On tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club - The Bridled Tongue by Catherine Meyrick #BookReview #HistoricalFiction #BlogTour @cameyrick1 @maryanneyarde

 

Once again I am taking part in a virtual blog tour for The Coffee Pot Book Club. But before we get to my review, let's check out the blurb of today's spotlighted book!

England 1586.

Alyce Bradley has few choices when her father decides it is time she marry as many refuse to see her as other than the girl she once was--unruly, outspoken and close to her grandmother, a woman suspected of witchcraft. 

Thomas Granville, an ambitious privateer, inspires fierce loyalty in those close to him and hatred in those he has crossed. Beyond a large dowry, he is seeking a virtuous and dutiful wife. Neither he nor Alyce expect more from marriage than mutual courtesy and respect.

As the King of Spain launches his great armada and England braces for invasion, Alyce must confront closer dangers from both her own and Thomas's past, threats that could not only destroy her hopes of love and happiness but her life. And Thomas is powerless to help.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue.

My Review 

I do love books set in the Tudor era. The Bridled Tongue is set during Elizabeth I's reign, but this novel does not focus on any of the key figures of this era, although there are rumbling murmurs of the growing threat from the Spanish. Instead, this novel tells the story of Alyce Bradley and her rather dashing soon-to-be husband, Thomas Granville.

Initially, I thought I was reading a romance book with the traditional plot that historical romances like to follow, but this novel is so much more than a romance. It is a story rich in history and frightening in the sense that a reputation could be destroyed in an instant. Poor Alyce had really lucked out when it came to her family, resulting in the most dreadful of situations. Jealousy tears Alyce's family apart, and the situation soon escalates out of control. I don't want to give any spoilers, but it is enough to say that once started, there was no way I was putting this book down. I think it must have been around 3 in the morning when I finally finished it, but it was more than worth it. This book deserved my attention, and I willingly gave it. 

I really enjoyed every minute of this novel, and I will certainly be looking out from more books from this very talented author.

But this Book

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Catherine Meyrick

Catherine Meyrick is a writer of historical fiction with a particular love of Elizabethan England. Her stories weave fictional characters into the gaps within the historical record – tales of ordinary people who are very much men and women of their time, yet in so many ways are like us today. These are people with the same hopes and longings as we have to find both love and their own place in a troubled world.

Catherine grew up in regional Victoria, but has lived all her adult life in Melbourne, Australia. Until recently she worked as a customer service librarian at her local library. She has a Master of Arts in history and is also an obsessive genealogist. When not writing, reading and researching, Catherine enjoys gardening, the cinema and music of all sorts from early music and classical to folk and country and western and, not least of all, taking photos of the family cat to post on Instagram.

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