Emerald St. John is in trouble. She has been condemned to marry a man she hates, her enemies are conspiring to have her pet bear Molly torn apart in the baiting pits, and the man she loves is far away on the high seas. And she has stumbled into a web of spies with a plot to poison Queen Elizabeth I. To save herself and the kingdom, Emerald must beat the spies at their own game - which means transforming herself from a country girl into a lady of the court. Can she do it in time?
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About the Author
Canadian-born Karen Wallace is the author of over 70 books for children, including the award-winning non-fiction title Think of an Eel & Raspberries on the Yangtze. She was born in the backwoods of Quebec and spent her childhood messing about on the river. She now lives in Herefordshire, with her husband, two sons and a large cat called Cougar.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Essa lova
Format:Paperback
I picked up this book for my daughter's birthday (she's an avid reader) but had nothing to read on the train home. Thought I'd dip in to it when we got delayed in Eggham. Couldn't put it down, and after a few sleepless nights of page turning my wife made me go and get another that didn't have all the thumb marks.
Emerald is a beautiful rebellious teenager with a mysterious past, an evil mother, and a flair for dressing up in boys clothing. She gets wrapped up in dastardly plot that could bring down the nation, befriends a bear, and falls in love with a swashbuckling spy master. I loved the pace of the plot and the beautiful Elizabethan descriptions. A real treat.
My first Karen Wallace book and not my last. I shall look forward to buying my daughter's Christmas present this year....
Emerald is a beautiful rebellious teenager with a mysterious past, an evil mother, and a flair for dressing up in boys clothing. She gets wrapped up in dastardly plot that could bring down the nation, befriends a bear, and falls in love with a swashbuckling spy master. I loved the pace of the plot and the beautiful Elizabethan descriptions. A real treat.
My first Karen Wallace book and not my last. I shall look forward to buying my daughter's Christmas present this year....
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Jade
Format:Paperback
You may not know this about me, but I love a good historical. It's for this reason that Emerald first drew me in. well that and the completely gorgeous cover, I mean I know girls in pretty dresses are all over YA book covers these days but I will honestly say this is on of the most beautiful covers I've ever seen and the dress and the background just screams HISTORICAL, which is why I've been coveting this book ever since.
This book did really impress me. I thought that the start was a bit slow and Wallace took a while to build up the setting and the characters before throwing us into the world of political intrigue, but after that I was totally absorbed. I like my historical to have lots of mystery, lots of deception and traitors and plots and scandal, it's the only genre where I love these things, so when it got into that I was totally drawn in. The story is deep and involved, with lots of scandals and double-crossing, but it isn't too complicated that you struggle to follow it, a common issue with historicals, in my opinion.
I also totally loved Karen Wallace's writing style, which doesn't seem as though she is trying too hard to sound historical but still doesn't sound too contemporary (does that make sense? Maybe?). I loved how she told the story through Emerald's eyes, giving us vivid descriptions and really setting this historical tone but also making Emerald's opinions relateable and enjoyable.
I did find a few small problems with this book. I struggled to connect with any characters apart from Emerald, which meant that I didn't really dislike the bad guys, or respect her brother, or empathise with her cousin, they were just... there. This is probably a result of Wallace putting so much into the story and not enough into the characters. I also did feel as though the relationship Emerald had with Sam happened very fast with little development, so I was never rooting for them.
Overall, Emerald was an exciting read full of political intrigue, plots and scandals. I loved the fantastic writing and the effortless setting. I would go as far as to call Karen Wallace the Phillipa Gregory of Young Adult fiction.
This book did really impress me. I thought that the start was a bit slow and Wallace took a while to build up the setting and the characters before throwing us into the world of political intrigue, but after that I was totally absorbed. I like my historical to have lots of mystery, lots of deception and traitors and plots and scandal, it's the only genre where I love these things, so when it got into that I was totally drawn in. The story is deep and involved, with lots of scandals and double-crossing, but it isn't too complicated that you struggle to follow it, a common issue with historicals, in my opinion.
I also totally loved Karen Wallace's writing style, which doesn't seem as though she is trying too hard to sound historical but still doesn't sound too contemporary (does that make sense? Maybe?). I loved how she told the story through Emerald's eyes, giving us vivid descriptions and really setting this historical tone but also making Emerald's opinions relateable and enjoyable.
I did find a few small problems with this book. I struggled to connect with any characters apart from Emerald, which meant that I didn't really dislike the bad guys, or respect her brother, or empathise with her cousin, they were just... there. This is probably a result of Wallace putting so much into the story and not enough into the characters. I also did feel as though the relationship Emerald had with Sam happened very fast with little development, so I was never rooting for them.
Overall, Emerald was an exciting read full of political intrigue, plots and scandals. I loved the fantastic writing and the effortless setting. I would go as far as to call Karen Wallace the Phillipa Gregory of Young Adult fiction.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By henta caird
Format:Paperback
Emerald is a terrific read and wonderfully visual. Reading it was like having a film showing in my head. I can still see all the characters and do vivid re-runs of the gripping scenes. There is a good tight plot, eminently believable cast of characters and once you start turning the pages, you'll find it hard to stop.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Emerald (Karen Wallace)
A terrific read complete with treacherous plotters against the state, a beautiful heroine, a truly disgusting villain, and all sorts of entertaining period goings-on. Read more
Published 21 months ago by A. Ramsay
4.0 out of 5 stars
Really enjoyable!
This was such fun to read! For some reason I don't read much historical fiction but on the basis of this one I really think I should. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Sammee, I Want To Read That
5.0 out of 5 stars
A girl and her bear
Our feisty heroine has a wicked mother, an evil fiancé, a dashing seadog boyfriend and a charming pet bear. She and the good guys are threatened with awful fates. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Lord Essex
4.0 out of 5 stars
Emerald by Karen Wallace
This is an historical novel, full of period detail and giving a strong and convincing sense of the Elizabethan era and life outside the capital at the time. Read more
Published 21 months ago by toyclare
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable historical novel
Sometimes a book is just simply a pleasure to read. Emerald is one of those books. It is so easy to get into and the writing let's you sink right into it like a favourite armchair. Read more
Published 21 months ago by R. LILES
4.0 out of 5 stars
a tudor page-turner
This is a real page-turner. I read it in one sitting. Emerald speaks and thinks in modern english about the life she leads in the reign of Elizabeth 1st. Read more
Published 21 months ago by spot
4.0 out of 5 stars
emerald
A different style of writing for Emerald by Karen Wallace and a pleasure to read.
Emerald is an historical novel set in Elizabethan England and deals with the fate of well... Read more
Emerald is an historical novel set in Elizabethan England and deals with the fate of well... Read more
Published 21 months ago by nico
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