Compelling and well written, this book scratched my Tudor itch. I loved that this revolved around the time within the Tudor period where we come across some familiar characters without being the same old same old focus on Anne Boleyn or the likes as the primary character.
This is my first Amy Licence book but already looking to go back for more.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC. I will read anything Tudor related and this was a welcomed change to the story. Just reading from a different perspective was a nice change.

Compulsive, gripping and horrifying! Will keep you on the edge of your seat! Oh my goodness, I absolutely and totally loved this book.

Thanks to netgalley for providing an advanced copy for the purpose of review

This is book 2 in the series and I enjoyed it very much. Full of intrigue and compelling storytelling.

Book 2 in the Marwood series, and it still continues to delight.
Thomasin is now embedded in Queen Catherine’s court as a lady in waiting. Her duties include reading religious tracts to the Queen and her fellow ladies, sewing clothes for the deserving poor and her nightly duties include being a bedside companion to the Queen, sleeping on a truckle bed to offer nighttime assistance.
This book deals with The King’s Secret Matter, which is his love for Anne Boleyn. Thomasin was captivated by the lady in the first book, but a family humiliation means her loyalties are now firmly with the Queen.
Queen Catherine has been unsuccessful in producing a living male heir. King Henry wants the marriage annulled, so he can marry Anne Boleyn. Queen Catherine believes her marriage is lawful and refuses to step aside for a younger rival.
Anne is of the new faith that is gathering converts, Tyndale has translated the Bible into English, and Martin Luther has popularised the ideas of freewill and self determinism that are becoming the new watch words.
Spanish and Venetian envoys, visit to pledge loyalty to Catherine, but they are revealed as spies for a powerful family at court.
The sweating sickness is also spreading across the land, many fall ill in the morning and are dead by nightfall, this is a clever device to move the court from one luxurious palace to the next.
This book succeeds in confining the story to a central core of characters, at a time when all men seem to be named Henry, Edward or Thomas., and the most popular female names are Elizabeth, Mary or Catherine, core characters help to avoid confusion that is present in most Tudor novels.
As always the descriptions of life at court are wonderful. The complexity of dress styles and heavy, ornate headdresses, such expensive jewellery , intricate dances and the rules of courtly etiquette are so well described, the food at banquets seem so exotic and rich to the palate , it compliments the story so well.
Family loyalty is everything and a young female must be aware of ever opportunistic men with an eye on seduction.
A perfect book for teens and young adults in my opinion. I am really enjoying this refreshing approach to Tudor history and I am still discovering new facts in this very readable and well researched novel.

I really like historical fiction, and I thought the cover design looked very striking, which is why I was interested in this.

I thought it was beautifully written - tasteful and elegant. It actually reminded me a little bit of a Philippa Gregory book.

One of my favourite things about historical fiction is that it can often feel like an escape for the reader, and this felt like an escape while I was reading, with the characters and setting vividly brought to life.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.

Troubled Queen is the second in the Marwood Family (Tudor) Saga, in which second oldest daughter, Thomasin, is lady-in-waiting to Queen Catherine. It follows Dangerous Lady, wherein Thomasin hopefully learned a harsh life lesson at Anne Boleyn’s frivolous mock-court, but at times her continuing naiveté is maddening, as she falls in and out of infatuation at an alarming rate. That and the constant referral to eyes of every colour, shape, and size, is tiresome. But having read the whole book and the author’s notes, the things I liked most about the novel are seemingly what the author wants to convey.

In 1528, Henry is awaiting the Pope’s dispensation, Catherine believes she can regain her husband’s love, and the court is rocked by outbreaks of the sweating sickness. These problems create frenetic movement between palaces―Windsor, Westminster, Hampton Court, Greenwich―throwing Henry and Catherine into close proximity and creating drama which is not of Anne Boleyn’s making. Henry’s love for Anne is overshadowed by his more fervent belief that God might strike him down. His fear is palpable as he tries to outrun the disease. This is not a side of Henry we often see, but it becomes a timely thought: that the most important things in life place these illustrious individuals in the precarious balance alongside us.

