Tagged: masq1
The Lion and the Rose by Kate Quinn
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
As the cherished concubine of the Borgia Pope Alexander VI, Giulia Farnese has Rome at her feet. But after narrowly escaping a sinister captor, she realizes that the danger she faces is far from over—and now, it threatens from within. The Holy City of Rome is still under Alexander’s thrall, but enemies of the Borgias are starting to circle. In need of trusted allies, Giulia turns to her sharp-tongued bodyguard, Leonello, and her fiery cook and confidante, Carmelina.
Caught in the deadly world of the Renaissance’s most notorious family, Giulia, Leonello, and Carmelina must decide if they will flee the dangerous dream of power. But as the shadows of murder and corruption rise through the Vatican, they must learn who to trust when every face wears a mask . . .
I had my doubts about The Lion and the Rose but in the end it exceeded my expectations. Kate Quinn captures a time of change and uncertainty perfectly while having her beloved characters navigate through the vicious politics of Rome.
Kate Quinn’s characters are great. Giulia is finally a mature woman who starts to realize that maybe her beloved Pope isn’t all that he seems to be. His personality is changing and Giulia now has the maturity and insight to see and acknowledge some of his failings as a person. I don’t want to add in too many spoilers, but this new knowledge drastically changes their relationship as well as both parties involved. Leonello was the character that surprised me the most in this book, however. He’s finally trying to be just a little bit nicer to everyone but he still has that biting wit that makes me love him. Where his character goes toward the end of the book was a total shock but in hindsight I should have seen it coming. Carmelina also has quite the interesting character arc, but I was definitely more interested in Giulia’s and Leonello’s.
I can’t vouch for the historical accuracy of this novel because my knowledge of the era is woefully inadequate, but Kate Quinn included a nice historical note talking about the very few things she did change. She seamlessly wove history and invention together to tell a great story while remaining true to the tiny details and broader strokes of the period. For example, all of the recipes mentioned in the book are authentic as well as the religious unrest in Florence. This is how historical fiction should be written.
By most standards the plot is not fast-paced but this is more of a character driven novel. There are still some very surprising plot twists, particularly the ones involving Leonello, so you’ll never be bored. And of course Kate Quinn’s writing style is excellent, as always. Historical fiction doesn’t get much better than this.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George
(Cover picture courtesy of Margaret George’s site.)
Bestselling novelist Margaret George brings to life the glittering kingdom of Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile, in this luch, sweeping, and richly detailed saga. Told in Cleopatra’s own voice, this is a mesmerizing tale of ambition, passion, and betrayl, which begins when the twenty-year-old queen seeks out the most powerful man in the world, Julius Caesar, and does not end until, having survived the assassination of Caesar and the defeat of the second man she loves, Marc Antony, she plots her own death rather than be paraded in triumph through the streets of Rome.
This really is a monster of a book. Compared to some books I’ve read it’s not that long, only 964 pages, but the pages are huge and that’s why it took me months to finish this book. But in the end it was completely worth it, which is why I chose it for my 500th book review!
The thing I liked most about The Memoirs of Cleopatra wasn’t even the characters; it was the writing itself. Margaret George has a beautiful, captivating style that brings history to life. I could smell the slums of Rome, feel the hot Egyptian air on my skin in the temple of Philae and could even smell the perfumes and the food. Her descriptions appeal to all five of the reader’s senses but she never really belabors the point. She finds that perfect balance between Cleopatra’s own introspective nature and describing the scene around her for readers.
The characters were, of course, fantastic. Cleopatra is far from perfect, believe me, but Margaret George paints her not as a goddess, man-eater or ruthless despot, but rather as a human being. She loves, fights, rages, cries, smiles, laughs and does all of the things that normal human beings would do, especially under the amount of pressure she had throughout her whole life. Cleopatra comes off as an amazing character and this is definitely one of the more memorable portrayals of the last Pharaoh that I’ve ever read (and I’ve read a lot).
Julius Caesar was pretty much as I expected but Marc Antony was interesting. In this version it’s clear that he does struggle from some depression and feelings of inadequacy as Cleopatra pushes him to do the things she’s always wanted to do. It’s like she’s trying to live through him as a man but Antony just can’t measure up, causing him to turn to alcohol. This type of Antony has been portrayed before, but never quite as sympathetically as Margaret George portrays him. In the end, despite his weaknesses, I felt sad when he took his own life.
