I am not quite finished this book, in fact I am only about half way through it, but I thought that I would review it as it is now because I’m not entirely sure that I really want to read all the way to the end. This is what I get for listening to a Pinterest list about books “you must read if you liked ___________”.
This is about as close to a historical fiction as I am to a potato. I like my historical fictions like I like my wine, big and bold and with some hint of truth behind them. I realize that truth tends to get tossed out the window when you bring fiction into things, but if you are going to base your novel on History, there should be some solid fact checking done.
From Brittany’s m
isty shores to the decadent splendor of Paris’s royal court, one woman must fulfill her destiny while facing the treacherous designs of Catherine de Medici, the dark queen.
She is Ariane, the Lady of Faire Isle, one of the Cheney sisters, renowned for their mystical skills and for keeping the isle secure and prosperous. But this is a time when women of ability are deemed sorceresses, when Renaissance France is torn by ruthless political intrigues, and all are held in thrall to the sinister ambitions of Queen Catherine de Medici. Then a wounded stranger arrives on Faire Isle, bearing a secret the Dark Queen will do everything in her power to possess. The only person Ariane can turn to is the comte de Renard, a nobleman with fiery determination and a past as mysterious as his own unusual gifts.
This book gets points for being decently written and for the fact that I am not cringing at every line of dialogue, but loses some in the historical fiction zone because I don’t feel like it is suited to this genre at all. Fantasy for sure! Romance? Yes. Historical Fiction…. nope. It isn’t the books fault that it is being touted as something it isn’t. Am I enjoying it? Some days, but other days I really don’t like it… I think it depends on how tired I am when I am reading it.
I think that some of the reviews for this book calling it wonderful and whatnot are exaggerating a bit, it isn’t wonderful but it also isn’t bad if you can get past the historical errors and the wonton magic that’s thrown in there for good measure. I didn’t find any “ruthless political intrigue” like I was promised and I definitely didn’t think that Queen Catherine de Medici was “sinister” in the slightest, more like a fat old kitty cat hissing and spitting when the new kitten ruined all her plans just like her mother before her. Cat’s aren’t sinister, they are just judgy and that’s how Catherine comes across here too.
All in all, if you want to waste some time, it’s a decent read, if you are looking for something like Tolkien or Rowling, this isn’t it.
Will I finish it? Maybe? I haven’t decided yet. Do I want to read the rest of the ‘saga’….not really, no. If I can’t find anything else to spark my fancy, I might pick them up if I’m bored, but with the number of books on my list, that probably isn’t going to happen.
Life with Beasties 