The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley – Review

Tags

5 stars, Adventure, alternative history, Book Review, historical, Natasha Pulley, sailing ships, time travel

About The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley

For fans of The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and David Mitchell, a genre bending, time twisting alternative history that asks whether it’s worth changing the past to save the future, even if it costs you everyone you’ve ever loved.

Joe Tournier has a bad case of amnesia. His first memory is of stepping off a train in the nineteenth-century French colony of England. The only clue Joe has about his identity is a century-old postcard of a Scottish lighthouse that arrives in London the same month he does. Written in illegal English—instead of French—the postcard is signed only with the letter “M,” but Joe is certain whoever wrote it knows him far better than he currently knows himself, and he’s determined to find the writer. The search for M, though, will drive Joe from French-ruled London to rebel-owned Scotland and finally onto the battle ships of a lost empire’s Royal Navy. In the process, Joe will remake history, and himself.

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Review of The Kingdoms

The Kingdoms is one of the most original time travel books that I have read.  The story is intricate, utterly fascinating and impossible to put down.

A combination of intentional and unintentional time travel moves the plot back and forth in time.  Chapter headings help the reader keep track of when.  The story begins in an England that lost at the Battle at Trafalgar where the French occupy the land.

The main character, Joe, is out of place and time no matter what timeline he is in. From the time he steps off a train with no memories of who he is, Joe constantly searches for his identity.  The search takes him back and forth in time, and through England and Scotland.  While Joe is not the only time traveller, he does seem to be the lynch pin to the story.  His actions influence those around him which, in turn, influence events that may or may not change the future.

In his search, Joe receives a postcard mailed 93 years ago, sign by ‘M’.  Searching for ‘M’, leads Joe to the past where he is held captive in order to provide the English navy with technology from the future to help them defeat the French.  Since Joe has a daughter in the future, he is keen to return and does not want to cooperate.  However, interacting with the soldiers, Joe begins to develop relationships with his captors.  The constant desire to go home conflicts with his empathy with the English cause.

There is a subtle, slow-burn romance underlying the mixed up time line plot.  The relationship, that may seem to be just an aside, will be critical to the story.

The Kingdoms is rich in historical detail, actual and altered, including an occupied England and a wartime Scotland.  Warfare on the sea adds to the vibrant atmosphere.  Sharp characters with complex relationships breath life into this amazing tale.

Thanks to the publisher who provided a copy through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

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A Wicked Conceit (Lady Darby Mystery, #9) by Anna Lee Huber – Review

Tags

5 stars, Anna Lee Huber, Book Review, favorite series, historical, mystery, series

About A Wicked Conceit by Anna Lee Huber

Edinburgh, Scotland. March 1832. Kiera and Gage have been eagerly awaiting their bundle of joy but trouble has been brewing in the form of the roguish criminal Bonnie Brock Kincaid. A new book and subsequent play features some of Kincaid’s daringly heinous exploits, although he swears he had nothing to do with it or the characters which are obvious representations of Kiera and Gage. While the scoundrel’s fury seems genuine, as well as his determined quest to uncover the real identity of the author, the Gages still hold doubts about his innocence.

A rash of crimes break out across the city, seemingly inspired by the play and book. When the publisher is found brutally murdered–in an imitation of a gruesome scene–the finger not only points to Bonnie Brock as the possible culprit, but also the Gages, who have been outspoken in their condemnation of the tale. Now, the Gages are on a hunt to unmask the killer. Between the infamy garnered by the play, the cholera outbreak still wreaking havoc throughout the city, and the impending birth of their child, they will need all the resources they can garner.

But family quarrels and the revelation of a secret Kiera has been keeping from Sebastian threaten to undermine everything they have overcome. When they find themselves in the crosshairs of the killer, trapped in the squalid underground vaults of the city, they will soon discover that the truth does not always set you free, and death can lurk around any corner.

