Heartstone (Matthew Shardlake 5)

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Heartstone (Matthew Shardlake 5)

Heartstone (Matthew Shardlake 5)

RRP: £99
Price: £9.9
£9.9 FREE Shipping

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Description

Werewolf's Heartsong" is an urban fantasy novel penned by DizzyIzzyN, unraveling the tale of Alora Heartsong, a marginalized young woman who transforms from a rejected individual to a powerful leader of the werewolf clans. Alongside her journey, the narrative intertwines with Damien Moonstar, the destined Alpha of Alphas, whose life takes a turn when he encounters Alora. After the horrible events of last year in Port Once arrived, Shardlake and Barak find themselves in a city preparing to become a war zone; and Shardlake takes the opportunity to also investigate the mysterious past of Ellen Fettiplace, a young woman incarcerated in the Bedlam. The emerging mysteries around the young ward, and the events that destroyed Ellen's family nineteen years before, involve Shardlake in reunions both with an old friend and an old enemy close to the throne. Events will converge on board one of the King's great warships, primed for battle in Portsmouth harbour . . . I did not want to attend the burning. I have never liked even such things as the bearbaiting, and this was to be the burning alive at the stake of four living people, one a woman, for denying that the body and blood of Christ were present in the Host at Mass. Such was the pitch we had come to in England during the great heresy hunt of 1546.

There is a lot of travel and repetitive description of countryside and inns. The family with the children could have been a story in itself, although a bit unbelievable to me, as it turned out. There is quite an unexpected twist about three-fourths of the way through the book, a long time to wait. This moment, I’m pleased to say, was not wasted. With retellings you always run the risk of readers having preconceived notions of how your characters should think and act, using their familiarity with the original work as a template. However, Elle Katharine White immediately leapt to the task of making these characters her own. The attention is shifted to more serious matters, now that the honeymoon period is literally over. Every marriage comes with its own unique problems, and Aliza is trying to figure out her new role as a dragonrider’s wife, knowing she has certain traditions to uphold. However, she also has her own hopes and dreams for the future and is reluctant to let Alastair shoulder all his responsibilities without her, a thread of conflict that runs though much of this book. That said, their love for each other remains unshakeable, and romance still plays a prominent role in this book, only now it feels even deeper and more meaningful.Shardlake's previous efforts on behalf of King Henry VIII's sixth wife, for whom the lawyer nurses a sweet but futile crush, have not gone so well. His trepidation is justified when informed that he must help hunt down a missing manuscript written by the queen that, should it fall into the wrong hands, might end up getting her arrested and possibly executed for heresy and treason. The manuscript is real, one Catherine Parr actually penned; its fictionalized theft becomes the locus around which Mr Samson spins a sinister, and at moments, convoluted plot involving religious dissidents in King Henry's treacherous realm, where matters of faith can be lethal, and survival among the scheming councilors surrounding the ailing, paranoid king never precludes taking down potential rivals and a queen or three, if necessary. Tudor England is spectacularly brought to life, as it is in each Shardlake novel, this time including the stomach turning burning of Anne Askew. While Matthew still is struggling to cope with the loss of his friends on the Mary Rose, he is forced to face challenges and mysteries unlike anything he has so far. The result leaves him on course for big changes in his life, whether he is willing or not. There is so much political and royal intrigue in this that I hesitate to delve into it. It’s enough to say that it is a fascinating look at the times for someone like me who enjoys history, historical fiction, and a good story. The cast of characters is enormous, of course, but the author does a good job of reminding the reader of where they fit, and there is even a list. Ellen Fettiplace, a resident of Bedlam, has been becoming more friendly to Shardlake, but he is intrigued by how she came to be in Bedlam. He decides that he will seek the answer to these questions whist he is in Hampshire, as she lived a little way from where he is lodging.

Meanwhile Matthew Shardlake is given an intriguing legal case by an old servant of Queen Catherine Parr. Asked to investigate claims of "monstrous wrongs" committed against a young ward of the court, which have already involved one mysterious death, Shardlake and his assistant Barak journey to Portsmouth.I come from Whitehall Palace, from her majesty the Queen. She begs you to see her." "Begs?' I answered in surprise. Queens do not beg." He wasn’t around much but I have a tendency to have a soft spot for this name. (I definitely blame Rhysand from the A Court of Thorns and Roses series). Richly rendered with his trademark eye for detail in his Tudor-based world, C.J. Samson's Shardlake series are always a delightful eye-opening read. If you’re into folklore at all, you’ll probably figure out the deal with Cordelia—I did—but there were still twists in the book that I didn’t anticipate. I’m not sure I liked all of them, but I did enjoy the book, especially how the last part felt like a gothic mystery.



  • Fruugo ID: 258392218-563234582
  • EAN: 764486781913
  • Sold by: Fruugo

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