Sign up
Search
Advanced search settings

Search only in certain items:

Search results
All (5000)
Content
People
Apps
Books
Orbs
Movies
Music
Podcasts
Shows
Tabletop Games
Tech
TV
Video Games
YouTube Channels
Videos
40x40

ClareR (6037 KP) rated The Lady of the Ravens in Books

Jan 7, 2020  
The Lady of the Ravens
The Lady of the Ravens
Joanna Hickson | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics
8
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Lady of the Ravens is based on the real historical character of Joan Vaux. I find historical fiction fascinating, especially those books which have a foot firmly placed in what was the real world.

Joan and her mother are taken in to the care of Margaret Beaufort, Henry VII’s mother, during the end years of the Wars of the Roses. She becomes a good friend to Princess Elizabeth in the time before she marries Henry, and goes on to be a Lady in Waiting and eventually the Lady Governess to the Princesses Margaret and Mary.

I really enjoyed all of the historical detail and what life was really like in Tudor England: the preoccupation with death and the many ways that a woman especially, could die, and the precariousness of children’s lives.

I had never really thought about the Ravens in the Tower of London (you’re never interested about the places that are on your doorstep as you’re growing up, I fear 🤷🏼‍♀️), assumed they’d always been there and that they’d always been seen as important to the realm. But in this novel, we learn that they were actually seen as vermin by the nobility and soldiers stationed there, until Joan and her servant looked after them, convincing others - royalty especially - of their significance to the safety of England and the Royal Family.

I haven’t read Joanna Hickson books before, but I really enjoyed the characters, the insights into the royal family, the uncertainty around the possible sons of York (Perkin Warbeck for one), the descriptions of everyday life - and just the evocative styled her writing.

Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for my copy of this great book to read and review.
  
40x40

Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated The Ruby in the Smoke: A Sally Lockhart Mystery in Books

Oct 30, 2017  
The Ruby in the Smoke: A Sally Lockhart Mystery
The Ruby in the Smoke: A Sally Lockhart Mystery
Philip Pullman | 2012 | Crime, Mystery
8
7.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
A fantastic tale of deceit with a few plot holes
This is the first look at Sally Lockhart's world, in which we discover she was surrounded by lies told by the people closest to her. A scrappy 16-year-old, Sally is forced to revisit her father's mysterious death after receiving an anonymous letter. From there, she becomes entangled in a dangerous plot all about a valuable jewel.

Philip Pullman manages to capture imaginations through another great work, plunging the reader into stories with gripping plots and delightful twists. My only gripe is that there are a few holes in the story, that doesn't explain some issues at the end or culminates too quickly.
  
40x40

Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Avoiding the Abyss ( The Abyss Trilogy 1) in Books

Oct 26, 2023 (Updated Oct 26, 2023)  
AT
Avoiding the Abyss ( The Abyss Trilogy 1)
A.C. Ward | 2023
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
159 of 235
Kindle
Avoiding the Abyss ( The Abyss trilogy 1)
By A.C. Ward
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Aubrey never realized there was a better life beyond being the rebel leader’s disappointing teenage daughter. But when she’s abducted by the government and taught the demonic truth behind the rebellion at their official academy, she is torn between two worlds.

Wielding a power she didn’t know she had, Aubrey must decide who she can trust. The rebels want her to open a dark dimension that will destroy the government once and for all. It is the opportunity to earn the approval she’s always yearned for. But if she goes through with it, Aubrey will lose the person she’s beginning to love.

Can Aubrey master her power in time to prevent the end of the world?

This was a decent read with a very different approach to heaven and hell and all it’s demons. Are the gifted teenagers really gifted?? I did enjoy it.
  
    Cosmopolitan India

    Cosmopolitan India

    Lifestyle and Magazines & Newspapers

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Cosmopolitan isn't just a magazine, it's a religion. Now in its 15th year in India, Cosmopolitan is...