Red Headed Book Lady: Written in their Stars by Elizabeth St. John

Written in their Stars by Elizabeth St. John

Publication Date: November 19, 2019

Falcon Historical

eBook & Paperback; 384 Pages

Series: The Lydiard Chronicles, Book 3

Genre: Historical Fiction

London, 1649. Horrified eyewitnesses to King Charles’s bloody execution, Royalists Nan Wilmot and Frances Apsley plot to return the king’s exiled son to England’s throne, while their radical cousin Luce, the wife of king-killer John Hutchinson, rejoices in the new republic’s triumph. Nan exploits her high-ranking position as Countess of Rochester to manipulate England’s great divide, flouting Cromwell and establishing a Royalist spy network; while Frances and her husband Allen join the destitute prince in Paris’s Louvre Palace to support his restoration. As the women work from the shadows to topple Cromwell’s regime, their husbands fight openly for the throne on England’s bloody battlefields. But will the return of the king be a victory, or destroy them all? Separated by loyalty and bound by love, Luce, Nan and Frances hold the fate of England—and their family—in their hands. A true story based on surviving memoirs of Elizabeth St.John's family, Written in their Stars is the third novel in the Lydiard Chronicles series.

MY REVIEW

This was an excellent book! I learned a lot from it. There were things in this book that happened that I never knew about and some of it I was fascinated with especially with family history.

Say for instance I never knew that England had a Civil War. Oh, I know it probably wasn't like ours in the 1800's. But still, there was a lot of tragedy, loss,and plus some very high emotions came out across to me through time.

So there's plenty of drama in this book and some joy as well. Life would certainly be boring without those things.

This book is told from three different main characters' point of view which to me, makes the book that much more interesting.

I like that Elizabeth St. John can make these people come alive in her novels. Her writing is just that good. She made me feel like I was in the book with the characters. I love it when a book can do that.

As I read I could feel from the author that this book was well researched and was a labor of love from her heart.

She's a new to me author by the way. I think that I will read her other books in the future too. Especially since I enjoyed this one so much! I love trying out new authors.

I think the person I most enjoyed was Nan. I loved her daring ways and her strong determination to do what is right.

I love how the author has portrayed Luce and John. And the reason I don't like them, is how the author has made them struggle with their actions throughout life. Including a terrible deed. I'm really not sure how they could function through life and not have a conscious about it. I couldn't imagine doing something that terrible and then have to face my whole life with that. I just couldn't do that.

To me, I feel that they are two faced people. I don't really like people like that. So, in fashion I didn't like these two people.

I also thought that John got every bit that he deserved including his life at Court. And I'm pretty sure that it wasn't easy to please a man like Cromwell.

It's interesting how fast a person can fall out of favor at Court.

Even though we don't have Courts like back then it's still amazing how fast people can fall out of favor with one another. Satan sure does a terrific job of that. We can see him at work in just about every place there is. I believe that Cromwell was such a man. All the evil things he's done.

I think that is interesting that politics really hasn't changed all that much either. They tend to tear families apart even in today's world.

Faith can also tear families apart depending on which side you were on at the time.

But it can also bond a family as well. Again depending which side you're on at time.

I guess you could call 1649 perilous times. They certainly weren't safe because Cromwell it seemed had eyes and ears everywhere!

This book certainly had me on the edge of my seat because I just never knew what might happen when I turned the next page.

I think that a lot of readers will like this book a lot! Now, I'm not just saying that lightly.

I'm sure that historical fans will especially love this. I know I did even though it took me a while to get into the book. After I did, I was glad I read it all the way to the end. It made my afternoon and evening go by fast! I lost some sleep because of it but hey, I didn't want to put it down!

England is like America. It has a lot of history behind it. I love American History but I love England's even more because of all the kings and Queens that ruled it.

It's wonderful to have such a rich history like this. I see why Elizabeth wrote it from her heart.

Makes me jealous in a way. I don't have a history like that.

I love that the old castles are still in existence and have stood the test of time. I'd sure like to go and see some of them sometime.

May we talk about the cover? I think it's absolutely gorgeous!! And what's more I love that it matches the story inside. The cover itself it very inviting! It draws you in immediately!

I really do highly recommend this book. You'll be glad you picked it up.

My thanks to Historical Virtual Tours for a copy of this amazing book! NO compensations were received and all opinions are my own.

Available on Amazon | Other eRetailers

About the Author

Elizabeth St.John spends her time between California, England, and the past. An award-winning author, historian and genealogist, she has tracked down family papers and residences from Nottingham Castle, Lydiard Park, to the Tower of London. Although the family sold a few castles and country homes along the way (it's hard to keep a good castle going these days), Elizabeth's family still occupy them - in the form of portraits, memoirs, and gardens that carry their imprint. And the occasional ghost. But that's a different story... For more information, please visit Elizabeth St. John's website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, December 9 Review at Passages to the Past Tuesday, December 10 Review at Jackie & Angela's Book Reviews Wednesday, December 11 Review at Books and Zebras Friday, December 13 Review at @ya.its.lit Saturday, December 14 Review at Liberty's Literary Loves Monday, December 16 Review at Red Headed Book Lady Tuesday, December 17 Review at Impressions In Ink Wednesday, December 18 Review at @bookishbellee Saturday, December 21 Review at Tales from the Book Dragon Monday, December 23 Review at Gwendalyn's Books Friday, December 27 Review at Historical Romance Lover Sunday, December 29 Review at 100 Pages a Day Friday, January 3 Review at Hoover Book Reviews Monday, January 6 Review at Reading the Past Tuesday, January 7 Interview at Let Them Read Books Wednesday, January 8 Review at Donna's Book Blog Review at I'm All About Books Thursday, January 9 Review at Historical Fiction with Spirit Friday, January 10 Review at Broken Teepee Review at A Darn Good Read

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour, we are giving away two signed copies of Written in their Stars! To enter, please use the Gleam form below. Giveaway Rules – Giveaway ends at 11:59 pm EST on January 10th. You must be 18 or older to enter. – Paperback giveaway is open to US residents 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.