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colleenlovestoread's review against another edition
5.0
Note: I listened to the audiobook version of this novel.
When I read Blood Between Queens, the fifth book in the Thornleigh series, I was hooked! Being a huge fan of any novels that take place during Tudor times I was happy to see the well known history shown from the perspective of this fictional yet very real feeling family that have been tangled up in the world of the court since the beginning of Henry VIII's rule. But starting the series on book five brought up just as many questions as were answered. What brought these captivating people into the vicious world of the Tudor court? How had the family rivalry affecting our main heroine come to be? That being said, when I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook version of the first novel in the series, The Queen's Lady, I jumped at the chance. And, I'm happy to say, I was not disappointed!
The Queen's Lady tells the story of Honor Larke, a young heiress that becomes the ward of Thomas More after a horrific kidnapping and rescue. Under the tutelage of More, Honor grows to become an intelligent and caring young woman, firm in the belief that her guardian can do no wrong. That is until he does...
As a lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Aragon, Honor is astounded to see the great Henry VIII try and thrust his devout and loving wife aside for the brash and grasping Anne Boleyn. Deciding to do all she can for her mistress, Honor begins carrying letters from the Queen to her allies. As she gets deeper and deeper involved, often putting her own life in danger, she begins to question everything she grew up believing, including the teachings of More. Her beliefs are further confounded when she begins working with Richard Thornleigh, a daring and reckless man who at first annoys Honor to no end but ends up winning her heart. As their relationship continues to evolve Honor must decide what is most important to her: the good she can do by continuing her work as a spy or the love and home Richard can provide for her?
Honor is such a wonderful character, full of spunk, bravery and humor. I loved watching her continue to struggle with her political and religious beliefs as well as her complicated love with Richard Thornleigh. I now feel like I have a good bases for the series and cannot wait to read the next three books in the series and any other that come after that.
When I read Blood Between Queens, the fifth book in the Thornleigh series, I was hooked! Being a huge fan of any novels that take place during Tudor times I was happy to see the well known history shown from the perspective of this fictional yet very real feeling family that have been tangled up in the world of the court since the beginning of Henry VIII's rule. But starting the series on book five brought up just as many questions as were answered. What brought these captivating people into the vicious world of the Tudor court? How had the family rivalry affecting our main heroine come to be? That being said, when I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook version of the first novel in the series, The Queen's Lady, I jumped at the chance. And, I'm happy to say, I was not disappointed!
The Queen's Lady tells the story of Honor Larke, a young heiress that becomes the ward of Thomas More after a horrific kidnapping and rescue. Under the tutelage of More, Honor grows to become an intelligent and caring young woman, firm in the belief that her guardian can do no wrong. That is until he does...
As a lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Aragon, Honor is astounded to see the great Henry VIII try and thrust his devout and loving wife aside for the brash and grasping Anne Boleyn. Deciding to do all she can for her mistress, Honor begins carrying letters from the Queen to her allies. As she gets deeper and deeper involved, often putting her own life in danger, she begins to question everything she grew up believing, including the teachings of More. Her beliefs are further confounded when she begins working with Richard Thornleigh, a daring and reckless man who at first annoys Honor to no end but ends up winning her heart. As their relationship continues to evolve Honor must decide what is most important to her: the good she can do by continuing her work as a spy or the love and home Richard can provide for her?
Honor is such a wonderful character, full of spunk, bravery and humor. I loved watching her continue to struggle with her political and religious beliefs as well as her complicated love with Richard Thornleigh. I now feel like I have a good bases for the series and cannot wait to read the next three books in the series and any other that come after that.
shanijeanius's review against another edition
4.0
I got as far as a critical plot twist, and then it fell apart for me. I don't think I can pick it back up.
Updated: After several months, I found I was ready to come back to this book. It's still a little /harrowing/ for me, if I want that much excitement, I'll read George R. R. Martin. But I found the discussion of theology and the motivations behind the characters interesting, if not precisely realistic. But why do we read, then, if not to escape a bit.
