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The Lady of the Ravens by Joanna Hickson

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  Set during the reign of Henry VII at the introduction of the Tudor Dynasty, this followed the story of Joan Vaux herself a victim of the turmoils of court during the reign of the polar opposite kings in Edward and Richard.

The death of the two boys in the Tower still lingers in the memories of the court as a new era approaches.  Lady Margaret's son Henry has returned and assumed his rightful position on the throne, he is to merge the two houses with his marriage to Elizabeth of the house of York with Lancaster.  Joan was kindly under Lady Margaret's patronage for a time during the upheaval and her mother was her lady in waiting for a time, now Joan finds herself honored with a position in the future queens court.

Joan finds herself living in the shadow of the Tower of London and she not only has to navigate the politics of court, a jealous younger sister of the queen and the expectations of a women at court.  She finds herself drawn to the dark and yet beautiful conspiracy of Ravens that reside within the Tower's walls.  She uses her eyes and her instincts not only to traverse this at times tempestuous position but also to ensure that, thanks to the old beliefs the Ravens remain protected and present within the grounds as for this fair country to prosper they must truly thrive.

Joanna Hickson is a new author to me and I have to say I found her writing style to be easy to read, leading the reader in a fluid and beautiful writing style that makes you want to just carry on reading.

As this was a little known part of the tudor history I am uncertain to how much fact can be attributed to this historical fiction title however, despite enjoying it there was nothing to make it stand out and more than other writers in this particular genre of history.  I also do believe that the direction of this book leaves it open to further intrigue in the books to come, it will definitely be interesting to see the continuation of Joan's story and to see how her son continues to thrive (or not) with his friendship with Prince Henry.

I gave this book 4* and would like to thank both NetGalley and Harper Collins for the opportunity to read and give my honest review of this book.

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