Mist of Midnight by Sandra Byrd

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Mist of Midnight

Howard Books (March 10, 2015)

by

Sandra Byrd

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

After earning her first rejection at the age of thirteen, bestselling author Sandra Byrd has now published more than forty books. Her adult fiction debut, Let Them Eat Cake, was a Christy Award finalist, as was her first historical novel, To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn. To Die For was also named by Library Journal as a Best Books Pick for 2011 and The Secret Keeper: A Novel of Kateryn Parr, was named a Library Journal Best Books Pick for 2012. The Tudor series’ end cap, Roses Have Thorns: A Novel of Elizabeth I published in April, 2013.

A life-long lover of Victorian Gothic romances, Sandra’s new series, Daughters of Hampshire, weaves elements of that mystical, traditional genre with inspirational and literary threads. Mist of Midnight, the series’ first book, debuts in March, 2015.

Sandra has also published dozens of books for tweens and teens, and is passionate about helping new authors develop their talent and their work toward traditional or independent publication. As such, she has mentored and coached hundreds of new writers and continues to coach dozens to success each year.

ABOUT THE BOOK

In the first of a brand-new series set in Victorian England, a young woman returns home from India after the death of her family to discover her identity and inheritance are challenged by the man who holds her future in his hands.

Rebecca Ravenshaw, daughter of missionaries, spent most of her life in India. Following the death of her family in the Indian Mutiny, Rebecca returns to claim her family estate in Hampshire, England. Upon her return, people are surprised to see her...and highly suspicious. Less than a year earlier, an imposter had arrived with an Indian servant and assumed not only Rebecca's name, but her home and incomes.

That pretender died within months of her arrival; the servant fled to London as the young woman was hastily buried at midnight. The locals believe that perhaps she, Rebecca, is the real imposter. Her home and her father's investments reverted to a distant relative, the darkly charming Captain Luke Whitfield, who quickly took over. Against her best intentions, Rebecca begins to fall in love with Luke, but she is forced to question his motives—does he love her or does he just want Headbourne House? If Luke is simply after the property, as everyone suspects, will she suffer a similar fate as the first “Rebecca”?


If you would like to read the first chapter of Mist of Midnight, go HERE.

Review: Roses Have Thorns by Sandra Byrd

Roses Have Thorns: A Novel of Elizabeth I (Ladies in Waiting #3)
By: Sandra Byrd
Publisher: Howard Books
ISBN: 978-1-4391-8316-8

Review:

Just shy of her seventeenth birthday, Lady Elin von Snakenborg's future is in flux -- though she is engaged, her fiance's eye has turned toward her younger sister, jeopardizing her future just as she prepares to embark on an arduous journey to the English court as one of the Swedish Princess Cecelia's attendants. With her future at home uncertain, Elin turns her attentions to life at the English court and its charismatic queen, Elizabeth I. When Elin catches the eye of the Marquess of Northampton, Sir William Parr, she determines to forge a new life for herself at the center of Tudor power, and remains behind in service to Elizabeth when Cecelia and her retinue return to Sweden. Taking the name of Helena, she determines to become a true Englishwoman, and devotes herself to serve her new queen. Helena's loyalty to Elizabeth does not go unnoticed or unrewarded, and she quickly becomes one of Elizabeth's chosen few, a lady of privilege and power in a dangerous world that would seek to sway the queen's decisions. When Helena falls in love with an untitled gentleman, she discovers just how high a price the cost of friendship with a queen can be, and must decide how to balance loyalty to her sovereign with the desires of her heart.

Roses Have Thorns is the third installment of Sandra Byrd's Ladies in Waiting series, exploring the lives, loves, and times of powerful Tudor queens as seen through the eyes of their closest companions -- the ladies in waiting who stood in attendance while history was being made. I haven't read Byrd's work before, but after reading her richly evocative exploration of Elizabeth and Helena's world, I definitely plan to explore the previous novels in this series which focused on two of Elizabeth's predecessors -- her mother, Anne Bolyen, and her father's last wife, Kateryn Parr. I love novels that seek to shed light on the lives of women at pivotal points in history -- most often against highly patriarchal social constructs. Byrd's work here illuminating the life of Elizabeth I, as seen through the eyes of one of her closest companions -- a foreign noblewoman who rose to the heights of Tudor power, becoming the second-highest ranking woman in the land, fits comfortably alongside the fiction from the likes of C.W. Gortner. Gortner is a master at restoring the humanity and complicated passions to women (such as Catherine de Medici) oft-times maligned by history. In a similar fashion Byrd crafts a thoroughly engaging portrait of Elizabeth through the eyes of a woman who revered her, whose unswerving loyalty was balanced by a keen insight into the volatile nature of the power Elizabeth wielded, and the passion and strength it took to devote herself whole-heartedly to her country's welfare.

