I'm pretty sure the last time I read this was when I was in college. It just goes to show how good I thought it was then because I held on to it.

It holds up pretty well. I'm not a fan of the whole past life regression thing in general, but the historical bits in the novel are quite good so I don't mind it here.

This is not a perfect book. The ending is a bit too much thrown at the reader too soon, and some of it doesn't really seem to have a point. The reader is told one too many times how perfect Joanna is, though in fairness the perfect is more moral and intelligence than looks (a nice change). Yet, I found myself enjoying the book. It's a step above The Other Boleyn Girl (anyone else crack up about PG's quest for historical accuracy in movies?). I found something likable about Joanna, perhaps because she found herself in situations that felt real. The most compelling part of the novel is the sequence in the Tower of London.

This is not a great book. There are problems with it. You know, the standard problems when you have Princess Perfect character, in this case Mette.

Yet, I have to say there is something enjoyable about reading it, and it isn't as guilt educing as saying you enjoyed reading The Other Boleyn Girl, a truly guilty pleasure read.

While some plot points make one raise an eye brow or two, it is quite clear that Hickson really enjoys the time period and her characters, in particular the story of Catherine of Valois and Owen Tudor (though the love story here seems a bit tame). It was a enjoyable, fast read

Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley

This is an Endeavour Press re-release of a 1930s book.   It is about Katherine Howard and her fall.  It's pretty good for a 1930s book.  Lindsay actually does a pretty fair job on the interested parties.  You actually feel sorry for most of the actors, though some of Culpeepper's past is glossed over (and Culpepper is pretty much un-redeemable).  Enjoyable if with a slight dated feeling.

Disclaimer: Review copy courtesy of Endeavour Press (via Netgalley)

                Marjorie Bowen was Philippa Gregory before Philippa Gregory was.

                If you know what I mean.

                According to the opening pages of this book, the Queen’s Caprice was first published in 1933.  The only that this really shows is the characterization of a sexual woman as being an evil woman. 

                Now, before you get the wrong message, the book is actually good.  I didn’t think it was great, but I am sure some people I am friends with will enjoy this book. 

                The Queen’s Caprice is about Mary Queen of Scots starting from the negotiations of marriage upon her return to Scotland.   It ends before her flight to England.  The central characters besides Mary, Darnley, and Rizzo, are Maitland and Moray. 

Bowen’s Mary is a character constructed with some sympathy even though she is at best a spoiled witch.  It should be noted that the book was written when popular scholarship had a different view of Mary Queen of Scots.  Despite this, Bowen doesn’t paint her as Gregory does Anne Boleyn or Elizabeth I.  Mary might be a bit of a slut, but there is a sense of Bowen challenging the view of a sexual woman, perhaps slightly.  There are few conversations between Moray and Maitland that portray them as far less than ideal heroes or as cold fish.  Additionally, Darnley is not just a victim or a fool but something else.

What is most enjoyable about this book is something that many NYT Bestselling Authors have trouble doing.  The book is, at times, sensual without being graphic.  It doesn’t have the relatively graphic love scenes that make their way into books like Gregory’s but the idea of Mary as a sensual being is done very well.  It was rather enjoyable to read that.

Another huge plus is the rather perfect ending.  I can just see Bowen writing it and then smiling.