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weez_reads's review against another edition
3.0
This felt like the longest book , I've ever read , while I did enjoy the jist of the story , I got bored with how long it took to get to parts , and the many different view points which was sometimes confusing and so many of them, after reading half the book , I got through the other half by skim reading which I was still managed to get the point of the book.
ashley_connell's review
4.0
The mix of personalities among the Houghton sisters is entertaining. I found myself more interested in the lives of the secondary characters more so than the romance of Lily and Edward. The story progressed rather quickly and there wasn't much depth given to all of the characters but overall it was an enjoyable read.
ajrenshaw99's review
4.0
I really loved this story. The prince who doesn't want to be one and the glimpse into the pressures of a royal life are so interesting. The other characters kept me interested, too.
kelliepalmer's review
3.0
The ending was great (even if part of it was not a happy ending)!! Sadly there were parts of the book that I really had to skip over. The author showed the story through the eyes of many characters. This is something that made the book interesting, but some of the characters I could have done without. I will be honest that I skipped over the parts that involved King and Queen. All the other characters and their stories interested me.
larobb01's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
tanyarobinson's review
4.0
Yep, another first reads win!
Looking at this book purely as a work of fiction, I greatly enjoyed it. Each of the Houghton sisters had her own unique and intriguing personality, and I found myself rooting for every one of them. The plot moved swiftly and I repeatedly read "just one more chapter."
However...Edward VIII was a real person, and I have issues with inserting an entirely fictional romance into his life, especially one that was written to be so life-changing. "The Golden Prince" contains enough real details about Prince Edward, King George and Queen Mary, the political figures of the day, and foreign royal houses to make the reader forget most of the book is made up. In the preface Dean explains that the young Edward did fall in love and want to marry a non-royal (decades before his abdication to marry Wallis Simpson), but the true circumstances were entirely different from Dean's fictional account. A part of me feels she shouldn't have written this book at all, but should have done some original historical research and written about Edward's real romance. Certainly making a story up out of whole cloth is the easy way out. But... another part of me enjoyed the fictionalized novel so much that I'm glad she wrote it. What can I say, the academic and the romantic in me can't see eye to eye on this one!
SPOILER ALERT! Okay, this has been bugging me and I feel the need to add that Dean reveals her lack of deep research when she has Lily and Rory calling banns for their marriage, then worrying that during those 3 weeks Edward would somehow hear of their upcoming nuptials. People of wealth were much more likely to marry by license, which required no waiting period, but required a fee. This was particularly the case with a pregnant bride. Writing in a calling of banns seems an attempt to show a little knowledge of British customs, but in the end reveals how shallow that knowledge actually is.
Looking at this book purely as a work of fiction, I greatly enjoyed it. Each of the Houghton sisters had her own unique and intriguing personality, and I found myself rooting for every one of them. The plot moved swiftly and I repeatedly read "just one more chapter."
However...Edward VIII was a real person, and I have issues with inserting an entirely fictional romance into his life, especially one that was written to be so life-changing. "The Golden Prince" contains enough real details about Prince Edward, King George and Queen Mary, the political figures of the day, and foreign royal houses to make the reader forget most of the book is made up. In the preface Dean explains that the young Edward did fall in love and want to marry a non-royal (decades before his abdication to marry Wallis Simpson), but the true circumstances were entirely different from Dean's fictional account. A part of me feels she shouldn't have written this book at all, but should have done some original historical research and written about Edward's real romance. Certainly making a story up out of whole cloth is the easy way out. But... another part of me enjoyed the fictionalized novel so much that I'm glad she wrote it. What can I say, the academic and the romantic in me can't see eye to eye on this one!
SPOILER ALERT! Okay, this has been bugging me and I feel the need to add that Dean reveals her lack of deep research when she has Lily and Rory calling banns for their marriage, then worrying that during those 3 weeks Edward would somehow hear of their upcoming nuptials. People of wealth were much more likely to marry by license, which required no waiting period, but required a fee. This was particularly the case with a pregnant bride. Writing in a calling of banns seems an attempt to show a little knowledge of British customs, but in the end reveals how shallow that knowledge actually is.
crankylibrarian's review
2.0
With atrocious timing, Dean's historical romance attempts to glorify the callow Edward VIII, well-known to recent moviegoers as the cruel, self-absorbed prat from _The King's Speech-_. No trace of the champagne swilling, responsibility ducking, Nazi courting Edward appears here; instead Dean purports to explain his lifelong aversion to royal life by imagining a tragically thwarted teen love affair, after which Edward was Never The Same.
After nearly running down one of the four lovely Houghton sisters in his motor car a mortified Prince Edward (David to his friends) finds himself welcomed into their friendly unassuming circle and before long he is passionately in love with the youngest sister Lily. Of course it is not to be; no one but the naïve David imagines that the maniacally temperamental King George will ever countenance a non-royal Princess of Wales.
Frankly, David is the least interesting character in the tale bearing his name. Lily’s older sisters: independent suffragette Rose, and scandal-courting Marigold both have far more intriguing subplots, and although the coy historical hint dropping becomes irksome (will Marigold accept a ride on the Titanic?!) it is great fun getting glimpses of historical personages and situations before their destinies became known. In pre WWI England for example, no one has an inkling of the sinister role David’s German “cousin Willy” will soon play, or of the terrible fate awaiting “cousin Nicky” in Russia. More poignantly, the network of royal marriage alliances so crucial to King George would soon become inconsequential, making his rejection of Lily pointless as well as cruel.
Dean has clearly done her research, but it shows mostly in endless descriptions of china patterns and awkward historical asides shoehorned into the dialogue. And frankly, the central character is simply too light weight to sustain a novel.
After nearly running down one of the four lovely Houghton sisters in his motor car a mortified Prince Edward (David to his friends) finds himself welcomed into their friendly unassuming circle and before long he is passionately in love with the youngest sister Lily. Of course it is not to be; no one but the naïve David imagines that the maniacally temperamental King George will ever countenance a non-royal Princess of Wales.
Frankly, David is the least interesting character in the tale bearing his name. Lily’s older sisters: independent suffragette Rose, and scandal-courting Marigold both have far more intriguing subplots, and although the coy historical hint dropping becomes irksome (will Marigold accept a ride on the Titanic?!) it is great fun getting glimpses of historical personages and situations before their destinies became known. In pre WWI England for example, no one has an inkling of the sinister role David’s German “cousin Willy” will soon play, or of the terrible fate awaiting “cousin Nicky” in Russia. More poignantly, the network of royal marriage alliances so crucial to King George would soon become inconsequential, making his rejection of Lily pointless as well as cruel.
Dean has clearly done her research, but it shows mostly in endless descriptions of china patterns and awkward historical asides shoehorned into the dialogue. And frankly, the central character is simply too light weight to sustain a novel.
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