Promised to the Crown by Aimie K. Runyan

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Obtained from: Netgalley

Read: May 21, 2016

In her illuminating debut novel, Aimie K. Runyan masterfully blends fact and fiction to explore the founding of New France through the experiences of three young women who, in 1667, answer Louis XIV’s call and journey to the Canadian colony. They are known as the filles du roi, or “King’s Daughters”—young women who leave prosperous France for an uncertain future across the Atlantic. Their duty is to marry and bring forth a new generation of loyal citizens. Each prospective bride has her reason for leaving—poverty, family rejection, a broken engagement. Despite their different backgrounds, Rose, Nicole, and Elisabeth all believe that marriage to a stranger is their best, perhaps only, chance of happiness. Once in Quebec, Elisabeth quickly accepts baker Gilbert Beaumont, who wants a business partner as well as a wife. Nicole, a farmer’s daughter from Rouen, marries a charming officer who promises comfort and security. Scarred by her traumatic past, Rose decides to take holy vows rather than marry. Yet no matter how carefully she chooses, each will be tested by hardship and heartbreaking loss—and sustained by the strength found in their uncommon friendship, and the precarious freedom offered by their new home.

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The Arrival of the French Girls at Quebec, 1667.
Watercolour by Charles William Jefferys

Aimie K. Runyan's Promised to the Crown intrigued me. I haven't read a lot of fiction set in Canada and while I was aware it'd been a French colony, I'd never heard of the "King's Daughters" and wasn't entirely sure what to expect from the narrative. I took time to consider the book, but it stayed on my radar as reviews came in, my curiosity grew, and eventually got the best of me. 

Runyan's fiction introduced me to material I knew absolutely nothing about, but I found the way she conveyed that history quite creative. Most stories end when the characters reach their destination, but arrival in the colony is only the beginning for Rose, Nicole, and Elisabeth. Maybe it's just me, but I felt there was very authentic in that, something very true to the experiences of the real King's Daughters and I appreciated how Runyan incorporated that reality into her fiction. 

Taking that concept one step further, I loved the diversity in each of the three story lines. Each woman faces a very different set of challenges and while I thought some moments a little soft, I was drawn to the idea that so much of their struggle was not tied to the era so much as it was their emotions. Runyan captured a number of intimate moments over the course of the narrative and I think that the universality of the pain and joy these women experience bridges the gap and allows modern readers to really understand the world through their eyes. 

Runyan tackles a lot of social and legal conflicts as well as personal drama so don't get the idea that its all women's issues. The author obviously loves the period and I think the finished novel speaks to era and I'm eager to see where the author takes the series in book two of the series, Duty to the Crown, which is set to release in October.

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Rose walked slowly back to her dormitory. She hoped that Sister Charite was right, and that a useful life awaited her in New France.

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The Sun King Conspiracy by Yves Jégo & Denis Lépée

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Obtained from: Netgalley

Read: March 1, 2016

Who can I trust in this nest of vipers? 1661 is a year of destiny for France and its young king, Louis XIV. Cardinal Mazarin, the Chief Minister who has governed throughout the King's early years, lies dying. As a fierce power struggle develops to succeed him, a religious brotherhood, guardian of a centuries-old secret, also sees its chance to influence events. Gabriel de Pontbriand, an aspiring actor employed as secretary to Moliere, becomes unwittingly involved when documents stolen from Mazarin's palace fall into his hands. The coded papers will alter Gabriel's life for ever, and their explosive contents have the power to change the course of history for France and the rising Sun King himself.

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*** Note: This title was previously published as The Sun King Rises.

Louis XIV

I’d love to say an appreciation of French history led me to The Sun King Conspiracy, but I’d be lying through my teeth. The reality is that the book has a genuinely gorgeous jacket and I, as we all know, am an unashamed cover slut. And when I say unashamed, I mean unashamed. I actually requested the previous incarnation of the title, The Sun King Rises, from Gallic Books last year for the same reason. Yeah…

As to the narrative itself, I hardly know where to begin. Historically the novel covers a lot of ground and I was thoroughly impressed with how Jégo and Lépée utilized both fact and period gossip within the fabric of their fiction. Louis XIV of France, Anne of Austria, Cardinal Mazarin, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, François d'Orbay, and Nicolas Fouquet feature prominently in Gabriel de Pontbriand’s story. The much celebrated Mancini sisters make notable appearances and there is even cameo by Charles II. The magnificence and magnitude of the stage Jégo and Lépée create matches the complexities of the conspiracy they construct. Some readers may find their approach somewhat overwhelming, but I personally loved every minute of it.

