Kelly reviews The Tudor Conspiracy + giveaway

The Tudor Conspiracy by C.W. Gortner

Tour hosted by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

St. Martin's Griffin | 352p | July 16, 2013

The Tudor Conspiracy is the second book in C.W. Gortner's Spymaster Chronicles series.  Brendan Prescott is caught between trying to show loyalty to Princess Elizabeth and trying to stay alive with Queen Mary. His mission is to help hide a letter of Elizabeth's that may potentially have her arrested or killed as part of a treason plot against Mary. His comings and goings between the two women are made difficult because of a shady ambassador and a beautiful woman (isn't there always) who may or may not be all that she seems (....but isn't there always?). Brendan himself has secret ties to the royal family and struggles to keep his true self out of harm's way.

Perhaps me not reading the first book in the series is the reason for feeling a little disconnected from the characters. It would probably help if you read the first book of the series, The Tudor Secret, before reading this one. I think I was missing a large plot piece in this book: how was Brendan involved with the Dudleys and why do they hate him so much now? There were a lot of characters that I think were in the first book and got some good development, yet here fell a little flat without knowing their backstories. Elizabeth, one of my favorite historical women, didn’t seem that interesting to me, yet I loved the portrayal of Queen Mary. She was still a bit crazy, but she’s very sympathetic and seems simply misguided and lonely.

I thoroughly enjoyed having a male narrator. I made a mental list of the fiction books I've read this year so far (81), and except for Fight Club, a John Green book, and Harry Potter, NONE of them have had a male narrator or main character. My two favorite genres, historical fiction and YA, seem to be severely lacking in attempts to get into the male brain. This fact made The Tudor Conspiracy so refreshing, though I did quite miss detailed descriptions of the women's dresses, as are usual in historical fictions! I really loved C.W. Gortner’s other book on Queen Isabella of Castile and enjoyed his writing style; this carried over to his recent book as well. Even though I felt disconnected from the characters (perhaps my own fault) I still thought the story was an interesting ride overall!

I am able to giveaway my copy of the book (I simply can't keep books anymore) to one of you readers! Like I said earlier, try to get your hands on The Tudor Secret before reading this one. The giveaway is open to U.S. residents only and you have until July 26th. Simply leave a comment below! Good luck!

U.S. cover

U.K. cover

 I love doing cover comparisons, whether they be by county, language, or time. I received the U.S. version on the right and was constantly giggling at the determined look on the girl's face (and still wasn't sure of who she was) but I am absolutely in love with the U.K. cover! It's both mysterious and serious, two things I associated with the story. Is it just me or are all British covers usually better?