Book Review: Dark Aemilia by Sally O'Reilly

Author: Sally O'Reilly
Title: Dark Aemilia
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance, Drama, and Fantasy
Pages: 448
First Published: May 2014
Where I Got It: On my shelf (Given to me by the author/publisher for my honest and unbiased opinion)

"The daughter of a Venetian musician, Aemilia Bassano came of age in Queen Elizabeth’s royal court. The Queen’s favorite, she develops a love of poetry and learning, maturing into a young woman known not only for her beauty but also her sharp mind and quick tongue. Aemilia becomes the mistress of Lord Hunsdon, but her position is precarious. Then she crosses paths with an impetuous playwright named William Shakespeare and begins an impassioned but ill-fated affair.

A decade later, the Queen is dead, and Aemilia Bassano is now Aemilia Lanyer, fallen from favor and married to a fool. Like the rest of London, she fears the plague. And when her young son Henry takes ill, Aemilia resolves to do anything to save him, even if it means seeking help from her estranged lover, Will—or worse, making a pact with the Devil himself."

Like earlier stated, I was given this book for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Ohhhhh! I totally did not expect the fantasy intertwined in the story - totally took me by surprise! It's not over the top, which I was worried about when the first "supernatural" thing occurred. I was rather surprised when it appeared! The way that the author presents these supernatural elements makes it seem realistic and questionable. The story is told through Aemilia's POV and she sees/talks to these beings. The way its told makes you wonder if it really exists or if Aemilia is imagining it. Honestly....I think she was imagining it due to grief, stress, and anger. The "fantasy" aspect doesn't really make a huge appearance until about halfway through when things escalate. Fantastic!

Poor Aemilia. :/ She had a hell of a time after she meets William Shakespeare. Yes, it is love of a sorts, but it comes back and bites her in the ass. It brings up the question: is love really worth it? This question is battled throughout the book. Just...sighs...I feel so bad for her. William was a butt-cheek at one point and that made me upset. It had to happen, because this is not a Historical Romance by any means, so yeah....and for those that know of Aemilia and/or Willie then yeah.....:(

The beginning was a wee bit slow, but after the first couple of chapters I could NOT put this down. I just really had to know what was happening next. There is some crudeness here and there, which fits the time period well. A few people (I had read some other reviews - like I normally do) really were "offended" and they thought it was "unnecessary", but it honestly fit. Plus, it was not everywhere only in certain moments that seemed like a time Aemilia would really think, say, and feel that way, so it worked. 

Honestly...I could ramble on about this book for a bit, so I shall end it now.

In the end, this was a book worthwhile to read, especially if one loves the time period. It was an interesting look on who could have been William's "dark lady". The author did a good job bringing the world and the people to life. The beginning was a wee bit slow, but it was totally worth it. I shall stamp this with 4 stars. 

Favorite Character(s): Aemilia, William (even though he was a poopstain at one point), Henry (even though he is a brat sometimes), and Hunsdon.
Not-so Favorite Character(s): Alfonso and Tom (I don't know why, but he irked me) 

Wordless Wednesday

*https://www.facebook.com/lesley.a.cargill?fref=photo 

Book Review: Murder by Misrule

Author: Anna Castle
Title: Murder by Misrule (Francis Bacon #1)
Genre: Historical Fiction, Murder Mystery, and Romance
Pages: ebook
First Published: June 8th, 2014
Where I Got It: My shelf  (Given to me by the author/publisher for my honest and unbiased opinion)

"Francis Bacon is charged with investigating the murder of a fellow barrister at Gray's Inn. He recruits his unwanted protégé Thomas Clarady to do the tiresome legwork. The son of a privateer, Clarady will do anything to climb the Elizabethan social ladder. Bacon's powerful uncle Lord Burghley suspects Catholic conspirators of the crime, but other motives quickly emerge. Rival barristers contend for the murdered man's legal honors and wealthy clients. Highly-placed courtiers are implicated as the investigation reaches from Whitehall to the London streets. Bacon does the thinking; Clarady does the fencing. Everyone has something up his pinked and padded sleeve. Even the brilliant Francis Bacon is at a loss — and in danger — until he sees through the disguises of the season of Misrule."

Like earlier stated, I read this for the author/publisher for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Awwwww Francis Bacon. I don't know why, but I liked him a lot. Maybe it's the fact that he reminded me of me at a lot of times. He also reminded me of Sherlock Holmes from time to time. THAT may have to do with the fact that he had a murder mystery on his hands. I wish that he didn't add the gang of kids with him, but it did add more to the story, but still. I didn't like Tom and his friends. Okay, Ben was okay and so was Trumpet (until near the end). Tom was annoying and I think Clara deserved someone better. Oh well. Clara didn't make it easy for Tom, so that made me feel better. She got screwed once by her first husband and wasn't about to make THAT mistake twice. Glad she was a smart girl.

