Tea & Read: A Constant Heart

Title: A Constant Heart

Author: Siri Mitchell

Rating: Spend the Day Sleepy

My little brother saw me reading this book one day when he came to visit. The next day he called me and said "I know you finished that book by now. You were reading it pretty hard." I hadn't finished it at that point, but it only took me 48 hours to read it. My little brother doesn't know who Siri Mitchell is, but if he did, he'd understand that her books are so good that you scarf them down. The longest it took me to read any of Siri's books was three days, Moon Over Tokyo and that's only because I didn't have the time to devote to reading it.

I found out about a Constant Heart from Siri's website (http://www.sirimitchell.com/). I normally don't like historicals, but Siri handled historicals very well Château of Echoes. A Constant Heart didn't disappoint.

A Constant Heart presented the dark side of Queen Elizabeth's reign, that seems to be overlooked when people write about this time period. I appreciated the portrait Mitchell painted of what it was like to be a courtier.

The character were gripping and most wives will identify with Marget desire to be a good wife and competing with other things for their husband's attention. As a military wife, I could relate to Marget's frustration with Lyntham's dedication to Elizabeth. No, he wasn't as obligated as my husband is, but I could relate to the priority Marget felt the Queen had.

My favorite part: The Love Salad. And Mitchell gets kudos for incorporating historically accurate info and not just making it up.

Even though I loved the book, the ending was a little anticlimactic. For all the hardships Marget suffered by the hands of others in the book, I didn't feel like the retribution fit the crime. But that was just a minor issues, especially if this is book one of a series (which I don't think it is, but a girl can wish.)