Updated: After several months, I found I was ready to come back to this book. It's still a little /harrowing/ for me, if I want that much excitement, I'll read George R. R. Martin. But I found the discussion of theology and the motivations behind the characters interesting, if not precisely realistic. But why do we read, then, if not to escape a bit.
abookishaffair's review against another edition
4.0
3.5. Oh Tudor England, how I heart you! I always think that I'm going to get sick of Tudor England and because of books like The Queen's Lady, I have not hit that point yet. This book takes place just as good ol' Henry the VIII is tiring of Catherine of Aragon and wants to marry the infamous Anne Boleyn. Honor, the main character in this book, is the fictional ward of Sir Thomas More who becomes one of Catherine's loyal confidantes and is charged with taking secret correspondence from Catherine out of England as well as getting some others out of the country as well once Catherine's place at court is unassured.
I really liked Honor. I typically like my historical fiction to be about real people so I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about the book since Honor was a fictional character. She won me over though. She's a really strong character who is willing to take a lot of risks in order to crusade for what she believes in. You definitely have to appreciate that about her.
There is a lot of good historical detail in the book. I liked the discussions about the changing religion in England at the time. You get a lot of insight into Henry VIII's decision to break away from the Catholic church.
There were a couple things that I didn't care for. This is a fairly long book (500+) pages and sometimes it felt like it kind of got bogged down in detail. I felt like some of it could have been cut out. I also didn't care for some of the timing in the book. Each section of the book had a time period but each chapter did not so it was sort of hard to follow how much time had passed between different events in the book.
Bottom line: Overall, this is a very interesting story about Tudor England.
I really liked Honor. I typically like my historical fiction to be about real people so I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about the book since Honor was a fictional character. She won me over though. She's a really strong character who is willing to take a lot of risks in order to crusade for what she believes in. You definitely have to appreciate that about her.
There is a lot of good historical detail in the book. I liked the discussions about the changing religion in England at the time. You get a lot of insight into Henry VIII's decision to break away from the Catholic church.
There were a couple things that I didn't care for. This is a fairly long book (500+) pages and sometimes it felt like it kind of got bogged down in detail. I felt like some of it could have been cut out. I also didn't care for some of the timing in the book. Each section of the book had a time period but each chapter did not so it was sort of hard to follow how much time had passed between different events in the book.
Bottom line: Overall, this is a very interesting story about Tudor England.
mimsy42's review against another edition
2.0
This historical fiction set during Henry VIII's second marriage wasn't bad, but I just couldn't get that interested in the main character. I skipped the last third. If you want historical fiction about this time period, read Wolf Hall.
artemishi's review against another edition
5.0
This is a lovely historical fiction, featuring a fierce (passionate, but also realistically flawed) heroine in early 1500s England. Although the story of Henry VIII and his many wives has been done to death, I found the focus of this story on the religious wars and figures like Sit Thomas More, Cromwell, and Erasmus to be fascinating.
Several times, I found myself mentally yelling at Honor for seeing what she wants to, instead of what's real- but her story arc is also developed along those lines, so when she came to her understanding I was cheering for her. Richard is dreamy, although he has his temper and limits, which made him feel more like a realistic man than a plot device.
I'm not sure if any of the exploits are unrealistic, but they didn't feel unrealistic while reading them. My suspension of disbelief was firmly in place, as the action of the plot kept me too engage to question whether things like this ever happened in the 1500s. And that's a feat, because I am a doubter by nature.
I highly recommend this one to fans of historic fiction, Tudor England, the religious wars of England and Europe (although it's a brutal, gritty, disturbing thing to read), fierce female protagonists, and stories with lovely romance in them (when the story isn't solely about the romance).
Several times, I found myself mentally yelling at Honor for seeing what she wants to, instead of what's real- but her story arc is also developed along those lines, so when she came to her understanding I was cheering for her. Richard is dreamy, although he has his temper and limits, which made him feel more like a realistic man than a plot device.
I'm not sure if any of the exploits are unrealistic, but they didn't feel unrealistic while reading them. My suspension of disbelief was firmly in place, as the action of the plot kept me too engage to question whether things like this ever happened in the 1500s. And that's a feat, because I am a doubter by nature.
I highly recommend this one to fans of historic fiction, Tudor England, the religious wars of England and Europe (although it's a brutal, gritty, disturbing thing to read), fierce female protagonists, and stories with lovely romance in them (when the story isn't solely about the romance).
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