Book Review: “To Shield the Queen” by Fiona Buckley

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Queen Elizabeth I has a not-so-secret infatuation with her Master of the Horse, Robert Dudley. However, there is a problem. Dudley is married to Amy Robsart Dudley, a woman who is extremely ill. She suspects that her husband wants her dead, so Elizabeth sends one of her servants, Ursula Blanchard, to reassure Amy. However, disaster strikes, and it is up to Ursula to figure out what happened to Amy Dudley and foil a plot against the queen. Can Ursula solve the case, or will she be forced to lose those she holds dear for the sake of the queen? Fiona Buckley introduces Ursula Blanchard and her Tudor world to the modern audience in her first book in the Ursula Blanchard Mystery series, “To Shield the Queen.”

This is the second book that I have read in the Ursula Blanchard series. The first book I read was book 19 in the series, “Forest of Secrets.” I thought that book was pretty good, but when I saw this one at a used bookstore, I decided to start the series from the beginning.

We begin with Ursula Blanchard being invited to the court of Elizabeth I. We find out that Ursula is the mother of a young daughter whose husband, Gerald Gresham, recently died. Ursula was never supposed to marry Gerald and has now become the social outcast of her family. She decides that she will follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a Lady of the Presence Chamber. It is not a lucrative position, that is, until Ursula has a meeting with Queen Elizabeth and Robert Dudley.

Dudley wants Ursula to keep an eye on his ailing wife, Amy, who believes that her husband is plotting to have her killed. Ursula agrees and goes to Cumnor Place. While she is helping Amy, someone killed one of Ursula’s servants, and a potential suitor pops up for Ursula named Matthew de la Roche. When Amy is found at the bottom of a staircase, dead, Ursula must solve both cases while dealing with her suitor and dealing with her demanding family that abandoned her after her marriage to Gerald. Ursula must balance being a lady of the court with being an investigator, a woman in love, and a mother.

Overall, this was an okay introductory novel, but it didn’t wow me. I felt like the Amy storyline was pushed aside for other storylines, which was a bit frustrating. Other than the few historical figures and the aspect of Catholics vs Protestants, it again felt like you could put this novel in any period. If you want a Tudor mystery series, you might want to check out the Ursula Blanchard series and “To Shield the Queen” by Fiona Buckley.

Book Review: “The Wives of Henry VIII: Rethinking the Stories Behind the Symbols” by Jessica Carey-Bunning

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The wives of Henry VIII have been an area of fascination for history nerds and novices alike for centuries. We all know the stories of Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Kateryn Parr. However, these stories only offer a glimpse at the lives of these women. They follow the more traditional studies of the Tudor queens, but what happens if we take a more revisionist approach to their lives? What can we learn about these women besides their crowns and who they all married? There is more to their stories, like the minute details that Jessica Carey-Bunning explores in her book, “The Wives of Henry VIII: Rethinking the Stories Behind the Symbols.”

 

I would like to thank Pen and Sword Books and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this book. I am always looking for a new approach to the Tudor queens. So when I saw that it was a book featuring all six wives with a promised fresh perspective, I decided to give it a chance. 

 

Carey-Bunning has taken a different approach to these six remarkable women. Instead of a biography about their lives, she has chosen to highlight aspects of their lives. We, of course, go in chronological order, starting with Catherine of Aragon. With Catherine, we examine why she was named Catherine and its significance in her family, as well as her finances as the widow of Arthur, and extended through her annulment. We then moved to Anne Boleyn and explored her role in the Chateau Vert pagent as well as her looks, either with the English gable hood or the French hood, and she includes the latest research into what Anne might have looked like. After Anne, we transition to Jane Seymour, to her stance on matters of faith and whether or not she was a popular queen. 

 

Anna of Cleves may have had the shortest reign of all the queens, but it is her education and her faith that Carey-Bunning explores in her section. Katherine Howard also had one of the shortest reigns of any of Henry’s wives, but for different reasons than Anna of Cleves. With Katherine, we explore exactly what kind of influence the young queen had and her connection to her infamous cousin Anne Boleyn. Finally, we examine Kateryn Parr, the 17th century’s fascination with the queen, and the tale of her almost arrest over religious matters. 

