King Arthur Movie Tristan

title: The Secret of the Glass

author: Donna Russo Morin

genre: historical fiction

published: 2010

pages: 372

first line: The scalding heat rose up before her, reaching deep inside her like a selfish lover grasping for her soul.

rated: 4 out of 5 stars






When author Donna Russo Morin contacted me about reading and reviewing her book The Secret of the Glass, I was tickled pink. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres and I always enjoy delving into a story set in another time and place.



Set in Venice during the 17th century, The Secret of the Glass is a wonderfully woven story full of drama, romance and Venetian history.


Nineteen year old Sophia Fiolario comes from a family of glass makers, her father Zeno owns a successful glass making factory. Being the eldest of three daughters, Sophia has been taught how to make the glass and she truly loves it. However, she works in secret with her father because it is illegal for women to work the glass.



The lovely Sophia is betrothed against her will to Pasquale da Fuligna, who is cold hearted and almost twice her age. She unwillingly consents to marry him, thinking of what will happen to her family once her father dies. If all goes as planned, her husband will inherit her fathers business and 'kindly' pay to put her two sisters in a nunnery.

When Sophia meets a handsome and kind stranger Teodoro Gradenigo, there is instant attraction. However, Teodoro is headed to the parish himself. His older brother is set to marry, leaving Teodoro with no other choice.

She felt his gaze first, like the brush of a butterfly's wings if they passed too close to the tender skin of her cheek, a touch that wasn't a touch at all but jarring nonetheless. She turned to it, drawn by it and saw him. His chiseled features towered over every other head in the room. He seemed to scowl at her, yet a small, almost secretive smile played upon his full lips.

Teodoro and Sophia are soon unable to forget each other, but they know it is nearly impossible to be together. Sophia is on a mission to find out if her betrothed is up to something illegal so she can report him and hopefully save herself.
To make matters worse, Sophia's father has been diagnosed with Dementia and his health is quickly declining.



Another interesting aspect to the story is Galileo Galilei and his famous invention, the telescope. He needs someone to make a special glass piece for it, and he hears the Fiolario's glass making factory is among the finest in Venice.



Author Donna Russo Morin obviously did her research and the result is a beautifully told story with vivid details of 17th century Venice and its history. I really felt swept up in this time period while I was reading.




I liked Sophia's character very much. She's a strong heroine, with a mind of her own trying to make it in a world were her options were limited.
The relationship she had with Teodoro was really sweet. I wondered how their story would end.



I also enjoyed reading about the techniques used during glass making. It seemed that Sophia had a passion for it, and truly felt free while making beautiful glass creations. Sadly enough, she had to keep her love of working the glass a secret.


I loved how the story involved different aspects of Venice and it's historical figures. Galileo is woven into the storyline seamlessly.





This was a great read and I highly recommend it to fans of Historical Fiction.
There's an interesting plot, likable characters and wonderful writing within these pages.

It is the history book writer's function to tell us where and when things happened;
it is the function of the fiction writer to tell us how it felt.
- Donna Russo Morin

Special thanks to author Donna Russo Morin for sending me a copy of her book.

title: To Conquer a Highlander


author: Mary Wine



genre: historical romance


published: July 2010 ARC


pages: 347


first line: Fire could be a welcome sight to a man when he'd been riding a long time and the sun had set, leaving him surrounded by darkness.


rated: 3 1/2 out of 5










In To Conquer a Highlander Shannon McBoyd, twenty something daughter of Laird McBoyd, has found out she will soon be married in her fathers attempt for an alliance.



Shannon's father raids rival Torin McLeren's land and Laird Torin has vowed vengeance. With the two clans at odds, and McBoyd about to marry his daughter off in an attempt to gain another clans alliance, Torin kidnaps Shannon in order to deter the plans. However, Torin finds out that Shannon is a bit more than he bargained for.


Shannon is smart, sassy and shows no fear.



