This may be a great historical novel, but it’s so dense with so much information I couldn’t get through it. Most of what my problem was the way the characters were written. Were they all so annoying in real life? Katherine in in her 20s with the mentality of a 10 year old. Henry acts like he is king of the universe, and all the other characters are just as bad. At first I was enjoying all of historical information, I know the author did all of her research, but when you write pages upon pages upon pages upon pages on how poor Katherine is and how mistreated she is and ignored and manipulated, something that can be summed up in a quarter of those pages, that is where I draw the line. I couldn’t even make it halfway and I was talking breaks, a chapter here and there. The thought of reading anymore made me want to kill myself. I hate giving negative reviews but this is as real as it gets.

Thank you for the chance to review this book, however, unfortunately, I was unable to download this title before it was archived

What a wonderful narrative of the life of Katherine of Aragon. I love reading about the lives of the wives of Henry VIII. This book paints Katherine as a brave, resourceful woman who loved her husband and her daughter, and did everything she could to be a good queen.

Young Catalina of Aragon is betrothed to Arthur, the Prince of Wales. Their young marriage quickly turns tragic after Arthur dies. Katherine, who also falls ill, is left without a future, a pawn between her father and father in law. Her pain becomes pleasure when she marries Henry, Arthur's young and affectionate brother. But their life together is not without pain. Soon Katherine is fighting for her husband, her crown and her future.

I have always enjoyed Alison Weir's books, but this one was of her best. Katherine is brought to life and the reader sees her as a young girl, instead of the queen she became. The love that develops between Katherine & Henry seems short lived, but is very well written. I think Weir captures the whole story in this book and I can't wait to see how the next books in this awesome series will turn out.

Ms. Weir certainly knows her stuff, and I appreciated that she covered all of Katherine's time in England (including her initial marriage to Henry's older brother as well as the aftermath of the "Great Matter") rather than merely focusing on the Anne Boleyn showdown as many authors are wont to do. However, this book felt about 200 pages too long for a novel. The dialogue became repetitive and the recounting of some events and intrigues was tedious -- you might feel like skimming several passages if you're already familiar with the history behind the novel.