 

I found this book refreshing with the new approach to the wives of Henry VIII. I learned new aspects of the queens, which was very nice. Carey-Bunning combined an easy-to-follow writing style with innovative research to give her readers a different way to look at the Tudor wives. If you want to learn something new about the Tudor queens, I think you will enjoy “The Wives of Henry VIII: Rethinking the Stories Behind the Symbols,” by Jessica Carey-Bunning.

Book Review: “Dynasties: The Noble Families of England” by Patrick Coleman

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When we think about royal history, we often tend to think about the monarchs and their immediate families. However, the stories of the noble families that surround the crown can have some of the more interesting tales of how the families were created and how they survived. The stories of the English nobility are particularly fascinating, with some families and titles dating back centuries. How did these great families begin? How did they earn their titles? Who were the major figures in these noble houses, and how did they survive to the modern day? Patrick Coleman explores the tales of the nobility and how they shaped England’s history in his book, “Dynasties: The Noble Families of England.”

I would like to thank Amberley Publishing for sending me a copy of this book. As someone who reads extensively about the royal families of England, I sadly know very little about the individual noble houses of England and their histories. When I saw this book, it instantly caught my eye, and I knew I wanted to read it.

It should be noted that this book is more of a resource for understanding the nobility of England rather than a riveting read. Coleman doesn’t just throw his readers blindly into the fray. Instead, he begins by explaining the origins of the nobility and its hierarchy. He also dives into how the titles were passed and the elements of the coat of arms, and finally, explores the seats of the noble families. It is a firm foundation for novices of the nobility and a nice refresher for experts in the field.

We finally come to the central premise of this book, the exploration of the noble families of England that have survived to the present day. Each chapter explores a different family, their origins, how they gained their titles, famous or infamous figures in their family trees, their family seat, and the current holder of the title. The noble families featured in this book include: the Howards, the Seymours, the Thynnes, the Somersets, the Stanleys, the Percys, the Grosvenors, the Cecils, the Russells, the Cavendishes, the Lascelles, the Manners, the Herberts, the Wellesleys, and the Spencer-Churchills. There were some stories that I knew because of my own pursuits into the past, but others were completely new, which was thrilling.

I learned so much about the nobility and these famous families. It was very well written and extremely well researched. If you are looking for a resource that can help you better understand the great families of England, I recommend you read “Dynasties: The Noble Families of England” by Patrick Coleman.

Book Review: “Graceless Heart” by Isabel Ibanez

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In the Italian states during the 15th century, a time of war coexisted with a period of art flourishing. But what if magic was thrown into the fray? Sculptress Ravenna Maffei desires nothing more than to create art and to protect her family while keeping her own magical powers a secret. To protect those she holds dear, Ravenna enters an art contest, hosted by the immortal family of Florence, the Luni. Ravenna is taken by the family to complete an important task, but if she fails, she will be killed by the heir of the family, Saturnino Luni. Unfortunately, the greatest danger lurks outside of Florence as the pope is waging war against magic itself. Can Ravenna uncover the secrets of the Luni family and finish their difficult task before war engulfs all of Florence? Ravenna’s story is told in Isabel Ibanez’s latest historical fantasy novel, “Graceless Heart.”

This was a spontaneous buy for me. It was really the cover that caught my eye, and then I read the description. I realized that this was a historical fantasy novel, a genre that I have not dabbled in much, but one that I have heard of before. I decided to go on a whim and give it a shot to see how well she could blend magical elements with historical figures and settings.

Ravenna has always had a gift for art, especially sculpting, but when she was younger and exploring a quarry with her aunt, she soon discovered that she has a darker talent, one that she has to keep secret from the rest of the world. We then jump to Volterra in 1478, Ravenna’s hometown, where she is on a mission to save her brother. She decides to enter a sculpting competition, where the prize is anything she asks for. Obviously, she wins the contest and can release her brother from his prison, but the Luni family, the immortal family of Florence, has decided to use Ravenna’s talent for magic for their own goals. They want her to free five mystic stones from marble, which is more difficult than it sounds. The entire family keeps an eye on her, but her biggest threat is the heir to the family, Saturnino.

