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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
By Stacey Irving February 21, 2025
This book will take the edge off of a stressful day... I just finished I got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm trapped in a rom-com by Kimberly Lemming and here are my musings. When Dorothy, while working on her wildlife biology PhD, is attacked by a lion, she doesn't expect her saviors to be... aliens. When the ship crashes on a planet inhabited by dinosaurs and the lion that attacked her can now talk and is her trusty sidekick. Navigating herself through a new world with 2 very sexy aliens to keep her company... What can go wrong? I swear I did not know this was an alien smut book when I started to read it. Cross my heart and hope to..... OK fine... I figured it must have been spicy from the cover.. sue me. It was a hilarious adventure with witty banter and some serious steam. I love me a good smutty read and I wasn't 100% I was ready for intergalactic hobnobbing but I enjoyed the heck out of this book. I thought the storyline was really solid, I didn't see any plot issues... Not that there was a lot of plot... It's most *cough cough* getting down and dirtttyyyy. It was really well paced and funny as all hell. The alien boys were awesome. Couldn't have had more different personalities. I thought Dorothy was a great MC, quirky and brilliant. It's the first book in the series so never fear! There is more to come. One heck of an intro to alien smut and I bow my head to the author. 4 stars Thank you @berkleybooks and @netgalley for my gifted copy. OUT NOWWWW
By Stacey Irving February 19, 2025
I just finished The Bones beneath my Skin by TJ Klune and here are my thoughts. When Nate Cartwright goes to his dead parents cabin after being fired from his job as a journalist… He didn’t expect to find it inhabited with a man and a little girl and they are running from something that even Nate can’t wrap his head around… I finished this book weeks ago.. Have you ever had a book just sit right on your chest and you need to just let it rest before you think about how it made you feel? This book did that to me. It’s rare I even get a book hangover and this was no book hangover I ever had. I felt lost when it was done. I felt like I was saying goodbye and it didn’t sit right with me (I am crossing my toes for more with these characters). I loved Nate and Alex. So different but the same. They have the kind of protective instincts some parents don’t have with their own children and they protected Art with their lives. There is so much to unpack here. Art was spectacular. I don’t want to spoil it for you but her journey and the love she has for the two men made me tear up. She is so special and even after everything she went through, she still chose loving people. UGH I’m tearing up again. I thoroughly enjoy that love is love no matter how it comes to you. It was really well paced and I loved all the banter. I am already a superfan of TJ Klune and this should tell you that my expectations are already in the stars and I hold the books they write to very high standards. The characters are so real and that’s one of the things I’ve come to expect from the author and the storytelling is like a whisper in the wind. It’s gentle in its beauty and powerful without shouting. It’s graceful… impactful… it will charm the pants off you. 5 stars If you haven’t gone down the Klune rabbit hole yet, this would be a great one to start with. Thank you to @netgalley and @torpublishing for bringing this book into my life.
By Stacey Irving February 16, 2025
I just finished When the Earth was Green by Riley Black and here are my thoughts. If you don’t know much about prehistoric plants then this is the book for you! I don’t know much about plants period so this was a really interesting dive into a world I know zero about. It was amazing to read about plants and animals and how they interacted with each other. The evolution of plant life isn’t something I was interested in before but Riley Black made it interesting in a way that didn’t overload me with things I couldn’t understand but I did learn something! It was like taking a trip back in time and I was like David Attenborough.. except with dinosaurs! Highly recommend this book for anyone who likes history told with some passion! 4 stars Thank you @stmartinspress for my gifted copy #rileyblack #whentheearthwasgreen #nonfiction #booklover #bookreview #booksbooksbooks #reading #bookalorian #lifescience #smpinfluencer #bookinfluencer #booknerdigans
By Stacey Irving February 14, 2025
I just finished Saved by a Song by Mary Gauthier and here are my thoughts. The art and healing power healing power of songwriting… what an amazing book. This book isn’t just a memoir, it’s a little bit of artistic philosophy and some insight into writing songs! I love it!! I can appreciate what it took to write. The writing was amazing! I feel like I went on a beautiful journey with a trusted friend and it was a true delight. What I really loved about the book is Mary proves that just because you have gone down a dark path of addiction, doesn’t mean there isn’t a path forward. I felt connected, I felt the passion rolling off the page. It was a wonderful book. 4 stars One of the best memoirs I’ve read in ages.. I wish the book had been bigger. Thank you @stmartinspress for my gifted copy. #marygauthier #savedbyasong #memoir #songwriting #bookreview #smpinfluencer #booklover #magicinmusic #bookalorian #bookinfluencer #booksbooksbooks #readersofig #bookloversunite #readercommunity
By Stacey Irving February 10, 2025
