#TheCrownVirtualBookTour "The Crown" by Nancy Bilyeau

The Crown
Author: Nancy Bilyeau
Publisher: Touchstone, January 2012
ISBN: 9781451626858
Genre: fiction, historical fiction


About the Book:


An aristocratic young nun must find a legendary crown in order to save her father—and preserve the Catholic faith from Cromwell’s ruthless terror. The year is 1537. . .

Joanna Stafford, a Dominican nun, learns that her favorite cousin has been condemned by Henry VIII to be burned at the stake. Defying the sacred rule of enclosure, Joanna leaves the priory to stand at her cousin’s side. Arrested for interfering with the king’s justice, Joanna, along with her father, is sent to the Tower of London.

The ruthless Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, takes terrifying steps to force Joanna to agree to spy for him: to save her father’s life she must find an ancient relic—a crown so powerful, it may hold the ability to end the Reformation. Accompanied by two monks, Joanna returns home to Dartford Priory and searches in secret for this long-lost piece of history worn by the Saxon King Athelstan in 937 during the historic battle that first united Britain.

But Dartford Priory has become a dangerous place, and when more than one dead body is uncovered, Joanna departs with a sensitive young monk, Brother Edmund, to search elsewhere for the legendary crown. From royal castles with tapestry-filled rooms to Stonehenge to Malmesbury Abbey, the final resting place of King Athelstan, Joanna and Brother Edmund must hurry to find the crown if they want to keep Joanna’s father alive. At Malmesbury, secrets of the crown are revealed that bring to light the fates of the Black Prince, Richard the Lionhearted, and Katherine of Aragon’s first husband, Arthur. The crown’s intensity and strength are beyond the earthly realm and it must not fall into the wrong hands.

With Cromwell’s troops threatening to shutter her priory, bright and bold Joanna must now decide who she can trust with the secret of the crown so that she may save herself, her family, and her sacred way of life. This provocative story melds heart-stopping suspense with historical detail and brings to life the poignant dramas of women and men at a fascinating and critical moment in England’s past.








My Thoughts:


Nancy Bilyeau does a marvelous job of recreating the time of Henry VIII and bringing it to life through the eyes of Joanna Stafford, a novice at the Dartford Priory. Told in first person, one really can get a sense of how much turmoil and danger was present under his rule. 


Joanna comes from royal roots and her connection with Katherine of Aragon puts her in a precarious position leading to her capture and being force into a situation that will keep the reader turning the pages and on the edge of their seat, anxious to see how things turn out. She is a strong character, seeming unlikely for the submissive role of a nun, but it works well and comes over natural and realistic for Joanna. 


This is an exceptional piece of historical fiction that captures the essence of a young woman who is torn between saving her father and her conscience. It transports one back to hear the sights, sounds, smells and emotions - creating a true piece of living history. Riddled with suspense, there were more times than I can count that I had to remind myself to breathe!


Nancy Bilyeau has captured my attention with this novel, and has made both my favorite authors list and favorite novels list. I am anxious to see where Joanna will go after this novel and cannot wait to get my hands on Nancy's next book!


HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! 


About the Author:

Nancy Bilyeau is a writer and magazine editor who has worked on the staffs of InStyle, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and Good Housekeeping. She lives in New York City with her husband and two children. Visit her website www.nancybilyeau.com, friend/like her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.


Make sure to visit the other blogs on The Historical Fiction Virtual Blog Tour to see what others have to say about "The Crown"

I received an e-copy of "The Crown" to read and honestly review for this tour.

"Queen By Right" Virtual Book Tour with Review

Queen By Right
Author: Anne Easter Smith
ISBN: 9781416550471
Publisher: Touchstone
Pages: 528

Description:

In Cecily Neville, duchess of York and ancestor of every English monarch to the present day, Anne has found her most engrossing character yet. Cecily earned two monikers from her contemporaries: Rose of Raby for her fair-haired beauty and Proud Cis for her fierce loyalty and courage in the face of the many history-making events she experienced in her eighty years. This was a woman who could have been queen had her husband lived to win the day over Henry VI and his queen, Margaret of Anjou, in the winter of 1461.

History remembers Cecily of York standing on the steps of Ludlow Castle, facing an attacking army while holding the hands of her two young sons. Queen by Right reveals how she came to step into her destiny, beginning with her marriage to Richard, Duke of York who she meets when she is nine and he is thirteen. Raised together in her father’s household, they become a true love match, and together they face personal tragedies, pivotal events of history, and deadly political intrigue.

All of England knows that Richard has a clear claim to the throne, and when King Henry VI becomes unfit to rule, Cecily must put aside her own hopes and fears and help her husband decide what is right for their family and the kingdom. As civil war escalates between the cousins of Lancaster and York, Cecily will lose her love, her favorite brother and her dearest child. But in the end, she will watch proudly as her oldest son takes his father’s place at the head of a victorious army and is crowned at Westminster Abbey as King Edward IV.

My Thoughts:

"Queen By Right" was an amazing novel about Cecily of York and takes place in the mid-1400's, when Henry VI was king and Jeanne d'Arc was an important part of France and England's history. Anne Easter Smith does a remarkable job of being able to take the reader back in time and she brings both the people and places to life. I loved that Smith had included so many extras: a family tree, a dramatis personae (making it easy to identify someone), maps, a nice list of resources, and a glossary, plus an author's note that explained her creative liberties, as well as a reading group guide. 

I enjoyed Smith's prose, and was extremely pleased to find the book was not dumbed down, but instead, had me pulling out my dictionary at times as well as researching both phrases, places and people. To me, this was a wonderful piece of historical fiction - written accurately (except where she points out the liberties she's taken) and with an evident passion for the subject. I was so involved and intrigued with this novel, that I had to purchase another of Smith's books, "Daughter of York".

"Queen By Right" was an absolute delight to read. It comes HIGHLY recommended!

Book was supplied through Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for me to honestly review.