I quite enjoyed this book, sometimes these books can be quite heavy, complex and boring, which this was not.

It was quite complex, but not to the point where you get lost off and confused.

All in all, a good story which very much kept my I interest.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy

i really enjoyed reading this book, i loved the time period and found this book to be very entertaining. The characters were great.

I love historical fiction especially Tudor historical fiction but I found this book just ok nothing really stood out to me

A Phoenix Rising: The House of the Red Duke is a debut novel and it’s fantastic!

The Howard’s were one of the most powerful families in the land during the Tudor period and this delves into their lives.

“If I have anything to do with it, we Howards will live forever.”

The Howard’s met with disgrace but managed to regain their good fortunes under the reign of Henry VIII via Thomas Howard who in this book is elderly but still formidable and regales how he managed to raise his once disgraced family after spending years in the Tower of London.

It’s told from many perspectives which took me a few chapters to get used to but I was enthralled by how I got to know each character, their feelings and the troubles each of them faced. It doesn’t only focus on the Howard’s such as Thomas Howard but also King James of Scotland, French nobles and the Boleyns and their relationship with the Howard’s.

There are many secrets kept by those whose perspectives we enjoy and I was swept along with their storylines right from the beginning!

Brereton has created a captivating debut novel for anyone with an interest in the Tudor period and I am very much looking forward to reading more especially to find out what happens between certain individuals.

This is book one so I am certainly expecting more in this series and can’t wait!

A Phoenix Rising is an extraordinarily detailed account of the Howard family and the lesser known (some fictional) families surrounding them during the Tudor era in England. Immediately what drew me in was Vivienne Brereton’s ability to make the story grounded. It was easy to get invested in the story as someone who isn’t very familiar with Tudor literature. Another thing that impressed me was Brereton’s knowledge of the subject matter. I could feel how passionate she was about what she was writing and that’s more than enough for me to enjoy a book.

As I said, I’m not familiar with the Tudors in that way. I’m not very passionate about them but this book made me curious to do my own research. The story is enthralling and well written. It took me a few chapters to get interested in it and to become familiar with the book’s expansive structure but once I did, I was able to follow he story with excitement.

I read that this is a debut novel and I think that it’s spectacular because there is a lot of talent here. This is exactly what historical fiction lovers will enjoy and I look forward to the rest of the story because there is clearly so much more to learn and fall in love with.