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Day 24 Royalty - quick grab from my shelves before I flew out
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@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I‘m so glad I read this - by the end of the book I had a different view of Anne Boleyn ~ the book is well written and I enjoyed it more than I expected to

In the car waiting for my husband and getting a little reading in... this is starting out in an unexpected way... 🤔

Mail call!! And it‘s here!! Can‘t wait 😃

Although slow to get started, the book ended up being very good. It definitely helps one understand Anne‘s personality, and it helps us connect and relate to Anne, Elizabeth, and the characters in this book. I hate the fact that the author brings up the sixth finger, but other than that, a good novel to read.

Anne Boleyn

Writing about the fictional part of this story- I don‘t understand how Anne doesn‘t grasp that she‘s being executed because she told her husband she never loved him. If Henry still held on to the thought that Anne loved him, he probably would have let her live and tried to divorce her quietly. Since Anne opened her mouth, that‘s why she‘s being executed. Anne even said a part of her loved Henry at one point, but a fit of rage is a fit of rage.

At the same time, Anne didn‘t help her case either. Although reading a work of fiction, I truly believed Anne did at one point shoot her mouth off and probably tell Henry, Jane, and whoever crossed her exactly what she thought. Had she kept her mouth shut, this all could have ended differently. Anne and Henry might‘ve even had the chance to try for another baby, but she more than likely opened her mouth when she should‘ve shut up and ruined it.

It‘s hard to know the true character of Jane knowing she died right after Edward was born. Although she came off as humble and basically the opposite of Anne, I honestly think she wasn‘t as innocent as she acted in terms of being a little snake in the grass and contributing to taking down Anne. Had she lived longer, I believe her true character would have come out.

Although Jane Seymour is portrayed throughout history as sweet and innocent, I believe she was a little snake in the grass. She watched and learned from Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn and knew how to become the perfect combo of the two. I feel as if Jane spied on Anne‘s court to convince Henry that Anne could have been sleeping around. I don‘t think she ever expected Anne to die, but she definitely didn‘t stop the rumors.

Although I understand why Anne would send Mary a gift, I don‘t think Mary would see it that way. Her sister still hurt her.

Anne Boleyn

Henry VIII

Anne Boleyn- Although fiction, the slap in the face to Katherine is astounding.

The same question can be asked of Anne herself.

I‘m very disappointed that the author writes as if Anne has a sixth finger. I don‘t believe she did. I believe if anything, she had a cyst or an abscess on one hand, but if Anne was born with a sixth finger, her parents wouldn‘t have let her go to court. The sixth finger theory was mainly propaganda for Anne‘s trial, and I don‘t believe she ever had one.

I think Elizabeth was set up. I think eventually Thomas got tired of Elizabeth rejecting him and possibly got into a fight with Catherine. He convinced her to come to Elizabeth‘s room/wherever they were and that was when she found them together. Elizabeth was too young and impressionable to scream rape because she had no idea what was happening, but Thomas knew what he was doing and destroyed her relationship with Catherine.

I‘m very interested in the relationship between Thomas Seymour, Catherine Parr, and Elizabeth I because there is so much we truly don‘t know about this time. I think Thomas abused Elizabeth sexually and Catherine emotionally. I think he used Catherine‘s love against her and convinced her to cooperate with what he was doing to Elizabeth because he knew her love was truly blind to the person he was.

Thomas Seymour
I had an abusive guy who wanted to marry me call me his life, his life partner, and tell me he couldn‘t live without me. At the end of the day, I got out as we lived in different states, but this line really hit home for me.

Elizabeth I (then Princess Elizabeth)

I‘ll have to do some research into this, but I‘m so glad Henry did not marry Mary to her half brother.

Anne Boleyn- foreshadowing what Anne failed to do.

I know this book is historical fiction, but I want to learn more about Elizabeth I and whether she had regular periods. This part of the book is right after her coronation when she was in her mid-twenties, so she still should be having periods.

About 3/4 done with this, the first book I've ever read about the Tudors. Surprised to enjoy it so much. Why I love book clubs: they push me out of my reading comfort zone