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liesthemoontells's review
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I read this book this based on a recommendation from an academic featured on the Not Just the Tudors podcast, who praised it for its novel reinterpretation of the six wives of Henry VIII and its play on their well-worn tropes. And it was... Fine?
The characters are insufferable, the dialogue comes from the Diablo Cody school of "no teenager actually speaks like this", and much of the mystery of the plot comes from it's confusing chronology rather than careful plotting. If we're picking modern representations of the six wives for an audience of adolescent girls, the musical Six does it much better.
That being said, it was entertaining and, like Six, may be successful in humanising its historical subjects for its target audience.
The characters are insufferable, the dialogue comes from the Diablo Cody school of "no teenager actually speaks like this", and much of the mystery of the plot comes from it's confusing chronology rather than careful plotting. If we're picking modern representations of the six wives for an audience of adolescent girls, the musical Six does it much better.
That being said, it was entertaining and, like Six, may be successful in humanising its historical subjects for its target audience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
effy's review
3.5
I was hyped to pick up this book as I really enjoyed Foul is Fair when it first came out. What I didn't realise when I picked this up was that it is a retelling of the life of Henry VIII and his wives. This book is essentially what Six would be if it were a book. Henry does feature in the story but it is much more focused on the "queens" and in particular getting to the bottom of an explosion that Annie Boleyn supposedly caused.
I feel like a lot of my brain power reading this book was spent trying to match the characters to the historical people even though their names weren't exactly changed by much 🤦♂️ I think this book did a good job of reimagining these historical figures in a contemporary setting. Overall the story didn't hold too many surprises as the two dead queens are the ones that Henry famously beheaded however I did like the fact that Henry didn't died at the end of the book but had his reputation left in tatters so it was a social death.
I feel like a lot of my brain power reading this book was spent trying to match the characters to the historical people even though their names weren't exactly changed by much 🤦♂️ I think this book did a good job of reimagining these historical figures in a contemporary setting. Overall the story didn't hold too many surprises as the two dead queens are the ones that Henry famously beheaded however I did like the fact that
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
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