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ClareR (5879 KP) rated The Betrayals in Books
Dec 14, 2020
Firstly, I should say that The Betrayals is a phenomenal book. It opens up a whole new world to the reader. It brought to mind the type of society that I imagine we would have had under National Socialism: men in charge and better educated than women, women expected to know their place, only state sanctioned religion permitted, and those of other religions or schools of thought are ‘disappeared’. I really would have liked to have read more about this outside world, but I don’t feel short changed at only having read about what happens within the confines of Montverre. It is strange actually, that such a major part of Montverre, the grand jeu, is never explicitly talked about. We get the impression as a reader that it’s a performance consisting of maths, music, philosophy and state sanctioned religion. It’s held in extremely high regard: studying it is a sure fire open door to a position of power afterwards.
So what IS The Betrayals about? Well, betrayal, actually. Everyone is backstabbing and lying to everyone else in this book, and they’re lucky if they live to regret it. It’s the cloistered version of Dallas (with less sex)! I loved it. This was a hard book to put down, and one I steamed through far too quickly. This ticks a lot of boxes for me: historical fantasy (double whammy straight away), a mystery to solve, dystopian and a smattering of magical realism. I’m glad it looks like a book that could have a sequel - even if it never as one. It leaves the reader able to make up their own next moves (yes, I do that).
Huge thanks to the publisher for providing me with a NetGalley copy of this book - it was one of my reading highlights of 2020.
So what IS The Betrayals about? Well, betrayal, actually. Everyone is backstabbing and lying to everyone else in this book, and they’re lucky if they live to regret it. It’s the cloistered version of Dallas (with less sex)! I loved it. This was a hard book to put down, and one I steamed through far too quickly. This ticks a lot of boxes for me: historical fantasy (double whammy straight away), a mystery to solve, dystopian and a smattering of magical realism. I’m glad it looks like a book that could have a sequel - even if it never as one. It leaves the reader able to make up their own next moves (yes, I do that).
Huge thanks to the publisher for providing me with a NetGalley copy of this book - it was one of my reading highlights of 2020.
ClareR (5879 KP) rated The Fool’s Folly in Books
Jun 9, 2020
The Fool’s Folly is set in 1485 in Yorkshire, England, when King Richard III has been on the throne for two years. It must have been a very unsettling time to live in: not knowing whether your King has murdered his nephews, not knowing how much longer the King will actually keep the throne (Henry Tudor was a very real threat at this time), and not knowing what your fate will be if you chose the wrong side!
This story is set at Sandal Castle, the seat of John de la Pole, King Richard’s heir (and now it becomes clear why Henry VIII wanted to get rid of the de la Pole family!). De la Pole’s jester is murdered, and the newly appointed judge, Sir Giles Beaton, is asked to get to the bottom of the mystery. What starts out as a seemingly open and shut case, ends up being the start of a killing spree. Giles has to wonder if the deaths are connected, and whether this has something to do with a plot against the King and his heir.
It’s a bit gruesome at points - I liked this, I will admit. Medieval postmortems wouldn’t have been for the more sensitive observer (or reader!), I’m sure. I do have a bit of a thing for historical fiction, and a newly developed respect for crime and mysteries. I appreciate the attention to detail, and the research that must have occurred in writing this book, it feels very authentic.
I haven’t read the first book in this series, but it didn’t affect my reading enjoyment at all. In fact it has made me want to read the first in the series as well!
Many thanks to Sapere Books for sending me a copy of this book to read and review!
This story is set at Sandal Castle, the seat of John de la Pole, King Richard’s heir (and now it becomes clear why Henry VIII wanted to get rid of the de la Pole family!). De la Pole’s jester is murdered, and the newly appointed judge, Sir Giles Beaton, is asked to get to the bottom of the mystery. What starts out as a seemingly open and shut case, ends up being the start of a killing spree. Giles has to wonder if the deaths are connected, and whether this has something to do with a plot against the King and his heir.
It’s a bit gruesome at points - I liked this, I will admit. Medieval postmortems wouldn’t have been for the more sensitive observer (or reader!), I’m sure. I do have a bit of a thing for historical fiction, and a newly developed respect for crime and mysteries. I appreciate the attention to detail, and the research that must have occurred in writing this book, it feels very authentic.
I haven’t read the first book in this series, but it didn’t affect my reading enjoyment at all. In fact it has made me want to read the first in the series as well!
Many thanks to Sapere Books for sending me a copy of this book to read and review!
The Twelve Dice of Christmas
10.0
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Welcome to Serenity Cove, a peaceful Southern community where the residents like to play dice, play...
Hidden Masterpiece (Soli Hansen Mysteries #3)
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In this riveting third book in the Soli Hansen Mysteries series, a woman’s courage to follow her...
