Category: Historical Fiction
The Messenger by Pamela DuMond
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Do you remember the first time you fell in love?
Read The Messenger (Mortal Beloved, Book One) and feel that beautiful—again.
Sixteen-year-old Madeline’s meant to fall in love with Samuel in every lifetime. But she meets him for the first time when she accidentally time travels into the past—hundreds years before she’s even born!
Their relationship is forbidden—Samuel’s half Native, Madeline’s white. Every rendezvous they share must be secret. Each moment they spend together tempts the odds that they’ll be discovered and brutally punished. But their love is fated—they musk risk all.
Danger intensifies when Madeline learns she’s in the past not only to fall in love, but also to claim her birth right as a Messenger—a soul who can slip through time’s fabric at will.
Deadly Hunters, dark-souled time travelers, crave Madeline’s powers and seek to seduce or kill her. Can Madeline find her way back to the future in time to save herself and Samuel?
[Full disclosure: I requested and received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
If I had to describe The Messenger in one word it would be ‘disappointing.’
The prologue started off promisingly enough, with a girl (obviously the main character) running through the woods in a panic. Okay, that sounds cool; let’s get on with the main event! My excitement dampened throughout the first few chapters because of the pretty stereotypical “main character who has lost her parent in a horrific accident years ago” but I soldiered on. When I got to when Madeline time-travelled I got pretty excited because I like time travel stories, which is why I requested this book in the first place. Then that point in the story is where the true disappointment set in.
It’s hard to enjoy a book when you absolutely cannot stand the main character and I couldn’t stand Madeline. I just wanted to reach in and slap her across her loud mouth. Constantly. Okay, she’s a little disoriented when she travels back in time, I’ll grant her that. But once she gets on her feet and realizes “I better play along with these people or they’ll call me a witch and hang me” she then proceeds to act like a modern stereotypical American teenager. She blurts out things at inappropriate times, uses modern slang (!) and generally acts like she wants people to start lynching her. I get it, not all teenagers are smart and would instantly adapt to the 1600s. Calling such a transition a culture shock would be quite an understatement. But really? Using the word ‘whatevs’ is definitely not going to ease people’s suspicions about you. Ugh.
Aside from a narrator that really is Too Stupid To Live, the book’s premise isn’t all that bad. Sure, it’s not the most original but the whole Messenger angle was sort of interesting. Special people go back in time to right wrongs and/or meet their destiny. Hunters try to prevent this. Unfortunately, Pamela DuMond never really gets into fleshing the whole story of the Messengers out because Madeline’s stupidity gets her mentor accused of witchcraft. Even the little knowledge Samuel has isn’t really enough to satisfy my curiosity. I know this is the first book in a series but even that doesn’t really excuse the fact that we get more questions than answers. So I give Pamela DuMond marks for potentially awesome world-building, but I can’t honestly say much about it because we didn’t learn all that much about it.
The plot is okay, but it’s also nothing to brag about. It’s not fast, but not too slow and it was interesting enough to keep me reading even though I began to really loathe Madeline. My only real complaint about the plot was that while some things were focused on too much, other things were neglected, like the growing attraction between Madeline and Samuel. Yes, they spend some time together but in those interactions I really wasn’t feeling the sparks fly. It just kind of felt contrived by the author because of course all YA novels have to have some romance.
Overall, the book would not be a bad book if not for the fact Madeline is just a really horrible main character. Sadly for us, though, we’re pretty much stuck in her head the whole time so there is no escaping the fact that The Messenger fell flat on its face. It had so much potential and did not live up to it.
I give this book 1/5 stars.
A Grave Inheritance by Kari Edgren
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Selah Kilbrid may descend from the goddess Brigid, but her heart beats—and breaks—the same as any human. Yet enduring the scorn of London’s most noble lords and ladies is a small price to pay for a chance at true happiness. Selah would endure much more for love, and her betrothed, Lord Henry Fitzalan, is prepared to challenge anyone foolish enough to stand in their way—even another goddess born.
But when a captivating young gentleman draws Selah into a world shadowed by secrets, she is forced to confront her darkest fears. What if some differences are too great to overcome and a future with Henry is doomed from the start?
