Book Review: The Queen's Lady by Eve Edwards

Warning: There are some spoilers here for the first book in the series, The Other Countess.

Goodreads description

1584 – Surrey, England When Lady Jane Rievaulx begins service to the Queen at Richmond Palace, she is thrilled at the court’s newest arrival . . . Master James Lacey. Despite her previous courtship with his older brother, James is the man she truly loves. And for his part, he cannot deny his fascination with her. However, James is setting sail on a treacherous journey to the Americas, seeking absolution for what he sees as past sins. But when Lady Jane is forced into a terrible situation by her own family, there is only one man to save her. Will Master James return to his lady ­- before it’s too late?

My thoughts

Last year I read the first in the Lacey series, The Other Countess and absolutely loved it so it became on my favourites of the year so I was really excited that there was going to be a sequel. The Queen's Lady definitely had a lot to live up to! I am glad to say that Eve Edwards descriptive writing transported me back into the Elizabethan world that entranced me in the Other Countess.

This Lacey romance, switches from the story of the alchemist's daughter Ellie to her friend, Lady Jane Perceval who gave up a bright and safe future to ensure her friend's happiness in a huge test of loyalty. I originally found her hard to like in the first book but I liked the way her character developed and became more interested in her by the end so I'm happy that her story gets a book of its own. Eighteen months on from where we left Jane in The Other Countess, we meet Jane again as a recently widowed Marchioness, who is grieving for her kind elderly husband. He offered her refuge from her manipulating family as well as a caring and fatherly friendship though their marriage was in name only. She is at the mercy of her cruel father and her deceitful step-sons who will stop at nothing to get back what they believe is rightfully theirs but thanks to her late husband's thoughtful arrangements, she is able to serve the Queen as a lady in waiting at court. When Master James Lacey arrives at court, Jane is overjoyed and her old strong feelings for him come flooding back because despite her courtship with his elder brother, James is the man her heart truly lies with. The problem is, James hates her at first because he doesn't know the real reason why she broke her betrothal . Despite him learning the truth and having a fascination with her, James embarks on a voyage to the Americas to try and rid himself of the terrible memories of war that haunt him, feeling that he does not deserve beautiful Jane. However, whilst away Jane is forced into a dreadful situation as her family try to use her as a pawn to advance their fortunes.

I liked Jane much more in this book because she seemed to have matured a great deal and copes with the strains and stresses she is put under as well as the social expectations everyone around seems to have very well. It is very hard to begin to image what it would be like to have such heavy burdens resting on such young shoulders. To the court, she seems like a stiff and cold person but underneath the mask she puts on to hide her emotions there, she is bubbly, warm and loving as well as a loyal friend when she is with her lifelong playmate and friend, Milly. I really liked the scenes at Milly's needle women's workshop, which Jane helped to set up because the real Jane is revealed and the fun side of her is bought out into the open.

The romance between Jane and James was strong  (even though I personally love the love interest Will in The Other Countess more!) and I was rooting for them all the way because they bought out the best in each of their personalities, helped each other through rough patches and seemed to be meant for each other. I thought the fact that they both had flaws made their relationship even stronger. It was so frustrating for James to feel he was unworthy of her and sail to the other side of the world, leaving his lady in her time of need though. I liked the side love story of her friend Milly too, which was ridden with problems because of rife feelings of prejudice and racism in London.

The main character of the next book in the series called Kit, who is the illegitimate brother of Will and James Lacey is also introduced and whilst I didn't really warm to him, his character was intriguing. I'm especially looking forward to see how his relationship develops with his half brothers and if he can get over thinking they will treat him the same way as his/their father.

Once again, Eve Edwards creates a wonderfully detailed and authentic Elizabethan setting enriched by all the sights, sounds and smells of the time. In her 'about section' she says that she attended jousts and ate Elizabethan banquets as part of her research for the book and this really shows as the way she describes things so vividly really brings them to life. What really strikes me is how she makes the characters so accessible and rateable to modern readers and shows that human nature and emotion hasn't changed over time.

