Bright Young Things

The Life of Elizabeth I by Alison Weir

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


After having some doubts with Weir's authorship with Mary Boleyn: The Mistress of Kings, I was glad to be reassured with her biography of Elizabeth I of England.

I've always loved Elizabeth. Her story captivated me. The girl who had lost her mother at such a young age and lived in such a perilous age brought glory to her country once again. I had watched countless movies with her and the fascination grew from there.

I knew of the important facts of Elizabeth's reign, but with this book I got a better look at it. Weir made Elizabeth come alive again.

The book starts where The Children of Henry VIII left off with Elizabeth's ascension. There are twenty seven chapters and an epilogue and even that didn't seem like enough to me. Luckily Weir a listed a great bibliography, so I'll be checking out some of those.

This a great biography. Weir doesn't shy away from Elizabeth's faults, but also praises her achievements. I was truly sad when the end came.

There is an author's note in the back about Elizabeth in film. I was a little dismayed when she took the piss out of the Cate Blanchett films since I love her portrayal of her, but with reading this book I can see the flaws of the film. Still I am planning on watching a few of her approved Elizabeth roles.



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Mary Boleyn: The Mistress of Kings by Alison Weir

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


What I knew of Mary Boleyn came from biographies on Anne Boleyn. I looked forward to reading this book seeing as it was written by Weir.

I enjoyed the book, but for some reason I couldn't really connect with Mary like I did with Anne. Maybe it's because of the lack of information on her, but the text felt like it was missing something. The parts I most enjoyed were the first index where it talked about Mary's children and their connection to their cousin Elizabeth.

The book had all the facts, but I felt it was missing something that I can't quite put my finger on. It didn't feel very personal. But I can understand what with the lack of information on Mary Boleyn, how this may have had something to do with it. I'm still looking forward to reading The Life of Elizabeth I by Weir though!



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The Leopard Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This was my second Elizabeth Hoyt novel and as soon I settled into, I remembered why I loved The Raven Prince so much. Hoyt is adapting making the hero and heroine jump off the page. I was really rooting for George and Harry and I was really invested in their love story. The story felt raw and all too real.

I also liked how Hoyt weaved in the story of the Leopard Prince with George and Harry's. The mystery was so-so, but I don't think it detracted from the story at all.

I will be checking out the rest of Ms. Hoyt's back catalog. I just cannot get enough!



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The Children of Henry VIII by Alison Weir

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I have previously started this book, but I only got forty pages into it before something else caught my attention. After I finished The Six Wives of Henry VIII I wanted more Tudor stuff, so what better to read than this? After I've always been fascinated by those three royal children.

This book gave me more insight into Edward VI. Although it didn't delve too deeply into his reign. Edward seems to me to have been a puppet through most of his reign. But he did set the groundwork for the Protestant religion in England and he desperately tried to prevent his sister from undoing that by naming Lady Jane Grey as his successor. Although that was technically illegal.

Mary undid Edward's work and return England to the Church of Rome. She married the foreign Phillip II of Spain, which wasn't received well. I really did feel sorry for Mary when her pregnancy turned out to be a phantom. She really wanted that and with all the drama in her life, I think it would have made her happier.

Of course after Mary died, Elizabeth came to the throne and this is very the books ends with Elizabeth receiving news of her ascension and her uttering that famous line from the Bible. I'm ordering Weir's biography of Elizabeth, which I don't know why I haven't done this already since I acquired two of her books before 2009 and not one on my beloved Elizabeth? For shame. But I will devour that biography as soon as it's in my hands.

Oh and I've forgotten Lady Jane Grey. I knew her fate before going into the book, but I felt for her because she never wanted to be Queen and was pressured into by her parents. Her story is a sad one.



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Elizabeth: Virgin Queen? by Philippa Jones

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was officially my first bio on Elizabeth I, though I've read a lot about her father's reign and I own a biography on her mother, Anne Boleyn.

This particular one focused on whether or not Elizabeth had any children and the possibilities when they could have born as well as commenting on other things of Elizabeth's reign. I really enjoyed and I thought the author didn't have any bias on who might have possibly been Elizabeth's child. But like her previous book The Other Tudors: Henry VIII's Mistresses and Bastards I did notice a few mistakes. Just on birth date and years, but it was easily overlooked.

