Micky Barnard (542 KP) rated Shadow of Night in Books
Feb 17, 2019 (Updated Feb 17, 2019)
This was a good story affected by some pacing issues in my opinion, thus the rating which might surprise some people. Overall, I feel good about the storyline, the character development and the gut-punching emotions. I do think it could have been a little shorter and more dynamically paced. I wasn’t sure if I was going to settle into Tudor England, it took some time but I did settle.
Matthew and Diana’s relationship dynamic was rather different in past times, I found it inevitable, interesting and sometimes annoying. I enjoyed the band of waifs and strays that became part of their family.
Great narration and I’m already lamenting that Times Convert won’t have Ikeda.
Micky Barnard (542 KP) rated Shadow of Night in Books
Dec 24, 2018
Matthew and Diana’s relationship dynamic was rather different in past times, I found it inevitable, interesting and sometimes annoying. I loved the band of waifs and strays that became part of their family.
Great narration and I’m already lamenting that Times Convert won’t have Ikeda.
Deborah (162 KP) rated Dangerous Days in Elizabethan England: Thieves, Tricksters, Bards and Bawds in Books
Dec 19, 2018
There was some off-beat facts thrown in, but would have been nice to have some explanation too. It mentions a fine if you sold the meat of a Bull without it having been baited but doesn't explain why (this might have driven me mad, but I had just read Ruth Goodman's How to be a Tudor, which explains about how they believed this would tenderise the meat! I highly recommend the book!).
Medieval Houses
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Anthony Emery is a leading authority on the medieval houses of England and Wales. A founder...
The Queen’s Spy
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1584: Elizabeth I rules England. But a dangerous plot is brewing in court, and Mary Queen of Scots...
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Deborah (162 KP) rated Queen of Silks in Books
Dec 21, 2018
In some places the chronology just wasn't right. In other places the internal logic was weak. For example, over the instance of the execution of Hastings, in novels which cover this event the author needs to come up with their own explanation of this as the truth is covered over by time and Tudor propoganda. Bennett makes little or no explanation for the event and has 'Dickon' acting remarkably out of character in this one scene - and I mean that following her depiction in the book and not from my personal opinion. Additionally, for someone who has had a liaison with Dickon over a period of years, Isabel, the protagonist, shows remarkably little understanding of his character and I found her at times irritating and unsympathetic.
I also felt that in the wrapping up of the story, Elizabeth of York is shown to act in a ruthless way which doesn't match at all with what we know of her in her time as the first Tudor queen. Again, failures of internal and external logic for me.
To conclude, a well-written book, and I am not adverse by reading more from this author, but for me the historical event aspect didn't hang together well enough and was at times frustrating. I think it would have been a better novel if it left the larger political landscape well alone.
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