Category: Historical Fiction
The Labyrinthine Journey by Luciana Cavallaro
(Cover picture courtesy of the author.)
Follow Evan as he continues his odyssey as Servant of the Gods in The Labyrinthine Journey. The quest to locate the sacred object adds pressure to the uneasy alliance between Evan and the Atlanteans. His inability to accept the world he’s in, and his constant battle with Zeus, both threaten to derail the expedition and his life.
Traversing the mountainous terrain of the Peloponnese and Corinthian Gulf to the centre of the spiritual world, Evan meets with Pythia, Oracle of Delphi. Her cryptic prophecy reveals much more than he expected; something that changes his concept of the ancient world and his former way of life.
Will Evan and his friends succeed in their quest to find the relics and stop the advent of Christianity?
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook from the author in exchange for an honest review.]
After the cliffhanger of the first book, I was very excited to get an email from Luciana asking if I’d like to read and review the second book. Although I was worried that since two years had passed it would be hard to get into the second book without reading the first one again.
However, I didn’t need to worry at all. There’s a nice amount of exposition in the first few chapters that catches the reader up quickly and relatively unobtrusively. We get re-introduced to our cast of characters including Evan, the High Priestess, Hektor, Homer and Phameas. We also re-hash just enough of the plot of the first book to remember that Evan and his crew are on a mission to save the Greek gods from oblivion and have found one of apparently two objects that will accomplish this.
The Labyrinthine Journey is a fast-paced romp through the ancient Greek world as Evan (called Evandros in this time) and his crew search for the second piece of the puzzle. Of course, things aren’t always so simple and as they find out on their journeys, they truly need three artefacts and thus the title The Labyrinthine Journey is completely justified. They have to journey across Greece to consult the Pythia at Delphi and then the real journey begins when they learn the second artefact is on the island of Thira (or Thera, modern Santorini) in the ruins left by the massive volcanic eruption years ago. And that’s not even the hardest part. Because where the Greek gods are concerned, absolutely nothing is simple.
The relationships we saw in the first book have changed slightly as Evan adjusts to his new life as Evandros. He still hates Hektor’s guts but Homer, Dexion and Leander attempt to keep things from getting violent between the two. Alexina, the High Priestess is both more familiar and more enigmatic as we discover the full extent of her powers the Mother Goddess has granted her now that she’s in possession of the golden serpent. And the growing romance between Alexina and Leander is subtle but sweet. What intrigued me was that although we saw a little more of Melaina, Kronos’ daughter, her motives are still as mysterious as they were in the first book. On one hand, her father is Kronos but on the other hand, there seems to be a bit of an attraction to Evandros at play and she does seem to want to help him. However, the gods and the titans are not always straightforward. While I can guess at her motivations, it should be fascinating to see what side she’s truly on in the third book. That’s part of what I like about all of Luciana Cavallaro’s writing, from her short stories to this full-length series: she is truly good at creating ambiguous characters (which comes in handy where the Greek gods are concerned). And no matter whether a character is mostly good or mostly bad, they are always interesting.
What I really appreciated (other than the amazing character-building) was the amount of research that went into The Labyrinthine Journey. Not only about the big events going on in the Greek world at the time (the revolt of the Messenians, democracy in Athens, etc.), but the little details like all of the temples and statues being painted in bright colours. We’re used to seeing the beautiful white marble statues and remains of temples and great buildings but ancient Greece, like the rest of the ancient Mediterranean was colourful and vibrant. And where history and myth are silent, Cavallaro makes up something new that is also entirely believable like the Amazons on their far-flung island. It fits seamlessly into the greater stories that make up what we know today under the umbrella term of ‘Greek myth’.
If you loved Search for the Golden Serpent, you will enjoy The Labyrinthine Journey as much as I did. It’s a great sequel that definitely doesn’t suffer from the plot bloat that most second books do. So go ahead and buy it! You won’t regret it.
And if you haven’t read the first book but figure the story sounds interesting, I highly recommend trying out Search for the Golden Serpent. If you love Greek myth and/or historical fantasy, you will love it.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
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The Secret Language of Stones by M.J. Rose
Nestled within Paris’s historic Palais Royal is a jewelry store unlike any other. La Fantasie Russie is owned by Pavel Orloff, protégé to the famous Faberge, and is known by the city’s fashion elite as the place to find the rarest of gemstones and the most unique designs. But war has transformed Paris from a city of style and romance to a place of fear and mourning. In the summer of 1918, places where lovers used to walk, widows now wander alone.
