Aren's Library

I must say at first this started out slow for me, but that ended quickly. The detail and depth presented to us about her life from a babe to young adulthood and finally adulthood was absolutely astounding. Far more extensive than what I had expected. At times, the details and depth of the research made me feel like I was in a history class, while other times I felt I was reading a biography that was about to be a big shot movie and too real that it had to be fiction, but was not. There were moments I felt I was right there with her in court or other places.

One of my favorite parts about this book was we got to see Richard III from a different, and refreshing, perspective, other than historical accounts and Shakespeare. Yes I felt the author had her own views of Richard and at times it was apparent, but it that didn't bother me as I felt it was from her research and I always feel authors will always put a bit of themselves in their books, even historical non-fiction.

The real treat for me was the details of how it was growing up for a young Queen-in-training and how lonely that is. Well that and how close she was being the queen. With all the information Weir gathered, I loved how she brought to light the fact that King Henry VII was either king through victory over Richard the III, or through marriage by Elizabeth. This was probably the highlight though for me as I feel we see how Britain almost had essentially three queens, all of whom are named Elizabeth by the way, if it wasn't for this ambiguity. It also sheds more light on how and why Elizabeth the First would not marry in a time that where once that happened she essentially lost her title and throne.


All in all this is definitely a favorite of mine and will be purchasing a few copies for some people whom I know will love this book. I received a free advanced copy from goodreads for a honest review. If you're unsure, GET IT! It's well worth the read. I can't wait to check out more of Weirs books