Another EXCELLENT Read

This is the second novel I've read by Philippa Gregory's; it's also the sequel to 'The Other Boleyn Girl' which I've recently read and reviewed.<br /><br />The book is based around Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Jane Boleyn. It's follows how their leave change when each become part of the court of Henry VIII.<br /><br />Poor Anne of Cleves, leave her country to marry a king old enough to be her father, she is not how royalty should be, so she becomes another victim of Henry VIII, but he allows her to live but in exile, he replaces her with the cousin of his previous wife, Anne Boleyn).<br /><br />Katherine Howard, a child and not ready to be queen due to her childish ways flirts her way to the throne only to wish she hadn't as the king is too old and sick, and he doesn't pay her the attention a husband should. Her roving eye falls onto Thomas Culpepper, but this story of two lovers can only end one way.<br /><br />Jane Boleyn is constantly haunted by the death of a previous queen and her husband. She like the rest of the Boleyn girls do as they are told by family members, and is constantly just trying to survive suspicion, betrayal and death that surrounds the kings court.<br /><br />The structure of this book is different to 'The Other Boleyn Girl', that book continually follows on with the story where as the sequel is split up into chapters where it deals with each of the ladies in turn. To me it made the book a little slow to get into at first, but once you'd got used to the structure it was just as enjoyable as the first.<br /><br />The novel is a compelling and I will definitely read it again. This is another of Philippa Gregory's master pieces and I look forward to reading the others I have recently bought. :-)<br /><br />Another novel worth every penny, whether you are male or female if you love history you'll love this. :-)<br />

Eagerly awaited, didn't disappoint.

Here we have two narrators. One, a pleasant, measured, accepting, concerned, humane onlooker with no instinct to meddle. The other is deeply implicated, damaged and dynamite. The story is slow in building, drawing you in. A perfect recreation of the naughty nineties with topical explanations, wise words and hints of what is to come. Every sentence counts. Another classic Barbara Vine - a gift!

Thrilling Debut

The crime plot itself may be perfuctory and less than compelling, but it is Tom Rob Smith's sense of time and place that marks this out as a thrilling debut. Stalinist Russia has never been as terrifyingly evoked in popular fiction - the constant dread and debilitating double-think cosumes the characters's souls, and the author paints this horrific society as the landscape of some surrealist horror story.<br /><br />Long-listed for this year's Booker Prize, this far outshines the usual pretencious, onanistic dross that makes up the contenders for literary awards. Dark, evocative and ultimately deeply moving this is writing of the highest order, and I for one can't wait for Smith's next novel.

Another brilliant book!

Another Fab book from Peter James! Brilliant read...couldn't put it down,...read it in 2 days!

The great American novel?

Beautifully written, spare, dramatic and haunting - could this at last be the great American novel?

The greatest dytopian novel? Certainly the most influential.

The book that gave us 'Orwellian', 'Room 101' and 'Big Brother', but it gave us so much more. <br /><br />Orwell's final and greatest novel is a wonderful combination of important ideas expressed in simple language. It is an easy read and can be read in a short time, but will remain with you long afterwards. It challenges you to review how you interact with society and most importantly the state.<br /><br />One of the major themes that is often overlooked is that which examines why we are good or bad. Is it because we want to be good or is it that we are afraid of punishment if we are bad. <br /><br />Another interesting theme is the use and abuse of language, Orwell believed that the very language one uses influences how one thinks. He examines how, by the restriction of language, the state can restrict ideas.<br /><br />Of course Orwell wrote the novel as an examination of one possible future and it is both fun and frightening to compare his predictions with the course history has taken. Indeed, whole passages can leave you thinking"My God, he was right."

pure pleasure

This was such a pleasure to read. I always appreciate novels whose authors work hard on evoking a particular setting, and Sansom does this both in terms of the location and the period. It's great to see Shardlake on his home turf, and the pacing of the plot is just superb. An almost perfect piece of storytelling.

