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A review by sungmemoonstruck
Brazen by Katherine Longshore
4.0
When Mary Howard is married to Henry FitzRoy, Henry VIII's illegitimate son, their marriage is intended to be nothing more than a political triumph for her powerful father. But as Mary is plunged into the high-stakes world of the Tudor court, where Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII's marriage is falling apart, she comes to realize that the only man she wants is the one she's forbidden from having: Fitz himself. This is a heartbreaking, wonderfully written historical fiction novel that brings the Tudor court to life in vivid, sometimes horrifying, detail and keeps the reader on the edge of their seats even when they know what's going to happen.
The two halves of this novel are very different but equally good. The first half focuses on Mary's developing relationship with Fitz and with her friends Margaret and Madge. The characters are all finely developed and the relationships satisfyingly complex--nothing is predictable about the characters, especially as they truly grow and change over the course of the novel. The second half is filled with dramatic twists, as Anne Boleyn fights through her final days, and even more unputdownable than the rest. (I highly recommend reading Tarnish before Brazen, to get more insight into Longshore's vision of Anne.) Both combine to make a superior historical fiction novel that provides a new spin on a well-known story and creates the world of the Tudor court with graceful description and detail that never feels like filler. Best of all, Brazen raises interesting questions of power, love, and gender relations that lingered with me along after I finished it. Recommended for both fans of Tudor fiction and those looking to get into the genre.
The two halves of this novel are very different but equally good. The first half focuses on Mary's developing relationship with Fitz and with her friends Margaret and Madge. The characters are all finely developed and the relationships satisfyingly complex--nothing is predictable about the characters, especially as they truly grow and change over the course of the novel. The second half is filled with dramatic twists, as Anne Boleyn fights through her final days, and even more unputdownable than the rest. (I highly recommend reading Tarnish before Brazen, to get more insight into Longshore's vision of Anne.) Both combine to make a superior historical fiction novel that provides a new spin on a well-known story and creates the world of the Tudor court with graceful description and detail that never feels like filler. Best of all, Brazen raises interesting questions of power, love, and gender relations that lingered with me along after I finished it. Recommended for both fans of Tudor fiction and those looking to get into the genre.