Reviews

Court of Lions: A Novel by Jane Johnson

theavidreaderandbibliophile's review against another edition

4.0

Court of Lions is the latest novel by author Jane Johnson. In the present day, Kate Fordham is an Englishwoman living incognito in Granada, Spain. Kate is hiding from her abusive husband, James. One day Kate is visiting the Alhambra and finds a small piece of paper with unusual writing on it hidden in a wall in the garden. How long has that paper lain hidden in the wall? Kate meets friends at the Alhambra who help her discover what is on the paper and its origins. Kate is worried about her sister, Jess after she receives a coded email from her. James has found Jess and taken something very precious. It will not be long before he tracks down Kate.

Blessings is a companion to Prince Abu Abdullah Mohammed in Granada in 1476. Blessings cares for Prince Abu aka Momo, but must keep his feelings to himself. As Momo gets older, the tasks set to Blessings by Momo become more challenging. Momo’s father, Sultan Moulay Hasan takes a mistress who will bring conflict to the palace that will forever change Momo’s life. Then there is Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand with their Inquisition. What will happen to Blessings and Prince Abu?

Court of Lions is a dual time line story (alternating chapters). The book is a slower-paced story that took me a short time to become engaged. I found the writing to be descriptive. The vivid descriptions of the Alhambra (I adored the tile descriptions) and the region allow readers to visualize it (I would love to visit it). The historical sections seemed more alive than those set in the present day. As the book progresses, we find out why Kate is hiding in Granada, how she met James and what happened to their marriage. Kate was a bit of a contradiction (and a little hard to like at times). I thought she would be more afraid of getting involved with another man after her disastrous relationship with James. The romantic entanglement felt predictable, but he was needed to aid the story. Blessings history is revealed throughout the story. We find out why he had to leave his tribe and came to be with Prince Abu. Blessings was devoted to Prince Abu and would do anything he requested. I was curious as to how the two separate storylines related, but it becomes more obvious as the novel progresses. The author did a wonderful job at incorporating the history into the book. She made the time-period come alive and beautifully weaved it into her story. It is obvious that Ms. Johnson did her research for Court of Lions. Christopher Columbus even makes an appearance. Blessings story takes place over twenty years while Kate’s section encompasses less than one month. Some of the themes presented in Court of Lions are love, poverty, grief, heartache, differences and similarities between religions, religious persecution, friendship, greed, cultural discrimination, family, violence, war, bond between sisters, domestic abuse and passion. I do wish readers to know that there is foul language, graphic violence and descriptions of intimate relations included in Court of Lions. To discover what is written on the scrap of paper Kate found at the Alhambra and get swept back in time, then grab a copy of Court of Lions.

tangerinetigerlilies's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

elizabethdean's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

r13_reads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

3.0

Finished reading: July 5th 2017

"History was rather wasted on the young, who had yet to discover that looking back could sometimes be a lot more instructive than looking forward."

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Head Of Zeus in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

Spoiler

I always love a good historical fiction read and when I first heard about Court Of Lions the story just ticked al the right boxes for me. This novel by Jane Johnson is partly set in the 15th century, partly in the present and predominantly takes place in Granada. This Spanish city is hands down one of the favorite places I was able to visit during my stay in Spain eight years ago and Court Of Lions without doubt brought back great memories. When I started reading this novel I had really high expectations and I initially found myself enjoying both storylines despite them being completely different. Unfortunately this feeling didn't last. While initially I found myself to be curious about Kate's character and devoured the many descriptions of the Spanish city and the Alhambra in the contemporary chapters, I was suddenly put off by the arrival of a few very graphic scenes and adult content. Especially the second is always a huge turn off for me and instantly made me enjoy both the storyline and characters a lot less. Sure, Kate's history is without doubt both terrifying and intriguing, but for me the storyline fell mostly flat for me and I wasn't sure what to think of the chapters set in the UK either. The romance was also quite cliche and trigger warnings are in place for abuse and other sensitive themes. It is true that the pace is a lot faster in the contemporary chapters than the historical ones... But this doesn't take away that I still wish Court Of Lions would have just focused on the chapters set in the 15th century. The historical storyline is both well developed, well researched and very interesting to read. Blessings is without doubt a fascinating character despite the fact that Blessings did do some things that bothered me at times... And the final reveal out Blessing's secret came as a HUGE surprise. I loved reading about Momo and Blessings growing up and their relationship evolve and change. There were some cliches involved (love triangle!), but overall it's impressive just how much these chapters stand out from the contemporary ones. I honestly believe the storylines would have worked out better as two completely different novels... There isn't all that much connection between the two and both seem to have a different target group. It breaks my heart to give Blessings and Momo's story just a 3 star rating, but Kate's storyline did make me enjoy Court Of Lions considerably less than expected.



It has been a year since Kate arrived in the city of Granada and she currently works as a waitress serving tourists in a bar. She pretends to be happy with her new life, but something dark is brewing under the surface... And she might be forced to deal with her past soon. It all starts when she finds a scrap of paper pressed into one of the Alhambra's walls. A paper that has been there since the Fall of Granada and the expulsion of the last Sultan, although Kate doesn't realize that when she finds it... And she doesn't realize just how big of an effect this paper will have on her life.



