The historical premise sounded so interesting, as did the modern day story, but the historical narrative just did not catch my interest and made it really hard for me to enjoy reading. DNF @25%

A well written novel about a woman escaping a psychopath husband.

I had hoped this would turn out to be another "Outlander" type of book or Susanna Kearsley book. It is set during an interesting time in history,but doesn't capture my interest the way other historical fiction/time travel fiction does.

Court of Lions is the latest novel by author Jane Johnson. In the present day, Kate Fordham is an Englishwoman living incognito in Granada, Spain. Kate is hiding from her abusive husband, James. One day Kate is visiting the Alhambra and finds a small piece of paper with unusual writing on it hidden in a wall in the garden. How long has that paper lain hidden in the wall? Kate meets friends at the Alhambra who help her discover what is on the paper and its origins. Kate is worried about her sister, Jess after she receives a coded email from her. James has found Jess and taken something very precious. It will not be long before he tracks down Kate.

Blessings is a companion to Prince Abu Abdullah Mohammed in Granada in 1476. Blessings cares for Prince Abu aka Momo, but must keep his feelings to himself. As Momo gets older, the tasks set to Blessings by Momo become more challenging. Momo’s father, Sultan Moulay Hasan takes a mistress who will bring conflict to the palace that will forever change Momo’s life. Then there is Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand with their Inquisition. What will happen to Blessings and Prince Abu?

Court of Lions is a dual time line story (alternating chapters). The book is a slower-paced story that took me a short time to become engaged. I found the writing to be descriptive. The vivid descriptions of the Alhambra (I adored the tile descriptions) and the region allow readers to visualize it (I would love to visit it). The historical sections seemed more alive than those set in the present day. As the book progresses, we find out why Kate is hiding in Granada, how she met James and what happened to their marriage. Kate was a bit of a contradiction (and a little hard to like at times). I thought she would be more afraid of getting involved with another man after her disastrous relationship with James. The romantic entanglement felt predictable, but he was needed to aid the story. Blessings history is revealed throughout the story. We find out why he had to leave his tribe and came to be with Prince Abu. Blessings was devoted to Prince Abu and would do anything he requested. I was curious as to how the two separate storylines related, but it becomes more obvious as the novel progresses. The author did a wonderful job at incorporating the history into the book. She made the time-period come alive and beautifully weaved it into her story. It is obvious that Ms. Johnson did her research for Court of Lions. Christopher Columbus even makes an appearance. Blessings story takes place over twenty years while Kate’s section encompasses less than one month. Some of the themes presented in Court of Lions are love, poverty, grief, heartache, differences and similarities between religions, religious persecution, friendship, greed, cultural discrimination, family, violence, war, bond between sisters, domestic abuse and passion. I do wish readers to know that there is foul language, graphic violence and descriptions of intimate relations included in Court of Lions. To discover what is written on the scrap of paper Kate found at the Alhambra and get swept back in time, then grab a copy of Court of Lions.

Although I liked the book, I thought there would be more of a connection between the two story lines. Well researched but I won't go out of my way to find more by this author.

*ARC via netgalley*

Bland. Boring. Uninspiring. Those are the words that come to mind when I think about this book. The author did a great job with creating a world for the characters to live in and the story was pretty easy to follow along with.
The characters just fell flat. Kate is completely boring, and I believe that the storyline would not have suffered if she was wholly left out. After she leaves her abusive relationship, she remains muted as a character and never develops into anything memorable.
Blessings is an entirely different character altogether. I am not sure if Blessings ever deluges that they prefer to be a male or a female? They rotate as both since they are a hermaphrodite; which did not bother me but left me more confused about their identity than apparently were. What I did not care about with Blessings is the constant professing of love for Boabdil. WE GET IT! HE IS PERFECT IN EVERYWAY! Ugh! It was a chore to read about how perfect Blessings thought Boabdil was and that aspect could have seriously been muted.
I am not sure who I would recommend this book to. Perhaps someone who likes historical fiction with a flair of extra drama?
I do appreciate that Netgalley and the publisher allowed me to read this book. It just was not for me.

I was curious to read this book because I’d visited the Alhambra several times and am interested in the history. So I liked that part of the story, as it provided an alternative to the history most of us know. I found the modern story a bit strange, although the ties in the notes and the boot were quite interesting. I’d give it 3.5 stars.

This novel links the past and the present through a series of suspenseful incidents. Very well written.

I had a hard time getting into this book. Since I did not finish it, I do not intend to publish a review.

I did not know much about Granada, the ancient capital of the Moors in Spain before reading Court of Lions. As a dual narrative, the story goes between modern day and the 15th century. While the modern-day story was easier to follow, the 15th-century story was far more captivating. Blessing, the young boy’s story was well researched (based on facts) and quite interesting. Kate, the contemporary character was believable and sympathetic but appeared to be just a vehicle used to describe modern day Granada. The subject of her angst (abuse) could very easily be replaced with searching for a missing person or artifact. Or it could have been built around the Nest of Storks. She needed to be there for the juxtaposition of the modern with the ancient. But why she was there was not that interesting. Her story has been told time and again by others and with far better tellings.

I received a free copy of the book from NetGalley and Pegasus Books in exchange for my honest review. Thank you.

Johnson has clearly done her research in this story of Granada. Told from two points of view, Blessing' s in the 15th century and Kate's in the 21st century. The story is linked by a a piece of petty that Kate finds that was seemingly written in the 15th century. Blessing is a slave who was given to the would be sultan as a playmate. He becomes the right hand of the Sultan and their story is played out against the lushness of the palace and the destruction of holy war and the unification of Spain. Isabella and Ferdinand and Christopher Columbus make appearances in this historical backdrop. In the present day premise, Kate has escaped her past which unfolds as she finds her way in Granada. Lost love and sisterhood along with exquisite descriptions of food and flaura pepper her story. The love and adventure along with the history of the region are all components that Johnson ties together to keep the reader enthralled.

Copy provided by the Publisher and NetGalley