Tag: pirate

Guest Post: Spotlight for “The Pirate’s Physician” by Amy Maroney

On By hmalagisiIn guest post1 Comment

I am pleased to welcome Amy Maroney back to my blog to share a spotlight for her latest novel, “The Pirate’s Physician.” I want to thank Amy Maroney and The Coffee Pot Book Club for allowing me to participate in this blog tour.

Blurb:  

When her world shatters, she dares to trust a pirate. Will she survive what comes next? 

The Pirate’s Physician is the story of Giuliana Rinaldi, a student at Salerno’s famed medieval medical school, whose lifelong dream of becoming a physician crumbles when her uncle and mentor dies suddenly.  

Faced with an unwanted marriage to a ruthless merchant, Giuliana enlists the help of a Basque pirate and flees home for the dangers of the open sea.  

Will she make it to Genoa, where her only remaining relative awaits? Or will this impulsive decision seal her own doom? 

A delightful seafaring adventure packed with romance and intrigue, The Pirate’s Physician is a companion novella to the award-winning Sea and Stone Chronicles series of historical novels by Amy Maroney: Island of Gold, Sea of Shadows, and The Queen’s Scribe. 

Buy Link: 

Universal Buy Link: https://mybook.to/PiratesPhysician  

Author Bio:  

Amy Maroney lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family, and spent many years as a writer and editor of nonfiction before turning her hand to historical fiction. 

Amy is the author of the Miramonde Series, a trilogy about a Renaissance-era female artist and the modern-day scholar on her trial. Amy’s new series, Sea and Stone Chronicles, features strong, talented women seeking their fortunes in the medieval Mediterranean.  

To receive a free prequel novella to the Miramonde Series, join Amy Maroney’s readers’ group at http://www.amymaroney.com.  

Author Links: 

Website: https://www.amymaroney.com/ 

Twitter: https://x.com/wilaroney 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amymaroneyauthor/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amymaroneywrites/ 

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/amyloveshistory/ 

Book Bub:  https://www.bookbub.com/authors/amy-maroney 

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Amy-Maroney/author/B01LYHPXEO 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15831603.Amy_Maroney

Book Review: “The Sixteenth Century in 100 Women” by Amy Licence

On By hmalagisiIn Book Reviews1 Comment

16th century womenWhen we think of the phrase “16th-century women,” we often consider those from royal or noble houses throughout Europe. We tend to think of women like the six wives of Henry VIII, Mary I, Elizabeth I, Catherine de Medici, Mary Queen of Scots, and others associated who made an impact during the Renaissance and the Reformation. However, the 16th century did not stop at the borders of Europe; it extended all over the globe. There are many stories of women from all over the world and from different social classes that can help us understand how the world changed in the 16th century. Amy Licence took this concept and decided to write her latest book about a variety of women from around the world who lived in the 16th century, “The Sixteenth Century in 100 Women.”

Thank you, Pen and Sword Books and Net Galley, for sending me a copy of this book. When I heard that Licence was writing this book, it intrigued me. I wanted to know more stories from the 16th century from all around the world.

“The Sixteenth Century in 100 Women” is a collection of 100 mini-biographies of women from every walk of life and every corner of the globe. Licence has decided to organize this particular book in chronological order, with the date emphasis on the significant events of their lives. Staying true to her word, she writes about women from different countries, like Japan, Nigeria, Russia, Mexico, Poland, Chile, Morocco, and Burma, to name a few.

What I loved the most about this book is the diversity of figures that Licence chose to include in this journey from 1500 to 1600. They were not just queens, princesses, and noblewomen. Licence included women who would have been seen as outsiders in everyday society, such as prostitutes during the Banquet of Chestnuts, Margaret Drummond, Ellen Sadler, and La Malinche. There were those whose appearance made them outsiders, like Aura Soltana, Elena/Eleno de Cespedes, and Tognina Gonsalvus. Some women stood up for what they believed was right, such as Cecily Bodenham, abbess of Wilton Abbey, Lady Nata of Japan, Margaret Cheney, Sayyida al-Hurra, and Beatriz de Luna.

