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meggkey08's review against another edition
1.0
I would not recommend this if you are looking for something regarding Katherine Howard. Not told in the best way and the characters were not very likeable.
emmarowlands's review against another edition
emotional
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
vikingwolf's review against another edition
1.0
This is going to be the last book I read by this author if she chooses to publish more. So far I have given the three books 1, 2 and 3 stars and this one is back down again. It is the story of a 'friend' of Katherine Howard who knew her as they grew up together and came to serve her at Court. It focuses much more on the relationship between both girls and Frances Dereham than Katherine as Queen, which was disappointing.
Character development is non existant. Katherine Howard is an unpleasant, cold, snotty bitch through the early book, leaving her totally unlikable. When you are meant to feel sympathy for her, you just can't find any. The only thing that kept me going was knowing Katherine was going to the block herself. This book paints Katherine as villan not victim, which may or may not be true depending on which non fiction authors you choose to read but for a fiction story to have her so unpleasant goes against all written opinions of her. The most fascinating woman in Tudor history if you don't count Anne Boleyn, is Jane Rochford who hardly gets any time from the author, which is a real shame. In the early stages of the book, Katherine and Cat barely speak two words to each other and are hardly friends yet suddenly at Court they are BFF's and sharing dangerous secrets! I did not find this particularly believable. Henry Mannox is quite important to her downfall but he barely seems relevant with the way he was written. Even Thomas Culpepper is just a shadow of a character who should have been much more in the story.
The plot showing Katherine lying to save herself and sending Frances Dereham to the block, and Cat betraying her to save Frances was interesting enough but it was too little too late. There was too much useless waffle about Katherine arriving at the Dowager Duchess' house and how she changed things and who she fancied and fought with, and the boring thoughts of Cat and Jo. It was surprisingly dull stuff considering the real Katherine's antics at this time were a huge scandal for a girl her age. Somehow the author manages to turn the potentially exciting investigation into Katherine into something dull and lacklustre by having Frances saying 'I'm off to get questioned' and then Cat sits about all day waiting to see him then he appears and hardly says anything about what happened and off they go to bed. Yawn! The writing was boring, repetitive and unimaginative.
The modern language used in her books seems to upset a lot of Tudor fans but it doesn't really bother me one way or another to be honest. But I do hate the fact that she will not use the proper names for characters, preferring 'modern versions'.
If you want to read good stories about Katherine Howard I suggest you read 'The Boleyn Inheritance' by Philippa Gregory or 'The Tudor Wife' by Emily Purdy.
Character development is non existant. Katherine Howard is an unpleasant, cold, snotty bitch through the early book, leaving her totally unlikable. When you are meant to feel sympathy for her, you just can't find any. The only thing that kept me going was knowing Katherine was going to the block herself. This book paints Katherine as villan not victim, which may or may not be true depending on which non fiction authors you choose to read but for a fiction story to have her so unpleasant goes against all written opinions of her. The most fascinating woman in Tudor history if you don't count Anne Boleyn, is Jane Rochford who hardly gets any time from the author, which is a real shame. In the early stages of the book, Katherine and Cat barely speak two words to each other and are hardly friends yet suddenly at Court they are BFF's and sharing dangerous secrets! I did not find this particularly believable. Henry Mannox is quite important to her downfall but he barely seems relevant with the way he was written. Even Thomas Culpepper is just a shadow of a character who should have been much more in the story.
The plot showing Katherine lying to save herself and sending Frances Dereham to the block, and Cat betraying her to save Frances was interesting enough but it was too little too late. There was too much useless waffle about Katherine arriving at the Dowager Duchess' house and how she changed things and who she fancied and fought with, and the boring thoughts of Cat and Jo. It was surprisingly dull stuff considering the real Katherine's antics at this time were a huge scandal for a girl her age. Somehow the author manages to turn the potentially exciting investigation into Katherine into something dull and lacklustre by having Frances saying 'I'm off to get questioned' and then Cat sits about all day waiting to see him then he appears and hardly says anything about what happened and off they go to bed. Yawn! The writing was boring, repetitive and unimaginative.
The modern language used in her books seems to upset a lot of Tudor fans but it doesn't really bother me one way or another to be honest. But I do hate the fact that she will not use the proper names for characters, preferring 'modern versions'.
If you want to read good stories about Katherine Howard I suggest you read 'The Boleyn Inheritance' by Philippa Gregory or 'The Tudor Wife' by Emily Purdy.
margaret21's review against another edition
3.0
I'd have this down as a good holiday read. The story of the short reign of Katherine Howard, wife of Henry VIII in succession to poor old Ann of Cleves is told by her equally young companion Cat, in chatty, gossipy style. The lives of young women from 'good' families, sent to finish their education and improve their marriage prospects by living in even better families, are well described, and though we know the unhappy outcome of the tale even before we pick the book up, Cat keeps up the suspense. Suzannah Dunne's done her homework, but her telling of this story never feels like a history lesson. Perfect light reading.
thelaurasaurus's review against another edition
3.0
The two main character in this book, Katherine Howard and Cat Tilney, are some of the least sympathetic characters I've come across. It remained a mystery to me why they'd become friends in the first place, and what anybody could possibly see in them romantically. At times I wanted to scream at Cat to man up and stand up to Katherine, pointing out the consequences of her actions to others as well as herself.
One thing I came away wondering is how on earth Henry VIII could be so ridiculous about his wives. Did he seriously go rushing from one wife to the next, leaving someone else to deal with the fallout when he got his head turned by someone new. Maybe he needed to man up as well.
While I seem to be a bit angry about this book and the people within, it was an enjoyable read, if not a mind glowingly exciting story.
One thing I came away wondering is how on earth Henry VIII could be so ridiculous about his wives. Did he seriously go rushing from one wife to the next, leaving someone else to deal with the fallout when he got his head turned by someone new. Maybe he needed to man up as well.
While I seem to be a bit angry about this book and the people within, it was an enjoyable read, if not a mind glowingly exciting story.
zoeeann's review against another edition
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
helenephoebe's review against another edition
1.0
Review - The story would have been better being written from Katherine Howard's point of view rather than a minor character in the story, who doesn't seem to have all the detail. Katherine Howard's story is an intriguing one but this book doesn't do it justice because it takes place on the fringes rather than in the middle of the action. Katherine doesn't seem to develop at all, and neither does the narrator, who seems oblivious to what is going on around her. I think this book is based far too much on speculation. Although it is fiction, most historical fiction novels, particularly about this period, are at least based on fact, but Dunn seems to have disregarded what facts do exist, although there aren't many. It wasn't well-formed and didn't seem real.
Genre? - Historical / Romance / Drama
Characters? - Katherine Howard / Henry VIII / Anne of Cleves / Henry Mannox / Francis Dereham / Thomas Culpeper / Cat Tilney / Dowager Duchess of Norfolk / Duke of Norfolk / Jane Boleyn
Setting? - London (England)
Series? - N/A
Recommend? - No
Rating - 11/20
Genre? - Historical / Romance / Drama
Characters? - Katherine Howard / Henry VIII / Anne of Cleves / Henry Mannox / Francis Dereham / Thomas Culpeper / Cat Tilney / Dowager Duchess of Norfolk / Duke of Norfolk / Jane Boleyn
Setting? - London (England)
Series? - N/A
Recommend? - No
Rating - 11/20
laurabethbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.75
jetreadseverything's review against another edition
3.0
The ending left a lot to be desired and was very abrupt, but otherwise this was a decent read.