The two twists near the end surely did catch me by surprise. Especially who was the murderer and the conspirator. Kuddos to the author for getting me! haha. I'm normally really good at mysteries, but this got me and I liked it. 

There were a couple dry spots that did have me skimming a little bit. 0.0 However, the adventure was fun and I'm excited to see what adventures poor Mr. Bacon has to endure. haha. The author did a fantastic job blending historical fiction with real history and with a nice mystery on top like a cherry. Wonderful. :)

In the end, I liked the mystery...it was a good one and I didn't expect it! I had my own list of suspects that surely did look suspicious. I hated Tom and his "friends". I'm glad that the author made Clara a strong girl who didn't completely give in to Tom and his "love". She made him prove it and made him work for it. I loved her and I wish she had more screen-time. Also, I wish that Francis Bacon had more screen-time as well. Oh well. This book would be fun for those that like historical fiction and/or mysteries. Out of five stars I shall stamp this with 4 stars. 

Favorite Character(s): Francis Bacon, Clara, Ben, and Queen Elizabeth
Not-so Favorite Character(s): Tom and Casper 

Book Review: The Lost Duchess

Author: Jenny Barden
Title: The Lost Duchess
Genre: Historical Fiction 
Pages: 448
First Published: November 7th, 2013
Where I Got It: My shelf (Given to me by the author/publisher for my honest and unbiased opinion)

"Once a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth, her only hope of surviving the scandal that threatens to engulf her is to escape England for a fresh start in the new America where nobody has ever heard of the Duchess of Somerset.

Emme joins Kit Doonan's rag-tag band of idealists, desperados and misfits bound for Virginia. But such a voyage will be far from easy and Emme finds her attraction to the mysterious Doonan inconvenient to say the least.

As for Kit, the handsome mariner has spent years imprisoned by the Spanish, and living as an outlaw with a band of escaped slaves; he has his own inner demons to confront, and his own dark secrets to keep...

Ever since Sir Walter Raleigh's settlement in Virginia was abandoned in 1587 its fate has remained a mystery; 'The Lost Duchess' explores what might have happened to the ill-starred 'Lost Colony' of Roanoke."

Like earlier stated, I was given this book by the author/publisher for my honest and unbiased opinion.

First of all....I LOVE the cover. It's so pretty. :) The summary sounded good, but when I seen the cover it really was the cherry on the top. Also, I couldn't help but want to read Jenny Barden's "theory" on what happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke. Another great mystery of history that no one will ever, ever know the truth on. Honestly...this theory is close to what I think happened. I won't discuss details, but it's a good one.

Poor Emme....luckily Queen Elizabeth allowed her to go on this adventure. She truly needed it, because she really had some bad luck happen to her. Honestly, I think Queen Elizabeth knew sort of what happened to her, because she hints at it near the end that she knows. Love Queen Elizabeth she hates idiot men and she makes them pay with their pride and will humiliate them to knock them down a peg or two. 

Poor Kit....he got screwed too. He didn't have an easy life and his first wife died horribly. :( Luckily, his son lived and he met Emme. The love they find is not an easy one to obtain though, which makes sense. They are from different social standings and they have a lot of past issues they need to work out. Also, it doesn't help that they are in the middle of an adventure to a new land, so they don't have a lot of time to work on their relationship. Food, shelter, and the constant threat of death takes priority over love. I'm glad that the author made their love story a realistic one. It's not all rainbows and butterflies all the time. 

The only thing I didn't really like was the ending. It was too open-ended. :/ Perhaps I'm just being picky. I just prefer having a nice lid-tight ending. One could really blame me growing up on the 'Dear America' books that had an epilogue that gave lid-tighter endings to all the main characters. IDK. However, as a writer, I LOVE leaving open-ended endings to my stories. I'm evil like that. Hehehehe. The ending in THIS story though, does end well, but it is a little cliff-hanger-y. Perhaps she did this on purpose, so if she wants to continue the story of Emme and Kit, she can. *shrugs* We shall see (I would definitely be all over a sequel for this novel). 

In the end, this was really, really good. I enjoyed every moment of the book! Even the bad events kept me hooked. The ending left me hoping their is a sequel, because I was left with some open-endedness. Besides for that, I liked it a lot! I would recommend this to those that like Historical Fiction or looking for a good adventure book. Out of five stars, I shall stamp this with 5 stars. ^.^

Favorite Character(s): Emme, Kit, Rob (cute kid), Queen Elizabeth, and Lacy

Not-so Favorite Character(s): Captain Fernando (ass, I hated his face.) 

