Daughter of the Gods: A Novel of Ancient Egypt by Stephanie Thornton

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Obtained from: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours 

Read: May 4, 2014

Egypt, 1400s BC. The pharaoh’s pampered second daughter, lively, intelligent Hatshepsut, delights in racing her chariot through the marketplace and testing her archery skills in the Nile’s marshlands. But the death of her elder sister, Neferubity, in a gruesome accident arising from Hatshepsut’s games forces her to confront her guilt...and sets her on a profoundly changed course. Hatshepsut enters a loveless marriage with her half brother, Thut, to secure his claim to the Horus Throne and produce a male heir. But it is another of Thut’s wives, the commoner Aset, who bears him a son, while Hatshepsut develops a searing attraction for his brilliant adviser Senenmut. And when Thut suddenly dies, Hatshepsut becomes de facto ruler, as regent to her two-year-old nephew. Once, Hatshepsut anticipated being free to live and love as she chose. Now she must put Egypt first. Ever daring, she will lead a vast army and build great temples, but always she will be torn between the demands of leadership and the desires of her heart. And even as she makes her boldest move of all, her enemies will plot her downfall...

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Hatshepsut. Indurated limestone sculpture at
the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
Image by Postdlf

Hatshepsut. Daughter of Thutmose I, wife of Thutmose II, fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty, and the longest serving indigenous queen of Ancient Egypt. All things considered it's not hard to imagine what drew author Stephanie Thornton to this enigmatic ruler, nor what prompted her to fictionalize her story in Daughter of the Gods.

Now, I adored Thornton's The Secret History, but contrary to what you might think, that is not a blessing. I am not one of those who finds an author I enjoy and promptly gives a five star rating to every book they release. Quite opposite in fact, I shamelessly hold five star authors to a higher standard. Bottom line, they've impressed me once and I expect them to maintain that measure of excellence. 

The obvious question here is did Thornton succeed? Did she give me a heroine who can stand beside Theodora? Someone who is equally compelling, but uniquely different? Someone with her own motivations, personality, strengths and weaknesses? Did Hatshepsut’s Egypt come to life with a singular rhythm and flavor or was it only a facsimile of Theodora's Constantinople? Does Hatshepsut’s love affair with Senenmut bear too much resemblance Theodora's relationship with Justinian or does it burn with a fire and passion of its own? These are the questions that plagued me going into this novel, but looking back, I can honestly say I've no complaints. 

Hatshepsut was equated to a God while she walked the earth, but Thornton doesn't bother herself with that legacy. On the contrary, she strips it away, giving her audience a realistic interpretation of a woman whose ambition earned her prominence and prestige. Her characterization is at times jealous, guilt-ridden, stubborn, selfish and resentful, but from that she cultivates a fortitude that one cannot help but commend, a tenacious intensity that transcends print and sparks the imagination. 

Thornton's deep appreciation for Hatshepsut’s cultural heritage is evident in every aspect of the book. Meticulously researched the text is saturated with historic detail, but that said, Thornton never allows fact to overwhelm the narrative. Enhancing the text, she treats it like a garnish, creating depth and dimension through the complementary application of truth.

At this point I think it obvious how much I appreciate the time I spent reading Daughter of the Gods, but my favorite aspect of Thornton's work cannot be seen in this novel alone. Theodora, Hatshepsut, Borte, Alaqai, Fatima, Sorkhokhtani... these are women who were meant to ornament ancient courts, not direct them. Through fiction, Thornton is exploring history from the perspective of those who defied convention to make it. As an author, she is highlighting women who bore the responsibility of leadership with courage and persistence rather than raw sexuality and that thesis is something I both applaud and deeply admire. 

Freshly original, Daughter of the Gods is both genuine and authentic, alive with the culture of Ancient Egypt, enriched with vibrant emotion, and augmented with irresistible intrigue. In sum it is an addictively enticing fiction that is impossible to put down. 

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A future without responsibility, a future of doing as she pleased when she pleased: such was the life Hatshepsut had envisioned for herself. Yet that life had been buried along with Neferubity in her tomb. 

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Check out all the stops on Stephanie Thornton's Daughter of the Gods virtual book tour schedule!

