Rebecca Hill

This is one book, which shocking for me, is one to be started, never finished. In the first 65 pages, there were so many inaccurate assumptions or “facts” as he calls them. I was very unimpressed with the book, and found some of his “facts” suspicious.

Sadly, this is one book I recommend people to just pass over!

I sped-read through this book. His bias on Richard III is evident from the beginning and his evidence is bare. He outright says he does not like Richard III, and yet chose to write this book anyway, so he does not portray him in a good light. I was disappointed with the book overall. Not really recommending this one to be read. IF there was a current Tudor propagandist, Seward would more than fill those shoes. Quite a disappointing read

This was a great read that reveals more of the history of both of Henry VIII. Their lives unfortunately were not in their own to make, and they were at the mercy of not only husbands, and fathers, but the countries that they went to.

H. Chapman does a great job in pulling out the history and refreshing it, not the same facts presenting in a boring manner, but refreshing them to real beings again. I think this is a great read!

The brilliant future that Catherine de Medici envisioned for her favorite son is about to collapse. A pampered fop, he is unable to rule the country he fought to gain control of for so long. He is under the control of his favorites and they are bent on destroying the country to gain what they want, power and wealth.

Catherine is unable to stop her son, as her illness progresses and age catches up with her. She does what she can to even out the power distribution in the country, but all factions seem intent on all or nothing.

Great read, love Jean Plaidy's writing style!

I received an advanced copy from the author

Joy Gilbert is a doctor from a small town, who cares to much about everyone around her. Her ex-fiance Zach, is a doctor at the hospital in the town where Joy is from, who hasn't stopped caring for Joy since she left, and to top it all off Weston Cline, Joy's new employer, has made it clear to those around her that he is expecting more in their relationship than what is normal between employer and employee.
As Weston's background becomes more clear to Joy, she pulls back from any relationship with him, but his teenage daughter has become a close friend of Joy's, so she continues to see the daughter and offer what friendship she can. When Joy get some devastating news and heads home to her mother, more devastation is piled on top. Joy is determined to make the best of what she can of the relationship between herself and her mother, but Molly is not the easiest person to get along with. As they learn to love and appreciate each other for what they are, Joy's relationship with Zach is brought again to the front, and they are slowly working toward forgiveness. Will forgiveness be easy to find, or will they continue to battle it out? As the health of Joy's young friend Tressa is suddenly thrust to the forefront, can an entire family learn to move past the embers of past flames and move forward to new relationships?

This was a great read!! I read through the entire book in about three hours and enjoyed the entire thing! I fell in love with a couple of the characters and found myself giggling at some of the antics that went on between the pages. Great clean read!

Myra Maxwell is discovered sobbing in a cemetery by her best friend and mother. She does not recognize either one of them, as she has entered into a fugue state. Joy and Zach are determined to help their friend, but she resists them. Only Weston Cline seems to be able to get through to her. While Weston helps Myra to start regaining some of her memories, Joy and Zach struggle to forgive Weston for the wrongs he did to them the year before. As Myra gains more and more of her memories, she feels something coming that she cannot stop, but is it the reason she lost her memory?

Join the adventure and dive into this book. Hannah Alexander does not disappoint with the second book in this series. She brings to life the characters and you feel the struggle as they walk through disappointments, anger, bitterness and forgiveness.

Eleanor of Castile is definitely a shadow in the annals of history, but her life has so much more to offer than what we see at first glance. Her queenship was a different sort than that of her Mother-in-law Eleanor of Provence. She worked hand in hand with her husband Edward, and made the most of their reign together as she could. Different from other queens, she spent as little time apart from her husband as possible, and Edward's grief at her death was not hidden or faked.


The book is a great read, although the first couple of chapters are very technical and geneological, and it is very easy to get bogged down and find it hard to move forward. Once the story starts moving, it picks up a little, with a few places that seem to get bogged down, but then pick up again. I was sad when it ended, but the pictures and supplements at the end are wonderful.

Great read!

I finished this book last night, and needless to say I was a little disappointed in it. Instead of being a historical fiction where it expanded the characters, I felt as though she had to force things to happen, and for her writing, she wanted history to fit her needs, not necessarily relying on the facts. I was highly disappointed with not only how she portrayed Maud, but other women in the script. She seemed to have heavy male characters, but the female characters seemed flimsy. This should be classified under romance, not historical fiction.

I dont normally pick on the writing itself, but it seemed that this book, although I wouldnt let my high schooler read it, would be an easy read for anyone middle school and up. The content is not one that I would let a younger person read, but her dialog left much to be desired and her word usage was just off. I also found several typos within the book. One where she referred to Maud and her two sons, and then the next paragraph down, it referred to the three sons. It seems that someone who was proofing this book should have found some of the errors.

