Book Review: The Crimson Thread by Kate Forsyth + A Giveaway!

Author: Kate Forsyth

Title: The Crimson Thread

Genre: Historical Fiction

Format: paperback

Pages: 350

Published:  July 5th 2022

Where I Got It: My shelf (given to me by the author/publisher for my honest and unbiased opinion)

Summary: 

In Crete during World War II, Alenka, a young woman who fights with the resistance against the brutal Nazi occupation, finds herself caught between her traitor of a brother and the man she loves, an undercover agent working for the Allies.

May 1941. German paratroopers launch a blitzkrieg from the air against Crete. They are met with fierce defiance, the Greeks fighting back with daggers, pitchforks, and kitchen knives. During the bloody eleven-day battle, Alenka, a young Greek woman, saves the lives of two Australian soldiers.

Jack and Teddy are childhood friends who joined up together to see the world. Both men fall in love with Alenka. They are forced to retreat with the tattered remains of the Allied forces over the towering White Mountains. Both are among the seven thousand Allied soldiers left behind in the desperate evacuation from Crete's storm-lashed southern coast. Alenka hides Jack and Teddy at great risk to herself. Her brother Axel is a Nazi sympathiser and collaborator and spies on her movements.

As Crete suffers under the Nazi jackboot, Alenka is drawn into an intense triangle of conflicting emotions with Jack and Teddy. Their friendship suffers under the strain of months of hiding and their rivalry for her love. Together, they join the resistance and fight to free the island, but all three will find themselves tested to their limits. Alenka must choose whom to trust and whom to love and, in the end, whom to save.

Review:

Can't help myself when I see a WWII novel...especially if it has women doing their part! So yesss I was so excited to get started on this one! I've read a previous book by this author so that made me extra excited!

We follow Alenka, Jack, and Teddy. Alenka is a young Greek woman who fights with the resistance against the Nazi occupation. She finds herself dealing with not only the Nazis, but her traitor of a brother, the men she loves, and being an undercover agent working for the Allies. She has a lot on her plate. Jack and Teddy are longtime friends who joined up together to see the world and fight the Nazis. They find themselves forced to retreat with the tattered remains of the Allied forces over the White Mountains. They are left behind during the evacuation from Crete. Alenka hides both of them. As Crete suffers under the Nazi boot, Alenka finds herself drawn into a dangerous triangle of conflicting emotions with Jack and Teddy. Teddy and Jack find their friendship will suffer under the strain of months of hiding and rivalry for Alenka's love. 

I really should read more by this author! I read a previous book a while back and liked it. And then I read this one and liked it too. This author is talented and really knows how to bring the world to life and make characters that will stay with you!! 

At first, I did not like Alenka at all. I thought she was whiney and annoying. She did grow on me as we went along but it took a few chapters. And then I loved her. She is a brave woman indeed! 

I liked Teddy and Jack. Jack more than Teddy. You can't help but root for Jack! 

Honestly...I had no idea what was going to happen. I was so worried! Between the Nazi scum running around and Alenka's brother????? Ugh. I was on the edge of my seat. Her brother was scum too because he LOVED the Nazis and wanted to join them and help them. Poor Alenka. Poor thing had to grow up so quickly because of the war. 

Normally I try and stay away from love triangles but I do make exceptions from time to time. The triangle here didn't bug me at all since it didn't take over the plot. Yes, there are a lot of feelings...but they do have bigger fish to fry so we get to see other things play out. We also didn't have over-the-top dramatic scenes that make me roll my eyes. The author did a wonderful job balancing the angst of the love issues and real-life war issues. It felt real and I applaud the author for this. 

There are some dark scenes, but it is war...so you know you are going to see some bad, bad stuff. The author didn't make it overly graphic so for those with weaker stomachs, you'll be okay. But yes, fair warning this is set during one of the deadliest times in history. 

I did shed a couple of tears. I won't spoil anything, but I did have to wipe my eyes a couple times. 

In the end, I simply couldn't put this down! The author is fantastic at bringing characters to life and making them complex and fascinating. You'll get swept away and not want to stop reading. You'll love the characters. I did struggle a little bit with one of the main characters, but I soon grew to love her as much as the other two. I highly recommend this for my historical fiction lovers. 5 stars from me. 

I'm having some good books so far for July *knocks on wood so I don't jinx this good luck*! That makes me happy...I was striking out a lot earlier in the month/end of June. 

Giveaway!!

 Enter to win a copy of The Crimson Thread by Kate Forsyth! We have 10 copies up for grabs! The giveaway is open to the US only and ends on July 29th. You must be 18 or older to enter. Embed Code: The Crimson Thread Direct Link: https://gleam.io/OAUjk/the-crimson-thread

Book Review: Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth

Author: Kate Forsyth
Title: Bitter Greens 
Genre: Historical Fiction, Fairy-tale, Fantasy, YA, and Romance
Pages: 496
First Published: 2012
Where I Got It: On my shelf (Given to me by an author/publisher for my honest and unbiased opinion)

"French novelist Charlotte-Rose de la Force has been banished from the court of Versailles by the Sun King, Louis XIV, after a series of scandalous love affairs. At the convent, she is comforted by an old nun, Sœur Seraphina, who tells her the tale of a young girl who, a hundred years earlier, is sold by her parents for a handful of bitter greens...

After Margherita’s father steals parsley from the walled garden of the courtesan Selena Leonelli, he is threatened with having both hands cut off, unless he and his wife relinquish their precious little girl. Selena is the famous red-haired muse of the artist Tiziano, first painted by him in 1512 and still inspiring him at the time of his death. She is at the center of Renaissance life in Venice, a world of beauty and danger, seduction and betrayal, love and superstition.

Locked away in a tower, Margherita sings in the hope that someone will hear her. One day, a young man does.

Award-winning author Kate Forsyth braids together the stories of Margherita, Selena, and Charlotte-Rose, the woman who penned Rapunzel as we now know it, to create what is a sumptuous historical novel, an enchanting fairy tale retelling, and a loving tribute to the imagination of one remarkable woman"

Ooooooh, this was so much better then I thought it was going to be! I was a little worried, because this was a mixture of Historical Fiction and fairy-tale. The way the author blended the two was fantastic. The story revolves around Charlotte-Rose who is a writer and noble, but she has been banished to a convent for some offense she gave to the Sun King. Through her struggles another girl tells her the story of Rapunzel. This inspires Charlotte-Rose to continue writing. The story also focuses on the story of Margherita (aka Rapunzel) and even the witch gets to tell her tale.

I didn't really care much for Charlotte-Rose's back-story, I felt like it took away from the story a bit. However, I really did like Charlotte-Rose and I felt bad that she was forced to go to the convent. However....one knows never to piss of the King. Especially the Sun King for he had an ego problem and a sex problem. Such a man-whore and a spoiled-brat. ANYWAYS, I really want to read Charlotte-Rose's work now! I had never heard of her. Is she real? *goes and researches* Haha! She is. Okay, I admit I did not know where the original story of Rapunzel came from. I knew the Brother's Grimm made a rendition of it and so did Disney. 

There is so much to talk about this book, but not enough time. I really, really liked it. It was a lot of fun and I was highly addicted! It was hard to put it down. I truly loved Kate Forsyth's voice. She brings such life to the characters and she sucks you into the time period. Even though half of this is "fairy-tale", it did not feel like a fairy-tale at all. I am really looking forward to reading more by this author. :) 

This review is a little short, but I don't know what else to say without giving away too much. I really liked this book! I simply flew through it! I loved Rapunzel's POV and story the best. I did like Charlotte-Rose and I really want to read some of her works someday! I'm surprised, but glad the author included the witch's story. It made her much more "likable"...wrong word....understandable is more the word. A beautiful book and a beautiful story. I was sitting on the edge of my seat...I had to know what was going to happen next! 

In the end, I highly recommend this those that like historical fiction and fairy-tales. The blend was done wonderfully. I did skim a little through Charlotte-Rose's backstory at some points; not because they were boring, but because I wanted to know what happened to her and Rapunzel. The story was wonderful and I love the writing style of the author! I can't wait to see what else she has to offer! Out of five stars I stamp this with 5. :)

Favorite Character(s):  Margherita (aka Rapunzel), the witch (she was rather interesting), Charlotte-Rose, and Lucio
Not-so Favorite Character(s): Michel (I wanted to punch him! What an ass!)