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dott's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
helenephoebe's review against another edition
3.0
Review - Although the characters are largely fictional (exceptions being Mary I and the Imperial ambassador Renard) they seem real and you can connect with them - the love, loyalty and familial devotion are all too common. A very different take on Tudor times using one of the most famous events of Mary I's reign; the Wyatt rebellion of 1554. The author claims that the timespan is real in general and this adds some reality to the story. It's easy to read this as not part of a series.
Genre? - Historical / Drama
Characters? - Isabel Thornleigh / Richard Thornleigh / Honor Thornleigh / Martin St Leger / Robert St Leger / Thomas Wyatt Jr / Edward Syndenham / Frances Grenville / Mary I / Carlos Valverde
Setting? - London & Rochester (England)
Series? - Thornleigh #2
Recommend? - Yes
Rating - 16/20
Genre? - Historical / Drama
Characters? - Isabel Thornleigh / Richard Thornleigh / Honor Thornleigh / Martin St Leger / Robert St Leger / Thomas Wyatt Jr / Edward Syndenham / Frances Grenville / Mary I / Carlos Valverde
Setting? - London & Rochester (England)
Series? - Thornleigh #2
Recommend? - Yes
Rating - 16/20
jcwlib's review against another edition
3.0
The King's Daughter focuses on the time right after Queen Mary comes to power and is trying to finalize her marriage to Prince Phillip of Spain. The heroine of this book is actually Honor's daughter Isabel. Isabel betrothed is helping the rebels lead by Wyatt against the Queen to bring Princess Elizabeth to power. Isabel is able to convince Wyatt that she can be a messenger from the French Ambassador to him. Her family's history with neighbors - the Greenvilles - ends up causing her mother to get critical injured and her father to be put in jail. While trying to rescue her father from jail, Isabel is forced to "pay" for his freedom by being violated by the head jailer. Of course this "payment" backfires and her father is transferred to another jail. While in jail Isabel meets Carlos - a Spanish mercenary - who she ends up freeing & hiring to help her find where her father was taken. Isabel is torn between helping the rebels and searching for her father with Carlos. As a fellow heretic that worked along side of her parents in the past threatens to expose her family's dark secrets, Isabel must find a way to get her parents to safety and still support her own beliefs.
doriastories's review against another edition
2.0
To be fair, the writing of this book is not terrible, which is why I felt that I couldn't give it less than two stars (although I wanted to give it only one, for reasons of taste). In fact, given some of the subject matter, I might have preferred it if the writing was far worse and less effectively descriptive than it was.
Far and away the most egregious fault - noted by other Goodreads reviewers - is that the title is terribly misleading. It gives one to believe that the subject is a king's daughter, in this case, "Bloody" Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII. DIsappointingly, this singularly ill-fated but fascinating queen and her reign serve only as the backdrop to a far-fetched sub-plot concerning a family of Protestants trying to escape Catholic England during Queen Mary's reign. It's a strange thing that many writers of historical fiction continue to delude themselves into thinking that the wan figments of their own imagination are capable of capturing our attention in any way close to the way that the lives and doings of real historical people continue to do. The Thornleigh family - notwithstanding their colorful clothes and language - pale in comparison to the hints and whispers we are occasionally given concerning Queen Mary. Simply put, we don't care about the Thornleighs; give us Mary, warts and all!
Other than the misleading title and the credulity-straining antics of the main characters, this book is notable for a scene that features a truly horrific sexual assault, which the author describes in nauseatingly lurid detail. This scene is followed by a series of other scenes which echo the author's fetish for prison rape; if you don't have a strong stomach, you honestly won't want to read this. And don't imagine that the reader's perseverance will be rewarded in the end. If you can stand to finish it, which I very nearly couldn't, this book will probably leave you with the improbable sensation of both revulsion and boredom.
Far and away the most egregious fault - noted by other Goodreads reviewers - is that the title is terribly misleading. It gives one to believe that the subject is a king's daughter, in this case, "Bloody" Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII. DIsappointingly, this singularly ill-fated but fascinating queen and her reign serve only as the backdrop to a far-fetched sub-plot concerning a family of Protestants trying to escape Catholic England during Queen Mary's reign. It's a strange thing that many writers of historical fiction continue to delude themselves into thinking that the wan figments of their own imagination are capable of capturing our attention in any way close to the way that the lives and doings of real historical people continue to do. The Thornleigh family - notwithstanding their colorful clothes and language - pale in comparison to the hints and whispers we are occasionally given concerning Queen Mary. Simply put, we don't care about the Thornleighs; give us Mary, warts and all!