Margaret George has very obviously done her research here. The historical details are accurate as well as the broader strokes of the events of the time. Of course she’s had to fill in some gaps with her own imagination, but she sticks as close to reality as possible. Honestly, you’d be hard-pressed to find a novel that is better researched but so well written.
Basically, this was worth the months of reading and I couldn’t have picked a better book for my 500th review milestone. If you like Cleopatra or ancient Egypt in general I can’t recommend this one enough.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
The Secret Eleanor by Cecelia Holland
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
1151: As Duchess of Aquitaine, Eleanor grew up knowing what it was to be regarded for herself and not for her husband’s title. Now, as wife to Louis VII and Queen of France, she has found herself unsatisfied with reflected glory-and feeling constantly under threat, even though she outranks every woman in Paris.
Then, standing beside her much older husband in the course of a court ceremony, Eleanor locks eyes with a man-hardly more than a boy, really- across the throne room, and knows that her world has changed irrevocably…
He is Henry D’Anjou, eldest son of the Duke of Anjou, and he is in line, somewhat tenuously, for the British throne. She meets him in secret. She has a gift for secrecy, for she is watched like a prisoner by spies even among her own women. She is determined that Louis must set her free. Employing deception and disguise, seduction and manipulation, Eleanor is determined to find her way to power-and make her mark on history.
How do you turn a woman who left an incredible mark on history by daring to choose her husband, who set a new standard for women in power into a shallow, conniving, backstabbing, whiny little girl? After reading The Secret Eleanor I’m still not too sure, but Cecelia Holland somehow managed it.
As you’ve probably guessed, this book was a complete letdown. I expected to admire Eleanor because in history she really was a strong, intelligent and cunning woman. I didn’t expect the whiny, self-centred creature that Cecelia Holland portrayed her as. How could this woman have done half of the things she did in real life if she was as Holland imagines her? Answer: she couldn’t and that’s why her portrayal falls flat.
There has to be a strong suspension of disbelief to finish this book because we learn that Eleanor while Eleanor was pregnant with Henry’s child her sister Petronilla impersonated her. This I highly doubt. Sisters can look alike, it’s true, but very rarely can someone truly copy another person’s mannerisms and vocal patterns. Even when they’re close sisters. Honestly, if this scenario had been true, someone would have noticed and outed the whole conspiracy. As it was, everyone within Eleanor’s inner circle knew so it’s pretty safe to say that in real life, someone would have squealed.
I could look past the implausible scenario if the rest of the book was well written, but it was not. The plot seems to jump all over the place as we follow the different characters through their journeys. Claire, the young maidservant, randomly seems to get quite a bit of page time in the last third of the book. Eleanor all but disappears from the narrative as Petronilla takes over her role. Sometimes there seems to be neither rhyme nor reason as to why Cecelia Holland changed points of view other than in a desperate attempt to move the plot along. It didn’t work.
Basically, if you’re even vaguely interested in Eleanor of Aquitaine this book is not for you. I honestly wish I hadn’t wasted my money on it.
I give this book 1/5 stars.
Blades of Magic by Terah Edun
(Cover picture courtesy of Terah Edun via email.)
It is not a peaceful time in the Algardis Empire. War is raging between the mages and seventeen-year-old Sara Fairchild will be right in the middle of it.
She just doesn’t know it yet.
Sara is the daughter of a disgraced imperial commander, executed for desertion. Sara is also the best duelist and hand-to-hand combatant in Sandrin. She lives quietly with her family’s shame but when challenged about her family’s honor, her opponent inevitably loses.
On the night she finds out her father’s true last actions, she takes the Mercenary Guilds’ vows to serve in the emperor’s army. Using her quick wits and fierce fighting skills, she earns a spot in the first division.
There she discovers secrets the mages on both sides would prefer stay hidden. Dark enemies hunt her and soon it’s not just Sara questioning the motivation behind this war.
While fighting mages, blackmailing merchants and discovering new friends, Sara comes across something she’s never had before – passion. The question is – can she fight for her empress against a mage who might unwittingly claim her heart?
This is year one of the Initiate Wars. Sara is hoping it doesn’t become the year she dies.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy from Terah Edun in exchange for an honest review.]
I was very excited to get started on Terah Edun’s Courtlight spin-off trilogy and I admit that I had very high expectations because of an excerpt I read from chapter one. Fortunately, the rest of the book turned out being just as good, sometimes even better.
