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An Assassin's Guide to Love and Treason Hardcover – 27 Dec 2018

by Virginia Boecker (Author)

12 ratings

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When Lady Katharine's father is killed for being a practicing Catholic, she discovers that wasn't the only secret he'd been hiding. He'd also been involved in a plot to overthrow Queen Elizabeth. With nothing left to lose, Katherine disguises herself as a boy and travels to London to fulfill her father's mission, and take it one step further--she'll kill the queen herself.

Katherine's opportunity comes in the form of William Shakespeare's newest play, Twelfth Night, which is to be specially performed in front of Her Majesty. But what she doesn't know is that the play is not just a play. It's a plot to root out Catholic insurrectionists and destroy the rebellion once and for all.

The mastermind behind this ruse is Toby Ellis, a young spy for the queen with secrets of his own. When Toby and Katharine are cast opposite each other as the play's leads, they find themselves inexplicably drawn to one another. But the closer they grow, the more precarious their positions become. And soon they learn that star-crossed love, mistaken identity, and betrayal are far more dangerous off the stage than on.

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Product details

Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers US; 1 edition (27 December 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780316327343
ISBN-13: 978-0316327343
ASIN: 0316327344
Product Dimensions: 14.9 x 3.2 x 21.6 cm
Boxed-product Weight: 494 g
Average Customer Review: Be the first to review this item
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 362,093 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #265 in Romance Fiction Writing Reference
- #108 in Fiction About Theatre for Young Adults
- #482 in European Historical Ficiton for Young Adults

Product description

Review

Praise for The Witch Hunter and The King Slayer A YALSA 2016 Teens Top Ten Nominee* "An explosive cocktail of high-stakes adventure... "--PW (starred review)

"A fun, corpse-ridden, blood-drenched debut."--April Tucholke, author of Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

"This book is perfect for lovers of Cashore's Graceling and Maas's Throne of Glass...."--VOYA

"Sassy and smart, this page-turning fantasy is full of action, wit, and magic. I ate it up in one sitting and demand more...now!"--Beth Revis, New York Times bestselling author of Across the Universe and The Body Electric

Praise for An Assassin's Guide to Love and Treason A Kirkus 2018 Best Book of the Year
"An Assassin's Guide to Love and Treason is a thrilling, immersive romp through Shakespeare's London, and all the intrigue, alliances, and politics that shaped it. Helmed by two feisty leading players who I fell in love with as they fell for each other, and with snappy, energetic prose that will appeal to both fans of historicals and contemporaries, there's something here for everyone. I devoured this book with ravenous joy. Bravo!"--Mackenzi Lee, New York Times bestselling author of The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue

* "A scrumptious slice of history. The conflicts of religion, sexuality, class, and gender identity are apropos to contemporary times. Victor, Victoria and Shakespeare in Love: Meet your thrilling new sister. Or brother."--Kirkus (starred review)

"Between its harrowing start and nail-biting conclusion, Boecker (The King Slayer) creates complex characters and a rich historical setting in a story that explores religious extremism, self-identity, and the blindness of love."--Publishers Weekly

"A satisfying blend of early modern spycraft and stagecraft...suspense and romance...[A] breathless, satisfying romp."--BCCB

"A fast-paced historical mystery rich in period detail that also explores gender and sexuality. A great buy."--SLJ

"Shatters gender stereotypes...Historical fiction meets young adult literature in this suspenseful story about two "star-crossed" lovers who face seemingly insurmountable odds to be together."--VOYA

Book Description

Philippa Gregory meets Mr. and Mrs. Smith in this witty and thrilling action-adventure novel of star-crossed assassins in Elizabethan England. Perfect for fans of My Lady Jane and The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue.

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Most helpful customer reviews on Amazon.com

Amazon.com: 12 reviews

Erin

Fun!

16 January 2019 - Published on Amazon.com

Verified Purchase

A great story in a wonderfully researched world!

Lenoire

Star-Crossed Lovers

31 October 2018 - Published on Amazon.com

Lady Katherine's father is murdered for being a practicing Catholic. She realizes that her father being a Catholic wasn't the only the secret he was keeping. He was also involved in a plot to have the reigning Queen Elizabeth I murdered. With a deep need for revenge, Katherine disguises herself as a boy to London to complete her father's mission.

Katherine decides to use William Shakespeare's newest play, as an opportunity to murder the Queen. However, Katherine doesn't realize the play is a trap to root out the insurrectionists and to destroy the rebellion.

Toby Ellis is the mastermind behind the ruse. He is a young spy for the Queen with a few secrets of his own. When Katherine and Toby are cast as the main leads, they find themselves drawn to each other. As the duo become closer will they be able to risk their mission for love?

The book felt like I was reading a Shakespearian plot with crossdressers and star-crossed lovers. The novel had an interesting premise but, I felt that the novel was a bit slow. I felt like the novel could have added more details about the religious aspect along with Christopher Marlowe. I think this would give the readers an idea of what is on the line for Katherine and Toby. As honestly, I didn't feel like there was any "urgency" or that the duo is facing any life or death consequences. Overall, it was an entertaining read but, not my favorite.

2 people found this helpful

The Reading Chick

Very clever!

1 March 2019 - Published on Amazon.com

The setting is Elizabethan England when it is treasonous to be a practicing Catholic. Lady Katherine’s father is killed right before her eyes when he is discovered harboring a Catholic priest, his secrets revealed. Escaping imprisonment, Lady Katherine travels to London dressed as a young man intent on revenge against those responsible for her father’s death. Intent on killing the Queen of England. Overhearing Shakespeare and his players in a tavern talking about a secret play they will be putting on for a private performance for the Queen, Kit decides to try out and lands one of the leads. Little does she know that she is playing opposite a young man named Toby who is a spy and the mastermind behind the plan to catch those plotting to kill Elizabeth.

In Elizabethan England women’s roles in plays were played by men or boys so when Kit gets cast as Olivia in Twelfth Night the humor of her success at playing a boy playing a girl is remarkable in that no one has figured out that the girl is actually a girl. Our spy Toby who is trying to catch a potential killer finds himself drawn to Kit the boy a fact that is punishable by death and when Kit seems to return his regard? That is when the plot truly becomes interesting. Even as Kit is one of his suspects, are their feelings for each other more important than saving the Queen’s life?

I really enjoyed Kit’s evolution. As Katherine she was restricted to a woman’s life but as Kit so many things were available to her. I think this combined with her feelings for Toby helped her to make the decision revealed at the end of the book. No spoilers here, but the line between life and death was trod very closely and the conclusion was just as dramatic as one of the plots in a Shakespeare play.

I am a fan of historical novels and The Assassin’s Guide was right up my alley. A devious plot and a romantic sub-plot set in a Shakespeare play? It had me asking questions about the era and I used Wikipedia a few times to fact check my own knowledge. I was surprised by many things but nothing as much as how enjoyable I found this novel. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Katherine A. Moore

‘An Assassin’s Guide’ is a clever romp through Elizabethan London; Shakespeare would enjoy this one!

30 December 2018 - Published on Amazon.com

Did you know that Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night was written to capture the would-be assassin of Queen Elizabeth I?!
And what do you get when you combine a cross-dressing Catholic called Katherine Arundell, out to avenge the death of her father, and put her slap-dab in the middle of merry old London?

‘An Assassin’s Guide to Love & Treason’, of course, and it’s quite scrumptious.
This romp through 1601 will have you questioning any history you may think you’ve learned about Elizabethan London, about the dalliances of Shakespearean players, and about the tension between the Protestants and Catholics at that time.

Being from England myself, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a bit of ‘history’ from home to indulge in. I delighted in this witty, clever tale about young Lady Katherine Arundell from Cornwall, who witnesses her father’s execution for being a practicing Catholic. This was because England is now Protestant under Queen Elizabeth I, and to avenge her father’s death, she then goes to London and plans to assassinate Queenie herself. Tall order perhaps.

Katherine constructs a plan, along with her merry band of Catholic conspirators; this means she must infiltrate the upcoming production of ‘Twelfth Night’, and create a new male identity for herself, Kit.

This is really at the crux of how clever Virginia Boecker is being with ‘Assassin’s Guide’ (and I know she knows this, because of her most brilliant Author’s Note in the back; only I do hope everyone reads it!). As many of you may know, women weren’t players in Shakespeare’s plays, men were, and they played all the women’s parts too. In order for Katherine to disguise herself in London, she must become Kit (this was a name short for Christopher back then), as well as to be a player on the stage.

She then gets the part as Viola, who (if you haven’t read ‘Twelfth Night’) dresses up as a man in the play. It all becomes quite complicated when Kit becomes drawn to Toby, who is another lead player, and writer, and unbeknownst to Kit, a spy for Elizabeth Regina; he’s trying to deduce which of the Twelfth Night players is the treasonous one. Yet he’s falling for Kit, just as he did previously for the late Kit Marlowe (that’s Christopher Marlowe to you).

Katherine’s own confidence as a ‘man’ mirrors Viola’s growing confidence in the play, particularly as Toby and ‘Kit’ rehearse together, and the themes of bisexuality and questions about societal gender norms play like their own characters in the book. Just like the very irony we see in having men play the parts of women (who play men), this is a double irony, if you will, and forces the characters to constantly question their identities, as well as their loyalties. At a time when many only had loyalty to the Crown or to God, questioning your identity was frowned against and was highly confusing, and naturally left you open to being cast out by all sorts of weaknesses such as witchcraft and going back to the Old Religion (Catholicism). You certainly didn’t admit to liking the same sex, even if you did put on a dress for all to see in the Globe Theatre.

The ‘supporting cast’ of William Shakespeare, the Wright Brothers, and even the Queen, lend so much color to the tapestry that Boecker has woven for this ‘Guide’, and readers will love it when familiar names and places appear in the story. I’d also say there’s a little bit of everything here to make this an all-round great read: we start off with a murder, and then we have action, romance, and a lot of wit and charm. Shakespeare would approve of all of that.

Virginia has actually taken great pains to do her research and in her Author’s Note points out where she has meddled with the history and where she has kept to the facts. I absolutely loved this small part of the book, as well as the long bibliography she has listed.
While you may not come out with a proper Elizabethan history lesson, or an actual assassin’s guide, you will be thoroughly entertained, and may (like myself) be inclined to read up on your English history and to even re-read some Shakespeare!
This was a solid 5 star read for me.