Review ~ The Stolen Queen by Lisa Hilton

Corvus
1 October 2015

Isabelle of Angouleme is still a child when she is betrothed to the son of her father's enemy, Hugh de Lusignan. Taken to the Lusignan stronghold, Isabelle is introduced into a mysterious ‘old religion’ which seems to have its basis in the myths and legends which surround the story of the serpent enchantress, Melusine. Mysterious horned figures and cloak darkened shapes fever her dreams, until she is unsure of her place in reality.

Forced to grow up in this disordered world and with a growing antipathy towards her intended husband, Isabelle is relieved when the planned wedding to Hugh is abandoned and she is told that she is to marry, John, King of England. Escaping Hugh de Lusignan will prove to be easier than escaping the old religion, and swapping one meddlesome bridegroom for another is the price Isabelle must pay for alleged freedom. However, born into this turbulent time in medieval history, Isabelle discovers that she is merely a pawn to be used at the whim of ambitious men, and her freedom will come at a price.

I thought that the story moved along reasonably well, although there were times when the narrative seemed to falter and lose its way a little and became a little fanciful. However, interspersed within the narrative are some historical facts, which help to place The Stolen Queen accurately within its medieval time scale, but, I suppose, it is the supernatural elements which add a more unusual twist and thus allows Isabelle’s story to be told in a very different way. The political and domestic intrigue of living so close to the royal household comes across, as does John’s irascible and unreasonable temperament.

The author writes with passion and commitment, and clearly loves telling a story. I am sure that The Stolen Queen will appeal to lovers of medieval historical fiction, and the more unusual supernatural twist, adds an extra dimension to the story.

About the Author

Lisa Hilton is the author of four historical biographies and two historical novels, The House with Blue Shutters, which was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Fiction Prize, and Wolves in Winter. She has made several historical programmes for television and is a regular art and book reviewer. She lives in London.

My thanks to Alison Davies at Atlantic Books for my copy of this book.

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Sunday War Poet...

The theme for this month's poetry

 is


Memories

'Now that you too'

by

Eleanor Farjeon

Now that you too must shortly go the way

Which in these bloodshot years uncounted men

Have gone in vanishing armies day by day,

And in their numbers will not come again:

I must not strain the moments of our meeting

Striving for each look, each accent, not to miss,

Or question of our parting and our greeting,

Is this the last of all? is this—or this?

Last sight of all it may be with these eyes,

Last touch, last hearing, since eyes, hands, and ears,

Even serving love, are our mortalities,

And cling to what they own in mortal fears:—

But oh, let end what will, I hold you fast

By immortal love, which has no first or last.

Eleanor Farjeon 1881-1965

She was a writer of children's stories. There is Farjeon award for outstanding work in children's literature.

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Review ~ Master of Shadows by Neil Oliver

Orion
September 2015

The Blurb :

In fifteenth-century Constantinople, Prince Constantine saves the life of a broken-hearted girl. But the price of his valour is high.

John Grant is a young man on the edge of the world. His unique abilities carry him from his home in Scotland to the heart of the Byzantine Empire in search of a girl and the chance to fulfil a death-bed promise.

Lena has remained hidden from the men who have been searching for her for many years. When she's hunted down, at last she knows what she must do.

With an army amassing beyond the city's ancient walls, the fates of these three will intertwine. As the Siege of Constantinople reaches its climax, each must make a choice between head and heart, duty and destiny

When I first picked up this book, I of course, imaged the narrative spoken in the wonderfully rich Scottish voice of its author, Neil Oliver, and, I wasn't disappointed by that, although there were times when the written narrative appeared a little more clumsy. There's no doubting the author's passion for his subject matter, and there is a nice realism to the story which comes from someone who clearly knows and understands history very well. It's more the overall effect of the story that left me feeling rather let down, and for once, I'm struggling to say why I was so underwhelmed. But somehow, the timeline of the plot lost me at times, and I found myself doing the unspeakable and skipping chunks of story to get through it.

The fall of Constantinople is not a subject that I am familiar with, and so, maybe the overall problem with the story lies with me, rather than the author, who on this occasion, failed to inspire me. I must, however, conclude on a positive note, to say that the cover is sumptuous and portrays the book very well.

I'm not despondent, as I am sure that my still, small voice will barely make a speck in the many reviews from readers who feel that they engaged better with the story and found more to enjoy than I did.

About the Author

Amazon UK

My thanks to Orion Publishing Group andNetGalley for my copy of this book.

