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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
I just finished reading The Other Boleyn Girl. And, I loved it!! I am really looking forward to reading more of Philippa Gregory's historical fiction. I was enthralled with the story of Anne Boleyn and more importantly, but lesser known, her sister, Mary. Really, really good read.
This story focuses mostly on the fluffy romance of the Henry VIII/Boleyn reign, but it is quite enjoyable if you don't try to analyze the historical accuracy too much. (However, I'm a historian, so I'll probably go dig out my British history books now to see if it all checks out.)
Totally quick read - but fun and trashy - some interesting (don't know if they are accurate...) observations about the court during that time....
Absolutely loved this book. It's as juicy as chic lit, but without the guilt! Amazing when you consider that this is based on history.
dark
sad
medium-paced
This book was recommended to me, but I won't be recommending it to anyone. The Characters were impossible to relate to and no one changed. Mary spent a lot of time complaining, but only reacted to what arrived at her doorstep rather than making any changes. Any of the characters who were redeeming were one dimensional.
It effectively characterizes courtly life in Tudor England, however would only be worth reading for that if the 700 pages were condensed to 200 pages. I only finished because of a book club discussion.
It effectively characterizes courtly life in Tudor England, however would only be worth reading for that if the 700 pages were condensed to 200 pages. I only finished because of a book club discussion.
This book was absolutely wonderful. Full of rich imagery and a nice duality of heavy emotion and no emotion at all in most of the characters. Very neat complex characters, who unravel very slowly, but in the end I really appreciated the pace of this novel. I really liked Mary & William's subplot in the novel, and was disappointed that this was missing from the film adaptation. It's spicy!
The writing wasn't stellar (at times I felt like she used the same sentence over and over), but it was a fun read that I couldn't put down.
Sex, power, ambition, deceit, royalty - what's not to love? It's fiction - so maybe next I should also read a historical account of the actual events - but for now this is fun and entertaining.