Once again a beautifully written piece of escapism.

Totally absorbing and completely captivating.

I struggled to get into this book and did not really connect with the characters nor plot. I have liked other books by the author, but I found this one to just drag on a bit with the story.

his one has been on the shelf for a while, I love #KateMosse books but I do need to psych myself up. I had my favourite reading combination … an ebook and an audiobook version which was perfect was fully immersing myself into this story.
Kate Mosse is an expert in educating people like myself in French History. This series is fascinating and has certainly piqued an interest in the Holy Wars. Before these books I am ashamed to say I knew very little of French history but am learning all about the 16th Century, Huguenots and Catholics in a beautifully narrated story told from the point of view of the Huguenot family of Minou Joubert. I cannot recommend Kate Mosse highly enough.

Many thanks to #Netgalley for advance ebook and audiobook of #TheCityOfTears by #KateMosse in exchange for an honest review.

Nobody does historical fiction like Kate Mosse and this book is no exception. Not only are we treated to a stand out thriller, we get a lesson in history that Mosse weaves through the story in a way that doesn't feel too academic. As always she has created a beautiful tapestry that takes you back in time and immerses you in the story and location and has created some wonderfully strong female characters. A perfect summer read.

Sequel to The Burning Chambers, The City of Tears focussed on events during and after the St Bartholomew’s Day massacre of 1572. Minuo and Piet Reydon travel to Paris for a royal wedding, little realising that plans are afoot for an attack on Huguenots. During the confusion, their seven year old daughter Marta goes missing. Twelve years later, a young girl resembling Marta is spotted. Could she be their lost child?

As with all Kate Mosse’s stories, The City of Tears delves deeply into the history of the period and gives a detailed tale of the intrigues of life in Languedoc and Amsterdam. Inevitably, this produces a meaty tome which does take some getting into. There are many characters names to remember and trying to work out who is on which side, at times, was almost impossible.

The audio book is delightfully read by Hattie Morahan, who brings the story to life in a gentle, easy to listen to way.

I want to say something right off the bat: as much as I would love to read more historical fiction, I always tend to struggle with it. It's not my go-to genre and it takes me a lot longer to read than other genres.

But I did audiobook the first book in the series, The Burning Chambers last year and, while I didn't warm to it completely, I did like it and thought I would request this via NetGalley and continue the series, with this book starting around 10 years after the events of Burning Chamber.

Minou & Piet are now married, with a young family, living in peace & happiness on their estate in Puiver. After receiving an invitation to the Royal wedding of Charles IX's sister to Henry of Navarre and going to Paris, they find themselves caught up in the Bartholemew's Day massacre. Fleeing for their lives, they become refugees and discover that their 7 year old daughter, Marta, is missing...

I should have warmed to this one. The writing is solid (you can't fault Kate Mosse's writing and her storytelling skills) and the level of detail and world building is just as good as it was in Burning Chamber.

But (yes, there is a but), there was something that I couldn't warm to within this story. Now, I can't decide if it was the story itself, the direction it was going in, the narrator (who I had to speed up to 1.25 as there were moments I felt her reading was a tad slow) the fact it was a historical or I didn't get on with several of the main characters, or another reason. But I couldn't click with this.

I'm not saying this is a bad historical - I'm happy to push this into people's hands if they are fans of historical novels with elements of family saga and religion - but I think I have to accept that, even though I want to read Kate Mosse, I might have to let this series go.

As usual, Kate Mosse wins at worldbuilding and thrill, with a hint of romance. Loved the sequel as much as the first book.

This is the second book in the Burning Chambers series and continues to follow the lives of Minou and Piet Reydon, traversing the religious and political Huguenot conflicts of the 1500s. A period that the author is clearly well versed in and as with all of her books her personal knowledge of France enables a truly immersive experience - whatever the era.

In 1572,Minou and Piet along with their two children, Marta and Jean Jacques, travel to Paris to witness the royal wedding of (Catholic) Marguerite de Valois, and (Protestant) Henry III of Navarre. Also in Paris is Vidal du Plessis, a one time friend of Piet’s but now an enemy. Vidal is part of a plot to kill leading Huguenots during the festivities...and so ensues the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, during which, thousands of Huguenots are murdered. In the mele, Marta goes missing, and despite trying tirelessly to find her, Minou and Piet are forced to seek safety in Amsterdam leaving Marta behind. They both struggle to deal with the guilt which affects their relationship.

