Series: Lady Slayers #2
Release Date: April 6th 2021
Publisher: Abrams Books
Pages: 288
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review
Rating: 4.25/5 stars
Synopsis
In 17th-century Paris, 19-year-old Catherine Monvoisin is a well-heeled jeweler’s wife with a peculiar taste for the arcane. She lives a comfortable life, far removed from a childhood of abject destitution—until her kind spendthrift of a husband lands them both in debt. Hell-bent on avoiding a return to poverty, Catherine must rely on her prophetic visions and the grimoire gifted to her by a talented diviner to reinvent herself as a sorceress. With the help of the grifter Marie Bosse, Catherine divines fortunes in the IIle de la Citee—home to sorcerers and scoundrels.
There she encounters the Marquise de Montespan, a stunning noblewoman. When the Marquise becomes Louis XIV’s royal mistress with Catherine’s help, her ascension catapults Catherine to notoriety. Catherine takes easily to her glittering new life as the Sorceress La Voisin, pitting the depraved noblesse against one other to her advantage. The stakes soar ever higher when her path crosses with that of a young magician. A charged rivalry between sorceress and magician leads to Black Masses, tangled deceptions, and grisly murder—and sets Catherine on a collision course that threatens her own life.
Review
Poison Priestess is the second instalment in Lana Popovic’s Lady Slayers series. I really enjoyed the first instalment in this series – Blood Countess – so I was intrigued to see where Popvic would take the series next. The story follows Catherine Monvoisin, who lives a comfortable life with her jeweller husband. It’s far away from the childhood she spent in poverty, and her husband is happy to leave Catherine to pursue her interest in the arcane. When their debts begin to mount and Catherine’s way of life is threatened, she finds herself as sorceress to the Marquise de Montespan – the mistress of Louis XIV. As she rises higher in society she becomes tangled in a web of murder and secrets, but will she be strong enough to survive it?
Poison Priestess is a really engaging story. It sucked me in from the very beginning and the fast-paced writing style had me racing through the pages. It’s a relatively short book but manages to pack quite a lot of story in. I ended up reading it in a single day on holiday and it’s left me desperate for another instalment in this series. Like Blood Countess, this is a standalone, based on a historical figure. I knew a little about Elizabeth Bathory – the inspiration for book one, but knew absolutely nothing about Catherine Monvoisin. It was a fascinating tale and I did end up doing some googling to learn more about her.
Catherine is a really interesting protagonist, one who is flawed and makes mistakes but is determined never to return to that life of poverty. I did really like the relationship between her and Marie but wished there was a bit more time to explore the relationship and see it develop. I particularly loved the seance scenes in the story, and Popovic’s beautiful writing really brought them to life. This is an entertaining and fast-paced read, one that will keep you hooked till the very last page.
The Metal Heart is a beautifully written historical fiction set in 1940s Orkney. It follows the story of two sisters – Dot and Con, who volunteer at the nursing station for the Italian prisoner of war camp. As the soldiers spend their days building a barricade against rivalships, Dot becomes drawn to Cesare, a prisoner and painter. As tensions grow between the prisoners and the islanders, Dot and Con have to fight for their very survival.
The Tsarina’s Daughter is the incredible new book from Ellen Alpsten, author of Tsarina. Having never read Tsarina I ended up reading both books back to back. I was just so engrossed in this story. Russian history isn’t something I know too much about but I was fascinated by the complex characters Alpsten has brought to life. The Tsarina’s Daughter follows the life of Elizabeth, daughter of Peter the Great and Catherine I. She is a beautiful young woman, the envy of all Russia and free to spend her time how she likes. When Elizabeth’s mother dies her world is turned upside down and she must learn to navigate the treacherous world she finds herself in.
I have been reading quite a bit of historical fiction lately so when I heard about The Wolf Den I was desperate to read it. The story follows Amara, a young woman sold into slavery and forced to work in an infamous Pompeii brothel. Working for a man she hates, Amara fights every day to survive the streets of Pompeii and find a way to secure her freedom.
This is my first time reading a book by Karen Maitland and it was a rollercoaster ride. The story is set in 1606, the year after the gun powder plot. As a giant wave destroys much of Bristol, Daniel Pursglove is freed from a London prison and sent to Bristol to investigate a Jesuit conspiracy. As Daniel delves deeper into the conspiracy, Pursglove uncovers far more than he ever suspected.
Dangerous Women is the beautiful and heartbreaking story of 180 women convicted of petty crimes and sentenced to board The Rajah and live out the rest of their lives in Australia, never seeing their families again. On board all they have is each other, until a stabbing occurs and suspicions arise. Who is guilty and if they aren’t found, will they all survive?
Laura Purcell is one of my favourite authors so when I heard she was releasing a new book I was incredibly excited to read it. All of the books I have read by her have been five star reads so I had pretty high expectations going in. The story follows Agnes, a silhouette artist who lives in Bath with her elderly mother and nephew Cedric. Her business is struggling to stay afloat and when her customers start being murdered she wonders who exactly is targeting her. In a search for answers Agnes meets Pearl, a child who is able to contact the spirit world. Agnes asks Pearl to help uncover who the killer is, but in doing so reveals so much more.
The Heiress is a beautiful historical fiction tale that follows Anne de Bourgh, a side character from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Anne is the heir to her father’s estate and has spent much of her child under the influence of laudanum. From a young age she has been promised to her cousin Fitzwilliam Darcy. When Darcy’s engagement to Ms Elizabeth Bennett is announced Anne is cast aside and wonders what will become of her future. In order to escape the control of her mother Anne flees to London and takes up residence with her cousin John. Whilst there she shakes off the influence of her ‘medicine’ and takes her first steps into London society but will that be enough to allow her to take up the mantle of mistress of Rosings Park?
People of Abandoned Character is the dark and gripping tale of Susannah, a young nurse who falls head over heels for a young and wealthy surgeon at the hospital where she works. They have a whirlwind romance and are very quickly married. When they return to her husband’s home she quickly finds that everything changes as he becomes more violent and argumentative. He stays out late, disappearing for days at a time and often returns covered in blood. As news reaches Susannah of a serial killer murdering women in Whitechapel, she begins to wonder if perhaps her husband could be involved.
The Canary Keeper is the dark and compelling story of set in Victorian London. When a body is discovered on the banks of the the Thames an eye witness claims that the killer’s accomplice is a young Irish woman living London. Her father was hanged for murder and soon she becomes caught up in the murder, with the police accusing her of being the killer’s accomplice. In order to clear her name Birdie has to flee for her life and to trace the footsteps of the man she is accused of killing. Her search takes her to the remote town of Orkney where she begins to find that there is more to this murder than she could possibly have realised.
The Bibliophile Chronicles 