Category: Historical Fiction
The Serpent and the Pearl by Kate Quinn
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Rome, 1492. The Holy City is drenched with blood and teeming with secrets. A pope lies dying and the throne of God is left vacant, a prize awarded only to the most virtuous–or the most ruthless. The Borgia family begins its legendary rise, chronicled by an innocent girl who finds herself drawn into their dangerous web…
Vivacious Giulia Farnese has floor-length golden hair and the world at her feet: beauty, wealth, and a handsome young husband. But she is stunned to discover that her glittering marriage is a sham, and she is to be given as a concubine to the ruthless, charismatic Cardinal Borgia: Spaniard, sensualist, candidate for Pope–and passionately in love with her.
Two trusted companions will follow her into the Pope’s shadowy harem: Leonello, a cynical bodyguard bent on bloody revenge against a mysterious killer, and Carmelina, a fiery cook with a past full of secrets. But as corruption thickens in the Vatican and the enemies begin to circle, Giulia and her friends will need all their wits to survive in the world of the Borgias.
This could have quite easily strayed into cliché territory the whole time. At times, it was a little cliché but nothing on the level I expected it to be. I’ll explain a little bit.
Leonello is sort of Kate Quinn’s answer to George R. R. Martin’s Tyrion. He’s quick-thinking, uses his wits to keep alive and gets quite a few women (considering the views of the time). He always seems to find himself in the centre of intrigue. For those of you that have read the series A Song of Ice and Fire you know full well this could be applied to Tyrion just the same as it could be applied to Leonello. There are a few differences between the characters but I was sort of disappointed in how similar the two were, even if they are both awesome in their own right.
The thing that I liked most about The Serpent and the Pearl is the characters. Carmelina has a fascinating backstory and makes her way into a world traditionally inhabited by men only—being the master chef to powerful men. She’s not your typical Feisty Female that seems to be the requirement in fiction these days so I actually quite enjoyed her point of view. The character that I liked most was, surprisingly, Giulia Farnese. She can be quite a vain, indolent sort of creature but there’s no denying that as the story goes on and she grows up a bit she becomes a force to be reckoned with in Rome. Unlike a lot of heroines she is capable of acting and lying but never really loses her temper with anyone. Considering how she grew up, this is far more believable than the ridiculous obvious Girl Power characters that historical fiction writers try to transform every woman into. Some women are not obviously girl power figures, but Giulia sort of becomes one in a quiet, unique kind of way that fits with her personality.
The plot dragged a little bit in a couple of places, but there weren’t any major slow downs. I did enjoy all of the little historical details Kate Quinn put into her novel, including all the recipes Carmelina used. Some historical figures were portrayed very differently than I was used to (Sancha of Aragon most notably) but others were pleasantly surprising, like Giulia and the Borgia Pope himself. I can’t speak to how historically accurate this novel is, but I definitely felt immersed in the world of Renaissance Italy and the intrigues of Rome.
If you like historical fiction that has a little bit of a different take on traditionally maligned characters, I’d have to recommend The Serpent and the Pearl. It certainly isn’t for everyone but I personally enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading The Lion and the Rose. Especially since Kate Quinn ended the book on such a horrible cliffhanger.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
Ingenue by Jillian Larkin
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Power . . . love . . . scandal . . .
There’s never enough to go around.In the city that never sleeps, Lorraine Dyer is wide awake. Ever since she exposed Clara Knowles for the tramp she was—and lost her closest confidante in the process—Lorraine has spent every second scheming to make her selfish, lovesick ex–best friend pay for what she did. No one crosses Lorraine. Not even Gloria.
True love conquers everything—or so Gloria Carmody crazily believed. She and Jerome Johnson can barely scrape together cash for their rent, let alone have a moment to whisper sweet nothings in the dark. And if they thought escaping Chicago meant they’d get away with murder . . . they were dead wrong.
Clara was sure that once handsome, charming Marcus Eastman discovered her shameful secret, he’d drop her like a bad habit. Instead, he swept her off her feet and whisked her away to New York. Being with Marcus is a breath of fresh air—and a chance for Clara to leave her wild flapper ways firmly in the past. Except the dazzling parties and bright lights won’t stop whispering her name. . . .
INGENUE is the second novel in the sexy, dangerous, and ridiculously romantic Flappers series set in the Roaring Twenties . . . where revenge is a dish best served cold.
Ingenue is very different from the first book, Vixen, in that we’re already familiar with the world of the flappers. Gloria has very truly rebelled this time and is bold enough to live alone (and unmarried) with a black man in 1920s America. I don’t know about you, but it takes a lot of courage to defy those heavily ingrained societal prejudices surrounding both living together without being married and having an interracial relationship. That’s why Gloria is still my favourite character in this second novel. She’s far from perfect and her relationship with Jerome is rocky at times but by the end you’re even more sure that they truly love each other.