In terms of pacing, the novel never lets up which is saying something as various editions range between 415 and 496 pages in length. It’s got little on the unabridged edition of Les Miserables, but make no mistake, The Sun King Conspiracy is a beast. It is dense and atmospheric, but the story itself never stops moving. Hit after hit after hit, one twist after another, Jégo and Lépée kept me on the edge of my seat beginning to end. As before, their style and presentation may not be suitable for every reader, but I thought the velocity of the narrative one of its greatest features and greatly appreciated how it complimented the tension, depth, and intricacies of the plot.

That said, there were a few things that bugged. Not enough to downgrade to four stars, but they made a big enough impression that they deserve mention. There is a resolution, but Gabriel de Pontbriand’s story is by no means complete and that irked. I’m not sure if the book has a sequel or not, but it definitely needs one. I’d have also liked more definitive detail regarding the secrets the Brotherhood risks so much to protect. It’s a great story line, but comparatively, I felt it less developed than others in the narrative.

Would I recommend the book? In a heartbeat. The Sun King Conspiracy is a thrilling tale of power, riddles, and treachery. Definitely something I’d recommend as a standalone or as a companion piece to Enchantress of Paris.

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“You are taking terrible risks, Monsieur Superintendent. A crown is a heavy burden to wear when one is not its owner… “

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Enchantress of Paris: A Novel of the Sun King’s Court by Marci Jefferson

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Obtained from: Agent/Netgalley

Read: August 10, 2015

Fraught with conspiracy and passion, the Sun King's opulent court is brought to vivid life in this captivating tale about a woman whose love was more powerful than magic. The alignment of the stars at Marie Mancini's birth warned that although she would be gifted at divination, she was destined to disgrace her family. Ignoring the dark warnings of his sister and astrologers, Cardinal Mazarin brings his niece to the French court, where the forbidden occult arts thrive in secret. In France, Marie learns her uncle has become the power behind the throne by using her sister Olympia to hold the Sun King, Louis XIV, in thrall. Desperate to avoid her mother's dying wish that she spend her life in a convent, Marie burns her grimoire, trading Italian superstitions for polite sophistication. But as her star rises, King Louis becomes enchanted by Marie's charm. Sensing a chance to grasp even greater glory, Cardinal Mazarin pits the sisters against each other, showering Marie with diamonds and silks in exchange for bending King Louis to his will. Disgusted by Mazarin's ruthlessness, Marie rebels. She sacrifices everything, but exposing Mazarin's deepest secret threatens to tear France apart. When even King Louis's love fails to protect Marie, she must summon her forbidden powers of divination to shield her family, protect France, and help the Sun King fulfill his destiny.

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Marie Mancini

I got excited about Marci Jefferson's Enchantress of Paris the moment I learned its release date. I'd fallen in love with Girl on the Golden Coin: A Novel of Frances Stuart in 2013 and had high hopes for the author's sophomore release. I knew nothing about Marie Mancini or Cardinal Mazarin, but I was excited at the prospect and eagerly anticipated watching the unfamiliar story unfold under Jefferson's pen.

Did the book live up to my expectations? Yes and no. There were a lot of things I loved about the story, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit the time I spent with this particular narrative left mixed impressions in its wake.

Like many of my fellow reviewers, I fell for Jefferson's heroine. Marie is intelligent, passionate, romantic, and tenacious, but my favorite aspect of her being is that she is vulnerable. This is a seventeenth century woman, but the flaws Jefferson incorporated in her characterization make Louis' mistress empathetic, engaging and relatable.

I've not spent much time on fictional accounts of the Sun King, but I thought Jefferson's interpretation of Louis XIV equally noteworthy. Young and idealistic, he is portrayed as a monarch still growing into the duties and responsibilities of his position. He is unsure of himself and easily manipulated, but his growing confidence endears him to the reader and gives them reason to overlook, or at least accept, his personal shortcomings.

