Beautiful and unique feeling writing style, a great plot and one that i found utterly fascinating. If you are interested to read something different, defiantly give this a try!

An epic story of Islamic Spain in the 15th Century. Well researched and beautifully told, it turns the legend of a weak king into the story of a empathetic and intelligent prince and the enigmatic person who loves him most. The characters come to life in their sumptuous surroundings. This story opens the door on a world barely explored in western literature, and often misunderstood.

Review

I have been wanting to review a book for Jane Johnson for quite a long time, i make no secret of the fact that she is just the most helpful, kind and talented person i have met in the world of books, and has always helped out this woeful reviewer. But all that said i would do an injustice if i didn’t give the book a fully fair review at the same time (and i think she would tell me off)….. so phew… its brilliant. I’m not normally one for the mushy books…. and to be honest this isn’t. While its a romantic book, essentially a love letter to the city of Granada, it is also and more importantly a deeply insightful well researched passionate piece about the the Granada War of the 1400’s , its culture and the people who existed there.

The author expands the story further using multiple perspectives, differing opinions and understanding. The main perspective being a young woman (Kate) a lady who finds herself immersed in a mystery that allows her to escape her own life and her counter part, Blessings who loves the young Sultan.

Jane Johnson weaves her tale with exceptional skill and such a delicate touch, providing some exceedingly real and complex characters. The author uses a real talent for knowing people to push the plot back and forth between past and present taking the reader through a roller coaster of emotions.

As i suspected and hoped Jane Johnson has written something wonderful, handling a delicate cultural plot-line, doing so with such passion for all areas of the book and its people.

Very Highly Recommended

(Parm)

My Thoughts

I was drawn to this book as I do enjoy a good dual narrative. However, it would appear that the only thing these two stories had in common was geography. We live in a time of upheaval and this story sought to make a (tenuous) link between the fears and prejudices that have always simmered in societies, both present and past - even making reference to the Charlie Hebdo atrocity.

There is no doubt whatsoever the amount of research the author has put into this work. I did not really know that much about the the Granada War of the 1400’s, the culture or the people who existed at that time. Namely, the rise and fall of Abu Abdullah Mohammed, the last Islamic ruler of this empire. Jane Johnson certainly brought to life everything from the architecture and gardens, to the food and culture - from the highest to the lowest members of society. The focus is on the power struggles between Queen Isabella of Spain and her plan to remove the Muslim and Jewish people in her efforts to gain control of Granada. Full of treachery and violence, the vivid descriptions place you right at the heart of the struggle.

The modern day story was not as appealing. The author even made mention that:

“I wanted to tell his personal story, as well as recount the great sweep of events leading up to the fall. The book was shaping up to be a straightforward historical epic...”

... and in some respects it should have remained so, as Kate’s story was a rather disconnected and weak link. If it was to have worked, there needed to be far more substantial links between the two storylines. Shared subtle and hard to pinpoint themes, were not enough, as the mystery surrounding the hidden paper Kate found, eventuated into nothing of any real importance.

Overall, it is a well written and interesting read, the product of extensive research. The story of 15th century Granada was noteworthy, if at times, a little drawn out. If you are a reader looking for something unique with an inside view of both historical and modern religious eccentricities, then this would be the book for you.

“Sometimes surrender is more courageous than resistance. But it’s hard for people to see that.”

Thanks Head of Zeus and netgalley for this ARC.

Jane Johnson outdoes her previous novels with this one for me. The love, sacrifice , and parallels between the past and present are done perfectly.

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.

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.

Thanks Head of Zeus and netgalley for this ARC.

Beautiful, painful, full of seething and stealth- this novel takes you by surprise with its contradictions and promise

I loved this book! The fascinating dual-time plot kept me gripped, ended up staying awake until 3am one morning because I couldn't put it down! The descriptions of the Alhambra and the interesting facts (I love actually learning something as I read fiction !), for example where the Sala Abencerrages got its name was incredible and shows the hard work that the author put into researching the book!
I liked the telling of the conquest of Granada from the Muslim point of view as well, it showed how savage the Catholics Monarchs actually were....
Will definitely be recommending to friends!

