A review by herbalmoon
The Devil's Slave by Tracy Borman
Did not finish book.
1.0
If you were considering this book in hopes that things got better since the first, you'll be sorry.
The doom and gloom is even more pervasive than before (if that's even possible) and things often come up that are ultimately left unresolved or end up making no sense. I'd been considering giving this book up for a while, but the following scene (wildly paraphrased, mind you) finally forced me to give up.
=====
Sir Walter Raleigh: Princess Elizabeth, I would love to have you visit again in the future, before you leave the country to get married. Would you mind leaving your servant behind (*points to the protagonist*) to help me prepare a surprise that's sure to bring you back?
Elizabeth Stuart: Absolutely!
(*goodbye stuff; Princess Elizabeth, her elder brother and their entourage leave Frances alone with Sir Walter*)
Walter: (*says stuff that indicates he's on the side of the Catholics and how he wants to help Frances steer the princess toward a Catholic husband*)
---She's such a fluffhead, it wouldn't be too hard to change her mind from Protestantism.
Lady Frances Tyringham: Her Highness has more of a brain than you think, but whatever.
Walter: (*leans in and whispers hotly in Frances's ear*) By the way, once you're sworn to Satan, you're always sworn. In fact, you're the devil's slave!
=====
And then, rather than explaining what the hell he meant, the story flashes to Frances discovering that her husband is having an affair.
What the actual fuck?!
Are we supposed to think that Walter believes that because Frances was brought up on charges of being a witch, that she is a witch, despite being exonerated? If that's the case, why is he even working with her?
The doom and gloom is even more pervasive than before (if that's even possible) and things often come up that are ultimately left unresolved or end up making no sense. I'd been considering giving this book up for a while, but the following scene (wildly paraphrased, mind you) finally forced me to give up.
=====
Sir Walter Raleigh: Princess Elizabeth, I would love to have you visit again in the future, before you leave the country to get married. Would you mind leaving your servant behind (*points to the protagonist*) to help me prepare a surprise that's sure to bring you back?
Elizabeth Stuart: Absolutely!
(*goodbye stuff; Princess Elizabeth, her elder brother and their entourage leave Frances alone with Sir Walter*)
Walter: (*says stuff that indicates he's on the side of the Catholics and how he wants to help Frances steer the princess toward a Catholic husband*)
---She's such a fluffhead, it wouldn't be too hard to change her mind from Protestantism.
Lady Frances Tyringham: Her Highness has more of a brain than you think, but whatever.
Walter: (*leans in and whispers hotly in Frances's ear*) By the way, once you're sworn to Satan, you're always sworn. In fact, you're the devil's slave!
=====
And then, rather than explaining what the hell he meant, the story flashes to Frances discovering that her husband is having an affair.
What the actual fuck?!
Are we supposed to think that Walter believes that because Frances was brought up on charges of being a witch, that she is a witch, despite being exonerated? If that's the case, why is he even working with her?