The King’s Evil is the third book in Andrew Taylor’s series of historical mysteries set in and around Restoration London in the year or so following the Great Fire of 1666. As was the case with the previous two books – The Ashes of London and The Fire Court – this latest release in the…
The novels of Garth Nix have provided me with a successful blend of fantasy and romance in the past, so I was excited to try his new series set in an entirely new fantasy world. After unleashing an angelic plague that turned the entire population of Ystara into either ravening beastlings or piles of dead gray…
While forced marriage generally isn’t my thing, I do often like Jane Feather’s novels and I love that she has often chosen less commonly used settings for her tales. Her 1997 novel, The Silver Rose, takes place in England during the reign of Queen Anne. The spirit of the time, and the lingering shadows both…
London, 1615. The young, spirited Frances Howard-Carr and her husband (And James I’s long time favorite), the self-made social climber Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset, stand accused of poisoning Sir Thomas Overbury, Robert’s friend and advisor, who knew a dreadfully personal secret about the true nature of Robert’s relationship with James. Frances and Robert…
I’m drawn to historical novels about witchcraft, so The Familiars by Stacey Halls seemed like a novel I’d absolutely love. I’ve read quite a few books about the witch hunts of the Middle Ages, but this was the first one I picked up that dealt specifically with the Pendle Hill witch trials in the early…
Narrated by Alex Wyndham So, so many people love The Marigold Chain (really, anything by Stella Riley) and for good reason. Her attention to detail – from the dialogue to the setting and time period to the clothing – everything is pitch perfect. However, The Marigold Chain is history dense and romance light, and I…
It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Stella Riley’s work, so anyone reading this review could be forgiven for thinking that the DIK rating was a foregone conclusion. And perhaps it was – I’ve always found her writing, characterisation and storytelling to be of consistently high quality, and The Black Madonna is no…
The Ashes of London is an absorbing, intricately plotted historical mystery set in Restoration London in the aftermath of the Great Fire; indeed the book opens with one of the main characters – lowly clerk, James Marwood – standing amid the crowds one night in early September 1666 watching in horror as St. Paul’s Cathedral…
Stella Riley’s Roundheads and Cavaliers series of books set during the English Civil Wars is an absolute treat for those who enjoy well-researched historical fiction AND historical romance. Each book in the series is grounded strongly in historical fact and the stories Ms Riley layers atop her chosen background are cleverly constructed and closely interlinked…
Every so often a book comes along that seems like it’ll just pull you in…and it doesn’t. You open it up, read the first few pages or chapters, and then look at your TBR pile and go, “Nah. I’ve got plenty of other things to read that actually interest me.” It’s not that this book…