Being raised by a cold hearted father has taught her how to be strong on the outside, no matter how scared she might really be, this comes in handy for Shannon when she is kidnapped. However, she is surprised at the decency Torin is showing her, even though she is the daughter of a hated rival. Even Torin's household staff is treating her better than she expected. When Shannon gets to sleep in a room just one floor under Torin's room, she can't help but wonder if Torin plans on taking her to bed. When he unexpectedly kisses her, Shannon finds herself wanting more.




Torin on the other hand, finds himself thinking about Shannon all the time and is feeling protective of her. He doesn't want the time to come where he has to hand her over to her father.


With the sexual tension building up, you begin to wonder when these two are going to get together.





I liked Shannon's character. She doesn't sit around waiting to be married off by her father. She doesn't want to enter into an arranged marriage that will most likely be loveless. So when her father tells her that she is to be married off, she is heartbroken.

At twenty-two, she was getting rather past the age for a first wedding. Shannon didn't lament hear years. In truth, she enjoyed being past the age of uncertainty. After her last birthday had passed and no groom sought her hand, a peace had settled over her. A sense of freedom that seemed to fill her with poise and confidence. She liked who she was and did not need a husband to feel complete.

Torin is your perfect hero, he's tall, dark and handsome and has a Scottish Brogue. What more could you want?

I also liked that Torin was patient with Shannon, and cared about her feelings.
And as per my personal preference, I was envisioning Gerard Butler yielding a sword...wearing a kilt....speaking with his hawt Scottish accent.

"I couldn't bear the thought of ye undressing without me there to enjoy it."


"But...surely there were others..."


"I want ye Shannon. It has never been my way to tumble many lasses, only to tumble the one lass who I consider mine, very often."

The love scenes do not start until about halfway through the book, but they are really steamy once you do get to them.



I enjoyed the tension between these two, Shannon trying to deny her attraction for Torin, meanwhile he teases her for blushing bright red whenever he is near.




To Conquer a Highlander is a good beach read. If you want to immerse yourself in romance, while being transported to 15th century Scotland, look no further.


This is my first time reading a book by Mary Wine and I really enjoyed it.





Special thanks to Danielle over at Sourcebooks for sending me a copy of this book.

title: The Boleyn Inheritance


author: Philippa Gregory

genre: historical fiction


published: 2006


pages: 518


rated: 4 1/2 stars

I rise from my great chair with the gold canopy over my head. On either side of the box the curtains billow in the Tudor colors of green and white, my initials are everywhere, my crest is everywhere. The other initials of all the other queens are on the underside of the curtains only and they don't show. To judge from today, there has only ever been one queen: myself.

It seems every time I pick up a Philippa Gregory book, I cannot put it down. Since reading The Constant Princess, I have been hooked on her books and find myself totally absorbed in her storytelling. The Boleyn Inheritance was no different.








The story is set between 1539 and 1542 after Jane Seymour dies and King Henry VIII decides to marry once again. This time he marries a German princess, Anne of Cleves, making her his fourth wife. After a bad first encounter with Anne, Henry quickly begins to hate her. Once Anne is in England she finds herself alone and barely able to speak the language, with a husband who will not consummate the marriage and who dislikes her from the start.






The story is told from the points of view of Queen Anne, Katherine Howard who is a lady in waiting, and Jane Boleyn, who is George Boleyn's widow. Jane's own testimony helped send her late husband and his infamous sister Anne Boleyn to the chopping block.




The young, beautiful and silly Katherine Howard has captured the kings eye, who is already looking for a way out of his new marriage.



The Henry in this book is old and obese, no longer the young, handsome, charming prince he once was. He is nearly fifty years old and a tyrant, twisting the law to serve himself and having innocent people killed.

A fat old man, a vulgar old man, like a drunk sheep farmer on market day. His face is terribly bloated, like a great round dish of dripping; his hair is thinning and gray; he is monstrously fat; and he has an old injury in his leg that makes him so lame that he rolls in his walk like a sailor. Without his crown he is not handsome; he looks like anybody's fat old grandfather.

Katherine Howard made me laugh a few times with her self-centered comments and observations. She was definitely vain and flighty, and had no clue about the danger she was putting herself in. I pitied her since she was just 14 years old when she arrived at court and 16 when she was sentenced to death. Katherine became Henry's fifth wife and he called her his 'rose without a thorn'.