I enjoyed the politics Jefferson folded into the narrative as well as the social drama experienced by her cast. I felt the multiple allegiances, rivalries and ambitions depicted within these pages authentically convoluted and appreciated the effort that went into crafting such a tangled web of pretension and purpose. I also thought the novel convincingly atmospheric and savored the descriptive details scattered throughout Marie's story.

That said, there were several elements I thought might have been stronger if they'd been more fully developed. I liked the ambiguity of the magic depicted within these pages, but I was disappointed at how thoroughly the theme faded as the story progressed. Marie's maid Morena fascinated me, but her character arc ultimately felt incomplete, unfinished and fragmentary in my eyes.

Olympia, Hortense and Marianne boasted similar potential, but despite their fascinating and controversial legacies, the trials of Marie's sisters go virtually unacknowledged. Don't misunderstand, I truly adore the story as written, but I couldn't help wishing she'd spotlighted the girls as Perinot did Marguerite and Eleanor in Sister Queens or Quinn did Cornelia, Lollia, Diana, and Marcella in Daughters of Rome.

Do I regret the time I spent on Enchantress of Paris? Hardly. Jefferson is a gifted storyteller and I adore the fiction she crafted. I believe more could have been done with the material, but I've no complaints of what appears within these pages and look forward to her next release. 

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“He must be convinced subtly, and that will take time. But when I'm ready to tell the king what I know, it will shake the very foundations of Paris.” 

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The Blood Countess by Andrei Codrescu

Rating: NA

Obtained from: Netgalley

Read: July 30, 2015

A Hungarian-American journalist confronts the beauty and terror of his aristocratic heritage in this suspenseful chronicle of murder and eroticism. Turmoil reigns in post-Soviet Hungary when journalist Drake Bathory-Kereshtur returns from America to grapple with his family history. He's haunted by the legacy of his ancestor, the notorious sixteenth-century Countess Elizabeth Bathory, who is said to have murdered more than 650 young virgins and bathed in their blood to preserve her youth. Interweaving past and present, The Blood Countess tells the stories of Elizabeth's debauched and murderous reign and Drake's fascination with the eternal clashes of faith and power, violence and beauty. Codrescu traces the captivating origins of the countess's obsessions in tandem with the emerging political fervor of the reporter, building the narratives into an unforgettable, bloody crescendo. Taut and intense, The Blood Countess is a riveting novel that deftly straddles the genres of historical fiction, thriller, horror, and family drama.

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Countess Elizabeth Bathory

No. Just, no.

I’m tempted to leave my thoughts on Andrei Codrescu’s The Blood Countess at that, but I think my fellow readers deserve an explanation. That said, I want to be very clear that I did not finish this book. I made it through 45% of the narrative and bailed. I did not bother skimming through to the end as there seemed no point in subjecting myself to material I found both salacious and repugnant. I’d award a single star to the portion I completed, but as I did not finish the book I’ve chosen to leave this review unrated.

I am familiar with Elizabeth Bathory, but my objections to the material within these pages have nothing to do with blood baths and dead virgins. I don’t know how the author utilized the material later on, but the obscene sexual nature of the chapters I did experience didn’t sit well with me. Drake’s climax in the iron maiden was uncomfortable, Elizabeth’s hands on approach to Johannes’ encounter with the gypsy disturbed me, and don’t get me started on the harlequin doll. I’ll give Codrescu the benefit of the doubt and assume the material was meant to elicit the response it did, but the depravity he depicted went too far and I lost any and all interest in the story he was trying to tell. 

Speaking of story, I felt the contemporary elements of the piece should have been scrapped altogether. I didn’t care a whit for Drake or his experience. These sections were tediously slow and dominated by exposition better suited to nonfiction. I will note the religious elements of Elizabeth’s story arc were interesting, but Codrescu’s narrative is so drawn out that the ideas felt fractured and incoherent. 

The description claims the novel unforgettable and for once I honestly agree with the sales pitch. The Blood Countess is unforgettable, but for all the wrong reasons. Not for me and not something I could possibly recommend.

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Elizabeth Bathory was a powerful woman in a time of powerful women. She was a contemporary of Queen Elizabeth. Educated in the highest traditions of the late Renaissance, she was the absolute ruler of her domains, which were situated at the center of Christian Europe. If it was true that she tortured and killed, bathed in blood, and ate the flesh of young girls, these charges had to be carefully considered by those who would judge her.

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The Saffron Crocus by Alison McMahan

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Obtained from: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Read: May 16, 2015

Venice, 1643. Fifteen-year-old Isabella longs to sing in Monteverdi’s Choir, but only boys (and castrati) can do that. Her singing teacher, Margherita, introduces her to a new wonder: opera! Then Isabella finds Margherita murdered. And now people keep trying to kill Margherita’s handsome rogue of a son, Rafaele. Was Margherita killed so someone could steal her saffron business? Or was it a disgruntled lover, as Margherita—unbeknownst to Isabella—was one of Venice’s wealthiest courtesans? Or will Isabella and Rafaele find the answer deep in Margherita's past, buried in the Jewish Ghetto? Isabella has to solve the mystery of the Saffron Crocus fast, before Rafaele hangs for a murder he didn’t commit, though she fears the truth will drive her and the man she loves irrevocably apart.

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I was of two minds going into Alison McMahan's The Saffron Crocus. On one hand, I have a hit and miss relationship with young adult fiction and was worried the book wouldn't work for me. On the other, I was intrigued by the premise and curious to see if the author could make such a story work. 

Looking back, I can easily say I lucked out with the book and found it quite satisfying. McMahan's is well-rounded and memorable, but the mystery at the heart of the story makes the piece. The amount of historic detail also stuck a chord with me and I was fascinated at the level of authentic detail the author was able to squeeze into the narrative. 

Beautifully imagined and thoroughly engaging, The Saffron Crocus was well worth the time I spent with it. A wonderful story for both young adult and mature audiences.  

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It was Piero. Face down, one arm stretched out before him, as if in supplication. A puddle of blood under him. Dead.

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A Pledge of Better Times by Margaret Porter

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Obtained from: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Read: April 29, 2015

A sweeping tale of ambition, treachery, and passion... For generations Lady Diana de Vere’s family loyally served England’s crown. But after King Charles II’s untimely death, her father becomes an outcast for refusing to submit to James II’s tyranny. Charles, Duke of St. Albans—the late king’s bastard son by actress Nell Gwyn—escapes his newly crowned uncle’s matchmaking efforts by secretly pledging to wed Diana, then departing for the Continent to become a soldier. Before the battle-scarred war hero returns to claim his promised bride, political and religious turmoil brings about revolution and yet another coronation. As companion to Queen Mary Stuart, Diana has followed her de Vere forbears into royal service. Though she hopes Charles will abandon his military career after marriage, he resists joining the ranks of the courtiers he despises and mistrusts. In palace corridors and within their own household the young duke and duchess confront betrayals, scandals, and tragedies that threaten to divide them. And neither the privileges of birth nor proximity to the throne can ensure their security, their advancement—-or their happiness.

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A Pledge of Better Times by Margaret Porter wasn’t supposed to be that book. You know what I mean. The one you start, put aside, and can’t shake. I’d agreed to review the novel on a whim, but it quickly became that piece that followed me around which is odd since the period isn’t one of my favorites. 

I was not familiar with Diana de Vere prior to my reading, but I loved how Porter illustrated her story. I can’t speak to how accurate the tale is, but if period detail is anything to go by, I think it safe to say Porter didn’t wander too far from the beaten path. That said, her characters are remarkably engaging and thoroughly enjoyable. The history was new to me, but Porter’s writing drew me in and sparked my imagination. 

A definite must for fans of Andrea Zuvich and Marci Jefferson, A Pledge for Better Times isn’t one to be missed. 

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Placing her hand upon his arm, she drew him out of the formal gardens, eager to return to the place where they had met. On that distant spring morning, standing together on the canal bank, they hadn't guessed their lives would be linked. 

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The Masque of a Murderer by Susanna Calkins

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Netgalley/Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Read: March 10, 2015

It’s 1666 and the Great Fire has just decimated an already plague-ridden London. Lady’s maid Lucy Campion, along with pretty much everyone else left standing, is doing her part to help the city clean up and recover. But their efforts come to a standstill when a couple of local boys stumble across a dead body that should have been burned up in the fire but miraculously remained intact—the body of a man who died not from the plague or the fire, but from the knife plunged into his chest. Searching for a purpose now that there’s no lady in the magistrate’s household for her to wait on, Lucy has apprenticed herself to a printmaker. But she can't help but use her free time to help the local constable, and she quickly finds herself embroiled in the murder investigation. It will take all of her wits and charm, not to mention a strong stomach and a will of steel, if Lucy hopes to make it through alive herself.

