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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Should be touted as an accompaniment to the ITV drama....Granted, Victoria WAS a teenager when crowned but she was portrayed as a whiny, entitled adolescent. Having seen the TV show, I swear some of the dialogue was lifted directly from the novel...disappointing.
Full Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher. Also Victoria is my favorite monarch, which I know is weird because they are real people and not Marvel characters. But she is and I read and liked [book:The American Heiress|9999107]- so I was completely biased when I heard about this book not to mention excited.
This book was well written and well researched and covers the time from Victoria being named Queen to
*** HISTORICAL SPOILER SO NOT REALLY A SPOILER***
right after her engagement.
Victoria the show based on the book is also currently airing. And well if you watch the show, there is not much you will get from the book that is not in the show (as a firm member of the Books are way better than movies' camp it is hard for me to admit this). But none of the info about the staff is included in the book, besides one sentence asides. And the book actually ends before the show does timeline wise (it ends around episode 4 or 5 if I remember correctly).
If you know nothing about Victoria and have not seen the show, you will find this book informative and entertaining. As well as a good look into the mind of a very young monarch. If you wanted more background than the show you will not get it.
This book was well written and well researched and covers the time from Victoria being named Queen to
*** HISTORICAL SPOILER SO NOT REALLY A SPOILER***
right after her engagement.
Victoria the show based on the book is also currently airing. And well if you watch the show, there is not much you will get from the book that is not in the show (as a firm member of the Books are way better than movies' camp it is hard for me to admit this). But none of the info about the staff is included in the book, besides one sentence asides. And the book actually ends before the show does timeline wise (it ends around episode 4 or 5 if I remember correctly).
If you know nothing about Victoria and have not seen the show, you will find this book informative and entertaining. As well as a good look into the mind of a very young monarch. If you wanted more background than the show you will not get it.
I enjoyed reading this book after watching 2 seasons of Victoria on PBS. The book helped me fill in some details that I missed from the show. Now, I'd like to go back and rewatch them!
I've always found Queen Victoria to be a fascinating character. I really only knew that she was a young Queen, and her descendants sit on may royal thrones today. I really enjoyed this story. It must have been difficult for her to take the throne at eighteen. I enjoyed learning about her relationship with the Prime Minister at the time, Lord Melbourne. I look forward to watching the story unfold on PBS.
I definitely joyed this book but had a hard time wanting to read it if that makes sense... the show that this was based off did a good job & I enjoyed the show more than I did the book honestly.
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was approved an ARC of this book by the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This review in its entirety was originally posted at eclectictales.com: http://www.eclectictales.com/blog/2016/11/23/review-victoria/
Once I started reading this book, I just could not put it down, I pretty much ended up reading almost the entire book in one evening. I was absolutely enthralled and invested in Victoria’s early days coming into her inheritance as Queen, asserting her independence, and learning how to navigate through politics, the Court, the matter of her gender. She’s young, she can be impulsive, but she also wants to be the best she can be. She is a ruler, and a young one at that, in a world dominated by men so the bits with all of the powerful men of the country sort of eyeing her every move and concocting ways to tone down her power, assert a regent, etc. was interesting but also pretty wary-making. It was also interesting to see her make up for lost time so to speak after being under the dominating control of Sir John Conroy and her mother the Duchess of Kent, from bounding up and down the stairs to standing up for herself and trying to distance herself from them in some respects. It’s heartbreaking in a sense, but at the same time I really felt for Victoria and her sense of loneliness and detachnment from her mother as she was growing up. It was cute and pretty cool how she looked up to Elizabeth Tudor as a role model.
I was however quite surprised at how much of this novel focused on her relationship with Lord Melbourne. I knew there were some gossip about the two of them because she relied on him so much as Private Secretary during her early days as monarch but I’m not entirely sure how I feel about the extrapolation of their relationship here. Meanwhile I wish her budding romance with Albert leading up to the final scene had more scenes/focus, but it’s okay, I thought Albert was precious despite his seriousness and totally opposite personality to Victoria
Once I started reading this book, I just could not put it down, I pretty much ended up reading almost the entire book in one evening. I was absolutely enthralled and invested in Victoria’s early days coming into her inheritance as Queen, asserting her independence, and learning how to navigate through politics, the Court, the matter of her gender. She’s young, she can be impulsive, but she also wants to be the best she can be. She is a ruler, and a young one at that, in a world dominated by men so the bits with all of the powerful men of the country sort of eyeing her every move and concocting ways to tone down her power, assert a regent, etc. was interesting but also pretty wary-making. It was also interesting to see her make up for lost time so to speak after being under the dominating control of Sir John Conroy and her mother the Duchess of Kent, from bounding up and down the stairs to standing up for herself and trying to distance herself from them in some respects. It’s heartbreaking in a sense, but at the same time I really felt for Victoria and her sense of loneliness and detachnment from her mother as she was growing up. It was cute and pretty cool how she looked up to Elizabeth Tudor as a role model.
I was however quite surprised at how much of this novel focused on her relationship with Lord Melbourne. I knew there were some gossip about the two of them because she relied on him so much as Private Secretary during her early days as monarch but I’m not entirely sure how I feel about the extrapolation of their relationship here. Meanwhile I wish her budding romance with Albert leading up to the final scene had more scenes/focus, but it’s okay, I thought Albert was precious despite his seriousness and totally opposite personality to Victoria
Absolutely loved this book, it was hard to put down. There is also a tv show based on the book that I believe the author helped produce. Worth the read.