The Princess by Wendy HoldenMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
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Welcome to my altered journey through life. You never know if I will be into home improvements, knee deep in a good book, on an Alaskan cruise or just being silly. I hope this blog will give you tips, tricks, ideas and books to add to your TBR list. Thanks for stopping by.
Showing posts with label Royal book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Royal book. Show all posts
27 August 2023
30 July 2023
11 March 2023
19 February 2023
05 March 2022
02 June 2021
08 May 2021
11 April 2021
08 September 2020
15 August 2020
25 June 2020
28 May 2020
Review: The Queen's Secret: A Novel of England's World War II Queen
The Queen's Secret: A Novel of England's World War II Queen by Karen HarperMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This journey is all about the Queen Mum when she was just the Queen. She was a woman who never thought she would be anything other than the King's sister-in-law, but then David (Edward VIII) fell in love with Wallis and changed history. Bertie was, in my opinion, the perfect King for the times. Not long after he was coronated WWII broke out and he and Queen Elizabeth had to pull England together. They suffered trauma from night bombings, day bombings, and bombings right in the room in which they were standing. Somehow they had to figure out how to heal a country at war and keep their family alive, and they did so right alongside Winston Churchill. The Queen though had some secrets she wanted to be hidden from view. Some of those secrets David knew and was determined to use that knowledge to try and worm his way back into the royal family. I have not read any other book on Elizabeth Bowles-Lyon, so I can't speak for some of the truths to the tales here, but I have read everything that I can find on Wallis and David and they are portrayed here as they were in real life. Something about them is fascinating, but also devious, watch out for them as you read this one!
Lillibet (Queen Elizabeth II) is depicted as she is in every book I have read about her, sweet, smart, and madly in love with Phillip at such a young age. Here you see just the beginning of Margot's (Margaret) high jinx.
Of course, Churchhill has a big role in the book. I have always been mad about Sir Winston. A brilliant man, who probably saved England. You see some of his co-work with Roosevelt here too. I love seeing FDR hanging around the royals.
I think it was a fabulous book, perfect, no, but pretty close.
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01 December 2019
Review: The Crown: The Official Companion, Volume 1: Elizabeth II, Winston Churchill, and the Making of a Young Queen
The Crown: The Official Companion, Volume 1: Elizabeth II, Winston Churchill, and the Making of a Young Queen by Robert LaceyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this so much more than I did the companion book to Victoria. This one helped the reader/watcher sort out the true to life to the fiction that the show portrayed, as well as mini-biographies of all the "characters". I don't believe you should read this unless you have watched Season 1 of The Crown.
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04 August 2019
Review: The Golden Hour
The Golden Hour by Beatriz WilliamsMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I loved every second that I spent with this book. First of all, anything that even mentions Wallis Simpson grabs my attention. Secondly, any book that is based in a tropical location will pull me into its pages. Thirdly, add to that, characters that I met in another book and I am hooked!!!
I won't spoil anything for you because this book has some intrigue and moments where my jaw dropped for a second and you need to experience that for yourself. I just want to tell you that the book travels a little through time, but you should not have trouble keeping up. You need this "time travel" to grab the importance of the story and how it weaves over almost 50 years.
If you have read other Beatriz books, be on the lookout for a character you have seen before (I love it when she does this).
The only thing I didn't like about this book was when it was over.
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Review: Wallis in Love: The Untold Life of the Duchess of Windsor, the Woman Who Changed the Monarchy
Wallis in Love: The Untold Life of the Duchess of Windsor, the Woman Who Changed the Monarchy by Andrew MortonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have always enjoyed an Andrew Morton book. You can count on him to be detailed and tell things you may never have heard before. I was looking forward to reading this one the second I heard it was a book because of that fact and I must say I was NOT disappointed.
This one seems brutally honest, I mean no polishing over any fact. Let's face it, even though Wallis fascinates me, she was not someone who I would have wanted to be friends with in any way.
This is a good book for anyone trying to figure out what attracted David to her and made him give up a whole throne to have her in his life.
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07 April 2019
Review: Victoria & Albert: A Royal Love Affair
Victoria & Albert: A Royal Love Affair by Daisy GoodwinMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was not at all what I wanted in a book. I didn't see it in the title, but this is more a companion book to the series. I was expecting a book like Victoria, a story. I was expecting a look into the marriage of V & A. I guess I got that, but I didn't get the story I wanted. I do know a bit about the marriage thanks to reading other books and I find their relationship fascinating. This book told me about the actors in the series, behind the scenes, about the screenplay and a bit of the story. It was more a compilation of essays. I just couldn't get into this book at all.
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06 April 2019
Review: Victoria
Victoria by Daisy GoodwinMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is not the best book on Victoria I have read (that would be Jean Plaidy), but it is a very good second. I enjoyed it very much. It is exactly like everything I have read about Victoria. She was a bit of humbug in some ways and totally determined to have her way in everything, at times impulsive and hard-headed, but she loved her people. She loved her Kingdom deeply. I like how the book ended the way it did, it very much left many openings for the future of other books because until recently Victoria did have the longest reign ever.
I have no idea how it compares to the show because I have not seen the show, but the book was very good.
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01 March 2019
Review: That Woman: The Life of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor
That Woman: The Life of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor by Anne SebbaMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I try to read every book that I can on Wallis. I am not sure why she fascinates me so much, but she does. Ever since I was a little girl I wondered how a King could give up all for a woman? How much love did he have? It must have been some love story. Well this book goes more in depth to Wallis's early years and the courtship, but also the abdication. I very much enjoyed the parts on how the whole abdication and wedding occured in real life. I found the part from wedding to death to be too swift, but otherwise a perfect books.
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20 January 2019
I am looking forward to the release of these books (in 2019)
This is a list of books on my TBR reading list. All of these will be released in 2019. I am not sure if I will finish all of them, but I am going to give it my best shot. I will add the synopsis after I read the book because I don't usually read them until after I have read the book. I am one of those that doesn't like movie trailers too.
The Light Over London by Julia Kelly (this one has been released)
The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict (released-I just finished this one) A tale of Hedy Lamar before she was a famous movie star, how she got started, her first terrible husband and how she changed our world by creating technology you and I use every day.
The Age of Light by Whitney Sharer (February)
The Last Year of the War by Susan Meissner (March)
09 January 2019
Review: The Gown: A Novel of the Royal Wedding
The Gown: A Novel of the Royal Wedding by Jennifer RobsonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I am not even sure how to start this review. I am still a little bit of in the "oh I can't believe that is over phase."
From the first chapter, I was sucked into the story that takes you through a period in time of the lives of three woman. Ann and Miriam are in a post-war England. Struggling to make peace with who they are and how to survive in this new world. Heather is in modern-day and she too struggles with her job and a secret in the past.
They all meet men who will change the course of their lives in some unexpected ways.
This is a beautiful novel. England is not very pretty during much of the time we are visiting. It suffers from The Blitz and England is still suffering the effects of the war, but we don't dwell on hardships, we see a beautiful friendship and a country very excited about a royal wedding. I loved that Jennifer spun a story where we could imagine what the workroom looked like, I could even envision the embroidery as she was describing it in every detail. I could see war-torn London and I could feel the pain the girls experienced as they try to rebuild for the future.
Warning: I could not put this book down once I started...so you may need to plan accordingly.
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