Sara Fairchild kicks butt quite literally. She’s a battle mage, meaning that her fighting skills are unparalleled and she also has a certain magical advantage. That doesn’t mean she’s invincible because we learn soon enough that her powers can come at a very high price. I like how she balances revelling in her skills with being fearful of what they could lead to if not kept in check. It makes her more relatable than if she were just constantly kicking butt without any fear of consequences. Add in her emotional isolation and her need to clear her father’s name and you’ve got yourself a sympathetic, interesting and three dimensional main character.
The plot is very fast-paced; there’s almost no time when the reader can truly catch their breath. Which is, of course, how I ended up reading this book in one sitting despite my intentions only to read about 25% of it before going to bed. It was so good I couldn’t put it down because I just had to see what was going to happen next. There were plot twists all over the place and I love how even with Sara, our main character, things aren’t always what they seem. Even the bumbling Ezekiel Crane is more than he appears to be.
As usual, Terah Edun’s world-building was amazing. Even if you haven’t read the Courtlight series, you can enjoy this one because the two series aren’t dependent on one another. In this one we learn a lot more about the powerful mages that made the Initiate Wars so devastating. There’s a lot of political intrigue but it’s never so ridiculously complicated that the reader will get bogged down in the details. As I said earlier, not everything is as it seems in this book, even when it comes to the supposed rules of the world. With magic flying left, right and centre things in the Algardis Empire are constantly changing. It makes for a very unpredictable story.
Basically, Blades of Magic is a great kick-off to Terah Edun’s new trilogy. I can’t wait for the next book, Blades of Illusion!
I give this book 5/5 stars.
The Recruit by Fiona Palmer
(Cover picture courtesy of NetGalley.)
From one of Australia’s Queens of Romance comes the debut in a brand new YA series about secrets, strengths, and what lies beneath the surface.
Jasmine Thomas may not be completely normal, but she’s a pretty typical seventeen-year-old girl. She hates the rich mean kids, loves her best friends, and can’t wait to get out of school each day. Her spare time is spent at The Ring — a boxing gym where she practically grew up — learning karate, boxing and street fighting. So, yeah, Jaz can kick some major butt.
Life seems pretty normal until the day Ryan Fletcher enters her gym…mysterious and hot with heaps of bad boy charm. Sure, she checks him out. Who wouldn’t? But what doesn’t show on his gorgeous abs are secrets and lies that dominate his very grown-up world. Now Jaz has to figure out just how far she is willing to go to know more. Could Ryan really be offering the life-fulfilling life path she’s always dreamed of?
[Full disclosure: I was approached by the publisher and accepted a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
I have to be honest here when I say that contemporary YA romance is generally not my thing. It never really has been and likely never will, but with books like The Recruit I’m always willing to try. So that’s why I accepted the invitation to read and review Fiona Palmer’s newest release.
I was both pleasantly surprised and slightly disappointed by The Recruit. On one hand, I was surprised that the romance element was actually somewhat realistic and that the heroine was well fleshed-out. On the other hand, it was disappointing that I could predict almost every supposed plot twist throughout the whole novel. First I’ll talk about the characters.
Jaz isn’t your typical teenage girl. She likes to kick butt and is actually very good at it. Normally this would be a Mary Sue alert, but who wouldn’t be good when they’ve spent their whole childhood learning how to fight? It’s a realistic progression in that way and it makes Jaz a very interesting character. She grows throughout the book, both in her love of Ryan and in her personal life. Jaz isn’t sure about life after school but I like how she takes her time to come to her own decision and doesn’t feel pressured to do one thing or the other. Ryan, the secret agent, is an okay character. He’s pretty much your typical tortured secret agent but he does have some other qualities that make him a three dimensional character.
The main disappointment for me was the lack of surprises in the plot. Pretty much everything was hinted at so obviously that you could see the next plot twist coming a mile away. Another thing I didn’t like was that the plot follows such a typical character arc for this type of novel. There was nothing new or innovative about the whole thing; most tropes were simply played straight. The characters are typical of such a novel as well but they were three dimensional so I didn’t mind that aspect. No, what disappointed me was the predictability of the plot.
Basically, this was an okay book for me. I would recommend it to some of my friends, but I certainly can’t offer a blanket recommendation for everyone. Basically, if you like contemporary YA that’s heavy on the romance you’ll probably like The Recruit. It just wasn’t the best book for me.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.