Summary:
William (the son of Anne and Henry VIII) is now the King of England. The problem is that England is not completely behind this choice of king. There are other claims to the throne and there are tensions within the kingdom. To appease the Catholics, William is betrothed to a very young princess from France. Unfortunately, he has absolutely no intent on actually marrying her because he is in love with Minuette, a girl that grew up with the Boleyn family. To make matters worse, Minuette is actually in love with Dominic, William's best friend. Minuette attempts to keep the peace between her two lovers without anyone actually finding out the scandal, and William needs to get his court in order. This of course is difficult because the Boleyn's do love to be in control in spite of everyone else.
My thoughts:
I have loved this series so far. It is an interesting twist on the "what might have been" in history. First, William is actually a healthy boy instead of the stillborn son of reality. Taking after his father, he rules with a strict vision and gets exactly what he wants. Within this novel, William is one of the central characters, and we find out a lot about him, but we also follow Elizabeth, Minuette, and Dominic. Each character is thoroughly built with faults that are sure to cause conflict with the court. Dominic is a strong, loyal friend. In spite of the knowledge that Minuette is in love with him, Dominic is true to William through and through. He is the loyal friend that all of us wish we had. Minuette is very strong. She definitely could have been a Boleyn. She is smart and knows how to play the courtly game. In spite of her terrible position, she is able to work her way through court without losing her mind. Finally, Elizabeth is a character sure to capture your heart. Much like her real self, she is a powerful, but flirtatious young woman. She has missteps that cause her great pain, but her strength grows throughout the novel to a point where you can see how great of a ruler she will(?) be. I can't wait for the next book and wonder where everyone will end up.
William (the son of Anne and Henry VIII) is now the King of England. The problem is that England is not completely behind this choice of king. There are other claims to the throne and there are tensions within the kingdom. To appease the Catholics, William is betrothed to a very young princess from France. Unfortunately, he has absolutely no intent on actually marrying her because he is in love with Minuette, a girl that grew up with the Boleyn family. To make matters worse, Minuette is actually in love with Dominic, William's best friend. Minuette attempts to keep the peace between her two lovers without anyone actually finding out the scandal, and William needs to get his court in order. This of course is difficult because the Boleyn's do love to be in control in spite of everyone else.
My thoughts:
I have loved this series so far. It is an interesting twist on the "what might have been" in history. First, William is actually a healthy boy instead of the stillborn son of reality. Taking after his father, he rules with a strict vision and gets exactly what he wants. Within this novel, William is one of the central characters, and we find out a lot about him, but we also follow Elizabeth, Minuette, and Dominic. Each character is thoroughly built with faults that are sure to cause conflict with the court. Dominic is a strong, loyal friend. In spite of the knowledge that Minuette is in love with him, Dominic is true to William through and through. He is the loyal friend that all of us wish we had. Minuette is very strong. She definitely could have been a Boleyn. She is smart and knows how to play the courtly game. In spite of her terrible position, she is able to work her way through court without losing her mind. Finally, Elizabeth is a character sure to capture your heart. Much like her real self, she is a powerful, but flirtatious young woman. She has missteps that cause her great pain, but her strength grows throughout the novel to a point where you can see how great of a ruler she will(?) be. I can't wait for the next book and wonder where everyone will end up.
I read this just having finished the first installment of this trilogy. The second was better than the first, or maybe I was used to the author's style. I have to say, this book now took our love triangle into what I felt was too near the legend of Isolde & Tristian, and not original. I was much more interested in what was happening with Elizabeth. and the intrigue has some unseen surprises. I will read the last, but will know this trilogy could have been so much more.
I was given a copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley, in return for an honest review.
"The Boleyn Deceit" is book 2 in The Boleyn Trilogy. It picks up right where book 1, "The Boleyn King" left off. There are many references to, but not details of, incidences that occurred in the first book so I would highly recommend reading it first. This is certainly not a stand alone book.
All that being said, I really enjoyed this story, though not as much as the first book. There was a lot more History and Politics in this book than there was in its predecessor. Two of my least favorite topics. But Ms Andersen did a nice job of blending historical facts with what might have happened had history actually been as she wrote it. It was interesting to see how so many characters had their lives changed by the events created in this book. Characters such as the Dudley family, Margaret Clifford, Northumberland and Norfolk to name a few. And I'm hoping that we'll see more of Jane Grey in the last book, not only because she is relevant to the time, but because she is one of my favorite historical people.
For this to be a middle book in a trilogy, I felt it had the right amount of progression. Normally I don't like books in a series, where each book seems to end mid-climax, and you then have to wait up to a year to find out what happens next. I find this off putting because often times I will forget what happened in the last book. However, when I picked up "The Boleyn Deceit" everything came right back to me, and I have the feeling that the same will happen in the finale. Though, I must admit, I did scream in frustration when I got to the last page. Yes, I hate cliff-hangers, but this was such a good one, I'll forgive Ms Andersen.
Overall, a very entertaining read. I can't wait for the final installment, and hopefully other books along the same lines from Ms Andersen.
"The Boleyn Deceit" is book 2 in The Boleyn Trilogy. It picks up right where book 1, "The Boleyn King" left off. There are many references to, but not details of, incidences that occurred in the first book so I would highly recommend reading it first. This is certainly not a stand alone book.
All that being said, I really enjoyed this story, though not as much as the first book. There was a lot more History and Politics in this book than there was in its predecessor. Two of my least favorite topics. But Ms Andersen did a nice job of blending historical facts with what might have happened had history actually been as she wrote it. It was interesting to see how so many characters had their lives changed by the events created in this book. Characters such as the Dudley family, Margaret Clifford, Northumberland and Norfolk to name a few. And I'm hoping that we'll see more of Jane Grey in the last book, not only because she is relevant to the time, but because she is one of my favorite historical people.
For this to be a middle book in a trilogy, I felt it had the right amount of progression. Normally I don't like books in a series, where each book seems to end mid-climax, and you then have to wait up to a year to find out what happens next. I find this off putting because often times I will forget what happened in the last book. However, when I picked up "The Boleyn Deceit" everything came right back to me, and I have the feeling that the same will happen in the finale. Though, I must admit, I did scream in frustration when I got to the last page. Yes, I hate cliff-hangers, but this was such a good one, I'll forgive Ms Andersen.
Overall, a very entertaining read. I can't wait for the final installment, and hopefully other books along the same lines from Ms Andersen.