While Ravenna believes Saturnino and the Luni family are her enemies, she will soon learn that her greatest threat is Pope Sixtus IV who is wanting to wage a war against the Luni family and magic itself. It was nice to see Leonardo da Vinci, Lorenzo de’ Medici, and Federico da Montefeltro the Duke of Milan featured in this novel. It was a nice touch to add depth to the story and give it a foundation in the past.

The story itself was engaging, so much so that I ended up binge reading quite a bit of it. It was a delightful blend of history and fantasy with a dash of romance. I didn’t know what to expect when it came to reading a historical fantasy, but I had so much fun and I can’t wait to see what Ibanez will write next. If you are someone who enjoys stories set in the Italian Renaissance but you want to dabble in historical fantasy, I think you will enjoy “Graceless Heart” by Isabel Ibanez.

Book Review: “The Serpent’s Tale” by Ariana Franklin

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The story of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine is legendary. The queen of France decided to divorce her first husband and marry the young upstart Henry Plantagenet. But things turned disastrous for the couple when Eleanor sided with their sons in a revolt against Henry later in life. At this time, Henry took a mistress named Rosamund Clifford, but when Rosamund was found dead in her tower, it is believed that Eleanor exacted her revenge on the poor woman. It is now up to Adelia Aguilar to solve the case before another civil war breaks out. This is the premise of book two in the Mistress of the Art of Death series by Ariana Franklin, which is entitled “The Serpent’s Tale.”

This is one of those books that caught my eye when I was used book shopping. I have never read books by this author, so I didn’t know that this was the second book in a series. I saw that it was a murder mystery featuring Eleanor of Aquitaine, whom I enjoy reading about, so I decided to give it a chance.

We begin with a murder and see Rosamund Clifford being poisoned by an unknown assailant. Who killed Rosamund, the mistress of the king? The only person whom Henry II trusts to solve this case is Adelia Aguilar, a woman known as the mistress of the art of death from Sicily, who is currently helping a woman give birth. She reluctantly agrees to figure out what happened to the royal mistress, so she and her crew, including her young daughter and her daughter’s father, Rowley Picot, the Bishop of St. Albans, venture to Rosamund’s tower. There, she finds the mistress dead, but things get a bit complicated when Eleanor of Aquitaine shows up.

Eleanor decides to take Adelia and her small party to the nunnery at Godstow, but they are trapped due to the weather. One by one, bodies begin to pile up, but not due to the weather. Adelia must find the murderer before they turn their sights on her and her family.

I think the concept of this novel was decent, but what was throwing me was Adelia’s almost modern understanding of the human body instead of the humoral theory, which would have been prevalent during this time. There were also times when it felt like the plot was a bit muddled, and it was a bit hard for me to follow. Overall, it was an okay read, but I don’t know if I would read the rest of the series. If you have read the first book in the Mistress of the Art of Death series, you might enjoy “The Serpent’s Tale” by Ariana Franklin.

Book Review: “A Defiant Woman” by Karen E. Olson

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Have you ever wondered what the Tudors might be like in the modern day? What kind of life would they live, and would they all survive? What if King Henry VIII were a billionaire and most of his wives were still alive, including Anne Boleyn? Anne Boleyn is living but is in hiding from the rest of the Tudor clan and is separated from her daughter. When her daughter is kidnapped, Anne has to come back to her old life and team up with Henry’s latest wife to save her daughter. Can they save Anne’s daughter before it’s too late? Karen E. Olson brings the Tudors to the modern age in her latest novel, “A Defiant Woman.”

 

I would like to thank Pegasus Crime and Edelweiss for sending me a copy of this novel. I have read a few novels that featured the Tudors in the modern age, so I had an idea of what to expect, but I loved the cover, and I wanted to see what another author could bring to this sub-genre of historical fiction.

 

So, like other novels that put the Tudors in the modern age, the names of the historical figures have been changed, so Henry is Hank, Anne Boleyn is Nan, Elizabeth is Lizzie, and so on and so forth. Since this is book two in the series, we pick up where the previous book left off. Nan Tudor, who many believed died eight years ago, is living her best life in France with her son, Harry, when she gets a text message that the daughter she left behind, Lizzie, has been kidnapped. The kidnappers ask her to return to Boston and save her daughter. 

