art that was quite amazing.  I thought Ms. Girard's research was quite meticulous and I could imagine myself waltzing through salons and having discussions with Gertrude Stein, Guillaume Apollinaire, Henri Matisse, Juan Gris, Georges Braque, and so son.  It was quite apparent that Picasso was enamored of Eva and you can sense this throughout the novel.  I thought the novel was beautifully written, the descriptions were very well done, and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Review: The Bone Church by Victoria Dougherty

The Bone Church
by Victoria Dougherty
Release Date: April 15th, 2014
2014 Pier's Court Press
Ebook Edition; 304 Pages
ISBN: 978-0615980522
ASIN: B00JOSCDA4
Genre: Fiction / Historical
Source: Review copy from Virtual Book Tour

3.5 / 5 Stars

Summary
In the surreal and paranoid underworld of wartime Prague, fugitive lovers Felix Andel and Magdalena Ruza make some dubious alliances – with a mysterious Roman Catholic cardinal, a reckless sculptor intent on making a big political statement, and a gypsy with a risky sex life. As one by one their chances for fleeing the country collapse, the two join a plot to assassinate Hitler’s nefarious Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, Josef Goebbels. But the assassination attempt goes wildly wrong, propelling the lovers in separate directions. 

Felix’s destiny is sealed at the Bone Church, a mystical pilgrimage site on the outskirts of Prague, while Magdalena is thrust even deeper into the bowels of a city that betrayed her and a homeland soon to be swallowed by the Soviets. As they emerge from the shadowy fog of World War II, and stagger into the foul haze of the Cold War, Felix and Magdalena must confront the past, and a dangerous, uncertain future.

My Thoughts
The Bone Church is one of those novels where I really struggled over how to write this review.  It's one of those novels that I really wanted to love, but the fact is, I didn't.  It's not that I didn't like, as there were many elements in it that I thoroughly enjoyed, but overall, when I liked at how it pieced itself together, I just couldn't admit to myself that I was satisfied with it.

There were a lot of great elements to The Bone Church though.  This is an area I know very well as I teach it in secondary school so I was quite happy to immerse myself in the historical details and the atmosphere of the times and just let the novel take me where it was going to take me.  The novel was well-written and it definitely gave the reader a good sense of the oppression the Czechoslovakian people faced both during and after World War II, by differing countries.  I liked the innuendos made by the author to the Resistance groups that existed and to the illegal trade markets that were happening as well as to the sneaky way she had of mentioning these things.  I'm not sure if someone who was unfamiliar with this time period though, would have picked up on these double entendres and innuendos as someone who is very familiar them.  The author did have a tendency to assume that the reader was well-versed with certain aspects of the time period as well as with a lot of Catholic traditions, both of which I am, but I'm not sure someone without that knowledge would have understood some of it.  On the other hand, coming right out and talking about it would have taken away from the atmosphere of the times; the fear of betrayal, the oppression, the fear of one's neighbour, and so on.  Just the downright fear that existed during this time period.  

The story did move rather quickly, and there was a lot of action, both of which had their good points and their not so good points.  I did find the beginning rather confusing and I had to re-read the first two chapters in order to get a sense of the style of writing before continuing on with the novel.  After that it was fine, and the two differing story lines, at differing times, didn't bother me too much. It was pretty clear when and where things were happening.  What I did find confusing was the why.  So much was going on, and although I grasped the main reason for all of this, I kept thinking there was going to be some major twist somewhere as to the real reason all of this action was happening and it never did.  And I felt somewhat let down.  And while I felt emotionally invested in the characters during the World War II part of the novel, I didn't feel the same way about them later so their later problems didn't affect me the same way and I was kind of indifferent to the resolution of the novel, which I thought was a let down anyways.  And I have to admit that the supernatural element was never really explained and just didn't belong in this novel, or if it was because of what I think it should have been (spoiler if I talk about it), there definitely should have been more build up of that aspect of the Catholic church and the role it plays in the Czechoslovakian people's life.  I'll leave it at that.  

Verdict
The Bone Church was a decent novel about the Czechoslovakian people during World War II and the after-effects when the Russians moved in to take control.  I thought the descriptions of the time period and the atmosphere were very well-researched and were great, showing an oppressed and desperate people hiding a lively, fighting spirit.  I did feel that some of the innuendos behind some of the things were too much for people not familiar with the time period, especially those to do with the Infant Jesus of Prague (Church of Our Lady of Victory), where thousands come every year for hope and healing.  I did feel somewhat cheated as I felt liked the novel came up short in some areas; for example, I would have liked to have learned more about the lives of Felix and Magdalena after they were separated and how they came to be where they were and doing what they were doing.  Only little hints and vague remarks were given.  I did feel like there were major gaps and I really wanted to know what was going on.  However, that being said, I would definitely read another novel by this author as I enjoyed the characters, and her descriptions were very well done.

