18 Apr KAREN HEENAN AUTHOR OF SONGBIRD THE COFFEE POT BOOK CLUB BLOG TOUR #HistoricalFiction #Tudor #Songbird #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub @karen_heenan @maryanneyarde

FEATURED AUTHOR: KAREN HEENAN

It is my pleasure to feature Karen Heenan as part of The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour being held from April 12th – April 23rd, 2021. Karen Heenan is the author of the historical fiction novel, Songbird (The Tudor Court Series, Book I) which was released by Authors4Authors Publishing Cooperative on  November 3, 2019 (300 pages).

Below are highlights of Songbird, Karen Heenan’s author biography, and my 5-star review of her book.

HIGHLIGHTS: SONGBIRD

SONGBIRD

(The Tudor Court, Book I)

By Karen Heenan

She has the voice of an angel…

But one false note could send her back to her old life of poverty.

After her father sells her to Henry VIII, ten-year-old Bess builds a new life as a royal minstrel, and earns the nickname “the king’s songbird.”

She comes of age in the dangerous Tudor court, where the stakes are always high, and where politics, heartbreak, and disease threaten everyone from the king to the lowliest musician.

Her world has only one constant: Tom, her first and dearest friend. But when Bess intrigues with Anne Boleyn and strains against the restrictions of life at court, will she discover that the biggest risk of all is listening to her own stubborn heart?

The e-book of Songbird has been reduced to £0.99 [$0.99 USA; $1.49 Canada] during this promotion.

Buy Links Books:

Amazon UK • Amazon US • Amazon CA • Barnes and Noble • Kobo

Audiobook Buy Links:

Audible • Authors Direct • Nook • Hoopla • Apple Books • Kobo • Scribd • Google Play • Amazon

AUTHOR BIO: KAREN HEENAN

Karen Heenan was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA. She fell in love with books and stories before she could read, and has wanted to write for nearly as long. After far too many years in a cubicle, she set herself free to follow her dreams—which include gardening, sewing, traveling and, of course, lots of writing.

She lives in Lansdowne, PA, not far from Philadelphia, with two cats and a very patient husband, and is always hard at work on her next book.

Connect with Karen:

Website • Twitter • Facebook • Instagram • Pinterest • Book Bub • Amazon • Goodreads

BOOK REVIEW: SONGBIRD (THE TUDOR COURT, BOOK 1)

Rating: 5 of 5 stars

The opening sentence in Songbird by Karen Heenan immediately sets the dark tone of Renaissance England and hooks you into the story: Two days before my tenth birthday, my father sold me to the King of England. The historical novel, Songbird (The Tudor Court, Book 1), is set in the backdrop of King Henry VIII’s court and has an element of romance. The story begins when Bethan’s impoverished father presents her to King Henry VIII to audition for an elite group of singers and musicians that entertain the court. A young musician, Tom, offers to accompany her on a string instrument to help her relax as she sings and brings out the quality of her singing voice. The courtiers hush as she sings like a songbird, more to the young musician for whom she feels an instant connection. Her father relinquishes Bethan at a high price to the King. Tom shows her kindness and helps her to adjust to a new family of minstrels at the court. He gives her the pseudonym Bess Llewelyn, more befitting of her Welsh background. The story spans from her coming-of-age teen years to her maturation as an adult. She is caught up in the decadence of courtly life and the lure of passion, dismissing Tom’s strong feelings for her. Consequences of past and present reckless liaisons collide when Beth must come to terms with her place in life and relationships.

Author Karen Heenan is a gifted storyteller who has written a spelling-binding novel from the first-person perceptive of Bethan, a musical servant behind the scenes in the King’s court. Bethan’s underlying beauty, similar to Anne Boleyn enthralls men. Impetuous, she often lives for the moment and gives no thought to how her reckless action and words affect others. Devastated by her father’s abandonment, Bethan struggles to understand how she fits in the world. I particularly empathize with Tom, whose mother, a prostitute, sells him as a choir boy to the King. Losing his boyish voice at a young age, Tom has to play an instrument and compose music to remain at court. He is Betha’s soulmate, always there to support and advise her. But she dismisses his loyalty and feelings in pursuit of loftier passions. Yet, he has limits on what he will accept from her unrequited love.

Though the novel centers around Beth and Tom, you can also get caught up in the lives of memorable secondary characters. It reminds me somewhat of the Downtown Abbey series that shows the lives of both the aristocratic family members and their servants. Although there is a romantic component to the story, it also explores the consequences of social inequities and injustices forced on children born out of wedlock due to reckless dalliances of nobles with women beneath their status. This theme parallels the national consequences from King Henry’s break with tradition to divorce Queen Catherine of Aragon in favor of marrying Anne Boleyn.

Songbird is a multi-layered story that weaves in various characters and their sub-plots into a tapestry rich with themes of love, revenge, coming-of-age, perseverance, and redemption. For the most part, the writing style, descriptions, and pacing are eloquent and lyrical like a song. One example of a unique and vivid description is how Beth perceives the King when she first meets him as follows: The giant was immense, and from his bright hair to the tissue-like fabric that made up his costume, he seemed to be fashion entirely of gold. A memorable quote that resonated with me is as follows: A cat may look at a king, but it upsets the natural order of things when the King looks at the cat. 

Songbird by Karen Heenan is a richly-layered story with engaging, memorable characters that will keep a reader turning the pages to find out what happens next. It is a journey back in time to Renaissance England with universal themes of love, self-discovery, and redemption relevant to modern times. Highly Recommended. 

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