The Cardinal: A Novel of Love and Power by Alison Weir

Title: The Cardinal: A Novel of Love and Power

Author: Alison Weir
Genre: Historical Fiction

Other books I've read by this author: Innocent Traitor, Queen Isabella

Synopsis: "Cardinal Thomas Wolsey enjoyed one of the most meteoric careers in history. His rise from humble beginnings coincided with young Henry VIII's ascension to the throne in 1509. The two grew to be cherished friends, and by 1515 Wolsey, now a cardinal, had become the controlling figure in all matters of church and state.

Wolsey operated on an international stage and worked hard to broker universal peace. All was going dazzlingly well until Henry fell in love with Anne Boleyn--the woman whom Wolsey would one day call "the night crow"--and sought to end his marriage to his first wife, Katherine of Aragon. Swept up in the maelstrom of "the Divorce," Wolsey, who had successfully given his master everything he wanted, found himself in an impossible situation. As he drew the ire of the future queen, the cardinal found his privileged life and his relationship with Henry crumbling around him." - Back Cover

My Thoughts

I've read both fiction and nonfiction works by Alison Weir, and I have to say that this is my favorite so far! I was so excited to receive this novel as a Christmas gift, I knew it had to be the first book I read this year. I've read A LOT of historical fiction featuring the Tudors, many from the perspective of women during the period (see all my reviews of Philippa Gregory's novels). It was refreshing to get a new point of view on Henry VIII and learn more about the personal life of Thomas Wolsey. This novel has ambition, love, loss, corruption, and coming of age all wrapped into one engaging story. It was such an enjoyable read, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a fresh perspective on the Tudors.

Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!

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The Nurse's Secret by Amanda Skenandore

 

Title: The Nurse's Secret

Author: Amanda Skenandore

Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis: "Based on Florence Nightingale’s nursing principles, Bellevue is the first school of its kind in the country. Where once nurses were assumed to be ignorant and unskilled, Bellevue prizes discipline, intellect, and moral character, and only young women of good breeding need apply. At first, Una balks at her prim classmates and the doctors’ endless commands. Yet life on the streets has prepared her for the horrors of injury and disease found on the wards, and she slowly gains friendship and self-respect.
Just as she finds her footing, Una’s suspicions about a patient’s death put her at risk of exposure, and will force her to choose between her instinct for self-preservation, and exposing her identity in order to save others." - Back Cover

My Thoughts

My mom bought this for me last Christmas; it was not on my list, but she knows my taste in books perfectly. This book has a little bit of everything: from rags to riches, murder mystery, coming of age, strong female friendships, and a love story. Una is flawed and so likeable, her life tragic and transforming. She has to learn to allow others to help and care for her after always looking out for herself. Her journey from thief to nurse is endearing, and her detective work to uncover a murderer, heroic. I'd recommend adding this to your reading list in the new year!

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Our Last Days in Barcelona by Chanel Cleeton

 Title: Our Last Days in Barcelona

Author: Chanel Cleeton

Genre: Historical Fiction

Other books I've read by this author: Next Year in Havana, When We Left Cuba, The Cuban Heiress , The Last Train to Key West

Synopsis: "Barcelona, 1964. Exiled from Cuba after the revolution, Isabel Perez has learned to guard her heart and protect her family at all costs. After Isabel’s sister Beatriz disappears in Barcelona, Isabel goes to Spain in search of her. Joining forces with an unlikely ally thrusts Isabel into her sister’s dangerous world of espionage, but it’s an unearthed piece of family history that transforms Isabel’s life.

Barcelona, 1936. Alicia Perez arrives in Barcelona after a difficult voyage from Cuba, her marriage in jeopardy and her young daughter Isabel in tow. Violence brews in Spain, the country on the brink of civil war, the rise of fascism threatening the world. When Cubans journey to Spain to join the International Brigades, Alicia’s past comes back to haunt her as she is unexpectedly reunited with the man who once held her heart.

Alicia and Isabel’s lives intertwine, and the past and present collide, as a mother and daughter are forced to choose between their family’s expectations and following their hearts." - Back Cover

My Thoughts

As always, I loved the family dynamics that Chanel Cleeton has created for the Perez sisters. I was engaged and intrigued for the entire story. I'm sure by now you all know that I love a generational story with multiple timelines. This was no exception. I felt this story gave insight and context into Alicia's motives and behavior in the previous novels, allowing the reader to better relate to her. This novel also features a few twists that I have come to expect from Cleeton's work. Somehow, I am still surprised when they pop up. I look forward to reading more her books in 2026!

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Execution by S. J. Parris

Title: Execution

Author: S. J. Parris

Genre: Historical Mystery

Other books I've read by this author: Heresy, Prophecy, and Sacrilege, Treachery, Conspiracy

Synopsis:

"England, 1586. A treasonous conspiracy . . .Giordano Bruno, a heretic turned spy, arrives in England with shocking information for spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham. A band of Catholic Englishmen are plotting to kill Queen Elizabeth and spring Mary Queen of Scots from prison to take the English throne in her place.

A deadly trap . . .

Bruno is surprised to find that Walsingham is aware of the plot - led by the young, wealthy noble Anthony Babington - and is allowing it to progress. He hopes that Mary will put her support in writing - and condemn herself to a traitor's death.

A queen in mortal danger . . .

Bruno is tasked with going undercover to join the conspirators. Can he stop them before he is exposed? Either way a queen will die; Bruno must make sure it is the right one." - Back Cover

My Thoughts

After finishing Conspiracy, I just had to keep going in this series. Sometimes nothing else feels right, and I knew Execution was the only book that was going to hit just right. I have read a lot of historical fiction (if you have read this blog at all, that should not come as a surprise) and I really enjoyed this version of the feud between Queen Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots. It focuses less on the queens themselves and more on those working on their behalf. It gives the reader a chance to understand the motivations of both sides. As always, it is history encapsulated in a murder mystery that Bruno must solve. The perfect combination. Parris, keep the novels in this series coming because I cannot get enough!

Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!

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Conspiracy by S.J. Parris

 Title: Author: S. J. Parris

Genre: Historical Mystery

Other books I've read by this author: Heresy, Prophecy, and Sacrilege, Treachery

Synopsis:  December 1585: King Henry III of France is the last of his line. He has appointed a Protestant as his successor, which has caused a three-way war in his country. As a result, the king is in mortal fear of a coup being orchestrated by the ultra-conservative Catholic League.

Radical philosopher, ex-monk and spy Giordano Bruno, forced to return to Paris, is called upon by King Henry to unearth the motivation behind several mysterious but linked deaths. Each victim is connected to a larger plot to manipulate the royal succession; what they knew and who killed them is a mystery to be solved.

Meanwhile, Bruno makes an uneasy alliance with Charles Paget, a key figure in the community of English Catholics who tried to assassinate Queen Elizabeth. When Bruno is implicated in the death of Leonie, a member of the Queen Mother's "Flying Squadron," he is forced to call on Paget and his connections for help—and finds that it comes with a price, involving an old enemy.

My Thoughts

I love this series. Each novel gets better; more intrigue, more history, more action. I usually like to read other books between novels in a series, for a fresh topic, but when I finished this one, I wanted to go right into the next novel. I don't have it, so I've been putting off starting another book because I'm not ready to move on from Bruno's world. Does that happen to anyone else? I think a trip to the bookstore is in order because after getting the first 4 in the series from the library and the 5th for Christmas, I think this is a collection that I need in my personal library.

Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!

