A Bookseller in Madrid has a ton of great information about Spanish politics and geopolitics of the time, an angle I haven’t read about before
I enjoyed the nuances of Shakespeare, making him a real character, a struggling playwright and actor. I found the author’s historical research to be excellent
The Story of the Forest is a lively, thought-provoking and poignant exploration of diaspora and identity from the point of view of strong women
Blasco de Castiglione is now a professional soldier, in love with Violante, a beautiful nun-to-be, and with the Donna Gabriella who has captured his heart
The themes of betrayal, friendship, intrigue, and justice start slowly but are brought more and more to the foreground as the hero’s journey of advances
This was a charming, easy-to-read, lovely story. I read it quickly and enjoyed the story even though I thought most of it was quite predictable
I enjoy the Kingsbridge series because of the history and details of how they used to build tremendous buildings without power tools or sophisticated computers
I fully realized I was being manipulated, and yet I couldn’t stop reading. The historical detail paired with engaging characters made the novel appealing
Hedda by Peter Haden is an enjoyable historical fiction. It is intelligent, the main characters are intriguing, and the narrative is grounded in the history
The author doesn’t paint Spain with rose colored glasses, he talks about bigotry, the horrible Inquisition, commerce, and economic inequality