Queen Catherine is beautifully portrayed and is reason alone to pick up the novel. Never did a woman retain such regal authority, befitting her birthright as daughter of royalty, as in those months when she faced down Anne Boleyn and her grasping family. For me, the Marwoods are somewhat peripheral, but the novel’s use, beyond cameo roles, of many other historical characters―Wolsey, Cromwell, Maria Salinas, William Carey, More, Margaret Roper, and others―allows us a glimpse into their vulnerabilities, their humanity, and 16th-century court life.

Thank you NetGalley, Amy Licence, and Sapere Books for letting me read an advanced copy. A little late in my feedback, but really glad to have stumbled open this book. I enjoy reading books about the Tudors, specifically about Anne Boleyn, so this premise drew me into reading Troubled Queen before realizing it was a sequel. I cannot say anything on the first book yet, but this one stands alone as an intriguing read.

Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon, and Anne Boleyn have numerous stories told from their points of view, but a fresh take is given from Thomasin's perspective.

Amy Licence is a great writer and it is clear that there is an appreciation for the subject matter. I look forward to reading the first book, as well as, the next installment in the series.

I thought this book was good and easy to follow along with and understand even without having read the first book in the series.
It was a nice look into the marriage of Queen Catherine of Aragon and King Henry VII through Catherine's point of view. The struggles and cruelty she had to deal with at the hands of her husband and his court. While the MC is only one of her ladies, it felt as thought she felt everything the Queen did and thus the reader gets an in depth glance as her life at that time.
I felt like Thomasin's life was pretty much not her own. Which I'm sure was normal for that time. She came off as kind of a flat, bland character, not much depth to her. Her entire life revolved around the Queen and her needs. It was nice however the small scenes of banter among the ladies and few court members with her that we did get to see.

I was hoping for her to find her footing and get to live her own life at some point so I'm glad she did even if it was brief in the end before she gets summoned back.
The details in the book are great and its perfectly written and correct for the time era.
Over all it was a great book!

This is a sequel to Dangerous Lady, but you needn't have read the first book in this series to appreciate this one. In fact, if you prefer your Tudor fiction to take place at court rather than on its outskirts, you might prefer this one. The focus is on the travails of Catherine of Aragon in the period when King Henry was obsessed with Anne Boleyn but hadn't yet figured out how to end his marriage to Catherine. I liked that in this retelling Catherine gives (almost) as good as she gets; she's less of a cardboard saint than in most other novels of this period. I wish the main character, Thomasina, felt as multidimensional. It's not that she's flat so much as undistinguished, without much character at all. She seemed to have had much more personality in the first book. All the same, the pacing was quick and fluid enough to keep my interest, and the settings were described vividly. Will I read the next book in the series? Probably.

Thank you, NetGalley and Sapere Books, for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

A well written historical saga, but not a romance.

When I started reading this book I did not realize it was second in a series that is following one main character, Thomasin. If I had known that I might have approached it differently and enjoyed it more. However, since it was categorized as romance, I spent quite a bit of this book confused. This affected my reading of a really great book- so much so that I might check out the first book in the series and then reread this one. To be clear, this is not a light hearted book with a traditional HEA.
The writing in this book was excellent. Amy License is well versed in this history of the time period about which she writes. Seeing some well known historical characters come to life in this way is really a joy. Thomasin falls a bit flat sometimes in comparison to these historical rock stars, but she is young and it seems this series is going to follow the Tudor court for a long time.
So in summary, I recommend this book as historical fiction, but not as a romance.

Star Rating: 3/5
CW: Death, medical content, infidelity

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thomasin Marwood is back and this time around she finds herself in the middle of the ruthless court shenanigans prevalent in 1528 around the king's strong desire to divorce Katherine of Aragon. Amy Licence is a wonderful historian and she definitively knows how to keep the plot going. The many scenes between the Queen and Anne Boleyn are simply fabulous. Great historical details and a terrific cast of exquisitely drawn characters make this highly entertaining drama a great pleasure to read!
I simply can't wait for the third installment in the series!

Many thanks to Sapere Books and Netgalley for this wonderful ARC

I desperately wanted to love everything about this book, but unfortunately the grammatical issues and a comma every 5 words would not allow me to love anything about it. I figured it was just the ARC so I purchased the kindle version and found the exact same issues. These problems made for a headache inducing read.

