Banquet of Lies by Michelle Diener

Giselle "Gigi" Barrington is quite an unusual young lady for her time. She travels around Europe as her father's companion, taking her to many places and meeting many people that she normally wouldn't meet. Whilst he collects fairy tales and folk stories, and acts as a British spy, she collects the recipes from the places they visit with the hope of eventually being able collate them into a book. Not only does she like to collect the recipes, she also likes to cook them herself - very unusual behaviour for a young lady of her class.

Whilst in Stockholm, Giselle's father is handed a very important document to take back to England that will change the course of history dramatically. When he is murdered for that document, Giselle knows that the killer will soon be after her too. She doesn't know who the murderer is, but she could identify him from a distance, but she knows that she needs to get away as it is very likely that he knows who she is. Where does a young woman who is alone go to hide in a foreign country though? Then again, the same problem faces her in England as well. She can't go to her family home, as that would be the most obvious place for the killer to look for her.

There is only one person that she can go to, which is her family friend Georges Bisset, a chef in the Duke of Whittaker's house. He is able to recommend her for a position as cook in the house of Lord Aldridge. No one would think of looking for a young lady in the kitchens of a nobleman's kitchen and this position has the added bonus of being quite close to her own home so Giselle can see if anything is happening there. Whilst whipping up fantastic dinners, Gigi gets a glimpse into the lives the servants live as well, battles against the butler who clearly dislikes her, find herself on the wrong side of the law and so much more. She knows that she is still a target for the assassin so she needs to work out who the person is who should have received the dangerous missive, get it to them and stay alive!

Lord Aldridge is a former soldier who gained a taste for continental food during his years serving his country. A younger son who inherited a title, Aldridge fills his day managing his estates, attending parliament and involving himself every now and again in some intrigue for his country. He can't quite understand why his cook has him all twisted up. His reaction to her is incredibly strong which is difficult for him as he is a fundamentally good man who has never engaged in trysts with his staff and he doesn't intend to start now. If only he could stay away from her.

Over the last 12 months or so I have been fortunate to read three of Michelle Diener's books and each one of them has been a delight! This book, which was recently released was the third, and once again I was treated to a fun story with good characters that is an easy book to read and get lost in. The reader is treated to a mix of romance, history, mystery and adventure that the author balances really well.

It is worth mentioning that the characters from The Emperor's Conspiracy do make an appearance in this book. I am a stickler for reading in order and as such get really upset if I don't know this kind of thing in advance. Having said that, you could easily read this book first without missing out on too much. Hopefully you would be intrigued enough to go back and read their story if you hadn't previously read it. I am already hoping that Michelle's next book will feature these same sets of characters. The Duke of Whittaker in particular seems to be an ideal candidate to have his story told, particularly if it means that he gets to meet an unusual woman to shake up his life.

I should mention the food too. Oh my goodness, the food in this book sounds so good! I was left salivating as Gigi served up course after course of delicious sounding food. On her website, Diener has shared a number of recipes that were mentioned in this book, and I have to say...I would be happy for her to come and cook for me anytime!

Rating 4/5

About the tour

Link to Tour Schedule: http://hfvirtualbooktours.com/banquetofliestour
Twitter Hashtag: #BanquetOfLiesTour

Michelle Diener's website

Michelle Diener on Twitter

Michelle Diener on Facebook

About the book

A Secret Treaty and a Secret Life

LONDON, 1812: Giselle Barrington is living a double life, juggling the duties of chef with those of spy catcher. She must identify her father’s savage killer before the shadowy man finds her and uncovers the explosive political document her father entrusted to her safekeeping.

Posing as a French cook in the home of Lord Aldridge, Giselle is surrounded by unlikely allies and vicious enemies. In the streets where she once walked freely among polite society, she now hides in plain sight, learning the hard lessons of class distinction and negotiating the delicate balance between servant and master.

Lord Aldridge’s insatiable curiosity about his mysterious new chef blurs the line between civic duty and outright desire. Carefully watching Giselle’s every move, he undertakes a mission to figure out who she really is—and, in the process, plunges her straight into the heart of danger when her only hope for survival is to remain invisible.