Monday, April 28
Review at Unabridged Chick
Guest Post & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

Tuesday, April 29
Interview & Giveaway at Unabridged Chick

Wednesday, April 30
Review at Ageless Pages Reviews

Thursday, May 1
Review & Giveaway at Let Them Read Books

Friday, May 2
Review & Giveaway at HF Book Muse – News
Review & Giveaway at Peeking Between the Pages

Monday, May 5
Review at Flashlight Commentary
Guest Post & Giveaway at HF Connection

Tuesday, May 6
Interview & Giveaway at Flashlight Commentary

Wednesday, May 7
Review at Oh, for the Hook of a Book
Review & Giveaway at Confessions of an Avid Reader

Thursday, May 8
Interview & Giveaway at Oh, for the Hook of a Book

Friday, May 9
Review at Sharon’s Garden of Book Reviews

Monday, May 12
Review at CelticLady’s Reviews
Review & Giveaway at Luxury Reading

Tuesday, May 13
Review at The Mad Reviewer
Review & Giveaway at The Maiden’s Court

Wednesday, May 14
Review at A Bookish Libraria

Thursday, May 15
Review at Book Lovers Paradise
Review & Giveaway at The Lit Bitch

Friday, May 16
Review at She is Too Fond of Books

Monday, May 19
Review at Tower of Babel
Review & Giveaway at Broken Teepee

Tuesday, May 20
Review at A Bookish Affair

Wednesday, May 21
Review at Manga Maniac Cafe
Review & Giveaway at The True Book Addict
Guest Post & Giveaway at A Bookish Affair

Thursday, May 22
Review at The Most Happy Reader
Review & Giveaway at Griperang’s Bookmarks

Friday, May 23
Review at Jorie Loves a Story
Interview & Giveaway at The Most Happy Reader

My Lady Viper by E. Knight

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Obtained from: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Read: April 14, 2014

May, 1536. The Queen is dead. Long live the Queen. When Anne Boleyn falls to the executioner's axe on a cold spring morning, yet another Anne vows she will survive in the snakepit court of Henry VIII. But at what cost? Lady Anne Seymour knows her family hangs by a thread. If her sister-in-law Jane Seymour cannot give the King a son, she will be executed or set aside, and her family with her. Anne throws herself into the deadly and intoxicating intrigue of the Tudor court, determined at any price to see the new queen's marriage a success and the Seymour family elevated to supreme power. But Anne's machinations will earn her a reputation as a viper, and she must decide if her family's rise is worth the loss of her own soul...

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Tudor fiction. The phrase alone makes me cringe. Wolf Hall, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Autobiography of Henry VIII, The Sixth Wife, Secrets of the Tudor Court, Queen's Gambit… there are enough titles on the market that I could go on all day. 

With so many options, it’s hard to imagine an author bringing something new to the table. Are there really angles that haven’t been tried, schemes that haven’t been woven, or characters who haven’t been featured? I know it sounds improbable, but such a distinction does not make something in and of itself impossible which leads me to E. Knight’s My Lady Viper. 

Overflowing with intrigue, conspiracy, and romance, this book had me hooked from the first chapter and that isn’t easy for a skeptic such as myself to admit. Henry’s court comes vibrantly to life under Knight’s pen, drawing the audience into a refreshing original web a danger and deceit. 

Anne Seymour’s divided loyalties and multiple alliances really appealed to me. The complexity of her situation built tension I’m entirely unused to seeing in this subgenre and conveyed a tangibly authentic degree of turmoil within the narrative. 

The nontraditional love triangle was equally alluring. Anne’s emotional connections to Edward and Anthony are not clear cut or easy define and though they are remarkably different, both are passionate affairs that leave the reader genuinely absorbed in Anne’s romantic liaisons. 

A brilliant illustration of a capricious monarch and the nest of serpents that surrounded him, My Lady Viper is an absolute must. Intricately detailed, cleverly constructed and utterly irresistible.

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The people mirrored the moods of the king. If he was in mourning—they mourned. If he was angry—they rallied for justice on his part. If he was filled with merriment—they laughed and danced. We were all little puppets, and the world, the king’s stage. We cheered today, but what would we do tomorrow? Or even tonight?

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Check out all the stops on E. Knight's My Lady Viper virtual book tour schedule!

