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historical

reviews October 1, 2015

The Sisters of Versailles: A Novel by Sally Christie

01_The Sisters of Versailles

The Sisters of Versailles (Mistresses of Versailles 1)
by Sally Christie

A sumptuous and sensual tale of power, romance, family, and betrayal centered around four sisters and one King. Carefully researched and ornately detailed, The Sisters of Versailles is the first book in an exciting new historical fiction trilogy about King Louis XV, France’s most “well-beloved” monarch, and the women who shared his heart and his bed.

Goodness, but sisters are a thing to fear.

Set against the lavish backdrop of the French Court in the early years of the 18th century, The Sisters of Versailles is the extraordinary tale of the five Nesle sisters: Louise, Pauline, Diane, Hortense, and Marie-Anne, four of whom became mistresses to King Louis XV. Their scandalous story is stranger than fiction but true in every shocking, amusing, and heartbreaking detail.

Court intriguers are beginning to sense that young King Louis XV, after seven years of marriage, is tiring of his Polish wife. The race is on to find a mistress for the royal bed as various factions put their best foot – and women – forward. The King’s scheming ministers push Louise, the eldest of the aristocratic Nesle sisters, into the arms of the King. Over the following decade, the four sisters:sweet, naive Louise; ambitious Pauline; complacent Diane, and cunning Marie Anne, will conspire, betray, suffer, and triumph in a desperate fight for both love and power.

In the tradition of The Other Boleyn Girl, The Sisters of Versailles is a clever, intelligent, and absorbing novel that historical fiction fans will devour. Based on meticulous research on a group of women never before written about in English, Sally Christie’s stunning debut is a complex exploration of power and sisterhood; of the admiration, competition, and even hatred that can coexist within a family when the stakes are high enough.

I haven’t read much about Louis XV, or about French history in general, and I hadn’t heard about the Nesle sisters before. I’ve heard of Madame de Pompadour and Madame du Barry but that’s about it.

The chapters alternate between the five sisters and it starts with old Hortense remembering what happened in the past.

It’s rather surprising how much I enjoyed this book despite the fact that I didn’t like any of the characters. I hated both Pauline and Mary-Anne, I felt bad for Louise but she should have just stood up for herself, Diane is so oblivious about everything that it’s not even funny and pious Hortense was too righteous. It doen’t give very good picture about Louis either. He’s a weak king who isn’t interested in governing the country and easy to manipulate. When there’s any trouble, he just leaves someone else to sort it out.

There isn’t anything about politics but every time any of the characters speak about the common people, I want to beat them up. Seriously. You definitely can see the seeds of the revolution.

3,5/5

Published: BookTrope Publishing (September 1, 2015)
Format: eBook
Pages: 432
Source: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

ABOUT THE AUTHOR04_Sally Christie_Author

I’m a life-long history buff – and I mean life-long. One of the first adult books I read was Antonia Fraser’s masterful Mary, Queen of Scots. Wow! That book just blew my little ten year old mind: something about the way it brought the past right back to life, made it live again on the page. I date my obsession with history to that time, but I’d been writing (“writing”) ever since I was able to hold a pencil.

If you’d told my 12-year old self that I’d not be a writer when I grew up, I would have laughed you out of the tree house. With a few detours along the way, to work overseas in consulting and development, as well as to go to business school, I’ve finally come full circle to where I think I should be.

I currently live in Toronto and when I’m not writing, I’m playing lots of tennis; doing random historical research (old census records are my favorite); playing Scrabble, and squirrel-watching (the room where I write has French doors leading out to a deck; I avidly follow, and feed, a scruffy gang).

For more information please visit Sally Christie’s website. You can also find her on Goodreads and Pinterest.

BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE

Monday, September 14
Review at Reading the Past

Tuesday, September 15
Review at Book Lovers Paradise
Interview & Giveaway at Mina’s Bookshelf

Wednesday, September 16
Review at Bookish

Thursday, September 17
Review at The Book Binder’s Daughter

Friday, September 18
Review & Giveaway at The True Book Addict
Review at History From a Woman’s Perspective

Saturday, September 19
Spotlight at Romantic Historical Reviews

Monday, September 21
Review at Leeanna.me

Tuesday, September 22
Spotlight at Historical Fiction Connection

Wednesday, September 23
Review & Giveaway at History Undressed

Thursday, September 24
Spotlight & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

