Browsing Tag

historical

reviews August 8, 2013

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

 Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

That morning, my brother’s life was worth a pocket watch . . .

One night fifteen-year-old Lina, her mother and young brother are hauled from their home by Soviet guards, thrown into cattle cars and sent away. They are being deported to Siberia.

An unimaginable and harrowing journey has begun. Lina doesn’t know if she’ll ever see her father or her friends again. But she refuses to give up hope.

Lina hopes for her family. For her country. For her future. For love – first love, with the boy she barely knows but knows she does not want to lose . . . Will hope keep Lina alive?

Set in 1941, Between Shades of Gray is an extraordinary and haunting story based on first-hand family accounts and memories from survivors. (Goodreads)

In 1941 the Soviets are gathering people they think as anti-Soviets, mainly from university, army, teachers. When NKVD comes knocking on their door, 15 year old Lina’ life turns for the worse. She along with her mother and 11 year old brother gets deported from Lithuania to freezing Siberia with crowded train car that’s labelled as thieves and prostitutes. As in worthless people.

This was such a great and emotional book. There isn’t many books about Stalin’s regime and even fewer about the Baltic countries and it was great reading about those for change.

They were given very little food and water which resulted in people dying of hunger and disease. Under those circumstances people react differently. Some fights back and won’t give up, some are just desperate and some has given up. Lina’s mother is good example of someone who has courage and stays strong through it all. Even with small rations of wood, she always has food to give to those who needs it. She’s the one who keeps it all together.

The NKVD officers treated them worse than human beings. They were there to do their job and often saw it as a game. But it also made me thinking if there were some who had sympathies for the victims and who for their own good did nothing. I mean they would have gotten themselves killed otherwise most likely.

I would have liked to hear what happened to the other half after the camps were separated. And why they were separated in the first place. I also wondered what happened to that one guard and I found having more symphaty for him than I probably should have.

I’m not usually huge fan of historical YA but don’t let it fool you. This was amazing book and I’m glad I read it!

And it always makes me excited when Finland is mentioned in a book lol :)

4,5/5
Published: Puffin (2011)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 344
Source: my own

reviews August 7, 2013

Queen of Shadows by Edith Felber

Queen of Shadows by Edith Felber

In fourteenth-century England, beautiful Queen Isabella-humiliated by her weak, unfaithful husband-is emerging from the shadows to take her revenge. But her newly arrived, twenty-oneyear-old Welsh handmaiden, Gwenith de Percy, also seeks vengeance-against the English invaders who crushed her beloved Wales. Isabella’s once-golden marriage is now her penance. Due to his rumored relations with men, Parliament forced Edward to share his throne-a demeaning arrangement that torments Isabella.

With the help of her secret, noble lover, Roger Mortimer-an enemy of her husband, imprisoned in the Tower of London-the queen plots to take control. Thrilled by this turn of events, Gwenith realizes that a king cannot afford to be weak-especially when his formidable, discontented queen seeks his power as her due. (Goodreads)

Gwenith’s family is killed when Edward I crushes Wales and Gwenith grows up with her grandmother, who makes Gwenith promise to seek vengeance for her family. She starts to serve Queen Isabella intending to bring harm but comes to respect Isabella, but comes hate the Despensers.

Book is told mostly from Gwenith’s point of view, for reasons I can’t figure out. The idea of Gwenith taking revenge for her family is kinda far-stretching. Why does she want to kill Edward II who isn’t in anyway responsible for the things that happened to her family? It would have been far more interesting to hear the story just from Isabella’s point of view. Instead we get abruptly changing POV’s which made me so confused. I had to read a sentence few times to make sense of it.
But I have to say I didn’t like Isabella either. She was just too good to be true. She is constantly complaining how the women are treated, how everyone loved her in France more and telling all the time that she is the queen.

The most annoying this was that it’s hinted through the book that Edward II wasn’t the real father of future Edward III, and it’s never told who the real father is supposed to be! I mean why!? It’s mentioned that Isabella spent some time in Scotland when Edward abandoned her and had an affair from which Edward III was born. If you invent such rubbish at least you could tell the inventory man’s name!

Isabella is also sneaking out to The Tower to have sex with Roger Mortimer, multiple times. Because queen can just leave castles wearing a hood as her only disguise. Queens are constantly watched and very rarely alone so how could she have managed to get her little trysts?

In the afterword it’s told that Edward III had huge sexual appetites and had many mistresses and illegitimate children. I don’t remember reading about any other mistress than Alice Perrers but I’m not sure about the children. Wouldn’t call it “huge sexual appetite” if he has one known mistress.

1/5
Published: NAL (2006)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 304
Source: my own

reviews August 7, 2013

The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon

The Fiery Cross (Outlander 5) by Diana Gabaldon

The year is 1771, and war is coming. Jamie Fraser’s wife tells him so. Little as he wishes to, he must believe it, for hers is a gift of dreadful prophecy—a time-traveler’s certain knowledge. Claire’s unique view of the future has brought him both danger and deliverance in the past; her knowledge of the oncoming revolution is a flickering torch that may light his way through the perilous years ahead—or ignite a conflagration that will leave their lives in ashes. (Goodreads)

The book starts where the last book ends. Jamie, Claire, Brianna, Roger and Jemmy are living in America and its few years before The American Revolutionary War. There is already unrest seen by people called the Regulators which leads to fighting, and Fraser’s are caught up in it.

While I liked this book it wasn’t as good as the previous ones. There wasn’t anything big happening, we just see them living their lives. There were parts that dragged on and for the first time I really felt that the book could have been lot shorter.

