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Wolf Hall
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel is $2.99! This is the story of Henry VIII’s court from the perspective of Thomas Cromwell. This is the first book in Mantel’s series, and it was a HUGE word of mouth phenomenon when it came out, but some readers mentioned that had trouble getting into the writing. Have you read this one? Did you love it or hate it?
In the ruthless arena of King Henry VIII’s court, only one man dares to gamble his life to win the king’s favor and ascend to the heights of political power
England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years, and marry Anne Boleyn. The pope and most of Europe opposes him. The quest for the king’s freedom destroys his adviser, the brilliant Cardinal Wolsey, and leaves a power vacuum.
Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell. Cromwell is a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people and a demon of energy: he is also a consummate politician, hardened by his personal losses, implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph?
In inimitable style, Hilary Mantel presents a picture of a half-made society on the cusp of change, where individuals fight or embrace their fate with passion and courage. With a vast array of characters, overflowing with incident, the novel re-creates an era when the personal and political are separated by a hairbreadth, where success brings unlimited power but a single failure means death.
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Built
Built by Jay Crownover is $1.99! This book served as inspiration for a previous Covers & Cocktails and is the first boo in the Saints of Denver series. I loved the class differences aspect in this book, though a few commenters on Goodreads mention finding it a little cheesy or over-the-top at times, and I’m inclined to agree. It has a 4.1-star rating on Goodreads.
From the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men books comes an electrifying new spin-off series,Saints of Denver, featuring all the characters fans have been dying to read about.
Sometimes a real hero lets you save yourself . . .
Sayer Cole and Zeb Fuller couldn’t be more different. She’s country club and fine-dining, he’s cell-block and sawdust. Sayer spends her days in litigation while Zeb spends his working with his hands. But none of that has stopped Zeb from wanting the stunning blonde since the moment he laid eyes on her—even if the reserved lawyer seems determinedly oblivious to his interest.
Sayer is certain the rough, hard, hot-as-hell Zeb could never want someone as closed off and restrained as she is, which is a shame because something tells her he might be the guy to finally melt her icy exterior. When he shows up at Sayer’s door needing her professional help, she’s both disappointed and relieved that she won’t get the chance to find out just how good he could be.
But as they team up to right a wrong and save a family, the steam created when fire and ice collide cannot be ignored.
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An Ounce of Hope
An Ounce of Hope by Sophie Jackson is $1.99! This is the second book in the Pound of Flesh series. I didn’t love the first book, but these can be read as standalones. Be warned that the book deals with trauma as a backstory and the hero is a recovering addict. Readers loved the progression of the hero and heroine’s relationship, but some found there was too much angst for them. It has a 4.2-star rating on Goodreads.
From the fanfic phenom whose debut A Pound of Flesh had over 4.5 million reads, this sequel, An Ounce of Hope, tells the passionate love story of Carter’s best friend, Max.
Max O’Hare can’t seem to let go of his past: his drug habit, the end of his relationship with Lizzie Jordan, the woman he knows he’ll never get over, and the loss of their unborn son.
After successfully completing rehab and learning to explore his deepest fears and dreams through painting, Max meets Grace Brooks. With her innate optimism, and her love of art and photography, Grace appears to be the perfect girl. Yet no one knows where she came from, or why she keeps her past so closely guarded. Over time, Max and Grace gradually allow each other in—but will he ever be able to fully let go of his past? Or will his heart remain closed forever?
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Trancing the Tiger
Trancing the Tiger by Rachael Slate is 99c! There is only one reason why I’m including this and that’s because I was obsessed with Fruits Basket as a teen. I probably owned up to volume twelve of the manga and the description of this book reminds me a lot of Fruits Basket. So I’m hoping there are some other manga lovers out there who see the similarities. All of the reviews on Goodreads seem to be positive, so if you’ve read this one and had issues, please comment below!
Delve into a world steeped in tradition and superstition…
After her parents become infected with the Red Death, Lucy Yeoh flees to Malaysia seeking answers. Everything in this closed-off section of the world is paradise—from the lush tropical climate to her sexy new neighbor, Sheng…who just might be delusional. He claims the Plague God unleashed the Red Death and only a circle of Chinese Zodiac spirit animals can cleanse the Earth. Even more, he insists she’s one of them: the Rabbit. Long furry ears and fluffy bunny tail included.
He’ll show her how to fight to save the world…
As the Chosen of the Tiger, the burden of restoring balance to the world has fallen onto Li Sheng’s shoulders. When he discovers that the ally he’s long awaited, the Dragon, is actually just the Rabbit, Sheng is quick to dismiss Lucy. If only she’d stay dismissed. Lucy’s Rabbit refuses to cooperate, undermining the authority of his Tiger at every turn…and seducing him to the limits of his darkest desires. He’s not supposed to want her. Not when he needs the spirit circle complete and she’s their weakest link.
She’ll show him a love worth fighting the world to save…
Sheng’s enemies draw closer, and not everyone wants Lucy alive. Together, they’ll have to navigate a treacherous world where a line between duty and their hearts has been drawn between them. They must either sacrifice one, or find a way to surrender to both.
