Medieval Love and War by Terry Mott-Bellin

King Matthew is kind and generous. However, not everyone loves him: Calibor is King Matthew's enemy and wants to win the Great Sea Kingdom and rule it himself. The Springtide Festival is held annually, and people from miles around come to enjoy a day out. Fifteen-year-old Princess Eden persuades her father to let her participate in The Spring Moon Dance. King Matthew feels his only daughter will be safe with her lady-in-waiting, her tutor, and guards with her. However, when the dance finishes, Eden accepts gifts from the spectators and overlooks Calibor. Calibor is angry that he has been snubbed and commands his sorcerer to put a spell of pox on all the young men! What plans does Calibor have for Princess Eden? What is different about Tomas? Moreover, who do the servants help to seduce Princess Eden? Read Medieval love and War by Terry Mott-Bellin to find the answers.

This book only has one hundred and ninety-seven pages, but by the end of chapter four, more than sixteen main characters have been introduced. I found trying to remember whom everyone was confusing, spoiling the book's flow. There are also many grammar errors. This book needs to be proofread as mistakes like 'beforeheading' would have been picked up if it had.

Despite the errors, I did enjoy this book. It has all the ingredients of an adult fairy tale. King Matthew, adored by his people, has a beautiful daughter who falls in love with a handsome man. And his adversary, the evil Calibor, rules his people with fear and punishments and has a sorcerer to cast horrific spells on anyone in his way. Furthermore, there is a supposed faithful servant working for the other side, a village of little people, and a good witch. I also enjoyed all the pagan references, particularly the handfasting of Maia and Tomas.

I recommend Medieval Love and War by Terry Mott-Bellin to anyone who enjoys romance, good versus evil, or an adult fairy tale. Many medieval words are used, which a historian would also enjoy. Sex is mainly hinted at, but I would not recommend this book to people under sixteen.

I want to give Medieval Love and War 3 out of 5 stars because, although I enjoyed the story, introducing so many characters in the first few chapters confused me. I re-read the first four chapters and made a list of the people, their characteristics, and which of the other characters they knew. Terry Mott-Bellin should add this information at the beginning of the book for readers to refer back to. A map of all the places mentioned in the book would also be helpful. I have reduced the stars because this book has yet to be edited or proofread, and there are errors on most pages. So many mistakes are annoying and spoil the book's flow!

I want to thank Terry Mott-Bellin for a copy of Medieval Love and War in exchange for my honest and impartial review. 

You can see more of my reviews here http://onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-tara-d-morgan.html

book review of The Girl Who Knew Da Vinci by Belle Ami

The Girl Who Knew Da Vinci by Belle Ami starts briefly in nineteen forty-four when the world is at war, and the Germans are bombing Florence, Italy. Sophia Caro is scared. Scared of the bombs and scared because her lover Gerhard Jaeger is a German officer!   It then moves forward to the present day and introduces us to Angela Renatus, an intern at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Angela is plagued by headaches caused by lack of sleep. She has strange, vivid, and repetitive dreams about fifteenth-century Italy, which unsettle her. Dr. Alberto Scordato is the director of the museum and Angela's boss. He has a penchant for young women, and Angela is scared of him. Scordato has noticed that Angela has been acting strangely and asks security for a copy of the video surveillance of the red gallery where a Botticelli is hanging. He cannot believe what he sees. Every day for weeks, Angela has been walking in a trance to the gallery. She sits in front of the Botticelli and has a one-sided conversation with the painting in Italian! 

Alex Cain, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, has been commissioned to find out whether a da Vinci painting of a wedding exists. He is also investigating Scordato, as there have been discrepancies in the accounts. Alex sees Angela in one of her trances and falls in love with her. He also realizes she may be a link to finding the missing painting, which, being by da Vinci, is worth a fortune. Are Angela's dreams part of the puzzle? Does Alex find the Da Vinci painting? What is Scordato hiding? Moreover, how are Sophia and Gerhard involved? Read The Girl Who Knew Da Vinci by Belle Ami to discover the answers to these and other questions.

The story moves backward and forwards in time. It covers the present day with Angela and Alex, the nineteen forties with Sophia and Gerhard, and fourteen seventy-five with Leonardo da Vinci. I liked how Belle Ami moved effortlessly between the different eras and gave a feel for the times with great descriptions of the people, places, and changes in how people spoke.

Angela Renatus and Alex Cain are the main characters, but we are told very little about their back stories, so they are relatively flat. When Alex sees Angela to her apartment after having a meal together, they find it has been broken into. Angela is obviously a competent and intelligent young woman. She is an intern at the Getty Museum and rents an expensive apartment. However, she does not quibble when Alex insists on staying the night to protect her and, the next day, proceeds to organize her day's plans. I found it unbelievable that Angela would do as Alex says despite the fact she felt comfortable with him! If you are a reader of erotica, you will enjoy the second half of the book, in which Alex and Angela's sex life dominates! I found the intimate details of their sex life unnecessary and did not enjoy this part of the book.

I recommend The Girl Who Knew Da Vinci by Belle Ami to adults who enjoy thrillers, romance, and historical fiction. Please note that there is nothing factual in this book and the reference to Da Vinci in the title only refers to a fictional painting. There are swearing and sexual scenes in the book, which make it inappropriate for a younger audience.

I want to give The Girl Who Knew Da Vinci 3 out of 5 stars. I found the conversational passages far too long-winded, which tended to make the book boring. I would have liked there to have been more depth to what could have been an exciting story. 

Review of Swallow's also fall by CR Armeny

 

It is nineteen eighteen when influenza is sweeping Europe like a plague. The newly born Marcel-li is a sickly baby, his mother has died from influenza, and he is being fostered. Swallows Also Fall by CR Armeny tells Marcel-li Massana's life through an enthralling mixture of fact and fiction. From the point of view of his foster mother, his foster sister and Marcel-li himself. When the family gets the news that his father has died from a heart attack, Marcel-li is five. When he turns seven, his uncle arrives to take him back to Solsona to be educated and become a priest. Overnight, Marcel-li is taken from a loving foster family to a repressed and miserable life with his Aunt Teresa and Uncle Damia. After taking Marcel-li for his first visit to the Cathedral, Uncle Damia says to Marcel-li, "You're a big boy now, and you need to learn discipline." Marcel-li is terrified and soon learns that everything he does is reported back to his uncle! As Marcel-li grows up, his brooding resentment grows into a revolutionary obsession, and he joins the Maqui resistance movement based in France so that he can fight Franco's government. Does Marcel-li become a priest? Why does Marcel-li end up in a concentration camp? How does the book get its title? Read Swallows Also Fall to discover the answers to these and other questions.

I love the descriptions Armeny uses to set the scenes, particularly when describing countryside, landscape and nature. For example, on page four, "In the evening, as we gathered around the fire, the forest became alive with the sharp screeching of the barn owl, the ghostly ooh-hu, ooh-hu, ooh-hu! of the eagle owl, and, at times, the terrifying howling of wolves." I felt the deep emotions in Marcel-li's life, his love for his foster family and his parents. His hatred for his aunt and uncle and the environment in which they bring him up. I felt Marcel-li's passion for joining the resistance movement and fighting to break Franco's regime. Furthermore, I felt Marcel-li's constant struggle to survive it all. The story is well thought out, and the characterization is brilliant. One conflict follows another, and the characters' lives follow the thread of Marceli Massana's turbulent journey and his ambition to restore justice and democracy.
 

Swallows Also Fall blends fact and fiction well, but the Cardona concentration camp is mentioned at one point. Despite extensive research, I can find no details that there was ever a concentration camp in Cardona. I think CR Armeny mentioning something specific should be backed up by truth. Also, I did not particularly appreciate that the only explanation for the foster family moving to Berga was that they had too much bad luck on their smallholding and wanted a change. The family are poor, livestock have died, and presumably, they have even less money now, but they move to a farmhouse. How do they suddenly afford this?

I recommend Swallows Also Fall by CR Armeny to adults and older teenagers who enjoy factually based historical fiction. Due to the subject matter, I would not recommend it to anyone younger.

I would like to give Swallows Also Fall 5 out of 5 stars. It is well-written, and the editing is perfect. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about Marcel-li's life.

Book review : First Lessons by Lina J Potter

 

First Lessons by Lina J Potter begins as Aliya, a high achieving medical student, is heading home, she has presents for her family and is so excited to share that she has all A grades. Her parents meet her at the end of her train journey. In the car they are busy catching up on all the news when a large truck comes over the hill straddling the lanes, it crashes into their car flipping it several times before it crashes into a tree. When Aliya comes round she is in a lot of pain, she doesn’t recognize the room she is in, the person who is sitting by the bed or the extremely overweight body she now has. Aliya has taken over the body of Countess Lilian! With the help of Lilian’s nanny Aliya realises that she has time-travelled to Medieval times. The resourceful Aliya has to quickly learn how to behave but she doesn’t want to be like Lilian who spends her time lazing around eating, stitching and waiting for the occasional visits from her husband who needs an heir. These are scary times there are robbers, pirates, slave traders, murderers and spies who are only too happy to bring about Aliya’s downfall. Aliya remains strong and adjusts to this unknown world, starting with a major upheaval of the staff she employs and then by repairing and building up her crumbling and unkempt estate. As she has always done she rolls up her sleeves and with sheer hard work and determination she works to get the best she can for her kingdom!
 

I appreciate the extensive research Lina J Potter has done in order to give us an insight into the life and times of the era, in particular the use of herbs as medicines. The author has also followed closely the fact that Aliya is a medical student in the present day and brings this knowledge to the fore when Lily is hunting out the skills of the crafts people of the day. The author cleverly shows the reader how important these skills were, for survival, in Medieval times. 

I was frustrated with the way Aliya got on with life and fell into the role of medieval Countess. Aliya is never going to return to the present day but doesn’t seem to be particularly bothered, I appreciate that she doesn’t want to draw attention to herself but surely in private moments she would have shown some fear and upset about the life she has left behind. I also felt that the change in character that Aliya brings to Lily would have been questioned particularly by the nanny who is always by her side. First Lessons starts off really well and I was excited to see how it developed but for me it never did. Lina J Potter is a clever researcher and writes a good narrative but there is nothing to get the reader excited. Lina J Potter hints at friction, murderous intent and slavery but these fizzle out really quickly and left me thinking ‘that could have been great, if only….!’ 

There were a few minor errors but in the main this book was well edited. I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars, it was an interesting read but it just didn’t have enough substance for my liking and there was a great beginning but the middle and ending all merged into one and was very much the same. 

I think this book would appeal to teenagers who like historical fiction. I think they would find it entertaining but they would also learn a lot through the history and science without realising as it is so well woven into the structure of the book.

Thank you to Lina J. Potter for a free copy of this book in exchange for an impartial review.