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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
Beautifully written. You can really feel what is going on with Victoria.
I love historical fiction stories. I am sure I have shared quite a few by now for everyone to read but I found a new one recently in a book campaign. I think royal historical fiction has to be my favorite. Victoria, by Daisy Goodwin, is simply wonderful. “A Novel of a Young Queen’. Everyone thinks of Queen Victoria as old and frumpy but Daisy Goodwin was intrigued by the young queen she found in her diaries. She made a wonderful novel that shows that everyone has growing up moments, even royals. It was hard for me to think of Queen Victoria as Victoria but Daisy pulled me in. There is no question that I love to read. I carry my book around with me everywhere. We were told to think about the royal treatment when reading Victoria so I did. I laid outside in my rocking chair with the leaves falling for over an hour while reading. This book really drew me in and I was curious how much I really knew about Queen Victoria. I knew people had called her ‘having fits’ because she spoke out. I knew that she had nine children with him. And I knew that he died when he was young like 40 and she fell into a deep mourning. The widow queen. I had no idea about how their courtship went or even if they were in love. Many arranged marriages back then missed that. The troubles she faces being young, the ridicule she faces at being female and in charge, and the strength she had to show is beautifully detailed in this book. I could feel anger and sadness for her. It really pulled out the emotions while also being very informative. She had to learn who to trust and who to keep at a distance. She had to learn to run a country when most of us are still in school trying to figure out their first loves. Beautifully written and I loved how it ended. "I received this book for free from SheSpeaks"
The writing was good, but as someone who watched (and loved) the ITV show, the pace just felt too slow in comparison.
Before she was the staid and stout queen of “we are not amused” fame, Queen Victoria was a teenage monarch, with all the trials and drama that situation entails. This historical fiction novel seeks to bring young Victoria to life.
At the tender age of 18, Alexandrina Victoria finds herself ascending the English throne. She has been kept more or less in seclusion her entire life by her overprotective mother and her mother’s scheming comptroller. Embracing her new found independence, Victoria is determined to be her own monarch, beholden to no one. Of course, the intricacies of running a country are challenging for even a seasoned monarch. Victoria must learn who she can trust and who she can learn from to become the ruler England needs.
I really enjoyed this book. Generally, especially in popular fiction, Queen Victoria is left as the Widow of Windsor, the melancholy, withdrawn woman unable to cope with the loss of her husband, Albert. It is refreshing to see her treated as the young, vibrant girl she must once have been.
Being historical fiction, Goodwin takes some liberties with the past to heighten the drama. However, excessive embellishment is not needed, as the unvarnished past provides more than enough material. The book is engagingly written. Victoria jumps off the page as a real person. You really feel for this sheltered young woman, thrown into a job no one thinks she is capable of doing, and unable to trust even her own mother.
I would recommend this book for any lover of history or historical fiction. Any one with romantic tendencies will also enjoy this book.
An advance copy of this book was provided by the publisher via Goodreads Giveaways in exchange for an honest review. Victoria is currently available for purchase
more reviews on my blog!
www.theirregularreaderblog.wordpress.com
At the tender age of 18, Alexandrina Victoria finds herself ascending the English throne. She has been kept more or less in seclusion her entire life by her overprotective mother and her mother’s scheming comptroller. Embracing her new found independence, Victoria is determined to be her own monarch, beholden to no one. Of course, the intricacies of running a country are challenging for even a seasoned monarch. Victoria must learn who she can trust and who she can learn from to become the ruler England needs.
I really enjoyed this book. Generally, especially in popular fiction, Queen Victoria is left as the Widow of Windsor, the melancholy, withdrawn woman unable to cope with the loss of her husband, Albert. It is refreshing to see her treated as the young, vibrant girl she must once have been.
Being historical fiction, Goodwin takes some liberties with the past to heighten the drama. However, excessive embellishment is not needed, as the unvarnished past provides more than enough material. The book is engagingly written. Victoria jumps off the page as a real person. You really feel for this sheltered young woman, thrown into a job no one thinks she is capable of doing, and unable to trust even her own mother.
I would recommend this book for any lover of history or historical fiction. Any one with romantic tendencies will also enjoy this book.
An advance copy of this book was provided by the publisher via Goodreads Giveaways in exchange for an honest review. Victoria is currently available for purchase
more reviews on my blog!
www.theirregularreaderblog.wordpress.com
When I picked this book up I thought it was a biography. Then, when I started reading I realized it was a romance which really isn't a genre I like/read. Even so, it was well written if you're into that kind of thing.
Taken from the pages of Queen Victoria's diary, this coming of age story will transport you into the life of a young monarch as she takes on the role of Queen alone. I'm finding that while I once shied away from historical fiction books, I have found a new love for them and now seek them out after reading this book. I loved how rich with real history this book was and how you struggled alongside the characters. Being a young Queen is no easy task which you learn to fully understand reading of Princess Alexandrina ('Drina') Victoria's ascent.
The reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is there were certain sections of the writing that felt choppy and lacking the additional detail that the rest of the book had.
Overall, I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who fancies English history or enjoys historical fiction.
Please note: I did receive this book for free from SheSpeaks in exchange for my honest opinion. All words and opinions expressed are my own.
The reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is there were certain sections of the writing that felt choppy and lacking the additional detail that the rest of the book had.
Overall, I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who fancies English history or enjoys historical fiction.
Please note: I did receive this book for free from SheSpeaks in exchange for my honest opinion. All words and opinions expressed are my own.
I read this book after seeing the show by the same name on PBS. I thought the show was fantastic and knew I had to read the book.
This is another audiobook I listened to, and the narrator was perfect. She was actually one of the actresses on the show. She did a fantastic job with all the characters. I have to say that the show did a great job with adapting this book to the screen. They did add the downstairs storylines; those aren't present in the book although many of the characters are seen throughout the story. I actually think this addition helped the show. But everything else follows very closely to the book, which is always a good thing (and probably why the show is so good! :)). And I was surprised by how long it took for Alfred to show up. I'm not sure how far into the book it was, but it seemed like that happened very late. The book also ends a little sooner than the show. I believe my favorite characters were Victoria, Melbourne, Alfred and Ernst.
I enjoyed Goodwin's writing, and I'm planning on picking up another of her novels: The American Heiress.
This is another audiobook I listened to, and the narrator was perfect. She was actually one of the actresses on the show. She did a fantastic job with all the characters. I have to say that the show did a great job with adapting this book to the screen. They did add the downstairs storylines; those aren't present in the book although many of the characters are seen throughout the story. I actually think this addition helped the show. But everything else follows very closely to the book, which is always a good thing (and probably why the show is so good! :)). And I was surprised by how long it took for Alfred to show up. I'm not sure how far into the book it was, but it seemed like that happened very late. The book also ends a little sooner than the show. I believe my favorite characters were Victoria, Melbourne, Alfred and Ernst.
I enjoyed Goodwin's writing, and I'm planning on picking up another of her novels: The American Heiress.
This book was entertaining for the most part. However, it read like it was some sort of soap opera. I was expecting to read a more thorough and comprehensive tome of one of Britain's greatest queens. But as I said, entertaining. Good read...