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I find it amusing that I'm reviewing Susanna Calkins' The Masque and the Murderer on the tails of Mist of Midnight as I think the two make very good companion pieces. There are a lot of similarities between the books and I thought that brought a fun dynamic to my experience of both, but compare contrast is a topic for another day. 

Calkins' uses the diversity of seventeenth century social stratification to her advantage which is something I found very appealing. From the stigma attached to those who'd escaped service, to the subjection of women, Calkins paints an illuminating picture of the London and her inhabitants over the course of her narrative. I was equally impressed with her treatment of the Quakers and how she wove the religious sect and their customs into the fabric of a murder investigation.

I ultimately liked how the story played out, but admit the pacing was a little slow for my tastes. Calkins also spends a significant amount of time on Lucy's personal life and while I enjoyed the perspective that brought her character, I often felt the effort diverted attention from the mystery at the heart of the story.

The Masque and the Murderer was not my first Lucy Campion mystery, I read A Murder at Rosamund's Gate in Jan 2013, but I was very aware I'd skipped From the Charred Remains. These books are not written as standalones, but that said, they are intricate and puzzling whodunits that have proved quite enjoyable to this particular reader. 

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“So the truth finally comes forth,” the searcher said, a deep chill to her voice. She seemed unmoved by the circumstances that brought about her son’s murder. “I always knew you had killed my dear Edgar."

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Check Out All the Stops on Susanna Calkins' The Masque of a Murderer Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, March 16
Review at Bibliophilia, Please

Tuesday, March 17
Review at Flashlight Commentary
Guest Post at Bibliophilia, Please

Wednesday, March 18
Interview at Flashlight Commentary

Friday, March 20
Spotlight at Historical Readings & Reviews

Monday, March 23
Review & Interview at Oh, for the Hook of a Book!

Wednesday, March 25
Review & Interview at The Emerald City Book Review

Tuesday, March 31
Review at With Her Nose Stuck in a Book

Wednesday, April 1
Character Interview at Boom Baby Reviews

Thursday, April 2
Review at Just One More Chapter

Monday, April 6
Review at Ageless Pages Reviews

Tuesday, April 7
Spotlight at The Genre Queen

Thursday, April 9
Review at The Lit Bitch
Guest Post at A Literary Vacation

Friday, April 10
Review at Book Nerd

Monday, April 13
Review at CelticLady’s Reviews

Tuesday, April 14
Review at Book Babe

Thursday, April 16
Review at Jorie Loves a Story
Spotlight at Layered Pages

Friday, April 17
Spotlight & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

The Witch Hunter's Tale by Sam Thomas

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Obtained from: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours/Netgalley

Read: February 3, 2015

Sam Thomas takes readers back to Puritan England with midwife Bridget Hodgson, hailed by the Cleveland Plain Dealer as "one of the most fascinating detectives in contemporary mystery fiction." Winter has come to the city of York, and with it the threat of witchcraft. As women and children sicken and die, midwife Bridget Hodgson is pulled against her will into a full-scale witch-hunt that threatens to devour all in its path, guilty and innocent alike. Bridget—accompanied once again by her deputy Martha Hawkins and her nephew Will Hodgson—finds herself playing a lethal game of cat and mouse against the most dangerous men in York, as well as her sworn enemy Rebecca Hooke. As the trials begin, and the noose begins to tighten around her neck, Bridget must answer the question: How far will she go to protect the people she loves?

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Sam Thomas taunted me. Not intentionally, I don't really know him and I don't think he has particular issue with me, but he mentioned The Witch Hunter's Tale in a January 2014 interview, more than a year before the novel's release, and I about lost my mind waiting for it to become available. Week after interminable week, there I was cooling my heels and twiddling my thumbs, but relief finally came and I'm glad to say I wasn't disappointed.

Thomas has a remarkable understanding of seventeenth century life. He fills his stories with a wealth of social and historic detail, but I'm always amazed by his chosen point of view as each of his novels is written from the perspective of a midwife. I don't mean to split hairs or get into some sexist debate, I'm simply awed and amused that I owe such excellent exposition to someone who wouldn't have been welcome in the birthing room. 

