The Elizabeth Tudor Conspiracy

Thankyou to NetGalley, Sapere Books and the author, Alexandra Walsh, for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of The Elizabeth Tudor Conspiracy in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
No words can describe my excitement when I received a review copy of this book. I have read the first novel in the series and loved it, so I really wanted to see where Ms Walsh would go next.
Let me start off by saying, you could read this book as a stand alone story. There is enough of a backstory to follow this one. ( but in my opinion, you are missing one hell of a ride )
The storyline itself was well thought out and written. The changes between timelines is woven together really well. The characters are well defined and realistic in their nature. The scenery was magically descriptive. I was completely absorbed.
This book, and series, is an incredible read. If, like me, you enjoy reading about Tudor England, then this book is a "must read"
Alison Weir and Philippa Gregory, ( two of my favourite authors) you have competition.
Thankyou Ms Walsh for writing such an intriguing story. I certainly can't wait for more.
Definitely worth a read

I think this was a really awesome follow-up to the last book. I figured out the mystery quite early on which I'm sure most readers did but there was still sorting out the fact from the extraordinary fiction which I loved doing because it made me research while reading the book to see which parts were entirely made up and which part were made up in truth. I enjoyed the book I did think its predecessor was a little better but now I'm anxiously awaiting the third title

Like the first book in The Marquess House Trilogy, this sequel is a ‘timeshift thriller’ and takes place in two locations and times. The book is written in a way that you could read it as a standalone, but it’s more enjoyable as a sequel.

The first book focused on the “truth” behind Catherine Howard, Henry VII’s fifth wife. Now in book two, Dr. Perdita Rivers and her twin sister, Piper, are safely ensconced in Andorra, at the Mackensie home (I say home, but really, it’s a castle fortress!). As the twins continue tracing the history of the ring that Perdita found in the last book, they find themselves on a quest to discover what happened to Catherine’s twins – a boy and girl – and how these unknown heirs could have affected the Tudor monarchy.

I haven’t done the math yet, but I felt like the book focused a lot more on the Tudor time-period than the present-day storyline. Even when we were in the present-day, the characters were focused on reading Tudor-era letters or fact-checking timelines. This made the book feel unbalanced, but considering how much information was conveyed, I can understand the need to spend more time on the Tudors.

And trust me, there’s A LOT going on. If you thought the historical “twist” that the author revealed in Book One was a surprise, you are not going to believe what happens to the Tudor history we know and love in this one!

I had two small quibbles with this book (and really, more personal quirks than any problem with the book):

1. I wanted to spend more time in the present-day storyline because I still have so many questions! I didn’t feel that there was as much character building as there was in Book One, which was kind of disappointing since I was really looking forward to getting to know the characters better in this book. I’m quite fond of these characters which is why it probably didn’t feel like I spent enough time with them in this book.

2. I got a bit confused whenever I was in the Tudor era. Don’t get me wrong, I read quite a bit of historical fiction, and much of it is based in Tudor/Elizabethan England so I’m used to the dozens of Katherines, Marys and Thomases, but even I had trouble keeping up with all the similarly-named ladies, the titles AND the multiple codenames that were thrown about whenever this novel shifted to the Tudor storyline.

I read most of this book in one sitting, but I had to stop when I got near the end (darn “real life” responsibilities) and didn’t pick it up again until a day or so later. And that’s probably a good thing because the ending? Let me tell you, IT IS CRAZY. Aside from the gazillion huge twists to Tudor history (ok, probably not a gazillion, but at least 2-3 solid changes), Perdita and Piper have a heart-stopping adventure of the own.

And even when I got to the last sentence and the scene is quiet and calm, my mind was abuzz with SO. MANY. QUESTIONS.

Thank goodness this is a trilogy – I just hope I don’t have to wait too long for the third, and final, book. My personal quibbles aside, this was another great read. The story is incredible and the characters, both past and present are well-written.. I’m not sure what Alexandra can pull out of her hat to top the revised Tudor history twists that she threw at me in The Elizabeth Tudor Conspiracy, but I bet it will be a doozy.

*** Thank you to the publisher, Sapere Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. ***

I loved the first book in this trilogy, The Catherine Howard Conspiracy, so I jumped at the opportunity to review the second. While it didn't disappoint, I didn't find it quite as good as the first. This book follows the same format as the first with several chapters in current time and several in the past. I did like the pace of the time shift better in this book.

The dual story line works well and I still love the "what if" aspect based on historical research. I liked that it didn't take the whole book to find out who the Howard twins are, even though it wasn't immediate for both. For the Elizabethan portion my main fault was keeping the characters straight. My knowledge of late Tudor historical figures is weaker than earlier ones so keeping up with who's who and how they were all related on top of their code names was slightly confusing. I also found the "twist" in this book much more far fetched, but that really doesn't affect my rating because it did make me wonder if it was actually possible, if extremely unlikely.

I was happy with the pace the present day followed. It wasn't as action packed in some ways, but I think it fit well with what was happening in the other portion. I liked how Walsh built onto to MI1 Elite/conspiracy part of the first book. Since this portion still focuses mainly on Perdita and her twin sister Piper and Kit Mackensie and a handful of minor characters it was easier to keep track of the characters and I feel invested in them at this point. That said, my main fault with this part was over clarifying who the characters were. They aren't difficult to keep track of, but it seemed like Walsh was frequently repeating how they are connected.

Overall, Walsh keeps the good aspects of the first book & the lead up to the conclusion is extremely promising. Everything that I enjoyed about the first book continued into this one. I'm looking forward to finding out the release date for the conclusion!

Thank you to NetGalley, Sapere Books, and Alexandra Walsh for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

My thanks to Sapere Books for an eARC via NetGalley of Alexandra Walsh’s ‘The Elizabeth Tudor Conspiracy’ in exchange for an honest review. I have since bought my own Kindle edition.

This is the second in her Marquess House Trilogy and although some background is provided I would urge new readers to obtain the first book, ‘The Catherine Howard Conspiracy’ in order to understand the situation that twins, Perdita and Piper, find themselves in as well as the 16th Century conspiracy that underpins the trilogy.

The narrative moves between the present day and the Court of Elizabeth I in 1586 as she deals with various threats to her throne. I am not going to say anything further about the plot in order to avoid spoilers for this and the previous novel.

I will note that there are a great number of characters in the historical sections, which can be confusing. I feel that a list of characters, their titles and codenames (where appropriate) would have been of assistance.

Overall though I felt that Walsh has created an intriguing historical mystery/conspiracy thriller that while is a ‘what if’ also has a great deal of research into the Tudor period at its heart. I also appreciated the emphasis upon Elizabeth’s relationships with other women as confidants, advisors, and intelligencers (spies).

I found it very entertaining and certainly I am looking forward to the final book in the series.

I love this series!
I read The Catherine Howard Conspiracy earlier this year and was so excited to read the sequel. And it did not disappoint. While this does stand alone, I think the full intricacies of the plot and characters' relationships can be more fully appreciated if you read them all.
It's hard to write a review that doesn't give any spoilers! But this is thrilling, interesting and thoroughly enjoyable.
Definitely 5 stars!
Thank you Netgalley for the digital copy in return for an honest review