Reviewed by: Rosella
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 4/5
Mary Boleyn catches the eye of Henry VIII when she comes to court as a girl of fourteen. Dazzled by the golden prince, Mary’s joy is cut short when she discovers that she is a pawn in the dynastic plots of her family. When the capricious king’s interest wanes, Mary is ordered to pass on her knowledge of how to please him to her friend and rival: her sister Anne.
Anne soon becomes irresistable to Henry, and Mary can do nothing but watch her sister’s rise. Anne stops at nothing to achieve her own ambition. From now on, Mary will be no more than the other Boleyn girl.
But beyond the court is a man who dares to challenge the power of her family to offer Mary a life of freedom and passion. If only she has the courage to break away – before the Boleyn enemies turn on the Boleyn girl.
I am a huge fan of historical fiction and I love the story of Anne Boleyn, so when I saw this book at my school's library I immediately grabbed it off the shelf with a ridiculous grin on my face.
So basically this book is from Mary Boleyn's point of view; a girl who's just fourteen and already married (you know how things were back then...). During a family meeting her parents and her uncle discuss how King Henry VIII is unhappy with Katherine because she hasn't given a son. They then plan on getting Mary to seduce King Henry and later become queen. Mary of course is the sweet, and kind Boleyn sister so she refuses to because she's A) Already married and B) she adores the queen and is one of her most loyal ladies.
Mary's sister Anne then arrives from France in order to help Mary and give her tips on how to seduce a man (something Anne is very good at it). Because Mary's parents have set a deal with Mary's husband the King keeps adding more land to his land and he becomes richer because Mary is keeping him interested. Soon the King (who used to adore and love Katherine) starts to ignore the Queen and often accuses her of being a traitor the country and etc.
Mary and the King have two kids (a girl, and a boy) but he refuses to use the boy as the heir because he is a 'bastard' (was born when his parents weren't married). The King and Mary could easily have another child but he soon loses interest in her and becomes interested in Anne (who's already had her fair share of games, tricks, seducing other men, and having an 'invalid' marriage). Anne and the King soon get married.
This is what Anne has always wanted; to have a lot of power and to be better than everyone else. But she abuses the power and is rude to her brother and sister (who are the only people who genuinely love her and care for her).
At that point I couldn't bear to continue and I didn't finish the book. I know shame on me. :( I just couldn't keep reading because we all know Anne gets beheaded but I really liked her and I didn't want to read all the stupid things she did that lead to her hanging and her brother's.
Trust me, this is an AMAZING book. The only reason I didn't finish the book was because I didn't want to read about the end of Anne Boleyn.
Likes: Anne, George, Mary.
Dislikes: The King, the Boleyn's parents, the Boleyn's uncle.
*Note: Contains sex, and other graphic/mature themes.
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 4/5
Mary Boleyn catches the eye of Henry VIII when she comes to court as a girl of fourteen. Dazzled by the golden prince, Mary’s joy is cut short when she discovers that she is a pawn in the dynastic plots of her family. When the capricious king’s interest wanes, Mary is ordered to pass on her knowledge of how to please him to her friend and rival: her sister Anne.
Anne soon becomes irresistable to Henry, and Mary can do nothing but watch her sister’s rise. Anne stops at nothing to achieve her own ambition. From now on, Mary will be no more than the other Boleyn girl.
But beyond the court is a man who dares to challenge the power of her family to offer Mary a life of freedom and passion. If only she has the courage to break away – before the Boleyn enemies turn on the Boleyn girl.
I am a huge fan of historical fiction and I love the story of Anne Boleyn, so when I saw this book at my school's library I immediately grabbed it off the shelf with a ridiculous grin on my face.
So basically this book is from Mary Boleyn's point of view; a girl who's just fourteen and already married (you know how things were back then...). During a family meeting her parents and her uncle discuss how King Henry VIII is unhappy with Katherine because she hasn't given a son. They then plan on getting Mary to seduce King Henry and later become queen. Mary of course is the sweet, and kind Boleyn sister so she refuses to because she's A) Already married and B) she adores the queen and is one of her most loyal ladies.
Mary's sister Anne then arrives from France in order to help Mary and give her tips on how to seduce a man (something Anne is very good at it). Because Mary's parents have set a deal with Mary's husband the King keeps adding more land to his land and he becomes richer because Mary is keeping him interested. Soon the King (who used to adore and love Katherine) starts to ignore the Queen and often accuses her of being a traitor the country and etc.
Mary and the King have two kids (a girl, and a boy) but he refuses to use the boy as the heir because he is a 'bastard' (was born when his parents weren't married). The King and Mary could easily have another child but he soon loses interest in her and becomes interested in Anne (who's already had her fair share of games, tricks, seducing other men, and having an 'invalid' marriage). Anne and the King soon get married.
This is what Anne has always wanted; to have a lot of power and to be better than everyone else. But she abuses the power and is rude to her brother and sister (who are the only people who genuinely love her and care for her).
At that point I couldn't bear to continue and I didn't finish the book. I know shame on me. :( I just couldn't keep reading because we all know Anne gets beheaded but I really liked her and I didn't want to read all the stupid things she did that lead to her hanging and her brother's.
Trust me, this is an AMAZING book. The only reason I didn't finish the book was because I didn't want to read about the end of Anne Boleyn.
Likes: Anne, George, Mary.
Dislikes: The King, the Boleyn's parents, the Boleyn's uncle.
*Note: Contains sex, and other graphic/mature themes.