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Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) in Movies
Jan 22, 2021
I swung between wanting to see this and not, had it been a normal world then of course I would have gone regardless, but as it is I wasn't having strong feelings about this one.
Diana's dreams come true at the hands of an ancient artefact that can grant wishes. But as a wish is given something is taken away, and when Maxwell Lord, businessman and entrepreneur, makes a wish, the world is about to learn the lesson of the phrase... "be careful what you wish for".
First off... this absolutely would have been better on the big screen. It's never been so apparent to me that a cinema experience of a film holds so much power, it's making me understand the differences in early reviews and home viewing reviews a lot more these days.
The story of WW84 is really a very simple one. Doodad does magic, people are evil, goodie must make them good again. And that somehow fills a whole 2 hour 31 minutes of film... it doesn't feel like a very satisfying experience. For all that opener, the conclusion seems to be fleeting and dare I say it... not entirely believable. Overall the whole thing doesn't get particularly deep at any point despite there being a lot of opportunities around the wishes, and there are some questionable moments that could fill several blog posts.
There's been a long pause between me writing the first part and continuing here. That pause involved me staring at my notes and contemplating just writing "meh" and finishing the review there. I'm really going to try and elaborate on my feelings though.
For a film with two villains it's not got much proper villainy in it. Barbara Minerva becoming Cheetah is massively underwhelming from what felt like a promising build-up, and Maxwell Lord, despite having the potential, was not big bad material. Neither had the drive in them to be a truly powerful force in the film, and what's the point in a villain if you can't get on board to hate them?
Kristen Wiig did give a great performance as Barbara, it was a smooth and interesting transition as she progressed, and it left me a lot less "meh" than everything else. But did anyone else just keep thinking Catwoman though?
I thought Pedro Pascal had 80's businessman down pretty well, but I found him to be a little lacklustre, and the character's story felt like the reason for that.
As with the first film, Gal Gadot is majestic on screen as Diana and Wonder Woman... but even here I found myself shrugging at what was going on, and cringing at some problematic plot points. I'm trying to work out if the appeal of the first film was partially due to the amusement of Diana discovering the world for the first time. Here she's savvy and elegant (even for the 0s), and she didn't have the same humour. Instead, we've got that role filled by Steve (Chris Pine). His discovery of the 80s world was fairly amusing, but the way in which he came back bugged me.
All in all characters really didn't grab me, out two main newbies felt very much like rip-offs of other things rather than a great recreation of their source material.
Visually the film was amazing, the bright colours, the style, all fit the era and you gotta love some parachute pants. But outside of that it just merged into other films for me.
That CGI... how can you get so many things right but somehow not do the villains? It's Steppenwolf all over again, Cheetah looked bad. Not only that, but it took an immense amount of time for us to even get to that full effect... so why wasn't it on point? How are DC incapable of animating their villains?
Will I watch this again? Probably, but I'm not overly fussed about it being anytime soon. It wasn't anywhere near as entertaining as the first for me, and didn't have enough action to cover up the disappointing story and character work. I really wish I felt strongly one way or the other on this and not having just another sitting on the fence swinging my feet review. I did appreciate some early vaguely Quidditchy vibes at the beginning though.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/01/wonder-woman-1984-movie-review.html
Diana's dreams come true at the hands of an ancient artefact that can grant wishes. But as a wish is given something is taken away, and when Maxwell Lord, businessman and entrepreneur, makes a wish, the world is about to learn the lesson of the phrase... "be careful what you wish for".
First off... this absolutely would have been better on the big screen. It's never been so apparent to me that a cinema experience of a film holds so much power, it's making me understand the differences in early reviews and home viewing reviews a lot more these days.
The story of WW84 is really a very simple one. Doodad does magic, people are evil, goodie must make them good again. And that somehow fills a whole 2 hour 31 minutes of film... it doesn't feel like a very satisfying experience. For all that opener, the conclusion seems to be fleeting and dare I say it... not entirely believable. Overall the whole thing doesn't get particularly deep at any point despite there being a lot of opportunities around the wishes, and there are some questionable moments that could fill several blog posts.
