European Royalty discussion
European Royalty Discussions
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What have you read lately?
Misfit wrote: "Susan, I've not tried them yet and haven't decided if I will or not. I just can't get over the thought of Forks as a hot bed of vampires and werewolves. " I haven't tried them yet either but I think Forks is a perfect locale - a bit out there with an eerie atmosphere as I remember from the few times I traveled through there! :)
Susan wrote: "I guess I better take some time and reevaluate my opinion on the books.Has anyone read the Lux series by Anna Godberson? "
Yes, I read them all. I really liked the first book, didn't care for the second book, and the third book was decent. I own them all because they are pretty to look at. :) I plan on reading the last one when it comes out. I think my reviews are pretty thorough about my thoughts when I read the books, so you might want to read them (I doubt I posted any spoilers, but you might want to avoid reading about the second or third books until you read the book before each one).
Susan wrote: "I guess I better take some time and reevaluate my opinion on the books.Has anyone read the Lux series by Anna Godberson? "
I know Sarah's read the first one. I got the second via Amazon vine and rated it wall banger, but I personally loved Michele's review, http://readersrespite.blogspot.com/20...
I read all 4 of the Twilight books. Overall, I liked them, but books 2 and 3 were really slow for me.
Stephanie Meyer (the author) is a wonderful storyteller, but a horrible author. I read her books thinking "God, I hope she gets better at this!"
Truly, her idea was good, her characters were decent, the plot was great - but she fell apart in the actual writing.
I've never even heard of the Lux series - I'll have to check it out!
Okay...checked it out...WON'T be reading that one. LOL
Mandy wrote: "Okay...checked it out...WON'T be reading that one. LOL"Read Wharton, you're better off. All that sex with no consequences, let alone a well bred young miss having a freaking bear rug in her bedroom to make whoopee on. Oy vey.
Susan Has anyone read the Lux series by Anna Godberson?
The plot/story itself was fabulous, but I'm not sure that the historical facts are as acurate as they could be, or that any of the charectors act like people really would have in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Rose wrote: "I would strongly recommend you ALL read at least Twilight, for more than one reason; a)ITS TRULY AMAZING! and b) it will help you understand what the youth is both intersted in and why everyone is ..."I didn't like it at all, found it annoying. I'm sorry...how many times can you say Edward is breathtaking? Ugh. I did look up plots and reviews of the other 3 to see if they were worth reading since folks seem so addicted to them. I can say I won't bother to read them after reading what I did about the plots and reviews. I honestly can't see what all the fuss is about but..eh, to each their own.
I received Jean Plaidy's "The Bastard King" today from Paperbackswap. I can't wait to read it, since I'm reading "The Conqueror" for the group read here. Is there anywhere I can find out which of her books are planned for being republished? I'm a bit OCD about how all my books look in my bookcase and I was a bit ill when the cover for "To Hold the Crown" was different from the others I had! All the other Plaidy books I own have a painting I guess you would say, on the covers and spines.
her publishers website I forgot it for the moment but they have a list and date of when it will be released.
Robin wrote: "Rose wrote: "I would strongly recommend you ALL read at least Twilight, for more than one reason; a)ITS TRULY AMAZING! and b) it will help you understand what the youth is both intersted in and why..."Robin I also am OCD about the covers of the books I plan to keep. I have a library/ office in my house so I have room to keep a fair number of books. This cover switching with Jean's books can be maddening. I bought 4/5 around 4/5 years ago and they were a new cover. Now they're being changed again. Ugh!
To all of you Henry VIII readers, today is the day in 1509 that Henry was crowned KIng of Englad! That would be 500 years ago and look how fascinated we still are about him!Just an interesting bit of history to share!
Robin wrote: "Rose wrote: "I would strongly recommend you ALL read at least Twilight, for more than one reason; a)ITS TRULY AMAZING! and b) it will help you understand what the youth is both intersted in and why..."The publisher is Three Rivers Press. But I could not find a list.
Nona wrote: "her publishers website I forgot it for the moment but they have a list and date of when it will be released."Nona I went to Three River's Press but couldn't find the list. Help!
Susan wrote: "To all of you Henry VIII readers, today is the day in 1509 that Henry was crowned KIng of Englad! That would be 500 years ago and look how fascinated we still are about him! Just an interesting..."
Totally cool! Think to leave such a legacy! Think to keep people fascinated for 500 years. Not bad!
