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A review by kestrela
The Beauties by Lauren Chater
3.0
I am not usually a fan of historical fiction, but I enjoyed The Beauties! I liked learning about the 1660s royal family in England and the Netherlands.
There are three parts to the story; one is the story of (real life Royal figure) Anne Hyde, one is Henry the painter’s assistant, and one is Emilia, the one described in the blurb.
Emilia’s story I thought was the least interesting. It definitely felt the least believable and it mostly was not that engaging. Yeah she was grappling with the offer from the king, but mostly she was just living a surprisingly easy and fun life with her famous actress BFF and a handy random woman who had oodles of money to employ them both.
Henry was lovely and I liked reading about painting back in the day and his apprentices.
Anne Hyde’s story was by far my favourite, living in the Princess’s royal court and figuring out life. I think it definitely elevated the book from a fairly superficial and predictable love story to something a bit deeper.
There are three parts to the story; one is the story of (real life Royal figure) Anne Hyde, one is Henry the painter’s assistant, and one is Emilia, the one described in the blurb.
Emilia’s story I thought was the least interesting. It definitely felt the least believable and it mostly was not that engaging. Yeah she was grappling with the offer from the king, but mostly she was just living a surprisingly easy and fun life with her famous actress BFF and a handy random woman who had oodles of money to employ them both.
Henry was lovely and I liked reading about painting back in the day and his apprentices.
Anne Hyde’s story was by far my favourite, living in the Princess’s royal court and figuring out life. I think it definitely elevated the book from a fairly superficial and predictable love story to something a bit deeper.