The king is on his throne looking powerful and fatherly, and Lady Anne is as pretty as she can be (given that awful dress) beside him. She might as well just have thrown the sables in the Thames and have them sewn on that taffeta tent. I am so distressed about such wonderful furs all but thrown away that it almost dims my pleasure for the moment.

Jane Boleyn is back at court after helping send her husband and sister-in-law to their deaths. She was constantly sneaking around, eavesdropping and following them in The Other Boleyn Sister. But in this book she misses them and keeps thinking about how much she loved them, that didn't make any sense to me. Towards the end of the book she somewhat admits to herself that she was insanely jealous of the bond between George and Anne Boleyn.

The two of them used to ride together, racing, neck and neck like lovers, and I could hear their laughter over the thudding of the hooves as they went flying by. Sometimes, when I saw them together, so rich, so young, so beautiful, I couldn't tell which of them I loved more.

I liked Queen Anne, and I pitied her. Her marriage to the king was doomed from the start. Once she knew that Henry was trying to find a way out of the marriage, she just hoped and prayed her life would be spared.

There is a silence between us, as we both come to realize the simple truth that is being spoken. We are two women who have recognized that we cannot control the world. We are players in this game, but we do not chose our own moves. The men will play us for thier own desires. All we can do is try to survive whatever happens next.

I enjoyed this book very much. The Boleyn Inheritance has been the perfect read on a cold winters night. There was drama, romance and plenty of interesting characters. I was completely hooked on the last few chapters and was up until late into the night reading.

Everyone tries to forget that Henry is a ruthless man. Henry himself tries to make us forget. When he is being charming, or setting himself out to please, we like to forget that we are playing with a savage bear. This is not a man whose temperament is tamed. This is not a man whose mood is constantly sweet. This is not a man who can manage his feelings; he cannot keep constant from one day to another.

title: Arabella

author: Georgette Heyer

published: 1949

pages: 312

genre: historical fiction/regency romance

first line: The schoolroom in the Parsonage at Heythram was not a large apartment, but on a bleak January day, in a household where the consumption of coals was a consideration, this was not felt by its occupants to be a disadvantage.

rated: 4 out of 5





Arabella Tallant is the eldest daughter of a humble vicar and his wife, and she is expected to marry well. She is sent to London to stay with her godmother in hopes of finding a suitable husband.
On her way to London, Arabella's carriage breaks down and she and her companion end up staying at the nearest home. It is the home of rich, eligible bachelor, Robert Beaumaris. Beaumaris is used to females trying to catch his attention, so he thinks that Arabella faked her carriage trouble in order to stay at his home and catch his eye. Arabella dislikes Beaumaris from the start, thinking he is conceited and arrogant. At dinner, while drinking wine and feeling a bit 'toasty', she decides to lie to him. She tells Beaumaris that she herself is rich and heir to the Tallant fortune and is going to London to escape all her would be suitors. Beaumaris believes her story and soon enough the whole town is buzzing with rumors about the new heiress.


When her godmother throws a ball, and Beaumaris shows up, the party is considered an instant success. Beaumaris is known for being a confirmed bachelor and a flirt, and he does gives Arabella his attention at the ball. Soon enough, she has many would be suitors after her as well as a few marriage proposals. These men think that if Beaumaris is after Arabella, she must be quite the catch. Beaumaris figures he'll just flirt with her, but Arabella is already onto him, she knows what he is up to and she decides to use his attentions to her advantage. She wants to stay one step ahead of him, and refuses to take him seriously or fall in love with him. When Beaumaris realizes that Arabella is smarter than he first took her for, he decides to really charm her and make her fall for him. Before they know it, what started out as just a game, turns into something more serious for these two.









I'm a fan of Georgette Heyer and found Arabella to be sweet, funny and entertaining.
The characters were great and the storyline was fun. I liked Arabella and Beaumaris's characters. It was cute how they flirted with each other, yet each played hard to get.




As always, I liked Heyer's style of writing, here's a few of my favorite passages.

