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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
Gregory has done it again, she's written another series I'm going to fall in love with. The York family is not a royal family I know a lot about so it was easy for me to separate myself from fact and fall into this slightly mythical world. King Edward can't help but fall in love with a young widow despite the rumors of the family's Witchcraft. This is a story about a mother that loves deep and will do whatever it takes to protect her family from anyone who will threaten the life she is building for them.
This was a very detailed story, that pulled me right into there world. I found myself loving the queen and cheering for her family all through there trials of life. It's been awhile since I've read a story I can't seem to put down. I highly suggest the book and mini series.
This was a very detailed story, that pulled me right into there world. I found myself loving the queen and cheering for her family all through there trials of life. It's been awhile since I've read a story I can't seem to put down. I highly suggest the book and mini series.
like it more than i thought i would! I have always enjoyed this period of history and love the witchy subplot
4.5/5 stars!
I honestly was so torn how to review this as either five or four stars. But I have to agree watching the series really does enhance the book for me and I’m not sure if I read it without watching the series if I would still enjoy them as much as I do. I am just obsessed with Tudor history at the moment and I am in love with Philippa Gregory’s writing style. It’s so beautiful and almost poetic but still gripping. Even though I read the White Princess first and knew the outcome (and obviously just real life history) I still was kept engaged.
Again I found it difficult at the start with Edward who is the king. He pretty much attempts to rape Elizabeth and I actually stopped watching the series for the time being. When you pick up a Philippa Gregory book or watch the show you have to realise that yes this her twist on real life history but it is no romance. It is not fluffy and happy and glamorised. It is still horrid at times as real history was back then. Women were treated as whores or baby makers. Men cheat a hell of lot when they have power. There is murder and not everyone has a happy ending. This is really hard to digest when starting. But it is still really fascinating nonetheless.
The female characters know they have a duty and that was what was custom back then. But they still meddle and want freedom and love. It is still a story where you can be a feminist and enjoy it. Even the endings are always bittersweet and hope is still there.
The reason I liked this less than the White Princess is probably Edward. It’s hard to digest that the ‘love interest’ is a man that tries to rape her and the only way she gets him off of her is by knifepoint. He also cheats on her multiple times and in my opinion, a very weak king. All he wanted to do was shag and fight. He made all the wrong decisions including at the beginning when his own brother kills Elizabeth’s brother and father which is horrific. How can I route for their love when he is a complete shit bag? Because he is supposed to be. And unfortunately that was men in the Tudor times.
Elizabeth is also very hard to connect with sometimes. She’s unrelatable she doesn’t have the same relatability as her daughter Elizabeth does (again everyone back then had the same name which makes everything that much more confusing). She sometimes seems really naive and weird and not in a good way. She is also very power hungry also in the wrong way. Also (the tv adaption doesn’t help) is that you like the side characters more. Anne Neville who I’m really excited to read about in the next book the Kingmakers Daughter.
I felt that the series needed use the adaption to the Red Queen and the Kingsmakers Daughter is because too much of Elizabeth bores me slightly. I felt everything also happened really quickly at the end as well like it I thought it would show the demise of the York’s a bit more as it ends on a really happy note. Maybe that’s explained more in the next books?
But again I actually can’t wait to read more from Phillipa because I love her writing and real history mixed with fiction is my shit!
I honestly was so torn how to review this as either five or four stars. But I have to agree watching the series really does enhance the book for me and I’m not sure if I read it without watching the series if I would still enjoy them as much as I do. I am just obsessed with Tudor history at the moment and I am in love with Philippa Gregory’s writing style. It’s so beautiful and almost poetic but still gripping. Even though I read the White Princess first and knew the outcome (and obviously just real life history) I still was kept engaged.
Again I found it difficult at the start with Edward who is the king. He pretty much attempts to rape Elizabeth and I actually stopped watching the series for the time being. When you pick up a Philippa Gregory book or watch the show you have to realise that yes this her twist on real life history but it is no romance. It is not fluffy and happy and glamorised. It is still horrid at times as real history was back then. Women were treated as whores or baby makers. Men cheat a hell of lot when they have power. There is murder and not everyone has a happy ending. This is really hard to digest when starting. But it is still really fascinating nonetheless.
The female characters know they have a duty and that was what was custom back then. But they still meddle and want freedom and love. It is still a story where you can be a feminist and enjoy it. Even the endings are always bittersweet and hope is still there.