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The Sicilian Inheritance by Jo Piazza

 

Title: The Sicilian Inheritance

Author: Jo Piazza

Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis: Sara Marsala barely knows who she is anymore after the failure of her business and marriage. On top of that, her beloved great-aunt Rosie passes away, leaving Sara bereft with grief. But Aunt Rosie’s death also opens an escape from her life and a window into the past by way of a plane ticket to Sicily, a deed to a possibly valuable plot of land, and a bombshell family secret. Rosie believes Sara’s great-grandmother Serafina, the family matriarch who was left behind while her husband worked in America, didn’t die of illness as family lore has it . . . she was murdered.

Thus begins a twist-filled adventure that takes Sara all over the picturesque Italian countryside as she races to solve a mystery and learn the story of Serafina—a feisty and headstrong young woman in the early 1900s thrust into motherhood in her teens, who fought for a better life not just for herself but for all the women of her small village. Unsurprisingly the more she challenges the status quo, the more she finds herself in danger. 

As Sara discovers more about Serafina, she also realizes she is coming head-to-head with the same menacing forces that took down her great-grandmother.
- Back Cover

My Thoughts

This was on my Christmas list and I was so excited when I received it as a gift from my boyfriend! From the first chapter, I knew I was going to enjoy this novel. It immediately pulls the reader in with intrigue and creates a strong relationship with Sara, the main character. I have Sicilian ancestors who immigrated to the US around the time Serafina's story is set. It was enlightening to read about what it was like to live in Sicily at that time, especially for women. 

You know I love a multigenerational story, and both Sara and Serafina's stories are full of suspense and surprises. At times, I just couldn't wait to return to the novel night after night before bed, and at other times, I needed to take a break because the intense emotions overwhelmed me as I read. I kept returning to it because I had to know how their stories would end, and I'm so glad I did. An unexpected twist completely got me, and I love thinking back like "oh, that was a subtle hint of what is to come!" 

This was a great read and a beautiful addition to my bookshelf.

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Elizabeth The Queen by Sally Bedell Smith

 Title: Elizabeth The Queen

Author: Sally Bedell Smith

Genre: Biography

Synopsis: From the moment of her ascension to the throne in 1952 at the age of twenty-five, Queen Elizabeth II was the object of unparalleled scrutiny. But through the fog of glamour and gossip, how well did we really know the world’s most famous monarch? Drawing on numerous interviews and never-before-revealed documents, acclaimed biographer Sally Bedell Smith pulls back the curtain to show in intimate detail the public and private lives of Queen Elizabeth II, who led her country and Commonwealth through the wars and upheavals of the last twentieth and twenty-first centuries with unparalleled composure, intelligence, and grace.

In Elizabeth the Queen, we meet the young girl who suddenly becomes “heiress presumptive” when her uncle abdicates the throne. We meet the thirteen-year-old Lilibet as she falls in love with a young navy cadet named Philip and becomes determined to marry him, even though her parents prefer wealthier English aristocrats. We see the teenage Lilibet repairing army trucks during World War II and standing with Winston Churchill on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on V-E Day. We see the young Queen struggling to balance the demands of her job with her role as the mother of two young children.

Sally Bedell Smith brings us inside the palace doors and into the Queen’s daily routines—the “red boxes” of documents she reviewed each day, the weekly meetings she had with twelve prime ministers, her physically demanding tours abroad, and the constant scrutiny of the press—as well as her personal relationships: with her husband, Prince Philip, the love of her life; her children and their often-disastrous marriages; her grandchildren and friends. - Back Cover

My Thoughts

I loved following and learning about Queen Elizabeth II and English Royal Family history in general, so when The Queen passed away in 2022 I felt sad. It was the end of an era. With Charles, William, and George there won't be a reigning queen in Britain for generations. On my next visit to my parents' house following her death, my mom had this book waiting for me, understanding how I felt. I started to read it then, but just didn't feel ready. So now, over two years later, I picked it back up and thoroughly enjoyed reading about Queen Elizabeth's life. The book is well researched and written, so while it is a long book, it reads pretty quickly and doesn't feel dry. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the life of Queen Elizabeth II, especially when she was young.

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