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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres and I had already read The Other Boleyn Girl and I loved it, so I thought that this would be another amazing book. I was disappointed. Not that it was bad, I thought it just left some things to be desired.
This book follows three woman, Anne of Cleaves, Henry's wife after the death of Jane Seymour, Jane Boleyn, wife to George Boleyn and sister in law to Anna and Mary Boleyn, and Katherine Howard, yet another one of Henry's wives. Each of these women are distinctly different, but each of them have one thing in common, the Boleyn inheritance. Each of them have inherited different things and this book chronicles this.
The stories of these three women are told in their own words, in chronological order, switching from perspective to perspective. We learn how Anne of Cleaves was saved from the scaffold, but how Katherine and Jane were subsequently sent to their deaths. You could really feel for these women as we watched their king descend into madness and growing anxiety and suspicion.
You really learned who these women were and what drove them. Anne of Cleaves came from a broken household and abusive family to fall in love with her new country and make a good queen. Jane is still serving as a pawn in The Duke of Norfolk's game of advancement, but is tormented by the love that she felt for George and Anne and her guilt. Little Kitty Howard is also a pawn in the game, but more for herself. She continually recounts the things that she has, or doesn't have, showing her simple mind.
I liked the characters. I thought that it was really interesting that Gregory was continuing the story with a few characters from the previous book and some new editions. As much as I liked it though, I didn't really connect with the characters as much as I would have liked and I think that had something to do with the writing style. It felt much more mechanical to me that it did in the previous book, and I just had a hard time getting into the writing, not so much the story.
I liked this book, though it pales in comparison to The Other Boleyn Girl. A lot of people complain about the historical accuracy of her books, and if that's something that will bother you, I don't know if I would pick her books up. If you're like me, and you like a good story with the history, you'd like this. I give it a 3.25 out of 5 stars.
This book follows three woman, Anne of Cleaves, Henry's wife after the death of Jane Seymour, Jane Boleyn, wife to George Boleyn and sister in law to Anna and Mary Boleyn, and Katherine Howard, yet another one of Henry's wives. Each of these women are distinctly different, but each of them have one thing in common, the Boleyn inheritance. Each of them have inherited different things and this book chronicles this.
The stories of these three women are told in their own words, in chronological order, switching from perspective to perspective. We learn how Anne of Cleaves was saved from the scaffold, but how Katherine and Jane were subsequently sent to their deaths. You could really feel for these women as we watched their king descend into madness and growing anxiety and suspicion.
You really learned who these women were and what drove them. Anne of Cleaves came from a broken household and abusive family to fall in love with her new country and make a good queen. Jane is still serving as a pawn in The Duke of Norfolk's game of advancement, but is tormented by the love that she felt for George and Anne and her guilt. Little Kitty Howard is also a pawn in the game, but more for herself. She continually recounts the things that she has, or doesn't have, showing her simple mind.
I liked the characters. I thought that it was really interesting that Gregory was continuing the story with a few characters from the previous book and some new editions. As much as I liked it though, I didn't really connect with the characters as much as I would have liked and I think that had something to do with the writing style. It felt much more mechanical to me that it did in the previous book, and I just had a hard time getting into the writing, not so much the story.
I liked this book, though it pales in comparison to The Other Boleyn Girl. A lot of people complain about the historical accuracy of her books, and if that's something that will bother you, I don't know if I would pick her books up. If you're like me, and you like a good story with the history, you'd like this. I give it a 3.25 out of 5 stars.
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/10529373
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/10529373
I was SO happy that Jane Boleyn finally got the "Boleyn Inheritance" that she truly deserved. Throughout the book, I was pissed at her for talking about how much she loved George, and even Anne! The blow-out where the Duke of Norfolk told her what he - and everyone else - thought of her was the best part of the book. What a total cop-out at the end, when she pretended to be mad. I didn't expect her to have any honor, but she deserved the butcher block more than any of the other men and women sent there by King Henry!
Anne of Cleves was very likeable, especially once she was allowed to live out her days more or less as she pleased. Although I can only imagine the constant worry until the King died, always wondering if he would change his mind and kill her for some whim? I am surprised that the king didn't have her beheaded as revenge for their first encounter.
Poor Kitty Howard, she was only guilty of being young and vain.
I would have liked to hear more about Mary Boleyn and her family, far away from court (with the exception of Catherine Carey). Also I wonder why she would send her daughter to court?
Anne of Cleves was very likeable, especially once she was allowed to live out her days more or less as she pleased. Although I can only imagine the constant worry until the King died, always wondering if he would change his mind and kill her for some whim? I am surprised that the king didn't have her beheaded as revenge for their first encounter.
Poor Kitty Howard, she was only guilty of being young and vain.
I would have liked to hear more about Mary Boleyn and her family, far away from court (with the exception of Catherine Carey). Also I wonder why she would send her daughter to court?
This book follows King Henry VIII's fourth and fifth wives and their fates. It was told from the perspective of three different women, and every chapter switched perspective.
I thought this was a very interesting perspective of the lives of the 4th and 5th queen of Henry VIII and the role that Jane Boleyn played in the lives of these queens. It was hard to get into at first, but when the story got rolling, it was an easy read.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have not read The Other Boleyn Girl or anything else by this author but I really enjoyed this story. At first I wasn’t sure how I would feel about the three different points of view but they flowed so well to tell a seamless story that I was impressed. Kitty Howard’s POV was a little hard to get through but since she’s supposed to be 15 I think that was on purpose. Jane Boleyn was not someone I have ever heard of and I enjoyed her overall arc and the end explanation of what she really did to her husband and SIL. Not that it was a surprise but reading her come to terms with it. I had only heard that Anne or Cleaves was ugly and didn’t speak English before this book and it did a great job of putting into perspective the situation from her POV and a more realistic take on who she would have been.
My only issue was how often the author repeats herself. I did not need one more description of Henry’s smell, a count of Kitty Howard’s dresses, and many others. Even across the POVs they would repeat the same scenes with almost no changes. It just made the story a little more bloated then it needed to be.
My only issue was how often the author repeats herself. I did not need one more description of Henry’s smell, a count of Kitty Howard’s dresses, and many others. Even across the POVs they would repeat the same scenes with almost no changes. It just made the story a little more bloated then it needed to be.
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes