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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
Victoria was another good book. It was interesting to see how different Victoria was when she was growing up to the person that we all know about through history classes and such. Of course people are always different when they are younger and naive but it was still refreshing and enjoyable.
Victoria is an 18 year old full of innocence when she is crowned Queen of England. She learns about politics, responsibility, and the effects of power at a pretty young age. However, she still has to continue learning about these as she grows up. I had a love/hate kind of relationship with her at first because she would just annoying me by sulking around. Other than that I was completely fine with her attitude and how she handled things.
Learning to rule without emotion must've been hard to learn while on the throne. People are always emotional so being under constant watch (whether is for a good or bad reason) must've been tough. I totally understood how she acted in some ways because in a way everything changed in a matter of seconds for her. She wasn't a teenager anymore who could frolic outside all day. She had a duty to her country, people, and the crown. That's a lot to take in in one day.
Overall, I loved this book. I'm really happy that I dove into it because I rarely dive into a historical fiction book about royalty. I enjoyed it and I will definitely look to see if I can find another one.
Victoria is an 18 year old full of innocence when she is crowned Queen of England. She learns about politics, responsibility, and the effects of power at a pretty young age. However, she still has to continue learning about these as she grows up. I had a love/hate kind of relationship with her at first because she would just annoying me by sulking around. Other than that I was completely fine with her attitude and how she handled things.
Learning to rule without emotion must've been hard to learn while on the throne. People are always emotional so being under constant watch (whether is for a good or bad reason) must've been tough. I totally understood how she acted in some ways because in a way everything changed in a matter of seconds for her. She wasn't a teenager anymore who could frolic outside all day. She had a duty to her country, people, and the crown. That's a lot to take in in one day.
Overall, I loved this book. I'm really happy that I dove into it because I rarely dive into a historical fiction book about royalty. I enjoyed it and I will definitely look to see if I can find another one.
Really enjoyed this one. I love to read anything to do with the British Monarchy and this was just a fun retelling of the story of Queen Victoria.
I LOVED the TV series. Goodwin and co masterfully bring to life the spirit of the Victorian age and Jenna Coleman (who I adore) is amazing as the queen.
The book...it was fine. But it was mostly dialogue and scenes right from the show. And...the extra scenes. Well, some I could've done without. Victoria's crush on Melbourne and his kindness toward her was charming and a little heartrending in the TV show, but in the book it came off...kinda creepy. Age wise (slight trigger here and in the book for creepy guys liking young (young!) women)
The book...it was fine. But it was mostly dialogue and scenes right from the show. And...the extra scenes. Well, some I could've done without. Victoria's crush on Melbourne and his kindness toward her was charming and a little heartrending in the TV show, but in the book it came off...kinda creepy. Age wise (slight trigger here and in the book for creepy guys liking young (young!) women)
Spoiler
I'm thinking of the scene where he goes to a brothel and picks out the prostitute that is near the age of Victoria (18-20). He doesn't go through with it, but it makes it as though Melbourne likes her cause of her age...in the series, it's more 'she likes him romantically and he like her a lot as person but not romantically' or even stretched to...he does have a romantic draw to her, but it's almost a soulmate thing and he knows he is too old for her. In the book I felt weird and unsettled that he seemed attracted to her age? ugh
Fun, easy read, but I felt like there was not much substance or plot. Enjoyable nonetheless.
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-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:
Complicated
Goodwin's rendering of Queen Victoria in the early years of her reign is well-researched, and sparkling.
This book is frustratingly a guilty pleasure read. There are multiple flaws to Victoria but I still gobble it up like a juicy peach. And the most frustrating thing is just as it was getting to the good stuff between Albert and Victoria it abruptly ends!! Ugghhh.
I doubt the historial accuracy of this book. So if you are looking to read something more historically acurrate I would not recommend this book. Victoria is more of a romance.
It gets Sooo repetitive for 75% of the book. Victoria is infatuated with Lord M. Lord M is enraptured with Victoria. Rides in the park with Lord M and demanding he be wherever she is. It doesnt get refreshing till Albert and Ernst come to town. I loved the witty banter between Albert and Ernst. Why so much of the Lord M crap?
She is Queen and yet she does nothing but change her hairstyle, ride in the park and obsesss over Lord M surely historically she cared more politically about the country she was ruling she could not possibly be that ignorant and spoiled.
Honestly I think the first two seasons of Victoria were amazing. Victoria is hella more strong and independent.
Ugggh so torn between giving a 3 or 4 star so I give it 3.5 stars.
I doubt the historial accuracy of this book. So if you are looking to read something more historically acurrate I would not recommend this book. Victoria is more of a romance.
It gets Sooo repetitive for 75% of the book. Victoria is infatuated with Lord M. Lord M is enraptured with Victoria. Rides in the park with Lord M and demanding he be wherever she is. It doesnt get refreshing till Albert and Ernst come to town. I loved the witty banter between Albert and Ernst. Why so much of the Lord M crap?
