My thanks to Macmillan Audio U.K. for a review copy, via NetGalley, of the unabridged audiobook edition of ‘The City of Tears’ by Kate Mosse . It is narrated by acclaimed actor Hattie Morahan and has a running time of 16 hours 42 minutes at 1x speed.

This is the second in Mosse’s The Burning Chambers series set in France and the Netherlands during the late 16th Century. While some background is provided on the events in ‘The Burning Chambers’, I would suggest that it is best to read them in order to get a full appreciation of the characters.

In order to avoid spoilers for the first book, I will only touch on the plot in general terms.

The novel opens in June 1572. For ten years the Wars of Religion have raged across France, tearing the country apart at the cost of many lives. Now in order to bring peace Catherine de’ Medici, the Queen Mother, has negotiated with Jeanne d'Albret a royal marriage between Catherine’s daughter, Marguerite de Valois, and Henri, the Huguenot king of Navarre. It is a marriage that could see France reunited at last.

Mosse reintroduces her characters and the changes in their lives since the final chapters of ‘The Burning Chambers’. It isn’t long until they receive an invitation to attend the Royal Wedding in in Paris. Mosse then cleverly places various of her characters to serve as witnesses to events that follow including the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre that destroys the fragile hopes of peace. Against the backdrop of history Mosse also stresses the bonds of family and friendship.

Again, I am cautious of spoilers though will quote the publishers that it is a: “novel of revenge, persecution and loss, the action sweeps from Paris and Chartres to the city of tears itself, Amsterdam.”

Kate Mosse is a wonderful storyteller who I find always draws me completely into the lives of her characters as well as the period setting.

The quality of her writing is superb and is backed up by her impeccable historical research. As a result, I found myself completely swept up in the narrative from the start through to its Epilogue. It is a series that I am totally committed to and will eagerly await the next book in the series.

With respect to the audiobook, I had enjoyed Hattie Morahan’s narration of ‘The Burning Chambers’ and I was pleased that she continued as the narrator for this second novel. Her voice is rich and very clear and I felt that she brought the characters, events, and settings vividly to life.

Overall, I feel that Kate Mosse has produced another excellent work of historical fiction adding to her already impressive oeuvre.

Highly recommended.

I first heard Kate Mosse talk on radio 4 in 2017/18 about a new trilogy she was writing and from that moment I was counting the days to the release of the first book, The Burning Chambers. I always listen to lengthy books on audiobook as it passes the time while walking the dogs so I listened to the first book as soon as it was released and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was then saddened to realise I had another two years to wait for the next book.
Time passed and The City of Tears was finally released and again I was excited to listen to the next instalment in the trilogy. Sometimes I find the second book isn’t as strong as the first but The City of Tears definitely does not fall into that category - once again the author creates such wonderful visions for listeners and the narrator weaves the tale skilfully throughout, holding the listener’s attention throughout.
A wonderful story & so good to be in the company of Minou and Piet once again and to find out what their lives held after the ending of The Burning Chambers. Not as much nail-biting suspense as the first book, but it was not needed as the story was captivating. Marvellous historical descriptions are entwined throughout this incredible fictional story.
I did find myself having to think really hard about characters and occurrences from the first book as two years is a long time in between stories, and I wish I had re-listened to the first one prior to starting The City of Tears; however, it did not detract from my enjoyment of the audiobook.
I’m now awaiting the final instalment, which I’m guessing with be Marta & Louis’s story - I can’t wait!

On the book: I very much enjoyed reading The City of Tears. I have not read the Burning Chambers and I did not feel as though I was missing part of the story but having enjoyed so much this novel, I have now embarked into the Burning Chamber too. The book is superbly written and researched. The reader feels totally immersed in 16th Century France and Amsterdam, with all the dramatic events that occurred due to the tensions between Catholics and Huguenots, fights for power and influence, and the hunt for precious relics. The characters are strong, interesting and depicted with a beautiful writing that brings them to life. The plot is very good and, after a start where the reader needs to take in quite a lot of details, it is woven through the whole book until the last sentence. A really excellent historical novel. Looking forward to the third book now.

