I did not finish this book through NetGalley but enjoyed the beginnings so much that I purchased it! Historical fiction is a genre like no other - very good read!

Wonderful novel with terrific character and very strong sense of place - great historical.

I watched Victoria by Daisy Goodwin before I read this. I really enjoyed the series so it was nice to read this as well. A nice and imaginative look at what life for Victoria might have been like.

Thank you for the opportunity read and review this title! I didn't enjoy it as much as I"d hoped, and rather than post a negative review, I chose to not feature it on my blog. I look forward to seeing what new releases you have in store!

This book showcases the very early part of Victoria's long reign during her infatuation with Lord Melbourne, her first meetings with her cousin Alfred, and her guilt and struggle to break free of her mother's dominance. It focuses mostly on Victoria's personal life and excludes most of the political events of the time period.

I've read several books about the early life of England's queen and this starts out quite similar to many of the other books. For the first twenty percent there were few new details, making me a little worried, but that gradually changed and new scenes and information were added. For anyone new to the life of Victoria and interested in historic reads, this romanticized version will be highly entertaining. I enjoyed getting the perspective of all the major characters and not just seeing through Victoria's eyes.

I sincerely enjoyed the author's ability to weave in history with fictional elements. Having done some research on Queen Victoria recently, this manuscript was the easiest to read and less dense than others. I would read other books by this author.

This is my first book by Daisy Goodwin that I've read and certainly won't be my last.
I had recently wanted to start to read more historical fiction and on the subject of Queen Victoria. This book not only helped shed some light on the historical aspect of things but on Victoria's personal life as well..It seems the author took an immense amount of time to get this book to be historically accurate on all levels well written-which is a feat in its self. The author also did such a fantastic job of conveying information that wasn't boring and made it an enjoyable read.

I sincerely would like to thank Daisy Goodwin and St. Martin's Press for giving me the opportunity to read and review this.

Adding this book to my list to buy.

Daisy Goodwin has brought about another triumph. This book was very rich with characters and it did pack a punch with descriptive prose. I have to be honest that I did not like Victoria in this novel - I thought her to be spoiled, ignorant and hard headed - but then if she were too soft and sweet she would not be Queen Victoria that we know and love. She has weaknesses and that what makes Daisy's writing all the more superb - she is not afraid to have rounded warts n all characters. Not much has been shown of Victoria's early days so this was refreshing to read. I hope there will be more. (As an added note - if you liked the book, I recommend the series that has been aired based on this - its great.)

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review. I read this novel alongside the *Victoria* biography by Julia Baird. I gotta say, they both were amazing. Goodwin did a fantastic job of taking real events and making them exciting and interesting without changing hardly any of the details. Great job. I would definitely read more from this author.

VICTORIA Written by Daisy Goodwin
2016; 404 Pages (St. Martin's Press)
Genre: historical fiction, biography, based on true events, fiction, royalty

(I received an ARC from the NETGALLEY)

RATING: 3 STARS

In 1836, Victoria turns eighteen and becomes the Queen of Great Britain. In Daisy Goodwin's novel we see the young princess become a Queen and try to rule a country. As a woman becomes a ruler we see how the players around her scramble and manipulate to be her right hand "man" or her puppet master. I have always found Queen Victoria fascinating so I was looking forward to this book, but unfortunately I found it slow and I started to lose interest quickly. As I was supposed to read this book for review and a group read I forced myself to finish it. At the time Goodwin was writing this novel she was also at the same time writing the screenplay for the miniseries. I have not heard good things about the show so I am going to skip it for now. I am still interested in Victoria and am looking forward to reading other books on her.

Enjoyed this story...have shared it w/ many...including my libraries...It's a popular read there, too.

A coming of age story as Victoria becomes queen at the tender age of eighteen.

A young girl with a kingdom to rule we see her mature along with incidents showing her young age and immaturity. At times she acts older than her years at other times a temperamental immature girl. She finds love, makes a few missteps, understand her position and power and how the machinations of politics work as well as the scheming of foes and family.

I enjoyed Victoria and Lord M's interaction from start to finish, well done and demonstrates Victoria blossoming in all ways.

A light easy read, nothing serious. Interesting perspective from Goodwin.

As luck would have it, I started this book just after I started watching "Victoria" on PBS. One episode of that was enough- it was melodramatic and had a lot of plotting which ultimately came to nothing and just spun the wheels plot-wise.

The book echoes the beats of the show exactly, so if you want more of that you'll enjoy this. The writing itself is good and possibly more engaging than the TV version. I just wasn't interested in this very loose take on history, plumped up with a romance that didn't really happen.

Victoria was a page turner! Once I started reading I did not want to put it down. I live in the United States so I don't have any real knowledge about Kings and Queens but I silently cheered the teen Queen on as I flew through her story. I wanted to see her become a great Queen and I wanted her to find love.