🎧🎧Mini Audiobook reviews!🎧🎧 Definitely Better now by Ava Robinson It’s been a year since Emma has been in AA and she hasn’t told her work that she is a recovering alcoholic. Trouble is she is ready to start dating but she’s never had to do any of these things sober.. How is she going to navigate the delicate world of staying sober and finding a man when all the problems she had before haven’t magically disappeared? The narration was great. It was a pretty dark humor book and I was here for it all. Emma is so relatable and she owns the fact she’s still an asshole. She was like a brand new foal trying to stand and she was shaky and nervous. The plot was great, it was done with real class and I enjoyed the heck out of it. 4 stars . Watch your Back by Terri Parlato Eve and Nathan have a beautiful life and a daughter. Trouble starts when their daughter is kidnapped from the babysitters house.. her husband Nathan had been having an affair and it’s up to Rita to find out just what is going on in their home. The narration was pretty decent with this one. The book was really good most of the way through and then the ending… was weird. It was a bit overdone. The rest of it was epic. So many possibilities. So many threads to tug at and I loved it. I wish the ending hadn’t ended like that. The plot was solid though and if you like twisty thrillers with many POV this one’s for you. 3.75 stars rounded to 4 The Losting Fountain by Laura Senf The narration was just ok. I kinda felt like it wasn’t quite right… she didn’t change up her voice and that was a real bummer. All these kids are being called to this fountain and are being led there… There were 6 POV and it was too many to keep track of. I didn’t feel like the story building was particularly good and none of the characters were very interesting. I did finish but I wasn’t wowed by the book and I really wanted to love it. It was kinda lacklustre and I didn’t feel like it was as good as I had built it up in my mind to be. I might try the hardcover though. Sometimes I need to read to get the story 2.5 stars rounded to 3 (I’m sorry!) #audiobooks #audiobooklover #audioreader #bookreviews #watchyourback #thriller #thrillerreader .#definitelybetternow #darkhumor #romancereader #booktok #booktube #bookish #bookalorian #readingallday
By Stacey Irving February 9, 2025
I just finished The Rivals by Emma Lord and this is my review. Sadie sighs a huge breath of relief when she gets to the school of her choice because her long time rival is going somewhere else for school until he is moved from the waitlist and ends up on campus. Her blood boils instantly when Seb is there to continue their rivalry. Trouble is the more time they have to spend together, the more they can see past their rivalry but something more is going on at the school and it's going to take more than the pair of them to bring it to attention. I didn’t think I was going to like this one. I got the audio and the e-book from @netgalley and honestly the narration was utter perfection and I had a hard time switching to reading. I loved the rivalry. I thought it was done really well. They weren’t enemies, not really, they were childhood friends who’s friendship turned to a rivalry they never really came back from and it was fun. So much fun to watch them one up each other. The fact they were neighbors growing up too added to the complexity. It was really entertaining. I really enjoyed the setting. Being on a college campus really made it feel more exciting. Watching them work together when they are competing for the same opportunity made for some compelling banter and they had undeniable chemistry! I thought it all worked really well together and I enjoyed both Sadie and Seb, even though his name started to feel made up the more I heard it haha. All round solid YA read. Read if you like - Slow-burn romance - Rivals/enemies to lovers - Childhood best friends to academic rivals - University life - Coming-of-age 4 stars Thank you to @macmillanaudio and @stmartinspress for my gifted copies #enemiestolovers #therivals #emmalord #ya #yaromance #slowburn #bookishreview #bookblog #bookishvlog #smpinfluencer #booksbooksbooks #booktube #booktok #bookstababe #bookalorian #booktalk #bookishchat #bookbanter
By Stacey Irving February 8, 2025
I just finished Wedding Dashers by Heather McBreen and here are my thoughts!! Ada’s life has fallen apart but she has been tasked with bringing the veil for her little sister's wedding.. A sister she is drifting apart from. When her flight is cancelled she has no idea how she will get to the wedding… A man offers to buy her dinner and everything is fine but he thinks it's leading to sex… She is just about to leave his hotel room when both their phones blow up… With stark clarity they realize they are both going to the same wedding, what could go wrong? They team up to get to the wedding but things go from bad to worse in no time flat! I enjoyed this book. One of the things I didn’t like was how Ada’s sister portrayed Jack and it led to Ada having a bad impression of a man that didn’t deserve it. It really really aggravated me and I never warmed to her sister at all. Jack and Ava are both broken in different ways and have different ways of coping with it. I thought the way they learned to become friends after their animosity was really sweet. I don’t know if I would have continued trying to get to the wedding with all the obstacles in the way but they clearly both have more resilience than me. The book started out really slow. I wish it had picked up a bit sooner than it did but once it got going I really enjoyed this book. Tropes - Read if you enjoy: ▪️Enemies to lovers ▪️Forced proximity ▪️Meet Cute ▪️Slow Burn ▪️One bed ▪️Road trip romance I enjoyed their adventure and how they opened up to each other during their time getting to a wedding that neither of them wanted to go to. This is a debut and honestly, it is quite excellent and I will definitely be looking for this author again! 4 stars Thank you to @netgalley and @berkleypublishing for my gifted copy - out now #weddingdashers #heathermcbreen #debutnovel #booktube #booktok #booksofbookstagram #berkelybooks #bookreview #netgalley #bookishinfluencer #booktalk #bookalorian #readersoftiktok #kindlereader
