Today I’m on the blog tour for Court of Lions by Jane Johnson. I loved getting stuck into this book and read it pretty fast! In fact I finished it just yesterday! Jane Johnson is a Cornish author so this added another dimension for me wanting to read it being from Cornwall myself.
Before we get onto my review, here is a little bit about Court of Lions.
Book Description
An epic saga of romance and redemption. Court of Lions brings one of the great turning points in history to life, through the stories of a modern woman and the last Moorish sultan of Granada.
Kate Fordham, escaping terrible trauma, has fled to the beautiful sunlit city of Granada, the ancient capital of the Moors in Spain, where she is scraping by with an unfulfilling job in a busy bar. One day in the glorious gardens of the Alhambra, once home to Sultan Abu Abdullah Mohammed, also known as Boabdil, Kate finds a scrap of paper hidden in one of the ancient walls. Upon it, in strange symbols, has been inscribed a message from another age. It has lain undiscovered since before the Fall of Granada in 1492, when the city was surrendered to Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. Born of love, in a time of danger and desperation, the fragment will be the catalyst that changes Kate’s life forever.
Court of Lions brings one of the great turning-points in history to life, telling the stories of a modern woman and the last Moorish sultan of Granada, as they both move towards their cataclysmic destinies.
My Review
It’s been a while since I read a book similar to this. The atmosphere and romance surrounding Court of Lions is outstanding. The plot flits and floats between modern-day times and the past in the 15th century. I don’t know much about Grenada but now I’ve finished the book I feel as if I do. It’s extremely well researched and I give a lot of credit to Jane for incorporating the romance and emotions into ancient times in this book.
The historical detail is amazing, it reeks of wealth and glory amongst modern-day modest times. Court of Lions is part historical fiction, thriller and romance all rolled into one. I found it went in a decent pace that I could keep up with.
I will be definitely be on the lookout for more Jane Johnson books if they are as good as this!
Author Bio
Jane Johnson is from Cornwall and has worked in the book industry for over 20 years, as a bookseller, publisher and writer. She is responsible for the publishing of many major authors, including George RR Martin.
In 2005 she was in Morocco researching the story of a distant family member who was abducted from a Cornish church in 1625 by Barbary pirates and sold into slavery in North Africa, when a near-fatal climbing incident caused her to rethink her future. She returned home, gave up her office job in London, and moved to Morocco. She married her own ‘Berber pirate’ and now they split their time between Cornwall and a village in the Anti-Atlas Mountains. She still works, remotely, as Fiction Publishing Director for HarperCollins.
Blog Tour
Here are the bloggers on the Court of Lions blog tour if you fancy popping over to read their reviews and extracts of the book.
Giveaway
The lovely publishers Head of Zeus have kindly given me one copy to giveaway to one of my readers. To enter please fill in the Gleam widget below. The more options you enter the better chance you have of winning! Open to UK residents only.
GOOD LUCK!
Win a copy of Court of Lions by Jane Johnson
*Terms and Conditions – There is one copy of Court of Lions to giveaway. The prize is non-transferable and no cash alternative will be offered. The winner will be selected at random via Gleam from all valid entries and be notified by Twitter and/or email. The winner will have 28 days to respond with a UK address before a new winner is selected. Open to all UK entrants aged 18 or over only. Facebook and Twitter are in no way associated with this giveaway. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to Head of Zeus and used only for fulfillment of the prize.
You can check out my other competitions here: Competitions Page.
Thanks for stopping by today, I hope you have enjoyed this review.
*I was given a copy of Court of Lions for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Nice prize.
Great competition!
Count me IN 🙂
would love this for a holiday read
Count me in pleeease ♡
Would love to read this x
😁
I would love to read this it looks wonderful 🙌
would love to read this
Fantastic prize draw
Thanks for the great prize and competition. Good luck everyone!
Sounds like an intriguing book!
Great review of this book, I’m now intrigued
Sounds good!
This sounds like such a great book. I would love to add it to the books that I have read this year!
this sounds great 🙂
Lovely thank you, I love being introduced to new books.
Sounds like a great story, would love to read
This sounds like a great read! This year I am reading a lot more so I’d love to add it to my little pile of ‘read next’ books!
sounds like a great read
I’m going to have to get this book the description has me hooked
Great Author … loved your review
Sounds and looks delightful
What a great prize
Sounds like a great read, thanks for sharing and for the opportunity to win too
Sounds fab, going into hospital soon, would love a new book to take with me
Would love to read this.
Ooh yes please! Can never have to many books!
I would love to read this
Fabulous – looks really great! xx
I’m intrigued. I’d love to read this book 🙂
looks really interesting #luckylinky
Sounds like a good book. Thank you for the lovely giveaway xx
Love to read it
Thanks for hosting the giveaway, good luck everyone.
Sounds like a fab read, good luck everyone 😀
This looks like a lovely read, thank you for the giveaway.
Sounds like a great read, thank you
I love historical novels set in different lands and would love to read this book
Fab giveaway
sounds great
Ooooh, this sounds like a great read.
Love reading so keeping my fingers crossed
This looks like one to add to my ‘to read’ list!
Wonderful giveaway.
Sounds intriguing. I love historic fiction.
Lovely prize x
looks a good read
My kind of book
Sounds like a great read.
Just my sort of book xx
Always on the look out for new books, fingers crossed to win this one!
Sounds like a great read. Thanks for the chance.
Would love to read – thank you for lovely giveaway x
I’m heading to that area for a spring break and reading a book set there would really add to my enjoyment
Hope this doesn’t come through twice, I got an error message when I tried to post
I’m heading to that area for a spring break and reading a book set there would really add to my enjoyment
This sounds like a very enjoyable book
fingers crossed x
A great read, thanks for the opportunity
This looks like a really great book!
fab, thx for the chance 🙂
Sounds like a good read.
i love reading x
Count me in please
A thrilling read thankyou