Friday, September 25
Spotlight at Historical Readings & Views

Monday, September 28
Review & Giveaway at View From the Birdhouse

Tuesday, September 29
Review at So Many Books, So Little Time

Thursday, October 1
Review at Genre Queen
Review at bookramblings

Friday, October 2
Review at Curling Up By the Fire

Monday, October 5
Review at Ageless Pages Reviews

Tuesday, October 6
Review at Just One More Chapter

Wednesday, October 7
Review at The Lit Bitch

Thursday, October 8
Interview & Giveaway at Reading Lark

Friday, October 9
Review & Giveaway at Historical Fiction Obsession

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reviews August 20, 2015

Incurable by E.C. Moore

02_Incurable_CoverIncurable by E.C. Moore

Her menacing past was loose and in close pursuit. The fear of the thing lived in her eyes, and trepidation sounded with each step her heels made as she fled.

Los Angeles 1956. Marilyn Palmer is a beauty with a deep dark secret. After a threatening note from a blackmailer arrives she hires a private eye to help keep her unsavory past under wraps.

Incurable is a story wrought with impetuous and regrettable decisions made by a desperate young woman. Barely eighteen years old, and a gifted seamstress, she makes the ill-fated decision to run away from her Detroit home with a wily friend. Bound for Hollywood, and seeking stardom, the girls set out on an incredible journey.

This splendidly imagined debut explores the tumultuous life and times of a woman who suffered the ultimate betrayal as a child during the Great Depression. A story of survival set against the backdrop of early Hollywood, misery on Hotel Street in Honolulu before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and heartbreak in Los Angeles during WWII, Incurable delivers an emotional intensity rarely found.

The book started little slow but it sure did pick up later on. The girls surely didn’t live a quiet time!

The book jumps between Marilyn’s past and present but it was easy to keep up. Marilyn grows to a strong woman who despite everything that happens just finds her way forward. Now she’s married with a baby and believes she’s put her past behind her but discovers that past isn’t so easy to erase.

Her friend June is completely the opposite of Marilyn; carefree and spontaneous with no thought of tomorrow. I gotta say that I didn’t care much of her and she was my least favourite character. I can’t believe how naïve Marilyn was at times and how she went with June’s crazy ideas time after time.

All in all it was enjoyable read and a great debut book.

3/5

Published: BookTrope Publishing (July 6, 2015)
Format: eBook
Pages: 360
Source: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

ABOUT THE AUTHOR03_Author E.C. Moore

When E.C. Mooreís not writing feverishly, you will find her out walking or sightseeing. Sheís wild about coffee, books, cooking, good wine, cairn terriers, miniature ponies, historical houses, and witty people.

She resides in a fifties bungalow in Southern California, with her creative-director husband, a yappy blonde dog, and one feisty Chihuahua.

For more information visit E.C. Moore’s website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Amazon, Google+, and Goodreads.

BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE

Monday, August 10
Review at Book Nerd

Tuesday, August 11
Review at A Fold in the Spine
Spotlight & Excerpt at Curling Up By the Fire

Wednesday, August 12
Guest Post & Giveaway at Unshelfish

Thursday, August 13
Review at With Her Nose Stuck in a Book
Spotlight & Excerpt at A Literary Vacation
Spotlight & Excerpt at What Is That Book About

Sunday, August 16
Review at History From a Woman’s Perspective
Spotlight & Excerpt at Please Pass the Books

Monday, August 17
Guest Post at Passages to the Past

Thursday, August 20
Review at Bookramblings
Spotlight & Giveaway at Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More

Friday, August 21
Tour Wrap-Up & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

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reviews July 10, 2015

Sword of the Gladiatrix by Faith L. Justice

01_Sword of the Gladiatrix Cover

Sword of the Gladiatrix by Faith L. Justice

Two women. Two swords. One victor.

An action-packed tale that exposes the brutal underside of Imperial Rome, Sword of the Gladiatrix brings to life unforgettable characters and exotic settings. From the far edges of the Empire, two women come to battle on the hot sands of the arena in Nero’s Rome: Afra, scout and beast master to the Queen of Kush; and Cinnia, warrior-bard and companion to Queen Boudica of the British Iceni. Enslaved, forced to fight for their lives and the Romans’ pleasure; they seek to replace lost friendship, love, and family in each other’s arms. But the Roman arena offers only two futures: the Gate of Life for the victors or the Gate of Death for the losers.

