*Many thanks to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
Unfortunately, I hadn't read the previous Books before starting League of Spies so I did have some diffuculty catching up with some characters, however, the novel developed very well, and as some reviews mention, the plot and narration did remind me of Alexandre Dumas whose writing I enjoy. A very good HF!

Although Robert Merle is seen as a more modern Dumas I struggled with this book. The style of writing is very affected and the plot slow to get started. This is possibly due to the fact that I could not get engaged and so found it hard to track the story.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Pushkin Press and the author, Robert Merle, for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of League Of Spies in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
I enjoy reading historical fiction and this book was no exception. It was wonderfully descriptive and entertaining. Definitely well worth a read for fans of the genre.

I've really enjoyed following this series up to now and this new volume does not disappoint. It is a gloriously detailed piece of historical fiction with a fine narrative.

Knowing the reputation of this quiet, I was keen to try but I'm afraid I did. not get on with this florid, over written style .. characters are highly stylized and the author thinks we care about things we don't know. Just not for me. Acton spark never lifted off.

A wonderful historical novel that reminded me of Dumas, a writer I really like.
It's enjoyable, entertaining, well written and full of interesting characters.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Pushkin Press for this ARC

Machiavelli in France

Each of the three preceding volumes in the Fortunes of France series has ended with a bloodbath and this one is no exception. However, the reader has to wait a very long time for the bloody denouement. For most of its length this novel focuses on the cat and mouse chess game between Henri III of France’s dogged defence of his rule against the aggression of the fanatical Catholic Duc De Guise and his supporters.

Henri has repented of his anti-Protestant excesses during the St Bartholomew’s Day massacre and has come to see that a prosperous France depends on peace between the religions. He faces very strong opposition. Luckily he has Pierrre Siorac on his side, officially court surgeon, unofficially Henri’s spy and agent plenipotentiary. Pierre, now married to his beloved Catherine, has become a nominal Catholic, but fights for reason against fanaticism.

There is a lot to enjoy in this fourth outing for Pierre Siorac: a visit to Queen Elizabeth of England, negotiations between Henri and his Protestant cousin, Henri of Navarre, the Spanish Armada, as well as a running joke on the half-Florentine Henri’s ‘Machiavellian’ plans, which inevitably leave the king and his kingdom worse off than before. In the end the only solution to the impasse is bloodshed. Roll on volume 5.