Anne Neville is one of the shadow queens of England. While we have glimpses of her through records, not enough remains to paint a clear picture of her. What we do know is through the lives of her husbands and father. Traitor, Princess, Wife, Widow, Wife, Mother, Queen. Anne Neville packed quite a bit of living into a short lifespan. She was only 28 years old when she died, but she lived more than most people do today in 80 years.

Through the brief glimpses that we are given, Michael Hicks attempts to paint a picture of this lady of the shadows, but I found myself disappointed. He seemed more interested in making a villain of Richard III than trying to glean out more information on Anne Neville, even painting her as complicit in some of what he called “Richard's schemes” but also Anne herself using Richard to gain what she wanted.

I have been wanting to read this book, but I was completely disappointed with the entire read. I felt that to much of the author's personal bias went into writing this book, therefore the waters were muddy even before anyone tries to pick history apart and paint a more thorough picture.
I would not really recommend out this read. While some personal bias is fine, everyone has it, this author goes above and beyond, making the read completely un-enjoyable.

Margaret of Anjou was a headstrong woman - one that was placed with a weak husband. Had Henry V been of stronger stamina, she might never have risen to the level of hate that England placed around her. She tore the country apart with her favorites, and through the conflict that arose, we got the War of the Roses.

Through her life she was determined to make the best of her situation, and through her folly she managed to almost destroy the country. She was ruthless in her ideals and was determined to keep her throne no matter the cost.

Jean Plaidy has done a masterful job of weaving the story together, giving you a sympathetic view into the life of Margaret. She rose from nothing to attain a great height, only to lose it all again.

A very comprehensive view of Edward III....


For a man that started off his life amid political scandal from his father, which continued up into his teens, one would predict that Edward III would not have had such a brilliant reign, but he proved everyone wrong. Edward III took his own fate into his hands, and ousted Roger Mortimer from power, yet managed to protect his mother. Over his long reign, he managed to put England on the map in international power and bring about more of a revolution that anyone could have imagined. Within the military and political triumphs, he managed to make an entire national love him, and at the end revile him. His relationship with Alice Perrers is still one for speculation, and the amount of influence she had over the king was seen as criminal. For one who wanted to remove the stain of his fathers reign, at the end, he fell into the same hole.

I loved reading this book and the amount of information that Ian Mortimer is able to bring to the table and logically lay out, is astounding. I learned so much from this book, and can't wait to find more information!

When you read the title, you think, “awesome, a book about a medieval woman! Maybe I can learn something new!” Instead, there is hardly anything known about Nest, what her life was like and what she herself was like. Instead, we see her from the lives of the men around her, which, while they are interesting, is not why I picked the book. I chose the book because of two reasons. 1) It is set in Wales, and they have such obscure history and fascinating history as well. 2) Royalty in Wales is not widely written about. But this dealt more with English history than Welsh history.

She was not a seductress, she was a woman who made the best of her situation. She was not a political force in and of herself. She had no power. She had nothing. Nest was completely dependent upon the men around her, and at their mercy. While she was a person, a living part of history, she is unknown. There was not as much

Sadly, there could be one book about almost all medieval women, and it would not take up more than 350 pages. We know basically nothing about most of the women, although there are obscure references throughout the annals of history, it is not what we are actually looking for.

I was disappointed with this book, but under the circumstances, I think it was as good as it could be.

Scrub is at his grandmothers house for the summer, but he also has to keep a secret... Grandma runs a vacation home for Aliens. While he attempts to help his grandmother and keep her business secret, he also begins to make friends with Amy. It is harder than he thought trying to keep his secret, and he almost ruins it, but he does his best.

His attempt to keep Grandma's secret about ruins everything, including his friendship with Amy.

Cute little story, and a quick read. My boys enjoyed it

If you love Tudor history, than this book is for you!

Alison Plowden delves into the life of the ill-fated Jane Grey and her family. The not so subtle manipulation of a young woman who had no say in her future, and the tragic events which led to her her death are recounted here in detail.
From the beginning of her life, to her death and beyond, Plowden goes into the family history and the events which surrounded the short reign of the young woman, who had events turned out differently might have left a more favorable impression on history. Instead she has been condemned for taking a crown that was not hers, although the decision was not hers to make. The manipulation of a child king and the protector of the nation who saw more power for himself all lead to one thing - death.

A MUST READ!