They presented a charming picture, as they sat poring over thier book, thier dark ringlets intermingled, and thier arms around each other's waists. They were very plainly dressed, in gowns of blue kersemere, made high to the throat, and with long tight sleeves; and they wore no other ornaments than a knot or two of ribbons; but the Vicar's numerous offspring were all remarkable for thier good looks and had very little need of embellishment.

She now perceived that she had much mistaken the matter. No one she had ever seen approached the elegance of Mr. Beaumaris.

Lord Fleetwood, or any of his cronies, could have recognized the tailoring of that coat of olive-green superfine at a glance; Arabella, to whom the magic name of Weston was unknown, was merely aware of a garment so exquisitely cut that it presented all the appearance of having been moulded to its wearer's form. A very good form too, she noted, with approval. No need of buckram wadding, such as that Knaresborough tailor had inserted into Bertram's new coat, to fill out those shoulders! And how envious Bertram would have been of Mr. Beaumaris's fine legs, sheathed in tight pantaloons, with gleaming Hessian boots pulled over them!

It was impossible to fathom the intricacies of his mind, but one thing was certain; the great Mr. Beaumaris and the Vicar of Heythram's daughter could have nothing to do with one another, so that the less the Vicar's daughter thought about him the better it would be for her. One could not deny his adress, or his handsome face, but one could-and one did-dwell on the many imperfections of his character. He was demonstrably indolent, a spoilt darling of society, with no thought for anything but his fleeting pleasure: a heartless, heedless leader of fashion, given over to selfishness, and every other vice which Papa's daughter had been thought to think reprehensible.

Nothing he wore was designed to attract attention, but he made every other man in the room look either a trifle overdressed or a trifle shabby.

About the author:


http://www.georgette-heyer.com/

Author of over fifty books, Georgette Heyer is the best-known and best-loved of all historical novelists, who made the Regency period her own. Her first novel, The Black Moth, published in 1921, was written at the age of fifteen to amuse her convalescent brother; her last was My Lord John. Although most famous for her historical novels, she also wrote eleven detective stories. Georgette Heyer died in 1974 at the age of seventy-one.

Special thanks to Danielle over at Sourcebooks for sending me this book to read and review.

title: The Wildest Heart

author: Rosemary Rogers

genre: historical romance

pages: 739

published: 1974, republished sept. 2009

first line: Wild blood!

rated: 4 out of 5







Miss Rowena Dangerfield is raised in India by her grandfather. Her father Guy, brought her to India when she was just a baby. Rowena's mother, Fanny, divorces Guy and leaves to London. When she is 18, Rowena is sent to live in London with her mother, whom she is not close to and her stepfather. Once in London, Rowena's stepfather, Sir Edgar, takes advantage of Rowena and she winds up being his mistress.
Rowena winds up going to the New Mexico to claim the inheritance her father left for her. While there, she reads her fathers journal and realizes many things about the past and family rivalries. Among the many interesting characters in New Mexico is a man named Todd Shannon who is much older than her, but insists on marrying her. Todd's nephew Mark, falls in love with Rowena, but she doesn't share the same feelings for him. Rowena also meets a man named Lucas Cord, an outlaw with a sordid past.



This was a really good read. It's the kind of book you can really sink your teeth into. There's alot of plot twists and interesting characters. The story has plenty of drama, adventure and romance in it as well. I always enjoy a story that just keeps on going from page one. I like Rowena's character, she's smart and sassy. I like that she dresses herself 'down' when she first makes aqquaintances in order to get people to be thier true selves around her, instead of dressing flashy and getting the wrong kind of attention.




I can imagine this book being made into a mini-series.


The dialogue was great, several scenes reminded of the interaction between Rhett and Scarlett in Gone With the Wind. Here are a few of my favorites:

"It might benefit you to exercise some self-control occasionally," I said sharply, for her eyes had filled with tears of rage and frustration. "And to try to understand that other people, too, might have thier share of unhappiness and bitter memories locked inside them, even though they may not wear thier emotions on their sleeve!"

"You're the most conceited, arrogant man I've yet had the misfortune to encounter! If you think that I...."

"At least I don't play games, little girl. Ain't the type to go pussyfootin' around, wastin' time on long courtships. When I find what I want, I go out and get it."

