Book Synopsis:
FATE CAN BE CHANGED.
CURSES CAN BE BROKEN.
In a shabby house in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil. But when her scheming mistress discovers her scullion is hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to win over the royal court.
Determined to seize this chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of power-hungry nobility, desperate kings, holy men and seers, where the lines between magic, science and fraud blur. With the pyres of the Inquisition burning, she must use every bit of her wit and resilience to win fame and hide the truth of her ancestry – even if that means enlisting the help of an embittered immortal familiar, whose own secrets could cost her everything.
From the Sunday Times bestselling author comes a bewitching novel, brimming with peril in a world where a woman’s ambition can prove deadly.
My Review:
I’m a huge fan of Leigh Bardugo’s books so I was very intrigued to learn she was writing an historical fiction book. I really enjoyed this fantastic, gripping and magical book which I’ll be recommending to everyone!
Firstly I thought this book was well researched and I enjoyed learning more about Spain’s history during the equivalent of England’s Tudor period. It was interesting to see that a class difference existed in Spain too and I loved the little details the author includes which really helped bring the period to life for me. I especially liked the vivid descriptions of the fashions at the time and the wonderful sounding materials they used.
The characters are all wonderful creations with some characters I absolutely loved and some I loved to hate. My favourite character was definitely Luzia who I admired for her strength and her determination to create a better life for herself. It was great to follow her as she learns more about her magical gift and competes in the tournament. Santángel was another fabulous character who I wasn’t sure of at the start of the book but I grew fond of as the book continued. It was lovely to discover more about his history and to see him grow closer to Luzia.
Overall, as you can probably tell, I loved this book and really hope the author writes more historical fiction in the future. I felt the story started off a bit slowly as the author sets the scene but soon becomes very gripping. The tournament scenes were especially gripping, with lots of twists and I never knew what was going to happen next. I loved the description of all the magic involved and following all the amazing action as the tension slowly increases making the book very hard to put down. The ending was brilliant and I loved how everything played out in the end.
Huge thanks to Ellie from Viking for sending me a copy of this book.
About The Author:
Leigh Bardugo is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Ninth House and the creator of the Grishaverse (now a Netflix original series) which spans the Shadow and Bone trilogy, the Six of Crows duology, the King of Scars duology—and much more. Her short fiction has appeared in multiple anthologies including The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy. She lives in Los Angeles and is an associate fellow of Pauli Murray College at Yale University.
For information on new releases and appearances, sign up for Leigh’s newsletter: http://bit.ly/bardugonews.
Over The Rainbow Blog 
Fab review you’ve definitely intrigued me! x
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