NetGalley ARC | Crime and Punishment in Tudor England

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐

This text presents, as the title indicates, crime and punishment in Tudor England. Though I would consider myself fairly knowledgable in that area, I can never pass up books likes this because I am always hoping to learn more about a period in history that continues to capture my attention.

The Tudor century+18 saw massive social upheaval that impacted every single person in the country - and beyond. From Henry VII to his granddaughter Elizabeth I, the time period is flush with world-changing events. Crime and punishment, however, remained straight up medieval.

We see it all here - treason, suspected treason, no-treason-but-I'm-paranoid, and so much more. There are cases of blackmail, failed insurrections, conmen, kidnappings, and beyond. Plus all the details of the hangings, burning-at-the-stakes, and beheadings.

I simply could not with the author's voice and tone throughout the book. Incredibly flippant at times and attempts at humor that were not actually funny. I have a difficult time with non-fiction books where the author is sarcastic or casual about the topic. In memoirs and autibiographies, that's one thing. But in books like this, where the author should simply present the facts and not add their own snarky commentary? No thanks. She also kept referring to herself as "this author". It was annoying.

The structure of the text was also frustrating. The crimes were listed in alphabetical order, so there was no real structure to speak of. As a result, there is not any real analysis to be found, or themes to explore. The oversimplification of the topic does not allow for it.

There are some interesting stories here but as a whole, I would not recommend.

Stacking the Shelves #359

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly feature hosted by Reading Reality. It is a chance to showcase all the goodies you've collected throughout the week, whether they're bought on-line or in-store, an ARC or a final copy, borrowed from a friend or the library, physical or digital, etc.

Author/Pub/Marketing Gifts via NetGalley

NetGalley ARCs

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Happy Reading!
Sarah

Netgalley ARC | Broadmoor Inmates

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐

I would venture to guess that anyone who has an interest in historical true crime knows the name of Broadmoor. The facility opened in 1863 for the 'criminal lunatics' of society who needed to be confined for the safety of the public, and themselves. Each inmate committed some horrific crime - or attempted one, leading to their incarceration.

Of course we know that treatments of the time were in no way effective - fresh air was often considered a treatment for pretty much anything ailing someone in that time period. But inmates were also expected to work, and were provided leaisure activities to participate in as well. Even so, this was no idyllic place for anyone to be 'cured'. Doctors of the time simply did not have the knowledge or resources to provide actual treatment for the wide range of causes that brought inmates to their door.

While the stories were interesting, and many incredibly tragic, I was a bit disappointed with this book. I was hoping there would be more information about Broadmoor itself and the attempts of treatment at the time. Given the subtitle, it seemed like a logical expectation.

Instead, this was a collection of stories, some with a lot of detail and some without, about how these particular inmates ended up at Broadmoor throughoutt its history, up to the 1950s. When looking at the bibliography, much of it was simply a list of newspapers. I always appreciate when an author uses contemporary sources, but we also have to remember that Victorian-era newspaper accounts of crimes was rather...colorful.

This had the potential to be an interesting look at an infamous asylum, going back to its very beginning. Unfortunately that is not what we got here. And given that this was only about the crimes people committed, and not their later "treatment", the stories got repetitive after a while.

If you've been around a while, you might know that I am absolutely obsessed with the way Victorians were obsessed with crime and punishment, so I was really excited for this one. But with it being indidivual stories about the various murderers and would-be murderers who ended up behind Broadmoor's walls, there was no common thread to tie any of the stories together. I feel like exploration of society's attitudes toward mentall illness at the time, attitudes toward treatment and care, and toward punishment in between the stories could have made this a much more cohesive book.

I would say I still recommend this if you are interested in true crime stories from the era, as long as you do not expect a deeper look underneath the crimes at the root causes, or how they were treated for perceived lunacy.

NetGalley ARC | The Blackhouse

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for and honest review.

Rating | ⭐

This was a pretty solid four stars for me for the majority of the book. Even with the weird reincarnation angle. It was atmospheric and at times suffocating, but in the right way because the setting was as much a character as anyone in the story. I had ideas where the ending might lead, but wasn't especially committed to any one scenario.

But then came the final reveal. Yuck.

Everyone is lying about everything.

The guy who died is eincarnated into the woman who is then in love with...the guy's son. Like, I love yous and forevers and everything.

Are we all just ignoring that? The major yuck factor? For real?

But it's fine because at the end of the story the main character decides she's none of the things that have been proclaimed throughout the entire story.

What a waste.

Definitely NOT recommended.

Stacking the Shelves #358

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly feature hosted by Reading Reality. It is a chance to showcase all the goodies you've collected throughout the week, whether they're bought on-line or in-store, an ARC or a final copy, borrowed from a friend or the library, physical or digital, etc.

Author/Pub/Marketing Gifts

Author/Pub/Marketing Gifts via NetGalley

NetGalley ARCs

Library Treasures

Happy Reading!
Sarah

Tackling the TBR | Week 12 | Mar 22 - Mar 31st, 2026

Here we go!

This is year SEVEN of Tackling the TBR. When I started this mess I was well over 5,000 books, so to be where I am now is pretty incredible.

I will post on the 7th, 14th, 21st, and last day of the month.

Previous Week's TBR Total: 1,453

On My 'Currently Reading' Shelf
(This does not mean I am reading all of these at once. As soon as I get a book from the library, NetGalley, or a publisher/author/marketer, I put in on my 'Currently Reading' shelf. Yes, I know I have a problem. No, I don't want to do anything about it.)

Read from my TBR
None

Read Because I Have No Shelf-Control

Books DNF-ed: 0

Books Added to TBR: 0

Books Removed from TBR: 0

Duplicates Removed: 0

New TBR Total: 1,453

Happy Reading!
Sarah