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Review of A Wicked Conceit

Can a very pregnant woman, once shunned because of her late husband’s activities, now married to a handsome and charming lord of the realm, unmask a killer during a plague and surrounded by fictionalized accounts of her life?

Well, if you have read any of the Lady Darby mysteries, you already know the answer to that.  If A Wicked Conceit is your introduction to this series, prepare to dive into a rich historical mystery, saturated with atmosphere and emotion.

Kiera is very pregnant. Her sister, Alana, berates her for continuing to get into trouble going mystery-solving when she is about to give birth.  And I must say, in a way I agree with Alana.  But Kiera is stubborn and won’t be left out, especially since she and Gage may be suspects in a terrible murder case.

Another suspect, Bonnie Brock Kincaid, is also pushing Kiera and Gage make sure the true killer is found.  While many readers of the series have turned Kincaid into a favorite character, I am of the opinion that his selfish and threatening manners make him less than the ideal partner in crime solving.

While this is going on, Kiera is keeping a secret from her husband because of a promise she made.  The secret is pretty big and will most likely cause pain.

While I recommend the entire series, each book can be read as a standalone. Without bogging down the story with too many details, the author provides the perfect amount of backstory.  After 9 books, there are so many characters that Kiera has encountered, but A Wicked Conceit keeps number of characters to a manageable minimum.

A Wicked Conceit has all the right stuff.  It starts with an intelligent heroine, a clever hero, and personable secondary characters, all with their own lives, emotions, conflicts and victories. Then comes a great mystery with lots of suspects and seemingly unrelated clues.  And finally, historical details and actual events are expertly mixed into the story.  (Be sure to read the author’s notes.)

Through Netgalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Engaging the Heiress (Camden Girls, #2) by Juli D. Revezzo – Review

Tags

4 stars, Book Review, historical, Juli D. Revezzo, romance, Victorian England

About Engaging the Heiress by Juli D. Revezzo

Mr. Edwin Hetherington needs a fiancée he will never have to marry.  Years ago, his family lost everything to an unscrupulous Irish landlord. Now, the fellow offers to make amends by reinstating Edwin’s family title and properties forfeited during the famine, if he weds Miss Jera Camden, a young woman Edwin pines for but has never approached with more than polite conversation.

As far as Jera is concerned, so long as she manages to avoid an unwanted Scottish-born suitor of her mother’s choosing, the bluestocking is happy to play the part of Edwin’s blushing bride-to-be.

Can Edwin and Jera dupe the crafty landlord into making good on his promise before the wedding date arrives … or will their best-laid plans result in disaster?

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Review of Engaging the Heiress

It was easy to like the main characters Edwin Hetherington and Jera Camden.  They are friends and both would like more, but social circumstances make that possibility seem farfetched.   That is until Miles Vassyr comes along.  Vassyr makes an offer to help Edwin, in exchange for Edwin’s help.  There are two aspects to the deal.  Vassyr wants an architect and he wants to retore Edwin’s family title.  Vassyr’s motivation is confusing.  He wants an architect, but his heath is failing and may never live to see the the complete project.  He wants to make amends for what happened in Ireland, but why?  I never really figured Vassyr out.  

The Hetherington family history is only vaguely explained.  Which means I also did not understand how a title would be restored.  The subtleties of British titles and how they are bestowed is often lost on this American.

Regardless, I still enjoyed the story.  Like I say, Edwin and Jera are lovely characters whose lives end up taking a turn they did  not expect.  Dealing with the unscrupulous Mr. Vassyr and his creepy nephew challenge the pair.  Almost as challenging is treading among society (including an aggrieved former suitor) and Jera’s family.  The title is a bit of a giveaway regarding certain events, however those events are not evident until they happen.

Engaging the Heiress is the second book in the Camden Girls series.  The books have overlapping characters and some aspects of the plot are interconnected.  It might help to read book 1 first, but it is not necessary.

The author provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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