The King's Rose by Alisa M. Libby

The King's Rose by Alisa M. Libby

Release Date: March 19, 2009
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Pages: 320

King Henry VIII, in addition to reforming the church in England, was most well known for his six wives. Wife number 5 was Catherine Howard, pushed into the spotlight by her power-hungry relatives, the powerful Howard family. Beautiful, young, and naive, Catherine Howard was thrust into a cut-throat court fraught with heavy rivalries. But her family's plan worked: pretty Catherine caught the eye of the king, who was already disappointed by his fourth bride's looks...

Before you know it, King Henry is divorced from his fourth wife, and will soon wed Catherine. But Henry's "rose without a thorn" might not be as pure as he had thought, for Catherine holds her own secrets from her not-so-pure past. But Catherine is confident she can get rid of her past by burning the letters, keepsakes, and other tokens of the past. But can burning old letters really erase her numerous love affairs, endless flirtations, and other un-queenly actions of the past?

Unfortunately, when people from the past Catherine thought she had buried starts resurfacing, it seems that she may not be as free from her past misdeeds as she thought. It's hard to be married to a king nearly twice her age, especially when there are other young, handsome men in court. If her less-than-innocent past becomes public, Catherine could be ruined forever, and suffer severe consequences. And knowing that Henry has already had four wives before her, Catherine and her family realizes just how precarious her position as queen is. The only way to secure her position is to become pregnant and give birth to the king's son. But the king is aging, and Catherine other men are catching Catherine's eye, and such treachery is not helping her already precarious position...
But when you've caught King Henry VIII's attention, there's no going back...

The King's Rose was a different take on Catherine than I had previously read. Alisa Libby portrays Catherine not as a complete ditz, or at the very least, a completely foolish, solely materialistic girl (now and then a portray makes her seem a little too over the top), but as a girl who was undoubtedly foolish, but was a young girl forced into a court full of back-stabbing, power-hungry courtiers. Libby's version of Catherine was not entirely sensible, but not a complete airhead either. It was interesting and nice to see Catherine in a slightly better light. Sometimes I feel authors are rather harsh on Catherine: although her actions were hardly commendable, most people forget she was just a foolish girl thrown at the king by her greedy family that cared more about increasing their own power than her safety. At least Alisa Libby gave Catherine a little more credit and more depth. In this novel readers get an idea on Catherine's possible motives.

I'm a big fan of novels on the Tudor era, so I'm glad I got a chance to review The King's Rose. Recommended to historical fiction fans and/or people interested in the Tudor era!

The Red Queen's Daughter by Jacqueline Kolosov

Henry VIII’s last wife and queen, Katherine Parr, passed away not long after the infamous king of England, but her legacy did not die out. The late queen who was greatly respected for her intelligence and compassion and is still revered has left behind her daughter, Mary. Mary was Katherine’s only child with Thomas Seymour, the man Katherine married after Henry died—because Katherine died shortly after giving birth to Mary. With her father accused of treason and executed, Mary raised by another member of British nobility.

However, after a few years, Mary came under the guardianship of Lady Strange. Mary would learn that her new guardian was not any ordinary lady—she is a white magician—and Mary is fated to be one as well. Mary has a great destiny in store for her and will become a white magician to protect Queen Elizabeth’s, the Virgin Queen’s, reign. With that said, Mary begins to study magic, spells, different gem properties, how to detect people’s auras, as well as understanding magic—and understanding the fact that magic comes with a price. White magicians are selfless and use their powers to help others, unlike their counterparts, black magicians.

After years of training, Mary’s call to duty has finally come; she is to become a lady-in-waiting to the queen. Tearfully, she leaves her beloved guardian’s side on a journey that will test everything she has learned, as well as her own character. White magicians are not supposed to reveal themselves and Mary will have to work hard to protect Queen Elizabeth and her hold on the English throne. But is she prepared for the treachery of court life?

Court life is plagued with backstabbing courtiers who will stoop to nothing to get rid of their competition and gain favor in the queen’s court. And it is not better that there is something sinister afoot that leaves Mary wondering if there’s another magician—a black one—hiding among Queen Elizabeth’s court as well.

But not all problems are related to black magic. There are other plots and misdeeds occurring, including another of Queen Elizabeth’s lady-in-waiting getting pregnant. Understanding all the trouble and reputation-ruining that could occur because of this fact, Mary is grateful that she is a white magician and has sworn not to fall in love, but she attempts to help the lady-in-waiting with her new skills. Yet even though she spurns the advances of men, Mary cannot help but feel drawn to her dark and possibly sinister cousin—Edmund Seymour. Why does her dark cousin keep popping up and glancing her way? And why isn’t Mary able to fend him off? Is he behind some of the treachery at court? And why on earth can’t Mary detect his aura? It is rather frustrating, since Mary often gets a glimpse at a person’s character through their auras—could Edmund also know magic? Possibly black magic?

Mary may have years of training, but court life will prove to be another matter that Mary must master if she is to protect Queen Elizabeth’s rule. Mary has a long and arduous journey ahead of her to fulfill the destiny set out for her—a destiny fit for the daughter of a revered queen and of a lady who is intelligent and wise in her own right. Your mind is not always the only thing you can trust; sometimes it is your heart that you must listen to and follow to make the better decision.

Although not too much is known of the real Mary Seymour, daughter of Queen Katherine, this version of Mary would have undoubtedly made her loving and intelligent mother proud. Mary matured beautifully in this novel, and her story was full of other memorable characters that will take readers on a journey back to England during the Tudor era that they won’t be forgetting anytime soon!
There were some errors here and there and the author took some creative liberties (which is fine of course—it’s what made this story possible & what it is!) but overall was quite an excellent read.

9.458 (out of 10)

La Petite Four by Regina Scott

Lady Emily, Priscilla, Ariadne, and Daphne are the closest of friends, and refer to themselves as "La Petite Four." They’ve done everything together, including going through Barnsley School for Young Ladies and planning their coming out ball together. They’ve been planning, perfecting, and looking forward to this grand ball for sometime, and want their coming out to be an event to remember.

However, the happiness of these girls is threatened when Lord Robert wishes to marry Lady Emily right after she graduates from Barnsley. Why does he wish to marry so quickly? And why does he wish to wed Emily? He has not seen her for years and does not even know her anymore! Something fishy is going on… Not to mention their Season/debut into society will be ruined if Emily is married off right away! She must find out what Lord Robert is up to and she simply must go to the ball! She cannot have her life ruined and her dreams of studying at the Royal Society for the Beaux Arts dashed by having the marry Lord Robert! Oh why, oh why does her father favor this match as well? How can he not see that Lord Robert is up to no good?

Unfortunately, La Petite Four’s investigation of the shadowy Lord Robert might just have them picking up their skirts and running all over town, even into the dirtier areas, to figure out what he’s up to. Speaking of what people are up to, why does another handsome but mysterious figure keep popping up all over town as well? La Petite Four have run into James Cropper too many times for it to be a coincidence all over town as they’ve trailed Lord Robert.

When these four girls find out that Lord Robert may be up to something even more sinister than they had previously thought, they have to expose him before he marries Emily! Who are they to trust? Can these four girls get to the bottom of Lord Robert’s meddling, save Emily from marry the man, and save the ball as well? And just who is this mysterious Mr. Cropper? This Season may just turn out to be an extremely memorable one…just not in the way they had hoped!

La Petite Four is a highly enjoyable book! I loved the mystery and romance in this novel! I was hooked from the first page to the last, and the best part was, this book was not overly obvious, so I was right there with Emily and her friends as they tried to solve the mystery surrounding Lord Robert! A wonderful book with a simple, but sweet cover! A great historical fiction novel that even those who aren’t fans of historical fiction will surely enjoy! I look forward to reading more from author Regina Scott!

9.920 (out of 10)

Airman by Eoin Colfer

Young Conor Broekhart really has it going for him—he has a smart mother, his father is captain of the guard, he trains and is mentored by a genius by the name of Victor Vigny, he is close friends with Princess Isabella, he is the toast of the town because of his innovative rescue of the Princess, and best of all, he was born in a hot air balloon! Perhaps because he was born in the sky, Conor Broekhart was destined to return to the skies.

Since an early age, Conor looked to the skies, always pondering how he could soar above Great Saltee, his home, thinking up glider and other aircraft designs. Luckily, he is under the tutelage of Victor Vigny, who is no stranger to the skies—in fact, he was in the hot air balloon with the Broekhart family when Conor was born! Conor is taught martial arts, fencing, Shakespeare, among other things, and his fellow student is none other than Princess Isabella. And ever since saving Princess Isabella’s life from a fire by taking to the skies, Conor is the golden boy of the present and future on the island of Great Saltee.

Unfortunately for Conor, his golden days are numbered—at the young age of fourteen, he becomes the witness of the assassination of Good King Nick of the Saltee islands, as well as the death of his mentor, Victor. Both were by the hand of the mad and ambitious Red Cross Marshal, Bonvilain. Young Broekhart is soon entangled in Bonvilain’s webs of treachery as he tries to expose the marshal’s treason, only to find himself locked up in Little Saltee, the prison island, doomed to digging for diamonds in inhumane conditions, for the rest of his life. Bonvilain has accused of him of helping Victor murder the king, and has even managed to get Conor’s father to hate him.

Locked away as “Conor Finn,” young Broekhart won’t be any trouble any more, right? Wrong! There’s trouble for evil brewing up ahead, and as for escaping jail, what better way to do it than to fly? Freedom and vengeance might not be so far away after all…

The adventures of the “swash-buckling scientist” a.k.a. Conor, reminded me strongly of a favorite classic of mine, the Count of Monte Cristo. So if there are any other Count of Monte Cristo fans out there, give this book a try! And I’d also recommend this book to all readers looking for a good adventure! Conor is a very admirable character that stuck to his morals and displayed great strength even in the darkest times! The characters were very well developed in this book, and Airman was quite an enjoyable novel in general. Eoin Colfer fans will love his latest novel!