After receiving reports of a young lady who looks like Minou, they decide to return to France to try to find their daughter again. but. Vidal meanwhile continues to try to buy power with his collection of relics criss crossing France. The twists and turns that ensue make for a gripping read and Mosse’s descriptive prose places the reader right in the heart of the action as you would really believe it to have been in that period. She truly is a master of historical fiction.

It was really nice to be read to for a change - I enjoyed the audiobook format and the narrator was well chosen having good pronunciation of the multitude of French and Dutch names and places.

I received this on audio book which is also my first audiobook. Unfortunately I couldn’t focus enough to get into the book. I don’t think that’s anything to do with the book itself, just that audiobooks are not for me.

This is the second book in the Burning Chambers Series. The historical research is amazing and it is interesting to note that the Huguenots were so persecuted . The historical aspect brings to life the plight of a family to stay together in a struggle dealing with the religious wars. There are times when i wonder how anybody could survive such conflict but some did.

A brilliant book, a great author and looking forward to the third book, hopefully !!!!.

‘The City of Tears’ is the sequel to ‘The Burning Chambers’, one of my favourite reads of the last couple of years. I was unsure if I’d be just as in love with this series the second time around, the first book seemed to wrap everything up quite neatly, but I needn’t have worried!

This book picks up not long after the first left of and once again follows Minou and Piet, who now have their own family. Despite a royal marriage between The Catholic Princess of France and Huguenot Henry of Navarre, religious tensions continue with Minou and her family once again being dragged right into the heart of it.

All the characters in this book are really well written, with depth and emotions. In the first book I was really drawn to Minou and the love she has for her family, in particular her sister. Minou’s conection with her family remains a key feature of the character, this time her relationship with her daughter is front and centre, and there are some really heart wrenching moments.

‘The City of Tears’ is very similar to ‘The Burning Chambers’ in other ways, Cardinal Vidal du Plessis is once again the main antagonist and there is another twist in terms of parentage, this time for Piet rather than Minou. It seems a little far fetched at times but Moss provides plenty of set-up in her previous book and at the start of this one that none of the twists and revelations seem out of place.

This series is set during a tumultuous time in history and while the book is clearly fiction It does a good job at portraying these complex events in a way that remains readable and engaging. The setting is more than a backdrop, it is a key element of the plot and well deployed. I’ve certainly come away wanting to find out more about this part of French history.

The City of Tears has left me with more questions than I had at the end of The Burning Chambers, I’m very excited to find out what direction Moss decides to take the rest of this series!

I listened to the audiobook version of this book and really enjoyed the narrator, she also narrated The Burning Chambers and I’m glad as I find her very easy to listen to, she also does a good job (as far as I can tell!) at pronouncing the French words and phrases scattered throughout the book.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of their book in exchange for an honest review.

Another beautifully written book by Kate Mosse, although I had not read the first book in this series, it did not impact my enjoyment or understanding of the subject

This is the second book in The Burning Chambers trilogy. Set 10 years after the end of the first novel, Minou & Piet are now married, with a young family, living in peace & happiness on their estate in Puiver.
They travel to Paris for the Royal wedding of Charles IX's sister to Henry of Navarre. Before getting caught up the St. Bartholemew's Day massacre they are aware of Vidal's presence in the city.
Forced to flee the city, their 7 year old daughter Marta missing, they are forced to become refugees. Their old life is gone, their daughter is gone, old & new enemies will raise their heads testing them to their very limits.

Another absolutely stunning novel from Kate Mosse. Prepare to be transported to 16th century Paris and Amsterdam. Mosse's storytelling leaves you believing that you have experienced the sights and sounds of Medieval France. I have loved every single work produced by Mosse & this is no exception.

Kate Mosse has a wonderful grasp of European (particularly French) history and with such clever unassuming detail, brings The City of Tears alive with a fictional narrative that is interlaced with fascinating real events. This is the second book in the Burning Chambers series and continues the epic adventure of Minuo Reydon-Joubert and Piet Reydon, with a lens on the Catholic and Huguenot conflicts in the sixteenth century. A period of complex religious and political wars which Kate Mosse manages to tread carefully, illustrating that there is honour and corruption on both sides.