He took me in his arms, ruthlessly holding me still in spite of my furious protests. "When are you gonna face up to facts, little gal? I want you. Have done even before I saw you all dolled up. You turned Mark down, didn't you? An' you've been needlin' me all evening. Better learn to pay up when your bluffs been called."


He bent his head to mine and I saw his thin, cruel lips curve in a smile of triumph. "We're two of a kind, and you know it," he said, before his lips claimed mine.

Special thanks to Danielle over at Sourcebooks for sending me this book to read and review.

title: Cynthia and Constantine

author: Kathye Quick


first line: "My lady! He comes."

pages: 182

genre: historical romance

published: 2008

rated: 4 out of 5

Lady Cynthia of Abertaine is trapped. Not only has her fiancé, Sir William Leyborne, not been back to the castle for over ten years, but she's also not a titled Lady. Lord Simon of Cowell, a renegade warlord aligned with Mordred against Arthur and his Knights, has declared himself sovereign over Leybourne Castle and everything that once belonged to Sir William-- including Cynthia. Sir Constantine, Knight of the Round Table, has come to the shire to give Cynthia the news that her fiancé has fallen in battle. With him is William's oral will giving all he owns to Cynthia as though they had been wed. But when he finds Cynthia and discovers the shire under the control of an evil warlord, he knows he cannot leave without first driving Simon and his soldiers from the land. Drawn together by an attraction older than time, Cynthia and Constantine soon discover that though a vow made by a knight's honor has brought them together, it may just also cost them their lives.

Lady Cynthia is engaged to be married to Sir William. However, she has not seen Sir William in over 10 years. When he dies in battle, William sends Constantine, a Knight of the Round Table, to give her the news. Cynthia is heartbroken. But slowly she and Constantine begin to fall in love. However, Lord Simon, a man who is against King Arthur and his Knights, has decided that Cynthia and all that belonged to Sir William is rightfully his.

Their lips touched, meshing together as though paired by the angels themselves. Shivers ran up Cynthia's spine when Constantine's hand roamed her back. A small sigh
escaped her mouth as she surrendered to the sensations tumbling one against the other.

He kissed her eyes, her mouth, her cheeks, her chin, as though he could not get enough of her. Cynthina caught his lips in short, quick kisses that left her breathless.

I liked the two main characters, Cynthia and Constantine, and the romance between them. I also liked the way Kathye Quick describes the setting. Some passages were really nice.

Cynthia Locke of Abertaine stared out at the distant hills from the balcony of her chamber. The morning breeze caught her hair, sending the golden strands dancing around her face. .....The morning sun had not yet burned off the mist that clung to the low lying fields, making the area surrounding the castle look draped in magic.

Cynthia and Constantine was a juicy, romantic read. Just the book for a quick romance fix. The plot was interesting and I found myself not wanting to put the book down.
The one thing I am not too crazy about is the book cover, I think a simpler cover would have been better.





Special thanks to Dorothy over at
http://www.pumpupyourbookpromotion.com/ for sending me this book.

title: Pemberley Manor: Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice continues...

author: Kathryn L. Nelson


first line : The morning that Jane and Elizabeth Bennet married Charles Bingley and Fitzwilliam Darcy might be seen by some as the end of a story of faltering and reviving passions, a tale of petty prides and prejudices solved and resolved into a loving state of eternal bliss for all.


published: April 2009

genre: historical fiction, regency

pages: 380

rated: 4 out of 5




This was my first time reading a Pride & Prejudice sequel. P&P is one of my favorite novels and in my opinion, it's the perfect love story. So when I began reading this book, I didn't know what to expect. Being a Jane Austen fan, i've been kind of wary of those many Pride & Prejudice sequels/spin offs out there. I kind of think P&P does not need a sequel, Elizabeth & Darcy lived happily ever after, Jane Austen never felt like writing a second book to it, so what's the point of a sequel?
Having said all that, I was curious to read Pemberley Manor and figured i'd give it a try. Live a little, right?



I really enjoyed reading Pemberley Manor . One of the reasons why I liked this book is
because Kathryn L. Nelson stays true to Austen's characters while inserting a few new characters into the storyline.



