Description (from cover):'One secret will be his undoing...
1566: When religious tensions, political intrigue, and personal vendettas collide, nothing is sacred. Driven by revenge and zealotry, Catholic rebels kidnap the family of William Harley, Clarenceux King of Arms and herald to her majesty.
In exchange for his wife and daughter's release, they demand the one document that has the potential to topple Queen Elizabeth and thrust England into civil war. The Final Sacrament test the bonds of Clarenceux's love and loyalty. Will he sacrifice queen and country to save those dearest to him, or will he left them die at the hands of his enemies for the good of the nation?
The final novel in Forrester's thrilling trilogy highlights the adventure and spiritual struggles of Elizabethan England and delivers a dramatic conclusions to the Clarenceux saga.'
My thoughts:
I really enjoyed the first two books in this trilogy Sacred Treason and The Roots of Betrayal so I have to say that I was a little disappointed in this book. I was most disappointed in the outcome, but I understand why the author had to end it that way. I like William's character and it was nice to read this book to conclude the trilogy. I will say that it's best to read the books in the series in order and around the same time as the others. It was a little hard for me to get into this one because it has been a while since I read the other books in the series. At times I felt a little lost and struggled to remember what had happened previously in the other novels in the series. It wasn't a bad read, I just highly recommending that you read everything close together as I feel that it would have made a lot more sense to me.
This is the third book in the Clarenceux trilogy and it was a nice ending. I appreciate the author's writing style as it is sort of a historical thriller. It was interesting to see how everything turned out for the characters and while I hate to see a good series end, it still was fun reading. The author does a fantastic job of creating a historical thriller rich in detail and history. I particularly enjoyed the author's afterword about writing historical fiction. It really made a lot sense to me as I read a lot of historical fiction and opened my eyes to the struggles of a historical fiction author. The part that disappointed me the most was the ending and the fact that this book wasn't as fast paced as its predecessors. This one dragged on a little and didn't really start picking up until the last part. I felt that the other books hit the ground running and I was little disappointed that this one lacked that aspect.
Nevertheless, I quite enjoyed this series and recommend it to lovers of Tudor fiction. It was nice to read something a little different and it opened my eyes to a whole different side of historical fiction. To be honest, I usually tend to read female historical authors and it was a nice breath of fresh air to read something different for once. I say give this series a shot, just read them in order and one right after the other. I think because I didn't it made it a little harder for me to enjoy this one as much as the other two.
Overall Rating: 3.5
Title: The Final Sacrament
Author: James Forrester
Series: Clarenceux Trilogy #3
Publisher: Sourcebook Landmark
Publication Date: October 22, 2013
Pages: 496
Genre: Historical Fiction
Get It: Amazon; Barnes & Noble
Disclaimer: This book was given to me by the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for my honest review. I reviewed this book without compensation of any kind. All thoughts and opinions are solely mine.
