My absolute favorite thing about being so plugged in to the reading community is discovering books from genres I would’ve never picked up on my own. This is a great example of that! Today, I’m going to share the first two novels in Kate Mosse’s latest popular series!
Thank you Minotaur Books for my gifted copies in exchange for my honest reviews.
The Burning Chamber
Synopsis: Carcassonne 1562: Nineteen-year-old Minou Joubert receives an anonymous letter at her father’s bookshop. Sealed with a distinctive family crest, it contains just five words: SHE KNOWS THAT YOU LIVE. But before Minou can decipher the mysterious message, a chance encounter with a young Huguenot convert, Piet Reydon, changes her destiny forever. For Piet has a dangerous mission of his own, and he will need Minou’s help if he is to get out of La Cité alive. Toulouse: As the religious divide deepens in the Midi, and old friends become enemies, Minou and Piet both find themselves trapped in Toulouse, facing new dangers as sectarian tensions ignite across the city, the battle-lines are drawn in blood and the conspiracy darkens further. Meanwhile, as a long-hidden document threatens to resurface, the mistress of Puivert is obsessed with uncovering its secret and strengthening her power.
This reads like a romantic historical fiction novel which I am here for! I thought I would be intimated by it’s size, but the writing is so beautiful, I couldn’t stop! I went between reading from the book and listening to it on audiotape, and it was just so well executed and flowed so perfectly, even between hearing the stories two different ways. It’s not as suspenseful as I had hoped it would be, but that didn’t make this novel any less of an epic tale.
4/5 Stars
The City of Tears
Synopsis: August 1572: Minou Joubert and her family are in Paris for a Royal Wedding, an alliance between the Catholic Crown and the Huguenot King of Navarre intended to bring peace to France after a decade of religious wars. So too is their oldest enemy, Vidal, still in pursuit of a relic that will change the course of history. But within days of the marriage, thousands will lie dead in the streets and Minou’s beloved family will be scattered to the four winds . . .A gripping, breathtaking novel of revenge, persecution and loss, the action sweeps from Paris and Chartres to the city of tears itself, Amsterdam.
This is the second novel in the series that is just being released this year. I actually loved this one more than the first! The novel brings up struggles of greed and religion that are all too familiar even 500 years later. I think what was even cooler about this second book is that you could even read it without having read the first novel and still love it just as much. The writing was even better in this novel, and really throws you back in time as if it was just yesterday. What a beautiful read it was!
5/5 Stars
Live, Read, And Prosper 