My toddler prefers other sing along books

My 17 month old little boy has this, along with other sing along books, he's never taken to this one.<br />He much prefers"the wheels on the bus", I'm not sure if it's because this book isn't very colourful.<br />I have to say I was pretty disappointed with it when it arrived.<br /><br /><br />

The Island

Read this book on holiday and could not put it down - lovely story which made me want to find out more about Spinalonga. I am looking forward to reading Victoria Hislops next book.

Gave up after 330 pages

I don't like leaving books unfinished. I'm aware that many novels are slow-starters, and it's almost always worth persevering to the end. BUT, I think it's safe to say that I gave this total dud a fair crack of the whip. If you can give up on a book after 330 pages, it must be pretty dull indeed. <br /><br />As far as the romance element was concerned, I couldn't care less. None of the characters were very sympathetic or even three dimensional. And for a writer to be able to spend so many pages describing the horrors of the trenches without moving me to a single moment of emotion - well, he must have a true talent for draining the feeling out of anything. <br /><br />I honestly don't get what all the fuss is about. A truly appalling novel.

Rough reality for hurt heroes

These fighters have seen war. They have seen war, they have lived war. And they have survived. One is a drunk storyteller, living in some forgotten village. The other one is the head of his tribe, entertaining himself away in the steppe grasses with all young girls eager enough to enter his tent. The other one serves her Emperor. With distaste. Seeing the reality she fought for crumble away. <br /><br />This is their tale. Of how their enemy found them, how their gods interfered on their behalf and the final battle. The bloody, gory, rough final fight. <br /><br />What we have here is slightly reminiscent of Fritz Leiber. Of companions and their adventure. What Morgan does however, to the world of fantasy, is to make it real. Nasty. Grimy. Rarely have I read a fantasy book and almost tasted the winds of the steppe, felt the mud cling to my boots in the city and smelled the scraped off remains of a corpse propelled by a corpsemite. (Is introducing such a nasty creature that early in the book intended as a joke on JK Rowling, who basically started every Potter with a new species not seen in any of the previous books?)<br /><br />This book is a landmark. Hopefully it's also the beginning of a new series. The reason I'm reluctant to give it 5 stars, is that I think Morgan held himself back. There's a restraint in this book that makes it great, focusing on the moments highlighted in the flow of action. Yet there is so much more to this material... I really do hope to be able to dive into this world again!

new age drivel

I doubt I would have been so offended by this book had it not been for the pretentious fawings of so many people who claimed it had changed their life. I was intrigued. I was then very disappointed. What a load of new age drivel. Change my life my foot. This book is pretentious and seems to have been lifted from an array of other superior novels and fables. I felt cheated by the rave reviews and am still somewhat dumbfounded by it.

Very nice filling just the bread was slightly stale!!!

At the moment I am going through a Philippa Gregory phase. I simply can't get enough of her Tutor novels. 'The Constant Princess' is my fourth Gregory novel to read but while I enjoyed it I certainly don't think it was as good as her other novels.<br /><br />The main problem with 'The Constant Princess' is that it lacked the consistency to be found in Gregory's other books. It was a painfully slow-starter. Even leaving aside the tedious first chapter, which describes a battle in Spain (Gregory's first chapter is always a tad contentious but at least we get a look into the way young Katharine was brought up) you easily have to read at least the first 150 pages before this story starts to take off. The first 150 pages are long and dull with far too much description than required and basically no where near enough story and aboveall dialogue. Instead we are forced to endure long accounts of Katharine of Argaon's first marriage to Arthur and how despite a rocky start they came to supposedly passionately love each other. What surprised me is that in her other books Gregory has a fantastic ability to write romance. I don't know what happened to this ability in this book. Instead of breath-taking love scenes and witty one-liners we are instead left with 'Tell me a story' where Catherine tells Arthur tales of her homeland in Spain. Interesting if you have an interest in Spanish culture at that time. Dull if you're after a bodice-ripping read that she usually delivers.<br /><br />The good news is that this book does pick up it's pace after the first 150 pages (strangely after Arthur's death and the introduction of Henry into the picture) and we can then enjoy the more familiar setting of the Tutor Court but just as Gregory has almost redeemed herself she abruptly finishes the novel almost as if she got tired of writing. What annoyed me was that the birth of Mary was completely ignored in this novel: almost as if Gregory simply assumes we know she has a kid. Furthermore the Queen's later years and the problems she endured by Henry's desire for a divorce are not dealt with at all. Perhaps Gregory felt that her account of the Queen's suffering in 'The Other Boleyan Girl is sufficient to cover that part of Katharine's life.<br /><br />I should also mention that I liked the way she dealt with Katharine's life most importantly the lie she told. Too many productions take the view point that it wasn't a lie but I found Gregory's representation very credible. Yes it is clear that Gregory is very pro-Katharine. Another author could have used the lie against her and blamed her as being overly-ambitious but Gregory's skill as a writer really makes us love and admire Katharine both as a person and indeed Queen of England. Given that so many productions present Katharine as an old, sour hag of a woman incapable of giving the King a son it is refreshing to read a novel which focuses on the moral dilemma this devoted woman faced and the contribution she made to the history of England: something easily overlooked in movies which prefer to focus on Katharine's failure to provide and heir and being just wife number one.<br /><br />Other than that I enjoyed reading this novel despite the slow start and hasty finish. Other reviewers have complained about her writing style ie: that of narration and then personal reflection. To be honest I didn't find her style a fault in this book. If anything it helped give a very personal feel to the book although I do agree that at times especially the beginning it was a bit repetitive with all the"It is my duty...it is God's will" etc but I don't find this a reason to fault the book.<br /><br />To conclude 'The Constant Princess' is an enjoyable read if you can get past the slow start and are prepared for a hasty end. Undoubtedly not as good as her previous works or indeed as romantic I wouldn't recommend reading this book first. Instead I'd recommend starting with 'The Other Boleyan Girl'.

Incredible

I sat and though about the title for this review for a couple of minutes and 'incredible,' I'm afraid to say, was the best I could come up with to describe this book.<br /> As a child I would read comics my father brought back from work. Second hand, many folded, dog eared comics at that. This book was my reintroduction after many years and I have to say a big 'Thank you' to Mr Loeb and Mr Lee for it. My bookcase now labours under the weight of a great many more graphic novels now.<br /> The writing is very clever and I really did not see the ending (of vol. 2 that is) coming. Jim Lee's visuals (and remember this medium is as much about the visuals as it is the story) are quite frankly sublime and, in some instances literally take your breath away.<br /> The negative reviews I see here quite baffle me. I heartily recommend this book, a work of art in every sense.

Wedding Season - Katie Fforde

I loved Katie Fforde's earlier books {Living Dangerously and Highland Fling) for the developing romance between the down to earth heroine and hero. I feel this book concentrated too much on the practicalities of organising a wedding which just brought me out in a cold sweat. I like the idea of the heroine having an interesting job, but I'd like it to take second place to the developing romance. I liked the humour of the hen night where we saw it through the eyes of the older hens rather than the younger chicks. However, I did not care enough about the characters - the wedding arrangements seemed to take centre stage. It wasn't bad, but I loved Katie Fforde's earlier books. I hope the next one is about a central romance, not a couple of romances.

Sophie Hannah can do no wrong!

She's done it again! Another thrilling read that keeps you guessing to the end. Page after page the reader has question after question, and just when you think you've got it Sophie Hannah makes you realise you were wrong all along.<br /><br />I can't praise this brilliant book enough - another blistering premise - and anyone who wants to learn how to write and write well should read Sophie Hannah's work.