On the audiobook: The narration by Hattie Morahan is truly excellent. One of the best audiobooks I have listened to. The narration is clear and very pleasant, It conveys the plot and the feelings of the characters but does not overdo the dialogue. Very elegantly narrated, and at the same time lively and flowing. I really enjoyed it and now that I read the Burning Chambers, I enjoy again the great narration by Hattie Morahan.

Many thanks to Netgalley, to the publisher MacMillan Audio UK, to the author Kate Mosse, and to the narrator Hattie Morahan, for the advanced readers copy of this great audiobook.

This is a sweeping saga that took me straight into Europe in the 1500s, with its hideous religious intolerance and wars, its sights, smells and drama. Author Kate Mosse ensures her readers become totally immersed in the period. The characters became real personalities for me, and I particularly enjoyed the strong women – clear-sighted Minou with her leadership qualities, her precocious daughter Marta and their Dutch friend, courageous Cornelia. I clearly visualised the settings as Minou, Piet and their family move between their home in France to Paris and Amsterdam; their calm, majestic home in the woods, the chaos and spectacle of Paris, and austere, magical Amsterdam. I adored the descriptions of several towns and cities I’ve visited and that crop up in this epic story. It even begins in my country – in Stellenbosch, South Africa (although I must confess, having not read the first in the trilogy - something I hope to rectify - the prologue didn’t make much sense to me. The narrator, Hattie Morahan, did a wonderful job of making Mosse’s story spring to life with her brilliant narration and effortless segues into French and Dutch pronunciation. This is an exciting, nail-biting, sweeping, emotional and sometimes incredibly sad story that drew me in and will stay with me. Mosse is a master story teller. Highly recommended.

I was transported back in time to the 16th century during the wars of religion. I know nothing of that time in history but the author does a great job of setting the scene. This was well written with many characters. One to read if you like historical fiction. I received this as an audio and the narrator Hattie Morahan does a great job. I am yet to read The Burning Chambers but that didn’t stop me enjoying this book. I will definitely have to go back and read the first book in this series.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio UK for this advanced audio copy.

June 1572: for ten, violent years the Wars of Religion have raged across France. Neighbours have become enemies, countless lives have been lost, and the country has been torn apart over matters of religion, citizenship and sovereignty. But now a precarious peace is in the balance: a royal wedding has been negotiated by Catherine de’ Medici and Jeanne d’Albret, an alliance between the Catholic Crown and Henri, the Huguenot king of Navarre. It is a marriage that could see France reunited at last.

Meanwhile in Puivert, an invitation has arrived for Minou Joubert and her family to attend this historic wedding in Paris in August. But what Minou does not know is that the Joubert family’s oldest enemy, Vidal, will also be there. Nor that, within days of the marriage, on the eve of the Feast Day of St Bartholomew, Minou’s family will be scattered to the four winds and one of her beloved children will have disappeared without trace . . .


This is the second book in the series and just like book 1 I really loved this book, It’s a historical fiction story set in the 16th century. This book had my interest from the beginning and although not my usual genre I would look forward to reading more of this genre.

A brilliant historical drama!

1st of all the narrator did a brilliant job of creating the atmosphere. I will look out for more books narrated by her!

I've always been fascinated by history and especially the hatred between the Catholics and Protestants and all the heartache brought on by these religious wars so I found this fascinating.
This is the story of Minou and Piet Joubert. Little did they know that the invite to attend the Royal wedding in Paris that is supposed to bring peace will throw there lives in so much turmoil.
I did get a bit confused at times with all the different characters and I'm not sure if it is because I didn't read the 1st book in the series but I still enjoyed al the historical facts that were woven into this at times heartbreaking story.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio UK for the privilege to listen to the audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion

I read THE CITY OF TEARS and loved it but I couldn't get into this audio version. Probably me but I found it difficult to get a handle on. Leaving 4 stars because it's a wonderful story.

I sent a review already. Please check
I sent it last month. Thank you
You can check my list of reviewed books..

