Carolyn Hughes (2)

It's no secret that I enjoy reading historical fiction, but it's not often you come across a book set in the 14th Century. The Black Death struck Britain between June 1348 and December 1349, and is referred to in Fortune's Wheel as the mortality. No family was safe from this terrible plague, with many whole families being wiped out and others left starving after losing their main breadwinner.

There are some impressive strong female characters in Fortune's Wheel. None more so that Alice atte Wode who not only lost her husband and son in the mortality, but her daughter, Agnes, went missing after a rumoured affair with Philip de Bohun, heir to the lord of the manor. Alice is like the glue that binds the women of Meonbridge together, from her ladyship, Lady Margaret de Bohun to Eleanor Titherige, who inherited her father's farm after he succumbed to the plague.

Whilst Alice is there to lend an ear to everyone in the village, she is carrying around her own tragedy: the mystery surrounding her daughter's disappearance. Alice's son John is determined to find out what happened to his sister and will go to any lengths to find out, even arguing with Sir Philip who may know more about Agnes than we realise.

I don't know a great deal about medieval history, but I certainly learned a thing or two whilst reading Fortune's Wheel, without feeling as if I had been given a history lesson. I had never heard of cottars and villeins and was fascinated by the hierarchy of peasants during these dark times. It was almost like the beginning of the unions as they nominated somebody to stand up to the lord of the manor to argue for more pay. Unfortunately, putting your head about the parapet could see it being chopped off and there are one or two dastardly deeds in Fortune's Wheel that succeed in keeping us guessing. Let's just say that some people in Meonbridge are not exactly filled with community spirit.

Historical fiction can sometimes be dry and hard-going but the complete opposite is true of Fortune's Wheel. I have to give a special shout out to the invaluable cast of characters listed at the beginning - many authors think readers have photographic memories and can cope with an abundance of characters being thrown at us all at once, so many thanks to Carolyn Hughes for the cheat sheet.

I found Fortune's Wheel completely intriguing, fascinating and surprisingly emotional - I had become so emotionally invested in the characters that I was devastated for Thomas and Joan Miller, who struggled to cope after the loss of their five sons, and I admit to being close to tears at the end of the book when we learn of Agnes' fate. I swiftly dried the tears from my eyes as, being book 1 in a series, I know that I can look forward to catching up with these colourful characters again in the future.

Fortune's Wheel isn't just for historical fiction lovers, I'm absolutely positive that many readers will enjoy this medieval saga. Riveting history homework that got top marks from me - more please, Carolyn!

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.… (plus d'informations)

After raving so much about Fortune's Wheel, it will come as no surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed my second trip to Meonbridge. Although it's second in the series, it does read well as a standalone but I'm sure anyone who picks this up will want to read the first book.

Eleanor Titherige is the star of the show in this book, running the farm she inherited from her father when he died from the plague. Eleanor has ambitions to rear the best flock of sheep in the county which makes her a hot topic with the men of the village as they gather in the local pub. What does a woman know about farming? How dare a woman aspire to be better at something than a man. These thoughts rub off onto some of the youngsters in the village and they have plans to sabotage Eleanor's flock by stealing some of her sheep. An act that has disastrous consequences for not only the thieves but the animals themselves.

I loved the constant reminder that we are in a man's world in 14th century England; although the women of Meonbridge don't take any notice of that as they quietly intend to change the world little by little. It's not only Eleanor who shows what women can do, but also Agnes Sawyer who manages to talk her husband into helping him in his carpentry workshop, although he doesn't want people to know that she is helping him.

There's quite a lot going on in the story but thankfully Carolyn Hughes has again provided a handy cast of characters at the start of the book. I printed a copy out so I had it to hand whenever I wanted to see where a character fitted into the story. I really like the character of Eleanor; she's strong and honourable but, like most women, she's not terribly confident where affairs of the heart are concerned. She knows who her heart wants but her head tells her something different; I was begging her to listen to her heart and stop being so stubborn before it's too late.

All of the characters are so well developed that they carry the story effortlessly from beginning to end, of course leaving me thirsty for more but thoroughly contented with what I have read. It's fascinating to see how far we have come over the years but there are always some things that will never change.

A Woman's Lot is another fantastic piece of completely immersive historical fiction from Carolyn Hughes with such amazingly strong admirable female characters set in a period of time where it was most definitely a man's world. It's another fascinating and intriguing book by Carolyn Hughes and I'll definitely be at the front of the queue for her next book.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.… (plus d'informations)

Carolyn Hughes writes outstanding historical fiction and I enjoyed reading every single word of De Bohun's Destiny, her latest novel in The Meonbridge Chronices. The 14th Century has never been brought to life so vividly in literature and I urge all readers of historical fiction to pick up this series and be as hooked on Meonbridge as I am.

There are some very strong female characters in the Meonbridge Chronicles but I really noticed their impact and strength in De Bohun's Destiny. With Meonbridge still recovering from the Black Death, whole families have been wiped out and women have been left without husbands. Following Sir Philip's untimely death and that of his unborn child, the De Bohun legacy is at stake leaving his parents without an heir. Their daughter, Johanna, has entered a convent and renounced her inheritance, leaving only Dickon, the illegitimate son of Philip de Bohun and Agnes atte Wode with De Bohun blood running through his veins. As with any inheritance, there is always someone hidden in the wings to contest it and Sir Richard De Bohun's cousin, Morys Boune, is just the man to do that; or at least his wicked and greedy younger son, Thorkell, is.

Thorkell Boune is definitely the villain of the piece as he woos Matilda Fletcher in order to obtain information about Sir Richard and Dickon. Despite the charity shown to her by Lady Margaret de Bohun, Matilda has dreams of becoming lady of Meonbridge and Thorkell exploits her weakness and propensity to gossip. It would be easy to dislike Matilda but I found her quite amusing as she just didn't think things through properly and couldn't see the potential effect of her actions.

Although it's historical fiction, De Bohun's Destiny reads like a thriller filled with backstabbing, murder, secrets and lies. Historical fiction is renowned for being slightly dry and I tend to read it a lot slower than other genres but not this one! I whizzed through it as I was completely riveted and found it fast-paced and thrilling. Carolyn Hughes is such a talented writer to take dry and dusty history and make it vivid and exciting.

I also have to give a shout out to the cast of characters at the start of the book and also to the manageable number of characters introduced in the book. Sometimes it's overwhelming when too many characters appear but Carolyn Hughes balances her cast perfectly. I've read the previous books so I know who a lot of the characters are, but the cast of characters is invaluable to any new readers picking up a book mid-series, which you certainly could do with De Bohun's Destiny, but the first two books are fantastic so you should definitely read them all.

With her stunning evocative writing it feels like Carolyn Hughes has opened a time-portal into the 14th Century, so jump right it and enjoy your visit; I certainly did.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.… (plus d'informations)