Monday, May 5
Review at Flashlight Commentary
Spotlight at The Tower of Babel
Spotlight & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

Tuesday, May 6
Spotlight & Giveaway at Let Them Read Books

Wednesday, May 7
Review & Giveaway at The Tudor Enthusiast

Thursday, May 8
Review at Curling Up By the Fire

Friday, May 9
Review at History From a Woman’s Perspective

Monday, May 12
Review & Giveaway at The Tudor Book Blog
Interview at Oh, for the Hook of a Book

Tuesday, May 13
Review at Historical Fiction Obsession

Wednesday, May 14
Review at Griperang’s Bookmarks

Thursday, May 15
Review at Luxury Reading

Friday, May 16
Review & Giveaway at The True Book Addict
Interview & Giveaway at Luxury Reading

Monday, May 19
Review & Giveaway at Peeking Between the Pages

Tuesday, May 20
Review at A Bookish Affair

Wednesday, May 21
Guest Post & Giveaway at Historical Fiction Connection

Thursday, May 22
Review at Bibliophilia, Please
Review at CelticLady’s Reviews

Friday, May 23
Review at WTF Are You Reading?
Review at The Musings of ALMYBNENR
Giveaway at So Many Precious Books, So Little Time

Fire and Sword by Louise Turner

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Obtained from: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Read: May 1, 2014

On the 11th of June in 1488, two armies meet in battle at Sauchieburn, near Stirling. One fights for King James the Third of Scotland, the other is loyal to his eldest son, Prince James, Duke of Rothesay. Soon, James the Third is dead, murdered as he flees the field. His army is routed. Among the dead is Sir Thomas Sempill of Ellestoun, Sheriff of Renfrew, whose son and heir, John, escapes with his life. Once John's career as knight and courtier seemed assured. But with the death of his king, his situation is fragile. He's the only surviving son of the Sempill line and he's unmarried. If he hopes to survive, John must try and win favour with the new king. And deal with the ruthless and powerful Lord Montgomerie...

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Lord Sempill's Tomb,
Castle Semple Collegiate Church
Image by Philip Halling

Louise Turner's Fire and Sword was a natural choice for me. I've an innate affinity for Scottish history and though it is a work a fiction, I welcomed the opportunity to indulge that interest through Turner's debut. 

John Sempill is a rather obscure personality even to those familiar with his story, but Turner used the void to her advantage and filled the gaps with a wealth of fact-based detail. Brilliantly recreating the hierarchy of the sixteenth century elite, her novel gave me a real sense of the politics that dominated the period, as well as the complex social structure that characterized the age. 

As a comprehensive whole I found Turner's cast intriguing and genuinely appreciated the balance she struck between the masculine and feminine elements of the story. Individually, some of the characters, John and Mary for example, were too straightforward for my liking, but I greatly enjoyed the ambiguity I found in individuals such as Helen and Hugh.

Though not what I'd call fast-paced, Turner's plot moves at steady clip that culminates in a satisfying and enjoyable finale. Illuminating and informative, I am pleased with the time I spent reading this piece and while I feel Turner has room to grow, I'd certainly recommend her work to anyone with an interest in medieval fiction. 

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It’s wrong to kill, the priest said at last. You know that. It’s true that to enjoy the spilling of another’s blood makes the sin a thousand times worse. But the workings of this world mean that Man, sometimes against his better nature, is forced to sin. You’ve had the courage to admit your failings. God will look kindly on that.

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Check out all the stops on Louise Turner's Fire and Sword virtual book tour schedule!

Monday, May 5
Review at The Mad Reviewer
Review at Flashlight Commentary

Tuesday, May 6
Interview at Flashlight Commentary

Monday, May 12
Interview at The Mad Reviewer

Tuesday, May 20
Review at Historical Fiction Obsession

Wednesday, May 21
Guest Post at Historical Fiction Obsession

Monday, May 26
Review at The Most Happy Reader

Tuesday, May 27
Guest Post at Book Lovers Paradise (with Kathy Fischer-Brown and Juliet Waldron)

