DragonFly isn't a book I would typically go for, but I'm really glad that I read it.  This book mixes an alternate WWII historical fiction with science fiction and a bit of steampunk.  

Veronica Somerset is an RAF pilot trying to navigate the male dominated military.  She is an experience pilot and would like to fly in combat instead of boring mail routes.  When Ronnie is assigned to Enysfarne Naval Base in Cornwall, she finally gets a chance to prove herself.  Engineer Nigel Pennbridge has discovered a crystalline, quadra-hydrogen fuel system with strange crystals that only seem to be at Enysfarne. With this new technology, Nigel has built the DragonFly, a plane that has the ability to win the war for the British against HItler's sorcerers and mechanically enhanced warriors.

DragonFly begins with action and may seem to be like any WWII novel, Veronica's train is being attacked on her way to the Naval base.  Right away we get to see her bravery and intuition in a combat situation.  I was very pleased that there is a female pilot as the main character and her story is not dominated by romance, but action and heroism.  Ronnie proves herself over and over as a good pilot and good soldier throughout the story.  The alternate history and science fiction aspects of DragonFly were really different and kept me reading.  All of the new types of planes were interesting (the pictures helped with this!)  as well as the crystal technology that fueled the DragonFly.  The Druidism and Sorcery inclusion made for a nice spin and managed to make Hitler and the Nazi's even more terrifying.  

The Boleyn King

An enchanting story of 'What if...'

For any Tudor lover, a different type of saga emerges that follows the storyline of what if Anne Boleyn did not miscarry in her last pregnancy?  Laura Andersen writes a new historical fantasy series following this question.  She has imagined a new English lineage where Anne Boleyn has given birth to boy, William, who is now reigning after the death of his father, Henry VIII. We follow most of King William's story through the eyes of Minuette, a Lady in waiting to Princess Elizabeth as she, Elizabeth, William and friend to the King Dominic try to unravel a plot against Queen Anne Boleyn that could affect William's claim to the throne.  The plot comes to life when friend to Minuette,  Alyce mysteriously dies. A message that Alyce sends Minuette before her death sets the quartet on an adventure.

One of the things I like best about this storyline is the inclusion and interpretation of the real characters into these speculative roles.  I thought it was very interesting to read about Anne Boleyn as an older woman, Lady Mary Tudor and the blossoming relationship of Elizabeth and Robert Dudley in a different context.
 
The Boleyn Deceit

The Boleyn Deceit continues the story of the "what if" king William. 

Now securely on his throne and having successfully won a war, William is set on arranging himself a marriage with a French princess.  Only, this is a political maneuver of course, his true admiration lies with Minuette.  A love triangle now emerges between William, Minuette and Dominic, giving this book a much more 'Tudor-esque' feeling.  We see William's character grow and there are many references to King Henry VIII.

Minuette is also still trying to solve the case of who killed her friend Alyce.  Someone does not like her digging into this and threatens her life several times. This outrages both King William and now, Lord Exeter, Dominic.

Overall, the Boleyn Deceit has much more suspense and intrigue than the Boleyn King.  Now that I know the characters, I am much more interested in their lives.  The plot twists will keep you on the edge of your seat and we are left with another 'what if' cliffhanger that leaves me wishing that the Boleyn Reckoning came out sooner!

This book was received from the author in exchange for an honest review.

The Boleyn Reckoning
This was by far my favorite installment of the Boleyn trilogy and I am glad that it ended strongly.  

The Boleyn Reckoning is filled with intensity, suspense and danger from all sides.  My favorite aspect of the series has been the alternate history with people's roles from actually history being fulfilled in different ways.  While King Henry IX is of course completely fictional, his role as King is portrayed as well as I could imagine.  Laura Andersen has given him several aspects of his father's personality that made him infamous.   The majority of this story deals with the perilous relationship of Dominic and Minuette.  The secret nature, the scandal and the precarious position that Minuette is placed in creates the feeling of a Tudor Court, even though it never happened.  

A great series for those who love reading about the Tudor court, but would like something different.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

The Summer Queen tells the story of Eleanor of Aquitaine from the time she was betrothed to Louis VII of France at the age of 13 until the beginning of her marriage of Henry II of England and becoming Queen of England.  

I have read other historical fiction concerning Eleanor, so I did know some tidbits of her life going into the book. However, Elizabeth Chadwick has done some extensive research into Eleanor's life and found that, like much of women from the Medieval time period, little is actually know and much is guesswork.  digging into the Akashic records, a few new facts are thrown into this story.  Along with that, this will be a three part series and we are only looking at a smaller chunk of Eleanor's life.  This to me is a great, so much historical fiction tries to fit an entire person't life into one book and it is overwhelming.  For such a strong character as Eleanor, a series seems fitting.  

Eleanor is definitely painted as a strong woman of the time in this book.  By whatever means she can, intelligence, sex or manipulation, Eleanor tries her hardest to live her life as she wants within the societal boundaries of the time. For me, it was really interesting to see Eleanor's views of the men in her life and how each of them influenced her.  She tended to take away the positive traits from men and negative traits from women.  There is also good view into the Medieval time period including tumultuous politics, wars, religious overbearing, and attempts to capture a wife.   

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.