The Ghost Ship: An Epic Historical Novel from the Number One Bestselling Author (The Joubert Family Chronicles)

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I didn't realize this was the third book in a series until after I'd bought it, but having read it that wasn't a problem. This book works perfectly well as a standalone.

The Ghost Ship’ is an evocative read that sweeps you along with its rich historical details and beautiful writing. This is the third book in the ‘Burning Chambers’ series that follows the Reydon-Joubert family but it absolutely can be read as a stand-alone story. I have been a huge fan of Kate Mosse’s books and this was a welcome return to the series. It did not disappoint! Wonderful, rip roaringly adventurous and full of indelible characters. Mosse is a conjurer - Irenosen Okojie, author of Nudibranch You could read this as a stand alone though it will be a richer experience if you have read the first two in the series. But the ship’s crew hides a secret, and the stakes could not be higher. The bravest among them are not who they seem: if arrested, they will hang for their alleged crimes. Can they survive their journey and escape their fate?De personage zijn bijzonder innemend. Doch verdwijnt Louise, de protagonist vaak op de achtergrond doordat Gilles een bijzonder fascinerend personage is. Maar de relatie tussen beiden is niet passend in de tijd en atmosfeer waarin het verhaal zich afspeelt. Schip der Zielen speelt zich af in de 17de eeuw en dient dan ook in deze geest geschreven te zijn. Subtielere toespelingen en insinuaties over hun relatie hadden hier beter geweest. Ik heb dit al paar keer in mijn recensies aangehaald, maar meedoen aan een hype maakt een boek niet populairder, integendeel.

Louise is a highly likeable, measured and strong woman. I am unsure if I was as convinced by Gilles, a woman who has since a young girl needed to be seen as a boy, now grown up living as and dressing like a man. He is however a loyal, reserved, capable and intelligent person. Louise Reydon-Joubert is a defiant, fearless adventurer. Owner of the Old Moon, a vessel out of Amsterdam, she is more than confident to take charge when the captain dies in mysterious circumstances. Louise comes from a long line of incredibly strong omen, whose stories I cannot wait to read, and her drive to do more, to be more, then the limits of what women at the time can do id inspirational in itself. Gilles story is as heart wrenching as it is powerful, not giving to much away, but the struggles he goes through by being forced by his own mother to be someone he isn’t and seeing the character rise from that and take control of their own agency was just a delight to read. The coronation was only a day away. Pennants flew blue, red and gold, geraniums blazed in window boxes. Royalists pinned flags to their balconies and boasted of how they had been invited to be in the congregation at the Basilica of Saint Denis tomorrow. After ten years of marriage to the King of France, Marie de’ Medici was finally to be crowned queen in the presence of her husband and the eight-year-old Dauphin. Though the Italian queen was not popular, in taverns, landlords were offering drinks named in her honour – the ‘Marie Punch’, the ‘Medici Malmsey’ and the ‘ grosse banquière’. All along the rue Saint-Honoré, the boulangeries were filled with Florentine biscotti and brioches, pâte feuilletée filled with cream and plaits of bread in the shape of a crown.The Ghost Ship is book #3 in the Burning Chambers series, and I have not read the first two novels. I’m quite certain that this is part of the story before this book, that leads to what happens in this one; however, this can absolutely be read as a standalone. Louise is a rule breaker and those rules broken could result in her death as the shadow of the Inquisition hangs over all. She is a sixteenth century hero with the modern flair thrown into the story to give it a very different type of story. I have read and enjoyed the previous two books i this, The Burning Chambers series,and once again Kate Mosse has put extensive research into her story.

My love, I would speak with you,’ she said, gathering her courage. She kissed his cheek and breathed in the familiar scent of sandalwood. So vivid, so strong, even after all these years. His eyes opened, for an instant not sure where he was. ‘Piet.’ Rosamund Lupton on The City of Tears A gorgeously written, utterly absorbing epic and, despite being set in the sixteenth century, has some very pertinent messages for our time about the evils of religious persecution and the transcendent power of love and family. In case it’s not clear enough yet, I absolutely LOVED itLouise has always loved the sea, and so has Giles, her love interest. Their love of exploration and freedom draws them together, and their love story was so tender and sweet. And queer! Love some queer representation in historical fiction. It was beautiful to see Giles living as he desired, with Louise and her family’s support. Speak, for the sooner you do, the sooner we might take breakfast.’ He grinned, the lines on his weathered face creasing his pale Northern skin. ‘I find I have an appetite this morning.’ Seeing her hesitate, he reassured her. ‘You can tell me anything, Minou, you know you can.’ I’ve just got better as I’ve got older,” she tells me, “at leaning in to the disappointments or the failures, and letting myself feel sad about them, or a bit demoralised about them, and then drawing a line rather than trying to pretend that I don’t mind.”