Historical Fiction Mystery Dual Timeline
ClareR (5879 KP) rated The Hemlock Cure in Books
Apr 6, 2023
The Hemlock Cure was a fascinating insight into the lives of ordinary people during the Black Death (Bubonic Plague) epidemic of 1665-1666. The plague is very much in the background of this story for most of it, though.
The real evil isn’t a disease, it’s being shut in with people who clearly do not have good intentions.
The village of Eyam is well known for the decision to shut itself off from the outside world when its inhabitants started to become ill and die. They understood that the only way to halt the spread of the disease was to isolate themselves - a selfless act.
This novel looks at some of the families and their relationships inside and outside of their family units. The local apothecary and his daughter Mae, are one such family. Mae is desperate to be her fathers apprentice, but this isn’t a time in history where it’s safe for a woman to be working with herbs. So Mae studies with the midwife and a local wise woman (who are both also skating on thin ice, truth be told).
The plague wasn’t a constant in London it appears, and we travel there with one of the main characters. The contrast between the country village and London was quite something to read. I could almost smell the difference off the page!!
I enjoyed the pacing of this book: in Eyam the time crawls, whilst in London everything is all hustle and bustle.
The slow reveal of the terrible secrets in Mae’s family are not so much shocking as terrifying. Wulfric, Mae’s father, is not a well man. It seems to be a race against time for Mae.
I would most definitely recommend this book to historical fiction fans - and if you like a mystery, you may well like this as well.
The real evil isn’t a disease, it’s being shut in with people who clearly do not have good intentions.
The village of Eyam is well known for the decision to shut itself off from the outside world when its inhabitants started to become ill and die. They understood that the only way to halt the spread of the disease was to isolate themselves - a selfless act.
This novel looks at some of the families and their relationships inside and outside of their family units. The local apothecary and his daughter Mae, are one such family. Mae is desperate to be her fathers apprentice, but this isn’t a time in history where it’s safe for a woman to be working with herbs. So Mae studies with the midwife and a local wise woman (who are both also skating on thin ice, truth be told).
The plague wasn’t a constant in London it appears, and we travel there with one of the main characters. The contrast between the country village and London was quite something to read. I could almost smell the difference off the page!!
I enjoyed the pacing of this book: in Eyam the time crawls, whilst in London everything is all hustle and bustle.
The slow reveal of the terrible secrets in Mae’s family are not so much shocking as terrifying. Wulfric, Mae’s father, is not a well man. It seems to be a race against time for Mae.
I would most definitely recommend this book to historical fiction fans - and if you like a mystery, you may well like this as well.
Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Last House on the Cliff [Audiobook] in Books
Sep 11, 2022
![The Last House on the Cliff [Audiobook]](/uploads/profile_image/916/14f63193-1f77-4f72-910d-7f9dc767e916.jpg?m=1662905541)
This is a dark and creepy mystery/thriller that kept me engaged from the start.
Lowri hasn't had the happiest lives so far and when she returns to Anglesey on the death of her beloved aunt, Gwyn, she thinks this might be the start of a better life for her and her daughter, Ruby. Little does she know what nightmare awaits.
The location and setting of this story is genius; the author captures the small island village and the ever present dangerous cliffs together with the dark and creepy atmosphere of the house perfectly and I was transported there by her excellent and vivid descriptions.
There are quite a few characters and it did take me a while to get a grasp on them all but they are an interesting and eclectic bunch and not all of them are particularly likeable but all fit in and have their place in the story.
The story itself is a complex one of historical family trauma that spans generations. There is a pervading sense of the creepy and the unsettling from the start with some great twists culminating in a very satisfying ending that brought everything together.
The narrator was excellent; her voice was absolutely perfect for the story and I actually think I enjoyed it more because of her narration. Would I have enjoyed it had I read it rather than listened? I think so but I would definitely have had trouble with pronouncing the Welsh words!
Overall, a great audio book to keep you company whilst driving, cleaning or doing just about anything that doesn't need a lot of thought and many thanks to HarperCollins UK Audio and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to and share my thoughts on The Last House on the Cliff.
Lowri hasn't had the happiest lives so far and when she returns to Anglesey on the death of her beloved aunt, Gwyn, she thinks this might be the start of a better life for her and her daughter, Ruby. Little does she know what nightmare awaits.
The location and setting of this story is genius; the author captures the small island village and the ever present dangerous cliffs together with the dark and creepy atmosphere of the house perfectly and I was transported there by her excellent and vivid descriptions.
There are quite a few characters and it did take me a while to get a grasp on them all but they are an interesting and eclectic bunch and not all of them are particularly likeable but all fit in and have their place in the story.
The story itself is a complex one of historical family trauma that spans generations. There is a pervading sense of the creepy and the unsettling from the start with some great twists culminating in a very satisfying ending that brought everything together.
