All of Queen Elizabeth I’s court is in a flutter, and her ladies-in-waiting are certainly not the least excited of the lot. The reason for their excitement? Banoo Yasmine, Princess of Sharakand, is due to put in an appearance at court and not only does she travel from exotic lands, but she also brings objects of value and mystery with her.When one of those objects, a ruby called ‘the Heart of Kings’ is stolen, it falls to Lady Grace to once again investigate a matter for the Queen. But can she maintain not only her air of secrecy, but also her cool when her best friend is accused of committing the crime?Discussion. Okay, so this was actually a pretty fun story. Lady Grace is almost stereotypical in her boisterousness and, well, complete lack of grace, but there were still some hilariously fresh episodes in the course of her investigation.The glimpses we catch of Elizabeth are few, but they seem to afford her both that strength of character and tongue which history has preserved.There is much discussion about whether the visiting princess has magical powers or if her jewels are imbued with magical significance. In the end we learn that no magic has been involved in the case. Lady Grace comments that Marguerite of Angouleme (author of ‘A Godly Meditation of the Christian Soul’) is a bit “too Godly” for her taste.The ladies in waiting tease each other about various of the lords and servant boys at court. When one of the girls is making a fuss about her stomacher, Grace thinks “The young gentlemen of the Court are usually far too busy gazing upon her bosom to look at her stomacher!” [pg. 10]Conclusion. I liked this book more than I expected to. Surprisingly good.Visit The Blithering Bookster to read more reviews!www.blitheringbookster.com
Banoo Yasmine of Sharakand is an exiled Princess. There are several rumors floating around the court about why she and her retinue are in London, but the Queen has told Grace the truth-- her family was the victim of a bloody coup in Sharakand. The giant Heart of Kings ruby that she wears around her neck is rumored to have magical powers, but Grace knows it's really a gift to the Queen to guarantee that the Banoo and her people can stay and be safe in England.Of course, the ruby gets stolen and Grace is afraid the Queen won't continue to give the Banoo sanctuary without the ruby as security. The ruby is found, but it's discovered in Ellie's laundry basket. Grace knows her friend didn't steal the ruby, but Ellie's about to be in serious trouble if Grace can't find out who did steal it!This book focuses a lot on the different customs of the people from Sharakand and how the English court reacts to these strangers. Unfortunately, Grace doesn't get to know any of these people really well-- there are language difficulties and she's trying to clear her best friend after all-- so they aren't very fleshed out and we don't get to know them very well. We just see Grace's perceptions as she observes them at dinner or passes them in the corridors. This isn't the strongest book in the series, but fans of Grace will not be disappointed.
What do You think about Exile (2006)?
In felt that the series was dropping in satisfaction again at this point. The writing style of the diary entries was still decent, but it lacked the intrigue of the previous books.I enjoyed meeting the princess, and loved how amazed Grace was by her attire and the fact that a woman would wear trousers! Plus Banoo having a pet panther was pretty amazing too! Yasmin definately was the only real point to this story I enjoyed.The whole ruby as a loan thing annoyed me. It felt a bit typical that it would be stolen and I certainly felt that it was too obvious for someone to frame Grace's friend Ellie.On to number 6...
—Leah
