Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance

​Within Jayne Seymour: The Haunted Queen acclaimed historian and novelist Alison Weir creatively tells the story of Jayne Seymour through fiction. This book has everything from romance, drama, political intrigue to executions and court hearings.

From the epic Six Tudor Queens series Weir clearly captures the tension of the time surrounding Anne Boleyn's fall from grace and power through to Jane's subtle and endearing nature.

I enjoyed Alison's portrayal of Jane, it's how I envisaged her being; trusting, endearing, loving, loyal - but also a little naive. It showed her journey from a country maid to lady at court and eventually Queen of England.

What was really intriguing about this novel was her interactions with other characters and the growth and development of her as an individual from - Jayne the loyal servant, Jayne the loving daughter/sister/aunt, Jayne the loving companion and finally Jayne the Queen. I felt like I had been taken on quite the journey with Jayne.

Personally I did not like the character of Anne in this novel, however it will be interesting if this changes when reading the second novel in the series - Anne Boleyn: A Kings Obsession. Katherine of Aragon's character was very regal and pious and I look forward to reading her story, especially about the beginning of her relationship with Henry - from her perspective, in Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen. 

I have digested this series in a rather odd way in reading the third book of the series first, however, I had an opportunity through Pigeonhole - and if you have not yet explored this site/app you should, it's awesome - to read this pre-publication. 

This book has been given five-out-of-five stars because I enjoyed it very much and could not fault it in anyway. If you get a chance please do check out Alison Weirs - Six Tudor Queens series. It offers a whole new perspective on such a poignant and critical period within English history.

Genre: F/F, Romance, Erotica, Female Fiction, Adult Fiction, LGBTQI

Love Without Limits is the second instalment of the Josephine and Caitlin love story from the Pink Bean series by Harper Bliss. It goes deeper in detail to understanding non-monogamous relationships.

The narrative of this story tests Jo and Caitlin's relationship. It also explores a relationship deeper into it's duration and not just at the formation of the relationship. 

Non-monogamy is debated thoroughly throughout this book and its place within the relationships within modern society. To be honest before reading any of the Pink Bean series and reading about Caitlin and her work/beliefs I had not really known much about non-monogamy. 

Harper's writing lends nicely to the discursive nature of the narrative of this book. It also showed the progression of the characters, especially Jo, from the first book - Everything Between Us, where we were introduced to both protagonists and the exploration of body image and self-confidence within lesbian relationships was shown within the narrative.

The reason why I only gave this book two-out-of-five stars is purely for the non-monogamy element, as personally I do not believe in it. There also was not as much development of the characters within this, especially in Caitlin. However, the book did read well and I could see how some people could enjoy this. It will be interesting to see how the Pink Bean series develops from this...