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As far as Wolf Hall, I fell asleep at about page five, my husband though thought it was a great read. I also couldn’t stay awake for the miniseries, but the boys in my family sucked it up….go figure!
I love Tudor fiction but Wolf Hall was a slog to get through. The period writing style is terrific – brilliant, really, but it’s much too thick to decipher. It was a positive to see Thomas Cromwell as someone other than the bad guy because he’s always painted as the face of evil. Here, you see him as an ambitious family man who gets caught up in court intrigue, but always having the best intentions. Still – it isn’t very enjoyable to read.
Rebecca @ The Portsmouth Review
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Oh my God, I was obsessed with Fruits Basket as a teen! Definitely going to have to give this a read based on the nostalgia feelings alone!
Words do not adequately express how much I love Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. The writing style does take a bit of getting used to, and it demands all your attention, but in absolutely the best way. The writing is absolutely beautiful and allows the characterization to realize a depth and, frankly, state of grace that I have seen very, VERY few times in my life. The research is fantastic and Mantel makes the story of Henry VIII’s court fantastically compelling. These are two of the most satisfying books I’ve ever encountered, for all the tragedy they absolutely sing.
Mantel also pulls off the historical fiction trick of showing how character’s attitudes are affected by the time, but how they’re intelligent people whose personality types you absolutely recognize from your life.
I loved ‘Wolf Hall’, and I thought I was all Tudored out. It made that world seem immediate and dynamic in a way I’d never read before, and even though I knew how the story would end, I couldn’t put it down.
Mel – same exact dynamic in my household re Wolf Hall!
And I just read a romance with the other Cromwell, Lord Protector, as a minor character/villain/plot motivator, The Maiden of Ireland by Susan Wiggs. Reissue of an older book – but definitely from the lush-historical-sweep style of romance era, which the saga of Ireland and that Cromwell lends itself to.
Does anyone use the name Cromwell in modern books? Does anyone even have that name anymore? I can’t say I’ve ever met someone named Cromwell, or read a character with it. Interesting how names fall out of favor, but stay out for 400 years is pretty extreme.
Anna Richland, I have Intellius bookmarked & I need a break from my boring work, so I searched for the last name Cromwell. It came back with ninety-nine people in the U.S.
https://www.intelius.com/search/people/Cromwell
I agree that Wolf Hall took some getting used to, style-wise, but I ended up not being able to put it down. I still have Bring Up the Bodies sitting on my Kindle.
I loved Wolf Hall, but Hilary Mantel’s A Place Of Greater Safety is my favourite. It’s curiously uplifting, despite the grim subject and harrowing ending, probably because of her witty writing.
I completely adored both Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies – Mantel is a brilliant writer, and pulled off the very difficult feat of writing dialogue that, while not contemporary with today, felt credibly Tudor but is still readable. I can hardly wait for the final book. I loved the mini-series, too – I thought both Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis were perfectly cast.
Anna Richland – you might want to look up the wonderful character actor James Cromwell – you will almost certainly recognize him. (And his father, John, was a quite prolific director of mostly A-list movies in Hollywood’s Golden Age.)
Wolf Hall is fantastic. It is really for readers that want total immersion in another era. It does take a bit of time to get into it, but definitely worth the effort.
I quit Wolf Hall about 150 pages in – I just couldn’t get into the story – yet I keep coming across people who loved it. I even tried reading it on a 26-hour train journey with nothing to do except read!
Built by Jay Crownover is 1.99 on Amazon and KOBO. I believe it was mentioned in a previous Hide Your Wallet post.
Duh…I don’t know how I missed it above. Lol.
The first book in Kit Rocha’s erotic dystopian Beyond series is free on Amazon right now (not sure about other retailers) and a bundle with the first three books in the series is also free.
The Wolf Hall trilogy is superb. I listened to audiobooks and enjoy them immensely.
@Alex – thanks for the hint on Kit Rocha, I only read the first part so far, but I grabbed the box-set immediately – soooo hot!!! 🙂
Loved Wolf Hall – seems like a love or dnf. I felt like I could meet Thomas Cromwell walking down the street.
I’ve read Trancing the Tiger. It may have been updated (I think it now has a different cover) which is good as the version I read had some editing errors and inconsistencies. For instance one character’s age is stated twice and one time is 12 years different from the other.
There was also little world building, so you just had to roll with the action, not knowing what was going on or why until later in the book. The conflict, if there is one, is getting the heroine to play along. However, no one will be straightforward with her. When they finally are it isn’t long before everything goes wonky and there is a crisis.
The relationship development is pretty standard. It was secrets about the heroine’s family that surprised me. I gave it 3 stars since it was more readable then meh, but had some issues.
I absolutely loved Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies and I’m eagerly awaiting the final installment in the trilogy.
A couple of pointers: The audiobooks are excellent, but it helps to have a copy of the book as well to see the cast of characters at the beginning (downloading the Kindle sample will also do the trick). Also, when I was having trouble getting into the book, I read the most useful review which pointed out that unless it’s clearly obvious that “he” is referring to someone else, “he” is always Cromwell. Once I’d cracked that code, the book was fabulous–truly immersive in the way of the very best historical fiction.