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In a Treacherous Court

In a Treacherous Court - Michelle Diener I received this wonderful book for review. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Michelle Diener! :D
My love for historical novels has been reawakened for sure now! I love anything hystorical, from ancient Egypt to 19th century London. Well, this book was about the time of Henry VIII in 1525. I've always loved anything that has to do with the Tudors and this book has left me even more interested in it. This book was extra special to me because ths book is about artist Susanna Horenbout, a Flemish painter from Ghent! I live in Belgium (not too far from Ghent actually... :D) so yeah of course I simply loved that!

Susanna was send by her father to become Henry VIII's new painter. When she arrived, it wasn't long before there was an attempt on her life. John Parker, one of the King's most dangerous courtiers, was then charged to keep her safe. More attacks follow and slowly a conspiracy against the throne is revealed. The more Susanna and Parker find out about the secret plot, the more deathly it becomes.

I loved IaTC right from the start. Susanna was a great heroine. Strong, witty, talented and beautiful. I loved her voice and the way she handled herself against all the attacks she had to endure. I'm pretty sure most people would crack under the pressure but she always held herself standing straight. Naturally, Susanna being Flemish helped me like her a lot too.
Parker... Oh I just loved him. Michelle Diener really has a knack for creating not only amazing female characters but also swoon-worthy, protective, fighting, delicious men. I loved how they *minor spoiler* used to call him "Parker the Cold, Parker the Merciless and Parker the Lone Wolf" before he met Susanna. I'm not sure if they really called him that but I love it.

This book was so exciting! It really, truly was. Lots of attacks and fighting, I loved that! The mystery and suspense were killing me, especially at the last part. I was so afraid everything wouldn't turn out right but of course it did.
And the writing! That must be my favorite thing about IaTC. Michelle Diener truly is my new favorite writer. It was so fast paced and amazing that when I had only 100 pages left, I forced myself to stop reading because I didn't want it to be over so soon. I absolutely got sucked in. When I did finished, I felt really sad. I need more, way much more! Luckily for me there's an ebook and another novel after this so once I get my hands on them, I'll be good.

The romance between Susanna and Parker was perfect. They were attracted to each other pretty much right away but this isn't a bad thing. In this novel it worked perfectly. They knew from one another that they wanted each other, also a thing I loved. No confusion or anything about their feelings for each other except that Susanna thinks she wouldn't make a very good wife, but we'll see. I think Parker can handle her artistic ways perfectly.

In a Treacherous Court by Michelle Diener is an exceptional debut. The historical information as well as the romance and suspense was interesting, beautifully written, fast paced and just astonishing. This novel will grip the reader so fast, never letting go, until the very end.