The Midnight Rose - Lucinda Riley

The Midnight Rose: A Novel by Lucinda Riley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Midnight Rose was completely absorbing. I love these gothic novels with rich atmosphere and dual timelines, although I sometimes have to take more tragedy and bleakness than I would like along with them. I've read one novel by Lucinda Riley before, and loved how her story included exotic locations as well as England. But it was so sad that I couldn't bring myself to read another of her books for several years.

This time I was braced for tragedy at least in the earlier timeline, and ended up cursing myself for still getting attached to the characters. There's no doubt that Riley can suck you in and make you dread what's going to happen to them. The haunting sadness of their story clung to me for several days after I finished reading.

The thing that disappointed me about this one is the modern timeline. I was really hoping it would make up for the tragedy of the past. It did offer a bit of redemption, but it was not nearly as satisfying as it could have been. The romance was underdeveloped, and materialized almost out of nowhere. I didn't have the chance to become invested enough in it. That dissatisfaction also lingered with me for several days, making me waver between 3 and 4 stars on my rating.

Still, the haunting nature of both books I've now read by Riley tells me that I will be back for more in the future. Like a moth to a flame.

The Tudor Secret - C.W. Gortner

The Tudor Secret by C.W. Gortner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

First things first, this is not a mystery. For some reason I thought it was, but it's really just Historical Fiction. It covers a period of about 3 weeks, and the huge leaps in character growth during that time are quite unbelievable. Our main character starts out a naive, bumbling country boy who picks up on court intrigue and gains maturity with startling swiftness, in a matter of days. Definitely some suspension of disbelief is needed.

However, I found it a quick, light read, especially for a historical fiction set in the Tudor period. Things are not as fleshed out as they could be, but I liked the main character and a couple of the minor ones too. I might even choose to read more about them at some point.