The City of Tears - Kate Moss

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review thanks to MacMillan Audio and Netgalley

June 1572: for ten, violent years the Wars of Religion have raged across France. Neighbours have become enemies, countless lives have been lost, the country has been torn apart over matters of religion, citizenship and sovereignty. But now a precarious peace is in the balance: a royal wedding has been negotiated by Catherine de’ Medici and Jeanne d'Albret, an alliance between the Catholic Crown and Henri, the Huguenot king of Navarre. It is a marriage that could see France reunited at last.

Meanwhile in Puivert, an invitation has arrived for Minou Joubert and her family to attend this historic wedding in Paris in August. But what Minou does not know is that the Joubert family’s oldest enemy, Vidal, will also be there. Nor that, within days of the marriage, on the eve of the Feast Day of St Bartholomew's, Minou’s family will be scattered to the four winds and one of her beloved children will have disappeared without trace . . .

A breath-taking novel of revenge, persecution and loss, sweeping from Paris and Chartres to the City of Tears itself - the great refugee city of Amsterdam - this is a story of one family’s fight to stay together, to survive and to find each other, against the devastating tides of history . . .

I read this book as a standalone. It is well written and very descriptive but easy to follow. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys Mosse’s writing, or anyone that enjoys a well-written eye opening book about the cruelty suffered by families during the religious wars.

Rating 4/5

Epic historical fiction from Kate Mosse. The story of a Huguenot family whose lives are changed forever when they’re caught up in the St Bartholemew’s Day massacre in Paris, 1572.

This was my first book by Kate Mosse, and I’d strongly recommend reading The Burning Chamber, the first in the series, before this. I didn’t, and whilst I still enjoyed the book, it took me a long time to settle into it and I did feel I was missing key points.

I really enjoyed the middle parts of the book. The detailed research came through without ever feeling ‘heavy’, and the sense of place and time were quite exceptional. I went in knowing nothing about the religious wars of the period, and have come away wanting to know more - and to read anything set in 16th century Amsterdam. And the characters, the family and their relationships all felt quite true-to-life.

And then we hit the final section, where I felt like I’d fallen into an implausible, over-the-top thriller. I wouldn’t have minded of itself, but it threw me totally - I felt like I’d missed the point of the first 3/4 of the book, which is quite hard to swallow after 13 hours of listening!

I listened on audio, and thought the narration by Hattie Morahan was excellent. The different characters were all very clear, and it never dragged, despite the length.

All in all, then, a very mixed bag. I really can’t decide whether to go back and start the series from the beginning. Thank you to #NetGalley and Macmillan for the chance to review a copy of the audiobook.

Breath-taking! Engaging! Poignant!

The year is 1572 and the war of Huguenot as the protestants became known as had been raging for ten years. Minou Joubert and her husband Piet Reydon are summoned to Paris to witness the marriage of a royal wedding negotiated by Catherine de’ Medici and Jeanne d’Albret, the wedding of Margot and Henri, the Huguenot king of Navarre creating an alliance between the Catholic Crown and the Huguenots. Minou and Piet are accompanied by their seven-year-old daughter and two-year-old son.

They were preparing to leave to return to their home in Puivert when on the feast of St Bartholomew, Huguenots are attacked and massacred and Piet and Minou’s daughter goes missing. The family are forced to leave the city without tracing her and instead of returning to Puivert, they make their way to Holland where the settle, always wondering what happened to their daughter.

The narrator, Hattie Morahan had me hooked from the opening sentence and she makes each character seem alive and helped me fall in love with all the characters as they journey from France to Holland and then finally back to France, when they hear that their daughter might still be alive, possibly held captive by Piet’s enemy, Vidal.

I can’t wait for the next book in this series. Kate Mosse is utterly brilliant at weaving stories while also describing historical events of huge importance. The Huguenots story couldn’t have had a better author to tell their story.

Rony

Elite Reviewing Group received an audible copy of the book to review.

