A review by devynrj
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I don’t think this book needed to be 600+ pages.
I absolutely despised it at first, and eventually got comfortable with it to finish it and even liked it a bit overall. However, it has plenty of flaws, in my opinion and it’s hard to put my finger on why exactly I came to enjoy it.
I think I liked the constant tension of the pregnancies, gender and viability, and whether or not certain people would ascend or descend kept me hooked.

Admittedly I am not a fan of romance, so this probably wasn’t the book for me in the first place but I want to broaden my horizons and at least attempt to read some more romance focused novels and actual romance isn’t as strong of a point in this as it may seem.
I think a lot of it read like fan fiction I read in middle school (which I acknowledge, it is fan fiction in a way). I found most all of the characters to be pretty unlikeable, including Mary, which made it hard to root for anyone. It did give me more of an interest in the actual facts of the Boleyn’s which is nice. 
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