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Mistress of the Sea by Jenny Barden (view source)
Revision as of 13:47, 25 August 2020
, 13:47, 25 August 2020no edit summary
If I have one criticism, it concerns the pace of the storyline. The story opens with a very exciting and unusual scene involving bear-baiting, which immediately draws the reader in. The first few chapters about Ellyn running away to sea manage to continue the momentum of the opening scene. Sadly, the plot seems to lose its way in the middle of the book, with one of the most interesting characters being marooned on a remote island, which is quite limiting in terms of action. Thankfully, the book picks up pace later on with the vivid, bloody depictions of the raids on the Spanish and the story reaches a gripping climax and powerful conclusion.
''Mistress of the Sea'' is a unique, well-researched historical novel with fascinating characters and a great ''will they, won’t they?'' romance element. I felt lthat that the 426 -page book could have benefitted from more streamlining in the middle, but ultimately the story redeemed itself with a satisfying final few chapters. Classic, swashbuckling stuff.
Readers interested in the Elizabethan era will enjoy [[The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England by Ian Mortimer]]. You might also enjoy [[Wall of Days by Alastair Bruce]].
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