Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours Book Review: Katherine Tudor Duchess

Katherine Tudor Duchess by Tony Riches

Publication Date: October 1, 2019

Preseli Press

eBook & Paperback; 328 pages

Series: The Brandon Trilogy, Book 3

Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis:

Attractive, wealthy and influential, Katherine Willoughby is one of the most unusual ladies of the Tudor court. A favourite of King Henry VIII, Katherine knows all his six wives, his daughters Mary and Elizabeth, and his son Edward, as well as being related by marriage to Lady Jane Grey.

She marries Tudor knight, Sir Charles Brandon, and becomes Duchess of Suffolk at the age of fourteen. Her Spanish mother, Maria de Salinas, is Queen Catherine of Aragon’s lady in waiting, so it is a challenging time for them all when King Henry marries the enigmatic Anne Boleyn.

Following Anne’s dramatic downfall, the short reign of young Catherine Howard, and the tragic death of Jane Seymour, Katherine’s young sons are tutored with the future king, Prince Edward, and become his friends.

Katherine and Charles Brandon are chosen to welcome Anna of Cleves as she arrives in England. When the royal marriage is annulled, Katherine’s good friend, Catherine Parr becomes the king’s sixth wife, and they work to promote religious reform.

When King Edward dies, his Catholic sister Mary is crowned queen and Katherine’s Protestant faith puts her family in great danger - from which there seems no escape.

Katherine’s remarkable true story continues the epic tale of the rise of the Tudors, which began with the best-selling Tudor trilogy and concludes with the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

Amazon UK | Amazon US

Review:  I've been reading a lot of English history historical fiction right now. I went from Richard III to the Tudors. Katherine Willoughby is definitely an interesting historical figure. ( I actually started reading this book on the kindle app on my phone during a boring night at work)

I was immediately caught up in the story of a woman who lived through all of Henry VIII's wives. Her mother was a lady in waiting to Catherine of Aragon.

If you read any novels about Henry VIII you'll find her mentioned. She was friends with each of his wives and his children. I only wish in this book you'd see more of her interactions with them, especially as she was going to be a Lady in Waiting to Anna of Cleves. I also loved her friendship with Queen Catherine Parr.

This book gives you a chance to really get to know her and she's definitely an interesting person, especially as Henry's children take the throne and she is faced with the trials of being and Reformist in a Catholic nation again.

One thing I find interesting about religion in this period of UK history is how the reformists call their version of...well Catholicism "The True Faith" It has never made much sense to me, as it is an off shoot of well...Catholicism.

Katherine's life was full of ups and downs from the start because of who her mother was and then who her husband was. (Henry VIII's brother in law) She was married young but she never appeared naive.  I loved that she found happiness, though her life was not without trials, because her family had to keep on Henry's good side..and then she had to flee for her life when Queen Mary came to power.

She was definitely an interesting women in history.

This was a wonderfully written novel that was a joy to read, especially for someone like me that devours books that revolve around English history.

Rating: 5 flowers

About the Author

Tony Riches is a full-time writer and lives with his wife in Pembrokeshire, West Wales. After several successful non-fiction books, Tony turned to novel writing and wrote ‘Queen Sacrifice’, set in 10th century Wales, followed by ‘The Shell’, a thriller set in present day Kenya. A specialist in the history of the early Tudors, he is best known for his Tudor Trilogy. Tony’s other international best sellers include ‘Warwick ~ The Man Behind the Wars of the Roses’ and ‘The Secret Diary of Eleanor Cobham’.

For more information please visit Tony’s website and his blog The Writing Desk. He can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Blog Tour Schedule
Monday, November 18
Excerpt at Short Book and Scribes

Tuesday, November 19
Guest Post at On the Tudor Trail

Wednesday, November 20
Review at Gwendalyn's Books

Thursday, November 21
Review at 100 Pages a Day
Feature at View from the Birdhouse

Friday, November 22
Feature at Cover To Cover Cafe

Monday, November 25
Review at A Chick Who Reads

Tuesday, November 26
Excerpt at The Book Junkie Reads

Wednesday, November 27
Review at Passages to the Past

Thursday, November 28
Excerpt at Chicks, Rogues and Scandals

Monday, December 2
Review at book frolic
Review at History + Fiction + Spirit

Tuesday, December 3
Review at Nursebookie

Wednesday, December 4
Review at Historical Fiction with Spirit

Thursday, December 5
Review at Donna's Book Blog
Review at Curling up by the Fire

Friday, December 6
Excerpt at Coffee and Ink
Review at A Darn Good Read

Giveaway
During the Blog Tour, we are giving away two paperbacks of Katherine-Tudor Duchess by Tony Riches! To enter, please use the Gleam form below.