 

We then get the perspective of Hank’s latest wife, Kate Parker Tudor, who is seeking a divorce from Hank. She runs into an old fling named Tommy Seymour around the same time that she finds out that her step-daughter, Lizzie, has been kidnapped. While Anna Klein, Hank’s fourth wife, is taking care of Hank’s son Teddy, she is also concerned about the missing Lizzie and her own wife,  Joan Carey, who is also missing. We also get to see Hank’s first wife, Catherine, and their daughter, Maril, interacting with Hank’s other wives. While the wives are not supposed to interact with one another, Nan, Kate, and Anna make an alliance to find Lizzie, no matter what, even if it means encountering danger along the way.

 

It has been a long time since I properly binged a book, but I could not stop reading this novel. This was just a fantastic, fun read that had me gripped from beginning to end. Now, I want to read the first book in the series as I patiently wait for the next book. If you want a novel that’s so thrilling about the Tudors reimagined in the modern world, I highly suggest you read “A Defiant Woman” by Karen E. Olson.

Guest Post: “Excerpt from ‘The Witch of Godstow Abbey’ by Lady Harriet & Dr. Peter Stephenson”

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I am pleased to welcome Lady Harriet and Dr. Peter Stephenson to my blog to share an excerpt from their novel, The Witch of Godstow Abbey. I would like to thank Lady Harriet, Dr. Peter Stephenson, and The Coffee Pot Book Club for allowing me participate in this blog tour.

Excerpt

From Chapter 2 – A Garden’s Secret

The abbess sat in her chambers, reviewing the abbey’s ledgers. Sister Agnes entered without waiting for the novice outside to announce her.

“My child! What urgency drives you to burst in so?”

“I must tell you what I’ve found, Mother. It is deeply troubling.”

“Then speak, Sister.”

“The piglets did not die by the blade alone. They were prepared first with a potion—I suspect monkshood, judging by the blue tint of their lips and tongues. Before death took them, the executioner drew their vital essence through a small puncture wound near one of the great vessels. Finally, he cut their throats — not as a killing blow, but to bleed them wholly, leaving not a drop of life-humour behind.”

“A sacrifice to the Devil, then?”

“Yes, Mother. I believe that this is the work of those who serve the Enemy.”

Blurb:

A widowed academic investigating strange historical practices gets drawn back in time and into the year 1299 in Oxford. Join a cast of compelling characters-nuns, novices, and outsiders-as they battle the forces of darkness. Enter their struggle against evil, clandestine organizations. Join their life-threatening fight to protect each other, be willing to die for each other, and occasionally fall in love.

Will heroic love and righteous pursuit of justice triumph? Will the horror-inducing villain be found out and overthrown? Or will the courageous troop of those fighting for what is good be overpowered and taken captive?

Set in Oxford, England, in the year 1299, a struggle takes place between the sisters of the local convent and a strange, terrifying local evil society. They discover a secret organization of men who perform unspeakable deeds. The lives of several sisters are in danger.

Join Mother Alice, Sister Agnes, and Isabel, along with Lady Beatrix and Lady Harriet, as they confront and do battle with an evil, secret society intent on attacking them, taking over the convent, and sacrificing a young woman.

If you love stories that keep you turning pages while imparting fascinating accounts of the past, this latest mystery in the “Murders in the Abbey” series will tingle your spine.

Praise for The Witch of Godstow Abbey:

‘Richly atmospheric and quietly gripping, “The Witch of Godstow Abbey” is a worthy addition to your bookshelf.’
~ Yarde Book Promotion, 5* Editorial Review

Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/3ylMyB

Author Bios:

Lady Harriet holds the legal title “Lady of the Manor,” as defined under English law, and traces her ancestry to Charlemagne’s royal line.

A lifelong reader and devoted genealogist for nearly fifty years, Harriet has always had a passion for stories, whether they are buried in the past or found in the pages of a good book. She is the co-author of We Are Manx, a self-published family saga that explores her Manx heritage and the history of the Isle of Man in rich detail.

