Well, not one of my reviews but this book is on my To Be Read pile. Looking forward to getting stuck into it!
This is the true story of Aethelflaed, the ‘Lady of the Mercians’, daughter of Alfred the Great and was the only female leader of an Anglo-Saxon kingdom.
Have a read of Sharon Bennett Connolly’s fab review:
http://thereview2014.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/sharon-reviews-to-be-queen-by-annie.html
Good Morning … finally back with another review for indie author Jaye Marie! Jaye has kindly agreed to a free book giveaway for a draw on 12th December. All you have to do is comment on the blog itself, or the Facebook page (links below).
The Ninth Life was a deviation from my first love of historical fiction but what a read to liven up the old brain cells. Fantastic story, fab plot and is the first book in a trilogy so more thrills to come. Read the review here on The Review Blog, where I contribute reviews and occasionally other bits ‘n’ pieces.
http://thereview2014.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/emma-reviews-ninth-life.html#comment-form
https://www.facebook.com/groups/398549953570025/
https://www.facebook.com/thereviewgroup/
Remember, comment on either of those threads on the Ninth Life posts to be in for a chance to win a free copy. Happy reading!
Been a while but I’m back with a new book review for the fab The Reaper’s Breath by the talented author Robert Southworth. Follow the link to The Review Blog below to enter a comment and be in with a chance to win the free paperback giveaway by the author!
My latest review can be found on the link below … a really unusual read but, as the blurb says, really absorbing. The author, Kay Sexton, really knows her stuff.
http://thereview2014.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/robert-southworth-reviewof-medieval-iii.html
https://www.facebook.com/thereviewgroup/
The author has generously offered the set of three books for simply posting a comment! I’ve left it a bit late to share as the draw is tomorrow. Good Luck!
Below is a Facebook link to The Review’s latest venture – a fabulous, value for money book marketing service launched a while ago.
We’ve all heard of Richard III. Edward III. Henry IV etc etc but not so well-known are their women …
Three years ago I discovered a new author. I can’t remember how, a link on Facebook I expect. What caught my eye was the fact she was doing a book signing in Swindon, a couple of motorway junctions from me, so I decided to look up the book. I liked what I saw, a new type of read for me; my favourite genre (HF of course) but the main character was Anne Neville, wife of Richard III. The book being Virgin Widow. I realised I had hardly ever found anything to read about her so I promptly made the journey to Swindon, bought said book plus another about Eleanor of Aquitaine (Devil’s Consort) and had both signed by the author. In all my years of reading, this was my first effort at meeting the author for a book signing and I was surprisingly nervous. I had no need to worry, the author was Anne O’Brien and what an approachable and lovely lady she is.
Her passion for her subject shines through and is animated on her face when discussing her characters. And so it should; her books are warm, succinct and full of meticulous research on subjects that aren’t necessarily widely known. I’ve since collected the novel about Alice Perrers (The King’s Concubine) and Elizabeth of Lancaster (The King’s Sister).
Anne’s books are like a breath of fresh air. Her characters had such influence on history but are always in the shadows of the main players, of which there are books aplenty. I imagine researching from primary and secondary sources for the likes of Alice Perrers, for example, is harder work than researching Alice’s man, Edward III. But Anne manages this with a smooth, interwoven flow of fiction to tell their stories. Alice Perrers is much more real to me now!
I’m yet to find another author who can so richly tell the story of our lesser-known characters in history, making them come alive, teaching readers how important they were and wanting to know more about them. Roll on the next book!