I was looking forward to read Court Of Lions as soon as I read the blurb. This novel seemed to combine two of my favorite things: historical fiction and Spain. I have wonderful memories of the city of Granada and this story without doubt triggered them. I enjoyed reading the many descriptions of the city and I loved the historical storyline and its characters. I probably would have given Court Of Lions a much higher rating if it would have been just that storyline... Because I wasn't as charmed by the contemporary chapters. I couldn't connect to Kate or the other characters, had a negative reaction to the adult content and wasn't sure about the cliches either. Her history is without doubt both frightening and intriguing, but reading about it just didn't work for me. Such a shame!

P.S. Find more of my reviews here.

gems_31's review against another edition

4.0

This was just a sumptuous, glorious book that had such an engrossing split story narrative. By the last few chapters, I could see how there was a clear past and present narrative.

The past was centred around a period of history, in a place I knew little about, yet Johnson has written it in such vivid detail that the locations and people became very clear in my mind. These events are all seen through the eyes of Blessing, the "Special Guardian" of the last Sultan of Granada. I ended up growing very fond of this character, but there was revelation that, in my opinion, really wasn't needed and I am still not sure why it was included.

As for our central character in the present, Kate? Well, I did like her and I felt that her story was interesting, but found myself drawn more to the events in the past. However, as I said earlier, the parallels between Kate and the events of the past became so much clearer.

Its an engaging book and I will be looking at Johnsons back catalogue to see if there are any books set firmly in the past.

sharondblk's review against another edition

5.0

I loved this book. It is very well written, and a perfect mix of gentle suspense, a bit of romance and a lot of heartbreak. It has two storylines, one in 15th century Spain and the other in current times. Both stories are interesting and compelling, and linked enough for this to work as a cohesive book. No spoilers - but the ending is well balanced and neat, but doesn't ruin everything by making everything perfect.
I got an ARC from NetGalley, but immediately on finishing this book I bought one of Jane Johnson's other books. That's how good this book is.

zoe_d_marriott's review

3.0

Loved some parts of this (mainly the historical parts - as fraught, violent and frightening as they inevitably were, there was also lyricism, beautyand wonder there) but as with Jane Johnson's other work, I felt the modern storyline was weaker - in this case very much weaker. While in The Sea Gate the modern characters and plot were strong enough to make up for a minor issue of believability near the end, here the heroine's actions at the finale were so irrationally and irredeemably stupid that it retroactively spoiled that whole narrative for me. The author does say that originally she intended this to be a single-storyline novel, a historical epic, and I can't help thinking, given that the historical narrative must have been incredibly research heavy, and was so substantial, effective and moving - and that modern day plot was going to end with such an utter letdown in terms of plotting and characterisation - that it's a crying shame she changed her mind! This was still worth reading though, and I will definitely be on the look-out for more of Ms Johnson's work.

branpender12's review against another edition

2.0

*** I was gifted this ARC in exchange for an honest review and all the opinions expressed within are of my volition. The thoughts have no sway or influence by/from Netgalley and/or the publishers or those affiliated therein***

Bland. Boring. Uninspiring. Those are the words that come to mind when I think about this book. The author did a great job with creating a world for the characters to live in and the story was pretty easy to follow along with.
The characters just fell flat. Kate is completely boring, and I believe that the storyline would not have suffered if she was wholly left out. After she leaves her abusive relationship, she remains muted as a character and never develops into anything memorable.
Blessings is an entirely different character altogether. I am not sure if Blessings ever deluges that they prefer to be a male or a female? They rotate as both since they are a hermaphrodite; which did not bother me but left me more confused about their identity than apparently were. What I did not care about with Blessings is the constant professing of love for Boabdil. WE GET IT! HE IS PERFECT IN EVERYWAY! Ugh! It was a chore to read about how perfect Blessings thought Boabdil was and that aspect could have seriously been muted.
I am not sure who I would recommend this book to. Perhaps someone who likes historical fiction with a flair of extra drama?
I do appreciate that Netgalley and the publisher allowed me to read this book. It just was not for me.

branpender12's review against another edition

2.0

Bland. Boring. Uninspiring. Those are the words that come to mind when I think about this book. The author did a great job with creating a world for the characters to live in and the story was pretty easy to follow along with.
The characters just fell flat. Kate is completely boring, and I believe that the storyline would not have suffered if she was wholly left out. After she leaves her abusive relationship, she remains muted as a character and never develops into anything memorable.
Blessings is an entirely different character altogether. I am not sure if Blessings ever deluges that they prefer to be a male or a female? They rotate as both since they are a hermaphrodite; which did not bother me but left me more confused about their identity than apparently were. What I did not care about with Blessings is the constant professing of love for Boabdil. WE GET IT! HE IS PERFECT IN EVERYWAY! Ugh! It was a chore to read about how perfect Blessings thought Boabdil was and that aspect could have seriously been muted.
I am not sure who I would recommend this book to. Perhaps someone who likes historical fiction with a flair of extra drama?
I do appreciate that Netgalley and the publisher allowed me to read this book. It just was not for me.