Heroes Chronicles 4: Clash of the Dragons
4.0
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Video Game
Clash of the Dragons is the fourth part of Heroes Chronicles, following Masters of the Elements and...
I Want Snow!
Book
When the Queen goes on a trip and sends back a photo of her feeding some penguins, Little Princess...
The Monstrous Child
8.0
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Book
'Before you reject me, before you hate me, remember: I never asked to be Hel's queen.' But being a...
Not Another Teen Movie (2001)
6.9
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Movie
On a bet, a gridiron hero at John Hughes High School sets out to turn a bespectacled plain Jane into...
Dean (6927 KP) rated Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) in Movies
May 2, 2021
The Butterfly Tree (2017)
8.0
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Evelyn, a burlesque queen bewitches single dad, Al and his teenage son, Fin. As they compete for her...
Mean girls the musical (2024)
9.0
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Movie
New student cady heron is welcomed into the top of the social food chain by the elite group of...
Elizabethan Espionage: Plotters and Spies in the Struggle Between Catholicism and the Crown
Book
In the wake of the 1588 destruction of the Spanish Armada, English Catholics launched an ingenious...
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Katherine of Aragon, the True Queen in Books
Sep 6, 2021
Book
Katherine of Aragon the true Queen ( Six Tudor Wives)
By Alison Weir
Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments
A Spanish princess. Raised to be modest, obedient and devout. Destined to be an English Queen.
Six weeks from home across treacherous seas, everything is different: the language, the food, the weather. And for her there is no comfort in any of it. At sixteen-years-old, Catalina is alone among strangers.
She misses her mother. She mourns her lost brother.
She cannot trust even those assigned to her protection.
KATHERINE OF ARAGON. The first of Henry's Queens. Her story.
History tells us how she died. This captivating novel shows us how she lived.
It took me a bit longer than normal to finish this book I really enjoyed it but came away feel so sad for Katherine. I’m fascinated with this period of history and she is one queen who always hits the heart when I read her story. This is one of the best ones I’ve read so far and knowing Alison kept as close as possible to history made me even more sad. Something about the princesses of Wales they always get dealt a hard blow by the monarchy. Overall it was a beautifully written version of her. Looking forward to reading Anne’s next.
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard is a futuristic, fantasy novel where society is divided by rich and poor; powerful and weak; elite and commoners; Silver and Red. Those with silver blood have magical abilities which make them believe they are more important than the talentless Reds who are forced to live in dilapidated towns and be sent to their deaths in wars they cannot survive.
Mare Barrow is a Red and knows that her future is doomed. Desperate to escape she confides in a stranger and lands herself a serving position in the Silver palace. Suddenly, however, her world is turned upside down after an accident reveals that, although she has red blood, she has a magical ability too. Instead of killing her as she expected, the king and queen force her to pretend she is a Silver, threatening her family if she steps out of line.
Naturally Mare hates the Silvers and involves herself with the Scarlet Guard – a terrorist group of Red rebels. However a complicated love triangle, and a shocking plot twist, puts Mare in even more danger than she bargained for.
The Cinderella-like idea of Mare coming from a poor background yet finding herself a member of the elite is nothing new. The difference here is that Mare does not want anything to do with the Silvers. She does not trust them and is angry about the way they are treating her family and her people.
Red Queen reminds me slightly of a couple of other young adult novels. It is a mishmash of The Selection by Kiera Cass (the poor become elite) and stories such as The Hunger Games (violence, rich verses poor etc.) Therefore this did not feel like a completely original piece of work. Nevertheless it was still exciting and Mare is such an admirable character.
I recommend this novel to readers of fantasy, dystopia and romance as Red Queen combines all three ideas. It is suitable for teenagers and adults alike, and do not let the word “Queen” make you believe that it is going to be overly girly. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next installment of this series – the ending suggests that there will be a lot more fighting!
Tom Turner (388 KP) May 3, 2021