I loved seeing the relationship growing between Jamie and Roger. Jamie didn’t seem to have too high opinion of Roger in the last book and I’m happy to see that changing.
I still wish that we could have Fergus’s POV instead of Roger’s but I wouldn’t want to lose him though.

I loved the last surprise at the end but I really want to know what happened that lead to it!

3,5/5
Published: Dell (2005)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 1443
Source: my own

reviews August 7, 2013

The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak

The Winter Palace (Catherine 1) by Eva Stachniak

When Vavara, a young orphaned Polish girl, is brought to serve at Empress Elizabeth’s glittering, dangerous court in St Petersburg, she is schooled by the Chancellor himself in skills from lock-picking to love-making, learning above all else to stay silent – and listen. Soon, she is Elizabeth’s ‘tongue’ – her secret eyes and ears.

Then Sophie, a vulnerable young princess, arrives from Prussia as a prospective bride for Elizabeth’s heir. Set to spy on her by the Empress, Vavara soon becomes her friend and confidante, and helps her navigate the illicit seductions and the treacherous shifting allegiances of the court.But Sophie’s destiny is to become the notorious Catherine the Great. Are her ambitions more lofty and far-reaching than anyone suspected, and will she stop at nothing to achieve absolute power? (Goodreads)

Barbara, or Varvara in Russian, becomes to Russian court during the reign of Empress Elizabeth. Chancellor Bestuzhev trains her to be a spy (tongue) and after the Empress brings the future Catherine the Great, then called Sophie, to marry her nephew Peter, Varvara becomes part of her retinue. Catherine doesn’t have easy time in Russia and the two soon become close confidantes.

The book is called “a novel of Catherine the Great” but Catherine is not the main character and is absent most of the book. It tells more to us about Empress Elizabeth than Catherine and the book is told from a servants point of view. It would have been more interesting if there would have been also Catherine’s point of view.
I did like Varvara however so in that sense I didn’t mind that she was the narrator, but it gave us only one side of the story which becomes clear at the end,

I’m not overly familiar with history of Russia so I can’t say anything about the accuracy but there was couple of things that bugged me. There were few times that Catherine made these escapades to town or somewhere and nobody didn’t see? With all the spies and all? And how Varvara seemed to be just little too familiar with Catherine and Elizabeth and her knowledge on pretty much everything.

I would have liked to read more about the relationship between Catherine and Peter, what really happened then. Peter was told to be real nutty but we don’t really see it. Also I don’t think it was good thing to remove Varvara off from the court for seven years while anything didn’t really happened in her life during that time.

I liked Varvara as a character but I think it would have worked better if told from Catherine’s point of view.

3,5/5
Published: Doubleday (2012)
Format: Hardback
Pages: 464
Source: publisher

reviews August 6, 2013

Rivals of the Tudor Court by Darcey Bonnette

Rivals of the Tudor Court (Tudor Court 2) by Darcey Bonnette

Thomas Howard founded a dynasty and staked his place in history through a self-serving ruthlessness that allowed no rival to stand in his way.

But the true rivals of the Tudor court were those who stood alongside him: his wife and his mistress, who would battle to the end for him…

As Queen Catherine’s maid, and daughter of the Duke of Buckingham, the future seems bright for Elizabeth Stafford. But when her father gives her hand to Thomas Howard, third Duke of Norfolk, the spirited young woman must sacrifice all for duty. Yet Elizabeth is surprised by her passion for her powerful new husband. And when he takes on a mistress, she is determined to fight for her love and her honour…

Naïve and vulnerable, Bess Holland is easily charmed by the Duke of Norfolk, doing his bidding in exchange for gifts and adoration. For years, she and Elizabeth compete for his affections. But they are mere spectators to an obsession neither can rival: Norfolk’s quest to weave the Howard name into the royal bloodline.

The women’s loyalties are tested as his schemes unfold – among them the litigious marriage of his niece Anne Boleyn to King Henry VIII. But in an age of ruthless beheadings, no self-serving motive goes unpunished – and Elizabeth and Bess will have to fight a force more sinister than the executioner’s axe… (Goodreads)

As a child Thomas was brought up to know the importance of the Howard family. He takes it to heart and makes advancing his family his life mission and soon his star is rising in the court of Henry VIII. His marriage to outspoken Elizabeth Stafford is nothing but peaceful and is made worse when Thomas supports his niece Anne to get more power for the family. Then Thomas finds Bess Holland, who is the very opposite of his wife.

I was very curious to read this book because I didn’t know that much about Thomas Howard as a person. And he really wasn’t likeable guy!

I knew he was firstly married to Anne Plantagenet but I didn’t know they had and lost four children. Their marriage seems to be a happy one but the loss of their children hardened him and made him fear losing the people he cared about.

Elizabeth Stafford wanted to marry another man and wasn’t happy when told to marry the much older Thomas Howard. She soon starts to care about him but he’s not easy man to live with and has short temper at times.

There were times, okay the whole book, when I just wanted to bang their heads together to get some sense! At first I felt like there was point made that every Howard man is evil and only thinks about power and the whole killing the dog thing. But I liked the relationship between Thomas and Anne and it was nice that he was happy for awhile.

And I really want to know if it’s true that Thomas ordered his servants to beat his wife? I mean seriously!

The book is told from 3 point of views: Thomas, Elizabeth and Bess. I liked Bess’s parts less because it was mostly Bess whining about Thomas being away or that she doesn’t have husband and children.

In the end it was entertaining book but I still feel it lacked it something. Or maybe Thomas annoyed me way to much…

3/5
Published: Avon (2011)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 384
Source: publisher