Queen Anna by Tony Riches - #bookreview

Copenhagen Castle 1589

Anna could sense something was going on. She saw it in the way they looked at her...

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I am required to make it clear at the beginning of my reviews that I received this book for free from the author. I have not been paid for doing this and all opinions are my own. I am Bookshop.org affiliated, which means I earn a very small amount of money if you buy from there using my direct link. Although I include purchase links to Amazon, I am not affiliated with them. I include them to make it easy for you to navigate to them if you so wish.

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The Blurb

A crown won in the eye of a storm. A queen who refuses to be broken...

Princess Anna of Denmark sails for Scotland to marry King James VI, but storms ravage her fleet, igniting a deadly obsession with witchcraft in her new home. Arriving in a strange and paranoid court, Anna finds her new husband’s bed is a treacherous place.

Surrounded by whispering courtiers and shifting alliances, Anna refuses to remain a passive pawn. When the court takes her children to raise them away from her, the young queen draws her line in the sand. From the windswept castles of Scotland to the glittering, dangerous English court, Anna is restored to her rightful place in history.

My Review

Tony Riches is an author who has been on my radar for a while. I've been meaning to try one of his books for ages as I am always intrigued when they pop up on my social media. Consequently, here I am having finished one of his books and I couldn't be more pleased that I finally got around to it.

Queen Anna is the first in the Stuart Queens trilogy. Anna, also known as Queen Anne, was queen to James I/VI of England and Scotland and is perhaps lesser known than some of our queens of the past. I have a particular liking for books which look at our lesser known figures from history and I think the author did a great job in bringing her to the fore.

Forced from her beloved Denmark aged just fourteen, Anna is shipped to England to marry King James. It was a lonely life for a young woman who is foisted into an unfamiliar society and language, and who will soon discover that she also has to take second place to James's 'favourites'.

The author has clearly researched Anna and the time period well and has done well in giving her a voice. He has taken the facts of the period and spun them into this fictional account of her life in court, and often in the seclusion of her birthing chamber.

Her strength of character shines through in this book. She suffers the loss of her children, either through death or from the living ones being taken away from her to be raised in other noble households as was the Scottish custom. Whilst immensely saddened, she faces these things with resilience and fortitude.

This book provides so much in an easy to read and engrossing novel. The author brings her, and Stuart life and customs together on the page and has produced a very authentic feeling novel.

This book will appeal to readers who enjoy historical fiction and particularly that set in the royal court.  I highly recommend it.

Book Details

ISBN:  979 8186524854

Publisher: Preseli Press

Formats: e-book and paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited)

No. of Pages: 364 (paperback)

Series: Book 1 in the Stuart Queens series

Purchase Links

Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the Author

Tony Riches is a full-time UK author of historical fiction. He lives with his wife in Pembrokeshire, West Wales and is a specialist in the lives of the early Tudors.

As well as his Elizabethan series, Tony’s historical fiction novels include the best-selling Tudor trilogy and his Elizabethan series.

You can also find Tony at:

Author Website

Author's Writing Blog

Author Podcast

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Bluesky

Facebook

Some of My Other Blog Posts Featuring Queens of England

Anna of Kleve: Queen of Secrets by Alison Weir

The Tudor Queens' Midwife by Brigitte Barnard

Kings & Queens: Alfred the Great to King Charles III and Everyone In-Between by Marcia Williams

Charles II's Portuguese Queen: The Legacy of Catherine of Braganza by Susan Abernethy

(ARC and media courtesy of the author)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

The Greatest Love Story Ever Told by Suzy K. Quinn - #bookreview #blogtour

 

I've always hated school playgrounds. They are noisy, terrifying places whre lunchbox items, such as unwanted sandwiches or empty Ribena cartons, can fly at you from all angles. Sometimes, even whole lunchboxes come your way.

As I crossed the Great Oakley Primary School playground this morning, my hands were already positioned to protect my face. Everywhere was chaos. To my left, two boys engaged in an angry ballet spin, apparently trying to tear each other's shirts off. To my right, a group of children attempted a dangerous cheerleading pyramid, shrieking as they tumbled onto the hard tarmac.

Chaos...

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Michael Lamb is not a manly man. So when he has to research tough, nine-year-old Callum Duffy for university research, he has certain, negative expectations.

Young Callum is the epitome of boy culture with his football boots, shaved head and love of chair kicking. So Michael fully expects his research to revolve around violence, aggression and toxic masculinity in low-income families.

Little does Michael know, he is about to hear a love story. The greatest love story ever told. And when Michael sees the world through Callum's eyes, he finally learns what real, courageous love is all about.

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O my! This is a wonderful book. If I had not been reading to a deadline for this blog tour, I would have slowed down my reading so that I did not have to finish it so quickly. I would have loved to have kept reading this just a little bit longer.