Anne of Brittany was raised with the knowledge that she would rule the Duchy of Brittany. With the premature death of her father, she is thrust onto the political scene at the tender age of 14, and the intrigue is just beginning! Beset with those around her who would rather control her than allow her to be the headstrong young woman she was, she quickly learns that friends cannot always be trusted and those who can should be kept close.
With the turmoil around her, she chooses a marriage alliance which is quickly broken and another marriage set in motion. With the death of her husband, she marries his successor, being crowned for the second time as queen of France.

The tragic details of this young queen are laid out with the upmost respect, and the love that the people she ruled over is plain to see with her own tragic demise.
Great for readers of any age, but written for YA readers.

Throughout her reign, Mary was unequipped to deal with the tasks set before her, and basically a slave to love. She was in love with a man that did not love her in return, but instead saw the potential of a windfall for himself from England.

Had Mary better advisers, decided on tolerance instead of religious fervor, and united instead of divide, she would have had a better reign, and might have kept the people on her side.

As I was reading through this book, I was struck with how she trusted a person, someone she saw a father figure, and was almost determined to rectify all wrongs she felt had been done to her during her father's reign. I felt sorry for her, but then angry with her, as she was slow to act when she could have been decisive, and vengeful when she would have been forgiving. She alone incurred the wrath of her people, not without help, but the wrongs fall to her.

Great read overall, good concise history and factual relating.

Field Guide to the Battlefields of South Africa STOP! This book is your ONE STOP to all the battles in South Africa! Everything you wanted to know and more!Nicki Von Der Heyde breaks down each of the battles, beginning with the colonial wars. Each of them are broken down into easy to read articles. Each of the 71 battles depicted give the reader a sense of accomplishment. Each of these are broken down, making them easy to read and understand. The timelines, pictures and the maps that are included gives the reader a chance to put the pieces all together. If you plan on travelling to the region, I think this guide would be extremely handy to have, as you move from one location to another. Military historians as well should take note. This well documented book has a lot to offer! Teachers, historians and more can glean a lot of information, and use for many different projects!I was excited to read this book, as I have always had an interest in the history of different places, and being able to find this book and have a chance to put it all together was exciting! This has been a very handy guide for me to use in some of the online college courses I teach, as well as being able to use the pictures and maps in my own children's school work. I look forward to being able to use this book many times over in the many years to come!

This coming of age story deals with a young boy, Matt, who while left alone in the wilderness while his father returns home to fetch the rest of their family, learns to survive. He is “befriended” by a young Indian boy, whose grandfather has saved Matt from drowning, or dying from the many bee stings that he received. He is asked to teach Attean how to read, and learn English. During their summer and fall, the two form a strange friendship, each learning from the other as they move through the forest, and the many different stories and facets of their lives. They both realize that they have much to learn.

Their time together is cut short when the Indian tribe moves on, and they ask Matt to accompany them. As he wants to go with them, he knows that he has to stay and wait for his family. While he worries about his family, it is much later than he was expecting them to be there, he wonders if he will survive the winter alone.

This great story is one that everyone should read! Its so cute and a quick read! Kids of any age will enjoy this story.

Warriors Seven Warriors Seven is a great read! Get the inside view on SEVEN of America's warriors, and what their lives were like.Barney Sneiderman has delved into the personal and political lives of these great warriors. He not only pinpoints what made them successful, but what really made them tick. What did they think, how did they live, and what were their personal views on some of the issues of their times? Take a brief look into the lives of Benedict Arnold, Andrew Jackson, Winfield Scott, Robert E. Lee, George Dewey, Billy Mitchell and George Patton. Each of these men have been devoted to their own chapter, in order of their time in history. As we dig in to each one, the history feels as though it comes alive, and we are able to see how these men operated. Their stories are not only inspiring, (and in some cases, come with the how not to turn traitor), but give us a chance see how they interacted with their men, their personal correspondence, and their daily drive. As I read through this book, I was able to find some great tidbits and facts that I had not come across before. This book was well laid out, carefully planned and written, and one that history lovers should embrace. As you read through this book, it is easy to take notes in the margins! Take your time and join in the fun of learning about these great warriors!

A photograph of a veiled woman holding a baby sparks the interest of descendants as they are cleaning out the farmhouse.
As the story moves into what happened, the lives of three people are drawn into a circle of deception, secrets and subterfuge.

A quick fast and easy read.. interesting, but would have loved it to have been a bit longer and explain the ending more.

Horrible crime, which was prompted by a need for drugs. This “book” could have been written quite a bit better. There were so many typos, and other grammatical errors in the book, as well as it being terribly dry.
The author should have written a better account, while still giving the details, but not writing as though it were a school assignment (and if it was, there is no way that it received a decent grade).