So it is from La Fantasie Russie’s workshop that young, ambitious Opaline Duplessi now spends her time making trench watches for soldiers at the front, as well as mourning jewelry for the mothers, wives, and lovers of those who have fallen. People say that Opaline’s creations are magical. But magic is a word Opaline would rather not use. The concept is too closely associated with her mother Sandrine, who practices the dark arts passed down from their ancestor La Lune, one of sixteenth century Paris’s most famous courtesans.
But Opaline does have a rare gift even she can’t deny, a form of lithomancy that allows her to translate the energy emanating from stones. Certain gemstones, combined with a personal item, such as a lock of hair, enable her to receive messages from beyond the grave. In her mind, she is no mystic, but merely a messenger, giving voice to soldiers who died before they were able to properly express themselves to loved ones. Until one day, one of these fallen soldiers communicates a message—directly to her.
So begins a dangerous journey that will take Opaline into the darkest corners of wartime Paris and across the English Channel, where the exiled Romanov dowager empress is waiting to discover the fate of her family.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook in exchange for an honest review. It was supposed to be for a tour but I didn’t get it done in time.]
I’ve only read two other books by M.J. Rose but what always strikes me about her books is that she has such a beautiful writing style. It’s descriptive and yet fascinating. She can describe things like stones in minute detail and yet you never find yourself skipping over the descriptions to get to the action. She really just has a beautiful writing style that grabs your attention and holds it for the whole book. It’s what makes finishing the book so disappointing. It’s not that M.J. Rose’s endings are terrible or anything like that, but rather it’s that I hate coming back to the real world after such beautiful writing.
With that said, what I like about this book is that while Opaline is Sandrine’s daughter and thus the daughter of a woman who practices dark magic (and allowed the spirit of her ancestor to possess her in the first book) but she despises dark magic. She feels magic call to her from the stones but resists praticing magic for fear of turning out like her mother or, worse yet, La Lune herself. And yet she’s having trouble controlling her natural powers and they almost get out of hand and destroy her before Opaline realizes she has to embrace her heritage in order to save herself. She clearly struggles with ethical dilemmas and fears the call of the dead from the stones but in the end, Opaline really does want to do what’s right.
M.J. Rose handles both characters and descriptions well but what struck me about this second book in the series is the politics. More so than in The Witch of Painted Sorrows, the political situation is ever-present. She really captures the feel of World War I, the fact that life was both normal and not normal. Normal business went on as much as it could but the war touched everyone: jewellers made mourning jewellery instead of fancier necklaces and tiaras, certain foods were hard to find and almost an entire generation of young men was wiped out. And of course, things weren’t just bad in France. As Opaline finds out when she creates a necklace for the dowager empress of the Romanov family, even innocent children aren’t safe from the war and its effects.
I liked both The Witch of Painted Sorrows and The Secret Language of Stones. While the stories of Sandrine and Opaline are different, they do have some similarities that connect the two books together in a satisfying way. Although I’ll have to say goodbye to Opaline, I can’t wait for the next book, The Library of Light and Shadow, which is coming out in July 2017. The Daughters of La Lune series is fantastic and I can’t wait to spend more time in M.J. Rose’s beautiful, enchanting world.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
The Witch of Napoli by Michael Schmicker
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Italy 1899: Fiery-tempered, seductive medium Alessandra Poverelli levitates a table at a Spiritualist séance in Naples. A reporter photographs the miracle, and wealthy, skeptical, Jewish psychiatrist Camillo Lombardi arrives in Naples to investigate. When she materializes the ghost of his dead mother, he risks his reputation and fortune to finance a tour of the Continent, challenging the scientific and academic elite of Europe to test Alessandra’s mysterious powers. She will help him rewrite Science. His fee will help her escape her sadistic husband Pigotti and start a new life in Rome. Newspapers across Europe trumpet her Cinderella story and baffling successes, and the public demands to know – does the “Queen of Spirits” really have supernatural powers? Nigel Huxley is convinced she’s simply another vulgar, Italian trickster. The icy, aristocratic detective for England’s Society for the Investigation of Mediums launches a plot to trap and expose her. Meanwhile, the Vatican is quietly digging up her childhood secrets, desperate to discredit her supernatural powers; her abusive husband Pigotti is coming to kill her; and the tarot cards predict catastrophe. Inspired by the true-life story of controversial Italian medium Eusapia Palladino (1854-1918), The Witch of Napoli masterfully resurrects the bitter,19th-century battle between Science and religion over the possibility of an afterlife.
