REVIEW: Bound by Sally Gunning

 Alice Cole's family is bound for a new life in America but when tragedy strikes during the voyage, Alice's father sells her as an indentured servant for 11 years and abandons her to her fate.  Alice becomes part of the household of the amiable Mr. Morton and grows up the companion of his daughter Nabby.  When Nabby reaches marriageable age she weds and takes 15 year old Alice with her to her new home.  Alice soon realizes she has been taken from a safe and secure home and thrust into a dangerous and abusive one.  She flees to Boston and stows away on a ship to Satucket, determined to forget her past and start over.  Alice is fortunate enough to be taken in by the Widow Berry but soon realizes leaving her secrets and past life behind may not be as easy as she thought.

This is actually the second of Sally Gunning's Satucket novels (the first being The Widow's War and the third The Rebellion of Jane Clarke).  I did not realize this until after I finished reading Bound.  Bound covers the period of Alice's life starting as a seven year old girl in 1754 and ending as an 18 year old in 1765.  Although there are many historical fiction novels written about slavery during this period, this novel gives us the often overlooked perspective of an indentured servant through Alice's eyes.

I really felt for her at the beginning of the book, being sold as at the young age of seven to serve until she turned eighteen.  At first Alice's situation is not that bad and she is quite content with Mr. Morton and his daughter.  It is when Nabby marries and becomes Mrs. Verley that things take a nightmarish turn for Alice as she is subjected to many unspeakable abuses by Nabby's new husband. Alice flees and is taken in and looked after by the Widow Berry and her boarder Mr. Eben Freeman.  I really liked the goodness of these two characters and the liberal, no nonsense Widow Berry.  It seems they want the best for Alice.  Even though Alice has fled from Verley, she finds herself to still be in dire circumstances.  She refuses to trust the Widow and Mr. Freeman who are her only two allies. Gunning makes it clear that life as an indentured servant was no picnic as any infraction could add time onto the contract and with the courts being so disinclined to take the side of a servant, it was really difficult to get justice for those servants who were wronged.

Alice's refusal to trust anyone was the one thing about the book that frustrated me to no end.  Alice has many secrets about her past she does not wish to reveal to the Widow or Mr. Freeman but even when trusting these two people is the key to her very survival she resolves to keep the truth from them at her own peril.  I found myself thinking "Just tell them the truth already!  Things could not possibly get worse than they already are even if you tell them!"  Her choosing to remain silent just seemed so irrational to me at times.

I enjoyed the picture that Gunning painted of the political upheaval and the social conventions of the time.  The book takes place when the unrest among the citizens of the colonies due to the unfair taxation by England really starts to heat up and it was interesting to see the politics of the time played out through the characters.  Except for wanting to occasionally slap some sense into Alice I really enjoyed this book.  I wish I would have started with The Widow's War though because Widow Berry was my favorite character in this one.  I will be reading that one shortly and most likely continuing on with the third novel.

 

This book is from my own personal library

REVIEW: Queen by Right by Anne Easter Smith

In medieval England marriages are arranged for the advancement of families-love is the last consideration. Yet the moment Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York and ward to Richard Neville sets eyes on young Cecily Neville after she nearly runs him down with her horse, a strong bond forms that deepens and their arranged marriage becomes one of love and devotion. Queen by Right tells Cecily's story-her childhood and marriage to Richard where they endure triumph, tragedy, and political intrigue as their family grows and Richard decides whether to be content supporting the pious and weak King Henry VI or assert his own (and more legitimate) claim to the throne of England.

Cecily Neville may be mother to two kings (Edward IV and Richard III) and ancestor to every monarch to the present day but so little historical fiction has been devoted to her and I am so glad Anne Easter Smith decided to give her her due! The story starts off as the now widowed Cecily works through her grief by recalling the happy life she led with her beloved Richard. So starts the telling of Cecily's life beginning as a young eight year old girl. Cis (as she is known throughout the book) is a spunky child who has a hard time learning to be a demure duchess. I liked her right off the bat and she seemed very genuine to me. When she meets Richard they become fast friends which blossoms into true love as they grow up together. Cis endures Richard going off to war in France and must learn to live with the lonely times as well as the cherished ones she spends with him.

