Double Book Review..

The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory

This was my second Tudor Court novel by Philippa Gregory and although I knew the ending of this book.. everyone does after learning the rhyme at school (divorced, beheaded, died, divorced beheaded, survived!) this book kept me hooked right from the start and the suspense was worked up throughout. 

The story is of Henry VIII 4th & 5th wives and Jane Boleyn. (Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Jane Boleyn) 

Each chapter is told from the perspective of each of the women, and you really get involved with how what they felt. I felt I was able to create a really realistic picture in my head of all three women, and the personalities were just what I would imagine. 

It was good to learn a little more about these three women as I think they are the ones we know least about, and the Tudor court, which I felt was really bought to life. I love the corruption and the drama that went with living in close proximity to Henry VIII.

This makes for a very entertaining read, and I will definately be reading the rest in this series. So far, I have not read them in chronological order - I do not think that this really matters as they do relate to an actual period in time, but I know a lot of people do like to read them in order.

The Divide by Nicholas Evans

This book was excellent, as are all of the Nicholas Evans books I have read so far. 

The story starts with a body of a young girl discovered, but it is not a murder mystery, instead of tracking the killer (if there was one) we learn all about the family and their problems, and how the young girls life changed so much and what eventually led to her death. 

Evans deals with each individual family members feeling, like he is that person and makes a really interesting, he can go from being a teenage boy, to a 40 year old Mother, and make a really believable family. 

There isn't much 'action' in this book as such, but that doesn't matter - I was glued from the start learning about the family. I recommend this book, and will be reading all of his others very soon

Gemma xxx