I liked this. It was historical fiction, and it reminded me of Philippa Gregory's books, which I have taken some interest in reading when the mood takes me. I have book cravings, and I chose to read this on a day when I was craving historical fiction. It filled that craving. I was invested in the story and interested in the protagonist. There was a hint of spiciness in places, but not too much.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.

King Henry VII still looms large in the second installment of the King's Fool Mystery series - in fact, he looms larger and scarier in this book than he did before. I think Westerson really hits home at what a tyrant this man was. She did a great job of humanizing him in book one then showing you his flip side in this book. The Tudors, while interesting to read about, really do scare me because imagine having to censor and watch everything you do because you might piss off the wrong person? Scary.

Will Somers is back and I love him dearly. My bisexual king (... fool?) who is just the definition of a disaster. Good comedians are a smart bunch, you can't convince me otherwise. It takes a wise person to know exactly what to say, when to say it, and how to say it without pissing people off and it's evident that Will is the man for the job. And even the best man to solve a murder.

This was a great cozy mystery to read during the cooler months and I really did enjoy it greatly. Even if it felt like it dragged a bit in the middle.

How I love reading about The Tudors!
I especially enjoyed this one as it's told from Will Sommers' POV. A jester in the court of Henry the 8th.
Here in this amazing tale we get a first look of how court life might have been like for Fools like Will.
I think that my heart went out to Marion his sweet wife who definitely endured a lot and to watch Will around others. Especially men. I don't think I'd be as forgiving.
I'd also be scared to death in having to watch my every move because someone is always watching and the rules are always changing. Henry is a tyrant like Hitler almost.
Favors can change in the. blink of an eye in the court of Henry the 8th.
I did love Will's advice on how to treat a wife though but I don't think he digested it very well. It made me sigh and I wished all men treated their women the way Will described.
Henry is one who really couldn't see past his nose so to speak. He wants a son so bad that'd he'd kill to get him. So sad.
I loved the mystery part of this story. It was what kept me turning the pages to see who it was. I had figured it out a while back but I love to read on to see if I'm right. I wasn't disappointed at all. In fact, I was right all along but still. It was fun to play the investigator.
I will say that jealousy is and probably still a strong emotion in the courts of whomever is reigning at the time.
This was a very good book and one of my favorite Tudor books. A lot of interesting things going on in this story to keep your attention until the end. It did me. I finished it in an evening. In fact, I just finished it.
Wow! Theme of story is you have to love someone for them to do likewise. Otherwise your marriage will get old.
Henry wasn't capable of that. And really neither was Anne. I've often felt that throughout this story they weren't for each other and they were kind of forced. I've felt more times than one that Anne was used as a pawn for her father's selfishness. Poor Anne!
I'm giving this story 5 stars for a well written novel. Lots of great scenes.
Some will make you hold your breath whole others will make you shake your head at them. Still others will make you keep looking over your shoulder to see if anyone is eves dropping or wanting to plot against you.
Very well written and enjoyable.
A long quote that I wanted to share with you because it's so true and yet so disenheartening at the same time.
Aye me. I expected no less. The wheel turns, and men with evil in their hearts do not get the judgement on Earth that they deserve. And the honest man toils and gets no reward.And the rich man is rich and dies on silken sheets. And we pray and we bless ourselves with the sign of the cross, and hear sermons by learned clerics, and live and die. And sometimes there is justice in the world. And sometimes there is not.
There are some interesting authors notes at the end that I enjoyed too.
My thanks for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive. All opinions expressed are my own.

This is the first of Jeri Westerson’s books I have read so not necessary to read the series to enjoy the book, it’s a great stand alone story. However it does make me want to read the other books!

I found this to be both amusing and interesting as it is partly based on fact. You get a good feel for life at court at the time and although vaguely aware of the kings fool it wasn’t something I’d given any thought to…off to learn more now!

I’m not a prude however I was a bit surprised at the ‘love’ scenes however they were quite funny and added to the story once you got about 3/4 of the way through the book.

The villains and murderers were well depicted, not altogether a surprise but made good sense and a good ending.

A solid 4 out of 5 stars and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to the author publishers and Netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review