There's been a long pause between me writing the first part and continuing here. That pause involved me staring at my notes and contemplating just writing "meh" and finishing the review there. I'm really going to try and elaborate on my feelings though.
For a film with two villains it's not got much proper villainy in it. Barbara Minerva becoming Cheetah is massively underwhelming from what felt like a promising build-up, and Maxwell Lord, despite having the potential, was not big bad material. Neither had the drive in them to be a truly powerful force in the film, and what's the point in a villain if you can't get on board to hate them?
Kristen Wiig did give a great performance as Barbara, it was a smooth and interesting transition as she progressed, and it left me a lot less "meh" than everything else. But did anyone else just keep thinking Catwoman though?
I thought Pedro Pascal had 80's businessman down pretty well, but I found him to be a little lacklustre, and the character's story felt like the reason for that.
As with the first film, Gal Gadot is majestic on screen as Diana and Wonder Woman... but even here I found myself shrugging at what was going on, and cringing at some problematic plot points. I'm trying to work out if the appeal of the first film was partially due to the amusement of Diana discovering the world for the first time. Here she's savvy and elegant (even for the 0s), and she didn't have the same humour. Instead, we've got that role filled by Steve (Chris Pine). His discovery of the 80s world was fairly amusing, but the way in which he came back bugged me.
All in all characters really didn't grab me, out two main newbies felt very much like rip-offs of other things rather than a great recreation of their source material.
Visually the film was amazing, the bright colours, the style, all fit the era and you gotta love some parachute pants. But outside of that it just merged into other films for me.
That CGI... how can you get so many things right but somehow not do the villains? It's Steppenwolf all over again, Cheetah looked bad. Not only that, but it took an immense amount of time for us to even get to that full effect... so why wasn't it on point? How are DC incapable of animating their villains?
Will I watch this again? Probably, but I'm not overly fussed about it being anytime soon. It wasn't anywhere near as entertaining as the first for me, and didn't have enough action to cover up the disappointing story and character work. I really wish I felt strongly one way or the other on this and not having just another sitting on the fence swinging my feet review. I did appreciate some early vaguely Quidditchy vibes at the beginning though.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/01/wonder-woman-1984-movie-review.html
MaryAnn (14 KP) rated A Tale of Two Hearts (Once Upon a Dickens Christmas, #2) in Books
Mar 5, 2019
Innkeeper’s daughter Mina Scott will do anything to escape the drudgery of her life. She saves every penny to attend a finishing school, dreaming of the day she’ll become a real lady—and catch the eye of William Barlow, a frequent guest at the inn. William is a gentleman’s son, a charming rogue but penniless. However, his bachelor uncle will soon name an heir—either him or his puritanical cousin. In an effort to secure the inheritance, William gives his uncle the impression he’s married, which works until he’s invited to bring his wife for a visit. William asks Mina to be his pretend bride, only until his uncle names an heir on Christmas Day. Mina is flattered and frustrated by the offer, for she wants a true relationship with William. Yet, she agrees. . .then wishes she hadn’t as she comes to love the old man. And when the truth is finally discovered, more than just money is lost. Can two hearts survive such a deception?
My Thoughts: Mina has had her eye on Will since the first time she served him at her father's inn; so when Will asks her to help him by pretending to be his bride, she jumps at the chance. But as Mina and Will find out, deception brings on worries and more deception. They soon learn that as the Bible says that truth will set you free. There are many lessons in this novel. One is to not lie, to be truthful in all things. It's never good to keep secrets. It's never a good thing to play with another's affections. It is also a story of forgiveness and second chances.
This was a fun book to read. This is the second book in the series "Once Upon a Dickens Christmas" and even though I haven't read the first one, it was easy to read and follow along. The characters were fun, Mina being the main character is a sweet young woman who loves to read. The readers are instantly drawn to her. Then there are Will's cousins, which I found to be very comical and in some ways true to life.
Michelle Griep is a wonderful writer, who holds the reader's attention and adds a little whimsy to the characters and story-line.
I truly enjoyed this book and will be looking forward to reading more from Michelle Griep.
