TudorTember Plans + TBR

You know what I just love about the internet? It’s such a nerdy place. I love that there are so many other people who are so passionate about books and history, hence TudorTember. I’m not surprised if you have no idea what I’m talking about. It seems to me to be a very niche thing, but here’s the gist:

TudorTember is a month-long celebration of Tudor history. It happens starting September 1st and continues the entire month. It’s a time to read Tudor books and just all-around gush and divulge in one’s nerdy love for Tudor history. I don’t know how popular it is among bloggers as it did originate on YouTube from one of my favorites, Lil’s Vintage World. I am really excited to see what videos Lil creates for the month, and I’m looking forward to participating this year just like I did last year (or possibly the year before, not sure).

Admittedly, I don’t see myself reading many Tudor-related books. Honestly I’ll probably complete one book while also still making progress through another. However, there are some things I’d like to watch that I’ve wanted to watch for a long time.

Here are my reading plans:

At the top of my list is Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir. I recently acquired my own copy of this book as I’ve been interested in it for a couple of years now. This book is about Lady Jane Grey, the ‘9-day Queen.’

The other book I hope to make more progress in is Mary, Queen of Scots & the Murder of Lord Darnley. I’ve recently started reading this and I’m very interested, but I don’t see myself finishing it any time soon.

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As for what I’d like to watch, I have one movie that I hope to finally tick off the list. That is The Other Boleyn Girl. This has been on my watchlist for ages. I read half of the book before I lost interest and abandoned it years ago, but I’m still very interested in the movie.

As for other things I’d like to watch, I want to finish the series Walking Tudor England, and I may watch a few episodes of Reign here and there as that is one of my favorite shows.

Now that I’ve thoroughly proven myself to be a nerd, I’d love to know if you’re interested in Tudor History. Do you have any recommendations?

Queen of Tomorrow by Sherry D. Ficklin

Queen of Tomorrow is the second book in the Stolen Empire series by Sherry D. Ficklin. The series follows a young Catherine the Great on her journey to the throne of Russia. This is a series meant for fun and not for historical accuracy, so don’t pick this up if that bothers you because the author takes A LOT of liberties.

Since this is the second book in a series this review will be vague to avoid spoilers.

I went into the first book – Queen of Someday – with a lot of excitement because I want to read more books set in Russia, and I was expecting a really great forbidden romance. The romance was a major disappointment in the first book and it was still not my favorite thing in the second. The biggest problem for me has been that the romance happens too quickly and there is no tension or buildup. I want a Celaena/Chaol romance from Throne of Glass a.k.a. a super slow burn with a lot of sexual tension.

However, I did like the second book more because I liked the plot better, and I think Catherine had good development in this one. She goes through terrible stuff, but she doesn’t give up. She remains strong even when she feels about to break.

I would recommend this series because it’s short, fast-paced, and addicting. I am looking forward to book 3!

Review: Queen of Someday by Sherry D. Ficklin

The Queen of Someday is a fictionalized account of Catherine the Great. I knew nothing about Catherine prior to reading this, but I have done some research since and think she is fascinating. The summary of the book says it is perfect for fans of the TV shows Reign, which I love and would have to agree with.

This book is not perfect, but I do think it is a good setup for what I am hoping is a great series.

The story follows Sophie – who later becomes known as Catherine – who is the princess of Prussia. She travels to Russia in the hopes of winning the heart of Empress Elizabeth and her nephew Peter who is to become the next king of Russia. She does not count on falling in love with someone else.

The book started out strong and I was hooked. Sophie is so cool and courageous in the first chapter. I knew I was going to like her. I found the first few chapters really compelling as I waited to see who the love interest was going to be, though I already had my choice picked out. However, things went downhill quickly.

The story went in an unexpected direction and the romance was not what I was expecting or wanted. The romance was not believable because it happened too quickly and did not have much development at all. The two characters suddenly loved each other and I did not really understand why.

Also, there were interactions between two characters that confused me and seemed unrealistic for the times. However, I am not familiar with the societal norms of Russia during that time, or it could have just been the author taking liberties. I often didn’t understand Sophie’s mind or motivations during these interactions.

The book is short, which might be why it didn’t work that well for me since there wasn’t much time for a relationship to fully develop. I do think the book could have worked, despite its size, if the story had gone in a different direction.

My opinion might change after I read the second book, which I am very excited about! The ending of book one did bring my opinion back up and I am hoping book two brings more drama and a better romance.

There are so many specific things I want to say about this book, but I don’t want to give spoilers so I am going to leave it at that.