Happy Anniversary, Henry!We'll watch The Tudors tonight to celebrate. Maybe I'll learn something new and accurate about my favorite monarch ;)
Happy Anniversary, Henry!It is amazing that we're still so fascinated. Wish I could've gone to London to experience some of the things they were doing to honor the event.
Thanks for the info on the Plaidy books. I want to get more of her books. Susan, I bought my first ones about 4/5 years ago and they're probably the same covers as what you have and yeah, I'm ill about them changing the covers again (with more headless people!!).
This is the style that I have...
Robin wrote: "Happy Anniversary, Henry!It is amazing that we're still so fascinated. Wish I could've gone to London to experience some of the things they were doing to honor the event.
Thanks for the info on..."
You're right. Those are the covers that I also have. I'm forcing myself to not buy the new ones as replacements. The new covers are really nice, but I definitely don't have money to burn and there's always other books I want.
I just found this Jean Plaidy site listed at Historical Fiction Online - http://royal-intrigue.net/booklist.phpIt lists all of Plaidy's books INCLUDING the title changes, so it's a great find! It also has a "cover gallery" link, so you can see what books match the ones you have. And actually, the cover gallery would show which books have been republished (since it shows all the new covers).
Sara wrote: "I just found this Jean Plaidy site listed at Historical Fiction Online - http://royal-intrigue.net/booklist.phpIt lists all of Plaidy's books INCLUDING the title changes, so it's a great find! ..."
OH! Thanks Sara! I'll go check that out!
Btw Robin, I loved the Bastard King and all of Plaidy's Norman trilogy. That's part of the reason I'm so excited to read The Conqueror.
Sara, thank you for the link to HFO and the info about Plaidy! I bookmarked the site for future use.
finished My Lady of Cleves, really short span of time in the end. There was only two 12-15 page chapters once Heny VIII kicked the ole bucket, it suggested a fancy between Hans Holbein and Anne though said nothing ever happened. I really enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more of Maragret Campbell Barnes, up there with Plaidy when it comes to the Tudors.
Susan wrote: "To all of you Henry VIII readers, today is the day in 1509 that Henry was crowned KIng of Englad! That would be 500 years ago and look how fascinated we still are about him!Just an interesting..."
I'm very serious when I say thankyou 4 that, its amazing 2 think about!
Rose wrote: "Susan wrote: "To all of you Henry VIII readers, today is the day in 1509 that Henry was crowned KIng of Englad! That would be 500 years ago and look how fascinated we still are about him!Just ..."
Your welcome! This is my favorite thread of all, with so many people offering authors and books to be read about the tudors. I now have bought a number of new authors and books recommended by authors I already have.
Also, thanks for the advice on Luxe and Twilight series. I am reading Twilight right now. So far. so good!
I'm reading The Reluctant Suitor by Kathleen Woodiwiss, not a favorite by the remarks I get but I'm really liking it so far(I'm on page 50)tough I must admit sometimes she gets a little long winded with details, but I still like it.
I just finished "Marie Antoninette: The Last Queen of France" by Evelyne Lever, which I enjoyed. It is a very detailed account of her life and it made me realize most of what I have heard of her person and life is not very accurate. Also, I just read "The Kitchen Boy" and the "The Romanov Bride" both by Robert Alexander. There were both interesting and quick reads but I did not love either of them. Anybody else here read those? Any suggestions for follow ups or something about the Romanovs with a bit more substance?
I liked the Kitchen Boy but I was reading Massie's two nonfiction books about the Romanovs. They are both very good and well worth the time (they are somewhat lengthy).I'll have tolook up Evelyne Lever. Thanks for the heads up!
Emily wrote: "I just finished "Marie Antoninette: The Last Queen of France" by Evelyne Lever, which I enjoyed. It is a very detailed account of her life and it made me realize most of what I have heard of her p..."We read the Kitchen Boy here as a group a while ago, so you may be interested in looking at those old threads. I read the non-fiction book The Flight of the Romanovs A Family Saga and really enjoyed it.
Hi Sara,Thanks for the recommendations. I will look at the old threads about the Kitchen Boy and I just purchased "The Flight of the Romanovs" used on Amazon. Can't wait to read that one!
Susan,
I hae one of the Massie books, just found it hidden on a bookshelf behind some dusty books. I will have to start on it soon. The Lever book can get lengthy in description at times but I really enjoyed learning so much about the Queen.
