Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Last Plantagenet? by Jennifer C. Wilson.
The Last Plantagenet?
The fireplace hadn’t looked like a time-portal.
All Kate had wanted was a fun, relaxing day out, watching the knights jousting at Nottingham Castle. What she ended up with was something quite different.
Transported in a heartbeat from 2011 to 1485, how will Kate handle life at the Ricardian court? Even more importantly, how will she cope when she catches the eye of the king himself?
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Cute. That’s the word I want. If ever there was a cute historical fiction novella, this is it.
The protagonist’s adoration of medieval England and the real story of Richard III bring that time period alive. I will confess to knowing next to nothing about this former English king; so much of the history I’ve read focuses on the Tudors instead. Reading this book inspired me to look up a bit more about the last Plantagenet to rule England.
Jennifer Wilson also makes excellent use of the very real 21st century discovery and reburial of Richard III’s remains. Such a fascinating story in its own right, it is woven into this fantasy beautifully.
Favourite parts:
- Tom: Richard’s trusted servant who befriends Kate as well.
- The mysterious monk who appears every time just as Kate wants to reveal a future fact to Richard.
- Kate’s inability to embroider or do any of the fancy court dances… She is a modern day gal, after all.
- Kate constantly wracking her brains to remember if certain inventions/ expressions/ customs had come into being as yet. One false move could have her accused of witchcraft or worse, treason!
Least favourite parts:
- There was some attempt to modify the dialogue to suit the late 15th century time period, but the dialogue still often came across as ‘too modern’.
- It would have been nice to know a bit more about our protagonist, Kate, outside of her time spent with Richard.
Overall this was a short, charming story that has inspired me to find out more about Richard III, the final ruler of the Plantagenet dynasty.
About the Author
Jennifer is a marine biologist by training, who developed an equal passion for history whilst stalking Mary, Queen of Scots of childhood holidays (she since moved on to Richard III). She completed her BSc and MSc at the University of Hull, and has worked as a marine environmental consultant since graduating.
Enrolling on an adult education workshop on her return to the north-east reignited Jennifer’s pastime of creative writing, and she has been filling notebooks ever since. In 2014, Jennifer won the Story Tyne short story competition, and also continues to work on developing her poetic voice, reading at a number of events, and with several pieces available online. Her Kindred Spirits novels are published by Crooked Cat Books and available via Amazon.
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Follow the blog blitz for this book, organised by Rachel’s Random Resources.
I’ve seen a few reviews for this, it sounds like a fun story.
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Fun… yes! 😉
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Wonderful review, Nina! Richard III is one of the most fascinating kings to read about! So much drama!
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It seems so!!! So happy to have finally learnt more about him.
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The last……. What?? Lol!!! Well the name is.. Intriguing? I am such a sucker for a time travel book though. I have run across others that don’t get the language right, as well and it can be off-putting. 😕
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It was fairly minor in fairness. Nice short, cute story.
Haha… look up Plantagenet 😉 Another crazy king who does on a battlefield!
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Ahhhhhhh…. Got it. Magna Carta and the like, apparently. Hmmm… Interesting! 😊
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