City of Tears
Kate Mosse
Thank you to Netgalley and publisher's Macmillan Audio UK for this review copy. This is my unbiased review of the author's work and style. If you want plot lines and spoilers, please see the publisher's blurb and other reviewers' reports.
This is my first audio book from Netgalley, and I really enjoyed the experience unfortunately listening on my mobile was not my choice but Netgalley does not offer a PC Desktop option, so I am unlikely to try it again. However, the limitation did not ruin my enjoyment of the novel.
"The City of Tears" is the second volume of Kate Mosses’ trilogy "The Burning Chambers" and I would strongly recommend anyone not familiar with the first episode of the series to do so. Kate Mosse populates her books with many characters and the trilogy follows the members of the same family's generations. The experience of the first volume will enhance your read of the second.
The reader of the audio book - Hattie Morahan, does a great job and I was able to relax in her presence. If on the other hand you prefer your historical fiction to be very daring do, then maybe this series in not for you.
Kate Mosse is renown for her attention to detail and the phenomenal research she undertakes gives her work authority so when she bends or invents aspects of history you know she is doing so because the narrative requires it.
I admit to being a fan of the author, but this book really calls for praise and I look forward to the final part of the trilogy.
Five stars all the way.

I read this book as part audiobook, part ebook, and loved every page. Kate Mosse is in top form within these pages, and gifts us a wonderful story with a full range of emotions. It's impossible to work out how to feel about where the story takes you, with so many twists and turns. It's a long book, and you'll be glad it is, because you won't want it to end.

A big thank-you to Kate Mosse, Macmillan Audio UK, and NetGalley for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.*
A great story with good characters and villans set against the St Bartholomew's massacre. A plehora of fictional characters and hostoric figures make this book a compelling read. I never miss the opportunity to read a HF that deals with religious wars and this novel did meet my expectations despite the fact that I had not read Burning Chambers that introduces most of the characters. The narration is top-notch, including pronouncing French names.

This was my first book by Kate Mosse and certainly didn't disappoint. a brilliant story of revenge and loss. A compelling story. I had the audiobook and the narrator had a voice that drew you in.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this book

This is the second book in the series. I would suggest you listen to The Burning Chambers first but this can be a stand alone book.
Minou and Piet Joubert are in Paris for the marriage of Henri the Huguenot king of Navarre and Marguerite de Valois in 1572. An alliance between The Huguenots and Catholics is supposed to bring peace but these are dangerous times. Minou finds her family is again in danger especially as the Joubert’s oldest enemy Vidal is also in Paris .

Kate Mosse is the master of drawing you into her narrative with ease. I was living and breathing in the sights and smells of 1572. The narrator was wonderful and added to the enjoyment of this epic family saga.
Anyone who like historical novels will love this and even if you don’t it is another great Kate Mosse family saga.

France has been in unwavering instability ever since the French revolution and the conquering of the Bastille. This is more so because of religious conflicts within the same religion (which is very ironic); in this case between the Catholic 'pure' Christians and the Protestant 'impure' Christians. Here, this conflict take solace not only in France, but in the neighboring countries of Belgium and Netherlands.

'The City of Tears' is the second book of the Burning Chambers series, and though I haven't read the first book, this one was highly entertaining and I was under the conviction of it being a standalone.

The story revolves around a family whose members were separated or killed and how they were indirectly caught up in many situations that came to shape France's future.

The writing was impeccable and highly understandable, considering it being a historical fiction. Written from multiple POVs, the story was covered from every side, though I still have a lot of questions and queries on many exchanges and incidents.

The city of tears here refers to Amsterdam, and the events of this story unfolds here and in Paris. The way these two cities were described from the 16th century POV was highly amazing, and the imagery was appalling.

Narrated by Hattie Morahan this book was a long but almost perfect listen.

Highly recommended!

Thank you Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for the ALC!

Lovely listen. I enjoyed the book but found the voice a little grating. Easier to read than to listen too but great material

I received this as an audio book and that was a great idea as it its very long. It is wonderfully researched and very well written. I have read the first book in the trilogy which is obviously helpful but not essential to enjoying this one.
I engaged with the characters and wanted them to succeed in their various quests. Having finished the story I found myself bereft of their company on my walks!
The history its fascinating and appears so thoroughly understood by the author that this knowledge is included almost automatically in the text.
Thoroughly recommended with the warning that this book cannot be undertaken lightly!