Bridget Hodgson is a wonderful character, but I think this my favorite of her stories. She grows in unexpected ways as she wrestles with the idea of justice and man's manipulation of the law. She is forced to make sacrifices, change her view of the world and even act in ways she wouldn't normally consider appropriate. She becomes a more dynamic and complex individual in this installment of the Midwife Mysteries and that transformation really appealed to me. 

My favorite element of the story, however, was Bridget's nemesis, Rebecca Hooke. There is a cold brilliance to the woman, a deviousness I absolutely adore. If you haven't done so, I highly recommend reading The Maidservant and the Murderer as the novella offers wonderful insight to her personality. Bridget is fun, Martha is clever and Helen is wickedly alluring, but Rebecca is shrewd, conniving, and duplicitous. She is the perfect foil, an adversary who is as fascinating as she is egoistic.

I don't mean downplay the earlier novels, but I think The Witch Hunter's Tale the best of the series thus far. Thomas has a way of keeping his readers on their toes, of holding a twist until the last possible moment and catching his audience off-guard with a curve ball they never saw coming, but the themes he explored here and the depth he illustrated in his players were beyond anything I expected and came together in a memorable and thoroughly entertaining fiction. 

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“The first case we will hear is that of Mother Lee,” the clerk announced. “The charge is the most damnable sin and crime of witchcraft.” A door behind the bench opened, and two bailiffs led Mother Lee, shackled hand and foot, into the courtroom to begin what would be her last day on earth.

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Check Out All the Stops on Sam Thomas' The Witch Hunter’s Tale Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, February 9
Review at With Her Nose Stuck In A Book
Spotlight at What Is that Book About

Tuesday, February 10
Review at Flashlight Commentary
Spotlight at The Lit Bitch

Wednesday, February 11
Spotlight at Susan Heim on Writing

Friday, February 13
Spotlight at A Literary Vacation

Monday, February 16
Review at Book Babe
Spotlight at Let Them Read Books

Tuesday, February 17
Review at The Emerald City Book Review
Spotlight at The Never-Ending Book

Wednesday, February 18
Review at Back Porchervations

Thursday, February 19
Interview at Back Porchervations

Friday, February 20
Review at Build a Bookshelf
Spotlight at Passages to the Past

Monday, February 23
Interview at Mina’s Bookshelf
Spotlight at Historical Fiction Obsession

Tuesday, February 24
Review at A Book Geek

Wednesday, February 25
Review at A Chick Who Reads
Spotlight at CelticLady’s Reviews

Thursday, February 26
Review at Beth’s Book Nook Blog
Spotlight at Brooke Blogs

Friday, February 27
Review at So Many Books, So Little Time
Interview at Caroline Wilson Writes

Juliet's Nurse by Lois Leveen

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Netgalley

Read: January 29, 2015

An enthralling new telling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet—told from the perspective of Juliet’s nurse. In Verona, a city ravaged by plague and political rivalries, a mother mourning the death of her day-old infant enters the household of the powerful Cappelletti family to become the wet-nurse to their newborn baby. As she serves her beloved Juliet over the next fourteen years, the nurse learns the Cappellettis’ darkest secrets. Those secrets—and the nurse’s deep personal grief—erupt across five momentous days of love and loss that destroy a daughter, and a family. By turns sensual, tragic, and comic, Juliet’s Nurse gives voice to one of literature’s most memorable and distinctive characters, a woman who was both insider and outsider among Verona’s wealthy ruling class. Exploring the romance and intrigue of interwoven loyalties, rivalries, jealousies, and losses only hinted at in Shakespeare’s play, this is a never-before-heard tale of the deepest love in Verona—the love between a grieving woman and the precious child of her heart. In the tradition of Sarah Dunant, Philippa Gregory, and Geraldine Brooks, Juliet’s Nurse is a rich prequel that reimagines the world’s most cherished tale of love and loss, suffering and survival.

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*** NOTE: This review contains spoilers. Please take heed and proceed at your own risk. 

I'm not a huge fan of Romeo and Juliet, but Lois Leveen's Juliet's Nurse caught my eye. Many of my favorite reviewers were touched by the author's handling of Shakespeare's classic and many were impressed with her interpretation of his characters, but having read the novel, I can't say I'm in agreement with their admiration. The story proved a pleasant enough diversion, but it wasn't quite what I'd expected going in. 