Some women suffered horrendous tragedies beyond their control, like Suphankanlaya, whose husband was killed in an angry rage, Amy Robsart, and an unknown woman who dealt with a tsunami in Chile. Others were women who had nasty reputations associated with their lives, such as Elizabeth Bathory, Mary Frith, and the Irish pirate Grace O’Malley. We also see female artists, authors, fictional figures, and those who sat for portraits.

Licence has painted a colorful picture of the 16th century with the 100 miniature biographies she chose to include in this book. This book may highlight only a select few stories of the century, but they were new and enthralling tales of women I had never heard of, which broadened my understanding of the era. An informative, refreshing, and unique approach to the 16th century, “The Sixteenth Century in 100 Women” by Amy Licence is a breath of fresh air for anyone who wants to discover new tales from the past.

Book Review: “Drake -Tudor Corsair” by Tony Riches

On By hmalagisiIn Book ReviewsLeave a comment

54845924._SY475_When we think of pirates, we tend to think of Caribbean pirates that are popular in fiction and in movies. They are swashbuckling rogues who are only looking out for themselves, booze, and treasure. We tend to think about the 1600s-1800s as the height of piracy on the open seas, but there were pirates that existed even earlier than that. In England, they were known as corsairs, and one of the best during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I was the suave and debonair Sir Francis Drake. Although he did circumnavigate the world and helped the English defeat the Spanish Armada, his story is rarely told in novels. That is until now. In the first book in his Elizabethan series, Tony Riches takes on the challenge to explore what Drake’s life was like and what kinds of adventures he took in order to protect his beloved homeland. This is Tony Riches’ latest novel, “Drake- Tudor Corsair”.

I would like to thank Tony Riches for sending me a copy of his latest novel. I have enjoyed Tony’s novels in the past and when I found out that he was doing an Elizabethan series and had a new book about Sir Francis Drake, I knew I wanted to read it. I did not know much about Sir Francis Drake and his adventures, except that he traveled the world and helped defeat the Spanish Armada before I read this book so I was excited to learn more.

We are introduced to Francis Drake when he is a young lad, dreaming of adventure and far away lands. He wants to sail the high seas, but things are not as picture-perfect as he imagined. He is involved in the slave trade, which is something that he comes to deplore later in life. Drake tries to think about the well-being of the slaves and will become friends with a former slave named Diego. However, Drake does contradict his own beliefs when it comes to slavery and taking someone’s life when his beloved country England is in danger from the Spanish, who he finds diabolical and does not mind attacking them whenever he discovers the location of their ships. This complex dynamic makes him more of a believable, three-dimensional character.

At the heart of this novel is the countless adventures Drake and his crew of corsairs partake in on different ships, including the famous The Golden Hind. As a connoisseur of Tony Riches’ novels, I know that he doesn’t do a ton of action sequences in his novel as he tends to focus on the relationships between characters, yet he is able to transport the reader into high action battle scenes where you wonder if Drake and his crew will survive. Since many Tudor novels tend to focus on England and Europe during the reign of this infamous dynasty, it is a breath of fresh air to explore the world with Drake and his men. Whether it is fighting the Spanish sailors or fighting indigenous people from far away lands, there is always a perilous adventure for Drake and his crew to embark on. What never changes is Drake’s faith and how his religious views are a constant comfort to his even when things become dire.

If I did have a small area of concern it would be that Riches does include modern names for locations and items found around the world so that modern readers would understand what is going on. I am not sure if the factual Francis Drake and his crew knew the names of these locations and mysterious objects while they were traveling or if the names came afterward.

