Book Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

When I first read the small blurb and saw the trailer I was very excited to get my hands on a copy of this book. I had high expectations, which may have influenced the way I think about Juliette's story. Even though I enjoyed reading it, it did not live up to my expectations.

 

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war– and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

Juliette's touch is lethal power. Her life has always existed of lonelines and pain, not even her parents dared to love her. Instead, they sent her away to be locked up in an institution. Until The Reestablishment has other plans with her.

“My life is four walls of missed opportunities poured in concrete molds.”

The concept Tahereh Mafi created was astonishing and new. The setting, however, felt unreal and boring.
Mafi's writing style was certainly mesmerizing: a flood of metaphors drowning you in words.
At first I liked the creativity of it, read sentences over and over again, amazed by the simple beauty Mafi had folded into words of spring. However, it was simply too much. Knowing you have 300 pages to go, filled with beings comprised of letters, is harsh. As you may already have noticed.

“Hope is a pocket of possibility.
I'm holding it in my hand.”

Hope. There was a lot of hope in this book. The thing I didn't like about Juliette is that she didn't do anything to realise that hope. She followed the villain, Warner, in almost anything he asked her too. Where Juliette is a tool of power, a weapon in a war, she doesn't know how to fight for herself.
Luckily, she has her own hero. Adam, who has been in love with her since he was a little boy. It didn't matter that they had never actually talked. Adam is a genuinly likeable character, I have to admit that. The way he protects Juliette and how he cares for his brother got to me. It's simply his unrealistic romance with Juliette that makes me this bitter.
He has been Juliette's hope since she was still a rose bud, before she unfolded her petals and became the center of male attention.
Because, unsurprisingly, there's another male character who fell in love with our heroine before he had even met her. Warner, our villain, is obsessed with this human monster. After he has finally caught her in his web he reels her in to keep her close to his heart.
Where I liked Adam, I loved Warner. Warner might not be a typical villain, he certainly is evil. His education taught him to be cold, calculating. He was raised a killer. Even the way he obsesses about Juliette and declares her his love didn't ruin him for me. It fits him.
“His smile is laced with dynamite. "Go to sleep"
"Go to hell."
He works his jaw. Walks to the door. "I'm working on it.”

It's the little things that made me doubt this book, but I most certainly will be reading the next books in the series. Other little things made me love this book: James and Kenji, the moments of brilliance, the raw hope at Omega Point.
The discovery of Omega Point and the fury of the Reestablishment promise a rather interesting Unravel Me. I just hope Tahereh will use her talent in a different way. Because she is a gifted writer with great potential.

My rating of this book

Source

E-book copy.

Other links

Find this book on Goodreads

Visit Tahereh Mafi's website here
Tahereh Mafi's blog. It's pretty hilarious.

~ Sylke

Book review: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her...until Patch comes along.With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment, but after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is far more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.

*this review contains some spoilers*

My thoughts
Hush, Hush is a paranormal Young Adult book about angels. Lately there's been a bit of a craze about angel books, more and more pop up. While I absolutely love most angel books, I thought this one was a bit too complicated and similar to Twilight.

I liked Patch. Patch was awesome. Nora, on the other hand... not so much. We all know Patch is nothing good, even Nora does. She ignores her instincts to run away whenever she sees him, and often she's doing the opposite of what she originally wanted to do. And she doesn't ignores this instinct with just one boy, but two. It doesn't only confuse her, it confuses the reader too. I can tell you already that you don't know what's all happening until it's explained either hundred pages further when you already forgot it, or in the end.

And that's my next problem: There were way too many villains in this book, three namely. It made thinks confusing. It was just too much. Neither of these villains have a very clear way why they want Nora dead, though Patch and Chauncey had the same reason. Dabria was just being the jealous ex I suppose. Also, Patch had some great chances, but let them slip away. He didn't know what he wanted. One moment he wanted to kill Nora, the other moment he doesn't because he's in love with her. But I thought Angels couldn't feel things like love? You're left with a lot more questions than answers, which is also why I decided to read Crescendo and Silence.

