Early last week or the week before ReneeW blogged about Susan Carroll's The Dark Queen, knowing I wanted this book and The Courtesan I ran out last Monday and picked up both at B&N. After an incredibly busy week, I finally finished both books. Renee gave TDQ a B+ and her review is right on, a very good book but not perfect.Yesterday morning I finished The Courtesan. It rises above TDQ, what a fantastic book. There is a wonderful review at AAR . Here is a quote from the review that completely describes how I felt about the book:
This novel is almost 600 pages long and includes court intrigue, witchcraft, potential war, religious persecution and yes, a romance. Given all that, I would not have been surprised if it had bogged down at some point, but it never did. Ms. Carroll managed the various story threads with skill and grace. I read this in a night, unable to put it down. Though the plot and setting made this read more like straight historical fiction (with the very slightest touch of the paranormal), the author never forgot the romance. I was intellectually intrigued and emotionally satisfied right through the slightly over-the-top climax. Not many books can do that.
When I sat down to read yesterday morning I told myself I was only going to read for 20 minutes, I was so sucked into the climax (the last 100+/-) pages I didn't look up for 45 minutes and spent the next 20 scrambling to take a shower and get Junior to school on time, somehow we made it by the skin of our teeth.
The next book The Silver Rose is due out in February. I can't wait!!!Have a great day and happy reading.
7 comments:
OOOOhhhh, Tara, I want, I want! The preview for The Cortesan at the end of TDQ looked good. Glad to hear it was even better. Thank you! Now I need to go shopping.
Call me slow, but I didn't realize this series was also a paranormal. Either way, these books are among the top of the list.
Question for you, Tara - have you ever read any Susan Carroll books besides the Bride Finder series? It's been years, but I did read two other books of hers that were pretty good, though they didn't appeal to me quite as much. Just wondering. :o)
Jen
Renee--this one really was better than TDQ, which was pretty darned good--LOL.
Jen--I think I've read her three Bride Finders, and The Painted Veil and the 2 she originally wrote under her real name Susan Copolla, Winterbourne and Shades of Winter. I just did a Google search and found a website that lists even more of her books:
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/authors/Susan_Carroll.htm
I hope the link works.
Excellent reccommendations! Thanks.
I think I need to go to the bookstore again, Tara! :)
I read the three you mentioned, too. I remember being very disappointed in "Shades of Winter" because I was hoping for more of the parents (hero and heroine from "Winterbourne"), but no such luck. Though I do think they were both very good medievals.
And it's been so long since I read "The Painted Veil", but I also remember thinking it was a bit different than anything I'd ever read - in a good way. Of course, I think the only historical romances I'd read at that time had been Kathleen Woodiwiss or Julie Garwood. lol.
OK - I'm intrigued, and author I have never read!
I'll have to get one of her books to read it - is there one particular one that really stands out?
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