Today I'm going to do something new--review two books in one review! I'll keep these shorts because that's my objective, to share with you some books I read in a quickie review.
I hope you enjoy this new feature, which will pop up from time to time!
The White Princess
by Philippa Gregory
I was really looking forward to this book. I had been waiting for it for quite some time, since
The Red Queen really, and then it took me a while to get to it. Regretfully, this novel did not really work for me.
Philippa Gregory is one of my favourite historical fiction novels, but this novel seemed to drag and obsess about a character who either was, or wasn't, Richard, Elizabeth of York's younger brother, and therefore a legitimate prince to the throne of England, which Henry Tudor had won for the Lancasters and Tudors on the battlefield. While the first half was interesting, the second seemed to focus on this question far too much for my liking, and then the ending was just there-blam. So I was disappointed with this read, though I thought Ms. Gregory explored the question of what happened to the lost princes in an interesting way. But I was really disappointed with Elizabeth's character even though I honestly felt sorry for her as well. So for me, this was only a
three star read.
The Serpent and the Pearl
by Kate Quinn
I have been wanting to read a novel about the Borgias for a while, and Kate Quinn is another author I love in the historical fiction genre. I loved that she wrote this from three different view points, and thought the novel
worked quite well. The narrative style was a delight to read, and I was genuinely fond of all of the characters represented by Ms. Quinn. Especially Leonello. Each of the characters, Giulia Farnese, Carmenlina and Leonello had their own distinct voices and histories and I found the way their lives intertwined very interesting. Naturally since we are reading about
La Bella, the notrious mistress of Pope Alexander VI, we get to see something of the Borgias themselves. I have no doubt that they will play more largely in the next novel, but I was intrigued by what I saw of them and am eager to continue the series since the novel leaves the reader with no question as to the story's continuation. For me, this was a
four star read.
I hope you enjoyed today's Quickie!
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