Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
A step above recent efforts like The Other Queen, but this book still annoyed me. Gregory has so much historical backstory to fill in that she falls into telling the reader too much of it in passive voice. I liked Anya Seton's Katherine much better as an opener to the War of the Roses era.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is well written. My rating reflects more my own ignorance regarding the history of the monarchy and all of its incredible complexity than the ability of the author to craft a well researched and richly imagined story. This feels less like a story than a history primer which is my only disappointment. I could have used a cheat sheet to keep track of who was who, the lineages and various names, especially the many who shared names! Worth a read if you are intrigued by British monarchy and/or serious palace intrigue, bloodthirsty conflict and warfare, and courtesan treachery. And, if to be believed, a true love and honest romance between a King and Queen.
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There are a lot more magical elements in this book than the first, and knowing that the first book was written after this one, it seems Gregory was trying to retrofit to this book, though Jacquetta's warning about curses didn't seem to land as they should. It was nice to see the twists and turns of the mechanisms of court laid out and a fascinating history of the rise and fall of a powerful family within one generation.
I'm gonna try to put my finger on what didn't sit well with me in this book, in no particular order:
1. The whole passle of Yorks was really hard to have much sympathy for. Elizabeth Woodville is extremely ambitious, sometimes to the detriment of her own family. Edward IV is sleeping with half of England. The three York brothers are just as awful to each other as they previously were to the Lancasters, and I don't understand how anyone in England during this time or thereafter was ever shocked by anything a monarch or hopeful to the throne did.
2. Sometimes the book is really repetitive, restating the same things 4 or 5 times within a couple of pages. Dunno if the author was trying for emotional angst or what.
3. Other times it is just straight up a retelling of historical events, for pages and pages and pages. I know it's really complicated and probably awful to try and explain in narrative form, but those parts lost all sense of story or connection to Elizabeth Woodville (supposedly the main "character").
4. Gregory lovvvvves to just straight up present all the rumors of witchcraft as fact in her story. She seems to really enjoy this and lean hard into it. She did it in The Other Boleyn Girl too, and in The Lady of the Rivers which is a prequel book about Elizabeth Woodville's mom.
5. There are about 10 names in this book and almost everyone is named one of them. Elizabeth even named one son from each of her husbands Richard. I know this is what people did at the time especially among royalty/nobility and is in no way Philippa Gregory's fault. It just made the book more complicated, is all.
6. The whole Richard III-wanting-to-marry-his-niece rumor is also leaned into hard here. Yuck.
7. Having read The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey, I was well aware that it's likely Richard III is not to blame for the likely death of the princes in the tower. It went both ways here, like the author didn't want to commit either way, and some supernatural curses were thrown in to boot.
Ehh. This wasn't a great book experience and I haven't decided whether to try another PG book or give up and get rid of the several I have.
1. The whole passle of Yorks was really hard to have much sympathy for. Elizabeth Woodville is extremely ambitious, sometimes to the detriment of her own family. Edward IV is sleeping with half of England. The three York brothers are just as awful to each other as they previously were to the Lancasters, and I don't understand how anyone in England during this time or thereafter was ever shocked by anything a monarch or hopeful to the throne did.
2. Sometimes the book is really repetitive, restating the same things 4 or 5 times within a couple of pages. Dunno if the author was trying for emotional angst or what.
3. Other times it is just straight up a retelling of historical events, for pages and pages and pages. I know it's really complicated and probably awful to try and explain in narrative form, but those parts lost all sense of story or connection to Elizabeth Woodville (supposedly the main "character").
4. Gregory lovvvvves to just straight up present all the rumors of witchcraft as fact in her story. She seems to really enjoy this and lean hard into it. She did it in The Other Boleyn Girl too, and in The Lady of the Rivers which is a prequel book about Elizabeth Woodville's mom.
5. There are about 10 names in this book and almost everyone is named one of them. Elizabeth even named one son from each of her husbands Richard. I know this is what people did at the time especially among royalty/nobility and is in no way Philippa Gregory's fault. It just made the book more complicated, is all.
6. The whole Richard III-wanting-to-marry-his-niece rumor is also leaned into hard here. Yuck.
7. Having read The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey, I was well aware that it's likely Richard III is not to blame for the likely death of the princes in the tower. It went both ways here, like the author didn't want to commit either way, and some supernatural curses were thrown in to boot.
Ehh. This wasn't a great book experience and I haven't decided whether to try another PG book or give up and get rid of the several I have.
Philippa Gregory masters yet another time period in English history. I loved the characters of Edward and Elizabeth and there public and personal battles. You watch as Elizabeth goes from a country girl to a lady full of ambition. I am ready to start the next book in the "cousins war" series - The Red Queen
emotional
informative
mysterious
medium-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
I love love LOVE Phillippa Gregory, her skills are amazing and I'm filled with envy whenever I read one of her books. This was no exception, I loved this book more than some of her others mostly because of the sub-plot of Melusina the water goddess and how Elizabeth Woodville beleived she was descended from and inherited gifts from her. She wasn't alone in thinking this, others were also which gives it more credit, more reality in ways. Elizabeth has been my favourite character throughout Gregory's books, she was beautiful, clever, regal and all this from a low born Rivers family she made one of the greatest rebellions last for years by keeping her family safe through marriage and manipulation of the court. Her mother was just as loveable and taught her daughter the court game which she needed to survive.
The characters as always were startingly realistic and the plot line was fast moving, I couldn't put it down once I'd started it. My 4 1/2 hour flight went without me noticing the time once I started this book, by the end I had finished and couldn't want a better start for my holiday reading.
http://theteenagebookworms.blogspot.com/
The characters as always were startingly realistic and the plot line was fast moving, I couldn't put it down once I'd started it. My 4 1/2 hour flight went without me noticing the time once I started this book, by the end I had finished and couldn't want a better start for my holiday reading.
http://theteenagebookworms.blogspot.com/
adventurous
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated