A Life Renewed by Olivia Rae entertained me with its secrets, danger, and romance. The plot clipped along nicely, and I enjoyed the mystery of wondering who knew what, who was lying, and who would betray who. Despite the life-threatening situations of several characters, I found the story fun and adventuresome. It was a pleasure to watch Ella/Jane and Asher fall in love.

Per the author’s note, the prologue of A Life Renewed is historically accurate, but the rest of the novel derived from the question: What if Lady Jane Grey survived her execution? With creative liberty, the author conjured a plausible way for Jane to survive and hide amidst the conflicts between Catholics and Protestants of the time. The novel reverberates with Jane’s call to embrace peace and respect others. It’s a timeless message that our modern culture should consider.

A Life Renewed by Olivia Rae starts the Secrets of the Queens series and is a keeper for my bookshelf. I look forward to more intrigue, danger, and romance in the subsequent novels. Four stars!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was provided a copy of this book by the author or publisher. All opinions in this review are my own. ( )

As someone who loves history and reading about it, I thought I would enjoy reading a “what if” book that took an actual person from history and gave antoher possible outcome. In this case, the book examines Queen Mary, also known as “Bloody Mary”, and Lady Jane Grey and provides a situation where Lady Jane lives rather than dies.

The bloodshed between the Protestants and Catholics during this time creates incredible tensions. I think one of my favorite characters in this book was Hildegarde, the woman assigned by the Prince in Germany to keep tabs on Lady Jane, who is masquerading as her aunt.

Otto is another character that caught my attention. He seems to want to do what is right, but also has feelings for Hildegarde. Asher Hayes, sent by Queen Mary, to kill Lady Jane, finds himself falling in love with “Ella”, who is actually Lady Jane.

The Biblical values and beliefs shown by Jane in this bok bring her faith to life. The farther I read in the book, the more I became caught up in the story. Truly, faith in God can lead people to face terrible fates.

I definitely recommend this book/. So check it out for yourself.

I received a copy of this book for my fair and honest review. ( )

My Review: First, the legalities, I was given an e-book copy in exchange for my honest opinion. This review is freely given and totally my own
.I truly enjoyed this book. It was a unique concept in Christian literature. I wasn't sure how it would fit into being a Christian book but it was very well done. Faith was shown throughout the book.
I enjoyed the development of the characters, and the story plot. It was very well built and progressed nicely. It held my interest throughout. I am a history buff and this coupled both history and fiction nicely.
What I did not like was the odd use of words. For example, Jane's arms were described as "subtle" when I think she meant "supple" but that is even an odd description for arms. There were several of instances like this throughout the book and that threw me off while reading. I enjoy a book that is well edited and the punctuation was well done, but the words, in places were just wrong.
I give this book a 3 out of 5 star rating, this is because of the odd word choices. I would recommend this book to a friend. ( )

This was a very interesting take on what might have happened to Jane Gray if she had not actually been beheaded by Queen Mary I. I like how Asher and Ella were able to work some things out. I would have rather been of the merchant class during the 1500’s. It would have been very hard being a peasant and even being a person close to royalty. Too many people were killed for religious beliefs and for possibly wanting to be Kings or queens. I liked how this author treats religion and the aristocracy. I received a copy of this book from Celebratelit for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will. ( )

One of the most interesting questions to ponder is “What if?” After all, this query forms the basis of literary fiction. Adding in an element of truth serves to enhance the fascination, and thus the historical fiction genre exists. This is one of the many reasons that I love this genre and never become bored with it. While I favor the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, I enjoy reading and learning about other time periods as well, and this book is my first foray into the 1500s, at least for reviewing purposes. An era that has never particularly attracted my attention before, I must say that this was an excellent novel to pave the way!

Olivia Rae’s “A Life Renewed” kicks off her Secrets of the Queens series with a captivating tale of an alternative version of Lady Jane Grey. Instead of being beheaded, she escapes and ends up living as a peasant girl in a small German princedom, a simple life that she loves. However, Prince von Hoffbauer has other plans for her, intending to further his own cause, and English spy Asher Hayes is on an assigned mission to bring her head to Queen Mary in order to save his own family. With intrigue and romance, sixteenth-century Tudor England comes alive in this thrilling story, along with its turbulence and bloodshed. Of all the characters, I think that my favorite is Otto Werner; he wants to do God’s will but allows himself to be sidetracked, as happens to several other characters as well. As such, all of the characters feel genuine, because they each exhibit less-than-admirable qualities at times. Rae does include some Messianic imagery in the story, as when Asher says of Lady Jane, “She was either a lamb for the slaughter or a lion sent to tear all apart.”

The hatred and calculating animosity between the Catholics and Protestants calls to mind the current political landscape in America between the Democrats and the Republicans. If the seeds of division can be sown, they reap disastrous results for everyone. Author Olivia Rae does not appear to take sides when discussing the religious affiliations of those in “A Life Renewed,” and it is Lady Jane who gives the impassioned speech that so perfectly targets the heart of the issue, both then and now: “How can we profess to believe in Him if we curse one another? How can we profess to be His children if we are maiming and killing each other? How can we profess to believe in Him if we do not love our enemies as He has taught us?” How, indeed? We should come together in Christ and strive to demonstrate His love to everyone, seeking to live together in peace whenever possible. Having been given a renewed life in Jesus, we need to extend to others the same grace and mercy that we have received, a necessity for all time periods, Tudor and contemporary alike.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Celebrate Lit and was not required to post a favorable review. All opinions are my own. ( )