#The Queen's Spade

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 5/5

Book Blurb:

“You will bow before this queen.” —Sara Raasch, New York Times bestselling author of Night of the Witch

“Revenge and justice have never been so satisfying!” — Marissa Meyer, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Lunar Chronicles

In this riveting historical thriller inspired by true-life events, Belladonna meets Bridgerton as revenge, romance, and twisted secrets take center stage in Victorian England’s royal court when Sally, a kidnapped African princess and goddaughter to Queen Victoria, plots her way to take down the monarchy that stole her from her homeland.

A young lady can take only so many injuries before humiliation and insult forge a vow of revenge. . . .

The year is 1862 and murderous desires are simmering in England. Nineteen-year-old Sarah Bonetta Forbes (Sally), once a princess of the Egbado Clan, desires one thing above all else: revenge against the British Crown and its system of colonial "humanitarianism," which stole her dignity and transformed her into royal property. From military men to political leaders, she’s vowed to ruin all who’ve had a hand in her afflictions. The top of her list? Her godmother, Britain’s mighty monarch, Queen Victoria herself.

Taking down the Crown means entering into a twisted game of court politics and manipulating the Queen’s inner circle—even if that means aligning with a dangerous yet alluring crime lord in London’s underworld and exploiting the affections of Queen Victoria’s own son, Prince Albert, as a means to an end. But when Queen Victoria begins to suspect Sally’s true intentions, she plays the only card in Victorian society that could possibly cage Sally once again: marriage. Because if there’s one thing Sally desires more than revenge, it’s her freedom. With time running out and her wedding day looming, Sally’s vengeful game of cat and mouse turns deadly as she’s faced with the striking revelation that the price for vengeance isn’t just paid in blood. It means sacrificing your heart.

Inspired by the true story of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, Queen Victoria’s African goddaughter, The Queen’s Spade is a lush and riveting historical thriller for fans of This Ravenous Fate, A Dowry of Blood, and Grave Mercy.

Review:

A historical thriller mixed in with the Count of Monte Cristo and inspired by the true story of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, Queen Victoria's African goddaughter. Revenge, murder, and freedom are all on the line as a young princess is kidnapped from home and taken as a "gift" to the British Queen herself, Queen Victoria. After witnessing her friend be murdered and being humiliated herself, Sarah Bonetta Forbes (Sally) has spent years plotting her revenge against her captors... memorizing their names and plotting their demise. While she might look like the perfect transformed princess and goddaughter of the queen, beneath her dignified and royal manor lies a seething young woman who will get her hands as dirty as possible to exact revenge against those who took her. Sally has spent years forced to endure degrading and racist slights against her, yet as she is now 19 it is time to put her plans into motion starting with the captains who stole her. Having made herself an integral part of the queen's inner circle she will manipulate, kill, and frame anyone she needs to in order to finally get rid of her biggest enemy of all: the Queen of Britain. Along for her journey is a handsome crime lord with his own agenda and Sally must also face off against another person who seeks revenge against her... with so many schemes, so many moving plots and one wrong move could cost her everything she's worked for.... the game has begun and Sally must find a way to exact revenge right before the Queen forces her to be married off.... with a ticking clock and enemies and betrayals at every turn, the bodies are going to start dropping. I am a huge fan of revenge stories and the Count of Monte Cristo is one of my all time favorite books ever. When I first read the premise of this book I was absolutely intrigued by the fact that it was inspired by a real life figure and honestly this book blew it out of the park. From the first chapter in the story gripes you and has you anxiously awaiting the next twist and turn of the story. I loved Sally, I loved her viciousness, I loved her strength and just how far she would go. This was a fantastic read that really captivates you and has you holding on until the last chapter, hell I could have even gone with a whole 10 more chapters or even a sequel to see where Sally goes (even if the author decided to fictionalize the ending). I really had so much fun reading this and would highly recommend it for fans of revenge stories and political thrillers~!

Release Date: January 14,2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books | HarperCollins for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[teenageread]

Review: The Queen's Spade

Initial Thoughts: 

Reading this entire novel I was shocked to learn about this piece of history that I never knew of before. Raughley dedicated this novel to telling a fictionalized version of the life of Sara Forbes Bonetta, the African goddaughter of Queen Victoria, with this novel taking place in the 1860s. Taking their artistic ability, Raughley writes this novel to be a revenge story as Sarah, nicknamed Sally, whose real name is Ina, was going to punish those five people, six if we are including the Queen, who took her from her lands, killed her friend, and forced her to dance for their entertainment. Death, humiliation, ruins, and torture were Sally’s plans, and as the reader you were along for the ride as she manipulated the court because she knew their love for her was conditional on her being a “good black girl”. Honestly, this story is full of dark twists and turns, court drama and politics, and Sally trying to stay one step ahead of the Queen, as she seeks her revenge for those who did her wrong.  

Characters:

From Sally's point of view, we see her as a girl on a mission to seek revenge. Raughley slowly details the historical history of Sally, from how she came to England and became a goddaughter to Queen Victoria, to the fiction of the story as Sally feeds the darker side of her brain of how she will get revenge on those who harmed her. I would not say Sally is a hero, but more of an anti-hero for her people and the friends she has made. What I liked a lot about Sally, she is kind of a “one trick pony” in the sense that all she can think about is revenge, and will do anything to get it. Where it is again, beautiful, really showing off the pain she has been through, and moves the plot in a chase kind of way, it is also her entire personality. There is no hope beyond revenge, no future plans, or anything, besides seeing those who hurt her dead, in ruins, or beyond saving. I wish we had more personality from Sally besides rage and pain, as this novel was her crusade. Raughley added other characters from Sally's friends and love interest (who I wished there was more of), and royalty like the Queen and Prince Albert. I lived for every interaction between Sally and Albert because we really got to see the depth of deception Sally was willing to go to at an almost innocent party. Same with the Queen, as Raughley wrote her to match wit with Sally and give us this cat and mouse chase where Sally was both the cat and the mouse to Queen Victoria. 