With these doubts threatening her impending marriage and the very last of Brigid’s fire draining from her soul, a violent attack on an innocent child pushes Selah to the very edge of her power. She must find a way to cross into the Otherworld and regain her strength—or forfeit the streets of London to death and disease.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook in conjunction with the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
After having read Goddess Born, the first book in Kari Edgren’s trilogy, I was very, very excited to get my hands on A Grave Inheritance. The first book had been so great that it would be hard to top, but I had faith that she would be up to the challenge. And of course she was.
Selah is a much different character now. She’s more sure of herself and of Henry, but there are still little doubts lingering beneath the surface. Those doubts aren’t helped when Henry seems to all but ignore her for a while and chastises her for using her gift when he knows she can’t help it. Will they be able to overcome their differences? Or will the pressure from pretty much everyone in King George’s court undo the love they found back in the colonies? Especially when Julian, another descendant of Brigid starts showing an interest in Selah.
Yes, some people will probably get frustrated with Selah doubting Henry all of the time, but you have to remember that although they’re in love, they haven’t exactly known each other for a long time. It’s natural that Selah fears Henry will leave her once he goes back to his life as the King’s favourite courtier. And Henry doesn’t exactly alleviate those doubts early on. Both of them grow so much as characters throughout this book that you can hardly recognize them from how they were at the beginning of Goddess Born. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I do have to say that they both change for the better.
I kind of saw some of the plot twists coming, but there were others that completely blindsided me. Especially the revelation about Selah’s family and the fact that Brigid wasn’t the only deity to have mortal descendants with powerful gifts. For a largely character-driven novel, the plot is fairly fast-paced so I really can’t complain about that. The only real criticism I have is that I wish a little more had happened in the middle of the book; it wasn’t boring, but it wasn’t exactly super interesting at times. Since that’s really my only complaint (and it’s pretty minor), I’d have to say that the plot was pretty darn good overall.
One of the things that made me fall in love with Goddess Born, aside from the characters, was Kari Edgren’s writing. It’s just as good, if not better, in the sequel. She has this beautiful way of describing things that makes you feel like you really are there with the characters; that’s rare enough in authors. What makes her writing great as opposed to good, however, is the fact that she can give a very authentic historical atmosphere. Edgren makes you really feel like you’re in England in the 1700s. I know almost nothing about the period but she puts in these little details of everyday life that it makes the story ring true. It’s quite amazing, really.
It’s not often that second books are just as good if not better than the first book. Yet here we have A Grave Inheritance, a wonderful tale of love, magic, intrigue, gods and goddesses. It’s an emotional roller coaster at times and Kari Edgren really makes you feel all of her characters’ hardships. You can’t help but get emotionally invested in her characters and that’s part of the reason why I’m so anxious for the third book. Selah’s story is far from over.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
The Rose Master by Valentina Cano
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
The day Anne Tinning turns seventeen, birds fall from the sky. But that’s hardly the most upsetting news. She’s being dismissed from the home she’s served at since she was a child, and shipped off to become the newly hired parlor maid for a place she’s never heard of. And when she sees the run-down, isolated house, she instantly knows why:
There’s something wrong with Rosewood Manor.
Staffed with only three other servants, all gripped by icy silence and inexplicable bruises, and inhabited by a young master who is as cold as the place itself, the house is shrouded in neglect and thick with fear. Her questions are met with hushed whispers, and she soon finds herself alone in the empty halls, left to tidy and clean rooms no one visits.
As the feeling of being watched grows, she begins to realize there is something else in the house with them–some creature that stalks the frozen halls and claws at her door. A creature that seems intent on harming her.
When a fire leaves Anne trapped in the manor with its Master, she finally demands to know why. But as she forces the truth about what haunts the grounds from Lord Grey, she learns secrets she isn’t prepared for. The creature is very real, and she’s the only one who can help him stop it.
Now, Anne must either risk her life for the young man she’s grown to admire, or abandon her post while she still can.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
One of the things that stood out for me from the beginning in The Rose Master was the writing. Valentina Cano has a beautiful descriptive writing style that just sucks you into the world of her story. Of course it’s not as verbose as the writing style of the time, but it is different enough from most styles that you get a sort of authentic “gothic mystery novel” feel. Which is probably what she was going for, considering the plot and the subject matter.