Other than the misleading title and the credulity-straining antics of the main characters, this book is notable for a scene that features a truly horrific sexual assault, which the author describes in nauseatingly lurid detail. This scene is followed by a series of other scenes which echo the author's fetish for prison rape; if you don't have a strong stomach, you honestly won't want to read this. And don't imagine that the reader's perseverance will be rewarded in the end. If you can stand to finish it, which I very nearly couldn't, this book will probably leave you with the improbable sensation of both revulsion and boredom.
booksuperpower's review against another edition
2.0
This book was published in 1995, and weighs in at 480 pages. At some point the title was " A Dangerous Devotion". The new title- The King's Daughter" is very misleading, and I think the reviews for this book are mixed as a result.
Isabel Thornleigh's parents have secrets in their past they keep from their daughter. She's lead a charmed life, until Mary is crowned queen and makes the announcement that she plans to marry the Price of Spain. An uprising develops in which Isabel's fiance, Martin is taking part. She wants to help him and convinces Sir Thomas against his better judgment to allow her to be a go between. However, before she can do her duty, her mother is killed and her father is imprisioned.
Through the novel I was struck at how trusting and naive Isabel was. She was always trusting the wrong people. She would do ANYTHING to free her father. She teams up with a Spaniard mercenary to help her locate her father, but in fact he was hired to kill her father and is using her as cover . He finds himself attracted to Isabel and there a few slilted moments when the attraction is addressed, but it's ridiculous. Carlos even thinks about attempted rape to get her "out of his skin" and makes a move for her, but nothing comes of it. Isabel eventually learns of his betrayal and then finds herself in an even more precarious position. Carlos does have good points from time to time, but the couple never had any chemistry at all. In fact, they never even kissed. Even her father once all was said and done couldn't understand her attraction to him. There were way too many battle scenes in this book for my personal taste. I thought this was a romance novel, but there was very little romance. It was interesting at times, but I found it boring a lot of the time. I really struggled with this one.
Isabel Thornleigh's parents have secrets in their past they keep from their daughter. She's lead a charmed life, until Mary is crowned queen and makes the announcement that she plans to marry the Price of Spain. An uprising develops in which Isabel's fiance, Martin is taking part. She wants to help him and convinces Sir Thomas against his better judgment to allow her to be a go between. However, before she can do her duty, her mother is killed and her father is imprisioned.
Through the novel I was struck at how trusting and naive Isabel was. She was always trusting the wrong people. She would do ANYTHING to free her father. She teams up with a Spaniard mercenary to help her locate her father, but in fact he was hired to kill her father and is using her as cover . He finds himself attracted to Isabel and there a few slilted moments when the attraction is addressed, but it's ridiculous. Carlos even thinks about attempted rape to get her "out of his skin" and makes a move for her, but nothing comes of it. Isabel eventually learns of his betrayal and then finds herself in an even more precarious position. Carlos does have good points from time to time, but the couple never had any chemistry at all. In fact, they never even kissed. Even her father once all was said and done couldn't understand her attraction to him. There were way too many battle scenes in this book for my personal taste. I thought this was a romance novel, but there was very little romance. It was interesting at times, but I found it boring a lot of the time. I really struggled with this one.
bookworm_mommy's review against another edition
I loved the story.\n\nQueen Mary is queen of England but there is an uprising afoot. \n\nIsabel is the daughter of a simple cloth merchant...or so she thought. However, her parents hold a past that suprises her as she pieces the story together and discovers where her own loyalties lie.\n\nAdd in Carlos, the Spanish mercenary, and it's a great story.\n\nA little sensuality I could have done without. But great nonetheless.
louisefbooks96's review against another edition
5.0
Takes a little time getting into the book, but once your hooked , your hooked. It is set over a week and a half through Wyatt's failed rebellion and focuses on a family - Thornleighs who are deeply affected. It is the second in the series of books , if you have not read the first one you won't be affected by it , I would recommend this to be read and along with the others in the series a good read and a enjoyable one too.
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