She’s also a photographer who prefers being behind the lens, a word lover addicted to word games, and a fan of wooden jigsaw puzzles. She has traveled extensively, with a deep appreciation for history, diverse cultures, and the unexpected joys that can be found away from home. Her career spanned volunteerism, real estate, and systems administration, but now she happily devotes her time to more creative pursuits.

As she puts it: “I’m old enough for Medicare, but not quite old enough to get a birthday card from King Charles—were I a Brit.”

The Witch of Godstow Abbey, written in partnership with Dr. Peter Stephenson, marks her first (but certainly not last) foray into historical fiction. With photography, she creates books of images; with storytelling, she creates images made of words.

Dr. Peter Stephenson has written or contributed to over twenty books, all but one of which are non-fiction technical books. He has published over 1,000 papers in technical journals, technical trade journals, and peer-reviewed legal journals. One of his peer-reviewed papers has over 15,400 downloads.

In addition to writing, Dr. Stephenson has been playing blues and Americana music for 70 years. It is through that performing, and after earning a PhD from Oxford Brookes University, that he was given the appellation “Doc” by the owner of one of his performance venues.

Having visited Oxford several times and being employed by a UK company in nearby Malvern, it was only natural that he would set his tales in Oxfordshire. His academic experience in Oxford town sealed the deal and resulted in his first historical novel, The Whispering Dead of Rewley Abbey—Book 1 in the “Murders in the Abbey” series—which reached the Amazon Kindle bestseller list and won a Pencraft award for literary excellence in the winter of 2025. He now writes with his collaborator and writing partner, Lady Harriet.

Dr. Stephenson lives with two Savannah cats on a pond in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Starting a “new” career at the age of 80, Doc reckons that he has only about the next 20 years to finish the series and retire – again – perhaps this time to Oxford.

Author Links:

Website: https://murdercanbefun.net/
Historium Press author pages:
Lady Harriet https://www.historiumpress.com/lady-harriet
Dr. Peter Stephenson https://www.historiumpress.com/peter-stephenson
Facebook: The Lady and The Doc https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577829971728
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theladyandthedoc/
Amazon Author Page: Lady Harriet: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Lady-Harriet/author/B0FVTKJ8D2
Dr. Peter Stephenson: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Peter-Stephenson/author/B0B5LXPG15
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/52609869.Peter_Stephenson

 

Book Review: “The Secret Courtesan” by Kerry Chaput

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A statue several centuries old has been discovered in Italy. The leading male art expert believes that it was created by a sculptor named Lucca Armani. He has asked Dr. Mia Harding to support his research, but Dr. Mia feels that something is amiss. Sofia Rossi is a courtesan living in Renaissance Venice who aspires to a life devoted to creating art. Sofia and Mia may be separated by centuries, but their lives and reputations are tied to this mysterious statue. Can Dr. Mia figure out the truth of the statue before her time runs out? Kerry Chaput tells the tale of these two remarkable women in her novel, “The Secret Courtesan.”

 

I would like to thank She Writes Press and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this novel. I have been reading a lot more dual timeline novels and novels set in Renaissance Italy, so when I saw the description of this book, I knew I wanted to give it a try.

 

Chaput begins in the modern day with Dr. Mia Harding, a struggling woman art historian, who is trying to build her own reputation in the field. She has been asked by Dr. Byron, an expert on the art by Lucca Armani to verify his research on the statue entitled The Estasi. The problem is that Dr. Mia believes that the statue was created by someone else, perhaps a woman. No one else believes her except for a stranger named Dr. Noah Beckett, who wants to help bring down Dr. Byron. They decide to research a different lead on the statue, the idea that a woman created the piece of art. This single theory will send Mia and Noah on a wild goose chase to Venice, where they find the truth about a courtesan at the risk of being arrested and chased by the mafia. 

 

We also get to see how the statue was created in Venice in the year 1608. Sofia Rossi is a courtesan for Lord Marco, but all she wants to do is create art and sell her pieces as a woman artist, which would be an uphill battle. Her life changes when Lord Marco tells her that she has been sold to Lucca Armani. She believes that she will finally be able to live her dream, but it turns out to be a nightmare. Lucca’s wife, Caterina, is the one truly in control, and she manipulates every aspect of Sofia’s life. Sofia does find some solace in her art and in an art dealer, Antonio Bruni, but her life and her dreams come to a tragic end. 