Verdict: Whilst I did love this book and wasn't too disappointed, I have to be honest and say that I didn't enjoy it *quite* as much as The Other Countess, but it was very close. Perhaps the reason for this is the characters aren't quite so 'sweet' and it has a darker side. This series is now one of my favourites and I'm really looking forward to the next installment, The Rouge's Princess, which is published in a few months. I'd recommend it to those who loved The Other Countess, historical fiction and romance fans or just those who are looking for wonderful story.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Read for the 2011 YA historical fiction challenge.

Book Review: Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen

Thank you very much to the publisher for providing a copy of Bright Young Things for review. This does not influence my opinion in any way.

Goodreads Summary

The year is 1929. New York is ruled by the Bright Young Things: flappers and socialites seeking thrills and chasing dreams in the anything-goes era of the Roaring Twenties.

Letty Larkspur and Cordelia Grey escaped their small Midwestern town for New York's glittering metropolis. All Letty wants is to see her name in lights, but she quickly discovers Manhattan is filled with pretty girls who will do anything to be a star…

Cordelia is searching for the father she's never known, a man as infamous for his wild parties as he is for his shadowy schemes. Overnight, she enters a world more thrilling and glamorous than she ever could have imagined—and more dangerous. It's a life anyone would kill for . . . and someone will.

The only person Cordelia can trust is Astrid Donal, a flapper who seems to have it all: money, looks, and the love of Cordelia's brother, Charlie. But Astrid's perfect veneer hides a score of family secrets.

Across the vast lawns of Long Island, in the illicit speakeasies of Manhattan, and on the blindingly lit stages of Broadway, the three girls' fortunes will rise and fall—together and apart. From the New York Times bestselling author of The Luxe comes an epic new series set in the dizzying last summer of the Jazz Age.

 
My review and thoughts

I read Anna Godbersen's first series, the Luxe very quickly over the Easter holidays this year and I loved them! I featured Bright Young things in a Waiting on Wednesday post in the early days of blogging and have been excited about it ever since. As it was released in September in the US, I really enjoyed reading other blogger's reviews so I was very happy to be offered the opportunity to read it before the UK release by Penguin.
 

The story switched between the point of view of two best friends Letty and Cordelia who have escaped from their small hometown in hope of pursuing their dreams: Letty dreams of seeing her name in bright lights and Cordelia hopes to find her father in the big city although she hides this from Letty.  Despite their close friendship, the girls soon go their separate ways once in New York, which I found was a little implausible considering they had been best friends all their life. I would have liked to see them having adventures in the city together.

At the other end of the social scale is the glamorous New York socialite Astrid Donal, who is dating Cordelia's new found brother and quickly befriends Cordelia. I really liked the way we got to see the different sides world of New York through the eyes of each of the three girls: a flapper, an heiress and a starlet. Their voices were unique and each had their own interesting story of struggles and ambitions to tell. However, although the girls weren't unlikable, I didn't care about them as much as I usually do for other characters.

 My favourite of the three girls was Letty because despite being abandoned by Cordelia she tried to make the best of finally being able to chase her dreams in the city. She had a very likable innocence to her personality but a determined streak too that made her continue to aspire to her dreams even when she realised there was only a small chance of that happening. Her story was the most interesting for me too because she was alone in the world and had to try to survive by making new friends and getting a job. I also enjoyed seeing the rougher side of New York for those who are not rich. By the end of the book I cared about what happened to her character and I really hope that she achieves her dreams!

The love interests in the story seemed a little dull to me but they definitely had good potential and I hope to see them in the sequel. Although I didn't feel I knew enough about them to make a judgement on if they are right for one of the girls or not. My favourite boy was Cordelia's brother Charlie because he had such a protective nature with both Astrid and Cordelia. There is one boy who is very mysterious and we are left on a cliff hanger about, who I want to know more about.

As in the Luxe series, the description is wonderful and brings the city and life in the 'roaring 'twnties'  to life as each page is turned. The descriptions of beautiful dresses, luxurious houses and lavish parties really captured the period feel and were my favourite part of the book by far. This was enhanced by seeing this era through each of the girl's eyes because they are in different situations. Anna Godbersen's writing style is also really unique to her, like it was in the Luxe and she really knows how to pull readers into a story right from the beginning. The prologue for Bright Young Things was amazingly cryptic and hooking. It had me trying to figure out its meaning for a long time!

