Wednesday, May 6, 2020

About the Book

Book: A Life Renewed

Author: Olivia Rae

Genre: Christian Historical

Release Date: April 2, 2020

In 1554, Lady Jane Grey, “The Nine Days’ Queen” was executed for high treason.

But what if, instead of feeling the blade on her neck she secretly survived?

Escaping execution, Lady Jane hides as a peasant girl in a principality in Germany. She loves the simple life and never wants to return to England. But her benefactor, a power-hungry German prince, wants to march on London and place her on the English throne again, thereby increasing his dominance in Europe. If she doesn’t agree to his plan, her beloved childhood nurse will be put to death. Desperate for help, Jane must put her trust in the mysterious spy Asher Hayes.

Asher Hayes is done rounding up Protestants for “Bloody Mary” and wants nothing more than to live a quiet life as a farmer and expunge the blood of many from his hands. Except Queen Mary isn’t done with him yet. She throws his father, mother, and sister into prison on false charges in order to force him to accept one last mission – find and kill Lady Jane Grey. But when Asher discovers Lady Jane isn’t a threat to the throne as he believed her to be, he faces a devastating decision – does he sacrifice his family for the woman who reigns in his heart?

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MY REVIEW

This has been a great look at what might of happened if history could be changed. I didn’t know much about Lady Jane Grey. I found her story to be quite intriguing. The author does a great job of exploring what turn of events could happen if Lady Jane had survived. I was enthralled with Jane as she escapes death. Her travels were dangerous but God watched over her. Her journey lands her in a land where she must hide her true identity. My heart would be beating out of my chest as I encountered people in the village.

I was never very trusting of the Prince who came to her rescue and found her a place to hide in plain sight. What is really good about this story is the history embedded in truth by an author who expertly brings twists to the book. I loved the mystery surrounding Asher as he is found critically hurt. He has come to find Lady Jane. Will he be able to carry out his mission? I came to really like Asher because he has a heart for truth and trusts God to guide him to do the right thing. There is some violence in the story but it is handled with little graphic details.

What I really liked about the story is how the author combines truth with fiction and delivers a powerful story about faith, trust and freedom. Jane is admirable in wanting to lay her life down so others would be saved. Jesus did that for us and everyday we should be thanking Him for His sacrifice. The ending is perfect and gives readers a glimpse into the next story. I will be anxiously awaiting to continue the journey in this very promising series.

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.

About the Author

Olivia Rae is an award-winning author who spent her school days dreaming of knights, princesses and far away kingdoms; it made those long, boring days in the classroom go by much faster. Nobody was more shocked than her when she decided to become a teacher. Besides getting her Master’s degree, marrying her own prince, and raising a couple of kids, Olivia decided to breathe a little more life into her childhood stories by adding in what she’s learned as an adult living in a small town next to a big city. When not writing, she loves to travel, dragging her family to old castles and forts all across the world.

More from Olivia

The Challenge in Writing About a Real Historical Person

I like creating a story out of a kernel of information. The idea of my new book, A Life Renewed came when I took a trip to England and learned about the tragic life of Lady Jane Grey. Her life was so disastrous, I just wanted to give her a second chance at happiness. So that’s exactly what I did when she escaped her execution instead of dying as she did in real life.

My greatest challenge in writing this book was picking a heroine that actually lived. I had to do a lot of research in Lady Jane Grey’s life and her family. It was very interesting. Lady Jane was what we would call a progressive protestant. The conflicts between the Catholics and Protestants (The beginning of The Church of England) was very real and very deadly at that time. What many people don’t know is that Henry VIII was actually against many other Protestant religions (Calvinists, Lutherans, etc.). He feared their religious influence as much as he did the Catholic’s. His son Edward was more progressive, like Jane. If he would have lived, Jane’s outcome would have been totally different. After Jane’s death, Queen Mary went on a mission to turn England back to Catholicism. In her reign she killed over 300 Protestants. Hence later in history she was known as “Bloody Mary.”