Birthday Books!

My birthday isn't until tomorrow, but I had a celebration with my family yesterday. I just wanted to post about the books I got. My parents gave me The Queen's Fool and The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory. I've been wanting these books since I finished The Boleyn Inheritance. I'm so excited to read them! My brother gave me City of Glass by Cassandra Clare. I'm so happy!

I can't wait to read my new books, but I still have a bunch from Christmas still!

The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory

The Boleyn Inheritance tells the story of Henry VIII's fourth and fifth wives, Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard. Both women are very different but the both eventually learn how dangerous it is to be Henry Tudor's wife.

This book is just as interesting and emotional as The Other Boleyn Girl. I loved that it was in the perspective of the three women, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Jane Boleyn. All three women had such vastly different personalities and thoughts about what was happening. Anne was so independent and was just trying to live her life without a man telling her what she could and couldn't do, Katherine was naive and vain, and Jane was calculating and a little mad, I think. I loved this book, and I wish Philippa Gregory had written more books about Henry VIII, but this was the last one. Maybe I will find some written by other authors. I've seen them at the bookstore. I'd like to see how other authors tell the story of the Tudor family.

5 out of 5 stars

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

It has taken me so long to finish this book. April is the month of birthdays in my family (my mom, myself, my cousin, my aunt, my brother and my husband) so I have been busy with all of that. Also, my brother-in-law is staying with us during his high school's spring break. I'm glad I finished the book today, though, because it's due back to the library today!

The Other Boleyn Girl is an historical fiction about the rivalry between Mary and Anne Boleyn who are sisters. Mary, the younger sister, is a lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherine, Henry VIII's wife, when she starts to notice the king is paying special attention to her. Her family notices, too, and they push Mary to become the king's mistress. Her older sister, Anne, is jealous that Mary is getting all of the attention, but there is nothing she can do. Eventually, the king tires of Mary and Anne captures his attention. The rest of the book is about Anne's journey to the throne and what she is willing to do to get there and then stay there.

The Other Boleyn Girl is told in the first person perspective of Mary Boleyn. It makes it very interesting to see the story through the eyes of the "underdog", the one who couldn't become queen. I loved the descriptions in this book, especially of the sibling rivalry between Mary and Anne; it made me glad that I don't have a sister! At first, I was sad that Henry chose Anne over Mary, but then I realized that it was definitely better for Mary that way, I mean, at least she kept her head on her shoulders! (OK, bad joke, I know) Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I liked it a lot more than The Constant Princess which is also by Philippa Gregory but is about Queen Katherine. I definitely want to read more books about the Tudors especially Gregory's next book, The Boleyn Inheritance.

5 out of 5 stars

The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory

It took me a while to finish this book because, when I was very close to finishing it, I left it at my parents house. I was so mad! I only just got it back yesterday, so I finished it today!

The Constant Princess tells the story of Katherine of Aragon, King Henry VIII's first wife. Katherine was born "Catalina" to the King and Queen of Spain. Her marriage to Prince Arthur, the heir to the throne of England, was decided when she was an infant. She knew she would be Princess of Wales all of her life. When she turned 15, she was sent to England to marry Prince Arthur. At first she despised Arthur, but she grew to love him very much during the short months that they were married. As Arthur lay dying of a sudden illness, he made Catalina promise that she would marry his brother, Henry, and become Queen of England.

Chronologically, The Constant Princess comes before Gregory's other book, The Other Boleyn Girl. I really wanted to read The Other Boleyn Girl, but when I found out that this book takes place before it, I decided to read them in order. The book switches between telling the story in third person to Katherine's point of view in the first person, indicated by italics. I loved it, because it was like looking into her mind at certain points in her life. Her story is sad, but she is very strong throughout all of her hardships. I am ashamed to say that before reading this book, I had very little knowledge of King Henry VIII and the Tudors. Now I want to read anything I can about the subject. It's so interesting! I've heard there is a TV series on Showtime about the Tudors; I'll have to check it out. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read The Other Boleyn Girl!

5 out of 5 stars