Before the Reign Falls
Review by Rox Burkey
A Thoughtful Historical Fiction!
Author David Black uses literary license to relate the intense historical fiction of Lady Jane Grey, the nine-day queen. A royal, descending from Henry VII, she was put on the throne only to be deposed by her cousin Mary, Queen Mary I.
This story unfolds using a diary type of format that has the listener moving between 16th century England and modern-day. The prologue sets the listener up with the history of the royals which provided me a suitable frame of reference for those times and the relationships. From there, the story moves to modern-day with Alice and Elliott traveling the backroads of England to help a buddy who is restoring an older property he purchased.
The combination of the historical back story told from the modern-day viewpoint was enjoyable. I liked how many of the characters told their own story, especially Lady Jane Grey. None of her short life was easy and though she was privileged I found her a tragic character. The author weaves surprising twists and turns that piqued my interest all the way to the unexpected ending.
Sarah Jane Rose was a good choice as the narrator of this tale. She has a delightful quality to her voice, with accents ideal to the story location. Her speed and timing were perfect along with well-placed emotional highs and lows as the characters told their portion for the story.
The production quality of the audible was done well and without flaws.
Disclaimer: This Audiobook was provided free of charge by the author, narrator, and/or publisher in exchange for a non-bias, honest review.