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magdon's review against another edition
2.0
Seemed like a lot of build up and possibility for a very standard payoff. Although I did find the idea of Richard III's daughter interesting since I didn't know of her.
katemarlowe's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Being related to the crown sounds like a dream. The parties, the fancy clothing…the intrigue, and bonus, you don’t have the pressure of ruling the country. But sadly, this could be the most dangerous position to be in. Alison Weir gives us a fantastic retelling in A Dangerous Inheritance where we see 4 children in our history who were too close to the crown to be comfortable. Their status was a threat to the reigning monarchs and as a result they were imprisoned in the Tower, never to be heard from again. Sharing the same room throughout a century, we get a highlight of the birth of the Tudor Dynasty and the lives of the children who suffered so others could keep their power. Weir delivers a well-studied piece of history, filling in the gaps with her education and background in European History. I loved seeing the viewpoints of these historical figures, who were in their teen years attempting to fight for their lives.
drowninginhistory's review against another edition
4.0
A new favorite in Wars of the Roses historical fiction! There were some things I didn’t like and plenty of events felt glossed over but at its heart, it was just so enjoyable. There’s something to be said for reading a book set in a period you know so well and yet still being compelled to find out what happens next.
persikan_05's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bristoni74's review against another edition
2.0
Whilst not in the same category as Sharon Penman who is a brilliant writer of fictional medieval Britian I do enjoy Alison Weir as both a non-fiction and historical fiction author. I thought she provided a balanced view of Richard III. The dual story line of Katherine and Kate didn't always work but I enjoyed reading about their lives even though tragic :(
novellenovels's review against another edition
challenging
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
olafindisguise's review against another edition
1.0
I have to admit I got bored somewhere around page 261 and started skimming through it.
What was the point of switching back and forth to each Katherine's story every other page? There wasn't much of a connection between their stories! It was frustrating af: You read a couple pages on Katherine Grey, you're beginning to get into the storyline, then suddenly Katherine Plantagenet's narrative begins and you just have to adapt to the sudden change of characters and plotline. Oh and good luck trying to remember which character belonged to which storyline! Total mess!
Also it didn't help that both of the main girls had the personality of a sandal shoe! There was no character development either. I weep for the time and money I spent on it.
What was the point of switching back and forth to each Katherine's story every other page? There wasn't much of a connection between their stories! It was frustrating af: You read a couple pages on Katherine Grey, you're beginning to get into the storyline, then suddenly Katherine Plantagenet's narrative begins and you just have to adapt to the sudden change of characters and plotline. Oh and good luck trying to remember which character belonged to which storyline! Total mess!
Also it didn't help that both of the main girls had the personality of a sandal shoe! There was no character development either. I weep for the time and money I spent on it.
blue_squishie's review against another edition
3.0
I really loved Innocent Traitor, when Weir wrote her first historical fiction novel, but I found Captive Queen to be a bit of a drag, so it took me a while to get to this book and off my to-read list.
The book is told from two perspectives in two different, yet similar time periods. Both are named Katherine, but one is the sister of Lady Jane Grey, and the other is the illegitimate daughter of the infamous Richard III. I feel a little mislead by the synopsis, as it definitely refers to the story concerning the lost Princes in the Tower, so I thought part of the story would be their point of view, but their characters never really came up. I also found the resolution of the whole affair slightly unsatisfying, but that's also true of the historical story.
Until about 2/3 of the way through the book, I kept forgetting which Katherine was Katherine, and which one was Kate...until I told myself that Kate was the "baseborn" one and she gets the less classy name.
As is usual in these similarly structured books, I tend to gravitate towards one storyline or POV than the other. In this case, I definitely preferred reading Katherine Grey's timeline, partially because I kept waiting for it to get to the point where Jane was queen, and then imprisoned. Also, I found Kate's constant defending of her father and shunning her step mother for daring to question him really, really annoying. Katherine also veered towards the annoying, especially in the later time when she allowed herself to be used by the Spanish and was rather wishy-washy about everything.
These are the things that stuck with me the most while reading, but I did really enjoy this novel, and it's one of the few full-length novels that I've been able to finish in a while, so I take that as a positive on the read-ability scale.
The book is told from two perspectives in two different, yet similar time periods. Both are named Katherine, but one is the sister of Lady Jane Grey, and the other is the illegitimate daughter of the infamous Richard III. I feel a little mislead by the synopsis, as it definitely refers to the story concerning the lost Princes in the Tower, so I thought part of the story would be their point of view, but their characters never really came up. I also found the resolution of the whole affair slightly unsatisfying, but that's also true of the historical story.
