The Virgin's Lover

In The Virgin's Lover, Gregory moves us forward from Henry VIII's reign, past Edward's and Mary's, and into Elizabeth's. (If you want to read them "in order," The Queen's Fool comes prior to The Virgin's Lover.)  The story is not told from the view point of Elizabeth, but one of her lovers, Robert Dudley, as well as his wife Amy.  It's interesting to read from this perspective as one can see the abandoned wife and identify with her pain. It's also interesting to see Robert's guilt, yet how he still chooses to continue on with his affair. If you're into historical fiction, this novel gives an interesting insight into Elizabeth's life and is worth the read. 

Now, Gregory enters into a little bit of speculation, since most folks, obviously, didn't document their own affairs.  But Gregory is great at doing her own research and including an author's note to let your know where and why she made speculations or changes to history. It really makes me respect her as an author. 

The Other Boleyn Girl

Just as Katherine of Aragon is my least favorite of Henry VIII's wives, Anne Boleyn is my favorite. This is largely due to Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl, which not only tells the story of Anne Boleyn, but also her sister, Mary, one of Henry VIII's many mistresses, and their brother George. 

I really enjoy The Other Boleyn Girl because it's not only an intense faux love story and affair, but it delves into the family relationships of the Boleyn siblings AND it's historical fiction where one learns about the politics and religion, and their relationship, during this portion of Henry VIII's reign. [holy run-on sentence!] Now, of course, given the subject matter and the character of Henry, who is constantly having affairs, it's not necessarily the most chaste book, but it is my favorite by Gregory and I highly recommend it!  

Barefoot

There's a quote on this cover about Barefoot making you want to pick up everything and head to the beach. Which it did-- Just to get me away from this book! Elin Hilderbrand writes to show us how smart and well-read she is, trying to make herself sound brilliant and comparable to the great works of literature one might study as an English major, while presenting herself as a beach-read chick-lit author. And Barefoot certainly appears to be a beach read, but it clearly is not.  Hilderbrand, in mixing her demographics and genres, seemingly to obtain more readers, must be losing readers from both sides. She attempted to write an intellectual beach book and failed. I can't say that I recommend this book.