The gorgeous city of Granada is the backdrop of COURT OF
LIONS, a new dual storyline novel by Jane Johnson. Kate
Fordham has come to Granada under an assumed name
to escape a painful past in England and has found some sense of
normalcy and peace working in a restaurant in the bustling
Spanish
city. When her twin sister sends her a coded message suggesting
Kate's safety is threatened, Kate readies herself to run
again... and yet,
a seemingly insignificant slip of scrap paper, itself also
in a code, intrigues Kate to figure out the history behind
its message, and it may
end up keeping her safer than she'll ever know.
Blessings is a servant to the sultan's son, Abu Abdullah
Mohammed,
affectionately called Momo. They share a deep bond, nearly
inseparable and sharing each other's deepest secrets. The 15th
century was a tumultuous time for the Moorish rulers of
Granada, and
with King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella looming to invade and
force
Muslims out of Spain, Blessings and Momo are never totally
sure of
their futures in Granada.
Told in alternating storylines, Kate and Blessings are
thrust into
situations that will test the strength and resilience they
didn't know
they had.
COURT OF LIONS is an intriguing, well-written historical
fiction novel! Things got off to a slow start, and
while more and more compelling events did take place within
the story,
I wouldn't describe this book as a page-turner. The parallel
storylines
were sometimes at war with each other, and moving between
the two
time periods could be a bit jarring. That being said, I did
find that I
cared about the two main characters, Kate from the present
day and
Blessings in the past. They both showed courage when it
mattered
most. Even though their lives were so different, they both
have to
overcome major obstacles during trying times. The backdrop of
Granada and specifically the Alhambra are breathtaking; the
city truly
comes to life throughout this book. Johnson's meticulous
research is
on full display and never comes across as information
overload. While
this novel didn't completely work for me on every level, it
was an
enjoyable read, and I'm definitely going to be on the
lookout for more
books by Jane Johnson.
Kate Fordham, escaping terrible personal trauma, has fled
to the beautiful sunlit city of Granada, the ancient
capital of the Moors in Spain. There she is scraping by
with an unfulfilling job in a busy bar. One day, in the
glorious gardens of the Alhambra—once home to Sultan Abu
Abdullah Mohammed—Kate finds a scrap of paper hidden in
one of the ancient walls. Upon it, in strange symbols,
has been inscribed a message from another era. The
message has lain undiscovered since before the Fall of
Granada in 1492, when the city was surrendered to Queen
Isabella and King Ferdinand.
Born of love, in a time of danger and desperation, the
fragment will be the catalyst that changes Kate's life
forever. An epic saga of romance and redemption, Court of
Lions brings one of the great turning-points in human
history to life, telling the dual stories of a modern
woman and the last Moorish sultan of Granada, as they
both move towards their cataclysmic destinies.
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