Book two The Falcon’s Flight.
I'm absolutely delighted to announce that my second novel on Anne Boleyn, ‘The Falcon's Flight’ is now available on Amazon! The link is http://getbook.at/falconsflight
I really must say a huge thank you to Tim Ridgeway, at MadeGlobal Publishing, for getting this book out, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. Here is a synopsis of the book:
A young Anne Boleyn and her sister are sent to Paris to attend Mary Tudor, the new Queen of France. Unclear where her loyalties should lie, Anne soon makes an enemy of the queen. When the widowed Mary returns to England, Anne stays on in France to serve the new queen, Claude, but Anne's sister's actions put the girls' new court career at risk.
A dangerous love affair follows and Anne finds an unlikely ally in the French king's mistress.
But nothing ever goes to plan...Anne Boleyn's life is threatened, intrigue, gossip and treachery abound, and her destiny is finally revealed.
Reviews
I read the first book years ago, when it was first released, and intermittently checked for a sequel, hoping for more of Anne's story. It is unusual to find a story on the early (and largely unknown) life of Anne Boleyn - and at 500 pages, no detail of a theoretical time at the French Court is skipped.
I really did enjoy this book, and one of the things that I really loved was Natalia's refusal to be conventional. Post Other-Boleyn-Girl, writers have been cautious to show the sisterly relationship as anything other than close and deeply loving. But as someone with a couple of sisters, the jealous, twisted-up resentment, the sniping and bitching, all mixed in with a (slightly grudging) love just felt so much more honest. And likewise, Anne herself is far from a paragon here. She lies, she is shamelessly greedy and ambitious at times, she is stubborn and catty, and funny, and more than anything else she came off as more human than in almost any other book I've read. I saw myself in Anne. I saw a lot of women I know. It wasn't always a flattering portrait, but it was a refreshing one.
For a subject that is, dare I say, saturated with literature at this point, I can only admire Natalia Richards for having found her own way to shine a different light on the story.
Hanna (lapetiteboleyn) on Goodreads:
This was such an interesting read for me as I've never read too much on Anne's seven years in France before. I think they are a mystery to biographers and fiction writers alike. This second book in the series immerses you in the world of France, its king and court. As we follow Anne and learn about how she spent her time, who she met, what she learned and who she became after, you really feel she truly lived a life time before she ever met Henry VIII. This is one of the most detailed books fiction or non-fiction I've read on her time there. It is well written, informative, engaging and a good addition to any Tudor library.
JulieW on Goodreads
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 May 2020 Verified Purchase on Amazon.
Started at the beginning, spent entire day reading. Absolutely riveting. This account of Anne Boleyn as a girl, growing to womanhood in the France of 1500’s. This book, while fiction, gives a very believable account of life growing up in the major courts of France from the view of a young English girl. Once picked up - could not put it down. Next instalment please.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 June 2020.
The second book in Natalia Richards' series on the life of Anne Boleyn covers her time in France. Often skimmed over by historians, understandably keen to move on to the tragedy of Anne's later life, this immersive, first person narrative places the reader firmly in Anne's shoes.
I particularly enjoyed Natalia's description of the sights (and smells) of medieval Paris, and to find myself returning to the Field of Cloth of Gold, where King Henry VIII met King François I of France, on the five-hundredth anniversary, as it took place in June 1520.
In her author's note, Natalia Richards reveals her secret was to personally visit the actual locations used in the book, and says, 'Anne's years in France honed her intelligence and wit, and she had much to offer long before she ever met King Henry.'
Highly recommended.
Award winning historical author, and international best seller, Tony Riches.
A captivating portrait of a famous woman
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 June 2020.
Verified Purchase on Amazon
Having read and thoroughly enjoyed the first book I couldn't wait to start on the next period of Anne's life. It has been easy to think of her solely as one more victim of a cruel tyrant, but these books flesh out her character and the fascinating world she lived in, so unlike our own. Anne lives and breathes in these pages, as do all the people she met and the places she knew, many of which we can still visit today. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom, on Amazon on 11 July 2020
I loved this book and didn't want to get to the end. I got completely involved in the story. It's a fantastic read.
I read this and the first book back to back, and I really enjoy them. Both books are well written and well researched. If you like Tudor family novels these will be a great option. Anne is well written and the author covers her early years with a depth not found in other novels. Especially the characters around her, like Queen Claude. Usually books about Anne only interact with them lightly. Richards really goes deep and it adds wonderfully to the narrative. In short, great read and I look forward to the next in the series. Please publish it soon!!