I was disappointed that the Lord M romance went on as it did. I didn't realize he was that much older until the end. Although it was a page turner I kept waiting for a more substantial story to start. I waited for her to be the Queen she wanted to be and that she thought she was. I didn't really see it. The whole story was everyone trying to control her and in the end I think "they" won.

Not my fave book about Queen Victoria. Lots missing, liberties have been taken, no new research.
I'd recommend it to readers who want an easy-to-read book about Victoria, but not to serious followers of the monarchy

First Line: A shaft of light fell on the crack in the corner of the ceiling.

Summary: Young Queen Victoria comes to the throne and has to learn how to run a country while experiencing freedom for the first time. She takes leadership from Lord Melbourne, the British Prime Minister, but she begins to feel more than a queen should for her head of state. Victoria has many ups and downs in her first years as the monarch. When her cousin Albert arrives from Germany she has many more things to occupy her time and mind.

Highlights: I love that this follows the PBS series. I loved Jenna Coleman in the series and could picture her the whole time I listened to the story. I knew very little about Victoria so this was a nice insight into a famous and long reigning queen. The story is beautifully written.

Lowlights: I didn't like that it took so much time to get to a point. It did drag on for a while with things that maybe could have been condensed. And we did not get to see Albert and Victoria together so I am hoping that there will be another book to follow to show their marriage and life together.

FYI: Not sure about the complete historical accuracy but a very entertaining story.

Victoria. The name will bring forth images for anyone who hears it. Maybe you think of the time period and its notable restrictive fashion. Maybe you think of the state in Australia or the city in Canada bearing the name. And maybe you think of the queen who, up until recently, was Britain’s longest reigning monarch.

This is the story of how a fifth-in-line-to-the-throne, determined, independent, strong-willed girl of eighteen became the Queen of England. Alexandrina Victoria may have led a quiet, suppressed life before coming to the throne, but she lived a vibrant life when she gained her freedom. Daisy Goodwin is known for her historical fiction writing full of emotion, history, and vulnerable characters. And Victoria is no exception.

While people are probably more familiar with “the Grandmother of Europe” that was known for her harsh treatment of her children and her undying love, even in death, to her husband, Victoria was once just a girl trying to figure out how to rule a country with no training or background. Goodwin follows Victoria’s beginning years as queen from her blunders through her Coronation to the infamous “Bedchamber Crisis” to her refusal to work with any prime minister but Lord Melbourne—or should I say Lord M.

I loved this book! I think it can be challenging to write historical fiction about a prominent figure in history. Authors have real life events that they have to follow while imagining what was going on behind the scenes and also trying to stay true to what is known about their character. I am American and know very little about British history so I have no opinion on how accurate this portrayal of Queen Victoria might be, but I can attest to how engaging it was to read. I found Victoria to be likeable and relatable from her running down the stairs as her first defiance to her mother to her refusal to change her ladies-in-waiting as her plan to keep Lord M on as her prime minister. It was also quite funny to read as Victoria protested repeatedly about ever considering to marry Albert when I already knew what happened in real life and how desperately she fell for him and loved him. Though a tad slow at times for my tastes, I vastly enjoyed reading this and will continue to be a fan of Goodwin’s books.

"Your subjects are not dolls to be played with...To be a queen, you have to be more than a little girl with a crown."

I love Goodwin. She is one of my top 5 current authors and I always want to read whatever she has written. The American Heiress is one of my absolute favorites. So when I saw she wrote about the beginning of Queen Victoria's reign I was so excited.

She didn't disappoint.

I have read a lot about Victoria - her tempestuous relationship with her mother, her love story with Albert and of course the scandals in the beginning of her reign with the whispers of Lord Melbourne - and Goodwin wove all of the history together brilliantly. I often forget that the greats of history were teenagers at some point - I mean I'm currently 7 years older than Victoria was when she took her crown and while she was more prepared than I will ever be to run a country, Goodwin allowed for her to be an 18 year old and showed her missteps and corrections.

It was beautiful to read. Well written, well researched and simply a joy. I would recommend this for anyone who has any interest at all in Queen Victoria.

I was given a galley copy in exchange for an honest review

Read this after Masterpiece production. Really enjoyed the book, followed the mini series, but much more details. I would recommend everyone read it who likes British History.

An easy read about the heir to the throne of England. Read the historical fiction of a girl of 16 as she becomes Queen Victoria at the age of 18. A young girl who is head strong yet naive and the becoming of age as she decides whether to be like Queen Elizabeth I, a ruler with no man beside her because the man she believes she loves could never her husband, or to agree to the marriage that has been put before since she was a child, to her cousin Albert.