HF Virtual Book Tours: Rocamora by Donald Michael Platt

Title: Rocamora
Author: Donald Michael Platt
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Raven's Wing Books
Publish Date: September 26, 2011
Source: HF Virtual Book Tours

Why You're Reading This Book:

• You're a historical fiction fan.
• You like interesting characters.
• You don't mind gritty topics.

What's the Story?:

Synopsis: "Rocamora, a novel of 17th century Spain, is based on the life of Vicente de Rocamora, who struggles to make his place in a Spain obsessed with limpieza de sangre, purity of blood untainted by Jew, Moor, or recent convert.

Poet, swordsman, and master of disguise, at the insistence of his family, Vicente enters the Dominican Order and is soon thrust into the scheming political and clerical hierarchies that at Court.

Vicente becomes Confessor and Spiritual Director for King Philip IV’s teenage sister, the beautiful Infanta Doña María, five years younger than he, protégé and possible successor of Inquisitor General Sotomayor, and an invaluable assistant to the King’s chief minister, the Count-Duke de Olivares.

Vicente needs all his skills and cunning to survive assassination by a growing list of ruthless foes in both Church and Court, solve a centuries-old riddle to quell rumors of his own impurity of blood, and above all suppress his love for the seemingly unattainable María."

My Two Cents:

"Rocamora" is the story of Vicente de Rocamora whose early life was not all that great. The story takes place in 1600s Spain where the "limpieza de sangre" is the ultimate measure of a man and Inquisition is the order of the day. While I haven't read a whole lot that takes place during this time period in Spain, the subject is absolutely fascinating to me even though it was quite a brutal time.

I really enjoyed reading about Vicente. He's pretty much left to fend for himself and takes it upon himself to try to get his own brand of revenge for his family. By age 20, he's slowly working himself in the royal court of Spain by becoming a confessor to some of the lesser members of court. One thing that you can most definitely say about Vicente is that the guy certainly has a lot of gumption. I really enjoyed reading how he was able to elevate himself to a position of prestige. I wanted to know and understand a little bit more about his motivations as he is such a complicated character.

Just a word of warning, there are several parts of the book that get pretty gritty (some of the descriptions of what the Illuminati do especially). Some readers may not like this too much.

Platt's attention to detail makes this book a treat for the historical fiction reader who doesn't mind getting a little grubby (1600s Spain does not seem like it would be a particular fun plan to be). Platt does a great job of weaving good history with a compelling story! I will be reviewing the sequel of this book next week and am most definitely looking forward to sharing my thoughts on that book as well.

Follow the Rest of the Tour:

Monday, March 25
Review at A Book Geek (Rocamora)
Tuesday, March 26
Review at A Bookish Affair (Rocamora)
Review at Man of a Book (Rocamora)
Wednesday, March 27
Review at Flashlight Commentary (Rocamora)
Thursday, March 28
Review at Book Addict Katie (Rocamora)
Review at Words and Peace (House of Rocamora)
Friday, March 29
Review at Ageless Pages Reviews (Rocamora)
Monday, April 1
Review at Unabridged Chick (Rocamora)
Tuesday, April 2
Review at Rebel PuritAn (Rocamora)
Wednesday, April 3
Review at Book Dilettante (Rocamora)
Thursday, April 4
Review at A Bookish Affair (House of Rocamora)
Review at Flashlight Commentary (House of Rocamora)
Friday, April 5
Review at Book Dilettante (House of Rocamora)
Monday, April 8
Review at Ageless Pages Reviews (House of Rocamora)
Tuesday, April 9
Review at The Musings of a Book Junkie (Rocamora)
Wednesday, April 10
Review at Man of la Book (House of Rocamora)
Review at Unabridged Chick (House of Rocamora)
Thursday, April 11
Review at Turning the Pages (Rocamora)
Friday, April 12
Review at Broken Teepee (Rocamora)
Monday, April 15
Review at Oh, for the Hook of a Book! (Rocamora)
Tuesday, April 16
Review at So Many Precious Books, So Little Time (Rocamora)
Wednesday, April 17
Review at Layered Pages (Rocamora)
Thursday, April 18
Review at Oh, for the Hook of a Book! (House of Rocamora)
Friday, April 19
Review at Broken Teepee (House of Rocamora)
Review at Confessions of an Avid Reader (Rocamora)