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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
What I Liked
Gregory is a wonderful storyteller. I was wrapped up into the lives of the Tudors (a historical family that I find so fascinating).
I loved seeing Catherine of Aragon as a strong, young figure instead of only the old, unwanted queen. I also enjoyed glimpses of her mother and her incredible historical role. Something I never thought about until reading this novel was the language difficulty when Catherine moved from Spain to England. She was expected to be a royal leader, a wife, and essentially a member of this family - but she couldn't even communicate with them outside of Latin and a little French.
What I Didn't Like
Switching point of views from first person (in italics of all things too) to third person didn't work for me. Instead, it seemed like Gregory couldn't decide if she wanted to tell the story from Catalina's perspective or from an omniscient narrator, so she went with both. I found the perspective switch distracting and the constant italics annoying.
Gregory is a wonderful storyteller. I was wrapped up into the lives of the Tudors (a historical family that I find so fascinating).
I loved seeing Catherine of Aragon as a strong, young figure instead of only the old, unwanted queen. I also enjoyed glimpses of her mother and her incredible historical role. Something I never thought about until reading this novel was the language difficulty when Catherine moved from Spain to England. She was expected to be a royal leader, a wife, and essentially a member of this family - but she couldn't even communicate with them outside of Latin and a little French.
What I Didn't Like
Switching point of views from first person (in italics of all things too) to third person didn't work for me. Instead, it seemed like Gregory couldn't decide if she wanted to tell the story from Catalina's perspective or from an omniscient narrator, so she went with both. I found the perspective switch distracting and the constant italics annoying.
yes, this isn't going to happen. I am really interested in books a little more historically based on Katharine of Aragon but this one is just too...
reflective
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:
Complicated
“i realize that i can laugh, that it is possible to be happy, that laughter and hope can come back to me.”
2.5 Stars
There were only a couple of 3 star worthy moments for me.
There were only a couple of 3 star worthy moments for me.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
I am normally a big fan of Philippa and I have always liked all of her books, however this one reads completely differently then any of the ones she wrote before. There are a lot of diary styled passages, which confused me because I was original drawn to her by the fact the whole book felt like a diary, and when it's not it mentions other people's perspectives so you often find yourself switching between different points of view and it makes the story at times hard to keep up with.
Another thing I didn't like about this book is that the passage of time is not clear, although the dates are written at the beginning of each chapter and timeskips are clearly shown the way in which the story is written reads the same throughout despite the author starting at the Queen being 10 years old and the story spanning almost 20 years. You don't see the character age and so if you're not careful in your mind she stays 10 forever, which is actually how I felt by the time I finished the book and was very surprised to realise that the character has aged.
In this story is was also very clear that it was more fiction then fact, which is something that I have never found with books written by Philippa before and it kind of confused me. I know that the author writes historical fiction but in this case you almost felt like the liberties taken were to far fetched that it made you feel more like you were reading a fictional book about fictional people.
Another thing I didn't like about this book is that the passage of time is not clear, although the dates are written at the beginning of each chapter and timeskips are clearly shown the way in which the story is written reads the same throughout despite the author starting at the Queen being 10 years old and the story spanning almost 20 years. You don't see the character age and so if you're not careful in your mind she stays 10 forever, which is actually how I felt by the time I finished the book and was very surprised to realise that the character has aged.
In this story is was also very clear that it was more fiction then fact, which is something that I have never found with books written by Philippa before and it kind of confused me. I know that the author writes historical fiction but in this case you almost felt like the liberties taken were to far fetched that it made you feel more like you were reading a fictional book about fictional people.
emotional
informative
sad
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