Dark Queen Rising by Paul Doherty
Stacey • August 6, 2019
England during the 14th and 15th Century was a bloody mess of wars and a pretty serious game with the throne. The 100 years war really took its toll on England and all its people. The war of the roses, the infamous battle between the Lancastrians and the Yorks was the pivotal turning point for England as a whole.
Fast forward to the tail end of the war and we find Margaret Beaufort. Ruthless, intelligent and the matriarch of the Tudor dynasty, knows she could never take the throne in her own birth right so pins all her dreams on her malleable son Henry.
During this time being a Lancaster may as well be wearing a bright neon sign saying traitor to the throne right here. This still did not stop Lady Margaret.
I adore historical fiction. It’s been my go to genre for quite some time. I am well versed in the Tudor dynasty and have a vast knowledge base starting with the war of the roses, all the way to the death of Elizabeth I. I half wondered if this would be a blessing or a curse and it turned out to be a curse for the author. There are some pretty acute inaccuracies in the historical parts of the book. They did grate on me a bit, I have to be honest but for for the most part, the writing is good enough for me to overlook the inconsistencies. The beginning of the book didn’t flow well for me, way too much talking and no story building. I hated that. Building into the story would have been better. I rather felt that the first chapter was picking up from somewhere else. It felt like I was starting a book from the middle of the story rather than the beginning.
Margaret Beaufort comes across a little less of a tyrant in this rendition. The author gives her a certain motherly humanity that made her a little easier to swallow. I couldn’t imagine having my only son so far away from me and not knowing if he was going to stay safe or if he was even alive. It must have taken its toll on Margaret being in fear constantly. I really can’t help wondering if the hardening of her heart started as young girl with no stabilty, rather than from all the upheaval with the realm.
When I read the synopsis for the book I was excited! A Tudor murder mystery!! How creative. I felt very let down with the whole story. The whole mystery surrounding the murders were not the star of the book as I was lead to believe. For me, if the part about the murders were removed from the summary, I would have gone in with a different mind set and I think you would have seen a very different review from me.
Instead this book is about a highly ambiguous woman with an ambition to rival any man. You never fully understand if it’s her love for her son that drives her or whether she loves the glory her son can give her by claiming the throne and ultimately, giving her the control of the realm.
‘She was determined to weave the web she wanted..’ That doesn’t sound like a woman who is just trying to navigate her way through a dark time in history. She is actively going against the grain and is putting her life and her sons in mortal danger in the process.
This book switches between the points of view of Margaret and Christopher Ulswicke. Ulswicke was one of only two people Margaret trusted in the world. I actually enjoyed his story more so than Margarets. He's funny, determined and could feel his need to do his very best. He was much more genuine a character than Margaret. He did what he did for the good of his mistress and for someone who kills people, was a much more believable human than Margaret comes across as. Other than the gruesome and overly descriptive deaths being described, there wasn’t much that stood out.
The pace of the book wanes a lot and other times you get far too much information thrown at you. I can still see the potential this book has but for a seasoned reader like me, it didn’t hold the water it should have. There were no twists and turns, nothing to drive you forward to continue to read. I did finish it. It was mediocre at best and a real let down for me. I did a happy dance when I first started to read it. I was excited. By the end I was just glad it was over.
I have never read any other of his work and in all honesty, I probably won’t be seeking his work out again. It’s a real shame that I didn’t have something better to say about this book. I really wanted to love it.
I would give it 2.5 stars out of 5. I even had to go and read parts again because my mind wandered and that never happens to me.