This book counts for the following challenges:

 

Daughter of the Sky by Michelle Diener

Elizabeth Jones is travelling back to England following the death of her parents in China when she is shipwrecked off the coast of South Africa. She is rescued by Lindani, a Zulu, and she is adopted by his family, spending years living as a Zulu who is now known as Inyoni. With the coming of the British invaders, her English language skills will come in useful if she could spy for the Zulu, which Elizabeth is eager to do. Her loyalty now is to her Zulu family and not to the country of her birth, which she feels played a significant role in the deaths of her family years before.

Relying on the fact that most people don't look much past what seems obvious, Elizabeth cuts off her hair and dresses in a stolen uniform. The only man to see through her disguise almost straight away is Jack Burdell, but he believes Elizabeth's story of searching for a lost brother and so employs her as his batman in order to try and protect her secret identity from being discovered. Whilst living in such close quarters, the attraction between the two of them grows. Elizabeth's loyalty to the Zulu is not so straight forward once she knows that the information that she passes on, or the sabotage she performs, may directly impact the men she has come to know, especially Jack.

Daughter of the Sky features a trope that is often used in historical romance - a young woman dressing as a man - and does it well. What makes this so fascinating this time is the setting. I don't think I have read many books which are set during the Zulu wars in South Africa. I am not sure that I would necessarily classify this book as historical romance though. There is a love story, and it was one of the very well written aspects of the book, but this is no romance with a wallpaper historical setting. There are battles and death and drama aplenty and the author has kept as close as possible to the historical facts, even using quotes from actual correspondence at the opening of each chapter.

One of the other things I loved about this book were the thoughts of Jack's father. Jack receives his journal during the course of the campaign and he starts reading the journal while sitting in the tent waiting for the battle to start. There is a poignancy reading the thoughts of a man who is writing before his son signs up as soldier, wishing that his son would see something other than glory when he is thinking about doing so. It is also poignant to see the way that history is repeating itself, with many of the same mistakes that were made in battles in India a generation before being made in Africa, not the least of which is underestimating the locals and how hard they will fight for their homeland. These thoughts also have echoes in Jack's own disillusionment with the army and with the war that he finds himself in the middle of.

I have long been partial to books set in Africa, so when offered this book by the author, I was more than happy to accept. Then I saw that there was a virtual book tour, I volunteered for that so that I would have to read it! Once I started, it wasn't an imposition.

This isn't a book that I could necessarily see as being published by any of the big name publishers. With the constantly changing world of digital publishing it is exciting to see small publishers taking chances to publish unusual stories, or when authors can publish the books of their heart themselves. Michelle Diener grew up in the area where the battles portrayed in this book took place, and you can tell that this is history that has come alive to her!

The challenge for readers is to find those small press or self published gems among some not so gem-like books. If you like strong historical fiction with romantic themes and an unusual setting, this could be the book for you. I truly enjoyed it!

Rating 4.5/5

Tour Details

Link to Tour Schedule: http://hfvirtualbooktours.com/daughteroftheskyvirtualtour/
Twitter Hashtag: #DaughterOfTheSkyVirtualTour
Michelle Diener's website.
Michelle Diener on Facebook
Michelle Diener on Twitter

Synopsis

The Victorian Empire has declared war on the Zulus if they don't accede to their outrageous demands. The clock is ticking down to the appointed hour. With no idea why the British are marching three massive columns of men and guns towards them, one Zulu general is prepared to take an impossible risk. But the life he's gambling with isn't his own . . .

The sole survivor of a shipwreck off the Zululand coast, 15 year-old Elizabeth Jones is taken in by the Zulus, the people of the sky. Six years later, her white skin becomes useful to the Zulu army as they try to work out why the Victorian Empire has pointed their war-machine at the Zulu nation. Elizabeth is suddenly Zululand's most important spy.

While infiltrating the British camp, Elizabeth's disguise as a young soldier is uncovered almost immediately by Captain Jack Burdell. However, he believes the tale she spins of searching for a missing brother and shields her from discovery, allowing her to bunk in his tent and giving her a job as his batman. Burdell is war-weary and disillusioned - no longer willing to follow regulations at all costs.

But as Elizabeth and Jack explore their growing attraction to each other, the two armies move towards their inevitable clash. Elizabeth is torn between the guilt of betrayal and her fierce loyalty to her Zulu family, and when Zulu and British meet on the battlefield, both she and Jack find their hearts and their lives caught in the crossfire.

