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The Lady Of Secrets (2012)

by Susan Carroll(Favorite Author)

3.67 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0345502957 (ISBN13: 9780345502957)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Ballantine Books

series

The Dark Queen Saga

review 1: O último livro da Saga da Rainha Negra de Susan Carrol. Adorei esta saga com uma boa dose de sacrifício, magia, traições, conspirações, intrigas e ficção histórica. Este último livro foi talvez o que achei menos intenso, talvez por ser passado alguns anos depois dos outros cinco livros da saga, parece estar deslocado da história ou ser um final "prescindível", dá enfoque a uma personagem e deixa de parte as irmãs que nos acompanham como parte importante da história dos outros cinco livros. Apesar disso a qualidade da escrita mantêm-se e os ingredientes que caracterizam a escrita e a história mantêm-se, mas foi para mim o elo mais fraco de toda a saga.
review 2: The Lady of Secrets was a well written historical thriller with romance thrown in a... moret the end. I must admit that Ms. Carroll had me fooled until the very end of the book on the identity of one of the main characters - which is unusual. I usually know everyone's secrets at least half way through the book, so that was a surprise. The book takes place in France, Scotland and England during the reign of King James - directly after Queen Elizabeth dies - and James goes witch hunting. The plot centers around Meg, whose mother was an insane leader of a black magic coven, but who has since passed away leaving her daughter who she called Silver Rose and wanted to take over the world in the custody of her sane father. Meg turns out normal, but has powers which she uses for good and after training becomes the Lady of Fairer Isle. All this and more happens in book 1 - Silver Rose- which I did not read. You don't really have to because there are enough reminders in book 2 that you can keep up with the story without any trouble. Meg is asked to come to England to remove a curse from King James that one of the withes that he burned put on him and all his family. There is much more to it than that, and there are signs her mother may be alive and still operating the evil coven in England to kill King James, so Meg goes with her friend and protector Seraphine, even though witchcraft is still a crime in England.The characters in this novel were all well drawn and quite three dimensional. The use of vivid description and internal dialogue helped to round out many character's qualities and flaws. Even some of the secondary characters got this detailed treatment, which made the story that much richer for the reader. The imagery was also well done- vivid, detailed on the important things and evocative of the period. The pacing was steady throughout the story all the way through the end.The only real negatives that I have to say about it are these:1. After Seraphine gets scarred, it is so disappointing to see her reaction. Here is a strong woman who will defy convention enough to wear breaches and a sword, much less know how to use it, and she falls apart due to vanity? Same thing with the episode in the church - where was the amazon warrior woman described before? Why build her up as this warrior if a small scratch to her face is all it takes to make her come undone? It does make it more convenient when her husband arrives, but that is just poor plotting IMHO. As long as she was royal and charming, she could have been anyone - so why an amazon in that age? 2. Armagil conveniently does many things at the end of the book - outwitting some of the best minds of the time with little to no trouble, and yet Seraphine's husband has no problem finding his wife. What does that say about their hiding place? All of it seems much to convenient for my liking. While I really like Armagil's character, I find it hard to believe he can walk on water. It is one of the reasons the book gets 4 stars.Overall, the book was quite exciting and the characters drove you to read more of their story. Equal parts witchcraft, mystery, history, political thriller, this book is well worth the time spent reading it. I would recommend it to people who like mysteries, historical fiction, as well as historical romance. less

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