My Thoughts: Mina has had her eye on Will since the first time she served him at her father's inn; so when Will asks her to help him by pretending to be his bride, she jumps at the chance. But as Mina and Will find out, deception brings on worries and more deception. They soon learn that as the Bible says that truth will set you free. There are many lessons in this novel. One is to not lie, to be truthful in all things. It's never good to keep secrets. It's never a good thing to play with another's affections. It is also a story of forgiveness and second chances.
This was a fun book to read. This is the second book in the series "Once Upon a Dickens Christmas" and even though I haven't read the first one, it was easy to read and follow along. The characters were fun, Mina being the main character is a sweet young woman who loves to read. The readers are instantly drawn to her. Then there are Will's cousins, which I found to be very comical and in some ways true to life.
Michelle Griep is a wonderful writer, who holds the reader's attention and adds a little whimsy to the characters and story-line.
I truly enjoyed this book and will be looking forward to reading more from Michelle Griep.
Sam (74 KP) rated Handle with Care in Books
Mar 27, 2019
Willow O’Keefe suffers from osteogenesis imperfecta, meaning that her bones break easily. Just doing simple daily tasks can cause her a catastrophic break. But other than that, she’s like every other 5 year old – well, one with an amazing IQ for her age. Charlotte is Willow’s mum, and she’s running out of money, fast. So when she gets the chance to sue for wrongful birth, she takes it, desperate for any money she can get to help Willow’s well-being.
It was definitely a beefy book, with major questions on morality. Throughout the book I couldn’t work out whether I was on Charlotte’s side or not, as to sue for wrongful birth, she is basically saying she wishes Willow had never been born, and I found it really hard to understand how a parent could say that.
I did struggle reading this book. It took me two weeks to read 2/3 of it, and everyone who regularly reads this blog knows that’s not like me at all. I ended up skimming the last 1/3 to just get it finished because I was too far in to DNF in but felt that the plot was starting to become a little drawn out and a bit repetitive.
It’s very similar to Picoult’s Small Great Things, and I think that’s why I liked it so much to begin with. It covers the issues in childbirth and raising a child.
I felt so much empathy for Amelia, Willow’s half-sister. Throughout the novel she feels forgotten about because all of the focus is on Willow and to see her fighting her own battles with nobody to help was hard. Her mental health took a battering on behalf of her sister, but she still didn’t say anything. She suffered in silence for too long and were one of the few things that made me start to shift over to Charlotte’s side of the argument over Willow’s birth.
This novel is definitely not lighthearted, so if you like reading books that aren’t dealing with serious subjects, this probably isn’t for you. It was a tough read for me, which is why I only gave it 3/5. However, if you like Jodi Picoult’s other books, I definitely think you’ll like this one.
It was definitely a beefy book, with major questions on morality. Throughout the book I couldn’t work out whether I was on Charlotte’s side or not, as to sue for wrongful birth, she is basically saying she wishes Willow had never been born, and I found it really hard to understand how a parent could say that.
I did struggle reading this book. It took me two weeks to read 2/3 of it, and everyone who regularly reads this blog knows that’s not like me at all. I ended up skimming the last 1/3 to just get it finished because I was too far in to DNF in but felt that the plot was starting to become a little drawn out and a bit repetitive.
It’s very similar to Picoult’s Small Great Things, and I think that’s why I liked it so much to begin with. It covers the issues in childbirth and raising a child.
I felt so much empathy for Amelia, Willow’s half-sister. Throughout the novel she feels forgotten about because all of the focus is on Willow and to see her fighting her own battles with nobody to help was hard. Her mental health took a battering on behalf of her sister, but she still didn’t say anything. She suffered in silence for too long and were one of the few things that made me start to shift over to Charlotte’s side of the argument over Willow’s birth.
This novel is definitely not lighthearted, so if you like reading books that aren’t dealing with serious subjects, this probably isn’t for you. It was a tough read for me, which is why I only gave it 3/5. However, if you like Jodi Picoult’s other books, I definitely think you’ll like this one.
Dana (24 KP) rated Blue Lily, Lily Blue (The Raven Cycle, #3) in Books
Mar 23, 2018
This series keeps getting better as is goes on (something I think every series should do, in my opinion). It's not just about the characters getting to the destination of the entire plot, but more about their own relationships with one another on the journey itself.