[Full disclosure: I requested and received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
One of the many things Michael Schmicker does well in The Witch of Napoli is bring to life the late Victorian era. He brings to life the grubbiness and beauty of Italy’s cities and its countryside. He absolutely captures the obsession with bringing the scientific method into every aspect of life that used to be taken for granted, particularly the spiritual side of life. And best of all, he captures the individual struggles and triumphs of his various characters beautifully. Even if you don’t like the narrator, Tomaso, you will find at least one character to love and for me that was Alessandra herself.
Alessandra is a fiery woman who believes absolutely in the spirits she summons. She’s opinionated and she doesn’t take kindly to insults, perceived or real. And because of her fiery temper, she is also passionate in both love and hatred. Her story is fabulous and she really does grow as a charcter throughout the novel. Despite the fact her story is told through Tomaso’s eyes (the young reporter and photographer who follows her around), Alessandra herself is never secondary. There are a lot of times her personality outshines Tomaso’s, although that may just be from my perspective. Don’t get me wrong—Tomaso is not a bad or even a boring character. It’s just that Alessandra absolutely outshines him. Tomaso goes from a wide-eyed young man to a somewhat cynical, yet hopeful man who learns to find his way in life.
The plot is not exactly fast-paced but Michael Schmicker’s writing style is beautiful and he lavishes time on character development. At the same time, there are many interesting plots and subplots and some pretty terrifying scenes when Alessandra calls on the spirits. So it’s an interesting book but it’s not fast-paced. The only reason I was somewhat disappointed in this book is that the ending was very unsatisfying. I would have loved for a less abrupt conclusion, even though I knew that such a conclusion was inevitable. The abrupt ending just leaves you rather empty in comparison to the rest of the novel, which spends more time on most major plot points. It’s not enough to make me dislike the plot as a whole but it was a little disappointing after the masterful twists and turns that were well explained earlier in the book.
In the end, The Witch of Napoli is an amazing book that fell a little flat in the end. There are some absolutely amazing charcters and great plot twists in addition to a beautiful writing style. I would absolutely still recommend it to anyone who loves a taste of the supernatural in their novels or anyone who just loves an amazing main character.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
An Immortal Descent by Kari Edgren
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Selah Kilbrid, descendant of the Celtic goddess Brigid, has been ordered to remain in London and leave any dangers in Ireland to her goddess-born family. They fear she’s no match for Death’s most powerful daughter and—if the legend holds true—the witch who once nearly destroyed the Irish people. But Selah has never been good at following orders, and nothing will stop her from setting out to find the two people she loves most—her dearest friend, Nora Goodwin, and her betrothed, Lord Henry Fitzalan.
Hiding from kin, traveling uneasily beside companions with secrets of their own, Selah is forced on an unexpected path by those who would steal her gift of healing. With precious time ticking away, she turns to a mortal enemy for help, heedless of the cost.
Selah would pass though hell to rescue Nora and Henry, but what if it means unleashing a greater evil on the human world? Her only chance is to claim the fullest extent of her birthright—at the risk of being forever separated from the man she longs to marry.
[Full disclosure: I requested and received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
It took me much longer than expected to finally get to An Immortal Descent, the last book in the Goddess Born trilogy, but I finally did. And I’m very, very glad I did.
The second book ended on a cliffhanger with Selah’s friend Nora being kidnapped by Deri, the daughter of Cailleach who can kill people just by touching them. So Selah has to travel to Ireland, where Deri has taken her friend for a possible ritual sacrifice. Of course the journey doesn’t go very smoothly as we discover that Cailleach has more than just one child on the loose and that perhaps not all of Brigid’s children use their gifts for good as Selah does. There are plenty of twists and turns on Selah’s journey with a surprising yet satisfying ending. Even better, the plot is relatively fast-paced considering just how much information and character development Kari Edgren puts into her novel.
What I really loved about An Immortal Descent was the expanded mythology of the goddess born. As we learn, Cailleach and Brigid certainly aren’t the only ones to have descendants in the human world, even if they do seem to be the most prolific. There are others like Nuada, Balor and Lugh whose descendants have motivations of their own and unique powers. And unlike with descendants of Brigid and Cailleach, their powers aren’t always immediately apparent. It certainly makes for a few surprises throughout the novel.
Another satisfying bit was the character development of Selah. She’s come a long way from the first book but it’s only really now that she’s truly learning to trust her instincts when it comes to her healing powers. Selah tries to do things she never would have in terms of healing in the first book (like reattaching a certain idiot’s hand). And she’s becoming more self-possessed, more willing to challenge Henry on his seemingly increasing penchant for violence. She stands up to people like Julian, James and Cate more than she did in the last book and finally takes fate into her own hands. It’s a wonderful transformation from the generally shy yet still feisty woman we met in the first book.