I hated Lorraine in the first book but she seems to have developed quite a bit by Ingenue. She was rather naive despite her rebellions in the first book but she’s a little more worldly by this second book. At the same time, she retains a lot of that naivete and it gets her into trouble quite a bit. Clara’s storyline was also fascinating in that I loved her struggle between Marcus and her old, daring flapper life in New York. The addition of Vera was probably my favourite part (character-wise) of the whole novel. Black women don’t often get a voice in historical fiction set around this time, so seeing Vera and how she is treated throughout Ingenue was fascinating.
As for the plot I’d have to say it’s a little slower than the pace in Vixen but it certainly doesn’t drag on and on. It’s fast-paced considering that four different characters are telling the story but Jillian Larkin never compromises on character development. If you like action/thriller novels you’ll probably find the pace a bit slow, but for such a character-driven novel Ingenue speeds right along.
I learned so much more about the 1920s from Ingenue as the world of the flappers expanded. Gangsters, racial relations, fashion, journalism and so much more were all discussed in great detail all through the novel. I can’t comment on the accuracy of Ingenue or the rest of The Flappers books but I have a feeling Jillian Larkin has done her research fairly well. You certainly feel immersed in the world of the Roaring Twenties from page one.
Overall, Ingenue was a pretty good second book. If you liked Vixen and are invested in the characters of The Flappers you’ll definitely want to stick with the series until the end.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
Song of the Nile by Stephanie Dray
(Cover picture courtesy of Stephanie Dray’s website.)
Sorceress. Seductress. Schemer. Cleopatra’s daughter is the one woman with the power to destroy an empire…
Having survived her perilous childhood as a royal captive of Rome, Selene pledged her loyalty to Augustus and swore she would become his very own Cleopatra. Now the young queen faces an uncertain destiny in a foreign land.
The magic of Isis flowing through her veins is what makes her indispensable to the emperor. Against a backdrop of imperial politics and religious persecution, Cleopatra’s daughter beguiles her way to the very precipice of power. She has never forgotten her birthright, but will the price of her mother’s throne be more than she’s willing to pay?
Oftentimes the second book in a trilogy suffers from what I call Book 2 Syndrome. It means that the book is essentially a set up for the more exciting final book and ends on a huge cliffhanger to sucker readers into buying another book. This is definitely not the case with Stephanie Dray’s debut trilogy.
Cleopatra Selene is an even better character in this book not only because of her age but because of her life experience. Stephanie Dray manages to find a perfect balance between Selene’s ambitious side and her religious side, the side that is totally devoted to Isis. At the same time (for what will become obvious reasons) Selene has a hard time trusting and forgiving people. She’s not a perfect woman and never pretends to be but her inner strength is undeniable. Truly, Selene is spared nothing by Stephanie Dray and goes through so much suffering throughout the novel. Yet with the suffering there is also healing.
Much like Lily of the Nile, this book was a one-sitting read. I literally could not put it down, going so far as to read it while having supper, which is not something I’d normally do no matter how interesting a book is. The plot is fast-paced but there’s so much character development not only for Selene but for Chryssa, Juba, Octavian and Helios as well. It’s really a fascinating read from a lot of perspectives.
Song of the Nile is not a miraculous example of historical accuracy in fiction. Yet I loved how Stephanie Dray admitted this in her ‘Dear Reader’ note and gave actual justifications for any changes. There is also a huge gap in the record of Cleopatra Selene’s life so she did have a little more leeway with her characters than most historical fiction writers do. Despite these changes where possible the novel is historically accurate right down to the details of everyone’s clothing.
If you haven’t started the trilogy yet I can’t recommend it enough. It’s well-written so that you feel like you’re actually there with these historical figures. It’s fast-paced but doesn’t sacrifice character development in the process. And it’s historically accurate where possible. What more can you ask for in historical fiction?
I give this book 5/5 stars.
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
(Cover picture courtesy of Barnes & Noble.)
When Mary Boleyn comes to court as an innocent girl of fourteen, she catches the eye of Henry VIII. Dazzled by the king, Mary falls in love with both her golden prince and her growing role as unofficial queen. However, she soon realizes just how much she is a pawn in her family’s ambitious plots as the king’s interest begins to wane and she is forced to step aside for her best friend and rival: her sister, Anne. Then Mary knows that she must defy her family and her king, and take her fate into her own hands.
A rich and compelling tale of love, sex, ambition, and intrigue, The Other Boleyn Girl introduces a woman of extraordinary determination and desire who lived at the heart of the most exciting and glamorous court in Europe and survived by following her own heart.
