From her earliest days,
Margaret Tudor knows she will not have the luxury of choosing a
husband. Her duty is to gain alliances for England. Barely out of
girlhood, Margaret is married by proxy to James IV and travels to
Edinburgh to become Queen of Scotland.
Despite her doubts, Margaret falls under the spell of her adopted home. But while Jamie is an affectionate husband, he is not a faithful one. And nothing can guarantee Margaret’s safety when Jamie leads an army against her own brother, Henry VIII. In the wake of loss she falls prey to an ambitious earl and brings Scotland to the brink of anarchy. Beset by betrayal and secret alliances, Margaret has one aim—to preserve the crown of Scotland for her son, no matter what the cost…
Despite her doubts, Margaret falls under the spell of her adopted home. But while Jamie is an affectionate husband, he is not a faithful one. And nothing can guarantee Margaret’s safety when Jamie leads an army against her own brother, Henry VIII. In the wake of loss she falls prey to an ambitious earl and brings Scotland to the brink of anarchy. Beset by betrayal and secret alliances, Margaret has one aim—to preserve the crown of Scotland for her son, no matter what the cost…
Here is a book that I was looking forward to reading. I read Secrets of the Tudor Court a number of years ago and enjoyed it, The Sumerton Women is on my shelf waiting to be read (a win from Bippity Boppity Book).
I wanted to know more about Margaret Tudor, until recently I didn't even know there was another Tudor sister, but in my search to find the connection between Mary Queen of Scots and the Tudors I found her. Then I found out about this book, NetGalley sent me an arc and I was in my glory.
Maybe my expectations were too high, I am not sure, but this book was somewhat of a letdown. I have given it 3 stars. I just could not connect with any of the characters, Margaret was really getting on my nerves and just didn't seem to grow up at all through out this book. Her selfishness was annoying. If that was the authors intent then she did a good job of it. The book begins when she is 12 and continues for another 30 or so years. There were times when I was lost as to what year it was, it would have been nice if jumps of a couple years were noted a little easier. Even with breaks between paragraphs.
I will say that I liked the ending, without saying more and spoiling it for someone. It did end nicely and actually addressed the issues that I had with Margaret.
ARC received from Netgalley for my honest opinion of this book.
I kind of liked this book. I did know about a sister, but I didn't know her story and I was glad to find more information. I do agree about her voice. I liked her stubbornness and intelligence in the beginning, but I wanted her to grow up instead of being selfish and egoistic. Great review and it's always a shame when books don't deliver to the expectations you have.
ReplyDeleteMel@thedailyprophecy.