Okay, I know this will be a pretty big list and favor, but would a few of you possibly give me a list of your fav royalty books? I'm slowly making the transition from all young adult books to some adult, and I'm in need of a little help.. :)
Another sugestion Rose, is looking into The Great Courses. You can buy them for a relatively low price at different times of the year as they go on sale. With each course you get DVDs and course guidebooks with suggested books to read. I have Henry VIII and The History of England from the Tudors to the Stuarts.
Rose I really enjoyed Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn series which is part fiction with a little history mixed in.I also enjoyed Carolley Erickson's To The Scaffold (nonfiction) and The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette (fiction).
I think these are good places to start, if you're just making the transition because their interesting and not so chocked full of facts that might be too overwhelming or boring for you at this time.
Rose, I agree with Sara that Jean Plaidy's are much less racy than The Other Boleyn series or The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette. It all depends on your age and what your parents are accustomed to you reading.
Rose - do you want fiction or non-fiction?
I picked up "Katherine" by Anya Seton today at the library. Can't wait to get into it! 
I found Katherine charming.
I have to try to find a copy of Katherine and read it again. It was a favorite of mine when I was in my teens. What fun that it has been reissued.I read all of the Twilight books, and I enjoyed them. Didn't much like Host which is currently on the best seller's list. But then, I like vampire books, and I'm a SF fan and I expect my SF to BE SF. I wasn't frustrated by being told how gorgeous Edward was because it was obvious that the character who thought he was gorgeous was saying a lot more about herself than she was about him. She was so young she would have thought any boy she was involved with was gorgeous.
Susanna wrote: "Rose - do you want fiction or non-fiction?"Fiction would be great! :) Thanks so much you guys 4 the suggestions, I WILL be looking them all up!
Rose wrote: "Okay, I know this will be a pretty big list and favor, but would a few of you possibly give me a list of your fav royalty books? I'm slowly making the transition from all young adult books to some ..."Some books that I could barely put down were The Kitchen Boy A Novel of the Last Tsar by Robert Alexander and Innocent Traitor A Novel of Lady Jane Grey by Alison Weir. I think these would be pretty good intro books (although Innocent Traitor has one or two sex scenes that you may not want to read - sorry, I'm not sure of your age or what you may find offense). Jean Plaidy and Sharon Kay Penman are awesome too, but you might want to read them a bit later (SKP can be long and detailed, and some of Plaidy people find dry). I would recommend The Queen's Secret A Novel by Jean Plaidy to you now though (great bittersweet love story). Jean Plaidy's The Lady in the Tower you might also find interesting now (about Anne Boleyn).
When my daughter was moving from YA to adult novels, one of the things we did was have her read the adult novels of her favorite YA writers. I think that Plaidy probably wrote both types of books, so she would be a very good choice.
Sara wrote: "Misfit, if you're only trying one more Norah Lofts book, go with the Eleanor one Mandy is reading. I really liked it as well and have read it twice. We read the Anne Boleyn one as a group, and al..."I'm just reading back through old posts and if I haven't mentioned yet www.fantasticfiction.com lists an author's books by series, order, and chronology.
As you may have or have not noticed, I changed my goodreads name to Susan C. so people can diffentiate between the two Susan's.
I just finished Plaidy's "The Bastard King" yesterday and I liked it. It covered his entire life, not just up until he was crowned King of England. There was scanty detail on events and time flew by very, very quickly. I'm now working on "Katherine" by Anya Seton and I LOVE IT! I have a hard time putting it down (I stayed up until after 3am this morning reading!).
Does anyone know of some good books on Joan of Arc?
Jean Plaidy deals with her in part in her novel Epitaph for Three Women. I have a copy but haven't read it.Susan H.
Susan C wrote: "Does anyone know of some good books on Joan of Arc?"I've not yet read it but Mark Twain wrote a book on Joan.
European Royalty
Books mentioned in this topic
The Book of Royal Useless Information: A Funny and Irreverent Look at the British Royal Family Past and Present (other topics)Katherine (other topics)
Queen of the North (other topics)
Victoria and her daughters (other topics)
The Heir Apparent: A Life of Edward VII, the Playboy Prince (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Noel Botham, Bruce Montague (other topics)Alison Weir (other topics)
Alison Weir (other topics)
Alison Weir (other topics)
Jean Plaidy (other topics)
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Has anyone read the Lux series by Anna Godberson?