The book begins with Elizabeth's and Darcy and Jane and Bingley's double wedding. Bingley's sister, Caroline, is present and jealous of Lizzy and Darcy as always.
All the P&P main characters are there too, such as Elizabeth's parents and sisters. The story goes on to Darcy & Lizzie's married life. I was hoping there would be no sex scenes between the two, I think it would be obscene to write such a scene. And thank fully, there were no explicit love scenes between these two characters. But when Darcy finally kisses Lizzy, he does it feverishly, and grabs her. Elizabeth's reaction is to be terrified and cry. So of course, Darcy feels awful and runs out of the room. Now, I wouldn't think that would have happened between these two. I'd like to think Lizzy, as saucy and smart as Austen wrote her, would have loved Darcy to kiss her so passionately.



Before you know it, these two make up and begin thier lives together as husband and wife living at Pemberly. As the story goes on, Lizzy learns about Darcy's past, mostly about his parents. Turns out he has personal demons that he is dealing with, and that he hopes to overcome. Little by little, he shares the details of his past with his wife. And a visitor arrives, straight out of Darcy's troubled past, to stir up long ago buried emotions and anger.






Some of the passages that really stood out and seemed to fit seamlessly into what I would expect from Jane Austen's characters were:

Caroline Bingley's rage at the engagement of Fitzwilliam Darcy to Elizabeth Bennett was no trifling matter. The indignity of finding herself allied to a country simpleton with no social connections was galling enough, but the greater injury of losing her own hopes for an alliance with Mr.Darcy was sufficient to catapult her into an hysterical fury that had all but prevented her from attending the wedding.

Mr and Mrs Charles Bingley were passing a very agreeable fortnight engaged in respectful explorations of the delights of matrimony. Jane was, to be sure, a shy bride and Charles a nervous groom, and a little awkwardness marred their first days together, but they were so intent on pleasing one another in word and deed that very soon they found themselves quite easy together.

'When I came to Pemberly this summer, Mrs Reynolds showed us the portrait of you in the gallery. As I listened to her praise of you as the most generous of brothers and the kindness of masters, something stirred inside me that I could not name. When we met on the green, I think I saw you for the first time with my eyes really open, and I was overcome with shame that I had so misjudged your character. What you did for Lydia merely proved to me what I should have known from my own feelings, that you were the man I loved above all men.' -Lizzy speaking to Darcy

'I have you to thank, Bingley, for this happy change in my fortunes. I confess I little expected to enjoy any of the charms of Meryton when I first visited you there, and with my stubborn pride I came very close to missing what has proved to be the dearest treasure of my life. I had not thought it ever possible for me to ever feel as content as I do. And although I cannot truthfully say that I have learned to enjoy the company of Mrs Bennet, I must give her respect for producing two such magnificent daughters.'-Darcy speaking to Bingley

I found this to be an easy, fun read. I liked many things about this book. It was interesting to think of Darcy having that type of troubled past, and how Elizabeth, having come from a closer family, helps him overcome it and move on. I also like that Lizzy calls Darcy 'Will', short for Fitzwilliam. I enjoyed how the author brings Jane and Bingley into the story as well, since Lizzy and Jane are very close, you would imagine them being very much a part of each other's lives. I think the author got Catherine Bingley's behavior just right as well as the other Austen characters.


As I said before, I really like the dialogue between Lizzy and Darcy, it was very much how i'd imagine they would act. Even the little things, like her teasing him about what he said when he first saw her at the ball, and him just kind of enjoying her humor and just 'rolling with it'. Also how thier friends and family were surprised to see such a change for the better in Darcy.








If you're a fan of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice, and are curious to see what ever happened after the wedding, grab a copy of Pemberley Manor and enjoy!





Author Kathryn Nelson stopped by my blog to chat, click here for that post.