Review: The Eagle and the Swan by Carol Strickland

The Eagle and the Swan
by Carol Strickland
Release Date: November 7th, 2013
2013 Erudition Digital
Ebook Edition; 556 Pages
ASIN: B00GIR54MI
Genre: Fiction / Historical
Source: Review copy from NFVBT

3 / 5 Stars

Summary
This historical novel tells the story of one of the most maligned--and significant--figures of the Late Roman Empire, Empress Theodora of 6th-century Constantinople. Born the circus bear-keeper's daughter, she was a burlesque dancer, actress and courtesan before she began her escape from the gutter. Through her beauty and brilliance, she attracted the interest of a young soldier, himself born a peasant. Justinian was as ambitious and driven as Theodora. Together, they shook up not only the staid aristocrats of Byzantium but the entire Roman Empire.


My Thoughts
The Eagle and the Swan is the second book I've read about Theodora this year and I was really looking forward to learning more about her and about her controversial life with Justinian.  Ms. Strickland had a very unique view to sharing her research and historical detail, which I enjoyed, but I also feel that this emphasis on historical detail is the reason why I didn't quite enjoy the book as much as I really wanted to.  

The story is supposed to written by a monk, Fabianus, a man rescued from the slums by Theodora and who becomes an intimate in her life.  He constantly struggles with the fact that he may not be able to do justice to her life and to her personality and I liked reading about this conflict as it gave us a more in-depth aspect into the struggles of how another person actually viewed Theodora and how difficult she was to understand.  Through his eyes we could see she was brash, bold, stubborn, independent, but vulnerable at the same time, and quite theatrical, often looking for attention.  It was quite a mix, personality wise, and I can see how perhaps the court didn't quite know how to deal with her and her mixed bag of feelings and temperaments.  Justinian was very different personality wise, although he came from the same low roots, but he was more open in his calculations and his ambitions, colder, not quite as theatrical.  

The way the plot is told is a narrative style whereby Fabianus is told both Theodora's and Justinian's story from their points of view.  While I enjoyed this style in the beginning, I will admit that it did get on my nerves around the mid-point mark, and I felt like it was dragging and I just wanted to get on with the story.  There is only so much of the same drama you can take from Theodora before you just want her to get on with the story.  That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the internal politics but it seemed repetitive, as if it was getting nowhere, and I just wanted to get on with the story.  Besides, there are only so many sex scenes you can share in detail before you've had enough of that and want to get on with the story.  I realize it plays a huge role in shaping Theodora's character and how we view her, but I didn't really need to read about her and the swan in such detail.  Or how many positions so and so wanted - I think the reader would have understand the degradation without going into graphic detail all the time, you know?  


The sixth century Constantinople was quite a time period and I definitely enjoyed the descriptions of life at that time.  There was no covering up and glamourizing it, she told it exactly as she learned about it through research and I definitely appreciated that fact.  Some of it was hard to read about - the young children and the men, the starvation, the way people were tortured and treated, but it was how life was like and I'm glad she didn't trivialize it in any way.  The only negative thing about it is the way she narrated it, I didn't have that feeling like I was there, although I could visualize it quite well.  I also marveled at her building triumphs, having been responsible (with Justinian) for rebuilding Constantinople after the Nika revolt, building or rebuilding aqueducts, churches, bridges, and other buildings.  She was also a huge advocate for the rights of women.

Verdict
The Eagle and the Swan was a fascinating book in terms of learning about the life of early Byzantine, and the city of Constantinople.  I have always been fascinated by this city, and I really appreciated the fact that Ms. Strickland did not fantasize or glamourize the city in any way, but wrote about it as she would have learned through research; it made me appreciate the difficulty that many citizens faced during their lives, and what a triumph it would have been for both Justinian and Theodora to have accomplished what they did.  At the same time, the way the story was told made me impatient and I found myself swamped in historical detail, and while this is something I often enjoy, it took away from the story itself, and made the story drag on a bit too much, to the point where I found my mind wandering quite frequently and had to re-read passages.  I wasn't overly crazy with the ending, and to be honest, it was a relief to have finished.  If this wasn't a book that I promised to review, I'm not sure I would have finished it, and that says a lot.   For those of you who really would like another take on Theodora, then this one is certainly that, and her story can be quite engaging, and I would recommend it for the descriptions of the time period, and for an interesting viewpoint on Theodora and the questions it raises about women as well as rights and freedoms. 

