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369 reviews for:
Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family
Omid Scobie, Carolyn Durand
3.25 AVERAGE
369 reviews for:
Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family
Omid Scobie, Carolyn Durand
3.25 AVERAGE
informative
medium-paced
“Finding Freedom” is a book that in its own right to me felt like I was reading many Daily Mail articles. To go off of that I am a royal family junkie and read said Daily Mail articles. Yet I also feel like this was also written way better than any tabloid articles and while it felt like i was reading that in this book it was a good read. A good but frustrating read. Frustrating because I definitely remember all of this mostly from their engagement being announced forward and all of the issues they, mostly Meghan, went through. I do believe it was wrong of the British tabloids to say what they said about her and it was interesting to read more in depth in a way from the sources how it impacted her and Harry. To say the royal family treated this all wrong is a fair thing to say but quoting this book that a source said about Meghan and Harry that they are “impatient and impulsive” is very true. How they treated the royal family, especially towards the end was so wrong when they launched their site out of the blue. That being said I found how the book was written and laid out the timeline of their relationship very intriguing. Probably at some points it was a little cheesy in the sense of structure, but other than that it’s your typical gossip novel on the royal family. If you expect a historical fact checked book don’t bother. 3/5 stars because of this. 2 stars probably would be better but 3 is very generous for the type of book it is.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Eh. A lot was already speculated/ known from gossip blogs, and obviously the authors still have to work with the Royals so they’re not gonna give good dirt, but it was enjoyable enough. I liked the glimpse behind the scenes, even if I’m still wondering what really went down. Vague stories about lack of support from other households isn’t really groundbreaking.
2/5
This book definitely paints the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in a good light; and why shouldn’t it? It’s their unauthorized authorized biography! (Unauthorized in the sense that members of the Royal Family cannot write biographies and authorized in the sense that they were consulted on it).
I have no doubt that some of the information is true. But there is a lot that I believe to be untrue, impossible for the authors to know (how do they know what members of the Royal Family were thinking?), and skewed to make the Duke and Duchess of Sussex look like angels and the rest of the Royal Family like heartless people. Something nasty was implied about nearly every single senior Royal (except for Queen Elizabeth II).
I didn’t expect much from this biography novel, but I didn’t expect the hate-fest that we were given.
I gave the book 2 stars because there were some insider details that were interesting to hear about.
This book definitely paints the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in a good light; and why shouldn’t it? It’s their unauthorized authorized biography! (Unauthorized in the sense that members of the Royal Family cannot write biographies and authorized in the sense that they were consulted on it).
I have no doubt that some of the information is true. But there is a lot that I believe to be untrue, impossible for the authors to know (how do they know what members of the Royal Family were thinking?), and skewed to make the Duke and Duchess of Sussex look like angels and the rest of the Royal Family like heartless people. Something nasty was implied about nearly every single senior Royal (except for Queen Elizabeth II).
I didn’t expect much from this
I gave the book 2 stars because there were some insider details that were interesting to hear about.
This book is actually 4 stars for me but scanning the reviews I see a bunch of racist Meghan haters came in with 1 star reviews, so I’m giving it 5 stars here.
There were probably all of 3 new things I learned from this book but as someone who is obsessed with royals and wishes nothing but the best for Harry and Meghan, it was an enjoyable read.
There were probably all of 3 new things I learned from this book but as someone who is obsessed with royals and wishes nothing but the best for Harry and Meghan, it was an enjoyable read.
inspiring
medium-paced
I have a tough time with memoirs. Though it is interesting to hear about the stories of other’s experiences in life, I just ugh... this story was interesting, but not really. To be honest, it was exactly as I expected... there was nothing shocking about it, nothing that truly caught my attention. Most of the information in the book is also information that was posted in the media. I wish the story wound have been written by Harry or Meghan themselves, instead of an outside source. I think it would have been nice to get some true perspective instead of interpretations of interviews. Just my opinion! Many people have said they love this one... just not for me.
Finding Freedom tells the story of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (aka Meghan and Harry) from when they met until they made the decision to pursue independence from the royal family. I listened to the audiobook and got a daily dose of the author’s British accent which was a treat.
My entire experience listening to this audiobook was swinging on a mental pendulum between “oh wow poor little rich monarchs have such a hard life” and “oh wow I am fully obsessed with the Sussexes I guess I am a royal watcher now”. And that seems to be Meghan and Harry’s entire experience with the public now doesn’t it? Obsession and fascination intertwined with disdain and often outright hatred.
The Goodreads reviews are brutal for this book so the hate clearly lives on, but I mostly enjoyed it and thought it was a fun listen.
Most of all Finding Freedom helped me build background knowledge on the British Royal Family so I can finally watch The Crown and not feel completely confused the entire time. Books are the best.
My entire experience listening to this audiobook was swinging on a mental pendulum between “oh wow poor little rich monarchs have such a hard life” and “oh wow I am fully obsessed with the Sussexes I guess I am a royal watcher now”. And that seems to be Meghan and Harry’s entire experience with the public now doesn’t it? Obsession and fascination intertwined with disdain and often outright hatred.
The Goodreads reviews are brutal for this book so the hate clearly lives on, but I mostly enjoyed it and thought it was a fun listen.
Most of all Finding Freedom helped me build background knowledge on the British Royal Family so I can finally watch The Crown and not feel completely confused the entire time. Books are the best.
Good? It wasn’t particularly surprising, and was a very scrubbed account I feel. I’m not quite sure the authors are entirely reliable.