Litsy

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This series is so good! Shardlake gets himself into all kinds of trouble in this book, and I enjoyed reading all of it. I like the dynamic between Shardlake and Barak as well as the mystery. I also appreciate learning more of the detail of the history of this time period.

#ShardlakeBR #ShardlakeSeriesBR

dabbe I'm loving the reread, too! I just love the characters so much. Can't wait for next week's discussion! 🤩🤗🤩 7h

53 likes1 comment

LiseWorks

Sovereign | C J Sansom

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Boy, the last chapters of this were so intense. Can't wait for the discussion with #Shardlakeians at the end of the month. @dabbe #ReadAway2024 #SeriesLove24 #ChunksterChallenge2024 @DieAReader @Andrew65 @GHABI4ROSES @Amiable @TheSpineView

DieAReader 🎉Exfellent!! 3d

TheSpineView Awesome! 3d

Andrew65 This is my favourite one of the series. Well done 👏👏👏 3d

dabbe I don't know why, but it always surprises me that Henry VIII had a high-pitched voice--for such a (ahem) forceful man. I'm loving the reread and can't wait to chat either! 🤩

P.S. Since your post office is cray-cray right now, I emailed you a #LL letter! 💛🤎🧡 (edited) 3d

LiseWorks Oh, I'll have to check to see if I got it @dabbe 3d

22 likes5 comments

dabbe

Sovereign. C.J. Sansom (Revised) | C J Sansom

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

1. An all-day cold and gentle rain. Matt and I are in the den with the windows open (of course zero rain would come inside). A warm fire would be blazing while we cozily sit on our wrap-around couch with our two GSD's, Kate & Pip on the couch with us. We'd be drinking hot-buttered rum and would be snuggled under fuzzy blankets. #sigh
2. I'm looking forward to finishing SOVEREIGN with the #ShardlakeSeriesBR.
You're tagged!

Suet624 Sounds delightful. 4d

Lesliereadsalot Sign me up for that! 4d

Eggs 💙📚❤️ 4d

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AnnCrystal 💕📚😍💝. 3d

dabbe @Suet624 🤩🤗😄 3d

dabbe @Lesliereadsalot 🤩🤗😄 3d

dabbe @Eggs 🤩🤗😄 3d

dabbe @AnnCrystal 🤩🤗😄 3d

57 likes8 comments

Daisey

Sovereign | C J Sansom

Sunday morning #BookAndBreakfast

I‘m not getting to read this as often as I would like, but I am thoroughly enjoying it when I do have time to read. #ShardlakeBR #ShardlakeSeriesBR

📷: Eggnog French toast made with pumpkin cinnamon roll bread

dabbe

trifleneurotic I don't know what I love more, the book or that breakfast. 😋 1w

dabbe #ditto what @trifleneurotic said! Happy Sunday! 🧡🍁🤎 1w

Daisey @trifleneurotic @dabbe Together they made for a pretty perfect morning. 1w

52 likes3 comments

Deblovestoread

Sovereign | C. J. Sansom

pick

#WeeklyFavorite

I enjoyed being back in the time of Henry VIII with Matthew and Jack. Matthew has been sent to York to make sure a dissenter of Henry‘s reforms stays in good health to make it to London to be tortured. Along the way other mysteries abound.

@Read4life

Read4life 🧡📚🧡 1w

53 likes1 comment

dabbe

Sovereign. C.J. Sansom (Revised) | C J Sansom

#ShardlakeSeriesBR #ShardlakeBR

Thoughts, Shardlakians?

Daisey, PurpleyPumpkin, Texreader, AnneCecilie, Gissy, Centique, OutsmartYourShelf, jenniferw88, Deblovestoread, Librarybelle, batsy, Chrissyreadit, kwmg40, Mollyanna, curiouserandcurioser, dabbe, Fr3NcHtOaSt, RaeLovesToRead, bthegood, lil1inblue, PageShifter, LiseWorks, The_Book_Ninja, Karisimo, Cheryl_Russell_BookNotes, BookWrym

LiseWorks I feel for Roderick, I don't like the way prisoners are treated. The gaelor I hate. He is cruel and reluctant to listen to Shardlake. I like the older lawer and feel for him as he knows he is dying. I'm not sure about the young girl Barack is involved with. 4w

Mollyanna I like Wrenne, but I feel he‘s hiding more than his illness. I hope I‘m wrong. Tamasin is an interesting character, and a different perspective. Maleverer and Radwinter are bullies 😛 4w

OutsmartYourShelf I wondered if Radwinter was based on John Sage, notorious torturer who worked for Edward I. All round nasty piece of work by all accounts.

Malevever - is that a clue? Mal- meaning evil or bad. Probably overthinking it.

