Category: Jacobean/Stuart Era (1603-1714)

The Stuart Era is 1603-1714 and The Jacobean era refers to the period in English and Scottish history that coincides with the reign of James VI of Scotland, who also inherited the crown of England in 1603 as James I.
Preceded by: Elizabethan era
Followed by: Caroline era
Monarch: James VI and I

Rags of Time by Michael Ward

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, Jacobean/Stuart Era (1603-1714)Leave a comment

rags of time (1) finalSeries: Thomas Tallant Mysteries #1
Publication Date: (Original 7/9/19 – Re-Release soon)
*** 3.5 Stars ***

Historical mysteries are my favorite and the book-blurb sounded very interesting, so I was happy to get the opportunity to read it. I rarely read a book that takes place during this period – 1639-1640 – and those I have read have always been from Scotland’s side. Reading from the English perspective was quite interesting. The times were turbulent with the lead up to the English Civil War that would begin in 1642. The tensions between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians were moving into more strident and violent territory. The Puritans were fighting the changes in the church and there were riots everywhere. Poor Thomas Tallant chose this time to return to England from two years away and was immediately embroiled in the death of a fellow merchant. Things were definitely in the realm of mob rule and Thomas and his family were in mortal danger.

The prologue shows the murder of wealthy wool merchant Sir Joseph Venell – and a very strange murder it was. The man, Mr. Robert Petty, who is investigating the case more or less demands that Thomas look at the wounds and the scene to see if it could have been done by Peregrine Falcons. Thomas is bewildered because, while he has had exposure to hunting falcons, he doesn’t have any and assures the investigator that falcons couldn’t attack in that manner. The investigation goes on – more strange deaths occur – and Thomas is more and more under suspicion. The magistrate is determined to convict him, but the investigator is a bit more circumspect. As time goes along (over a year) they try to bring Sir Ralph Tallant, Thomas’s father, into the crimes. Luckily Tom has his best friend Edmund Dalloway to save him time and again.

Thomas also meets the lovely Elizabeth Seymour and is very attracted to her. Over the course of the year, they draw closer and closer. Elizabeth is a very smart lady who studies astronomy, mathematics, etc. and loves solving puzzles. That is a good thing because she’s going to need all of those skills to help save Thomas.

While I enjoyed the story, it was a very, very busy one. It definitely isn’t fast-paced and frankly, I didn’t care for most of the people who populated the pages. I really liked Thomas’s mother and I enjoyed Elizabeth’s intellect. I’m sure I was supposed to like and respect Sir Ralph, but I didn’t care for him. He seemed to support his radical son, Peter, in whatever he did, but he was always on Thomas’s case telling him how impulsive he was. To my view, the things Thomas did were all he could do in that situation and it wasn’t fair for his father to chastise him. I didn’t see Thomas as an investigator at all. He just floated along on the surface and let things happen to him and when they did, he let someone else save him – until Elizabeth finally handed him the solution on a silver platter.  Perhaps Thomas will take a more hands-on approach to future investigations in the series.

I did enjoy reading the story because it was from a period about which I rarely read. The author conveys the tensions and dangers very well. Like the US Civil War, it was brother against brother – friend against friend – and never knowing who was on which side or who you could trust. It will be interesting to see this author’s second book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Rebel Wears Plaid by Eliza Knight

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Jacobean/Stuart Era (1603-1714), Scottish/Highlander, Tracy's Reviews1 Comment

The Rebel Wears Plaid (Prince Charlie's Angels, #1)The Rebel Wears Plaid by Eliza Knight

Tracy’s rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Prince Charlie’s Angels, #1

Release Date: June 30, 2020

Jenny Mackintosh is a fierce supporter of Prince Charles Stuart and leader in the Jacobite cause. Known only as Mistress J, she is amassing troops and supplies for the Prince’s return, which is no small feat as her brother Hamish is a staunch supporter of the English King George. She walks a fine line of discovery between obedient sister to an Englisher support and Jacobite rebel – but so far, she has successfully been able to keep her secrets. She is out on a recruiting mission when she comes upon two men and offers them aid.

Toran Fraser is aiding the English commander Boyd with capturing rebels when he realizes his cousin Archie is among the men and that Boyd plans to kill them. He makes a choice and saves his cousin, but in the process makes Boyd his enemy. He is a man on a mission, he sided with the English in an effort to bring down the rebel known as Mistress J who killed his mother. But when he meets Jenny, he is not sure if he believes her capable of the horrific murder of his mother. He leaves Archie in her care and flees the safe house and returns to his uncle’s home – where he learns his uncle, the chief of the clan Fraser AKA the Fox has once again changed sides – now he says he is on the side of the rebels. Toran takes his cousin Simon, his younger brother Camdyn and little sister Isla and returns to find that the safe house is no more, but he finds one of her men and convinces him to take them to Jenny. The more time he spends with Jenny the more he can’t believe she killed him mom. And when he learns the truth, he will do whatever is necessary to gain her trust.

Jenny is attracted to Toran, but she isn’t sure she can trust him, even when he time and again proves himself worthy. She tries to ignore what is happening between them, but when he saves her from a fate worse than death, she can no longer deny her feelings or her faith in him. But Jenny is a woman in power and she isn’t sure she can have it all – will Toran be a true partner or will he try to control her?

I have read almost all of Ms. Knight’s Indy publications and love her work, so I was super excited for her first big publishing house offering, but sadly, this book just wasn’t what I was hoping for. She picked a very hard era and setting for a HEA and I truly wish she had added an epilogue set years later – because I know how the return of Bonnie Prince Charlie is going to play out and as a Jacobite – a long-lasting HEA is not likely! I liked the story and the historical facts were well researched and incorporated well – but I did have a bit of a hard time with Jenny’s character – she came across as a very strong woman, but a bit power-hungry and not willing share her power with a partner, it was almost like she wanted a consort, which would have been fine, but to make it work, Toran had to conform, so he went from being a strong warrior to her lap dog – I just wish there had been a better balance of power between them. Overall, the writing is good, the story is interesting and well-paced, but most of the “romance” and the mild /warmish love scenes don’t take place until almost the end of the book, so the romance did take a back seat to the historical fiction. This is the first book in the series and we are introduced to the other two “angels”, but this book stays completely on point and doesn’t even hint at Annie & Fiona’s stories.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.*