Monday, June 2
Review at Just One More Chapter

Thursday, June 5
Interview at Caroline Wilson Writes

Tuesday, June 10
Review at Princess of Eboli

Thursday, June 12
Review at bookramblings

Monday, June 16
Review at A Bibliotaph’s Reviews

Monday, June 23
Review at Book Nerd

Monday, June 30
Review at Svetlana’s Reads and Views

Mending Horses by M.P. Barker

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Historical Novel Review

Read: March 13, 2014

Daniel Linnehan is an indentured servant no more. He has his papers, his beloved horse, Ivy, and a new direction in life. But an Irish teenager, wearing fine clothes and riding an even finer horse, is asking for trouble. After a terrible misunderstanding leaves Daniel beaten, the peddler Jonathan Stocking takes Daniel under his wing. But Billy, another Irish youngster traveling with Mr. Stocking, is not thrilled that the two must work together, first as peddlers on the road and then in a traveling circus where Daniel heals and trains the skittish circus ponies and Billy charms audiences with a singing voice from heaven. All too soon, past secrets catch up with them, bringing danger and heartache. This deeply moving sequel to A Difficult Boy weaves an indelible piece of historical fiction into a gripping adventure that explores themes of patience, courage, kindness, and the true meaning of family.

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The sequel to Barker’s 2008 release, A Difficult Boy, Mending Horses reunites readers with Daniel Linnehan. Freed from indentured service Daniel attempts to make his way in the world and soon finds himself making unlikely alliances among the performers in a travelling circus where he works with a team of skittish prancing ponies. 

I personally feel my experience with this book was undermined by my having skipped its predecessor. Plot wise there is a lot going on in this piece and despite its being written for readers ages eight to fourteen, I felt my unfamiliarity with Daniel’s history made Mending Horses difficult to get into.

That being said I truly appreciated Barker’s attention to detail and vested interest in historical accuracy. Billy’s story in particular struck a chord with me and added a nice balance to heavily masculine narrative.  

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A smile flickered across Billy's face, then quickly faded. "So long as Mr. C. doesn't throw us out the of his show and take away our ponies. After all, I didn't chose him, now, did I?" She took one of Mr. Stocking's hands. "I chose you." To Daniel's surprise, Billy took his hand too. 

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Light of the Diddicoy by Eamon Loingsigh

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Historical Novel Review

Read: January 9, 2014

Light of the Diddicoy, by Irish-American commentator Eamon Loingsigh, is the riveting and immersive saga of Irish gangs on the Brooklyn waterfront in the early part of the twentieth century, told through the eyes of 14 year-old Irish immigrant Liam Garrity. Forced to travel alone to America just months before the Easter Rising in Ireland, Garrity stumbles directly into the hard-knock streets of the Irish-run Brooklyn waterfront and falls in with a Bridge District gang called the White Hand. Through a series of increasingly tense and brutal scenes, he has no choice but to use any means necessary to survive, and carve out his place in a no-holds-barred world of a community living outside the law. The book is Loingsigh’s third, and is the first of his forthcoming Auld Irishtown trilogy, which delves into stories and lore of the gangs and families growing up in this under-documented area of Brooklyn’s Irishtown underworld. His interest in New York’s Irish community stems from hearing tales of his grandfather and great-grandfather, who ran an Irish saloon in New York City for longshoremen from 1906 to the late 1970s.

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The first installment of Eamon Loingsigh’s Auld Irishtown trilogy, Light of the Diddicoy, illuminates the dark underbelly of Brooklyn’s Irish roots through the fictional story of Liam Garrity. Fresh off the boat, Garrity is swept into the brutally violent world of New York’s Irish-American mobs where survival demands living outside the law. 

Having thoroughly enjoyed Black Mass, The Gangs of New York, The Westies and Paddy Whacked, I was eager to see an author tackle Irish gang culture in a fictional setting and in terms of subject matter, Loingsigh didn’t disappoint. I liked the atmospheric quality of his narrative and the depravity he wasn’t afraid to depict within these pages. Unfortunately, I felt the story was undermined by inconsistencies in the author’s tone and somewhat shallow characterizations.

An original and poetic coming of age story, Light of the Diddicoy touches on some fascinating material, but might prove difficult for those looking for truly captivating, character driven fiction.  

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Down under the Manhattan Bridge overpass there once roamed a gang I fell in with. A long time ago it was, when I was young and running. It’s all I had, this life. Just as yours is yours. Don’t let yourself think mine is anything different, anything better. I won’t have it that way. It was just a life, and there you have it. But like so many born on the isle of Ireland, I am to die far from home. Though such a grief has since let me alone, as bitterness only cuts into the bone...