Giveaway Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59 pm EST on December 6th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Paperback giveaway is open internationally.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspicion of fraud will be decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– The winner has 48 hours to claim prize or a new winner is chosen.

Katherine Tudor Duchess

Cozy Mystery Book Tours: Final Sentence

Author: Daryl Wood Gerber
Title: Final Sentence
Publisher: Berkley
Publish Date:   July 2, 2013
Review Copy Provided By: Net Galley
Blurb:In need of a change, Jenna Hart leaves the high-pressure world of advertising to help her aunt, Vera, open a culinary bookshop and café. Back with her family in Crystal Cove, California, Jenna seems to have all the right ingredients for a fresh start—until someone adds a dash of murder.

As a marketing expert, Jenna wants to make sure the grand opening of the Cookbook Nook draws a crowd, and no one is better at getting attention than her old college roommate, celebrity chef Desiree Divine. But when Desiree arrives in quiet Crystal Cove to do a cookbook signing, the diva stirs up more trouble than business… especially when she turns up dead.

Known for stealing husbands and burning bridges, Desiree left behind plenty of suspects —including Jenna. Though the celebrity’s life always appeared to be an open book, Jenna will have to read between the lines in order to clear her name, and catch a killer before another body is served cold.

Review: Final Sentence is the first book in a new series by Daryl Wood Gerber and it is a great beginning. In fact, I can find very little about this book that isn't great! The cover is so adorable! And the story is fantastic.

I love Jenna and her aunt Vera who are running the Cookbook Nook bookshop and cafe. And all the other characters are just full of...well...character!

Some characters who will catch your eye are, Pepper...the chief of police's mother and a very nasty woman. Cinnamon, the police chief...who has ties to Jenna's dad, Katie...the chef at the bookshop...Rhett....can you say love interest...(we hope) and of course our dead person Desiree and her entourage!

The flow of this book is perfect. There's enough get to know you information about everyone to make you feel at home in Crystal Cove and the killing happened pretty early on so things stayed interesting.

I also loved all the celebrity chef's that were mentioned in the book as well as their cookbooks. It made me want to put on the Food Network and watch some of my favorite shows.

The best thing about the mystery is how Daryl keeps you guessing until the end about the killer's identity.

This is definitely a series I'm going to be keeping up with. Oh and the recipes look fab!

Rating: 5 flowers

DARYL WOOD GERBER aka AVERY AAMES pens the Agatha Award-winning, nationally bestselling Cheese Shop Mystery series. As Daryl, she writes A Cookbook Nook Mystery series, featuring a culinary bookshop and café owner. Daryl’s short stories have been nominated for the Agatha, Anthony, and other awards. As an actress, Daryl has appeared in “Murder, She Wrote” and more. Visit Daryl & Avery at www.darylwoodgerber.com. Check out her recipes on her blog www.mysteryloverskitchen.com And friend her on Facebook

Every year I go to a writers and fans’ conference called Malice Domestic, held in Maryland. Last year, at a dinner that our editor gave its authors (I have a very nice publishing house), we went to Ruth’s Chris restaurant. The steaks are fabulous, the desserts divine. We swooned so much over the dessert that I promised everyone at our table I would make it my mission to figure out how to make the flourless chocolate cake.

I tried a couple of recipes that I found on the Internet, tweaking until I got it right, but then I was lucky enough to go to Ruth’s Chris again, and I told them my plight. I needed my creation a little bit creamier, a little smoother. I begged the waitress to help me get the secret recipe. The chef was super lovely and sent out a recipe. For about 144 portions!!!  LOL

But I used to do chemistry and I can do math. I broke down that honker of a recipe into what should serve 8-10 comfortably, and this time, the consistency was perfect (if I do say so myself).