A place in many hearts, could have been an alternative title for this excellent novel that takes as it's base the beautiful Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain.
I have not visited it myself, but the author brings to life this UNESCO World Heritage Site through superb descriptions and a historical context that takes us right back to the Moorish reign across the country.
There are many novels with to threads linking the past, often through a modern heartbroken character and a series of coincidences that cross the time divide. Here we meet Kate Fordham who has escaped to work as a waitress in Granada and become known as Anna Maria. She is in contact with her twin sister Jess and Kate's son who weirdly seems to live with Jess and for whom it seems Kate has a rather dislocated attachment.
When Kate finds a strange piece of paper with ancient writing in the walls of the Alhambra Palace we are whisked to the second story of Blessing - a young companion taken from the Sahara desert to live with Prince Mohammed (Momo) the son of the present Sultan and his wife.
The intricacies of the war between the Muslim Sultan (who takes a disliked and ambitious Christian mistress) and the subsequent rulers, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella provide a sweeping tour de force of the country wide battles to secure both family and royal possession and lineage for Spain.
I was wondering about my confusion regarding Blessing, who deeply - and sometimes worryingly for those strict religious times - loves his 'Master' and talks of longing in much more than a servant or even great friend manner. Blessing's links to his upbringing and the use of spells and potions are all added to the wonderment of the architecture of the Palace and the fascinating cross over of fifteenth century power and religious leadership in Spain.
Meanwhile Kate's past with the cruel and depraved mad husband James come to the fore. This was perhaps once or twice a little unbelievable in the extremes it described and thankfully Kate's new found love interest in Granada would lessen her trauma from dramatic consequences that unfold.
Overall a real page turner. which sees the last Sultan of the last Moorish kingdom brought to life alongside the fictional young nomadic creation of the author and a link across the centuries to our fascination with the past. Our awareness that love and heartache were no different then to the sweep of emotions that seem to only claim those of the 21st century. add poignancy to the whole book and will no doubt get readers booking the first flights out to Spain!

This book is an intertwining of two stories, one based in the last years of the Moorish rule of Granada and the other in present day. Both stories show tales of love, sacrifice, anger and passion. In modern day Kate has run away from a terrible situation at home and now lives in Granada working in a bar, when she meet Abdul a local of Arabic descent who gives her the strength to cope with her demons. The second story tells the story of Blessings a special guardian who was bought to be a companion for the prince Mohamid back in the days of the Moors. It's tale spans decades as they grow up and Mohamid (Boadbil) becomes the last Sultan to rule in Spain before banishment. The tale of Mohamid the last sultan is based on truth and the spectacular descriptions of the Alhambra and the Moorish palaces really evokes the sights and smells of the place and has make a trip there something I plan to do one day. Blessings will stop at nothing to protect his master who he loves intensely. The book illustrates the terrible battles that took place to gain leadership over southern Spain and it was a fantastic way to gain insight into the history of the region and the people that populated it. The author then cleverly weaves this into modern day and the situation there now.
In parts very gripping and others beautifully descriptive I would recommend this as a great holiday read.

This is almost 500 pages and was a very long read for me as I had to shuffle between reading time and work. I finally finished it after a week :)

The story is about Kate Fordham, who has a disastrous past and flies away from it to the Province of Granada. She is broken, thanks to her past, and she just manages to survive in a foreign country living each day in guilt and fear. She finds solace in the gardens of Alhambra and one day when she takes a stroll, she finds this note hidden in the walls. She is intrigued by it and in an attempt to find what the note actually means, she meets new people and finds friendship and finally the courage to let someone else in her life.
There is also a parallel narration, from the point of view of Blessings, the (fictional) royal companion of Sultan Abu Abdullah Mohammed, the last Nasrid ruler of Granada (Also called as Momo by Blessings) . This narration explains the unrequited love that Blessings had for Momo, the war that led to the fall of the Nasrid dynasty and the Spanish Inquisition. This was quite tough to follow, because of various historical references and me not being very good at World history.
Kate's part was easy to follow and I was expecting something more along the lines of the 'note' she finds. Blessings' narration was little difficult and I was confused from the beginning whether its a girl or a boy. So this was explained towards the end of the book and that made sense. I liked the way the chapters were set, one suspense from Kate and the next chapter begins with Blessings narration or the vice versa.

There was so much love in the eyes of Blessings for Momo, even though the Sultan loved his royal companion, it was clearly a 'Friend Zoned' relationship.

All those religious wars.. :( I hate to think about it and this suppression/oppression makes me stand with Momo who loves nothing but peace for his people and decides to give up everything for them. And this is still happening!! One day everything is peaceful and next day they are gassing or bombing people. :(

Moors and Hews and Castilians mingling in souks and markets to buy and sell and exchange news and gossip. Until, of course, the ambitions of the powerful set one against the other.
The author's note explained why she had written this book around the Sultan. History has it that the Sultan wept after giving away the keys of his Kingdom to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. But this is debated as a story made up, and so the author decided to give the story from his closest ally's point of view recounting the events that led to the fall of his kingdom. A chance to celebrate him, for what he truly is.

It was beautifully detailed and leaves you with so much pain. I wasn't that much hooked to Kate's life and how the story progresses there.
And hey, Christopher Columbus makes guest appearance ;-)

I give 4/5 stars. A tragic historical fiction with a little suspense.

Firstly, I absolutely adored this wonderful story.
Johnson has a beautiful writing style and you are sucked in from the first sentence. The story was rich and well thought out. A pleasure to read from start to finish.