#BookReview - The Bridled Tongue by Catherine Meyrick #HistoricalFiction #CoffeePotBookClub @cameyrick1 @maryanneyarde

 

Becoming a blog tour host for The Coffee Pot Book Club is one of the best things I have done because I have been introduced to so many great authors, many of whom I have never heard of before. Today I am honoured to host Catherine Meyrick and her fabulous book set in Elizabethan England, The Bridled Tongue.

The Bridled Tongue

By Catherine Meyrick

England 1586.

Alyce Bradley has few choices when her father decides it is time she marry as many refuse to see her as other than the girl she once was--unruly, outspoken and close to her grandmother, a woman suspected of witchcraft. 

Thomas Granville, an ambitious privateer, inspires fierce loyalty in those close to him and hatred in those he has crossed. Beyond a large dowry, he is seeking a virtuous and dutiful wife. Neither he nor Alyce expect more from marriage than mutual courtesy and respect.

As the King of Spain launches his great armada and England braces for invasion, Alyce must confront closer dangers from both her own and Thomas's past, threats that could not only destroy her hopes of love and happiness but her life. And Thomas is powerless to help.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue.

Have you ever read a book, turned the last page and whispered "wow!" under your breath? As my eyes focused once again on my surroundings, I noticed three things:

• Three cups of half-drunk tea

• A small mountain of tissues

• An empty tissue box. 

The Bridled Tongue captivated me. No, it ensnared me in a vice in which I could not break free from. My husband walked into the room, took one look at me in my ugly crying state, and abruptly turned back around muttering under his breath about his hatred of fictional characters—what does he know? The poor bloke only reads Haynes Manuals. He would not know what to do with a fictional character if one walked up to him and hit him!

 

This novel is about Alyce Bradley, a woman who is born before her time. She is a strong yet incredibly caring character who feels things really deeply. She is an empath with a heart that is overflowing with love. If only she could find the right man. But, alas, she has to marry Thomas Granville—mind you, I don’t think I would have minded overly much if I had to marry Thomas Granville, but knowing my luck his reading interest would have been limited to “how to make a fortune by privateering for dummies” or some such non-fiction. But I am getting off the point. So, Alyce, our heroine, marries Thomas, our hero, and they live happily ever after. Wrong!! And this is where this book differs from other historical romances because there is nothing simple about this courtship, for Thomas has many enemies, and Alyce has the most dysfunctional family ever to walk the earth. A family so dysfunctional that they cannot bear to see Alyce happy.

 

The vile Isabel Sutton, Alyce’s sister, really ruffled my feathers, I don’t mind admitting to that. Oh, I just cannot put into words how much I loathed that woman. Spiteful, jealous, and darn right dangerous. I don’t think I have ever hated an antagonist as much as I did her. If there are any witches to be found in this book, then the fingers should have been pointing her way because she has a wicked tongue condemning so dreadfully. With my hand on my heart, I can say that I absolutely despised her, which is, I guess, the reaction the author had hoped to achieve from her readers.

 

Although there is a lovely romantic story within the pages of this novel, this is also a book that really brought to life the era, and it also demonstrated how innocent people, especially women, were condemned by vicious tongue and jealous hearts.

 

I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was absolutely brilliant from start to finish and I think it is one that I will certainly come back to—I just need to buy some shares in Kleenex first!

I received my copy from The Coffee Pot Book Club but you can grab yours on: Amazon UK • Amazon US • Amazon CA • Amazon AU • Barnes and Noble • Kobo • Apple Books (So many choices)! I would also recommend you grab some tissues on Amazon as well, while you are at it. I would recommend the Kleenex man-size ones, make sure you get the ultra soft one, you don't want to end up with a bright red nose!

Catherine Meyrick is a writer of historical fiction with a particular love of Elizabethan England. Her stories weave fictional characters into the gaps within the historical record – tales of ordinary people who are very much men and women of their time, yet in so many ways are like us today. These are people with the same hopes and longings as we have to find both love and their own place in a troubled world.

Catherine grew up in regional Victoria, but has lived all her adult life in Melbourne, Australia. Until recently she worked as a customer service librarian at her local library. She has a Master of Arts in history and is also an obsessive genealogist. When not writing, reading and researching, Catherine enjoys gardening, the cinema and music of all sorts from early music and classical to folk and country and western and, not least of all, taking photos of the family cat to post on Instagram.

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