The Children of Henry VIII by Alison Weir Review

The Children of Henry VIII by Alison Weir
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have previously started this book, but I only got forty pages into it before something else caught my attention. After I finished The Six Wives of Henry VIII I wanted more Tudor stuff, so what better to read than this? After I've always been fascinated by those three royal children.

This book gave me more insight into Edward VI. Although it didn't delve too deeply into his reign. Edward seems to me to have been a puppet through most of his reign. But he did set the groundwork for the Protestant religion in England and he desperately tried to prevent his sister from undoing that by naming Lady Jane Grey as his successor. Although that was technically illegal.

Mary undid Edward's work and return England to the Church of Rome. She married the foreign Phillip II of Spain, which wasn't received well. I really did feel sorry for Mary when her pregnancy turned out to be a phantom. She really wanted that and with all the drama in her life, I think it would have made her happier.

Of course after Mary died, Elizabeth came to the throne and this is very the books ends with Elizabeth receiving news of her ascension and her uttering that famous line from the Bible. I'm ordering Weir's biography of Elizabeth, which I don't know why I haven't done this already since I acquired two of her books before 2009 and not one on my beloved Elizabeth? For shame. But I will devour that biography as soon as it's in my hands.

Oh and I've forgotten Lady Jane Grey. I knew her fate before going into the book, but I felt for her because she never wanted to be Queen and was pressured into by her parents. Her story is a sad one.

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The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir

The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I had originally read this book way back in 2002 when I was twelve and it spawned a fascination with the Tudor era that has continued to this day.

On rereading this book again, I rediscovered little details, although I remembered most of the book, which is surprising as I hadn't really read the full thing in ten years and my memory has been affected by my medicine. I think it's a testament to how good of an historian Alison Weir is. She makes Henry and each wife seem alive and she doesn't condemn them for their actions. You have no idea how it feels to sympathize with Henry of all people haha, but I did during his early years with Anne Boleyn.

Next on the list to read will be The Children of Henry VIII by the same author, after that probably her biography of Elizabeth I. It seems as though my love of the Tudor era is still going strong!

View all my reviews Along with reading this book, lately I've been watching my DVDs that are about the Tudors. I've watched the 2003 TV serial starring Ray Winstone as Henry VIII, which is my personal favorite since as far as I know it's the only one with a redheaded Henry. That's a small quibble I know, but the man was a redhead and he had two redheaded children! After that I watched The Other Boleyn Girl with Eric Bana as Henry VIII and Natalie Portman as Anne Boleyn. This one isn't my favorite, but I stan for Natalie Portman...hard and so I watch this one often. I've just finished Season 3 of the Tudors. For the longest time I couldn't get into the series because of some of the changes and whatnot. But after I stopped comparing to the direct history and took for enjoyment purposes, I really liked it and I've just watch like fourteen episodes in a matter of a week. The costumes are to die for of course!

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Elizabeth: Virgin Queen? by Phillipa Jones

Elizabeth: Virgin Queen? by Philippa Jones
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was officially my first bio on Elizabeth I, though I've read a lot about her father's reign and I own a biography on her mother, Anne Boleyn.

This particular one focused on whether or not Elizabeth had any children and the possibilities when they could have born as well as commenting on other things of Elizabeth's reign. I really enjoyed and I thought the author didn't have any bias on who might have possibly been Elizabeth's child. But like her previous book The Other Tudors: Henry VIII's Mistresses and Bastards I did notice a few mistakes. Just on birth date and years, but it was easily overlooked.

I give this book 4 stars. Very interesting, but it was a little light on other important aspects of Elizabeth's life, though I suppose if you're looking for a general biography of Elizabeth, you might look elsewhere.

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Much Ado About Rogue by Kasey Michaels Mini Review

Much Ado About Rogues by Kasey Michaels
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was my first book by Kasey Michaels and I don't think it will be the last. I thought she did a good job of making the characters realistic and the action was written believably.

I picked up this book unaware that it was part of a series. Now that I know that it is a series, I'm planning on reading the rest of the Blackthorn trilogy because I became very attached to Jack. I'm hoping I'll love his brothers just as much.

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