Special thanks to Danielle Jackson at Sourcebooks for sending me a copy of
Pemberley Manor .

title: The Virgin's Lover

author: Philippa Gregory

published: 2004

genre: historical fiction

pages: 438

first line: All the bells in Norfolk were ringing for Elizabeth, pounding the peal into Amy's head, first the treble bell screaming out like a mad woman, and then the whole agonizing, jangling sob till the great bell boomed a warning that the whole discordant carillon was about to shriek again.

rated: 5 out of 5





Elizabeth is made queen, and her long time friend Robert Dudley, is at her side day and night. Lord Robert has risen from scandal and now wants nothing more than to be part of the Queen's court. He leaves his own wife, Amy, with relatives, while he seduces the Queen. Elizabeth cannot resist Robert, and the two begin a scandalous love affair.


The Queen's advisor, Cecil, helps her to run the Kingdom, advising the Queen to marry a prince, join alliances and keep England safe. Meanwhile all of England knows about the Queen and her lover. Cecil tells the Queen that she needs to send Robert away, and back to his wife. Elizabeth is torn between what is right for her country and the love she has for Robert.



Roberts wife, Amy, is heartbroken over her husbands love affair with the Queen. To the point where she just prays to God that she will die soon so she won't suffer alone anymore. She feels she cannot live without Robert. When he comes to tell her that he wants a divorce, Amy refuses to give him one. Robert threatens to divorce her anyway then send her to a convent by force if she won't grant him a divorce. He thinks if he can divorce his wife, then the Queen will marry him and he will be King of England.



This book had me hooked from page one. I found it hard to put down. This is the book I was up late at night reading, gladly losing sleep just to get one more page read.
Philippa Gregory writes historical fiction like nobody's business. I've also read The Constant Princess and enjoyed that one too.
I've read some mixed reviews about this one, but as for myself, I really liked it.
This won't be my last Philippa Gregory novel.


I loved the storyline and the writing was great. I disliked Robert of course, and the Queens behavior while she was with him was hard to believe. She was willing to give everything up for him. Robert was no good! He was having affairs, treated his wife horribly, was power hungry and was a liar. Yet the Queen was obsessed with him.




I felt bad for Amy. She became an outcast because of Robert. She had nowhere to go, and no one wanted to take her in, because they didn't want to risk offending Robert. Everyone knew he was the Queens favorite and might end up being King consort. And until the end Amy still prayed that Robert would come back to her, she was willing to forgive him.


I liked Cecil, I felt he was the only one the Queen could trust. He had the most sense, and he wanted Robert gone. In the end, he knew what he had to do to make sure Robert would have another scandal brought down on him so he could never marry the Queen.

But even Cecil knew that Elizabeth could not rule without Dudley at her side. At this stage in her life-so young and surrounded by so many dangers-she had to have a friend. And although Cecil was willing to be at her side night and day, Elizabeth wanted a confidant: heart and soul. Only a man besottedly in love with her could satisfy Elizabeth's hunger for reassurance; only a man publicly betraying his wife every moment of every day could satify Elizabeth's ravenous vanity.

If you're in the mood for drama, romance and a good scandal, I recommend reading The Virgin's Lover.

"Mine," he said certainly and his mouth came down on hers and he kissed her deeply.

She did not resist for one moment. Her terror and then the feel of safety with him were as potent as a love potion. He could smell the sweat of her fear and the new scent of her arousal, and he went from her lips to her neck and down to the top of her gown, where her breasts pressed tight against the laced bodice as she panted lightly. He rubbed his face against her neck, and she felt the roughness of his chin and the eager licking of his tongue and she laughed and caught her breath all at once.

The story of Queen Elizabeth I has inspired several films. My favorite is
Elizabeth which came out in 1998.
Cate Blanchett plays the Queen and Joseph Fiennes plays Dudley. I think the film is perfectly cast.

Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty. The daughter of Henry VIII, she was born a princess, but her mother, Anne Boleyn, was executed three years after her birth, and Elizabeth was declared illegitimate. Her brother, Edward VI, cut her out of the succession. His will, however, was set aside, and in 1558 Elizabeth succeeded her half-sister, the Catholic Mary, during whose reign she had been imprisoned for nearly a year on suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels.

read more about Elizabeth I at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_I_of_England


and here: http://www.tudorhistory.org/elizabeth/index.html