She is Queen and yet she does nothing but change her hairstyle, ride in the park and obsesss over Lord M surely historically she cared more politically about the country she was ruling she could not possibly be that ignorant and spoiled.
Honestly I think the first two seasons of Victoria were amazing. Victoria is hella more strong and independent.
Ugggh so torn between giving a 3 or 4 star so I give it 3.5 stars.
I started this book AGES and AGES ago (in FEBURARY, omigod) and just got around to finishing it last night ... I don't know what happened, but I was actually almost done the book. Then something happened I guess, and I stopped reading it and just the other day, I was thinking, "Hey, I never finished Victoria did I?" I had a bookmark in the book so I just picked up where I left off (honestly, I only had 10 minutes of reading left to do and then I was done). So, there is a serious time gap with me reading this book from the beginning to end, but I'm pretty confident I still remember everything that happened.
I purchased this book from Costco because I felt like reading something and you know me, I like my historical-royalty fiction especially if it's NOT Tudor related because, even though I love the Tudors and all that, the historical-royalty fiction market is over saturated with their stuff. So I saw this and was like, "Oh wow, someone wrote about Victoria instead!"
This book is about Queen Victoria in her early years -- specifically, when she became Queen of England and the first few years of being monarch. It's a light read for sure, almost has a YA book feel to it, to be honest. Overall, I enjoyed it. I wasn't blown away by it or anything (clearly ... since I happily put it down for several months before finishing it off) but it was okay for sure.
I think the reason it was just okay for me was because, uh, Victoria's early years seriously were not that interesting. She was kind of bratty (in this novel) and immature. Which I guess is expected because she's only 18 years old. The author put in a romance between her and her prime minister, Mr. Melbourne. Not sure if that was real ... pretty sure it's completely fictional. Probably included to make some drama in the story because there isn't too many interesting things happening at that time. I don't know, I feel like it COULD have been more interesting because I kind of thought the book was going to be more about how this young teenager comes of age and rises to the challenge of becoming queen of a powerful nation. Instead, it was a lot more about Victoria with puppy dog eyes for her prime minister -- who, mind you, is like old enough to be her father or even grandfather, probably.
Oh yeah, there is, of course, romance involving Victoria and her real life husband, Prince Albert, but it kind of felt like it was shoved in at the end of the novel there.
So I know it sounds like I'm shitting on the book, which I'm really not trying to do. Bottom line is, I guess I expected something different, and I also have my own bias where I don't really like it when historical fiction diverges too much from actual history, but this is a good novel. 3 stars is for a good novel right? It wasn't super duper awesome or anything, but a solid 'good' to me.
I purchased this book from Costco because I felt like reading something and you know me, I like my historical-royalty fiction especially if it's NOT Tudor related because, even though I love the Tudors and all that, the historical-royalty fiction market is over saturated with their stuff. So I saw this and was like, "Oh wow, someone wrote about Victoria instead!"
This book is about Queen Victoria in her early years -- specifically, when she became Queen of England and the first few years of being monarch. It's a light read for sure, almost has a YA book feel to it, to be honest. Overall, I enjoyed it. I wasn't blown away by it or anything (clearly ... since I happily put it down for several months before finishing it off) but it was okay for sure.
I think the reason it was just okay for me was because, uh, Victoria's early years seriously were not that interesting. She was kind of bratty (in this novel) and immature. Which I guess is expected because she's only 18 years old. The author put in a romance between her and her prime minister, Mr. Melbourne. Not sure if that was real ... pretty sure it's completely fictional. Probably included to make some drama in the story because there isn't too many interesting things happening at that time. I don't know, I feel like it COULD have been more interesting because I kind of thought the book was going to be more about how this young teenager comes of age and rises to the challenge of becoming queen of a powerful nation. Instead, it was a lot more about Victoria with puppy dog eyes for her prime minister -- who, mind you, is like old enough to be her father or even grandfather, probably.
Oh yeah, there is, of course, romance involving Victoria and her real life husband, Prince Albert, but it kind of felt like it was shoved in at the end of the novel there.
So I know it sounds like I'm shitting on the book, which I'm really not trying to do. Bottom line is, I guess I expected something different, and I also have my own bias where I don't really like it when historical fiction diverges too much from actual history, but this is a good novel. 3 stars is for a good novel right? It wasn't super duper awesome or anything, but a solid 'good' to me.
Loved
Cannot wait to see what PBS does with this one. I love how Daisy develops her characters and brings history to life .
Cannot wait to see what PBS does with this one. I love how Daisy develops her characters and brings history to life .
I watched the show first and loved it, so I gave this book a try when I saw it. It reads wonderfully, like a romance novel instead of a historical textbook like most biographies about queens. I loved getting more details about the romance between the queen and Lord M. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because it started to drag on toward the end and then ended rather abruptly. This is only about the earliest days of her reign, so if you're wanting something about her entire reign, this is probably not the one for you.