chelseaclif7 's review for:

The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory

3.0

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I liked it, but I didn't LOVE it. I am big on pacing, drama and continuity; there were too many huge gaps for me to LOVE it. I understand that is not Gregory's fault, because she is covering the story of a woman's life, but I could have done with more detail in-between the major events. I want to know what her 7 years of poverty were like, and what happened before the Boelyn girls came into the story, after she won against the Scots. I like little agonizing details, that makes a story rich to me. If a character sits in agony for 7 years, I want to sit with her for part of that time, not jump to the next "interesting," thing. But, barring that, it was an enjoyable read.

Definitely NOT as sexy or dramatic as The Other Boelyn girl, but there were some things in this novel that kept me sucked in. The beginning with the Spanish Inquisition.. I will admit that I'm not a huge History buff, and I don't know much about this particular crusade. I found myself reading for longer spans during the beginning of the book, and when she was contemplating whether or not her parents had been right to do what they did to "the Moors." The Doctor character towards the end was especially intruiging, if not a little shallow.

Gregory ends it well. I'm a little dissappointed that she didn't go ALL THE WAY to her death, but it is an exciting way to close the book.