Hello friends! Today’s blog tour post is dedicated to Annabel Fielding who’s historical fiction Lying with Lions I read over the course of this past week. When Fielding contacted me to consider becoming involved in the blog tour, of course I was quick to say yes. Historical fiction is something I really enjoy reading and the premise of the book sounded so good! I’ve been in a reading slump for the past few months so I was afraid I won’t even be able to get through the book. Not through the fault of anyone else but my own. Fortunately I was able to honor my promise! Yay me.
Lying with Lions by Annabel Fielding
3 out of 5
Pub Date 15 June 2021, by KDP
Available to order now from Amazon
Blurb: Edwardian England. Agnes Ashford knows that her duty is threefold: she needs to wok on cataloguing the archive of the titled Bryant family, she needs to keep the wounds of her past tightly under wraps, and she needs to be quietly grateful to her employers for taking he up in her hour of need. However, a dark secret she uncovers due to her work thrusts her into the Bryants’ brilliant orbit – and into the clutch of their ambitions.
They are prepared to take the new century head-on and fight for their preeminent position and political survival tooth and nail – and not just to the first blood. With a mix of loyalty, competence, and well-judged silence Agnes rises to the position of a right-hand woman to the family matriarch – the cunning and glamorous Lady Helen. But Lady Helen’s plans to hold on to power through her son are as bold as they are cynical, and one day Agnes is going to face an impossible choice…
My thoughts: Considering that I am in a major reading slump, I am pleasantly surprised I managed to get through the book in the first place.
I really enjoyed the relationships between the characters; a lot of drama and secrecy, all deliciously juicy. Agnes’ and Lady Helen’s relationship was an interesting turn of events I didn’t expect but thought it added a different angle, which was refreshing and that I actually quite enjoyed.
“Closing your eyes to your guilt doesn’t make you innocent.”
Fielding’s writing style is quite hard. The author’s dictionary is definitely much-much larger than mine and I found myself constantly stopping to look up the meaning of the words in front of me. Personally, I prefer an easy read, where I can just relax and let the story flow through my eyes without having to stop to understand what I’ve just read.
On the plus side, I may have picked up a couple of new words – such as debutantes, cortège, slovenly, trysts and veneration.
Lying with Lions is heavily dialogue driven and slow paced. So if that’s your jam and you enjoy a slow burn – try it out 🙂
Thank you again to Fielding for sending me her book and allowing me express my opinions!
