An Assassin's Guide to Love and Treason by Virginia Boecker
When Lady Katherine's father is killed for being an illegally practicing Catholic, she discovers treason wasn't the only secret he's been hiding: he was also involved in a murder plot against the reigning Queen Elizabeth I. With nothing left to lose, Katherine disguises herself as a boy and travels to London to fulfill her father's mission, and to take it one step further -- kill the queen herself.
Katherine's opportunity comes in the form of William Shakespeare's newest play, which is to be performed in front of Her Majesty. But what she doesn't know is that the play is not just a play. It's a plot to root out insurrectionists and destroy the rebellion once and for all.
The mastermind behind this ruse is Toby Ellis, a young spy for the queen with secrets of his own. When Toby and Katherine are cast opposite each other as the play's leads, they find themselves inexplicably drawn to one another. But the closer they grow, the more precarious their positions become. And soon they learn that star-crossed love, mistaken identity, and betrayal are far more dangerous off the stage than on.
Not gonna lie, this book took a while to pick up. The first half of the book really dragged on. I already know that Katherine is going to disguise herself as a boy, and that there’s a Shakespeare play going on; I don’t need to read 150 pages setting that up. I honestly gave up on this book halfway through and didn’t come back for three weeks.
The second half, on the other hand, has way too much action packed in. Things just keep happening, and there is really no rhyme or reason to it. I did find the plot twists to be interesting, and I was thoroughly shocked a couple of times throughout the book. The ending, however, was much too neat for my satisfaction, and rather unrealistic in my opinion.
While half the book drags on and the other half is a hodgepodge of unrelated events, the storyline was relatively solid. The historical context is interesting and entertaining, especially in regards to Shakespeare and his plays. It was somewhat similar to My Lady Jane, and enjoyable nonetheless. Historical London and the persecution of Catholics was portrayed in a digestible way while still relaying relevant information.
Katharine and Toby were also well-fleshed out and interesting enough, although I’d hardly put them on my list of favorite fictional characters. The rest of the ensemble cast kind of blends into the background, with their generic English names and sheer unimportance, and don’t really help move the story forward.
Overall, An Assassin’s Guide to Love and Treason is a book that should have been a fun, light read but missed it’s mark by a bit.
Katherine's opportunity comes in the form of William Shakespeare's newest play, which is to be performed in front of Her Majesty. But what she doesn't know is that the play is not just a play. It's a plot to root out insurrectionists and destroy the rebellion once and for all.
The mastermind behind this ruse is Toby Ellis, a young spy for the queen with secrets of his own. When Toby and Katherine are cast opposite each other as the play's leads, they find themselves inexplicably drawn to one another. But the closer they grow, the more precarious their positions become. And soon they learn that star-crossed love, mistaken identity, and betrayal are far more dangerous off the stage than on.
The second half, on the other hand, has way too much action packed in. Things just keep happening, and there is really no rhyme or reason to it. I did find the plot twists to be interesting, and I was thoroughly shocked a couple of times throughout the book. The ending, however, was much too neat for my satisfaction, and rather unrealistic in my opinion.
While half the book drags on and the other half is a hodgepodge of unrelated events, the storyline was relatively solid. The historical context is interesting and entertaining, especially in regards to Shakespeare and his plays. It was somewhat similar to My Lady Jane, and enjoyable nonetheless. Historical London and the persecution of Catholics was portrayed in a digestible way while still relaying relevant information.
Katharine and Toby were also well-fleshed out and interesting enough, although I’d hardly put them on my list of favorite fictional characters. The rest of the ensemble cast kind of blends into the background, with their generic English names and sheer unimportance, and don’t really help move the story forward.
Overall, An Assassin’s Guide to Love and Treason is a book that should have been a fun, light read but missed it’s mark by a bit.
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