Warriors Princess

I am an avid fan of Barbara Erskine, have all her books and have been waiting for her latest - The Warriors Princess - what a disappointment. I found it extremely difficult to get to the end - I wanted to give up but stayed with it to see if there was any improvement. I asked myself several times"has Barbara Erskine really written this book?" I can't believe it. I usually cannot put down her books, but this is the biggest disappointment ever. Hope the next one is better.

Very Disappointing!

most of the positive reviews of this book must be coming from C.J.Sansom fans and in fairness the first two and the fourth novel of the Shradlake series are brilliant.<br />This third sequel though appears to have been part of a publisher's deal that had to be written without the author's heart in it.<br />The story is dragging on endlessly without many peaks, Shardlake is completely out of his wits and not himself. There are MANY mistakes like one minute he is riding, next sentence he is not, then he decides to wear a dagger in future and only the following sentence he is wearing one without having had the opportunity to obtain it. There are dozens of those minor mistakes which really annoy me especially since they appear within 2 subsequent sentences. This book is badly written and the story of stale. You can safely skip this one and proceed with 4th sequel.

Fifth in series

Nalini Singh certainly writes these books at a good pace. This is the fifth in the series, following 'Slave to Sensation' (September 2006), 'Visions Of Heat' (March 2007), 'Caressed By Ice' (September 07) and 'Mine To Possess' (February 2008), so she's managing to churn out two per year. I suppose this is on a par with many other authors but, having finished 'Hostage to Pleasure', I wonder if this author with her original ideas is perhaps a slight victim of her success.<br /><br />'Hostage to Pleasure' was a good read. We had a varied cast of characters as always (shapeshifters including leopards, wolves and even rats), the Psy (Mr Spock-like beings who communicate telepathically) and occasional references to humans. We have characters who have their own bad memories, demons, difficulties, fears and a central love story which shows two people growing together and learning to gain strength from each other. Unfortunately for this reader at least the story felt a bit tired. Somehow I never quite felt I connected with Dorian Christensen, latent leopard shapeshifter and member of Lucas's pack, or with Ashaya Aleine, Psy scientist whose conditioning is not only fracturing but who may have never been properly conditioned anyway. It doesn't seem like a great deal actually happens in this story and for those who haven't read the previous books the cast of characters is fairly large and might get confusing. I was less than convinced by Ashaya's sister Amara and the ways in which the two interacted (and I also found the similarity of the names confusing at times).<br /><br />Nalini Singh's worldbuilding continues in this novel with more about the council and another group, Pure Psy, which didn't always feel particularly connected to this story. I like the author's Psy/Changeling world but I found this book rather forgettable and nowhere near as good as 'Caressed by Ice'. It's a good read, worth the four stars, but not as good as some of the others.

Billingham's best yet

So how does Mark Billingham cope in his first (almost) standalone novel outside of his D.I. Thorne series? Pretty good, actually. On the surface the subject matter might not appear all that different - London mobs and gangsters and police procedural (or lack of it since his police officers often tend to work in an"unofficial" capacity) - but freed from the restrictions of the lead D.I.'s troubled private life and the increasing banality of the supporting characters over the last few Thorne novels, In The Dark is able to take Billingham's dark exploration of the criminal underbelly of London much further.<br /><br />It may not always make for pleasant reading, but Billingham's representation of the dangers on the streets of the UK today seems to be pretty accurate. Drive-by shootings, drug deals, street gangland initiations and larger scale criminal activities are all handled by the author with characteristic authenticity for both character and situation. Again, with a strong ear for realistic dialogue, Billingham's strength is in picking up all the aspects of everyday limited hopes and aspirations, revealing the underlying social factors that drive ordinary people into crimes and gangs. His book shows the impact this has, not only on the police officers who have to deal with this on an everyday basis, but also its consequences for the wider community.<br /><br />Billingham weaves each of these realist elements extremely well into a thrilling storyline which is not short of twists and surprises. The novel might end on a somewhat dark, bleak note, and there might not be any neat epilogue to wrap everything up the way some readers might like, but the In The Dark is stronger and all the more realistic for it.