Tag: Net Galley

Book Review: “The Rose Amongst the Thorns” by Laura Johnson-Smith

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Lady Katherine Turner was never meant to be the Countess of Leicester, but when her brother William dies suddenly, she must take on the mantle of power. Unfortunately, with power comes responsibility, and in medieval England, women in power could not hold onto that power unless they married. That does not sit well with Katherine, who is a very independent woman. However, a choice must be made between two suitors, Lord Henry Tyrell, Earl of Dornton, and Lord James Stanford. Who will Lady Katherine Turner choose, and can she maintain her independent spirit while falling in love? Laura Johnson-Smith explores Lady Katherine’s love story in her debut novel, “The Rose Amongst the Thorns.”

 

I would like to thank The Book Guild and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this novel. I enjoy reading novels that are set during the Wars of the Roses, and I like to read debut historical fiction novels. When I read the description for this novel, it sparked an interest in me to give it a try.

 

We begin with Katherine and her brother William, who is about to go on a mission for King Edward IV in France. William is engaged to be married to Isabelle, but things come crashing down when William is killed in France. Now, the title of the Duchess of Leicester has been passed down to Katherine. We flash forward a few years, where we see Katherine adjusting to her new role. Now, her aunt and uncle are pushing Katherine to marry, even though she has no desire to marry. That is, until she meets her two potential suitors. Lord Henry Tyrell is the first man to sweep Katherine off her feet, but she soon realizes that he has nefarious plans for her. And then there is Lord James Stanford, whom Katherine truly falls for. 

 

As a debut, it was a fine novel, but it was hard for me to figure out when it was supposed to take place. If it wasn’t for the description, I would have felt completely lost as the story felt like it could have been placed in any time period. It didn’t have a distinct feeling of being in the middle of King Richard III’s short reign. I also felt like this plot was pretty predictable for me, and it didn’t give me a wow factor. That being said, I can sense that the author does have a passion for the past, and the novel is pretty well-written for her first novel. If you want to give a new reader a try and enjoy a good historical love triangle, you might enjoy “The Rose Amongst the Thorns” by Laura Johnson-Smith. 

Book Review: “Lady of Lincoln” by Rachel Elwiss Joyce

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Medieval England, under the reign of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, was a turbulent time. The focus tends to be on the rebellion of Henry’s sons against their father and how Eleanor sided with her sons. This story has been told, but there is a story of another woman who was caught directly in the middle of the entire ordeal. Her story is most known for her role during the reign of King John and the Magna Carta, but that was when she was an older woman. The story of Nicola de la Haye and Lincoln Castle has been told in biographies and nonfiction books, but not really in historical fiction novels. Rachel Elwiss Joyce hopes to change that with her novel, “Lady of Lincoln.”

I would like to thank Books Go Social, Hedgehog Books, and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this novel. I first became aware of Nicola de la Haye from Sharon Bennett Connolly’s book on the women of the Magna Carta, followed up by her fantastic biography about Nicholaa de la Haye. I am familiar with her story, but I was curious to see how her life would translate to a novel. When I saw the description of this novel, it definitely caught my attention.

We are introduced to Nicola de la Haye as a young woman who is helping a young soldier, Suardinc, train, when her mother goes into labor and loses her son. That means that Nicola and her sisters are the heiresses of the de la Haye estates. Their father gives her sister, Julia Normandy, and Nicola receives Lincolnshire and Lincoln Castle. Nicola loves Lincoln Castle and the people who inhabit Lincolnshire, including the Jews that the constable of the castle must protect. Nicola wants to be a constable, but her father reminds her that she must marry and her husband will become the constable of Lincoln Castle. Three men want to marry Nicola: Gerard de Camville, the man whom Nicola’s father wants her to marry; Sir Alured of Pointon, the outside schemer who wants Nicola’s lands; and Sir William FitzErneis, the man Nicola falls hard for.

We get to see Nicola fall in love with her first husband, Sir William FitzErneis, even if they face extreme monetary hardships. FitzErneis decides to side with the Young King Henry when he rebelled against his father, King Henry II. This placed Nicola, her family, and the castle in a precarious situation as Alured became the sheriff and tried every which way to make Nicola his, even when she was married. Luckily, Gerard de Camville keeps a close eye on Nicola, even though he himself has fallen for Nicola.

We get to see Nicola transform from a naive young woman to a fiercely determined mother and wife who would do anything to protect her family, her friends, and her family home. I enjoyed that we not only got to see Nicola interacting with the typical nobility, but also the common people, including the Jewish population of Lincolnshire. If you want a well-written novel about one of the most important women in 12th century England, I recommend you read “Lady of Lincoln” by Rachel Elwiss Joyce.

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: “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: “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.

Book Review: “The Secret of Saint Olaf’s Church” by Indrek Hargla

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15th-century Estonia was at the edge of Christendom. It also just finished facing off against the notable Victual Brothers, a band of brigands and pirates who wreaked havoc across the land. In the town of Tallinn, St. Olaf’s Church is being constructed, but nefarious dealings are coming to the surface. A serial killer is turning this once peaceful town, which is finding its identity on its head. Now, an apothecary named Melchior Wakenstede must help the magistrate solve the case before anyone else is killed. This is the premise for the first Apothecary Melchior Mystery by Indrek Hargla, entitled “The Secret of Saint Olaf’s Church.”