Tamasin - you know if you had a line up of the love interests in these books I'm not sure I'd be able to differentiate between any of them. All very samey in character. 4w

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dabbe @LiseWorks Agree 💯. I also wonder if Broderick might be poisoning himself somehow because he knows what's going to happen to him if he makes it to London. And to be in a cell where you look out the window and see your best friend's bones hanging there. How horrific was this society! 4w

dabbe @Mollyanna I like Wrenne, too. I wonder if there's more in that library of his. And it's a necessary plot point (I think) to have Tamasin inside the queen's quarters. I bet we're going to get more of her insider views in the 2nd half of the book. 4w

dabbe @OutsmartYourShelf I have no idea re: Page--interesting idea! Love your thought of “mal“ meaning evil. I'll add to that: his name ends in “ever“ as in evil forever maybe?

So far, the Tamasin-Barak love interest is similar to the one in DISSOLUTION. We'll have to see if that changes in the 2nd half. 🤩 4w

kwmg40 I liked most of these fictional characters, and Sansom is good at making each of them a little bit mysterious, hinting at some interesting backstory that may be revealed as the novel progresses. 4w

AnneCecilie I have the same feeling about Wrenne @Mollyanna I never thought about that regarding Malevever‘s name @OutsmartYourShelf but it makes 3w

33 likes8 comments

dabbe

Sovereign. C.J. Sansom (Revised) | C J Sansom

#ShardlakeSeriesBR #ShardlakeBR
#Sovereign

Thoughts, Shardlakians?
Henry VIII: https://shorturl.at/u2qTe
Catherine Howard: https://shorturl.at/75Mnp
Thomas Culpeper: https://shorturl.at/UBSXb
Richard Rich: https://shorturl.at/frVZU
Lady Rochford: https://shorturl.at/9WTOV

LiseWorks I always felt sorry for Henry as he really wasn't raised to be the king. I think his injury really changed his personality as medical Doctors of the time failed him. He was also surrounded by ambitious men who influenced him. 4w

Mollyanna I find Lady Rocheford intriguing, especially wondering what her true motivations were in the Boleyn affair and after. Was she really against her husband or simply trying to survive as a woman in tumultuous times? 4w

Karisimo Sansom definitely portrayed King Henry completely unlikeable, especially for how he treated his wives as disposable. Could he have had some redeeming quality in real life? It's hard to imagine. 4w

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OutsmartYourShelf Henry VIII - really dislikeable in this book & I have a feeling that it may have been close to the truth.

Catherine Howard - felt sorry for her in that she didn't have much of a choice once Henry decided to marry her. Very foolish for keeping Culpepper & Dereham around her.

Lady Rochford - absolute snake in that she gave evidence about Anne Boleyn's supposed dalliances & yet facilitated Catherine Howard's. 4w

kwmg40 Most of the real-life characters are shown to be far from admirable, and I suspect the portrayals are truer than ones I've seen of them in other historical fiction about the Tudor period. 4w

lil1inblue @kwmg40 I agree! There was so much treachery and violence during this period, I cannot imagine that they were warm and fuzzy people. While the era intrigues me, I've never liked Henry VIII. He always seemed like the epitome of the patriarchy to me. 3w

dabbe @kwmg40 🎯!!! 3w

dabbe @lil1inblue And quite a few heads were lopped off during his reign. Yikes! 😱 3w

AnneCecilie To get to the top and to stay at the top, it‘s seems that you had to be ruthless and protect yourself. 3w

37 likes9 comments

dabbe

Sovereign. C.J. Sansom (Revised) | C J Sansom

#ShardlakeSeriesBR #ShardlakeBR
#Sovereign

Thoughts, Shardlakians?

LiseWorks I like Barak, we are getting to know him better but I'm leary of the girlfriend. The women in this era have to attach themselves to men in order to survive. Shardlake has to trust this man to get help solving this case. They make a good team 4w

Mollyanna I‘ve enjoyed the evolution of their relationship. Although not equals they seem to be on similar footing. Barak is beginning to look to the future, something I don‘t think he did before meeting Shardlake. 4w

OutsmartYourShelf In this book it seems to be a replay of Mark Poer (meeting a woman & reconsidering his future). I think that Shardlake & Barak are more friendly, even though Barak works for Shardlake. I think Barak needs to come up with a few more pithy comebacks rather than just “arseholes“ every time. 4w