One of my favorite things about this series is the writing style. It is dreamlike in a way that everything is able to be fantastical but sill grounded in the truth of what the story is about. It does not get convoluted in its dream state, which is really nice. I love how, even though many of the characters narrate the story, we are able to tell which one is speaking at any given time through their diction and the tone of what they are saying instead of just focusing on who is there in the scene. I think this is very well done and I appreciate it a lot. I know it is not easy to do.
I love these characters so much. Ronan and Gansey will always be my favorites no matter what. I just want everyone to be happy in the next book, for them to find Glendower and get their wishes and live happily ever after, forever and ever, the end. I am a huge fan of the Gansey/Blue and Ronan/Adam relationships. I think they are adorable together and it needs to happen. I love how each character is not only growing as an individual and finding out new things about themselves, but also how they are growing as a group of people and learning more about their friends as well. It's just all so lovely!!
The new characters were very interesting as well. Some, we didn't get to know for long, but they were super cool and I hope some of them return in the next book!!
****ATTENTION MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD****
I am so excited for the characters to find Glendower, you have no idea.
One thing I cannot wait for is to find out more about the three sleepers. That whole idea is really intriguing to me and I just want to know more about the other two, since one is obviously going to be Glendower. I have so many questions!!!
Also, Persephone, I will always miss you, you strange creature.
MAKE WAY FOR THE RAVEN KING!!!!
I am most likely going to start reading The Raven King today. (2 July 2016)
One of my favorite things about this series is the writing style. It is dreamlike in a way that everything is able to be fantastical but sill grounded in the truth of what the story is about. It does not get convoluted in its dream state, which is really nice. I love how, even though many of the characters narrate the story, we are able to tell which one is speaking at any given time through their diction and the tone of what they are saying instead of just focusing on who is there in the scene. I think this is very well done and I appreciate it a lot. I know it is not easy to do.
I love these characters so much. Ronan and Gansey will always be my favorites no matter what. I just want everyone to be happy in the next book, for them to find Glendower and get their wishes and live happily ever after, forever and ever, the end. I am a huge fan of the Gansey/Blue and Ronan/Adam relationships. I think they are adorable together and it needs to happen. I love how each character is not only growing as an individual and finding out new things about themselves, but also how they are growing as a group of people and learning more about their friends as well. It's just all so lovely!!
The new characters were very interesting as well. Some, we didn't get to know for long, but they were super cool and I hope some of them return in the next book!!
****ATTENTION MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD****
I am so excited for the characters to find Glendower, you have no idea.
One thing I cannot wait for is to find out more about the three sleepers. That whole idea is really intriguing to me and I just want to know more about the other two, since one is obviously going to be Glendower. I have so many questions!!!
Also, Persephone, I will always miss you, you strange creature.
MAKE WAY FOR THE RAVEN KING!!!!
I am most likely going to start reading The Raven King today. (2 July 2016)
Lesley (60 KP) rated A Steep Price in Books
Aug 10, 2018
Tracy Crosswhite never disappoints!
I LOVE Tracy Crosswhite and this newest entry into the series was no exception. I laughed, I cried, I gasped. This is the review that I posted on my blog.
Moving right along. My beloved Tracy Crosswhite is back for book #6, A Steep Price. Every time Robert Dugoni releases a new book in this series, I feel like I get to see old friends again. Kins, Vic, Faz, Dan, Dan's DOGS!, and of course Tracy herself. I love this series because it feels authentic, manages to remain heartwarming in the face of grim subject matters, and really makes you care about the characters.
