This volume picks up where Volume 1 left off. Thea and her husband are living in Scotland, raising a second family, while their eldest son 18-year-old Vix (short for Vercingetorix) joins the […]
Before I talk about this stunning debut novel, I would like to give a shout-out to the narrator, Elizabeth Wiley. Our pleasure in the audiobook experience is so dependent on the narrator. […]
THE LION & THE ROSE really made this duology. I already loved THE SERPENT & THE PEARL, where Carmelina is making her crostata, marzipan & tortes, Giulia is running downstairs gossiping & […]
Kate Quinn is such a talented writer. THE SERPENT & THE PEARL (the first in a duology about the Borgia Pope Alexander VI in 1490s Rome) begins with a sniff. Carmelina is […]
This volume is very similar to CHILDREN OF EARTH AND SKY, but whereas CHILDREN takes place in around 1478, i.e. around 25 years AFTER the fall of Constantinople (Sarantium), BRIGHTNESS takes place […]
It is 1478. The great city of Sarantium (Byzantium/Constantinople) was sacked 25 years ago by the Ashurites (Muslims) and is now called Ashuria (Istanbul). The Council of Twelve of the Republic of […]
Hmmm. The trouble with trying to write a review about Guy Gavriel Kay is that he is a talented author who has written some wonderful novels – TIGANA, YSABEL, UNDER HEAVEN & […]
How I loved THE HUNTRESS, Kate Quinn’s study in evil! We are in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the spring of 1946. The Second World War has just ended, when Jordan McBride is […]
Kate Quinn’s THE ALICE NETWORK is superb. Like many historical novels today, this one has a braided narrative, alternating between 1915 and 1947. Nineteen-year-old Charlotte “Charlie” Sinclair is looking for her much-loved […]
In this re-telling of RAPUNZEL, we are in modern-day USA. It is summer and we are in a vacation spot in New England. Raphaela and her mother have an unusual tower of […]
This is the second volume, that follows on from author Anthony Horowitz’s wildly successful MAGPIE MURDERS. Like that novel, we have a novel within a novel, as the protagonist is an editor. […]
I love it when I experience a really clever piece of writing. That is why I am such a fan of Georgette Heyer’s THE MASQUERADERS, John Grisham’s THE RUNAWAY JURY and Agatha […]
Like AMERICAN WIFE, RODHAM filled me with alarm, not because of the story but because of the risks this author was taking. Whereas AMERICAN WIFE was a poke at George W. Bush, […]
I read this volume straight after Volume 1 (SAILING TO SARANTIUM) and found this to be equally as strong, if not better. The author’s descriptions are the best I’ve ever read. The […]
SAILING TO SARANTIUM is Guy Gavriel Kay’s alternative take on the Byzantium of the Emperor Justinian (482-565 CE.) In Kay’s novel this emperor is referred to as “Valerius II” and his wife […]
This is author Guy Gavriel Kay’s sixth novel, coming after the FIONAVAR TAPESTRY (a trilogy), TIGANA (which I absolutely loved) and A SONG FOR ARBONNE (which I didn’t much care for.) My […]
At the beginning of this volume, Kate Winters finally gives birth to her son Milo. The problem? Calliope wants to use this baby as her pawn in her machinations to torture and […]
Hmmm. This novel was not as successful as her first (THE GODDESS TEST.) Instead of spending time with Henry/Hades and Kate and seeing their relationship unfold, we are immediately yanked into an […]
