A Phoenix Rising: House of the Red Duke by Vivienne Brereton

A Phoenix Rising by Vivienne Brereton

Publication Date: July 7, 2019

Yuletide Press

eBook & Paperback; 339 pages

Series: The House of the Red Duke (Book 1)

Genre: Historical Fiction/Romance

“If I have anything to do with it, we Howards will live forever.” Thomas Howard Charismatic head of one of the most powerful Houses in Tudor England. An indomitable old man approaching eighty: soldier, courtier, politician, a ‘phoenix’ rising from the ashes. After a calamitous period of disgrace, the Howards, renowned for their good looks and charm, are once more riding high at the court of Henry VIII. Set against the backdrop of the extraordinary 1520 ‘Field of Cloth of Gold’, it is a tale of ambition, love, and intrigue, with Thomas at the centre of this intricate tapestry Will Thomas’s bold vow be fulfilled? Danger stalks the corridors of the royal courts of Europe. Uneasy lies the head beneath a crown. Every other ruler - a fickle bedfellow…or sworn enemy. The action takes place in England, Scotland, and France. On either side of the Narrow Sea, four young lives are interwoven, partly unaware of each other, and certainly oblivious to what Dame Fortune has in store for them. “Nicolas de La Barre laid his lute to one side, hardly bothering to stifle a yawn of boredom. Nevertheless, he couldn’t escape the fact he’d agreed to take on a new wife….” Explosive family secrets are concealed behind the ancient walls of castles in three lands. But… “There are no secrets that time does not reveal.”

"From the moment I picked this book up, I was enthralled and the story was so well written that I simply had to keep reading. Brereton weaves a fascinating story of several famous houses which lived during the Tudor age, including the Howards, Stewarts, Boleyns and of course the famous Tudors. If you are looking for a new fiction series that will draw you in and keep you wanting more than this is certainly the book for you!" - Sarah Bryson, author of 'La Reine Blanche'

"I really enjoyed it. I sometimes struggle with books written from the point of view of several characters, as this one is, but this one worked quite well because it had to be told from the points of view of different characters because it is spread across several countries - England, France and Scotland. The addition of Tudor recipes was a nice touch, and demonstrated that the writer had really done her research." - Helene Harrison, Tudorblogger

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MY REVIEW

Here's a favorite quote of mine that stood out to me because this man has managed to accomplish it and many more things in his life as well.

" If  I have anything to do with it, we Howards will live forever! 

I'm not sure what to think about this book but it was certainly fascinating!! I requested this book just simply because I love Tudor England and anything that has to do with it including Thomas Howard Duke of Norfolk. ( Sorry I had the wrong Howard)  In some ways he kinda scared me with his overbearing ways but at the same time I was truly enamored with him if that makes any sense at all. I liked the scene where he laughed at the old woman named Mairghread.  Thomas laughed at her because it seemed too far fetched at the time since that was in the future. I think I probably would've laughed too because you see, I don't dabble in things like that. That's is considered to me, interfering with God's plans that He has for us. That's is also what I consider witchcraft but I enjoyed reading how it all played out.  How amazing it is to live in the reign of 6 kings! Oh my he was a fortunate man!  And then finally we come to a young King Henry the 8th. I don't know how to do the roman numerals for this so I just wrote it like that.  King Henry entrusts him with his kingdom while he goes to France in hopes of making their friendships stronger at the Camp du Drap d'Or henceforth the Field of the Cloth Gold I love how Vivienne Brereton has captured history and the people in this beautiful debut novel quite well. She has made them come alive for me once again. Not too many authors can accomplish what this one has done. The action packed book with secrets, recipes, and lots of twists and turns that some of it kind of made my head swim until I figured out what was going on. Once I figured out what was what it was smooth sailing from there. This book is told by many voices that weaved like a beautiful piece of art one piece or color or however you want to describe it.  The Howards certainly had a long history. Spanning from Scotland to France to England. This time period of England has always captured my attention for some reason. I guess it's because I enjoy history and when an author can put history and fiction together well, it just makes it for a fantabulous read! Will Thomas's dreams and ambitions in life be realised or will the phoenix come crashing again? Reader's put your seat belts on and buckle up for an adventure of a lifetime! You won't want to put this one down! Y'all don't miss this one. My thanks to Historical Virtual Tours for allowing me to read a copy of this book. NO compensations were received. All opinions are my own.

About the Author

Born near historic Winchester in the UK, Vivienne Brereton has been passionate about the Tudors for as long as she can remember. This led to a degree in medieval history at university where she met her future husband. Three sons later and six countries she called home, she finally felt ready to write a novel. Words have always played an important part in Vivienne’s life whether it’s been writing, editing, teaching English to foreigners, or just picking up a good book. In preparation for her novel, she read intensively on the skills needed to write well and did an enormous amount of research which she greatly enjoyed. Having three sons was helpful when she came to write about the characters, Tristan and Nicolas. All those squabbles she had to deal with came in very handy. She also used her husband and sons as guinea pigs for her Tudor cookery attempts with varying degrees of success (abuse). Seeing ‘A Phoenix Rising’ in print for the first time was a moment of great joy for her and she hopes you enjoy reading it as much as she enjoyed writing it.

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Blog Tour Schedule

Thursday, September 26 Review at Gwendalyn's Books Friday, September 27 Excerpt at Beady Jans Books Review & Excerpt at Nursebookie Saturday, September 28 Review at Reading is My Remedy Guest Post at Short Book and Scribes Tuesday, October 1 Review at WTF Are You Reading? Guest Post at On the Tudor Trail Wednesday, October 2 Excerpt at The Writing Desk Thursday, October 3 Review at A Chick Who Reads Friday, October 4 Review at Jessica Belmont Monday, October 7 Review at Historical Fiction with Spirit Tuesday, October 8 Review at Passages to the Past Wednesday, October 9 Review at Red Headed Book Lady Thursday, October 10 Excerpt at Myths, Legends, Books & Coffee Pots Friday, October 11 Review at Donna's Book Blog Feature at CelticLady's Reviews

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour, we are giving away a paperback copy of A Phoenix Rising! To enter, please use the Gleam form below. Giveaway Rules – Giveaway ends at 11:59 pm EST on October 11th. You must be 18 or older to enter. – Giveaway is open to the US only. – Only one entry per household. – All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspicion of fraud will be decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion. – The winner has 48 hours to claim prize or a new winner is chosen. A Phoenix Rising