Sincerely, The Lioness
Book review - Fiction - Paperback ARC - Series - Mystery - Police Procedural I just finished First Sign of Danger by Kelley Armstrong - Haven’s rock Book 4 and here are my musings. Casey Duncan and Sheriff Dalton are living their best lives.. They are raising their baby in their sanctuary town of Haven’s rock. Except their private town is in danger of being exposed. One of the hikers that found the border of the town is found dead the next day, the people of the town have no idea who these people are, why they were where they were and how much danger they are all in. Big big fan of Kelley Armstrong and this is one of the series I have invested my time in. I really like the offgrid living which is one of the reasons I keep coming back to this series. I am a sucker for small town tropes and it doesn’t get smaller than this. I love Casey and Dalton.. I am super invested in them as characters. Dalton is such a protector and I love that too. I always love this author's writing.The pacing is on point and I love all the twists and turns that are executed with perfection. It’s going to be bitter sweet having this series end. 4 stars Thank you to @minotaur_books for my gifted copy. #canadianauthor #bookrecs #bookseries #bookalorian #literaryinfluencer
Book review - Fiction - Audiobook - horror - Vampires - Paranormal Hollow by Celina Myers Mia is not even 25 when she dies in a car crash… and wakes as a vampire. Knowing she cannot go back to her old life… She has to decide which vampire clan she is joining… 2 clans with old feuds via for her and a gift she lost as she grew older has started to return and she needs it to protect innocent lives. I was super sonic excited to read this book…. I kept seeing it on booksta and I was so pumped… It was boring. The book only covered a few days and nothing much happened. The vampire plot was fine and we got a lot of world building around it but it wasn’t massively interesting. I had to go back and listen a few times because I stopped paying attention. All the good stuff happens at the end and it was so rushed. It wasn’t a terrible book… It just wasn't brilliant but maybe I am too old now for this kind of book? 3.5 stars Thank you @netgalley #bookblogger #bookreader #booklover #booklorian #lionessofliteracy #bookish
Book review - Fiction - ebook - Fantasy I just finished The Younger Gods by Katie Shepard and here are my musings. Iona headed the rebellion of mortals to overthrow the Gods… Losing her betrothed has broken her more than that last battle ever could have. In a moment of grief, ione makes a deal with her former patron goddess… If she can convince Taran, her love, to follow her home from the underworld, he can live again. If she fails… she will be trapped there forever. As soon as she arrives she finds the dead gods have been reborn and are out for revenge and the worst part.. Taran is one of them and his reincarnation does not remember her… Can she stop the next war? Can she get Taran out of the underworld? That was one beautifully fun ride!! I really like the story of Opheus and Eurydice and this one loosely fits their Greek mythology… It is loosely.. Very loosely based and I really liked how this story panned out. It was totally heartbreaking. She travels to the underworld in her heartbreak just to find out he has no clue who she is but dang it hurts my heart. I thought the characters were well written and I fell in love with Taran and Iona and the love they had before he forgot her. I thought the writing was so beautiful and the slow burn worked really well. I usually like a more expedient pace but this was clever and I felt drawn right into the story. 4.5 stars I cannot wait to see what happens next!! Thank you @berkleypub and @netgalley for my gifted copy. #berkleypub #romance #fantasy #greekretelling #booklover #bookishblogger
Book review - Fiction - E-arc - Historical Fiction - Historical Mystery - Romance I just finished The Bookbinder's Secret by A. D. Bell and here are my musings. Lily is an apprentice to a master book binder and isn’t pleased with the constraints of her life. Being an apprentice in a man's world… But when she was given a burned book during a visit to a collector she finds something so much more under the binding… A love letter… a 50 year old love letter. Getting pulled into the mystery of this forbidden romance, she becomes obsessed but she is not the only one looking for the books with more of the hidden pages… Is finding the truth worth her life? Is it a risk she is willing to take? Well I was definitely charmed by the characters. Lily was so warm and I really was cheering her on. I liked how all the characters added a new emotional depth to the story! So very clever. This book was tight!!! It was well paced for historical fiction and it was clever. No loose threads. I love that! I couldn’t put the dang thing down! I should have gone to bed… I had to finish. The just one more chapter thing turned into I am so close to finishing. It's beautifully written. I was thoroughly entertained. I loved the vibes…. I loved the descriptive details of the book stores and I was invested in the letters too. I could smell paper and leather. It's a beautiful balance of plot vs character and so well done. All in all it was a great read! 4.5 stars Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for my gifted copy. #historicalfiction #romance #mystery #bookish #bookdragon #readersofbooktok #readertok #bookalorian #litdulterous #podcaster
Book review - Fiction - audiobook - sci-fi Artificial Truth by J.M. Lee When KC Kim, tech genius and creator of the top of the line AI dies of cancer, no one believes it and his widow Minju is looked upon with suspicion. 6 years on she moved on and remarried but she can’t help feeling like KC isn’t really gone. She sees him on her walk.. His fav custom shoes arrive at the house. Is KC reaching out from beyond the grave or the AI realm? This one was super intriguing. It was a bit bland with the structure and the tone of the book but the plot was super exciting. I found the characters massively lacklustre but it didn’t seem to matter because all the sci-fi stuff was the magic here. It was well paced too which makes up for the monotone of the writing. I found the science fiction parts to be fascinating. It felt realistic and it was both terrifying and exhilarating to know this could be our future one day. I enjoyed the narration and if you like sci-fi… you will enjoy this one. 4 stars Thank you @netgalley #bookinfluencer #bookinfluencing #bookblog #bookshblog #blogger #bookpodcast #podcaster #bookish #bookbusiness