This book counts for the following challenges:

The Emperor's Conspiracy by Michelle Diener

When Michelle Diener contacted me to offer a review copy of this book, I was interested, but mainly because Michelle lives in Australia  and therefore I could count this book for several challenges. And then I noticed that Amy from Historical Fiction Virtual Tours was running a tour for the book. I volunteered because then not only would I intend to read it, I would actually read it and in a timely fashion! The thing is though, by the time I finished the book, I was happy to have read the book, not because of challenges or impetus to read, but because in the end this was a really good read!

The book opens with a scene that is quite unusual. A London lady finds herself with a chimney sweep stuck up her chimney because the sweep had grown too large, and the sweep is abandoned by her master because if the sweeps can't work, then he can't afford to feed them.

Fast forward a number of years, and we are introduced to Charlotte Raven. She is a young lady who is mostly at ease in the glamorous world of the ton but equally at home in the rougher parts of London. She is something of an oddity in the ton, because she is ward to a well respected lady who took her into her home and introduced her into the rarefied ways of the ton. She is also unusual in the stews because she is one of the lucky ones, one of the people who climbed out of a life of poverty. Charlotte is acutely aware of her own good fortune and does her best to help others get a start on a better life if they are prepared to make the necessary changes.

There are two main male characters in the book, both representing the two different parts of Charlotte's life. On one hand, Charlotte's childhood protector and love, Luke, is now running a crime ring. He rules the streets of his area which are filled with hardship and deprivation and more. On the other, Lord Edward Durnham. He is aloof, rarely seen in society but has a complicated secret life. When the two worlds collide, thanks predominantly to Charlotte's own actions, she is the one who has the power to control their fates. And yet, it is her own fate which may be the most difficult to decide given that she doesn't really fit in her new world but she certainly doesn't fit in the old world either.

Central to the drama between the characters is a plot which seems highly improbable, until you realise that it was taken straight from the pages of the history books! This plot is what gives the book it's title. I must confess that for the first parts of the book I was wondering precisely where the title fitted in, but it all became clear in due course. The only clue I am going to give you is that the book is set during the Napoleonic wars.

The thing about this book is that it doesn't really fit neatly into any sub-genre. There are times when you might think that what you are reading is building up to a historical romance story... but it's not only that. You may think that you are reading a historical mystery, and you are, but not in the sense that the heroine decides that she wants to be an amateur sleuth and sets out to solve a crime. Rather Charlotte is trying to find, or keep, her place -trying to keep one foot in both her past world and her present world.

I may have mentioned once or ten times now that I am currently reading Les Miserables. Whilst I am enjoying that book, it is a book that I am having to work hard at reading. By contrast, this book was a completed breeze to read and I closed the book already wondering if we were going to see more of these characters. As I look back with the added distance of a couple of days, there are probably a couple of plot holes, and there probably could have been a bit more in the way of character development, but in terms of the actually reading experience I had, it was perfect for me at the time. Just what I needed.

This was the first time I have read this author, and I will definitely be looking for more from her in the future, especially if there is a follow up book to this one.

Rating 4/5

Thanks to the author for providing a copy of the book along with a gorgeous bookmark. This did not influence my review.

Tour Details

Tour schedule
Michelle's website
Michelle on Facebook
Michelle on Twitter
Twitter Hashtag: #EmperorsConspiracyVirtualTour

Synopsis

From nineteenth-century London’s elegant ballrooms to its darkest slums, a spirited young woman and a nobleman investigating for the Crown unmask a plot by Napoleon to bleed England of its gold.

Chance led to Charlotte Raven’s transformation from chimney sweep to wealthy, educated noblewoman, but she still walks a delicate tightrope between two worlds, unable to turn her back on the ruthless crime lord who was once her childhood protector.

When Lord Edward Durnham is tapped to solve the mystery of England’s rapidly disappearing gold, his search leads him to the stews of London, and Charlotte becomes his intriguing guide to the city’s dark, forbidding underworld. But as her involvement brings Charlotte to the attention of men who have no qualms about who they hurt, and as Edward forges a grudging alliance with the dangerous ghosts of Charlotte’s former life, she faces a choice: to continue living in limbo, or to close the door on the past and risk her heart and her happiness on an unpredictable future.

Challenges

This book counts for the following challenges: