Rebellion by Livi Michael

Final Rating: 3/5

  “The world had changed, England had changed…”

  Rebellion is the continuation of the story of the Wars of the Roses and spans from June 1462 to June 1471. Those familiar with its captivating prequel Succession will notice an all different kind of England with Rebellion unfortunately. Gone are the deliciously wicked characterizations from Succession, sharp witty dialogue and exciting events presented in rich tableaus that just beg to be read and indulged in. In this novel and for this eager reader, Rebellion reads as an empty hollow shell of history, so much potential and opportunities lost with too many inconsistencies to ignore. What shined brilliantly in the prequel in terms of the familiar and clever fashions of using oddments of chronicles, articles and recovered letter segments from the 15th century, becomes a disappointing muddled way to hurry the story along and doesn’t add anything useful to the chapters this time. Also historic figures I have been anticipating to be reunited with and to see appear in the pages were presented flat and sadly underplayed.

  I could have honestly stopped multiple times throughout Rebellion but I just had to see how the epic Battle of Tewkesbury would be depicted or one particular infamous mysterious death from history would be explained; sadly these became the final disappointing factors for me with only one short chapter dedicated to each. More chapters and passages were presented on King Edward IV's bowel habits and strong male infatuations with his counsel and Margaret of Anjou sleeping in a cave and starring at a lake than the ending of Rebellion. Overall, there were glimpses in certain chapters of the rich scenes I have come to love about this series, there is an obvious dedication to history in these works and I still plan to read any other books that come along. Rebellion is by no means a standalone novel, those who are unfamiliar with the events of the Wars of the Roses may become confused and frustrated without a solid entertaining foundation, so please start with Succession and maybe later, support your local library by picking up a copy of Rebellion.

-read and purchased on kindle

Other books in this series:

Succession

by Livi Michael