First off, I don’t like the portrayals of pretty much any of the characters in this novel. Mary Boleyn was sweet and innocent to the point of being nauseating when in fact she very likely was the mistress of the French king before coming to court in England. As for Anne Boleyn herself (and don’t kid yourself, this book is really about her) she’s awful. Truly awful. Yes, we have accounts of her temper with Henry in later years, but was it truly to the extent Philippa Gregory tries to portray in this novel? Probably not because she was a very educated, well-spoken and by all accounts, charming young woman. As for George Boleyn and the homosexual ring around him those claims weren’t even really believed at the time and are laughed at by most historians these days.
As a lot of people mention in their reviews, this book plays with the facts constantly. Even if I ignored all of the historical inaccuracies (which is hard to do as they’re always present), the story itself collapses. Mary is just a spineless wimp all the way through the book, even at the end when she finally marries for love. Her relationship with Henry was pretty unrealistic and I hated the whole Machiavellian schemes her family went through to maneuver her into the position of king’s mistress. It was just unrealistic and more than a little ridiculous, even when I pretended I was just reading another fantasy book based loosely on history and not historical fiction.
The plot was unbearably slow, even for me. What could have been around a 300 page book was stretched out over 600 pages. I mean, really? I don’t need to know every single detail of Mary Boleyn’s life, especially the boring times when she was nowhere near court. Honestly, the 1000+ page books of Colleen McCullough have far more action in them than The Other Boleyn Girl. It’s not even guilty pleasure because finishing this was a chore. There were so many better ways to approach this, but throwing out the history and making Mary Boleyn ridiculously innocent was not the way to go.
In the end, The Other Boleyn Girl is for people who think soap operas are serious, not guilty pleasure. If you enjoy descriptions of multiple debaucheries, back-stabbing and playing fast and loose with historical fact, you might like this novel. If you can get past the navel-gazing introspection, that is.
I give this book 1/5 stars.
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
(Cover picture courtesy of The Young Folks.)
A Victorian boarding school story, a Gothic mansion mystery, a gossipy romp about a clique of girlfriends, and a dark other-worldly fantasy–jumble them all together and you have this complicated and unusual first novel.
Sixteen-year-old Gemma has had an unconventional upbringing in India, until the day she foresees her mother’s death in a black, swirling vision that turns out to be true. Sent back to England, she is enrolled at Spence, a girls’ academy with a mysterious burned-out East Wing. There Gemma is snubbed by powerful Felicity, beautiful Pippa, and even her own dumpy roommate Ann, until she blackmails herself and Ann into the treacherous clique. Gemma is distressed to find that she has been followed from India by Kartik, a beautiful young man who warns her to fight off the visions. Nevertheless, they continue, and one night she is led by a child-spirit to find a diary that reveals the secrets of a mystical Order. The clique soon finds a way to accompany Gemma to the other-world realms of her visions “for a bit of fun” and to taste the power they will never have as Victorian wives, but they discover that the delights of the realms are overwhelmed by a menace they cannot control. Gemma is left with the knowledge that her role as the link between worlds leaves her with a mission to seek out the “others” and rebuild the Order. A Great and Terrible Beauty is an impressive first book in what should prove to be a fascinating trilogy.
Just like the title may suggest to you, there are some great things in this book and some terrible things. Let’s start with the great ones, shall we?
I loved the Victorian feel of this novel. Libba Bray’s talent here is that she never loses the dark Victorian atmosphere while still exploring things like women’s issues and teenage love. Some of the things the main characters learn in A Great and Terrible Beauty can certainly apply to teens today, so I think this book is still very easy to relate to. At the same time, there’s still that exotic feel that comes with a completely different time period.
Another good thing was the main character, Gemma. Gemma is not your typical kick-butt girl empowerment type of character. She’s a little bit shy, impulsive and struggles to fight against a society where women aren’t supposed to have their own opinions. Does that mean she’s constantly fighting with her teachers at Spence over women’s issues and boldly doing things like wearing pants? Of course not. This goes back to the whole authentic Victorian feel of the novel: Gemma rebels in a realistic way, not necessarily in a modern way that YA readers have come to expect.
Now for the terrible: Gemma’s friends. I know that they certainly had their flaws, but they were still not given much depth. Pippa only acquired some depth in the end, but Felicity was just your typical It-Girl through-and-through. Yes, teenagers do stupid things, but the idiotic thing they do at the end of the novel at the behest of a malevolent spirit just made me face-palm. I mean, really? Hardly any girl would do that today, let alone girls raised to believe that showing your ankles and wrists meant you were a loose woman.
As for the mysterious Order I was generally happy about what information Libba Bray chose to reveal as the book went along. She reveals enough for us to understand what the heck is going on, but not so much that I could end the trilogy here. For now I’m going to reserve judgment on the other realms and the magic but I’ll say that I’m satisfied with the explanations thus far.
Overall, A Great and Terrible Beauty was a pretty good novel. Was it the best I’ve ever read? No, I wouldn’t put it up there on my top 10 or even 20 list. But it was a mostly enjoyable read and I’d definitely recommend giving it a try.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.