Until about 2/3 of the way through the book, I kept forgetting which Katherine was Katherine, and which one was Kate...until I told myself that Kate was the "baseborn" one and she gets the less classy name.
As is usual in these similarly structured books, I tend to gravitate towards one storyline or POV than the other. In this case, I definitely preferred reading Katherine Grey's timeline, partially because I kept waiting for it to get to the point where Jane was queen, and then imprisoned. Also, I found Kate's constant defending of her father and shunning her step mother for daring to question him really, really annoying. Katherine also veered towards the annoying, especially in the later time when she allowed herself to be used by the Spanish and was rather wishy-washy about everything.
These are the things that stuck with me the most while reading, but I did really enjoy this novel, and it's one of the few full-length novels that I've been able to finish in a while, so I take that as a positive on the read-ability scale.
lostinagoodread's review against another edition
3.0
This review and others can be found on Cozy Up With A Good Read
When I saw this book I was overwhelmed, it was huge, coming in over 500 pages and I was nervous about how long it would take me to get through it. I was quite surprised at the story, that I actually found myself continually wanting to pick this book up after putting it down. I really wanted to know what the characters would do next.
Weir takes an interesting tactic with her writing, going back and forth between the two Katherines and really bringing them together. I loved how these two different stories were so similar in many ways. I really enjoyed going back and forth between the two different time periods to see the differences but how many things were similar as well. The story of these two girls with such different lives was interesting, each with their own ties to the throne, and both ending up as threats in different ways.
I did have a few issues when reading this story, the main one being that at certain parts the story becomes dry and very slow going. I understand that not everything in history is entertaining, but I felt like so much was described in the story that was not absolutely necessary, making the novel longer than need be. I also found that there were a few times in the book that the section cut off a little too quickly. I ended up enjoying the length of the book because I found that I was able to watch each of the characters' grow and change and it really gave me more time with each of them.
Weir describes every detail of each of the Katherines' lives giving readers an understanding of their thoughts and feelings. She really puts her readers in the characters' shoes so that they can get a deep understanding. Kate and Katherine each have a unique voice so that it is easy to tell who you are with at certain times.
The story was intriguing and I really enjoyed the mystery behind it, each girl trying to find out the fate of the two boy princes locked up in the tower. Each of the girls has a tactic but are told different stories behind the imprisonment of these two young boys. If you enjoy historical fiction books, this is definitely the book for you. Through her writing you can tell Weir did a lot of research for this book, with the extensive details given, she does write a lengthy author's note explaining some of the liberties she took with the story but noting that everything that she writes about did happen and is documented.
When I saw this book I was overwhelmed, it was huge, coming in over 500 pages and I was nervous about how long it would take me to get through it. I was quite surprised at the story, that I actually found myself continually wanting to pick this book up after putting it down. I really wanted to know what the characters would do next.
Weir takes an interesting tactic with her writing, going back and forth between the two Katherines and really bringing them together. I loved how these two different stories were so similar in many ways. I really enjoyed going back and forth between the two different time periods to see the differences but how many things were similar as well. The story of these two girls with such different lives was interesting, each with their own ties to the throne, and both ending up as threats in different ways.
I did have a few issues when reading this story, the main one being that at certain parts the story becomes dry and very slow going. I understand that not everything in history is entertaining, but I felt like so much was described in the story that was not absolutely necessary, making the novel longer than need be. I also found that there were a few times in the book that the section cut off a little too quickly. I ended up enjoying the length of the book because I found that I was able to watch each of the characters' grow and change and it really gave me more time with each of them.
Weir describes every detail of each of the Katherines' lives giving readers an understanding of their thoughts and feelings. She really puts her readers in the characters' shoes so that they can get a deep understanding. Kate and Katherine each have a unique voice so that it is easy to tell who you are with at certain times.
The story was intriguing and I really enjoyed the mystery behind it, each girl trying to find out the fate of the two boy princes locked up in the tower. Each of the girls has a tactic but are told different stories behind the imprisonment of these two young boys. If you enjoy historical fiction books, this is definitely the book for you. Through her writing you can tell Weir did a lot of research for this book, with the extensive details given, she does write a lengthy author's note explaining some of the liberties she took with the story but noting that everything that she writes about did happen and is documented.