I’ve never read anything about female gladiators so that was new. I’ve never been huge fan of Romans and this didn’t make me like them more… Afra comes from Kush and Cinnia is a Celt from Britain so we get a look to two very different cultures.

I wish there would have been more fighting scenes. We see how Afra and Cinnia becomes slaves, we follow their lives in slavery but the actual gladiator stuff is pretty small part of the story. They were both likeable but I think they fell in love rather too quickly. I liked the parts with Boudica and I wish there would have been more of her.

It was great to read about something that hasn’t been widely written about and you can tell the author has done her research.

3,5/5

Published: Raggedy Moon Books (May 2015)
Format: eBook
Pages: 260
Source: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

About the Author02_Faith L. Justice_Author

FAITH L. JUSTICE writes award-winning novels, short stories, and articles in Brooklyn, New York. Her work has appeared in Salon.com, Writerís Digest, The Copperfield Review, the Circles in the Hair anthology, and many more. She is a frequent contributor to Strange Horizons, Associate Editor for Space and Time Magazine, and co-founded a writerís workshop many more years ago than she likes to admit. For fun, she digs in the dirtóher garden and various archaeological sites.

For more information visit Faith L. Justice’s website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Sword of the Gladiatrix Blog Tour

Monday, June 29
Review at Svetlana’s Reads and Views
Guest Post at The Writing Desk

Tuesday, June 30
Guest Post at I Heart Reading
Spotlight at What Is That Book About

Wednesday, July 1
Spotlight & Giveaway at Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More

Thursday, July 2
Review at Book Babe

Friday, July 3
Spotlight at CelticLady’s Reviews

Monday, July 6
Review at Book Nerd

Tuesday, July 7
Interview & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

Wednesday, July 8
Guest Post & Giveaway at Let Them Read Books
Spotlight at A Literary Vacation

Thursday, July 9
Review at Genre Queen
Review at Boom Baby Reviews
Guest Post & Giveaway at Unshelfish

Friday, July 10
Review at Bookramblings
Review & Giveaway at Broken Teepee

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reviews July 9, 2015

Odin’s Child by Bruce Macbain

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Odin’s Child (Odd Tangle-Hair Saga 1) by Bruce Macbain

Driven from the flaming ruin of his Iceland farmhouse, young Odd Tangle-Hair, the only survivor of a feud in which his family is slaughtered, steals a ship, rounds up a rag-tag crew and embarks on the Viking life. He swears one day to return, rich and powerful enough to take vengeance on his enemies. But how far off that day seems!

His father, Black Thorvald, had once been a chieftain in Iceland. But in the year 1000, when the country adopted Christianity, Thorvald denounced the new faith and shut himself up in his hall, shunning the world and shunned by it. Odd fears that the worm of cowardice that unmanned his father has infected him too. He has inherited from Thorvald a shock of black hair, a gift for poetry, and an allegiance to Odin, god of battles and magic. But Odd is heir to darker traits as wellóa hint of madness and a temper which will sometimes cost him dearly.

Fate carries him and his men to a shamanistic healer in Lapland, to bloody religious strife in Norway, to the lair of a witch in Finland, and finally to the borders of Russia. Here Odd will leave his comrades behind to join the retinue of a Norwegian princeling who is fleeing to the court of Yaroslav, Grand Prince of Rus. New dangers wait for him in that faraway country.

Eager, curious, quick-wittedóand sometimes wrong-headedóOdd Tangle-Hair recounts his story with candor, insight, and always an ironic sense of humor.

Christianity has come to 11th century Iceland and old traditions are changing while dividing some families on the way. 16-year old Odd’s father is holding to old pagan believes which is driving a wedge between his family and neighbors. After revenge killing becomes a political problem, Odd is sent to exile. He steals a ship and decides to go viking.

It did take me some time to really get into the story. At times it concentrates to describe things too much and while there is plundering, murder and blood, I guess I just expected there to be more of that. I liked Odd but I never understood why men would follow him and call him captain. He wasn’t someone to inspire that kind of loyalty.

And yey there’s Finland and Kalevala but I wasn’t really into those chapters. Kalevala chapters just didn’t work for me and I have to say that I’ve never read it so I can’t comment on that. But for me Kalevala is this mythical thing and 11th century is just too close. I mean we’re close to the Norman conquest! Too much is known about the period to be mythical.

