Released at official Cape Town BookCrossing launch.

This was still in the basket yesterday, so I took it with me.

Synopsis from amazon.co.uk: "In the year 1629, a young English lutenist named Peter Claire arrives at the Danish court to join King Christian IV's Royal Orchestra. From the moment when he realises that the musicians perform in a freezing cellar underneath the royal apartments, Peter Claire understands that he's come to a place where the opposing states of light and dark, good and evil, are waging war to the death. Designated the King's 'Angel' because of his good looks, he finds himself falling in love with the young woman who is the companion of the King's adulterous and estranged wife, Kirsten. With his loyalties fatally divided between duty and passion, how can Peter Claire find the path that will realise his hopes and save his soul?"

I enjoyed this marvellous book very much. Tremain strikes just the right balance between historical detail and the emotional aspects of the story. Strangely there weren't really any characters I sympathised with - they were all either terribly nasty, or totally insipid. Maybe Emilia is a bit of an exception to this, although she does swallow all Kirsten's bad treatment until quite close to the end. In spite of this, the book kept me gripped. I'd be interested to know more about this period of Danish history, and whether the real characters were as they are portrayed here.

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Will release this book at the Baxter tonight.

My book # 80 for guinaveve's Keep Them Moving challenge.