The Last Daughter of York by Nicola Cornick is a historical fiction mashup of Richard III and the current-day disappearance of Serena Warren's twin sister Caitlin. The mystery of Caitlin's disappearance is clouded by Serena's confused memory of seeing her sister vanish. The story seems a bit more convoluted and hazy than necessary.

I was immediately drawn to this book when I read the summary, but I wasn’t sure why as historical fiction is rarely my thing unless I know a lot about that piece of history. But maybe the universe (or the lodestar) brought me here, because wow, the dual timelines, the mystery and the murder mystery, and the paranormal aspect was so completely my kind of book. I was hooked from start to finish, especially when we got more paranormal. I’m so glad I was able to read this one and would definitely recommend to anyone who wants a deeper and more historical murder mystery. After reading Last Daughter, I immediately put the previous book involving a side character in this one on hold at the library!

I found The Last Daughter of York by Nicola Cornick to be an interesting read with a mix of history, mystery, and romance.

The dual timelines and character plots were challenging to keep up with at times, but the story kept me guessing until the end.

Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Nicola Cornick uses magic time shifts in the Last Daughter of York. Serena Warren has lost her twin sister Caitlin whose body is found buried in an eighteenth century church vault; Anne Lovell in the fourteenth century is the child bride who matures with Francis Lovell who becomes chamberlain to Richard III. She seeks to protect him and the Prince of York. She sends them forward in time through a family heirloom and Serena seeks to unlock the mystery of her family ties to the Lovells.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC. This is my first book from this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Dual timelines, mystery, historical ties. It almost had a gothic mystery feel to it. It kept me intrigued until the end.

3 stars

I've absolutely loved The Forgotten Sister by Nicola Cornick. This book has a lot of the same elements in it. Two timelines, two similar stories that might or not intertwine. A love story, a death, a mystery on hands.
However the similarities are also working against this book. I feel like the "wow" factor was used while reading the first book, while reading the second one, the plot was more on the slow side than on the thrilling side.

I did enjoy the story and the ending.

Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for allowing me to read this nice book!

I really enjoyed reading the dual timelines of this book. At first I wasn't sure if I'd like it or if I'd get into it but the further I got into the book the more I enjoyed it.

This is my first book with this author and I was completely drawn in. Dual timelines, one present day and one back in the time of King Richard III and the princes in the tower. A bit of history, bit of mystery, bit of time travel.

Like many, the story of Richard III and the princes in the tower has fascinated me for years and I was delighted to see another book that focuses on this time period. Told in 2 story lines, one contemporary and one in the late 14th century, this focuses on the Lovells, specifically Anne and Francis, who were contemporaries of Richard III. Francis Lovell was one of Richard's close friends and advisors.

The story has a similar feel to Susanna Kearsley's writing with time travel and the dual story line advancing the plot. I felt like the contemporary sections were less engaging, but the historical ones really carried the narrative for me. I do agree with some other reviews that there were a lot of characters thrown into the historical sections and having at least a basic grasp of who the characters are already would be of help to the reader in following the plot. I think I wanted a little bit more detail, or at least a less easily tied-up ending to the contemporary story, which felt a little bit too convenient.

Overall, I'm giving this one 3-1/2 out of 5 stars (rounded up to 4). It was an entertaining read and a subject matter I find interesting but would have liked a little bit more development of the contemporary storyline to better balance the book.

I was granted eARC access to The Last Daughter of York by HarperCollins Canada via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.

Serena's sister went missing 11 years ago and now her body has turned up in a centuries-old grave. What on Earth happened here? Read to find out! The Last Daughter of York is a dual timeline story split between the 1480s and present day as Serena, her aunt, and the reader try to figure out how the ancient family relic and mysterious burial from Anne's time tie together with Serena's missing sister 6 centuries later.

I knew this was a spit timeline story when I requested the eARC but by the time I got around to reading it, I forgot. That first timeline switch confused me! I then spent a few chapters trying to piece together how this past timeline story would fit in with Serena's, but as soon as the mystery of the ancient tomb with the modern occupant came up I was reminded of my favourite Crichton novel, Timeline, and I was all-in.

Both timelines were interesting stories and well-written and interesting in their own right, but I felt like it took far too long to get from one connecting tidbit to the next. Part of me wonders if it might have been more effective to tell one timeline story then the other in sequence, rather than swapping back and forth and trying so hard to remind the reader that there's a connection. I enjoyed Anne's storyline far more than Serena's and I found myself wishing Serena's chapters would pass by faster so I could get back to Anne.

Overall this is a good book and fans of historical fiction should find something to love here.

Well Nicola has done it again, with her latest book. The Last Daughter of York is an exciting foray into dual time stories with history and a bit of sci-fi thrown in,

The story starts with the fable of the Mistletoe Bride, but is there truth to the story of the missing Bride, and in this case a missing artifact with mystical powers. The story then jumps to modern times when Serena Warren is notified that the body of her missing sister has been found after 11 years. Serena flies home to England to assist the police in anyway that she can. Serena was there when her sister disappeared, but the trauma of that night has caused amnesia that prevents her from knowing what really happened. There is a further mystery about her sister’s death, her remains were found in a coffin that has not been opened since the 18th century, how is that even possible?

The other story is that of Anne Lovell, a young noblewoman in 15th century England during the turbulent War of the Roses. Anne’s husband Francis Lovell is a loyal friend and servant to Richard Duke of Gloucester aka the infamous Richard III, This portion of the story covers the trial and trevails of the rise and fall of Richard III and the fate of the Princes in the Tower and how it relates to the story of Serena and her sister.