The reason I liked this less than the White Princess is probably Edward. It’s hard to digest that the ‘love interest’ is a man that tries to rape her and the only way she gets him off of her is by knifepoint. He also cheats on her multiple times and in my opinion, a very weak king. All he wanted to do was shag and fight. He made all the wrong decisions including at the beginning when his own brother kills Elizabeth’s brother and father which is horrific. How can I route for their love when he is a complete shit bag? Because he is supposed to be. And unfortunately that was men in the Tudor times.
Elizabeth is also very hard to connect with sometimes. She’s unrelatable she doesn’t have the same relatability as her daughter Elizabeth does (again everyone back then had the same name which makes everything that much more confusing). She sometimes seems really naive and weird and not in a good way. She is also very power hungry also in the wrong way. Also (the tv adaption doesn’t help) is that you like the side characters more. Anne Neville who I’m really excited to read about in the next book the Kingmakers Daughter.
I felt that the series needed use the adaption to the Red Queen and the Kingsmakers Daughter is because too much of Elizabeth bores me slightly. I felt everything also happened really quickly at the end as well like it I thought it would show the demise of the York’s a bit more as it ends on a really happy note. Maybe that’s explained more in the next books?
But again I actually can’t wait to read more from Phillipa because I love her writing and real history mixed with fiction is my shit!
Need an easy read but has some information about real women. This your book.
Want to challenge yourself and your mind? This is not your book.
Want to challenge yourself and your mind? This is not your book.
emotional
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
After having read [a:Rebecca Gablé|353685|Rebecca Gablé|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1289082041p2/353685.jpg]'s [b:Das Spiel der Könige|1629532|Das Spiel der Könige (Waringham, #3)|Rebecca Gablé|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1186091449s/1629532.jpg|40081023] I wanted to read more abou the Wars of the Roses and so The White Queen came in handy, being written from the Yorkist side in contrast to Gablé's Lancastrian Waringham series. So this review will also compare both books because the time period is so similar as are the protagonists we meet - thanks to Gablé I already knew most of them (and in greater detail than Gregory described them).
Back to The White Queen.
As you can see my rating isn't that high, but still there are bits I liked, e.g. the female POV. And the added magic was an enjoyable twist even though I'm normally not a fan of these things. But I couldn't take Gregory's book serious anyway... and here comes the negative:
I'm REALLY not a fan of first person writing style. And it made reading the parts that Elizabeth didn't see first hand weird. Also the usage of the present tense felt weird too. Overall, the writing sometimes felt a bit clumsy, with very repetitive sentence structues. This often made me wonder whether I'm reading a real novel with fleshed out characters or a summary of her life. Tbh, I don't think Gregory did a good job at bringing the characters to life. I didn't grow particularly attached to them.
In contrast Gablé's story was so epic, had rich characters and really got me to care for them. I even got to know Edward better in his few scenes in Gablé's book than in Gregory's book, I think.
Well, I'm probably gonna read the following books nevertheless because it's just a great idea to tell the story of the Wars of the Roses via it's main female protagonists. But so far I wouldn't really recommend these books. If you're German or at least speak German, than better read Gablé's books instead! You'll also get much more politics and history from them.
On a sidenote: I was looking forward to read about the 1470s up until 1983 that Gablé didn't cover in her book, but apparently these weren't that interesting because Gregory also didn't write much about these years up.
2.5/5
Back to The White Queen.
As you can see my rating isn't that high, but still there are bits I liked, e.g. the female POV. And the added magic was an enjoyable twist even though I'm normally not a fan of these things. But I couldn't take Gregory's book serious anyway... and here comes the negative:
I'm REALLY not a fan of first person writing style. And it made reading the parts that Elizabeth didn't see first hand weird. Also the usage of the present tense felt weird too. Overall, the writing sometimes felt a bit clumsy, with very repetitive sentence structues. This often made me wonder whether I'm reading a real novel with fleshed out characters or a summary of her life. Tbh, I don't think Gregory did a good job at bringing the characters to life. I didn't grow particularly attached to them.
In contrast Gablé's story was so epic, had rich characters and really got me to care for them. I even got to know Edward better in his few scenes in Gablé's book than in Gregory's book, I think.
Well, I'm probably gonna read the following books nevertheless because it's just a great idea to tell the story of the Wars of the Roses via it's main female protagonists. But so far I wouldn't really recommend these books. If you're German or at least speak German, than better read Gablé's books instead! You'll also get much more politics and history from them.
On a sidenote: I was looking forward to read about the 1470s up until 1983 that Gablé didn't cover in her book, but apparently these weren't that interesting because Gregory also didn't write much about these years up.
2.5/5
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes