Review: The Fugitive Colours

Title: The Fugitive Colours

Genevieve Planché Book 2

Author: Nancy Bilyeau

Publisher: 12th May 2022 by Lume Books

Pages: 224 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: historical fiction

My Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

The highly anticipated follow-up to the sweeping historical thriller The Blue is a story of silkweavers, painters...and spies.

As Genevieve Sturbridge struggles to keep her silk design business afloat, she must face the fact that London in 1764 is very much a man’s world. Men control the arts and sciences, men control politics and law. And men definitely control women.

A Huguenot living in Spitalfields, Genevieve one day receives a surprise invitation from an important artist. Grasping at the promise of a better life, she dares to hope her luck is about to change and readies herself for an entry into the world of serious art.

She soon learns that for the portrait painters ruling over the wealthy in London society, fame and fortune are there for the taking. But such high stakes spur rivalries that darken to sabotage and blackmail—and even murder. 

Genevieve begins to suspect that her own secret past, when she was caught up in conspiracy and betrayal, has more to do with her entrée into London society than her talent. One wrong move could cost her not just her artistic dreams but the love of those she holds dear.

It’s a delicate dance, and a dangerous situation. And not just for Genevieve and her loved ones. . . because all the while there are ruthless spies who wish harm to England itself watching from the shadows.

A sequel to Nancy Bilyeau’s The Blue, The Fugitive Colours again reveals a dazzling world of glamour and treachery in Georgian England, when beauty held more value than human life. She immerses readers in a fictionalized account of real lives and events whilst staying faithful to the historical and social context.

My Thoughts

A Nancy Bilyeau book is always something to get excited about. I have read and thoroughly enjoyed so many of her books - from Tudor England to Dreamland on Coney Island. I recently read The Blue, a historical thriller involving spies, art and the race to create a new shade of blue. The Fugitive Colours is its sequel and is another great read by Nancy. This time the focus remains in eighteenth century London still involving art, spies and the central character Genevieve. 

“What is it that you want, Mrs. Sturbridge?” Jean’s question from this morning torments me. In the most private part of my soul, I want what I’ve always wanted. I thought I’d stamped out this ambition, but … here, on this cold and dreary Spitalfields street, I must face the truth that my dream of success as a true artist still lives.’

I found The Blue so very interesting and I enjoyed learning about the world of painting fine porcelain and how important the color blue came to be. The Fugitive Colours centres around Covent Garden, the world of art looking for new colours and the cutthroat world of harlots with the backstabbing ton. 

“… my aim is to try to paint moments of everyday life in London. By doing that, I want to show the truth of their existence in difficult times.”

Whilst this book started out a bit slow, the pace increased and Nancy brought the story together well. Although touted as a standalone, I would definitely recommend reading The Blue first. With a focus this time around on the silk industry and the world of art in London during the late 1700s both place and people are brought very much to life. If you have not read a Nancy Bilyeau book I highly recommend you choose one from her wide range of time periods. 

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: Dreamland

Title: Dreamland

Author: Nancy Bilyeau

Publisher: 16th January 2020 by Endeavour Media

Pages: 386 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: historical fiction, mystery

My Rating: 4.5 crowns

Synopsis:

The year is 1911 when twenty-year-old heiress Peggy Batternberg is invited to spend the summer in America’s Playground.

The invitation to Coney Island is unwelcome. Despite hailing from one of America’s richest families, Peggy would much rather spend the summer working at the Moonrise Bookstore than keeping up appearances with New York City socialites and her snobbish, controlling family.

But soon it transpires that the hedonism of Coney Island affords Peggy the freedom she has been yearning for, and it’s not long before she finds herself in love with a troubled pier-side artist of humble means, whom the Batternberg patriarchs would surely disapprove of.

Disapprove they may, but hidden behind their pomposity lurks a web of deceit, betrayal, and deadly secrets. And as bodies begin to mount up amidst the sweltering clamor of Coney Island, it seems the powerful Batternbergs can get away with anything… even murder.

Extravagant, intoxicating, and thumping with suspense, bestselling Nancy Bilyeau’s magnificent Dreamland is a story of corruption, class, and dangerous obsession.

My Thoughts

“Four miles long and a half a mile wide – and anything your heart could desire here on Coney Island, America’s Playground!”

Having read other books by Nancy Bilyeau that focus on Tudor period historical thrillers, I was interested to see what a move in time and place would bring. What she has produced is another stunning historical mystery but this time set in America’s playground, Coney Island. Some inspiration is drawn from the life of Peggy Guggenheim and Dreamland was one of the amusement parks that operated from 1904-1911.

“You keep saying I am needed. They don’t need me. I need to have a purpose. You can’t take that away from me.”