I really enjoyed the two stories and how they connected. I did not guess the secret so that was a pleasant and intriguing surprise.

I recommend this book for lovers of history, mystery and a bit of magic.

Thanks to Netgalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing/Graydon House and the author Nicola Cornick for the chance to read and review this book.

I loved this book! The mix of a modern disappearance with the long standing historical mystery of the princes in the tower, along with a touch of mystical magic, made for an engrossingly thrilling read! I love how the author intertwined historical fact with fantasy to create a new ending to an enduring puzzle. The plot flowed well and kept me invested and guessing until the ending. If you love a mystery and history, this is the book for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for access to this arc.

The Last Daughter of York by Nicola Cornick is a fast-paced captivating read. This is a beautifully written and well-researched story with a mix of mystical artifacts and old legends. The Last Daughter of York is told in dual timelines with well-written and well-developed characters. I look forward to reading more from this author.

With thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is the kind of story which I love; time travel, history, mystery. I loved the dual time lines of the 1480s and the present day. It revolves around the mystery of the disappearance of the sister in the present day and how it is connected to Anne Lovell and her husband Francis Lovell in the past. The descriptions were excellently written, but I felt the ending was tied up too quickly and left me with some unresolved questions.

Intriguing mashup of contemporary fiction, romance, historical fiction, and sci-fi, this novel has two storylines, one set in the fifteenth century and the other in modern day England. In the past, young Anna Fitzhugh is only five years old, but as with many children of nobles in the day, she is married for political reasons; her husband is Francis Lovell, only eight but destined to become dear friends with Richard of Gloucester, the future Richard III. Anna and Francis grow closer as they mature, but new political challenges and secrets threaten their relationship. Meanwhile, modern-day Serena has lived for eleven years grappling with the mystery of her twin sister Caitlin's disappearance when she learns that the police have recovered Caitlin's body. While this discovery should bring closure, instead a new puzzle emerges: Caitlin's bones were found in a grave sealed in the eighteenth century. Is an old artifact the key to both women's questions?
I thought this was well-written and held my interest. The author's research into the historical aspects of the story was clear (minor quibble: the use of "Your Majesty" to address kings/queens was used many years earlier than it should have been).
Recommended

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. This book was an enjoyable read that always left me guessing. I do feel like the dual timelines could have been done a bit better, one of them kept me engaged in the story while the other one didn't. I did like how researched it was, it made everything come alive.

Nothing made sense about the disappearance of Serena's twin Caitlin and now that her bones have been discovered, things are even more confusing. This dual time line novel moves between Tudor England and the present to tell a tale of a family with a magical opportunity. It's the 15th century and Annie was married to Francis when they were 5 and 8 respectively. The upheaval of the following years sees them taking on the duty of protecting Richard of York. No spoilers as to how they do this but Serena will discover there's more to her family history than anyone knew. Although the novel is slow to start, it picks up and pops along about half way through, making the second half a better read than the first. Frankly, I found the five year old Anne too much- no five year old thinks or speaks the way she does here. There's some nice atmospherics of the Tudor period and the characters are good. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. I suspect others will like this more than I did.

I received an ARC from the publisher and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own/

The Last Daughter of York is everything a truly good dual-timeline story should be: both arcs are well fleshed out and the connection between them is revealed slowly, yet there are well-placed breadcrumbs early on that keep the reader invested.

I loved the historical arc, The Wars of the Roses have been written about and dramatized numerous times, but I loved the focus on a side player, Francis Lovell, and his wife, Anne, and the role they played as courtiers in the treacherous landscape of this time period. I loved how it centered on the fate of Richard, one of the Princes in the Tower, and his fate, as that is such an enduring question which we will likely never have an answer to, even with more recent archaeological discoveries.

I love how Serena’s story both complemented the historical one and worked pretty well in its own right. She’s dealing with the trauma of her sister’s disappearance years ago, and the questions surrounding questionable evidence at the site her body was found that doesn’t add up in a logical sense. I love the way it also hints at Richard’s fate, and even the connection he has to their family. While the clues made it increasingly obvious who he was, I was stunned to find out the means through which these supernatural feats came to pass.

I will say that Cornick definitely leans toward a more plot-and-action driven style, as I didn’t feel super emotionally invested in the characters in either time period. This was a bigger flaw in a previous novel of hers in a similar vein, however this time around, the constant sequence of events in both timelines made up for the lack of real character depth.

This is a page-turning, genre-blending read, perfect for fans of historical mysteries with a light paranormal twist.

A historically inspired story of olden English times and famous people who might not have died after all. Maybe they just moved on to live in another time and place? I received an ARC from Net Galley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for my honest review.

5 Stars! This was such a fantastic book! I highly recommend this one! I’ve never read this authors work before but I definitely want to read more from her! This book has a blend of mystery, romance, history, suspense, fantasy, magic, sad bits, happy bits and a HEA! I really loved this book! I wish this was what really happened to the young boy, Richard, and not the whole sordid tale about him being in the tower and killed so he couldn’t claim the throne one day. If I had to say anything negative about this book, I’d say it could be overly descriptive at times but that’s better than not describing it enough. I really loved the ending too & wish the book had an epilogue. Maybe a bit more about Francis and Richards “journey” also. I wonder what happened to the “bad guy”?! That would make an interesting novella!! I was sad when the story ended, I was enjoying it so much! I can not recommend this book enough, just trust me here and read it! (You’re welcome!)
*I received this book at no charge & I voluntarily left this review.*