By Stacey Irving February 8, 2025
I just finished The Last Bookshop on Earth by Lily Braun-Arnold and here are my thoughts.. Can the world really end… twice? The first storm was devastating but to know its coming back for another turn? It changes things for Liz. 17 years old and she has made a life in an abandoned bookstore. She’s been alone for a while but her whole world is flipped on its head when Maeve tries to rob the place. They couldn’t be more different but they start an unlikely friendship and while Maeve is running from her secrets and Liz from her demons, doesn’t stop them from fighting to survive what's coming.. I don’t read a lot of YA novels. I actually don’t know why I don’t if this is the kind of book I am missing out on. I love dystopian novels but after 2020 I got off the train and this was a nice introduction back into the end of the world reads. Liz and Maeve were really different characters and they really complimented each other in a classic way. I enjoyed watching them both find the better versions of themselves with each other. They were both fiercely protective. So the world has almost ended after the acid rain and Liz has managed to survive in the bookstore. Maeve did things she isn’t proud of to survive. It was awesome seeing how someone's nature changes when they have to fight to survive and it often isn’t a good change. I loved the ending. The banter wasn’t the best but it did get better as it went on. We see two timelines, Liz in the past before the storm and present day. It was tragic for Liz and my heart hurt for her. I loved the plot and I really enjoyed the book! 4 stars Thank you @netgalley @randomhousekids for my gifted copy! #thelastbookshoponearth #lilybraunarnold #lgbtq #lgbtqbook #bookreview #bookishreview #booklover #booknerd #booksta ##YAbooks #readersofig #igbooks #igbookreviews #readingallday #bookinfluencer
By Stacey Irving February 5, 2025
I just finished The Mafia Nanny by SHOO and here are my thoughts. OK to start with reading graphic novels is reading so when I add this phenomenal book to my goodreads… Know I do it gleefully!! The artwork in this book is off the hook amazing! The attention to detail was really something else. This might just be my favorite graphic novel to date it was so entertaining. I had a ton of fun reading it. Davina’s very first client as an elite nanny is underboss Gabriel and let me tell you.. If he wanted me like he wanted Davina… This novel would be x-rated haha. That is one HAWT DADDY. The premise is excellent with Davina feeling the slip back into the criminal underworld she already escaped and Mikey, her charge, is too cute. He has the moody kid thing going for him, you can’t help finding him endearing. Daniva is a great MC and I cannot wait to see what happens next! I am hooked!! The banter is great, the chemistry is there and I am fully invested. 4.5 stars Thank you to @webtoonofficial and @wattpadbooks for my gifted copy #gabrielangelini #webtoon #themafiananny #wattpadbooks #webtoonrecommendation #webtoonofficial #webtoonedit #edit #themafianannywebtoon #mafiananny #mafianannywebtoon #davina #davinadiavolo ##mikeyangelini #bookreview #graphicnovel #booklover #booktok #fyp
By Stacey Irving February 5, 2025
I just finished Prophecy by M L Fergus and here are my thoughts. Persephone has never known much of anything except being a slave and when a cheeky thief frees her she cannot help wondering why… Azriel has his reasons and he has reason to believe she is the key to the prophecy his people have been waiting for. I have a mixed bag of complex feelings about this book. I loved the parts with Persephone but there were parts that felt a little fragmented with the way it was written… I had to go back and reread a couple of times to make sure I was understanding where I was. The writing was great> I really enjoyed the tone and the pace but just the transition between the POV was messy for me. I went to libby and they don’t have the audio which is a real bummer because I get the feeling this would make a wonderful audiobook but for me, reading it didn’t pack the punch I knew it should. I felt like it didn’t hold me sometimes and other times I was in its clutches so hard I couldn’t breathe. I know, I am a drama queen but that's how it was while reading. It did find its feet better in the last third of the book and even though I am not sure how much I liked the book, I am intrigued enough to grab 2. I need to know more so the author did a really solid job of hooking me enough that it gets a 3.75 stars but I dunno, there was just something that waned for me especially in the beginning chapters of the book. Thank you to @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouseca for my gifted copy #fantasybook #fantasybookseries #fantasyreader #prophecy #MLfergus #fracturedkingdom #bookreview #booklover #penguinbooks #penguinreader #YAbooks #bookalorian #booksbooksbooks #readercommunity #readingallday #booktalk
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