The Executioner's Daughter by Jane Hardstaff

The Executioner's Daughter by Jane Hardstaff

Release Date: January 30, 2014
Publisher: Egmont
Series: The Executioner's Daughter, Book 1
Rated: YA/MG 12+
Format: ARC
Source: Pansing
Buy: Available at all good bookstores!
Goodreads ● Website

Moss hates her life. As the daughter of the Executioner in the Tower of London, it’s her job to catch the heads in her basket after her father has chopped them off. She dreams of leaving, but they are prisoners with no way out.

Then Moss discovers a hidden tunnel that takes her to freedom, where she learns that her life isn’t what she believes it to be and she doesn’t know who to trust.

Her search for the truth takes her on a journey along the great River Thames. Could the answers lie deep in its murky depths?

The Executioner's Daughter has been on my shelf for AGES, and so I finally decided to pick this one up after realising how long it's been there. Guilt totally eating me away! Anyway, I really enjoyed this one. It was a really quick read too–the font in the advanced copy is pretty big, so I was done with this one within two hours. I didn't really know what to expect with this one, so I was pleasantly surprised with what was in store.

The setting was great. Fantastic, actually. I love historical fiction, but I don't know if I've ever read anything in YA about the Tudors, or this particular time period. Anyway, it totally made me want to read more books set in this time period–as well as watch the show The Tudors. It's fascinating to see events that actually happened integrated into the story.

One thing I pretty much hated about this book was Moss. The girl doesn't listen to anyone! Stay away from the river? Let me hang around it the whole time. And while I'm at it, let me yell at my dad all the time, even though he did everything to protect me. Salter was a great character though–I gotta love his insults. Here are some of my favourite lines from him:

❝Sweet Harry's scabs! That's a wind cold enough to freeze off yer goosters.❞

❝Stupid pisspot of a shore girl.❞

❝You've got less guts than a pan of cockles.❞

–p. 60, 61, and 304, ARC*

*text is subject to change in the final version

The Executioner's Daughter was an exciting historical-fantasy adventure that younger and older readers alike will enjoy. This book was good enough as a standalone, but I know there's a sequel, and while I don't know how I'm going to feel about Moss, I'm definitely adding it to my to-read pile. Jane Hardstaff has created an interesting world within this historical era, and I'm looking forward to learning more about it.

▪ ▪ ▪ Thank you so much to Sasha at Pansing for sending me a copy for review! ▪ ▪ ▪

If you like this, try...

• Chantress by Amy Butler Greenfield ● Goodreads
• Maid of Secrets by Jennifer McGowan ● Goodreads