As for the content, the story itself was ok though very basic. I love all things related to historical fantasy and fiction in this time period. I love all things Tudor, even of the fantasy type. Unfortunately I do not love this particular story.

1528 and Thomasin Marwood is working as part of the household of the Queen of England. The household is loyal to their mistress but very tense, Henry the King is infatuated with a woman called Anne and rather than just keep her as his mistress he wants to repudiate Queen Catherine. Catherine is beyond childbearing years and Henry needs a son to carry on his succession so his political allies are trying to get him a divorce. Anne is already acting above her station and Thomasin is caught in the intrigue.
As far as historical fiction goes this is a great setting, the King's great issue is examined from the perspective of those loyal to Catherine which is different to the usual viewpoint. The tone is very anti-Boleyn but in line with the thoughts and feelings of many of the populace at the time. So far so good. My only slight quibble with this novel was the character of Thomasin who seems a little bland and her romantic exploits somewhat saccharine but for every extended dance or illness section there is a really good examination of the history!

I loved this book. I do enjoy historical novels and although this was the second in this series, it read as a stand alone. Once I started reading I was immediately transported back to the court of King He ray the eighth. The descriptions made it come alive for me and the story didn’t drag like some of this genre. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Book 2 in the Marwood series, and it still continues to delight.
Thomasin is now embedded in Queen Catherine’s court as a lady in waiting. Her duties include reading religious tracts to the Queen and her fellow ladies, sewing clothes for the deserving poor and her nightly duties include being a bedside companion to the Queen, sleeping on a truckle bed to offer nighttime assistance.
This book deals with The King’s Secret Matter, which is his love for Anne Boleyn. Thomasin was captivated by the lady in the first book, but a family humiliation means her loyalties are now firmly with the Queen.
We deal with religion and politics in this book, Queen Catherine is Catholic, but has been unsuccessful in producing a living male heir. King Henry wants the marriage annulled, so he can marry Anne Boleyn. Queen Catherine believes her marriage is lawful and refuses to step aside for a younger rival.
Anne is of the new faith that is gathering converts, Tyndale has translated the Bible into English, and Martin Luther has popularised the ideas of freewill and self determinism that are becoming the new watch words.
Politics take the form of Spanish and Venetian envoys, they visit to pledge loyalty to Catherine, but they are revealed as spies for a powerful family at court.
The sweating sickness is also spreading across the land, many fall ill in the morning and are dead by nightfall, this is a clever device to move the court from one luxurious palace to the next.
This book succeeds in confining the story to a central core of characters, at a time when all men seem to be named Henry, Edward or Thomas., and the most popular female names are Elizabeth, Mary or Catherine, core characters help to avoid confusion that is present in most Tudor novels.
As always the descriptions of life at court are wonderful. The complexity of dress styles and heavy, ornate headdresses, such expensive jewellery , intricate dances and the rules of courtly etiquette are so well described, the food at banquets seem so exotic and rich to the palate , it compliments the story so well.
Family loyalty is everything and a young female must be aware of ever opportunistic men with an eye on seduction.
A perfect book for teens and young adults in my opinion. I am really enjoying this refreshing approach to Tudor history and I am still discovering new facts in this very readable and well researched novel. So looking forward to the next in this series , where will Thomasin’s journey and her loyalties take her to?
My thanks to Netgalley and Sapere Books for my advance digital copy, given in exchange for my unbiased and honest opinion. A five star read, I will post to Goodreads and Amazon.

A very well written novel about Queen Catherine of Aragon and her marriage with Henry VII. With Catherine's inability to provide Henry with an heir, he turns to the arms of Anne Boleyn. The intrigue and secrecy of the Tudor Court is explored so well. Recommended reading.

Even though I hadn't read the first book of this series, I was still able to follow the story and appreciate it. It was compelling, interesting and had great characters. I will now have to read the first book, so that I can fully appreciate this one.

2.5/5 stars. It's clear that the author is knowledgeable regarding the history of the times. That is a wonderful concept but I'm not sure it was utilized successfully here. I felt like the interactions, while well-researched, were not believable and I struggled to get invested in the storyline.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily