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naomimg's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
popelc6's review against another edition
3.0
Just a little too messy for me - even with great familiarity with the players, I found myself getting lost in the audiobook as to whose story was up at the moment.
spinstah's review against another edition
4.0
This is my favorite era for historical fiction, mostly because there was so much going on in the English court that there's an excellent backdrop of real drama. Weir certainly doesn't disappoint here, and I thought she did a fabulous job of this, including a brief section of notes at the end that describes what's based in history and where she took liberties (she's a scholar of the period). I did have trouble keeping the two Kates straight some times, and this was compounded by a typical ebook problem of not being able to actually read the family trees in the front of the book. It was very interesting to compare and contrast these two young women, though, as they make decisions that will have huge impacts on their lives and the lives of those around them. Kate Plantagenet in particular was a frustrating character for that reason, but this is part of what makes it all so believable. If you enjoy reading about this period I would encourage you to pick this up when it comes out (I read it as a galley).
susannavs's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 Enjoyed this look at who killed the Princes in the Tower. As usual, keeping tracking of who's who can be tricky, but doesn't detract from the book.
annieb85's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars I am not quite sure why I didn't love this book, but I couldn't quite get into it. It took me almost a full month to read it and it's not a long book by any means. I wasn't really grabbed by either storyline, so it was a bit of a struggle to get through. I can kind of understand what Weir was going for in the parallel Katherines and I can appreciate that, but it didn't quite work for me. I was really hoping to love this book as I really enjoyed her other novel, Innocent Traitor, but I was a bit dissapointed. I still give this book 3.5 stars because it was well written and full of interesting information, and in comparison to other historical fiction that I've read it's very good, just not quite up to Weir's standards.
bookworm_eliz's review against another edition
3.0
3.5⭐️ Alison Weir continues to be one of my favorite HF authors. Here I discovered two new characters of the War of the Roses and Tudor era whom to be witnesses of some of the biggest turning points of the British monarchy that are mostly unknown. Would’ve given 4 stars if 100 pages less and this was a solid, commuted read.
cammmiam's review against another edition
3.0
A well-written work of historical fiction that follows the lives of Lady Katherine Grey and Katherine Plantagenet. In order to draw the stories of both women (who lived at different times) together, the author has them dig into the mystery of what happened to the Princes in the Tower.
While I enjoyed reading this I was also disappointed with the light that was placed upon Richard III. History has not been kind to this monarch nor is Weir's decision of who to blame for the missing princes. A Richard sympathizer such as myself did not like the conclusions that were drawn.