This is a fabulous mystery/thriller with a serial murderer on the loose. There is  some romance but the focus was more on the growth of the fabulous leading lady, Peggy - her longing for freedom away from her controlling rich family. Once again I have nothing but praise for Nancy’s writing as she sweeps you away to the heatwave of Coney Island in the summer of 1911. Her writing is rich in detail and cleverly scripted to immerse you in a classic ‘whodunnit’. Nancy maintains a good level of intrigue throughout and builds the suspense to a satisfying conclusion. There are many characters, each having important roles to play and all are complex and engaging. 

I felt a twinge of fear, that this wasn’t a web of happy coincidences linking us all, but from the start it was an iron chain, dragging us to something dangerous.

Yet there is so much more to this novel: social status - life of the rich and famous versus the working class; gender status and the role of women as Peggy seeks to break those bonds; and, the attitude towards immigrants with the unfolding events in Europe at the time.  Interwoven are rich characters from both sides of the social spectrum and some interesting situations concerning the criminal justice system and corruption. This really makes for a holistic and sophisticated story. 

If you love historical fiction this is a must read on many levels. Personally, I think this is Nancy's best novel yet. The writing is rich and although with the mystery you may have strong suspicions, it is the overall variety in themes that make this a real winner and definite page turner. 

“Everything is real on Coney Island–and nothing is real.”

 

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: The Tapestry by Nancy Bilyeau

Title: The Tapestry (Joanna Stafford #3)
Author: Nancy Bilyeau
Publisher:  Touchstone (March 24, 2015)
ISBN: 9781476756370

Pages: 400 pages

How I Read It: eARC

Genre: historical fiction, mystery
My Rating: 3 cups 

Synopsis:

The next page-turner in the award-winning Joanna Stafford series takes place in the heart of the Tudor court, as the gutsy former novice risks everything to defy the most powerful men of her era.

After her Dominican priory in Dartford closed forever—collateral damage in tyrannical King Henry VIII’s quest to overthrow the Catholic Church—Joanna resolves to live a quiet and honorable life weaving tapestries, shunning dangerous quests and conspiracies. Until she is summoned to Whitehall Palace, where her tapestry weaving has drawn the King’s attention.

Joanna is uncomfortable serving the King, and fears for her life in a court bursting with hidden agendas and a casual disregard for the virtues she holds dear. Her suspicions are confirmed when an assassin attempts to kill her moments after arriving at Whitehall.

Struggling to stay ahead of her most formidable enemy yet, an unknown one, she becomes entangled in dangerous court politics. Her dear friend Catherine Howard is rumored to be the King’s mistress. Joanna is determined to protect young, beautiful, naïve Catherine from becoming the King’s next wife and, possibly, victim.

Set in a world of royal banquets and feasts, tournament jousts, ship voyages, and Tower Hill executions, this thrilling tale finds Joanna in her most dangerous situation yet, as she attempts to decide the life she wants to live: nun or wife, spy or subject, rebel or courtier. Joanna Stafford must finally choose.

My Thoughts:

I greatly enjoyed Nancy Bilyeau's debut novel, The Crown, but I felt the second book of the trilogy, The Chalice, faltered and lost much of the mystery and intrigue of the first book. Thinking perhaps it was simply a case of 'middle trilogy slump' I continued on, hoping the third book would recapture some of the spark of the first.

While I did find The Tapestry somewhat better than book 2, it still fails to measure up to The Crown, in my opinion. It drags from the outset, with many 'refreshers' as to what has come before in the previous books, as Joanna is summoned and then makes her way to the court of King Henry VIII. Once she arrives, an attack on her life creates a bit of intrigue, which again plods along amongst much Tudor court drama. Sadly I did not find it all that engaging, and even the ultimate resolution of this mystery is quite anticlimactic and unfulfilling.

The love triangle is once again in play, and begins to feel rather tiresome as Joanna is more indecisive than ever. Does she want Edmund or does she want Geoffrey? Or does she truly just want to be a nun and not a wife at all? She waffles and flip-flops continually until I really didn't care any more about the romantic outcome, although it does finally get resolved at the end of the book.

Bilyeau can write, and there is a lot of history presented here with many well-known figures making appearances - Joanna's interactions with the painter Hans Holbein are a highlight. However, most of it is not explored too deeply and much is simply mentioned in passing. Still, a few compelling points are made, including the reflection that in some ways historical times are not all that different from the modern day:

“Do you know that in the last twenty-five years there have been junctures when a great many people believed that the world was coming to an end? They sold all their goods and gathered in wait of the apocalypse. These are harrowing times we live in, Joanna, times of discovery and learning but also the greatest turmoil of faith in a millennium.”

For me the star of this trilogy is still the first book. I could easily have ended Joanna Stafford's story there and been satisfied, bypassing the last two books entirely. Others may feel differently, but I much preferred the faster pace and more engaging plot of The Crown.

"Turning points are not always evident to us when they appear. How different everything might have been for me if I had not nodded in agreement and then ridden with my friends to discover what was on the other side of that wall."

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.