A review by 100pagesaday
The Tudor Vendetta by C.W. Gortner

4.0

Queen Mary has died and the time has finally come for Elizabeth to take the throne. However, her ascension comes with much turmoil with yet another change in religious views and many subjects who do not believe that Elizabeth is the rightful heir. With her rise, Elizabeth's loyal spy, Brendan Prescott has also been summoned out of exile and back into Elizabeth's service. An early attempt on Elizabeth's life along with the disappearance of Elizabeth's favored lady-in-waiting, Lady Parry, spurs Elizabeth to send Brendan on another life-threatening mission to a secluded estate in Yorkshire. Brendan will have to uncover a secret of the Queen's as she finds the truth about Brendan.

A perfect Tudor intrigue plot with mysteries within mysteries. I loved the view into Elizabeth's first days on the throne and her relationship with Robert Dudley. Brendan is the perfect character to carry out Elizabeth's missions, he is well trained with a secret of his own that will keep him loyal to Elizabeth. There were many plots and conspiracies that were artfully brought together in The Tudor Vendetta that made this a fast-paced, entertaining read. I just had to know what happened to Lady Parry?, who is the hidden boy?, is Brendan's nemesis still alive? When I first picked up this book I didn't know it was part of a trilogy and I hate reading books out of order, but I did not feel lost at all, enough background information was given throughout the story and it did not feel like a huge info-dump. I have already picked up the first two books from the library to see where the story begins!

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.