Although Richard has a much closer claim to the throne than the present monarch Henry VI, he is happy to be a loyal servant of the King. However, he makes a powerful enemy of the Queen Margaret of Anjou who sees him as a threat to her son succeeding to the throne after her husband. In this portrayal Margaret of Anjou was a viscous and manipulative creature-you definitely wouldn't want to be on her bad side! Because he is hated by the Queen, Richard is rebuffed at every point and constantly overlooked or cast aside even though he should occupy a prominent place beside the king because of his rank. Through out it all Cecily stands by her Duke and matches wits with the ambitious Queen Margaret on more than one occasion. A lot has been written on the War of the Roses but in addition to the beautiful love story between Cecily and Richard, this book gives a fascinating look at how the war between the Yorkists and Lancastrians began.

The author does take a few liberties-namely an encounter between Cecily and Jeane d'Arc (Joan of Arc) in Rouen that influences her at several points in the book. I actually liked this addition to Cecily's story though. I had read the author's first book, A Rose for the Crown, which told the story of Richard III"s mistress and mother of his illegitimate children but I have to say I liked this one a little better because I felt more of a connection with the characters. For those not so familiar with the Neville and Plantagenet family there family trees at the beginning of the book which proved extremely helpful as well as a list of characters. Even though this book clocks in at nearly 500 pages (definitely not a light read!) I found myself completely absorbed with Cecily's story and was sad to part ways with her when the book ended.


I received this via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig

American graduate student Eloise Kelly travels to England to research the topic of her dissertation: the identity of the elusive 1800's spy the Pink Carnation. After encountering many dead ends and resistance at first, she decides to contact the descendants of the famous unmasked spies the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Purple Gentian in the hopes she can uncover a link to the Pink Carnation. She finally gets a break in the form of Mrs. Selwick Arabella Selwick-Alderly who is in position of letters written by a Ms. Amy Balcourt, letters which may finally lead Eloise to discover the identity of the Pink Carnation.

Through the letters we meet the spunky and adventurous Amy Balcourt who dreams of leaving her home in Shropshire and joining the league of the Purple Gentian. She and her cousin Jane finally get the opportunity when Amy receives an invitation from her brother residing in Paris. He wishes her to serve as hostess for his household to further his ambitions at the court of Napoleon Bonaparte. Chaperoned by the no-nonsense Miss Gwen, the girls set off for Paris and encounter the dashing Lord Richard Selwick on board their ship. Attracted to each other one moment and at odds the next, Richard and Amy constantly cross paths in her quest to find the Purple Gentian, an endeavor that proves extremely dangerous when the run afoul of head of the French Policy Ministry, Gaston Delaroche.

I must say I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It was not at all what I expected it to be (actually I don't know what I was expecting). It was part romance, part mystery, part comedy, part historical fiction and all fun. I liked the spirited (if slightly clueless) Amy who was balanced perfectly by the sensible Jane. I LOVED Miss Gwen! Scenes such as the one where she pokes at Napoleon with her parasol and takes him to task for his rude shouting, standing about with his hand in his jacket, and the reprehensible way he invaded other countries had me laughing out loud. The bumbling way in which Amy goes about trying to discover the identity of the Purple Gentian was cute and I liked the build up of the romance between Amy and Richard until....

the book lurched into bodice ripper territory without much warning. I did not really enjoy this at all and think the book would have been just fine if it had remained "tame" throughout. These scenes were sparse though so it wasn't too distracting. Readers will not be surprised by the identity of the Purple Gentian although I am willing to bet their first guess for the identity of the Pink Carnation will not be correct. Secret History of the Pink Carnation is a bit predictable at times, but this part is not.

The only aspect I really did not enjoy was the storyline in present times involving Eloise and Colin Selwick. I am hoping this has more interesting developments in future installments but I constantly found myself wishing the chapters involving these two would be over so I could get back to the story of Amy and Richard. Also the transition between the happenings in the past and the present tense was almost nonexistent. Willig did do a nice job of setting the reader up for the next book with the ending though.

The Pink Carnation books are perfect for when you've been reading nothing but serious books and are looking to take a break with a fun fast paced read. I will definitely be continuing on with the series.


This book is from my own personal library