In a small town in Western Mass resides Emmie, a sensitive and inquisitive 17-year-old with lofty ambitions. The Laura Ingalls-esque young woman lives with her hardworking mother, Carol, who has taken her from London to San Diego to New England to chase after the unrequited love of her now ex-husband. Carol’s heartache and yearning for more is the aura she carries with her, a yearning that also resides in our hero. Emmie has her eyes set on an art school in London, and spends her time curating the piece of jewelry that she believes will be her ticket out of Hatfield.
Like the Boo Radleys of yesteryear, no Young Adult novel is complete without a peculiar town outcast. Her name is Jane Struart and she is Emmie’s mysterious neighbor who speaks only in gibberish. After stumbling upon Jane’s yard sale, Emmie acquires a new addition to work into her jewelry design. It’s that very night as she works on a school history project, with bestie Mia, on none other than Nicholas the Ironheart, that she suddenly wakes up to find herself in the middle of a forest in sixteenth century England.
She’s in for a rude awakening. Where some novels focus on the romanticism and fall short on describing the socio-political climate of what it would mean for a woman of our current era to travel back in time, Murray doesn’t shy away from explicitly describing Emmie’s struggles to assimilate. The history is also well-researched; moments are believable, and measures are taken to make sure all the details are accurate. This world Murray has created almost reads more like historical fiction, despite it all being a hypothetical what if… “What if Queen Elizabeth I married her beloved Robert Dudley and gave birth to a son in 1560? A son that would become the last, and most notorious, Tudor monarch of all…Nicholas the Ironheart.”
As Emmie becomes more and more consumed with discovering the heart of what drives Nicholas to his moniker, so do we. When Emmie is inexplicably thrust back to modern day Hatfield, we roll our eyes in mutual boredom as we beg to be taken back to London. And thus ensues a dangerous back and forth, both in time and in love. Soon enough both Emmie and Nicholas are personally invested in discovering what makes each other’s hearts beat. This curiosity unveils lies, forges new alliances, breaks old ties, and ultimately leads to more questions than answers.
Thankfully, there’s a sequel coming in August, Emmie and the Tudor Queen.
Emmie and the Tudor King is Natalie Murray’s first novel. It’s a charming, well-written piece that stands both alone and as part of the Heart and Crowns series. Emmie is a complex and wonderful accidental heroine. Murray is able to forge a romance without forgoing Emmie’s individualism. She is a whole person with various facets surrounded by supporting characters who are equally full-fleshed. These characters have layers to them— they have wants and needs that conflict… women are often written in a one dimensional way, but not here. And where writers often infuse their work with ego, here we find an unbiased perspective in how the story is told. Therefore the characters are given the space to live and we the readers are given the opportunity to formulate our own thoughts.
Truly at the center of this piece are the characters, and the exquisite way they work through the decisions they have to make. From the angsty teen prince to the absentee father, how do our actions affect those around us? And the ubiquitous question: can one moment change the course of history? Of our lives? Of the lives of others?
In Emmie, we find a wonderful role model for young adults that could just as easily be enjoyed by mass audiences. The language is accessible so it reads with ease, and the ongoing suspense throughout the work makes for a quick one. The story is completely enjoyable just as the hard work is apparent. Emmie and the Tudor King is a home run for Natalie Murray, and we look forward to the rest of the series.
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Emmie and the Tudor King
Natalie Murray
Literary Crush Publishing (Jun 11, 2019) Softcover $12.99 (304pp)
978-0-9984484-7-3
https://www.nataliemurrayauthor.com