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A Life Apart: A Novel by L.Y. Marlow

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Obtained from: Historical Novel Review

Read: February 12, 2014

When Morris Sullivan joins the navy in 1940, his hopes are high. Though he leaves behind his new wife and their baby daughter, he is thrilled to be pursuing his lifelong dream-only to be shipped off to Pearl Harbor when the war begins. When he narrowly survives the 1941 attack, thanks to the courage of a black sailor he doesn't know, Morris is determined to seek out the man's family and express his gratitude and respect. On leave, he tracks down the man's sister, and finds an immediate, undeniable connection with the nurturing yet fiercely independent Beatrice, who has left the stifling South of her upbringing for the more liberal, integrated north. Though both try to deny their growing bond, their connection and understanding is everything missing from Morris's hasty marriage to his high school sweetheart Agnes, and from Beatrice's plodding life as she grieves the brother she has lost. At once a family epic, and a historical drama that takes readers from World War II through the Civil Rights Movement to the present day, A Life Apart is about a love that creates complicated and unbreakable ties between two families that live worlds apart. L.Y. Marlow brings readers along for the emotional journey as Morris and Beatrice's relationship is tested by time, family loyalties, racial tensions, death, unending guilt, and the profound effects of war.

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On December 7, 1941 the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. Stationed at Pearl Harbor, Morris Sullivan owes his survival to Robert Dobbins, a black seaman who died pulling his comrades from the water. Seeking closure, Morris is determined to thank Robert’s family for his sacrifice, but his effort to honor a fallen hero blooms into a romance that will define the man he becomes and challenge everything he believes.

Spanning the better part of five decades, A Life Apart, is a tedious historical, but under that it is a heartbreakingly beautiful novel of prejudice, strength, forgiveness and love that defies convention. I personally found Marlow’s peppering of the story with tenuously relevant headlines from the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s distracting, but the depth and earnestness of the love triangle she created between Morris, Beatrice and Agnes provided a powerfully moving thesis that struck me to the core.  

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The very next day she asked Morris to take her to church, and she had kneeled in that tiny booth, the darkness covering her, and she had told the priest everything—their secrets, the heartbreak, her pain—and when she was done, she looked through that distorted grid, a glimmer of light shimmering, and she listened to him whisper: You must forgive, my child. You must forgive to release your soul from bondage.

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The Wherewithal: A Novel in Verse by Philip Schultz

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Obtained from: Historical Novel Review
Read: January 29, 2014

I, one Henryk Stanislaw Wyrzykowski, Head Clerk of Closed Files, a department of one, work . . . in a forgotten well of ghostly sighs This astonishing novel in verse tells the story of Henryk Wyrzykowski, a drifting, haunted young man hiding from the Vietnam War in the basement of a San Francisco welfare building and translating his mother s diaries. The diaries concern the Jedwabne massacre, an event that took place in German-occupied Poland in 1941. Wildly inventive, dark, beautiful, and unrelenting, The Wherewithal is a meditation on the nature of evil and the destruction of war.

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1968 finds Henryk Stanislaw Wyrzykowski hiding out as a clerk in the basement of a San Francisco welfare office. Secure in his clandestine sanctuary, Henryk spends his days filing paperwork and translating his mother’s diaries while dodging Uncle Sam and the horrors of service in Vietnam. What unfolds is an increasingly disordered and bizarrely attractive illustration of personal delirium and the human condition.

The parallel story lines - the mental deterioration Henryk suffers in his solitary existence and that recognized in his mother’s memories of the Jedwabne pogrom – struck me in a way that is difficult to describe. The delusions these characters construct within the confines of their minds are powerful and somewhat disturbing, but they take on an almost hallucinogenic quality, offered as they are in Schultz’s disordered and haunting prose. 

A deliciously dark commentary, The Wherewithal is an extraordinary allegory that deftly elucidates the nature of evil, the impact of war, the power of the human mind and the unsettling idea that we are each our own devil and we make this world our hell.

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The unspeakable things we do, the vicious lies we tell ourselves and others, the innocence we beat to death with and without shame, is always there in the smallest gestures of our eyes and hands and tongues. There the only wealth and meaning we possess, the fragile filament of our humanity, which perhaps is what we envy and suspect and fear and want to kill in others. 

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