The characters ring true both to the modern reader as well as to the times they live in. Anne is a servant at the age of seventeen and when she’s sent away to Rosewood Manor she’s on her own for the first time in her life. So you can imagine her terror when it seems like there’s something funny going on at the manor, what with the odd noises, mysterious bruises on the staff members and an absentee Lord. One of the things that I admired so much about the book is that Anne is brave and resourceful without resulting to the modern ‘kick-butt action girl’ trope that would ruin the authentic Gothic feel. She’s not helpless, but she is bound by her upbringing and the expectations of the times. I don’t want to give much away but when she finally does meet our mysterious Lord Grey, she definitely does grow out of that enforced timidity.
The plot is not fast by most modern standards but it is fascinating. Valentina Cano sucks you into her world with her writing and she is a master of suspense. Even if you’re like me and could pretty much predict the next events, you just had to keep reading to see how they would unfold. She creates an air of mystery, suspense and more than a little horror throughout the novel that I really admire her for sustaining. Sure, there are some happy parts between characters, but there’s always that ominous other lurking about on the sidelines.
Even if you’re not a huge Gothic novel fan, I can’t recommend The Rose Master enough. It is just so beautifully written and Valentina Cano does a wonderful job keeping her readers in suspense. The characters are so well fleshed out, both major and minor, that you can’t help but fall in love with them. I particularly liked Anne; she’s a very memorable main character. Basically? Just go and buy this book. I think you’ll love it as much as I did.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Oracles of Delphi by Marie Savage
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
All Althaia wants on her trip to Delphi is to fulfill her father’s last wish and enjoy time away from her tiresome new husband. Finding the body of a young woman on the altar of Dionysos in the theater of the Sacred Precinct on her first day in town is not in her plans. Neither is getting involved in the search for the killer, falling for the son of a famous priestess, or getting pulled into the ancient struggle for control of the two most powerful oracles in the world. But that’s exactly what happens when Theron, Althaia’s tutor and a man with a reputation for finding the truth, is asked to investigate. When a priest hints that Theron himself may be involved, Althaia is certain the old man is crazy-until Nikomachos, son of the famous priestess of Dodona, arrives with an urgent message. As Theron’s past, greedy priests, paranoid priestesses, visions, prophecies, and stolen treasures complicate the investigation, Althaia finds herself falling for Nikomachos whose dangerous secrets may hold the key to the young woman’s death. When another body is found and Althaia discovers Nikomachos is being blackmailed, she devises a plan to coerce the killer to reveal himself and, in the process, forces Nikomachos to confront his own past. As the plan unfolds, she comes to realize that love often comes at a high price and that the true meaning of family is more than a blood bond.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook in conjunction with the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
I have to admit that I’m not usually one for murder mysteries set in ancient times. They always seemed a little bit cheesy to me, with the investigators using modern techniques that the ancients really did not use. However, I thought Oracles of Delphi sounded pretty cool and was worth a try. Good thing I did because I would have missed out on a pretty good book if I hadn’t.
Althaia is a fascinating character. She’s a woman in Athens, so of course she’s essentially property, but she does have a significant amount of wealth thanks to her father. That allows her the freedom to travel to Delphi, where there’s a little more freedom for women (not that it would take much compared to Athens). There in Delphi she discovers that the Oracles of Apollon and Gaia are competing for supremacy and Apollon’s have been kicking butt for the past hundred or so years. But what was supposed to be a pilgrimage a year after her father’s death turns into a murder investigation when the naked body of a priestess of Gaia shows up on Apollon’s altar.
One of the things that made Althaia really stick out to me was the complexity of her character. She’s intelligent and thoughtful but at the same time can be blinded by her own privilege to the suffering of people around her. This is showcased especially well through the eyes of her personal slave, Nepthys when the book changes points of view. Althaia uses this intelligence to perform an autopias on the body, discovering the cause of death and getting a little closer to the murderer. She’s had an unconventional childhood thanks to her father’s enlightened views so it’s interesting to see her more modern views warring with the increasingly patriarchal society around her.