The narrator was excellent; her voice was absolutely perfect for the story and I actually think I enjoyed it more because of her narration. Would I have enjoyed it had I read it rather than listened? I think so but I would definitely have had trouble with pronouncing the Welsh words!
Overall, a great audio book to keep you company whilst driving, cleaning or doing just about anything that doesn't need a lot of thought and many thanks to HarperCollins UK Audio and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to and share my thoughts on The Last House on the Cliff.
Kingdom of Bones (Sigma Force #16)
5.0
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From #1 New York Times bestselling author James Rollins, the latest riveting, deeply imaginative...
Merissa (12894 KP) rated Shot Across the Bow (Deep Six #5) in Books
Nov 29, 2021 (Updated Jul 10, 2023)
SHOT ACROSS THE BOW is the fifth book in the Deep Six series and is the turn of Romeo and Mia. Romeo - as you can tell by the nickname - is a love 'em and leave 'em kind of guy, whereas he thinks Mia has relationship written all over her. So, they both put each other in the dreaded #FriendZone, even though that's not where either of them wants to be.
If one good thing could come out of a plane crash, it's that it got them talking and stopped skirting around the edges. Once a certain conversation happens, all bets are off as to what will happen next. They both have a lot of emotional trauma and baggage to work through.
Doc and Cami meet for the first time in this book and the sharp-edged banter starts, which I think will continue all the way through their book. We don't see much of any of the others, and nothing at all of Wolf and Chrissy from book four.
There's not much at all of the historical story to this one, so I didn't get as much as I wanted, but that's probably just me. The mystery side of it didn't really grab me either as I thought it was quite obvious who was behind it, and what the reasons were.
On the whole, this was a steamy read with lots of sexual tension to begin with. I enjoyed this story and have no hesitation in recommending it.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Nov 29, 2021
If one good thing could come out of a plane crash, it's that it got them talking and stopped skirting around the edges. Once a certain conversation happens, all bets are off as to what will happen next. They both have a lot of emotional trauma and baggage to work through.
Doc and Cami meet for the first time in this book and the sharp-edged banter starts, which I think will continue all the way through their book. We don't see much of any of the others, and nothing at all of Wolf and Chrissy from book four.
There's not much at all of the historical story to this one, so I didn't get as much as I wanted, but that's probably just me. The mystery side of it didn't really grab me either as I thought it was quite obvious who was behind it, and what the reasons were.
On the whole, this was a steamy read with lots of sexual tension to begin with. I enjoyed this story and have no hesitation in recommending it.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Nov 29, 2021
Bookapotamus (289 KP) rated No Less Days in Books
May 29, 2018
I won a copy of this book and I didn't know it was Christian Fiction. Definitely not something I would grab for myself to read. I was not turned off by the religious aspects of it though, as most are subtle and not in your face. I tended to glaze over them, which makes me believe this book would have been just as good without them. I won't say they didn't add anything as that's not my place to judge, but I won't judge the book either on parts that I wasn't particularly interested in. I wouldn't judge a mystery on it being mysterious, or a romance for being romantic. So now that we're past that...
The premise of this story is really cool. I admit, it reminded me of that Blake Lively move, Age of Adeline, but WAY better. There was thought here, and it drew me in the second I started reading.
The main focus of the story is that David Galloway cannot die. It should have happened, many times. But nope. Still here... 100 some odd years later and still looking every bit a healthy 35 year old man. We learn a lot of David's history, as well as his present situation, and we wonder: How did he become this way? Are there others like him? Will he ever die? How does he live live without ever aging?
I read this book really fast as I honestly wanted to find out what would happen. Page after page, it kept me riveted. I would give it 5 Stars, but I had some issues with parts of the story. Particularly all the themes going on - some felt really unnecessary. There was a lot of mystery, racial stuff, domestic abuse, love stories, historical references, religion, murders, celebrity, books.... I'm probably missing more. I felt like too much was happening and a lot could be toned down or eliminated. And it's very obviously set up for a sequel, but the way this "strange character" just showed up and then left... felt really disjointed and out of place.
I'm also not a big Speculative Fiction reader as well as the Christian Fiction genre. I would have never bought this book and read it on my own. But that is how you lose certain generalizations about things, and find some of the best stories. I took a chance, and I won :)
I'm happy to have read this book. And I'm pretty sure this is a sequel in the works, and I'll most likely seek that one out to read!
The premise of this story is really cool. I admit, it reminded me of that Blake Lively move, Age of Adeline, but WAY better. There was thought here, and it drew me in the second I started reading.
The main focus of the story is that David Galloway cannot die. It should have happened, many times. But nope. Still here... 100 some odd years later and still looking every bit a healthy 35 year old man. We learn a lot of David's history, as well as his present situation, and we wonder: How did he become this way? Are there others like him? Will he ever die? How does he live live without ever aging?