I would like to thank Pushkin Vertigo and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this novel. I am not familiar with Indrek Hargla’s works, nor was I familiar with medieval Estonian history, so I was excited to learn more in this novel. 

We begin with a bit of background information about Estonia and Tallinn during this period. The Victual Brothers, a band of pirates loosely joined together, have just been defeated by the Teutonic Order. One of the former commanders of the Teutonic Order,  Henning von Clingenstain, is found murdered, he is beheaded, and a coin is stuck in his mouth. This mystery novel is based on the true case of Henning von Clingenstain, with liberties obviously taken where the written record falls short. 

Hargla has chosen to focus on the stories of those who live in the town of Tallinn, primarily the apothecary Melchior Wakenstede. We also get to see the stories of his wife Keterlyn, Magistrate Dorn, Mertin Tweffell, Kilian Rechpergerin, Burckhart Casendorpe, Prior Eckell, and Brother Wunbaldus. For a small town that is growing, it holds many secrets, including deadly ones. One murder turned into multiple dead bodies. It is up to Melchior to solve the murders and make sure the murderers are brought to justice. 

I will be honest. It took me a while to get used to this book as I am not familiar with this author or Estonian history and culture, which is a bit different than other medieval stories I have read, but I am glad I read it. Hargla showed his audience what life was like in medieval Estonia with a thrilling tale full of twists, turns, and secrets. If you want a medieval murder mystery but you want something different, I suggest you give “The Secret of Saint Olaf’s Church” by Indrek Hargla a try.

Book Review: “Devil’s Gambit” by Jeri Westerson

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The year is 1540, and King Henry VIII is looking for a wife. He has been a widower for over three years, and his councilor Thomas Cromwell believes that a foreign alliance will be the best path forward for England, so he arranges a marriage between Henry and Anne of Cleves. In theory, it should be a good match, but it falls apart quickly. To top it all off, one of Anne of Cleves’ Maid of Honour brought her own drama to court that ended with a murder. Can Will Somers, the King’s Fool, navigate the drama at court while dealing with his own love life, or will the mystery of the missing body prove too much for him to handle? This is the premise of the next book in the King’s Fool Mysteries series called “Devil’s Gambit.”

I would like to thank Old London Press and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this novel. I enjoyed the previous books in this series that I have read, so I wanted to see what would happen next for Will Somers.

We begin with the disastrous first meeting between Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves before their wedding. Since Anne did not understand English or English customs, she was confused. Henry wanted to send her away immediately, but Will convinced Henry to become friends with Anne. At the same time, Will is introduced to Anne’s Maid of Honour, Margaret Loy, a German woman who has fallen in love with an English gentleman. However, the gentleman’s father does not approve of the match.

Things take a drastic turn when Lord Humphrey, the gentleman’s father, is found dead in Margaret’s chamber. The only person for the case is, of course, Henry’s jester Will Somers, but as soon as he starts the case, the body goes missing. To top it all off, Will is dealing with his relationships with his wife Marion and his lover Sir Nicholas Pachett Lord Hammond. Sir Nicholas has recently gotten married and is now asking Will for help in his marriage. Talk about an awkward situation. Will must choose who he truly loves, while giving relationship advice to the King, helping Anne navigate the English court, and solving a murder mystery.

While I did think the relationship exploits of Will Somers did take up a bit too much of this book and took away from the mystery itself, I think it was a decent novel. If you are a fan of the previous novels in the King’s Fool Mysteries, you will enjoy “Devil’s Gambit” by Jeri Westerson.

Book Review: “Canticle” by Janet Rich Edwards

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Have you ever believed in something or someone so much that you were willing to do anything to be with them? What if it meant isolating yourself from everyone and everything you loved? Aleys knows this all too well. Born near Bruges during the 13th century, Aleys believes that she is destined for great things and has religious visions. Can this young woman survive both religious and political challenges to make her aspirations of being closer to God a reality, or will she fly too close to the sun and lose everything? Janet Rich Edwards tells Alleys’ tale in her debut novel, “Canticle.”

I would like to thank Spiegel & Grau and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this novel. I am always looking for a fresh approach to the past, so when I read the premise of this novel, it sparked an interest in me. As it is a debut featuring a religious group of women that I was not familiar with, the beguines, I wanted to see how Edwards’s writing style would bring something new to medieval historical fiction.

“Canticle” is a novel that follows three main narrators: Aleys, the young woman who longs to have a deeper relationship with God; Friar Lukas, who wants to grow his monastery; and Jaan Smet, Bishop of Tournai, who wants to get closer to the pope and power. We begin with Aleys as a young woman. She lives with her mother, father, brothers, and sister. Her mother died during childbirth, leaving the family broken. Aleys’s father decides to marry her off to a rich merchant, but Aleys decides that she wants to live a religious life, so she runs away. It is here she meets Friar Lukas, a Franciscan, and she wants to become a Franciscan, but Lukas convinces her to join the community of beguines.