It is a life affirming and very touching story about the relationship between Michael, a university researcher, and Callum, a nine year old school boy whom Michael expects will fulfil his preconceived ideas about toxic masculinity in lower income families. 

Whilst, on the face of it, the story is about Callum's relationship with a girl called Angel Rain, the connection which develops between Michael and Callum was something very special to read. In fact, this was one of those books which I kept thinking about when life made me put down my book and get on with other things. 

Not only were Michael and Callum fantastic but the secondary characters were equally enthralling. Callum's family, in particular, were well drawn and I loved each and every one of them.

The book is both humourous and poignant. The author is a skilled storyteller and this was well written. Whilst there are points of sadness, it was not depressing and the book left me with a feeling of hope and optimism.

At the end of the book, the author explains that she self-published this novel after several rejections from mainstream publishers. I was really shocked by this as it is such a super book and is well worth reading, and will easily make it into my top reads of the year.

I am delighted to learn that Callum's family feature in other publications by this author. The Bad Mother's Series follow Callum's aunt Juliette as she manoeuvres her way through single parenthood. If this book is anything to judge by I cannot wait to get started on this series.

ISBN: 978 1999866358

Publisher:  Devoted Books Ltd

Formats: e-book and paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited)

No. of Pages:  372 (paperback)

About the Author:

Suzy K Quinn writes edgy romantic comedy and has sold over 1 million books worldwide. She is a bestseller in the UK, US and Germany and has plans for total world domination with literary love bombs in the near future. So watch this space. Then go read one of her books.

Suzy lives in Wivenhoe, Essex, with her husband Demi and two daughters. She is a twin, an incompetent parent of two and now fully decaffeinated. Her twin sister, Cate Quinn, is also a bestseller author.

Suzy loves her readers and is ALWAYS happy to chat on social media. You can find her @suzykquinn on most social media channels. Throw her an emoji ball, she is friendly.

(book, photo & all info courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)

The Notekeeper by Hannah Treave - #BookReview #BlogTour

 

The lights of the runway dazzled up ahead. It was as though the twinkling blue and white lights had been arranged especially for her - a reminder that she had made the right choice. As the twin engines roared into life, she took a deep breath. The rumble of power beneath her would carry her thousands of miles away. This was it. No going back.

As the aircraft accelerated, she fixed her gaze on the lights. They flashed past so quickly they looked like one great line rather than individual dots. And then they were up, the plane soaring into the Australian night sky with all the grace and elegance of a leaping ballet dancer. She let out a loud gasp, the realisation of what she had done hitting her with such force she disturbed the sleeping passenger beside her.

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In order to love again, first she’ll need to learn how to live again...

Following a tragedy, Zoe flees Australia and makes a life for herself in the UK. Two years later, working as a care nurse in Bath and knowing just how much comfort last words can bring, Zoe has taken it upon herself to become a notekeeper - writing down the final thoughts of her patients and delivering them to their loved ones.

Zoe’s new boss, Ben, isn’t happy about her getting so involved in the patients’ lives. Even as they clash, they both begin to realize that facing one’s past is the only way to move on. But life is never straightforward, especially for Zoe. In finally opening up her heart after all these years, is she about to have it broken all over again?

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I enjoyed reading this book very much and becoming aquainted with the cast of characters.

The main character, Zoe, is multi-faceted and her journey to healing is a heartfelt and moving one. Running away from grief, and working as a nurse in a hospice she is constantly reminded of her own loss. However, this is not a depressing book but is thoughtful and sensitive, although many readers may do well to have a handkerchief tucked into their sleeve. 

The author handles the subject matter carefully and skillfully. The main theme in the book is that of dying and bereavement but ultimately it is an uplifting and hopeful novel. There were many joyous moments in the book, with the other characters playing a vital, and meaningful role. I particularly liked Miles, Zoe's colleage and fellow Australian. He brought humour and fun to the story.

Written in a light and accessible style this is a book that can be read in a two or three sittings. I certainly found myself being lured back to it when I had to put it down and I definitely read past my bedtime.

I will read other books by this author. This is the first book published under the pseudonym of Hannah Treave but she has released several books under the name of Fiona Ford, of which I soon hope to become acquainted. 

ISBN:978 1804361290

Publisher: Canelo

Formats: e-book, audio, paperback

No. of Pages: 352 (paperback)

Triggers: Death of a child, dying, grief, bereavement, cancer.

About the Author:

Hannah Treave is the pseudonym for Fiona Ford, an experienced freelance journalist and prolific novelist. She has written for the national press for many years (far too many to count) and is the author of the bestselling Liberty Girls series published by Penguin Random House. She lives in Berkshire with her husband and two cats and when she's not writing can be found in the gym desperately trying to exercise her way out of diet that is filled with just a little bit too much cake.

(ARC courtesy of Love Book Tours)

(author photo courtesy of Blake Friedmann)

(author bio courtesy of Amazon)