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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I had great expectations for this book, but it’s the first in the series that o struggled to finish.
Did anyone check on Philippa Gregory while she was writing this? Because I'm pretty sure she was NOT okay. It's like she just forgot how to write. I can't believe I'm about to say this, but the show was much better. Skip this book if you're reading the series.
GoodReads lost my review of this book, along with the dates read. So that data couldn't be imported to StoryGraph. Not going to write a review now, years after I rea the book.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I struggled to read this book because I found the plot to be incredibly dull and unexciting. There is also this strange narrative choice to switch between 3rd person and 1st person (and the 1st person narration is in italics as if giving an open invitation to start skimming). I don't really understand why I needed Katherine of Aragon's monologue on a scene I just read.
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think this is my favorite book in this series so far. This is a reread and I enjoyed it immensely the second time around. Poor Katherine but she never stopped fighting.
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A tiny part of me hates myself for buying this audiobook.
The rest of me loves good deals (Audible had the entire series on sale at less than $5/book) and Jill Tanner too much to care.
I've previously read Gregory's books, and while I don't care for them too much (I like her Cousins series "best"), and find her generous leaps with historical figures to be a bit silly sometimes, I really, really love listening to Jill Tanner, the audionarrator for this one.
This particular story is all about Katherine of Aragon, and her torrid love affair with Arthur (yeah, you heard me right), and her maneuvering to marry Henry after Arthur's death, and then what she thought she had to do to keep her throne. The story seems to suddenly run out of steam towards the end - it just suddenly skips from their young life to the divorce trial (the "King's Great Matter"). The story switches between third person to first person without warning (always as Katherine as the first person narrator), which can be jarring. There are some leaps, both in time and historical fancies, and the story seems a bit overwrought.
I always find it interesting when younger people are written way older and wiser than they seem they should be and/or older people seemed to have not aged/changed. One does not necessarily get wiser, but one does tend to go through some kind of change as one gets older.
Anyway, if you know the basic history (which yes, there's still plenty of speculation going on there) behind the story of Henry VIII and his wives (and European history at about this time in general), then it's a fun trashy book. Just don't take it too seriously.
And don't expect very good writing.
The rest of me loves good deals (Audible had the entire series on sale at less than $5/book) and Jill Tanner too much to care.
I've previously read Gregory's books, and while I don't care for them too much (I like her Cousins series "best"), and find her generous leaps with historical figures to be a bit silly sometimes, I really, really love listening to Jill Tanner, the audionarrator for this one.
This particular story is all about Katherine of Aragon, and her torrid love affair with Arthur (yeah, you heard me right), and her maneuvering to marry Henry after Arthur's death, and then what she thought she had to do to keep her throne. The story seems to suddenly run out of steam towards the end - it just suddenly skips from their young life to the divorce trial (the "King's Great Matter"). The story switches between third person to first person without warning (always as Katherine as the first person narrator), which can be jarring. There are some leaps, both in time and historical fancies, and the story seems a bit overwrought.
I always find it interesting when younger people are written way older and wiser than they seem they should be and/or older people seemed to have not aged/changed. One does not necessarily get wiser, but one does tend to go through some kind of change as one gets older.
Anyway, if you know the basic history (which yes, there's still plenty of speculation going on there) behind the story of Henry VIII and his wives (and European history at about this time in general), then it's a fun trashy book. Just don't take it too seriously.
And don't expect very good writing.