Tag: Review

Book Review – The King’s Jew: In the Shadow of the King by Darius Stransky

whatcathyreadnext6 Comments

Gripping tale of war, intrigue and revenge

KingsJewAbout the Book

1307 – As Cristian Gilleson keeps vigil for his dead king (Edward the First) in Westminster Abbey, his enemies, Edward Secundus and Piers Gaveston, still plot his downfall.

1266 – In the aftermath of The Baron’s War and the Battle of Evesham in 1265, Lord Cristian Gilleson and his companion Lord Edward (the future king, Edward the First) have some pockets of resistance to clear up. Cristian’s lady, Dulcea, wonders if they will ever marry but can a Jew marry a Christian? The unfaithful Earl of Gloucester (Gilbert de Clare) occupies London and must be ousted. Earl Gilbert seeks Cristian’s death and their long running feud continues. Lord Edward takes the cross and leaves for Outremer to wage war on the Sultan Baybars. Will this Ninth Crusade be successful? All the while the agents of Gilbert de Clare plot the perfect murder in a foreign land

Book Facts

  • Format: ebook
  • Publisher: Pronoun
  • No. of pages: 320
  • Publication date: 20th December 2016
  • Genre: Historical Fiction

To purchase The King’s Jew: In the Shadow of the King from Amazon.co.uk, click here (link provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme)

Find The King’s Jew on Goodreads

My Review

The book, the second in a planned four book series, opens in 1307 with our hero, Sir Cristian Gilleson, mourning his long time companion and liege lord, Edward the First. There follows an extended flashback as the reader is taken back forty years to follow the progress of Cristian and the then Lord Edward as they attempt to deal with knights still resisting King Henry’s reign. For Cristian, the enemy is concentrated in the person of Gilbert de Clare, who holds a personal grudge against him and has vowed to bring about Cristian’s death. De Clare has at his disposal a number of henchmen willing to carry out the task (for the right price) and much of the story involves their attempts to do so. In such treacherous times, danger can be close at hand.

Having not read the first book in the series, I did feel launched straight into the thick of things, not really knowing who everyone was and the different political factions. However, it only took me a few chapters before I felt on top of things thanks to the author’s clear prose.  The sounds and smells of the time were convincingly evoked.

Cristian is a likeable and resourceful hero, an accomplished warrior who inspires loyalty from those around him. His parentage allows the author to explore the position of the Jews and attitudes towards them at that time in history. On the other side, the author has created some really nasty, cold-blooded villains, one of whom you sense will have a further significant role to play in the story.

This is a well-written story and the author keeps the pace moving along, striking a balance between the personal and the political. Historical fiction can feel rather too much like a history lesson at times, but this one doesn’t. Given the times, the story is naturally male-dominated; women exist to be used, abused or treated as an asset. However, it might have been nice to have more focus on the few female characters there are in the book, such as Cristian’s lady, Dulcea.

Although Edward II and Piers Gaveston are mentioned briefly in the opening chapter, they play no part in this book. However, the story is set up nicely to continue in a third book.

I received a review copy courtesy of the author in return for an honest review.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

In three words: Well-researched, engaging, action

Try something similar…Master of War: The Blooding by David Gilman

DariusStranskyAbout the Author

Darius says: I have always been interested – nay fascinated – by medieval life. Not just the Kings and the rulers but the vast majority of people who inhabited that medieval world. People like me – people like you. Books have been written about the Normans and the Tudors but one segment of time always seemed to be overlooked – the thirteenth Century when Henry III’s son, Edward the First, carved his name in the annals of history. This was a time of upheaval and, believe me, dear reader, I have studied this period extensively in order to stay true to the times. The result has been a labour of love as the three books that make up “The King’s Jew” grew slowly on the page. If nothing else comes of this then know that I feel honoured to tell the tale and I hope you enjoy the journey with the characters who live within my books – many of them were real people with loves, worries and pain just like ours.

Connect with Darius

Website https://pronoun.com/darius-stransky/
Twitter https://twitter.com/dariusstransky
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/darius.stransky

Book Review: These Dividing Walls by Fran Cooper

whatcathyreadnext9 Comments

‘Within its walls, people kiss. They talk, they laugh; someone cries, perhaps. A few are glad to sit alone. Others wish that they did not.’ Meet the residents of Number 37

TheseDividingWallsAbout the Book

Publisher’s description: In a forgotten corner of Paris stands a building. Within its walls, people talk and kiss, laugh and cry; some are glad to sit alone, while others wish they did not. A woman with silver-blonde hair opens her bookshop downstairs, an old man feeds the sparrows on his windowsill, and a young mother wills the morning to hold itself at bay. Though each of their walls touches someone else’s, the neighbours they pass in the courtyard remain strangers.   Into this courtyard arrives Edward. Still bearing the sweat of a channel crossing, he takes his place in an attic room to wait out his grief. But in distant corners of the city, as Paris is pulled taut with summer heat, there are those who meet with a darker purpose. As the feverish metropolis is brought to boiling point, secrets will rise and walls will crumble both within and without Number 37…

Book Facts

  • Format: ebook
  • Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
  • No. of pages: 250
  • Publication date: 16th May 2017
  • Genre: Literary Fiction

My Review (5 out of 5)

I was really, really impressed with this book; despite being a debut is it has such an assured feel to it. From the beginning I was drawn into the stories of the various individuals living at Number 37, storing up the nuggets of information provided by the author about each character. I felt a bit like James Stewart’s character in Hitchcock’s Rear Window, eavesdropping on the residents of the neighbouring apartments.

Number 37 seems to act as a microcosm of society, not just French society.   There are secrets, frustrations, unhappy memories, prejudice, loneliness, depression, love and loss. But there are also new beginnings, reconciliations and a coming together in adversity.

The author very cleverly connects the intimate personal stories to the wider political situation in France where tensions over unemployment, immigration and change threaten to boil over in the sweltering heat of a Paris summer. Reading this in the wake of the terror attack in London, the events depicted and the emotions that gave rise to them really resonated.

I absolutely loved this book and I can’t wait to read more from the author who I’m sure has a glittering career ahead of her. Highly recommended.

I received an advance reader copy courtesy of NetGalley and publishers, Hodder & Stoughton, in return for an honest review.

To buy a copy of These Dividing Walls from Amazon.co.uk, click here (link is provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme)

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

In three words: Engaging, thoughtful, intimate

FranCooperAbout the Author

Fran Cooper grew up in London before reading English at Cambridge and Art History at the Courtauld Institute of Art. She spent three years in Paris writing a PhD about travelling eighteenth-century artists, and currently works at a London museum. These Dividing Walls is her first novel.

Website
Twitter