Monthly Archives

August 2013

site August 14, 2013

Site back up + email subscriptions

I got finally the site back up and it took way longer than I expected! And that’s because I had to write my reviews again. Okay, I copied them from Goodreads but still… As exciting as watching paint dry but I finally finished it. It’s a good thing I don’t have more reviews because then it would have taken forever.

The reason for the downtime was that I needed to change my hosts but everything didn’t go as planned and top of that I lost my backups. That’s why the copying from Goodreads. Remind me never to change host again!

I also changed email subscription from feed burner to Jetpack so you have to subscription again if you want to receive posts via email.

reviews August 11, 2013

The Secret Bride by Diane Haeger

The Secret Bride (In The Court of Henry VIII 1) by Diane Haeger

Mary Tudor, the headstrong younger sister of the ruthless King Henry VIII, has always been her brother’s favorite-but now she is also an important political bargaining chip. When she is promised to the elderly, ailing King Louis of France, a heartbroken Mary accepts her fate, but not before extracting a promise from her brother: When the old king dies, her next marriage shall be solely of her choosing. For Mary has a forbidden passion, and is determined, through her own cunning, courage, and boldness, to forge her own destiny.

The Secret Bride is the triumphant tale of one extraordinary woman who meant to stay true to her heart and live her life just as her royal brother did- by her own rules… (Goodreads)

Mary has known Charles Brandon since childhood and doesn’t hide her dislike. But growing up she notices her feelings starting to change, yet she knows that a princess can’t have a future with a duke. Mary does her duty by marrying the old French king and after her husband dies, she and Charles follow their hearts knowing Mary’s brother will be furious.

The book leaned more towards romance than straight historical fiction but unfortunately I couldn’t feel the passion between Mary and Charles. I kept waiting something to happen and sparks starting to fly but nothing. I didn’t really connect with Mary to be fully interested to know what happened with her. She was too naïve and well… maybe not too bright. And of course beautiful. Which we heard many, many times.

And there were too much sneaking around corners and secret meetings. How could Mary had the opportunity to do half of what she was doing?

This was rather easy and quick read but didn’t quite reach the expectations.

2,5/5
Published: NAL (2008)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 398
Source: my own

reviews August 11, 2013

Brief Gaudy Hour by Margaret Campbell Barnes

Brief Gaudy Hour: The novel of Anne Boleyn’s passionate love by Margaret Campbell Barnes

The beautiful temptress of Henry VIII’s court…

Anne Boleyn bewitched King Henry VIII with her dark beauty. For her he divorced Katherine of Aragon, who could not give him the son he longed for, and broke England’s link with the Church of Rome. As Queen, Anne triumphed over her enemies at court – but her triumph was as short-lived as it was brilliant. Her child, the heir that Henry was so desperate for, was another daughter. And this unforgivable error was to cost Anne her life. (Goodreads)

The book starts with young Anne who is called to court by her father, telling her that she is to attend the King’s sister to France. Anne is excited to go and while in France she grows into beautiful woman who gets the attention of men. She also witnessed the love between Mary and Charles Brandon, and vows that one day she too will have great love story.

Back in England she fells in love hard but when that is destroyed she wants revenge. But she’s also gotten the King’s attention.

I quite liked this older book about Anne Boleyn. The book was first published in 1949, which can be seen at times. The sixth finger was mentioned and Anne also had step-mother called Jocunda. I actually liked to see the relationship between Anne and Jocunda so it didn’t bother me that much. Relationship between her and George was close but there wasn’t any hints about incest which as refreshing.

Anne was portrayed both vain and selfish at times but she was also loyal to her friends. The only thing that bothered me was when Anne slept with Henry Percy which I thought was little too far-fetched but I liked to see them together and how Anne was really heartbroken after their break up. Later in the book was a great a scene where both are older and meeting again after long time, and both are thinking how the other has changed.

I’ve read one of the author’s book before but I liked this one much more. Few things were outdated but all in all I think it stands well with newer books.

3/5
Published: Sphere (1971)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 390
Source: my own

reviews August 11, 2013

The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell

The Last Kingdom (The Saxon Stories 1) by Bernard Cornwell

In the middle years of the ninth-century, the fierce Danes stormed onto British soil, hungry for spoils and conquest. Kingdom after kingdom fell to the ruthless invaders until but one realm remained. And suddenly the fate of all England—and the course of history—depended upon one man, one king. (Goodreads)

Uhtred is the heir to Bebbanburg in Northumbria but after his father and brother is killed he is taken by the Vikings that killed his family. In time he comes to see Ragnar, his Danish captor, as a father figure and learns to fight with them. While he loves the Danish way of life, he dreams of retaking his lands from his uncle who usurped them after Uhtred’s father died.

The story is told from first person perspective but it works here. It balances nicely young and rather arrogant Uhtred with the older and wiser one who remembers back the events.

I’ve read one of Cornwell’s books before and didn’t finish it so I wasn’t sure what to expect with this. But I liked much more than I thought I would.
I haven’t read much about this era and I spent some time googling and I had some trouble keeping all the strange names in order.

I haven’t read books about Alfred so I can’t say much about him but I had some trouble with the portrayal. He is portrayed as a weakling who spends his time womanizing and then praying for his sins and too devoted to church. I do hope he changes because I really don’t see a man anyone could call “the Great”.

I had one issue with Uhtred because he kept flipping between Danish and Saxons; first he’s Danish, then he’s Saxon, then he’s Danish again… Just make up your mind! Doesn’t make me wanna follow someone who can’t commit to either side. But I enjoyed the battle scenes and how those were written.

I’m looking forward reading the next book and seeing how these characters develop. I hope we meet more the women in Uhtred’s life since now we just met them briefly but never got to know them.

4/5
Published: HarperCollins (2005)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 327
Source: my own

reviews August 11, 2013

Flesh by Khanh Ha

Flesh by Khanh Ha

The setting is Tonkin (northern Vietnam) at the turn of the 20th century. A boy, Tai, witnesses the beheading of his father, a notorious bandit, and sets out to recover his head and then to find the man who betrayed his father to the authorities. On this quest, Tai’s entire world will shift. FLESH takes the reader into dark and delightful places in the human condition, places where allies are not always your friends, true love hurts, and your worst enemy may bring you the most comfort. In that emotionally harrowing world, Tai must learn to deal with new responsibilities in his life while at the same time acknowledging his bond, and his resemblance, to a man he barely knew–his father. Through this story of revenge is woven another story, one of love, but love purchased with the blood of murders Tai commits. A coming-of-age story, but also a love story, the sensuality of the author’s writing style belies the sometimes brutal world he depicts. (publisher)

The book starts with a boy watching his father’s execution with his mother and brother. After the brother dies of smallpox, Tai goes to work trying to collect the money for their graves. His journey takes him through the forest of Vietnam to the opium dens of China.

I’ve barely read anything about Vietnam so I didn’t know what to expect. Tai didn’t have an easy life and wasn’t above using violence to survive when there was reason for it. It was a brutal world but he manages to find happiness in midst of it all. It’s a dark book that starts with a beheading that is quite detailed. As a contrast to all the violence there was love story too and I was glad Tai found some love and happiness in his life.

I loved the writing but it’s also very detailed and Tai explained what he saw and experienced and it slowed the book down a bit and I did some minor skipping with the longer descriptions.

3,5/5
Published: Black Heron (2012)
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 368
Source: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours