The Death & Life of Lucy Westenra by Rosie Fiore~Blog Tour

 

Publisher:  Independently published

Publication Date: ‎ 2nd May 2025

Genre: Historical Fantasy

Summary:

What desperate steps will Lucy Westenra take to save her own life?

Hillingham in Hampstead, once the home of the well-to-do Westenra family, now divided into apartments. When teacher Kate Balcombe sets about renovating her flat in the attic, she finds an unsent letter, written 130 years before by Lucy, the nineteen-year-old daughter of the house.

You may know Lucy from Bram Stoker’s Dracula... a pretty, flirtatious girl with three ardent suitors, she is Mina Harker’s best friend. When Lucy falls mysteriously ill and dies, Van Helsing identifies her as a victim of the vampire.

But what if the monsters who hunt Lucy are much closer to home?

As Kate begins to investigate Lucy’s story, she meets James Harker, Mina’s great-great grandson, and together they uncover a long-hidden story of deception and murder.

Review:
Firstly thank you to Rachel's Random Resources and Rosie Fiore for having me on this tour and sending me a copy of the book.

So I'm a big fan of Dracula and as soon as I saw Lucy's name in the title of this book I knew I wanted to read it. Lucy in Dracula is always seen as a really giddy and often silly "Little Girl" despite being 18/19 and she's just cast to one side as a Victim of Dracula, a point to move the story forward and drive Mina towards him. And I really liked the idea of her being so much more than that. In this we get to see Lucy as more than just a silly girl that's a victim, she's a very intellectual woman that takes far more pride in her mind than how she looks which makes her very modern in a sense. She becomes a more relatable character to a modern audience and you get far more invested in her story and what happened to her than you do in Dracula.
I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that we went between the different time periods and that the way Kate finds out more about Lucy is though national census, it makes her more than just a character from Dracula which I adored. I found the switches between timelines very easy, I wasn't ever jolted by the switch so I kept engrossed in the story throughout. Rosie Fiore has a very easy going writing style, it never made me feel like I was working to get the next stage of the story, I found pages and time slipping away from me with ease.

I absolutely loved being able to get to know this version of Lucy Westenra, she's a far more dynamic and honestly likeable version of the original character. I don't think it matters if you've read Dracula or not to be able to dive in and enjoy this book, I enjoyed having the knowledge of who the characters were when reading but the connections are made clear enough that I don't think its a requirement. But if you do love Dracula I think you will thoroughly enjoy this and it should be added to that tbr!

Krystina xx

The Cardinal by Alison Weir ~Blog Tour

 Publisher: Headline Review

Publication Date: 22nd May 2025

Genre: Historical Fiction

Summary:

AN EXTRAORDINARY RISE TO POWER. A TRAGIC FALL FROM GRACE.

It begins with young Tom Wolsey, the bright and brilliant son of a Suffolk tradesman, sent to study at Oxford at just eleven years old.

It ends with a disgraced cardinal, cast from the King's side and estranged from the woman he loves.

The years in between tell the story of a scholar and a lover, a father and a priest. From the court of Henry VIII, Tom builds a powerful empire of church and state. At home in London, away from prying eyes, he finds joy in a secret second life.

But when King Henry, his cherished friend, demands the ultimate sacrifice, what will Wolsey choose?

Review:
Firstly thank you to Random Things Book Tours, Headline Review and Alison Weir for having me on this tour and sending me a copy of the book.

Well first off I have to say the cover of the book is beautiful! I mean Alison Weirs books are always beautiful but we normally have the portrait of the subject on the cover and I really like that we don't have Thomas Wolsey on this one, I think the crossed keys sum him up very well. I always adore Alison Weirs books, she has such and evocative way of writing that it just draws you immediately into Tudor England and emerses you into the story.  Its safe to say that i knew this would be a glowing review before i even picked the book up!

Thomas Wolsey is a fascinating historical figure, his rise from the lower ranks of society to the highest position bar the King is one of the best know from the Tudor court and I'm not surprised that he was who Alison Weir chose to write about, this being only the second of her books about a male figure from Henry VIII's court. She's made stepping into his shoes and story so easy and I've been able to look at his story from a more sympathetic view than I have before. Often he's cast in a very negative light as a power hungry and money grabbing man that manipulated Henry for his own benefit (at least in most on screen representations of him) and little is shown about his care for his mistress and children, whereas in this we get to see that side of him. Yes he is a man who wants power and social standing along with the wealth that comes with it but he is not that one dimensional character, there are many fascinating sides to him. I loved that we got to see his struggles over not being able to acknowledge his children and his internal struggles with his need and want to be in a position where he is respected, has power and prestige and his want to be able to call his mistress his wife and have his children with him. Its a side to him that I have enjoyed discovering because generally his mistress is used to portray him as a bad priest when looking at his downfall. This book has made me want to get a few biographies about him out and immerse myself in finding more about someone I've never looked deeper at when reading about the Tudor period.
If you love the Tudor period I defiantly think this book should be on your to buy list.

Krystina xx