I give this book 4 stars. Very interesting, but it was a little light on other important aspects of Elizabeth's life, though I suppose if you're looking for a general biography of Elizabeth, you might look elsewhere.



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As of 2: 10 pm this afternoon, I finished A Storm of Swords. All 1,062 pages of it. I honestly thought at the beginning that I wouldn't be able to finish a book with that many pages, but I so did. Fucking ace bro!

Here's my review. I am still reeling from the epilogue. I'm not spoiling anyone, but it was fucking sweet!

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Wow this book was a hell of a ride. It makes the first time on two counts. It was the first time in the long time that after I finished one book in the series that I went and started the next one. I usually wait awhile before reading the next book in a series, so I won't overdo myself. But I simply couldn't wait with ASOIAF. I just had to know what happened next. The second first is that this is the first time in like forever that I've finished a book with this many pages. I always look upon similar books with dread. But it honestly didn't feel like it was that long. I looked forward to reading more of this saga.

The epilogue was just beautiful. I won't spoil anyone because I fear I may have done that already with my status, but I'll just say that it's perfect.



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Yesterday I also finished my required icons for thefandomzoo. My fandom was Gossip Girl of course and I decided to do the color red with Blair. I've put them below the cut. I'm still learning, but I'm really proud of them. Feel to snatch one if you like it. Credit is nice, but no hotlinking bitches ;D

The Other Tudors: Henry VIII's Mistresses and Bastards by Philippa Jones

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I picked up this book when I went out to the Barnes and Noble for the first time since August 2011. I don't regret buying this book at all and the fact that I got it on a sale made it even better.

I've been fascinated with Henry VIII's reign since 2002 when I was twelve years old. Over the years I've collected books (non fiction and fiction), DVDs, and anything related to the Tudor reign. But surprisingly I hadn't heard of some of the women and children in this book.

I liked how each section spotlighted a different woman. I wish the author would have went into more detail about the ladies, but she gives the basics on each woman and the start of her affair with Henry.

I did find some mistakes in the book. Small mistakes, but seriously listing Elizabeth I's death year as 1605? Really editors, you didn't catch that?

All in all I give the book four stars! Good, but could have been better.



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Before I write my thoughts on this lovely book, I have to admit something. I have never seen When Harry Met Sally beside the clip of the infamous fake orgasm scene by Meg Ryan. But I will try to watch in the future.

When I started reading the prologue and it introduced 13 year old Molly with her love poem, I knew I was going to love this book. It had already gotten off to a good start with the humor.

The first chapter begins in 1816 ten years after the prologue. The reader is reintroduced to Harry. I have to say that I like him right away. He was charming and funny and completely lovable.

The heroine Molly was my kind of heroine. She was so funny and she knew what she wanted. I especially loved when she told Harry to pull his breeches down. You go girl!

Harry does eventually realize he loves Molly after they've parted. He proposes to her and they get their happy ending. The end with the gifts from the other Impossible Bachelors was sweet as well.

I give it five stars because I thought it was perfect. Lovable hero and heroine. Funny and good storytelling!

Originally posted here at my book blog.

First thing that I want to mention about the book is the cover. It depicts a scene in the book. What I'm about to say isn't important to the story, it's just a minor detail. The dress that Caitlyn wears is described as strapless. The dress the model is wearing has a strap. A thin strap, but it's a strap.

Now that's off my chest. I can't remember when I picked up this book, but I probably picked it up because of the cover or the blurb on the back. Most likely the cover because I'm shallow like that. :P

I haven't read many stories about cowboys, so I would consider this book to my introduction to the whole cowboy genre. I liked the fact that Caitlyn was a strong heroine and she never gave up even when Judd pressured her or some his ranch hands tried to bring her down. She was also caring without being too sentimental. I thought Warren fleshed her out fully.

Judd on the other hand was more mysterious. When he's introduced he seemed to be good person, but slightly misogynistic. It's revealed to be a result of his upbringing. I liked how the author explained it all and didn't have Jude try to explain it out. He took responsibility for his actions.

I give it four stars. It was very enjoyable and I loved the heroine and I warmed up to the hero. I'm really interested in learning more about Caitlyn's two sisters as well.

Originally posted at my blog. Crossposted to my LJ and Goodreads.