irine_elle's review against another edition
1.5
I cannot get over the fact that the writing is atrocious.
If you think this book is gonna be told similarly to a fairytale you are mistaken this is history manual 101.
Tell me the story like a fairytale with murder, please!!!
Thank god it was over!
I felt like an editor reading this. Someone should've said "Let's just keep the essentials!".
If I was a beta reader I would've said "Cut the crap!" which is like 60% of the book.
Take a shot when you read a story of a princess who was "behaving badly" simply because she wanted a divorce. Take a shot every time a princess dared to have a side-piece. Having a mistress, as a king, was so common that if you would take a shot when it's mentioned in this book you would die of alcohol poisoning.
Keep the interesting stories in and maybe 1 or 2 of those that feel the exact same. I remember two princesses and I just finished the book. Ask me tomorrow and I might not even remember those.
While still on the editor rant... Can the author please stick to a narration style? It stars with "we, my, our" then goes to "she, her" and then back to "our" constantly.
If you think this book is gonna be told similarly to a fairytale you are mistaken this is history manual 101.
Tell me the story like a fairytale with murder, please!!!
Thank god it was over!
I felt like an editor reading this. Someone should've said "Let's just keep the essentials!".
If I was a beta reader I would've said "Cut the crap!" which is like 60% of the book.
Take a shot when you read a story of a princess who was "behaving badly" simply because she wanted a divorce. Take a shot every time a princess dared to have a side-piece. Having a mistress, as a king, was so common that if you would take a shot when it's mentioned in this book you would die of alcohol poisoning.
Keep the interesting stories in and maybe 1 or 2 of those that feel the exact same. I remember two princesses and I just finished the book. Ask me tomorrow and I might not even remember those.
While still on the editor rant... Can the author please stick to a narration style? It stars with "we, my, our" then goes to "she, her" and then back to "our" constantly.
izzyjuell's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.0
marimoose's review against another edition
4.0
For a history book, the facts here are awash in exaggeration, dramatics, and a bit of snarky commentary from the author (And the puns! Puns for daaaays). But that's what made this not as dry as a plain ole' history book. Which is probably why I managed to read this from end to end without getting bored halfway through.
Maybe it's just me, but I do like reading an embellished and quick-ish view of various princesses who weren't Princess and the Pea cookie cutouts. (And anything to do with defiant, warrior, and batshit crazy princesses is definitely great inspiration for a story!)
Maybe it's just me, but I do like reading an embellished and quick-ish view of various princesses who weren't Princess and the Pea cookie cutouts. (And anything to do with defiant, warrior, and batshit crazy princesses is definitely great inspiration for a story!)
silverlotus's review against another edition
4.0
This is a fun read, not a serious historical textbook. Linda Rodriguez McRobbie does a good job of presenting some interesting, almost gossipy stories about historical princesses and almost-princesses. She can be irreverent and cheeky, but the stories are always interesting and mostly historically accurate (if a bit sketchy on details).
real_life_reading's review against another edition
3.0
Very cool stories, but actually kind of depressing. Most of the princesses who behaved badly did so because of mental illness, or because of being brutalized by husbands, fathers, and sons. I guess that's why the title says "Without the Fairy-Tale Endings."