 

This was a gripping novel that shows what it might have been like for a female artist to prove her worth in a world of male artists in Renaissance Italy. We also get a taste of what it might feel like to be a female art historian in the modern day. Chaput made these characters so believable that there were a few times that I had to make sure that the Renaissance figures were, in fact, fictional because they were written so well. If you want a thrilling dual timeline novel about Renaissance art, I recommend you read “The Secret Courtesan” by Kerry Chaput.

Book Review: “Templar Silks” by Elizabeth Chadwick

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One of the greatest knights in English history is lying on his deathbed. As his loved ones stay near his bedside, William Marshal remembers his time in the Outremer, where he is to perform a final duty to his lord. William and his companions soon realize that the Holy Land is more treacherous than they could ever imagine, and the most dangerous person for William is the concubine Paschia de Riveri. Elizabeth Chadwick concludes her William Marshal series with novel six in the series, “Templar Silks.”

I have enjoyed the previous novels that I have read by Elizabeth Chadwick, and I wanted to read more from her. I saw this book at a used book store, and I wanted to read it, even though I had not read the previous five books in the series.

We begin this final adventure with William Marshal in the year 1219. William is on death’s door and has asked his squire, Jean D’ Earley, to retrieve his burial silks from Wales. These were not just any burial silks, but the ones that he was given by the Templars when he was in Jerusalem. To understand why William went to Jerusalem, Chadwick goes back to 1183, when William was in the service of the Young King Harry, the son of Henry II and Alienor of Aquitaine. Harry decides that they would raid Rocamadour to pay for their endeavours, but this would be one of the last decisions he would ever make. On his deathbed, Harry asked William and his men to take his cloak to Jerusalem so that he could be forgiven for his sins of robbing the church.

William agrees, and so he, his brother Ancel, and a handful of others make their way to Jerusalem. Once they make it into the Outremer, they soon realize that they are in the midst of a fight for the throne. King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem is dying, and there is a fight within his court for the throne, primarily from Baldwin’s sister Sybilla and her husband Guy de Lusignan, William’s mortal enemy. To top it all off, William falls in love with the concubine of Heraclius, Paschia de Riveri. William and his men must survive the politics of the Outremer to return home to his beloved England.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, despite not having read the previous books in the series. Now, I want to read the rest of the series to see William Marhsal’s life through Chadwick’s eyes. If you have read the previous books in the William Marshal series, I would recommend that you read the final book in the series, “Templar Silks” by Elizabeth Chadwick.

Book Review: “The Tudor Theatre: 1576-1642” by Nicholas Fogg

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When we think about the world of the Tudor theatre, we often think about the greatest playwrights of the age. Kit Marlowe, Ben Jonson, Thomas Kyd, and of course, William Shakespeare. We think of the Globe Theatre and the grand plays and masques that were performed for the rich and the poor alike. But this is only a small glimpse into the world of the Tudor theatre scene. Nicholas Fogg explores the beginnings and the end of this period in theatrical history in his book, “The Tudor Theatre: 1576-1642.”

I would like to thank Pen & Sword Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. I am not very well-versed in theatre history, so I was hoping for something that would be easy for me to follow along, yet also very informative.

Fogg begins in the year 1576 with the opening of The Theatre, which was a passion project of James Burbage. It was the first location dedicated solely to plays and acting, but it will not be the last. Over sixty years, we see the explosion of the theatrical arts from the great playwrights to lesser-known figures. Fogg takes the time to analyze the popular plays and those that don’t get enough attention. We also get to see how politics, the Puritans, and the plague affected the theatre scene. We witness the rise and fall of actors, playwrights, and theatres until the Puritans finally decided to close theatres for good in 1642, once the Stuarts fell for a time.

Fogg is an expert in this field of study, and he shows it on each page, but sometimes, as a novice, I felt a bit lost. The amount of information in this book was a bit overwhelming for someone like me, who is not too familiar with the theatre world. However, if you are someone who loves the Tudor theatre and wants an in-depth look at this period of theatrical history, you might enjoy “The Tudor Theatre: 1576-1642” by Nicholas Fogg.