This time around, Tracy and Kins are investigating the death of a young Indian woman whose best friend has reported her missing after delivering some life-changing news. Unfortunately, when she is found murdered in a shallow grave in the park, it creates more questions than answers. As they delve deeper into her life, they find a lot of ambition that was hampered by her familys societal expectations, her grim determination to raise money for medical school at any cost despite her parents wishes to return home and accept an arranged marriage, and the seedy underworld of "Sugar Dating", which has enough loopholes to escape being classified as prostitution, despite being dangerous and borderline sex work. Tracy is feeling threatened and on edge due to their newest team member, another female who seems to be snooping in private files and isn't honest about the circumstances of an officer-involved shooting in the case that Vic and Faz are tackling currently. A young activist woman who spoke out against gangs and the drug trade in her underprivileged area gets shot and killed. The guys think it's connected to a local gang leader whose father they put in prison years earlier. The hotter the trail gets, the more in danger they are. Little Jimmy blames them for putting his dad away, and for his subsequent death in prison when a rival gang member stabbed him. Just as things are reaching a boiling point, Tracy and Kins figure out exactly who their killer is and they're hot on the trail. The book, like the others in the series, was a fun, fast-paced read with heart and a satisfying conclusion. I highly recommend starting this series!
Moving right along. My beloved Tracy Crosswhite is back for book #6, A Steep Price. Every time Robert Dugoni releases a new book in this series, I feel like I get to see old friends again. Kins, Vic, Faz, Dan, Dan's DOGS!, and of course Tracy herself. I love this series because it feels authentic, manages to remain heartwarming in the face of grim subject matters, and really makes you care about the characters.
This time around, Tracy and Kins are investigating the death of a young Indian woman whose best friend has reported her missing after delivering some life-changing news. Unfortunately, when she is found murdered in a shallow grave in the park, it creates more questions than answers. As they delve deeper into her life, they find a lot of ambition that was hampered by her familys societal expectations, her grim determination to raise money for medical school at any cost despite her parents wishes to return home and accept an arranged marriage, and the seedy underworld of "Sugar Dating", which has enough loopholes to escape being classified as prostitution, despite being dangerous and borderline sex work. Tracy is feeling threatened and on edge due to their newest team member, another female who seems to be snooping in private files and isn't honest about the circumstances of an officer-involved shooting in the case that Vic and Faz are tackling currently. A young activist woman who spoke out against gangs and the drug trade in her underprivileged area gets shot and killed. The guys think it's connected to a local gang leader whose father they put in prison years earlier. The hotter the trail gets, the more in danger they are. Little Jimmy blames them for putting his dad away, and for his subsequent death in prison when a rival gang member stabbed him. Just as things are reaching a boiling point, Tracy and Kins figure out exactly who their killer is and they're hot on the trail. The book, like the others in the series, was a fun, fast-paced read with heart and a satisfying conclusion. I highly recommend starting this series!
Ali A (82 KP) rated The Vanishing Deep in Books
Mar 6, 2020
The Great Wave destroyed the planet five hundred years ago and since then, the surface has been covered in water. Tempest was born into a world of water. Tempest’s sister Elysea drowned holding the secret to their parents’ death and Tempest wants answers. A research facility on the island of Palindromena can revive the dead for 24 hours and Tempest saved every Note she possibly could for two years to do so.
The reunion isn’t what Tempest thought it would be and instead, Elysea insists she’s innocent and convinces her sister to break her out of the facility so they together can find the answers about their parents. But it won’t be an easy journey, especially since they have the Warren, the person in charge of Elysea’s revival, on their trail to return her back before the 24 hours are up.
The Vanishing Deep’s cover is what drew me in to begin with as well as the world the author created. Astrid Scholte does an amazing job at creating this world of water and the floating islands that people live in. A part of me wishes we were able to see more of the day to day life instead of small glimpses here and there simply because the world sounds so interesting.
Scholte has a unique ability to create multi-dimensional, realistic characters that you can’t help but care for. My heart ached for Tempest and Lor throughout the whole book and I kept reading to find out if they get their happy endings or not. Having the chapters be in both Lor’s and Tempest’s points of view gives the reader a more in depth knowledge as to what’s happening, especially since during some parts, a character might be viewing things slightly differently due to grief or past experiences.
I thoroughly enjoyed the twists, turns, and thrills this book had. There were so many surprises that it made it hard for me to put down once I got to reading it. This novel is full of plot twists, both big and small that will have you turning pages upon pages until there is no more left. I would recommend this book to any fantasy lover out there. I am absolutely going to check out more of Astrid Scholte’s other novels.