I loved Helena's character, as over the course of the novel the once shy, uncertain princess matures into a compassionate, fiercely loyal friend of the crown, and as such is uniquely placed to witness the trials and triumphs of Elizabeth's reign -- from the threat posed to her crown by her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, to the "Protestant wind" that destroyed the threat poised to her island kingdom by the Spanish Armada. But the favor of the queen is not without cost, and as it becomes increasingly clear that Elizabeth will devote herself to the service of England at the expense of marriage and family, she demands a level of loyalty and sacrifice in her attendants that mirrors her own. Byrd's poignant exploration of Elizabeth's sacrifice of singleness is extraordinarily well-crafted, humanizing the legendary queen in memorably unique manner. Likewise, the stress service to the queen places on Helena's second marriage illuminating and heart-breaking -- I'd never considered the cost of service to the queen, only the honor. By far my favorite aspect of the novel comes in the final third, where Helena fights to renew her marriage, stressed to the breaking point by the demands of royal service. It's one of the most frankly honest, stirring portraits of the work it takes to sustain a marriage that I've ever read in historical or contemporary fiction.

Byrd has clearly done her research on the time period, saturating each page of Helena's story with delicious period detail, from the gowns and jewelry that adorned Elizabeth and her ladies to the customs, pastimes, and politics that made up day-to-day court life. She deftly utilizes language, cosmetic detail, and historical fact to create a rich, evocative portrait of an epicenter of sixteenth-century power. If I have one complaint, it's the novel's pacing and the manner in which the passage of time is marked in this relatively slim volume (just over 300 pages). Covering a span of nearly forty years, time flies at a break-neck speed, making this a fast read, yes -- but one wishes for more pages in which to savor Helena's experiences and rise to power in service to Elizabeth. Chapters can cover nearly two years -- and when one's protagonist is at one point having a child per chapter, it's unavoidable that the pacing and structure of the novel feel rushed as a result. That said, being left wanting more isn't an entirely bad problem for a novel to have. *wink*

Roses Have Thorns offers a unique, richly-drawn portrait of Elizabeth as seen through the eyes of one closest to her -- a woman who devoted decades of her life in service to the queen of her adopted homeland. Replete with the drama, intrigue, and passions the period is known for, Byrd grounds the very human elements of her story with a subtle faith thread, one that never overwhelms the story but is instead organic to the time period, enriching and personalizing the struggles of characters long dead, brought to vibrant life with Byrd's evocative prose. This is a gorgeously-rendered achievement, and if this is the type of historical fiction Byrd is capable of I'm left more eager than ever for her next project. A novel of women, their friendships, and the price of power, Roses Have Thorns is thought-provoking, heart-rending historical fiction at its best.

About the book:

What happens when serving a queen may cost you your marriage -- or your life?

In 1565, seventeen-year-old Elin von Snakenborg leaves Sweden on a treacherous journey to England. Her fiance has fallen in love with her sister and her dowry money has been gambled away, but ahead of her lies an adventure that will take her to the dizzying heights of Tudor power. Transformed through marriage into Helena, the Marchioness of Northampton, she becomes the highest-ranking woman in Elizabeth's circle.

But in a court that is surrounded by Catholic enemies who plot the queen's downfall, Helena is forced to choose between her unyielding monarch and the husband she's not sure she can trust -- a choice that will provoke catastrophic consequences.

A rich, tautly woven tale of love, deception, and grace, Roses Have Thorns vividly conjures the years leading up to the beheading of Mary Queen of Scots and is a brilliant exploration of treason, both to the realm and to the heart.

*Thanks to the publisher for the review opportunity.

Let Them Eat Cake Tour!

Today I'm thrilled to participate in the blog tour celebrating the release of Sandra Byrd's French Twist series as e-books! I haven't had the chance to read this series yet, but I've heard fantastic things about the books and plan on moving them to the top of my to-be-read pile soon! :) Here's a bit about the first book in the series, Let Them Eat Cake:

Lexi Stuart is at a critical crossroads. She’s done with college but still living at home, ready to launch a career but unable to find a job, and solidly stalled between boyfriends. 

When a lighthearted conversation in French with the manager of her favorite bakery turns into a job offer, Lexi accepts. But the actual glamour is minimal: the pay is less than generous, her co-workers are skeptical, her bank account remains vertically-challenged, and her parents are perpetually disappointed. Her only comfort comes from the flirtatious baker she has her eye–but even may not be who he seems to be!

So when a handsome young executive dashes into the bakery to pick up his high profile company’s special order for an important meeting–an order Lexi has flubbed–she loses her compulsion to please. Something inside Lexi clicks. Laissez la révolution commencer! Let the revolution begin! Instead of trying to fulfill everyone else’s expectations for her life, Lexi embarks on an adventure in trusting herself and her God with her future–très bon!

Starting yesterday (seriously, I meant to post this on the 10th!), the e-book version of Let Them Eat Cake is free for Kindle through February 14th! And it gets even better, as the subsequent two books in the series are on sale from through the 14th as well for just $0.99! Click here to purchase Bon Appetit and Piece de Resistance. 

Happy Reading! :)