Emmie and the Tudor Queen review

 

Emmie and the Tudor Queen is the stunning sequel to 2019, Emmie and the Tudor King. The latter was one of my favourite reads of last year and I was excited to fall back into the same world and immerse myself with the characters I’d come to love. It did not disappoint as it integrated another one of my favourite things, history and in particular, Tudor history! If you haven’t read the first book you may want to stop here, or if you are happy with some mild spoilers, feel free to read on!

The book starts where the last one finished up, with Emmie deciding she wants to live in the 16^th Century with Nick and leave her old life behind. She is announced as the future queen and there is still a strong sense of scepticism about who she is and where she has come from. While there is a lot of other problems within the inner circle going on throughout the course of the book, the key part of the plot is Emmie ultimately deciding if the 16^th Century is really worth it or if she should return to the 21^st Century to be with her parents.

My favourite part of sequels is the opportunity we are provided with to reconnect with the characters we came to love in first instalments. It was great to see the character development of the main characters, Emmie and Nick, and how they started to approach problems they were faced with in a different way. Emmie’s resilience really shone through in this book and there were numerous times where I thought she would give up but she persevered. I also really enjoyed some of the side characters and felt they added so much to the experience. Alice Grey and Francis were highlights, whose development grew so much in this book and it was nice to see the chemistry grew between them.

It was certainly a fast-paced book which wasn’t too long, and kept me engaged throughout. There was always some form of drama unfolding which needed to be dealt with, whether it being Emmie and Nick’s difficult decision to make about where to live, Alice and Francis’ relationship which was very entertaining and overall, Emmie’s dilemma which was the key focus of the text. Something that really stood out and I felt worked really well was the shifting back and forth in time between the 21^st Century and 16^th Century. In this book, it happened more often and each time Emmie went home, she was more torn about whether to stay or whether to leave again to be with Nick. I also loved the dynamic between her and her mum which started off a bit hostile but grew throughout the pages as she came to understand the situation (however unreal it may have seemed!)

As a lover of historical fiction and someone who is, admittedly, becoming fonder of romance as she grows older, I thoroughly enjoyed the wild ride that Emmie and the Tudor King took me on. You will laugh, you will cry, and you will grow to love the characters who each bear their own strengths and weaknesses. Definitely excited if there is a sequel! 

Emmie and the Tudor Queen is available now in Australia/US! Thank you to the author, Natalie Murray, for providing me with a copy for review! 

I rated this book: 4 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Where We Begin review

 

Where we Begin is a unique, coming of age novel which has the reader hanging on until the final pages. While marketed as a YA contemporary, it includes some mature themes which would be targeted for older young adult readers and adults. It is a book which includes elements of a variety of genres including mystery, romance and part thriller while the key theme identified is the emphasis of family.

In the book, we follow seventeen-year-old Anna. She is unhappy with her home life as her dad works overseas, there is tension with her mum, her mum also dislikes her choice of boyfriend due to his race and she is overall, very stressed. She packs her things and runs away in the night, to her estranged grandparents house in Central Victoria. She thinks the move will help her work out her feelings, but with two people she hasn’t met before who are acting very strangely, will it bring up ghosts from the past?

I devoured this book in a couple of days. Hooked from the first page and drawn into Anna’s very intense life, I wanted to keep reading to find out what was going on. From the first chapter, it was clear that there was more going on but as we read on, more information is disclosed and clues are dropped. The plot was fast moving, even while Anna was living with Bette and Hessel, and continued to throw things at Anna until the end of the book. I loved the mystery and how it was evident there was something sinister going on in the small town. and This kept me guessing until the conclusion. I don’t want to go into detail because it would be a bit spoilery but there are certainly some family twists and turns! As a frequent reader of mysteries and thrillers I may have caught on to the twist but it still packed a punch.

The highlight of the book for me were the characters. Every single character had strong, distinct characteristics which set them aside from the others. All too often main characters in contemporary books seem to melt into one another and appear the same but not in this one. Anna is a fearless, determined young woman who is seeking answers about her mother’s mysterious past life and won’t let anyone get in her way. Bette and Hessel, the unusual grandparents who have been absent from Anna’s life but the reader is unsure as to why. A stand out character for me was Basil. From his first appearance, he was an instantly likeable larrikin who lit up the room. He was very well written as his enthusiasm and care towards others spanned throughout the entire book. Despite them only just meeting, Basil and Anna struck up an instant friendship which felt authentic. Another character who wasn’t featured much but had a strong impact was Cathy, Anna’s mum. Cathy and Anna had a complex relationship which was fleshed out as the plot progressed and it was nice to see by the conclusion, they were each able to identify their mistakes and begin to move on.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book in its entirety. The descriptions of setting were vivid throughout, making the reader feel like they had stepped out in Central Victoria. The plot was well thought out and the flashbacks provided further context to the issues in the present day. Nieman has approached some serious issues in a sensitive manner and considered scenarios which could be based on true events. I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to read about the key themes of family, belonging with some mystery intertwined.

Where we Begin is released on the 25^th of August. Thank you to Macmillan for providing me with a copy for review.

I rated this book: 5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