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bookfever's review against another edition
4.0
4.5/5★
At that moment I do not feel that I've agreed to a spying-for-money scheme but something finer something extraordinary. The quest for blue. And something more. This is our shared obsession now.
—The Blue by Nancy Bilyeau
I bought The Blue back in February because I saw fellow bloggers recommend the book and it wasn't until April when I randomly decided to start it because I was away at the time and only had my Kindle to read on but I'm so glad I picked it because I enjoyed reading it so much. And even more, I was actually really impressed by the story as well because it took some turns that I definitely didn't see coming. It's always a good thing to be pleasantly surprised by a book when you least expect it.
I'm a big history fan but I don't exactly read a lot of books that are set in the eighteenth century. I've read some but I wouldn't say they're the majority of the historical fiction I read. I'm more drawn to ancient history usually but I just couldn't get enough of the setting in this book. It was set both in England and France while both countries were at war with each other during the Seven Years War. I found this to be highly fascinating.
The main character, Genevieve Planché, was born in England but she's descendent of of Huguenot refugees and hates France and its king. This was another thing I found interesting to read about because prior to this book I wasn't familiar with the Huguenots at all. So The Blue was not only entertaining to read about but educational as well. Although not the most likable of characters in general, in my personal opinion, I did like reading about Genevieve. I loved her spirit and her passion for art and wanting to persue it even though nobody would take her seriously as a female artist in England in this time.
This is where Sir Gabriel Courtenay comes in the story when he offers Genevieve the opportunity to spy for him and in return he'll send her to Venice where female artists are more accepted than in London. In the eighteenth century porcelaine was one of the most sought after commodities, so a lot of people wanted to learn its secret and in the case of Sir Gabriel he needed Genevieve to learn the secret of a new and special color of blue, which could change the game entirely.
I never knew the color blue had such a complex and mysterious history. It fascinated me so much. I also really enjoyed reading about the industrial espionage where Genevieve got herself tangled up in. This made for an intense and thrilling read where I almost couldn't tear myself away from my Kindle. I'll definitely have to check out the author's other books because I definitely want to read more of her writing.
The Blue by Nancy Bilyeau was a very captivating read. It had espionage, romance, the writing was remarkable and everything I learnt and read in the book about the porcelain trade was so very fascinating to me. I know that at the end of the year this book will absolutely appear in my top ten of favorite books of the year. Go buy this book now. Seriously!
At that moment I do not feel that I've agreed to a spying-for-money scheme but something finer something extraordinary. The quest for blue. And something more. This is our shared obsession now.
—The Blue by Nancy Bilyeau
I bought The Blue back in February because I saw fellow bloggers recommend the book and it wasn't until April when I randomly decided to start it because I was away at the time and only had my Kindle to read on but I'm so glad I picked it because I enjoyed reading it so much. And even more, I was actually really impressed by the story as well because it took some turns that I definitely didn't see coming. It's always a good thing to be pleasantly surprised by a book when you least expect it.
I'm a big history fan but I don't exactly read a lot of books that are set in the eighteenth century. I've read some but I wouldn't say they're the majority of the historical fiction I read. I'm more drawn to ancient history usually but I just couldn't get enough of the setting in this book. It was set both in England and France while both countries were at war with each other during the Seven Years War. I found this to be highly fascinating.
The main character, Genevieve Planché, was born in England but she's descendent of of Huguenot refugees and hates France and its king. This was another thing I found interesting to read about because prior to this book I wasn't familiar with the Huguenots at all. So The Blue was not only entertaining to read about but educational as well. Although not the most likable of characters in general, in my personal opinion, I did like reading about Genevieve. I loved her spirit and her passion for art and wanting to persue it even though nobody would take her seriously as a female artist in England in this time.
This is where Sir Gabriel Courtenay comes in the story when he offers Genevieve the opportunity to spy for him and in return he'll send her to Venice where female artists are more accepted than in London. In the eighteenth century porcelaine was one of the most sought after commodities, so a lot of people wanted to learn its secret and in the case of Sir Gabriel he needed Genevieve to learn the secret of a new and special color of blue, which could change the game entirely.
I never knew the color blue had such a complex and mysterious history. It fascinated me so much. I also really enjoyed reading about the industrial espionage where Genevieve got herself tangled up in. This made for an intense and thrilling read where I almost couldn't tear myself away from my Kindle. I'll definitely have to check out the author's other books because I definitely want to read more of her writing.
The Blue by Nancy Bilyeau was a very captivating read. It had espionage, romance, the writing was remarkable and everything I learnt and read in the book about the porcelain trade was so very fascinating to me. I know that at the end of the year this book will absolutely appear in my top ten of favorite books of the year. Go buy this book now. Seriously!
chocolatelady1957's review against another edition
4.0
I couldn't wait to post my review of this fascinating novel, so here's the link https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2019/02/01/the-tint-and-the-taint/
abookishaffair's review against another edition
4.0
"The Blue" is the story of Genevieve, a feisty young woman who dreams of becoming an artist in 18th century London. During this time, women are expected to be homemakers and not independent but Genevieve is the kind of woman who won't take no for an answer. When she has an opportunity to become a real artist, she takes it even if it means doing the difficult and impossible. This is a great new story from Nancy Bilyeau and I really enjoyed it!
You all already know that I love historical fiction! I especially love historical fiction that has anything to do with art. The detail in this book about porcelain-making is fantastic. I had no idea how much of a craze it was. The name of the book refers to the central story line where Genevieve is embroiled in a mystery involving the blue color used for so much porcelain. It would have been easy for the author to overwhelm the reader with all of the detail and background behind porcelain and the color blue but she does a great job of weaving the detail into the story.
The characters in this book are great, especially our main character Genevieve. She is passionate and resourceful. I appreciated her drive to follow her passion. She is such an interesting character to follow as she tries to unravel the central mystery in the book. I wasn't ready to let go of her when the book ended!
Overall, this book has a lot of rich detail that made it a treat to read!
You all already know that I love historical fiction! I especially love historical fiction that has anything to do with art. The detail in this book about porcelain-making is fantastic. I had no idea how much of a craze it was. The name of the book refers to the central story line where Genevieve is embroiled in a mystery involving the blue color used for so much porcelain. It would have been easy for the author to overwhelm the reader with all of the detail and background behind porcelain and the color blue but she does a great job of weaving the detail into the story.
The characters in this book are great, especially our main character Genevieve. She is passionate and resourceful. I appreciated her drive to follow her passion. She is such an interesting character to follow as she tries to unravel the central mystery in the book. I wasn't ready to let go of her when the book ended!
Overall, this book has a lot of rich detail that made it a treat to read!
cathyofcary's review against another edition
2.0
I like historical fiction so much that I will put up with all sorts of problematic plotting, weak characters, anachronisms, etc. But I just can't on this one. The concept (espionage in the porcelain industry as it was emerging in 18th century Europe) is great. But the execution could come straight out of a paint-by-numbers historical fiction kit. We have our feisty heroine, an exile and religious minority. She loses her appetite over something a minimum of once a chapter. We've got our evil, manipulative guy that everyone can see right through (except for our heroine). We have the cute quasi-hero who needs to save the day because our heroine has zero common sense. There are also multiple ridiculous plot twists and the dumbest ending ever.
elijae's review against another edition
4.0
I had the opportunity to read this book ahead of publication through the Pigeonhole app. I was unfamiliar with Nancy’s earlier novels so had nothing to compare this to, but was gripped from the first stave! I was unaware of the history of porcelain and the race to colour it. Ms Bilyeau has remedied that. Genevieve was a believable heroine and her journey was a credible one. The villain was three dimensional and the subject matter enthralling. If I have any caveat the ending was too neatly tied and I was hoping for a second book! Overall highly recommend.
romanthiccreader's review against another edition
don't care for historicals very much
nickimags's review against another edition
5.0
I read this book through The Pigeonhole, a free online book club and read it with other readers on the web. It was split into 10 parts, called staves, that I read through the nifty Pigeonhole app.
I must admit I was first drawn to this book because of the stunning cover, plus I read the author's debut The Crown many years ago, so had high hopes for this book. I read this on The Pigeonhole a bit differently this time, instead of reading a stave each day I read the whole book over 24 hours, it was that good!
I loved the main character Genevieve, she was a feisty young woman, so well written I got behind her straight away. Sir Gabriel was such an intriguing character, so handsome and charming, but was he all he claimed to be? Should Genevieve trust him or not?
Well without giving anything away, this was a fast paced, twisty turny, historical fiction, full of intrigue espionage, porcelain and the colour blue. Who'd have thought that a story about porcelain and colour would prevent me from putting this book down?
This is definitely going on my list of top reads for 2018 and I thoroughly recommend it if you enjoy historical fiction.
I must admit I was first drawn to this book because of the stunning cover, plus I read the author's debut The Crown many years ago, so had high hopes for this book. I read this on The Pigeonhole a bit differently this time, instead of reading a stave each day I read the whole book over 24 hours, it was that good!
I loved the main character Genevieve, she was a feisty young woman, so well written I got behind her straight away. Sir Gabriel was such an intriguing character, so handsome and charming, but was he all he claimed to be? Should Genevieve trust him or not?
Well without giving anything away, this was a fast paced, twisty turny, historical fiction, full of intrigue espionage, porcelain and the colour blue. Who'd have thought that a story about porcelain and colour would prevent me from putting this book down?
This is definitely going on my list of top reads for 2018 and I thoroughly recommend it if you enjoy historical fiction.
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