*Thank you BookishFirst and Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review
The reunion isn’t what Tempest thought it would be and instead, Elysea insists she’s innocent and convinces her sister to break her out of the facility so they together can find the answers about their parents. But it won’t be an easy journey, especially since they have the Warren, the person in charge of Elysea’s revival, on their trail to return her back before the 24 hours are up.
The Vanishing Deep’s cover is what drew me in to begin with as well as the world the author created. Astrid Scholte does an amazing job at creating this world of water and the floating islands that people live in. A part of me wishes we were able to see more of the day to day life instead of small glimpses here and there simply because the world sounds so interesting.
Scholte has a unique ability to create multi-dimensional, realistic characters that you can’t help but care for. My heart ached for Tempest and Lor throughout the whole book and I kept reading to find out if they get their happy endings or not. Having the chapters be in both Lor’s and Tempest’s points of view gives the reader a more in depth knowledge as to what’s happening, especially since during some parts, a character might be viewing things slightly differently due to grief or past experiences.
I thoroughly enjoyed the twists, turns, and thrills this book had. There were so many surprises that it made it hard for me to put down once I got to reading it. This novel is full of plot twists, both big and small that will have you turning pages upon pages until there is no more left. I would recommend this book to any fantasy lover out there. I am absolutely going to check out more of Astrid Scholte’s other novels.
*Thank you BookishFirst and Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review
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Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated Rambo: Last Blood (2019) in Movies
Jul 7, 2020
Rambo's Last Hurrah, Decent Action Flick
Rambo: Last Blood is a 2019 action movie directed by Adrian Grunberg, with screenplay written by both Sylvester Stallone and Matthew Cirulnick and story by Stallone and Dan Gordon. It was produced by Millennium Media, Balboa Productions and Templeton Media and distributed by Lionsgate with producers Avi Lerner, Kevin King Templeton, Yariv Lerner and Les Weldon. The film stars Sylvester Stallone, Paz Vega, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, and Adriana Barraza.
In Bowie, Arizona on his father's horse ranch John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) lives with his old friend Maria (Adriana Barraza) and her granddaughter Gabriela (Yvette Monreal), eleven years after the events in Burma. Against Rambo and Maria's wishes, Gabriela ventures to Mexico to find her estranged father when her friend Gizelle finds his location. In Mexico she is drugged and kidnapped by a Mexican Cartel and now Rambo must do everything he can to save her.
I have to say that before I saw this movie I was hearing bad things from reviewers and critics. That made me lower expectations before I saw it but what I took away from it was that it was going to be lacking story wise but definitely shouldn't be lacking in action. Then I was very surprised to learn that the creator of Rambo said that the movie wasn't good. Now I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy the movie. After watching it, I have to say that this movie was good. I have to be honest and say that usually I'm a sucker for revenge movies but this movie was better than what I thought it would be. The plot, of course was very simple but for the story it was trying to tell, it didn't need to be complicated. The acting was alright, some actors could have done a better job. Stallone did a decent job reprising John Rambo. The setting when they travel to Mexico was pretty realistic and I really liked his ranch in Arizona that was the backdrop for the third act of the movie. The action was really brutal and gory which was expected as the last installment in the franchise Rambo was also equally brutal. All in all I thought this movie was pretty good, I give it a 7/10.
In Bowie, Arizona on his father's horse ranch John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) lives with his old friend Maria (Adriana Barraza) and her granddaughter Gabriela (Yvette Monreal), eleven years after the events in Burma. Against Rambo and Maria's wishes, Gabriela ventures to Mexico to find her estranged father when her friend Gizelle finds his location. In Mexico she is drugged and kidnapped by a Mexican Cartel and now Rambo must do everything he can to save her.
I have to say that before I saw this movie I was hearing bad things from reviewers and critics. That made me lower expectations before I saw it but what I took away from it was that it was going to be lacking story wise but definitely shouldn't be lacking in action. Then I was very surprised to learn that the creator of Rambo said that the movie wasn't good. Now I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy the movie. After watching it, I have to say that this movie was good. I have to be honest and say that usually I'm a sucker for revenge movies but this movie was better than what I thought it would be. The plot, of course was very simple but for the story it was trying to tell, it didn't need to be complicated. The acting was alright, some actors could have done a better job. Stallone did a decent job reprising John Rambo. The setting when they travel to Mexico was pretty realistic and I really liked his ranch in Arizona that was the backdrop for the third act of the movie. The action was really brutal and gory which was expected as the last installment in the franchise Rambo was also equally brutal. All in all I thought this movie was pretty good, I give it a 7/10.
