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tamzy6's review against another edition
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Philippa Gregory's trademark style of flicking in between perspectives is very visible here. Whilst I like the premise and concept of Gregory's books and and I appreciate narratives about women, in this case the narrative and characters felt a bit one-dimensional to me as they don't stray too far from certain archetypes, e.g. Mary Stuart the manipulative victim, George Talbot the lovesick fool, and Bess Hardwick the shrewd accountant.
Granted these are based on historical events and there are some facts about history you can't change unless you're writing pure speculative fiction, but I felt that Gregory still relied too much on the archetypes without showing room for character development. It feels like the events happened to them rather than them living it.
Interestingly, it has been 6 years since I read my last Philippa Gregory book and picking them up now has made me realise that perhaps I've outgrown this series. Not a criticism, after all, I've read more of her books than possibly any other author (not counting Enid Blyton) in recent memory.
Granted these are based on historical events and there are some facts about history you can't change unless you're writing pure speculative fiction, but I felt that Gregory still relied too much on the archetypes without showing room for character development. It feels like the events happened to them rather than them living it.
Interestingly, it has been 6 years since I read my last Philippa Gregory book and picking them up now has made me realise that perhaps I've outgrown this series. Not a criticism, after all, I've read more of her books than possibly any other author (not counting Enid Blyton) in recent memory.
1000unreadpages's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
laurendeen's review against another edition
DNF at 40%
I was just so bored and I'd been trying to read this for nearly 3 months
I was just so bored and I'd been trying to read this for nearly 3 months
carriesouthard's review against another edition
3.0
This series has been some of my favorite books. I put a big pause on reading them because this one, about Mary Queen of Scots, was the one I was looking forward to the most so I didn’t want to read it and wanted to save it. I know… I’m weird. Ha.
Anyway- this book was so disappointing compared to the other 14 previous books in this series. I expected so much more as the life of Mary Queen of Scots is one of my favorite historical stories to learn about. I expected a lot more of Francis and her life in France since this series has been mostly romance based. However, this story is more about her life in captivity so it is not as interesting and honestly gets kind of boring in a lot of parts.
So if you savor your GOOD books like I do, go ahead and read this one. So far it is the 15th best out of the 16 in this series. I have one left now and I’m a bit afraid to dive into it after reading this one…
Anyway- this book was so disappointing compared to the other 14 previous books in this series. I expected so much more as the life of Mary Queen of Scots is one of my favorite historical stories to learn about. I expected a lot more of Francis and her life in France since this series has been mostly romance based. However, this story is more about her life in captivity so it is not as interesting and honestly gets kind of boring in a lot of parts.
So if you savor your GOOD books like I do, go ahead and read this one. So far it is the 15th best out of the 16 in this series. I have one left now and I’m a bit afraid to dive into it after reading this one…
jbabiarz's review against another edition
3.0
Not as good as The Other Boleyn Girl, but entertaining.
jansbookcorner's review against another edition
2.0
A real disappointment. I once enjoyed Philippa Gregory books. This is the second one in a row that just hasn't hit the right notes with me.
emilybenz5's review against another edition
2.0
Altough I did enjoy learning about the experiences of Mary Queen of Scots, I defintely did not think this book was as good as Gregory's other books about Tudor England. I was somewhat disappointed, as this story did not captivate me like the others did.