First and foremost, the story is horrendously slow. The first half takes place during Juliet's first three years of life, but remarkably little happens during this period. The author introduces many familiar characters - Angelica, Juliet, Tybalt, Friar Lorenzo, Lord Cappelletti and his wife - but she wallows in their backstories for chapters at time, utterly ignoring the fact that readers are familiar with these individuals and the circumstances that brought them together.

Another thing I struggled with was Leveen's tendency to repeat herself. Take for example, the deaths of Angelica's children. I was so overexposed to this concept that I didn't care for the loss she suffered and the indifference that bred, crippled the story's central theme. I realize Leveen was trying to draw on the sympathies of her audience, but I found her excessive reiteration desensitizing and dull. 

To top things off, Leveen's heroine bored me. It wasn't until the final third of the narrative that I felt Angelica took an active role in the story, but I couldn't help feeling the moment came too late. I'd checked out long before Leveen's fiction began to overlap Shakespeare's timeline and while I'm happy with the author's intent, I felt the execution lacking. 

Contrary to what you might think, there were elements in Juliet's Nurse I liked. Leveen's handling of plague and its impact on seventeenth century life was quite interesting and there were moments involving Lady Cappelletti that had genuine potential, but neither proved compelling enough for this particular reader. I feel the story a nice nod to the play on which it is based, but in all honesty, I don't think the author brought enough imagination to the table. 

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A plague on both your houses. If Mercutio’s many fornications are not enough to send him straight to hell, for this spiteful oath alone he deserves damnation.

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A Soldier of Substance by D.W. Bradbridge

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Obtained from: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Read: January 4, 2015

1644. The smoke of parliamentary musket, cannon, and mortar fire is in the air around the royalist stronghold of Lathom House. Though guards still stand atop its walls, it is besieged on all sides, and it is only a matter of time until the house, along with its embittered and unwavering countess, Lady Charlotte de Tremouille, falls to Parliament’s might. Yet somehow, a royalist spy still creeps, unseen, through its gates, and brings the countess Parliament’s secrets. Barely recovered from the trials of the last few months, Daniel Cheswis is torn from his family and sent north, to uncover the identity of the traitor; though before he can even begin, Cheswis finds himself embroiled in a murder. A woman has been garrotted with cheese wire in her Chester home, suggesting there is more than just the usual hatreds of war at play. As lives are lost and coats are turned on both sides, Cheswis is tasked with finding the murderer, uncovering the traitor, and surviving his soldierly duty long enough to see Lathom House fall. 

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Artist's visualization of Lathom House prior to it's destruction.
Presented in Peter Draper's book The House of Stanley, published in 1864

I didn't think twice when offered D.W. Bradbridge's A Solider of Substance for review. Book one of the Daniel Cheswis series was one of my favorite books of 2014 and I was very exciting about delving into the follow-up.

Part of what I love about this series is that the stories take place during the English Civil War. I am not English and not well-versed in the event, but I love the details Bradbridge works into the narrative. As someone with no background understanding, I think he does a marvelous job outlining both the large and small scale events of the story and he does it without the boring monologues you often see when writers tackle politics through fiction.

Bradbridge's characters also appeal to me. Daniel is an engaging and relatable protagonist, but even the supporting cast is fleshed out. I personally feel characterization an important atmospheric component for any storyteller and admire Bradbridge for the care he takes in presenting Daniel and peers. I will note, A Soldier of Substance is a very masculine tale so the male to female ratio is a little skewed, but I think that fitting to both the period and context of the murder mystery at the heart of the novel.

Bradbridge's ability to keep the reader guessing is matched stroke for stroke by his convincing portrayal of the era. An intelligently written whodunnit, A Soldier of Substance is one book I will certainly be recommending in the future. 

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On reflection, I was pleased that I would get the opportunity to keep my pledge to the Skinner brothers, but I slept uneasily that night. I realised that my career as an intelligencer was not over. On the contrary. It had only just begun.