I read this book really fast as I honestly wanted to find out what would happen. Page after page, it kept me riveted. I would give it 5 Stars, but I had some issues with parts of the story. Particularly all the themes going on - some felt really unnecessary. There was a lot of mystery, racial stuff, domestic abuse, love stories, historical references, religion, murders, celebrity, books.... I'm probably missing more. I felt like too much was happening and a lot could be toned down or eliminated. And it's very obviously set up for a sequel, but the way this "strange character" just showed up and then left... felt really disjointed and out of place.
I'm also not a big Speculative Fiction reader as well as the Christian Fiction genre. I would have never bought this book and read it on my own. But that is how you lose certain generalizations about things, and find some of the best stories. I took a chance, and I won :)
I'm happy to have read this book. And I'm pretty sure this is a sequel in the works, and I'll most likely seek that one out to read!
Sassy Brit (97 KP) rated The Widows in Books
Jun 5, 2019
The Widows by Jess Montgomery is inspired by the true story of Ohio’s first female sheriff. The plot delves into how two women fought greed and violence while overcoming the loss of a loved one.
The author noted, “This is a darker and deeper style of writing, much more than my other stories. For example, I examine the Pinkerton men and the violence they used. I read multiple books that talked about how these men would shoot up the striking camps. I put in this book quote by one of the Pinkerton men, ‘A real war, and then, rule of law won’t matter. Those miners who resist, why, we’ll put ‘em down like rabid dogs.’”
The protagonists Lily and Marvena are based on the real-life historical figures of Maude Collins, the first female sheriff in Ohio, and Mother Jones, the famous activist and labor organizer. Sheriff Daniel Ross, the husband of Lily is murdered and no one knows by whom. Those powerful in the town want to pin it on a coal miner, Marvena’s brother. She has something in common with Lily since she also lost her husband, but to a coal mining accident. Because the mine owners think she will be easy to control, Lily is appointed sheriff pending the next election. But having a mind of her own and a sense of justice she partners with Marvena to find the elusive murderer and Marvena’s missing daughter.
“I wrote both Lily and Marvena as tough. Lily is sensitive but is also a protector who wants to support her community. She keeps her emotions close to her heart. Marvena is fierce and persistent, but also has a tender streak. Although both women were wary of each other at first, they have a common goal to find out what happened. They end up with a strong friendship and recognize that each is balancing their own demons.”
Readers might be curious as to what is real and what is fiction. Montgomery commented, “In real life Collins had five children, and the person who killed her husband was known. I decided it would be interesting to have Lily take the sheriff position to find out who killed her husband. The similarity is that both women lost their husbands in the line of duty, both were appointed sheriff, and both were elected. The differences: Lily is eight years younger than Maude during that time period and she had only had two children.”
Historical facts are intertwined in this novel that also has strong female characters and an intriguing mystery. Readers get a glimpse into the 1920s-coal mining town in Appalachian Ohio as the author examines women’s rights, prohibition, and the life of a coal miner.
The author noted, “This is a darker and deeper style of writing, much more than my other stories. For example, I examine the Pinkerton men and the violence they used. I read multiple books that talked about how these men would shoot up the striking camps. I put in this book quote by one of the Pinkerton men, ‘A real war, and then, rule of law won’t matter. Those miners who resist, why, we’ll put ‘em down like rabid dogs.’”
The protagonists Lily and Marvena are based on the real-life historical figures of Maude Collins, the first female sheriff in Ohio, and Mother Jones, the famous activist and labor organizer. Sheriff Daniel Ross, the husband of Lily is murdered and no one knows by whom. Those powerful in the town want to pin it on a coal miner, Marvena’s brother. She has something in common with Lily since she also lost her husband, but to a coal mining accident. Because the mine owners think she will be easy to control, Lily is appointed sheriff pending the next election. But having a mind of her own and a sense of justice she partners with Marvena to find the elusive murderer and Marvena’s missing daughter.
“I wrote both Lily and Marvena as tough. Lily is sensitive but is also a protector who wants to support her community. She keeps her emotions close to her heart. Marvena is fierce and persistent, but also has a tender streak. Although both women were wary of each other at first, they have a common goal to find out what happened. They end up with a strong friendship and recognize that each is balancing their own demons.”
Readers might be curious as to what is real and what is fiction. Montgomery commented, “In real life Collins had five children, and the person who killed her husband was known. I decided it would be interesting to have Lily take the sheriff position to find out who killed her husband. The similarity is that both women lost their husbands in the line of duty, both were appointed sheriff, and both were elected. The differences: Lily is eight years younger than Maude during that time period and she had only had two children.”
Historical facts are intertwined in this novel that also has strong female characters and an intriguing mystery. Readers get a glimpse into the 1920s-coal mining town in Appalachian Ohio as the author examines women’s rights, prohibition, and the life of a coal miner.