Speaking of that Marie Savage did a very in-depth study of the Greek world of the time. She posits that this is the time when worship moved away from the goddesses and the gods suddenly reigned supreme. The Oracle of Apollon gained more power while the old Oracle of Gaia lost all of hers. It’s an interesting time of change in the Greek world and I’m so glad that Savage chose to set her novel during this time; it just wouldn’t be nearly as good without the societal conflicts. Add to that the fact that a certain King Philip is reigning in what we know as Macedon and you’ve got yourself a well-researched book where no matter your knowledge of the ancient Greeks, you can at least be familiar with some elements.
The plot is not as fast-paced as that of a modern murder mystery, but it is still fast-paced enough that you won’t want to put it down. Marie Savage managed to slowly ratchet up the tension as the book went along, without all the normal drag in the middle, so you truly will want to make this a one-sitting book. Enemies are around every corner and truly nothing is as it seems in Delphi at the time. Add in just a couple interesting subplots with the main characters and you’ve got a pretty darn good book. I really just can’t recommend it enough if you love either ancient history or murder mysteries.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
The Tiger Queens by Stephanie Thornton
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
In the late twelfth century, across the sweeping Mongolian grasslands, brilliant, charismatic Temujin ascends to power, declaring himself the Great, or Genghis, Khan. But it is the women who stand beside him who ensure his triumph….
After her mother foretells an ominous future for her, gifted Borte becomes an outsider within her clan. When she seeks comfort in the arms of aristocratic traveler Jamuka, she discovers he is the blood brother of Temujin, the man who agreed to marry her and then abandoned her long before they could wed.
Temujin will return and make Borte his queen, yet it will take many women to safeguard his fragile new kingdom. Their daughter, the fierce Alaqai, will ride and shoot an arrow as well as any man. Fatima, an elegant Persian captive, will transform her desire for revenge into an unbreakable loyalty. And Sorkhokhtani, a demure widow, will position her sons to inherit the empire when it begins to fracture from within.
In a world lit by fire and ruled by the sword, the tiger queens of Genghis Khan come to depend on one another as they fight and love, scheme and sacrifice, all for the good of their family…and the greatness of the People of the Felt Walls.
[Full disclosure: I received a free print copy in conjunction with the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
Ever since I read Daughter of the Gods, Stephanie Thornton’s take on Hatshepsut, I have become a serious fan of her work. So when the opportunity to read her take on the women of Genghis Khan arose, I couldn’t resist. And now that I’ve finished the book, I’m glad I couldn’t.
Stephanie Thornton’s main strength is her characters and that really shines through in this multi-character epic. Each one is so distinctly different and yet they’re strong in different ways: Borte, the wife of the great Khan; Alaqai, his fierce daughter; Fatima, a woman who hates the Mongols but grows to love them; Sorkhokhtani, the unlikely force behind her sons who would someday be Khan. My personal favourite is Borte because I’ve admired her since I read Conn Iggulden’s take on Genghis Khan, but all of them were wonderful. They all get different sections of the book and each one is very, very distinct. Every woman gets their own character arc and we get to experience all of their triumphs and failures first-hand. I could connect to all of the characters in this novel, something that’s not very common with multiple main characters.
Even though this book is nearly 500 pages long, the pacing is actually very good. I didn’t really feel bored at any point in the novel because while each character fulfills their own little subplots the greater plot (the path the empire takes) is also marching forward. Although I know a bit more than the average person on the street, I can hardly be considered an authority on the Mongol Empire so seeing the progression of it in this way, through the generations, was a real treat. It’s very hard to keep historical fiction fast-paced, but Stephanie Thornton does it very, very well.
Stephanie Thornton is a good historical fiction writer in that she can balance accuracy and a good story. There are very few sources from the time and while she does try to be as accurate she can with the wider events, I like how she admits that she does take a few liberties with events in her Author’s Note. However, she still maintains historical accuracy on the smaller details like Mongol customs, how they lived their daily lives, etc. It took a lot of research and hard work, but the result is a fairly historically accurate work that also happens to be a very, very good novel.
What more can I say? I could gush for days on the different characters and their hardships and successes, but it’s just best for you to go out and buy the book. Then you can experience for yourself the wonderful writing style of Stephanie Thornton, her amazingly fleshed-out characters and her painstaking attention to historical details. You can’t ask for a better take on some of history’s most powerful, but oddly forgotten, women. I can’t recommend this book enough.
I give this book 5/5 stars.