Like any stellar novel by Tony Riches, he does focus on Drake’s relationships with the people who are closest to him. Drake was married to two different women, Mary and Elizabeth, and it is quite interesting to see how both women react differently to his life full of risk and danger on the high seas. Then there are his relationships in the Elizabethan court. Of course, there is his relationship with Queen Elizabeth I, since he is considered to be one of her favorites at court, yet it is not always smooth sailing for Drake. He also interacts quite a bit with William Cecil and Sir Francis Walsingham to make sure England is secure. Drake wants to be included in court life, but although he looks the part, he knows that he will never be one of the colorful courtiers.

Francis Drake has always been a side character, never the gallant corsair hero. Tony Riches has changed all of that. He has thrown open the doors to a colorful and treacherous world of the seas with his first book in the Elizabethan series. Drake is so real and raw. You can understand why he made the decisions that he did to protect his crew and his homeland. This is an absolutely captivating read that will bring the adventures of this distinguished Elizabethan corsair to life. If you want an enthralling Tudor historical fiction novel that takes you to places unknown and where there are dangers galore with a caring and charismatic hero at the heart of all of the adventures, I highly recommend you read Tony Riches’ latest novel, “Drake- Tudor Corsair”. A true triumph and a brilliant way to start a brand new series. I cannot wait for the second novel in this Elizabethan series.

 

 

Book Review: “Forgotten Royal Women: The King and I” by Erin Lawless

On By hmalagisiIn Book ReviewsLeave a comment

38507412._SY475_In English history, the story of the royal families tends to capture the imagination of those who study it. Full of dynamic tales of kings and queens, and numerous nobles, these are tales that make it into history books and history classes. We tend to focus on the same kings and queens, who have become the popular royals. But what about those who are left in the dust of those popular royals? Who were the royal women who lived in the shadow of the throne that time has forgotten? What were the lives of these women like? It is these women who are the focus of Erin Lawless’s latest book, “Forgotten Royal Women: The King and I”.

I would like to thank Pen and Sword Books for sending me a copy of this book. The title of this book initially caught my eye and I really wanted to see what royal women Erin Lawless would be discussing in this particular book.

Lawless has decided to write about thirty different royal women, from Scota to Princess Charlotte, covering several centuries of vivacious women. Some of these women I have encountered in my own studies, like Margaret Pole, Margaret Tudor, Eleanor Cobham, and Mary Grey( who are obviously women from the Tudor dynasty). Others were women that I have never heard of, like Gwellian ferch Gryffydd and Isabella MacDuff, who lead armies for their respective countries, Wales and Scotland respectfully, to fight against the English. Grace O’Malley, also known as Granuaile, who was Queen of Umaill, chieftain of the O Maille clan, and a pirate from Tudor Ireland. And of course, plenty of royal women who married for love and suffered the consequences.

These tales are truly tantalizing, yet they are tragically too short as Lawless only spends a few pages on each woman. Just as you are starting to really get into the story, you move onto another lady and her history. It may seem a little bit unfair, but I think it should be noted that Lawless did this with a rather important purpose behind it. Lawless wanted to give an introduction to the lives of these women, both the fictional tales and the facts so that readers would be intrigued and decide to study more about them. It’s a great strategy to get more people interested in studying the obscure and forgotten royal women in history. Of course, I wanted more details, but that is because I love having a plethora of information about a subject in books that I read, yet in this case, I think the amount of details works in Lawless’s favor.

The one thing that I really wish Lawless did include was a bibliography or a list of books that helped her with her own research when it came to this book. I really like seeing an author’s research in the back of biographies or history books, especially for a book that covers different topics, so that I can have a starting point for my own personal research.

Overall, I found this book incredibly enjoyable. It is certainly a conversation starter for those who discuss the English monarchy. Lawless has a delightful writing style that feels like you are having a casual history conversation with her. This book is small in size, but it could be the stepping stone for new research for those novice historians who want to write about someone who has been stuck in the shadow for centuries. If you would like to read short stories about royal women who have stayed in the background for a long time, I highly recommend you read “Forgotten Royal Women: The King and I” by Erin Lawless.