Plot and Writing:

After reading this novel I deep dove into Sarah Bonetta's life. Raughley took some liberties with this novel creatively, but there were several true facts stuck within this novel, as it truly does earn its title of historical fiction. From how she was brought to England, her education, relationship with the royal family, and marriage life, were done perfectly with true facts and dates. Her murderous rampage across England's elite was totally fictional and totally fun to read about. The writing was good and the plot was quick-paced, as you read about Sally’s mal intentions, and pray that she does not get caught. Some parts of the novel were slow, and the planning was odd. It seemed as if Sally plotted her revenge away from readers' eyes which would have been cool to see, and there was no logical reason for the order in which Sally was seeking revenge.

Conclusion:

What should have been the true crusade of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, the African Princess and Goddaughter of Queen Victoria, needed to be told and I am glad Raughley has brought it to life. Not want to put the novel down as I wanted to see Sally complete her revenge, this is a fantastic book and worth the read for those who are into scandals, revenge, court politics, and honestly those seeking a good story. 

[bloodmaarked]

➸ reading list

just added:

we'll prescribe you a cat, syou ishida

the full moon coffee shop, mai mochizuki

death at the sanatorium, ragnar jónasson

the lantern of lost memories, sanaka hiiragi

the queen's spade, sarah raughley

we solve murders, richard osman

welcome to the hyunam-dong bookshop, hwang bo-reum

dallergut dream department store, mi-ye lee

the secret lives of baba segi's wives, lola shoneyin

sula, toni morrison

[stylish-fish]

I've seen this a lot

[bnwo-warrior]

Kneel for our Gods 🙏♠️✊🏿

[goryhorroor]

in the silent era of horror, the word "horror" began to be used as a generic signation, and more often instead used was the words "weird" and "mythical and mysterious." this is a time when adaptions were so rapidly made like frankenstein and edgar allan poe's works dominated this era. horror as a genre wasn't specifically "created" or the word wasn't used until dracula in the 1930s.

[woodsmanwife]

Saturday spankbank

I hope you enjoy me sharing my wife with you.

[corpse-flame]

testing out a new style in ms paint

squares.

[quitonly]

THE QUEEN OF SPADES 1949, dir. Thorold Dickinson

[awhitegirlspassion]

'Snowbunny - a term that needs to be redefined!

As a young white woman who define myself as a 'snowbunny', but also used to struggle about being open and honest about my preference towards black men, I see a dire need to redefine the term 'snowbunny'!

When I see how the term 'snowbunny' is being used, I almost always see it in a sexual context where the term 'snowbunny' almost is a synonym for a sex-crazed white woman who focus merely on shallow physical desires. That's not what it means to me at all being a snowbunny and it honestly breaks my heart when people use it like this! To me, being a snowbunny means that I have a romantic and intimate preference towards black men. It means that I have the utmost and deepest respect for black men and black culture and that I see myself as a progressive young woman who has a deep emotional and romantic attraction towards black men. Of course this attraction also entails a physical attraction, but this is only a small part of the deep bond us snowbunnies share with black men.

I really think we need to redefine what it means to be a 'snowbunny', so that more young white women who have a preference towards black men can identify with- and feel comfortable coming out as 'snowbunnies'. The way we use the term today honestly alieanates many young women and thats such a shame! I used to date white boys when I was younger because I was afraid of being labelled as the type of girl who only focused on sex and physical attraction. I knew how my affection towards black men couldn't be trivialised and simplified to that, so I was afraid to call myself snowbunny. I think many white girls want to be open about their feelings about black guys and if we manage ro redefine the term 'snowbunny', I feel almost certain that we'll see WAY more young women coming out as 'snowbunnies'.

I KNOW that many young white women endure relationships with white boys because of how snowbunnies are being stigmatised and how it makes them feel miserable, unfulfilled and insecure! How do I know this? Because I used to be one of those girls and because I know many young women who hide their attraction towards black men because of the stigmatised perception poeple have! Today I'm a happy and proud snowbunny who are open about my feelings and I'm finally able to 'say no to white boys' and be the snowbunny I want to be!

I know this post won't change how people use the term 'snowbunny' over night, but I just felt I needed to put it out there to help other white women coming to terms with being a snowbunny and to feel comfortable and happy about how they feel. There are no shame in being a snowbunny just as there are no same in saying no to white boys!

Hugs and love from a passionate snowbunny

[theichellor]

[S] Cascade - Reanimated

[tinyfantasminha]

get chibi-fied losers

[herbeckandcall]

[bnwo-warrior]

Snowbunnies don't shake booty for ytbois

[goryhorroor]

“there are several reasons why the horror genre declined – in both quality and popularity – at the tail end of the 1930s & into the 40s. firstly, the narrative conventions became so well established that they appeared formulaic and predictable, especially when the same-old same-old monsters were put into rotation time and time again. then, political strife curtailed a lot of european filmmaking. thirdly, movies with supernatural, violent, science fiction or fantasy elements became a target for literal-minded censors, who were concerned that the masses might believe or, still worse, imitate the horrors they witnessed on the silver screen.”

[qos4blk]

KS~CountryCouple from Twitter/X