It is in the community of beguines that Aleys discovers her true self and a series of translations that will send shockwaves all the way to Rome. The Bishop wanted to take down this community so that he could earn the respect of Rome and possibly become a cardinal. However, it was Aleys who was about to change with a miracle that sent the town into a frenzy. It was Friar Lukas who convinced Aleys to take the ultimate step and become an anchoress. It was when Aleys became an anchoress that Edwards truly shines because she shows the isolation that an anchoress might feel in her cell. But life has a way of reaching even an isolated cell, and Aleys must choose whether to save herself or her beloved beguines.

I found this a delightfully evocative novel about medieval religious life. It made me feel sympathy for the beguines and the anchoresses who were willing to risk it all to get closer to God. I really enjoyed Edwards’ writing style, and I can’t wait to see what she will write about next. If you want something medieval that focuses on religious life, I would recommend you read “Canticle” by Janet Rich Edwards.

Book Review: “Royal Childbirth in the Middle Ages: Fertility, Pregnancy and Birth” by Michele Schindler

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Throughout history, many aspects of life have changed drastically, but one thing has remained the same: the different stages of life—birth, youth, adolescence, adulthood, old age, and death. It is the first stage of life, birth, that tends to get the least amount of attention when it comes to historical research. In recent years, it has been gaining more and more attention, especially when it comes to royal births, which have the most amount of written records. Michele Schindler has chosen to focus on the aspects of medieval childbirth in her latest book, “Royal Childbirth in the Middle Ages: Fertility, Pregnancy and Birth.”

I would like to thank Pen and Sword Books and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this book. I have enjoyed the previous book that I have read by Michele Schindler, and so when I saw that she had a new book about the medieval period out, I was excited to read it. I have read a few books that featured childbirth, primarily in the Tudor period, but never when it comes to the medieval period, so I wanted to learn more.

Schindler has decided to divide her book into sections, each part focusing on a different stage of childbirth: conception, pregnancy, birth, baptism, infant care, and how society as a whole understood childbirth as part of a woman’s life. Each section has sub-sections that explore aspects like miscarriages, twins, confinement, stillbirths, wet nurses, and deaths during infancy. These are very heavy topics, but they are discussed in a respectful manner.

To give context to the topics discussed, Schindler uses examples from multiple centuries to show how royal and noblewomen dealt with childbirth and its struggles. Some of the women featured in this book include Margaret Beaufort, Margaret of Anjou, Eleanor Cobham, Isabella of Castile, Alice Chaucer, Anne Neville, and Elizabeth of York. She also compared these lives and how they experienced childbirth to the common people to show the difference in status and the importance of ceremonies like confinement to the nobility.

Overall, I found this book to be really well researched, as well as being pretty easy to follow along with. I found a deeper appreciation for medieval women and what they had to go through to have a child. If you want to learn more about medieval childbirth practices pertaining to the higher echelons of society, I would recommend you read “Royal Childbirth in the Middle Ages: Fertility, Pregnancy and Birth” by Michele Schindler.

Book Review: “Life in the Medieval Town” by Kathryn Warner

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Have you ever watched a movie, played a video game, or read a novel set in the Middle Ages and wondered if life was really like that? Was it super dirty, grimy, and deadly, or is this a fictional device to show how bad the past was compared to the present? Kathryn Warner has delved into the archives to uncover the truth about what life was like in an average medieval town for her latest book, “Life in the Medieval Town.”

I would like to thank Pen and Sword Books and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this book. I enjoyed the previous books that I have read by Warner about Medieval Europe, so when I saw this title available, it piqued my interest. I have read books about medieval life, so I wanted to see what new information she could provide to this area of social history.

As Warner explains at the beginning of this book, the modern world and the medieval world are opposites. While we in the modern era care about the latest gadgets and an excess of commodities, the medieval era cared about simplicity and owned very little. So, for those of us living in the modern world, Warner treats this book as a sort of time traveller’s guide to a medieval town. Warner chooses to highlight life in London, specifically between the reigns of Henry III and Henry VI, which is quite a range, but it shows how medieval England changed over time. 

We start with how medieval people partied after a particular knighting ceremony, before moving throughout the streets of London and exploring the different occupations one could have. We then explore the brothels and the different types of people and languages one might hear on an average day. It shows the diversity of medieval England at this time. Warner also shows her audience the importance of cleanliness and how modern medieval homes could actually be with glass windows, cellars, and latrines. We get to see the different popular names and how job titles were altered in their spelling due to gender. You get to see what curfew meant, what kinds of legal punishments were available, what people ate, drank, and wore on a typical day, plus how medieval people told time, how they handled health, and how they took care of one another, even during the Black Death.

This is such a fantastic resource for medieval novices, writers, and medievalists alike. I knew quite a bit of the information in this book, but I still found some fascinating facts. Warner has an immense knowledge of the medieval era, and it shows throughout this book while maintaining an easy-to-follow writing style. If you are a medieval nerd who wants to learn more about the social history of a medieval town, I highly recommend you read “Life in the Medieval Town” by Kathryn Warner.