I don't know why I keep reading these historical novels. I always know how they are going to end, and with the British royalty it is usually never a good ending. This one had a twist in that Richard, Duke of Gloucester was not portrayed as a villain like he usually is. In this novel he was nothing like Shakespeare, Richard III. I had to keep referring to actual historical sources to make sure I was reading about the same Richard III. But this was not his story, but the story of his wife Anne Neville. Anne,the daughter of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick who successfully removed one king from the throne only to unsuccessfully remove this same king from the throne. It was easy to like Anne and to feel pity for her as she and her sister were used as pawns in the quest for the throne by the House of York.

A good read, but not quiet as strong as the ones that came before in the series. One issue was the POV character having less idea what was going on, and most of the time even when they did still not really expressing it.

Enjoyed this but wish I'd read the series in the order that the events happened rather than in order of publication.

Hated it. Wished I dnf’d

Philippa Gregory is an extremely talented writer who can make her readers sympathize with the most heinous of characters. In this book, however, I felt that her characterizations were rather weak. I didn't really understand the characters or their motivations until the end of the book, and then, while I saw them, they didn't entirely make sense. While Richard remains a fairly steady character throughout the book, Anne's relationship with the members of her family seem to shift and sway over time. I couldn't always keep up with the changes in her opinions of other characters. Overall, I was disappointed.

I enjoy Phillipa Gregory's style of writing and Anne Neville is not a historical character I know much about other than as Richard's wife, so I found the book interesting and a relatively quick read. Unfortunately, I didn't find her very sympathetic as the main character, I wanted her to interact more so I could see how everyone else was reacting and have it be less about the main character.

I can't stop reading Philippa Gregory books no matter how outrageous the premise. Entertaining, but nothing will ever touch The Other Boleyn Girl. Sorry, the Plantagenets aren't as sexy as the Tudors.

I really struggled to finish this Philippa Gregory novel, whereas usually I am up all night because I simply cannot put them down. It wasn't the writing being of a lesser quality, it was up to her usual high standard, it was more that I simply couldn't engage with the story or the characters of this particular novel.