Review: Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade

Review: Lord John and the Brotherhood of the BladeLord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade (Lord John Grey, #2) by Diana Gabaldon
Series: Lord John Grey #2
Published by Delacorte Press on August 28, 2007
Genres: Historical
Pages: 511
Goodreads
four-stars

FINAL DECISION: A winding walk through 18th Century England with Lord John Grey who is investigating the truth of his father’s allegiances, preparing his troops for war, and trying to live his life as a gay man where dangers threaten at every turn. The character of John is so vivid here, that I enjoyed this journey.

THE STORY: In the mid 1700s, Lord John and his brother are both soldiers in the Seven Years’ War. As their mother prepares to marry again, secrets from their father’s death and questions of whether he was a Jacobite traitor arise again. Lord John looks into the matter and someone seems to be taunting the family and threatening Lord John int he process. At the same time, Lord John’s new stepbrother is attracting Lord John’s attention.

OPINION: This book rests almost entirely on the character of Lord John. I enjoy reading of his life and how he deals with the complications of his family, his sexuality and just how he fits into the historical events of his time. He is a complex character. He has an unrequited love for Jamie Fraser, but he continues to live his life.

This book is driven by the mystery surrounding Lord John’s father’s death and whether he was a Jacobite sympathizer. However, while that is the framing of the story, this book is also about relationship and family and the dangers and events that Lord John experiences in his historical time period.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit and am more and more impressed with the historical depth of Gabaldon’s books.

WORTH MENTIONING: Jamie makes a couple small appearances here in a book that happens during the events of VOYAGER.

CONNECTED BOOKS: LORD JOHN AND THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE BLADE is the second book in the Lord John Grey series which is a spinoff of her Outlander series. I don’t know if people read these books apart from the Outlander books, but I think that this book assumes a reader already knows who these characters are so I would only recommend this series if a reader is familiar with the Outlander books

STAR RATING: I give this book 4 stars.

four-stars

Review: Slightly Dangerous

Review: Slightly DangerousSlightly Dangerous (Bedwyn Saga, #6) by Mary Balogh
Series: Bedwyn Saga #6
Published by Delacorte Press on June 1st 2004
Genres: Historical
Pages: 368
Goodreads
five-stars

Absolutely Fantastic End to the Bedwyn Series

SLIGHTLY DANGEROUS is the final book in the Bedwyn series. It is the story of the Duke of Bewcastle, Wulfric Bedwyn. In the previous two years, Bewcastle has seen his five siblings happily married. He is now alone and is somewhat restless. That leads him to accepting an invitation for a house party. There he meets Christine Derrick, a widow, whose behavior, while not scandalous, is not completely ladylike either. She is too bright. Of course, the cold, reserved Duke is attracted despite himself.

I absolutely loved this book. It ended up being my favorite of the series. Balogh did an amazing job of allowing the reader to see how two people who appear to be so incompatible are actually perfect for one another. The slow development of the romance between them just built to such an ending that I just smiled through the last chapters of the book.

I started this late in the evening intending to read a couple chapters before bed…didn’t happen. I was immediately drawn into the story and couldn’t put it down. I ended up staying up most of the night to finish it. There was never a lull in the book. Every moment built upon the other. This book plays into Balogh’s strengths. The inner life of these people is slowly revealed. The characters are vivid and compelling.

I have nothing bad to say about it except that I think it is a better book for having read the others in the series first.

Highly recommend!

Save

five-stars