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

reviews August 11, 2013

The Vampire Armand by Anne Rice

The Vampire Armand (The Vampire Chronicles 6) by Anne Rice

The story begins in the aftermath of Memnoch the Devil. Vampires from all over the globe have gathered around Lestat, who lies prostrate on the floor of a cathedral. Dead? In a coma? As Armand reflects on Lestat’s condition, he is drawn by David Talbot to tell the story of his own life. The narrative abruptly rushes back to 15th-century Constantinople, and the Armand of the present recounts the fragmented memories of his childhood abduction from Kiev. Eventually, he is sold to a Venetian artist (and vampire), Marius. Rice revels in descriptions of the sensual relationship between the young and still-mortal Armand and his vampiric mentor. But when Armand is finally transformed, the tone of the book dramatically shifts. Raw and sexually explicit scenes are displaced by Armand’s introspective quest for a union of his Russian Orthodox childhood, his hedonistic life with Marius, and his newly acquired immortality. These final chapters remind one of the archetypal significance of Rice’s vampires; at their best, Armand, Lestat, and Marius offer keen insights into the most human of concerns. (Goodreads)

Lestat lies in a coma-like sleep in a chapel and while vampires gathers around him, Armand tells his story to David Talbot, Lestat’s former Talamascan fledgling. Armand takes us with him through his childhood in Kiev; from where he is kidnapped and sold to slavery, to Venice where Marius saves him and eventually gives the dark gift and to Paris where he led his Satanic Vampire cult.

Maybe I should start this telling that this was 4th or 5th time reading this and yep, I still love it! Armand’s always been my favourite so it’s no surprise I love this.
It’s been over 8 years since I’ve last read this, and long before I had even heard about blogs etc., so it was interesting to read it again. And it seems my book taste hasn’t changed since I was 15… And oh why it’s so hard to write about books you loved!

When Armand lived in Kiev as a child he painted beautiful icons and was meant to join the monks so he had pretty religious upbringing, which shows through his life and is constant theme through the book.

I’ve always loved the chapter where Marius takes Armand back to Kiev after turning him. He could let the past go little after meeting his family and his father who was such a huge presence in his life.

They didn’t have that many years together with Marius but it was a big part of his life when he was loved and (relatively) safe. And I was dreading to reach the part where it would all be ruined!
It’s been told in previous books that he was the leader of the vampire cult that imprisoned Lestat but now we see how he became part of it.

You can see the growing theme with Christianity on Rice’s books here and while I’m not even remotely religious it didn’t bother me. I love the writing style and the descriptive writing but that may not be to everyone’s liking.

5/5
Published: Arrow (1999)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 520
Source: my own