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dabbe @LiseWorks They do, don't they? I also am leery of Tamasin. She's quite forceful when she wants something, and right now, she wants Barak. 4w

dabbe @Mollyanna And Barak has saved Shardlake's life more than once, and Shardlake is deeply indebted to him. I think he didn't like Tamasin at the beginning because he's jealous and doesn't want to lose his friendship with Barak. 4w

dabbe @OutsmartYourShelf It seems mighty similar, doesn't it? Though for some reason I like Tamasin more--so far anyway. And yes. Let's get beyond “arsehole“ Barak! 😂 4w

kwmg40 I liked very much the development of the relationship between Shardlake and Barak. We see Barak maturing in different ways, but he still has that brashness and toughness that make him such an interesting character. 4w

lil1inblue Love the graphic for this one. 😉 I really enjoy the contrast of Barak and Shardlake's characters. They challenge each other, and that allows growth for both characters. I'm behind, but I am intrigued to see how Tamasin plays in the whole thing. I can see the seeds of conflict being planted... 3w

dabbe @lil1inblue Like a love/bro triangle for sure! 🤩 3w

AnneCecilie I like their relationship, but I hadn‘t thought about the similarities to Mark Poer @OutsmartYourShelf That‘s a good point. But Barak seems to react differently when he and Shardlake disagree 3w

31 likes10 comments

dabbe

Sovereign. C.J. Sansom (Revised) | C J Sansom

#ShardlakeSeriesBR #ShardlakeBR
#Sovereign

Thoughts, Shardlakians?

LiseWorks Everyone is excited in a way about the king's presence but yet terrified by the king's presence . This is a perfect setting for murder 4w

Mollyanna The removal from London and “civilized” society and to the land of the barbarians definitely amps things up. It has taken the entire court (and us) out of their comfort zone. 4w

Karisimo I enjoyed the nuances brought in by the setting in a different region. I enjoyed learning more about the political dynamics too. I think the setting gave Shardlake and others a sense of not being in control- they didn't have their normal connections and colleagues. Even the weather was unsettling. 4w

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OutsmartYourShelf I've been to York several times. It has a lot of small, narrow lanes & it would have been even worse then with how buildings were crammed in together & the smell. The arrival of the Progress & all the hangers-on adds to the feeling of Shardlake being hemmed in with nowhere to escape in the sense that he has been manoeuvred into this job & can't leave. There's also the fact that York was a focal point of dissent as discussed in the book. 4w

dabbe @Liseworks @Mollyanna @Karisimo @OutsmartYourShelf WOWZA I'm blown away by all of your answers! Thanks for giving us a peak into York, @OutsmartYourShelf. 🤩🤩🤩

The gloomy, isolated city of York provides an ideal backdrop for the novel‘s atmosphere of secrecy and danger. The distance from London amplifies Shardlake‘s sense of isolation and vulnerability, making him feel surrounded by possible enemies. 4w

kwmg40 I liked the setting and agree with the earlier comments here. What especially contributed to the sense of danger was the clash in values of the two groups -- the wealthy visitors from the south and the oppressed local people. The latter lacked power but had the numbers and an intense hatred of the southerners. 4w

dabbe @kwmg40 And they almost won! 4w

lil1inblue I agree with @kwmg40. The clash between the locals and the southerners really amps up the danger. Shardlake and the southerners are essentially foreigners, adding an element of the unknown to the suspense. 3w

AnneCecilie Aren‘t they within city walls, so it‘s a closed space as well. With the chaos and all the extra people, it‘s the perfect place to hide within and hard to keep control of. The hanging bodies really shows what happens with people that goes against the king, and adds to the tension 3w

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dabbe

Sovereign. C.J. Sansom (Revised) | C J Sansom

#ShardlakeSeriesBR #ShardlakeBR
#Sovereign

Thoughts, Shardlakians?

LiseWorks This poor man is in a bad situation. He wants to do the right thing but literally just can't. 4w

Mollyanna I think Shardlake‘s reluctance shows how his recent past has a large influence on his emotions and thoughts. 4w

Karisimo He wasn't really given a choice in the matter so that puts him on edge. 4w

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OutsmartYourShelf He's caught between a rock & a hard place. He can't afford to offend Cranmer esp now his patron is no more, but I think he finds the secret mission part distasteful, knowing that the prisoner will face torture if Shardlake does his job & keeps him alive. 4w

dabbe @Liseworks @Mollyanna @Karisimo @OutsmartYourShelf 🎯!!! Shardlake is one conflicted lawyer who is at the absolute mercy of Cranmer (and formerly Cromwell). It's literally his life or Broderick's in this secret mission, and he feels horrible at the task that is laid before him. He truly cares about everyone, and that makes us care even more about him and the no-win situations he ends up in. 4w

kwmg40 I think his reluctance shows clearly the lack of freedom that many people experienced in that time period, where one can face execution for disagreeing with powerful people. 4w

dabbe @kwmg40 And always having to watch your back--double problem for Shardlake. 4w

lil1inblue Poor Shardlake - he just can't catch a break. 😂 He wants so badly to do the right thing, but is constantly at the mercy of these power hungry men! He is a man of grey areas and nuance stuck in a culture of black and white thinking. 3w

AnneCecilie He‘s not there on a nice mission so there‘s that, but I also think he knows that Londoners aren‘t liked in the North. 3w

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