This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Reviewed by Kimberlee J Benart for Readers' Favorite
Based on a true story, A Noble Cunning: The Countess and the Tower by Patricia Bernstein is set in Great Britain during the transition between the Stuart and Hanover monarchies in the early 1700s and brings the conflict between Protestant and Catholic faithful into sharp focus. Lady Bethan Carlisle Glentaggart, Countess of Clarencefield, is a Catholic whose family is loyal to the exiled Stuart claimant to the throne. During the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion, her Scottish nobleman husband Gavin fights against English forces in a failed attempt to oust King George I. Captured with other Scottish nobles, tried for treason, and condemned to be executed, Gavin is held in the Tower of London to await his sentence. Can Bethan save her husband from certain death?
In A Noble Cunning, Patricia Bernstein gives us an impeccably written work of historical fiction. On one level, it’s a love story that captures the thoughts and feelings of a woman determined to protect her children and husband from harm. On another level, it brings the history of the times alive as we see the political and social upheaval that results in the struggle for the British throne. On a third level, it depicts the continuing religious conflict between Protestant and Catholic faithful in raw and real terms as intolerance and hatred fan the flames of oppression and persecution. The highly descriptive narrative moves at an engaging pace and the character development is utterly exquisite. If you like historical fiction, you’ll find this a real pleasure to read.
