The Fire of Winter
by D.K. Marley
Publication Date: June 1, 2019
eBook; 355 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
She is known as Lady Macbeth.
What leads her down the path of murder?
What secrets fire her destiny?
Gruah, granddaughter of King CÏnÈad III of the Royal Clan Alpin, marries two men in less than six months, one she loves and one she hates; one in secret, the other arranged by the High King of Scotland. At the age of eighteen, she lays her palm upon the ancient stone of Scone and sees her destiny as Queen of Scotland, and she vows to do whatever necessary to see her true love, Macbeth macFindlaech, beside her on the throne.
Amid the fiery times and heated onslaughts from Denmark and England, as the rule of Scotland hangs in the balance, Gruah seeks to win the throne and bring revenge upon the monsters of her childhood, no matter the cost or amount of blood tainting her own hands; yet, an unexpected meeting with the King called the Confessor causes her to question her bloody path and doubt her once blazing pagan faith. Will she find redemption or has the blood of her past fire-branded her soul?
The story weaves the play by William Shakespeare with the actual history of Macbeth and his Queen in 11th-century Scotland.
…a woman’s story at a winter’s fire… (Macbeth, Act III, Scene IV)
My Thoughts….
As anyone who knows me will tell you, I am the proud recipient of a Bacherlor’s Degree in English from The Ohio State University. So, naturally, I have a special connection to and affinity for Shakespeare. I almost always accept any opportunity I am given to read and review a Shakespeare retelling or reimagining. In this case, I get to read this type of book and explore some history. How lucky am I?
What I particularly love about this book is the perspective of Lady Macbeth. In the Shakespeare play, the focus is on Macbeth the man, even though Lady Macbeth is a pivotal character. The audience becomes very aware of her ambition, but not what drives her ambition. Where did it come from? Why is she so certain in her future as Queen of Scotland? Why is she so willing to push her husband into madness?
D.K. Marley does an amazing job of telling this story while weaving in Shakespeare’s words and plot. Extremely entertaining and magically spellbinding, this book will leave glued to the page until the very end. You can expect to get lost in the lives of Scotland’s royalty and the intricate and often violent a to attempts to gain the throne. If you are a fan of Game of Thrones, this book will be especially compelling and well worth the time to read. You might even learn something along the way.
Side note, there is a castle in Scotland, called Cawdor Castle (that I have toured) that purports to be connected to King Macbeth. While the castle was actually built after the life of King Macbeth, the setting is still inspiring and worth a visit to anyone interested and finding themselves in the Highlands. I used a lot of my memories from that tour to help me visualize the scenes in this book.
This beautifully written reworking of the Macbeth tale told from Lady Macbethís point-of-view flows from the page and you quickly become immersed in the politics and intrigues of feudal Scotland as she fights for her rightful place and her true love! A mesmerizing read that grips from start to finish and Gruah is now one of my all-time favorite literary crushes. – Iain Leonard, ARC Reviewer
ìBrilliantly conceived and beautifully written, The Fire of Winter is a tale not to be missed by lovers of Shakespeare, lovers of history, or lovers of the written word.î – Riana Everly, Author of Teaching Eliza and Through a Different Lens
Amazon | IndieBound
About the Author
D. K. Marley is a historical fiction writer specializing in Shakespearean themes. Her grandmother, an English Literature teacher, gave her a volume of Shakespeare’s plays when she was eleven, inspiring DK to delve further into the rich Elizabethan language. Eleven years ago she began the research leading to the publication of her first novel “Blood and Ink,” an epic tale of lost dreams, spurned love, jealousy and deception in Tudor England as the two men, William Shakespeare and Kit Marlowe, fight for one name and the famous works now known as the Shakespeare Folio. She is an avid Shakespearean / Marlowan, a member of the Marlowe Society, the Shakespeare Fellowship and a signer of the Declaration of Intent for the Shakespeare Authorship Debate. She has traveled to England three times for intensive research and debate workshops and is a graduate of the intense training workshop “The Writer’s Retreat Workshop” founded by Gary Provost and hosted by Jason Sitzes. She lives in Georgia with her husband and a Scottish Terriers named Maggie and Buster.
For more information, please visit D.K. Marley’s website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Goodreads.
Blog Tour Schedule
Monday, July 22
Review & Guest Post at Gwendalyn’s Books
Tuesday, July 23
Review at Amy’s Booket List
Wednesday, July 24
Review at Historical Fiction with Spirit
Friday, July 26
Feature at Words and Peace
Monday, July 29
Review at 100 Pages a Day
Tuesday, July 30
Excerpt at The Order of the White Boar
Thursday, August 1
Review at Locks, Hooks and Books
Friday, August 2
Guest Post at Let Them Read Books
Monday, August 5
Review at Jorie Loves A Story
Tuesday, August 6
Review at History From a Woman’s Perspective
Thursday, August 8
Review at Coffee and Ink
Review at Faery Tales Are Real
Saturday, August 10
Interview at Jorie Loves A Story
Monday, August 12
Review at A Book Geek
Tuesday, August 13
Guest Post at History From a Woman’s Perspective
Wednesday, August 14
Feature at Just One More Chapter
Friday, August 16
Review at Impressions in Ink
Review at Book Reviews from Canada
Monday, August 19
Excerpt at Broken Teepee
Review at Passages to the Past
Giveaway
During the Blog Tour, we are giving away copies of The Fire of Winter + a surprise gift to three lucky winners! To enter, please use the Gleam form below.
Giveaway Rules
ñ Giveaway ends at 11:59 pm EST on August 19th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
ñ Giveaway is open to the US only.
ñ Only one entry per household.
ñ All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspicion of fraud will be decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
ñ The winner has 48 hours to claim prize or a new winner is chosen.
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