Book Review - Fiction - Audiobook - Romance Never Over by Clare Gilmore Paige has the chance to be a songwriter but her songs lack real world emotion… In a shocking move she reaches out to her ex Liam… A man she has not had contact with in 4 years… She wants him to date her and break her heart. For some mental reason he agrees. 2 months of travelling for Liam’s work, sharing beds and remembering the past has old feelings reigniting but can she keep her eye on the prize? I thought the concept of this book was a little weird. Seeking out an ex to break your heart… An ex just going along with it.. Weird. Paige was a bit of a flake, easily led and I didn’t want that from this book. It took ages for me to settle in but once I did, I really did like it. The ending was good and the narration was amazing. It was different and it took some time but I am glad I read it. 3.5 stars Thank you @netgalley for my gifted copy #bookreview #bookishblogger #bookdragon #readersofig #reading
Book Review - Fiction - Young Adult - YA - Mystery - Thriller - Horror I just finished Night Terror by Vincent Ralph and here are my musings. What kind of maniacs hold up a bookstore? The kind looking for an urban legend.. A book… The Burning book. Something sinister comes out of the pages and it wants to feast on human flesh.. Can Noah and the other hostages make it out of the mall without unleashing a blood bath on their town? Brainnnnnnnsssssss zombiesssssssssssss brainnnnnnnnsssss haha If you have been subscribed for a while, then you know I did book 1 - Dead Fake and loved the vibes… This is book 2 and it was just as good a read. The best part is it works as a standalone so yay for the author being a rock star! This one does have more of the horror vibes opposed to the mystery/thriller that book one had going on. I dug it. I like horrors and it wasn’t insane either so if you don’t read a lot of horror, it won’t matter because it has that glossy fearstreet vibes. The pacing was phenomenal. The story kept moving and the pages kept getting flipped like I was Johnny 5 needing input. I was engrossed. I did find that the author played a fast and loose game with conventions within the genre but I actually loved it! It was clever, unique and something I will now expect whenever I pick up one of his books! This installment follows Noah and he was really well written. He didn’t have those teen-douche vibes and came across as a decent kid. LOVED THAT!!! I also highly enjoyed that the book was set in a creepy-ass mall. It was a solid follow up to my kind of YA series. I liked the messy… I liked the tone and I was 100% entertained. Cannot wait to see where this series goes next. ⭐ Rating: 4 Chaos level: 3 Thank you to @wednesdaybooks for my gifted copy and to @vincentralphwriter for bringing me zombies. Highly recommend! Thank you for being a subscriber! https://open.spotify.com/show/5kKN96RNPNh4uNDZzpIE1A - Book podcast #yahorrorreads #bookalorian #exclusivecontent #zombies #readercommunity
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Book Review - Fiction - e-arc - Thriller - Mystery - Suspense I just finished Such a Perfect Family by Nalini Singh and here are my musings. It was love at first sight and a whirlwind marriage in vegas… Then the fire… Tavish only just got his wife out in time but she has been stabbed and the police are looking into him. They are wealthy… He is well known for bedding rich older women and then they died under suspicious circumstances.. He needs to clear his name but the family he just became part of has dark secrets and everything is coming to a head. OMG Tavish… That is a complex morally grey man like you wouldn’t believe. I spent the whole time wondering if he was unreliable or not. Very unsettling. What kind of a man marries in a matter of weeks…. Dates rich much much much older women… Weird right? It literally starts out the gate like BOOOOMMMMMMMM. He isn’t at the house when everyone is attacked and the house set on fire which makes him a prime suspect but the more he learns… ARGHHH. My fave parts… The POV of the detective who has his sights set on Tavish but isn’t working the current case. SO GOOD! It was so dark. It was a tad slow paced for my liking but MAN OH MAN it was so good! I was racing to find out what had happened! Real page turner!! Really solid writing, gripping and a solid ending. 4.5 stars Thank you @berkleypub for my gifted copy #bettyandbonnybookreviews #bookreview #bookalorian #bookblog #bookishblog #readerblog #booktalk #bookchat #thrillerbook
Book Review - Fiction - Audiobook - Coming of age - Contemporary Fiction Honeymoon Stage by Margaux Eliot Cassidy is due to get married… The idea of doing it on set… filling her with dread. She’s always been behind the scenes but her husband-to-be is a former child star and this would be the start of another celebreality show… A spin off from the one she worked on 5 years before… Cassidy still doesn’t understand what happened back then and she cannot move forward with her life until she uncovers what happened in the past. This was an interesting audio. It was a little messy in the way the book was formatted… It was hard to know what was current and what was past at first.. It was a slow burn of a story and I didn’t much care for any of the characters but I was quietly obsessed with what was going on. It was kinda like watching a reality tv show. Clever. I really enjoyed the ending. It was different for sure but I really got into it 4 stars #bookreview #bookish #booksbooksbooks #bookalorian #bookblog #bookishblog #bookreader