I would recommend this book if you like: forbidden & royal romances, the TV show Reign, and fictionalized accounts of historical figures.

I would not recommend this book if you dislike: insta-love, love triangles/squares, historical inaccuracies. 

The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society Movie Review

This book is an all-time favorite. It’s a beautiful story with wonderful characters who feel like real people. It’s a book for book lovers and makes me wish we still wrote letters to each other instead of just texts and emails. I read it twice in a two week span, which I have never done before (not even with Twilight and I was completely obsessed with that book as a teenager). It’s because of how much I love the characters and I wish so much that there was more.

When I finished reading the book the first time I was really excited about the movie. I was hoping it would be like the book, which I know one should never do when going into a movie adaptation. And usually I am never bothered by adaptations that go in a different direction. But, sadly, I was slightly bothered with this one. Maybe it was because of just how much I care about this book that I wanted everything to be the exact same in the movie.

Don’t get me wrong, I did not hate this movie; I did like it, but I was just left a little disappointed. There were some major changes that I did not like that I think took away from the story. There were a lot of characters taken out of the story altogether and a few with altered personalities. I can see why they made some of these changes. The movie added more drama and conflict to the story, but they also left out so many of my favorite parts! Overall, I don’t think the movie quite captured the feeling that the book gave me. And I think that is the biggest disappointment.

However, I really loved the actors. I think Lily James is perfect as Juliet and I especially like the actors who play Dawsey and Isola. Everyone fit their characters very well. And the setting was beautiful. I think this book would have been better as a miniseries, but oh well.

I rate this movie 3/5 stars. Will I re-watch? Yes. Maybe I’ll like it more the second time around. Or maybe I’ll like it less. Who knows?

 

A New Favorite Book + A Murder Mystery Re-Read

This week I finished reading The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society, and I loved it. From the very first page I was hooked. I fell in love with the characters and I really like that it is told through letters because we really get to know them. All of them felt real to me and I was deeply invested in their stories. I want to be a part of their circle. I want to join their club and talk about books and live on Guernsey. I truly did not want this book to end. I love books about books and this one perfectly captured the feelings of being a book lover. I smiled, I laughed, and I shed some tears. I plan on watching the movie soon and I hope it does the book justice because I am really excited about it. This is a book that I will be returning to often in my life.

Also this week, I finished listening to These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly. I had listened to this book in a previous year and I really enjoyed it, so I decided to re-read it while working on a knitting project. And though I finished that project within two hours of the audiobook, I still wanted to finish it. I still loved it. Jo is an inspiring character, going against society’s rules to solve a mystery. I like that this book is authentic in portraying how it was for women in Jo’s time. They weren’t allowed to go places alone, or do things that didn’t fit in with their image. If found gallivanting around at night (God forbid with a man), a lady might very well lose her reputation.  Jo wants to be a reporter, but she knows that can’t happen when she marries – and she is expected to marry. And then she meets Eddie and everything changes. Though this book is a murder mystery, the romance storyline is a major focal point. I personally really like the relationship between Eddie and Jo, but it is something to consider if you prefer stories that aren’t romance heavy.

 

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

Rating: 5/5 stars

“God made no mistakes in crafting their hearts.” – Roshani Chokshi

Okay, so where to begin? I was really excited about this book as soon as I heard about it. Treasure hunters? Paris in the 19th century? Heck yes I was going to read this book. And, guys, it did not disappoint.

The world was hard for me to get into at first because I didn’t fully understand what was happening. And a lot of the puzzle and mathematical parts went directly over my head. That changed, though, as the story progressed. I became intrigued by the magic and the mystery of the plot, but the mathematical bits were still a struggle.

The shining light for me, however, was the characters. I LOVE the characters in this book. They were fully fleshed out and very different from each other and felt like real people. I liked that they relied on their brains to solve problems instead of having magic that fixes most things. I enjoyed reading about their relationships to each other and the banter between them was fun.

I was shocked to learn that Roshani Chokshi was inspired to write this story after learning of human zoos. This book takes place in Paris around the time of the world’s fair, Exposition Universelle of 1889. They had an exhibit called a “Negro Village” where people were put on display. When I came across this concept in the story I thought “wow that’s horrible,” but then I found out that it is a true part of history. Our history is so much darker than what we learn in history class. These are the types of stories that should be talked about and I am glad the author did.

Okay, so I ended on a dark note there, but I enjoyed my time with this book and I learned quite a bit. I will definitely be re-reading it the future. And I can’t wait for book 2!