Exile (The Last Roman #1)
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Gaul, 37 AD Seasoned imperial officer Marcus Sempronius Gracchus leads the 9th Roman Legion into...
Beheld: Godiva's Story
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A darkly twisted psychological thriller exploring the legend of Lady Godiva’s naked ride. ...
British History Historical Fiction Historical Thriller Psychological Thriller
Fortune's Wheel (The Meonbridge Chronicles #1)
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How do you recover from the havoc wrought by history's cruellest plague? It's June 1349. In...
Historical Fiction Historical Romance Medieval England
The Magician's Lie
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A USA Today Bestseller '[A] well-paced, evocative, and adventurous historical novel...' --Publishers...
Edge of The Grave
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Winner of The Bloody Scotland Crime Debut of the Year Shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for...
Historical fiction Suspense Scotland
Escape Velocity: American Science Fiction Film, 1950-1982
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Today, movie theaters are packed with audiences of all ages marveling to exciting science fiction...
Sensitivemuse (246 KP) rated Dreamland Burning in Books
Dec 22, 2018
The switch between Rowan and William is seamless and flows throughout the novel. Rowan attempts to figure out the mystery behind the skeleton while William’s story not only gives you the background information but also gives you the sense and the climate on how it was for African Americans back in those times. The historical aspects of the book is well written and gives you a good general idea.
At first, William doesn’t seem that all a likable character. As the plot progresses though, you change your mind as his behavior and outlook changes to something much more favorable. Rowan’s side of the story is interesting too. She’s been pretty much sheltered in a good, privileged life who is also suddenly awakened by recent events affecting herself and others around her. She’s a well written character as well, but I’d have to say I prefer reading William’s side of the story more as I found Rowan’s point of view dragged in a few areas of the story.
The plot overall is well done and interesting. The mystery and historical elements of the story also keeps the plot engaging and it’s a good educational read. Definitely something to read more into and a good subject to write about.
The Godmother's Secret
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What if you knew what happened to the Princes in the Tower. Would you tell? Or would you forever...
Biographical Historical Fiction Historical Mystery
Modern Dystopian Fiction and Political Thought: Narratives of World Politics
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Over the past few years, 'dystopia' has become a word with increasing cultural currency, this book...
Deborah (162 KP) rated Queen's Gambit in Books
Dec 21, 2018
Anyway, the novel deals with part of the life of Katherine Parr, last wife of Henry VIII, starting with the death of her second husband and continuing just past her own demise. I suppose an historical novel will give the author more leeway to explain real events and there is a sort of expectation that a book should be a nice tidy package, explaining everything within its covers. I don't really feel that Fremantle does this with the Parr/Seymour relationship. It's not easy to see why an intelligent woman could be taken in by a man like this anyway, but in the book it was as if Katherine actually was attracted to him against her will, so the relationship never sat quite happily for me. The other main protagonist is a woman called Dorothy (Dot) Fownten, who acts very much as a maidservant to Katherine, and her stepdaughter, Meg Neville. I was interested to learn that Dot was a real historical character, but so little is known of her that Fremantle has had the liberty of embroidering her story.
As I said, not a bad book. Good if you want something fairly undemanding, such as a beach read. I suspect it will appeal to fans of Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir, but those who prefer Penman may find it a little lacking.