📚Book One of The Languedoc Trilogy. Rosie’s #BookReview Of Dual Timeline Saga Labyrinth by Kate Mosse. #BookTwitter

Labyrinth by Kate Mosse
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Labyrinth by Kate Mosse is book one of the Languedoc trilogy. There is a dual time setting— present day (2005) and eight hundred years earlier.

It begins with an accident at an archaeological dig in the Pyrenean mountains. A hidden tomb is discovered by Alice, which sets off a dangerous chain of events.

The second storyline is set in 1209 and begins in the city of Carcassona. There is an impending religious war between Catholics and Cathars. Alais is the daughter of a noble, a secret guardian of The Grail. In the battle that follows, Alais smuggles various artefacts to safety. However, adversaries seek The Grail’s powers for themselves, and Alais is forced into hiding.

Eight hundred years later Alice also finds herself in danger from those who continue to seek the power of The Grail.

This is a long book at over five hundred pages, and I found myself skipping slower parts. I preferred the earlier setting and story rather than the modern-day one as I found it difficult to find any empathy for Alice. It was only towards the very end as the two stories began to converge that I became really eager to carry on reading.

Overall, I liked the idea of the book, but I thought it was too long which diluted the action and important elements.

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Book description

In the Pyrenees mountains near Carcassonne, Alice, a volunteer at an archaeological dig, stumbles into a cave and makes a startling discovery-two crumbling skeletons, strange writings on the walls, and the pattern of a labyrinth. Eight hundred years earlier, on the eve of a brutal crusade that will rip apart southern France, a young woman named Alais is given a ring and a mysterious book for safekeeping by her father. The book, he says, contains the secret of the true Grail, and the ring, inscribed with a labyrinth, will identify a guardian of the Grail. Now, as crusading armies gather outside the city walls of Carcassonne, it will take a tremendous sacrifice to keep the secret of the labyrinth safe.

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Rosie’s #Bookreview of Early 13th Century Murder #Mystery The Goldsmith’s Apprentice (The Pitt Family Saga Book 3) by Stephen J. Phillips

The Goldsmith’s Apprentice by Stephen J. Phillips

4 stars

The Goldsmith’s Apprentice is the third book in the Pitt Family Saga series.

Set in early 13th century England this book is about the murder of a Goldsmith, one to whom Nick Pitt was apprenticed. Although innocent, Nick is accused of the murder, and a speedy trial finds him guilty.

Nick’s adopted family and his Knights Templar friends set out to prove his innocence and gain the king’s pardon, but there is little evidence in Nick’s favour, and time to save him is running out.

This book was my favourite in the series. The author has worked hard to improve his writing and it shows as the series progresses. The story was entertaining and I was just as eager to solve the mystery and capture the real murderer as were the characters. The Knights Templar have always fascinated me, and once again I appreciated the additional snippets of information about them.

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Being hanged, in early 13th Century London, was a slow and painful process of strangulation. But for a shy fourteen-year-old with little grasp on the ways of the world, it was terrifying. Especially when he was innocent of the murder of which he was accused. Indeed, apprentice goldsmith Nick Pitt hardly understood what had happened to his master, or why he was accused of his callous slaying.

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My #Bookreview of #Histfic Brethren by @RobynYoung36 A Knights Templar tale

Brethren by Robyn Young

4 stars

Brethren is an historical novel and is set in the thirteenth century. It features the Knights Templar and some of their crusades in The Holy Land.

The book opens in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, as an army of Mamluk warriors successfully win back land from both the Mongol nation and the western invaders. Rising through the Mamluk ranks, commander Baybars is on a personal mission to gain freedom from invaders for his people.

In Paris, a book is stolen. The Book Of The Grail is believed to contain confirmation that a secret sect exists within the Knights Templar. While in London, thirteen year old Will Campbell, a Templar sergeant, struggles with the harsh demands of discipline that being a knight-in-training requires.

The mystery which surrounds the stolen book, and the latest threats to western strongholds in The Holy Land, all lead Will on a treacherous journey to a place he’s dreamed of travelling to for years.

I enjoyed this story, as the tales which surround The Knights Templar have always fascinated me. The author explains that she tried to keep the events and characters as close to reality as possible, without the historical detail overriding the plot. I thought she did a good job, because at no time did I feel that I was in the middle of a history lesson. The book, however, took me a while to read; it is quite long. This was the only drawback, as I felt, at times, that it dragged the story out, causing me to break from reading, rather than keeping me completely engrossed. However, I do not hesitate to recommend this to those who enjoy this historical genre.

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From the burning plains of Syria to the filthy backstreets of Paris and London, Brethren is the story of Will Campbell, coming of age in a time of conspiracy, passion, politics and war.

Will longs to become a Knight Templar, but first he must serve as an apprentice to the foul-tempered scholar Everard, a man of dangerous secrets.

Meanwhile, a new star is rising in the east. Amir Baybars has fought his way from slavery to become a fearsome commander, driven by an unquenchable desire to free the Holy Land from the European invaders.

A stunning, epic novel of war, savagery and heroism.

Robyn Young lives in Hove, and is the author of BRETHREN, the first novel in a trilogy set in the world of the Crusades. The author of numerous poems and short stories published in magazines and anthologies, Robyn has a Masters in Creative Writing with distinction from the University of Sussex. She teaches creative writing part-time in Brighton.

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