She's being extremely restrained is Catherine. I would have totally poisoned Diane de Poitiers by now. But as the old adage goes - revenge is a dish best served cold; and oh boy, Ms Medici serves it straight from the freezer. 

The two biographies are extremely good reading if you want to know more about this most intriguing of families. 

I know I won't get to all of these because only one is an audiobook, but I really want to read them all!

A strong French ruler.

I have graded this book according to my enjoyment of it, but I do feel that under different circumstances I might have been giving it a higher rating. There were two problems; firstly my complete lack of knowledge of French history, which meant that all the names were new to me and I had nothing to relate the events to, other than English history of the time. Secondly, I was listening to the abridged audiobook which, I would assume, includes all the dry facts, without the background detail that makes history so fascinating. In addition, I notice other reviewers referring to the fabulous colour photographs and, of course, these would have been absent. 

In spite of the issues with the abridged audiobook, I did come away with a distinct image of Catherine de Medici and that era of French History. It has also made me aware of the problems caused by disease, namely syphilis and tuberculosis, which killed and disabled several important members of the French ruling family. Catherine de Medici was a ruthless queen, who only attained power due to the death of her husband, Henry. She was determined to hand the reigns on to her sons, but they were too young and/or sickly to take full control and so she retained power, by default, for many years.

This was a quite sympathetic picture of a lady who has been dubbed ruthless by historians over the years. I'd now be interested to read a slightly harsher version of her life, or possibly an historical fiction version.

I have graded this book according to my enjoyment of it, but I do feel that under different circumstances I might have been giving it a higher rating. There were two problems; firstly my complete lack of knowledge of French history, which meant that all the names were new to me and I had nothing to relate the events to, other than English history of the time. Secondly, I was listening to the abridged audiobook which, I would assume, includes all the dry facts, without the background detail that makes history so fascinating. In addition, I notice other reviewers referring to the fabulous colour photographs and, of course, these would have been absent. 

In spite of the issues with the abridged audiobook, I did come away with a distinct image of Catherine de Medici and that era of French History. It has also made me aware of the problems caused by disease, namely syphilis and tuberculosis, which killed and disabled several important members of the French ruling family. Catherine de Medici was a ruthless queen, who only attained power due to the death of her husband, Henry. She was determined to hand the reigns on to her sons, but they were too young and/or sickly to take full control and so she retained power, by default, for many years.

This was a quite sympathetic picture of a lady who has been dubbed ruthless by historians over the years. I'd now be interested to read a slightly harsher version of her life, or possibly an historical fiction version.

For more about the plot and characters check out the full review and my other musings on my Wordpress blog.

The Collector of Dying Breaths is a fantastic novel written by MJ Rose. I was attracted to this novel by its title and by its cover. They both seemed so mystic and somehow ethereally dark, if that makes sense. When I saw the cover and read the title I knew I had to read this. And if that wasn’t enough, the author’s name: MJ Rose. My name is also MJ. No brainer (bashful grin), I had to read it.

The Collector of Dying Breaths is a suspenseful journey that takes you back to Florence, Italy in the 1500s and to Paris, France in the present time. It is very well written in the sense that the going back and forth is very well achieved. Even though there are two different stories in a different time and place, they are cleverly intertwined. The transitions were done at the precise time in the story and I never got the feeling of being lost in time.

I absolutely enjoy novels with the alchemy/chemistry/perfumery theme. The research for this one felt well done in my humble opinion. The way MJ Rose describes everything is so vivid that you almost feel like you could smell the scents, visualize the procedures and places in the story.

The Collector of Dying Breaths is a novel of suspense, mystery, friendship, love, passion, betrayal, murder, ambition, seduction. It is definitely an adult read, as it deals with serious subjects like reincarnation, euthanasia, incest, bondage to name a few.

I gave The Collector of Dying Breaths 4.5 stars for the sole reason that the sexual encounters portrayed in the book were not quite my cup of Joe.

Other than that I would read this book again.

I recommend The Collector of Dying Breaths to others. I enjoyed reading this book. Producers out there, this would make a good movie. I’d watch it. :D It is a great book for book clubs too. I can see numerous discussions on the reincarnation theory, coming from reading this fascinating novel. As unbelievable as it sounds it is a subject from which many opinions can be shared and discussed.

The Collector of Dying Breaths is the best book I’ve read so far this year. I will definitely read the other books in this series by MJ Rose.