Review by Rox Burkey
Author David Black uses literary license to relate the intense historical fiction of Lady Jane Grey, the nine-day queen. A royal, descending from Henry VII, she was put on the throne only to be deposed by her cousin Mary, Queen Mary I.
This story unfolds using a diary type of format that has the listener moving between 16th century England and modern day. The prologue sets the listener up with the history of the royals which provided me a suitable frame of reference for those times and the relationships. From there, the story moves to modern day with Alice and Elliott traveling the backroads of England to help a buddy who is restoring and older property he purchased.
The combination of the historical back story told from the modern-day viewpoint was enjoyable. I liked how many of the characters told their own story, especially Lady Jane Grey. None of her short life was easy and though she was privileged I found her a tragic character. The author weaves surprising twists and turns that piqued my interest all the way to the unexpected ending.
Sarah Jane Rose was a good choice as narrator of this tale. She has a delightful quality to her voice, with accents ideal to the story location. Her speed and timing were perfect along with well-placed emotional highs and lows as the characters told their portion for the story.
The production quality of the audible as done well and without flaws.