Like my protagonist in A Cookbook Nook Mystery who is learning to cook, there are times I feel like I’m out of my depth. This was one of them. But practice makes perfect, or nearly so.

Enjoy a bit of sinful chocolate decadence.  I’ve even provided a half-recipe (for a smaller springform pan).

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE CAKE

NO-FLOUR ALA RUTH’S CHRIS

Ingredients:

        2 cups half-and-half

        2/3 cup sugar

        ½ cup applesauce

        2 oz. flavored liquid of your choice (cordials, coffee, etc.) * I used espresso

        2 lbs. dark, milk or mixed chocolate, chopped (5 CUPS)  * I used half dark, half semi-sweet

        6 eggs (whisked)

Directions:                           Preheat the oven to 300º. Brush a 10" spring-form pan with butter, line the bottom with buttered parchment and wrap the pan in foil in case of any leaks. [MINE DIDN’T LEAK AT ALL BUT IT’S A GOOD PRECAUTION.]                           In a saucepan, bring the half-and-half, sugar, applesauce, and coffee JUST to a boil. Place the chocolate into a mixing bowl.  Pour the hot milk mixture over the chocolate.                           Let sit for a few minutes. [It will melt nicely.]                           Mix at low speed for two minutes.                           Add the eggs in all at once and mix thirty seconds, until incorporated.                           Pour batter into prepared spring-form pan. Bake until the cake is “set” - about 1 to 1 and 1/2 hours. The cake will still look wet and slightly loose in the very center, but the edges will be set, slightly puffed and have small cracks. [looks like a cheesecake – I cooked mine one hour then turned off the oven and let it set for another 20 minutes]                           Allow cake to cool on a rack (this takes about 2 full hours), then chill for 6 hours or overnight before removing pan sides.

***************

Half Recipe for 6” springform pan

Ingredients:

1 cup half and half

1/3 cup sugar

¼ cup applesauce

1 oz. espresso  (2 tablespoons)

1 lbs. dark chocolate chips (approx.. 2 ¾ cup chips)

3 eggs whisked

COOK ONLY 45 MINUTES FOR “MINI” CAKE, let rest 10 minutes in oven, remove cool as before.

TIP OF THE DAY: If you don’t happen to have half-and-half on hand, I found out you can use regular milk plus 1 tablespoon of butter to create half-and-half. I haven’t tried it, but it’s a good thing to know. J

         

QUESTION: Do you ever take risks in your life? Has anything been so risky that you are certain you’ll never try it?  Have you ever begged a chef for a recipe?  LOL

Giveaway:

1 random commenter will win a print copy of Final Sentence. Please leave your email in the comments so I can contact you.

Winner to be announced Monday July 15th

1001 Books To Read Before You Die?

Ok, so there's a book, going around telling us what books we need to read before we die!

Oh dear!

I bet there's no romance on that list!

I'm sure the book is like the 1001 Places To See Before You Die books. Which are kind of cool, because they show you places in your own area that you might miss out on. It was also fun to see what places I'd been to on the list unknowingly.

But back to this list...that you can find here

I thought I'd share the books I've already read..then I may consider taking part in this challenge

1900s
The World According to Garp – John Irving
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
Delta of Venus – Anaïs Nin
Interview With the Vampire – Anne Rice
Fear of Flying – Erica Jong
2001: A Space Odyssey – Arthur C. Clarke
The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
The Story of O – Pauline Réage
Lord of the Flies – William Golding
Rebecca – Daphne du Maurier
Orlando – Virginia Woolf
Tender is the Night – F. Scott Fitzgerald

1800s
Dracula – Bram Stoker
Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë
Moby-Dick – Herman Melville
The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain

1700s
Dangerous Liaisons – Pierre Choderlos de Laclos  

Geeze so far only 20 books, and looking at some of the titles, there really aren't many that I want to read.  Plus it seems to list entire bibliographies of certain authors. Which really seems ridiculous if you ask me. And then there's Anne Rice, only Interview makes the list? Uh...who decides this?


So what do you guys think of these lists? Do you care about them? They certainly make me feel like I read too much fluff. But then again, I like fluff, and so many of these books don't seem to interest me.