The writing was alright. I liked how Fitzpatrick described certain things, and I also liked Vee. It was just the weird storyline and annoying characters that made me give this book only 3 stars. It could have scored 4 easily by writing style in my opinion.

However, if you love mysterious, intriguing and dangerous stories about angels, this is definitely a book to read!

Cover
The cover is stunning, the falling angel is a nice way to describe the topic of the book.

My rating of this book



Source
I bought the book at a Dutch bookstore.

Other links
Find this book on Goodreads
Becca Fitzpatrick's website
Becca Fitzpatrick's twitter



~ Sylke

Book Review: Slide by Jill Hathaway

Vee Bell is certain of one irrefutable truth—her sister’s friend Sophie didn’t kill herself. She was murdered.

Vee knows this because she was there. Everyone believes Vee is narcoleptic, but she doesn’t actually fall asleep during these episodes: When she passes out, she slides into somebody else’s mind and experiences the world through that person’s eyes. She’s slid into her sister as she cheated on a math test, into a teacher sneaking a drink before class. She learned the worst about a supposed “friend” when she slid into her during a school dance. But nothing could have prepared Vee for what happens one October night when she slides into the mind of someone holding a bloody knife, standing over Sophie’s slashed body.

Vee desperately wishes she could share her secret, but who would believe her? It sounds so crazy that she can’t bring herself to tell her best friend, Rollins, let alone the police. Even if she could confide in Rollins, he has been acting off lately, more distant, especially now that she’s been spending more time with Zane.

Enmeshed in a terrifying web of secrets, lies, and danger and with no one to turn to, Vee must find a way to unmask the killer before he or she strikes again.

My thoughts:

As soon as I read the summary of Slide I knew I was going to like Vee and her weird ability to slide into other people's minds, and I was right. I always feel like abilities like this balance a fine line between believable and cheesy, but I loved the explanations of how Vee's sliding works, and it really seemed like something that could happen. We didn't get to know much about why she has this ability, but I am sure that will be explored further in the sequel.

From the moment Vee slides into an unknown mind and sees Sophie lying bloody on her bed, the hunt is on. Who killed Sophie, and why? And now that there's a killer on the loose, is anyone really safe? I love mysteries like this, and I kept thinking I had it all figured out, only to find my jaw dropping at the end when everything is revealed. So not what I was expecting!

Vee was a great character, and I really felt like I could understand how it was to deal with an ability like that. She did make some stupid choices, but only the same ones I would have made in her situation. I really wished she would have confided in her best friend Rollins, or at least asked him straight out about why he was acting so weird, instead of just kinda giving up on their friendship, but I can see how it was hard for her to trust anyone. Zane was great, and I really liked what he added to the story.

The murder mystery, Vee's special ability and her relationships to both Rollins and Zee (as well as that to her former best "friend") all made Slide a thrilling read that will leave you guessing until the very last chapter.

Cover:

I think the picture with that tagline, "Sometimes you can't look away" gives a deer-caught-in-headlights kind of feeling. I like it!

My rating of this book:

Want to know more?

Add Slide to your Goodreads wish list

Visit Jill Hathaway's website
Read Jill's blog
Follow Jill on Twitter

Full disclosure:
ARC received from NetGalley

This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and online book stores like Amazon and The Book Depository (I'm not an affiliate of either). The latter store has free shipping to about 100 countries.

Book Review: New Girl by Paige Harbison

They call me 'New Girl'...

Ever since I arrived at exclusive, prestigious Manderly Academy, that’s who I am. New girl. Unknown. But not unnoticed—because of her.

Becca Normandy—that’s the name on everyone’s lips. The girl whose picture I see everywhere. The girl I can’t compare to. I mean, her going missing is the only reason a spot opened up for me at the academy. And everyone stares at me like it’s my fault.

Except for Max Holloway—the boy whose name shouldn’t be spoken. At least, not by me. Everyone thinks of him as Becca’s boyfriend but she’s gone, and here I am, replacing her. I wish it were that easy. Sometimes, when I think of Max, I can imagine how Becca’s life was so much better than mine could ever be.

And maybe she’s still out there, waiting to take it back.

My thoughts:

New Girl is a retelling of the classic Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. I have not read Rebecca, so I can't say anything about how it compares, but New Girl felt very much like its own, original story when I read it. I am somewhat split in my opinion of this book. On one side I loved the mystery, the characters and the way the story was told. On the other side, I was a little bugged by how much everyone cared about 'New Girl', and I had some problems with Max.

To start with the good, I loved the way the story was told from both 'New Girl' and Becca's sides. It really made it clear how different the two girls were, and how crazy it was for everyone to think 'New Girl' was trying to take over Becca's place. All through the book I found myself trying to guess what really happened to Becca - was she actually dead, had she run away, or was she just waiting for the perfect time to reclaim her throne as queen of Manderly Academy?

'New Girl' (it takes a while before we learn her name, so I'll let you discover it on your own) is a very strong character, despite all her insecurities, and I loved how she was not afraid to stand up for herself and be her own person. Most of her fellow students only see her as a poor copy of Becca and never gives her a chance to show her own personality, but she handles it all very well.

My problem with New Girl mostly comes down to Max. I don't see why on earth he stayed in a relationship with Becca when he was clearly not happy with her, because let's be honest - most teenage boys don't care that much about hurting a girl's feelings, so if they want to dump a girl that's what they do. Then in comes 'New Girl', and all of a sudden we're supposed to believe that he cares about her, even if he treats her like dirt to start with. It just wasn't a believable relationship for me.

Despite the few issues I had with New Girl I enjoyed it quite a bit, and can recommend it to anyone who likes a little mystery, some good boarding school drama and a strong protagonist.

Cover:

As much as I like underwater covers, there's something off about this one. I just don't like this girl's facial expression.

My rating of this book:

Want to know more?

Add New Girl to your Goodreads wish list

Visit Paige Harbison's website
Read Paige's blog
Follow Paige on Twitter

Full disclosure:
ARC received from NetGalley

This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and online book stores like Amazon and The Book Depository (I'm not an affiliate of either). The latter store has free shipping to about 100 countries.

Book Review: Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Obviously, something went terribly wrong. Genetic mutations have festered, reducing human longevity to twenty-five, even less for most women. To prevent extinction, young girls are kidnapped, mated in polygamous marriages with men eager to procreate. Sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery, a recent victim of this breeding farm mentality, has vowed to break loose from its fetters; but finding allies and a safe way out is a challenge she can only hope she will survive.

My thoughts:
Wither is a hard book for me to review, simply because I can't quite make up my mind about it. There's so much about the setting that feels wrong to me. First, I just don't believe that these genetic mutations would apply to every single person in every single country across the earth. I can't imagine a procedure like this being very cheap, and that makes it highly unlikely that so many people could afford to go through with it. Second, if a guy is told he only has 25 years to live, how likely is it that his sole focus becomes having as many children as possible? Of course it would be nice to have someone to carry on your family name, but wouldn't most guys (even those as oblivious to the truth as Linden, Rhine's husband) want to have some fun instead of marrying 13-year-olds to have their children? And third, how on earth did some of the highest elevated countries like Nepal, China, Argentina and Peru disappear, while Florida and New York are both still around? I'm not buying it.

Despite all of this, I still enjoyed the book. Rhine is a great character, and I really feel like I got to know her well even if I did not always agree with her actions. I loved how she always kept her goal in mind, and always stayed so true to herself. The other characters were all very well described, and by the end of the book I had found things I loved about even the most annoying of Rhine's sister wives. Wither is a little slow as most of the action is conversations and small happenings between Rhine and the sister wives in their new home, but Lauren DeStefano has such a beautiful way of writing that I often found myself stopping to read certain lines over again.

“Eventually I realize that I am holding on to him just as tightly as he holds on to me. And here we are: two small dying things, as the world ends around us like falling autumn leaves.”

Cover:

I love the typography, the colors, the model, and the overall feel of this cover. I don't think I've ever seen one just like it.

My rating of this book:

Want to know more?

Add Wither to your Goodreads wish list

Visit Lauren DeStefano's website

Follow Lauren on Twitter

Full disclosure:
Checked out at my local library

This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and online book stores like Amazon and The Book Depository (I'm not an affiliate of either). The latter store has free shipping to about 100 countries.

Book Review: Ripple by Mandy Hubbard

Lexi is cursed with a dark secret. Each day she goes to school like a normal teenager, and each night she must swim, or the pain will be unbearable. She is a siren - a deadly mermaid destined to lure men to their watery deaths. After a terrible tragedy, Lexi shut herself off from the world, vowing to protect the ones she loves. But she soon finds herself caught between a new boy at school who may have the power to melt her icy exterior, and a handsome water spirit who says he can break Lexi's curse if she gives up everything else. Lexi is faced with the hardest decision she's ever had to make: the life she's always longed for - or the love she can't live without?

My thoughts:

While reading Ripple, I think I felt more sorry for Lexi than I have for any other characters in a long time. I can't imagine going to high school and trying to live a normal life while trying to deal with both the tragedy from her past and the insane pain she goes through if for some reason she can't swim at night. Even if Lexi tries staying away from her old friends to avoid another tragedy or having someone find out that she's a siren, and even if she pretends to be fine with this, you can tell how hard it is on her to not have any friends at school. 

Even if I loved Lexi, I never really liked either one of the main boys in Ripple. Cole, the new boy who starts talking to Lexi even when everyone else avoids her, just fell flat for me. Sure, he was nice, handsome, and helped Lexi out in a way no one else did, but there was still something missing. As for the other boy, Erik, he was just horribly predictable. I never saw why Lexi would even be attracted to him, other than those amazing blue eyes and oh, the fact that he's a water spirit who can break her curse.

Ripple is a very cute story, but I would have loved to see some more siren action - too much of the book felt like normal high school drama to me. It's well worth the read, and I know plenty of girls who loved both Cole and Erik, but for me it was not my favorite.

Cover:

The cover was what made me pick out this book at the library, and I still love it.

My rating of this book:

Want to know more?

Add Ripple to your Goodreads wish list

Visit Mandy Hubbard's website
Follow Mandy on Twitter

Full disclosure:
Checked out at my local library

This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and online book stores like Amazon and The Book Depository (I'm not an affiliate of either). The latter store has free shipping to about 100 countries.

Book review: Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs by Molly Harper

Jane Jameson gets fired, goes to a bar and on her way home she is mistaken for a deer and someone shots her. Jane wakes up craving blood.

The Newly Undead Welcoming Committee is on Jane's doorstep with a basket with useful things. It doesn't brighten Jane's mood.. how is she supposed to hide this from her family? And what will become of Jane's relationship with her hot maker? If this isn't enough problems Jane has a ghost for roomie, her auntie Jettie, and someone is trying to frame Jane for murdering a vampire.

My thoughts:
Poor Jane, it is not easy to adjust to a life as a vampire. I honestly have to say that I don't remember much details of this story, here is a short summary of what's left in my memory:

• Jane was a librarian that got fired.
• The story had humor in it, I saved I quote that I thought illustrated it in a good way
  

  Jettie was the one who undid some of the damage from my mother's "birds and bees" talk, entitled "Nice Girls Don't Do That. Ever."

• A dark, dangerous and sexy vampire.
• Mystery

Will I continue with this series? I think so, when I'm in the mood for some light paranormal entertainment.

Cover:
Ok I guess.


My rating of this book:




Want a second opinion? Check out these reviews written by some of my book blogging friends:
Blood Rose Books
Mystifying Paranormal Reviews

Want to know more?

Add Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs to your Goodreads wish list.

Visit Molly's homepage 

Follow Molly on Twitter 

Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs by Molly Harper

Published: 2009
Pages(paperback): 355
Publisher: Pocket Star
ISBN: 1416589422 (ISBN13: 9781416589426)
Full disclosure: I purchased the audiobook from Audible

This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and on-line book stores such as Amazon or The Book Depository (I'm not an affiliate of either). The latter store does by the way have free shipping to about 100 countries.

Book review: Vanish by Sophie Jordan

Vanish is the second novel in Sophie Jordan's Firelight trilogy. May I suggest reading my review of Firelight for those of you who haven't started this trilogy yet? It's hard to avoid spoilers when reviewing a sequel.

Jacinda, Tamra, Zara(the girls mother) and Cassian are on their way back to the pride. Their actions will be punished...

My thoughts:
I loved Firelight and I believe it might even make it to my top 10 reads of 2011-list. I'm sorry to say that this second installment in the Firelight trilogy struggled to maintain my interest. I had such high hopes for Vanish but somehow I just lost the connection with the main character, Jacinda, almost from the first page. For me, and I'm willing to bet on it that this is important for all booklovers out there, character connection is SO important, so that kind ruined my reading experience.

When I had about 30 pages left of the book something changed and I felt more invested in the story again, Sophie Jordan seemed to rein me back in again. So much so that I feel the urge to read the conclusion of this trilogy, I hope it will be back on the same level as Firelight.

I almost forgot to tell you that I think I might have changed what team I'm on... So are you team Will or team Cassian?

Cover:
I do think it's pretty in a way but not nearly as beautiful as the Firelight cover.

My rating:

- Okish, but the first one was so much better.

Want a second opinion?

Emily's Reading Room

Down the Rabbit Hole

Supernatural Snark

Want to know more?

Add Firelight to your Goodreads wish list.

Visit Sophie's homepage 

Follow Sophie on Twitter 

This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and on-line book stores such as Amazon or The Book Depository (I'm not an affiliate of either). The latter store does by the way have free shipping to about 100 countries.

Book Review: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Summary:

Todd Hewitt is the last boy in Prentisstown. But Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in a constant, overwhelming, never-ending Noise. There is no privacy. There are no secrets. Or are there?

Just one month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd unexpectedly stumbles upon a spot of complete silence. Which is impossible.

Prentisstown has been lying to him. And now he's going to have to run...

My thoughts:

Before beginning this novel, which is the first in the Chaos Walking series, I had read a lot of praise for it from both friends and fellow book bloggers. As I read I kept waiting for that moment when I would get completely caught up, but unfortunately it never came. Part of that may be because of the language used. I can certainly see the appeal of using dialect, slang and misspellings, and how it adds to Todd's personality, but I just ended up being annoyed at how he only misspelled certain words without much of a pattern, while others were spelled correctly. It just didn't work for me, and for me it's so important to like the way a book is written.

The story itself is both original and exciting, but I just never cared that much about what happened to the main  characters. I don't feel like there was enough interaction between them, and even reading everything from Todd's point of view he never became a very likable character, as he was just a bit too whiny and uncertain for my taste. (Although what can you really expect from a 14 year old boy who's just had his life turned upside down?)

All in all, The Knife of Never Letting Go is a good dystopian novel built on a great concept, and enough people love it that it's worth checking it out. It's still far from being among my favorites though, and I'm probably not going to read the last two novels

The cover:

Simple, yet it perfectly describes the book.

My rating of this book:

3 stars out of 5

Want a second opinion? Check out these reviews written by some of my book blogging friends:

The Little Bookworm

The Crooked Shelf

Want to know more?
Add The Knife of Never Letting Go to your Goodreads wishlist
Visit Patrick Ness' website

Follow Patrick Ness on Twitter

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Published: May 5th 2008

Pages (hardcover): 479

Publisher: Candlewick

ISBN: 0763639311 (ISBN13: 9780763639310)

Full disclosure: Checked out at my local library

This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and on-line book stores such as Amazon or The Book Depository (I'm not an affiliate of either). The latter store does by the way have free shipping to about 100 countries.

Book review: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

My summary:

Meghan Chase feels like she's almost invisible, even the day she turns sixteen she isn't priority. Life hasn't felt normal since that day in the park when she was six years old and her father disappeared. There are only two people in Meghan's life that she knows truly care about her; her four year old little brother, Ethan, and her best friend from childhood, Robbie.

Robbie is quite the prankster and always in a good mood, that suddenly changes on a bus ride home from school one day. Meghan notices a stunningly  handsome boy outside the window and Robbie is suddenly acting like he's her mother, telling her to stay away from this guy.

Meghan's life is just getting weirder by the second and suddenly she finds herself in the Nevernever on a dangerous mission to retrieve her little brother who has been abducted by the fey. 

My thoughts:

I've had this book on my shelf for many, many months now(I purchased it back in August 2010) although I've been wanting to read it ever since I haven't prioritized it. Well that changed after I read  Life After Jane's brilliant review a few days ago, I knew I had to read this book now.

After finishing the book I just wasn't sure what I felt. I mean Julie Kagawa has written a respectable debut novel, it was entertaining from the beginning to the final page, but at the same time I was a little bit disappointed. I felt like parts of the story was overly familiar, it reminded me of stories we've been told before. That being said there were also parts of the story that was very original, I'll give the author lots of kudos for coming up with a new kind of fey; iron.


There were lots of supernatural, mythical beings in the story and at times it felt like there was too many for me to keep track of. I couldn't remember my gremlins from the pack rats or the redcaps, it was a bit too much with detailed descriptions of every kind of creature. I guess you could say that I was a bit overwhelmed. 


I did enjoy the main character, Meghan, she had some admirable character traits, but she was also a bit to rash and jumping to conclusions. My favorite character was Ethan, the cute little brother, I just wanted to give him a big hug and tell him that everything would be ok. There's also a talking cat, Grimalkin, he's a wonderful character as well. And I bet you've all been waiting to hear my verdict on the love interests in this story? Well I liked them both, but then again I felt like I had no choice but to love Ash but in my head I'm team Puck.

Book trailer:

The cover:
Stunning! Enough said.

My rating of this book:

3.5 stars out of 5

Want a second opinion? Check out these reviews written by some of my book blogging friends:
Life After Jane
I <3 reading
Gone with the words
The Norwegian Book Girl

Want to know more?
Add The Iron King to your Goodreads wish list.
Visit Julie Kagawa's homepage 
Read Julies' blog 
Follow Julie on Twitter

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Published: 2010
Pages(paperback): 363
Publisher: HarperTeen
ISBN: 0373210086 (ISBN13: 9780373210084)
Full disclosure: Purchased 

This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and on-line book stores such as Amazon or The Book Depository (I'm not an affiliate of either). The latter store does by the way have free shipping to about 100 countries.

Book review - Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII by David Starkey

 It took me awhile(even longer to write a review) but I finally completed Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII by David Starkey on audio. I really enjoyed listening to it and I think it is fair to say that I have learned a lot. Henry VIII was for me a mad king who got rid of his wives in the most evil of manners. I didn't have any in-depth knowledge of him or his wives. Of course I've known about Henry and his wifes, but most of my information came from movies or tv-series.

This book had(obviously) focus on Henry's wifes and one gets to know them quite well, especially Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. But through the wives stories we get to know abit about Henry VIII as well. Starky actually points out that as long as Henry was in love he was a good husband, to bad for his wives that his infatuation seemed to be short lived.

When we got to Henry's last wife Katherine Parr, who survived Henry, I though finally one of them will have a happy ending. She got to marry the man she loved and everything seemed to be perfect alas, it ended in tragedy.

I have some issues with Starkey's way of writing about other historians and the way he presents the facts. It feels as if he's saying "I'm right and all of the other historians were wrong". I don't believe that it is that simple, a source can be interpreted in different ways by different researchers.

David Starkey managed to rekindle my love for history and I'll be on the lookout for other historical audiobooks.

My rating of this book:
3,8 stars out of 5 stars.

Perhaps this review wasn't so short after all, I felt like I just wrote a couple of lines.