It wasn’t a bad book by any means but I guess I just expected more.

3/5

Published: Blank Slate Press (May 26, 2015)
Format: Trade Paperback
Pages: 400
Source: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

About the Author03_Bruce Macbain_Author

From boyhood, Bruce Macbain spent his days in reading history and historical fiction. The Greeks and Romans have held a special fascination for him and this led to earning a masterís degree in Classical Studies and a doctorate in Ancient History. Along the way, he also taught English as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Borneo. Later, he taught courses in Greek and Roman civilization at Vanderbilt University and Boston University, and published a few dense scholarly monographs, read by very few. Recently, he has turned to writing fiction, a much more congenial pursuit. He has previously published two historical mysteries set in ancient Rome, Roman Games and its sequel, The Bull Slayer. Now, he has turned his attention to his other favorite folk, the Vikings. Odin’s Child is the first novel of a trilogy, Odd Tangle-Hairís Saga, which follows our heroóa wanderer, poet and warriorófrom his tiny Iceland farm to the Great Palace in Constantinople. It will be published by Blank Slate Press in May, 2015.

Bruce spends his spare time in the kitchen, cooking spicy food.

For more information please visit Bruce Macbain’s website. You can also follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Goodreads.

Odin’s Child Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, June 29
Review at A Book Geek
Interview at Shelf Full of Books
Spotlight & Giveaway at Unshelfish

Tuesday, June 30
Interview at Brooke Blogs

Wednesday, July 1
Review at Book Nerd

Friday, July 3
Spotlight at Layered Pages
Spotlight & Giveaway at Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More

Monday, July 6
Interview at A Literary Vacation

Tuesday, July 7
Spotlight & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

Wednesday, July 8
Spotlight at CelticLady’s Reviews

Thursday, July 9
Review at Bookramblings

Friday, July 10
Review at Just One More Chapter

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reviews June 23, 2015

Shadow of the Raven by Millie Thom

Millie ThomShadow of the Raven (Sons of Kings 1) by Millie Thom

A tale of Viking raids, hapless thralls, noble kings and their sons and friendship and love. Above all else, a tale of unforgivable betrayal and the ever-present desire for revenge…

The life of Eadwulf, ten-year old son of the Mercian king, is changed forever when his family is betrayed to the Danes by his treacherous uncle. In a Danish raid, his father is killed and his mother is raped. And along with his tutor and childhood friend, Eadwulf is captured and taken to the Danish lands to be sold as a slave. As a thrall in Jarl Ragnar’s village, Eadwulf’s life is hard, his days unbearably long. But on the return of Bjorn, the jarl’s jovial firstborn, from his summer raids, Eadwulf’s life greatly improves. Under the protective wing of Bjorn and his crew, he spends the next few years sailing to places he’d never even dreamed of, trading and raiding. And though he’s still a thrall, he becomes a well-respected member of Bjorn’s closely knit crew. But through it all, the smouldering desire for revenge on those who destroyed his family refuses to abate. Eadwulf’s tale plays out against the backdrop of events unfolding in Wessex in the face of escalating Danish raids. Alfred, the fifth son of the Wessex king, faces family tragedies from an early age, losing first his mother, then his beloved sister when she is married to the new Mercian king. At his father’s court and the successive courts of his three elder brothers, he learns the weighty art of kingship. And, like Eadwulf, he learns the harshest lesson of all . . . that a trusted kinsman can so easily turn traitor.

This is the story of the early years of Alfred of Wessex and the fictional Eadwulf of Mercia, son of Beorhtwulf of Mercia. Eadwulf is 10 years when his home is attacked by Vikings, his father killed and Eadwulf taken as a slave. He learns the viking ways and in time earns the respect of his master Bjorn. Meanwhile Alfred is growing as the king’s youngest child who is already showing piousness as a 4 year old. Mature for his years, his life is also turning upside down when his mother dies.

This started really slow but I’m glad I kept reading because after it started picking up it was good. Eadwulf goes from being king’s son to a slave, thrall, and becoming one of them. But he never forgot who he is or where he came from and longs to avenge his family.
Alfred is so young that he doesn’t really do anything in this book but I’ll look forward seeing more about him.

There’s lot of great minor characters like Bjorn and his sister Freydis and I hope we get to see some of them in the future.

3,5/5

Published: self published (2015)
Format: ebook
Source: NetGalley