Review: Tuscan Rose by Belinda Alexandra

Tuscan Rose
by Belinda Alexandra
Release Date: November 19th, 2013
2013 Gallery Books (first published in 2010)
Softcover Edition; 583 Pages
ISBN: 978-1451679076
Genre: Fiction / Historical
Source: Review copy from publisher

3 / 5 Stars

Summary
FLORENCE, 1914. A mysterious stranger known as The Wolf leaves an infant with the sisters of Santo Spirito. A tiny silver key hidden in her wrappings is the one clue to the child’s identity. . . . FIFTEEN YEARS LATER, young Rosa must leave the nuns, her only family, and become governess to the daughter of an aristocrat and his strange, frightening wife. Their house is elegant but cursed, and Rosa, blessed with gifts beyond her considerable musical talents, is torn between her desire to know the truth and her fear of its repercussions. All the while, the hand of Fascism curls around beautiful Italy, and no citizen is safe. Rosa faces unimaginable hardship: her only weapons her intelligence, intuition, and determination . . . and her extraordinary capacity for love.

My Thoughts
Tuscan Rose is one of those books that I somewhat enjoyed because I am a huge history buff and thought the descriptions of life during World War II in Italy were quite well done.  I thought the sentiments and feelings of the time period came through quite well, and the author did a credible job portraying the mixed emotions of people living under a dictatorship that was slowly rotting their country from the inside out.  And yet, despite all of this, I was somewhat disappointed in this novel for a variety of reasons.

First of all, the author made a big deal out of this special key that was left with Rosa as a baby which was supposed to be a clue to her identity.  This is exactly the kind of book I liked - secrets, mysterious background, clues, wealthy family, etc... Despite all of this building up around this key, it actually came to...nothing, and I was really disappointed as I felt kind of cheated.  And yet, the first part of the book is the best part of the book!  Rosa, who led a fairly sheltered life in the convent, was forced to deal with a very different way of life as the governess for a wealthy family, one with many secrets.  Rosa, who has a hint of the supernatural, tries to use her gifts to help her in a difficult situation, but finds herself trapped between conflicts she knows nothing about.  I sometimes wanted to strangle her though, as naivety can only be an excuse for so long sometimes.  With the education she got in the convent, I had a hard time believing she was quite as naive as portrayed in this novel.  But I still liked her and admired her spunk and her ability to try and work out her problems on her own.  I enjoyed the character development that I saw in Rosa and the author's skilled way of showing readers her blossoming awareness of what life was actually like for women outside of a sheltered house, women who were abused and abandoned, and her growing awareness that life is so much more complicated that she first thought.

The second half of the book is where I had the most problems with Rosa's character development.  Suddenly we have this woman who is confidant in her abilities and in her survival, one who is fairly politically astute, one who is very fashionable, and so on.  I couldn't relate to this more mature Rosa like I could the earlier one as the change was too sudden and there was no real explanation for it, other than she got married, and not to the man she really wanted to marry. And when the war began, and life became a matter of survival in order to protect her husband and children, Rosa changed yet again.  Now, this change I understood better as war changed pretty much everybody; where I had the difficulty is how Rosa was discussed like she was this ultra warrior and dangerous when I'm not certain how and where she received this so-called 'warrior-like' training.  

The plot itself had a number of loose ends in it, and could be fairly convoluted if you were not paying attention to the details.  What I found disappointing is that the entire story was somewhat predictable and few twists and turns existed to capture the reader's imagination.  Yes, the author did tie up all the loose ends, but by then I had them all figured out anyways, so there was no climax to any of the scenes.  Considering how often the author tried to mess up the reader at the beginning of the novel, where things were rather more interesting and fun, the ending left me feeling unsatisfied and disappointed.  It's too bad as the writing style was somewhat captivating (if you can overlook the continuous comments about meat-eaters, vegetarian anyone?, and the fact that I felt like I was being preached to as if I was twelve years old sometimes, even in the type of language used) and I enjoyed the setting very much. I teach history so this is right up my alley and I soaked in the historical details as much as possible.  I especially loved the scene with the dog, Fido.  

Verdict
Tuscan Rose is one of those novels that I had mixed feelings about how much I really liked it.  At first, I was captivated by the descriptions of wartime Italy and the sentiments expressed by the Italian people and I just soaked it all in.  However, the plot was a bit convoluted, somewhat disconnected, and the ending left me feeling unsatisfied.  I found it too predictable and would have liked a few more twists and turns; great story lines, like the one about the key, were dropped or forgotten about over the course of the novel, and this was disappointing as I felt cheated.   I also know the message in the novel was supposed to be about mankind and peace, but the ending did little to credit that message so I'm not quite sure what to think about that.  If you like historical fiction, this novel may appeal to you as I did enjoy the discussions about Mussolini and the war, but then I am a war buff.  There is some romance, suspense, mystery, scandal, and betrayal that should appeal to other readers, but I was not really one of them.