Although Henry doesn’t play as big of a role in this book as he did in previous ones, he’s still present and he’s definitely a changed man. Despite his penchant for violence and his hot temper, he listens to Selah and values her opinion. Even when he completely disagrees with her, he at least listens before taking action. And now Henry isn’t as blind to the motivations of those around him. He realizes that James completely mistreated Selah and that Julian is a growing danger (not just a romantic rival), despite ostensibly being on the side of the other goddess born like Tom and Cate. When he and Selah are together, they make a very well balanced couple and they’re one of my favourite book couples of all time.
If you enjoyed the previous two books, Goddess Born and A Grave Inheritance, you’ll love An Immortal Descent. It’s a satisfying conclusion to a thoroughly enjoyable trilogy. I can’t wait to see more from Kari Edgren in the coming years.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
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Médicis Daughter by Sophie Perinot
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Winter, 1564. Beautiful young Princess Margot is summoned to the court of France, where nothing is what it seems and a wrong word can lead to ruin. Known across Europe as Madame la Serpente, Margot’s intimidating mother, Queen Catherine de Médicis, is a powerful force in a country devastated by religious war. Among the crafty nobility of the royal court, Margot learns the intriguing and unspoken rules she must live by to please her poisonous family.
Eager to be an obedient daughter, Margot accepts her role as a marriage pawn, even as she is charmed by the powerful, charismatic Duc de Guise. Though Margot’s heart belongs to Guise, her hand will be offered to Henri of Navarre, a Huguenot leader and a notorious heretic looking to seal a tenuous truce. But the promised peace is a mirage: her mother’s schemes are endless, and her brothers plot vengeance in the streets of Paris. When Margot’s wedding devolves into the bloodshed of the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, she will be forced to choose between her family and her soul.
Médicis Daughter is historical fiction at its finest, weaving a unique coming-of-age story and a forbidden love with one of the most dramatic and violent events in French history.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy in conjunction with the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
One of the women you hear a lot about is Catherine de Médici. She’s the subject of numerous historical fiction novels and has a reputation among the general public for being a wicked, manipulative queen. While the consensus among historians is somewhat different, there is no doubt she was a ruthless, oddly pragmatic woman. But what was her daughter, Marguerite de Valois like? Sophie Perinot gives us a look into the ilfe of another incredible woman who has been largely ignored by history.
Our poor Margot starts out fairly innocent but is changed by court life when her mother finally summons her to live at court as her lady in waiting. In the beginning, she tries to be the perfect princess: she supports her brothers fully, doesn’t seek power for herself and lives chastely despite the fact that the court was largely not. Then, everything changes when she’s fifteen and falls in love for the first time with Henri, Duc de Guise. Before then, she was resigned to being a marriage pawn for her mother and brothers. After falling in love, Margot really comes into her own. She demands to be let in on the political discussions that her mother participates in but bars her from. She gains power through her broher Henri, Duc d’Anjou (known mostly as Anjou to avoid confusion). But of course nothing goes according to plan for poor Margot as the people around her have plans and schemes of their own.
While the beginning of this novel is somewhat confusing because of all the names thrown at the reader, you can actually get your footing pretty quickly. There are three characters with the first name of Henri in this novel but they’re mostly known by their titles and their personalities are so unique anyway that you won’t confuse the three of them. One of the hallmarks of Médicis Daughter is Sophie Perinot’s descriptive writing style that brings the court and the characters to life. She can be beautifully descriptive but also knows when to pare down her writing for the sake of pacing. And she captures both the beauty in the novel (the young love, the nicer family moments) and the ugliness as well (the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, the awful treatment of her by her own family).
Sophie Perinot, as she says in her historical note, stays quite close to historical fact but cut out some characters because they weren’t central to the narrative and changed a few minor events. For example, Margot was never left alone with the Queen of Navarre on her deathbed. It makes for a better and less confusing story so I can’t really blame her for that. After all, three Henris is more than enough to try to keep straight, no matter how familiar you are with the period. As someone who is relatively new to the period, I was certainly grateful for a few characters being cut as there is a relatively large cast of secondary characters.
All in all, I was very impressed with Médicis Daughter. It does everything historical fiction should do: shines light on the lives of real historical figures/time periods, is well written and is reasonably paced. Sophie Perinot doesn’t write a fast-paced novel by any stretch of the imagination as most of it is character-driven but you can slowly feel the tension building toward the end as the massacre comes closer and closer. You aren’t entirely sure what is going to happen and how Margot is going to react, which makes it all the better. If you’re looking for an intersting novel on a largely ignored historical figure, Médicis Daughter daughter is a really great book to pick up.
I give this book 5/5 stars.