In 1572, from the base of Languedoc, which Mosse knows well from her first highly popular Languedoc trilogy, Minuo and Piet with their two children, seven-year-old Marta and two-year-old Jean Jacques, travel to Paris to celebrate and witness the royal wedding of Charles IX’s sister, Catholic Marguerite de Valois, and Protestant Henry III of Navarre. Also in Paris is Vidal du Plessis (Cardinal Valentin), an old acquaintance of Piet’s but now an enemy, with a plan to kill leading Huguenots during the festivities. The violence that erupts became known as the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, in which thousands of Huguenots were murdered. During the confusion and rampage, young Marta goes missing, and unable to find her, Minuo and Piet escape the city to safety in Amsterdam without her. The strain this puts on their marriage along with the guilt they each feel, is superbly described and targeted.

Twelve years later a young woman is reported to have a resemblance to Minuo and thought to be Marta. Minuo and Piet decide to return to France to search for their daughter, but danger is everywhere. Vidal with his collection of relics, many he knows to be fake, has ambitions to use them to gain power and position. Knowing Piet and Minuo have returned has added tension and jeopardy to everyone, and the suspense is very well delivered through many menacing twists where the hunted and hunter have many close encounters.

Kate Mosse is a master storyteller who brings historical fictional drama to life like few others, delivered with an enthralling pace that rarely falters, and a depth that is truly impressive. The family dynamics are intelligently crafted to add another dimension in this absorbing novel and the narrative uses emotional forces that are so ranging that my head and heart have been sated for some time.

I was loving the audiobook from NetGalley so much that I bought the hardback so I could continue to read and listen. The narration is perfect with the accent and dialogue beautifully portrayed especially with many French terms and places. I would highly recommend this book and audiobook and I would like to thank St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of the audiobook in return for an honest review.

Another epic from Kate Mosse following the story of the Wars of Religion in France. Minou & Peter have settled into married life in Puivert but all that changes and dark forces from the past are stalking them. As they attend the royal wedding in Paris, their family is torn apart. Can they survive the fight to stay together and, eventually, find each other?
The audio version of this book is impressive and I will definitely reengage with substantial adult fiction in audio format in the future.

The much anticipated follow-up to The Burning Chambers. It is now 1572, time has moved on with Minou and family becoming caught up in the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in Paris with disastrous consequences. As expected from the author, a masterpiece in research and story-telling. Utterly brilliant.

I have always enjoyed Kate Mosse books, they’re always very in depth and have a great story. This one was the same. This is the first of this type of genre I have tried as an audio book. I would say it was a bit to heavy as an audio book.

I have read all of Kate Mosse's books and each one has been as good as I expected. I had not read The Burning Chambers which was the first in the series and I discovered very quickly that I needed to read that first.
Kate writes in a very intense way that enriches the knowledge of the historical facts and it is easy to be there in the book with the scenery and characters so well defined.
The religious wars in France have been very interesting and diverse and Kate has captured this beautifully. I love the way that the book is written in the first person all the way through as it seems to make it a much more personal story.

Another tour de force from Kate Mosse is always welcome. I don’t read much historical fiction, but after reading Labyrinth, many years ago, I always look out for the latest Kate Mosse novel.
We now have the City of Tears, the second book in her quartet and that charts the history of the Huguenots.
The intolerance and barbarity of the religious conflicts at the time culminates in the St Bartholomew’s Massacre, in Paris, where white crosses were painted on Catholic houses to mark them out from the Protestant Huguenots. The Huguenots were unmercifully slaughtered and driven from Paris.
The tensions between Catholics and Protestants takes us across France and to Amsterdam.
There are a number of characters that we follow, the main ones being Minou and Piet. The novel has Minou, a strong principled female character at the heart of the story.
This is the second book in the series and can be read as a stand-alone novel, although best to start with The Burning Chambers where Minou and Piet meet and their story begins.
As with all of the historical novels by Kate Mosse it is meticulously researched and very readable.
This is the first audiobook I have had and it is extremely well read by Hattie Morahan.

I am reviewing the audiobook read by Hattie Morahan. To be fair, I could listen to her reading the phone book, a completely sumptuous voice. Very good with all the old French and Dutch involved. I listened to this virtually straight after reading the first book, 'The Burning Chambers' so the Joubert/Reydon adventures were completely fresh in my memory. Audiobooks are brilliant for long journeys and long walks but given the choice I will always plump for the book. Much easier to flick back and forth when necessary, especially with a large cast list and so many place names and dates involved. Looking forward to the third chapter in this saga. Thanks to Netgalley.