Lottie disney bookworm (1056 KP) rated Six Tudor Queens: Katharine Parr, The Sixth Wife in Books
Mar 23, 2021
I have been reading Alison Weir books since I was a teenager so imagine how much I fangirled when I was given the opportunity to read an advanced copy of her final book in the Tudor Queens series!
To Netgalley and Headline, thank you, thank you, thank you!
It is my opinion that Katharine Parr is often the most overlooked of Henry VIII's wives: indeed most novels focus only on her life after becoming Queen. That is why this novel from Alison Weir was simply brilliant.
Weir introduces us to Katharine Parr as a girl, constantly surrounded by family and, after losing her father at a young age, being brought up by her uncle, aunt and her mother who was an attendant to Queen Katharine of Aragon.
The reader instantly falls in love with Katharine, an intelligent, caring child who is acutely aware of her eventual duty to her family but desperately wishes to remain in her carefree days with her siblings.
As we know, Tudor girls married young and Weir explores each of Katharine's four marriages in great detail: combining historical fact and storytelling in the way that only she can.
It struck me that, in three of Katharine's four marriages, she was used as a pawn, marrying for rank, power and connections as was the norm at the time.
However, in every one of these marriages Katharine was able to find love; even when marrying an old overweight Henry, already famous for disposing of numerous wives.
The writing during each of these marriages is rarely emotional: Katharine is a very rational and practical character, only showing real passion for religion. She is even super calm when she believes she is being investigated as a heretic!
It isn't until Katharine's fourth and final marriage that she marries for herself and for love. The passionate relationship between Katharine and Tom Seymour seeps into the writing at this point: introducing jealousy and anger where there has previously been merely a stoic resolve.
The fact that this novel spans the lifespan of Henry's marriages is fitting and really allows Weir to paint a picture of Tudor society throughout the religious reforms and upheavals associated with its monarch.
No one who has read Alison Weir's books before will be surprised that this is yet another success. Together with Philippa Gregory, Weir is a Queen of historical fiction and this novel is only the latest jewel in her crown.
To Netgalley and Headline, thank you, thank you, thank you!
It is my opinion that Katharine Parr is often the most overlooked of Henry VIII's wives: indeed most novels focus only on her life after becoming Queen. That is why this novel from Alison Weir was simply brilliant.
Weir introduces us to Katharine Parr as a girl, constantly surrounded by family and, after losing her father at a young age, being brought up by her uncle, aunt and her mother who was an attendant to Queen Katharine of Aragon.
The reader instantly falls in love with Katharine, an intelligent, caring child who is acutely aware of her eventual duty to her family but desperately wishes to remain in her carefree days with her siblings.
As we know, Tudor girls married young and Weir explores each of Katharine's four marriages in great detail: combining historical fact and storytelling in the way that only she can.
It struck me that, in three of Katharine's four marriages, she was used as a pawn, marrying for rank, power and connections as was the norm at the time.
However, in every one of these marriages Katharine was able to find love; even when marrying an old overweight Henry, already famous for disposing of numerous wives.
The writing during each of these marriages is rarely emotional: Katharine is a very rational and practical character, only showing real passion for religion. She is even super calm when she believes she is being investigated as a heretic!
It isn't until Katharine's fourth and final marriage that she marries for herself and for love. The passionate relationship between Katharine and Tom Seymour seeps into the writing at this point: introducing jealousy and anger where there has previously been merely a stoic resolve.
The fact that this novel spans the lifespan of Henry's marriages is fitting and really allows Weir to paint a picture of Tudor society throughout the religious reforms and upheavals associated with its monarch.
No one who has read Alison Weir's books before will be surprised that this is yet another success. Together with Philippa Gregory, Weir is a Queen of historical fiction and this novel is only the latest jewel in her crown.