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Check Out All the Stops on D.W. Bradbridge's A Soldier of Substance Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, January 5
Spotlight & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

Wednesday, January 7
Review at Flashlight Commentary

Saturday, January 10
Review at With Her Nose Stuck in a Book

Tuesday, January 20
Spotlight at A Literary Vacation

Tuesday, January 27
Review at Forever Ashley
Spotlight at Books and Benches

Tuesday, February 3
Spotlight at CelticLady’s Reviews

Friday, February 6
Guest Post & Giveaway at Historical Fiction Obsession

Whither Thou Goest by Anna Belfrage

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Obtained from: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Read: December 14, 2014

Whither Thou Goest is the seventh book in Anna Belfrage’s series featuring time traveller Alexandra Lind and her seventeenth century husband, Matthew Graham. In their rural home in the Colony of Maryland, Matthew and Alex Graham are still recovering from the awful events of the previous years when Luke Graham, Matthew’s estranged brother, asks them for a favour. Alex has no problems whatsoever ignoring Luke’s sad plea for help. In her opinion Matthew’s brother is an evil excuse of a man who deserves whatever nasty stuff fate throws at him. Except, as Matthew points out, Luke is begging them to save his son – his misled Charlie, one of the Monmouth rebels – and can Charlie Graham be held responsible for his father’s ill deeds? So off they go on yet another adventure, this time to the West Indies to find a young man neither of them knows but who faces imminent death on a sugar plantation, condemned to slavery for treason. The journey is hazardous and along the way Alex comes face to face with a most disturbing ghost from her previous life, a man she would much have preferred never to have met. Time is running out for Charlie Graham, Matthew is haunted by reawakened memories of his days as an indentured servant, and then there’s the eerie Mr Brown, Charlie’s new owner, who will do anything to keep his secrets safe, anything at all. Will Matthew deliver his nephew from imminent death? And will they ever make it back home?

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Readers often talk about escaping into novels, about stepping into the shoes of another and living a thousand different lives between the pages of their books. It's an interesting concept and one I certainly subscribe to, but it takes new meaning with each installment of The Graham Saga. Where most authors capture a moment, Anna Belfrage recreates a lifetime, an intimate portrait that few of her peers can rival. 

On the surface, Wither Thou Goest is an adventure. A quest that takes the Grahams from their comfortable colonial home to the turmoil of the West Indies. It is a rescue mission complete with danger, heartbreak and intrigue. Pretty straightforward stuff, until one looks beneath the surface. Behind the scenes, every member of the family is struggling with personal demons, the ripple effects of events seen in earlier installments of the series and while I love the drama created by Charlie's situation, I found the emotional foundation of the book far more captivating.

Sarah's plight was a challenge for me, as were Ian's struggle with responsibility, Matthew's private pain and Samuel's divided loyalties. Alex's attempts to navigate the storm while managing her own conflicts represented yet another obstacle, but the dynamic illustrated by the family's interactions created an engaging and intricately complex portrait of loyalty and honor and I love the inherent contrast it bore in comparison to Luke's branch of the Graham family as well as the Burley/Connor relations. 

Beautifully written, thought-provoking and intense, Whither Thou Goest lives up to its predecessors in every possible way. A must read for any fan of historic fiction. 

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His mouth stretched into a mirthless smile. No doubt Graham thought him well and truly dead, for how was someone to survive disfigurement and pain such as the one he had been subjected to?

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Check Out All the Stops on Anna Belfrage's Whither Thou Goest Blog Tour Schedule

Tuesday, December 2
Review at Broken Teepee
Spotlight & Giveaway at Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More

Wednesday, December 3
Review at Just One More Chapter

Thursday, December 4
Review at Oh, For the Hook of a Book
Review at With Her Nose Stuck in a Book

Friday, December 5
Guest Post at Oh, For the Hook of a Book

Monday, December 8
Review at So Many Books, So Little Time
Guest Post at What Is That Book About

Tuesday, December 9
Review at Book Nerd

Wednesday, December 10
Review at CelticLady’s Reviews

Thursday, December 11
Review at Griperang’s Bookmarks
Review at A Bibliotaph’s Reviews

Friday, December 12
Review at Dianne Ascroft’s Blog

Monday, December 15
Review at Kincavel Korner
Review at Beth’s Book Nook Blog

Tuesday, December 16
Review at Layered Pages
Review at A Chick Who Reads

Wednesday, December 17
Review at Flashlight Commentary

Thursday, December 18
Interview at Flashlight Commentary