Movie Review: Elizabeth (1998)

Length: 2 hours & 4 minutes
Released: 1998
Genre: Drama
Rating: R
Directed By: Shekhar Kapur
Where I Got It: borrowed from library

SUMMARY:
 In 1554, Queen Mary I tries to restore Catholicism as England's single faith. With no heir to the crown, she maneuvers to keep her Protestant half-sister Elizabeth from succeeding her, but her efforts fail. With Mary dead, Elizabeth is proclaimed Queen of England in November 1558. Elizabeth relishes the return from exile of her childhood sweetheart, Lord Robert Dudley. Chief adviser Sir William Cecil urges the young Queen to forget personal matters and instead address the country's pressing problems. England is bankrupt, has no army, and is under serious threat from abroad. Elizabeth even has enemies within her own court, the most dangerous being the Duke of Norfolk.

TRAILER:

 CAST:

• Queen Elizabeth - Cate Blanchett 
• Sir Francis Walshingham - Geoffrey Rush
• Duke of Norfolk - Christopher Eccleston
• Robert Dudley - Joseph Fiennes
• Sir William Cecil - Richard Attenborough

REVIEW:

This is the second time I've seen this movie and I am still in awe of it. I simply not only adore Queen Elizabeth, but also Cate Blanchett. Fantastic choice and so far the best Elizabeth I've seen to date. ^.^ Honestly, the whole cast is great, so kuddos to the casting director. If I was to be queen of some country (I wish) I would want a man like Sir Francis on my side and my main man. He was so dedicated, clever, cunning, never showed weakness, and just all over perfect. I would want him on my side, because if he fell into the wrong hands it would be over for me. haha.

I also must give kuddos to the costume designers. They were lovely! Some pieces historically inaccurate, but it's hard to be perfect, because perfect may bore the unhistory-nerds out there. Yes, you want to appease people like me, but you also must dazzle those who could care a lick (thats Hollywood man). It was a nice medium and I absolutely adored the majority of costumes. 

Forewarning...the beginning is a little graphic. It always gets to me. *shudders* However, it is necessary to show the audience that horrors people like Queen Mary would put on their people JUST for a simple, stupid thing like religion.Stupid humans. >__> It's been a horrible thing humanity has had to deal with for centuries and it has caused more war and death then ANY disease. Silly. As Elizabeth says,"Why must we tear ourselves apart over this small question of religion? Catholic...protestant...we all believe in God." Words hundreds of years before her time. Elizabeth was like her mother, Anne, in so many ways. They were women ahead of their time. So sad they had to be torn apart by death. Imagine what the world would be like if Elizabeth was able to be under the wing of her mother? 

ANYWAYS....

This was a great movie. Wonderful actors, lovely costumes, great dialogue, a great middle between historical accuracy and Hollywood add-ons, and a wonderful story-line. I would recommend this to anyone who likes history or likes good movies. In the end, I shall stamp this with 5 stars. 

Favorite Character(s): Elizabeth, Sir Francis, and Sir William 

Not-so Favorite Character(s): Duke of Norfolk (ass), Queen Mary (I wasn't that fond of the actress and how they portrayed her), and Robert Dudley (the queen's weakness)

RE-WATCH: Yup :)

Book Review: The Memoirs of Mary Queen of Scots

Author: Carolly Erickson
Title: The Memoirs of Mary Queen of Scots
Genre: Historical Fiction, Action, Drama
Pages: 336 
First Published: 2009
Where I Got It: Borrowed from Library


"In this dramatic, compelling fictional memoir Carolly Erickson lets the courageous, spirited Mary Queen of Scots tell her own story—and the result is a novel readers will long remember.

Born Queen of Scotland, married as a young girl to the invalid young King of France, Mary took the reins of the unruly kingdom of Scotland as a young widow and fought to keep her throne. A second marriage to her handsome but dissolute cousin Lord Darnley ended in murder and scandal, while a third marriage to the dashing, commanding Lord Bothwell, the love of her life, gave her joy but widened the scandal and surrounded her with enduring ill repute.

Unable to rise above the violence and disorder that swirled around her, Mary plucked up her courage and escaped to England—only to find herself a prisoner of her ruthless, merciless cousin Queen Elizabeth.

Here, in her own riveting account, is the enchanting woman whose name still evokes excitement and compassion—and whose death under the headsman’s axe still draws forth our sorrow.

In The Memoirs of Mary Queen of Scots, Carolly Erickson provides another in her series of mesmerizing historical entertainments, and takes readers deep into the life and heart of the sixteenth century’s most fascinating woman."

~*~

Where to begin? 

I simply adore Carolly Erickson and her novels. I've read a good chunk of her novels and I've enjoyed all of them! I especially loved The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette. When I seen that she wrote a novel about Queen Mary of the Scots, I couldn't WAIT to read it! Even though Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I are my favorites, I still love Mary. Yes...I'll admit it...I had high expectations and this book went flat with me.

I wish I could say that I "loved" this book as much as Carolly Erickson's other books, but I didn't. I didn't like it and I wished I never read it. Is that bad to say? I hated how Carolly Erickson presented Queen Mary. She presented her as a lovesick puppy, weak, whiney, and not a queen I would want to rule my country. I also felt VERY distant with Mary...it didn't feel like a "diary" or a "memoir"; like it should have felt like. 

IT IS a historical fiction and authors always put their own spin on the historical facts. And yes, Carolly Erickson was in all rights to put some twists and turns in Queen Mary's life, BUT some points in the story were in left field. Throughout the novel, I couldn't help but roll my eyes and chuckle. I did love the fact that she had Jamie (one of Mary's husbands) be a lovable hero, instead of the monster they make him out to be on many other books and movies. There were others historical twists/reinventions I liked and some I couldn't help but laugh at. 

I'm not sure what else to say...I didn't like this book at all. I could barely finish it. I still love Carolly Erickson and I plan to read her other novels, but if I could....I would not read this. This was a disappointment. However, I found it an interesting twist on Mary's story! Perhaps this wasn't my cup pf tea, but I don't let my negative views sway you away from this novel. Perhaps you'll love it! I recommend this to historical fiction lovers and for those that like a good shake-up on historical facts. I hate to do this buuuuut, I grant this one 1 star. =( The only things that saved this novel was the character Jamie and some historical reinventions that made me smile.


Favorite Character(s): Ummmm, Jamie and Grandmamma. 
Not-So Favorite Character(s): This version of Mary (I usually adore her, but...no)

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<3CR

Late Movie Review: Taming of the Shrew

~*Ahhh, I totally forgot to type this up and post it yesterday. Sorry. I'm a bad kid. =) Anyways....*~

Length: 127 mins
Released: 1980 (on TV in UK)
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Classic
Rating: not rated
Directed By: Jonathon Miller
Where I Got It: Borrowed it from Library





Taming of the Shrew is based off the play William Shakespeare wrote. You can find my review of the play HERE. It starts off with Lucentio and Tranio conversing in streets until Kate, Bianca, their dad (Minola), and suitors bust onto the scene. The suitors are all trying to convince Minola that they love Bianca more and they want to marry her. However, Minola gives the conditions on when Bianca can marry: when Kate, the shrew, gets married first. Not surprisingly Kate freaks out and after some tongue-lashings she leaves. The suitors of course are angry because who would want to marry Kate the Shrew? Lucky for them a fortune seeker arrives on the scene and that would be none other than the "charming" Petruchio.

This TV special stars John Cleese (Monty Python movies/show, Shrek 2, Harry Potter movies) who plays the witty Petruchio, Simon Chandler (The King's Speech, Vera Drake, Milk)  as the lovestruck Lucentio, and Sarah Badel (The Winter's Tale, Fingersmith) as the shrewish  Kate.

It was very similar to book/play. It was an odd cast to throw together, but it worked. I was a little worried that John Cleese was the star in this adaptation, because he's not known for these type of movies/shows. And I haven't seen many actors successfully try their hand at something different. They usually fall flat on their face and it's really embarrassing and I hurt for them. HOWEVER, John Cleese did a wonderful job in this! Lucky for him this play was a comedy, so it wasn't a big change.

I liked this movie or whatever it was. It wasn't as funny as the book, but I did enjoy it. They kept really close to the play and I really respected that, because with some stories you have to. I was a little upset because they did cut out some really funny bits, but what can you expect? I know that they have to cut things out, but sometimes I felt like they cut out the wrong scene. There were some boring parts that didn't need to be in there. That's my personal opinion though.

All-in-all, the actors did a fine job, especially John Cleese. I was worried about him falling flat on his face, but he held his own and he stole the show. He really did. I'm glad Jonathon Miller took that risk, because I don't think I would have like this movie (or TV thingy) if it hadn't been John Cleese ^.^. I'm not saying I didn't like the others in this, but John Cleese made the movie/TV special. Out of five stars, I'll give this one 4 stars. 

*Favorite Character(s): Kate and Petruchio
*Not-so Favorite Character(s): Hortensio

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<3CaroleRae