Review ~ It's Not Me It's You by Mhairi McFarlane

Harper Collins

April 2015

When I read Mhairi McFarlane's debut novel, You Had Me At Hello, I was blown away by the strength of the writing and the ability of this author to get right into the nitty gritty of relationships. I must admit that I have had my copy of It's Not Me, It's You lurking on my book shelf for a while, not because the book didn't appeal to me, far from it, more than once I've picked it up, only to put it back to save till later...only a book obsessive will understand that sometimes you just want to leave a book a little while on the shelf, to savor later...

At a low ebb and in need of restorative literature, I knew that the time had come to brush off the dust and settle down with a book, I just knew in my bones would grab my attention from the beginning, and of course, I wasn't wrong. I devoured the story in less than twenty four hours.

The premise of the story, that of a woman proposing to her boyfriend only to read the panic stricken text he mistakenly sent to her, instead of to his mistress sets the scene for a modern day relationship dilemma which in the hands of a less talented author would soon become laden with platitudes and driven by melodrama. Not so with this story which rollicks along at a cracking pace, it's wise and witty, funny and breathtakingly sad and so immersed in modern culture that these could be people you meet everyday as you queue for your skinny machiato during the morning rush in Starbucks.

As I have come to expect, Mhairi McFarlane twists and turns the story like a magician with words and captures your attention so contentedly, that time really does cease to exist, and that old cliché of a book being a page turner, actually really does comes true. 

About the author

Amazon UK

@MhairiMcF

My thanks to Harper Collins for my copy of this book.

Review ~The Fatal Flame by Lyndsay Faye

Headline Review
May 2015

The Fatal Flame

Gods of Gotham # 3

New York,  in 1848, was a place of little charm and scant employment. The Bowery girls who worked in downtown Manhattan eked out a slender living in the manufacturies of the notorious Five Points district. Some were employed as seamstresses in appalling conditions, whilst others were loured into equally dreadful and degrading roles as prostitutes, and as supplicant servants to unscrupulous individuals who exploited them to their full extent. Timothy Wilde is one of the original NYPD coppers, who along with with his brother and associate, Valentine, attempt to bring law and order to this swirling hotchpotch of survival.

In Fatal Flame, a series of mysterious building fires threatens one of the city's corrupt political leaders, and it becomes a race against time for Wilde to discover both the perpetrator and the raison d'etre behind these horrific crimes.

Overall, I thought that the murder mystery at the heart of the story was nicely done and conveyed the right amount of gritty realism. Timothy Wilde appears a worthy protagonist and manages to move the story along with energy and enthusiasm. However, having not read either of the first two books in the series, I did feel a little lost at times, and didn’t always appreciate the references to a back story I didn’t fully understand. That said, I am sure that the followers of this series from the beginning will find much to enjoy, and will find the story beautifully written with a fine eye for historical detail. 

Amazon UK

About the Author

My thanks to the team at Headline Review for my copy of this book

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Today is .....National Poetry Day 2015

Today is National Poetry Day

He Wishes For the Cloths of Heaven



William Butler Yeats

(1865 - 1965)

Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,

Enwrought with golden and silver light,

The blue and the dim and the dark cloths

Of night and light and the half-light,

I would spread the cloths under your feet:

But I, being poor, have only my dreams;

I have spread my dreams under your feet;

Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

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Review ~ The Blood of Kings by M K Hume

Headline Review
June 2015

Tintagel Book 1

The fate of Roman Britain appears to be controlled by the meeting of two very different men. When Flavius Magnus Maximus, a man of enormous charisma and courage, meets Caradoc Strong Arm, the King of the Dumnonii Tribe, the conflict that exists between them is palpable and even though ambitious plans drawn up between them attempt to unite the tribes, what it does is reiterate the very differences which, ultimately, make them enemies.

Inevitably, with the beginning of any series of books, there is always an element of scene setting and the introduction of central characters who will go on to play a major role in the development of the story. I found that to be the case in this story, but am pleased that the author had included a dramatis personae at the start of the story which I found very useful as I had no idea who some of the people were, or of their place in the history of the time. There’s also a glossary of place names at the end of the book which, again, I thought helped enormously in placing the settlements geographically.

I’m not overly familiar with early Roman history and found myself floundering a little with the beginning of this story and I had to keep back tracking in order to make sense, in my mind, of where the story was taking me. I found the narrative quite technical and, if I’m honest, a little bit long winded, but there is no doubting the author’s research or her commitment to telling a good story. It’s evident from the writing that the author is knowledgeable about this period in history and uses this knowledge to good effect.

I’m not sure that I will commit to reading any more of the series but am glad to have read this book and to, maybe, understand a little more about the fate of Flavius Magnus Maximus, who I had never heard of before reading this book.

About the author

My thanks to the team at Headline Review for my copy of this book

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