Sign up
Search
Advanced search settings

Search only in certain items:

Search results
All (1599)
Content
People
Apps
Books
Orbs
Movies
Music
Podcasts
Shows
Tabletop Games
Tech
TV
Video Games
YouTube Channels
Videos
40x40

ClareR (5726 KP) rated The Companion in Books

Jan 14, 2020  
The Companion
The Companion
Kim Taylor Blakemore | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Companion is a really enjoyable historical fiction novel set in 1855 New Hampshire. Lucy Blunt has been found guilty of a double murder, and the story jumps back and forth in time to describe what happened in Lucy’s early life, her time as a maid at the Burton mansion and her life in prison.

One thing that really stood out for me was the stark difference between the privileged Burtons and their hard-working staff. Also Lucy’s shady background was so intriguing, and I really liked the bit by bit exposure of her past and her misdemeanours. She really is an unreliable source of information, and it’s no wonder that she’s sitting in a jail cell awaiting the hangman. But DID she commit murder?

It seemed to me that Lucy was repeatedly let down by the people who should have supported her, that she was used for what these people could get from her. For someone who had virtually no possessions, they took those things that were of herself: her self respect, her trust and her love.

Guilty or not, this was a great read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it to lovers of historical fiction and/ or unreliable narrators.

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

ClareR (5726 KP) rated Mary I: Queen of Sorrows in Books

Oct 22, 2024  
Mary I: Queen of Sorrows
Mary I: Queen of Sorrows
Alison Weir | 2024 | Fiction & Poetry
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I always feel that Mary I gets a lot of bad press. She’s remembered for her bloodthirsty streak (aka Bloody Mary), for being a strict Catholic and for marrying a foreigner - and a Spaniard at that! Oh, and she was a woman at a time when women weren’t believed to be capable of ruling a country in their own right.

Alison Weir is writing a work of historical fiction, but she has done her research. Of course, a lot of Mary’s story could be open to interpretation, and we’ll never know her exact inner thoughts, but she wrote letters and people wrote things down about her at the time. And personally, I really like Weirs interpretation. She makes Mary a human being, with thoughts, loves, hates and responsibilities. The period in history is described so well, that the reader can understand why Mary had such an extreme reaction to those who wouldn’t convert to Catholicism. And, well, Elizabeth I killed a lot more people than Mary ever did, so 🤷🏼‍♀️

I found the chapters on Mary’s childhood really interesting and very sad. What a traumatic childhood she had.

So, if you enjoy historical fiction and want to find out more about Mary I, then this may well be the book for you too. A totally absorbing read!
  
40x40

Sarah Betts (103 KP) rated Will the Real Carolyn Keene Please Stand Up in Books

Dec 31, 2019  
WT
Will the Real Carolyn Keene Please Stand Up
Christine Keleny | 2014
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I was given a copy of this book by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I have loved Nancy Drew Mysteries since I was 8. I've had to have read over 200 of the various series.

This book is a wonderful tribute to the character of Nancy and Carolyn, the pen name for the books.

The book spans almost a hundred years and goes into the life of Edward Stratemeyer and have s family and the ghostwriter Mildred.

I'm sure there will be some folks disappointed that this isn't Nancypalooza straight out the gate but it certainly is a cracking good piece of historical fiction.