Verdict: I think that Bright Young Things sets up the era, characters and plot really well for the next books in the four part series and despite some of the small issues I had with it, I enjoyed it overall . I would recommend it to all fans of the Luxe series. It is a fun way to escape into the glittering world of New York in the twenties!

Quotes from Bright Young Things:

'Love is all right, as things go, but lovers can be a terrible waste of a girl's time'

'New York was more extraordinary than a girl from Ohio could possibly have imagined, that it was a place of wonders where the citizens used the sky as their tablet and airplanes for pens. '

The UK release date is January 6th 2011.

A note about my YA Historical Fiction Challenge 2011

Soon after I published my post about my YA historical fiction challenge, one of my readers kindly contacted me to tell me that Sabrina from YA Bliss had the same idea as me and posted a few hours earlier. Even though we both thought of the idea independently as I thought of the idea back in the summer when I first started this blog, to be fair to her and to avoid it looking like a copy-cat situation I have decided to still  keep my challenge running but not promote it.

Sabrina will be holding some giveaways related to the challenge so you might want to have a look at the link to her challenge post above. I am so glad that a wonderful genre that never used to be very popular has grown enough to have 2 people think of the same challenge!

Thank you so much to the people who signed up for my challenge and posted about it, you are very welcome to carry on with it and I would love to know how you do with it.

I still want to promote YA historical fiction though so I am currently working on some ideas for another event. I will keep you posted!

Introducing: YA Historical Fiction Challenge 2011



Please feel free to use this button
for the challenge to spread the word!

 When I wrote back in September at the end of Book Blogger Appreciation week that one of my blogging goals was to hold a challenge, I had in mind that it was going to be a YA historical fiction challenge because it is my favourite genre and what I read and review most. Also, as far as I know from searching around the Internet over the last couple of months, there isn't a historical fiction challenge particularly for young adult books. It is a wonderful genre that is growing in popularity very quickly as there have been many fantastic releases this year and upcoming ones for 2011. I hope it will encourage people to try the genre and make them fall in love with history!

The Challenge

Are you looking for  an escape from the contemporary world?
Are you a big historical fiction fan who has never delved into the YA section of the genre?
Or maybe you have been meaning to try a new genre for a while....?
Or are you a YA historical fiction lover already?

If so, this challenge is for you!

Levels

You can choose any of the following levels to aim for. I have started it from just reading one YA historical fiction novel in 2011 for those who just want to get a small taste of the genre to start off with:

1) Inquisitive- read 1-3 YA HF novel in 2011
2)  Fascinated- Read 5 YA HF novels in 2011
3)  Captivated- Read 10 YA HF novels in 2011
4)   Head over heels in love- Read 15 YA HF novels in 2011
5) Addicted-  Read 15+ YA HF novels in 2011

Rules

• All books read for the challenge must be YA (or for slightly younger children.) For the purposes of this challenge, anything set in the past and centering around the historical period will count.
• The challenge is open to everyone
• It does not matter when the books were published or what time period they were set in but you may want to set yourself a small goal e.g. read 2 2011 releases
• The challenge starts on 1st January 2011 and ends on December 31st and you can sign up from now

To help you find some of the best YA HF books, I have compiled a list of links to Amazon and Goodreads lists. A lot of them have the same books in but I hope that you find them helpful

Teen Historical Novels list (Goodreads)
New YA historical fiction 2010
New YA historical fiction 2011
Victorian YA novels
YA medieval HF
YA Elizabeth I HF
YA HF set in Colonial and Revolutionary America
Wonderful YA HF (Amazon)
Fun and exotic historical fiction for teenagers
The best historical fiction books for teens
Must read historical books for teenagers (created by me 2 years ago)
Shakespearean YA/MG fiction

I am looking forward to seeing how this challenge goes. I have a few ideas for posts about YA historical fiction planned for next year so keep a look out!

To sign up fill in the following form with your details: